Snow Day

Hot Chocolate Faces!

Another snow day for us today. At least this time there was actually some snow. Nothing to really scream at, but enough for a little "yippee!" The weather had been rainy and cold all weekend so we were hoping for a winter wonderland when the temperatures dropped on Sunday night. We woke up to just a dusting (if you could even call it that) and lots of ice on the roads. NO SCHOOL was declared and the stir craziness set in. Even though the temps were never really above freezing, we NEEDED to get out and run a little before "Steele Wrestle Mania '09"ended up with a broken bone.
I was not the brave Mama and stood at the door and watched while they ran around a little. I am still very cautious with my knee since the surgery and ice makes me NERVOUS. I forgot how exciting snow can be to a child. Luke hadn't seen snow since he was 2 and we had nearly 8 inches to play in the last February we were in Fredericksburg. He was a little disappointed that there was not enough to make a snow angel or build a snowman. He got over it pretty quickly and ran and ran and ran and ran!!! Hayley has never seen snow until this year. She loved it. She pretty much ate all the snow off one of our deck chairs (I'm sure that was pretty clean). They had both had enough after about 20 minutes, and they came inside for a hot chocolate break. Luke takes after his Daddy and cannot stand chocolate, but he insisted on a cup for himself. After a sip to warm him up, he was done. Hayley could have finished two more mugs full if I had let her.

Today is bitterly cold again, but the weather man tells us it should be 65 and sunny by the weekend. Ahhhh. Spring is slowly creeping in and I cannot wait!

Another Adventure

One of the things we love most about living in Chesapeake is all of the wonderful things there are to do here. Not only are there great parks, a zoo, botanical gardens, the beach, etc., but if you go an hour north, you're in Williamsburg or go an hour south and you are in the Outer Banks.

Chris loves to load us all up in the car and take us on "an adventure." Most of the time we don't know where we are going until we get there. This past weekend, he decided to take us to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

We all had a great time and enjoyed playing and flying our kite at the sand dunes. Although it was a cool 50 degrees outside, with the sunshine and all the running around we were doing, no one even seemed to notice the cold. We will most definitely return in the spring and summer when we can also enjoy the beautiful beaches. Hooray for another great adventure.

Happy Valentine's Day

Wanted to add a few pictures from the kids' Valentine's Party at school. I didn't get many pictures of Hayley because I was the coordinator and busy setting up and running the games. Both kids had a lot of fun. Luke and his buddy, Joey, are just so cute. I am so thankful that he has made such a good friend at school. Luke made it to the last three in a game of musical chairs. What fun to watch!!! Chris was out of town over the actual holiday, but gave me my "present" when he got home. Monday morning, he got up with the kids and took them to McDonald's for breakfast while I slept in until 9:00!!! What a wonderful Valentine treat.

My Cup Runneth Over

My sweet and precious boy told me today that he wanted Jesus to live in his heart. I have prayed for this moment since he was just a butter bean in my belly.

We were sitting at the dinner table listening to a cd of Sunday School songs that he had selected for our listening pleasure while we ate. "Jesus Loves Me" came on and Luke was talking about how strong Jesus is. He asked me if Jesus was in his heart making him strong and I told him that Jesus so badly wanted to be in his heart if Luke was ready to invite Him. We finished off our piece of pizza and Luke says, "Mommy, I am ready to invite Jesus in my heart!" I asked him to come sit on the sofa with me so that we could talk and then pray. Luke looked up at me and said, "No, Mommy, I want to pray on the floor because that is what I saw Jesus do in the Bible." We knelt on the floor together, talked about what Jesus had done for him by dying on the cross and forgiving his sins, and then we prayed.

Praise the Lord!! Another heart for Him. Another life to shine for Him and tell of His grace, love, and mercy. What a gift to be able to sit and pray with our son, that was given to us by our Father in Heaven, and guide him back to the One who loves him more than any other.

Wonderfully Warm

Our warm day in January 2007

Our warm day February 2009

(my, how they have CHANGED!)

Pure Joy!!!!!!

We had the most beautiful weather this weekend. Completely amazing for the month of February. I think we were outside most of the day Saturday and all afternoon on Sunday. We even went and got ice cream and went the park. Now that is pretty warm.

I was taking all of these pictures of Luke and Hayley jumping in the bouncy house (thanks again, Mimi and Papa) and it reminded me of two years ago while living in J'ville, having a similar day in January. I went back and found those pictures to post as well (as you can see from the first pics). How is it possible that they have grown up so much? I know everyone says it, but it goes by way too fast.

Sassy New Do!

This (photo above) is the pose I got when I asked to take a picture of Hayley's new haircut. Oh, I can't wait until she is 13!! (He he) I was thinking about letting her hair grow out for the spring and summer. That way she could sport a ponytail or two on hot days.....She had other plans. She had been asking me for weeks when she was going to get her haircut. We take Luke every four to six weeks for a trim and apparently she thought it was time for her to get a cut as well! We went yesterday and came home with a cute little bob! I love it! And so does she.

