He is Special

We celebrate special days in our house. The kids really look forward to the privilages that go along with that day, but no matter what we manage to forget to celebrate on the exact date sometimes. It really doesn't matter - in fact when we forget I don't even tell the kids - I simply announce that "tomorrow is your special day!" and go with it. This month we were a day late for both of the kids so it all worked out.

We didn't do anything fancy today, but it was still special. Sam chose cereal for breakfast, pizza in his lunch, and waffles for dinner. Daddy even put strawberry sauce and powdered sugar on top! He's going to be talking about that meal for months! He asked to go to the library after school. I picked out a new dinosaur book for him to check out. We played outside for over an hour when we got home. Sledding, 'snowboarding', climbing the mountains of snow that surround our yard, and throwing snowballs - kinda the last hurrah before the rain comes and washes away all our snow (hopefully!)

After dinner Sam and Daddy played dinosaur and then we played two rounds of the board game "Camp" per Sam's request. We had a fun evening together as a family and for the first time those last two hours before bedtime flew by. He never asked to watch TV. He didn't ask for a treat after dinner. It was a special night! We read their devotional and their Jesus Storybook Bible in Julia's room as has become our tradition and as I finish this up he's curled up in my bed for a sleepover.

I pray that the reason behind our special days (to fill up their love tanks) was successful today - I know my heart is overflowing with love for both of them!

What do you do to give your children the individual attention they crave?

For the Love of Sam

One thing that I've learned over the 6+ years I've been a mom is that while we never really want our babies to grow up, there is something really special about witnessing them grow into themselves. The relationship changes and I think it only gets better! Take Sam for example. He didn't talk in sentences until he was two and a half. Now we can have long conversations about life and I'm loving it! Last night he was suppose to be in bed but we were having such a great talk I didn't even consider cutting it short and sending him to bed.

He soaks up knowledge like a sponge, doesn't forget a thing, and is learning SO much in school. In January he learned to read, in February he learned to count money, and this month he's starting adding and subtracting. He enjoys school (except for the parts where he has to sit too long) and is friends with everyone.


He's excited about the baby coming and is going to be such a great big brother! He also has a name picked out for her, but that one we're keeping to ourselves. Sorry!

This is our Julia

The girl with the curls and incredible the artistic ability.



The girl with a smile that is contagious as her giggle.


The girl who grew two inches this winter but still fits in my arms.


The girl who loves to make lists and likes to help mommy around the house.


The girl who wants to share a room with her baby sister and name her Lucy.

This is our Julia.

Wordless Wednesday - Mommy's little helper

Heart Strings

As I slowly but surely have more days with less medication (learned the hard way yesterday that I can't go cold turkey. The result? Repeated vomiting all morning long) I am able to be in the moment with my kids more often. When the fog lifts there are some really really sweet moments to be had - especially related to this new life growing inside me. A couple recent examples:

Julia: Good night Mommy! Good night baby! Hope you sleep well. {kisses my belly}
Sam: {Julia is already asleep in her bed when Sam comes in} Good night Julia. Jesus loves you!
Julia: {in the bathtub saying a prayer} Thank you for my bath and the baby!
Sam: {Julia asleep in her bed, Sam touches her on the shoulder} God bless you!


Those are some good tugs on this mama's heart strings!

I couldn't resist

Julia and I made a pit stop at the grocery store today right after preschool. It was the worst time of day for us to be doing such an errand, but the alternative (pb&j for dinner) made it it worth it. As she fussed and moaned down the produce aisle I did my best to move quickly and get only what we really needed. I had compassion and empathy for her empty tummy so her whimpering didn't grate on me like it has the potential to do.

As I contemplated buying full sized oranges since they were out of the little sized Cuties we like best, I stood next to a boy (about Julia's age) who was completely unattended. (read: no adult within 25 feet).

He was taking oranges from the front of the row and tossing them to the back of the pile.

Over and over again.

I didn't say a thing. What wast he point? I didn't feel it was my place, but when he asked, "why is she crying?" I couldn't help but reply,

"She's sad because the oranges are getting wrecked?"

"Huh?"

"Well when you toss them around like they they won't be any good."

Cue - parental figure from the tomato aisle who calls the little twerp over to her.

I know I shouldn't have lied to the kid, but man, I couldn't resist!

What would YOU have done in that situation?

