The Mauney Family

Breakfast with my sweeties...

2012-01-27T16:30:00.000-05:00

Isn't this just super-sweet?! This is what I get to enjoy every morning once Steven has left for work. These cute kiddos. Once they get settled into eating their breakfast, I usually sing "This is the day [that the Lord has made]" and they join me. I started singing it months ago as a proclamation of the truth and a prayer that we would rejoice rather than complain about the day we've been given. (Mostly as a reminder to myself!!) The kids love it, and now Isaac can quote that verse from the Bible all by himself. Now we're working on John 3:16.

For breakfast, the kids like to eat yogurt with cereal, bagels and cream cheese, or cereal and milk. This was a cereal and milk morning, and they were full of joy as usual. They actually asked me to take their pictures and then show the pictures to them.

When I showed Elise the last picture above, she said, "Awww! He's eateen lunch!" That cracked me up! I think it was a combination of the "He" (rather than "She") part and the "lunch" (rather than "breakfast") part! Oh, and the "Awwww" too! Too funny!

Trying on brother's clothes!

2012-01-26T16:29:00.000-05:00

Isaac had changed clothes and left his clothes in a pile in our kitchen. Before he (or I) could clean them up, Elise decided she wanted to try them on! She even put his boxers on! It was hilarious! Here she is, trying on her brother's clothes:

After she got everything on, she decided she didn't like it and wanted it off now!!! This girl definitely has no issues forming her own opinions! :)

Preschool Winter Singing!

2012-01-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

Instead of a Christmas performance, this year the preschool did a Winter Family Feast in January. All the kids came up on stage and sang a medley of songs. Isaac typically doesn't like to be in the spotlight, so he requested to sit with us. Rather than fight tears and frustration, we said yes. He was SO much happier sitting with us and watching his friends sing. Elise, on the other hand, was thrilled to be able to get up on stage and be in front of an audience! She didn't sing as much as we thought she would, though. We think she was mesmerized by all the people! But she did enjoy being up on stage and was all smiles most of the time.

Here she is, walking into the sanctuary:

Here she is, on stage with all her friends:

After the performance, we all went to the Fellowship Hall for a nice dinner of spaghetti, salad, and desserts. The kids enjoyed eating with Gramps and Nana since they were able to join us.

We are so thankful for such a wonderful preschool for our kids. They have so much fun there, and the small preschool community of parents and teachers is a blessing for our family.

Isaac the painter!

2012-01-24T16:25:00.000-05:00

Steven and I have started making over our master bedroom this month. We repainted the room and got new bedding. In the coming months we will add another nightstand, get lamps, redo the hardware on our dresser, get some pictures to hang, and add a teeny-tiny loveseat or chair.

We repainted the room while the kids were hanging out in the hallway (that is also their playroom!) Isaac kept asking us if he could help, so we told him that if he played kindly with his sister and waited patiently, he could help when we got to our last wall. He did just as we told him, so he was able to paint some when we were nearing the last part of the last wall. He did great and enjoyed every second! Here are some pictures of our little painter...

Isaac, you'll be a pro soon! Thanks for your help little man!

We can't get enough of this smile...

2012-01-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

Sweet little burritos!

2012-01-23T16:24:00.000-05:00

During one of our recent playdates with Gabby, the kids requested that we roll them up in blankets, like burritos. They had such fun doing this, and thankfully we got these super-cute pictures of them!

Stitches for Elise

2012-01-20T06:29:00.000-05:00

While our babysitter was watching the kids this past Monday, Elise slipped on our kitchen rug and hit the back of her head on a little stool in our kitchen, resulting in a cut. Our babysitter calmed Elise down, stopped the bleeding and put some antibiotic ointment on the cut.

When I got home and looked at it, pulling all the hair back, I immediately thought it might need stitches. However, since we'd learned (from Isaac's stitches experience) that you don't necessarily have to rush to the ER for stitches, depending on the severity of the injury, I put Elise down for nap and called our home-visiting urgent care pediatrician, Dr Sara. She said there are two concerns with lacerations like this - 1)cosmetic issues, meaning a future scar and 2)risk of infection. Since the cut was on Elise's scalp, the scar would not be an issue, but there could still be a risk of infection if the cut wasn't stitched back together. She advised me to let Elise sleep and then see how it looked when she woke up. If it was oozing blood, we would need to seriously consider stitches. Well, I let Elise sleep and hoped the boo-boo wouldn't be bleeding when she woke. But it was. I took a picture on my iPad and sent it to Dr Sara. She took one look and said, "Yes, she needs stitches." I agreed and asked her to come on out. She arrived around 6:30 Monday night with everything she needed to perform the procedure. Here is what Elise's cut looked like when the doctor arrived:

But Elise was in very good spirits...

The first thing we did was to clean the wound with saline water. Well, Dr Sara did it, but I held Elise and the drip tray. :) Then she applied a cotton ball, saturated with numbing cream. I held it in place for about 30 minutes to ensure the area was completely numb before the stitches.

Then came the stitches... Dr Sara had a sterile kit that she got out, we put Veggie Tales on for Elise to watch, and I held her while the doctor put them in. Dr Sara is so awesome - she used two hairclips to keep Elise's hair back - didn't have to trim any of her hair at all!

Elise didn't flinch at all during the procedure, and Dr Sara was very quick, so it went very smoothly. (We also had several close friends and family members praying!) Dr Sara let Elise choose a treat from her goody bag, and Elise chose a lollipop. In fact, she grabbed three. :)

Here are her stitches, and the nicely closed wound:

We were all done by 8PM and Elise was ready for bed at 8:30. She slept all night peacefully, on her side (since she couldn't sleep on her back.) Steven and I slept peacefully too, knowing our baby's boo-boo was all fixed!

The plan is for the stitches to come out on Tuesday. We are so thankful for Dr Sara and how smoothly this all went! It was way better than sitting for hours in an ER like we did with Isaac!

Elise, you are a trooper! We are proud of you for being so brave!

Daddy and preschool dropoff!

2012-01-19T16:24:00.006-05:00

Since Steven was off the Monday after New Year's, he got to take the kids to preschool with me and go through our process. It was special for him to be able to see the kids' classrooms and their teachers since he isn't able to go during a normal workweek. He brought the camera along to capture some pictures of the kids and remember the day. Here's what we got:

Elise LOVES preschool! She is definitely our social butterfly and can't wait to get inside and play with her friends. Can't you tell?!

Isaac likes preschool, too, but he is always a little more hesitant than Elise. Once he gets into his classroom, though, he always has a blast. Remember when we couldn't get him to smile? Well, this is what we get now...

Another Dad came along and offered to snap our family picture. So, here we all are at the preschool.

What fun to share this day with Daddy!

Sharing a chair...

2012-01-19T16:22:00.002-05:00

Look at these goobers!

Love them SO much!

Betsy's 2011 Books

2012-01-18T17:42:00.003-05:00

One of my personal goals for 2011 was to completely read six books. As a little background I'll say I have read a lot in the past and have always considered myself a reader. However, after having my kids, my reading material had turned into blog posts, magazine blurbs, emails, and facebook status changes. I never had much time to read a lot at a time so I just read things that I could complete in the few minutes I had or could read on my iPod while nursing in the middle of the night (that's when I did the majority of my blog reading in 2009 and 2010!) I didn't know about the Kindle application back then, so I thought that's all I could read on my awesome handheld device. And whenever I pulled out a book to read, I didn't finish it. I'd have half a dozen books on my nightstand that were only partially read. I'm thinking maybe becoming a mom shortened my attention span?!

When 2011 rolled around, I had just watched a series of DVD's by Dr Caroline Leaf on the brain, and I was convicted that I needed to challenge my brain more. I thought that one good way would be to set a goal, along with our other yearly goals, to get back to my roots and completely read through some good books. I had no idea what to read at that point, but I just set the goal. A few days later I was talking with the sweet lady with whom I signed up for Thirty-One, and she asked me if I'd made a reading list. I responded, "Well, no, not yet." And she said, "Well you have to read Redeeming Love." When she said it was a fictional book, I said to myself, "Yeah, I'm not into fiction... too bad." Anyway, she encouraged me to make a book list, so I started working on it. I never came up with much of a list last year, but I did end up reading a total of 8 (eight) books. EIGHT. BOOKS. Wow! I couldn't remember when I'd last read a book through since having kids, but setting a goal for myself obviously worked. Maybe I'm a deadline-driven kinda girl?! (Duh. I know that I am.)

I wanted to document the books I read in 2011 so that I don't forget... so here goes:

I started out with Parenting by the Book by John Rosemond. It was eye-opening to read about how our society's parenting philosophies have largely been shaped by "psycho-babble" over the past 40 years. One huge takeaway was Dr Rosemond's encouragement for parents to rise up and take the rightful place of godly authority in their home.

I went to the bookstore and looked at Redeeming Love with plans to purchase it. When I saw it was [ahem] almost 500 pages, I shuddered. Um, no, I said. There's no way I can hang onto a fictional book for that long now that I have kids. Back in high school, maybe. Not now, though. So I put it back and left. I probably didn't snag a chocolate truffle at the Border's checkout before I left.

Next up, I read a blog that mentioned the book Parenting is Your Highest Calling and 8 Other Myths That Trap Us in Worry and Guilt so I checked it out from the library. Good read and though-provoking. I started feeling pretty empowered after completing two whole books. It felt good to return this one to the library knowing I had read it all the way through. I felt like I think an injured marathon runner would feel after recovering and getting back to racing. (Is that a strange analogy?! Maybe. But since I am training for my first 5K, running is on the brain.)

By then it was about Mother's Day. Steven got me an iPad. (score, baby!) I loved it, but I didn't really know all I could do with it. Steven loaded a Kindle app on it, and soon after, he had purchased Redeeming Love for us to read. "Us" you may ask. Yes, us. I had started working out on our elliptical during naptime, so Steven suggested that I could use the iPad and read during that time. I tried it, and I was hooked. So, I started reading Redeeming Love. Steven started around the same time, reading on his iPhone. We couldn't stop. It is a captivating story that is based on the book of Hosea in the Bible. Now I understood why Trilby had said I had to read this book! Excellent and highly recommended.

So, apparently I can read a fiction book. And pretty much enjoy it. I loved Francine Rivers' style of writing, so I decided to read a couple more. I read The Scarlet Thread during our beach getaway in June. Loved it.

Then I read The Atonement Child in late summer. It is a story about a girl who was raped and became pregnant. It grapples with some very deep issues, and helped me to have a new perspective on women who have crisis pregnancies. This was especially timely since I completed volunteer training and had begun sporadically volunteering at the Charlotte Pregnancy Resource Center.

These last three books were ones I read throughout the year, picking them up from time to time, and putting them down for days or even weeks. I finished all three of them during the first week of January 2012.

The first one is Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. It was a challenging book about feeding your emotional cravings with God instead of food. Hmmmm. I am a somewhat emotional eater, as was Lysa, so this really encouraged me to search my heart and make sure that I am allowing God satisfy my deepest needs. Kinda hard to read and keep reading since I have to keep eating. Just kidding. (sort of.) ;) But it was worth the read and very thought-provoking.

I also read A Love that Multiplies by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. This one was pure delight. I am a big fan of the Duggars and had read their first book a couple years ago. I especially enjoyed A Love That Multiplies because it contained lots of practical advice on how they run their household, including homeschooling and discipline tips.

