10 on Friday . . .

10. Happiness has it's own way of taking it's sweet time . . . life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride . . .

9. Thank you for coming to Grace's concert. She was so happy.

8. I just don't know what to do about Josie's style. She is demanding every morning to look ridiculous. But she is confident that she is rockin' it.

7. Our Eddie is a Dr. Just when we have basically outgrown ear infections.

6. Grace took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills this week. Whom among doesn't remember those??

5. Jennie is my girl. She always wants to 'nuggle. We watched Open Season 3 last night. We 'nuggled.

4. Somebody told Faith on the bus she was ugly. The bus driver overheard and told her she was beautiful. I want to sucker punch that stupid ass 3rd grader.

3. Missy went to school today and had lunch with Timmy. I think that's really sweet.

2. The neighborhood girls and I went to "Just go with it" the other night. That was totally fun.

1. Grace serves for the first time on Sunday. I'm excited for her. She gets to hang with God.

The Sound of Freedom

I'm always impressed by the quality of the Waukee music programs. Grace did a great job, and she looked adorable. Thanks everyone for coming. She was very happy . . . it was fun :)

10 on 2sday on Thursday

10. Does anyone besides Missy actually read these??

9. Valentine's Day was a good time. Someone broke into our house, toilet papered it, and wrote Happy Valentine's Day on the toilet paper. It was a bad deal. We think it might have been the same person who broke into mom and dad's house and washed their towels. Lock your doors.

8.Valentine's continued . . . we met Jessica for pizza and that was fun. The girls were happy. They got some little puzzles that Jennie has yet to put down, and Grace got a "pupurdy" book. I saw her text to Danielle in which she explained.

7.I haven't taken a freaking picture in so long, I think I've forgotten how. Maybe tonight when it's warm out. High 60's today.

6. We piled on the couch and watched "Flipped" last night. Good little family movie. Grace held my hand the whole time. I don't ever want those days to end.

5. Faith has been so sweet lately. I need a date with her. She doesn't get enough of my undivided attention.

4. Josie and Jennie have been playing house constantly. They carry so much stuff around and call their imaginary children by the dog names. I just love this age.

3. Have you guys downloaded the Cee Lo song F**K You? Omg. I love this song.

2. I texted Jesse because my hair needs help. He was in the hospital to get his appendix out. It's bullcrap.

1. You should see the random stuff in my yard since the snow has melted. At least three little socks. Is it Spring yet?

The "Wite" Board

Never mind the fact that the white board is a little worn out.

Faith had written a list for twins to follow.

Need to teach her how to spell "high heels."

Heads or Tails

These are the turtle outside Faith's classroom that I was talking about the other day. When Grace said, "It's unfortunate that they added the tails."

10 on Friday . . . you'll have that sometimes.

10. The other weekend Missy asked Josie what "A" stood for. And Josie quickly replied "apple." Then Missy asked her what else "A" stood for. And she looked at Missy funny, cocked her head to the side and said, "nothing." "Just apple?" Missy asked. "Just apple." That is why flash cards are just dumb.

9. Miss Jeanie said today that they did testing on the twins the other day, and that my babies are "smart as a whip." Lol. "They did well?" "We were overwhelmed," she said. Yeah. Not surprised.

8. I'm tired of freaking cold weather. I'm tired of coats and boots. I'm tired of running out to the garage in my underwear to warm up the car. I'm tired of it.

7. But the sun is out today, and I've been singing "Walking on Sunshine" all day long. I'm ready.

6. 130 Valentine's. Jennie and Josie signed their names 30 times each. Jennie was hard at work. Totally focused. Josie . . . she's a little like me.

5. Grace wants to be Cleopatra for her historical figure presentation. She's been studying. And my has been creating outfits in her mind. She is sure to be dressed as a goddess.

4. I gotta get out of town this weekend. Give me some mud and fresh air.

3. I went through Jessica's wedding album the other night, and it was fantastic. I'm inspired to do one. For something. Maybe the weddings, too. There were some great pictures of the kids from this past year.

2. Josie and Jennie had pajama day at school today. Pretty cute.

1. And I got nothin' left to say.

Jennifer is Bad

I tucked them in. Kissed them goodnight.

