A sweet gift!

I have to share what Phillip got me for our anniversary!


It says "a beautiful decade" on the top layer and has all four of our names on the bottom. The necklace was blank and he told them what to hand stamp on there!
Isn't that saying awesome! I have never seen that on anything else, I love how unique it is!
To say I love it would be a huge understatement!

He also got me a pair of pearl cluster earrings that I also love and a charm with purple February stones on it for my Brighton bracelet. I bought a Brighton charm bracelet right after Christmas with some Christmas money my Grandparents gave me so I was excited to add another charm to it!

He's definitely a keeper! ;)

Ten Years

Phillip and I have been married 10 years today! It has been the best 10 years of my life. There have been times in our marriage that have been hard and other times that have been easy and wonderful. But what else do you expect when you are sharing a life with someone who doesn't think and act like you do? There's going to be ups and downs. But thankfully, our marriage is filled with many more ups than downs!
I could go on and on about how wonderful my husband is and why I love him but for the sake of time, here are the top ten!

1. Phillip is in love with me. He loves me for who I am and accepts my flaws. He encourages me to grow in areas of my life that are weak and flourish in areas where I am strong.

2. He is a wonderful Daddy. He loves our girls to pieces and they love him. He is the best "girl" Daddy. He plays rough and silly with them but will ooh and aww over them when they are dressed up. He tells them both all the time they are pretty on the inside and outside.

3. He is a wonderful provider. He is so good at his job! God has blessed him with a mind for all things audio/video/computers/electrical. He handles the stress of overseeing several thousand seat venues like it's no big deal.


4. He is the leader of our house. He is not afraid to step up and make big decisions for our family. My personality is quite "my way or the highway" but he never steps aside and lets me take charge. Even though it often makes my blood boil, I am so thankful for that. God has instructed men to step up and be the leader of their home and Phillip does a wonderful job of that.

5. Phillip is very frugal. He is very careful with how he spends and invests money. Could we live in a bigger house in a nicer subdivision, could we both drive bigger newer cars, could we spend more on clothing and other material possessions? Absolutely, but that is not what God has called us to do with our money. I am so thankful Phillip is not driven by money.


6. He is very patient. Phillip is so good at letting things "roll off his back". He doesn't get worked up easy and just wants to enjoy life.

7. Phillip is so kind and genuine. He can walk up to anyone and instantly connect with them. His co-workers laugh at him when they travel because by the end of the flight he will know the name, occupation, where they live, and the life story of the person sitting next to him. Most of us are so bad at staying in our little bubble and not connecting with people around us. We have become so anti-social. I love this quality in Phillip!

(Cameron Magee)

8. He loves life. He doesn't take things too serious and doesn't worry about many things.

9. He is very talented and "handy". He plays the guitar well, very well. He is good at fixing things around the house. He is not a carpenter, an electrician, a plummer, or a mechanic but he always knows just enough to fix things around the house. I love that!


10. He is committed to our marriage and our family. When he put my ring on my finger he was making a promise for life. I know he is going to be here no matter what the next ten years bring.

An Update

Thank you to everyone that has been praying for my Uncle Jim after his brain injury earlier this month. After spending 5 days in ICU and Intermediate Care and then 8 days in rehab he was able to come home from the hospital on Friday. He is doing very well but is still not completely healed. His wife was saying he probably at about 85%-90%.

He is able to do all of the basic things; feed himself, shower and dress himself, carry on a normal conversation for a limited amount of time, but is not allowed to drive or cook for himself. Physically, he is doing well, his fractured shoulder and twisted and bruised ligaments in his ankle are healing. Mentally, he is doing better but is still having trouble with concentration, ability of perception, and emotions. There are small things about his personality that are different and only time will tell if these new "traits" will stay or go away.

He is supposed to be in a calm and quiet environment to allow his brain to continue to heal properly. He is also doing physical and mental exercises several hours a day. He is going to follow up with his trauma team in three weeks and are praying he will be released to return to his normal activities.

God made our bodies so complex and He knows exactly how to fix and heal Jim's brain. We are trusting in Him to completely heal his brain!