She is

She's funny.

She's silly.

She's creative.

She's artistic.

She's tough.

She's adventurous.

She's insistent about blowing kisses and waving whenever anyone leaves.

She's capable.

She's pig headed.

She's affectionate.

She's brave.

She's my baby





and she's four.





Happy 4th Birthday to my angel! Mommy loves you!

slowing down

Life rarely slows down for our family. Even the little trip the kids and I took to ride bikes on some new trails had a two fold purpose. One, our park system is developing a brochure for the new trails so I was asked to take some photographs while the colors are at their peak. Two, it's birthday month for our kids so I dressed them accordingly in hopes of snapping a few keepers to commemorate their 4th and 6th birthdays.

Our outing was fun and productive. I admit I found myself prompting the kids to hurry up so we could get to the next leg of the trail or hurry up to get their seat belts buckled (they can do it themselves now! Hallelujah!). I can feel my heart starting to race and the pressure mount when they move.so.slow. I can also feel that nudge to let them be. Do we really need to hurry up? Sometimes the answer is yes (like this morning when Julia slept until 5 minutes before our departure time) but much of the time I'm hurrying them out of habit.

It's something I want to work on - for their sake and mine. I've started to notice that when they ask for something like a snack or help with something they want me to hurry up! How does that saying go? "Lord grant me patience, and I want it right now!"




Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Keeping House

I've been doing more of the household chores the past couple of months while PapaBear works with the maintenance staff here at the park. It's not permanent work, but the few paychecks we're getting before the winter months set in are like solid gold to me. I still have my blog book business and my photography business work to keep up but I have really been enjoying the break from the ten hour days away from my kids.

Like the post I wrote almost two years ago I am thankful that I can set my other jobs aside during the day and focus on the kids, cleaning, laundry, errands, & cooking. After two weeks without carbs we have added healthy ones back in. I'm baking with Stevia instead of white sugar and making as much of our meals from scratch as possible. Tonight I whipped up homemade biscuits & white sauce for dinner and Julia helped me make peanut butter oatmeal cookies. It's so much healthier to make things from scratch and I really enjoy baking with my kids.

Does everything run smoothly? Of course not!


Dust bunnies still invade the corners of the rooms with hardwood floors.

I still yell at my kids.

We sometimes eat apples with peanut butter and call it dinner.

I plop them in front of the TV so I can make dinner or return some work emails more often than I should.

My friend, Alyssa, posted something today that was very fitting for where I'm at in my life right now. You can read her response to Psalm 90 here. Like Alyssa, this portion struck a cord with me:

(verse 14) Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

(verse 17) May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;

establish the work of our hands for us—

yes, establish the work of our hands.

What is keeping your hands busy these days?

footloose and fancy free

Don't get me wrong, we are very tied to the park during the six month camping season, but there are windows of time that 'we' can get away. Two Fridays ago was one of those times. The catch - PapaBear had to stay and work. The kids and I headed out to find supplies for my kid's program scheduled for the next day. Traipsing across six different parking lots is not my favorite way to spend an evening but with the promise of ice cream and Psalty the Singing Songbook in between, we made the most of it.



The weather was beautiful so when I spotted a lacrosse game in progress at a park on our way home I pulled over.











It felt so normal to be out on a Friday night. We don't usually get to do normal. Funny thing is...I didn't miss it. We get to do the important things like spend time with our family & friends, worship in a church we love just down the road, & raise our kids somewhere pretty special.

And that folks is all that matters to this mommy.





For more Mommy and me posts head over to Kyrstyn's blog:

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Alphabitty Moments - The Letter H

Welcome to Alphabitty Moments! I started this carnival as a way to record the everyday moments of childhood that I didn't want to forget. Holidays and milestones usually involve lots of photographs but the little things that make up childhood can so easily be missed in the hustle and bustle of life.

This week we are on the letter H which for us symbolizes the polar opposite of hustle and bustle.

Our hammocks.

A place where we slow down. Where we snuggle close. Where we connect. Where we spend as much time as we can before the mosquitoes force us inside.








We gave Sam a hammock for his 4th birthday - partly so I could have the chance to relax in MY hammock without being jabbed by elbows and knees. Turns out that as much as I enjoy lounging by myself I much prefer to be curled up with my babies (bony elbows and all!)

Some day we won't all fit in the same hammock so I'll savor the time we have!

