Our Chicago Trip!!!

We are back from our trip to: and it was fantastic! It was thrilling to have NOTHING to do (for me anyway, Jeff worked). I don't have any pictures of what I did the most...sleep, relax, lay in bed, watch tv, eat...you know the things that make up my perfect vacation. But I do have pictures of what I did actually see and do while there! :)

Except I did go visit Kathryn and we had fun! We saw lots of Art Galleries and paid $26 for 2 hours of parking downtown....

Here is Wrigley Field. There was CUBS stuff EVERYWHERE all over the place. Jeff and I neither care a lot about baseball, but to get to my cousin's apartment, we passed it. So we took a picture.

This is us after it POURED down rain for 30 minutes straight while we were walking in it. It was neat though because it left downtown Chicago empty. Literally it was just us...not even the homeless were out. We were miles from our bus stop and had nothing, so we kept on keeping on...and had a blast!

see....that's me. It had stopped raining for about 10 minutes and so we had a few brave souls that joined me near 'the bean' but usually there are hundreds of people around it!

Here is my cousin Mandi, who lives in Chicago and loves it. (I wouldn't live there if you paid me a million bucks). This was before it rained and it was still nice out. :)

being silly...again, 'the bean' (although I think it is actually called Cloud Gate, everyone calls it the bean)

This is also before it rained and you can see we were amid the masses.

This was a cool place where kids love to play...and get very wet! :)

The other thing Jeff and I love to do is poke around nice neighborhoods and gawk at all the homes. These two neighborhoods were by far the craziest I've ever seen. They just may as well wallpaper with 100 dollar bills...ridiculous. Jeff wants doors like this one day though. Really really big ones! :) I think he prefers wooden ones though.

crazy

craziest....we have a 3 picture panoramic of this house...because it is so big you can't get it all in one picture. INSANE!

We had a fantastic time! I loved it but I missed my babies. They were very happy to see us, but had a great time with grandparents (and their own adventures)!

Preschool Pictures

LifeTouch did an outstanding job taking pictures for Good Shepherd. I helped out with the photographer that day and she was fantastic! I love these pictures of my kids...They didn't take bad ones! That is a miracle...(for a photographer other than family).

Whirlwind trip

We went to Enid Thursday through today and I haven't been on the computer since Wednesday maybe. I started my Easter picture post, but that will have to wait again. But we are back. We are cleaned up and unpacked (whew...that feels good).

I got to hold baby Kinsley Ann (8 lb, 11 oz; 21 inches; April 16th 4:04pm) and that was awesome. Mom and baby are both doing awesome and are now at home!

We got to spend some time with Jeff's families in Enid and that is great! I took two really great and fun pictures of my kids with Jeff's Dad and Debbie at my first ever experience at Buffalo Wild Wings (I really liked it, Honey BBQ all the way :))

All in all a fast but good trip! The kids got spoiled and are totally off schedule but hey...who cares!

And we made it back just in time to celebrate Pre-Prom pictures at OWU. I posted them on my facebook site. I will try to get a few up in a later post in a little bit. They are awesome. We dressed up the kids in Belle Ballgown and Jackson's Tuxedo from Steph's wedding! It was just too great for words...Stay tuned.

Easter! (finally)

So Easter is a long time past now...but here is the CRAZY long Easter post. We had a LOT go on that weekend!

Fun family picture!

This is how Creighton entertains herself while I get dressed when she isn't getting in all my things trying to put on every item of makeup . I thought she was pretty cute. She thought she was pretty cool!

Notice the backwards tiara and upside down sunglasses. (she always does that with sunglasses, weird)

My cute men who went to early service!

After church on Sunday. They weren't in the mood for pictures. At. All.

This was the best I got of them :) cheeseball!

Jackson is my lover in the family. He loves hugs and kisses!

Giving and receiving them :)

Cuteness~

Doesn't she look SO big in this picture? When did she grow up on me?

This is when my mom and dad took them to the Easter Zoobilee at the Tulsa Zoo. On Saturday. Jackson LOVES big furry (scary) mascots/animals.... Creighton won't come near them!

Again!

However, Creighton is fearless with REAL animals. She LOVES all animals. See Jackson much more concerned with a friend stranger . I am not certain which is more scary as a mom: a daughter who is fearless with real animals, no matter their size; or a son who is fearless with big masked 'things' with Lord knows who underneath--ah yes, and they are both preschoolers!?

Back to zoo and Easter, sorry.

My kids beg me to ride the carousel every time we go to the zoo. I NEVER have let them. It was free this day! We'll see how our return trips go now (I am afraid the begging will never cease)

Then they went that afternoon to a church celebration with my mom and dad and aunt and uncle!

