We're BACK!

It has been along time since my last post. Life has gotten a bit busier with the addition of Samantha! I thought I would start up again so I could share all of the joy the kiddos share with me.

We recently took our first airplane trip as a family all the way to Michigan. Tio Fernie and Tia Elizabeth got married! We had so much fun and the kids did awesome on the plane. No tantrums or meltdowns. David and I were so proud.  Here are some pictures from our trip...

 Poor Ben was so tired, this was at the BEGINNING of the reception.

My parents and their beautiful mamas.

 

Our beautiful Maggie, AKA the Flower Girl. 

My mom and my Tia Cristina have been taking pictures with their boys since they were newborn, well.... they sure have grown into handsome men. 

Ben and his funny nose... silly boy. 

The beautiful couple. It really was a wonderful wedding! The Mass was beautiful, the music was great, the food was delicious, and the hall was gorgeous... but most importantly it was the beginning of a beautiful adventure for Fernando and Elizabeth.  It was definitely worth the travel to be able to witness such a beautiful event.

I LOVE to Bake!!

One of my favorite things to do is bake. I love to bake cakes, muffins, cupcakes, cookies. I have been building up a list of flavors so that *maybe* I can sell them... who knows. Anything is possible.

Above is Banana Cream Pie cupcakes. These were my birthday treat. They were delicious.

Chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache filling, Peanut butter frosting, topped with crushed butter finger.

Cinnamon Roll Cake. I found it on Pinterest here is the link.
This was our Easter morning treat. It was delicious.

Domestic Adventures

These days I have been home with the kids a bit more. I work two days a week and love the time I get to spend at home.
I decided that I was going to try to make my Easter dress.... and it turned out pretty good for a first try. I used this tutorial that I found on Pinterest.

Also, I have been making Ben's food. Thanks to Jo (my mother in-law) for the baby bullet. I love it.

Isn't it so cute? I love these little containers.

So far Ben has tried:

Peas
Carrots
Banana
Apple sauce
Sweet Potato
Green Beans
Avocado

Date Night

David and I went on a much needed date night. It was so fun.
We went to Kyoto in Bellingham. I tried REAL sushi and liked it.

It was dinner and a show. They did all the fancy knife and spatula work... they even did the onion volcano. Can you tell I don't get out much??

Next time we will have to go with other people so we don't have to share the table with strangers... hehe.

We ended the date out at Bellingham Bay, just enjoying the beautiful sunset.

Pets

We got some Zebra Finches. Their names are Phil and Claire or the Dunphy's for short. They are fun and keep both Maggie and Ben entertained.

Cowgirl Missy. Maggie put Jesse's (Toy Story) hat on her and thought it was hilarious.

Maggie and Ben

Ben and David. Aren't they the most handsome men?

Ben and Me. I am smitten by this boy.

My beautiful Maggie. She is already such a great momma.

Showing off her new helmet. She was so excited.

She loves her pink baby.

Sleeping beauty after a long day playing...

Ben being impatient. Wake up sister!!

All of Maggie's babies. I think the one on the far right is the cutest, don't you?

Ben's new hat. Maggie thought it would be funny to have him wear it sideways.

He is my happy smiley boy.

Riding with mommy at the mall. He is so happy in the Ergo.

Maggie is a sneaky girl. She thought it would be funny to make Ben look like a girl.

Here are some fun videos of Ben.

Our Dear Sarah

I guess you can say I have been avoiding this post. It's a hard one to write, but no matter how hard I tried... I can't blog without writing about Sarah.

Sarah went home to "dance in the fields of heaven" with Jesus on March 6th after complications with Lymphangiomatosis. She lived with this disease for a long time. She never let her discomfort stop her from living a full life. She worked, she played, she loved. She was a wonderful wife, daughter, sister, auntie and friend. I miss her dearly.

Sarah kept a "thought book" in which she wrote funny thoughts about sharing a root beer float with Jesus to some pretty awesome ideas on how to make life easier with a pooper scooper where you would never have to touch dog poop again (even through A bag).

She also wrote some serious posts about her walk with Jesus.
The day Sarah found out she had this disease, she wrote in her thought book:

6/15/2009

"I have just found out I have Lymphangiomatosis disease.
So far there is no cure, but God willing I will keep pressing on as normal as I can.
I need to stop trying to figure out how my dreams will come true.
I need to just love God and let Him love me.
Those dreams I have may still come true if it's God's will, but I need to be open to new dreams.
Dreams that will ultimately make me happier than the ones I have chosen myself."

"Beware of your dreams, for dreams make dangerous friends.
We all have them - longing for a better life, a healthy child, a happy marriage, rewarding work.
But some dreams are misplaced longings, false lovers.
Why?
Because God is enough."

"Trust God... You need to let them go... fall into God's arms and rely solely on His power and will for your life."

~Sarah A. Partlow

I have never known anyone to embrace suffering as she did. All in the name of Jesus. I am in awe. I hope to live my life so that I can join her on those fields in Heaven.

Where to Begin!

It has been a long time since I sat down to blog. A lot has happened in the last 4 months. Some good things and some not so good things.

First, in February our dear friends Jason and Mandy got married. It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple. It was Maggie's first time at a wedding and she was in awe. Now all she wants to play is wedding... where daddy is the groom and she wears her Cinderella dress.

Then, we moved... into Mandy's house. She moved in with her new husband and we got to move into her beautiful home. It is wonderful and we are so grateful for this blessing.

Both Maggie and Missy love that our new home has a yard. FINALLY.

Smiles and Deliruim...

Contrary to popular belief, Benjamin does smile.
Isn't he sweet?

This is Maggie before shopping....

This is AFTER. haha.

No, what really happened was that she didn't know I took the first picture... when she realized I was taking pictures she said:

"Ok Mommy, take a picture of me...."

And that is the face she made. She thought she was pretty funny. It's kind of fun to see her silly personality come out. She definitely gets it from David.

Christmas Preparations!

Here is our lovely Advent wreath, this year it is being lit by candles that our beautiful niece Natalie made.

Here is our Gingerbread house, Maggie decorated it. I did the frosting but she put every piece of candy on.

It was a messy project but we had tons of fun doing it. The Advent season is so much more fun with kids around!

"Oh, Christmas Tree..."

Here is our lovely Christmas tree. Maggie is really into preparing for Christmas this year.
She was really excited to decorate the tree and diligently helped make it beautiful.

Here are this years Christmas PJ's. Anything that twirls is perfect for Maggie, so I couldn't resist these cute PJ's.

Here is Ben with Maggie, he is also wearing his Christmas pj's. He is my little elf. :)

Sydney Turns 3!

Sydney had her 3rd birthday party at the Whatcom Children's Museum. It was SO FUN!


They had a photo booth set up where you could dress up and take goofy pictures. As you can see these pictures came out blurry... I was laughing too hard to take a good picture.

it was such a fun party, they had all sorts of activities for the kids.

They had yummy cupcakes.

Here is our Maggie enjoying her cupcake.

Spin art.
It's pretty cool and easy.

Getting ready to spin...

And Voila! The masterpiece.