As a Sister, which is a relation stronger than marriage... (Little Women)

I love my little girls! I'm so glad they're good friends! And I love my sisters! My little sis Bethany whipped up these cute little skirts for the girls. (I'm having a hard time talking Autumn into wearing anything else. :) Then my sis-in-law Amy made them these cute little bows, and sis-in-law Chels has made/shared COUNTLESS bows, headbands, and flower clips. I feel like one lucky momma! It takes a village to raise a child... or maybe it should go: It takes sisters to raise daughters. :)
Check out these beauties! Doug came through for me... I'm loving my beautiful Valentine roses!

Deary, Marry the Mole...

I rented Thumbelina and let the girls watch it, but if I had known then that I would be hearing this "count-down" everyday, at all hours, I might have thought twice. :) They loved it, by the way.

My friend passed on this little magnetic leapfrog alphabet toy and the kids have gone nuts! This doesn't show nearly enough how excited and "into" dancing Seth gets whenever it goes on- it cracks me up. They don't seem to mind the "narrow" kitchen space, and I'm trying not to either... at least they're busy/happy. :)

This is after the kids watched ToyStory 3... who wouldn't want to dance to music like that! You just have to get up and get movin'... atleast my kids do. (Our poor downstairs neighbors!)

Love is in the Air...

Gone are the days of home-made valentines, decorated Kleenex mailboxes, and "Do you love your neighbor?"... I had to really talk Amberlee's teacher into letting me bring cupcakes. They have a strict no candy policy and they don't celebrate holidays. Rip off!!! I looked forward to those days all year!!! I'm glad we did the cupcakes because Amberlee was on cloud nine passing them out. She was so tickled with herself. I think she got 2 other little Valentine notes from classmates, and she came skipping out of the school saying "Valentines is my favorite, best day ever!!!" Oh little Amberlee... if only you knew what it could be. :)

I took the kids for a little Valentine's Day picnic. It was so nice to soak in some beautiful sunshine! (We have since gotten 4-5 inches of snow, but it was wonderful while it lasted!) Amberlee was so funny- she wouldn't take off her backpack because it had her Valentine's in it. We had fun running around and eating sandwiches!

This was my Valentine to Doug. I had fun thinking of all the reasons I love him and incorporating them into his favorite treats. He was pretty tickled when he came home. :)

Pin the Heart on Cupid...

I made up this game for Family Night and the kids were thrilled to be "blind-folded". I just want you to note who the pro is! :)

The Happiest Child Alive...

One of Autumn's very favorite places to go is her pre-school. It is just a once a week program called "Success By 6" and they usually just do some little crafts or work on letters for a couple hours, but she loves it. It is in a little house with brightly painted rooms and a section full of toys that Seth loves. I hang out with some other moms- which is fun for me, while Seth plays and Autumn paints, and they clean up the mess... now that is MY kind of "success". :) She loves it though- I think she feels quite grown up, and she asks me every day if it is Wednesday... maybe we need to focus on the days of the week now. :)

I had to take a picture of this beautiful sunset outside our door... a picture just can't capture it!

Family dance night- we even talked Doug into joining. :)

A Big Welcome to My New Niece, Evie Jane...

Check out this precious little peach with all her dark hair! She made it here on the 4th and I'm so glad she did! I can't wait to meet her sweetness! She's got three little boy cousins anxiously awaiting their turn, so I hope she's willing to set a good example. :) We love you little Evie Jane!

And I just have to say, that maybe, just maybe she takes after her Aunt Lydia just a bit, perhaps? (This is my baby picture.)

Amberlee's Art Corner

Can't Help But Love 'em...

We had a brief moment of warmth, so we took advantage and played outside... not Seth brings me his shoes all day and points at the door saying, "SIDE!!!" We're ready for some sunshine and springtime!
Amberlee took this picture of a tower/wall they made... it didn't last long with Seth around. :)

Party on...

Benj and Amy came up for the weekend too and it was so fun to share a meal and play some games together. Mom always knows how to throw a party! Beth and Jon were there and my cousins Annalyse, Kamie Kaye, and Juan. It was so fun to see everyone!

Tip Your Hats...

Aunt Christina made the cutest hats and scarves for the kids! She also me me some awesome washcloths and hot-pads. She is so talented! It was fun to see she, Steve, and Dominick. He has grown a ton! We played some fun games!

This is a blanket I made for my cute sister Bethany. I had fun experimenting with the free-motion foot. We did a swap and she made such a cute quilt for me- it had cute little dinosaurs on it with frayed edges. I'm super excited for her!

Sledding... done right, because Grandma and Grandpa were there...

Grandma Nanna was such a good sport! She went down a couple times with each kid. They were loving it! Amberlee is quite the sledder! Poor thing got a little off course on one of her runs and ran right into a tree. Luckily, she wasn't going very fast and was smart enough to lean back, so she was fine, but it was quite the performance.

SnowFest...

We timed it just right! The Stewart's took us to the fun local SnowFest. It was a blast! In the picture above, we're on a fun little sleigh-ride complete with jingle-bells.

Of course we didn't miss the Hot-Chocolate pavilion. We warmed up just enough to do some intense sledding.