The Final Defense...He's Done!!

Look at that handsome guy... Dr. Jarrett Fisher!!

At the end of January our doctoral candidate flew out to Cali for his final oral defense of his dissertation. And he passed, with zero modifications!! Whoo Hoo!! Way to go J!

Chair, Committee and Dr. Fisher

Unfortunately, he can't use his Dr. title officially until his transcript posts in April, but he's really done! We are so excited for him, and are so so PROUD!

J and Carol stopped by P-Dine and took a picture of our old view...sniff sniff! 

We are looking forward to May 16th, his graduation at Pepperdine and our California visit!

George Page Courtyard... Lindsay's 1st 'backyard'!

Jarrett got to spend some fun times celebrating with his Mom, sister Sarah and even got to crash at his Uncle Ted house in Orange County! He squeezed in a visit with his best friend Chris and got to meet his baby, Reece.

Jarrett and Carol

J, Carol and Sarah 

Carol and Uncle Ted

Glad he enjoyed all that CA sunshine and warm... when he got home we got a ton of snow (and still getting it!). We are so incredibly proud of you and this huge accomplishment. It's been a long road, and I know the sacrifices you've made along the way to get here, which makes your success today even more sweet! Love you, Dr. Fisher! xo

Lindsay's Mermaid 5th Birthday Party

Lindsay Diane turned FIVE on February 15th, and we had a Mermaid Birthday Party in the afternoon to celebrate. She chose 5 friends to invite, and it was just the right size party for fun activities and tons of mermaid-style play ;)

Lindsay Diane, 5 Years Old

Before her birthday she sat with me on Pinterest and told me what fun things she would like at her birthday party... It had to have the colors pink, aqua and purple and she wanted ice cream instead of a cake!

I printed a free pattern online and sewed these Mermaid Tails for each guest as a take home.

I found the cute matching crowns at Joann's for just a $1!

As the girls arrived, Lindsay wanted to show them her room (two of her friends from school hadn't been to our house before) and Maddie's room. It was lunchtime, and the pizza man arrived just in time to feed five hungry girls ;)

As for the activities, I couldn't find any Mermaid games, so we opted to do some crafting. The girls made charm bracelets with beads and got to choose a unique charm... Lindsay liked the seashell and Madison picked the seahorse.

Next they painted a Treasure Chest to put their new bracelets in, and chose lots of glitter paint. It is so fun at this age seeing the thought and time they put into their designs ;)

After some playing they were ready for ICE CREAM!! We made ice cream sundaes, our Birthday Girl's favorite dessert. We used my Grandma's glass pudding glasses, and they made perfect Sundae Cups... the girls felt so fancy!

Happy Birthday to Lulu!! 

Lindsay and all her buddies crowded around to watch her open her gifts.

Lindsay had a birthday dinner request: Mashed potatoes and gravy, "Green Chicken" aka Pesto Chicken and Stuffing. LOL. 

I took a minute to snap a pic with my birthday girl before the busyness of the party. I know she will be going to Kindergarten in just a few months, and I catch myself just stopping and enjoying these sweet moments where I can love on her and spend quiet moments together. She tells me, "Mama, I'll always be your baby!". Love that sweet, sweet girl!  

Happy Birthday Our Darling Lindsay Diane!! We love you! xo

Madison Grace: 3 Years Old

Madison Grace Fisher is 3 years old!!? Our Little Miss Big Stuff is officially 3, going on 13!
Stats:
Height..... 34 inches
Weight.... 23 lbs.
Hair/Eyes.. Light brown w/ blond highlights and Brown Eyes
Shoes....Size 6
Clothes..2T

Favorites:
Food: Macaroni and Cheese. Quesadillas. Chocolate Milk. Oatmeal (only when her Daddy makes it with her) Pizza, Broccoli, Ritz Crackers, Goldfish, Chinese Noodles, Broccoli and Asparagus.

