Our Girls Day Out!

We decided to do something fun for the girl's birthdays and taking a girl's day to see Disney on Ice in Chicago was it and counts as a field trip. It was amazing, and we had so much fun, just us girls. Another friend and her daughter went along, so it made for a nice but tiring day out. Enjoy the pics!

The three girls, Diella, Elli, and Alegra on the way to a windy Chicago. Casie and Elli getting ready to enjoy the show. Who enjoyed it more, mom or daughter? :)

We didn't tell them what we were doing. The left pic. is when Casie told them what we were going to see and the right pic is their change in expression. They really didn't know what it was going to be, but they loved it!


The PreShow Before the Actual Performance (Disney Princess Dresses)

The girls looking at all the beautiful dresses. And Alegra infront of Cinderella. She was the first brave one to stand there and get her picture taken.

Smiles around the dresses. And the mom's tried to take center stage when Cinderella left, but I think our bellies were too big to fit the bill. Hahaha!

Onto the Show!

The curtain where all the characters came out on the ice. And the cotton candy guy selling $20.oo bags of cotton candy....okay, not really, but expensive enough. There are some crazy people who spend way too much on souveniers. Will those souveniers some day replace the special memories that those children have in their minds with their family of the event itself? I don't think my girls will forget this fun day, and they didn't take a single souvenier home. Memories are better than stuff that will soon break and become trash. Just a thought.

First, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald came out with a cute little car. It was having problems (part of the show) and of course Diella was concerned that the car was on fire. Poor girl. She didn't flip out though which was good!

To the rescue, the cars of course, to help Mickey and Minnie's car get started.

I took this one forJosiah. Lightning came out with fireworks even. Elli wanted to "get out of that place" when the fireworks banged and lit up. Hope Diella isn't rubbing off on her in the fire and smoke area. :)

Here are the faces in amazement, not being able to take it all in. So much to see!

This was some of the Lion King part of the show.

More Lion King where the wildebeest come out and chase Simba all over the badlands. I enjoyed these costumes as it looked like so many were out there running around. One person had 3 wildebeest as part of their costume. Had to see it to thoroughly appreciate it.

The girls enjoyed this part the most. The stage turned into a spring opening with flowers popping up all over the place. Was very colorful!

More of the end with a flying Tinker Bell even. The colors, the sparkles, the effects were breath taking. Even Casie thought so......

And the grand finalle......

More colors, sparkles, confetti falling from the ceiling (tried to get a picture of all three girls looking up at all the confetti falling, even with Elli trying to catch it, but too much excitement).

Was a spectacular show indeed! The costumes were unreal and looked just like the actual characters. The stage set up made you feel like you were part of the show. Special affects were great with smoke, fire, bubbles for under the sea, lighting changes, flying characters, and on and on. Images on camera just don't reflect the real thing, and we are glad we were able to do it.

Next exciting outting- The Daddy Daughter Dance in a couple of weeks.

A Race in the House

I journeyed outside today to take care of some outside things....burnt trash, take recycle out to the shed, carry in some wood, shovel just a little (okay, more than I should've) and while I was out, the children came up with another great inside idea - a race in the house. A great idea?

In my house? Yes, they all had tennis shoes on (Josiah had sandals, but they were fast sandals) and were lined up in the kitchen.
Well, sort of lined up. I"m not sure which direction Josiah is going. :) I don't know who would sound the gun to run, but somehow they all took off at the same time and around the bend they would run.









Around the table bend.....








Around the clothes rack bend (nobody is looking at my messy house, right?) And then back to the starting line. What a race! They did this over and over before I told Alegra she needed to get back to her lessons. It was good for them to get some energy out, and who knew the clothes rack would turn the living room into a race track. It's amazing what we can do in our little house. Ah, but we are looking forward to them doing this OUTSIDE soon when the weather becomes warmer and the snow melts away. But until then....on your mark. get set. go...in the house.

Alegra's Birthday

Well, I am definitely slow at getting this one done. Shame on me! Alegra had her 7th birthday on Jauary 26th. Wow, we can't believe it!

She is doing so good in school (well, not always wanting to do it, but who does?) and is such a joy to watch. She is reading like crazy now and often times I will catch her with a book from the library reading it to her brother and sister. How did that happen? Before we know it, Diella will be doing the same thing.

She likes books, puzzles, pretending in her room, playing kitchen, building tents, spelling lessons, dressing her doll, and cuddling with Miss Bear.

