I've been gyped of my sweater weather!

This has been the strangest winter ever! It's January 31st and it's currently 64 degrees outside! I am a winter loving, cold weather craving girl...I love my sweater weather and I miss it! Here's what I found on the koco.com channel 5 weather blog:

"It was one year ago today that would be the start of the Blizzard of 2011, when almost 12″ of snow fell, winds maxed out at 53 mph, and temperatures dipped as low as seven degrees"

Um ya....it's going to be 67 degrees on Thursday! I think we've moved to Florida without knowing it! But we'll be reminded quickly as February approaches and we start Tornado Season, which will continue through May. Here's the other picture I found on that blog...

Yep...that's Oklahoma right there in the middle. :) And so it begins....Tornado Parties at the Edgingtons! Never a dull moment around here when it comes to weather. Keeps us on our toes! :)

A few thoughts on Adversity...

It has been an interesting couple of months for Chuck...honestly, it's been the most difficult year of his life. That's a loaded statement and I don't want anyone to worry or stress...he's great, we're great...everything truly is great. We have been very blessed by the Lord and learned some valuable life lessons. So...why am I bringing this up on this very public forum that we call "the blog"? Well...as I sat in Church today learning about people who "hold fast" to the iron rod (meaning the word of God), I couldn't help but think of my Chuck. Even amidst the difficulties of the past few months, he has never wavered in the Lord....he has strengthened his relationship with Him and has literally been led day by day by the promptings of the spirit. A lesser man would have literally cracked under the pressure. I came across this quote tonight and I thought I'd share it......

"Each of us will face trials and tests, and . . . it is how we react to those difficulties that will determine our success and happiness. Each of us will face adversity no matter where we are. We are taught in the scriptures that there 'must needs be . . . an opposition in all things' (2 Nephi 2:11). We will each face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face them

but HOW we will face them."

Well, let me tell you how Chuck has faced them....with strength, determination, HUMILITY, meekness, spirituality, professionalism, integrity and faith. And all I can say is WOW...and that I feel like the luckiest girl on earth because I get to call you mine. Love you, Babe!

p.s. Thanks to special people in our life who have helped with advice, love and prayers...Mom & Dad S, Mom A, LaDawn & the Applegates. You sure make life easier and much more wonderful!!!

Waffles & Chicken!

We went to Stillwater (pause…for a moment of silence…with my hand over my heart….ahhhhhh, Stillwater! ) last night for dinner with some of our other favorites in our Oklahoma Family, the Applegate’s and the Hurst’s.  (Sad that we didn’t get to see you, Sharon! ) They have a new restaurant there called Brooklyn’s and it was yummy!  The company was the best part, of course, but the food was delish!  All the women got the Waffles and fried Chicken with a cranberry, maple, pecan syrup. It’s like little angels in heaven dancing in your mouth! YUM!  So, so, so rich though…soul food at it’s finest!  We should have taken a picture with all 3 of us and our yummy dinners.  Love you guys!!!

Silly pictures…

We have some favorite friends, The Geislers, who are our Oklahoma Family---we met in Stillwater when we both moved there the same week for school.  We absolutely LOVE them!  Ryan is from Idaho and LOVES potatoes. In his honor, we ONLY buy Idaho Potatoes!  We were peeling some for dinner this week and found these babies….everyone agreed that the big one was a RYAN POTATO!   Sheesh…that thing is as big as Liam’s head!  And then, big surprise, Lydia had to find the weirdest one and take a silly picture with it.  (Don’t you love her bedhead! )

LYDIA MOMENT---Um yes...that was MY 4 year old in the church parking lot, right after church when EVERYONE was coming outside,  literally LAYING on the horn, with the doors locked so that I couldn't get in and make her stop! Ahhhhh, Lydia! Never a dull moment!

This is the hole the kids have been digging in the backyard!  I wasn’t too excited about it first but then I thought….we have no grass there AND it’s a GREAT way for them to get their energy out. Digging is hard work!  They’ve started another one about 6 feet away and their plan is to connect the two.  Who knew that my kids were Groundhogs!?

Sweet friends and BLESSED BOX playtime fun!

Nothing keeps our little ones down...or in! Lydia and her friends, Miss A, Miss E & Miss L wanted to have a “picnic” yesterday.  It wasn’t TOO cold but cold enough that they were all shivering, but smiling!   They’re so cute and fun…we have GREAT neighbors!

Here’s Sadie and the C-Man---he’s so cute!

The greatest invention ever made is the CARDBOARD BOX!  This box gave the kids 2 hours of uninterrupted fun, giggles, smiles, creativity and imagination.  Everything a mother could ask for…Briggs and Lydia did great together!!!  (which isn’t always the case) And I even got to take a little snooze on the couch…thanks kids. And thanks to whoever invented cardboard boxes…Mothers everywhere THANK YOU!

HI....My name is Maria....and I'm a readaholic...

