Hot Dog Shoppe

While we were in western PA we got to go to the Hot Dog Shoppe for some..you guessed it, hot dogs.
Matt grew up on these and I was introduced in college. Sara (Matt's sister) was able to come along with us and we got to share a LARGE meal together. Here are some pictures from our time taken by Sara (b/c again.. I forgot my camera at home).

Wow!! That is a lot of food while a lot of chili and cheese.

Isabella was even excited to eat...that never happens. 

If you look closely someone was eying my food. 

All gone...yummy. 

Traveling

We have gotten settled back into our home after being away for a month. We have more toys now then we need and the place seems to stay a mess but other than that things are going well. After four days in the car (two there and two back) I realize that my children get carted around a lot. Because of Matt's schedule we are able to travel a lot more than we would if he were working a "regular" job. It has been nice but I have come to be very thankful for one important detail:

my kids are great travelers.

After my first real trip with M2 I was not so sure because he screamed for an hour and half of the 6 hour trip and it was VERY painful. But he has come to really love the long car rides...at least it seems so. He was better than M1 and only had one little cry the whole 24 hours worth of driving we did. He loves to just look at his sissy and listen to music. 

I can not count how many planes M1 has been on in her short 3 years and 10 months of life. And M2 has already had 9 flights with two more coming up next week. It is crazy! I have a feeling if our kids weren't such good troopers we would have travel as much...so, thank you offspring for being such cute travelers. 

Merry Christmas! ( a little late)

We just got back into town yesterday from our road trip to Pittsburgh for Christmas. It was so nice to be with Matt's family for a few days and spend this very special time with them. Isabella is starting to really understand what Christmas is about. She talks about baby Jesus and where he was born. Don't get me wrong..she was looking for her presents while others were opening theirs. Whenever she opened a present she said "Oh my goodness!!" followed by "thank you." This put a smile on my face as I realized she was thankful even if she then asked me where her next present was.

I am thankful for Christ's birth!

I wanted to say this on Christmas but wasn't able to but it reminds me that I need to be thankful for this everyday.  This year Matt and I have heard a lot of sermons and talks that convicted us that we were not taking time daily to remember what this time is really about. So, we decided to do something different this year and try to make it special. We decided for us it meant no TV watching until after Christmas. I thought it was going to be very hard with Isabella to go cold turkey but to my surprise she did very well. So, instead of turning on the TV when we needed to clean or get something done in peace she found something else to do.

I feel this guilt that I do not remember the significance of this time more often. Jesus came down to earth while he could have stayed in Heaven where it is perfect and glorious to come here where there is pain, suffering, and death. He did this for us and to save us from eternal separation from God. If I just stop to think about it..it is incredible!!

she looks a little drugged but she loves her dr. kit!

She was pretending to be Mary. 

Here are her cousins: Charlie and Jack. She had so much fun running and playing with Jack; it was so nice to have them together. 

Today:

I am thankful for snow

We are in western PA for Christmas this year with Matt's family. It has been really nice to be with family and just relax. They have had some snow here...it is nice to have some on the ground. I have always thought snow was so beautiful. There is just something about bare trees covered in snow. Plus, I just love snow pictures in black and white.  Isabella got to play in it the other day with her cousin, Jack, and even build a snowman. I will post some pics..I forgot my camera at home and am sick about it. I will be borrowing my mother-in-law's. 

M2 is 8 months!

Another month has passed and my little man is a month older.  He continues to make our house a happy place with all of his smiles and laughter. 

New Things:

~ finally started rolling from back to tummy

~ playing very well by himself

~ loves eating baby food....he makes lots of noises (it is really funny)

~ he has slept a couple of nights all the way
~ he is great in the car which is nice for our car trips
~ he loves to beat on Isabella's tummy while she is laying down..they both laugh and laugh
~ no teeth yet
~ still has no real interest in crawling..which I am still okay with.
I love waking up to him every morning! 

Day #13

Yes, I will be going into the new year with my "30 Days of Gratitude." I have not kept up with as well as I had hoped. That is okay though..I think it will be good to continue into the New Year. So, today..#13..

I am thankful for my parents!

Words can not express my thankfulness for them both. They have been great example to me for grace and love. I think my mom might be the  most gracious person I have ever met.  My dear father makes friends wherever he goes. They put up with me during the extremely social period growing up and always wanting my way. 

You are wonderful grandparents and I love watching you with our children. 

Thank you for always being there for me. You have encouraged, stretched, asked me the hard questions and always loved me. I love you, both!

Sometime Simple

I am thankful that M2 slept from 10:30 p.m until 7:15 a.m this morning!!

I slept all night and awoke feeling good for once. It was so nice to have a good nights sleep. 

Thank you!