Finally, my last book of the year was When People Are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man. This one reads like a textbook at times, but it was a very impactful book! I think many people struggle with fearing man more than God, and I am definitely included in this bunch! The author encourages believers to fear men less and love them more, all the while seeking to grow in the fear of the Lord. That is my prayer. I will give this one my "Best Book of the Year" award because it had the greatest application to my life and my particular struggles at this point in my journey.

I am so thankful that somehow I was able to read all these books. Here is my reading wish list so far for 2012:

Boundaries for Kids by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
Approval Addiction by Joyce Meyer
Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson
Love Languages for Kids by Gary Chapman
Her Daughter's Dream by F. Rivers
Her Mother's Hope by F. Rivers
Friendships for Grownups by Lisa Whelchel
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (started reading this last year and didn't finish.)

I'd appreciate any other suggestions!

Christmas 2011!

2012-01-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

We are SO thankful that we were able to see so many of our loved ones this holiday season. It started early with a time of fellowship with our longtime friends the Murrays, the Barkers, and the Hamletts. We enjoyed reconnecting with them and watching how our kids interacted with the Murray and Barker kiddos. It was a treat.

Then, a couple weeks before Christmas, we were able to have our missionary friends, the Duggans, over for dinner. Since they live in Costa Rica, we hadn't been able to have face-to-face fellowship in many, many months. They were a great encouragement to us and shared words of wisdom that we will not soon forget.

Of course, we enjoyed seeing Steven's family - Ronny, Teresa, Michelle and the kids... and later, his parents. We are grateful for those moments.

The fellowship kept on going with dinner at the Smith's house. (YUM. My friend Hallel never fails at creating a meal that is totally delish.) And of course we laughed a lot.

We were able to visit with my Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Leon at our house the week before Christmas. We soaked up the quality time since they will be in Florida through April! The kids loved showing off while they were here!

Then, on the night before Christmas Eve, we went to a Christmas Eve service with our friends the Brewers. We enjoyed the service, and our fellowship over dinner was wonderful with our sweet friends.

Although there were many friends we weren't able to see this season, we treasure the moments of connection we had, and we look forward to much more fellowship during 2012!

Christmas day for us started out with our little family, celebrating together in our master bed. The kids got on the bed (well, Isaac was already there - he comes into our bed around 5 AM each morning and finishes sleeping right in between Steven and me!) and Steven got the guitar out. We sang songs to Jesus and enjoyed some family worship time before heading downstairs. When we got downstairs, the kids saw some fun gifts and immediately started playing. They didn't even get their entire stocking emptied because they were consumed with the other gifts.

Later in the morning, we went to my parents' house. We spent most of the rest of the day there, eating, visiting, playing, eating... It was a wonderful time with some of our favorite people!

Here are our babies, eating their Christmas breakfast of Butter Braid and Turkey Sausage:

Opening presents:

Elise loves her necklaces from Isaac!

Steven was thrilled to get a puzzle from Isaac (in fact, he's working on it as I type this post):

Hugs for Daddy!

Oh! I got an apple corer from the kids! (they went to the Dollar Store with my parents to pick out our gifts. How sweet!)

Our family on Christmas morning: (in our Christmas morning finest, as you see!) :)

Isaac, opening a gift at Mom and Dad's:

Elise, opening one of her gifts:

Now, the photo shoot pictures...

Our family:

Granny and Pawpaw with the kids (I LOVE this one!):

The guys:

The ladies:

Kati and me: (I <3 my sister!)

Our big family (My Dad's parents, my parents, Kati and Ray, and our family):

Christmas really is about Jesus' love... showing it and sharing it with others. We were blessed to experience that in a beautiful way again this year. Thank you Lord!

Christmas Eve 2011!

2012-01-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

Our family spent most of Christmas Eve at my Granny and Pawpaw Gurley's house. We began with our traditional biscuits and gravy breakfast, fellowship, singing carols, reading Luke 2, and gift exchange. That lasted all morning and early afternoon, so we headed home for naps before returning at 4:30 for a steak dinner. This is the first year our family has been able to go to the steak dinner since Steven and I have been married. It was a great time, and we were blessed to have such wonderful quality fellowship with our family!

Isaac got to use Gramp's extra digital camera to take pictures during our visit:

Elise was fascinated by the tree and, of course, wanted to rearrange all of the ornaments:

How can you tell this sweet thing "no"?!?!

Both kids loved spending time with cousin Joe. Isaac told me that he was going home with Joe (to Georgia!!) We don't get to see Joe and his sweet family often enough, so we soaked up the time on Christmas Eve.

Isaac and Elise loved opening their gifts from Granny and Pawpaw. Isaac got some new Play Doh kits (Cars and a hamburger maker), and Elise got two Pucci Pups in a bag (way cute!!)

Here is Elise, thanking Gi-gi for her puppies:

My Uncle Mike, Daddy, and Aunt Pam, after the steak dinner:

Isaac and Pawpaw played cars in their kitchen for quite a while. Isaac loves the special cars at Pawpaw's house, and he especially loves playing with his Pawpaw!

Elise loves her Gi-gi!

She also loves to read any reading material she can find. That day it was Our Daily Bread. Not a bad choice, sweet girl! You go and get you some devo time in!

The boys, with a funny smile on Isaac's face. He had to wear one of Pawpaw's coats outside because we forgot his. He looked hilarious!

What a great day!

Christmas with Grammy and Grandad!

2012-01-10T19:38:00.000-05:00

The week before Christmas, we went to share some Christmas cheer with Steven's parents. We had a nice visit, and the kids loved showing off for Grammy and Grandad. Isaac found several puzzles in the back room and completed them all to show how awesome he is at puzzles! Sarah's candles were also a hit, as always. The kids, especially Elise now, love to take the lids off the jar candles and put them back. They also like to smell the candles. Apparently I've taken them in Yankee Candle enough that they already have an appreciation for yummy smells. :) The kids were mesmerized by the cuckoo and grandmother clocks. They wanted to hear them chime continuously! Grandad even set one to chime early so that Isaac could hear it again. Sarah and Vance enjoyed seeing the kids run around, and we were grateful for some quality time with them.

Christmas Eve Morning Photo Shoot...

2012-01-09T12:16:00.000-05:00

Before heading to my Granny and Pawpaw's house for breakfast, we tried to get some pictures of the kids dressed in their Christmas Eve finest. Elise loved smiling and posing...

Trying to get them both smiling together was another story (isn't it always?!)

So we just decided to have some fun with it...

Silly kiddos! We love them sooooooo much!!!!

Painting hands and feet!

2012-01-06T08:41:00.000-05:00

Elise brought home this cute picture from preschool before Christmas:

Then, during the break from preschool, I pulled out some wooden toys for the kids to paint (thanks to Aunt Michelle for the toys and paint!). Isaac enjoyed painting his little dog, but Elise only wanted to paint herself. So, I decided we'd turn the paint session into hand- and footprint painting for ourselves and gifts. Here are our Rudolphs, using my hand and the kids' hands:

Since it was actually the first day of winter when we did these (December 21st), we made a sign to welcome winter to our home:

We also made some Christmas cards... here is the one for Steven:

The kids love painting their hands and feet and then doing prints. They do lots of this at preschool, but it was special to be able to do it together around our table at home. We had such a good time!

Isaac and Gabby

2012-01-05T08:34:00.002-05:00

When our friends Gabby and Jennifer come over, we all have so much fun! A couple weeks ago, Isaac decided to bring out his two Nerf guns and show Gabby how to shoot. She said, "Mommy, I like to shoot!" They had a blast shooting the bullets onto our fireplace glass where the bullets stick (similar to a game of darts.)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Isaac - 4 years
Elise - 2 years

We wish for you a Christmas filled with encouraging fellowship, joyful memories, and the overwhelming peace that comes from God alone.

Recently heard...

2011-12-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

Elise: "Mommy, I really need my pappy." (said to me when I picked her up at preschool, where she typically doesn't have her pacifier.) "Mommy, it's in my bag! I really need it!"

Both kids singing "Jingle Bells" together... as well as "Christ is Risen From the Dead" and "The Wheels on the Bus".

Isaac asked me to "sign" a song last week. He's seen me use sign language to interpret a couple songs before, so he was requesting that I sign one that we were listening to. Then he tried to sign with me! So sweet!

Steven asked Isaac if he wanted to work his United States of America puzzle one night last week. He replied by saying he just got a new puzzle from the store called the "United States of Cats & Dogs"!

Steven took the kids to my parents' house to play a couple weeks ago. While they were there, they got the Lincoln Logs out. Isaac said that they were actually called "Cat-a-logs".

After telling Isaac that brown foods (like brown rice, brown bread, brown cereals) are good for him and make him strong, he said, "How about brown sand - does that make me strong!?!"

Last week, Steven and I were singing Feliz Navidad and Isaac started singing along with "EliseMom-a-Dad, EliseMom-a-Dad"! Such a silly boy!

Isaac hadn't eaten his breakfast well this past Monday morning, so he wasn't able to have goldfish crackers like Elise (she had eaten very well). Isaac kept asking me for goldfish and I said, "No, you didn't eat your breakfast." So he took Elise into the other room and said, "Elise, go ask Mommy for more goldfish." She then came into the kitchen and asked me for more goldfish. I asked her why and she said, "Because I hungry!" This is the first time that Isaac has been sneaky like this in an effort to get what he wanted! It's only the beginning I'm sure...

Shortly thereafter, Elise told me, "Isaac's on the run!"

Christmas with Pawpaw Ronny, Theresa, Michelle, BJ and Carly!

2011-12-22T22:38:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, we celebrated Christmas with some of Steven's family - Pawpaw Ronny, Theresa, Aunt Michelle, BJ, and Carly. We had brunch of sausage balls (thanks Ronny!), cheese Butterbraid pastry, and a turkey bacon and cheddar quiche. We ate together, visited, laughed at our silly kids, exchanged gifts, and had an overall great time!

Our tree, with all the gifts under it!

Elise opening her my-size doll from Michelle, BJ and Carly... She named her doll Whitney and likes to take her everywhere we go!

Isaac loved his new Nerf gun from Michelle, BJ and Carly...

Isaac and Elise also got lots of craft goodies and books from Pawpaw Ronny and Theresa.

And, again, the iPad was a hit. Here are Carly and Isaac playing a game:

And thanks to Michelle and her tripod, we got a picture of everyone!

YAY for fun family Christmas time!

Loving this moment...

2011-12-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

Until we ask Isaac to hug Elise, and this is what happens...

She only likes hugs on her terms... ;)

Making Cookies...

2011-12-20T22:24:00.001-05:00

Last week, I attempted to make cookies with the kids. I bought a stick of sugar cookie dough and some sprinkles. The kids were so excited! I sat them at the table, gave them some wax paper to work on, and then sliced the cookie dough. Isaac loved pouring the sprinkles on the cookies and he had a blast. Elise, on the other hand, wanted to eat the dough. The tiny taste I gave her wouldn't do. When I wouldn't let her have more, she pitched an absolute fit! She wasn't stopping until I gave her what she wanted. So, her cookie-decorating time was over and I decided she was going down to nap early! Isaac and I finished the cookies, baked them, and enjoyed some warm sugary yumminess together.

Sweet togetherness...

2011-12-20T07:48:00.000-05:00

For a brief moment yesterday, the kids were coloring together and not fighting, bickering, or taking markers from each other. Thankfully my camera was nearby and I could capture this oh-so-rare moment. ;)

Visit with Pawpaw and Granny!

