Courtney's Room is D.O.N.E.!!!!!

Holy moly...I can't believe its done...well, is it really ever d.o.n.e? I started out with lavender walls. The two colors we had in her old room and just rolled with it. I made a couple mistakes and just kept painting. Oh, the joy of paint. You mess up a strip, just make it bigger. You go out of the lines, just outline it all. Seriously, I love how it turned out. It's kind of 'princess-ish' but hey, she's our little 4-wheeler riding princes. It is what it is and she likes it. The hardest part was the Bible verse. And not painting it. Although that was simply time consuming! As I sat down to come up with a verse, many came to mind. Her verse her Auntie Shannon first gave her "Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is always with you" Joshua 1:9. Once of my favorites "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13. From James for simplicity "Jesus Wept" John 11:35....what was I searching for seemed so simple! One verse to give her an idea of what the Bible is and why God wrote it. HA! That is funny. Then. It came to me. I was listening to a sermon by my oh so favorite pastor of all time Perry Noble (sorry Mike, you are a close 2nd though) and he quoted Roman 12:2 "Do not be conformed to the ways of this world. But be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect". That was it! What prayer do I have for my little girl? To NOT follow the ways of this world! But to follow the will of God! I was so excited when that came to me. Then, as I designed the cross to go along with it on Photoshop, I thought of a way to help her learn the meaning of the verse as she grows up. Although she is smart, I doubt she will know what the word 'discern' means for a while. So, I painted certain parts in pink to stick out and be a 'shortened' version of the verse. "Do not be conformed, but be transformed by God." I sure love my little girl and I hope through my creativity, I am able to help her relationship with God grow...we now read that verse every night and it means so much to me. It also helps her with her letters...last night she wanted to point at each one and ask me what it was. I would tell her and she would say "yes! Mommy, that's right."

*on a creative note. Yes, I made the crafts in her room and yes, I am for hire! :-)

January CA trip

Whenever we get a chance to go to CA for something (this time was Sandra's wedding) Courtney and I get to stay for a couple of weeks. At least until she is in school, it's a great opportunity to visit with friends and family. This trip was awesome! We finally got to visit with Kirsten and her family. Courtney had a blast with Aidan, playing cars and building things with tools. Sophie was in heaven with her own 'personal dress up doll'. While Arkansas was having the big snow/ice storm of the year, and Paul was drawing hearts in the snow with the 4-wheeler...we were on the beach! And of course I drew a heart in the sand for him. :-) Courtney also LOVED spending time with her Uncle Westen. She literally brightens up when he comes into the room.

Aunt Gaunga gets married

A couple of weeks ago we went to CA for Sandra's (Aunt Gaunga) wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous! Ethan was so handsome in his tux and Courtney was a precious little flower girl. Sandra was a stunning bride and the whole day was amazing. It had been raining/snowing for days before the wedding but Saturday morning, it was clear and even a little warm. PERFECT for a wedding. The highlight of the evening for us (parents) was when Ethan was introduced in the wedding party at the reception. He was announced...nothing for a few seconds...then he comes RUNNING down, drops to his knees, slides across the dance floor and finishes with 'the sprinkler'. Absolutely adorable!

Precious Memories

Ok. I just did 4 post...mainly pictures. I am SO far behind it's not even funny. I hope to do better through the year. I got the last 2 years printed to book and I love it! It's kinda year book looking, but to look through a book with memories of the last 2 years is awesome. I hope to get the blog printed each year for memories our kids will easily have access to. If you haven't heard of blog-2-book, it's a great idea. I got ours through www.thecutestblogontheblock.com . I came across one other site, but it was directed to the same place...either way. Super cute and a great idea for a gift too!

Here are two precious pictures of my sweet baby Courtney from a nice winter day in Arkansas.

Fun With Courtney

Christmas in January

Between my mom being in the hospital right after Christmas and the crazy weather...we didn't have Christmas with my parents until about a week ago. Right when the kids were out of 'present mode' there were more. My parents pretty much got the kids the best gifts this year. Ethan's requires a helmet and Courtneys is full of hours of imagination. :-)