thanksgiving

3Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100:3-5

I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving! It is my favorite holiday of the year! I love that there is no gift giving attached - it is just a time to be thankful. Ok, we should be thankful always, but in the rat race of life it is so easy to overlook all that we have and all that we have been given.
I have been thinking about what I am thankful for - here goes-

1. Forgiveness and redemption from my sins - God was willing to send His only son to this rotten, sin-ridden earth to die for me! (and you - if you ask Him to be your saviour). (John 3:16)
2. My husband- I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband who loves me and our girls.
   
3. My precious little girls - What a gift they are to me and such a tremendous blessing. I love that they are so forgiving. I love their hugs and kisses - I can never get enough!!!
4. My parents - individually and collectively - they have been and continue to be such a tremendous example to me of love, sacrifice, patience, godliness, and so many other things - a post all its own.
5. My grandma - she is, again, in the hospital. I talked to her yesterday and had an opportunity to tell her how much I love her and what a tremendous impact she has had on my life. I hope to be able to sit down with her again and share my heart. I don't know how much longer she will be here and I am reminded to take each day captive and tell her how much I love her.
6. My brothers and their families - God has been so gracious to give me two of the best brothers in the entire world - yes, there were times I would have gladly shipped Danny off to a foreign country, but God knew that I would need these two men in my life. I prayed and prayed for a sister and God sent me Peter - Praise the Lord, He knew that I wouldn't be good with a sister. And then God sent them each a wonderful wife! I am so thankful for my sister-in-laws - they are such a great balance to my brothers and make them better men. I am thankful for their friendship!
7. My nieces and nephews - what a blessing they have been in my life. Laura and Megan (while technically my second cousins, they are my nieces) were the first to enter this crazy family and what fun we have had ever since. I also got two great nephews from my husband and what sweet boys they are - they are so patient and play with Ellie and Lily and do whatever those little girls say.
   I also have the sweetest nieces and nephew from my brother - Alyssa, Parker, and Reagan, what a joy they are and . . . what to say - I love them all so much!!!
8. My family - family is very important to me - my cousin is my best friend and I could not live without her!! God has blessed me with the best family in the world, whether it is my own family, my in-laws, my extended family - I am thankful to have them all!!!
9. My friends - I have great friends - friends who call just to see how I am doing when they hear that my grandma is in the hospital - so sweet! Friends that go scrapbooking with me. Friends to build great memories with!
   
10. Food- What would Thanksgiving be without the food???? I don't know!

I pray that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving - full of love, gratitude, and FOOD!!!

Alyssa is FIVE!!!! Oh my!!!

Well, today is Alyssa's 5th birthday - my little niece is FIVE! I really can't believe that five years have gone by so quickly! I remember getting the call that Laura was in labor - I was pregnant with my precious girl (although we didn't know we were having a girl) and couldn't wait to meet my little niece! My brother was going to be a daddy!!! At the time, a completely unbelievable thought, not because I didn't think he would be great, just because it seemed so weird that the little brother I used to play with and get in trouble with was now responsible for a life! He has, as I knew he would, exceeded my expectations of what type of father he would be. He is loving, firm, kind, humorous, strict, gracious, and so many other things. It is really fun to watch my brother as a dad. Of course, he is only half the equation - my sister-in-law is such a wonderful mother and makes my brother a better parent for her yin to his yang. They are a great team and are raising such a wonderful little girl in my niece (and of course, in Parker and Reagan).

Last night, Ellie and I met Laura and Alyssa at McDonald's for an intimate birthday party- seeing that we were really the only healthy ones. It was really fun and I know Ellie had a blast!

How old is Alyssa? FIVE!

Opening up her gift - we got her a gift card to The Nail Forum, I know, sounds so grown up, but the girls love it when we get gift cards and for my birthday Dan and Laura had given me a GC to The Nail Forum and Alyssa came over to me and said that we should go on a date there, so we (and Ellie) are going to go on a date to get nails done and lunch. You know, what big girls do!