2011-12-19T22:17:00.002-05:00

We had my grandparents come over for a visit last week, and it was a wonderful time! The kids enjoyed showing Granny and Pawpaw Gurley their toys and our Christmas tree. Isaac even got Granny to play on the iPad!

Pawpaw and Elise had fun dressing Elise up as Mary (using her favorite blanket)...

And more iPad fun...

We are always blessed to spend time with Granny and Pawpaw! We love you both!

Unwrapped!

2011-12-14T22:19:00.003-05:00

Elise has successfully unwrapped at least four presents under our tree this week... One was a set of personalized greeting cards, which she spread throughout the living room. Another was a necklace for a young friend of ours. She walked into the kitchen wearing the necklace and said, "Look Mommy!" She now knows that the presents are off limits, but she's definitely tried to sneak her way into getting a hold of them again! This morning she was unwrapping our pediatrician's gift while I cleaned up breakfast. Oh well, they'll all just go in gift bags before we give them away! I had just wrapped a few gifts last week while I had some time, but those few gifts are huge temptations to our curious little lady. I'm not quite sure why I thought I could wrap presents and put them under the tree before Christmas at all with a two-year-old in the house?!! Silly Mommy!!! ;)

Christmas Tree 2011!

2011-12-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we went to Cedar Lake Tree Farm to pick out our Christmas Tree! We had a great day as a family, seeing the animals, playing in the hay, and picking out the perfect tree. It was also fun to see our old friends, the Cline family, who run the farm. My mom helped homeschool their daughter years ago, so we were glad to reconnect. It was overall a wonderful experience!

First, we saw the alpacas...

Then we visited the cows, donkeys, chickens, and turkeys:

Then we did some posing in the sleigh:

After that, the kids wanted to play on the huge stack of hay bales. Steven and I got up there, too, but Steven was much more daring than I was. I would prefer to take pictures, anyway. ;) Here's a taste of their fun in the hay:

Our tree on our van, all baled up and ready to come home!

Isaac was a big helper to Steven, cutting the tree loose once it was in the house:

Decorating the tree was fun - the kids took part more than ever this year! Isaac really helped hang ornaments and Elise really helped take them all off. ;)

All done!

Welcome Christmas season! We are glad you're here. :)

Thanksgiving 2011!

2011-12-03T10:37:00.004-05:00

We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Steven was off Thursday and Friday, so we had four straight days all together. On Thursday, we had a leisurely morning, ate danish and turkey bacon, and played together at home. Then we had a light lunch and the kids went down for early naps. While they were sleeping, Kati and Ray came to our house to visit. We had a great time catching up with them! In the mid-afternoon, we woke the kids up, got them ready to head out, and then went over to Granny and Pawpaw's for Thanksgiving Dinner. We spent the rest of the evening there - eating, talking, laughing, singing, giving thanks, and playing several rounds of Taboo. It was just splendid family quality time!

Ray and Elise snuggled when she first woke from her nap...

Some of the girls at our family dinner (Kati, Katelyn, Shannon, Julie, and Pam):

Gramps and Isaac getting ready to down some Reddi Whip:

Ray and Uncle Mike, playing on the iPad:

Granny and Kati:

We were looking for Elise after dinner, and we found her in the hallway, reading a book: (she loves to read!)

Sisters! (sometimes we're mistaken for twins!)

Elise enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror:

Our sweet host and hostess:

Elise and Granny, snuggling:

Family pictures! First, the formal one:

Next, the fun one! Our kids love to be tickled! (who doesn't!?!)

My Daddy and me: (we realized that we don't have many pictures together, so we had a photo shoot, too!)

And a close-up:

Isaac taking our picture, too: (with a little digital camera that Gramps lets him use!)

We changed the kids into their nightclothes before we left. They'd had a fantastic time running around and playing (and thanks SO much to my Mom for playing Play-Doh with them while the grown-ups played Taboo! Momma, you're the best!) Before we headed out, the kids got a second wind and started climbing the steps on the outside of the stairwell. Fun! (We had to get a picture before we pried them off!)

Thank you, Lord, for this past year, filled with your faithfulness and grace. We are grateful to always be upheld by Your righteous right arm.

I stutt!

2011-11-30T22:48:00.000-05:00

Elise got herself stuck in her booster seat when it was on the floor, ready to take to Granny's for Thanksgiving. She said, "I stutt! I stutt!"

Isaac's 4th Birthday Celebrations!

2011-11-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

Isaac turned 4 (four!) (F.O.U.R.!!!) on the Monday before Thanksgiving, so we started celebrating on the Saturday before that. We had a family party that morning that included playing, laughing, eating pizza and cake, opening presents, and playing some more. Isaac had a great time with his grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins. He received some very special presents, including his first Nerf gun (thanks to Pawpaw Ronny and Theresa!), money for his savings account (thanks Granny and Pawpaw!), Legos and puzzles (thanks Gramps and Nana!), Cars 2 Play Doh set (thanks Ray and Kati!), paint-on crafts (thanks Michelle!) and a... drumroll please... Monster truck with a remote control! Isaac got a smaller one of these last year that he loved, but it broke pretty soon after we'd purchased it. Since then, he'd been telling us that for his birthday he wanted "a Monster truck with a mote-a-toll [remote control]." He was absolutely elated when he opened his gift from Steven and me, and it was his new Monster truck!

This year was unique in that it was the first time Isaac picked out his own cake. We went to Walmart a couple days before his party and I showed him the cake book. When first asked what he wanted, he responded, "Woody." But after he saw the Woody cakes, the Cars cakes, and the Thomas the Train cakes, Isaac decided on a Cars cake. We decided that a cupcake cake would be easiest, so we opted for that. The next day, I picked it up and was very pleased with how well it turned out! Thanks to James at the Mt Island Walmart for this awesomely decorated cake:

Before the party, Isaac decided to wear his Panthers jersey. He was all smiles as his guests began arriving.

We opened one gift (his nerf gun) and then the doorbell rang. The pizza had arrived, so we sat down for lunch. After that, we sang "Happy Birthday" and brought Isaac's cake to him. Suddenly all those smiles evaporated and he snuck under the table. See the picture below? You can't really see Isaac because he is crawling under the table...

With his ears covered...

Yes, we now know for sure that he doesn't like being the center of attention. Elise, on the other hand, was beaming the whole time and even kept saying "My birthday comin' up!" She didn't seem to understand why Isaac was so upset. We gave him a cupcake and he agreed to eat it, but he was still a little miffed:

After the whole birthday cake thing, Isaac was back to smiles and fun. He even got Gramps to try out his Nerf gun!

Then we headed into the living room to open presents. Here is Isaac opening his Monster truck from Steven and me...

See this HUGE smile? You should have heard him in person. He was so super crazy excited that he actually got a Monster truck with a "MOTE-A-TOLL"!!! He jumped around for a while due to his excitement. He has played with that truck every day since then. He loves it. Yes, birthday score for Mommy and Daddy!

What a great party it was! On Isaac's actual birthday, we celebrated him all day long. Here he is, eating as a four-year-old for the first time:

And Elise joined in on the celebration...

What a big boy!

Isaac had preschool on his birthday, so we took the leftover cupcakes for his class to share. They had fun eating them and talking about birthdays. Isaac got a pencil and a birthday card from his teachers, and Ms Ann sang Happy Birthday to him. After preschool, we went to the park with our friends Jennifer and Gabby. Isaac loves to play with Gabby, so he was thrilled for some park time. For his birthday, Gabby gave Isaac a set of Hot Wheels cars, which he loved!

Naptime came and went, and then we had dinner together as we do every night, but it was super-special Isaac dinner this time. And we topped it all off with more birthday singing and cupcakes! (that time he didn't cover his ears or hide under the table; he just turned his head away for a few seconds. Steven did cupcakes and singing a third time with the kids on Tuesday night when I was away, and Isaac actually liked the singing that time! Progress!)

Here's the happy cupcake eaters: (I had one too, and it was yummy!)

Happy Birthday Big Boy! You are SO cool and we LOVE you!

Birthday Letter to Isaac from Mommy...

2011-11-28T22:47:00.000-05:00

Dear Isaac,
I love you so much my sweet boy. Your smile lights up my heart every day. I love to see you run around with so much energy, joy and excitement for life. You are becoming more confident and assertive each day, and I am blessed to watch as you grow into your unique personality. Your laugh is contagious, and you are even a little ham! You are a lover of creative things, like art, music, and blocks. I love to watch you play the guitar beside your Daddy, glue paper together, or make flowers, doghouses, or towers with your blocks. I love it when you build train tracks that take over our first floor. It is such fun when you hop into the van's passenger seat after preschool, hook the grown-up seat belt, and we ride together around the church parking lot. You are a loving big brother, and I can see your character developing as you share a little more with your sister. You and Elise are starting to play together more these days, and I can tell you truly love your little sis. Our family is so blessed to have you in our lives, little man. Happy 4th birthday Smidge!
Love,
Mommy

Piggybacking with Daddy!

2011-11-27T22:26:00.000-05:00

Birthday Goose Egg

2011-11-25T22:06:00.000-05:00

A little over a week before Isaac's 4th birthday, he had a bad fall (from our couch to our end table)... well, actually more of a bad jump. It happened while Steven and I were on a date and our babysitter was at the house. She was in the kitchen cleaning up Elise after dinner when Isaac decided to jump from the couch and detour into the end table. She called her mom who helped her to assess the situation, and then she called us to ask if she could give some Tylenol (brave girl!) When we came home, he had gone to sleep, but we woke him to check him out. His head bonk was huge! The biggest we'd ever seen. He was fine, though, and after a week it looks so much better. We did snap some pictures while he had it so we could remember. These are a few days after the incident, so the swelling had gone down quite a bit...

Jumping off the couch is officially off limits.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

From our table to yours...

Another trip to the Zoo!

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, we decided to take a trip to the zoo. The weather was mild, so it was perfect for walking around and spotting animals. The animals were out more than usual due to the cooler temperatures. Here's our photoshoot from the day:

Isaac, looking so grown up:

Isaac and Elise watching the sea lion (which Elise was convinced was a "dolphin"):

The chimps:

Baby Nori and Aunt Terri:

Trying to get a picture with this silly boy:

We really got to see the lion!

Another try at a picture; Isaac wasn't into having his photo taken...

Last stop, the giraffes!

Isaac loved standing on this thing and trying to look through it:

What a fun family day!

Elise and an ice cream sandwich...

2011-11-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

Finger lickin' good!

Playing on the couch!

2011-11-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

Last week, I found the kids playing together on the couch like this... Elise was pretending to sleep on Isaac's lap:

Pure love...

Then it was Isaac's turn!

Then it went a little haywire... and apparently Elise didn't like the sound of that:

After that, the trash truck came. To the window they went:

Then Isaac decided that there had been enough sibling sweetness and it was time for some face smashing:

Elise didn't like that.

But that sibling sweetness sure was sweet while it lasted :)

Happy 4th Birthday Isaac!

2011-11-21T00:37:00.000-05:00

Today is our little man's fourth birthday! What a blessing the past four years have been for our family. Isaac is a treasure to us, and we love watching him grow every day.

Happy Birthday, Isaac Ryan!

Let's play twain twacks!

2011-11-09T22:12:00.000-05:00

Lately, Isaac has been wanting to build train tracks. He has learned how to complete a track own his own, and then he takes some pieces out to re-shape the track. Here is a track he built last week: (notice that it spans from our living room to our kitchen!)

Happy boy!

