time marches on.

A few weeks ago, my dear mother and father came to visit us!  I cannot tell you how grand it was to spend time with them.  I have to say that as we all get older and spend more time apart, it makes these little reunions all the more special. 

The weather was cooperative.  And by that, I mean they got to borrow a grip of winter clothes and experience the joys of sledding two whole days in a row. 

(say a prayer for my dad's back...there were a few jumps in there that might have wrenched it a bit...But he is the best Papa out there for making memories with the grandkiddos despite that.)

Here they are in all of their winterized glory!  

I just love them so much.  I also love that my dad can rock a hot pink striped beanie.  

You should have seen the look on his face when I handed it to him.  But hey, desperate times and a balding pate don't leave room for much discussion.  =)

 love ya, dad!

We took Sierra on the second day of sledding where there was a GIANT hill.  She had so much fun running up and down it a ton of times.  It was just the exercise she needed.  She has been cooped up way too much. 

mi amor y yo.

Ben and Ender at the science museum.  love them both.

Miss K listening in on the lil phone for information about things I'm sure she's never heard of before. 

Yup...pretty sure she wasn't sure what the phone was saying to her.  

Last but certainly not least, here is a great picture of Mimi being the best ever.  I mean, who else would play a million games of hi-ho-cherry-o with a 3 and 2 yr old? And she made it super fun for them.  

Ah how the kids love Mimi and Papa visiting...

...as do Ben and I. 

I wish I had more pictures...but we spent a lot of time catching up, enjoying each others company and...I can't really explain how comfortable and right it feels to host my parents in our home.  It is exactly as I dreamed it would be.  Waking up, sipping coffee, making breakfast, sharing heart stuff, getting awesome advice...

and even though we have to share a really small bathroom...it is pretty much perfect. 

Remember how I said the dog gets stir crazy when cooped up in the house for too long?? Evidence of this below. 

I bought her an inexpensive bed (thankfully) because she has graduated from sleeping in her kennel at night to sleeping in our room.  It has worked out very well.  She used to whine and bark because she was so far away from us.  And now she sleep happily through the night.  

Anyway...she also discovered that the innards of her bed are a lot of fun to play with, and bury her rawhide in.  This happened a while ago...and I sort of just pinned it together and covered it up.  But she ripped even more holes in it.  I wish i had a picture of what our floor and stairs looked like tonight....bits of that brown crud all over.  

Then there was this awesome day.  (said sarcastically).  

Ben left a wee bit before 8 and my alarm went off at 8 and I got up around 8:05.  In that amount of time, Sierra opened the tupperware cupboard and managed to chew a few choice items.  These were the ones she rendered unusable. There were a few lids from my nice snap-on collection that have a few teeth marks in them, but still work.  

UGH. this dog needs spring to come.  

scratch that.  I need spring to come so that I can actually exercise the dog. 

At least she knows how to look sorry...

Check this out.  MARVELOUS! 

unfortunately it has been vacillating between 20-45 for the past two weeks.  a wee bit annoying...all the toying around. 

  

Check this out!  Dear friends of mine from my growing up church in CA came out to visit in Minnesota.  They contacted Ben and I and asked to take us out to dinner.  While there, they gave us this really special gift!  

It is a homemade puzzle, done by the husband.  He used his scroll saw and free-hand carved each piece.  The designs are intricate.  If you can zoom up the picture, you should...because it is impressive.  

Not only was the gift of talent and time so amazing...but he used a picture of us at our wedding and our invitation.   What a neat memoir from special friends.  

We were blessed by this gift and the time/conversation with them!

(Thank you again, V&M! the whole evening meant a lot to Ben and I!)

So I have been needing a new journal.  And randomly in my email, a friend sent me a promotion for 50% off a notebook from shutterfly where you can get pictures put on the front!  So I made this collage and now i have a super awesome journal! 

And I'll leave you with this parting picture.  Karlina called to me, "Look Auntie!  I'm giving the boy a hug because he is my friend.  And we are going to drive to church and to California to see Mimi and Papa!"

it was super cute. 

happy monday.  

stay warm or keep cool depending on your current location.