Papa and Nanny's Visit!

What a wonderful thing to spend time with people you love and who love you back! We have sure missed friendly faces and so enjoyed an afternoon with Nanny and Papa! David was his happy self and was even cracking up in the restaurant we went to, and Lana was so excited to see them both...she was running around yelling "HI NANNY!!! HI PAPA!!!" and giggling! We loved getting to catch up a bit and had a nice lunch at Lonestar together! Time always goes by too quickly, but we are planning to go down to their condo sometime in April for a few days with them, so that will really be a blessing for us! (We love you so much, thank you for visiting us!!!)
Lana is showing Nanny her puzzle and telling her what shapes are what. (the "squa-o" and "tw-i-a-go" are kind of confusing sometimes!)
Lana had a great time with papa...she said "Papa, SO funny!"
This was so cute! Nanny was getting David to belly laugh...we loved it! (I guess he did too!)
David sure doesn't hold still for very long, papa had a lot of fun playing with them both!
Here is our big girl at the restaurant, drinking "chocwate miwk" from a "stwaw"! We all had such a great time together, Life is so good!!!

Florida's kind of snow

Lana made her first snowman today! (with mommy's help) Since we don't have any of that precious white stuff down here we made one with playdough instead. :) Lana loved it and made it hop around the table. (I really wasn't aware that snowmen hop, but apparently they do) We spent the rest of today at the pool and enjoying the sunshine and 82 degree weather. Then we went to the park before the kids went to bed and David had a good time playing with daddy's basketball. We're still convinced he's on his way to the NFL, but maybe the NBA is in his future too. :)
"Cheese!"
David yelling about his new toy! He was pretty excited!
David's so cute, I couldn't help myself!
Here's a little Lana playtime for you..."I a sowman, how are you? I good! bye!"

Love you all!!!

My Seven Songs

So, my sister-in-law, Trista, wants me to write about 7 songs that I really enjoy listening to lately. I guess it is like a game of tag in blogger land. She listed her 7 and then asked friends and family to do the same. So here it goes...

1. "Wherever I May Roam"-Metallica
Ok so I just LOVE this song...and most Metallica songs. I can't help but crank it up and wish I was cool enough to play the guitar or drums!
2. The Veggie Tales Theme Song
Lana has been asking daddy and me to sing this a lot lately...she is doing pretty well singing it herself! It makes me smile and laugh every time...I love her!
3. "Can't Help Falling In Love"-Elvis
Ahhhh....anytime I want to relax and go to a "happy place" I listen to Elvis and it makes me feel so much better...it almost has the same effect on my mood as ice-cream does!
4. I actually don't know the name of this song...we sing it at Mars Hill where guys sing one part and altos another and sopranos another...Alan and Megan would know what I am talking about, I love it! "All praises be...to the King of kings...and the Lord of lords...He is wonderful!"
5. "Glory Box"-Portishead
Like my very wise brother Mark...I love anything by Portishead (and by the Cranes while we are on the subject) I listened to this song the other day and had to dance around...I love it! Something must be wrong with my poor sister-in-law Trista to not like their voices! ;)
6. "Seven Nation Army"-The White Stripes
Awesome! I always have to dance to this one...so now Lana dances to it too! Unfortunately I think the rest of the album kind of sucks...maybe one of those one hit wonders I guess.
7. "Rock-a-bye a Bear"-the Wiggles
Ok, so I'm a dork...but it is actually catchy, and Lana dances and sings to it pretty well! It makes me think of my family...We were introduced to that song by Mark and Trista and their cute kids Abby and Ethan. All the kids would dance to it and make the rest of us laugh and smile! I know that my parents loved watching how cute they all were, and Dad would sing it to watch them do the motions. ohhhh *warm fuzzies*

So I guess I enjoy quite a variety...I wonder what my other friends and family like to listen to lately...Hmmm...Alan, Megan, Sam, Alexis, Andy, Janis, Josh, and Brandi...are you up to the challenge?