He calls them "twain twacks". ;)

More learning fun!

2011-11-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

We've had fun with some new projects/learning activities lately. Starting with...

Our new art easel from Ikea:

Unifix cubes (thanks to my Mom!):

And pattern blocks. (again, from my Mom!) Here are some things Isaac made completely own his own, with no help from us:

A flower:

A fish:

And then he learned how to make one of the blocks stick up:

He also made a row of houses (a square block with a triangle on top), but he destroyed them right as I was trying to snap the picture! He loves playing with these blocks. He also has enjoyed doing jumbo puzzles (usually 24 pieces) lately.

Blueberry faces!

2011-11-07T22:32:00.000-05:00

We've nicknamed them "Silly Willy" (Isaac) and "Silly Goose" (Elise)...

...and they certainly live up to their [nick]names!

More pictures from Preschool Olympics!

2011-11-05T16:23:00.000-04:00

Thanks to our friends Jennifer and Jeff, we have some pictures of the Preschool Olympics. These are from the Olympic games that took place during the preschool day.

Isaac and Elise's classes during the Opening Ceremony, passing their torches:

Elise loves to RUN!

FUN!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-04T09:55:00.010-04:00

Two weeks ago, our friend Lori Jackson, of Unfolding Photography, took family pictures for us. She was able to beautifully capture the unique personalities of our kids in her shots while we had fun walking around Jetton Park in Cornelius. We had a great time, and we were grateful once again to have Lori share her talents with our family!

Preschool Olympics 2011

2011-11-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

It's Preschool Olympics time of year again! You may remember that last year Isaac was quite shy during the closing ceremony, even to the point of taking his medal off and throwing it down as soon as it was given to him. This year wasn't too different. In fact, Isaac sat with us instead of walking in with his class, and when it was time to get his medal, I carried him up to the front of the church, took the medal and we headed back up the aisle together. Elise, on the other hand, was thrilled to participate (she is our social butterfly, for sure) and seemed to enjoy being in the spotlight.

Here she is, right after she received her medal:

And here she is, sitting on the stage with some of her class and the preschool director, Ms Ellen:

After the ceremony, Isaac was very much relieved, and we all headed to the gym for dinner. We also celebrated my Mom's birthday since it happened to fall on the same day as the Olympics! Isaac enjoyed helping set tables up and take them down (he is a GREAT helper!):

Elise and Kati had a blast together. Elise loves her Aunt Kati... she often asks to call her on the phone and whenever we ask her "guess who is coming over Elise?!", she says "Kati!!!!" (even if it's not Kati! She always wants her to come over.)

When we got home, the kids de-stressed with some wrestling in the floor:

What a great night! And Happy Birthday to Nana!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T22:35:00.003-04:00

Our street is a happenin' place on Halloween night. There are already so many kids and then kids from other streets and neighborhoods join the fun! Even though we aren't big Halloween fans, we love getting outside and seeing all the kids, handing out candy and having fun with our neighbors.

Isaac hasn't ever really enjoyed dressing up, so we didn't anticipate that he would this year. We were wrong! He decided he wanted to be a football player, so he wore a jersey and helmet that had been handed down to us. We'd also been given a Beauty and the Beast "Belle" dress, which Elise wore. It took some prep work (trying it on and praising her for how pretty she looked, even though she said, "I don't like it!) but she wore it and even seemed to enjoy it throughout the night. After trick-or-treating at several homes on our street, we headed to my parents' nearby neighborhood. The kids had a great time. Unfortunately too much of a great time - Isaac left my parents' house crying and kept it up until he fell asleep! Overall, though, it was a wonderful family night. Here are some pictures we took:

Sweet. The babies and the candy. :)

Sleeping sweeties...

2011-11-02T21:53:00.002-04:00

Isaac had an ear infection two weeks ago... and Steven was under the weather as well. So they enjoyed some peaceful rest together on our couch. Precious!

Our 7th Anniversary!

2011-10-20T15:00:00.005-04:00

This past Sunday, Steven and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. Just like last year, we took a trip to the NC mountains, without the kids, for a little getaway. Thanks to Tammy and Kyle, we had a beautiful place to stay, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous while we were there. We left our kids with my parents (they had a great time while we were gone), and headed up to Todd on Thursday night. On Friday we slept in late, spent some quality time talking through what we've learned over the past year, and then ventured into the town of West Jefferson for lunch and shopping. We enjoyed eating at some of our favorite restaurants - Shokudo and Smoky Mtn Barbeque for lunch and dinner. On Friday night, we went to see Footloose (the new one) at the only theatre in West Jefferson. It was definitely a different movie-going experience than we're used to with the AMC theatres in Charlotte! There were only two movies available and only two showings on Friday night - 7 and 9 PM. The seats were $5 each (what a great deal!!), and the locals were super friendly. We had lots of fun.

On Saturday, we ventured out to Burnt Hill Stables (where we took the kids on Labor Day weekend) to ride some horses. This was Steven's first horse ride! We went on the "easy" trail for an hour, and the views were fabulous. Here we are, on our horses:

I rode on Mouse, and he was lots of fun! He galloped when I kicked him and was quite obedient when I pulled on the reigns. Steven's horse, Lacy, on the other hand, wasn't quite as obedient. She didn't move any faster at all even when Steven gave her strong nudges in her sides. He still enjoyed the ride, though! Here I am, with that sweet horse, Mouse:

Saturday afternoon, we were both tired out, so we took naps and ordered pizza for take out. We ended up finding the movie "Secretariat" on TV. It was quite a fitting movie for our day since we'd just spent some time with horses ourselves!

On Sunday, we decided to hike Mount Jefferson. We had taken our kids there in May and then my parents and our kids in August, but Steven and I had never hiked it just the two of us. It was a refreshing hike and we enjoyed breathtaking views at the top of the mountain. Here we are on top, at Luther Rock:

After hiking and getting a bite to eat, we decided to take one last horseback ride. We thought it would be nice to try the "more difficult" trail this time. It turned out to be an awesome sunny day with temps in the 80's, so it was perfect for riding. Steven asked to be put on any horse except Lacy! I rode on Rocky, who kicks if other horses get too close (because the guides had determined that I was the most experienced rider of our group! haha!), and Steven rode on Dollie, who is a rodeo horse. Dollie proved to be much more responsive to Steven's instructions than Lacy had been! We absolutely loved the "more difficult" trail! We were able to go through fields of Christmas trees, a creek, and a deep forest. It was wonderful, and we enjoyed every minute of it! Here is a picture we took while on the ride through the Christmas trees:

Here is Steven, galloping on Dollie:

After that ride, we came back to the cabin, rested, packed and headed for home. We stopped in Boone to have our anniversary dinner at The Peddler Steakhouse. We both enjoyed filet mignon as we celebrated seven years together (well, seven years married, and almost thirteen years together!!)

Here's to seven times seven plus more years together, baby! What a great weekend celebrating God's powerful work in our lives!

Tell me if you laugh!

2011-10-19T18:09:00.001-04:00

Here are some recent conversations you might have overheard if you were a fly on the wall in our home...

Steven: Elise did you hit Isaac?
Elise: Yes, I hit Isaac.
Steven: Why did you hit Isaac?
Elise: Atause I said so!
Steven: Elise, do not hit your brother again.
Elise: Yes man (her pronunciation of "yes ma'am")
Steven: Yes sir
Elise: Yes man
Steven: No, say yes sir
Elise: Yes saah

On Steven's birthday, Isaac asked if it was his (Isaac's) birthday. I said, "No, today is Daddy's birthday; your birthday is in November buddy." Then Isaac asked, "Does it start with "No" because it's not today?"

Me (Betsy): Is that a booger on your chin?
Isaac: Yes, it is the one I took out while we were at Mr Rick's.
Me: So, you took it out and put it on your chin?
Isaac: No, I threw it down but it flew up on my chin.

Check out these cutie pies!

2011-10-18T22:01:00.000-04:00

Sweet!

A little more birthday fun!

2011-10-18T09:53:00.000-04:00

The Saturday before Steven's birthday, I decided to surprise him with a birthday celebration, just the two of us. I got a babysitter and we left the house in the mid-afternoon. I took him to a spa, where we had a side-by-side couples massage. Then we went out for a three hour dinner at the Melting Pot. After that, we finished our night out with a guy movie (Moneyball). It was a great day to honor my awesome man. (And he really liked it!!)

At the spa:

At the Melting Pot (notice the chocolate drizzled into the words "Happy Birthday!"):

*The first time we went to the Melting Pot was 12+ years ago on our "six month dating anniversary." We laughed and reminisced at how much has happened since then!

A GREAT day celebrating a Really Really Super Duper GREAT guy!

Steven's birthday! (the third and final birthday post for a while...)

2011-10-17T21:37:00.004-04:00

Steven's birthday was last week, and we had a family dinner on his birthday night to celebrate. My parents, Kati, Michelle, BJ and Carly were able to join us, and we had a great time! We took lots of pictures that night, and here are some of them to summarize the night...

Isaac helped me make the Dirt Pie that Steven had requested for his cake:

Everybody around the table, enjoying our pizza:

BJ and Isaac:

Carly and Elise:

Carly, BJ and Isaac, playing in the tent we'd set up in our living room:

Birthday Boy, blowing out his candles on the Dirt Pie:

Kati and my Dad:

Steven, trying out his gift from my Dad - a step-on piano: (yay! a new instrument for Steven to master!)

The kids quickly took over:

Siblings! Steven and his big sister Michelle:

She does this when she eats too much birthday cake: (just kidding... she does this whenever she gets a hold of this net)

Isaac loves football, so he had to show off his helmet for BJ:

Sisters!! Kati, Michelle, and me:

We had a great time celebrating Steven's life together. We are all blessed to know such a wonderful guy. Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Three decades!

2011-10-17T21:21:00.006-04:00

Six days after Elise's 2nd birthday, I (Betsy) celebrated my 30th. It was a wonderful day and evening as I reflected on the past ten years and welcomed this new decade.

During the day, my parents watched Elise and Isaac so that I could get a little pampering. That night, Steven sent the kids off with his friend Donnie so that we could go out. What I didn't know was that he'd planned a surprise party with friends and family at a local restaurant. Donnie had brought the kids there to help set up, and when we arrived, the back room was decked out with Pink, Black, and "Another Year of Fabulous" decor. I had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and feeling the love.

Here I am, with my cake. :)

Elise and me: (I was able to steal a picture with her, but not with Isaac)

I was thrilled that my family could be there, including my Granny and Pawpaw. Here they are, with me:

Isaac and Elise had a blast surprising me. So much so that Isaac is still talking about it! I am so thankful for such a sweet husband who was so thoughtful to plan a special night for me. I love you babe!!!

Elise's 2nd Birthday!

2011-10-17T20:43:00.004-04:00

On September 30th, our little lady turned two years old!

She has grown SO much over the past few months, especially in the area of communication. She talks in mostly complete sentences now; for example, "I need my pappy." or "I wanna go Ba Nanna's house." We often hear her telling Isaac, "Because I said so Isaac!" Her personality seems to indicate that she is very strong-willed, a natural born leader and a social butterfly. She hasn't had any trouble getting comfortable with preschool. In fact, she rarely tells me goodbye once we get there. Instead, as soon as she crosses the threshold into her classroom, she enters with an enthusiastic, "Hey!!!" and heads in to hug her friend Amelia and greet her teachers.

