Mail Time

When the weather's nice, like today, the kids love to help me check the mail!  We also got to play in our backyard for a long time this afternoon, and they've discovered how fun it can be to "climb" on the fence.

Saturday Outing

This is a video from last week.  I'm not sure if he's trying to sing or eat the microphone!

We got out for a little bit yesterday afternoon to celebrate my cousin's son's 3rd birthday.  Then Zachary was in bed by 6:45, and he slept for over 12 hours!  Here's Bethany's "say cheese" face :)

SICK

What do YOU do when you're stuck inside with sick kids?  We've been dealing with fevers, runny noses, and coughing for over a week.  They've been watching a lot of Mickey Mouse and Cars while I'm busy spraying all the toys and trying to keep Bethany and Zachary from drinking out of each other's cups.  Hopefully we'll be back to normal soon!

Thanks for your help :)

In less than 6 months we'll be going to Nicaragua again, so if you or your church would like to collect some things for us to take, here are some ideas:

Books for the mobile library!  Last year they were just starting to let the children "check out" books to take home.  That means they'll need more Spanish books.  They can be new or used, picture books or chapter books...and Bible stories are even better!

Casa Materna is where pregnant women go to receive medical care, and each mother-to-be gets a Baby Bag while they're there.  It's filled with things like cloth diapers, diaper pins, baby socks, onesies, baby lotion, body wash, powder, and personal hygiene items for the mom.  Start saving your travel size toiletries from hotels!

Something else they do at Casa Materna is make baby blankets.  We're collecting fabric (especially baby-looking colors) to cut into 6x6 squares.  Then we'll stack 42 together to give to the moms, and they get to quilt their own blankets to take home when their babies are born.

This summer we'll be giving a seminar for the teachers, and we'd love to have some craft items and other supplies for the teachers to take back to their classrooms.  These need to be light weight items we can pack in our suitcases like Post-its, pens, stickers, pipe cleaners, etc.

Let me know if you'd like to help!

Western Day

Poor Bethany had a fever on Thursday and had to miss Western Day at school.  Zachary had fun for both of them.  She's feeling better today though, and we're enjoying this AMAZING January weather!!

Rest Time

We're dogsitting for Aaron's parents this week.  Their dog, Max, pretty much sleeps all day.  I got a picture of him and Bethany resting on the couch together...so cute! 

Baby Shower

These are some girls I went to college with, and it was so good to be with them today to celebrate Amanda and her baby (due next month)!

 Brad and Amanda are about to have a baby girl.

Future Rockstar

Katie's gonna be a rockstar!

Artists

Yesterday was our 7th anniversary.  Aaron and I got to go to a nice restaurant on Friday night called Eddie V's.  The dessert was definitely my favorite part!  We're just getting back into a normal routine around here, and since it's rainy outside, we've been doing some serious coloring this morning :)

2012 started off with a bang...

My new year started off being sick, and I'm still getting over it.  The kids aren't 100% either, so we've been spending even more time at home.  I haven't left the house since Saturday!  Anyway, I snapped some cute pictures this morning because the kids were playing so well together.

Hopefully the rest of our year will be happy and healthy.  We've got many things to look forward to...potty training, moving the kids out of their cribs, and getting rid of Zachary's pacifiers.  He's gotten quite attached to having THREE pacifiers.  He likes to have one in his mouth and one in each hand!  I hope all of your years have gotten off to a better start :)