Worth 1,000 Words: What We’ve Been Up To

I was a little absent last week, though I can’t REALLY think of anything out of the ordinary we did – doctor check ups, grocery shopping, Cubbies…just the norm.

There was a little TV watching…mainly so I could watch them cuddle.

Aren't they sweet!?
Aren’t they sweet!?

Wryder got stuck in the chair one time.  Then, after all the attention and hubbub, he got “stuck” a dozen or so more times.

He likes attention, that one!
He likes attention, that one!

I’ve apparently entered THAT phase of pregnancy.  You know, the one you just don’t really get cold anymore because you have so much blood and baby pumping through your body?  I guess Wrex was a little chilly on the way home Wednesday night and had a good giggle about his pickup settings.

The temp outside...
The temp outside…
The temp I put the pickup on...
The temp I put the pickup on…

We did a little chicken gazing.  I could watch those ladies all day!

Pretty girls...
Pretty girls…

Wryder is ALL about driving these days.  After almost every meal these days, he’ll pick up his empty plate and use it as a steering wheel.  When we were outside, he used the knob to the jack on the trailer hitch as a little tiny one.  It. Was. Adorable.

Love my little farm boy!
Love my little farm boy!

The kids got some belated valentines from Gramps!

Yum!
Yum!

Wryder LOVES food.  One of his favorites, though…

What's inside?
What’s inside?
Black beans!
Black beans!

This weekend has been a REALLY good one!  The weather kind of forced us inside to work on some projects we’ve been wanting to get done but haven’t taken the time to do…and a few relaxing deeds, too!

We got baby Sayble’s layette done, as well as our taxes – hallelujah!  Those can seem so daunting sometimes but Wrex and I worked all morning and got them done AND get a refund – always a plus!

We let the kids pick out a movie and had a fun supper in the living room…IMG_2322and Wrexy and I had a Bourne marathon!  YAY!  I’ve been wanting to do this for forever because I often fall asleep or get sidetracked while I attempt to watch ANY movie, but especially ones that aren’t so brainless.  🙂

We had a little outside snow play…

Don't ya just love their hats?
Don’t ya just love their hats?

and a lot of other silly shenanigans!

Step 1
Step 1
Step 2
Step 2
Step 3
Step 3

Tomorrow, we’re back to the daily grind.  Thankful for this snowy cold…

Worth 1,000 Words: Our Heart Day Weekend

The kiddos hit the mother load with the mail yesterday, making it an exceptionally fun Friday!  Miss Pam, our mail lady, brought them sticker valentines AND packages and cards from great-grandma, grandma and auntie!

Cookies and cards!
Cookies and cards!
Bears and dogs and crayons and tractors!
Bears and dogs and crayons and tractors!

We were just heading out the door for fun Friday shenanigans and we got inundated with surprises!

My gorgeous valentine girl...
My gorgeous valentine girl…
More heart hair!  :)
More heart hair! 🙂
Wryder wanted to sneak in there, too...
Wryder wanted to sneak in there, too…

The animals had to accompany us to lunch at Subway, of course.

He is SMITTEN with this bear!
He is SMITTEN with this bear!
She loves her puppy, too!
She loves her puppy, too!

We left them in the car for some playtime at the park.  Another gorgeous winter day around here…it was lovely!

Cheese!
Cheese!
They love this xylophone!
They love this xylophone!
Love this sweet pic of her!
Love this sweet pic of her!
On the go...
On the go…
More interested in showing me the airplane than posing.  ;)
More interested in showing me the airplane than posing. 😉
Ready to go!
Ready to go!

We ran a few errands, came home and took naps and then headed back outside to watch the tractor across the road work ground and eat some of the Valentine goodies we got in the mail.

Eating cookie with bear...
Eating cookie with bear…
Once the cookie was gone, he tried to eat the tin!
Once the cookie was gone, he tried to eat the tin!

Once the sun went down and the wind grew chilly, we headed inside to finish working on daddy’s valentine.

Very serious business...
Very serious business…
Bear even got a special seat...
Bear even got a special seat…

This morning, we celebrated with valentines to each other and a lovely breakfast!

