The Leviners: April 2011

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sam has many many talents and hobbies, not to mention his other wonderful husband/daddy qualities (I have bragging rights...it is what it is)! Seriously, I consider myself very blessed to have him as my husband and Caroline's daddy to go through this life together (and yes, he does put up with my rants and raves and all my other faults...isn't he precious)! There are, however, several things that I would say go unnoticed on my end or that I may not express "loudly" my appreciation. One being, Sam's talent in our yard! If you saw our yard five years ago you would have never imagined that it would look like it does today. Our yard didn't have grass in the backyard, there were lots of scrawny trees everywhere, plants were displaced, there was absolutley no organization to our new yard at all (I would have asked Sam for pre-yard pics, but he thinks I took the following pictures for a plant activity at school...well we are doing a four week unit on plants). Sam spends a lot of time in our yard, a lot of free time that is (maybe the reasons for me not always noticing his hardwork and the effort he puts into beautifying our homestead)! I'd rather he run Saturday errands with the girls! In fact, I do love our yard. I have seen it transformed beyond belief over the last five years! This includes cutting down trees, getting sod, putting in an irrigation system, bringing home huge pieces of equipment (Sam manages an equipment rental store) that allowed him to reach great heights to trim trees (yes, this act almost caused me to have to forever live in a loony bin), cutting down the neighbor's tree (ask me about this one, the tree interfered with Sam's design so he wanted it gone, the neighbor complied..he was getting it down for free, and when the rope that I was stuck holding almost broke in half while pulling the tree in the opposite direction of the neighbor's house...enough said friends...enough said), paying several mortages for the fine employees at Lowe's (for all the thousands of dollars we've spent there), and all the hours upon hours spent drawing landscaping designs...is now perfectly evident in our yard! I love the details that he puts into designing the homes for all the plants, shrubs, bushes, etc. that are housed in our yard. I love how he meticulously chooses plant colors for hanging baskets so they will compliment each other. I love how he purposefully chooses a variety of plants for our yard and picks the perfect spot for them so that no matter which direction you look you will see something very different with every turn! I love how hard he's worked on designing the scene that I see everyday when I walk outside. I appreciate his dedication to our yard, and I especially love everything about him even when God has given him so many more talents beyond landscape design...now that is something to be thankful for!

I Love...

the potted kinds

the hanging baskets

this fun guy...

and his cousin

that we even have a Christmas tree

these beautiful and colorful numbers

the two sections of rose bushes (when we lived in O'burg, Sam planted a new rose bush in my parent's yard every year)

this one the most..she's my fav...

along with all the gerbera daisies; these are my yellow friends

all the flowers and plants that have yet to be planted

these green plants the most

these too for their "fullness" and greenery

these because they look like sponges

how these look when the wind blows

Sam's new fav...the rock garden

this view!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Miss C and I had a very busy but fun spring break! We did something exciting each day! On last Tuesday we went and had birthday pictures taken along with a few spring ones! Her Aunt Rhonda took her last weekend to have some very fun Easter pictures taken. I'm super excited because C got to pose with a real live lamb, chick, and bunny! I'll post those when I get them (the cd that I will use for posting however, will only have her with the lamb and bunny)!

I don't usually buy the cd's that come with picture packages but the one that I got for the pictures that I'm positng today was free. We have a photographer that I love and we frequently set up photo shoots with her, but I go every three months to Portrait Innovations and have studio pictures taken! I get the package or special that they offer for around ten dollars (which comes with 1 10X13, 2 8X10's, 4 5X7's, 4 3X5's, & 32 wallets) and then four additional sheets for only 53.44! This is enough pictures for our families and friends. I try to give each family member more than just the one pose offered in the package! My hope is that in 20 years the studio photos are not yellow or discolored like some of the ones I have from when I was little!

