Our next adventure....

With much excitement, I can announce that we are going to WALT DISNEY WORLD! Yay! I have been dreaming of taking the kids and waiting for the right time to take them. We are scrimping and saving and having some yard sales, but we are DEFINITELY going in June!

A few things that I look forward to....

seeing Cody hug the life-size Mickey Mouse in-person.

watching Carleigh become a princess at Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique.

have a meal with the characters.

riding Space Mountain.

getting our picture taken in front of the above castle.

becoming a kid again since I have never been there before.

riding the famous Dumbo ride and teacups with my little blessings!

Wordless Wednesday

Going organic

One of my family goals for the year is to get everyone eating healthy. I have been reading an awesome book on metabolism and how to get your metabolism working to burn fat and calories. One of the BIGGEST suggestions is to go organic. With that said, we are going organic (mostly) with our food choices! There will be times when being totally organic isn't possible, but my goal is for my family to be 80% organic.

This week, I have been secretly changing out some of our fruits and veggies and substituting them with organic. No one has noticed! We have been eating out less and I have actually enjoyed cooking more.

Each evening, we are getting used to a new "regular" with eating healthy and exercising. Hopefully going organic doesn't significantly inflate our grocery budget! I am also going organic with our cleaning products and other household goods. If you have any tips or words of wisdom on organic living, I would love to hear them!

Great Toy!

I HIGHLY suggest this toy! I finally opened this for Carleigh and she absolutely LOVES it! This Crayola Glowstation hangs on the wall like a dry erase board and comes with all the above stencils. This kept Carleigh quiet and busy for 30 minutes! They also make them in "To - Go" but we received this free and it is such a great, creative toy! Carleigh enjoys practicing her name and she also likes to write Cody's name as well! Great for fine motor practice as well as for Spelling words and math practice! There is just so many things you can use this for, plus the "glow-in-the-dark" is always so cool for kids!

Another day off!!

I was honestly surprised when I got the call that the kids' school district closed at bright and early 5am. Then I stayed awake for a little bit thinking my school might call. Of course the phone woke up Carleigh and I forced her back to bed and then was jolted awake at 7am when my school called to report that school was closed today.

Although I enjoy snow days, this year, we only have 3 and this makes our 4th day. This means that we have a shorter spring break. I really, really hope we do not have another snow day or else I will be going on Memorial Day while the rest of my family is home enjoying the day. (Can you tell the hostility of this past sentence?!)

It feels like the Arctic here with below zero wind chills and single digit temperatures. This makes me yearn for May and June when the temps are warm and baseball season begins again! This year, we are registering both Cody and Carleigh into the baseball league. Plus, Carleigh will start cheerleading with her school league (the same one her cousin cheered for years ago). And then add a possible trip to Walt Disney World and our summer will be fun AND busy! Ahhh....I cannot wait for summer!

SNOW DAY!

Yes, we are having another snow day here in freezing Ohio!! This makes snow day #3 for me, Snow Day #4 for Cody and Snow Day #5 for Carleigh. Cody will now have a make-up day and Carleigh will now have two make-up days! And, this is still January folks so we could have more snow this month and next month (and we have had rare storms in March!). As of right now, I do not have any make-up days, but with snow not stopping until late tonight, it's possible we might have another snow day tomorrow.

So for today, we are watching movies, playing, and going to shovel snow!

Keep warm and stay safe everyone!

7 years ago today....

7 years ago today, a premie was born to a mother who could not adequately care for him. This 4 lb 12 oz baby was not known to us, but known to God. God knows ALL things and He knew that Matt and I were aching for a baby. We had an adoption loss a few months before and after battling infertility, we were very weak and heartbroken. Little did we know that 10 days later, we would receive a call that would forever change our lives.

This tiny, premie born 7 weeks early was born to fix our broken hearts. As foster parents, we always had to be cautious because the case plan is always for parent reunification, but in my heart, I just KNEW Cody was in our home to stay.

He did heal the heartache we had faced and has brought incredible love and joy into our family. He is such an amazing, incredible, and sweet little boy. God has such an amazing plan for his life. I can already feel it in my heart. Everyone he meets, he captivates them with his sweet smile and loving hug. In fact, his morning bus driver gave him a birthday card with a gift certificate to McDonalds. He calls Cody his "buddy." He hugs all his teachers and aides and absolute strangers. There will be no other boy that could possibly surpass him in sweetness. We did not give him his first name, but we did give him his middle name "Matthew" means gift from God and that is exactly what he is to us and to those who he meets.

Happy 7th Birthday, sweet Cody!

Bowling Party

Cody had a wonderful birthday party! Besides his first birthday, I think that this has been his best birthday party ever! It was so much fun! The kids bowled for two hours before we moved into the party room, had birthday treats and present time. My sweet boy could not WAIT to open his presents! In fact, when the first presents arrived, he wanted to open them before the party began! He received a lot of Toy Story toys, plus a lot of money that we will save for summer time. Even though many people could not make it due to schedule conflictions, everyone who came had a blast with bowling! Cody was in heaven with his two favorite girls at his party, plus this was his first time ever bowling. And the most funny aspect of the game was that I soon to be 4 year old got the highest score! He beat almost all of the adults too! It was a fun time and thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated our little miracle's birthday!