Ok, you know you're a read-aholic when you even dream about reading. My dream last night was that the world was ending---no electricity, flooding etc... and the biggest worry (after getting my kids taken care of, of course!) was, "What am I going to read after the battery dies on my Kindlefire?!?!?!?" I'm even obsessed with reading in my dreams! :)

Mommy’s MK Getaway

Every January Mary Kay has a Leadership Conference for the directors…it’s always so fun, educational and seems to come at just the right time….when Mommy needs a little break and also when Mommy needs everyone to miss her a bit! I always do ok for the first day or so and then I can’t wait to get back!!! These pictures are of my friends and I at a MK Rocks the Runway banquet that we earned…it was AMAZING!!! Not only did we have a FABULOUS dinner, prizes, a DJ and dancing, but they also did an incredible fashion show as well as a design contest. They had 4 of the top design students from one of Atlanta’s fashion design schools compete in making formal dresses out of…..Mary Kay Products!!! The pictures are below…they don’t do the dresses justice but you get the idea. It was really beautiful and fun!!!

The last picture is of the view from our hotel room....yep, the CNN Headquarters!

Oh...almost forgot one of my favorite parts----Pentatonix performed for us and we even saw them on the escalators...how cool! They're SO talented!

p.s. The only downside was that my luggage got lost….I flew back in Wednesday and just barely got it back yesterday. At least it got here!!!

		Mary Kay in Atlanta VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Another Lydia mess…

Lydia asked, ever so kindly, if she could wear one of my necklaces----so, since she asked nicely, I let her wear one and then walked out of the bathroom, thinking she was coming with me.  That was my mistake!  She brought me this mess a few minutes later.  Ahhhh Lydia.  Never a dull moment and the stories NEVER end!

It only took half an hour to get it back to this!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2011 was a good year…hard work for Chuck, busy stuff at home, tough to say goodbye to Chuck’s Aunt Leslie and also my Uncle Paul, many special family memories but mostly many, many, many blessings from the Lord. We feel very blessed to have a healthy family, great home, Chuck’s job that he is so gifted at, lots of love and mostly grateful for out testimonies of Jesus Christ and his eternal gospel.

Many of you know how overwhelmed and swamped Chuck has been at work….well….be AMAZED because he completed 60 reports from Dec. 1-Dec. 24th! Seriously….BE AMAZED!!! That was his Christmas gift to all of us…the best gift ever because now we have our Daddy back! No more 80 hour work weeks!!! BEST-GIFT-EVER!!! Looking forward to a great 2012 and we wish that you have the Lord’s watchful hand over you and all the blessings you desire for you and your families!!!

NEW YEAR HUGS TO

YOU ALL!!!

		SO glad to welcome 2012! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Here are some fun pictures of our New Years Eve Party….fun kids with their funny friends!

Week after Christmas in MANHATTAN…Kansas, that is! :)

Ok, the photo album for this one is SO big, but I couldn’t leave any of them out….it was SO, SO fun! Here are some of our favorites:

~Bunk Buddies….Lydia and Ella! These two played AMAZINGLY well together…dress up, tea party, everything! Aunt Celeste finished their sun room as a play room and it’s THE BEST! 

~Ice Skating & Hot Chocolate….can you say Winter Olympics?  Maybe Sessions/Edgington style….which means going really slow, holding onto the side and falling a lot! p.s. I was the official photographer….no ice skates for me…that would be REALLY bad!

~Exploring Fort Riley’s Train, play grounds, cemetary, Cannon Hill & Tanks & Army Trucks---notice the sign that we saw AFTER that said “please don’t climb on tanks”.  Ha ha! (notice the picture of Ella reading….in the middle of the trail up Cannon Hill! Now that’s my kind of girl…one who will sit down and read ANYWHERE!)

~Playing at Pillsbury Falls…so fun and the kids didn’t even mind that it was 50 degrees outside and they played in the water anyway! It’s a natural ford in the creek and we also did Donuts….much to Celeste’s and my dismay!  Chuck even brought the car close to the edge of the falls….I was NOT freaking out, by the way!

~Picnic in the park with jalepeno venison summer sausage…mmmmm! 

~Donuts at Varsity Donut….um yeah…they have a maple bar with bacon crumbles on it….DIVINE!  Who knew? They also had a square donut called The Flat Tire with oreo crumbles on it…the kids LOVED it!  Donuts were followed with Bowling and we passed by the art museum at the university and they have a CHIHULY! http://www.chihuly.com  I LOVE his art….check out his website and look at his unique, amazing art!

~Sleeping in, yummy food (nanaimo bars, apple cider, gingerbread pancakes---mmmm!), watching movies, reading….just a WONDERFUL time!  Colette even barred the door so we couldn’t leave..can’t wait to see them again.  They are truly some of our favorite people….like I said on FB, I couldn’t have picked a better wife for my brother and I would pick her not only for a sister in law but also as a friend. Love them! Thanks for a great week!!!

		Sensational Sessions Cousins!!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL