Thanksgiving

Thank you Lord, for the family and friends you have given me, for the crazy job, and most of all for being with me through it all.

There are things to be thankful for if we just stop and look. Yeah, yeah, I know that we should be thankful for breathing, and walking, and clothes, and family, and all that great stuff, but what about the crazy day with too many children and not enough patience.   The daily stuff is what's so stink'n hard, and yet it has Your beauty in all of it. The whining of my three yr old, the 4th dirty diaper in an hour, even the husbands dirty socks left under the coffee table have the glow of You.  Can we be thankful for yelling at our kids, for seeing the pain and heartache in the world?  No, I don't think anyone is Thankful for their shortcomings, but please remember that without them we would not have a need for a savior.  We would have no need for anything but ourselves, because we would fill all our needs.  So in a way I am thankful for my shortcomings.  Pride comes before a fall, but if we remember how far we are from perfect, I think we might just see things closer to the way God does.  I am thankful this Thanksgiving that God made us the way He did, and that He gave us the gift of salvation to remedy that fact.
Happy Thanksgiving

What a great Sunday

Yesterday after a great time at Church we ate lunch outside, then Dustan and Sophie grabbed a football, and Lily and I sat outside in the shade while the ball was passed around.  

It feels like a long time since they have played outside with their dad, the girls were both giddy to say the least.  (I was pretty giddy myself.)

Dustan left for work, Sophie attempted a nap, and Lily tried her hand at sneaking into the room to wake up Sophie.  After coming to the realization that Sophie was not going to nap, we all went outside and played with chalk and pretended to fish.  Lily did nap, and I made a crazy potato, cheese, and chicken casserole for dinner, which Dustan made it home in time to eat.  Then it was time for some football watching, and baths.  

It was a great day!

What a great Life

So, I am tired, lonely, frustrated, and all around grumpy, but I'm not sure why.  God never said he would give me an easy road. He promised me He would never leave me alone on that road, and guess what, He has followed through with that promise over and over again.

Teach me to lean more into you, Lord, and expect less from this world.

Hotel

So, let me start by saying I have a phobia of mice, rats, anything in the rodent family really,  So, when I saw a mouse in my house last night I "freaked" out.  Grabbed the kids after being carried to the bed room and calmed down by my husband, and went to a hotel for the night.  Judge me if you will, but I could not stay a night with my babies, knowing there was a mouse there.  So on a lighter note the girls got to spend the night in a great hotel, and we had a really good time.  My husband is in charge of ridding the house of it's guest, and we will spend a great time with the grandparents this weekend.

Sunday School

Yesterday at Church I taught the 3-4 Sunday School lesson.
We had 5  little ones in the class, and had a great time.
One part of the lesson stuck in my mind.  The lesson was on Jesus' return to earth (in Revelation). I asked the kids what they thought heaven would be like, and you could have heard crickets chirping.  So, I asked what they would say to Jesus if they saw or met him, still no response. Then I asked what they might give Jesus if they met him.  This question I did get a response from.  They might give him a cake or a puppy, or even a  hug.
This got me thinking what would I give Jesus if I saw/met him?
At first I am silent like my little ones in the class were. I just don't know.  Then I start to think, wait I meet Jesus every day. What do I give him, or do I even notice him? There are many "Sunday School" answers that come to my mind, but truly, what does he desire of me?  What does he want from me, and will I give that to him?
All I feel capable of doing is calling out, "Help me be more like You, I am your's!".  That sad un-elegant prayer is probably a more true statement right know than anything else I can say, and the only thing I am capable of giving my Savior.
I hope each of those precious children grow to give their lives daily to Christ, and encourage others to do the same.

My funny little girls

How precious you two are. Gifts from God, and nothing short of miracles.  I pray each day that God gives you both Wisdom, the ability to see Truth, and Peace over your lives.  I will not always be there to protect you, but you have a heavenly father that loves you more than your earthly daddy or I ever could. Hold on to that truth, and do not let Satan still the power it gives you!  You are daughters of the King held high and exalted. 

I love you always and forever your Momma-

What a great week

On Tuesday morning it was cool and breezy outside, so I took my girls out to take some pictures. We had a really good time being silly.

