Blessed. And other things.

Blog makeover,Bubble baths,Banquet,Baby shower,Birthday party...OH MY!

Yep,that sums up our weekend.

Oh, and Blessed.So.Very.Blessed.

I won an awesome give away to have my blog header/button made over. I'm SO excited!So,once I get some family pictures taken (hopefully on Sunday),I will be sending them out to Melanie,and she will be designing a custom header for me. I've been SO blessed by her generosity, she does great work! It's the little things, that can offer the biggest pick me ups, and this give away was a huge highlight of my week!

This morning,while my husband mowed the lawn, I took a thirty minute bubble bath, while sipping a hot cup of cappuccino.Mind you,I've not taken a bath in ages. But decided that after many a sleepless nights, "cranky" mommy needed a break.I wanted to be refreshed,and start the day a new. Delightful? I think so. I also munched on some home made banana bread. My type A personality tried to but in to my bath time, by making lists, using tub crayons to write things on the walls. But, I looked at the "to do" list and wiped it off the walls. How freeing that was. My "to do" list is never ending, and too many times, I let it have more power over my life than the Holy Spirit. I don't want to be so caught up in my "to do's" that I miss out on what God is trying to do in my life,or those he has blessed me with. While laying in the-almost to hot-bath,I just sank into the bubbles. It's been a rough season. But the more I prayed, spoke scripture, and thought over what this last year has held. I was reminded of God's many blessings to us. His faithfulness never fails.

Clara and I went to a mother/daughter banquet tonight. I love our times together. We went to the mall together today too. My Clara girl is just so sweet, and spunky. And growing way too fast! She is constantly sounding like a little valley girl with her "likes" and "So totally's". And yet,she's still our little girl. Wanting to be snuggled at night,and read to and sung over.

Tomorrow is a baby shower for my sister in law,she is expecting a little boy,who's name will be Addison Christopher.

While driving home tonight, Clara says from the back seat "Hey,mom,you know that Uncle Adam is going to be Addison's Dad?" (I am thinking this just dawned on her.You could see the "light-bulb" moment in her big blue eyes)
I say :"Yes,sweetie,thats right."
She does the "Valley girl half eye roll,chin cocked down,serious tone of voice" and says:
"He so totally needs more practice! I mean, he's gotta learn to change a diaper!"
I could not contain my laughter. Since she had not seen Drea (my sister in law) for a while, and she is really showing now, I think Clara thought baby Addison was going to be born,tomorrow. I assured her we have some time. And that maybe she should have Uncle Adam practice changing diapers on her baby dolls. And Clara said "Yea,good idea mom,he can't hurt my baby dolls!"
Love little ones,and their child likeness. :)

This weekend is mothers day. I am so thankful for my Mom. And that seems like the biggest understatement of my life. She is my best friend,second only to my husband. I love her more than words can say. Never has she failed in love or devotion. I am so blessed that she sought to pour into my life,putting her career on hold to be my Mom. I know I am better for it. I'm thankful she sought to be my mom first,and as I grew up and matured,became my best friend. So,on Sunday I look forward to celebrating her. Thanking her for pouring her life out,serving and loving me and my brothers.

It's fun being a Mom to kiddos who understand it's Mothers Day. Elliott made me the sweetest card,Jackson potted a flower at church and gave it to me,Clara made me a beautiful card, and Riley he gives me hugs daily,and tells me he loves me hourly. I am blessed.

Park Days...

And so it begins. The wonderful days of playing at parks for hours. Calling friends and seeing if they want to meet us there.

Running,Jumping, and Climbing their little hearts out. And how they love to climb! Especially our Elliott!

Yes, those would be my children, the ones hanging from the tops of play ground equipment. Playing pioneers by using the river rocks to line a perfect "camp fire".

Playing tag, and screaming and laughing. Oh, how I've missed park days. There will be many,many more to come.

Just not this week. It's supposed to rain all week. Then again, maybe I'll load the kids up with their rain coats, boots, and umbrella's and go play in the rain. That is if it's not freezing cold.