We are doing something super fun on Friday for her birthday and since we didn't really do anything special for Diella's birthday, she is included. I will definitely have to post pics. after Friday, so you can see what great fun we had for the girls' birthdays. And maybe I'll post some new belly pictures. :) It's growing that's for sure.

Anyways, Alegra is excited for the new baby to come. And I believe she will be of great help to me this time around. We love her and all her craziness.

I almost forgot...she also has pretty well stopped sucking her thumb. Hooray!!!! It sure took some work and motivation. Thanks to all of you who have received so many e-mails and comments from her. It worked and just to make sure she is really done, you will probably continue to get some for awhile. But we are planning a party for her this spring before the baby comes. We have had everything for it for a couple years now. I think we actually get to have it now. Yay!!!!!!!

The Real Party....All Chocolate!

Well, we finally did it! Friday evening we had 17 ladies, not including me and the other hostess, together for a Chocolate/Spa Party. We had some delicious desserts brought in and what a night of relaxing, restful fellowship. We talked about being a sweet aroma to those around us, so I pray that the Father was honored by our sweet fellowship.

If you want to host a party like this for some lady friends of yours, I will give somewhat of details so you have something to go from, but if you want more info. on what we did, just leave me a comment or e-mail me.

We had each lady bring in a chocolate dessert in a brown paper bag that way nobody would know who brought what dessert. And here is the table that we had full of wonderful, delicious yummies.

We started out by giving each lady their score sheet and the first area was in appearance, so they all walked around the table looking at all the desserts to see whose had the best look to it.

Onto the fun! We split the ladies up into groups. We had one area where they soaked their feet and then one of the other ladies used a homemade sugar scrub (we also had a salt scrub for those sugar sensitive women) and then applied lotion. Everything was chocolatey, so the house (and feet) all smelled very good.

We also had an area where they dipped their hands in wax to have nice soft hands for the evening. Sorry, for some reason I didn't get to the kitchen to take pictures of this area. Of course there was all the tasting that happened during the evening. And we had a card set out for all the ladies to sign for our dear friend who is battling cancer.

"How does it all taste ladies?" Lots of happy faces this evening....I wonder why!

We did give lovely gift baskets to the winners of best appearance, best taste, and over all best. Congratulations to those ladies who won and thanks to you all for taking precious time out of your day to make something for all of us to enjoy during the evening! We also had a jar full of M & Ms for the ladies to guess how many were in there. The winner guessed right on the dot at 302. Congratulations Rane!

We learned a lot during the evening of things we would change if we did it again. But for now, it's time to relax until our babies are born.

Here is a picture of me and Casie, the party planners, after most all the ladies left. We did finally get to sit down, soak our feet and get a little pampering ourselves.

And some of us stayed over night after some preggo chatting, watching a movie, and of course we had to get some group photos in.

We had a wonderful time and were blessed by all you wonderful gals. We love you all and look forward to the next women's party....Casie's Celebration! Can't wait!

Some Doctor Fun

With the crazy cold temperatures we have been having, we have been trying to think of fun inside things to do. Last week, after school lessons were done, the children set up their hospital in the living room. Well, first it started out as a horse racing track. Josiah sat on one arm of the couch with blankets as his sadle and Diella sat on the other end. The gun would shoot (their own sound effects) and off they would ride. Nobody got very far, but they had fun. Then Josiah's arm of the couch turned into a hospital bed. When Alegra finished her work, I decided to make an official bed and hospital area for them.

Here, Diella is bandaging his arm. Not sure what he did, but he had a very sore arm. :)

Nurse Diella and Doctor Alegra were very thorough in their checking and care. Alegra had her notebook of questions and gave orders to the nurse who did what she was told. The sick and injured boy just took all the attention he could get from his sisters.
"He feels so hot, we have to do something quick!" and he sure played the part well, looking sicker than ever. What fun they have when everyone cooperates with the game.

Today turned into a beautiful, sunny day. I may bundle everybody up after awhile to help me take trash out and gather up some wood. Tomorrow is Alegra's science class at the Amigo Centre in Sturgis, so we all look forward to that. And the midwife comes in the afternoon for a baby check up. It's always good to hear the heart beat and know that things are progressing right along. I am beginning to make my giant list of spring cleaning that I really want done before the baby comes. I just think it would feel so good to have cleaning and some fresh painting in the house done before the arrival of a new life. We await the arrival and the warmer weather that those days will bring.

Snowbow Surprise

Good morning everyone!