 On Thursday, we had a play date with one of Sophie's friends.  We are all tired and worn down, but we are happy, and I think that's pretty awesome.
Football has started, and I am o.k. with that.  Dustan is enjoying the cooler weather, and the Lord is helping me remember that Loving my girls is the most important thing. Not clean dishes, swept floors, or even made beds for guests. God is my strength, joy, and sanity.

A couple of days

So, I have been sick with a monster cold, and really as much as I told people I was fine. I was not fine.  Dustan, like a champ, took charge of the girls one night, and just let me go to bed. (Lovely man)

I am now about 85% better, but people keep asking me if I'm sick (so I must not be all the way better yet). 

The pictures below were last night before Dustan had to leave on an emergency call, as you can see Sophie has been missing time with her daddy, and I think He has been missing time with his girls.  

Lily loves books just as much as her big sister did at her age.  The difference being she has to try and keep big sister from taking them away from her.  (This talent she has not quite learned yet.)

It's been a rough couple of days, but I think we are in the home stretch. 

Galveston 2013

We have been out of town for over a week, and it has been wonderful!

Dustan, Sophie, Lily, and I went to Galveston for  a week.  We stopped by the girls grandma's on the way down, and on the way back.  We loved the beach this time just as much as the last time we went down, and I think Lily likes the water even more than her big sister.  

The girls had a hard time getting rest at night, but that didn't stop us from playing all day.  What fun memories we made building sandcastles, digging for clams, finding seashells, walking up and down the beach, jumping over the waves, going to the aquarium (where we saw lots of amazing sea creatures), and just relaxing together in the beach house.  

 

We love getting to spend time together as a family, and this trip blessed us with a lot of that. What a great gift God gave us, when he made "the beach".

 

Lily

Happy Fourth!

What fun we had! The four of us went to the next town over, got the girls up after bedtime, and sat to watch some awesome fireworks.  

What fun we had!

daddy's hOme! (and a Party)

Dustan got home Saturday afternoon, about the same time we did, and the girls and I had a great time with him! We are all so happy to have him home.

On Sunday after Church Sophie had a birthday party to attend.  Sophie and I got to go (just us). Daddy stayed home with Lily.  So Sophie got to play, and I got to relax and enjoy for a little bit.

It was a great weekend.

Play date

Sophie and Brit playing outside

Lily having a great time in her skivvies 

Crazy Art Lesson!

So... I don't have a picture to show, but yesterday after swimming all morning, washing the car, Sophie taking a 40 minute nap, I had art lesson at my house.  I had three art students under 11, and one that is a mommy and brought her 2 year old to play with the sitter while we drew.
The baby sitter did not show.
We had toys, pencils, paper, laughing, screaming, no crying (thanks to God's grace and mercy), and I think we all had a really good time.
I will call and verify my sitter for next week, I must try to prevent that from happening again!

My Birthday, and a Trip to Vegas

Dustan took me out for my 32nd birthday!  He left it as a surprise until the babysitter showed up to watch the girls at 10:00 on Saturday morning.  We drove to Greenville where he had to pick up a van for work, needless to say I was sitting there thinking, hum... I wonder where this "birthday" surprise will go from here, but after some issues with the rental company, he decided to drop what his plans had entailed, and make it up as we went along.  So we drove to the "big city" and had a steak lunch.  He says I am always happier after I eat steak.  It is probably true. From there we went to shenanigans and played a fun game of black light mini golf (a first for both of us).  We both were ready to get back to the girls, and have them help us celebrate the rest of the day.  

  

When we got home Dustan and Sophie made a cake while I went by myself and bought some much needed luggage for Dustan big trip to Vegas today.  We had hamburger helper, and a Sophie decorated cake for dinner.  It was wonderful.

Dustan left for Las Vegas at about 11:00 yesterday, while the girls and I went to church.  He and his staff drove all through the night , and arrived at the Hoover Dam at 6:30 this morning, just in time to see the sun rise.  It is a happy looking crew considering they just spent about 19 hours in a van together.  

Swimming

We got to go swimming at a friends house yesterday.  I am so proud of my Sophie.  She was timid at first, but soon found that she could go around the pool all by herself.  I am looking forward to not having to watch her so closely once she learns to swim by herself.   Currently my stress level rises every time we get near any body of water and Sophie is not right by my side.  That should not last to much longer.

