Ok, I guess you all know by now, that I like to post photos.  I had too many favorites, so I added most of them!  We came home from church Sunday afternoon, and it was gorgeous outside!  I grabbed my camera while the kids played on the porch, not realizing that it would turn into a family photo session!  :)  We all had a shot at being the photographer as well!  Just wanted to share, especially with those who we don't get to see often.

Noah's rock collection

Noah found a beautiful collection of rocks this past weekend.

He washed each of them off and then put them in a pile.

 These rocks were coming out of my plant pot.

 

He wasn't very happy when he had to put them all back, 

so we finally gave in, and let him pick one to keep.

 "Swirly" is now his newest pet (since his daddy

 wouldn't let him keep the earth worm, caterpillar

 OR beetle that he also found that day). 

Soccer

Well, Ally is half-way through her soccer season. She has begged since last year to play soccer (something that Matthew and I knew very little about). Matthew was involved with baseball, football, karate and more growing up, but never soccer. We finally signed her up, excited that she, as a kindergartener, would only practice/play on Saturday mornings. We felt that this was a good start for her. Not too busy of a schedule, and only for 7 weeks. They focus more on having fun and working together as a team. The first game was ...interesting! :) I'm not sure if she just didn't know what she was supposed to do, or was a little scared of kicking the ball (or other players!). :) Her second game was much better. COLD...but better! She actually ran around a little bit and even kicked the ball. These last two games have been fun to watch. Although, last week was quite warm, and I had forgotten that Ally doesn't care too much for the heat!! :) I asked her the other day if she thought she would play again next year. She's not sure. We'll see!

There are other girls playing too, but I think some of them are off picking flowers. :)

our spring break so far

Well, we are halfway through our spring break. We didn't plan anything big for this week, but Matthew did decide at the last minute to take a couple of days off. Since I work on Mondays and Fridays, he took off yesterday and today. Yesterday morning, we went fishing. He and the kids have been waiting for it to get warm enough to go. I didn't do much fishing, but did take quite a bit of pictures. No fish, but we all had fun anyway.


Matthew wasn't very into taking pictures. :) He was concentrating on his fishing!

After we left the lake, we went to a park where Matthew continued fishing and Ally and I took some fun pictures.

Today we planned to get out and take some family pictures. That didn't happen. Instead, we slept in, then made omelets for brunch and ended up renting a movie and just spent time as a family. It's been beautiful the past couple of days, so just being off from school and work, and enjoying the weather together has been great!

Noah found a ladybug and made it his pet. He named it "Marley". He really loved Marley. He panicked when he thought he had lost "her" (Ally says that she thinks it is a male because of it's color). Anyway, they both searched for Marley for several minutes before Ally Grace found her on Noah's shirt. Whew!!! Noah was very happy....but not for long. We found Marley on the kitchen floor and Noah confessed that he had "mooshed" her. Bye bye, Marley. I'm sure it won't take him long to find another pet. :)

Ally opened her own store. "Stan (stain) And Fix". Her bedroom door is covered in homemade signs. Matthew and I both attended her grand opening and received several discounts, freebies and a $100 coupon for our next visit. :) That's a lot of stains!! I mean "stans"! She loves playing store and office.

(if you click on the photos above, you might be able to read her signs)

enjoying the weather

This week has been beautiful!! The kids loved playing outside in the warmer weather! I can't wait for it to stay that way!

Ally starts posing whenever I pull out the camera! She is growing up way too fast!!! She is such a sweet and special little girl!

Noah and I spent all afternoon outside yesterday. We played baseball, played with sidewalk chalk and he got several wagon rides.

An exciting week!

This past Sunday, Matthew and Ally were baptized! Matthew realized a little over a year ago that he was not really saved and got it settled after a Sunday morning service. Ally was saved this past summer at vacation bible school. It was extra special for them to be baptized on the same day.

Also this week, Noah memorized his very first bible verse. This is his first year in AWANA and he is a little Puggle this year. He came home with his papers on Wednesday night and I noticed the verse on it. I asked him if he learned a verse and he said yes. When I asked him what it was, he said "God is Love". Then he said Jon & Kate Plus Eight (a show he and Ally both love). I wasn't sure at first what that had to do with his verse, until I realized that on his paper, right below the verse, it said I John 4:8. It's funny how little ones hear things! :)

Fireproof your marriage

Wow! Matthew and I watched the movie Fireproof last night and LOVED it! Like most marriages, we have had our ups and downs. This movie, along with the "love dare" that is mentioned in the movie, are wonderful for any married couple, from newlyweds to those who have been together forever! We started a "Fireproof" class at our church on Wednesday nights and last night, we watched the first half of the movie. Matthew and I couldn't wait until next week to see the rest, so we stopped on our way home and rented the movie. If you haven't seen it, you need to!! We also started the 40 day "The Love Dare" journal a few days ago (not realizing at the time, that this was in the movie) and I also highly recommend it! Learn to lead your heart, not follow it.