Valentine's Day Weekend at the Cabin

So my wonderful hubby took me out to P.F. Chang for dinner on Friday night for an early Valentine's Day celebration! It was so relaxing to walk around downtown and hang out together without kiddos and then on Saturday morning we took off for the cabin. We had planned on leaving really early, but we arrived mid afternoon. Rylie was sick most of the way and the only thing that was keeping her from not throwing up was telling her stories about Cinderella and Craig's 40 minute version of Adam and Eve. Sadly, we missed the heart shaped pancakes that Aunt Lori had made for breakfast. But don't worry the mouse that decided to join us that evening really enjoyed the pancakes. Randy (my brother-in-law) killed the mouse with Rylie's shoe on the plate of pancakes. We were definitely done with them after that!!!! We decided not to tell Rylie that he used her shoe. Later, we kept the festivities going with some heart shaped rice crispy treats. Rylie adores her cousins Jack and Sam and spent most of the weekend with them out in a snow fort that they had built next to a fallen tree! My favorite thing to watch was Randy and Craig pulling each other on the sled behind the snowmobile! To end our Valentine's Day weekend on a good note, we watched Fireproof. I would recommend it to any married couple whether you are struggling or not!

Snip-its from February

Snip-its from the girls these past few weeks: My mom and dad and Craig's sister and her family went to tropical places this January, leaving us here in the cold weather. The upside is, they brought the girls back some adorable dresses from Hawaii and Mexico! Rylie learned how to do a funny face for pictures, so now we have to do a serious one and a silly one.

Rylie has come up with some pretty clever things to say lately, since we were stuck at home all week last week with colds.

She was drawing at the table and she drew a picture of a "spaceship" just like her friend Hudson at church. She told me that I wasn't little enough and it was probably to hard for me, but I could pray and ask God to help me to do it. Then she turns me and says, "You know why you can ask God to help, because God is on your side!" Amen Sister!

Also, we learned this week that Rylie is a planner. She has her next three years planned out. She explained to me that when she turns 4 she is going to be in Ballet, then when she turns 5 she is going to be in gymnastics and when she turns 6 she is going to go to kindergarten. We had been talking about practicing to get better at something. She went on to say that if she practices ballet she will be a good balleter and if she practices gymnastics, she will be a good gymnasticer. I love how kids try to figure out the English language, when we struggle with it as adults.

Ella is standing up on everything and can climb our stairs in about 3.5 seconds without falling down. Her little personality is coming out a little more in groups, but she still bears the name "Stoneface" in most social circles.

I am taking on something this month that I have never done before- writing a life plan for the next 20-30 years and learning how to live purposefully. A couple at our church is showing us how and it has been very convicting to see where I would like to be spending my time and where I really spend my time day to day.

5*5*5

Thank you for including me April in this fun little look back. I was a little bummed because our computer had crashed, so we just got a new computer this summer. So this picture of Rylie is not very old, but she is just starting to show her independence (right before her 3rd birthday)!

So I tag the following 5 people to go on there computer and look at the fifth picture of the fifth folder and tag five more people.
1. Melanie
2. Lori
3. Shaanti
4. Jenny
5. Amy Jo

New Hobby, Stress Reliever and So Much Fun!

Much Needed Smiles

God knows that when you are having a hard week, that kids always make us smile. Rylie decided that she didn't want her feet to get cold this morning so she put on her slippers. She also asked me in the sweetest voice possible: "Mommy, if I have a really good attitude today, can we go to Disneyland?" Rylie and Daddy were taking pictures of themselves. This is Rylie trying to learn how to lean on her hand just like Daddy.

Grumpa Ernie

As many of you know my grandpa passed away yesterday afternoon. It was a very difficult day and my dad was sad to lose his dad and we were sad to lose our grandpa. The night before he died he told my family that he had made peace with God. We really do believe that he had a relationship with Christ and that he had asked for forgiveness for his sin. As I reflect on his life and what he meant to us a few pictures stick out in my mind. My grandpa Ernie was a very hard worker and a businessman. We used to love going over Lakey's Cafe near Caldwell and working behind the counter and washing dishes to earn a little extra money. He was always visiting with his regular customers and gave everyone a hard time. In recent years he was involved in several Bible studies and read almost all of J. Vernon McGee's commentaries. He loved to share his theology and get you riled up about what you believed. He kept everyone on their toes at Grace Assisted Living and he loved giving Rylie rides on his cart. They would cruise around the halls at lightening speeds almost taking out the other residents and pick up some popcorn from the popcorn maker on his way back. Some of my best memories of him are playing cards (he taught me how to play poker), talking about his theology, and watching him interact with my girls. We will definitely miss him, but we know that he is out of pain and with the Lord. Although he was often grumpy (or pretended he was), I am so thankful that we had him for as long as we did. Please pray for my dad, Aunt Arni and Aunt Mary as they are struggling to find closure and prepare for the funeral. Thank you for all of your support and love for our family.

Joyful New Year

Everybody sets up their New Year's Resolutions and plow through week one, often with some success. I decided this year instead of resolutions, I am going to just call them much needed changes. Now that I have been a stay at home mom for over five months, I am finally ready to take on some new habits and evaluate my progress. So far I am cooking at least 4-5 nights a week (that is an improvement from 0-1 times a week)! I have been reading up on every topic imaginable, finance, parenting, digital scrapbooking and my new favorite-Read Through the Bible in a Year! These new changes in my parenting style, hobbies and discipline in our finances are so exciting, but difficult. I have given God my children, my budget, my time and needing to have control of every situation in my marriage. If you haven't sensed it yet, I have a new peace and a renewed joy for life. As I continue to grow as a person in my walk with God, I also hope to inspire others to wait on the Lord and not to settle for mediocre. Happy 2009 and I can't wait to see what God is going to do this year in and through my little Dayton Family.

p.s. Valerie MacMahon took these fabulous pictures that I used for my first two digital scrapbooking designs.