You are worthy of my praise

Good song...(if you know it) my title made me start singing an old song called You are worthy of my praise (or sometimes called I will worship.) Maybe you can hear it in your head right now. I can. This is what I have heard in my head since thinking of the title of this blog.

During a little quiet time I was having tonight (yes, it included a sleeping baby Charlotte on my shoulder but yet still quiet in her perfectly dark room) I was overwhelmed with praise for my God. All I could get out of my mouth was continuous repetitous praise for Him and what he is currently doing in my life.

The thing is you can't neccesarily see it with the naked eye. But I can absolutely, positively FEEL it. I couldn't stop crying as I repeated this worship to God over and over again.

I praise You for what You're doing in my life.
I praise You for what You're doing in my life.
I praise You for what You're doing in my life.

I praise You for what You're doing in my family.
I praise You for what You're doing in my family.
I praise You for what You're doing in my family.

I praise You for what You're doing in my marriage.
I praise You for what You're doing in my marriage.
I praise You for what You're doing in my marriage.

I praise You for what You're doing in my husband.
I praise You for what You're doing in my husband.
I praise You for what You're doing in my husband.

I praise You for what You're doing in my children.
I praise You for what You're doing in my children.
I praise You for what You're doing in my children.

I praise You for what You're doing in me.
I priase You for what You're doing in me.
I praise You for what You're doing in me.

The repetition of this worship was very freeing to me and I couldn't stop crying. I don't say all of this to bloat myself up and sound like a super christian. I just wanted to continue my worship into my blog.


Love, Stacey

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

"I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in Him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

indoor fun

As every parent knows at this time of year, our family has been feeling a little bit bored at times with staying inside. Even though the roads are getting better, we just don't get out as much because it's cold and yucky. And we have been trying to stop running around as much. The kids seem so much more pleasant when we are always rushing here and there. This just means we have to say no to some things but Andy and I are enjoying relaxing more, too. We even stayed home and watched the Super Bowl by ourselves, but you know what, by the time it was over we were ready for bed and the kids had been asleep for a couple hours.

After dinner last night, we decided to do something at home that we could do as a family. Sometimes I grow weary of playing Barbies and princesses so I'm trying to be creative. Drea enjoys doing anything we all do together. I think she usually asks us to play dolls because she can't think of anything else. When I present her any other idea she is usually game. We first started talking about a scavenger hunt. And then I decided it would be fun to do an easter egg hunt. So we took turns hiding eggs in different rooms of the house and we took turns finding the eggs. We had a blast! Drea would ultimately tell us where she hid her eggs every time because she just can't hold in her excitement.

After two or three "this is the last time we're hiding, and then we are getting ready for bed," we had to force the game to stop and get the girls calmed down and ready for bed.

Immediately when Drea woke up this morning she begged us to play eggs again. She was sad because we were getting ready to go to work and daycare. She was finally appeased when we told her to go hide her eggs and we could hunt for them when we get home.

My heart swelled with joy over how much fun my family had last night. I hope these memories will last forever!

**On a side note, we had the girls pictures taken on Saturday for their birthdays and it went so well! And the pictures are great. I can't wait until they come in.

Addendum to Andy's post yesterday

Daddy finally went back to work today. After days and weeks not working...we feel really bad for him, poor guy. (Hear the sarcasm.)

Andy told me the other day that he wanted me to get a good paying job so he could be a stay-at-home dad. And it's no wonder why he and the children enjoyed it so much. If you read the blog yesterday, you understand why. :) Everyday when I came home from work Drea gave me the run down of all of the exciting things that Daddy did with her. This week besides all of the games Andy listed, they made gummy animals, they made snow cones, played princesses and Barbies most of the day, played Starfall, colored, and I'm sure I have forgotten some things.

So how come when daddys stay home, it's just so much fun. There aren't many chores that need completed or tasks that need done, only playing to be had and tons of fun! (Andy did wash some towels, dishes, and vacuuming at some point over the couple weeks.)

Today...today was mommy day. Drea is usually excited about mommy day but not as much today. She was into the shopping trip we needed to take. Then we came home, she had a bath (because she has dancing tonight), and then I told her it was time to rest quietly on her bed. After she had a complete breakdown about it. She climbed up on her bed with a couple toys and I went to lay Charlotte down for a nap. Now Andy did tell me how much trouble he had getting her to stay in her room to rest because she kept coming out and asking to play. I came out of Charlotte's room and heard Drea sobbing so I went in to check on her. She was sitting on the edge of her bed with the saddest face. She said Daddy let her keep the door open during rest time. And then while sobbing she said, "I miss Daddy!"

Oh, come on! I'm glad she was able to spend time with her dad for a while, really I am. I love that they were able to bond more.

