Mirror images

I've heard the saying "Our children are mirror images of us" but I've never fully understood the weight of that saying. I've always thought of it on a superficial level - as in, 'Yor daughter has your eyes' or 'wow, she looks just like your husband'. However, as Gracie matures I'm beginning to fully comprehend every implication that follows this wise counsel. The things we say and do mold our children into tiny little replicas of ourselves! I am happy to pass down my strengths to Gracie but the thought of her developing my flaws frightens me! She is now at the age where everything that her sponge brain absorbs transfers over in her behavior - the good and the bad! Here are two examples of things I wish she hadn't learned...
A few weeks ago Gracie was over at her Grandma Francis' house and while she was playing she said, "Holyyyy... CRAP!" Some of you might be thinking, 'Well, at least it wasn't holy s**t!. Yes, this is true, but seeing a tiny little person - an innocent soul - say something like that just makes my skin crawl and it saddens me even more that it was my own kid that said it! By the way, she picked that one up from Mark, however, she picked this next one up from me...
A few days ago she tried calling Parker over to her. After many attempts at getting him to come she decided to take matters into her own hands and she grabbed him by the collar as she said, "I said come here, you STUPID DOG!" Not only were her words a wake up call to me but the manner in which she said those words were even more so -
she was so mean and she even gave Parker the stinkeye! Time to seriously make a conscious effort at choosing our words carefully!
On a happier note - Gracie is a WONDERFUL little girl and we see so much good in her!
Here are two things she says that melt my heart...
Every night before bed she kisses my nose and says, "good night sweetheart!" I love how she says sweetheart - so loving when she does it.
Also, lately she's been saying prayers all on her own and everytime she says one she always says, 'herveny fodder, think you for jesus... and for presents. amen.'
All in all, I LOVE what I see in my little "mirror" and I'm grateful to be a mommy - so many life lessons are taught through this wonderful calling!

Here's a recent pic of my little mirror image...

A day of deception

Did I lure you in with my title? Intriguing, I know. Well, Monday was officially Gracie's birthday and we woke up to sunshine! Mark had the day off so we bundled up (the sun was out but it was still nippy outside) and we ventured over to Deception Pass.

We let Gracie choose from where we would eat lunch and without any surprise to Mark and I she said "chicken nuggets" (mcdonalds). We cruised until we found some golden arches, then we grabbed 'chicken nuggets' to go and we snacked on the car ride there. This was Gracie's first time ever going across the Deception pass bridge (outside of a car) - I've been too scared to walk her across - but since she's 3 years old now I decided to let my fears go, and... she LOVED it! We walked along the bridge and then down a trail that lead us to the water.

We had a wondeful time spending the day together as a family

We even got to bring 'Parker boy'(Gracie's term of endearment for Parker).
(Here's proof of Parker's "mad hops" in case there were any doubters out there!:)

We spent the rest of our time throwing rocks into the shimmering blue

and watching Parker tip-toe around (he's somewhat of a wuss when it comes to getting wet). Mark climbed up a small rock wall and Gracie sat there in awe...

she was tickled pink when daddy reached his hand down to pull her up! On our way home we decided to end our little adventure with some ice cream. Yummy!
Happy Birthday Gracie! Mommy and Daddy love you!!!

Princess Party

(Gracie (in her "pretty dress") with one of her favorite people in the whole wide world - her aunt Maddy).

This past Friday night (Jan. 22nd) we celebrated Gracie's 3rd birthday... princess style. She picked out cute little princess invites and we sent them out with a photo of her in her princess attire... then we counted down the days until the "royal ball". During the days prior Gracie kept telling me that she 'needs' a party. Also, every morning she woke up saying two things: "I'm hungry mom" and "Where's my 'pretty dress'?". We decided to keep things as low-key as possible by only inviting family members - 2 sets of grandparents, 2 sets of great-grandparents, some of her uncles and her aunt Maddy. We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner, followed by presents, and then cake. Gracie LOVED opening her gifts and it definitely showed! We had a great evening and as Gracie was falling asleep during storytime she said, "Gracie gonna do the party again tomorrow" I said,"Well honey, today was your special party and we won't be having another one tomorrow, but I'm glad you had fun." She then said, "okay, thanks mom." What a sweetie pie... I sure do love my princess! Here's a pic of Gracie's princess castle cake (carrot cake, yum-yum!)...


