Snow much fun!

Today she decided she LOVED it! All morning she would walk up to me and say "hat?" or "mitten?" or "princess boots?" So I gave in and took her out, thinking that she would last for about 2 minutes. But an hour later I had to drag her in kicking and screaming for lunch. As I took her boots of she said "that was fun!"

Chrish in his snow fort!

Christian helping daddy shovel the sidewalk....again!

It's a BLIZZARD out there .....Literally

What a fun day...sort of! It's great to have Ryan home. And it really would be impossible for him to get to work. It's insane out there! This actually really is a blizzard. This morning when we woke up we couldn't see out the windows (upstairs or downstairs) because snow was so packed into the screens from the wind blowing so hard. I've never seen anything like this in my life! Seriously, this is a history making storm!

We got at least another foot of snow last night. It's hard to tell how much we really got because it's drifting and blowing so much.

So the boys are outside trying to get the driveway clear and my two year old and I are cozy inside.

Wordless Wednesday

It's snowing again....

and these two are happy about it. I think they're the only ones.
And this adorable girl is turning two today. This morning when she and I were snuggling in bed I sang her the Happy Birthday song and she said, "I have cake?"
Oh my word, she already gets the whole birthday thing. We actually weren't going to do cake since we're having a party next week, but I decided to get the girl some cupcakes.

So we're gearing up for another blast of old man winter. Ryan's hopefully coming home soon! I think we already have an inch at least, on top of the 20 inches we already have!

You're Invited!!

McKenna's turning two,

and she wants to celebrate with YOU!

McKenna loves to make messes,

with dress up shoes, hats and dresses.

She's always finding something new to wear,

on her feet, her hands and even in her hair!

She is the light of our lives,
it's pure joy to see the world through her eyes.


But we know that their are lots of little girls,
who would love to have pretty dresses and pearls.

So this year we're going to work to make those dreams come true,

for some little girls who have dreamed for years of something new!

I hope you're ready because we need you,

to help us be a blessing to a few.

__________

So here's the plan:

Please join us at McKenna's house for a playdate party on February 16th at 10am.

Please bring a new or gently used clothing item for a child age 5 or under that lives in Malawi, Africa. Please only bring dresses or skirts for the girls. The girls do not wear pants in Malawi.

As many of you already know my college roomate Jamie (pictured below) is spending a year in Malawi and she is working with the ministry Serving In Missions with their orphan care program. And Jamie has expressed to me what a need they have for decent clothes for these kids. So please join us in blessing these children!

These children (pictured below) live down the street from Jamie. You'll notice the boy on the end is wearing hot pink pants that clearly do NOT fit him. That breaks my heart and makes me feel so selfish when I open my children's closets!

So won't you join us for a party with a purpose next week??

Well, I know it's impossible for some of you to join us since you live so far away! So here's how you can participate.

As you can imagine shipping these clothes is going to be very expensive!! If it were cheap we would all probably send our hand-me-downs to Africia, but it costs about $50 to ship 10 lbs. And I'm commited to sending as many clothes as we can, so if you can't come to the party could you just send McKenna a birthday card with $2.o0 in it? Two dollars because McKenna's turning two and because it really will add up quickly and help us to cover the cost of shipping these clothes. And if you just love to shop and are dying to send an outfit to Malawi, then you can do that too!

McKenna is going to open all her cards at her party next week and I'm going to post a video of McKenna opening all the birthday cards she gets, so hurry and get your card in the mail.

If you don't know our address and would like an official invite, then leave a comment on this post with your email address (and let me know who you are if I don't already know you) and I'll email you McKenna's official party invitation!

P.S. No presents for McKenna please! Let's just focus on blessing these kids in Malawi!

And then it snowed.... A LOT

Christian trying to get his hat out of his face so he could smile for a picture.

I took all these pictures from inside. Ha! I didn't go out in that mess.

Christian was busy eating the snow and helping his daddy clear the driveway. It was super hard for him to move around because it was almost up to his hip!
McKenna wanted to go out, but I would have lost her in a snow drift, so we stayed inside. Plus, she acts like she likes snow when she's inside looking at it. But in reality, she hates it! Remember THIS?

Our total snow accumulation was actually a lot less than everyone East or South of us. We ended up with about 18-20 inches (it's hard to get an exact measurement because it kept drifting) but had snow drifts that were over 3 feet deep. And more snow is on it's way!

The Reason for my lack of blogging...

I've been painting. A LOT! This is the original color in this room, but I had to do a lot of touch up painting after my dad spackled all the holes the former owners left behind.

And I got this "bed in a bag" deal at Target!! I adore the bedding and it was super inexpensive. And I think it goes perfectly with my model home liquidation bedroom furniture.

And then there's the playroom that I just can't seem to get a decent picture of. During the day too much light is coming in the window and it makes the green look funny. And the evening
aren't turning out right either. But you get the idea.

What do you think about my lighting solution for the playroom? This room didn't have any overhead lights and I like to walk in a room and flick a switch and have light, so these lights were my solution. Kind of funky, but fun for a playroom!

I haven't really worked on the guest room much at all, but I just wanted you to see that there's a place for you if you want to come visit!!

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Next up...I've already got the paint for the two bathrooms upstairs!

And since we're expecting more snow this week, I just might get it done, since we won't be going anywhere.

Cute Cousins

I adore this picture of Abby! It makes me miss her so much! It was so fun to have them visit and I know it's been over a week since they were here, but I had to get these pictures on the blog anyway.
We really tried to get McKenna to pose for a picture (without her binkie...darn it I should have gotten rid of that thing before she could talk and CONSTANTLY ask for it).

I know that I have my own son and I absolutely adore him, BUT I think Nathan is the sweetest boy I've ever met. Don't get me wrong, Christian has a million priceless qualities about, but even he would tell you that "sweetness" isn't his specialty.

Nathan loves McKenna sooooo much. He follows her around and gives her whatever she wants and plays with her so nicely. He even sat and listened to her read him a book.

So naturally McKenna really thought she was "big time" since she had this new best friend at her beck and call!

We can't wait to see our cousins again. I'm not sure when that's going to happen. A lot of major stuff is going on in our family right now. Nothing bad, just change. And change can be challenging...so it might be a month or so before we get to hang out again, but we can't wait!!!