The Best Salsa

I love Mel's Kitchen Cafe! I get a lot of recipes from her blog. She does not cook "fat free" but cooks without processed ingredients (Cream Soups for example), which is right up my alley. I recently made a Salsa recipe she posted and it is sooo good! I've made it twice this month if that says anything.

It is fresh and chunky, the perfect combination if you ask me!



I don't have a food processor so I just used my mini food chopper I made baby food with when the girls were little. I put it in two batches at a time then gave it all a quick stir once I transferred it to a bowl.

Salsa

1/2 small red onion, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup drained jarred pickled jalapenos
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained well

In the bowl of a food processor (or a blender), pulse the onion, cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, garlic and salt until coarsely chopped.

Add the drained tomatoes and pulse until combined. Don’t over process in this step if you want your salsa to remain chunky.

Finding Nemo

The weather this week has been GORGEOUS! Last week it was below 0, this week it's been in the 70's. Crazy! Over a 70 degree difference. We have been playing outside all week long. It has been so nice to get out of the house after being stuck inside two weeks in a row.

Today we headed over to Tulsa to go to the Oklahoma Aquarium. We had so much fun!

When we arrived in Tulsa we decided to eat lunch first. We let the girls walk around a bit and stretch their legs before going in to eat. Oh, my sweet little Aubs is turning into a toddler! She has a big case of the "I can do it's"! I hate to even verbalize this, but I think she is determined to be even more independent than her sister. Oh, help me! I think it's probably because she watches Ashlyn and thinks she can do everything she can. All this to say, little sassy pants did not want to hold hands while we were walking around. She would yank her little hand down and squeal "no"! It comes out in a high pitch "nee-o". It's actually quite cute, most of the time.

My three favorite people in the whole world!

We ate at a yummy Italian place, Zio's. We were stuffed when we left! This little one though only ate bread and water for lunch. I'm pretty sure she ate a whole loaf herself. Oh well!


We had so much fun at the aquarium. Ashlyn had a blast and was wore out by time we left. She looked over at a tank filled with large Paddle Fish and said "Oh my goodness, you've got to be kidding me". She cracks me up!
It was smack dab in the middle of nap time so Aubrey rode in her stroller with her thumb in her mouth the whole time. She didn't fall asleep though, she didn't want to miss anything.


They had a shallow tank filled with Sting Rays and another type of fish you could touch. Let's just say Ashlyn is a chip off the 'ol block.

Notice there is only one of us with our hands in the water! Ick!

They had a really neat shark tank with a tunnel you could walk through. Sharks were swimming over and next to you while you walked through. Pretty fun!

Playing in the shark cage

Me and my pretty girls!

Ow, my arm!

When we were almost home we passed a train going through town. Phillip whipped into a parking lot and took Ashlyn over to watch it pass by. How often do you get to watch a train that close?


The girls ate a quick dinner, had a bath, and are now conked out in bed. What a fun day!

Swing Set: Closed for Winter

Just Laugh!

Today was one of those days that you just have to laugh or you will lose it!

This morning Ashlyn had a dentist appointment. This is probably the last day we can get out of the house before this weekend because of the snow that's coming, so we made the best of it. I went to the bank and Walmart before heading to the dentist.

On the way to the dentist Ashlyn hollers "Mom, Aubrey spit". (Ashlyn says spit for throw up) So I ask her "did she spit a little or a lot". "A lot". Great! I pull over in the next parking lot and sure enough Aubrey threw up on herself. She was chewing on the pom pom on her hat and gagged herself. I attempted to wipe Aubrey and her car seat off with wipes the best I could. Thankfully she had on a little light weight jacket that caught most of the "yuck".

So, now I'm rushing to the dentist. As I pull into the parking lot I see blue flashing lights behind me!! You have got to be kidding me! I was going 42 in a 30 and didn't use my blinker. Ugh, a ticket for sure! Well, turns out Ms. No Personality has a heart and lets me go with only a warning. Thank you! Although it made for a great discussion that mommy has rules to follow too and gets in trouble when I disobey. Nothing like keeping it real in front of your kids!

