Cards, Competition and Chiropractors

We had a fun weekend getaway at our friends, the Bronsons. After putting the Little Miss down for the night, we stayed up late with Robert and Samantha (a.k.a., "Sam") playing Spades (a card game sort of like Hearts). For the past 3+ years, we've been playing this game as husbands vs. wives every time we're together. I'm proud to say that the women won the very first match (yes, over three years ago). Since then, the men have dominated. However, Sam and I held our ground this weekend. We won. (one match out of four but who's counting?).

On Saturday we all went snowshoeing, a first adventure for our Little Miss. Her Daddy played "horse" and carried her on his back (approx 30 lbs, including the pack).


About 1/2 way through the trip I was thinking, "we need to keep going, I want to make sure we get a good workout in" (keep in mind, I was pack-free). Hubby was a saint (as usual), and agreed to keep going.


Workout we did get. As you can see, the Little Miss thought she was the one that was doing all the hard work. She snoozed the last mile or so.

Thankfully she didn't need a chiropractor. Instead, it's her Daddy and I that are feeling the effects today.

The End.

Happy Friday (Almost)!

The end of the week is almost here, amen?! I'll just go ahead and say it now because we are going to be busy tomorrow packing for our snow trip....Happy Friday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We hope each of you enjoy the day and time with your loved ones. Valentine's day always seems to invoke a "love/hate" response depending on whether or not you have a significant other at the moment. With the exception of my childhood years when I was satisfied with a card and balloons from my parents, I personally have had more "bah humbug" responses to V-Day. This year, I'm going to enjoy every minute with Mr. Hubby and our Little Miss, my two favorite Valentine's. May each of you be blessed with your own families, friends and lots of:

Flowers...

Chocolate...

...and most importantly...

Hugs & Kisses

Photos courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

Chocolate, Roses and a Year Older

Happy Birthday wishes go out this week to one of the best gals around, my friend Jennifer. Jen shares her big day with Valentine's day. Yep, she's special enough for a national holiday where everyone else buys chocolate and flowers to celebrate!

I enjoy Jen's birthday more than my own. She is so fun to surprise and is always deserving of the blessings that come with being the birthday girl (Plus, Jen's about three weeks older and I relish every opportunity to remind her of that). From being serenaded by her brother and some guy friends outside our apartment window in college, to surprise V-Day/Birthday dinners with her hubby, Jen's birthday is usually a blast.

Jen is the best girlfriend. She's fun to talk with, shop with, laugh and cry with. She's beautiful (inside and out), intelligent and thoughtful. She may appear to be on the serious side but those of us who know her well know that she can be goofy at times (her hubby and some others would probably say that's my influence but I beg to differ, we all know I'm the serious one).

Happy Birthday Jen!

Home Sweet Home

Don't you just love the feeling of walking through the door to your own home after returning from a long trip? What a sweet luxury it is. Not to be cliché but there truly is no place like home. It's not about the material things as much as it is about the "familiarity" of everything. It's about being together as a family, the comfort of your own bed, the routine of daily living and knowing where even the little things are.

That's how we are feeling tonight. Pure joy. We've been spending the past few days in the hospital with our Little Miss. She came down with RSV, a nasty virus that typically just causes a bad cold in most adults and adolescents. In young babies, or kiddos under the age of 2 that were born prematurely, it can develop into a serious respiratory infection. PTL our girl is doing much better now and we are home. Thank you to all who have been praying.

After only a few days in the hospital and not getting much sleep, our hearts go out to all of you who have gone through, or are currently going through, extended hospital stays. We can't imagine what it would be like to be parents watching your child go through a serious illness like this family recently endured. We believe that God grants all of us the exact amount of strength we need, at the precise moment we need it, to walk through trials but still can't fathom the perseverance and courage that it would take. Which reminds me...if you haven't checked out this blog yet, please do. You will want to read some of the older posts to get caught up to speed but trust me, you're heart will be stirred to pray.