The Butler's

Overflo

2012-02-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

Overflo is a teen group at our church that gets together on Thursday nights. Believe it or not, neither Ryan or I volunteer or really have anything to do with this outreach at our church. We are so embedded with the younger kids that we really don't go to this middle/ high schooler event.

However, our sitter, Kaitlyn is the farthest one to the right in this picture. I went to support her one night and listen to her beautiful voice. She has a heart to serve and just loves God. I can't wait to see the journey that God will lead her on. We know that she can't help us on Thursday nights because she goes to Overflo and I am stoked that she loves to be involved.

MOPS

2012-02-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

Once a month, I attend a MOPS meeting. It's Mothers of Preschoolers. It is a fun, small, educational group built on Godly principles. It is so nice to fellowship with these women and have a mommy morning. How can you pass a morning up when the food table looks like this?

A few of the girls listening to the speaker (Dr. Martin) talk about heart disease. I will miss this group as we will be moving in April. I will have to find a MOPS in the Cincinnati area in the fall.

Happy Birthday Aubrey

2012-02-17T07:33:00.011-08:00

Aubrey's birthday was at the Art and Soul Studio.

Of course, Heather made the cake.

Scarlett was all about painting her "cat."

The girls loved the paint and spending some time together.

Enjoying the moment!

Aubrey's parents, Derek and Heather go to our church. Derek is our worship pastor, and Heather is a teacher in the area. It has been a shear blessing meeting them and doing life with them the past four years in Florida.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Happy Birthday Adilyn

2012-02-17T06:09:00.003-08:00

Adilyn had a birthday party at the park about a week after her actual day! It was a princess party and the girls just loved it!

Of course Willow brought her baby too!

They played pin the something on the poster! Every kid LOVES this!

Happy 3rd Birthday sweet girl!!!

Then we tried to take a group pic of a few of us girls...mich, me and beckah

This one was a little bit better. We went to Curacao this past summer with these girls and hubby's, and had SO much fun!!

They had to go around the park looking for the "treasure."

I love how Adilyn's daddy is helping all the girls run to the end of the treasure hunt. It was so cute!!

Opening the goodie bags was such a hit!!

We were finally able to grab a quick picture of the kids....too fun!!

Last but not least, eating the candy is the best!

Baby Owen

2012-02-16T06:16:00.002-08:00

This is sweet little baby Owen. The other Ryan and Jill's third little one.

I had to grab a picture and quick blog about how big he is getting. I can't believe he is 6 months. I feel like it was yesterday he was born.

Bye Saw everywhere

2012-02-16T04:10:00.001-08:00

The girls love to use their fine motor skills.

We worked with white rice. In Cambodia, white rice is called "bye saw." Not sure how to spell it but that is how you say it. The girls thought that was funny to say bye bye to the rice.

and yes, the rice was EVERYWHERE by the end of the hour.

Baby Shower

2012-02-16T04:08:00.000-08:00

Scarlett's teacher is due to have a baby in March. Mrs. Radcliff has been a wonderful role model for Scarlett during her preschool year. Scarlett adores her teacher and hangs on every word she says. I am almost 12 weeks in this pic and I hadn't told anyone at this point we were expecting.

The cupcakes were adorable.

As you can tell, BLUE is for boy!

It was so nice to spend an afternoon celebrating someone who has impacted our family so much. She is such a Godly role model for the kids and we are so blessed to have her in our life.

Flint would have been 1

2012-02-15T04:06:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my sister and brother in laws precious little Flint's birthday. It has been one year since he passed. The girls were ready to celebrate. Especially because my sweet friend, Tara had little Adilyn on the same day. Although Adilyn turned 3 years old.

They stopped over for some quick pizza and a little celebration. We were a little disappointed to not celebrate Flint in Ohio with the rest of the family. You can click into my sisters blog to see some party details. We talk about Flint often up in heaven with the girls and they would like to go and have a playdate with him.

Happy Valentine's Day with a book or two

2012-02-14T01:00:00.002-08:00

Her hand is fisted in the picture because we are going to put a lollipop in the picture as a treat!

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!! These are a few pictures from the girls cards that we gave out this year!