She is also a little singer and dancer. She loves to sing and memorizes new songs quickly. Her latest songs to pick up are: We Bow Down (by Twila Paris; we sing this in our Bible time at night), God Our Father (prayer at preschool lunchtime), and Rock a Bye Baby (also learned at preschool). She certainly loves the spotlight and being the center of attention (Isaac is the opposite of this!) For example, at a recent family dinner, she stood up in her chair and announced, "I poopy!" with a grin on her face. Our extended family was so tickled that they laughed out loud, and Elise loved getting the attention. She proceeded to say "I poopy!" and laugh at herself again, thinking she'd get more laughs from her audience. We tried to stifle them, but she was so cute and the little comedian in her just pulled us in.

We had a family party to celebrate Elise's birthday, and her are some pictures we took:

The cake:

The fam:

Carly and Elise:

Getting excited about the cake:

Loving the cake:

Mommy, Daddy, and Birthday Girl:

Opening presents: (some of her gifts included a baby doll (from Gramps and Nana), complete with diaper bag and bottles; a dollhouse (from Mommy and Daddy) with furniture; a cute zebra-striped outfit (from Michelle, BJ, and Carly), and some money (from Gi-gi and Pawpaw))

Changing baby's diaper for the first time:

Exploring the dollhouse:

After the cake and presents, the iPad games took center stage... BJ, Isaac and Steven, playing one together:

Gramps had all the kids entertained:

After all the birthday fun, Elise was so exhausted that she fell asleep in Steven's arms during her breathing treatment:

Happy Second Birthday precious Elise Jeannette!

Family Bible and Worship Time

2011-10-10T19:58:00.004-04:00

(Steven's First Post!)

Given the ages of Isaac and Elise, Betsy and I have been discussing the importance of having a regular time of Bible reading, discussion, and worship through song - all in order to teach the kids biblical truths and help them connect with the Lord even now. After looking at a variety of Children's Bibles, we finally found the one fit for a 3-year old.

Isaac has been very engaged during each Bible story reading we've done. He asks question after question after question. It is so neat to see his little "wheels" turning as he seeks to understand the text and what is occurring in the illustrations.

Here are a handful of questions Isaac asked tonight:

Is that broken? (Isaac's pronunciation is broh-keen). This was in reference to an illustration that showed Abel's staff being broken as Cain killed Abel.
Those (nail prints) aren't good, are they? (Isaac's response to seeing the holes in Jesus' hands)
Is Jesus gonna stay in the clouds? (Isaac asked this after seeing an illustration of Jesus' ascension)
Is God gonna take those (nail prints) away? (It really hit me when Isaac asked this. He seemed genuinely concerned for Jesus. I told him that the nail scars do not hurt anymore, but they will remain forever as a remembrance of how Jesus saved us!)
Is Jesus going up to help God feel better? (in the first story we read about God being sad over Cain killing his brother Abel.)

It's so amazing to see our children grow and learn!

New things around the house...

2011-10-08T22:23:00.000-04:00

A new way to display the artwork that the kids bring home from preschool, as well as the things they make here:

This is in our stairwell, and our bright yellow walls are a perfect background for the multicolored projects they bring home. Isaac helped me put this up, and both kids ooh'd and ahh'd over it! They love seeing their work hanging up. And I love having it as part of our decor, but in an organized way. (Rather than taped up all over the cabinets and walls like I did last year. That was fine, but I'm liking this a whole lot more!)

Next, a wall calendar... looks like a month calendar, but I used a friends' idea and made it for a week, broken out by each person in our family. We aren't quite busy enough for this to be completely necessary, but I'm thinking that within the next year or so, as the kids get a little older, we will grow into this system. I figured I'd better get used to keeping a calendar for the family (rather than just my personal planner) so that we're armed when the time comes that we really need it. And it looks pretty cool in our hallway...

Isaac's new bunk bed! This was my dad's when he was a little boy. Then it was Kati's... now it is Isaac's, and he loves it! He doesn't sleep on the top, but it's there if we need it, it looks cool, and the kids love to climb up there to play. Thanks to my Mom for the orange sheets!!

And a bonus... these two sweet things!

It's pretty cool to watch our home change as our family grows. :)

Elise's homework...

2011-10-07T10:15:00.000-04:00

Well, mine actually. Elise's preschool teacher asked the parents to create placemats for the kids that can be laminated and used at lunchtime. Here is the one I made for Elise:

I happened to have some old pictures from Memorial Day 2010 that had most of our family in them, so I thought those would be perfect. The project was completed with Care Bear stamps, a banana sticker, a "Goodness" character quality sticker, and a cookie sticker (compliments of the preschool teachers.) Nothing like bananas and Care Bears to tie it all together. :)

Isaac and the chopper

2011-10-05T22:12:00.002-04:00

I came downstairs one morning last week to find Isaac chopping up all of our garlic. He was so proud of himself, saying he was getting the garlic ready for me to use for cooking...

Maybe he is a budding Iron Chef?!

Preschool starts!

2011-10-04T16:15:00.000-04:00

After Labor Day, the kids started preschool. Isaac is in the three-year-old class, three days a week, and Elise is in the one-year-old class, three days a week.

Here is Elise, on her very first day:

Here are both of them, looking forward to a day of fun:

They both did well, and the drop-off was relatively smooth. It took Elise about two preschool days before she stopped fussing when I left. Isaac was a little clingy, but he watched me leave and waved, which seemed to help with the transition. They both love their classes and seem to be having a grand time.

Here's to a great school year!

Labor Day Mountain Trip

2011-10-03T16:15:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day, we went back to the mountains for a last family trip before the cold weather hits. We stayed in the cabin (thanks Tammy and Kyle!!!), and enjoyed some wonderful quality time. Our friend Jimmy, who works at Tweetsie Railroad, got us into the Tweetsie park again, so that was one of the highlights of our trip. We spent all day Saturday there. On Sunday, we had planned to take the kids horseback riding. When Steven pulled Isaac onto his horse, Isaac had a meltdown. He was obviously scared and continued to cry. Our guide helped get him down, and we decided that Elise and I would ride on the trail while Steven and Isaac waited at the stables. Elise loved it! She rode for an hour without wiggling or asking to get down. She kept saying things like, "Good job Grey!" "Go Grey!" (Our horse was named Grey.) And, of course, when we got back to the stables, Isaac said he was ready to ride. Unfortunately it was too late for him to ride, but maybe next time will work out! Here are some pictures from our trip:

Kids on the Tweetsie train:

Isaac and Steven riding the Tweetsie Twister (made me motion sick to just watch them!)

Elise and Isaac enjoying the petting zoo:

Isaac playing on the trainset in one of the stores:

The horse photo opp:

And then on a real horse, the next day:

After an hour riding a horse, Elise was out!

We love our family trips to the mountains!

The past week...

2011-09-29T23:14:00.006-04:00

It has been a week around the Mauney house! I am behind on posting our latest pictures because our schedules have been packed more than normal recently. Both kids started preschool at the beginning of September... I had three Thirty-One parties in two weeks... And then we got sick. Well actually I got sick the day before my last Thirty-One party. I felt horrible with sinus-y symptoms. I loaded up on Sudafed and nasal spray (so I could breathe during the party) and went on. I didn't realize how loopy I would feel while I was presenting at the party! I forgot so many things that I normally say! But I told the ladies that I was on drugs, and they just laughed and were very gracious to me.

The next day, Elise was running a low grade fever, but that didn't stop us from going to Carowinds with my parents to spend the afternoon and get our 2012 passes. This is the first time we've ever bought season passes since we've been married. Isaac enjoys the little kids' rides, and Elise will be ready for them by the spring. On Saturday, my Dad and Steven got to ride six roller coasters while Mom and I were with the kids. We ended the day watching them ride the last car on the new Intimidator. Then we had a fish dinner at Capt. Steve's in Fort Mill. Yum.

Sunday morning, Elise was still running a fever, so Steven took Isaac to church while I stayed with her. It rose to 103.8 later in the day but went down with Tylenol. She continued to have a low grade fever for the next three days, off and on, along with a tight cough. I kept her home from preschool. Isaac went Monday and Wednesday, but at pickup on Wednesday, his teacher said he "wasn't himself". She said, "He didn't want to be line leader and during circle time, he just laid on the rug and slept. Well, he didn't really sleep because the kids kept tripping over him, but he was really out-of-it". Poor baby! When we got home, he just wanted to curl up on the couch. Then he started complaining of soreness in his legs and belly, along with a headache. I started to worry at that point. Neither Isaac nor Elise took good naps because they were both uncomfortable. I called a doctor-on-call who does house calls to see if she thought they needed to be seen. She said most definitely yes, so we decided to try her services out. She'd been referred to us by a good friend, so we felt comfortable having her come over. And boy were we glad she did! She arrived about 6 PM on Wednesday. She examined Elise first. She heard lots of wheezing when she listened to her breathe. Ultimately she diagnosed Elise with bronchiolitis. This includes wheezing and inflammation around the bronchiole tubes in the chest. Elise had bronchiolitis when she was two months old, and apparently that can continue to occur as children get older. This was how her body responded to getting the common cold. Her treatment is round the clock nebulizer treatments and a steroid medication for the inflammation. Thankfully we already had a nebulizer from when she had bronchiolitis as an infant, and the doc had a dose of steroid in her van! So we were able to get Elise feeling a little better that night.

Isaac was next. After an exam, during which he was unusually cooperative, the doc did a strep test. It was positive. Yep, Isaac was so miserable (I mean, he was crying out in pain for most of the afternoon.) just like I was in the spring when I had strep. Not fun! Thankfully Doctor Sara was awesome, and we got the antibiotic called in ASAP. In the meantime, we gave him some tylenol and he curled up on our couch while the doctor finished her paperwork. Not in a cold exam room. On our couch in our very own house! And in case you think we're rock stars, let me tell you that this 'visit' was cheaper for us than visiting our own pediatrician!! (Now that we have a new, high-deductible (no copays) healthcare plan.)

Anyway, we got both kids medicated and they were both asleep by 8 PM, which is unheard of around these parts. Steven went to pick up the prescriptions and some late dinner, and I finished some Thirty-One work. When he got home, we chilled and watched an episode of Five-0 together. Thankfully our babies slept peacefully, and Isaac started feeling much better on Thursday morning. They both stayed home from preschool on Friday and recouperated. Just in time for Elise's second birthday!

Whew! I guess cold and flu season is back??!!

Check out this hair!

2011-09-19T17:01:00.001-04:00

It is growing! And the curls Isaac chopped off are slowly coming back. :)

Kidspeak as of late...

2011-09-14T22:50:00.000-04:00

Isaac:
"I'm scaling." (as he stands on the scale)

Elise:
"I say where Idee go?" (telling me what she's said earlier)
And "Mommy say "Idee, don't do dat!""

Elise:
"I feel bedda!" (even if she hasn't been sick... just randomly, she says this)

Isaac's prayers before meals (and at bedtime) usually sound like this:
"Lord Jesus. Help you for today. Have a wonderful day. Have a Neen day. Have a wonderful time. Amen."
('Neen' is his made up word that means "thank you for the day and be obedient", according to him.)
He also prays occasionally "Help me eat peanut butter when I am bigger."

Isaac:
"I wannna go to Afovery Place Tids." (Discovery Place Kids, Isaac's pronunciation)

Isaac:
"Does this help me be tall?" He asks this about all the food he eats.

Elise:
Looking in the mirror after I dressed her, she said, "That's pretty!"

