Summer fun!

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Kru is learning how to eat Cheerios!

Clearly he has a long road ahead of him, 
but when this is your teacher, what do you expect?

Daddy Daughter Date

David took the girls on a "date" tonight.  They were so excited.  They wanted their hair done, they didn't fight me when I got them dressed.  It was cute to see them look forward to their date.  I was also surprised they seemed to know what a "date" was.  They kept asking if they were going to go on a "big boat" like Mommy and Daddy or if they were going to go on a plane like Gaga and Papa (my parents just got back from a trip to France).  I guess I use the word "date" more than I thought! 

They went to Chick-fil-a for Kids Eat Free night.  David got them Sprite which is a very rare treat.  He said they didn't enjoy it as much as we thought they would.  They might have enjoyed a juice box more.  They played in the playground a little bit and then got an ice dream.  All 3 of them really enjoyed themselves.

Kru and I stayed home, cleaned up the house a little bit and he went to bed early.  I can't wait till hes old enough for us to go on dates, too!

We have a consonant sound!

Kru started saying the "B" sound yesterday! He says it all the time now and today I think I've heard a few "P" and "G" sounds, too! He is certainly having fun with his sounds.

Getting big so fast! Too fast!!

One of my favorite nights

This is going to be more like a journal entry than a blog post for me tonight. I just don't ever want to forget this night. David is out of town and I typically HATE putting the kids down when he is away. I'm usually impatient and grouchy. And of course, when I have a bad attitude going into it, my kids feel it and respond unfavorably. Its just a bad cycle all together.

But not tonight.

My mom and dad were here and the girls were loving their time with them. We danced to the songs of Glee for about an hour. It was so fun (who needs the gym?!? Talk about a workout!!)!! We calmed down, the girls were still entertained so I was able to put Kru to bed without them getting impatient and then my parents left and it was their turn.

It was just precious. They had the happiest hearts, obeyed without me having to ask more than once and were just a complete joy! We read stories, cuddled and kissed.

I started reading a Bible book to them last night -- its a Bible story book for Mothers and Daughters that I got from David's mom when the girls were born. I thought they were still a little young but wanted to start the habit of reading Bible stories to them as soon as possible.

Well, I was wrong.

They got it.

They really got it. It was so amazing (Thanks Mother, this book really blessed the 3 of us tonight!). We were reading about how Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree God told her not to. They immediately responded to the word "disobeyed" and said Eve should get a spank-spank or go to time out. It went on to say she was punished and I asked the girls if they get punished when they disobey (I wasn't sure they knew the word) and they said they do. They knew what punishment was. And the book talked about how Eve's punishment was to leave the beautiful garden where all the animals were and the girls were sad for her and said "Disobey is a no-no. She has to go to time out".

I don't know if I'm even coming close to portraying what a beautiful moment this was for us. I think more than anything God is really showing me that he is HERE in our lives. I've prayed every day for almost 3 years (I got pregnant in June 3 years ago) that my children would truly KNOW him and now that they are at an age where they are understanding the world around them I've wondered if I was doing a good job. I'm sure thats something I'll always question, but tonight, I feel at peace. My girls know who God is, they are beginning to understand that we lift our hands to him in praise. That we obey him and his commands and when we don't there is punishment.

Next time you see them ask them "Who is the apple of your eye?". They will be sure to tell you that its Jesus! And I'm beginning to think they actually have an inkling of what that really means.

Thank you, God!

Love this!

Here is a video of Pressley dancing in church. We attend the 2nd Service at our church and the kids are in nursery. We've started taking them into the beginning of the 3rd service so they can enjoy the singing. We've been teaching them that we are singing to God and tell him how much we love him!! They really enjoy this time and although I'm sure they don't "get" all of it right now, I know those precious seeds are being planted. I can't watch this video with out tearing up. My hearts prayer is to raise my children to know the Lord and have a personal relationship with him. I hope Pressley's heart (and Lyla and Kru's!) always dances for our Heavenly Father.

I love when she stops to lift her hands (like they are doing on stage), I told her later than when she does that she is lifting her hands to God telling him how much she loves him. She lifts her hands during songs we sing at home now! For some reason Lyla was in a cuddly mood this week and was in David's arms but she can really get into it, too. I'll try to capture that another time.

Family Date night

David and I went on a cruise a few weeks ago.  We had a blast (I'm sure I'll post about this more later), we have desperately needed to reconnect.  A LOT of things have changed for us in the last 27 months!  This was our first time away since becoming parents -- my first night away from my kids other than when I was in the hospital giving birth to Kru!  We decided we needed to have more date nights, go away for a night or two a couple of times a year and save the big trips to do with the kids.  We did NEED this cruise and wouldn't have traded it for the world but we just kept seeing things we wish we could have shared with the kids.  David's family loves to go on cruises so I'm sure we'll go again soon and will get to share it with our kids, I can't wait!

Anyway, as I said, we want to do more date nights.  I was planning one for David -- one I knew HE would love -- a LOST series finale date night.  I woke up one morning and decided to do it that night, so it was kind of thrown together but come off really well.   I got all my ideas from this great website The Dating Divas, they are a bunch of married women that give ideas on how to date your hubby.  I love it! 

So, our date...

I planned on doing a few theme things for David and I to enjoy after the kids went to bed but as I was getting ready I realized the girls would really enjoy a lot of this, too.  So, I decided we would have a family night first, put the kids to bed, and then we'd have our date night time.  It was a great night!!

Our "Dharma" stuff.  Food, a manual (love notes from all of us), a gift which was a shirt with the Dharma symbol:

Our LOST cake. This could have looked a lot cuter but like I said, last minute.

Here we are in our jammies, eating our LOST cake and watching The Incredibles in our life boat (kiddie pool).  This was my favorite part of the night.  Playing in the life boat was SO much fun!  I blew it up while the kids were napping and it was standing up in the kitchen when the girls woke up.  Lyla walked into the kitchen and gasped, she said "Its my big boat!".  She has been so hung up on boats lately!  She is CRAZY about them.  And I thought it was hilarious she knew it was a boat!!  Its very similar to the kiddie pool my mom has at her house so I thought I'd have to convince them it was a boat and not a pool but, nope. 

Playing in the boat was so fun! They loved to "fall out" and let David and I save them. They loved to swim in the "water". They loved to ride the side of the boat like a horsie. Let me tell you, putting a blow up kiddie pool in your den creates a ton of creative play. We will do this again just for the heck of it!

Then the kids went to bed, we turned on the season finale and drank our Dharma White Wine.  :o)  Good times.