Ryan and I are working on a few things that I think would be a great post on this Valentine's Day. We are both going through the "Love Dare" book from the movie Fireproof. Our lifegroup on Sunday nights is doing this book to continue to build our marriages. The group unites together in the thought that if you address things in your marriage when the problem starts then it will help you when the fire comes....hence the movie was called Fireproof. We did the study about 2-3 years ago as a whole church in the evening on Sunday nights but now our small group is doing it again. So thankful for Godly people feeding into our life and marriage. If you haven't tried the Love Dare, its really suppose to be used to surprise your spouse for 40 days. I encourage you to pick up a copy and try it. The other books that Ryan and I are reading are a little different. He is reading Courageous for Men after the movie Courageous. If you haven't watched this movie, its probably the number one recommendation of movies WE have ever watched for marriages. I am reading Love and Respect for about the third time. I love books that you can read again, and again. And since I am on the boat of making book recommendations, I have read Boundaries a ton of times, used it for other people that have questions about it and highly recommended it. I have two copies and friends are always borrowing it. Hope you are in the middle of reading a good quality book, if not try out one of the above books!!!

Disney

2012-02-13T04:01:00.000-08:00

Once we found out we were moving, we used some Christmas money and bought 3 Disney tickets (Willow doesn't need a ticket).

We decided to go to Disney three more times before we move.

It is so fun, magical and just gives you great memories.

Of course, my girls just like to pick up the confetti on the streets after a parade instead of actually watching the parade.

We went with my good friend, Jamie Russell. Her and I met about 8ish months ago and I feel like I have known her forever. God puts certain people in your life that are intended to stay in your life forever. She is one of them. Thank you sweet Father for this beautiful friend inside and out.

The girls just a strollin.

Willow and I enjoying the rides. It was such a great day to spend with a beautiful family. (Note: Daddy didn't go because he was working but he is going to go the other two days that we go before we move)

Quick night out

2012-02-12T04:05:00.000-08:00

A friend from church, Katie Kimberly had a girls night out with massages, make up and etc. This is Beth Allen who I went to Cambodia with (she would totally not be digging me posting this pic)

Rachael, Beckah and I went for about an hour. We all slipped out and left our kids/hubbys at home so we didn't go and socialize long. Fun, quick night out!

I don't love this post

2012-02-11T04:03:00.000-08:00

This would be Scarlett taking pictures with the camera AGAIN

I find them randomly on my camera when I download them.

This must have been when Willow was A. throwing a tantrum or B. wanted the camera

I don't love this picture, but I don't have many of me at 12 weeks. This was a day or so before my checkup.

I just had to post these as maybe she will be a future photographer.... and yes, that is my pantry, looks nothing like my moms. Hope you enjoyed a blog post of the day in the life as Scarlett see's it through a camera.

Disney during the summer

2012-02-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

Disney is such a magical place. I loved going there as a kid and LOVE taking my own girls there.

Scarlett and I adventured to Magic Kingdom before she started preschool.

Mommy had to get by Minnie before Scarlett would be in the picture. They must huge to a little girl.

She was excited to get her little passport signed.

And loved talking to each princess

she wasn't shy at all, can you tell?

Then, she warmed up for a picture!

Scarlett's favorite princess is Belle. She was so excited to see her.

Mommy's favorite place in Disney.... the chocolate store!

Eating our favorite treat at disney...... a M&M covered marshmallow Popsicle.

Had to grab a picture of the Smucker Store too!!

Love this picture as you can see the castle behind her....perfect ice cream + disney = great day

trying to grab a pic of both us

Loving Winnie the Pooh house

on the "its a small world after all" ride

whew.....what a day. It was wonderful to spend the day with us the two of us.

Do you remember when I couldn't find my camera

2012-02-09T03:57:00.000-08:00

Well, guess what the last few pics on my camera were......

Yep. This girl taking pics of herself.

We couldn't find our small mini camera for about 6 months.

The last day we saw it, Braeden was also at our house, (um, i guess, since we have proof on our camera)

Yep.... we found the culprit, we found the camera, we found our memories.

New Addition

2012-02-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

S is for Scarlett. W is for Willow and B is for Baby. We went to the Doctor at 12 weeks. We are due August 17. Can't wait to meet our new little bundle.

The goal is to sell

2012-02-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

In the next few days, our house will go on the market. This is the girls room.

We are so sad to say goodbye to Florida, but its our time.

We will miss many things about good ol Florida.


The pool would be at the top of the list....Were going to miss this!

Moving

2012-01-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

It's official. The Butler's are on the Move. We will be moving to a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio sometime in April. The exact date has not been set as we are still working out the logistics of our house and our moving plans. It will be a world of difference in many ways. We are so blessed with how wonderful the JM Smucker Company is but most of all the hard work that Daddy has done. We are so proud of him as he will be managing coffee with the 2nd largest retailer in the country. One of the perks is that daddy will be home more often and won't be traveling so much. It is very bittersweet as we have so much Florida family and the next few weeks/month will be some of the most difficult times in my life. I am left speechless at the continued emails and facebook messages and post that are written to us. We have been so blessed and these are years that will never be taken for granted.

