Isaac is 9

On March 22nd we celebrated our oldest son, Isaac Anson.  

On Isaac's birthday we spent the day together as a family.  Dad took the day off work to be with us and there was no schoolwork!  Here are some highlights of our day together....

Breakfast with birthday cake pancakes.

9 gifts for our 9 year old.  Fun stuff like a drawing book, favorite candybar, watch, renting a Wii game from Redbox for the day, a year long list of dates with Mom & Dad to look forward to, and a few other fun items.

We ate lunch at Pizza Hut (no pics) prior to going to Walmart where Isaac spent some birthday money from family to buy his goldfish a new tank.  

A week later we celebrated with family and Isaac chose to decorate with a hunting theme.  Tables are ready for our guests.

Isaac has been asking for a BB gun for a couple years now and we felt he was old enough to get one this year so Grandpa and Grandma bought him his first gun.  He was quite excited!

A little bit about Isaac:
What is your favorite color?  Blue
What is your favorite toy? Wii & legos
What is your favorite stuffed animal?  I don't have one
What is your favorite thing to sleep with?  Nothing
What is your favorite fruit?  Bananas
What is your favorite cereal?  Frosted Flakes
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Scrambled eggs with bacon
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
What is your favorite dessert? White cake
What is your favorite drink? Rootbeer
What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner?  Pizza toasties
What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
What is your favorite book? Imagination Station books
What is your favorite song? I don't have one
What is your favorite game? Qwirkle
what is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratz
What is your favorite movie? Astroboy
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike
What do you want to be when you grow up?  I don't know
What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? Wrestle
What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? Play board game
What is your favorite thing to do with your brother? Play wii
What is your favorite sport to play? baseball

February with the Morris Family

February has been a fun and relaxing month for the Morris family.

We love our Sundays.  We come home from church, put our comfy clothes on, enjoy a nice meal prepared by the crockpot while we are at church, take naps and then enjoy a family movie night.  Our newest tradition has been to select a movie to watch.  This particular evening we had a picnic in the living room with pizza, soda and icecream while watching the movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  The boys look forward to finding out what movie we'll be watching and what fun food we'll be eating.  They keep me on my toes!  We love that even on a busy weekend we can always look forward to our family day of rest on Sundays.

We also had fun celebrating Valentine's Day.  Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the flowers Jeff gave me along with the chocolate covered strawberries he and the boys made me.  

The boys loved finding surprises Valentine's Morning with hearts filled with encouraging words about them.

We also made hearts for Dad about why we love him so much and taped them with some candy treats to his closet doors.  

Baby is growing!  It's hard to believe he/she is halfway done!  We celebrate the halfway mark and are excited to find out if we'll have a little Miss or little Man joining us in July.  I am feeling much better but still having some rough evenings and very little sleep.  Pregnancy insomnia is the pits but I guess it's part of preparing for those sleepless nights to come.  

This picture was taken before Jeff and I went out on a date...our first alone date since November!  With morning sickness hitting so bad in the evenings I have just started actually eating dinner in the evenings the last month but our schedule has not allowed us to actually go on a date alone.  We enjoyed a wonderful free meal (thanks to Living Social) at  TW Fable in Bluffton.  The Basil and Parmesan Crusted Chicken served over garlic mashed potatoes is absolutely amazing and probably the best chicken dish I've ever had.    

February has been a fun month!  

2013 Goals

I'm always excited to enter into a new year.  I love to set goals so here's some things I'd like focus on in 2013...

Spiritual
Dissecting scripture daily by sticking to a reading plan
Intentionally listen to worship music on a daily basis to start my day with worship
Continue working through my reading wish list which is here.  Many of these are just books I've heard of that I think sound interesting or go with my goals for the year.  There's really not a ton of thought into these other than books I want keep in mind when I'm ready to read.  I don't do a lot of fiction reading anymore but choose to read books that help me in my walk with Christ, as a wife, mother and friend.  