Now it's your turn...what H moment do YOU want to remember?

Summer of Firsts for Sam

First time jumping off the end of the dock by himself


first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house


first time being able to volley the tennis ball back and forth


first time across the monkey bars by himself



As much as I feel guilty for not spending as much time with the kids as I'd like, I've been blessed to be a part of all of these firsts and for that I'm grateful! Oh how I love those confidence building moments!

One first that I don't mind missing is Sam learning to ride without training wheels....PapaBear takes him up to the tennis courts which is fine by me. I'm such a wimp when it comes to that sort of thing. Better for Daddy to teach him I say!

A no picture day

But that doesn't mean we didn't do anything yesterday! Just didn't stop to take pictures....so what did we do?

more wrapping of shower gifts
more shower games.
more yummy shower food
more funny stories told
great gag gifts
more funny stories told
back home to clean the house*

outside to catch more bugs
and to water the new flowers

back inside to deal with a crashed reservation system
to eat frozen pizza
and to call the owner of a stray dog

back outside to photograph the progress of our garden

back inside to send wedding proofs and make blog book pages until midnight.

*with all the summer stuff going on our house isn't staying as clean as I normally would like it to be. We are outside a lot and when we do come in, things get dropped and left. If I don't put my foot down, it just keeps getting messier. When I came home from Sunday's shower I started cleaning up from all the mess I'd made getting ready the day before. I was beat but knew that if I didn't clean I would only get grumpy having to walk past everything until I made the time to pick up. I don't want to be the bad guy that makes the kids stop playing to pick up. I also don't want to be the maid. I think I need to be more intentional about family clean up time every night. It's hard to be consistent though. How do you keep up with housework during the busy summer months?

stand tall

I handed the phone to PapaBear and asked him to take a picture of the kids and I.
I didn't know he was snapping away as I corralled the kiddos into the frame.


Two things stood out to me when I looked at the results. The first being, if I'm in the picture it's because I handed over my camera and asked someone to take a posed picture of me with the kids.

And two, I rarely, if ever, stand for a photograph with Sam and Julia. You know what I mean moms...you crouch down to wrap your arms around your child(ren) and try to get a good one of everyone looking at the camera.

How cute are they with their bug nets smiling for Daddy and looking so tall next to me!


I'm sharing this post as part of the Mommy and Me carnival hosted by:

Hosted by Krystyn

Memorial Day Visitor

Remember when I said that my kids live a pretty idyllic life? Today we took a step back from that life to remember those men and women who made it possible.

While we waited for the parade to begin the kids found caterpillars. The simple pleasure of watching their new friends climb all over was not lost on me and hopefully not on the kids as I explained as best as I could that our freedoms in this country - to be at the park (complete with caterpillars) was because of the sacrifices of our service men and women.

If you or a loved one has served or is currently serving in our military- THANK YOU!

I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart

This past week while grocery shopping she belted out the words to that song. Up and down the aisles.... and who was I to stop her?

I LOVE that she isn't shy about loving Jesus. I love that her favorite song is Away in a Manger, that she sings, "This is the Day" whenever the mood strikes her.



The one that gets me every time is when she sings "Come Into My Heart"

Do you know that one? It goes like this:

Come into my heart.
Come into my heart.
Come into my heart Lord Jesus.
Come in today.
Come in to stay.
Come into my heart Lord Jesus.

We sing these songs every time we get in the car to drive somewhere and since we live in the country we drive everywhere. It's a great way to start our day - makes our last minutes together before dropping Sam off at school full of praise and worship. Nothing beats that!

Whenever the opportunity presents itself I talk to the kids about what it means to ask Jesus into our hearts. That if we ask Him to, He will forgive our sins and we can live with Him in Heaven forever. He died on the cross for us - something that we thank Him for every night during our "Thankfuls" (The kids say one thing they are thankful for and one thing they want to ask for forgiveness for. They always say "God & Jesus" and something related to the day. We've been doing it for over a year and it's a great way to end our day.)

Tonight as I was wiping toothpaste off of Julia's face she said something about her heart being cold (not exactly sure what that meant????) so I asked her what could warm her up and she said that Jesus could. The door was open once again for us to talk about what it meant for Jesus to come into her heart.

"That will make my heart nice and warm!"


Mine too baby girl. Mine too.

The view from here

Three nests in three trees.