Love the mess

2012-01-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Really.... Often....the girls will drag everything from the garage out to the lawn and make a "house." The neighbors are probably rolling over (i would be). It's sometimes quite exhausting as we move everything in and out every afternoon. It is just too cute to not blog about as I know these young days will be over before I know it.

Back to Florida

2012-01-10T16:46:00.000-08:00


The girls could hardly wait to paint in the tub. Scarlett got this as a Christmas present and LOVES it!!

They are quite the artist.

Of course, Scarlett happened to go to a birthday party and had some artwork on her!!

Daddy has been busy building make shift "car ramps" for the girls.

Willow is just the sweetest thing...crossing her legs, reading!!

The girls just love to get dressed up! Mommy=Loves

The girls working on some learning stations.

Sand and water action. Willow is always on the go and keeping me busy.

The girls painting and making a mess.

Pizza Night

2012-01-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

Friday nights seem to be a great pizza night!!

Especially when the table looks like this.

But with these girls, the night is so much fun. And of course our hubbies are there too, but they won't "pose" for a picture.

Great times, Great friends. Florida has blessed us in so many ways.

Few more things in Ohio

2012-01-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

The girls love Grandma Bonnie and Papaw's mini van.

Scarlett and Daddy built Frost the Snowman.

Willow and Scarlett love holding the twins.

Of course, Uncle Dan got some action reading to Scarlett.

Aunt Jill finally got to sneak some time in with a twin because Willow was distracted.

Of course she soon found me and wanted to help "entertain"

Scarlett loving on her cousin.

Happy New Year Mate!!

2012-01-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

We hope you have a blessed New Year. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us. It has been a great 2011 for the Butler's family. We are so blessed and so thankful. Thanks for following our blog.

Winter Cold Days

2011-12-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

The girls had a few cousins over to Nana and Pappaws house.

Of course, Willow and Kora were playing babies.

Willow loves pretending to be a baby.

Then, pappaw got the all ready to go with snow balls. A snow ball fight ensued after this picture.

Nana painting Scarlett's finger nails.

Happy Birthday Maddie

2011-12-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

Sweet Maddie girl had her birthday party at pizza hut.

Everyone was ready to eat some pizza after the big ol holiday meals.

So honored to be a part of a few of my nieces and nephews parties.

We are usually out of town, so we don't get to do all of these fun parties.

Butler Christmas

2011-12-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Willow holding a baby. You will see many times on our blog that Willow loves babies.

Nana got the girls some rockin pink boots.

The twins were getting some goodies too!

Willow had to take a drink break from opening presents.

Love this picture as we have about 2-3 different actions going on in this pic.

Scarlett loves artwork.

Scarlett loved helping the twins open presents.

Nana doing some crafts with Scarlett.

Scarlett holding the twins.

Of course, Willow had to get in on the fun.

AND get in on tubby time.

Everyone was exhausted by the end of the night.

Ingold Christmas

2011-12-25T03:54:00.000-08:00

On to Papaw and Grandma Bonnie's house for some Christmas jingle.

The appetizers were ready to roll.

Love this picture how Grady looks NOT happy and Milan looks extremely happy.

Of course, during dinner, middle school music class broke out.

Willow all over the babies.

Everyone ready to open presents.

Willow loving her little toys.

Scarlett was so excited to get her American Girl Doll wheelchair and glasses.

Also, she got a pirate ship.

Willow of course LOVES babies and tried to steal Kora's baby.

Uncle Curt made an appearance and the kids love him.

The girls received bikes.

OF course, with all the kids in our family, its always someone's birthday. Happy Birthday Grady!!!

We sang to Maddie too. Although we went to her party at Pizza Hut the next day!

Willow riding the horse, hit of Papaws basement.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T03:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day was a busy day..... Four little girls to celebrate.

They opened presents at Grandma I-I's house.

Willow was present manic..wanting to open everything in site.

Scarlett is just growing up and such a sweet little helper.

Ryan with one of the twins, rockin away.

Butler's Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T03:48:00.000-08:00

By the end of Christmas Eve, each year we head to Aunt Brenda's and Uncle Mike's to celebrate late into the evening.

Opening presents is such a hit.

Scarlett helping Aunt Ashley open presents.

By the end of the night, these two little girls

were still wide awake and ready to go....

Love that they both are crossing their legs and posing.