This morning has been filled with surprises. Pipes in the kitchen....frozen. Gee, I wonder why? Oh, yes, -15 degrees might do that. So, the woodstove is going full force to get things warmed up a bit. My Bible reading this morning was sweetness to my soul. I am reading in Proverbs and could type out all of the first few chapters, but I that would take more time than I have.

Proverbs 4:1-9

1 "Hear, my children , the instruction of a father,

And give attention to know understanding;

2For I give you good doctrine:

Do not forsake my law.

3When I was my father's son,

Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,

4He also taught me, and said to me:

"Let your heart retain my words;

Keep my commands, and live.

5Get wisdom! Get understanding!

Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

6Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;

Love her, and she will keep you.

7Wisdom is the principal thing;

Therefore get wisdom.

And in all your getting, get understanding.

8Exalt her, and she will promote you;

9She will place on your head an ornament of grace;

A crown of glory she will deliver to you."

I could go on, but we'll leave it at that. I like how this passage mentions in verse 2 that it is His doctrine. How far have we come that different denominations have their own doctrine? Whose doctrine was it in the beginning of time? And He is saying that He gave us "good" doctrine which is what we should live by. What is that doctrine?.....to not forget His laws, retain His words, and keep His commands. As we do these things, gaining wisdom and understanding through knowing and obeying these things, we will receive that ornament of grace upon our heads. And in gaining wisdom and understanding we will be kept and preserved. Isn't He gracious and faithful to those who desire His ways! It's so encouraging!

Jonathon has a new job. It's been a couple of weeks now but just haven't gotten around to posting anything about it. He is now working for Culligan in Sturgis, selling water softner systems. So far it is going good and he feels like this could be a long term thing. It has been a blessing the past 6 months having him home more, but only because we had a reserve saved to keep us afloat financially. I encourage all of you to make sure you are not spending all that you earn on useless and careless things, taking care to save in case of trial. It has spared us some stress and struggle.

The last little surprise we had this morning was seeing a snowbow out the window. It appeared in the east and went straight up into the sky. Here is a picture that isn't very clear but hopefully you can all see it. We went to Breakfast with the Birds at Maple Wood Nature Center in LaGrange awhile back and learned about rainbows, so what a joy to get to see a real snowbow. Of course the picture is taken through the window because of the ridiculous temperatures, but you can get somewhat of the effect.

Can you see it? It's in the middle of the picture with the sun off to the right side.

Hope you are all staying warm with these cold temps. It sure makes me thankful for all that we have. And we know that in a few more months, we will all be glad to be back out side, planting our gardens and flower beds. Oh, and having a baby for this household. Can't forget that!

Ladies Chocolate Spa Party

Well, most of the ladies called and canceled on us because of the ridiculous amount of snow we got, but we did have a few ladies who just couldn't resist and came anyways. Here are some pictures from that for those ladies who missed out to enjoy. And don't worry, we are rescheduling it so you didn't miss out on the relaxing and yummy evening. We saved the prizes and special treats for the actual party. Here is just a small look at what we will be doing for the real deal. This was a great practice run for us.

We did not take any pictures of the desserts in case the ladies choose to make the same thing for the real party. We don't want to ruin the contest. Enjoy the pictures and may it make you look forward to the party in a couple of weeks!

Here is Ireena, Bethany, and Celia getting all pampered infront of the fireplace....ahhhh, so relaxing, but maybe too hot for those menopausal ladies. :)

Here is Missy, Casie, Janele, and Me (Christi) taking our turn at soaking our feet. We soaked in a chocolate bath salt with marbles. So, very enjoyable!

Okay, the guys just had to try the hand paraffin dip. And did the ladies complain of the great heat to the hands....NO!, it felt great and tingly. How did it feel guys?

And the children, who won't be there for the real party. But they enjoyed the yummies while they could get them!

And the little girls playing dress up. Boy did they have fun and felt so charming. What cuties they are....Alegra Bovee, Eliyahna Brothers, and Diella Bovee. This wasn't part of our party but a fun girly time.

The More the Merrier

So, some people say, "What are you going to do with another child in your little house." Well, from this picture you can see that we could fit at least 4 more Bovee children in this room. Our children do enjoy sleeping in the same bed. I think they think it keeps the monsters away.

It's so peaceful when they all get along, especially in their beds or bed in this case. We will still be quite crammed in our little house, but if they can sleep like this, at least they will all have warm, soft beds to sleep in. We make room for what we need and nothing more.

Hope you are all having a bundled up, warm and cozy winter.