Happy Birthday to My Main Squeeze!

The table was all set...

Your favorite cake was baked...

And the kids picked out the best gift...

(although you can't see it b/c of the glare - The NEW Super Mario Brothers for the Wii)

Happy birthday to my main squeeze! Hooray for the day God created you...just for me! :) Here's a list of 36 things I love, love, love about Y-O-U!!

1. Your love and thirst for Jesus...

2. How great of a dad you are...

3. Your commitment to your job...

4. You'll put nothing but your God before your family...

5. Your dedication to working out (okay, sometimes it kind of annoys me b/c I can't seem to find that same dedication. But, nonetheless, it's honorable) :)

6. You're a mean chef...

7. That you are a reader which is a great model to our kids...

8. Your close-knit family...

9. The way you take care of me...

10. Two words: Scruffy Face...

11. Your Jedi-knight skills...

12. That you'll watch chick-flicks willingly...(except the Titanic. The boat sinks...duh)

13. You love to entertain...

14. Your favorite vacations are with your family on a hiking trail...

15. You're just like your dad...

16. You HATE laundry pile-up...

17. You're fiscally responsible (another annoying but honorable trait) :)

18. Corduroy Blazer!!

19. You love my family like your own, and overlook our faults...

20. You pray for your family regularly...

21. Your coffee obsession...

22. How you hold my hand firmly...

23. The way you do a DIY project and it never gets just quite finished...

24. That you still own your childhood teddy bear...

25. That your daughter thinks you are the KING...

26. That she will someday love her KING b/c of the love you've shown her...

27. That after 10 years of marriage, you're a lot nicer...

28. That you wake early to pack lunches for our whole brood...

29. That you're willing to do many things you really don't want to do just because you love us...

30. You NEVER complain...

31. Your favorite summer activity is to take a bike ride as a family...

32. Your convictions...

33. That you sing at church when most men don't...

34. That you love orange juice with popcorn and cottage cheese with baked beans...

35. You're not too proud to apologize...

36. You love me just the way I am!

Happy birthday Justin! I love you to pieces!! I hope today was a blessing for you!

Love, Aim

My Snuggle Buggle

Oh, to fit in a laundry basket and curl up with your favorite snuggle animal....don't you miss those days? :)

Mama's Sick....Real Sick!

This is a picture of the sweet card Jack made for me while I was sick this last week. I think I scared the whole gang a little bit. Friday night I came down with a sore throat and by Saturday morning in the wee hours of the night it was full fledged STREP!! Ugh! I've never had strep before and I don't wish to have it again. My man and our little ones were quite the team though....they pulled through taking care of each other and playing nurse made to me. By Monday though everyone was quite done with the illness! That is when Jack made me this card. He first wrote the cute message...."I wish you were NOT! sik." Then he came back with it and said he drew a picture of how I looked...how nice! :) Today is Wednesday and I'm officially good to go. I'm heading back to school tomorrow. It will be a nice ease back into the routine with a fieldtrip to the Honeywell Center to see Seussical the Musical. No fever, no chills and I no longer feel like I'm swallowing razor blades. Ahhh....life is bliss!

A Wintery Masterpiece

On Saturday morning I awoke early to take in breakfast with a friend. I got ready and jumped in the car when my friend said to me, "Wait until you see what He did for us this morning!"

Driving down the roads we took in quite possibly the most beautiful sight I have ever seen around me! The trees and bushes were COVERED in a beautiful white dust of snow and ice. Now, I've seen this before. It's not a new concept this white covering on the elements outdoors. But, NEVER have I seen it so thick! The trees all looked like pieces of cauliflower. You could scarcely see any brown on them at all. As the sun was rising and streaming through these wintery covered trees, it was amazing! It looked like a scene from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe right in my own town.

I'm no photography whiz! I love to take pictures but have no technique, so my photo above doesn't even do the experience justice. It. Was. Breathtaking.

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

Happy Valentine's Day!

I LOVE Valentine's Day! I always have.

I know some who think it's a made up holiday by Hallmark just to make an extra buck....who needs one special day to say I love you when you're supposed to say it everyday.

Not me...I'm a sucker for pink heart stickers, especially glittery ones. I love fun dip and pink M&Ms and my most favorite thing about Valentine's is making homemade valentine cards with my kiddos.

This year to celebrate, Justin bought tickets to the WFRN Valentine's Banquet. We went with our neighbors and good buddies, the McCarters. Nana and Pop came and babysat while we enjoyed good friends, a great meal and a concert by Jamie Slocum.

Here are just a few pictures from our Valentine celebrating this year.

My Toothless Man

This week Jacker discovered he had a loose tooth. Not just any loose tooth but one up top, front and center! He wiggled and jiggled and let me twist and turn. Tonight he yanked that puppy out like a real MAN! We could even "hear" it coming out as he yanked it from the gum. We clapped and cheered for how tough he was a he pulled his tooth free.

Bum deal was as he rinsed his mouth and cleaned the tooth off, he lost it down the drain. We were sure he would be crushed as he had worked so hard to pull that thing. He simply said "Oh Well." Then the conversation took a hilarious turn....

Jack: "Dad, can you give me money since I don't have a tooth to give to the tooth fairy?"

Justin: "Absolutely, I can!"

Jack: "Like $100"

Justin: "Uh...I don't think so."

Jack: "Why not?"

Justin: "Because you lost a tooth, not a kidney!"

Jack simply shrugged and walked away as if to say, "It was worth a try!" :) Gotta love it!

Dress Up

I can remember playing with my brother when I was little. I remember since it was just the two of us, that our worlds would sometimes cross over. He'd humor me while playing with cabbage patch dolls and care bears and I could wrestle WWF style with the best of them.

Tonight I watched as my two little kiddos did the same. Jacker was happy to play dress up with his little sister. He danced around in a little dress that he would be humiliated to be seen in around his friends. She donned a Jedi hat and played Star Wars fighting droids with her galactic powers. I love how much my little ones love each other and I love how much watching them play together takes me back to my childhood....playing with the best friend you'll ever have.....your sibling!

Roller-Skating Girl

Sophie went to her first roller-skating party last night. While Jacker sat on the sidelines refusing to skate, Sophie skated round and round and didn't want me to even hold on to her! She is definitely our brave child. I was happy to put on roller skates and be Sophie's sidekick but let's just say that I wasn't quite as smooth on wheels as I once was as a child. :) I think we'll have to plan a roller skating evening for a family fun night so Sophie can practice staying on her feet, Jacker can gain some confidence and I can practice my balance while in motion!

Infomercial Junkie

My Jack-man is the KING of infomercials! He is always bringing me a slip of paper with some 800 number on it so I can call and order the latest craft item, organizer purse or cleaning supply. One day when an infomercial came on he said, "Listen to this. They will say you can only call if you are 18. That is so not fair. You always have to be 18!"

I love this little facination he has right now with these as-seen-on TV ads. One day he'll get a kick out of knowing that he was ALL about shopping this way.

His latest item of choice is the amazing brownie pan. You know, the one that bakes your brownies like there are 20 mini-brownies all in one pan....perfectly baked edges in every bite! Well...he recently noticed that the BOOKS ARE FUN salesman at school had one for sale. We had to buy one and try it out.

We give The Amazing Brownie Pan....two thumbs up!