TV Show: Sheriff Callie
Clothes: Skirts and her pink Cowgirl Boots, Twinkle Toes Sketchers
Toys: Stuffed friends she sleeps with at night: Molly, Kitty, Tiger. Pony with stable.
Color: Pink? Turquoise? It changes daily.
Books: Fancy Nancy, Llama Llama and the ___, Any books about Cowgirls
Music: Frozen Soundtrack, "This is the Day that the Lord has Made", "You Carry Me" by Moriah Peters
Sisterly Love: Madison's very best friend is her Sissy. She loves to pretend play with Lindsay and together they have tea parties, play school, dance parties and re-enact the Frozen movie scene "Do you want to build a Snowman." Madison will imitate Lindsay sometimes, but mostly she marches to the tune of her own drum. When J or I scold Maddie, the first person she runs to is Lindsay, who wraps her in a big hug and says, "Come here Sweetie!" They are already ganging up on us..yikes!

Personality..... I found this word art on Pinterest which I though perfectly summed up our Maddie Grace! Our sweet girl simply knows her own mind, loves to be loud, boisterous and silly. She is our resident comedian, and doesn't miss a thing. When she is quiet, she is usually up to no good. She is fearless, and will jump into the swimming pool with a squeal of delight, beg to ride a huge roller coaster, and never give up when she has set her mind to something. She is our rule-breaker and tester and challenges us to be better parents every day. Everything about her personality is BIG: she loves big and when she gets angry, everyone knows it; she is our natural born leader and will do big things one day ;) She brings our family so much joy in her petite frame!

Fashion Show.....Every morning after she gets dressed she will run into the bathroom where Daddy is getting ready and model her outfit for him. Daddy plays along as her photographer, and takes her picture. She loves to see her ensembles ;) 

Madison loves to help out in the kitchen!

Favorite Sayings: "I'm gonna put you in jail!", Calls people by her own nicknames... "Linds" ie Lindsay, "Grams" ie Grammy, "Pops" ie Papa, "Miss Katie" aka Mama (kids that I babysit for call me that). "I am a BIG Girl", "I can do it myself!" "How about___ instead" (she thinks everything is a negotiation LOL) "I love you, you're my special ___"

Smartie Pants: We have been doing the ABCJesusLovesMe curriculm for 3 year olds and she has been doing so well! She know almost all of her letters, and has been practicing pre-writing skills. We are working on letter sounds and numbers, and she will blow me away when we are driving down the road and she'll say, "I saw a K. Kangaroo begins with K." She loves to read, and our favorite times are when we're snuggled up with a blanket on the couch with a stack of books ;)

Spiritual: Each week we go to Community Bible Study and Madison loves it. This fall she had a difficult transition from the Baby Sunday school at church to the Toddler/Preschool class mainly because she was so attached to the teacher, Miss Melissa. Thankfully after a few Sundays, she was able to stay the entire time in Mrs. Johnson's class, which happens to be Miss Melissa'a Mama ;)  At night when she prays I love hearing what is on her little heart. One night before bed she asked me, "Why did Jesus die on the Cross?" Wow. We talked about how Jesus was sent by God to suffer and die for our sin in order to conquer death. Later in the week after a particularly naughty day, that night she asked God to forgive her. I am so happy she is making connections and her relationship with the Lord is growing! I pray she comes to know Jesus at an early age.

Madison, we love you more than words our beautiful, special girl! 

Snow Day 2015

We had our first official "Big Snow" of the season, and the girls had so much fun this year with our sled! 

Lindsay wanted to hold her snowman's hand ;)

"He is as tall as me Mama!"

Got my workout for the day pulling her in the sled.. Mush Mama Mush!

Having a blast!

Our little snow bunny all bundled up.. Remember seeing the jacket, boots and ear muffs on Lulu? So thankful for nice hand-me-downs! 

Sad Lulu.. She was so sad her snow boots didn't fit her this year. They fit Maddie, and I haven't gotten around to getting Lulu any. Parenting Fail! LOL.

 Daddy pulled the girls around the backyard, and they had fun going FAST!

Hi Mama! 

 Sledding down the hill in our side yard... Wheeee!! We love to play in the snow!