Do me a favor...

I was taught when I was growing up that there is "no such thing as lucky - only blessed." So I know that I am SO blessed to have the parents that God gave me. This morning I stayed home from church while Matt went and I felt guilty because I was missing services again. I went to our church website and I had listened to several of Jerry's sermons already that were on the podcast, so I went to dad's podcast and had his sermons playing while I was cleaning out the laundry room. I was reminded of what an instrument used by God that my father is.

Please go to http://podcasting.fbcopelika.com/ and listen to the December 18th sermon. I hope it open your eyes and encourages you as much as it did for me.

What a great cause

My brother in law is participating in an awesome triathalon for a great cause. Go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/plantrib09/jsiak to learn all about it. And Joey, if you are reading this, we love the spandex with the smartwool socks :)

It's over!!!!!!!!

The fevers ended on Monday night, and while the kids aren't 100% yet, we've past the contagious part of the flu and are able to finally venture out of the house. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement! I am now lysol-ing, bleaching, washing, and scrubbing the entire house. Joy!

Yucky, yucky, yucky...

Noah started running a fever on Friday and coughing. Ella's fever hit at 1 am on Saturday night. After a weekend of 103 degree temps from both of them, we hit the early clinic at our pediatrician this morning. Amazingly, the kids had positive flu tests. They are the 2nd and 3rd confirmed flu cases of kids who have the flu who had flu shots at this practice.

Therefore, we are quarantined until Thursday of this week. There is no medicine that they will give little ones to help them. And we are hoping Matt and I won't get it!

Be praying that our kids will be comforted by the ibuprofen, that they will get better quickly, and that God will help Matt and I to stay immune from this flu bug! Until then, we are going to rent a whole bunch of dollar movies today, I'm gonna make a huge pot of chicken soup, and we're gonna have a lot of snuggle time under the blankets...

I have the greatest group of mommies who walk beside me as I parent my little ones. Today we all got together to exchange valentines between the kiddos, eat a ridiculous amount of food, and laugh a lot. They mean the world to me!

A day at the park

It's been so beautiful this week we actually got to play outside at the park! The kids love it and never want to leave!

Our 7th Anniversary

Matt and I spent our 7th anniversary celebrating in Pigeon Forge. I only broke out the camera when we went to play golf together for some reason. Matt really loves the Gatlinburg golf course and he's played there a few times. I enjoyed riding with him and enjoying the sites (and finishing my book!). We are so blessed to have each other. I love him so much and feel so priveledged to have him as my hubby!

To all those who were concerned...

Noah got a haircut today! No more growing it out! Matt might be dissappointed, but we have to look presentable for Bekah's wedding coming up at the end of the month. He took a moment to pose while he was painting this afternoon.

Nana and the snow

Anyone who knows my mother, knows she loves the snow and that's one of the things she misses about living in NC. I can remember so many times growing up, having her throw the first snowball! Tuesday afternoon it started snowing and we had to have a picture of Nana in front of the flakes.

On another note, Matt and I thought the snow was supposed to miss us, and it wasn't sticking in Marion. We left the kids with Nana for a date night at PF Changs (thanks for the giftcard Dan and Lindsey!) and to run some errands in Asheville.

We left Asheville too late and got stuck in Black Mountain! Our friend Ryan who works for the DOT let us follow his salt truck down the mountain to safety. What would normally be a 30 minute drive took 2 hours! We felt so blessed to have made it home safely and realize that Ryan's job is one of the most important ones out there! We passed by many wrecks on our journey home and were so thankful that it was not us!

Super super bowl

Matt wanted to be around steeler fans tonight so he headed to Hendersonville to watch the game with his brothers for a "no kids" night of fun. Not wanting to miss out, I packed up the kids and we headed to Ed and Amy's for lots of great snacks and mainly to watch the commercials during the game. Noah and Ella had a lot of fun playing with their kids. Noah and Lauren were especially silly!

Nick's Birthday Party

Saturday we went to Granny Mary's for Nick's 5th birthday party. It was a lot of fun! I can't believe how fast our little guys are growing up!