Hartzler Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T03:32:00.000-08:00

Willow and the babies....loves to hold them.

The party has started at Grandpa and Grandma Hartzler's house.

The girls table.

Of course, Santa arrived.

Scarlett didn't know what to think.

Then, it was time for presents.

The Baltic boys matching.

Towards the end of the night was time for "skits."

Everyone had practiced and did a cute little skit for the family. Love making these memories with family and with our girls.

Maxwell Family

2011-12-24T03:30:00.000-08:00

Meet little Mason.

One of Ryan's best friends from high school was in town from California. It was awesome to catch up with them and meet their new little guy.

Boy, do we miss them.

Lehman Christmas

2011-12-23T04:16:00.000-08:00

It is so nice to be back in the area over the holidays. Going to family gatherings is at the top of our list.

Of course, Willow had one thing on her mind. How much water can she put in her cup?

It was like a "water pad." The girls loved this thing.

Pappaw with one of the twins.

Card game

Uncle Alex loving on Willow.

Scarlett with Nana, and Grandma Pearl (love how Scarlett was talking to Nana about her beads from Trades of Hope)

Pappaw with another one of his girls.

Willow LOVES presents.

Scarlett got Little Kitty things.

Keeping the kids entertained as grown up talk was getting boring to them.

By the end of the night, every one was getting tired. The season had started.

Cray

2011-12-18T04:13:00.000-08:00

When we arrived in Ohio we quickly went to see our newest addition to our family. My sister Joy had little Cray. This is her daddy holding him.

He is such a miracle baby and you can check more out about him at her blog.

Of course, big sissy wanted in on the picture. It was so nice to see him as he arrived days before we got into town.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-16T04:07:00.000-08:00

On our way to Ohio, we stay at the Elkin Marriott. Let me tell you, they know how to decorate some trees.

Every year we travel through we love to see how many more trees and decorations they have added.

The trees are beautiful.

Add caption

They have over 55 trees this year!!

We are so glad that over the past few years, we have seen them go from 30 trees to 45 to now they have 55 in the entire hotel.

Christmas Day

2011-12-15T03:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas at our house in Florida came early this year.

We were traveling to Ohio for the holidays so we opened a few weeks earlier.

Willow was the first one up and couldn't believe her eyes.

We had so much fun opening presents.

Scarlett was so "big girl" this year and making sure that everyone took a turn.

Of course, she organized all her presents.

Willow loves the little magnet that was sent in the mail. It is the nativity scene and the girls played with it all the time. It helped them to learn the story too! LOVE!!!

Rollerblades were a big hit this year and of course, mommy was loving that Scarlett couldn't wait to get in them. I love to rollerblade.

Of course, this would be something Daddy added to the mix.....noise makers. We had a wonderful morning and it was so relaxing!! Merry Christmas!

Out and about

2011-12-14T03:44:00.000-08:00

We love going to Waterfront park.

Scarlett loves "Teaching" her doll's.

For Scarlett's Christmas program at her school, she got a new outfit.....these adorable shoes went with it.

Randomly one day found this on my counter, I asked Scarlett what it was and she said, you know..."I though I would make something for breast cancer, you know that ribbon." (she said she couldn't find pink so she used red.

Visit to Santa Claus

2011-12-13T03:51:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus is coming to town. Of course, Willow wasn't too sure about that man.

I had to post this as we asked someone to take our picture of all of us with Santa.

The lady at least got our heads...

Then, we were off to go on the train ride and enjoy the festivities that night in St. Augustine.

The girls watching the skaters on ice.

Visiting the elf and reindeer houses.

It was fun to watch the girls run in and out of the little houses.

St. Augustine has a little Christmas event where you can visit with Santa, go on some rides, skate on ice and play in miniature houses. And yes, Scarlett told Santa she wants "stairs" in her house and a mini van.... big dreamer!!

Scarlett's Christmas Concert

2011-12-13T03:47:00.000-08:00

Scarlett had her preschool Christmas concert. It was on the last day of school before winter break. She loves school and loves her teacher.

Of course, I think the best part was hanging out with friends.

I can't believe that my little girls is 5, such a big girl as she is off to Kindergarten next year!!

Ronk-Butler Christmas

2011-12-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it was that time of year again.

The traditional Ronk-Butler Christmas.

The food was amazing.

The smiles never left their faces.

Even Ryan couldn't keep the smile off his face with the yummy food. He was eating Jill's yorkshire pudding.

Decorating the Gingerbread house is always a hit.

Jill's mom was in town from Canada and it was an honor to meet her. I hear so much about her and it was so nice to finally put a face with this wonderful person.