Here's the video of us singing "Happy birthday"/Gracie blowing out her 3 candles... it's a little dark - hopefully you can still see her proud little expression.

A walk in the dark...

Last Monday night we had a fun FHE (Family Home Evening) that revolved around Light - as in Jesus is our light. We talked with Gracie about Him and how He lights our way. We waited until it was dark, then we bundled up and grabbed a flashlight. There's a trail that runs along the back of our house that seperates our yard from a large field and it is especially dark back there where there are no streetlights. Before we ventured on along the trail we explained (in very simple terms) that sometimes things can seem dark (like the sky) and it can feel like we're all alone but Jesus is always there to guide us (que the flashlight). We then went on a nice little night walk. It was a clear night, the stars were bright and it was quiet and peaceful. Gracie had a blast being in charge of the flashlight! It was a really fun evening!

Christmas snapshots

Well, Christmas has come and gone... only 363 more days till my favorite holiday returns! This Christmas we didn't spend a lot of time taking pictures like we have in the past - mainly because Gracie wouldn't sit still long enough! Out of 4 family/friend get togethers in 3 days we only managed to take 87 pictures and that's including Christmas morning at our house! Here are a few worth sharing...

Our house after Santa Claus came... just minutes before a "Christmas bomb" went off in our living room. So peaceful...


Our house after the present frenzy was over. If you look closely, Gracie is in there somewhere... (sort of like, 'Where's waldo')


Mark with his stocking... (doesn't he look so happy! - and tired!)


Anne with her stocking... (this is what Mark wakes up to every morning... scary, I know.)


"Officer Gracie" on patrol...


This little bike can zoom! We're talking at least 2-3mph! In fact, if Gracie weren't wearing two layers of clothing I think it could have probably done 4mph!


Mark's friend Jordan, and his family, were up visiting from Arizona. This is Gracie with their adorable little boy, Landon.

Santa pics... then and now

This year, like always, Santa claus made an appearance at our Church Christmas activity. When Gracie first met Santa Claus she was only 11 months old. How did she like him? Well, I think the photo speaks for itself...

Last year things went a little better. No tears, but no smiles either...

This year, she was ready for him! Not only did we see smiles on her face but she even hugged Santa! Looks like Santa has managed to melt into Gracie's heart... I think it has something to do with presents. :)

Snow day in the Woolley...

It snowed last night!!! Yeahhh for snow! Naturally Gracie woke up excited to see a blanket of white covering the ground... the first thing she said to me was, "Look momma! SNOWWWW!!!" I had started my holiday baking yesterday, but didn't quite finish it (Mark and I had to leave for a Christmas party) so I told Gracie that just as soon as I was finished baking then we could go outside. She waited patiently at the back door for about 30 minutes. As her patience wore thin she looked up at me and then reached for the spoon in my hand while saying, "here mommy, I'll do this". I guess I wasn't quick enough for her. :) When we were done with the cookies we raced upstairs to bundle up. It was a lot of fun playing in the snow - more so than it's ever been. Gracie's at the age where stuff like snow, Santa Claus, presents and baking cookies excite her. Fun times at the Francis house!


Gracie eating snow - I checked to make sure it wasn't yellow. :)


Gracie and Parker making a run for it.


Where's your hat silly girl?!


Falling over...


Gracie making snow art...


"You're silly mom!"


Mark came home at lunchtime and was able to watch Gracie play and take a few shots of us girls together. It was fun, but brrr... it was cold too!