So I will finish detoxing her for the rest of the day. :) I love you Andy!

13 and counting........

That's the number of days it has been since I have seen my students. Included in that number (13) is two weekends and an ISE day. An ISE day is just for the faculty. I almost wrote this blog yesterday, but I did not have time. Anyway, I believe my winter vacation should be over tomorrow. However, I did not expect to be home today either, so you never know.

I have enjoyed the past 13 days, 8 of which were just me, Drea, and Charlotte. We have accomplished many activities. Some of our favorite things include: Barbies, princesses, games, drawing, coloring, playdoh, swimming in the tub, reading books, and watching tv. Yesterday, we had a game marathon. Here's the run down:

• Hi Ho the Color Oh - 2 games (2 Drea wins)
• Disney Video Bingo - 2 games (2 Daddy wins)
• Candyland - 1 game (1 Drea Win)
• Hi Ho the Cherry-o - 1 game (1 Daddy Win)
• Don't Break the Ice- 2 games (2 Daddy Wins)

If you were keeping score the final was Daddy 5 and Drea 3. Either way though, I think we both were winners. We just loved spending the day together. Anyway, I'm sure tomorrow is the day we finally go back. I'm thankful for the time I have spend with both girls. This winter weather is a rarity. We usually get snow, but never like this. I know eventually it will be over, but it has been worth every inch.

geniuses

I know everyone thinks their children are geniuses every once in a while. And even though it might be completely normal behavior for their ages, you just get so excited and proud of them that you really want to share.

So let this be a warning. If you don't want to hear and see a shameless plug for my geniuses then skip this blog entry.


Charlotte:

Our little munchkin just turned 11 months. She surprises us lately by a couple things she does.

I was in her room one night probably about a month ago and sitting on the futon in her room. She came up to me and started making her noises at me that I recognize as her come down on the floor with me. So I sat indian-style on her floor and she walked over to her bookshelf, picked out a book, handed me the book, and then turned around and sat on my lap. I almost jumped up and down. It was the sweetest thing ever. I can't believe that she knows that we read books before bed every night and can remember the actions that lead up to book reading.

And she has favorite books. Charlotte goes to her bookshelf and finds her peek-a-boo baby books almost every night. She has two that have flaps that cover up a picture of a baby. When Charlotte pulls the flap off to reveal the baby, she gets so excited and giggles about it.

Bringing things to us is one of her new things. Like her books, she brings us toys she wants us to turn on, the phone, the remotes... she seems proud of herself and wants to show us, I guess.

She knows how to get down off the couch.

She has been running away from Jersey when she has snacks in her hand. Until Jersey traps her and then momma comes to the rescue.

Cute video of Charlotte bringing a toy to daddy to turn on.

Drea:

Our big 4 year old has an incredible memory! We have been reading this cute book to her called Naughty Little Monkeys. There are 26 monkeys and all of their names start with a letter of the alphabet. And then it tells what each monkey is doing while their mommy and daddy are out of the house. The very last page of the book shows all the monkeys going to the zoo in one long line and each of their shirts has the letter of the alphabet that their name starts with on it. The last couple nights she has been naming every one of those monkeys on the last page. All 26 of them. And Andy and I don't even go through all of their names in a row like that on the last page. We only say them as we read every page. So she knows which letter goes with which name. She also has some of the pages memorized, too. You can watch the video below.

Things that make me smile

Below are some things that make me smile lately or sometimes even giggle and laugh out loud. (These will be identified according to our five senses because that is what Drea has been learning at school lately.)


Sound:

• My daughters laughing together. They are finally starting to interact with each other and I love the sound of their joint laughter. Sometimes in the car, Drea will start laughing at Charlotte and then Charlotte just starts laughing because Drea's laughing. As Kai-Lan says, this makes my heart feel happy. Can you tell in these pictures how much fun they have together lately even as they are torturing momma.

I look like I'm having fun by this picture, don't I...and what is Drea doing to her sister?

Sight:

• A snowman. And even better, a giant snowman. During our recent slight blizzard, some nice family on Virginia Avenue built a giantic snowman. I enjoyed seeing this on my way to work everyday. Thanks Virginia Avenue family on the corner across from 8th Street Confectionary.


• Andy wearing dress-up jewelry that Drea has "forced" him to wear. He said he was being a "king" but he sure looked like a "queen" to me.
  