There is hope, spring is here, as the grass is ever so green. And perhaps, just maybe, the weather man is all wrong. And Mr. Sun will come out tomorrow in all of his glory, and we will go out and frolic and play.

< Cue: Annie's theme song "The sun will come out tomorrow".

I have to admit though these rainy days, of staying inside our warm little nest, enjoying overhearing children playing they are : "Going to Kansas,because I've graduated from military school,and college,and all those other schools".. these rainy days are pretty swell too. I hope you all had a blessed Easter. We sure did. I will post more about it later...Mt.Saint Laundry is calling my name...I think I'm almost to the top peak...then begins the descent down putting it all away!

Oh, and now that I'm almost done, I see a little bit of blue skies outside, and perhaps a little sunshine! YAY!

Saturday loveliness...

This morning my husband and oldest son left for a car show at our local fair grounds. That leaves the three kiddos and mommy this morning. We have had a relaxing morning together, just enjoying each others company.


I love how they all want to be on my lap in the morning. I love their energy in the morning, always bearing smiles, and crazy bed head hair.


I love how Riley loves this song

...and how he makes the cutest little face singing "oh,oh,oh....Eveybody wants to lubv".

I love how Elliott always, goes to get some kind of dress up outfit out. He is constantly changing what he has on. It's a cloudy day here today, pretty cold and wet. But, inside,it's warm. And happy. And Bright. And rather bushy tailed. And that is what makes my Saturday. Lovely. And love filled.

Hope you all have a lovely Saturday! And know you are loved today!

^"21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:21-23

Dish Washer...ramble.

One of my many job descriptions is "Dish Washer". Ya see, we don't have a "Dish Washing Machine"...it's my job. Yep. I wash all of our dishes by hand. But, I don't wash dishes alone.

Not anymore. I have a cute three year old who L.O.V.E.S. "Waffing Dises".

And I LOVE his help. Don't worry, I re-wash everything that he "washes", he's not always so thorough. I just love hearing him giggle, and "scwub". Entertains him for at-least an hour. Sometimes I just fill the dish pan with soapy water,and give him the brush. Just playing in the water is great fun for him.

I love his crazy faces.

I love his "baby chub" that is sticking around a little longer than my other kids did.

I love to hear him say "I wub you so much"...

I love how he grins ear to ear. He grins especially big when he know's he's being naughty. As if to say "You know I'm cute mom...you know you love me". And I do.

I love our dish washing sessions...together. And when he is a teenager, I will remind him of how he loved washing dishes! It makes this mundane chore, so much fun when he's by my side.

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This little lady draws. All. Day. Long. She loves to write letters to all of us. Daddy gave her his old franklin planner. And she carries it around everywhere. So. Precious!

This little lady is also getting glasses next week.

Now we will have two kiddos wearing glasses!

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Speaking of Glasses...this little guy smashed his. And they will be fixed soon. Elliott is quite the ham lately. Constantly making us laugh. :)

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In other news, I gave myself bangs. And layered my hair again. It's still long. Really long. But you can't see that in this picture.

I love the way a reddish tent to pictures can make them feel warm and fuzzy. Like those pictures of me as a baby taking my first steps. Knowing my mom grabbed her camera, as to not miss such a momentous occasion in my life. The tent has a way of making me feel nostalgic, and seeing the world through rose colored glasses. Speaking of my mom. She's been out of town this week, spending time with my brother, his wife, and my most precious nephew. They live in Georgia. And I'm a tad jealous my mom got to spend time with them, I was secretly hoping I could stuff myself into her suitcase and tag along.

(sorry it's so tiny, swiped it off of FB)

Seriously. Is my nephew not the cutest? That is my brother Ross, and my sister by love Olivia. I feel so blessed my brother choose such an amazing, precious, beautiful, loving, and kind girl to marry. She's become one of my dearest closest friends. Oh, and she's an artist! WAY.COOL! Can you tell I miss my family? We are counting down till July, when we will spend an entire week together in the mountains of North Carolina. I'm already stashing things away, to spoil my nephew silly. Pretty sure that's part of the job description of being the "favorite Aunt". (okay,so maybe I'm the only Aunt...for now. But, I'm never letting the "favorite" title go away!)

