A Day in the Life...

of our family. I decided a few days ago to try to "let go" of the things I don't really have any control over. Like, messes and puke and mischievous little girls. I COULD have control over these things, but it would make for a VERY long, sad day... The following are a few of the things I am "embracing" and learning to find joy in instead of constantly being frustrated:

So many people have told me to "take a nap when the baby sleeps" to help with my sleep deprivation... Well, THIS is what happens when I do... the girls re-arrange and help themselves to whatever is in the pantry... at least they weren't hungry!

I am "embracing" the fact that our bookshelves will never be "quite right" again... but I am thankful they LOVE to read! I was completely frustrated with the girls fighting this afternoon so I sent them to their beds. When I came downstairs, I came across this: (Time out didn't last very long!)

Like my new, constant accessory? (The puke, not the baby.)

At least it proves she eats!

The girls insist on playing Barbies in EACH of the rooms upstairs... even the bathroom! Gross... but they DO play well together!

Barbies are EVERYWHERE!!

(This is a CONSTANT at our house.)

I walked into the kitchen a few minutes ago and found a drum set:

They are VERY musical children!

Melissa has a bad case of OCD and INSISTS on finishing EVERY puzzle she pulls out of the cabinet... today there were 8. I constantly remind myself that she is a VERY determined little girl and determination is what she needs in today's world...

There are several other things I am learning to embrace like, messy hair, loss of memory, and pancake dinners. While these things irritate the tar out of me, at the end of the day I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Nature to Nurture...

Each week I receive an email entitled "Family Gems" that sends quotes and inspiration from different talks and articles given by leaders of our church about raising families. The one this morning really hit home with me. It was by M. Russel Ballard and it read, "Satan is always attempting to undermine the most precious element of a woman's divine nature- the nature to nurture." A mother-daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured. She is loved. She is taught and experiences firsthand what it feels like to have someone care about her enough to correct her while continuing to encourage and believe in her at the same time."

This felt like such a daunting task and I immediately felt overwhelmed wondering if I was nurturing our children enough. If my lack of patience was somehow ruining them for life and causing just the opposite to occur. A few hours later Melissa BEGGED me to let her help feed Abbie. So, I pumped some milk for her and watched as my FIVE year old daughter fed, soothed and burped her newborn sister like a seasoned Mom. I knew then that even though I have so, so many flaws, they are catching on and learning what is important. Look at my helpful, beautiful daughters.

She didn't even mind the spit up!

Let them eat cake...

This past Friday I made 3 Birthday cakes all while holding Abbie. They are not as clean as I would like, but not bad for one hand!

The girls wanted to make Daddy a magnifying glass cake now that he has taught them how to burn things with one... see here:teaching life skills.

Kayla had her 4th party for this year for her friends here and had a "Fun in the Sun" party. They played on a Slip & Slide and in a wading pool sooooo, this is what I came up with for that party:

Shhh. Don't tell the Doctors...

I admit it. I let Abbie sleep on her tummy during nap time. I know. I know. She sleeps SOOOO well on her tummy because the acid reflux doesn't bother her. Besides, who could resist seeing how this little peanut sleeps??

Abbie Swings.. for a bit

Abbie LOVED the baby swing!!! For about 10 minutes. Now she hates it. She also LOVED the Moby Wrap! For less than 10 minutes. Now she hates it. Literally. HATES. IT. Homeschool should be GREAT this year. I have nowhere to put the baby and she screams when I put her down... I know it is because the reflux she has burns her throat, but that knowledge isn't going to make homeschooling one-handed any easier. I need help!

She was cute while she loved the swing for those 10 minutes:

Food Storage Creativity

I have spent so many hours trying to figure out where we can store our food home storage. Our home has VERY little storage space, actually, that is an understatement.. our home does not have ANY storage space. At. All. Under our beds are full and I am out of space to store the large buckets that hold wheat. Well, my worries are over! The girls have shown me that I just need to think "outside the box" when it comes to our HUGE buckets. Take this wonderful creation as an example. After watching an episode of "Olivia" they decided they could turn our buckets into Parade Floats!! They worked for almost an hour on this one, hiding themselves under the dining room table so that they could surprise me. Didn't they do a wonderful job??

The tricky part was pulling that thing behind them during their parade!

Kayla's Birthday

We went "home" for a week and ended up having THREE Birthday parties for Kayla this year. She still has one to go for her friends here... 4 parties for the 4th Birthday! I hope Melissa doesn't expect 6 for her 6th!

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The Greats

We are blessed to be able to have my grandparents in our lives. The following are pictures from our latest visit.

Kayla, Melissa and Abbie with Grandma and Papa Sr.

Abbie with Grandma Nanny

Photos of my Beautiful Abbie

My beautiful Abbie Rae:

Photos by Uncle Jer...

My Lovies

I have wanted Jeremy to take pictures of my girls for MONTHS... he was finally able to do it! Here are just a "few". :)

Abbie's Blessing

We were blessed this past weekend to be able to witness the name and blessing on our little Abbie and my niece Addison in church. We traveled "home" so that all of our relatives could witness it also. Ray's Mom and Dad came too!

Mommy's View

The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to have this view every day.