• This:
  

• These beautiful faces below:
  
  
  
  

Touch:

• I'm going to go more with the word "feeling" on this because the other day I was giggling out loud at the feeling of going down my back road to pull into the garage. Follow me for a minute...No one plows this road since we are the only ones who use it and it leads into our driveway. We have made tire tracks in the snow that has now turned to ice. So (when I'm by myself) I really enjoy just letting off the break & gas and coasting down this road (since no one else uses it) like I'm on a roller coaster. Pretty fun. So I started to do this the other day but instead my tires went a little off course but it was like when you are riding that old car ride at the Kennywood that keeps your tires on a track and my car jolted me back into the tire treads and then they went a little off course the other direction and my car jerked me back on the tracks again. Anyway, by the time I made it onto my driveway, I was cracking up out loud behind the wheel because it was so much fun. I probably couldn't do it again if I tried. What was even funnier was when I looked up and saw Andy watching me from our kitchen window and I realized he probably thought I was driving drunk. Maybe you had to be there.

Smell:

• The current candle we have in our living room. Some vanilla and cookies and cream thing from Walmart. I always enjoy the smell of vanilla.


• Freshly baked cookies.


• Babies.

Taste:

• This is not hard to think of while dieting...french fries makes me smile.
  
• Ice cream, brownies, or cookies.
  
• Hot wings (especially garlic romano wings from the SportsPage) which are unfortunately 9 points for only 3 wings!
  
• Oh, food, pretty much lights me up all together.

Post 100, Barrett, & other Thoughts

Can you believe this is our 100th post? Who would have thought that would happen? What is more amazing to me is I have posted 53 times and Stacey has posted 47. Not that I am keeping score. Perhaps all the snow days have a lot to do with this. I mean she started the blog 3 years ago and as an afterthought she suggested that I blog, too. I really did not want to at first. Well, I guess I have had something to say after all. I hope all that read our blog enjoy it, because we have enjoyed writing it and also following others bloggers along the way. Here's hoping for 100 more.


So I have been watching the girls and Barrett on Thursday nights while Stacey and Jody have been going to Weight Watchers and Zumba. Anyway, last week I was just watching Charlotte and Barrett. Drea went with Mommy and Aunt Jody. Well, I was feeding Charlotte in the kitchen and Barrett was in Charlotte's room playing. I could hear him jumping up and down and having a good time. Other then the jumping he was very quiet. So I called for him to come out of Charlotte's room. This is what I found.

Notice how cloudy this picture looks

That would be an entire bottle of baby powder

Somehow, Barrett managed to keep himself pretty clean. Maybe, this is why God has given me girls not boys. Either way, I got a good laugh out of it. I mean what else would I do.....beat him.

Why is it that people with four wheel drive think they are invincible in the snow. Last night, I had to run out to let my friend, Dave's dog out, and this truck tailgated me the entire time. Look, I have four wheel drive and it makes me feel safe, but you don't have to drive like an idiot because of it. The guy even flashed his high beams at me because I wasn't going fast enough. I seriously wanted to get out the car and say something to him. Then, I realized that I have never been in a fight in my life and now wasn't the time to start.

I know some of our readers are Duke and UNC fans but quite frankly, I am sick of all the hype over them playing. I was listening to sports talk radio today and they were saying its not the same when UNC isn't good. Yeah, it's better. I have said this before, it's easy when you are a proven winner like these programs are, to win. So it's nice every once in a while for UNC fans to know how it feels not to win. That is what is good about college sports.

Snow, Snow, and more Snow

Most of our readers know that I enjoy snow days more then anything and that is still true. On Saturday, we received at least a foot of snow or more. It caused several problems in WV, as well as, the entire east coast. On Sunday, Drea and I shoveled snow and built a snow fort. We really had a great time. We have had two days off of school so far and as I am typing it is beginning to snow again. They predict that it will snow until Thursday. The girls are getting so big and I am enjoying every minute that I get to spend with them. I hope to blog a few times in the next couple of days (depending on the snow and possible days off). But, for now just wanted to say we are having a good time. The only thing that would make it complete is Mommy. I guess people need their money to buy bread and milk. (Stacey works for the bank, but doesn't handle money, I know that but just follow me, okay)

• Speaking of which, it always makes Stacey and I laugh when people rush out to the store to buy those things. I don't understand that thinking. What's going to happen that we need to rush out and get those two items. I think we can survive without them. I mean how long are we going to be snowed in. A day maybe two. Please people give it a rest....you can live without bread and milk for TWO days....ugh.

• I think censorship has been taken to far. During the Super Bowl they were introducing Football Hall of Fame players. One former player and now assistant coach of the Steelers is Dick Lebeau. Cbs censored his first name. I think the general public knows the difference between someones name and a bad word.

• Those of you that know me realize I like an occasional beer. When I do it is usually Yuengling. Well, this past week on the tv show, "The Office", Michael and his former boss were sitting in a hot tub, drinking. (This is not recommended by the writer, both drinking in a hot tub and doing so with another man) Anyway, their beer of choice.........Yuengling Lager and Black and Tan.