We watched mama birds feed baby birds from here.

Just this mama with her babies on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

These are the days I want to remember.

This post is part of Krystyn's Mommy and Me Monday. Click on the button to see other mom's who've gotten out from behind the camera.

Hosted by Krystyn

Alphabitty Moments - The letter Y

She was seven months old when she discovered the little yellow flowers that dot our yard each summer.

She's not the only one in our family who likes dandelions. I actually like them too - though I'll admit it's mostly because my kids enjoy picking them so much.









(Left) April 2010 -----(Right) May 2009

Little yellow flowers picked by little hands....some day I won't have Tupperware cups of dandelions on my kitchen counter...so I'll savor them while I can!

Thinking about joining the Alphabitty Moments fun? Click here for more information on how to participate.

let them be little

Let Them Be Little*

I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand.
You felt so good in it; no bigger than a minute.
How it amazes me you’re changin’ with every blink.
Faster than a flower blooms, they grow up all too soon.

So let them be little,
‘Cause they’re only that way for a while.
Give ‘em hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let ‘em cry, let ‘em giggle,
Let ‘em sleep in the middle,

Oh, but let them be little.

I never felt so much in one little tender touch.
I live for those kisses, your prayers an’ your wishes.
An’ now you’re teachin’ me how only a child can see.
Tonight, while we’re on our knees, all I ask is:

Please, let them be little,
‘Cause they’re only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let ‘em cry, let ‘em giggle,
Let ‘em sleep in the middle,

Oh, but let them be little.

The so innocent, precious soul:

You turn around, an’ it’s time to let them go.

So let them be little,
‘Cause they’re only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give ‘em praise,
Give them love every day.
Let ‘em cry, let ‘em giggle,
Let them sleep in the middle,

Oh, but let them be little.

Let them be little.

(*Written by Billy Dean)

These photos were taken on January 29th - right in the thick of Sam not sleeping in his bed. Sometimes he could fall asleep in his bed, but every night for three months he'd make his way to our room before long. It would wake me up and make me crabby until I realized that as long as he crawled in without waking me, I didn't mind him sleeping in our bed.

When he'd have trouble falling asleep I'd let him crawl into our bed and it wouldn't take long before he was off in dreamland. I've always loved the words to this song and have no regrets about this regression in Sam's ability to sleep in his room. In the long run it doesn't matter how we get the sleep we need as long as we're getting it.

Eventually I put a crib mattress next to our bed and he'd crawl into a sleeping bag on the nights he woke in the middle of the night. During this three month stretch he only slept in his bed three times. Now that we figured out that he preferred to sleep on just the fitted sheet (similar to how he was in his crib) he's been sleeping in his bed for two weeks straight...until last night, but that's OK because as the song says, he's only this way for so long!

And if all he needs is to be close to me to sleep better, I'm OK with that!

For more Momentous Monday posts head over to Tiffany's blog...

Wednesday's Walk - 6 months at a time

I do my very best to make the most of every day with my kids. Celebrating half birthdays is just one of the ways we do that. Way back in 2007 we celebrated Sam's very first half birthday by going out to eat. In 2008 we were preparing for the big move to BearCountry during April so we celebrated half birthdays in the new house...on the floor, with picnics.

Look how big my baby boy is now! His smile melts my heart and makes me want to wrap my arms around him forever. He wouldn't mind and has even told me that he wants to snuggle forever. He's my sensitive one, my thinker, my builder, my teaser.

He looks at me with his dark blue eyes and all I see is love. He is sweet, kind, considerate, and helpful....as long as he's gotten enough sleep. In need of a nap and then it's a whole new ballgame.

He's grown two inches since his 5th birthday back in October. He's worn at least a dozen holes in his pants. He doesn't like veggies much anymore, but will eat them S.L.O.W.L.Y if it means he gets to have a treat.

He loves to read his Bible and talk about Jesus. I love hearing him relate something he learned at school to a situation. He loves Star Wars (even though he can't watch the movies anymore because of nightmares), Legos, Dinosaurs (STILL after a YEAR!), candy, Land Before Time movies, baseball, soccer, and tackling with daddy.

Sam I am so blessed to have you for a son. I love you to the angels and back baby boy!


I love your heart, your zest for life, and your smiles...all of them!


For more Wednesday's Walk posts head over to Jenilee's blog....