Isaac:
"Is it Wednesday or Friday?" He asks this every day.

Isaac asked Elise if he could play with her toy. She said no. He asked why. She said "atause I said so!"

Family Mountain Trip

2011-09-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago we took my parents up to the mountains for a long weekend. (This was supposed to be a beach trip, but Hurricane Irene changed those plans!) Mom and Dad rode up with the kids and me on Thursday, and then Steven came up to meet us on Friday night. This was the first time we've vacationed with my parents since Steven and I have been married, so it was a very special and much-anticipated weekend. We had a wonderful time and can't wait until our next trip!

On Thursday, we stopped by Boone on the way to the cabin. We ate at the Mellow Mushroom in Boone and played in the Boone park. We headed to the cabin after that, settled in, and had a quiet evening (well, as quiet as you can have with a one-year-old and a three-year-old running around!) My Dad and Isaac got out walkie talkies and went down to the creek to play for a while. They gave my Mom and me a play-by-play on the walkie talkie.

Gramps had brought some popcorn, which the kids love, so we had a nighttime snack before bed. We watched a little Veggie Tales while we had our snack, and Isaac snuggled up with Gramps.

Elise shared her snuggles with Nana.

On Friday we drove to Blowing Rock for several hours. The kids played in the park most of the time we were there. They enjoyed the swings and the playset, but they especially found their niche in the sandbox. After that, we did some geocaching in Blowing Rock. We found the place where the town's time capsule is buried, and we took a stroll through the public library. I also got to go into my favorite store, Take Heart, while Mom and Dad kept an eye on the kids. It's one of those stores that's so small and has so many trinkets that you don't even think about taking your kids in. Our friend Sara works there, so I got to say hello to her, too. She sent me away with half a dozen mini cupcakes as her gift to us for our family vacation!

Steven arrived Friday night about 6:30, which was just in time to head to the Todd General Store for their Friday night Bluegrass singin'. We piled into our van and drove on over to listen a local band play and sing their songs. Isaac was mesmerized, especially with the bass. He couldn't get over how big it was! Elise walked around the back of the store with Nana. We all got ice cream (it was very hot and humid that night, so we needed it! Of course, I always need ice cream!) Once we got home, bathed, and dressed for bed, Steven and Isaac played guitar while we all sang.

The next day, we all went to the West Jefferson Farmer's Market and were in for a treat. There was a special demonstration of how to shear sheep and make their wool into yarn! There were real sheep, and we got to see one being sheared. Then we saw the carder, the spinning wheel, and the loom demonstrated as the wool was turned into yarn and ultimately fabric. I don't have any pictures because my dad was the only one with a camera that morning, but hopefully I'll be able to add some soon (Daddy??) ;)

We had a yummy lunch at Smokey Mountain BBQ, and then we headed to Mount Jefferson to check out the mountain views. While we were at an overlook, a sweet lady offered to take a family picture of us! We were so thankful to have a shot of us all. Here we are, at the first overlook on the ride up Mount Jefferson:

Then we all did a little bit of hiking to get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful forest. Here are some fun pictures we got while we were on the hike:

On Sunday, we went on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at the Moses Cone House to show my parents the beautiful expanse and also see some horses. We ran into my Aunt Donna and Uncle Gus, which was a nice surprise! While we were there, Isaac and Gramps played quite a bit with the walkie talkies.

After that, we headed to the Blowing Rock park (again, yes! We love it!) to have a picnic. Then we spent the early afternoon playing in the park. The kids enjoyed the sandbox again, but Isaac enjoyed playing frisbee and basketball with Steven as well. Elise also gained more confidence with the slide and went down with no trouble.

After such an adventurous day, we headed back to the cabin, packed, and headed back home. We had pizza for dinner at the Mellow Mushroom in Blowing Rock. We got home after dark and were all completely worn out! But we'd had such a fun time together that it didn't matter. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming with us and making our trip so such a wonderful time! We love you!!!

Rainy day... time to play!

2011-09-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

Labor Day was a dreary, rainy day around here, so we took the kids to Monkey Joe's for the first time. They loved it! It was a fun, safe place for both kids play. Once we got home and naps were over, it rained really hard. Steven stepped out onto the porch during the storm and the kids followed. They wanted to go out into the rain, but due to the lightening, we kept them out of it. However, once the storm passed, they wanted to play in the leftover flash flood water. There was quite a bit of water running down each side of our street, and that became a favorite spot to play. They played for about a half hour or so out there! Here are some pictures of their rainwater adventure...

Elise, carrying water in her bowl:

Isaac, walking through the little "creek":

Steven and the kids playing in the road:

These kids love water. Pouring it, drinking it, splashing it, spraying it... They can spend hours pouring water from one container to another. It was so fun to watch the joy in their faces as they played together and made the most of such a rainy day!

Look what we found in the fridge...

2011-09-08T21:38:00.001-04:00

Yes, she's getting into the jelly. Such an independent little lady!

Mountain Trip to see Tammy, Patrick and Rebecca!

2011-09-02T22:00:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago, the kids and I took a trip to Todd, NC to visit with Steven's cousin Tammy and her kids Patrick and Rebecca at their mountain cabin. We had a wonderful three day visit with them! Isaac and Elise loved having lots of time to play with Patrick, who is ten, and Rebecca, who is seven. Tammy and I also had some great quality time to catch up and visit. While we were there, we visited Grandfather Mountain, which included a small zoo and the famous Mile-High Swinging Bridge. We also went into the town of West Jefferson and visited the shoppes there.

Here are Isaac and Patrick in the gift shop at Grandfather Mountain:

We saw bears there, and Isaac loved watching them. He didn't know I was taking a picture of him, so this shot really captures his smile and excitement that we rarely get on camera:

Rebecca and Isaac:

After crossing the Mile-High Swinging Bridge...
Patrick and Isaac:

Patrick, Rebecca, and Isaac at the bridge:

One of Isaac's favorite parts of our trip was building a fire with Tammy and Patrick and then roasting marshmallows over it. They did this on Wednesday and Thursday, which thrilled Isaac. Here he is, roasting his marshmallow:

Elise and I enjoyed eating ours:

After the marshmallows had all been roasted and we were back inside, I walked into the living room to find Isaac playing like this...

After long days of fun, the kids were ready for bed! :)

A great trip and awesome family time!

This is how our kids play together...

2011-09-01T21:55:00.000-04:00

Isaac's figured out how to put his kid sister to work...

What's wrong with this picture?

2011-09-01T06:58:00.000-04:00

While Isaac can swing very well in the regular swing, recently he has preferred the infant swing that is usually occupied by Elise. Good thing she has learned how to swing in the other one...

Playing around the house...

2011-08-31T21:51:00.000-04:00

Isaac still loves playing with his wooden train set. He has become much more imaginative lately, so he makes sounds and pretends when he is playing. This particular day, he took one of his trains and "towed" it on top of another train.

Elise enjoys playing with anything that she can open and close or put things in. If she can open it and put something in it, so much the better. Bags, purses, or Mr Potato Head, it doesn't matter. Here she is with the Potato:

Elise's favorite song

2011-08-31T08:00:00.003-04:00

Elise's favorite song right now is "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher. It all started with Steven playing it a few times on the guitar because Isaac requested to hear it after he'd listened to it on the radio. Over the summer, it's become Elise's most requested song at naptime and bedtime. Sometimes we sing it together as a family and other times Steven or I sing it to her a capella. When she wants to hear it, she says, "Haa 'bout Tys is risen from duh ded?" ("How about "Christ is Risen from the Dead"?) It is super cute to hear her say it. She can also sing most of it herself or along with us if she's in a singing mood.

It amazes me that this is her favorite song because it is not a simple song. It has lots of words and explains the core principles of our faith. We pray that this song stays in her heart and the truth of it goes with her throughout her life. Here are the words:

Christ is Risen
by Matt Maher

Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love

And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but Heaven's will
No scheme of Hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down

In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

Sing it, o death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He's alive, He's alive

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Here is the video of the song:

Sweet little girl!

2011-08-30T21:49:00.000-04:00

Elise at 22 months.

Fun in the backyard!

2011-08-29T22:29:00.003-04:00

Isaac and Elise love playing outside. Lately they have really enjoyed playing together in our backyard. They are really growing into the playset that we got at the end of last summer. They can both climb the steps to get to the playhouse and then come down the slide. They also love to dig in the mulch, play with ride-on toys in the yard, and push dolls on the swings. Currently there is a Simba doll and a baby doll in our backyard who enjoyed being pushed in the swings this morning. Here are some pictures I got of the kids outside last week:

Elise is eating her snack on the table under the playhouse:

Isaac in the playhouse:

Look how big he is!!! He has grown so much since last summer!

I am so thankful that we've had some milder weather lately and they have been able to play outside. There's nothing like hearing the sound of little ones running around, laughing, and having a blast!

Ice cream for breakfast?

2011-08-29T21:10:00.004-04:00

Lately, Isaac has been going downstairs to get a snack while Steven and I get ready in the morning. He usually gets raisins or cereal, but a couple weeks ago, we found him downstairs with this:

And then his little sister joined in the fun...

Needless to say, we didn't let them have only ice cream for breakfast. We did, however, let them get as much as they could stuff in their mouths while we took these pictures. :)

Family Zoo Trip

2011-08-24T14:53:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday, Steven, the kids and I took a drive to Asheboro to visit the NC Zoo. It was totally on a whim; we just woke up, had a leisurely morning and then decided we wanted to do something fun as a family. Steven suggested the zoo, and pretty soon afterward, we were on our way! We had a great time walking through the zoo (drinking lots of water and orangeade along the way because it was hot!) and seeing lions, giraffes, elephants, chimpanzees, and more. The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves. The biggest hit was when we got to see the chimpanzees being fed. After they got their food, they came near where we were watching and ate their snacks right in front of us. Isaac studied the chimps for a long time before saying, "He looks like he has a flum on his foot!" (Flum is how Isaac pronounces the word "thumb". It is too cute!) And indeed, the chimp did look like his big toe was actually a thumb!

Apparently the chimps intrigued Steven so much that he decided we had to see Planet of the Apes that night. It just made sense. So, we did. We got home, our babysitter came over, and we headed out for date night with the Apes. Pretty incredible movie, and a perfect ending to a great day. :)

Latest sayings...

2011-08-09T13:38:00.000-04:00

Isaac is always saying something funny! Here are some things he's said lately:

While getting out of the shower, Isaac said, "Shampoo. That's funny! Sham-poop! Hahaha!"

After we drove by Steven's childhood home, Isaac said, "Daddy, was that where you used to live? Then you got too big?" (because I had told Isaac a while back that Daddy lived in that house when he was little.

Steven took Isaac and our nephew BJ to the Carolina Panthers' Fan Fest this past Saturday. Isaac asked why they weren't able to go on the field. Steven told him that the Panthers needed to practice, so the fans weren't able to go on the field. Isaac said, "No, those are not the Panthers! We are the Panthers and we need to go down on the field!"

Elise also has been talking a lot more lately. Here's some of the things we've heard her say:

"I wone Idee!" wone = want; Idee = Isaac

"I wone Lay-dee [her Lady and the Tramp stuffed dog] and Dog [another stuffed dog] and bane-tee [blanket]"

"I wone my pappy!"

"Pop-si-taw" = popcorn

"Peese" = please

"I ready eat!"

"I wone read."

"Haw bout??" As in "Haw bout book?" "Haw bout song?"

Sweet siblings.