Jeff
More intentional dating/quality time together - 2 date nights out & 2 date nights in each month, alternating based on our schedule
One overnight before baby

Physical
Exercise 4-5 times a week (alternating between swimming and pregnancy yoga)
Continue eating wholesome food that the Lord designed our bodies to run off of - try a new veggie and fruit each month.  I'm such a picky eater so this is going to stretch me along with Jeff and the boys!
Drink 64 oz of water each day

Boys
Monthly date days alternating between me and Jeff each month so each boy gets one on one time with one of us each month.  This will especially be important when their world is rocked with a little baby that will take more of my time.
Once a week of "Mom Time" at home - 30 min of an activity of their choice to do with mom alone
Teach & model quiet time with the Lord
Family vacation before baby

Baby
Get re-acquainted with this season again & thoroughly enjoy it!!
Exclusively breastfeed & not prematurely introduce food until baby's body is ready instead of going with the flow of culture and what I did in the past with the boys
Learn how to make our own baby food
Considering cloth diapering....not a for sure yet!

Homeschool
Now that we are getting this down, begin adding in enrichment & elective courses in the afternoons.  Already have Music theory and Drawing classes scheduled for January!  Excited to explore the arts with the them.

Relationships
Go to lunch or brunch with a special woman, friends or sibling/family once a month - stay connected with the women in my life
Plan 6 relationship building opportunities for our church small group
Make space in my schedule to mentor and be mentored when the opportunity presents itself

Home
Here's my 2013 wish list for projects - Wish List
Staying faithful to my daily chores so our home always feels like a place of refuge and comfort, especially when hubby comes home from work

What are goals you'd like to work on in 2013?

New Furniture Exchanged For New Memories

We had our yearly budget discussion yesterday.  Family vacations, healthy lifestyle changes, living a debt free lifestyle, and giving freely have become more a priority than the "stuff" that use to be on our wish list.  Crazy how perspective changes as we get older and our kids get older.  Maybe someday we'll replace the box TVs, dining room table, living room furniture....etc but those just don't seem quite as fulfilling as spending several days on the beach as a family, writing a check for a need within the church without a second thought, purchasing equipment to live a healthier lifestyle, and paying cash for a newer used car.

Thankful for the change of perspective!  Definitely never dreamed to still have furniture we had the first year of marriage 10 years later (replacing it all before our 5th anniversary was the plan)!  How has your perspective unexpectedly changed in the last 10 years?

Our December

Here's what life looked life for us in December.  Despite 4 sicknesses (about one each week), we still were able to squeeze in some fun.  The month did not go as planned (but does it ever really??).  We took the down time to rest, watch movies and stay in together as a family.  It was nice to have Jeff home more during the last few weeks.

Making some chocolate!

The beginning stages of the Lego Police Station from Grandma and Grandpa.

The next morning they got up really early to work on it some more.  Took them (with the help of Dad) about 3 hours. 

It was rainy on my 31st birthday but this guy who has taken me out for about 12 of my birthdays (takes the day off work) is really what this day is all about.  We loved the time away together.  

A fun gift!  I love it!

A somewhat of a surprise birthday party.  I knew Jeff had put together a very small party with some of our family, I just didn't know a couple very good friends would spend the evening celebrating with me too.

Best of 2011

Highlights of our year!  These are in no particular order, just how they happen to load up.  Enjoy!  I sure did enjoy putting this together.

Myrtle Beach Vacation

Creation Museum

First time to make applesauce

Birthday Boys!  Isaac turned 7 and Kaleb turned 5.  We love celebrating with family.

Apple Orchard Field Trip

Dad comes home early for a day of sledding on an unexpected snow day

Fun Dates - Valentine's Banquet

More Fun Dates......
Celebrated 9 years of marriage in June!
Tried new restaurants (Brick House Grill, Toscannis, O'Donnell, Chops, TW Fable)
Chris Tomlin Concert
Jeff turns 30!

Art in the park in October

First time to make our favorite jam from Grandma's recipe

Johnny Appleseed Festival

First trip to Ikea

Trip to Dallas

First day of school....at home!

School at home

First time to learn how to can

Pretty scenery on our drive home from the orchard field trip

Fall Break at home landed on a week with absolutely beautiful weather.  We got to have a picnic outside in Oct!

School in the park with friends

Lego Police Station - a Christmas gift and a project done with the help of Dad

My 31st birthday outing

Surprise party with family and friends

Camp Fire  

Happy New Year, Friends!  

A Day with Isaac

Isaac and I had a "Mom Date."  Enjoy our pictures from Crazy Pinz.  I do have a little story behind this.  A Moms Only group I'm a part of is reading The Five Love Languages.  I have learned that my Isaac needs quality time.  When I mentioned the idea of a "Mom Date" his eyes lit up like I've not seen in awhile.  I knew we needed to do it immediately.  So a few days later, here we are.  Kaleb cannot wait for his turn coming up soon!