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I took pictures of this adorable little girl this week. I know her Mommy is wanting to see a preview. So here's a few of my favorites. I love this age. Four. The year of magical moments, playing make believe, dressing up like fairy princess's, and sipping tea at many a tea parties. Oh, to be four, it's just grand! Clara was my little helper,showing Alyssa how I wanted her to pose. We had so much fun! :)

Braces?

Sorry I've been MIA. Our lives are busy. Okay, so every ones' lives are busy. That's a lame excuse.

Honestly, blogging, taking pictures, and documenting our lives, has taken a back seat. Why? Because, we've been going full force ahead. LIVING life. And I've not had a chance to take a breather. But, I am tonight. Mostly because I know I have family far away (Hi family, I love you,dearly, and miss you more) and this update is for them. Though, if you are a close friend, who I consider like family, then this post could be for you too!

Tomorrow is a big day. Every day is a big day it seems like as of late. Tomorrow, we have an eye appointment to fix Elliott's glasses. Yep,already broke them. I'm amazed they lasted as long as they did! And Jackson is having an eye exam. And very likely could be getting glasses as well. Yay, to rough and rowdy boys in fragile, easily broken when running full force, face first into a swing, Glasses! They will look adorable. No doubt.

Then, it's off to get Jackson and Clara's Braces. Yep. Not,teeth braces. Feet Braces. They actually look pretty cool. Without going into all the medical reasons, mainly because it's after midnight and we have to be up and out of the house by 8am, I am simply asking for prayer for us in the next weeks. Jackson and Clara are not thrilled about having to wear these. And I know kids may wonder what they have on, or may say some not very kind things. And we've talked with them about that. The braces can also be harder to adjust to wearing, they may be a little sore as their bones begin to correctly develop. Your prayers would be coveted as we adjust.

So, yea. Long day tomorrow. Hopefully neither of them will, hyperventilate, throw up, or pass out, like the last visit to have the casts made. Yes, I'm sure the doctors office will never forget us! What can I say, we like to leave a lasting impression. (No pun intended, ha ha!).

Thank you family and friends for loving us, and praying for us. I'll post pictures of the kids wearing their new "digs".

Charmer in glasses...

Elliott got his first pair of glasses today. He's always been a little charmer, and now. Mercy.

Is he cute or what?

He picked out the frames himself. And since he was really not thrilled about having to get glasses, I let him pick whatever he wanted. I have say, the frames he choose are pretty cute. He was hilarious trying frames on last week. He sat in front of the mirror, and tried on atleast twenty pairs of frames. He'd stare at himself for a second, then quickly swipe them off of his little face and say "Nope!". Then just as quick, try on another pair. The frames he choose were the first ones he tried on, and he went right back to them and tried them on again after twenty other pairs, and said "Yep, these look good!". The lady that was helping us, was laughing and said "I've never had a four year old come in here, and do that! He know's EXACTLY what he wants!". Yep. That's Elliott!

He was really excited today to go pick his glasses up. When walking outside for the first time wearing his glasses he said "WOW! Look at all this stuff! Look Mom! The tree is huge!".

He did really well the first hour or so wearing them. Then his eyes started hurting. The doctor told us it would take a few days for his eyes to adjust to the glasses. He has asked at least a thousand times today "Can I take them off now?"..."Why do I have to wear these?"..."Are you sure I have to wear these?"...and so on. But, I'm sure after a few days he will do great wearing them. Everyone has told him how handsome he looks, and if you were one of those people today. THANK-YOU! He needs all the encouragement he can get! I had to snap a few pictures to show my family that lives out of state, just how adorable he is! He was being a ham, can ya tell? :)

Today.Yesterday. At. Home.

Today. Elliott ran to me and informed me: "My cereal is mulled..." I said "You mean mush?"...."Elliott: "Yeah, that too!

