Rec Center

Grammy & Papa took the girls to the Rec center for some fun activities! Ben & I always appreciate getting some free time on the weekends and the girls love their time out with Grammy & Papa!

Fun times!

Update on Willow the Stray

Willow, the stray I picked up over three weeks ago, is now living with my sweet neighbors, Matt, Ally and their dog Belle! I knocked on their door at 9:30 at night on the day I found her. All the while, praying that they would fall in love with her and want to adopt her. I knew that they were contemplating adding another dog to their family, so I was hoping that maybe Willow could be that dog. My bets payed off... they loved her at first sight! They kept her a couple days as a trial run to see how she'd do with Belle and the great news... Willow and Belle got along wonderfully!!!

We decided together to take Willow to the Animal Resource Center for several reasons. 1.) To make sure someone wasn't out there searching for her. And 2.) The costs of adopting a dog from there is only $140. That includes personality testing, a complete Vet examination, all vaccinations, heart worm testing, spaying, and any other medical issues would be treated. That is significantly less than it would cost to just keep Willow and do it all out-of-pocket. So, Willow was taken to the Animal Resource Center with the thought she'd be there about a week. Her stay ended up being over two weeks because they were so behind on the spay/neuter surgeries. The good news is that Willow is now named Chloe and Chloe is living happily with Matt, Ally & Belle. She is only two houses away from us which is also a huge bonus for me. I got to visit with her for a bit and she gave me a bunch of sweet doggie kisses. I am sure she was thanking me for taking the time to stop and pick her up, no doubt saving her life. I hope anyone who reads this will be encouraged to take action when you witness anyone in need, be it two or four legged! The rewards are ten fold!

Jillian's 10th

March 1st was Jillian's 10th birthday! So hard to believe it has been a decade since her birth. I remember it so vividly. I was working that night in the NICU. Jillian was born at 36 weeks so the NICU response team was called to Kristen's room to assist with her birth (in case there was need for a resuscitation). I can remember telling the nurse, respiratory therapist, and nurse practitioner to take good care of my niece on their way out and PRAYING so hard that Jillian would be okay. The Lord heard our prayers and blessed our family with a sweet, spunky, healthy and FUNNY girl! We are so thankful for Jillian and the joy she adds to our family. Happy 10th Birthday, Jill Bug (you'll always be my Jill Bug!).

The big 10 year old!

Connor??? Not sure...

Claire could NOT wait to give Jilli the constellation turtle we got for her!

The girls love their big girl cousins!

We LOVE you, Jillian!

Bananas for Boonshoft

My girls really enjoy their time at Boonshoft! We renewed our membership and hope to continue to get lots of use out of it!!

Boonshoft has a new animal exhibit and one of the new animals they have on display is the Meerkat! Now, how cute is this face?!?!

Claire & Anna in "jail" with their friend Caleb!

Another new area at Boonshoft is the Pizza Parlor! Anna is making pizzas with the Seekins boys!

Dancin' with Miss Olivia!

Anna & Caleb loved playing in the animal hospital. Anna actually brought her own stethoscope because last time we were there, the stethoscope was MIA! That's my girl!!

The McDowell EIGHT

And then... there were EIGHT! Spencer Russell McDowell makes eight grandchildren for the McDowell family! Six straight girls followed the firstborn boy, Connor, so we were ecstatic to welcome a little boy into our family! We are excited about our new addition and think he's pretty much the cutest baby boy in the world. We love you, Spencer!

The famous eight!

Claire admiring her new baby cousin!

Grandma McDowell and Jillian

Isn't his hair adorable? Scott was nicknamed "Chicken Head" by my dad's high school students and I think his son is taking after him in the hair department!

Do you think we might be a tad bit enamored with the little guy!?

The proud grandparents with their second grandson!

So sweet! We do love Spencer!

C'mon SPRING

We've had a couple beautiful spring-like days in the last week or so and it makes me want springtime even more! C'mon spring... don't be shy!

Ahhh, nothing like a fun swing on a warm day!

Our Room, Dinner & Story Time

Besides the water park, there were other highlights from our trip to Great Wolf! The room, dinner and story time were a ton of fun!

Anna was scared to death of the wolf, but Claire ran right up to her and gave her a big hug!

The 'Wolf Den' and bunk beds were quite a hit with the girls!

They both slept great!

Our little wolves!

Silliness!

Watching the bedtime show!

Claire was picked to hold the book at story time!

We had a very yummy dinner in the Great Wolf restaurant!

Great Wolf Lodge

We had a FABULOUS time at Great Wolf Lodge! We went last spring and the girls have been begging to go back since then. I think surprising them with the trip only added to the excitement of our adventure! Ben and I feel truly blessed with these two little girls and we have so much fun with them!

This year added new excitement for Anna including going down ALL the slides Great Wolf had to offer!

Her face says it all! Pure JOY!

Snack time!

I love this photo! So happy!

We went down this raft slide probably 10 times. We were fortunate with no lines when we were there!

What a great family getaway!

My Valentines

Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a true blessing.

Psalm 127:3

Bounce U

We ventured out to Bounce U with some friends last week! It'd been almost a year since we were there last. I don't know why we don't go more often... what a great way to burn off pent up energy! The girls had a great time bouncing!

Tracy, Elliott and Anna

Anna & adorable, little William!

Elliott LOVES sports/balls!

Anna was a little fearful of this big slide so big sister went down with her!