flowers & contact paper= beauty in the window

I was inspired by The Crafty Crow's post to gather some flowers from the garden

 take them apart

 have the kids stick them to a half sheet of clear contact paper

and these are the beauties we came up with!

parenthood joy

Being a parent brings natural enjoyment in watching children find joy in

riding

collecting

witnessing nature (baby painted turtle)

{this moment}

I’m linking up to SouleMama for this post, it is after all a Friday ritual.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Have a lovely weekend!

It's been a rainy spring here in MN.  After a nice supper with the neighbors, were were surprised by a double rainbow for dessert!

 Exploring one day we climbed a hill in a local park and found this majestic sight at the top!

Beautiful trees everywhere.  Funny how trees can take my breath away.

Brings me back to Itasca State Park and this sight below.

it's one of our favorites

Simple as it is, washing stuff is one our favorite activities to do outside on a nice day.  

What is your favorite thing to do on a nice day?

outdoors

Finally we were able to get outdoors for a hike with some friends.

This April was rainy and cold for the most part.  Out of the 4 dates we had planned for Let's G.O. (Get Outside), only two were nice, the first and last week of the month.  Weather can definitely be a barrier to getting kids outdoors!

 My Master's paper is complete and my degree is complete!  Now to enjoy summer!  

 I'm planning spending lots of days on the bikes, at parks, hiking, camping, working with vacation bible school with my nieces (so excited), and just taking it slow!  

What are your plans for getting outside this summer?

Let's G.O!

I am so lucky to have met other moms around town with the same passion for getting kids outdoors. It was spurred by our ECFE (Early Childhood & Family Education) teacher. She talked about the importance of getting kids outdoors, which also began my research for my Master's Degree in Health Education. It's amazing what reseach has found nature and time outdoors can do for people. Reduce stress, increase physical activity, reduce the need for medication for those with ADHD, improve mood, confidence, social skills and the list continues! If you want to learn more, check out Children & Nature Network.

As part of Let's G.O. (Get Outside), a couple of mom's and I scheduled some park dates and invited other families. Here are pics of our first gathering of 12 kids (ranging from 6 mo. to 5 year-olds) and 4 moms. We had a blast at a local nature center.

Next we are bird watching, then picking up around the neighborhood & then hunting for bugs! I can't wait!

Go Twins!

We are excited the Twins' baseball season has begun.  I ran across this video from last year of E cheering for Joe Mauer.... with no prompting.  She's back at it this year rooting for her favorite Twin!

new baby

We were able to meet the new baby of the family this weekend! 

 I had one of those baby moments you dream about.  He opened his eyes for a few minutes and just looked at me while I talked to him. I love those special moments.  Melts your heart.

Here's Luke with his big cousins.  He's also wearing his new rockin' onesie that I made him.  It's so fun to make gifts.  I feel I can put a little extra love into it & it means so much more to me than giving something from the store.  E & G sure like him too.  They are already making plans for when he's older and can play with them.  G was asking when that will be.  It's hard to explain what a year is to a four year old.

Congrats family!  Thanks for brining this special little boy into our lives.

playing in warmer weather

Yes, it's finally above zero, so we can get outside and play again.  This week brought trips to the rink and building a new friend named Frosty.

Here's Griffin's first drawing of a snowman.  He likes drawing maps, not much else, so I was happy to get this out of him!

Griffin started doing a hockey-stop at the rink last weekend.  Mama can't even do a hockey-stop!

Griffin's Pursuit of a Happy Birthday

Griffin turned 4 this week and because we have such great family and friends,
we had to invite them over to celebrate with our little boy!
He has been waiting for this party day. Mama started planning a few months ago.

Griffin's invitation read like this:
Calling all Superheroes! We must unite to defeat the super villain! Please meet at headquarters to prepare for the invasion. We must defend our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of a happy birthday! If you can join with us to defeat this villain and eat lunch & cake, please respond as soon as possible with the following top secret information: 1. Your secret identity (your name.) 2. Your superhero name. 3. Your superpower. 4. Your super color. No special equipment will be needed, just wear clothing that is appropriate for outdoor superhero training. Your participation is vital to the success of this mission!
I found much of the superhero party ideas here. The cake pops I found on bakearella.com. Thanks to so many people who helped make this day possible and a success! My helpers around the house... big and small, those who play with my kids so I can shop in peace & get things done in large chunks around the house, you who came dressed for the party, those who helped with the skit and of course all of you who came and made Griffin achieve his pursuit of a happy birthday. We love you!