Again, Jax and the big thing...all smiles!

They had to wait and wait and wait to go egg hunting. As you can see my daughter...so not innocent doesn't ever abide by rules or ropes or boundaries! She will be my wild child that will always keep us on our knees! (oh God, help me!)

Jackson was hamming it up while waiting. They made them wait for over 30 minutes...4 year old and under...what they were thinking I am not sure?

Finally got to hunt! Jackson was way more into it than Creighton!

sweet boy

relatively scary but hilarious photo. I think the sun was in his eyes ?

He was helping sister!

Friday Jeff's Mom and Philip came in town and we did an egg hunt inside the Nikao building at the church because it was TOO cold and wet out.

Jackson was like a bull coming out of the gates.

Creighton was cute as could be but not into it nearly as much as Jackson until it came time to count them...then she was sad because she had one less. Competitiveness runs through all of our blood. It's not necessarily a good thing. This was the cake I made for Easter this year. The kids decorated the 'thieves' crosses.

I chose a bundt so when you cut pieces it would be like the tomb...however, not quite empty here, but it didn't take long...the cake was good :)

Yeah, that was one busy weekend. It was fun. I am so thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for being willing to sacrifice for me. I don't deserve it, couldn't ever repay you, or earn it, and everyday make you go through it all again with my sin, and still....you'd do it again. Just for me. That is why I love you, why I serve you. Why I seek you with all my heart. Why I have faith, and belief in a living God, the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life.

Easter Bunny Funny

AHHHHH. I haven't been on the computer roughly ALL week. It's been good but crazy. Jeff wasn't feeling well all week and so he was resting quite a bit and the computer is in our room. When he wasn't resting, he was on it! :) (trying to get some work done from the house).

Anyway, I have much to say and no time to say it...I have pics too!

We had a fantastic Easter weekend. Can't wait to share. But the kids are out of school tomorrow so it may be later this week when I can update again...I will certainly try. I am SO behind.

Hope all of your Easter weekend's were incredible. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice...

Funny thing really quick, so this wasn't totally a waste of all our time...

This morning my sweet boys in my life were leaving to go to early service. As they were walking out, I said " Happy Easter, Buddy" to Jackson.

He turned around and said "Happy Easter Bunny to you too mom" with the sweetest most sincere face...oh...to be three! :) Jeff and I laughed...it was awesome

Our Life in Living Color

I am CERTAIN I will not be able to accurately portray with words what unfolded in my house this evening. But if for nothing other than for Jeff and I to remember exactly why two of us were in tears laughing, then it's worth my efforts here.

I was getting the kids pajamas and their toothbrushes while Jeff and Jackson were wrestling. It was funny in the beginning because Jackson was literally beating Jeff up (without knowing it) and of course Creighton wasn't helping--she has this really crazy way of always finding his really "sensitive" areas.

Anyway, in all this process, Jackson fell on Jeff's face and Jeff unfortunately realized he hadn't quite got it all when he went the bathroom last. (sorry for grossness). Either way, I went to get a wipey so Jeff could clean him completely when he was changing him into his jammies. Well Jeff did, but then while he was getting his pants and underwear on while laying on the floor flat (also while Jeff was brushing Jackson's teeth) Jackson just started spraying PEE everywhere. Just like when he was a baby! He'd hit the blinds behind him when he was 5 days old.

I don't know what happened, or how, or why. He never does that. EVER.

But he did tonight.

It was everywhere. On Jeff. On his face. On Jackson. ALL over his body. On the carpet.

It was so funny. So incredibly funny. But the funny didn't stop there.

Jackson starts strutting through the house like an old man. Literally hunch backed and slowly. Oh yeah, he's butt naked, too. I don't know what on earth he was doing, where he saw it, or what...but Jeff and I were ROLLING laughing. And what was better was he was laughing and smiling so big like he knew he was funny.

almost the same moment:

Creighton was in the bathroom and then I hear her scream. I run into find her sopping wet. Jeff didn't finish draining the bathtub and she'd fallen in. Of course, AFTER I had just put her in her clean pajamas.

We just looked at each other (he followed me in) and laughed and said..."wow. really? this is so us. this is our life and we love it!"

Girls R.U.L.E.

Off to a High School Girls Retreat this weekend...

We have been planning for SOOO long and now its finally here. It's called Girls R.U.L.E. (Rise Up Ladies Event) and it is for all HS girls in the area.

I am nervous yet excited about what all God is going to do this weekend. It's gonna go great...so much prayer and time has been put into this...but we'd love extra prayer if you think of it.

Our theme is Identity...goodness do they all need a fresh perspective there! (and so do we leaders)