Ashlyn was pumped to go to the dentist! They have a fun waiting room and the girls played well together. When they called Ashlyn back she hopped right up on the table and chose her flavors of cleaners, even talked to the hygienist. Something happened and she all of a sudden decided she DID NOT want her teeth cleaned. After much convincing and sweet talk then a stern word from mommy she opened her mouth. Poor hygienist, I lost count how many times she said "ooo, that's my finger, open your mouth please". I forgot to mention that once Aubrey was let loose in the waiting room she did not want back in her stroller. The little dental chairs are all lined up in a large room and have toys and huge windows to look out so I just let Aubrey walk around. (We were the only patients in there) That was pretty much the first time she's been allowed to wander around in a public place so she was into everything. Thank goodness this is a pediatric dentist and they are sooo sweet and understanding of how kids naturally act! After that fiasco was over I was standing at the check out counter paying and scheduling her next visit and she just repeats over and over "mom, I don't want to come back again". Poor girl!

When we were loading back up in the van and the wind caught the balloon Ashlyn just got at the bank and off it went. Ashlyn loves helium balloons and always asks for them at the bank. That pretty much topped off her morning!

We then headed over to Steak and Shake for lunch. Have you ever gone out to eat by yourself with a four year old and a 16 month old? Oh my!
That's when I just had to laugh! My choices were to bawl in front of a large group of strangers or laugh because we were probably the entertainment for the four tables around us!

Monday, Monday

This weekend we were finally able to get out of the house! Can I get a woot woot from all the NWA moms!?!

Friday I had plans of braving the icy roads that were starting to clear after nap time and do some grocery shopping. Well, it started to snow again, hard. Talk about salt on an open wound! Phillip texted me and said we would go out for dinner and go grocery shopping when he got home. I didn't get my hopes up because he works in a building with no windows. They never know what the weather is really doing! Needless to say, we stayed home and ate leftovers.

The girls love fruit, that is one of the food items Aubrey is guaranteed to eat when placed in front of her. I buy the Dole fruit in fruit juice, no added sugar, when the fruits are out of season.
The peaches are so good! They actually have the texture of a real peach, not mush. We go through two jars a week! I normally just dump the juice down the drain when they're empty, after I take a quick swig (shhh). Then it dawned on me to make popsicles with the juice. The girls loved them! They split one after nap time Friday and it was so cute! We don't care if it's in the 20's, we still eat popsicles and ice cream!


Aubrey would stand there so patiently with her hands crossed and wait for her bite. And Ashlyn would sweetly take turns with her.


Saturday we woke up and went out for breakfast. We never go out for breakfast so it was a fun treat. We splurged and let the girls get chocolate chips in their waffle. I'm sure I consumed my whole daily calorie intake on that one breakfast, but I didn't care. It felt good to be out of the house, five days total inside might I add, and I needed to celebrate. We made it to Walmart about 9:30 and it was still pretty calm, by time we left everyone else from town was there. People were sitting waiting for our parking spot while we loaded our groceries.
After nap time Ashlyn and I went outside and made a snowman. The snow was perfect packing texture so Ashlyn had the best time. She is so proud of her "Snow Girl". She is rather disappointed that it is starting to melt now. She kinda freaked out yesterday when the nose fell off!


Sunday we went to church. The girls both love Sunday School and were excited to see their friends! We were just going to hang out at home and watch the Super Bowl by ourselves but a hour before kickoff some friends called to see what we were doing. They ended up grabbing a pizza and coming over. I mixed up some salsa and avacado spinach dip I already planned on making and we just hung out. The kids enjoyed playing together and the adults enjoyed watching the game and chatting. I love spur of the moment activities!

We are expected to get a lot more snow later this week. Of course on Wednesday, the day before Mother's Day Out. Grrr! Ashlyn misses her friends, poor girl!
Someone tell "mother nature" I want a refund on my tuition this month! :)

Prayer

I wanted to share what is going on with our family and ask that you be praying.

Yesterday my dad, Uncle Jim, and Jim's son were working cattle. Two of the bulls started fighting and tore down a large, very heavy metal gate knocking Jim in the head. Thankfully God stopped the cows from storming through and trampling him to death. He had a large laceration on his head and broken arm/shoulder and was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where my parents live. When they did a CT scan they found his scull cracked and thought what was probably bone fragments on his brain. He was immediately flown to San Antonio.

