Fall Is Here

Fall means pumpkins....
My mom, dad, brother and Liz (brother's girlfriend) made a last minute trip down yesterday afternoon. It was a perfect fall day! We spent the afternoon outside riding bikes around the block, going to the park, and getting pumpkins. Where else do you get pumpkins, but the pumpkin patch. We ventured up to DeMoss Pumpkin Farm again and that's just north of Ames. We have always had great luck there, and it appeared that they had an extra wonderful crop this year. Stay tuned for more pumpkin activities to come......we are going to be doing some painting!! As always, M&M wanted to do everything themselves, including pulling the heavey pumpkin cart. They are so sweet!



Fall also means football...
Daddy Love is out of town for an AIW training for work tonight so we got together with some friends. We went to the Ames High Homecoming parade and had a great time. Growing up in a small town, I never missed a homecoming parade or football game. I want my children to experience all of those things even though we live in a large town. The first group of students I had when I came to teach in Ames are seniors this year so I knew a lot of the kids in the parade. It was neat to see how they've grown, and it made me smile when they remembered who I am.

I am 30.......I am Loved!

It's not too often that I blog about myself, and not my children. So here I am....tooting my own horn for once....and I don't feel one bit guilty about it!
Of course, it hasn't taken me 30 years to know that I am loved, I've always known it. However, it was on my 30th birthday that I truly realized that I am who I am because of the people I surround myself with. They really are amazing people!!
On the morning of my birthday, I received these beautiful flowers from my parents.

That right there gives you an idea of what wonderful parents I have. I was their first-born, the one who made them parents. Those of us who have children know what that feels like. You experience every emotion from the get-go. Happiness, exhaustion, excitement, nervousness, confidence, and feeling like you know absolutely nothing about being a parent and raising a child. Nonetheless, they did a fabulous job of raising me. I have never felt anything besides love and pride from my parents. They were at EVERY sporting event, music concert, and dance recital. My sister, brother, and I were/are the center of their universe. Everything they did was for us and because of us. I know this is why my world now revolves around my children. I rarely take time for myself (more on this below) and it's because I'd rather put all of my energy into my children and family.
I received a text from my dad on my birthday telling me how proud he is of me and what I've accomplished as a wife, mother and teacher. Of course I cried. I cried because those are the most powerful words you can ever hear from a parent, in my opinion. The Sunday before my birthday, my dad and I briefly read an article in a newspaper about 20 things to do in your 30's. I was shocked at how many of them I had already accomplished. Buy a House (check! 2005), Start a Family (check! 2007), Further your Education (Check! 2010-graduated with my Master's Degree). There were several more that I'd accomplished, as well as several that I will try to work towards. But, I think this also shows what kids of parents and role models I have. They are people who do things! They don't sit around and wait for things to happen, they make things happen! They encourage their children to always do their best and believe that they will do great things!

Brandon had asked several times if I wanted a party for my birthday. Of course, I didn't. I mean, I really didn't. Because Brandon had grad class the night of my birthday, we went out to eat as a family on Monday night. We went to Applebees and it was great. Brandon and the girls got me a gift certificate for a massage and pedicure......what more could a mama ask for? Some personal pampering time?? Just what I need! These three VIPs make me feel special, worthwhile, and valuable every single day.

My sister asked if I was going to do anything special for my birthday. I didn't really want to as I don't especially like being the center of attention. She did talk me into a birthday dinner, though, which in hind-sight, was exactly what I needed, and deep down wanted! My friend Mary is always saying that women don't take enough time for themselves. That we always put others first and leave ourselves for last. I already told you that I'm one of those people, and normally, I wouldn't have it any other way. On this night, though, I enjoyed being the center of attention and being surrounded by many of the awesome women in my life.

Front Row: Julie, Heather, Kelsey, Anne, Lisa
Back Row: Mary, Kim, Kari, Jess, Tonja, Rebecca, Heidi

We went out to eat at Legends. We laughed, we cried, we talked, we joked. At the end of the night, I was so overwhelmed. I had given Kelsey 10 names of friends who live in the area to invite to dinner, and all 10 of them came! ALL 10!! I couldn't believe it. I mean, I know they are great people, but for ALL of them to take the time away from their husbands, kids, activities, etc for the night to come and celebrate me, is pretty darn awesome! Hence the fact, that I have finally realized my Amazingness because of these Amazing Women! (I linked to the blogs that these wonderful women do so you can experience their amazingness!)
I certainly wasn't expecting gifts....but they brought them anyway. Gift certificates for the spa (more "me" time!), books by my favorite authors, games, plaques with words of wisdom, scarves. And have I mentioned yet that I have this totally Amazing and Awesome sister!? She made me a Tribute Photo Book that makes me cry every time I just look at the cover. It's filled with pictures of friends and family, and words of inspiration, encouragement, and proof of how much I am LOVED! I could go on and on, but you really have to see it to believe it. Kelsey is my best friend and I'm even luckier that she's also my sister. God chose her for me because he apparently thought that I deserve the absolute best sister in the world. I cherish her friendship everyday. I know that there are sisters who aren't as close as we are and I try to never take my sister for granted because of this.