2011-08-05T16:53:00.001-04:00

Awwww!

Elise in the sink

2011-08-04T23:24:00.000-04:00

While I was out of town a couple weeks ago, at the Thirty-One national conference, Steven sent me this picture of Elise. This is how he found her one night when she had a couple minutes to wander into the bathroom and get into some mischief:

Maybe she was ready for a bath and decided to take it into her own hands!

2011 Beach Trip: Heading Home

2011-08-02T23:48:00.000-04:00

We thought this was a sign that we should stay an extra week...

Yes, this picture was taken from our van on our way home. We had never seen a boat in the road like this. It was one of those times when you feel really sorry for the guy who owns the boat, but it's so crazy that you get your camera out and take a picture. ;)

2011 Beach Trip: Last Day

2011-08-01T23:27:00.000-04:00

Here are Isaac and Elise on our last full day at the beach. You can see their passion for life and love for the ocean in these pictures. They were so fun to watch!!

These kids are SO fun! We are thankful for another awesome trip with them. Each year it's a new adventure, with new joys and new experiences, and this year included it all. Lots of laughs, songs, playtime, good eatin', sleep, and just being together. Priceless.

2011 Beach Trip: Photo Shoot

2011-07-31T23:44:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night, we took the kids out to the beach for our annual photo shoot. This year it was very hard to get still pictures of Elise. She wanted to run straight to the water. We were able to bribe her to sit for a minute by offering her popcorn (the kids' newest treat). Here are the results:

2011 Beach Trip: Ella's!

2011-07-30T23:43:00.000-04:00

As always, a trip to Ella's was planned for our vacation. Here are Steven and our sweet babies, waiting outside for our name to be called:

Here we are, inside and enjoying our time together:

Good food and fun times!

Elise loves "May-toes"

2011-07-30T16:35:00.000-04:00

Elise grabbed a full-size tomato off the counter a few days ago and then took a bite of it. She turned around and told Steven, "I like apple!" She knows that the little (cherry) tomatoes are called "may-toes," but I guess she didn't realize the big ones were tomatoes too! Here she is, eating her "apple" :

2011 Beach Trip: Around Town

2011-07-29T23:31:00.000-04:00

After naptime each day, we would venture out around town and get dinner. We had dinners at Ella's and Sharkey's (as usual!), but we also tried some new restaurants this time: Captain John's (in Calabash - nice view!), Tony's Pizza(also in Calabash - yum!), and Tomo Japanese Steakhouse (in Ocean Isle - super yum!). We enjoyed them all, especially the last two. In fact, one night when the kids were tired, we put them to bed early and got Japanese takeout for Steven and me. And we ate Tony's Pizza for a second time on our way home on the last day of our trip. We also shopped several times at Callahan's Nautical Gifts of Calabash, and we took several trips to the Ocean Isle Creamery.

Here we are at the dock right outside Captain John's:

On the 4th of July, we took a walk on the pier in the day and at night. That's where we saw fireworks all up and down the coast. It was very cool, and Isaac loved seeing them. Here are some pictures we took during our daytime pier walk:

And here's our annual Sharkey's napkin picture: (to see the past years, click here and here.)

Sitting together and eating together...

2011-07-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

These two kids definitely love each other!

2011 Beach Trip: Around the Condo

2011-07-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

Even though we spent several hours a day at the beach, there were many sweet moments during our vacation that happened in our condo. There was also a huge "first" that happened there: Our kids stayed overnight in the same room! We had no expectations when we put them in there for the first nap of the trip, but it turned out fairly well, so we decided to try a night this way. Well, they ended up spending the whole week together, and it was so sweet! They both slept in pack-n-plays, and Elise learned to climb out of hers while we were on this trip. There would be times when Isaac got out to use the bathroom and Elise got up and hopped out of her pack-n-play, too. Or Elise would get out before she fell asleep, and Isaac would wake up, get out, and come tell us that "Elise got out of her crib!" Once they fell asleep, though, they both slept quite well.

Here they are, refreshed from that good sleep, and happy to be eating breakfast:

Isaac loved blowing bubbles on our balcony:

Elise hasn't quite figured out how to blow bubbles yet:

But she sure does know how to do this trick:

Sweet memories and such a happy time!

Elise's first haircut...

2011-07-28T15:38:00.003-04:00

I'm glad we took this picture of Elise with pigtails last week:

Because this week, this happened:

Those little dots on Elise's floor are her precious baby curls. While she and Isaac were upstairs playing sweetly together in our "safe" areas, I was downstairs cooking dinner and thinking how wonderful it was that my children were playing so well together. The next thing I knew, Isaac was downstairs getting our broom. I asked him why he needed the broom and he said, "I need to go sweep." Of course, that gave me a bad feeling, so I followed him upstairs to find the scenario that is pictured above. I gasped and looked for Elise. She was in the hallway with a frown on her face. Isaac had just cut her hair and she wasn't too happy about it! (However, she didn't complain while he was doing it, so it musn't have been that bad.) He didn't cut it all off, but he did cut the longest curls off of one side of her head. I sat him down and told him that he wasn't to do that again. He told me "Mommy, her hair was really really really really really really REALLY long and it needed to be cut!"

So, Elise Jeannette, your first haircut wasn't in a chair with a cape on. No spray bottles or shampoo. Your first haircut, my dear, was a gift from your very well intentioned big brother. ;)

2011 Beach Trip: Beach Time!

2011-07-27T23:33:00.000-04:00

This year we spent most of our beach vacation time actually on the beach. After waking, we'd have breakfast in the condo, play a little bit, put sunscreen on, and then head out to the beach. We'd eat lunch while we were out there and play some more. Then, when the kids were worn out and it was nap time, we'd shower them off and head inside.

As in the past, the kids loved the beach. We took them to play in the ocean the first night after we'd arrived. Isaac loved running toward the water and then turned around and ran away screaming in fun when a wave came towards him. He did that for a while, and then he got confident and started jumping into the water and going into the waves. Elise played in the sand to start, but when she discovered the water, she wanted to sit right at the edge and let the water come over her legs. She got up and ran along the shore, and then she plopped down in the water. Whenever she got to water, she would plop down like that. Throughout the week, both kids got even more confident and played in the water without much fear at all. Once again, Steven and I spent our time standing over them making sure they didn't do anything way too daring. Elise was insistent on sitting at the edge of the water and letting the waves crash over her. She went under the water a few times during the week (we pulled her right out!), but that didn't phase her at all. I just have to admit it, our children are little fish. Yep, there's no way around it. They love the water!

Here's Elise and her friend Cheylee, running around. Cheylee was a great helper and kept an eye on Elise while we chatted with our friends John and Lee and Cheylee's parents Phyliss and Rich. Do you see Isaac in the background, on his float? He is waiting for a wave to come to him.

Big girl on the beach!

This little man has no fear!

Steven and the kids, playing in the big hole that they dug:

Our family on the beach (we were all worn out when this picture was taken!)

Beach time is SO fun!!!

2011 Beach Trip: Getting there...

2011-07-26T23:34:00.000-04:00

Over the week of July 4th, we took our annual family beach trip. We once again went to Ocean Isle Beach, NC, and had a fabulous time. Since we'd had a pretty stressful month before leaving, we especially enjoyed the rest, relaxation, laid-back beachy days, and just being together without much responsibility.

This year we decided we'd get an early start (for us, that meant leaving the area by 8 AM.), and we were able to get to Ocean Isle a little after lunchtime. On the way down, we all enjoyed Chick-Fil-A Chicken Minis:

Our lunch was a quick one, and when we arrived at the beach, we stopped at the grocery store first to pick up everything we'd need for the week. Then we headed to our condo to get unloaded. I put the groceries up, but we left everything else in the van and headed to the beach. Here is Elise, after her first look at the beach:

Here are our babies taking their first steps on the beach for 2011:

When we went out on the beach, we saw some friends we'd met last year, John and Lee. They were excited to see us, and we felt the same way about them. Throughout the week we got to know them better while we were all out on the beach everyday.

After our time on the beach, Steven and I took turns unloading the van while the other watched the kids and unpacked. We stayed in the same condo where we've stayed for the past three years. The only thing that had changed was that the condo now has full cable, which to me meant the preschool on-demand channel. (YAY. Sesame Street was available in case of emergency!) To Steven, that meant the primetime on-demand channel. (YAY. Blue Bloods, NCIS, Hawaii-Five O, and NCIS-LA were available whenever we had alone time during naps or after the kids went to sleep.) ;) A week at the beach, here we come!!

This is Isaac, modeling his Epi-Pen tester:

2011-07-23T23:20:00.000-04:00

Steven got this picture on his iPhone when Isaac was playing with his Epi-Pen tester (which is just a "practice" Epi-Pen that doesn't have any medicine in it.) Looks like he's trying to take his temperature with it, rather than practicing the injection!

Notice his belt. Isaac LOVES belts. He loves to help Steven put his (Steven's) belt on and take it off. It's one of the highlights of his morning and evening routines! He loves to wear his own belt, too, even if he doesn't have any belt loops! :)

Elise modeling her new sunglasses!

2011-07-20T23:18:00.001-04:00

Our babysitter, Morgan, took this picture a few weeks ago while she was watching Elise. Isn't she CUTE?!?

First Garden Harvest of 2011!

2011-07-11T23:53:00.000-04:00

Here they are...

What beauties!

Beach paper chain

2011-07-09T14:32:00.000-04:00

It's that time again... VACATION!!! In preparation for our beach trip, Steven and Isaac made a paper chain like they did last year. Isaac loved making it, and each night before our trip, he's enjoyed cutting a link off. Here are Steven and Isaac cutting the first link...

We *HEART* the beach!

Playing Together!

2011-07-07T22:22:00.000-04:00

While we still have to referee most of the time (and I'm thinking that might continue for, oh, say 16ish more years!?!), sometimes our kids play so sweetly together. Here's one of those moments, when they were playing Mr Potato Head together...

Sweet!

Vacuuming in Mommy's shoes...

2011-07-05T22:21:00.000-04:00

He still LOVES to vacuum! And we ALL love Crocs! (Well, all of us except Steven, but we'll win him over soon!)

Weekend Beach Getaway!

2011-07-01T21:32:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Steven and I were able to take a long weekend trip to the beach by ourselves. We'd saved up and planned to go to a Bed and Breakfast at Sunset Beach.

However, when our van needed a new transmission ($$$$$) and Elise had to spend some time in the Urgent Care ($$$) and Isaac's hospital bill came due ($$$) and my eye swole closed due to an allergic reaction and I had to go to the doc ($$) - we have a new high health insurance deductible plan, by the way - and then to top it off, I ran into some garbage cans with Steven's car and broke his passenger mirror off ($)... well, by then all of our trip savings was re-allocated. (and yes, all of this happened within one week.)

We thought we'd have to call off our trip, but thanks to some awesome family friends who have a beach house that they made available to us, we were still able to spend some much-needed time away. We had a wonderful time resting, walking on the beach (so much that our feet were really sore!), reading on the beach (I read The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers and Steven read The Shack), playing in the water, laughing, talking and eating yummy food (which included Jersey Mike's Subs two days in a row - we're easy to please!) It was a GREAT time!

