We got a Wii

The Winslow’s have joined the modern world and purchased a Wii! It took a long time, but we also go one of those big, flat screen TV’s! WOW, we’ve been watching a good, but apparently really small TV! Anyway, we’re blessed for sure and have so much fun with the Wii in the few short days’ we’ve had it! As the pictures below will show! I see many hours of tennis and bowling in my future – neither of which I’m very good at – yet anyway!

Sickness

It looks like Avery and I have shared our tummy yuck with David! How nice of us, I know! Poor guy! Hope and pray that Luke doesn't get it too!

Sunshine!

We have had our fair share of rain the last several days and for that I am thankful! But yesterday and today we had sunshine and for that I’m even MORE thankful! I was starting to think we might need to build an ark! I honestly don’t know how some people live in places like Seattle where it rains a lot! It’s depressing!

So between all the rain and the fact that both of my kids are “in a funk” (Luke’s got the sniffles and I’m not sure what Avery has except multiple, different, seemingly unrelated symptoms!) and I am getting over a UTI and some sort of stomach bug myself – the sun was nice to see the last 2 days – it gave a ray of hope for better days to come.

On the “lighter side” last week before all the rain began – we had our grass mowed for the first time this year! I love the smell of fresh cut grass! I was so happy to hear the lawn mower running!! “Spring has sprung” I thought! I’m really looking forward to many more spring like days (hopefully not so many rainy ones), but ones where we can go outside and run and play and see the sunshine and feel the warmth on our faces!! Oh, I cannot wait! Thank you Lord for spring time and the feeling of new and fresh and a new beginning!

Away this weekend

This weekend I get to go to the beach - AGAIN - but this time I get to go with David. We are taking a short weekend trip down there just to take a quick weekend getaway. We are taking Luke with us and plan on spending some time playing outside on the playground with him! Avery, who doesn't travel very well, will be staying here with her second family, the Lowes!

I'm excited about it! Boy, I love the beach and am so excited to be going back!!

She is my girl!

Avery’s new thing is shoes – what can I say, it runs in our genes. I’ve gotten her many pairs (some of which we’ve managed to lose one of the pairs of) some sneakers, some dress shoes, all different types, but until this last Saturday I couldn’t seem to find “the” pair. You know the ones that she would leave on and just wear. On Saturday afternoon at a half price consignment sale, I came upon 3 pairs of dress shoes. They were the right size, and the right price.

As it turns out – one of those pairs seem to be Avery’s new favorite shoe. She actually brings them to me saying “ooes” and she actually leaves them on all day! She’s my girl, what can I say??

Here she is sportin’ her new favorite accessories…

Reagan's Birthday

This past Sunday we had the awesome opportunity to celebrate the wonderful and miraculous life of Reagan Olivia Winslow. For those of you who are new to my blog or who just don’t know – Reagan was born prematurely at 24 weeks gestation and you can go back and read all about it from my brother and sister in law at their blog – just click here.

Her birthday was actually March 4th, but due to bad weather Robert and Amy rescheduled the party! It was a good time of celebration for sure! Reagan sure bet the odds and is a wonderful, happy, content (she got some serious Miller genes) beautiful baby girl! I could not be more amazed by God’s handy work.

I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few!

I’m a proud Aunt, can you tell?

Random

I have lots of random thoughts going on in my head today! Never good really, but it should help to “unload” them here!

First is this time change crap! What is up with that? I am having the worst time getting adjusted to it – and normally it doesn’t take so long for me to adjust to spring ahead. I like to sleep, I like to go to bed early, so normally it’s not a big deal, but for some reason this time it’s been really bad. I cannot seem to get in bed at a decent time and then I DO NOT want to get up in the morning!! Then yesterday Luke sleep until like 7:30 – that NEVER happens – so everyone in the house was still snoozing in their beds when in an hour we had to be leaving to go to preschool! Now of course today when we have nowhere to be and nothing to do, I heard him under (yes, you read that right UNDER) my bed at 6:30AM! That kid is so cute, but what is up with his sleeping?!?!?

Next, the weathers not great today – after like 5 days of totally beautiful weather – today we’re back to cold and gray and yucky! YUCKY! I’m not in the mood for that. The kids love to be outside and I’ve enjoyed just taking the out and letting them play in the sandbox or play in the driveway or whatever. I’m ready for consistently nice weather. Actually, I’m ready for the pool to open up so we can “get our swim on!” I know Luke is too, cause he’s asked me about it several times.

Next thought – tomorrow is consignment shopping day!!!!! WOOO HOOO!!! Thankfully my wonderful friend Leslie (who these days is like Avery’s second mom) is going to help me out. She keeps Avery’s on Friday mornings for me (I’m supposed to be cleaning the house while she’s gone) while Luke is in school. No cleaning tomorrow – just shopping! Leslie has agreed to pick Luke up from school and keep both kids at her house for a bit. I was planning on getting them back before she picked up her son at 2:30, but then she asked couldn’t they stay so Luke and Clayton can play? I am trying to learn to say yes when someone offers a break – so even though I don’t “need” the time, I am going to take it. Thank you Leslie and watch out consignments salers – here I come!!!

