Family photos are always a challenge...

...even when you have a beautiful setting, the right camera and coordinated outfits. I had no idea that most of us matched, clothing wise, until I saw these later that night. That was fun to see.

Thank you Jessica for taking these! Even though no one wanted to cooperate, it still captures who our family is right now. Playful and independent.













*And thank you to my sweet friend Amber for making Emily's bow. More on that later. ;)

Mall of America

Ok, I'm not doing this in any real order. I'm saving the best for last. My mind is all over the place, I can't think quite straight as I'm still recovering from the massive had cold I started getting the day the Little Pumpkin's family arrived. Oh and Jessica started her trip out by losing her voice. What a pair we were! And I'm pretty sad that this is the only good picture of the two of us that ended up on my camera (of over 400 pictures!!!). I'm hoping she has a good one on hers. You can see what's she's started writing here and here.



Our day at the Mall of America was really fun. We started with a quick ride on the Hot Air Balloons and then off to lunch at Rainforest Cafe. I really love that place, but my sweet and very sensitive Emily, cried through most of it and plugged her ears through almost all of it (even asking me to feed her). We were sat right in the middle of the gorilla room and boy was it loud and evidently scary too. Kind of funny to see Allison and Grace across the table from us loving every minute and pretending to be monkeys themselves. They had a blast!



Taking pictures in Lego Land. The Lego sculptures are enormous!



Two of a kind.



I love that at this age we can walk right past American Girl and no one even notices.



All aboard!



We were pretty surprised that we both fit in there with all five kiddos.
I think this was Hudson's first ride.





I never got a good picture of it, but Hudson loved to grab at Sam's hair, and Sam would just giggle the whole time because it tickled.



Hudson is a good on-the-go napper. This little boy is just precious!



Couldn't resist a picture of my big guy. :)



The Merry-Go-Round is always a favorite.



And the roller coaster was hilarious. I sat with Sam and my little daredevil thought it was great fun. Even Virginia (aka Noonie) enjoyed it.



Allison sat in the front row all by herself. What a big girl!
Of course Emily wouldn't get near this one.
Someday...



We finished our time with the Ferris Wheel. I still have yet to go on it, but I'm sure the view is great from up there.



I've got at least one more post about our week-end, but bye for now. I'm about to go catch some sun in the backyard with the girls, sip some lemonade and nurse my poor arms and hands that were butchered at the Dr.'s office this morning. Just the normal cholesterol and glucose test (now that I'm over 35). Five pricks later, and lots of digging, they finally got what they needed. But the bruises are already starting to show up and man does it hurt. Ouch!

Oh and a little teaser for you. Amy and I are going to a book-signing this Saturday night. And we will be giving away a signed copy of "___________" on the blog next week. Can you guess which book it is and which amazing woman we are so excited to meet? Never a dull moment around here!

Girlfriends

One of the best parts of the whole trip was seeing our daughters play together.

(Oh, and I've decided that dressing my girls alike in crowded places is a good thing. Makes them so much easier to find.)



Here they are enjoying a game of Ring-Around-The-Rosie. Never mind that from the other side of the room you could see the big Leopard walking right in front of the glass, ready to pounce on it's prey (way cool if you ask me).

Ring-Around-The-Rosie with friends, trumps Leopard's.



Jessica tells me that most of Grace's friends back home are little boys her age, not many girls around. So she was pretty excited to have two new girlfriends to play with.



After going to the Zoo and then finding out that we were going to the Mall of America the next day, Emily exclaimed "The days keep getting better and better with Grace!"

Oh, if you could have seen the joy on my girls face!



And Grace later asking "Where are my cousins?" when she got up in the morning, was pretty priceless.



Grace, we so enjoyed your visit. Emily and Allison really loved playing with you.

We look forward to another visit someday!

We had F U N

I'll be back to share more soon!

My Mary and Martha Moment

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."" Luke 10:38-42

Yesterday I was being a Martha. Then David dared come in the same room as I, to remind me how having people over when I was growing up was sometimes a stressful thing and to be careful not to let it be for our girls. Ouch! That really stung, but it was so needed.

Do you find yourself scurrying around the house getting everything in order for company and forgetting what's really important? Who really cares if there are cobwebs in the corners? Who really cares that the tops of light-switch covers may have dust? Seriously! These were the things I was tending to around a bustling family and making them miserable in the process.

But then I was reprimanded by my husband. The man that God gave to me, to help make me the godly woman He desires for me to be. Then, I remembered Jessica saying to me (after I warned her that we live in a modest house) that it's the people she's coming to see, not the house. And then, I remembered what Jesus said to Martha. And finally...then, I learned my lesson. Though I'm sure it won't be the last time. What lessons do you struggle with learning?

It's easy when your spiritual gift is that of hospitality, to let it consume you. My favorite things to do are care for my home, cook and bake and then welcome people into my (hopefully) warm and inviting home. But to do it in such a way that I ruin it for my family in the process, and have to collapse in complete exhaustion after everyone has left just leaves me drained and well, alone.

Lord, thank you for the gentle (and not so gentle) reminders of what's important to you. And thank you for my sweet girls that were so excited just to see the flowers I brought home this morning. May company in our home always be a joyful experience for everyone, especially my family and especially in the days and hours leading up to those times. And bless our time with friends this week-end, may our conversations be pleasing to your ears. ~Amen