Parent-Teacher Conference

Chris and I went to Luke's parent-teacher conference this morning and were thrilled with the progress he is making this year in school. He is growing and thriving and doing so well adjusting to his new home, new school, new friends, and new teachers. I wanted to share the cute interview that his teacher did with him for the conference. I love this boy to pieces!!!!!

Tell Me Please:

1. What is your name? Luke Thomas Steele

2. How old are you? five

3. What do you like to eat? bagels, strawberries, I like to drink milk.

4. What is your favorite color? Green and blue

5. What are you going to be when you grow up? um....an adult

6. Is it more fun to play with girls or boys or both? both

7. What kind of work do Mothers do? they cook, they clean, they play with us

8. What kind of work do Daddies do? They work, they build stuff

9. What are you afraid of? I'm afraid of a monster

10. What kind of animal would you like to be? a horse Why? cause um I want to be at a farm

11. Why do people go to school? cause on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays we go to school

12. What do you like best at school? I like that book that we read yesterday (Mrs. McNosh hangs up her Wash)

13. What do you like least at school? I do not like doing boring work

14. What would you buy your Mother for a present? a pony

15. What would you buy your Daddy for a present? a Star Wars Cape.

16. If you had $100 what would you buy with it? Star Wars people

17. What do you wish for the most? I wish for my daddy to be here.

18. Do you like winter or summer better? summer Why? cause I like playing at the pool

19. What makes a girl pretty? a princess dress

20. What game do boys like best of all? Hullabaloo-I have that from Aunt Holly

21. What is big? a giant

22. What is tiny? a mouse

23. What is the prettiest thing in the world? a tiny tree

24. What makes you smile? When mommy smiles at me

25. What makes you sad? When mommy tells me what to do and I just stare at the window.

26. What do you do when you are a grown up? work

27. Tell me something you did today? We went to computer

Did I say how much I love this boy!?!?

A No TV Day

Chris and I have been battling these two about routine in the morning. The past few weeks one or the other has decided that 5:30 am is a great time to rise and SHINE!!!!!!! The one who is up first (they take turns) then needs company so he/she goes in to the other's bedroom, wakes them up and begins to play, waking everyone up! Not making for happy mornings or happy afternoons! We have been trying to explain that they may not go into each others rooms to wake brother or sister up. They need to stay in their beds until the sun begins to come up (about 6:45) and then they may play quietly in their own rooms until myself or Chris comes in around 7:00 am.
I'm afraid this is a losing battle. They just LOVE each other so darn much that even after many rounds of punishment for disobeying they continue to go into each other's rooms.

Today when our attempt at a quiet morning failed, I took away all TV privileges. Not that they watch a lot of television, but it's a part of their routine which they both enjoy. They watch about 30 minutes in the morning before we leave for school and then 30 minutes to an hour in the afternoon after Hayley wakes up from nap. Well......they were bummed about the decision of no tv this morning, but I'm afraid the consequence has back fired! They have had the greatest time today playing together! Right now they are playing zoo and capturing animals that escape from their cages. They have colored, danced, played with playdoo, played restaurant, made a train village, etc. I must say this has been pure bliss. My heart fills with joy to listen to them play and really love on each other. At one point today, Luke announced that he was going to get Hayley a tissue and wipe her nose for her. Ok, a little gross but so sweet.
Maybe we will have more of these no TV days. The imagination just seems to run wild!

Cold Winter Days

Hulabaloo!

Brrrr! Cold weather usually means bundling up and heading outside to play in our coats and hats. Lately, it has been so cold that outside play has been limited to non-exsistant. So we pull out all of our board games and new Christmas toys to play and have a good time while staying warm and toasty inside. We play Batman, Littlest PetShop, and Super Hero. We read books, put together puzzles, play Go Fish and Penginloo. Hullabaloo is an all time favorite with all the jumping, dance, spinning, and laughing that is involved.

We celebrated Chris's birthday this past Friday. The kids really had a good time helping me prepare for the party. They both insisted that I make Chris a Star Wars cake which was a big hit with everyone! We gave him a new flying WWII game for the Wii, but his favorite gift has been the remote control helicopters that his parents gave him. He has gotten very good at flying and controling them. They are pretty cool, except when he does a fly by my head when I am cooking or as he calls it "buzzing the tower"! The kids love to chase them and then Chris will chase the kids with the helicopters. Burns a lot of energy and makes for a lot of laughs.

I do love the cold winter months, but I think I am almost ready for Spring.

5/5 Tag

Found this cute tag on a friend's blog over at Four Silly Sisters. Go to your photos and find the fifth folder and the fifth photo in the folder. Post the picture and tell about it. Here we go.

Sweet baby Hayley! She is 6 and a half months in this picture. How I loved (and still love) dressing her up! She is my girly girl. Loves every thing pink and purple, frilly and lacy, high heals, jewels, dresses and lip gloss.

I took this picture in the sun room of our house in Fredericksburg, VA. 6 weeks later we had moved to GA for 6 weeks while our house in Jacksonville, NC was finished being built. And now, here we are in Chesapeake, VA ( 3 homes in her three years of life). Wow!

If you read this post, tag! It's your turn now.