Strawberry hearts, sugar/cinnamon love toast and scrambled eggs!
Strawberry hearts, sugar/cinnamon love toast and scrambled eggs!
Opening his gifts...
Opening his gifts…
He LOVED his "Ma-Mouse" socks!
He LOVED his “Ma-Mouse” socks!
Not sure how I'm gonna get them off of him...
Not sure how I’m gonna get them off of him…
Pretty flowers from my hubby...complete with hydrangeas - my fave!
Pretty flowers from my hubby…complete with hydrangeas – my fave!
Giant sucker!
Giant sucker!
Wryder dug right in!
Wryder dug right in!

Sawyer spent the morning gathering some of her most prized possessions to give to daddy for Valentine’s day.

:)
🙂

It might look like a pile of junk to the untrained eye, but these are some of her favorite things that she keeps up in her room away from little hands.  I cried when I saw it all…it was what she had to give…and she gave it so willingly.

I love the hearts of these people I get to call mine.  It’s been the perfect day because we’ve been together…not sure what more I could ask for.

Daddy and the kids ran to town to pick up pizza – a special treat out here in the sticks…especially when you have to drive 60 miles roundtrip to get it!  We’re gonna watch a fun show, snuggle and stay out of that cold wind!

I pray you have felt as loved as I have today.  My heart is full!

Love is in the Air

It’s looking pretty pink around here!

IMG_2178The kids helped me decorate for Valentine’s day this week and I must say that it’s just so cheery and sweet around here.

IMG_2179IMG_2180IMG_2181IMG_2182

I LOVE love…probably because I have the best husband on the face of the planet…and I LOVE Valentine’s day.  I’m not one of these cynical people that think it’s a Hallmark holiday and that you should love your spouse everday.  To that I say, well DUH.  But what’s the harm in specifically showing them that on a certain day?  There’s none.  Love away, friends…love away.

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Sawyer took little Valentine’s to her Cubbies class on Wednesday.  She’s not big into sweets but she loves marshmallows!  She found some heart shaped marshmallows that she just had to have so we made little s’mores packets.

I need s'more friends like you!
I need s’more friends like you!

She ate her marshmallows on the way home and gave the cookies and chocolate to dad.

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We tried out some heart hair yesterday and it’s sooooooo cute!

IMG_2185This was post-nap so you can see it held up quite well!

We took a section of hair and secured it in a ponytail.  Then we sent the whole ponytail back UP through the section of hair.  Divide the ponytail in half and twist the left section counter clockwise and the right section clockwise and you see a heart start to form.  Secure the bottom of the heart with a rubber band and voila!  Cute, easy Valentine hair!

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We snapped some pics of the kids last Sunday in front of some pink and red Valentine bunting I made.  I made these two little cards to send out to the grandparents and aunts and uncles.  The kiss is my FAVE.

10983409_10155134150720335_5305744889248014921_n10983411_10155137585355335_1514229953902229381_nThey.  Are.  So.  CUTE.  (If I do say so myself…)

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I’ve had the privilege of having this guy as my valentine for 13 years!  How blessed am I??

1525450_10154182681035335_3281791343321470065_nHe is, hands down, the best thing that has ever happened to me (next to Jesus), though he’s a gift straight from Him, I know.

1654012_10153819463995335_549618634_nHe loves me so unconditionally, so wholly…He is definitely the better half of this relationship, no doubt.  He points us straight to Jesus and exudes the fruit of the Spirit more than any person I’ve ever met.

Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!  YOU are why I love this day!  I pray I can love you just as well as you love me; I’ll die trying, that’s for sure.  I don’t even want to think about doing this life without you.  Smooch.  Smooch.  Smooch.

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Happy heart day!

Random Rambles

Oh, goodness.  We had SUCH a good weekend.  (I feel like I’ve been saying things like that a lot lately…but it’s true.  We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy family and some gorgeous weather to boot…)

I showed you the DIY project I did on Saturday but that’s not all we got done!  Wrexy worked in the barn and got two rooms ready to raise baby chicks.  We have quite a few hens that like to sit on eggs so he added some lights and wire and nest boxes to get those girls a going!   The man loves all kinds of livestock but I really think he might be happiest in the chicken house…

Putting up wire
Putting up wire

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Speaking of the chickens, we hatched out some black Old English bantams and ended up with about six roosters.  I don’t know what you know about Old English, but they’re feisty, cocky little things.  The little guys we have love to crow and walk around with their chests puffed out…and they like to attack people.  *Ahem*

Cocky little things...
Cocky little things…

They’re tiny and can’t really do much damage, but they’re definitely annoying……..and they scare Wryder to death!  He has been victim to their taunting more times than I can count.  We’ve given him permission to defend himself but he just freezes and cries until one of us comes to the rescue.

