Little Elves...

Yesterday "little elves" showed up at the house ready to transform it in time for the BIG ARRIVAL (and by big arrival I do not mean the guy in red suit, nope its for the guy who wears camo and combat boots) I told them my vision and away they went to work. In no time at all everything was done! Even the outside decorations! I have truely dreaded getting all the decorations out and going thru everything on my own, but because of these wonderful "little elves" I did not have to do it alone. I am so grateful for my loving church family who have taken care of us during the past 10 months! Thank you mom for helping me choose my decor and Thank you "little elves" for giving so freely of your time and helping me prepare for the big day! I honestly could not have done it without you guys!!!

Below are just a few pictures of the decorations. The "little elves" worked so hard and did such a great job :)


Mantle in the living room.


Tree in the living room.


Ornament I made for the patriotic tree using Jason's picture :)


Ornament I made for the patriotic tree using the kid's picture :)


Patriotic tree in the basement.


The "little elves" who transformed my house!

It's Party Time!!!!

We had a great time at Madeline's birthday party this afternoon. Thanks to my mom for securing "our spot" in the birthday jungle. (who would have known that 3 parties would have been going on at the same time as ours) Madeline got lots of fun stuff (including zebra print boots to match the zebra theme we had going). Enjoy some of the pictures of the fun. Be sure to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog before watching the video. (just an fyi...grab a tissue before you watch)

Happy 2nd Birthday Madeline!

our sweet little Madeline


Madeline's dedication


Madeline getting sweet kisses from her daddy ~ 3 months





Madeline starting to walk at 9 months :)


Miss 1 yr old!











Happy Birthday Madeline! (her favorite breakfast...pancakes and sausage)


I can not believe my little girl is already 2!!! What a fun 2 years she has already given us..wonder what else is in store?? :)
We will have the birthday party this afternoon so check back soon for the party post :)

Veteran's Day

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all Veteran's for their selfless service. All over the world our armed forces have stood and are standing guard to protect us and for that I am so grateful. I pray that the Lord will continue to guide them, to be their strength and courage, and most of all to give them protection from all things that wish to harm them.
On this day of reverence let us not forget those who have served, are serving, and those who have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we know and enjoy.

The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people.
Everything that it stands for was written by their lives.
The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.
It represents the experiences made by men and women, the experiences of those who do and live under the flag.
Woodrow Wilson


Below is a youtube video on The Gratitude Campaign. Please be sure to scroll to the bottom and pause the playlist before you watch it.

And The Winner Is...

Hair Up won the vote! Thank you everyone that participated in the vote.
I took the kids last night to have pictures made with Santa. The kids did great and of course I had a really hard time deciding which pictures to get...so I got one of each pose :) Madeline did not like Santa at all (as to be expected) As soon as she saw him, she jumped into my arms, buried her face in me, and started crying telling Santa to go away. Jackson loved Santa. He went right to him, gave him a hug, and sat in his lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas. (so cute!) Madeline raised her head to see her bubba sitting in Santa's lap and she got so upset. Through tears she said "No, not my bubba, I want my bubba"

The photographer was very clever in how to sneak Santa in the room for the picture. I took the kids out, Santa snuck in and hid behind the screen. Once hidden, I brought the kids back in the room, positioned them and just as the picture was going to be taken, Santa came out and stood behind the kids. Madeline had no clue that he was there and the picture was great!
Wow...so mission accomplished.
Does anyone have an Santa memorable Santa stories?

Why Vote???...thoughts of a 4 year old...

This morning while I was getting ready Jackson cornered me with the usual 20 questions. Here is an excerpt of our conversation:

Jackson - "Mommy where are we going today?"

Me - "Well you and sissy are going to mom's day out and mommy is going to run some
errands"

Jackson - "Oh, what kind of errands?"

Me - "Well the most important thing I am going to do today is vote."

Jackson - "What is vote?"

Me - "It's where we choose who is going to be our leader"

Jackson - "Mommy, why do you have to vote on that, Jesus is our leader"

I know I have said this before, but if only we could all have the faith of a child.

Hope everyone got out and voted today. If you have not, there is still time so GO VOTE!

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE...

First and foremost I just want to throw out a disclaimer..this is not a post where I am going to get on a soapbox for one particular candidate, so please don't worry about toes being stepped on. :) With that said here is the post...


Tomorrow is a very big day for our country. We will go to the polls to vote for our next President. History will be made tomorrow no matter which candidate is elected. Be it the first female vice president or the first African American president. But history has already been made-God already knows the outcome of the race -He alone chose that before the foundation of the world. With that I find such great comfort. It is already decided...God in His sovereignty and infinite wisdom decided that. Of course I pray that the candidate I am voting for is elected, but if not I can take great comfort in knowing that God has a bigger plan than I could ever understand. He is sovereign and He alone ordained the outcome of this election. I will however pray for the man that is chosen to because he faces many great obstacles and the eyes of the world will be upon him. Even more so are the eyes going to be upon him to fail so that he can be criticized.
Please vote tomorrow, but before you vote please pray! Pray for direction in who to vote for.

In the Spirit of Voting, I am holding my own little "election" here. No, I am not running for anything...this is just something fun I want to do :)
Thursday the kiddos have pictures with Santa Claus...(Ok I hope Madeline will go to Santa...we shall see) I am new to the world of fixing little girl hair. Poor Madeline has my hair...which means it has a mind of its own. I can not decide which way for her to wear her hair. So I took pictures and I am going to let you, my bloggy friends, vote. That means you have to leave me a comment to cast your vote :)
Here are the choices:

Picture A - ponytail on top of the head with a bow


Picture B - bow on the side of the head

So leave me a comment and say Picture A or Picture B.
Thanks everyone!!! Get out and vote tomorrow!

Jessica