Happy Valentine's Day

It may be a Hallmark holiday, but it's a day I will always try to make special for our kids while they are young and under our roof. It's another opportunity to teach them about God's unconditional love for us, show them the tangible love of our family, and demonstrate for them a marriage that- although far from perfect- remembers how important it is to keep the romance alive. Our kids are watching us. And the greatest gift we can give them besides Jesus while they are under our care, is a husband and wife who keep on moving toward each other, and a love that is built on the grace of God. And maybe a few stolen kisses here and there that make them giggle now and will someday soon embarrass the heck out of them!

And hunt #2...

No, we haven't forgotten about Jesus in this house, although it is challenging to keep young children more focused on the Resurrection than the chocolate candy inside their plastic eggs. So we try to mix in plenty of Bible lessons (when they aren't running laps around the kitchen from a sugar-overload) along with the American Easter traditions and are praying that the seeds of the cross, God's forgiveness, and His overwhelming love for them are being planted somewhere deep inside their little hearts.

Today was round 2 of egg hunting for us. And as John was giving Eli strategy tips over breakfast in regards to the best way to pick up an egg mid-run without wasting time coming to a full stop, I played the worship music a little louder to help counteract the competitive look gleaming in his eyes. John unfortunately had to work and couldn't join us for the fun, but the kids and I were treated to a full morning with Grandma Jan and Papa Bob of egg hunting, a trip to Costco, and lunch. There's nothing better than still being able to feel like a kid when you're with your parents....even though there are two little people tugging on you and calling you "mommy."

Waiting in the crowd for the hunt to begin

Watching the sky as a helicopter made passes through the fields dropping hundreds of Easter eggs to the delighted shrieks of the kids

 Hard to see them here but there were tons of eggs being thrown out

Papa Bob and Eli. This picture just melts my heart because our kids have such amazing Grandparents.

Norah stayed pretty focused on collecting the broken, empty eggs that the other kids left behind

This boy is a pro at this game

My sweet kiddos

Easter Eggstravaganza

Today we hosted an Easter egg decorating and egg hunt party for all of the Costello cousins. There were 13 kids here, 11 participating in the festivities, and lots and lots of chaos. Eli's competitive spirit (that he inherited in heavy doses from both his parents) came out strong during the egg hunt and then he talked his cousin Max into hiding on the side of the house to eat their candy in secret after they were finished. We're pretty sure he ate a pack of fruit snacks, a large PB Egg, and a handful of jellybeans before we caught onto him. Can't say I wouldn't have or didn't do the same thing when I was almost 4 years old.

It was a great afternoon and the start of a fun Easter tradition that we all agreed to carry on in the family in the years to come. These kids are all so blessed to have their cousins as their closest friends. Happy Easter!

 The Decorating

The Hunt begins....and that tongue means business

The smiles of success and wow is this family growing

Unplugged and why Facebook is so addicting

Each year before Lent our church challenges us to spend time praying about a commitment we can make to Lord during the 40 day period leading up to Easter. Whether it be abstaining from something and/or adding a new activity into our daily life; the point is to re-prioritize, refocus, and remove distractions that can hinder growth in our relationship with Christ. And same as last year, I again felt the Lord telling me to turn off the TV for a while and use that time more productively to study scripture,work to build a deeper friendship in my marriage, and make room for activities and hobbies that I "could never find the time for" after the kids went to bed. I felt pretty good about signing my commitment card and was ready to turn it in when the Lord gave me another little tap on shoulder. And I reluctantly added "Facebook" to my abstaining from list.

Surprisingly, giving up Facebook has been harder for me than not watching TV. I would never have called myself a social network junkie, but I've been amazed by how many times I've had to stop myself from jumping on the website while fixing lunch for the kids or pulling up the mobile app on my phone while waiting in the doctor's office. I think when you are a stay-at-home mom there are moments in the day that can feel very isolating and lonely, even amidst screaming and chaos, and there is something comforting about logging on and seeing the status updates of friends who are sharing similar struggles and victories as you are. And when something funny happens to you, you can instantly share it with hundreds of people and feel validated and affirmed that others are right there with you, appreciating things that would otherwise go unnoticed, and helping you make it through the day. And even just 5 days into my 40 of being "un-networked," I already know that God wants to teach me that my affirmation and sense of importance needs only to come from Him. When I have a moment of self-pity and "does any of this really matter?" in my daily grind of mothering young children, I need to stop and thank God that He has blessed me tremendously with the most noble task of shepherding the future generation of the kingdom. It has not been easy, but nothing worth attaining usually is. God has been whispering to me in those lonely moments that HE sees me, and HE laughs with me, and HE notices my efforts and struggles and cares far more than anyone or anything that I try to replace him with.