Friday, April 22, 2011

This is what I'm all excited about...my twin sister having twins! Doesn't she look fabulous! She's 24 weeks and according to her ultrasound the twins are doing great and so is the mama (with 0 weight gain by the way)! The baby girl weighs 1lb 10ozs and the baby boy weighs 1lb 9ozs! I got to sit in during the ultrasound and hear and see those precious heartbeats which warmed and melted my heart! I saw them move, kick, and in one viewing we saw baby girl whisper to her brother! It was very sweet to see them and although I'm looking forward to holding them (and I almost can't wait) I do want them to grow and develop safely for now with their mama!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Today was so much fun! C and her friends had a zoo day!

It was very crowded but a good time was had by all! These babies especially didn't mind the crowd as they got to see "the animals" as Miss C says!

Nathan, Caroline, Elijah, Reece, Sarah Ann, Charley, and Anna Claire

Caroline is zoo ready!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

It's early April (April 9th) and we are ready for the warmer weather that's coming our way! While mommy was out daddy and C had a little early summer fun!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Caroline's Nursery!

In two years I don't think I've ever posted C's finished nursery!

I could have but it could also be me thinking back to before when she was born and how we were hastily getting things ready for her arrival! It was all so much fun and I can vividly remember sitting in the rocking chair in her room at the end of my pregnancy, rubbing my very big baby belly all the while thinking how I couldn't wait to meet her, hold her, kiss her, and love her! Now that she's two all of those first memories of "baby" and "we're having a girl" memories flood my thoughts! Time just seems to not wait on anyone or anything! Two years have gone way too fast and as I'm thinking those initial "I'm going to be a mommy" feelings, I'm also thinking potty training, big bed, and tricycles!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Shoes!

Never thought I'd post a blog about shoes! 11 is the number of pairs of shoes that Miss C got for her 2nd birthday! This is probably more pairs of shoes than I personally own (not according to Sam, but who asked him, right?)! I thought she needed pairs 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11! Her Granny thought she needed pairs 3 and 6! Her Nanny thought she needed pairs 1 and 7. Her Pops and Grand thought she needed pair 2! She will be striding right for sure this summer!

Call me nutso but yes there are 5 pairs of shoes in the above picture that are the exact same style! The first 3 pairs were what Caroline wore last summer, sizes 3, 4, and 5 (we once had a size 2 but we soon realized that she needed a 3, needless to say the 2's were returned)! I loved the sandals so much that at the end of last summer, I bought two pairs for this summer, sizes 8 and 9. She's currently a seven but this style seemed to run "small" last year!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Love, love, love looking at all the pics of fun, family, and friends that were taken this past Sunday at Caroline's 2nd birthday party! The whole day was a reminder of how blessed we are that we are parents, parents of a healthy, sweet, and beautiful baby girl! Everyday she brings so much joy into our lives and I'm so glad that I am at this stage in my life...the mommy stage, where I think life is so full and rich with living! Caroline is a pretty amazing little girl who at any time amazes us with her questions, her thougths, her smiles, giggles, and grins, and most importantly her heart! I want (will) to remember this special day that we shared with oh so many family and friends! Thank you for making this day so much fun!

The Birthday Girl at 2!

This cake, especially made for Miss C, was amazing!

I don't think she quite knew what to do with it

but she soon figured it out!

Yum! Yum! Yum!

Daddy with his princess!

After she opened this present she didn't want

to wait to see what the others had to offer!

Having a little birthday fun!

Also liking that photoshop can fix canything,

especially boo boos!

The tongue says it all! I think she LOVES her

new tricycle!

There is nothing in the world quite like having

best friends! There is also nothing in the world like

having best friends and getting to love on their babies!

There is something to be said for how very

special these gals are to me and my little family!

Happy Birthday, sweet Caroline!

We hope that you enjoyed your

fun day with family and friends!

Here's some pictures of some of the family and friends that helped celebrate C's birthday (I know that I don't have everyone, sorry)! We had so much fun!

(Click on the picture and it will open larger)!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Miss C's 2nd Party Decor!

The best part about planning a party is deciding its theme! This year's theme was a cupcake polkadot birthday party! It was a lot of fun to plan! Here's her party details!