Life priorities will be the last random thought I will share today. (I have more, but this is getting kinda long). I’ve been thinking a lot lately – and my girlfriends and I talked about it some at the beach – about what’s really important in life, and how BIG the responsibility of raising children is. I’m reminded that my children aren’t even really mine – they are God’s and He has sent them to me on loan and it’s my responsibility to raise them for Him. Boy oh boy – do I forget that on a daily basis. I tend to get bogged down with the day to day stuff and forget that I want my children to grow to love the Lord and live for Him. I want them to see Him in me – hard to see Him in me when I’m upset about toys on the floor and yelling because they cannot get along! So I’m gonna do better – with the Lords help and his grace covering them when I mess up, I’m gonna do better. I love my kids and truly want them to be warriors for the kingdom.

OK, I’m off to try to find a sitter for tonight. I have Bible study and David has to work… lets see if someone can come and keep the kiddos!

Weather

There is something about nice weather that touches the soul, isn't there? It's like a fresh new day, with the sun up and the day full of promise!

Today the weather is even sweeter because I'm at the beach and the weather is totally awesome! But one of the best parts of today is that it started with a full body message!! HOLY COW! Was that ever wonderful! I so totally enjoyed it and fell really relaxed now. I just love that kind of thing!

Next I got a pedicure, so now my toes are pretty too!! Lunch came from 5 Guys - the best place in the world to get a burger - and now, some chill time before hitting the outlets!!

Isn't a small break wonderful?

Girls Beach Weekend

Not many women can say they get to go away for the weekend, but I am fortunately one of at least 4 women who does get to not only SAY I’m going away, but I am actually going to the beach for the weekend this weekend!!!

First of all, I can do this because I have a totally wonderful husband who is willing to let me go – which for those of you with kids know – it’s a lot of work to keep 2 kids all weekend by yourself. But David has agreed to do it, and I’m so thankful!! Also, my MIL and a very good friend are helping out by keeping the kids as well. We will leave late Thursday evening so Luke gets to spend the night with Meme and Papa and Avery will spend the night – actually Thursday and Friday night – with the Lowes! I’m so thankful to my in-laws and my good friends – without them I don’t know how it would have worked out.

This will be the 4th beach trip us 4 girls have made. We’ve done something special each time we’ve been there. Like one year we went before Christmas and saw a wonderful Christmas show, one year we just spent the whole day on the beach, one year we saw a comedian, and last year we spend all day on Saturday in our PJ’s at the condo and then went out for a nice dinner. This year – we’re going big time – we’re going to the spa!!! We are each having different things done, and I will be having a full body message. There is nothing better – in my opinion – than having all the sore, tight muscles rubbed out while covered in warm blankest and listening to calming music. It’ll be a good time for sure.

The down side – I will so miss my family. It’s a double edged thing… it’s nice to have some time away from the laundry, dishes, diapers, cleaning, and daily routine… but when I’m gone, I miss them. Plus, David and I love to travel, and I don’t like to travel without him, but this is tax season and so long term (even for a weekend) care is hard to come by since my in laws are up to their necks in W-2 forms so there is always part of me that’s sad that I’m not on vacation with him. And boy does he need a vacation too. He’s been working like a dog these past couple of weeks! Hopefully we’ll be able to go away – even for the weekend (if we can talk Meme and Papa into it again) after tax season is over!

Well, as much as I would love to keep on sitting here in my PJ’s – I’m not at the beach yet, and there are a million things to do… like get Luke to school! So I’m off to do the things that I do on a daily basis, with thoughts of the beach in the back of my mind.

We actually got what they called for...

For my Northern readers this post won’t seem all that exciting – but for those of you who are from or live in the South – you will totally get it!

We woke up this morning with SNOW – and lots of it (well lots of it for us) there is probably a good 4 – 5 inches on the ground this morning. We’ve had rain and yuck all weekend, but yesterday it started to sleet off and on and then last night somewhere around 7 or 7:30 we stared to get sleet and snow… turning to all snow shortly after. They were the big, white, fluffy types of flakes! Really pretty!

At about 10PM we already had I would say 2 inches or so and it was still snowing to “beat the band.” I was up in the night with Luke and at that time the snow had stopped and the night had that neat “white” pure glow about it!

Then this morning you would have thought it was Christmas Day – both kids were up early and so excited to see the snow. This is the most snow since Avery was born and although we had a really good snow when Luke was about 2 – I doubt he remembers it at all.

So the two of them are standing at the front door, looking out the door windows saying “SNOW!” or in Avery’s case “NO!” They were so cute. I’m posting those pictures now and will post more after we go outside and play in it. Luke keeps asking me what time will we go out to play in it? I told him we will wait until after 8AM! Thought maybe some of the neighbors might want to sleep in!
Our deck last night at 10PM.
The deck this morning at 7AM.
The kids looking at the "NO!"

Releasing Weight

Releasing weight – that’s what the “Thin Within” book calls losing weight! The point is that usually when you lose something you want to find it again – so weight would be something you don’t want to find once it’s gone.

Honestly I got sidetracked with reading the book. The kids got sick and both were up in the night and I wasn’t getting too much sleep. I was struggling to keep up with my Esther Bible study homework and so “Thin Within” took a seat on the shelf. But I’ve been practicing the things I’ve learned so far. And so far the hardest thing for me is knowing when I’m just satisfied and not full. Since I’m waiting until I’m really hunger I think sometimes I eat too much cause I feel like I’m STARVING!!! So that’s where I’m struggling the most.

To date I’ve lost 8 pounds. I’m already seeing a difference in the way some of my cloths fit. I don’t think I look any different, but my cloths do fit differently. So I’m pretty happy with progress so far. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to get back on track with the reading and move forward with releasing the weight!