Nothing, you say?

What??? A weekend without plans? Whatever shall we do? I think we are giddy with the lack of commitment. I just hope that I can start out mine by sleeping in tomorrow. Well, at least until 7:30 if the girls are willing.

Saturday

Saturday we celebrated Kylie and Allie's 3rd Birthdays at my parents' house. No summer day can be complete without a little pool action for the kiddos. Yes, even though I somehow have no pictures of Alli, she was there, too! And also, here is a decent pic of my tattoo that I got to symbolize the girls. The flowers are their birth month flowers. I am very happy with the outcome!

Lessons to be Learned

What an interesting thought. I was just discussing and comparing notes on our days with Lance. He seemed to have one of those days where the "Are you kidding me?" 's piled on top of one another to only end in one with myself. Laugh, yes! Understand, getting there. Its so easy to go about our daily lives and forget that God is in the small stuff. Sheesh, He's everywhere, He is the one that orchestrates it all! So as I sit her shaking my head along with Lance I remember. It all has a reason. We might not understand it all now, but He does. And isn't there something we are supposed to learn from it? ;)

Where has the love gone?

My love and passion for photography...have you seen it? I miss taking pictures of the kids and having them but find it a hassle at even the thought of it and even bigger hassle to upload and edit the pics. What's up with that?!?

Church Shopping

It seems like we have done entirely too much of this since leaving our home in Mattoon, IL. We were very blessed to be part of a church there that was more than just a church. It was our family. They were our friends. From everything to weekly services, to lunch after service, Life Groups in our home w/ weekly dinners, a Mom's Group, Mens' Book Study, teaching kids, even holidays spent with other families within the church family. We were connected! Since leaving IL we have struggled to find a "home". Its that time again for us to move forward with our search. The last year we had been attending a great church that my parents attend but then after moving to Olympia, found ourselves lost in their Olympia campus. Even with me attending extra mid week classes, me teaching, and Lance being uber-involved in their media services we hardly know anyone other than the pastoral staff.

So, the past 2 weeks our search has landed us here: http://www.faithlacey.com/ Still a bit larger than what we thought we were looking for, but then again, we have long since realized that it is where He leads us! Lance has already made contacts with the softball team and hopes to throw a bit so he can join them soon. The girls are loving their new class and teacher. Kylie has thrown tantrums the past 2 weeks when we attempt to leave to go home. I think its a hit with our family for now.

If you are a believer, please pray with us that God will direct us to the right new "home" with us and use us. Its been 2 years since we've felt truly at home and we are anxious to find that place.

Table for 6

This afternoon I was blessed to have an unusual opportunity. My brother and sister in law had a wedding they were both in so I got the pleasure of watching Alli and Noah. I SO enjoyed this! The girls all play so well together and Noah is all over the place right with them. We are very happy to have had today and look forward to seeing them again next weekend when they come back down to celebrate Kylie and Alli's joint 3rd Birthday party. I LOVE FAMILY TIME! Oh yea, we even added a dog to the mix...we dog sat Duke during the wedding for my parents so we were 4 kids, 2 cats, 2 adults, and 1 dog. Thank goodness we have a big enough house to separate the animals! :)

S-L-O-W down.

Ever just really wish that life would slow down? That's where I'm at right now. I ordered Kenzie's back pack for preschool today. I think Lance got a little teary eyed like me at the mention of it. Our babies are growing up! I'm having a hard time with that lately and wish that I could still be home with them full time. I know that that is just not exactly God's plan for now but really hope that it can change in the not so far off future again. I feel like I'm missing out on my babies!!!

Riding the Heat Wave

Whew! I know a lot of you will find this amusing, but please stop to consider the facts. We currently reside in Western Washington. 3 days of temps in the 90's is NOT the norm, especially when only days before the temps were in the upper 60's. We are not acclimated to the drastic change. Air conditioned homes are not the norm here. Thankfully, we have 2 window units and have now perfected how to cool our home.

Last night however, was a disaster at best. Since the girls' room had been closed off all night and the fan sitting in the window did no good, we decided to let them try out their new sleeping bags and "camp" in our room on the floor. Kenzie was beyond ecstatic to get to "sleep in the closet". Yup, we laid her sleeping bag in there so Lance wouldn't step on her in the middle of the night. Seemed like a good plan in theory. At 10pm a wonderful neighbor decided to let off a stray firework. Suddenly both girls were standing next to me and climbing into bed with sad eyes. That meant Lance was now kicked to the couch. We have a king bed, but there is just only so much room! Kenzie slept well but I was in between the girls and she kept edging closer and closer to me. Kylie, who is normally a great co-sleeper, was horrid! I had arms in my face all night. At 5:30 the light in the room confused Kylie into thinking it was time to wake up. It was cool enough to move them to their own room. I kept pointing out their night light (which is a moon at sleep times and changes to a sun at wake up time) and trying to convince them I knew what I was talking about. Let's just say I learned my lesson!

And now we are looking forward to a nice, much cooler weekend. The Bear Festival is in swing in McCleary and Lance and I are headed to Mark (my old room mate) and Molly's wedding in town tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness its cooler weather for the outdoor wedding!

Strawberries

So we have been taking full advantage of having Spooner's Strawberries basically in our backyard. I've tried my hand at homemade freezer jam and we are stocking up on it! Any other good suggestions for strawberries?

Tall Ships in Oly

This past Saturday Lance's mom and step-dad drove up to spend the early part of the day with us. Even though Lance went to college up here, they hadn't ever really explored much of Olympia or experienced downtown Oly. Much to our luck, a few of the Tall Ships that are usually ported in Aberdeen where up here and offering tours. Thank goodness I sprung and replaced my point and shoot and now carry it in my purse!

Patty and Martin got the walking tour of the Farmer's Market and even a bit of the basic downtown. They were surprised at how nice it all is and seemed to really enjoy it. We had fun since we don't make it down to the water or downtown all that often. We ended our festivities with a lunch at Tug Boat Annie's and then a trip to Johnson's Smokehouse where they stocked up before heading home.

a long time!

I always have such great intentions of keeping up with the blog here but for some reason, I just can't seem to keep in the swing of things. Not sure if its just the business of life now days, working again, or what. Anyhow, here are a few current pics of the girls. Enjoy!