Birthday Boy

Our BIG guy turns 4 today!

WE LOVE YOU, GRIFFIN!

{Four Things We Love About YOU}

1. You jump your highest, run your fastest... every time
2. You get so excited to do almost everything
3. The way you say, "I love you, Mama/Daddy"
4. You love the little things (bugs, playing, being outside, pools, sand, etc)

{Four Things YOU Love}

1. Skating/Hockey
2. Being a Superhero
3. Riding Bike
4. Playing Cars

 {Four things you said this year that I never want to forget}

1. This is so good, can you make it again?
2. Mom, come in here, I have three things to tell you.
3. Will you check on me?
4. You are so nice!

{Four things YOU put on the menu for your ultra special BIRTHDAY meal}

1. Mac n Cheese
2. Scones
3. Blueberries
4. Hot Chocolate 

What four things do you love about Griffin?

The Little Elves have been busy

Today the temps finally rose above 25 degrees in Central MN, so we ventured to the park with the neighborhood kids.  I failed to get a video of the kids going down the covered slide.  It had ice at the end so the kids shot right out of it into a soft pile of snow.  So much fun!

On our way home, we found this great-big pile of snow to climb and have snowball fights!

The elves love all the snow we've had these past two months!  Have you been playing outside?

The week before Christmas

 Eme found JOY in un-decorating and re-decorating the Christmas tree.

 Griffin had a chat with Santa.

The kids had Santa on the brain.

My cup runneth over.... Psalm 23:5

Our Holidays have been very full this year.

Full of PEACE

Full of JOY

Full of LOVE

Hope your has been too!

Our 2010 Christmas Letter

Christmas Greetings!  We have enjoyed getting your Christmas greetings in the mail.  Going to the mailbox is the motivation Eme needs to go outside these bitterly cold days.  Your pictures and cards are well studied and throughly enjoyed.  Thanks!  As for us, this is our Christmas letter while we try to save a few resources this year.  Thanks for tuning in!  This is what 2010 brought for us:

Griffin turned 3 (he'll officially be 4 January 1011).

He's our energetic boy who loves playing outside.
He learned to ride a two-wheeler this summer, 
took ice skating lessons, goes to Sunday School and has preschool two mornings a week. He changes into a new superhero by the hour and loves to play cars.

Eme turned 2 in August.

 She keeps us laughing with her pronunciation and exploration of words ("This is calicious!" (delicious)

Emerson loves reading, animals, playing dollies, having tea time and any new adventure (camping, hiking, parks & zoo). 
She loves being around babies (luckily she'll have a new cousin come March).  You'll find her pushing around a doll stroller and being a very attentive Mama.    

Going to our first Twins game at Target Stadium was a hit!

  We went with a group of 16 and sported Pavano mustaches.  

One of my favorite moments of the year was having a few date nights with my husband.   

I took on a new adventure this fall with starting my own Norwex business.  It's the perfect compliment to being home with the kids.  I also got back on the volleyball court in the Lanesboro Tournament this summer and play league this winter. I continue to enjoy gardening, sewing, walking and now knitting!

Keir continues work at Brown Printing as a Technical Analyst.  He plays hockey during the week and continued showcasing his handy-man skills (and building his tool collection) while building a shed in the backyard this summer.  Recently he raised funds & awareness for cancers affecting men by participating in Movember.

Our Christmas card gives you a shot of our family favorite event of the year- vacationing for two weeks up North.  We spent time with both sides of the family, camped, swam, walked across the Mississippi, 

hiked, and played on the beach.  It was ideal and we cherished our time as a family.  

Our Christmas wish is that you, our friends and family, to be happy, healthy and enjoy life.  We feel blessed to have you in our lives and hope we can find special moments to spend with you in 2011.

You can always find us here on our blog to keep an eye on what we're up to.  Don't forget to leave a post so we know you are visiting us!