Of course, grandma didn't tell Willow NO to the 2nd cupcake.

We played some games and the hit of the night was Headbanz.

The game was so much fun and it was made for kids. But we found ourselves playing it too. The Christmas tradition is so much fun and so special. Words can't describe the memories in these pictures.

Wise Men Gift Exchange

2011-12-11T03:19:00.000-08:00

The Wise Men Gift Exchange takes place at Parkview every year before Christmas. It is on a Saturday and it is to provide families in our community gifts during the holiday season.

This is our opening meeting before we open the doors of the people that were in line before I got there around 6:30 am.

I was coordinating the food table again this year so my team was working away.

To know and work with these amazing women was pure joy.

The gift tables and presents looked wonderful. It was a like a giant toy store.

Caught a picture of Brandy putting more books out for the community to take.

We offered gift wrapping too....

Paula was slaving away in the kitchen making pigs in a blanket....everyone loved them.

Greeting guest in the lobby was so fun. The shear joy on these families faces was well worth it.

A few of the men greeters I think were working....(kidding) they were having lots of fun too! The morning was exciting and we had so much providing for the community a little something for them to give their children on Christmas Day.

PJ day

2011-12-10T03:15:00.000-08:00

It was jammie day at Scarlett's school, so I was off to help the teachers. It was so nice to be on the other side of things. I never pictured myself as the mom volunteering in the classroom. I was always the teacher with the wonderful moms coming in to help. It was nice to be on the other side of the fence. Ryan and I are so blessed to have figured out the madness of me staying home so I can do these things with Scarlett.

Picture of the kids and teachers.

Scarlett and her little friend Katherine. She just loves that little girl.


I peeked into her classroom and grabbed a pic of the class too!!

Hanging around

2011-12-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

Willow bean always has the bling.

We babysat Maren for a day and the girls LOVED their Popsicles.

The girls love to play on the "track" that I draw for them each time it rains. They love to drive around and go to the gas station or the grocery store.

Some randomness

2011-12-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Beckah and Sean were going to be coming to Ohio to see the snow, however, that fell through when we had NO snow. I was able to snap this picture at Scarlett's birthday party this year. CUTE!!!

Of course, we had little Elf visit this year along with Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is from our little cousin Noah's 2nd grade class. If you haven't read the book Flat Stanley, go grab yourself a copy....super cute book.

My girlfriend Tara and I have a little mini preschool session on Thursdays at her house. It is a little learning time for our 2-3 year olds. Friends bring over their children and then they can run around for the morning.

For randomly babysitting one day, this was our treat....Thank you!!! You know who you are and this was very sweet.

We babysat Lola around the holidays, Her momma is a teacher and she needed some help. Lola is in my Sunday school class so it was an extra bonus.

Oh my girls....yes, we were off to do simple errands.

The big 5

2011-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

Scarlett.loves to pose.loves to smile.wants a mini van.loves to play outside. loves to watch Jake and the Neverland pirates. loves school. loves artwork.loves to play with sissy.doesn't really like fruit still but loves veggies. loves her cousins. wants a mini van.is kind hearted. weighs barely anything. loves the park.loves american girl doll. sleeps well. eats muffins for breakfast. loves lunch meat and yogurt. still loves her milk. loves her florida family.is such a helper.wants stairs in a house.

Scarlett is a busy girl but lately she wanted a new leapster game...so we added some to her collection from ohio peeps and florida.

Watching Scarlett play is so fun. I love to hear her talk to her babies. When Willow is sleeping, it is quiet time, time that I have to blog, clean and do other things. Sometimes Scarlett and I will work on a project but she loves to go and play by herself for about an hour.

Priceless

Of course, when Willow is around, we are all on wheels rarin to go. The two girls play pretty good together if Willow listens to what Scarlett wants her to do. If she doesn't well, I will leave that for your imagination.

Happy Birthday sweet girl

2011-12-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Scarlett who turned 5. We started off the day celebrating at her school.

Later in the day, we ventured to the park for some fun Pirate times.

All the pirates and pirateress found the hidden treasure.

They carried the hidden treasure to a far off side walk to see what was inside.

They boarded the ship for a quick picture.

And as the wind blew, we had to stand near to keep the fire lit.

But it was such a success and we were off to Scarlett turning 5.

Happy Birthday sweet pirate....

Just because

2011-12-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

Every year our church does a "Wise Men Gift Exchange." Except we don't exchange. We go through our house and collect toys that we don't play with and donate it to other boys and girls for Christmas. However, Scarlett had said that we just don't play with this toy anymore and put it in the bin BUT Willow dug it out and played with it all day. Needless to say, we still have this toy.

