A Family Camping Trip

We decided Memorial Day weekend was a good time to introduce our Little Miss to a long-time family tradition....camping. Well, it's a long-time tradition in Hubby's family, and now ours. I am not what you would call a seasoned camper. I come from city-folk and only camped for the first time after I was married (and only once since, although I do enjoy it). Fortunately, Hubby comes from a long line of campers and is himself somewhat of an outdoorsman.

His family owns some river-front property a couple hours away that they've converted into a private campsite. (I told you they were campers!) It seemed like the perfect place to initiate our Little Miss to the world of camping. Little Man and I were feeling a little under the weather, so while we joined in the daytime activities we slept at Grandma and Grandpa's a couple miles away.

I was curious how my princess-in-training (who sometimes doesn't like to play outside because of the bugs) would handle this initiation. We prepared for full-fledged camping...in a tent...overnight, but had a backup plan. To be honest, I fully expected to see Little Miss and Hubby on Grandma's fold-out couch the next morning, but I didn't! She slept all night in the tent and LOVED IT! Hubby said she was up at 5:45 ready to go fishing! I believe we have ourselves a little camper, folks!

Helping Daddy set up the tent.

Getting the fire going for dinner.

There's nothing like a campfire dinner...yummmm!

Little Miss's first s'more!

Fishin' with Daddy

Her first catch

Little Man in the boat

Grandma and Grandpa even joined us for a hot dog roast for lunch!

Thanks Aunt Joanie for letting us use the campsite, and thanks to Uncle Andy for all his hard work fixing it up!

Finding an Unseen God

A few months ago a friend of mine introduced me to the book Anonymous by Alicia Britt Chole. At the time all I know about Alicia was that she had spoken at the women's conference at our church a couple of years ago. I was unable to hear her speak then, but I heard great things about her.


I got the book and started reading it, and...wow! It is definitely a must-read for anyone who has gone through (or is going through) a time in life when you wonder what happened to the dreams you once had, will they ever be fulfilled, has God forgotten about you, or any reason for wondering what God is doing in the midst of your life. I am still going through the book--slowly. There is so much to "chew on" that I find myself having to take breaks from it and really internalize what I've just read.

I was so impressed with Alicia's writing style and her ability to genuinely communicate such deep, theological concepts that I visited and thoroughly devoured her web site and blog. I also recently had the opportunity to hear her speak and to meet her. She is just as genuine and amazingly passionate in person.

Alicia has an amazing story about her search for God and equally powerful story of her struggle to bear children, including her choice to trust God and His provision in giving her three gorgeous children. She chronicles her conversion from stoic atheist to devout and passionate follower of Christ in her latest book, Finding an Unseen God. I've not yet read it, but from what I know of Alicia and her writing, I'm sure it's captivating, challenging, and poignant.


I highly recommend either of these resources (any of her resources actually), and I am looking forward to reading Finding an Unseen God as soon as I finish my journey through Anonymous. I hope you will visit her site and check out her resources. I'm sure you'll find something there that will touch and challenge you.

Happy Birthday Little Miss!

We are finally seeing the light at the end of the "bronchitis" tunnel...it's run the gamut from me to Hubby and finally to Little Man and Little Miss. The kiddos still have a terrible cough, but I think the worst of it is over. (I am in the process of frantically Lysol-ing every door knob and airing out every room now!)

But we didn't let a little sickness stop us from celebrating Little Miss's 4th birthday! The celebration kicked off last Saturday with a party at a local shop, Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory. Their staff was FABULOUS with the kids, and the best part for me was I only had to provide treats...love that! The kids (and parents) seemed to enjoy themselves, too!

Everyone chose the new friend they wanted to take home.

Anxiously awaiting the stuffing instructions.

Carefully making "wishes and dreams" to put inside the new friends.

Little Miss and her new pal, Poppy.

Time for cake, ice cream, and presents!

After the party (and a very quick nap), Little Miss had a big date with Daddy to see Disney on Ice...what more could a princess want?!

Daddy and his birthday princess

The week of celebration piqued last night (her actual birthday) with a birthday dinner at Lambert's Cafe (if you've never eaten there, you must!)...Little Miss's choice, then cake and ice cream at home. Overall it was an action-packed and entirely memorable birthday week. I'm sure the celebrating isn't quite over as I still occasionally hear, "But it's my birthday!"

Happy Birthday, Little Miss!

I love you, Mommy!

Disclaimer

I will be hijacking my own blog for awhile. Let me explain...we used to have a secure web site where we could share photos of our kids with friends and family who live far away, as most of our family does. This allowed us to share everyday moments with those we wish could share them in person.

Unfortunately our site is down for the time-being. So I will be using my blog to post even MORE pictures of my children and our outings to share with our far-off loved ones. (I can't imagine why anyone would NOT want to endure pictures of my GORGEOUS children, but I apologize for any off-putting self-indulgence. ;))

I will still be posting the occasional book review, household ideas, comments on life and faith, or anything else that strikes my fancy; however, as time is limited I'm afraid most of it will be devoted sharing snippets of our life with those we love. Of course, you are included in that, so I hope you will join us for the journey...I'm sure it will be a wild ride!

Wonderful Easter Fun

I've been absent from the blogosphere for awhile now, dealing with a teething toddler, battling my own sinusitis (or something similar), and spending every spare moment working on our house (hoping to have it market-ready soon). I even missed my 1 year blogoversary at the end of March! I can't believe it's been a year already!! So I thought I'd hop on real quick and post some pics from our Easter weekend.

Little Miss was so excited to hunt Easter eggs at our church on Saturday!

Little Man was not so sure...but he finally got the hang of it!

They LOVED the baby chick petting area...a huge hit!

And of course we couldn't pass up the giant inflatable bunny!

Little Miss was so proud of her first egg-dying experience.

All dressed up for church Easter morning
(and a rare moment of actually loving on each other!)

Little Miss had to do one more pose to show off her Easter dress.

(Little Man wouldn't sit still that long!)

Happy Birthday Bro-in-law!

As the oldest of three girls, I always wished I had a brother...more specifically, a BIG brother. I thought it would be so cool to have someone to look out for me at school, have my back on the playground, and (most importantly) take the brunt of the punishment from Mom and Dad!

I was fortunate to marry someone who had one of those. My brother-in-law is an incredibly talented and fun-loving individual. He goes by many names (Andy, Drew, Daremo, Omerad, Slim, etc.) and wears many hats (computer tech, deck builder, campsite coordinator, gifted photographer, Texas Hold 'Em champ, web designer, and all-around handyman). He's the one we count on to capture the great moments at family gatherings with his trusty camera, and you may have noticed he's become the "official photographer" of Chocolate Ink. I hope he doesn't mind, but I've kind of mentally adopted him as the big brother I always wanted...

Happy Birthday (Uncle) Andy! We love you!

Fun at Grandma's and Grandpa's!

Well, it's been a crazy week as we recover from a quick trip to Grandma's and Grandpa's last weekend. We got to see the cousins, which was a rare treat. They live all the way up in Chicago, so we don't get together as often as we'd like.

The weather was beautiful and we took full advantage of it by flying kites, going on a hayride, taking a walk around the "old farmhouse", and a lot of hanging out on the back deck enjoying the view and the wonderful company.

Here are some highlights from the weekend.

Hubby and Little Man on the bridge at the old farmhouse.

Taking turns on the tractor.

Lovin' Cousins

Little Miss and Little Man with Aunt Julie

The girls with Uncle Andy

My very-talented bro-in-law has posted more pics here.