ten smile tuesday

i'm going to get to my ten smile ON tuesday...it is going to happen this week! i have all kinds of blog-post rolling around in my brain, but first to share smiles.

1. friends. we are blessed beyond belief in the friend department...and we've had lots of time in the past couple of weeks to enjoy those friends. seriously, when i hear other moms talk about feeling isolated, i have to take a moment and doubly praise God for the rich blessing of friendships....friends who are doing life with similar values...friends who have bunches of kiddos...friends who just have one kiddo...friends who don't have any kiddos....friends who serve us and encourage us...friends who take joy in our children, laughing and playing with them...and on and on. i think "friends" is a big theme of my ten smiles this week.

2. last week i had the chance to get together with two friends from high school, and we had a blast. they came to my house, and we just sat and chatted and played with kiddos...and ate lunch too. so much fun!

3. the children's museum...last week we also headed to the museum with some friends...and it was so fun. the kiddos had a blast...the mommies got to chat (in between keeping up with the seven kiddos)...

peek-a-boo! despite much trying jilly never gave in and fell asleep while at the museum...instead she enjoyed LOTS of peek-a-boo (and a long nap once we got home!)

this is always a favorite of the girls at the museum...it's even MORE fun to give rides!

a true indicator of personality...elizabeth could have spent hours at the tracing light table...kate, on the other hand, could have spent hours chatting on the barbie phone! (pretending to talk on the phone is hands down one of her favorite things to do right now...especially with the old battery-less cell phone i passed along to her...the most frequent people she "calls"--grandmommy and poppy...)

4. my singing kate. seriously...kate loves to sing, and she has been singing LOTS lately. her favorite is a song about only God making butterflies that she learned at church. often she will just be sitting, playing, and humming or singing...love it!

5. those moments when you realize your kids really are "getting it"...even if they act like they aren't a lot of the time. elizabeth doesn't like to pray outloud at dinner (or any time really); she always says, "i don't know how to pray"...no matter how much we encourage or model...so what a blessing to our hearts that several times in the past week she has come up to us talking about praying about something. the sweetest was the other night at our friends' house. a big storm had just moved through, and she was upstairs playing with the other kids. she came to their loft when the storm stopped and said, "mommy look! i prayed that Jesus would make the storm stop so we could travel home safely. and He DID!"...and then yesterday at the beginning of rest time a huge storm rolled in, she came downstairs and told me she was praying that God would keep daddy safe since he wasn't at home with us. so...she still doesn't like praying outloud, but at least i know she is getting the importance of seeking Jesus with the concerns of our hearts.

6. my helpful little jilly. i know, i know...i shared a dishwasher pic of jilly with the lake post...but seriously, this girl is so into any time the dishwasher is open. i also just happen to love the look on her sweet little face in this one...she is such a joy and delight to our hearts...a joy and delight who is cruising all over...climbing...and getting into just about anything she can reach!


7. those nights when not having a plan totally works in your favor! friday night i was horribly unprepared for dinner time, and while we were sitting around discussing what to do the phone rang...fun friends asking us if we'd be up for impromptu little caesars and games. good times! we typically would have already been sitting down and eating by the time they called (or at least well into dinner prep...) so it was great to be unprepared!

8. running. i've been getting back into the habit of running in the morning before mike leaves for work. it means i have to be up and out the door by 5:30, but it is well worth it. i'm on my fourth week and i'm feeling great (but i'm not gonna lie...week 1 and 2 were rough...and i still struggle to get past the mental barriers and keep pushing...it was so much easier when i was running with others!)! on 4th of july weekend i am doing the 5.5K at the lake...a great motivator!

9. saturday evening we decided we needed to get out of the house...and that resulted in our weekly costco shopping and a costco dinner (because who can resist feeding the whole family for less than $6...the girls split a hotdog and mike and i split a turkey wrap). afterward we headed up to a nearby park where mike and the big girls had some playground time while i headed out with jilly in the stroller for a brisk walk. after walking i told the girls they could play in the sprayers and water stuff even though we didn't have swimsuit...and, oh my! the giggles and laughter and fun were priceless...we had two totally (and i mean totally!) drenched, happily exhausted girls by the time we left. we only had one change of clothes...so kate got to wear sissy's spring jacket and just her "nundies" home...but well worth it! looking forward to many more of those kind of evenings this summer.

10. and finally...we went to the zoo this morning...totally last minute, but my sweet friend geneva (who is moving in just a couple weeks...boo :( ) and lauren and carter were game for meeting us. it was overcast, which kept the crowds away, and we had a blast! kate's favorite part was the dolphin show...she danced to the music, clapped like crazy, oohed and ahhed and was transfixed...but i don't have any pictures of that.

why is it that they are never into the idea of a "sister" picture except when it is taken by the zoo photographers at the entrance...you know, the one you pay six arms and five legs for....yep, that one. they all looked and smiled for that one...but the one i tried to take...not so much!

checking out the new cheetah exhibit

my monkey hanging with the zoo monkeys

geneva feeding the giraffe...both kate and lauren wanted to feed the giraffe...well, until the giraffe stooped down and stuck out his tongue, at which point both girls responded by chucking their sweet potato and backing up....too precious!