Dear Alyssa,
I will never forget standing next to the door waiting to hear the first little cry of my niece! I remember holding you and anticipating my own little baby, knowing what fun you two would have as you grew up. That really seems as though it were yesterday and here you are such a grown up little girl. I know that we all told you to stop growing up so quickly, but I have to admit I am enjoying watching you grow - I don't like to see the time passing so rapidly, but I love watching you and seeing your little mind work. I am so proud of you and proud to be your auntie! You are so mature and eager to learn and such a sweet big sister. Not only are you sweet to your brother and sister, but you are so kind and gentle with your cousins, they love you very much.
I pray that you will grow to love Jesus with your heart and soul that He will be all that you desire and that He will use you in a mighty way.
I love you dear girl!
Do you think you could slow down a little???? I think we should go with Ellie's idea that this is it - no more birthdays, but somehow I think you will both change your minds.
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Auntie Shell

etsy

Ok, I heard about this site called Etsy - it is really cool! It is for all selling and buying all things handmade so I set up a store. I posted a link to my store on the right, but just in case here it is. I just put it together tonight and since it is very late I only put two of my blanket and pillow sets up. I will do more tomorrow. I will also post some pictures of Alyssa's birthday party - well, not really a party, since it has been postponed due to the fact that everyone invited has or is finishing the flu! So much fun!!! (HA!!!) Lily still hasn't eaten anything - except a few bites of "ice cream" really golden spoon frozen yogurt, but my girls think it is ice cream - I don't want to ruin that for them - it tastes better than ice cream to me, so they can think so too! Anyways, the party ended up being me, Ellie, Laura, Alyssa, and Reagan at McDonalds!
Love to all and GOODNIGHT!

projects, peliculas, and, oh yeah, PUKE!!!

Like my alliteration?!?!? My high school english teacher would be proud, I'm sure!
Anyways, long time, no blog. In a nutshell, I started a new little venture, hence the Project, because of that the girls have been watching a few movies (mainly The Little Mermaid) - it cracks me up that although Ellie has watched that movie no less than 50 times she still asks me what is going to happen or why King Triton destroys all of Ariel's stuff and other silly questions. And then finally, PUKE!!! Lily, poor little angel, had the flu yesterday. She was the happiest sick girl I have ever seen. Thank the Lord, she is healthy today!!

So, here is what I have been working on - these are travel blanket and pillow sets - great for keeping in the car or taking on long trips. So cute. I also have burp cloths - I didn't take pics of those yet, but they are from the same fabrics. Both make great gifts. I loved my cute burp cloths with Lily and my girls LOVE their pillows - they actually keep them in their beds - I guess I should make them new ones for the car. If you are interested in purchasing either let me know. Tell your friends - these make great Christmas Gifts and are all handmade by little ol' ME - even the pillow!

This is Cosmic Stripe with a Blue Chenille backing.

This is Camouflage with a Cream Chenille backing.

This is Purple Paisley with a really soft Purple backing.

This is Mary Had a Little Lamb with a soft Purple backing.
(very limited quantities)

This is Pink Stripe with a soft Pink backing.

Finally, Brown Dot with a Blue Chenille Backing.

Everything is top stitched to give it a nice finished look.

What 7-0-0 rule?!?!?! Did we have one of those?

Ok, so my dear friend in Chicago, Kelli (miss you and can't wait to see you guys this Christmas! Yeah!!!) she had instituted the "7-0-0 Rule" in their house. What is the "7-0-0 Rule"? Well, kids can't get out of bed until 7-0-0, aka 7:00am! Great rule! We have a digital clock in Ellie's room and below it a piece of paper indicating what the clock will look like at 7:00 - if it is a match she can get up. So, this rule has worked splendidly for the past year and a half or so, that is until . . . Sunday! What happened Sunday, you ask? Aside from the time change, Lily is now in Ellie's bedroom - remember that oh so brilliant idea that I had!?!?! I am beginning to think it was not such a moment of genius rather a lapse in serious judgment, because Lily likes to get up at around 6:15 - not so bad when she was in her own room because she would play quietly in her crib and sometimes even fall back to sleep for a bit, but now . . . her sister is just feet away! Who would want to play or read or even go back to sleep when you could talk to your sissy???? Not Lily! So we wake up to Lily talking, which is so cute, but not at 6am!!!!! The first morning was church, so it worked out ok - we had to get up earlier than normal anyways, second day I ran in and grabbed her so she wouldn't wake Ellie up. Today, Flavio went in and put Lily in Ellie's bed (since she was awake, no doubt due to Lily) - they played for a little bit and then got up - no it wasn't 7-0-0! What to do, what to do???? Hopefully this early rise and shine is primarily due to the time change and will correct itself in a few more days. Yeah, right! I will just keep telling myself that! I guess there are worse things that could happen . . . although waking up at 6am is not something I look forward to.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ok, but so sweet, I went to bed late last night - helping Mrs. Clause out with a gift Santa will be giving the girls - so Flavio took the girls downstairs and fed them breakfast. Awww! So sweet! What a good husband and daddy! He is so nice - he makes them chocolate chip waffles - I don't! So for them it was a win-win - up early and extra special breakfast.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
So yesterday, was our Master's Kids field trip to the ice skating rink, I might add that it was in a rather "interesting" neighborhood. It was near our church - if you know where our church - that is the relatively good part of Panorama City - the skating rink was in a not so good part, but by the grace of God we all left unharmed and had a good time. Ok, well, not all of us had a good time. I think Ellie would have rather had her teeth pulled out without drugs than go ice skating - I am not kidding! You would've thought I was forcing her to do the worst thing ever! I am such a terrible mom - I made her go ice skating with her friends, what can I say!?!?!? Take a look at the pics and you tell me what you think. We started out great, but quickly went downhill. What a fun memory! Haa Haa!!!