Tile

So today I had a long lunch with my husband to pick out new tile for the shower in our master bath.
I love my husband, but I do not like shopping with him.
I have this idea that someday in the far off future we will need to make a decision together, and we will not huff, puff, grunt, or be angry in any way.  As of right now, we have not discovered that skill.
At the end of our time at Home Depot we did leave with tile we are both happy with, but it's the getting there that is so hard.  I am a planner, and my husband is not.  He felt that writing out the dimensions of the shower would be plenty of planning. So, as I stood by waiting for him to figure out how many we needed of a certain size, I thought about what I would have done. I would have done all the math, and figured out exactly how many of each size and style of each possibility we might need.  Then go over that about eight times before we even left the house.  
I have to laugh at the differences between us.
If we were the same I might never laugh, and over all there is a lot of laughter between the two of us.
Dustan,
Thanks for picking out tile with me, and being patience when my planning goes a little over board.
I love you-

Sophie went fishing

 We had a great time at Dustan's sisters Baby Shower.  While we were down in Houston, Dustan decided to take Sophie fishing with Pa Pa.  She did great and caught "alot" of fish.

Children's Museum

We got to go as a family to the Children's Museum here in Commerce on Saturday.  Sophie had a blast showing Daddy where everything was and how to do it.  They have added things since the last time we were there, so she was super excited to try the new attractions.  Lily had a big play area covered in mats for her to play on, and we took a trip to McDonald's to get a happy meal for a treat at lunch.  It was a great day for the rain to come in, and us still play all day!

Play date

Sophie's friend Brit came over for a couple of hours yesterday.  Here's Brit, Sophie, and Lily playing

Brit and Sophie (3 yrs)

Lily (8 months)

God's Love...

These girls are a highlight of God's love for us.  

Always there, ready to listen, wanting to spend time with you.

What a lucky Momma I am.  

This picture is blurry, but I think it shows how great they are with each other.  

My Family

One last ditch effort before my sisters wedding!

Saturday was crazy! But we will have memories of that weekend for a while at least:).

Mom and I made bows aalll morning, then Dustan and I went to meet the florist to pick out my sister Julie's and my bouquet for her wedding this Saturday.   The apt we showed up for at 1:30 got moved to "sometime later" and Dustan and I went shopping for shoes, and more ribbon. We got a call at 3:10 saying the florist was back and we ran over to talk to her in the cat hair filled rooms (My husband is deathly allergic). Then we went home to feed lily and ran out for more shoes shopping. At 7:00 we found some shoes that will work, and ran to eat something for our Anniversary tomorrow (eight years).  Got home, fed Lily, and got out of the house around 8:45.  Watched random fireworks on the way home off the highway, and stopped for a potty break. Got home at 9:45, and got Soph in bed around 10:15.

We are all exhausted, and Sunday was great, but was just as tiring, so we are all on the grumpy side today.
If I had thought about it I would have posted a pic of the shoes I bought, but of course I got out of the house today without my phone.

Thank goodness for hard. crazy days, or we would never have any memories worth remembering!

Thank you, to all the people that have every prayed for me and my family.  We are indebted to you always.

Lily

Lily is a breath of happiness.
I love cuddling her and loving her.
She is sitting up all by herself, and I hardly feel the need to put the Boppy around her as a safety net.  She loves raddles, and squeak toys.  She is a fan of all food that can be put into her month, but really loves Rits crackers.  Watching her sister Sophie is her favorite past time (the world could be falling apart, but if Sophie is dancing we must stop everything and watch).  This little girl has the world before her, and I am so excited to see what she decides to do with it.

Julia & Justin's Wedding

Julia and Justin's wedding was one to remember.  Dad, Mom, Laura Hope, Boomer, and I went on Saturday.  I think the picture may sum up how much fun we had.

Dustan stayed at my parents house with the girls, and allowed me to have some fun with my parents sis, and bro. 

Love you Dustan-

A few funny pics

So, Dustan and Sophie were playing in the Living Room.  I had to take a picture. 

As you can clearly see daddy has passed out, and Sophie has lovingly covered him with all the blankets she could find.  Sophie has then taken it upon herself to entertain herself.  I love these guys!

Cute

Why do kids think so hard over all things!  Sophie and Lily both give me this kind of concentration all the time.  