Caught in the act

Carleigh is quite a sneaky and smart little girl. Many times I doubt that she knows something to be proven wrong. This morning (with babysitter aka Memaw), Carleigh was supposed to be playing in her bedroom when my mom caught her with MY prized camera (eek!). She was taking photos of the gerbils. Well, I started looking back and she took over 10 pics!! She took several pics of the gerbils, her bookshelf, her tv, her nightstand and a couple of shots that I cannot identify and one that looked like an alien!!

Tonight, we were heading out for Cody's birthday dinner with Matt's parents, when she yelled "Wait! You forgot Cody's pill!" After a brief moment of laughter, we gently told her that Cody gets his meds in the morning and early afternoon. I guess she thinks he needs a pill every time we go somewhere. That is just the tip of the iceberg with her. She has left me in STITCHES lately. For example, we were shopping when she saw the price of something and wanted me to buy it. She said "Look Mommy! It's 99!" She thinks EVERYTHING costs 99 cents! Little does she know that there are usually dollars before the decimal points!

And while shopping for Cody's birthday presents, she showed me at least 10 things that SHE wants for her birthday which is 2 months away! Oh my! I will leave you with pics that my aspiring photographer took this morning.

Changing Old Habits

Last night, our family started a new routine. Right before bath time, we all started an exercise program that is my favorite "30 Day Shred." I really wasn't pushing the kiddos to exercise (just Matt!), however, they both wanted to join in and got some exercise as well. I am back in the saddle again and I have a 6 month goal that I WILL accomplish! We are also changing out eating habits as well and I am trying to get my metabolism under control with the help of an expert and book. I think all of these changes will help my whole family.

If you have any favorite websites that have great healthy recipes, please post them in the comments section. I greatly appreciate all the help and ideas I can find!

SNOW DAY!

Well, our snow dance and prayers were granted! This is snow day #2 for the school year for me and snow day #3 for my kiddos. (Their school district has reached their limit for calamity days. We are hoping the new governor will extend it 2 more day.) The kids enjoyed sleeping in and I enjoyed not driving home in a mess! Carleigh and I shoveled the driveway a little big ago (ok *I* shoveled it while Carleigh watched/played) and now it is covered again. I know it will be covered with another 2-3 inches, but I figure it will be easier to shovel with 2 less inches. And of course Carleigh wanted to play in the snow with her boots her cousin Brittany bought for her for Christmas. Cody stayed inside and played with his piano and wasn't too bummed.

I am so very thankful for snow days, because it gives me extra time to spend with my kiddos. When you have to work, you cherish these extra days and am so thankful for this extra time! I am trying to stay productive by organizing, cleaning, and working on some "school" stuff, but also included is snuggling time with the kiddos and movie time!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Snow Dance Tonight!

Tonight, my kiddos are having a snow dance....hoping for a snow day and of course LOTS of snow to play in! Carleigh LOVES the snow and could play out there all day. Cody on the other hand....not so much! (He had a meltdown after the last big snow fall.)

I secretly am hoping for a snow day to work on more cleaning and organizing that I need, plus spending extra time with my blessings would be icing on the cake! We'll see....what would really stink would be that my kids are home and I am not. (This has already happened once this school year. :-()

It's a PARTY!

We are having a special little boy's birthday party on Saturday, January 15th! Sunday the 16th is
his actual birthday, but we decided to have it on Saturday due to the fact that we go to church on Sunday mornings and it would be too hard to get there at a reasonable time. This is the first year that we are having a party open to friends from school and church. Also, this is his first party at a fun place like the bowling alley. I think it will be hilarious to watch all the little ones bowl for the first time. (In year's past, we have had the party at our house or at a restaurant.) I am so excited to have it at a bowling alley.

I have had so much fun planning and organizing his party. He absolutely LOVES "Toy Story" and we watch all three movies all the time. He sleeps with Jesse and Buzz, but he also loves Woody as well. I am making a cupcake tiered creation and am hoping my skills in baking are finally come to fruition. If you are interested in coming, send me a comment with your email address and I will get back with you! I cannot believe my precious boy will be 7 years old! The time has gone by so fast!

Bedtime Changes

Normally, I sit with Carleigh until she falls asleep and Matt does likewise with Cody. We pray, read a book and then I rub her back until she falls asleep. Last night, she did not want me to rub her back and stay with her. She said that she wanted "to be by herself." Wow! I guess my baby is growing up! Of course, I stayed near the vicinity of her room to just make sure she was in her bed and not playing. She stayed in her bed and sang songs and talked to herself. I am so proud of her and it frees some time for myself in the evenings. I still can't feel a little sad because she is growing up so very quickly! Where did the time go???

Riding a horse

Tonight, we were at a horse ranch and the kids got to ride their first ever horse. I was a little apprehensive about Cody, but he stayed very calm and REALLY liked it! Carleigh was too scared at first, but when she got into the saddle, all her fears dwindled and she really enjoyed it!