Once in San Antonio they did more scans and found he did not have bone fragments on his brain and they were not going to have to do surgery after all. Praise God! He does have a small bleed in a vein but so far no swelling. He is awake and talking. He is saying crazy things but they are pretty sure it's from the strong pain medications. He is in ICU and they are going to do more scans today to monitor him.

Everyone is pretty shaken up. My Granddad is not doing so well but thankfully my Grandma can't comprehend the severity of Jim's injury. (My Grandma had a stroke two years ago)

We are so grateful that God protected him the way He did and are asking Him to continue to heal his injuries!

Confined

We are once again held hostage in our own home! Monday night we were under a blizzard watch which brought some ice and lots of snow. Yes, I said a blizzard watch! We are often under a winter storm warning but blizzard?!? Since when did we move out of Arkansas? Sheesh! When I first started staying home with Ashlyn it was so nice to stay in all bundled up and warm when winter storms hit. When I was working at the clinic we never closed, we would open late or close early but we still had to go in, so snow days were kinda fun once I had Ashlyn. Now, it kinda gets annoying! I'm just wondering if the ground hog sees his shadow today. Come on Spring!

Monday before all the snow came in Makenna came over to play while her mom took care of some much needed things. As soon as Makenna came over both girls were asking to play dress up. They are like two peas in a pod!
Right after Halloween I snatched up two princess dresses on sale for Ashlyn. They were marked 3T. I knew Ashlyn wouldn't get too much wear out of them but Aubrey could wear them in a couple years. When I got home and took them out of the package they were teeny tiny. They fit Aubrey now! The first time I put Aubrey in one of the dresses she freaked out. Ashlyn kept asking why Aubrey was crying and telling her "Aubrey, they are dress up clothes". Ashlyn couldn't grasp why someone wouldn't love dress up clothes! Ha! Well, Monday I put Aubrey in a Bell (Beauty and the Beast) costume like the big girls and she loved it. The two older girls were squealing when they saw her, they loved it.

I love how Aubrey is looking at Ashlyn, sucking her thumb of course. She is always watching Ashlyn, she loves her!

Typical scene in Ashlyn's room!

Tuesday morning we woke up to a little bit of snow on the ground. Schools were canceled and they were advising people to just stay in. Phillip packed his laptop the day before so he just stayed in and took some conference calls from home.

By mid morning it was snowing and blowing hard!

We just stayed in and played. It was too windy to venture outside. Ashlyn made a train in the kitchen. My mom has a picture very similar to this of my younger brother and I. Aubrey loved it and would mimic "chug a chug a chug a chug a , choo choo".


Today the snow is still piled high so we are hanging out at home while Daddy went in. His car is super good on the yucky roads so he decided to just go in. He loves being there on snow days because it's a ghost town and can get lots of work done in the quiet.
In an attempt to break up the snow day blahs we made some new crayons. I had a bag of old broken crayons from when Ashlyn was little. First we peeled off all the paper and separated them by color.


Someone else thinks she's big enough to help!


We broke the bigger pieces so they would all be about the same size. Or "make them look like the cubes Pawpaw feeds the cows" as Ashlyn says. Then we placed them in a greased mini muffin tin.


Next we baked them at 300' for about 8 minutes until they were all melted.


After cooling on the counter about 20 minutes I put them in the fridge for about 5 minutes. That will cause them to pull away from the tin and makes it easy to pop them out.


Ashlyn thought they were pretty cute and fun to color with! They are actually for Aubrey so she can hold on to them better. But after her attempt to eat all the crayons earlier we may put these away for another couple months! I'm sure they are non-toxic and safe but seeing crayon wax on her teeth makes me shudder. Yuck!

This is what it looked like outside my door this morning. It's a wee bit too deep for my petite munchkin to venture out in without snow pants.
Note to self, snow pants will be a good investment for next year!


And this is what the temperature looks like right now...

Right Now	Next 36 Hours

	Tonight	Tomorrow	Tomorrow Night
Cloudy	Partly Cloudy	Partly Cloudy	Mostly Clear
14°F	-3°	26°	5°

It won't be melting away any time soon!

Looks like MDO will be canceled tomorrow and we will be scrounging for some more indoor activities!