Lily got sick on Monday at school so I left work half done, and went to pick her up.  We had a quite afternoon, until Dustan brought sister Sophie home. Lily has a massive cold (she seems better today), and hopefully I don't get a call today.  I also hope neither Sophie or I catch this thing. Yuck.
BTW: no movie and cereal for dinner, Lily would not hear of it:)

Hummm,

Yesterday we had Church in the morning, and then the end of the year ATS party at our house in the evening.  Yard work, cleaning the house, and just getting dressed seemed to wear us all down.  We were all exhausted this morning, and I got to work a half hour late (Not bad for waking up an hour later than usual).  The girls and I need a break this evening.  I think we may just eat cereal, and have movie night.  Yes, Yes I think that is a plan:).

Great Time!

I wanted to post some of the pics from the Library on Tuesday. We had a great time.

We also got to go dress shopping yesterday with my oldest sister Julie.  If I can take a minute to brag on my kids they were amazing, and allowed me to be there for my sister while she picked out a wedding dress. Awesome Time!

So, I realized after I posted the video of Sophie on her bike that I should put one of Lily on here. (Please excuse the coughing in the background Sophie is still not quite well.)  Lily is moving and shaking!  She will be crawling before I blink I am sure.

We went to the Library yesterday, and enjoyed a new children's display they have up.  The display consist of giant padded books (perfect to climb on).  Sophie loved it! Lily giggled, laughed and rolled all around.  We read about 6 books, and just had a great time.  I think Sophie would have staid all day if she had her way, but sadly we had to leave to nap.
Art Lesson came next, and as always I had a great time talking "art" with my kids, I even wrangled my babysitter into sitting as a model for a few minutes.
Then we went and had dinner with Daddy at the Field House here on campus. Hot Dogs and  Hamburgers always taste better when I don't have to cook them :)

Woo... what a weekend

Sophie came down with a fever on Thursday afternoon, so forgive me missing posting for so long.
For the record; I do not like my daughters being sick, but  the one on one time we get together is pretty wonderful.

On Wednesday night I took a video of Sophie riding her bike.  She is doing pretty awesome if I do say so myself.  I do need to work on getting her going straight soon.  I don't want her getting too dizzy.

On Thursday I went to my annual docs apt. and Soph stayed with Nana.  Lily came with me.  The nurses and Doctor made a fuss over Lily like they always do over little ones.  When I got back to Nana's, Soph went down for a nap, and woke up with a screaming fever. (No fun).  We stayed for dinner, so I could hold Sophie while Nana watched Lily, and made dinner(Yah for mommas!).  Then we got home, and Sophie fell straight to sleep.  Friday she still had a fever, so I took Lily to school, and came home to a house with just me and Sophie.  We played, cuddled, and watched TV.  For lunch she was feeling better(Tylenol), so we splurged on a happy meal from McDonalds.  Daddy was gone all day Saturday, so I was just me and the girls.  We played, but Sophie mainly slept.  By the evening her fever had broken.  Sunday was tiring, but Sophie was a champ and made it through 2 hours.  When we got home, she was ready for another nap.  We are all back at school and work today.  I hope both girls are having a great day!

My Sophie is Three Today

What a beautiful gift God gave us when we had you, my Sophie.
I don't thank him enough for the funny, smart, and talented girl you are.
I do find my self treating you as if you are a grown up, and at the same time I hope and pray that you stay a child for as long as you can.  Fight growing up.
Three years have flown by, and I know the next will go even faster.
Just know we love you with all our hearts, minds, and souls.
LOVE YOU*LOVE YOU*LOVE YOU

Your Momma-

Sophie Marie's 3rd Birthday Party!

This year has to be my favorite birthday party so far!  

We had Grandma Gwena, Nana, Grampa Ralph, Uncle Boomer, Shawna  and Josh Hinkel, Bonnie and Mike Smith, and Sarah Mitchell. 

The kids were, Sophie, Lily, Lyndsey, CJ Mitchell, and Brit Smith. We had car races, bubbles, hot dogs, hula hoops, presents, cupcakes, and a lot of fun.  A beautiful day and even better people.

Sophie got a bike for her birthday and she is slowly learning how to ride!

She insist on making funny faces with no smiling involved. 

Here she is the next day riding around the patio. 

Poop, poop, Poop!

Sophie is having a bit of an issue getting to the potty on time when it comes to pooping. I must admit it is driving me a little bit crazy!

Sisters

(not sure about each other)

(Like each other a lot)