My Heart is Full

As I sit here snuggled on the couch on this Saturday after Valentine's Day my heart is so full. 

After a week of snow and no school the girls and I made the trip to Clayton this weekend to be with Mickey. It was so nice to be able to travel during the day and to not have to worry about traffic jams and construction! 

We opened the door and were greeted with gifts. We are spoiled and we are okay with it! 

After reading our cards and checking out our gifts, the girls and I got to work on our project- to give daddy a "heart attack!" We all wrote reasons why Mickey was special to us on paper hearts and we taped them all over the bedroom door! 

The rest of our Valentine's Day consisted of dinner out at Cracker Barrell, a trip to Dollar General for a few groceries, watching the movie Brave, and bedtime. 

Today the girls and I stayed around the house this morning organizing and playing while Mickey went in to the office for a bit. 

After lunch at Sams, we met up with Mickey and ventured into Raleigh to go to Marbles Children Museum. We had a fun time exploring the exhibits and being together as a family of four!

Once we left the museum we drove over to the North Hills area for Mickey to go to Lens Crafters. While we were there we thought it would be a good idea to grab some ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. It was so yummy!

Now we are all relaxing in the family room watching the Olympics (and Daniel Tiger's Neighbirhood!) 

My heart is so full!

A Typical SC Snow Day

I can't believe we have had two rounds of snow this month in SC. This time we have been out of school for 4 days due to snow and ice! CrAzY!! 

I wanted to document this week because it could quite possibly be a few years before we see this much snow in one winter again. 

So, what does a typical O'Shields snow day look like?...

A relaxed cup of early morning coffee.

 A good book.

Time to try out new recipes. 

 Games with Grams.

And lots of fun out in the snow.

Our days have also been filled with phone calls and text messages back and forth to daddy who is 4-hours away! 

We miss him so much every day, but especially when we are making memories on a snow day! 

Life Interrupted

In my opinion, there is nothing like a snow day! Here in the south life stops, businesses and schools close, and everyone stays home. It. Is. Wonderful. 

Last week we had two of those days. While we didn't get a lot of snow (less than an inch probably) we did have a good bit of ice that closed things down.

The girls and I enjoyed our snow days and having absolutely nothing to do. Our weekends lately are usually spent traveling, going to basketball games, going to church, etc. so it was nice to just relax! 

The girls and I spent time in the kitchen cooking, playing outside together, and catching up on some much needed rest! 

On Thursday the main roads were safe for traveling, but due to the icy spots on the back roads, school was closed again so my sis and I headed out with the kiddos for pizza and bowling. While bowling is not my hobby of choice, it was fun to be together with friends. Plus, every day is a great day when chocolate chip pizza is involved!!

So many times we think of interruptions as inconveniences- people, circumstances, events that detract from our plan for the day. However, many times if we will just embrace the unexpected opportunities we will realize it was just what we needed. In this case, life was interrupted by the winter weather, but it provided me an opportunity to make lots of fun memories and spend some much-needed quality time with my girls, and I'll take that any day! 

One Super Sunday

I have been wanting to do a "Day in the Life" post for a while, and today worked out perfectly! We have been in Raleigh this weekend with Mickey and since we have tomorrow off we have an extra day together. It. Has. Been. Super. 

We started the day with a simple breakfast and then got ready for church. 

We have been visiting different churches each time we come up. Finding a new church home is not a decision that we take lightly and it is one of the most important decisions we have left to make! Today we visited ARBC in Garner and we felt the love of Christ from the minute we walked in the door! We went to the contemporary service and then stayed for Sunday School too. Mackaylan was a little apprehensive about attending SS at first, but came out of her class smiling. Lydia was all smiles from the time we walked in the door! The girl loves her some "Sunday School!" 

After church, we headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. They have this homemade ranch sauce that I love, and Mexican is just what we do every Sunday. 

I was hoping Lydia would take a nap, but she didn't. So, while Mickey napped the girls played and I relaxed and played on the computer. 

Once Mickey woke up, he finished some work he was doing and then we all went for a walk (or skate) around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being active together. 

Dinner consisted of hotdogs, baked beans, and chips. During dinner we had a small debate on the most popular hotdog topping. I thought everyone put ketchup on their hotdogs. WRONG! Mustard and cheese are the most popular toppings! Thank you, Google!

After dinner, the girls and I tried our hand at a loaf of banana bread. Let me just say.... Yum-O!! We had a fun time working together to prepare it, and an even better time eating it!! ;)

At this time, Lydia is snuggled in her bed and Mackaylan is cuddled up with Mickey on the couch. It truly has been a super Sunday! If only every week we had a 4 day weekend!?! 

Christmas Catch-Up

I can’t believe it is the middle of January and I am still trying to catch up on Christmas 2013!  In order to get back on track, I am going to keep this post to pictures only (well, sort of!)  I have “lost” the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day pictures somewhere on the computer so the following pictures are from Christmas on Oakleaf.  We always have Christmas with my family on the 26th so that we can really enjoy each other and have plenty of time to eat and unwrap presents! We have done this for the past few years and I think I am safe to say that this tradition will continue for many years to come.   We always have fun together and get spoiled beyond belief, and this year was no exception!