On our last day, though, after two perfect days full of beachy wonderfulness, we were in the ocean and a huge wave took us both under. As well as Steven's glasses (gasp!!), which went quickly to their watery grave. Ahhh! Steven can't see too well without his glasses and he didn't have a backup or any contacts. We knew he'd be getting a severe headache soon and also that he wouldn't be able to drive or even work when we got home, so it was imperative that we figure something out - fast! We called Steven's eye doctor in Charlotte (who is affiliated with Lenscrafters and therefore open on Sundays from noon - 3PM; Steven lost his glasses around noon.) We left a message asking them if the doctor would extend Steven's out-of-date contact lens prescription just long enough for us to get one pair of contacts. We didn't know if we'd hear back from them, so we started calling around the Myrtle Beach area to see if there were any places open on Sunday that could fill a contact lens prescription... or any eye doctors who would see Steven, do an exam, and fit him for a pair of glasses. Whew! Most places were closed or not helpful. We finally called Visionworks, and the person there directed us to the Lenscrafters at Myrtle Beach Grand Coastal Mall. When we reached someone there, she was very helpful and said the doctor could see Steven at 1:30 and then he could get fitted for a pair of glasses. We were elated that Steven would be able to see again! Unfortunately they don't take out-of-state insurance, so we were expecting that we'd pay $79 for the office visit, plus the outrageously high cost of a pair of glasses. (Thankfully, though, Steven's glasses were three years old, and he was scheduled to see his doctor the next Saturday to get new glasses anyway.) We were still on the beach when we made all these calls, so we hopped into the golf cart, headed back to the house, rinsed off, changed clothes, and hopped in the car. We made it to the mall right at 1:30 with some sand still on our faces. (I guess we didn't rinse quite that well...) We went in and Steven started filling out the paperwork. As he was doing so, his phone rang. It was the receptionist for his eye doctor in Charlotte calling to say she'd gotten our message and that the doc approved an extension on Steven's contact prescription. We were elated! This meant Steven wouldn't have to get an eye exam and buy a pair of glasses! After about an hour or more of faxes back and forth from our eye doctor to the Myrtle Beach Lenscrafters, we got the prescription. However, when we got it, the Lenscrafters gal said "Oh no! He wears 8.8 and we only keep 8.4 in the store!" Ahhhh! So she called the eye doc and asked for permission to give Steven a sample of the 8.4 lenses just for him to wear until his appointment, which was a week away. The doc gave the okay! So we walked out of the Lenscrafters with a sample pair of contacts, having spent no money, and Steven could see again! Wow! God is SO good! As it turns out, Steven found an old pair of glasses in his cabinet when we got back to our house in Charlotte (the glasses he wore when we got married. Yeah... they're old for glasses!). He was able to wear those all week and now he has some hot new glasses that we got at Lenscrafters this past weekend. And he has contacts. Which he will most definitely be wearing the next time we go to the beach. ;)

We didn't take many pictures on our trip because we were just resting and enjoying each other's company. The ones we did take, though, were fun couple shots... so here are a few we really liked:

We think this might have to be an annual thing! ;) (oh, and a BIG shout out to my parents, who kept our kids the whole time we were gone. THANKS Mom and Dad! We love you!)

Summer Preschool!

2011-06-29T20:10:00.001-04:00

Isaac started the summer program at his preschool earlier this month. It's an eight week session of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9 AM until noon. The first day he was a little hesitant about staying because he was in a different classroom than he'd been in during the school year and he had different teachers. However, after that first day, it's been pretty smooth sailing at drop-off! And at pick-up, he's all smiles. He has a blast with his friends and teachers, Ms Tracy and Ms Pam. Here are some pictures of Isaac and his class, thanks to Ms Tracy!

Isaac LOVES play-dough!

His class artwork during jungle week:

Eating lunch, and loving those goldfish!

His class (several of these friends were in his class during the school year, too); Isaac isn't really into group pictures...

Class artwork from Wild West week:

Painting! Isaac LOVES to paint, too!

We're looking forward to six more weeks of summer fun!

Sweet words we've heard recently...

2011-06-27T20:29:00.005-04:00

Isaac and Elise both talk all the time now, and it's pretty awesome to hear what comes out of their mouths sometimes!

Here are some things we've heard recently:

Isaac: "Can you get me some space for this blanket" (when he wanted to get under the blanket on the couch beside me.)

Isaac: Daddy, did we go to Preschool Olympics yestertime? (he is in a Vacation Bible School this week, and he calls it Preschool Olympics)

Isaac: I need to take my temperature because my temperature's dry.

Isaac: (gasps dramatically just like Mommy does and says) I did that because there's a space shuttle outside.

Isaac: (after I told him we'd be home in three minutes and then proceeded to count to sixty three times) Oh! I'm impressed!

Every day and night when we put Isaac down for his naps or bedtime, he inevitably has to go potty or needs some water. He comes to his door (which is closed) and calls out "Excuse me Mommy!!! Excuuuuuuuse me Mommmmmmyyy!!!"

Here are some memorable phrases my Dad shared from his recent visits with Isaac:

We (Gramps and Nana) normally cook pancakes together with Isaac on a griddle mixing in blueberry or chocolate chips and then making shapes them into shapes. One day a couple weeks ago, Isaac was at their house and Nana had some frozen pancakes to try. I (Gramps) asked Isaac if he wanted some frozen pancakes. He looked at me and said "No thank you." Then I asked why not, and he said, "I like warm pancakes."

When Isaac and I (Gramps) were at the pool together a few weeks ago, I had him jump in the water after he saw a little girl jumping in. For the first couple times he would say, "Let me think about it," then he would look up thinking about it. Then, after a few moments, he would look at me and say, "I am ready now." After that, he'd jump off.

Elise:

Thank you Mommy! (whenever anything is given to her. Sweet girl!)

Low-dee! (yogurt; Isaac called it load-it; we've decided if we get a dog, we'll name it Low-dee!)

I got it!!! (Miss Independent; she wants to do everything by herself.)

I get down! (Get me out of this high chair!)

I dep! I dep! (When she wants to dip something in sauce.)

I walt. (Let me walk!!)

Where Leesy go? (and covers her eyes; she says this when she's playing peek-a-boo)

Saaant! (snack)

WE LOVE OUR KIDS!!!!

Elise on the swing!

2011-06-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

...from our Memorial Day mountain trip.

Memorial Day Trip to the Mountains!

2011-06-08T21:53:00.000-04:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, our family took another mountain trip. Although it rained on Friday, the weather was absolutely beautiful on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. That meant we spent lots of time outside, especially the last two days when we took rather long hiking treks. On Friday, when it rained, we drove to Boone and ate at the Dan'l Boone Inn restaurant. Then we did a little shopping in Blowing Rock. On Saturday we spent most of the day in the town of West Jefferson walking, shopping, and even getting Steven a haircut! On Sunday we went to the Blue Ridge Parkway to picnic and hike near the Moses Cone Center and gravesite. That was momentous as our first real "family hike". We had so much fun on that hike that we decided to try hiking again on Monday. We went to Mount Jefferson and hiked all the way up to Luther Rock (with a jogging stroller, I might add!) A few people who saw us on the rocky and treacherous path thought we wouldn't be able to make it all the way, but thanks to Steven and me taking turns with the stroller, and also the awesome wheels on our new (yard sale find) Joovy Zoom stroller, we were able to make it all the way! Here are some pictures from our trip...

Elise, eating yogurt all by herself in the cabin:

Steven and Isaac singing and playing together in the cabin:

Elise and Isaac playing at a great park we discovered in Todd. It had a great mountain view, so Steven and I enjoyed the view while the kids had a great time playing! We'll definitely be coming back here!

Isaac pushing Elise on the swing:

Elise loves the slide!

When Elise walked out of the play area, we asked Isaac to go get her. He did just that...

Again and again!

The kids and me on our hike up to the Moses Cone gravesite:

A butterfly we saw along the way:

A funny family picture we took while at the gravesite:

A less-funny family picture. Elise had a great nap that day; that new stroller must be comfy (speaking of naps, on the way back down the mountain, Isaac said he was sleepy, so we took Elise out of the stroller and let him get in. She rode all the way back down the mountain on Steven's shoulders while I pushed the stroller!)

Our sweet babies, playing at the gravesite... It was a nice place to rest and get a snack before hiking back down the mountain.

The next day, at Luther Rock, on Mount Jefferson:

Hiking back down Mount Jefferson...

Stopping for a snack and drink halfway down:

What a fun trip! Isaac officially loves the mountains. He woke up at our house on Tuesday morning with a slight frown and said, "I want to go back to the mountains Mommy!"

We're glad you had a great time, little man! We did too, and we'll definitely go back!

Elise's Pool Scare

2011-06-06T23:29:00.000-04:00

I had two Thirty-One parties scheduled for this past Saturday, so Steven was with the kids all day. Our friend Donnie volunteered to come over and help Steven take the kids to the pool. After they played in the pool a while, Steven grabbed Elise up to put more sunscreen on her. A few seconds later, Donnie noticed she was bleeding quite a bit from her foot. Steven ran her into the bathroom and started to rinse the blood away from a wound he saw on the top of her foot. The bleeding didn't stop and he saw that it was gaping open quite a bit. He realized she had cut her foot on some tile in the pool. Steven grabbed up lots of paper towels to put pressure and try to stop the bleeding. He and Donnie asked the lifeguards for help and they applied some butterfly bandages to the wound. A neighbor of ours who is also a nurse said the wound looked like it needed stitches. Donnie called his wife, my friend Hallel, who was with me at the party. She relayed the message to me that Elise had been cut and needed to go to the Urgent Care. Hallel jumped in the car with me and we headed for our house. When we arrived, Elise was happy as always and looked great! I saw her wound and agreed that she needed to be seen by a doctor.

Elise's cut

Since I had another party to head to, Hallel stayed with Isaac and her daughter, while Donnie and Steven took Isaac to the Urgent Care. I got a text message from Steven about an hour later that said they'd gotten Elise all "glued up" and they were back home. The doctor had been able to use Dermabond instead of stitches to close the wound. Then she put steri-strips over it that will stay for the next 5-10 days while the wound heals.

Tough little girl! She didn't cry a bit at the Urgent Care!

After all that, our friends left and Steven got the kids down for a nap. I continued my party with peace in my heart and arrived home right as naptime ended. I cuddled my little girl, and she was back to normal.

We are so thankful that Elise didn't have to have stitches and that she wasn't hurt more seriously... and we are also thankful for friends who stepped in to help us with no second thoughts. What a huge blessing! Thank you Lord!

Isaac's last day of preschool!

2011-05-31T20:56:00.005-04:00

Last week, Isaac had his last day of his Two's preschool class. Although he will be starting summer preschool (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings) in another week, this was a big milestone because he has finished his year with his teachers, Ms Sarah and Ms Tawania. Throughout the year, Isaac really came out of his shell, socially. He has gone from being quite shy around acquaintances to having an outgoing streak. Sometimes he even walks up to strangers and starts talking to them! He has had a great year at preschool and came to be friends with the nine other kids in his class. On the last day, his school had a picnic, and I was able to join them.

Here is Isaac in his classroom:

Here he is, on the picnic blanket:

Here is the poster that his teachers sent home with him, along with lots of goodies and treats. It says, "We'll miss you as you sail onto the next adventure." If you look closely, you can see that Isaac's hand print, foot print, and finger prints are all on the poster. How cute! (thanks to my Dad for converting this into an electronic version!)

What a great school year! Now we're ready for summer!!!

Crossing those arms

2011-05-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

Lately, Isaac's new gesture has been to cross his arms. It's difficult to get a picture of him because he doesn't really like to pose for the camera, but I managed to get a couple shots recently...

Such a big boy!