If only it were so simple.....

Today I was sooooo proud of our Miss Josiah, my buttons were bursting!!

Her Substitute Teacher had told the class that they were going to run a race. The first 5 winners would received a prize. They were to run all the way around the blacktop being careful to keep to its edge. Ready, set go!! And they were off..... Most of the children kept to the path along the edge of the blacktop for turn 1 and 2, but by turn 3 the competition was intense and they started cutting corners; all vying for the top 5 slots. This is where my heart gave a little flutter..... because at the end of the race, Josiah was not leading the pack, in fact....... she came in dead last. HOWEVER, she was the ONLY child that stayed the course! She followed the blacktop edge all the way around all 4 corners. She did not FOLLOW the other children, she followed her own heart and was rewarded for her diligence.

My prayer is always that despite what everyone else is doing, that our girls will always follow their hearts, knowing right from wrong, stay the course, and finish the race with integrity.

Today she did just that!

Sage Lawrence

Have you heard the news?? We have 2 new boy cousins!!!! And here is one of them..... Sage Lawrence Worster. Born to Julia and Lorenzo Worster January 27, 2009. And we were lucky enough to take a road trip to Tahoe to see him, hold him, smell him, and love him!

Sage Lawrence and his Uncle Seth.

Our girls loved to love on their new cousin. I hardly got my fair share of holding time, but I am sure his Mommy was a little glad when we left so she could have her baby back!

A trip to Tahoe for this family just wouldn't be complete without at least 1 day of skiing. Thank you Uncle Lorenzo for showing us your home Mountain, for the awesome ski lessons and the place to crash. The studio brings back good memories!

Adalie and Mommy's lips are frozen in a permanent grin!

Sage 1st time skiing at 6 weeks old. Don't fret.... his Dad is a professional (really)!!

Our little family in Tahoe.

Aunt Julia and Sage (giving directions from the front pack) showed us a bit of the lake on a bluebird day.

Josiah and Adalie loved the icicles all around town in Truckee. They were so big, so cold and so easy to break off. If only we could have brought one home for show and tell!

It was sweet to watch our girls!! We still have our fingers crossed!!

The Flu

We are quarantined.... Josiah Ruth has the flu...... BOO HOO! I have not figured out why it does not rain when your kids are sick?? Although, I must say it is nice to have a cool breeze coming through a few open windows.
But I digress.....
Our sweet Adalie Joyce picked Josiah these sweet blue eyes in hopes of making her sister feel better! AAAHHH!
(I just hope the rest of us don't get it!)

Photographer

I am usually the one behind the camera. There are 2 reasons for this. First,...... I love a good picture! Not many things are sweeter than capturing that moment, that personality! Second, ...... I love this stage of life SO much that I want to capture every minute of it lest I forget one single thing!
So I decided to add a picture f myself into the mix. Apparently, this is how I look on any given day through the photographic eye of our youngest daughter.

The Snuggler

Adalie has been given the alias "The Snuggler". It came as a surprise to us because as an infant she actually preferred her own sleeping space over a place in our family bed. But, the pendulum has swung back. I have actually been trying to capture a good picture of her snuggle habits, but this one will have to do for now. You can see that she has succeeded in "snuggling" her sister all the way off the pillow, to the edge of the bed and then some. This is only the beginning of her usual tactics. Most nights, she has one arm over your neck and one leg wrapped around your back. And since Seth is the preferred target of Adalie's snuggling..... I tend to find it quite amusing!!

Fancy Nancy

Today was Dress as Your Favorite Character From a Book Day.
When I asked Josiah what character she would like to dress as ..... Fancy Nancy was the emphatic answer!
(Erandale aka Belle, Josiah aka Fancy Nancy, Kaia aka F.N., Carrie aka Jasmine and of course Adalie aka Fancy Nancy)
Who could have guessed?????

Valentine's Day

Many years ago, after one too many Murphy's Law Valentine's Day disasters, Seth and I decided to boycott the holiday. But then we had two little girls! The first year that Seth gave each of them a flower, they went bonkers! And so Valentine's Day was recreated in the Waltner household.

This year, the girls and I woke up to this little surprise......

accompanied by this little surprise!!

And because we had gotten snow just the day before......

what better way to celebrate the LOVE holiday than a day on the slopes??

Here our girls are skiing the rails in the snow park (well ..... sort of..... )!

We girls are so thankful for a Daddy that spoils us rotten!! I love this family of 4!!

Adie Bear

Let me tell you something about our Adie Bear... the girl can make us laugh!! I don't mean giggle because she is so cute. I mean laugh so hard your milk comes out of your nose, you eyes tear up and your stomach hurts!! It's not what she says, or how she says it, or her impeccable timing, or her facial expressions, or the way she rolls her eyes, or her body language.... it is ALL of it! SHE IS FUNNY!

I can't even describe her shenanigans at dinner again tonight, but the girl had us all in stitches... literally!!

Snow Days

We have been getting snow almost every day and it has been alot of fun! Although most people dread the snow, we LOVE it! We purposely drive around the lake in 2 wheel drive so we can slip and slide on the low roads, we throw lots of snowballs, make lots of snow angels and even a few snow men! One of my favorite snow day memories was last year. Our family had gone on a walk to shake the cabin fever. Josiah and I lagged a bit on the return home and just laid in the snow side by side under one of the huge oak trees. We giggled and screamed every time a drop of melting snow fell from the branches. It is good to laugh with our girls.

An afternoon snowball fight.... look out Josiah .... I think they have us cornered!

Adalie helping to shovel the snow off the driveway. One thing you should know about Adalie... she loves to help, loves to clean, loves to put things away. She is an everything in its place kinda girl. Sometimes I think she likes the cleaning up better than the mess making. It sure does make our days together alot of fun because we can work side by side!

Although she doesn't get much of the spotlight lately, there is one more of our girls that LOVES the snow. When there is snow on the ground she is the first one up, ready to go outside and make a "Ducey-Angel". Isn't she pretty!! Happy 12th Birthday to our first girl!!