Daddy's day!

I just love this picture of my handsome husband! We had a fun filled Father's day this year. I am truly grateful for this man. He works LONG days and then comes home and take the boys for bike rides or plays baseball in the backyard with them. Then it's upstairs for baths and story time. After that he will lay in bed with Chase and talk to him about his day. He lovingly strokes his hair and prays with him before he heads over to Cyrus's room to sing him a song and get one last snuggle in for the day. I know Chad's exhausted most days but he still finds time for me and everyone else he loves. He gives all the time. 

 I was up early to make him breakfast in bed. I'm not a coffee drinker and the last time I tried to make him coffee it looked like mud. So I quickly packed the boys up and grabbed him a Starbucks to make sure his day started off right. 

 We went to church and our Pastor spoke an incredible word over the men in our congregation. Check out www.clachurch.com to hear the full sermon. From church we headed over to my Uncle & Aunts for a BBQ and pool party. 

 Then that night we had the privilege of hosting Father's day for my FIL, brother in law and Chad. I love spending time with our families! 

 I had to post this picture of my niece and my boys. My FIL wanted a picture of all his grand babies. So we did a little photo shoot with the 3 of them. :) I think it turned out really well and Papa was thrilled! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day and were able to honor and celebrate the men in your life.

Cyrus is 2!

 We did a fun cowboy theme for Cyrus's 2nd birthday. He loves horses and cows so this theme was perfect for our little man. We had been to parties at the Laughing Stock ranch and it was a blast. So we decided to book Cy's party there. The kids enjoyed pony rides, jumped in the bouncy castle and played with the 32 adorable puppies at the farm.

 Turkey's made the decorations easy and the balloon pony from Party On finished off the table perfectly!

 Love this little cowboy!

 I know God has great things in store for our little Cyrus. He has a gentle spirit and is always concerned for others. He adores and admires his older brother and learns from him daily. You full my heart with joy every time you jump into my lap for a snuggle or gently stroke my face when I'm singing you to sleep at night. Daddy & I are thankful for you everyday and can't wait to see what's in store for you. We love you so much!

A challenge

I've had some great conversations lately with beautiful women in my life. They have been very challenging and thought provoking chats. Like most people, my life has definitely had it's ups and downs. I have had personal struggles to overcome and ones that I continue to work at everyday. One woman in my life recently asked me flat out how I was working out these "things." At first I felt a bit shy, since it is my own personal struggles. When you reveal them you are left sitting there exposed. As the wheels in my head began to turn I started to think about the past year. God in his perfect timing has brought the right people and tools into my life. I just had to keep my eyes focused on him and keep walking towards him.
A big thing for me has been going to a bible study again. When I met the leader of the group she told me God had told her to start this group and even though she didn't know a lot of people that the women would come. I remember as she was talking I was thinking...I'm one of those women. I want to come! We have done incredible studies on the book of James & Daniel and I have been so encouraged and challenged. I often would just sit there quietly taking it all in and thanking God. Week by week I began to feel the "things"lifting off of my life.
One morning as I was pouring over my Daniel homework I stumbled upon 1 Thessalonians 5:11. It says: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Hold on, I wasn't really doing a lot of "encouraging" or "building up" because I was working on myself. The homework got put aside and God began speaking to my heart about serving others and encouraging them where ever they are at. As I began to do this, my "things" didn't feel like the weight of the world anymore.
Today I had a new door open for me that is definitely outside my comfort zone. I'm extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I know God wants to use me and it's not the way I thought it would be. However, I trust him and will continue to serve, encourage and build up those around me. So in response to how I'm working out the "things" in my life...well I'm focusing on my heavenly father and serving others and trusting God to heal every area of my heart so he can do even more than I could imagine!

The happiest place on earth!!!

Oh Disneyland. At any age it truly is the best! Chad & I weren't sure about taking our boys to Disneyland this year because a lot of people kept saying it's better to take them when they're older. After going back and forth we decided to just go for 1 day. Like most little boys, Chase is a major Lightning McQueen fan. So Cars Land was our first stop. We walked into California adventure and saw Mickey first. Their eyes opened wide and their smiles got a little bigger. 

Cars Land is amazing! I truly felt like I was transported into the movie. Watching the excitement on my boy's faces as we walked in brought tears to my eyes. As a parent I had always dreamt of this moment and it was everything I imagined it would be. We got to go on all the rides, met lots of the characters from the movie and even had a dance party with DJ. 

Cyrus with his favorite character...Pluto (or as he likes to call him, "Poo-Toe")!

Towards the end of the night we watched the Mickey Soundsational Parade. It was AWESOME! The boys were dancing or standing with their mouths open in awe of everything. Then we headed over to Fantasyland to go on the carrousel and Peter Pan ride. This picture of Chase with the Sword and the stone is one of my favorites! For every girl (young or old) there is nothing like Cinderella's castle. So, I made the man clan pose in front of it with me. 

At the end of the night as we were waiting in line for the bus back to our parking lot, Chase fell asleep in my arms. He's 4 years old and these moments never happen anymore. So, even though Chad kept offering to take him and my arms felt like they were going to break, I held on tight. It was a moment I'll always cherish. We had the most fun filled day and I'm so glad we went! 

Spring Break 2013!!

In April (yep that's right 2 months ago) we headed South to one of our favorite sunny destinations. I grew up going to Palm Springs and my parents actually had a condo down there for a few years. I always feel right at home when we land in PS! 

 These 2 are excellent travellers. The pilot was so sweet letting Chase sit up front and showing him how to fly the plane. 

 Our first stop when we got there was the Marriott. The boat ride is always a highlight and we enjoyed an incredible dinner on their deck at the Rockwood Grill. I love my family and my Mom always goes above and beyond to make our holidays special! 

 Chad was definitely in need of a vacation. ;)

 My little Chase fell in love with golf when we were down there. Which I was actually really pumped about. I know it's not very Canadian of me but I really hope he plays it over hockey. I'd like him to keep his teeth and his cute, little, straight nose. 

Just looking at these pictures makes me want to plan another trip!