Hello Friends and Family!!! We had a bit of a shock yesterday...we had to wear our coats outside! Don't worry about us though...it's supposed to be in the 80's later this week. :) I have to rub it in...we are just missing everyone there and we're so glad that we are getting visitors soon! We see Jeremy's mom and Doug next week!!! Yea!!! And then in March my mom and dad are coming and then in April Alan and Megan are coming! We have lots to look forward to! We have been having lots of fun with the kids lately, and spending lots of quality time with the whole family. We go to parks when it is nice out and both kids love to be tickled, it's so cute! Lana was tickling David's feet when he was in his highchair a couple of days ago and they were both cracking up and gave each other the hick-ups! We don't have much else happening down here, David now has 2 teeth and is no longer interested in baby food...he wants to be a big boy I guess! Daddy's tickling Lana right now and she laughs and laughs and when he stops she says "againt?" We miss you all very much! xoxo
Here are my most recent puzzles...this one is for Lana...she loves it!
This one is David's, although he only likes to eat it and doesn't care if Lana takes it to play with.
David was moving too fast for me to get a good picture...he is cracking himself up here!
Lana loves to read "sweeping beauty" and she yells at Malificent "you naughty!"
David making a mess of himself and proud of it! He likes grown-up food!
Lana had lots of fun a few days ago coloring outside!
My two favorite men!

Busy Little Bees!

Well our house has been pretty active lately! Lana is excited to use stamps and to color since she sees me scrapbooking. She has wanted to go play at the little playground here a lot so we go nearly everyday, and we usually get to see Katja and her daughter Amelia too. We love to take walks in the red wagon (from Nanny and Papa) to go "check the mail". David is standing up next to everything. When we are anywhere near him (standing or sitting) he will crawl quickly and start climbing up us. He is getting pretty good at it! He got his first tooth on January 31, but is still pretty grumpy lately since the one next to it is not quite in yet. Lana just came down with a cold too so she has been more whiney than normal. Sometimes I miss working... when they are both crabby it really makes me miss it! I am thankful that I have met some other really nice people here that I can talk to a bit or I think I might go nuts! Lana's new thing is saying "mommy" over and over and over again and when you say "what's up Lana?" she has no response...until you start doing something else again and then the "mommy, mommy" starts again! It is funny how I couldn't wait for her to say that word and now I don't think she ever stops talking unless she is asleep! She is a little sweetie though, if I bump my arm or something she comes and gives me a kiss so it will be "all better". I have been pretty busy lately too. I have been making more puzzles (for Lana and David since I hadn't gotten around to making them any yet). I am excited and I have decided to give all profits to charities because I believe I need to really love others and help like Jesus calls us to. I know that even $20 can go a long way to help people in poverty. This is an area of frustration for me concerning the church we have been going to. I am pretty upset with the goals of the church and I have been trying to get in to talk to one of the pastors there. It seems like most churches are pretty self-absorbed and superficial...I want to be a part of a community that really LOVES. I am not sure what I am "called" to do in my life, but I am pretty passionate about some things. I want to help provide for every need of everyone in the area I live, and I want to give as much as I can to help people who are persecuted or starving or oppressed. I know I am not rich, but I want to be a part of it. Maybe I have been so mad at the church here for a reason...maybe this is where God wants to use me...I don't really know, but I feel like I am open to anything now. I thank God for Mars Hill church and for the teaching pastor Rob Bell, and for our wonderful friends who have helped us to learn how to start living how Jesus really taught us to live. I feel excited about feeling like I am starting to "get it" and that God really can use me to make the world a little bit better. So, thanks Sam, Alexis, Alan, and Megan, We love you!!!
Ok, here is Lana having a great time with "Stamms"! She ended up with red ink all over her hands...and some on her face. (I guess she wanted a taste-test)
Thank God we have this gate! There are a whole bunch of stairs in our apartment and David LOVES to crawl over and climb up to stand by the gate...please God don't let him start really climbing for a long time!
Lana and her buddy Amelia like to go into the closets to play with toys, I guess it is their little fort.
Katja is a very talented singer (as is her husband Charles). Katja sang songs for the girls...Lana liked the wheels on the bus song and she joined in too. "wheels on the bus, beep beep beep" and she danced too! She's so cute! Both girls liked Katja's guitar, Amelia was pretty good at strumming it already...another musician?
David is so funny!!! He is talking here, he has a little raspy voice, but he can get pretty loud! I love it! My kids sure do keep me smiling and laughing!