Ranch in the City

Good-bye 2011

Hello 2012!  I'm looking forward to this year but I can't complain because 2011 was pretty darn good to me. Usually I love working up my New Year's Resolutions but this January I'm not sure when I will get to my resolutions!  There are many things I would love to improve upon and I could scribble up a piece of notebook paper with goals and dreams and ideas, things I want to see, do, read, and achieve, but I also want to keep it realistic: 2012 is not going to be a year all about me and my desires!  Kam is keeping us busy and although he's a precious bundle of joy, having a newborn doesn't allow for much time in my day to do anything that doesn't involve showering, feeding, cooking, or cleaning. In fact, if I get those things done it's been a good day!  This is a busy phase of life and today when my daughter handed me a piece of paper that said, Dear Mommy, I love you, I decided I would frame it to remind myself that I am loved even when life is so amazingly hectic and I feel like I'm not giving each family member enough attention.

My one and only resolution last year was to live in the moment and I think I did a pretty good job of it but it's something I need to concentrate on even more so on this year.  This being my third child I realize all too well how quickly babies grow and change, and I know that this too will pass so I want to enjoy every moment, even the challenging ones!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Of course we received many nice gifts, but nothing could overshadow the birth of Jesus Christ along with our beautiful bundle of joy.  Ryan gave me some new clothes and shoes, which was perfect, just perfect, because I've spent the last nine months in less than fashionable attire.  Kade gifted me a bracelet that he made himself along with some bubble bath; I can't tell you how much I appreciated that kid's thoughfulness!  I received many other very special gifts given with love and thoughtfulness; no doubt I am extremely blessed.  The kids were spoiled once again by Santa, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and mom and dad.  To say it was a nice Christmas would be an understatement.

I've somehow just completed putting away all of my Christmas decorations, which is nice because they were starting to feel like permanent fixtures since I put everything up mid-November in anticipation of the Thanksgiving birth of my son.  We've also devoted some time to cleaning and organizing because every year we have to make room for the new toys and gifts which involves getting rid of old possessions.  It's taken me a good week to do all of this!  

What's next on my agenda?  A to-do list that I'm too scared to approach!  Thank-you notes, phone calls, and downloading hundreds of photos to the computer are just a few of the things on my list.  Oh and convincing my mom and dad to move here--that's pretty high priority for me.  

I'm gearing up for this week as my kiddos go back to school and the mom taxi is back in business.  I'm thinking the school bus is going to start taking care of some of my taxi clients for me!  

I hope to blog again soon and post some long overdue pictures.

Wishing you the happiest of New Years,

Baby you're a firework

Life has been crazy busy, but I guess that is the normalcy of my life now!  We were on vacation last week and school started this week so I've been one busy mama.  I'm almost caught up and I'm looking forward to getting all of my pictures updated on the blog so I can start blogging in present tense instead of past tense!

Here are a few sparkler pictures from the fourth of July.  We went to a party hosted by some sweet friends of ours.  Everybody there was a foodie (literally either a chef, waiter, restaurant manager, etc.) so we had amazing food and stuffed ourselves silly.

 

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It's been a great summer, but I'm looking forward to fall!

 

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was great for our family!  The weather was beautiful and all went well.

 

Our morning started at about 7:00 when the dogs woke us up (we let them sleep in the laundry room the night before so they wouldn't disturb the eggs).  Ryan decided that since he was already up to let the dogs out, he would go ahead and wake the kids up.

We were off huntin' eggs in no time.

 

 

 

 

 

Is it just me, or does anybody else think my son needs a haircut?

 

 

After the kids found all of the eggs, we headed in for cinnamon rolls.  Yum!

 

After we'd stuffed ourselves silly, we hit the showers to get ready for church.

 

I need to note that I did not choose to have Andy in this photograph, however as usual he refused to listen to me.

 

 

More pictures of Easter afternoon tomorrow!

 

 

 

Good Friday

What a special day.  I'm still on a high from the baby calf being born yesterday and I'm even that much more grateful for the life that God provided for us in Jesus. Today is the day that Jesus died on the cross and X'd out all of our sins.  Thank you Jesus!

I am spending today preparing for Easter Sunday.  My to-do list includes:

• Planning my holiday meals.
• Purchasing food for a big breakfast and lunch on Sunday.  We will be having my mom's cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  If you need a recipe that everyone will love, the cinammon rolls are it!
• Putting the final touches on our Easter clothes.  Ryan is adamant that I don't go matchy matchy like I did last year, but there will be some coordination.
• Preparing the eggs kitchen for coloring.
• Finalizing Easter morning plans (wink-wink).
• Watching The Passion of the Christ this evening.

Tomorrow Devynn has a birthday party to go to, but other than that we will be dying eggs, making cinnamon rolls, and hopefully enjoying the beautiful weather (the garden still needs to be planted).

