this is our life...

a dirt backyard + a choc. lab + rain =
my worst nightmare :(

after being scolded for running into the house and getting cleaned up,
he sleeps while i clean up my muddy nightmare.
this guy has the life.

mmmm...the best strawberries from murray family farms.
sweet and delish!

i've been on a baking kick lately.
made this choc. cake for the guys

made blueberry muffins.
made double choc. chip muffins (not pictured).
now, i'm out of flour.
which might be a good thing.

this is the worst part about baking and cooking.
i usually try to clean as i go, but i just wasn't feeling it this day.

my guys.
they do me a huge favor when they nap at the same time.
(don't worry...i moved them to their beds)
i heart them so much!

brobro!!!

our lil' bro is quite the character.
he is so sweet and so silly.
he definitely keeps me on my toes though...
but always makes me laugh while doing it.

this is the outfit he insisted on wearing one day.
ummmm....stripey pajama pants, a rugby shirt, and his "golf" vest.
uh huh...oh, and a plastic play knife tucked into his shirt.
yup.

after breakfast one day, bro kept telling me that he needed to get his tooth out.
he is only 2, so no loose teeth, i took that as he had something stuck in his teeth.
i checked...nothing. i brushed his teeth and thought the issue was over.
i later, found this in my bathroom.
are you kidding me?

and this is how i found him later that day.
all tuckered out on the living room floor after all that getting dressed and flossing.
and yes,
he is wearing red mittens, holding onto a DVD and a purple ruler.
this kid.
gotta love him!

happy mom's day!

mom ignacio
a.k.a. ma

mom griffith
a.k.a. nanny

these amazing women in my life are such blessings to me.
they have taught me to love God first, work hard,
love my children with all that i am, to honor my husband as the leader of my family,
and to enjoy life.
they are completely in love with their husbands. :)
they adore their grandchildren and would do anything for them.
they strive to do their best both in the office world and in the home world
all for the love of their children.
and for that i am so thankful!
i am the mommy i am today because of them!
i love you!
happy mom's day!

love.this.man.

my man has been working so much lately.
when i say so much,
i mean gone before we are awake and home as we are going to bed,
and 6 days a week so much.
we are thankful to God for his job though and praying it is permanent.
i am blessed because he does it joyfully and does not complain.
thank you for working so hard for us!
handsome!

what's new...

visited the poppies in the a.v.
it was beautiful, looked like fire on the hills.
and caught this cute pic of my love bugs.

my sister ciara and her guy adam got engaged!
now both my little seesters are brides-to-be!
they have found amazing men who love the Lord
and i couldn't be happier for them.

gheeez! look at that thing!
a stunning (& very large) tanzanite, custom made engagement ring!
nice work adam!

borrowed the wii system from my parents so
this guy could actually play the games he had at home...
then we gave it back.
noah was disappointed, and i was happy to have my son back!
i like that he gets to play it at his grandparents' house,
but there is a very legit reason i do not want one in my house.
he wants to play it 24/7 and when i don't allow him to he whines all. day. long.

my longing to have a shopping spree at anthropologie
inspired me to learn to make rosettes.
i know...weird!
anyhow, they are super easy and now i have put them on headbands, clips, and pins.
i even made a cute little ring.
unfortunately, i do not have any daughters (yet!) to put them on.
fortunately, i do have a niece, another on the way, and friends with daughters.
praying i do have a girl one day to practice my crafting skills on!
:)

a hit

got a fun book from my mom-in-law!
made calzones for the first time.

they were delish!

in.awe.

i read my bible and prayed this morning, this good friday. and it seriously brought me to tears, to think about the suffering Christ endured this day.
and he did it all for us! so that we can have new life and be forgiven.
he loves us that much!
earlier this week, i am not gonna lie, i was a little stressed (okay, a lot stressed) about this weekend. which family are we going to spend Easter with? what was i going to make for sunday? how am i gonna prepare it if there are so many in the kitchen? it is gonna be chaos with all the kiddos running around? all these things ran through my head with other things and chores that needed to be done in my own household.
wow, how selfish of me!
it is certainly not a burden to spend time with my family and to
serve the people i love most.
i needed to change my thinking. remembering what the Resurrection was all about allows me to re-focus on God's love for His people. it is an honor to serve others and to do it with the joy my Lord so amply supplies. serving others is serving God. i think so many of us forget that. even christians get caught up in the hustle and bustle of holidays and start manifesting self-pity and self-sufficiency. this is not what Christ wanted for us when he gave His life.
i am making an effort to be a servant and a representative of the Lord,
humbly, willingly, and joyfully.
it is the least i can do for what He did for me!

what's a girl to do...

we've had this changing table/dresser for a few years and it has always bugged me a little bit. i just do not like the honey oak color on it, it looks old fashioned and out dated. we've even tried to sell it a couple times on craigslist, but to no avail. so it just sat, empty and ugly in our extra room. don't get me wrong, i like it's functionality a lot. it worked great for both the boys and the drawers are huge and holds lots of stuff. plus, it was free. while i was prego with noah and working at legacy, another teacher who's son was in 5th grade was getting a bedroom makeover. so she offered it to me free! what a blessing it was since we didn't have one and really didn't have the money to buy a nice changing table. it is a childcraft, so it is sturdy and heavy, which i like. but, it has stayed "as is"...
until last week :)

here it is, ugly honey oak
i didn't get a pic with it's hardware on,
but they were brass and wood...yuck!

here it is all sanded and ready for a make-over :)

one coat of "parchment white" paint
already looks a lot better

done!
complete with new knobs and pulls from home depot
only 2 and 3 bucks...score! :)
i really wanted glass knobs and pulls to give it a more shabbified look,
but i didn't feel like spending the extra dough.