Excited about skating with Sydney Joy.

Getting ready to head out on the ice.

Not five minutes later - just a mess!

Proof that others were having fun - it was possible.

Ok, this I get - cold hands - not fun!!!

A little hot chocolate and cookies go a long way to make a girl happy again.

Here is the real kicker - Flavio asked her if she had a good time and the answer . . . a resounding YES!!! Although she did say she didn't ever want to do that again. Sounds like a challenge to me!

amazed

I am thoroughly speechless! I mentioned our friends, the Kostjuks, who are going through so much since the birth of their little bitty Reese just last week - they are such an encouragement to me and an unbelievable testimony to all around them of Our Lord and Saviour. My mom ran into Ashley's mom, Teri, yesterday and at that point they were planning to take Reese off of all the machines, then this morning I read their blog and it sounds like they got a bit of good news - read their blog to get it all. The point of this entry is their attitude. God promises to His children (that is the key - the promise is to those who have asked Jesus into their hearts and asked Him to be the Lord of their lives - the promises in scripture only apply to those who live by the scripture) that He will never give us more than we can handle and here are Todd and Ashley going through what must be the most agonizing week of their life and they are praising God for all that He has done and recognizing that any miracle that happens is only because of God! I would love to say that if Flavio and I were faced with the same trial our attitudes would be the same and our faith would be stronger, but I don't know and I pray that I don't have to find out.

Oh, to have such faith! They are living out James 1:2-4 "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Naturally, God is not suggesting that we are rejoicing in the fact that little Reese is fighting for her life - rather we rejoice in the fact that God is at work and that there is nothing we can do apart from trusting in Him. He is, afterall, the Great Physician.

Pray for them as often as you think of them. They, I am sure, appreciate all of the prayers. We don't know why God has allowed this trial in their lives, but we do know, for certain, that He is in control.
To God be the Glory!!!

who woulda thunk?!?!?

Ok, so today, I became a sewer! I mean I wouldn't go to seamstress by any means . . . but I used a sewing machine all by myself and sewed a "comforter" for Lily's new room. I couldn't very well have her sleeping in her new room with her blue, yellow, and red bedding now could I???? Ok, truthfully she would be sleeping with the other stuff if I didn't have half (and the most important component) of what I needed to create this new comforter/blanket. I'm not totally crazy!!! I was ok with the $5 pink crib sheet from Target, my favorite store (crazy how times change - at one time in my life Nordstroms topped that list! Oh well, gotta love Target!!). Well, in the "move" I ran across a window panel in the exact same print as Ellie's duvet - I had totally forgotten about it, well, $8 later and my mom's sewing machine - VOILA!!! This may not be a big deal to anyone else, but I have never done solo sewing - I usually have my mom within earshot, but not today! And I didn't even have to rip any seams to redo them!!

Ok, I am done!

I was doing the happy dance, when Ellie even told me, in so many words, I had gone over the top!

I'm on a roll - hide the fabric I just may sew it together!!! :o)

The picture doesn't do it justice, in my (not so) humble opinion!

moving day

We didn't move, but yesterday I moved Lily into Ellie's room and made Lily's old room a playroom!!! I have to say I think both rooms look so cute AND I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom!! Thanks mom!