Today.He could not choose between eating, or playing. He choose to play. Hence why his cereal was mush. This was his second bowl. Oh, and that is a sponge bob spoon, he ONLY eats his cereal with that spoon. Just a little thing, that I always want to remember. He makes me laugh. He told me "Sponge bob makes it taste better Mom!".

Today. Riley ran around the corner of the living room, into the dining room, with his wild just slept on hair, and a bright and bushy look on his face.He quickly said "I want some cheeeeeeerrrrrroooos too!!!". Usually he is not this bubbly in the morning. Took me by surprise! He's like me, takes a while to warm up, and wake up.

Today. Jackson asked if he could make one of these again. In case you could not tell. It's a chitty chitty bang bang car. Made out of laundry hamper,chair, baby doll basket, and many blankets.

Riley had to sit in the baby basket. Though he is not the smallest of our children. He is the youngest. It took a few minutes to get him out of it. Thankfully wicker bends easily.

Today. Clara was playing with her polly pocket swimming pool set. And apparently Bat-Man and Robin are Polly's BFF's. Oh to be Polly with that pretty pool...and palm trees...and hunky super hero's stopping by for a quick dip.

Wait a minute. I am Polly. (Okay, minus the sweet swimming pool and palm trees and cute teeny tiny bikini and...I'll stop there.)

Today. I have a hunky super hero, who lives in my house. And leaves me sweet comments on FB for the entire world to see like this. (Okay, so maybe only my "friends" can see this, but whateva, the simple gesture blessed my socks off!)

"I am madly in love with you! Thought you should know..."

And my superhero sticks around to play with the kids all day, because I was sick. Then makes them dinner, and gives them baths, and puts them to bed. And waits on me hand and foot.

Take that Polly Pocket!

I have an awesome life.

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Yesterday. We took some friends to the pool. I'm so thankful for friends who don't care what I look like, my house looks like, or my kids look like. Who just want to hang out with us. And are up to throwing swimsuits in the car, driving 30+ minutes, to go swim, while it's cold and icy outside. Yep. It was awesome.

Clara swam around like a little fishy. She swam all the way across the pool and back. Where did my lil' baby girl go? She was so sweet trying to encourage her brothers to come with her. But, that was not going to happen.

Elliott...in his element. Talking I'm sure at the top of his lungs. Us Momma's had to yell many times "GUYS NOT SO LOUD!!!!" Noise just seems to bounce off of everything in a indoor pool!

Clara had a blast with Lydia. So glad she could swim with us, Lydia's ear drum ruptured last week. But her momma found this super cool head band thing to keep her ear plugs in. Good thing too, cause she was jumping in the pool!

While Riley just watched from the sidelines. Jackson and Elliott hung out around the stairs. Amazing to see how different they all are.
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Today. I am enjoying a clean house. Plus to sleeping all day and recovering from sickness? Having a TON of energy to stay up all night and clean our home! Then, I sat on the couch and watched the sun rise...while basking in the cleanliness that I knew would not last once the littles were awake. Love the lamp? I do too. My momma bought this beauty for me, 80% off at hobby lobby last week! I <3> it, but I love my Mom WAY more.

Today. We are Home. Like many days this winter. And I do love being home.

Today. We did school. I had to laugh, Jackson was coloring his vegtables from his school assignment. And talking with me about eating healthy, and how he loves carotts, celery, and brocolli. While Riley and I were eating chocolate cheesecake left over from last night. And Riley kept saying "I just wub cake".

Today. I am thankful. That I can stay inside, and watch this bundle of pink make snow angels out my window.

Today. I am blessed to count forty little toes at our house. And listen as they play with potato heads, counting all the pieces we have. And pretending Mr. potato head is at the doctor.

Today. I am thankful to be home. To have a home. Thankful we are not pioneers, like we've been reading about in school. Log cabins and simple lives are neat to read about, but in this cold, I can't imagine what it would be like to be them. Home for me, is where my family is. And for them I am most thankful.

Today. Was not an easy day. It was rather stressful, with a doctors appointment for our kids, that did not go like I was expecting. But, now, we are home. And I am SO glad to be home!

"Ah, Home, Let me go home!

Home is wherever I'm with you!"