A Night Out

On Friday Mimi offered to come take care of the kids and so Erik and I took that as the cue for a date night. We don't get out very often, mainly because I have a hard time leaving the girls, so we took a picture:



We enjoyed a nice dinner at Nina's Ristorante and made it home before Mimi and the girls returned from the mall :).

A Jumping Weekend

We had a nice, fun-filled weekend. On Saturday we went to a birthday party at TK's Jungle in Durham. TK's Jungle is an indoor play area filled with inflatables and video games. Maddie was at first overwhelmed by all of the lights and sounds in the place but she soon she was having a good time.

Anna showed Maddie how to do the big slide and then Maddie did it by herself:



We had some good family time as well:



I am behind on visiting the inflatable jumping places in the area, but I hope to visit all of then in the near future. There is a Jumpin Beans, Pump It Up and Monkey Joe's all nearby.

Fall Activities

Although the official date of fall isn't until the 22nd, I'm already in the fall mindset. This morning the school buses are picking up the kids, there's a chill to the air and I'm sipping on a hot cup of pumpkin spice coffee, yummm. It's too "cold" to hit the pool at night, the fall clothes are patiently waiting in the closet to be worn, the pumpkin mellowcremes are in the stores and the fall activities have begun.

For us this fall, we are participating in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and CBS (Community Bible Study). I am already so impressed with the kids programs for both. Maddie is in her same nursery room that she is on Sunday mornings and so the hope will be that eventually :) she will go in without a fuss. The nursery workers have started calling Maddie's high pitch squeal, her "signature". Anna just moved up to the preschool program and I am so thrilled with all she is doing. She comes home with memory verses, bible stories, and crafts; I love when she tells me a little about what she has learned. I am so thankful for the child workers whose passion is to spend a few mornings a week teaching little ones about the Lord!

My other activity for the fall has been starting a little preschool time of our own. After lunch, we read a bible story and then do some activities around the story or the letter/number/color/shape of the week. I'm quickly learning what works and what only causes frustration for both Anna and myself when it comes to learning styles. During this time for Maddie, my goal is to keep her from eating the crayons! My children are such a joy and I love that I get to spend my days with them. Now off to the playground...

My Heart's Desires

This weekend I had the blessed opportunity to go the Beth Moore Simulcast on The Desires of the Heart. Just as I've always wished I had a hobby or "a cause", I've wondered what exactly are my heart's desires? One overwhelming desire that hit me this weekend and has run like a theme in my life over the past few months is that of growing my children up in the Lord.

It is easy for me to get caught my own little world of getting the groceries for dinner and making sure the laundry is done (all things I want to do to bless my family and household) but while I'm doing those things am I bringing glory to God and pointing to Him or am I making my children feel that they are hindering me from completing my "all important task"? I am super excited about doing my own preschool activities in the house with the girls this fall, but am I above all teaching them about the Lord and having a godly character? These are the things on my heart.