I crawled into my own bed.

Jennifer yells down the hall . . ."I need a dwink!"

"There's a bottle of water right by your bed, Jennie."

"No there's not."

"Jennie, I just put it there."

I could hear the water bottle crackle as she drank from it.

"You're lucky, Mom!!"

Joy Of Love - Generations - Day 7

Obviously this isn't a new picture, but it is one of my all time favorites. This is a moment I will never, ever forget. Dad is holding Jennifer in his arms for the first time, and he was so overcome with emotion. He looked up, right after I took this picture and said, "Thank you for naming her Jennifer."

Joy Of Love - Who They Love - Day 6

Each other!

Joy Of Love - What They Wear . . . Day 4

Thank you, Joni. She has a long-sleeved shirt on only because I made her go up and put it on. But if you look real close you can still see the purple tank top on underneath.

Joy Of Love - Then and Now - Day 3

"How do you tell them apart?"

"Josie has a birthmark."

And did she ever. This picture was when it just started to appear. It got bigger. And more scary looking. It was hard to imagine it would ever fade, much less go away. They said my kindergarten it would be gone. At age 3, I'd say it's really, really looking better.

Joy Of Love - How They Look - Day 2

This is why she is the boss.

Joy Of Love - What They Do - Day 1

This is what they do. All the time. They drag their blankets around. They dress up in ridiculous outfits. They listen to their music while "reading" out of their "song" books. This right here, is Josie and Jennie.

Barbie Takes Off

I don't know. Maybe I'm seeing things. But Ken kinda looks beat up, face down in his tux. Skipper is down for the count, for sure. But Barbie seems to be happy . . . making a get-away in her Beatle. Go Barbie, Go!

10 on 2sday

10. The sermon on Sunday was about having more "wow" moments. Father Mike talked about a druggie classmate he had in school who seemingly only knew the word "wow." Father said this guy said wow to everything. But most of us don't use it, or think it, enough. So I've spent time so far this week appreciating more moments and simply being more . . .aware. I've got a new buzz word . . . it's "wow."


9. And God (and/or aka Father Mike) knows I have a freakin' lot to say wow about. Four glorious little reasons, and everything they do and say, for starters.

8. Come to think of it, I really do say "Thank you, God" quite a bit. Like, a lot. I guess that's another way to say "wow."

7. I can not say how much I enjoyed Mark and Missy's visit to Billy's Saturday night. They stayed long after I went to bed with the twins, but I laid up there and listened to Mark, Missy and Grace giggle downstairs. It was a "Wow" night.

6. I've been sipping tea, clanking the spoon against the side, and it sounds to me like a bell. It sounds like gratitude stirring. Sounds like I may need to include vodka into my tea.

5. Last night, while checking on the twins, I kept finding them entangled in each other. Holding on to each other, seemingly for dear life. Oh, the effects this has on my heart!

4. Dirty Bit. Dirty Bit. Oh, god, we love this song.

3. "I need a phone call... I need a raincoat... I need a big love...I need a sunburn...I need a plane ride...I get no answers. And I don't get no change. It's snowing in Iowa, baby. And everything else is the same." Counting Crows song. With some lyrical changes to reflect the snow that's falling out my window. This song reflects my cabin fever. BUT! I'm totally excited that school is getting out early, and we are going to snuggle on the couch watching I-Carly or something.

2. We went to Costco last night. We got a lot of broccoli.

1. My favorite moment of the past week . . . little Grace's tryout for a solo part for her upcoming musical. I had been talking smack about her. I had said (to mom) how wonderful she was in other things, but I thought she got her singing skills from me. Well, as it turns out, she is a finalist. She and two others had to sing again yesterday in front of a bunch of others to determine the soloist. She may or may not get it, but I'm so darned proud of her. "If you think you're beaten, you are." Well, maybe we all should have a little more of Grace's approach to life . . . "I really think I'm going to get it", she said . . . before the first tryout. I need smacked. Or maybe I really am a good singer? Yeah. I think I'm going with that.

*****Any wow moments from my faithful readers this week?