I also want to mention that there are several other amazing people in my life who don't live in the same town as me and weren't there to celebrate (in no particular order)......cole, eric, jen, meg, nana (bessa), kelly, jill, kim, michelle, stacy, aunt joan, grotewold and christianson cousins, grandma dorothy, numerous aunts and uncles, sarah, heather, jackie, donna, jamie......I know there is going to be someone I forgot, but I surely didn't mean to. Just goes to prove that I'm surrounded by awesomeness!

Are you surrounded by as many amazing people as I am? Then you are loved, too!

Thank you Eric for watching the girls so I could have this wonderful experience! I look forward to hearing your stories. Read about Eric's babysitting adventure here.

Extra credit: How many times did I say awesome and amazing in this post?
Dessert!!

I Hope You Dance!!

Last Thursday, M&M started their "Teeny Ballet" dance class through the park and rec. They think they are really big stuff now so they didn't want mom and dad to watch them.....they wanted to be "dropped off" like big girls. We did get to peek in through the windows to watch them hop, skip, gallop, walk on their heels and tip-toes, and learn new ballet skills. They had a great time!
The parents aren't allowed to watch again until the last week.....we'll see if M&M let us! Enjoy the pictures we got!

These Shoes Were Made For Walkin'...

Today is the last day of Myah and Maysen's recovery at home from Tonsil and Adenoid Surgery. Tomorrow, they get to go back to school. I don't have any pictures from the surgery (I have a few stories, though), partially because I was a nervous wreck and wasn't thinking about taking pictures of the girls in their hospital gowns, but also because the girls said "no" when I asked if I could take their pictures. The surgery itself went great, and the recovery was pretty great as well. I mean, it was great compared to what we were expecting and what we were prepared for. Either my girls have a high pain tolerance, or three year-olds recover very well.....I think it may be a combination of both. If you ever need to bribe a child to take their not-so-good-tasting medicine, we have found the Mellowcreme Pumpkins to work very well :)
It was my day to stay home with the girls on Friday, which was much needed by this tired mama! I took the girls to Story City to buy some new shoes. They came home with these totally rockin' Skechers!


They were free to get any shoe they want, they did not need to match....I know! Mom's branching out, here!! Myah originally choose a different pair, but we got home and realized they had a heel on them (tennies with a heel...for kids? Really!??) and she fell down a few times in the first few minutes she wore them so we went back on Sunday to exchange them. She choose the same as Maysen this time. They do wear a 1/2 size different, though!

Saturday made for a quick trip to Des Moines for the girls and I to get some maternity jeans and ballet shoes. Obviously these items are not for the same person :) M&M start dance on Thursday so stay tuned for another post later in the week on this! Speaking of maternity jeans....I'm now 14 weeks:

still feeling great. The maternity jeans are way too big, but my own pants are just tight enough where they are uncomfortable. The gauchos and stretchy waisted skirts are what I wear the most right now, but the jeans will be necessary before I know it!

Today was the first day of Sunday School for Myah and Maysen (actually the second, but they didn't go last week due to the surgery). They loved it. It was great for them to play with a different set of kids, and for them to get to know the kids they will grow up with in their church family, go through confirmation with, etc. We have a couple of "Giving Missions" going on at church right now so we've been talking a lot about giving to other people and how lucky we are to be able to go out and buy new shoes when we need them, but other people aren't so lucky. We took a trip to Wal-Mart and filled a grocery sack with groceries for the food drive. I let M&M choose all their favorite foods to buy for other kids who don't have a pantry full of food at their house. They chose Mac and Cheese, Spaghettios, canned vegetables and fruit. I do think they understood what we were doing, too, because when we got home we separated that food from the groceries we bought for ourselves and they knew exactly what they were doing. They would say "This one is for those other kids," or "Some other kids don't have as much food as we do, so we got some for them." It was really sweet to see this as it's never too young to teach kids how to give to others. Today in Sunday School, the girls brought home a bank to put money in for the next couple of weeks. In October, they will take the money they collect and buy things at the church's mission store for mission kits.
Not a lot of photos this time, I know some of you look forward to the pictures, but as you can see, we've still been as busy as always despite the surgeries. I'll try to have more photos next time!