you say potato...

we say STAMPERS!!! since we woke up to some snow on wednesday morning...we made the most of our day at home and got busy doing some painting! i have seen this done before...but had never tried it myself...so i enlisted the help of my two favorite artists and let them get creative...and messy!!!! they had such a great time and i had so much fun watching them!!!

they made some sweet cards...so look out grandparents...you might be getting a "picasso" in the mail soon!!!!!!

could it get any sweeter?

ella & madeline won't fully grasp how much they are loved until they are older. they won't understand how often their parents pray for their safety, pray for their hearts to be pure, pray that they will be little girls that love and give to others.

one thing that i am sure they do know though is that they have an amazing daddy.


jeffrey has grown so much as a man since these two little girls came into his life...and he tries SO incredibly hard to make sure that his daughters know how special they are to him. not a day goes by that he doesn't find a way to connect with each of them...and the smiles that cross their faces when he walks in the door are tiny memories worth treasuring forever.


i can't help but wonder how my husband, their daddy, is ever going to be able to walk them down the aisle. as most little girls are...they are madly in love with their daddy...and are pretty sure at this point, they will just marry him!


jeffrey does so many amazing things with ella & madeline...things that i feel are just weaving the "net" to create for them such feelings of love, acceptance, & self worth. when they fall, they will definitely have a safe place to land. he takes them to breakfast on saturday mornings for souffle & cinnamon rolls, he climbs trees, he teaches them to throw the football while they wear their high heels, he makes bacon & eggs for them on a weekday morning just so he can see them before he goes to work, he cuddles with them, reads books to them, writes notes for them to see in the morning, goes and sings to them when they are scared in the middle of the night, makes a point to listen to them and talk to them...and he does these things A LOT.


i am so blessed to have married a man that cares about what his little girls need, cares about their spiritual growth, cares about the way they learn, cares about how they feel about themselves...


it is our hope that when they become adults, our girls will want to start drawing on the investment we made with them as children. we want them to seek our advice, enjoy our company & friendship, share with us their fears and their faults, and allow us to celebrate their accomplishments. simply...we want them to know we tried our best from the start to prove to them how precious they are.


jeffrey whole heartedly tries his best to do ALL of this...and i love him so much for that. i couldn't imagine raising children with anyone else.


sure there are other daddies in this world...but there are no other daddies like "ours"...and it doesn't get any sweeter than that!

16 little love bugs...

just popped in to say... "we wish you all a VeRy HApPY VALeNtINe'S DaY"!!!!!

the official "baker" of the fam signed up to bring the treat for ella's valentine party tomorrow...and after my first idea had to be scrapped...this is what we decided to do!

ella had fun watching me make all the "love bugs" and then she got in on a little action! here are her creations...i could just eat her up...but you couldn't pay me to eat those cupcakes...i didn't see how she washed her hands!!!!!!!! no doubt she & maddie will devour them for dessert though!

i have SO much to be thankful for on this special day...and i am so blessed to have THREE amazing valentines!

wordless wednesday...

this + this = THIS!!!

while i was making this tonight...

maddie was doing this...

but...

after a fun bath & lots of scrubbing (thank goodness for washable markers)...

you get this...one clean little girl that i love to the moon & back!!!!!!

a little driver's ed...

1) you can NEVER drive a car that is TOO pink!

2) it is possible to eat snacks and drive...when you are a four year old

3) when the brand of vehicle is "barbie"...there are NO traffic laws to obey...apparently

4) unless you want to keep up a fast trot...don't think you are going to walk behind the said "barbie car"...you will be left behind

5) expect to get lots of smiles & waves while you are attempting to keep up that trot behind the very pink barbie car...while the four year old eats snacks and disregards traffic laws!!!!!!

6) always have someone you LOVE sit in the passenger seat...it makes for a much sweeter ride!!!!!!

back on the birthday express...

i hate to say that since we've lived up here (just about 1 year to the day)...we have only attended 2 birthday parties! since it is too sad to think that we just haven't been invited to other shindigs...i'll just choose to believe that people up here just don't "do" birthdays in D.C. like they "do" in the south!!!!!!

but today, however, a fellow southerner's little boy turned 2 and the whole family was invited to celebrate with him! he's a big fan of big yellow school buses...so we "zoomed" on over to their house this morning...to eat a big yellow school bus cake...for breakfast! the girls were in hog heaven and frankly, so was their mother! it was truly one of the most delicious cakes i have ever eaten...i had to "steal" another piece to bring home for later!!!!!!!

megsy (aka birthday planner extraordinaire) did a great job of tending to every last detail! goldfish and donut holes were spilling out of garbage trucks and diggers...car and bus banners were adorning the walls...and "go's" were available for all the kiddos to zoom around at their leisure!

after lots of snacking, singing, and school bus lovin'...the price family was happy to say that our first birthday party of 2009 (besides our precious maddie's of course) was a great one!

happy, happy day william! we were so thrilled to be a part of your second birthday celebration!!

a day of purple playdough...

wednesdays are usually our "stay home & hang out" days...and the weather here is what i like to call FREEZING...so mommy (aka ME) had to get creative today and think of things to keep the girls busy!!!!! i know that all three of us will be really glad for some spring like weather so that we can hit the park again!

anyway, the recipe i have for homemade playdough is so easy...and requires most everything that you would have in your pantry...so we whipped up a batch...and the girls went to town creating some fun things!!!!! ella has been requesting purple to add to our already made pink...and i finally managed to avoid making a grayish looking blob today...and ended up with a perfect purple! this totally takes me back to my preschool days...the smell and feel of this dough is exactly that of what mrs. lawhon (my k-5 teacher) used to make!!!!!

here is the recipe if any of you are looking for something to do on a cold or rainy day!!!!!

all natural playdough

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 cup water

2 tablespoons of oil

2 tablespoons of cream of tartar

food coloring (to be added once everything is mixed while you are heating)

mix all ingredients together and add water slowly while stirring. heat on medium until dough forms a ball.