Our little calf is doing great!  We've got another little heifer that looks just like her mama but darker.  Which means that our rented bull, Rover, did his job last summer.  Frosty should be having her baby with the next month.  Our little calf, Ellie Mae (named by Ryan), is very curious and we have laughed and laughed watching the other cows follow her around, instead of vice versa.  I just love new life.  We spent yesterday afternoon and evening outside watching the cows.  The kids played in the driveway and the backyard while Ryan and I enjoyed the spring air and our beautiful herd.  Our neighbors came over to check out our new girl, and they also brought along Easter baskets stuffed with chocolate for the kids.  We sat at the picnic table in our back yard visiting with them until the sun went down.  It was one of those days that when your head hits the pillow at night, you realize just how blessed you are.

 

The picture above is Mama Fannie Mae in the background, little Ellie Mae next to her and big sister Ginnie Mae in the foreground.

 

So cute, so sweet!

 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Saint Paddy's Day from a little leprechaun!

 

Our family normally doesn't do a lot to celebrate this fun holiday.  (Although this year I'm thinking about making a green dessert for the kids.) Most of my St Paddy's Day commemorations were in college and the only thing celebratory was a tall mug of beer. 

Not knowing a lot about the holiday, I decided to google the history.  Saint Patrick was a bishop who evangelized for more than thirty years in Ireland.  A cool detail that I discovered about the shamrock is that it's three leaves were used by Saint Patrick to describe the concept of the trinity to the Irish. 

Next I asked myself, Why in the world then is a leprechaun associated with Saint Patrick?  Turns out, he really isn't other than their Irish connections.  A leprechaun in Irish mythology is a guy that makes shoes all day and stores his golden coins in a hidden pot at the end of the rainbow.  If the leprechaun is captured by a human, he has the power to grant the human three wishes before being released.  The leprechaun is an example of how the holiday has become more secular than religious.

And now I'd like to thank Wikipedia for the helpful information.  Oh how I could have excelled in high school English with the help of Wikipedia.  That is, if plagiarism was allowed.  

Happy holiday,

 
 
 

A cheap idea for table decor

A few weeks ago when I was planning my Valentine dinner(s), I wanted to make sure the table looked festive and pretty, but without spending a lot of money.  I had purchased cheap confetti, colorful paper napkins, hershey kisses, and some pretty tulips for the centerpiece.  What I wasn't so sure of was what I was going to do about placemats.  I needed something red or pink and didn't necessarily want to purchase placemats that I knew I would only get out once a year during this specific holiday.

While browsing around at Target, the idea occured to me to use wrapping paper instead.  A roll of Valentine-themed wrapping paper was only $3 and it made about 10 placemats total. 

I cut the wrapping paper into individual rectangles and then placed them under my chargers.

 

This picture looks totally janky because these actually turned out to be squares due to the fact that I unevenly cut the paper the first time around, BUT you get the idea, right?

I think it would even be cute to cut the edges using patterned shaped scissors that give it a scalloped edge or something else fun.

 

I wish I had a picture of the completed table to show you, but I got caught up in the cooking part and forgot to take a final picture.

The best part about these placemats was throwing them away after dinner was over.

Use this idea for birthdays or other holidays!

 

Scenes from a preschool Valentine party...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

I love preschool; the art work, the bright colors, the learning, the sweet way the kids work together!

 

Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you are enjoying this day with your loved ones.  I saw an interesting site today, I went to Kroger to get some groceries for our dinner this evening and they had a tent set up in the parking lot called Valentine Express.  The tent was filled with balloons, chocolate strawberries, flowers, valentine cards, and a cashier at the front of the tent to complete the shopping experience!  You know there was a pile of men there!

Devynn received this as a bookmark at her Valentine party and then I had a friend email it to me.  This is my Valentine to you!

 
Love,

 

PS~The winner of the Valentine giveaway was Uncle Ted & Aunt Joanie, book and DVD went out in the mail today.  Thanks for all the helpful comments!

Valentine Planning + Giveaway

I dropped Devynn off at pre-school today (after being off for a week due to the snow) and only after viewing the sign-up sheet for the class Valentine party on Thursday (as in two days from now) realized that the big love holiday was almost upon me. 

 

Uh-oh.  Better hurry and plan!

I'd love to do something extra special for my Valentines this year to show them just how much I love them. 

I need your ideas! 

What are your Valentine's Day traditions?  What is something special that your spouse or kids have really enjoyed in the past for Valentine's Day?

Leave a suggestion and one commenter will be chosen to receive The Love Dare book and corresponding Fireproof DVD.

 

 

 

More Costumes

This morning was an occasion to dress up for Ryan and Kade.  Ryan's Halloween office party is today and the theme is "rock stars."  Kade was allowed to dress up for school as long as it wasn't a scary costume (which prohibited him from wearing his actual costume). 

Last night I brought down our costume box from the attic and after looking disapprovingly at most costumes, Kade decided on a "chubby referee" costume that Ryan wore about 4 years ago.  He thought it would be funny.  And it is.

 
Ryan created his costume yesterday after work with a little help from his sister.  He went as Slash, I hope he does well in the costume contest!