Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New Camera

We got the new iPhones a few months back and that is what we've been using to take all of our pictures since I (Matt) broke our camera last year. I had heard that the cameras on these phones were really good so I thought we could replace our camera with our phones. Well, the cameras are really good for being on a phone, but we have been underwhelmed with the picture quality overall. They don't print out very well and if there is any movement it gets blurry. So, I have been wanting to get another camera but the money was never there. We celebrated my birthday last week with all of the family and everyone was very generous! I got a good amount of money and so I was able to do some shopping and get a pretty nice camera; it is a Kodak Max Zoom Z990. I have been having fun over the last few days taking pictures and figuring out everything that it can do. I am also looking forward to taking it on vacation and getting some great pictures of the family and of the sights.

Here are some of the pictures that I've been able to capture:














I had to include one of these pictures because I have been enjoying the long zoom on this camera. It sure allows you to be able to get up close to the animals without them flying or running away. I will have to use that to my advantage when we are in Florida finding alligators!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Spring has sprung!

How I know....

Robins are here!

Our huge beautiful tree has buds!

The gold finches are back at my bird feeders! They're my favorite.

The warm then cloudy then rainy then cool weather all within a few days.

Green grass is beginning to appear.

I'm still excited to go to Florida in 2 sleeps!
Although Ava can say "Mama", she apparently can't say "Mommy". So now I am currently "Bobby". It's kind of cute.

We are gearing up for vacation with only 5 sleeps to go! We usually go sooner than this, so it feels a little funny to be going with the weather being so nice here. We will adapt though and enjoy it anyway, I feel sure!

Here are the kids getting noisy instruments from Brent and Heidi's trip. They loved them. Also Ava got her haircut, so her hair is crazy curly!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Ava in pigtails!

Beautiful weather allowed us to get out to the park. Ava did great since it was her first time being able to really play. I never thought I could fix her hair when she got enough of it but it's been so messy, I tried the pigtails and now I'm sold on them! She looks older I think, and it's so cute I love it!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Blessing-dales

Here are some pictures of Blessing-dales our "store" at Metro Womens Center. Also our friend Judy made these beautiful bags for the ladies of the Amazing Grace Home which will open this spring, so she and Tupee (the MWC assistant) are modeling them. The MWC is a blessing to me and I know to many around the area. Everything about it brings blessings to those who are involved. Here is also a picture of onesies that were donated. They just said exactly the way I feel about what MWC does. Blessing, Miracle, and Precious!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Happy birthday, Grandaddy!

We love you. We celebrated with lunch and Roy Rogers! Can't wait to party with the family!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Saved!

We are thrilled that Jack accepted Christ as his Savior last night before church. We were having communion, and he was asking about it. He has been asking lots of questions lately so we were hoping it might be coming. So last night after Matt explained it to him again, he said, "Well, can I do it right now?" That's the first time he's ever said that, so Matt said "sure" right away. I'm thankful for a husband who thought that was more important than anything else going on right then.

We are excited to be Jack's parents and are looking forward to seeing God use him in his life. It has been cute to hear him describe it to others. The first thing he said to me was, "I asked Jesus in my heart." In telling others he said, "I saved myself." So I corrected him and told him to say that he asked Jesus in his heart. Then he came up with, "l trust in Christ.". And this morning he woke up and said, "'member I believed God?". And a few minutes ago: "I'm so 'cited I'm a different creature!" Me too, and I 'membered! What an indescribable thrill as a parent!

Here is a picture of Jack shortly after he made his decision.
Ok after all my whining, Ava has finally said mama a few times. Whew! It's so cute to hear her little voice try more and more to say things.

Here are a few pictures of the recent snowfall and a few others. For some reason, I don't know why they don't go in the order I add them. Oh well.

Happy birthday, dad! We went out and got a free dessert with dad for his birthday. We will have a real party later but we had a great time.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Dacky

I think Ava is calling Jack "dacky". Not sure yet, but that's what it seems like today. So now she says daddy and dacky and still no mommy. She always laughs when we ask her to say it and looks at me. Where's the gratitude? Ha. But I know when she starts she won't stop. I remember last time we drove to Florida that Jack had just started saying mommy and it was a long trip with lots of mommies! So I guess that could happen this trip. I hope so! :)