Relaxing in the rocking chair - contemplating her day. What to do?
Play, read, relax? Tough decisions to make!

Play room

Play room again

The girls' room

The girls' dolly beds - the only toys allowed in their room.

my lily bear

Ever since Lily was born we have called her our little Lily bear - I think it came about with all of the sleeping a little one does. Anyways, I cannot believe that she is 20 months old! It is really crazy how quickly the time goes and how much she has grown. I can remember by dad saying, before I got married, that I was a baby and one day he blinked and I was getting married - I never thought that time would or could pass so quickly, well it does and it has!

Here are a few highlights of my precious, not so little, baby girl!

• she loves to eat! Healthy, junk food, and everything in between - she loves to eat!
• complete character! I love the look she gives when she is doing something naughty - the innocent little eyes and adorable smile that comes over her mouth - so hard to not laugh!
• we have a serious game of "monkey see, monkey do" going on here. Lily LOVES her big sister and will do just about anything Ellie does. Comes in handy when I need them to get out of the kitchen.
• she is becoming more and more verbal - good and bad I suppose! Some of her latest words are: dewy (Tilly), alial (ariel), down, up, elwie (Ellie), meow (Bogey or any other cat), nana, tata, papa, and a few others that I can't think of right now. I am thankful that she is not as verbal as her sister (Ellie had about 75 words in her vocabulary at 18 months!!! Yikes! I barely can get a word in with Ellie - imagine two talkers!)
• she loves to climb on the play equipment at McDonalds - the one by my parents' house is a bit more advanced - Ellie would have never gone near it at Lily's age. Lily climbs all of the way to the top and slides down. Quite a bit more adventurous than her sister.
• she is so sweet - it melts my heart to see her, out of nowhere, give her sister a hug and kiss.
• strong willed!!! I am not really sure where she gets this strong little nature, but oh does she give me a run for my money. Yet out of her strong will is such sweetness and if we can, by the grace of God, make this weakness her strength I really think this strong nature can become a great positive. But pray for us as we mold her into the little girl God would have her to be.
• she is a little mama! Lily LOVES her babies. Ellie had babies, but didn't really about them until Lily came along. Lily is always taking care of a baby or two. She tucks them in, gives them kisses, turns off the lights, shh's them when she is holding them, takes them for strolls in the strollers, and anything else you can think to do with a baby. She has this rough and tumble side and this sweet nurturing side to her. It is so neat to see this gift from God unfold in front of me each day.
  
• I haven't even touched the surface on this precious girl, but that will have to do for now.

I can remember before she was born - knowing that I would love this new life, but not really sure how she would change our family. We had been three for nearly three years. I was a little apprehensive, but I was a few weeks from delivering, so no turning back. . .well, our family changed and continues to change, but I cannot, for a moment, imagine our family without my precious Lily Bear. She is just what we needed - God knew Lily would be just the right fit for us!

I love my Lily Bear and as much as I don't want her to get any bigger and older I find that I love each new stage more than the last and wondering what new and fun thing is around the corner.

Baby Reese Kostjuk

Our friends, Todd and Ashley, just had their little girl Reese Renee on Tuesday. Things are not looking good - please pray for them and their little girl. Here is the link to their blog where you can read all about Reese and her family.

halloween

Let me first begin by saying that we do not celebrate Halloween as a holiday in any way, instead we allow the girls to dress up - in nice, sweet costumes and get candy. That is all that Halloween is to us - a way to meet some neighbors and get free candy! Sounds good to me!!! If you are interested in a greater understanding of our views of this "holiday" you can read this article - we go towards the third scenario talked about. Anyways, here are some pictures from our fun night of candy getting!

I love this picture of Flavio and Ellie. Is there any better visual of love - a 6'1" man holding the hand of his little princess as they go trick-or-treating (mind you - something that Flavio is not terribly fond of due to the evil characters that some people allow their children to dress up as - scares our little girls to death!)

Just put your cursor over the pictures for a little description.

I know you are probably thinking - for people who don't celebrate Halloween their kids dress up a lot. We had to take our car back to Ford and then see Flavio at his work, so I thought I'd dress the girls up and show up at Mercedes with my two little princesses. All of Flav's co-workers thought the girls were so adorable (I mean, really, who wouldn't?!?!?! Maybe that is just me!!)

Hope you all had a great evening getting and giving candy!