After our long trip in Ohio to visit family over Thanksgiving, we finally were able to get our tree started and up for about 3 weeks.

Yes, we were baking. No, I don't serve the cookie batter after Scarlett licks it all. The Christmas season was busy and fun for us. Can't wait to share.

Shoes

2011-12-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a deal is a deal. Found these Jessica Simpson heels at a consignment for $5.99. I didn't need them, but what a deal.

The reason why I have to buy consignment shoes (although not always) is because my girls wear these. But they are good shoes from the gap. They are comfortable with or without socks.

See, I have to admit not all shoes are from consignment. Ryan bought me these JS boots and I love them. Thank you honey for knowing what makes my day and MY year. It is sad I know but every girl likes something. Mine just happens to be shoes.

Movie Night

2011-12-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

Yep, I took all these kids to the movies. Most of my nieces and nephews.

I should have taken a picture of the van I drove them in.

Pretty sure they all enjoyed Happy Feet 2.

They ate as much popcorn, pop and candy as they wanted.

Of course, we had to play a few games. All of the kids had a fun time, we went to McDonalds later to eat dinner.

Tea Party

2011-12-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

While in Ohio we went to Miss Molly's Tea Room.

We went with my Grandma Hartzler, Aunt Jan, my mom, Amy, and Joy. We took our youngest kids and they loved practicing their tea skills.

Willow sippin away

All the kids and their goodies.

What a wonderful day to spend a day in Ohio.

Few things here and there

2011-12-01T05:29:00.000-08:00

The girls out to eat with Grandma I-I. We went to a new little place in downtown Wooster. It is called Broken Rocks Cafe and Bakery.

Another day in Ohio, we had little Grace. She played and played with the girls.

Scarlett loves art. For her birthday she received an art kit and loves it!!

Willow loves to be in Ohio with her cousins. She especially loves to feed Grady. She makes sure that he has everything he needs.

Scarlett loves to pack up her suitcase when we travel. Since its often, she has it down to a science. She still wants to be a "hotel candy lady" because she wants to leave chocolate on the bed at night when people stay at a hotel. (side note, does the dog look real? ....its not...)

family

2011-11-30T11:18:00.000-08:00

Every time we are in Ohio, we take family pictures at someone's house....here is a preview of my mom and dad's Christmas card.

Football Saturdays

2011-11-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

Football Saturdays are just tooo much fun!!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

We were busy over Thanksgiving, going from one home to the next.

but nothing beats watching the girls loving on their little cousins.

Daddy loves Thanksgiving too.... (side note, smashed grape on Joe's sock)

The girls were singing and dancing upstairs.

Scarlett had quite the "goodbyes." Thanksgiving gives us so much to be thankful for. We thank God for all of His blessings.

Scarlett's Birthday

2011-11-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Our big girl turned 5.

We had the Butler family at Pizza Hut.

Pizza is one of Scarlett's favorite foods.

Scarlett and Willow have so much fun together, all though they can pull each others strings too.

Uncle Cheese and Willow were giggling away.

Of course, Willow is all about the camera.

Scarlett loved her presents.

We can't believe our little girl is getting so big.

Pappaw, Willow and Leah giving lots of love.

Family pics

2011-11-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

We took some family pics for the whole Joe Butler family.

Nana and Pappaw were able to use some of them for their Christmas cards.

We had a lot of fun and its such a blessing to have an amazing family.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!

Fun at parties

2011-11-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

Uncle Dale loves to tickle and play with the kids....of course, they love when he is picking on them.

Willow enjoying the moment.

Sweet Lizzie with make up on at Grandma Bonnies.

The girls LOVE make up and dress up.

The bathroom counter is stacked with fun stuff.

just 60

2011-11-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

My dad turned 60 this year. So 60 days before his birthday he received little fun presents from 60 different people. The day we had his name we gave him 60 water bottles from Buehlers. The girls were so excited for him to open it.

I think he enjoyed those 60 days, visiting with friends, receiving notes, cards and gifts. Happy Birthday Dad. You never cease to amaze me with your love and strong faith. Thank you for being such an awesome role model to our family.

As his birthday approached, we threw him a little surprise party with Scarlett and Tagen. All of their birthdays are in December.

I think when you are little the best part is to open the gifts. Scarlett of course had just had some black cake and she is adorned with Grandma Bonnie's American Girl Doll dress. All the girls go upstairs and dress up, put heels and make up on. I love this stage and that they are so much fun. I love that she LOVES to play with her cousins. Thank you to everyone for loving on Scarlett during her birthday.