This weekend was no exception.  They had him cornered outside the barn door and he was crying and get stared down.  Sawyer came to the rescue with her baby stroller and cleaned house.  🙂

Later, Wrex and I were talking about what we needed to do with them and Sawyer said, “We need to give those naughty roosters away!  I think we need to send them to Iraq so they can get dead.”

It seems as though every naughty/evil/mean thing hails from Iraq in her mind after we talked to her several months ago about praying for our people there.  It’s not a funny situation but to hear her solution definitely was.  We had a good laugh about that one!

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Saturday afternoon, the wind died down and we took the opportunity to burn tumbleweeds.  Those things are rampant around here and we hauled and burned for well over an hour.

After we were done, we took advantage of our few little burning embers and roasted marshmallows – good use of fire, yes?  This was Wryder’s first time having a warm, gooey mallow and they were a hit!

Yum!
Yum!

He stole two cold ones out of the tin while I was getting things ready, ate two warm ones and then stole one from a chicken that Sawyer had been trying to feed.  *Ahem*

All smiles!
All smiles!

He also had his first corn on the cob that he got to hold himself.  He was equally impressed!

IMG_3727IMG_3726****************

We made a quick trip to Denver on Sunday for a birthday party for a really special friend of Sawyer’s.  We ate lunch with Uncle Warner beforehand – always a good time.

Uncle Warner and a happy niece and nephew!
Uncle Warner and a happy niece and nephew!

The birthday party was a Frozen theme and Sawyer had a ball, of course!  She came home with a bag full of goodies, one of which was a little bag of marshmallows, pretzels and raisins with a tag that said, “Do you want to build a snowman?”

She ate it on the way home last night and said, “Hmmmm.  That tasted kind of funny.  I’ve never had an Olaf before.”

She was serious as a heart attack and we about drove off the road laughing so hard!

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We had a good, productive trip!  We found a brand new bassinet on Craigslist for $25, got Wrexy measured for a tux for a wedding he’s in this summer, loaded up on a few diapers, wipes and a few thrift store goodies, ate some Red Mango for an afternoon snack and took a trip around the Orchard in the little train.

Train!
Train!
Waving to the crowds
Waving to the crowds

Wryder loved the train, especially every time the whistle blew.  He’d look at me with this little surprised face – so cute!

What was that?!
What was that?!

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A sweet little dog named Booey got to spend the night with Sawyer Friday night – one of her favorite things.

Booey
Booey

She even got her own animal to sleep with.  🙂

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We did a few more little things in Sayble’s room that I’ll have to show you some pictures of…we snapped a few pics of the kids for a little Valentine’s card for the grandparents…washed a pound and a half of dirt off of each kid…and just enjoyed our time together.  This week is shaping up to be just as pretty…can’t wait to enjoy it, too!

 

DIY: Conversation Hearts

Today was another gorgeous day out on the Eastern plains of Colorado.  I think the family could just feel it, as we were all up earlier than normal and ready to be outside!

We stopped by the garage to do a little spray painting for Sayble’s room (told you I wasn’t quite done) and while we were there, I found some excess pieces of wood from the shelves Wrex made to hold her bunny baskets.  The project bug bit me and I had him cut them into squares for me while I grabbed some paint and made a heart template.

I decided to make them into conversation heart blocks – easy, peasy!

Step 1: Cut or find some square pieces of wood and make a heart template.

I grabbed a piece of cardstock, folded it in half, cut a half heart and then continued shaping it down until it fit the boards I was working with.

My heart
My heart

Step 2: Trace the heart on your boards.

Ta-Da!
Ta-Da!

Step 3: Paint your heart.

I really like painting barnwood because it’s usually so dry, the paint dries really quickly!

Red = love
Red = love

IMG_3722Step 4: Once dry, paint on your phrases.

I wanted these to look like the little (nasty) conversation hearts that you always received WAY too many of growing up.  I did “be mine, ” “love u,” and “hug me” though there are tons of other options – thank you, Google.

IMG_2143Step 5: Display and marvel at your handiwork.

IMG_2147IMG_2148IMG_2149A sweet, simple project for V day!