is-real...

so i am not really writing this because anyone else will think it is funny (well besides mark and the grandmas), but because i don't want to forget it. so here it goes, just a little story about our sweet olivia and how her little brain makes sense of the world.
b and pop (mark's parents) left on sunday afternoon for a trip of a lifetime to israel. they are going with dr. denison and a group of people and going to be experiencing an "in HIS steps tour of israel". how incredible is that!! i want to go... that is beside the point. before they left town b and pop wanted to see the kids and give them a big hug before they left on their trip. mark took the kids over to their house last friday night. on the way to their house mark was explaining to olivia what b and pop would see on their trip and how neat it was that they were going to be in the same place that jesus was sooooo many years ago when he lived on the earth as a man. she sat in the backseat and took it all in and then said to mark, "daddy i know why that place is called israel. because jesus IS REAL!! he really is so that is why they call it israel!" :)

we hope that b and pop are having a great time on their trip. olivia has a million questions about israel and about the place where our REAL god did his ministry.

playing together...

so it seems that overnight jack has grown up and he is no longer my little baby. he is officially a toddler now- walking, running, talking, and even throwing a few fits. ha! who am i kidding, a lot of fits!! with all of his changes from baby to big boy, he and olivia have become sweet friends! don't misunderstand me, this friendship comes with it's fights, screaming, and usually a fair amount of crying, but they do love to be together.

one of the best parts of their new found friendship is that they are playing really well together. olivia is all about make-believe and role playing, so that is usually what they end up doing. of course olivia is the "master-mind" behind all these games and tells jack exactly what to do. he usually complies and plays along. just last night while i was cleaning up the dishes from dinner, they came into the kitchen with blankets draped over their heads. olivia was riding the cow (a riding toy) and jack was walking beside her. olivia then announced, "ladies and gentlemen, please turn off your cell phones and cameras and enjoy the mary and joseph show..."

let me introduce you to the cast of "the mary and joseph show"...

mary...

joseph...

and the "happy couple" riding to bethlehem on the donkey (aka cow)...

*please excuse the rest of the wardrobe. jack spilled yogurt all over his pants at dinner, so they were removed. olivia is obsessed with wearing nightgowns. as soon as we walk in the house she changes out of real clothes and puts on a nightgown.

this little show made me laugh, but it also made me think about what a special relationship they have and how happy i am that for the time being they love to spend time together. :) who knows what world they will be apart of today??

snow days...

the record breaking snow that we had last week in dallas was INCREDIBLE!!! it was so beautiful...

the tree in our front yard after it snowed for 24 hours straight!
our house blanketed in 10-12 inches of snow!!

and so much fun to play in...

olivia's first reaction to the snow was pure joy!! she had the biggest smile on her face!

jack's reaction was curiosity! he looked up wondering what in the world was happening and then opened his mouth to taste the HUGE white flakes falling from the sky.

we built a snowgirl, frostina. their attention span in the construction process was not that great, so we opted for a small snowgirl! :)

i tried so hard to get them to pose for some pictures!

olivia made an "ice cream bar" in the backyard.

day 2 we went out for some more snow fun...

jack liked the snow and was not as confused, but it was so deep he got stuck and quickly decided to go in the house.

olivia was in heaven once again!! she built another snowgirl, made snowballs, and snowangels.

happy valentine's day!!

honestly, until i had kids i never cared much for valentine's day. i was never really that into a romantic card, flowers, or going out to dinner that my husband felt obligated to give. i love all of those things, but i prefer them as a random act! :) now that i have kids, i think holidays are so much fun!! i love helping olivia make valentine cards for all her little friends. i love red and pink heart decorations scattered around the house(this is HUGE for me). i love making heart shaped food to celebrate the day. and now i think about this day as a day to celebrate all the people in my life that i love- not just my husband.

o & j

these are two of the loves in my life. i hope this day you will take time to tell all the people in your life that you cherish just how special they are and that they are loved. everyone loves to hear those things and today is just the perfect day to actually do it!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

it happened...

it rained in haiti! i can't begin to comprehend the consequences of the rain, but please continue to pray for this nation and for all those there serving. please read ben and katie's blog to hear their incredible stories and what the rain means for haiti. they need our prayers!!

on another note yet still related to haiti-- ben (of ben and katie in haiti) has a birthday tomorrow!! he will be 26. of course, he feels like he needs nothing for his birthday, but asked for people to donate $26 to the relief efforts in haiti. if you feel lead to do so, you can click on their picture (on the right side of the blog) and donate directly to ben and katie or to the school they are teaching, living, and serving in right now!!

the rides...

our disney trip would not have been complete without all the rides. i did not get pictures of all of them, but we did get pics of some of our favorites.

we started with the plane RIDE...

kids did great on the plane!! thank goodness for technology- the leapster and elmo DVDs.

then there was...

toy story, midway mania!! a family favorite.
it is 3-D, interactive, and so much fun!!
cinderella's carousel
i think the expression on o's face tells you how much she loved it!
jack and daddy thought it was fun too!
dumbo!!
olivia and daddy loved riding together and making dumbo go up and down!!
buzz lightyear... to infinity and beyond!!
look how intense they are in fighting the "bad guy."

i don't remember the name of this one-- a train-like ride that travels above "tomorrowland" in the magic kingdom.

the nemo and friends ride, epcot.
a cute ride. the sea turtle show, starring crush, was so cute and funny!!
the safari at animal kingdom
the kids loved all the real animals.

meet & greet...

one of the highlights of the trip was all the characters we got to meet, hug, and have sign our autograph book. of course the princesses were at the top of olivia's list, but we managed to squeeze in a few that were fun for jack!!

lightening mc queen and mater, CARS
ariel, the little mermaid
our first princess to meet and it just happens to be olivia's most favorite of them all!! :)
cinderella
belle, beauty and the beast
princess aurora, sleeping beauty
mickey and minnie
princess jasmine and aladdin
pluto
donald duck
goofy
pooh
eeyore
tigger
daisy & donald
olivia looked everyday for daisy and finally found her on our last day.:)
princess tiana and naveen, princess and the frog

it was so much fun to experience these "meet and greets" through the eyes of my sweet 4 year old. of course she asked so many questions, like are they they REAL ones? why don't some of them talk? do you think they will remember seeing me watch their movie? to which we responded, "what do you think?" but she wanted to believe they were real and LOVED every minute she interacted with each of them!! :)

we saw...

all our friends from playhouse disney...

mickey and the gang from the mickey mouse clubhouse

handy manny and the tools- a favorite at our house

little einsteins

my friends tigger and pooh, and darby

we loved this show! the puppets were so cute and moved all over the stage. jack's favorite part was the shower of bubbles, after the manny and tools fixed the bubble machine.

the little mermaid show...
olivia LOVED seeing a real ariel sing on the stage. mark loved the special effects and lighting.

the beauty and the beast stage show...

this was the entire movie, squished into a 25 minute stage show. so great!! jack loved the beast, and BIG surprise, olivia LOVED belle and her beautiful dress. ;)

a muppet 3-D movie...

"it's tough being a bug" 4-D movie...

the lion king stage show...
the music from the lion king show was great!! jack roars every time he hears it and olivia is still talking about how much she loved the costumes and performers.

besides ALL than, we also got to see a show on the steps of cinderella's castle, nemo the musical, a parade through the streets of the magic kingdom, fireworks "around the world" (epcot) and at cinderella's castle (magic kingdom).