Disney Trip

I will (hopefully) get around to a full Florida trip post, but for now here are a few pictures of Disney. Most of these are of Kate with her favorite Disney character, Daisy the Duck. We were lucky enough to see her on our way out of the park for naptime. (And since we were there a "slow" week and the wait line for fairies and princesses was up to an hour, I am so thankful she doesn't care about either!)

Randomness

I had never heard of the blog Today's Letters until just today. It is sweet, silly, and I actually sat down during the kids' naps today to listen to this, which was basically the testimony of how God worked in their marriage. I rarely spend naptime sitting down listening to something...you moms know naptime is precious! I can honestly say it was time well spent. Even if you don't think you can spare the 20 minutes, listen to it anyway. (Oh, and have a pen ready, they give 10 fun marriage tips at the end).

Took the words right out of my mouth

I've always wanted some prints with scripture up in our home, I think it's a good reminder, but, well, I really can't say it any better than this:

"I think having scripture in our home is so important, but I’ve had a hard time finding ways to incorporate it. I’m not really a fan of the traditional scripture art with photos of snowy mountains or vast meadows {do you know the ones I’m thinking of?}"
-Emily of Jones Design Company

So she designed some art prints with scripture that are, as she puts it "graphic, modern, and simple." Like this:




I also love this one (by Olive Manna) so much that I ordered it, now where to put it?




And Persimmon and Pink's etsy shop, too. I love this one in a nursery (not my idea, check out Caitlin Wilson's girl nursery).

Better Late than Never

Colin's one year pictures, courtesy of the very talented Jenny Hoke. These were taken right around his birthday, I just haven't been great at keeping the blog up to date.




Jenny suggested we take pictures at the Train Museum . We had to reschedule (due to snow)! and luckily the weather was much better on our next try. The shirt Colin is wearing is Campbell plaid. I saw it last year and had to get it for these pictures! My uncles and my Dad always wore Campbell plaid ties and shirts and I thought it would be fun to have his picture taken in this.

2010 Recap - Part 2

July
Our annual visit to the Elkhart County Fair. Kate loved the ducks (she was pretty convinced she saw Daisy Duck!) the ferris wheel, and ice cream.


So nice to have someone to cook me dinner. Kate likes to make me spaghetti. :)

August
Family outing at Coveleski Stadium.
Sidenote: This post has confirmed that my basic photography skills have gone down the toilet. I don't think I have any pictures with all the subjects in focus and looking at the camera. Sigh.

September
Kate is starting to show some pre-reading skills (attaching sounds to letters, spelling out some names and words by memory).


Colin discovers the snack cupboard. Life in our house is never the same.


October
Two little monkeys (Colin the chimp and Kate as Boots the monkey) dressed up for Trick or Treating.


November
We signed Kate up for a round of "big kid" swimming lessons (her first class without mom or dad in the pool).


Colin the Birthday Boy!
(Also stopped swaddling him about this time. Yes, I swaddled him to almost a year. It was like an addiction for him!)

December
Kate practicing her fake sleeping skills.


Colin needs to keep working on it.



It's fun to look back on the last year, and I can't believe how the kids have changed (obviously Colin in particular). I can honestly say (although maybe only because it is so fresh) it is one the the hardest years I can remember. While it had it's good moments, I am glad I don't have to live it over a la Groundhog Day. Here's hoping for a better 2011!

Cinnamon Honey Butter Recipe

I made this fun recipe a while ago (click on the recipe link and scroll down on the post for the recipe). I saw it on the linked blog (Fly Through our Window), and it looked easy! I gave a few of them away and they got good reviews. If it were up to me I'd lighten up on one of the sugars (probably the confectioners sugar). This is probably just one of those things that depends on your taste, I was expecting something more like the yummy stuff from Texas Roadhouse, and this turned out sweeter (but still good).


This is one of my favorite blogs, by the way. It's a fun mix of decorating and cooking, ideas of fun things to do with kids, faith, and encouragement for mommies (this lady is in the thick of it too!) Anyway, the cinnamon butter is really good on toast. Enjoy!

2010 Retrospective - Part1

Since 2010 didn't really exist on this blog, I thought I would start the new year off with a recap. I found it interesting to flip through the last year. Here's the first half:

January and February
Brian moved into an office building. We have found it to be a real positive for our family, it was getting so challenging to keep a good work environment with a new baby! Apparently we didn't get out a lot, all the pictures are of snow and Kate playing with play-doh.



March
Colin got his first haircut! Brian took Kate for a "daddy date" to see Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live at the Morris Civic downtown South Bend. The weather must not have been too bad because I'm wearing sandals in some of the pictures - that gives me some hope that we might see some tolerable days in the next few months.)

April
Colin's first long trip. I'll spare you the details of driving two kids by myself to Port Huron. It was fun to visit (we went to my cousin Tracy's wedding shower), but crazy. It was made livable by a gracious family (here's pro big sis Brynn with Colin. She has a brother the same age) who let us invade their home.

May
My Granny passed away in early May, so I was so thankful she had a chance to see Colin in April. Here are all my cousins, some of who I hadn't seen in a long time.

June
Kate turned 3!