Camping Cutie

We made it home safely from our camping trip and I have tons of photographs to edit and post, but Julia's birthday is in a little over 24 hours and I've yet to find a cake recipe or dig out presents from the place I stash them throughout the year. I would like to find a girly party hat for her and finish her birthday DVD before we have family over for pizza on Tuesday (I can't even remember if I called everyone yet. If you're family and you're reading this - pizza will be served at 6pm Tuesday evening) I also need to wrap my brain around the fact that my baby is turning one.

Camping Cutie

We made it home safely from our camping trip and I have tons of photographs to edit and post, but Julia's birthday is in a little over 24 hours and I've yet to find a cake recipe or dig out presents from the place I stash them throughout the year. I would like to find a girly party hat for her and finish her birthday DVD before we have family over for pizza on Tuesday (I can't even remember if I called everyone yet. If you're family and you're reading this - pizza will be served at 6pm Tuesday evening) I also need to wrap my brain around the fact that my baby is turning one.

Oooo La La!!!!

Check out Mommy's new camera! It's only been in the house 10 minutes and already she's taking my picture!

Oooo La La!!!!

Check out Mommy's new camera! It's only been in the house 10 minutes and already she's taking my picture!

Good thing we have a dog that likes broccoli

Good thing we have a dog that likes broccoli

Copeland

I wanted to share the link to a family that is a true testament of what it means to surrender to the Lord's will for our lives.

Copeland

I wanted to share the link to a family that is a true testament of what it means to surrender to the Lord's will for our lives.

Under the Sea

Believe it or not, it was not a day to be outside on Sunday (unless you like hot humid days) so we spent the afternoon at Underwater Adventures. Brianna and her mom joined us to make it an extra special treat.

Check out the cool reflection of Brianna and Wendy on the side of the aquarium.

Julia wasn't phased a bit by the large fish swimming right towards her. Not even the sharks made her shy away. Most people only spend 10 minutes or so in the tunnel but we were in there at least 45 minutes. Brianna and Sam kept running back and forth, loving every minute of their underwater adventure.



At the end of the tunnel is a fun pirate ship the kids can climb on. If it weren't for the sandbox and the opportunity to touch sting rays and sharks, I think those kids would still be climbing all over that thing.

It was worth it to have to brush sand out of everywhere. Sam and JoJo thought it so neat that they could move so quickly across the smooth sand.
Brave Sam!

We always take a picture by Sharky. Just for fun - here is Sam on his first visit with second cousins, Porter and Elsie.

Under the Sea

Believe it or not, it was not a day to be outside on Sunday (unless you like hot humid days) so we spent the afternoon at Underwater Adventures. Brianna and her mom joined us to make it an extra special treat.

Check out the cool reflection of Brianna and Wendy on the side of the aquarium.

Julia wasn't phased a bit by the large fish swimming right towards her. Not even the sharks made her shy away. Most people only spend 10 minutes or so in the tunnel but we were in there at least 45 minutes. Brianna and Sam kept running back and forth, loving every minute of their underwater adventure.



At the end of the tunnel is a fun pirate ship the kids can climb on. If it weren't for the sandbox and the opportunity to touch sting rays and sharks, I think those kids would still be climbing all over that thing.

It was worth it to have to brush sand out of everywhere. Sam and JoJo thought it so neat that they could move so quickly across the smooth sand.
Brave Sam!

We always take a picture by Sharky. Just for fun - here is Sam on his first visit with second cousins, Porter and Elsie.

How I spent naptime yesterday

The crazy part is that I didn't mind. It felt good to tackle a project that there hasn't been time for in a while. It also helped that it was my first day of being a regular stay-at-home mom since Grant is now officially done with daycare. I'm so grateful for the extra time I get to spend with my kids without the complication of other children's schedules. Tuesdays and Wednesdays Brianna will still come over, but she and Sam play so well together it actually makes my day easier. With school on Mondays and Fridays, Brianna on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, my life is far from relaxed, but I am truly savoring this time. I don't want to look back on these early years and wish I'd had more energy, more of myself to give to the kids, or regret that I was too distracted by the busyness of life to enjoy every moment I have with my children. In case you're wondering if the laundry ever got done - it did!