i am very happy with it now.
it sits in the front room looking so pretty, awaiting a guest or a baby.
LOL...in the far future of course! :)

monkey bread

complete with cinnamon and warm caramel :)
this is very dangerous to have on your counter
when you and your family all have a sweet tooth!

oh how i love you!

happy birthday to my amazing husband!!!
i don't how it's possible, but i fall in love with you more and more each day!
i thank God for blessing me with the man of my dreams
and for allowing our kids to have the best daddy ever.
i am so thankful...
for you!

pizza

made pizza from scratch for dinner.
it was easy and a hit with the guys.

good ol' cheese pizza for the littles.

bbq chicken pizza for the adults.
yum!

our.life.lately

homemade cookies disappear when you have a 2 and 4 year old.
i seem to always find the cookie bag open and at the very edge of my counter. :)

while pure white snow is a beautiful sight, i am quite tired of the cold and very ready for spring.
kids and dogs get cabin fever very quickly when you are stuck indoors for days at a time. :)

two families came together to celebrate the engagement of
my lil' sis cerisa and her boyfriend christian.
so fun!

one very surprised, overwhelmed, and happy girl!

well done christian! her gorgeous ring!

brody.
my baby all grown up...and potty trained!!! yay!

a daily reminder on our bedroom wall, to dream big and to walk by faith.

things have been so busy lately.
it is a gift to rest in a warm bed and to wake up to sunshine!

i am his and he is mine. :)
so blessed!

we've encountered various trials over the last two years. seriously the toughest time ever, but we are thankful. thankful for all the blessings in our life which include: our health, our family, our friends, our GOD. we've stood on many scriptures and have prayed fervently. we have learned what it is to truly walk by faith and to not question our God. we understand that when we are weak He is strong and that His strength is ours. we have learned that any man can forsake us, but our God can not. He has supplied our needs and has a plan laid out for our family, a plan to prosper us so we can be a testimony to others. we have learned what it truly means to be patient...to wait...God has perfect timing and we get to worship Him while we wait. we are thankful and excited for the victory.
one of the scriptures we have stood on:
"count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." james 1:2-3
our circumstance was not going to compromise our love for Him as He prepared us for what was to come.
i know this was a pretty vague description of what's been going on, but you can clearly see our trust in the Lord...
which is what matters most.

krispy.kreme

my dad, no and bro's lolo, wanted to take us all to krispy kreme's. the boys loved it! they got to see how donuts are made, got free hats, and thoroughly enjoyed freshly baked (still hot) krispy kreme donuts. i am not the biggest fan of krispy kreme donuts, but if you try one that is fresh and hot off the press, they are soooo delicious!!! we all had fun watching the boys faces. they were so amazed to watch the dough fall into the hot oil, get flipped, go through the glaze machine, and go straight into the box we ordered. this particular store also had a coffee bean in it...bonus!!!

thank.you.jesus!

overjoyed.thankful.rejoicing

more info. to come soon
:)

superdork!

it's a bird...it's a plane...no wait it's superdork!
the kid has on his spiderman mask, his monkey pajamas, and his swim shorts on?!
yes, he put his swim shorts over his jammies! LOL!

our superhero sneaking to get those bad guys! shhhhh!

our little brody is quite the character.
he is so silly and loves pretending to be the superhero.
it doesn't matter if he is batman, spiderman, or superman...
he really enjoys getting those "bad guys!"
and we really enjoy watching him :)

eat your heart out...

cinnabon! :)

it was a cold, snowy day where we live, so of course russ decided it was the perfect day to make cinnamon rolls. i had never made them from scratch before and was eager to give it a shot. well, they turned out delicious and the griffith men were very pleased. cinnamon rolls are their favorite, especially noah. he could eat them everyday if he could. i see many requests for these things in my future.

ugly.face.contest.2010

the kiddos trying

john.veronica

me

nanny

pappa

brad

andrea

russ

it was mom griffiths birthday on jan. 3rd, and we were all together, so i took it as an opportunity to have our first annual ugly face contest. as some of you may know, this is something my family tries to do every year. i thought it would be fun to try it with russ' side of the family. there are a couple of good contenders. russ is usually hard to beat, but brad may have taken this one.
it's funny because i noticed that russ' family is more hands on...meaning that a few of them use their hands to help out in the uglyfying of thier face. whereas my family never uses their hands. there is no rule about the use of hands, it's just a difference i noticed between the two families.
:)

happy 4th birthday to our sweet noah!

our noah is 4 years old today and i am overwhelmed when i think about how blessed i am to have such a funny, smart, and loving little boy. he is a great helper around the house, loves the Lord, and loves his brother so much. i think about how undeserving we are to get to borrow and raise him up for God's kingdom, but are so thankful for God's grace and his constant blessing over our lives. noah's brilliance surprises me every single day. i am so excited to see what the future has in store for him. happy birthday nowie!!!

melt.my.heart.

My 3 (almost 4) year old Noah and I were having a conversation about Christmas. Russ and I have been trying our best to share with my kiddos what the season is all about...Christ.

Me: What do you want for Christmas? Do you want a bike?
Noah: I don't want anything!
Me: You don't want anything?!
Noah: I don't want anything, I want to make a cake for Jesus' birthday.
Me: Alright, we can make Him a birthday cake!
Noah: But I don't know how I'm going to give him his birthday cake, I guess I'll just have to give it to him in my heart.

Oh my gosh!
It is moments like these that I remember how truly blessed I am to have such amazing kids. I do not deserve my precious kiddos and yet God has entrusted me with them, allowing me to borrow them and to raise them up for His kingdom and glory.
Uhhhhhhh!I love them so much!