I took pictures of everyone at the party, but they wouldn't load. I will try to post so they are added to our memories. This is Tom and Rhonda Troyer, and their daughter Lizzie was probably running around the house with the girls too!!

Fun Times

2011-11-15T09:21:00.000-08:00

Ohio is always a load laughter for our girls.

Scarlett loves her cousins. She names each of them, and tries to spell each of their names.

Of course, they love their jeeper at Grandma's.

They drove the jeeper down to the golf course as Daddy was teeing off. Hoping to share a few post on our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio.

Hours in Nashville

2011-11-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

Let me rewind. Our pastor (on the right) has a brother, Barry. Barry was a pastor at our church in Palm Coast for a few years before he felt called to the Nashville area.

So on our way up to Ohio for our Thanksgiving Trip we stopped to see Barry and Laura. (can you see little Davis in the backseat of their car...hehe). They are hosting their church in the movie theater on Sunday mornings until they get into a permanent location. They have a wonderful heart in serving Him and it was so nice to spend some time with them.

Of course, Barry had to show us the digs.

The kids did well for the amount of talking that went on during brunch.

Later, we stopped at the Taylor Swift park in Nashville. Well, I don't think its called the Taylor Swift park, but she donated a hefty amount for it to be reconstructed. The park is amazing and has some pretty cool contraptions.

Davis and Scarlett became fast friends again. We haven't seen them for over a year or two so I think this was great for the kids too!

Nashville was beautiful and we know that Barry and Laura will do some amazing things there. We were so blessed to spend a few hours with them.

American Girl Doll

2011-11-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

Scarlett was in her glory land when we went to visit The American Girl Doll store in Atlanta, GA. Since we flew Willow up a week earlier, we decided to take the long way around to Ohio and make a few pit stops.

First, we dropped Madison (her American Girl Doll) off at the hair salon in the store.

This is what her dolly's hair looked like when it was done.

Scarlett loved checking everything out in the store. This double stroller was so cute and she thought Willow would like it for their bitty babies but we didn't get it.

Scarlett just walked around looking at the dolls and the different themes. She did great and asked for about one thing and was done. Ryan and I had to coax her into buying a few other things. We wanted to save a few things for Christmas. She picked out a wheelchair and a pair of glasses for her baby. We picked a few more things to surprise her with later.

The other Jill

2011-11-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

The other Jill had her third baby and I wanted to throw her a little sprinkle (aka small shower without presents)

I ran with the orange and green theme.

I decorated with legos too. It was to represent how the Ronks have built their beautiful family, piece by piece.

The food was mostly green and orange.

Can you tell I had a little fun with the colors?

The cupcakes were made by a sweet friend starting her own cupcake business.

The other Ryan and Jill

and their two children

until they added the third.

Of course, sometimes Scarlett thinks she is part of their family.

It was hosted at the wine and cheese shoppe along AIA in Hammock Beach. It's a little casual place to throw a small party and the location was perfect.

We tried to grab a few fun shots too!

We have laughed and cried over the past few years together. She has helped me in so many ways, I just couldn't wait to host a little party in her honor.

Magic Moments

2011-11-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

November snuck up on us. Willow went up to visit Grandparents (mommy flew her up a week earlier before all of us join her in Ohio) and flowers awaited....

We were able to do an afternoon playdate at the park with Ayden. The Peterson family are good friends and these two adore each other.

A friend of ours passed on their bike to us and we surprised Scarlett with it. She has been wanting her training wheels off of her other bike and she does pretty good but just not solid yet .

The SHIP

2011-10-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is the beginning stages of the ship....a Pirate Ship.

Scarlett wanted to be a pirate for Halloween so we all dressed up according to the demands of a 4 year old.

We will have to admit, we had a lot of fun doing it.

Ryan was the mastermind behind the ship although Jackson and Fred Allen helped.

Our church hosted a trick or treat for our community as an outreach. We passed out candy to more then 3500 people and had so much fun doing it.

Halloween

2011-10-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

This Halloween all started around one little girl with a vision of a tutu and a pirate.

Hence, we have parrot, a pirate and Mr. Smeed

Of course the pirate called all the shots

And tried to tell Captain Hook to stay off of her ship

But to no avail, the pirate and parrot didn't want to stand in on a family portrait. Either way, this family had a blast for Halloween.

80's

2011-10-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Our lifegroup meets every Sunday night. So for October, we decided to go bowling. Usually we meet at Candy and Darren's but since they were out of town and just a few couples were able to meet we went "out."