But not before we took turns pushing the basket around the house. :)













I couldn't help but take a picture of Sam's handiwork. I had already helped him put the towels and bibs away once. I wasn't going to do it again. He managed to get them all up off the floor all by himself. :)

How I spent naptime yesterday

The crazy part is that I didn't mind. It felt good to tackle a project that there hasn't been time for in a while. It also helped that it was my first day of being a regular stay-at-home mom since Grant is now officially done with daycare. I'm so grateful for the extra time I get to spend with my kids without the complication of other children's schedules. Tuesdays and Wednesdays Brianna will still come over, but she and Sam play so well together it actually makes my day easier. With school on Mondays and Fridays, Brianna on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, my life is far from relaxed, but I am truly savoring this time. I don't want to look back on these early years and wish I'd had more energy, more of myself to give to the kids, or regret that I was too distracted by the busyness of life to enjoy every moment I have with my children. In case you're wondering if the laundry ever got done - it did!

But not before we took turns pushing the basket around the house. :)













I couldn't help but take a picture of Sam's handiwork. I had already helped him put the towels and bibs away once. I wasn't going to do it again. He managed to get them all up off the floor all by himself. :)

Please Pray for Jennifer

No, the baby isn't here, but she is in the hospital.
You can read about my friend's condition here.
Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Please Pray for Jennifer

No, the baby isn't here, but she is in the hospital.
You can read about my friend's condition here.
Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Warning! Venting and rambling below!

For the past month our weekends have been consumed by open houses and cleaning. We've had perfect weather for them, but still not many people came. In a sense that beautiful weather has been wasted by missing out on family activities. This morning our house was placed on the MLS so we will have a better chance of selling it before the dreaded foreclosure word has to become a reality. So you'd think not having an open house would free us up for fun right? Wrong. It freed us (me) up to do all the work we've had to ignore for the past month - laundry, hair cuts, paperwork, time consuming errands just to name a few. Brian isn't feeling well and I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm jealous. I'm so worn out from 14 hour days with the kids while Brian works long hours at his temp job that I think a bout with a virus would be a welcome break from my life. How sad is that?
To make matters worse, Julia isn't sleeping through the night and hasn't in two months. I feel like I have a newborn again except she's constantly on the go when she's awake so my exhaustion is compounded by having to keep up with multiple mobile children. Last night was the worst - from midnight until 3am she and I were on the couch. I did enjoy snuggling, but I did NOT enjoy the kicks in the stomach as she repositioned herself every 30 minutes. So what in the world am I doing on the computer if I'm so tired? It's a question I'm sure my husband wonders a lot. If I don't stay up after the kids go to bed I'd get ZERO "me" time. Zip. Sam is up at the crack of dawn so there's no way I can get up before him and have time to myself. Gosh, I sound so selfish tonight...Perhaps I should hit delete and forget this post entirely. But then again, how else will I remember in 20 years my confusion and exhaustion during these first years?

I did have the pleasure of taking my sister's senior portraits today so that was a bright spot.
Kara has the most beautiful hazel eyes. :)

Warning! Venting and rambling below!

For the past month our weekends have been consumed by open houses and cleaning. We've had perfect weather for them, but still not many people came. In a sense that beautiful weather has been wasted by missing out on family activities. This morning our house was placed on the MLS so we will have a better chance of selling it before the dreaded foreclosure word has to become a reality. So you'd think not having an open house would free us up for fun right? Wrong. It freed us (me) up to do all the work we've had to ignore for the past month - laundry, hair cuts, paperwork, time consuming errands just to name a few. Brian isn't feeling well and I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm jealous. I'm so worn out from 14 hour days with the kids while Brian works long hours at his temp job that I think a bout with a virus would be a welcome break from my life. How sad is that?
To make matters worse, Julia isn't sleeping through the night and hasn't in two months. I feel like I have a newborn again except she's constantly on the go when she's awake so my exhaustion is compounded by having to keep up with multiple mobile children. Last night was the worst - from midnight until 3am she and I were on the couch. I did enjoy snuggling, but I did NOT enjoy the kicks in the stomach as she repositioned herself every 30 minutes. So what in the world am I doing on the computer if I'm so tired? It's a question I'm sure my husband wonders a lot. If I don't stay up after the kids go to bed I'd get ZERO "me" time. Zip. Sam is up at the crack of dawn so there's no way I can get up before him and have time to myself. Gosh, I sound so selfish tonight...Perhaps I should hit delete and forget this post entirely. But then again, how else will I remember in 20 years my confusion and exhaustion during these first years?

I did have the pleasure of taking my sister's senior portraits today so that was a bright spot.
Kara has the most beautiful hazel eyes. :)

(a week ago)
Me: Your hair is getting long Sam. It looks like it might be time for a haircut.
Sam: Yes, it is getting BIG.
problem solved - he got a buzz cut this morning.

(a week ago)
Me: Your hair is getting long Sam. It looks like it might be time for a haircut.
Sam: Yes, it is getting BIG.
problem solved - he got a buzz cut this morning.