Do you want fries with that?

Is what my parents always said we'd be saying for a living if we didn't study hard and go to college. Its kind of ironic now that they're the ones who've purchased a food concession business and are traveling the state serving fried food to America's finest. Friday was Red, White & Boom, Columbus' annual fireworks spectacular downtown. So John and I as well as Chris and Rebecca and some friends of ours from our Bible study all signed up to work the event with my parents. My parents own two trailers. One serves ice-cream, frozen chocolate bananas, and root-beer floats. The other serves fried delights and lemon shake-ups. Its a big operation. Rebecca and I lucked out getting assigned to the cold trailer with my mom while the boys were sweating it out with the hot grease of the fried one. It was a perfect day for the event and the crowds were were out in full force. Nothing says God Bless America quite like 2 year-olds walking around swigging 20oz of Mountain Dew, large teethless women hanging out of teeny-tiny bikini tops, and more kids on leashes than you'd typically see at the animal shelter.  We enjoyed a lot of laughs in our trailer and met a lot of great people who will be burned in my memory for a long time. We served food from 11am until 11:30pm and people were still trying to buy things from us as we were cleaning up.  And I have to give proper kudos to my parents for the massive amount of work that goes into preparing for and cleaning up from for these events. I don't think my dad went to bed that night until close to 4am. It is not for the faint of heart.  Enjoy a few pictures from the day. 

Rebecca and I early morning getting things ready

My dad and John, on the job since 6:15am

Frozen chocolate banana? Hand-dipped before your eyes, might I add.

The ice-cream trailer, just killing time

My cute mom. Doesn't she fit the part perfectly?

John and Chris peeling onions pre-event. Someone's gotta do the dirty work

The fried-trailer crew. These guys were slammed for hours and did an awesome job

Happy Independence Day!!

Will you be mine?

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. Whether you regard this day as a huge Hallmark scam or the greatest holiday since your birthday, it is a day to tell those around you that you love them, give a few extra hugs and kisses, and just be a bit sweeter than you might normally be. And in my opinion, we should never miss an opportunity to celebrate love, or eat chocolate-covered cherries for breakfast, or buy silly balloons that make the kids feel special. Even if you are cursing in the check-out line at the price of that greeting card.

You know you're a mom when...

you go out shopping at 4am on Black Friday and your first purchase is a buy 2 get one free case of Earth's Best organic baby food. And you know you're an uber dork when you actually say "Wahoo!" to the cashier as she rings it up and confirms that, yes indeed, that third case is actually free. And you know she thinks you're crazy when you act like you're lucky you got there just in time before it was all sold out because of course most parents would be heading to Babies R Us at this pre-dawn hour to buy toys and trampolines and dancing Mickey dolls, and are not bolting straight back to the diapers and food isle. And you know there's little hope for ever improving knowing that you spent the past 3 Black Friday extravaganzas being the first only person in line at Walgreens at 4am to snatch up those buy one get 2 free candles that are never going to run out. So cheers to shopping for whatever deals make you happy!!

Trick or Treat!

Last night we took the cutest little giraffe and lion for their first trick-or-treating experience. These boys were running down the sidewalk shrieking with delight and I just wanted to eat them up. They didn't care about collecting candy, just petting all the neighborhood dogs, and admiring the glowing Halloween decorations. I feel like it was just last year I was the one dressing up as a clown or pumpkin and hitting the streets with my dad and sisters. And now life's come full circle with my own child. It's so surreal sometimes all this parenting stuff. Shayden and Eli, you boys just melt my heart. Thanks for all the laughs.