The timing happened to be Halloween weekend. So we dressed up to go bowling. Can you guess what we are....

Dan and Paula decided to laugh at us all night as they opted out of the dress up night.

We have become good friends with these guys. Troy and Rochelle have three boys and are so much fun.

Girls posing

Finally, caught up with my hunka hunka and striked a pose.

Brandi and I trying to be cool.

Trying to act like we are 20 and not admit our age. We had so much fun and its great to get out for the night!!

Fun Fest

2011-10-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Scarlett goes to First Baptist Preschool Academy.

They were having a fun fest day and of course I got suckered into painting.

A few of Scarlett's friends in her class.

It was a "farm day" theme...at least she got the boots and hat going in the right direction.

Yes, Willow came and she was a bear....who knew that a day later I would find out that she had a double ear infection and bronchitis. (hence the soother at this event)

Mommy's attempt at making a butterfly on her face was a disaster..literally.

They had an art station, which Scarlett loves!!!

Scarlett's teacher, Ms. Radcliff is on the left, she is pregnant with her 5th child.

The line of kids lining up to get a hot mess on their face....i can barely draw a stick figure let alone a butterfly.

Daddy came too, later on in the morning to see the fun activities and help out with Willow for a little bit.

Later in the afternoon, we visited the Hair Gallery and they were giving away raffle baskets to donate locally for the Hospital. That money goes towards women that can't afford a breast exam. I actually won one of the baskets...it had an awesome mac daddy flat iron. As you can see, Scarlett was thrilled to be coloring on their floor.

Pink Army Run

2011-10-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

A few friends and I ran the Flagler Hospital Pink Army Run.

I actually pushed the girls and got my best stroller time.....just under 38 minutes for 3.1 miles.

The other Butler....who got these awesome shirts made to wear to the race.

of course, some of the kids had a fun day too.

Zoo

2011-10-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Fall sets into Florida and its breezy, cool and the perfect time to visit the Central Florida Zoo.

Braeden came too....the girls adore him.

Of course, they have all these wonderful animals and our kids play tag.

Just trying to get one little family girl shot was quite the task.

Scarlett's attempt at planking.

Of course, again, we are at the zoo and the kids want to play at the "park" in the zoo.

Overall, we had a great day seeing on the animals.

and riding the train

and the carousal.

Willow bean was so fun, although I felt like I was going to throw up.

One of the only reasons I posted this picture was because it made me stop and think. Take a look at the girl/mom behind me. I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and hope that she was taking a picture of her kid while on the ride. I have to work hard not to let that little phone thingy get in the way of my parenting and loving on my kids.

Day in Flagler

2011-10-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

Flagler County put on a "Safety Day" at the Flagler Hospital. We took the girls and had experienced some safety tips.

They gave out hotdogs and snacks.

Let the kids in the fire trucks.

Scarlett was all about it.

The girls especially loved the helicopter.

The pilot was amazing to talk to and we learned so much about what they do in Flagler County.

This is a view on our way out of the hospital. (we of course didn't do the bounce houses) but enjoyed everything else.

Golf Tournament

2011-10-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Daddy sent mommy out for the day to herself. So daddy took the girls to a golf tournament. It was the Nation Wide Golf Tournament in Jacksonville.

It looks like from the camera (aka Daddy was the photographer) that the girls watched a lot of golf.

Or sat in the stroller.

The girls obviously found enough to play with.

This picture cracks me up because daddy took about 6 pictures of the girls attempting to pose, I just posted one.

Then, the three of them headed to the park before lunch. I love seeing Daddy having a day to enjoy his girls.

Football

2011-10-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Daddy has mentioned a time or two that he wasn't sure if he was in the "family" cuz he is never in the pictures. So I have been working hard on taking pictures of him with the girls. We went to a football game with the girls to see Ms. Jenna and grabbed this shot.

Of course, you always have a camera hog too.

Pumpkin Time

2011-10-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

The "fall" here in Florida is beautiful. It is breezy and so "comfy." This is all the kids that went out one day to paint pumpkins and play in the park.

Of course give a kid some paints and they can have a hay day.

The kids had so much fun and the pumpkins looked great.

Not sure who had more fun, the moms or kids?

The doll

2011-10-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Scarlett loves her American Girl Doll. It is probably her favorite thing to play with.

She brushes her teeth. And takes care of her often. We will be traveling through Atlanta soon and stopping at the American Girl Doll Store. She can hardly wait and is counting down the days.

Don't get me wrong, she plays with her other babies too.