Happy Eight

I remember that day, 8 years ago, like it was yesterday. When they put her on my chest for the first time and I saw her, brand new, oh how I fell in love.

My Abigail.

She's always been my wild one.
My adventure seeking beauty.
She's not afraid of anything and teaches me so much about embracing life.

She's the one I found on top of the fridge at age 2, happily waving down to me while I nearly had a heart attack.

She's the one who, while played hide and seek with her sister at her brother's hockey practice, found the "perfect spot" at the swimming pool on the other side of the complex. Nearly gave this mama a heart attack when we couldn't find her.

She's the one who just didn't understand the meaning of  "inside voice".

She's the first to try a new food. The last one out of the pool. The first to get up in the morning. The last to leave the party.

She truly squeezes out every bit of joy she can- in ALL things. In fact she can turn an ordinary day into one filled with imagination and fun. Sometimes I find myself asking her to stop her silliness, and sometimes Wisdom tells me to just be quiet and let her be.

I could stand to be a little more like her.

Lately, I see a new maturity in her.... it's a beautiful thing. There's a new softness. A gentleness that wasn't there before. She's quick to obey and I see a sweet leadership quality being developed. It's fun to see this change begin to take shape.

Her spark though, it's still there. And I pray, with everything that is in me, that it will never leave.

Happy Birthday my beautiful Abby.
Oh how I adore you.

xo
Mommy

Elliot Joy

When I was pregnant with my Ellie I had a dream. In that dream I had a beautiful little girl named Elliot. I woke up excited and with so much joy! I actually woke Chris up to ask him if he liked the name and to my surprise (because we were having a hard time agreeing on names) he just smiled. We both loved her name. 

Later that morning I looked up the meaning of her name.

Elliot 

(el-ee-uh-t)

noun

1. Close to God
2. Believes in God

3. The Lord is my God

Joy
(jo-i)
noun
1.joy- a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.

And I knew right then, in my heart of hearts, that it was really Jesus who named her. Her name is a promise to her, to us, from Him.

My dearest Elliot Joy,

Today you are four years old.

You have truly brought SO much joy to our family. You are silly and kind and teach us all how to have a little more fun in our day.

I can already see your sweet relationship with God deepen. You are always the first one to want to pray. Hearing your little voice speak to God is the sweetest sound.
Often I find you singing worship songs to yourself and you are always the first one to ask to turn up the worship music in the van!

My deepest prayer for you is to be close to God. To believe in him. To stand proudly and say "The Lord is my God" and to find joy in your everyday. If you seek Him in all things, I promise you will.

I adore you my sweet girl.
Happy birthday beautiful!

xoxo
Mommy

Summer Fun Idea

Want to entertain your kids for HOURS? 

Fill up a kiddie pool with water and add bubble bath. 

Simple. Easy. Fun. 

Seriously. My girls played in here ALL DAY LONG! 

Happy Summer! xoxo 

Smarty Pants

It all started a couple months ago at dinner.
We were sitting around enjoying our meal when all of a sudden our little Selah looked up at us and her left eye was completely crossed in.
Out of the blue.
Completely crossed.



It continued to cross throughout the evening and into the following day, so I made an appointment to see our family doctor, who then referred us to a specialist at the children's hospital. And after a couple of months of waiting our little one was given her very first pair of glasses.



It was quite the chore finding a pair small enough to fit her little face, but we ended up finding some that she liked. Purple, no less (her absolute FAV color!)



They have certainly taken some getting use to (we've lost and found them twice already) and we've been back to the store to get them re-adjusted a few times (now, I'm a pro and readjust them myself!) but all in all she's doing great. I think she looks pretty darn cute.

My little smarty pants.
(she looks smarter with glasses, no?)
;)

7/11

Today is July 11th, 2011.

 7/11  

DAY!!!

And we celebrated. 

Slurpee style.

Yes. That's right.

They each got there own.

A cup full of sugar.

Thank you very much.

I paid for it later with some K-RAZY kids bouncing off the walls.

But it was worth it.

Oh, so worth it.
I heart these kids so, so much.
And I love doing little things with them that bring them so much joy.

Happy Happy Summer!!!

P.S

We stole this idea from Denise.

She has all the good ideas.

I want to be her when I grow up.

Or at least get to meet her in real life.

Right now she just lives in my computer 

:(

Summer Fun List 2011

We are down to just 3 more days of school.

Yippee! 

Summer is almost here!

I seriously CAN NOT WAIT.

Last year I decided to be more intentional about our summer. I made up a simple little curriculum and the kids and I had fun in our own little summer homeschool. In doing this I discovered that we accomplished so much more than we would have if we hadn't done it. By planning ahead we certainly cut down on the "mom I'm bored" complains :)

This year I decided to change things up a bit and make a big ol' list of all the exciting things we want to do this summer. 

So today, Evan and I sat down and listed off a few fun ideas. 

Then we hung it up in the kitchen where it will be a constant reminder of the awesome summer we will have :)

Here's a bit of a close up:

I seriously can't wait for summer to start, so that we can jump into all this fun.

And in case you were looking for a few ideas, here's our list:

play a board game

water balloon fight

nature hike

go to the farmers market

visit the pet store

make a book nook

bring popsicles to a neighbor

have a sidewalk chalk art show

make fresh lemonade

go on a bike ride

build a fort out of sheets

have a picnic

go on a bike ride

play outside in the rain

camp out

write and draw a comic book

make smores

make banana splits

root beer floats

zoo

play musical chairs

pool party in the backyard

car wash in bathing suits (the kids NOT me! ha!)

stampede

get an ice cream from the ice cream truck

build a marshmallow and toothpick house

bake cupcakes

stay up late

pjs and movie

scavenger hunt

paint rocks

invite friends to the lake

obstacle course

have a sleepover

take cookies to a fire station

bubbles in the bathtub

paper fence art show

day trip to banff

paint with pudding

kids make dinner

go bowling

read a family book

calaway park

play a card game (uno, go fish)

build a sandcastle

visit the library

build a lego castle together

go fishing

run through sprinklers

make homemade playdoh

make homemade fruit roll ups

write and mail letters to grandparents

donate food, clothes and toys

south glenmore park

make bird feeders

phew. 

i've also left room at the bottom in case we think of more fun to add to our summer ;)

What about you?

What are some of the things you have planned for your kiddos this summer?

keeping 'em busy...

Water
+ Dollar Store Paint Brushes

+ Bubbles

= TWO entire hours of peace and quiet for mama!
Yay!

2 Months

How on earth are you TWO months already?
Weren't you just born yesterday?!
Oh, my sweet girl.
Please stop growing so fast!

At two months you:

* are the most easy going baby-EVER. You love when your brother and sisters hold you and don't fuss at all when they smother you with kisses (which just happens to be every 5 mins)

* are sleeping 8 hours at night (and have been for the last 2 weeks.) Mommy promises to buy you a pony.

* have started to smile. Oh how I melt.

* breast feed like a champ and are now 10lbs 4oz- you chubby little thing :)

* still love to be swaddled.

* melt me every time I look into those huge deep blue eyes.

* smell sooooooo good (I wish I could somehow bottle that up!)

* have fit so perfectly into our family.

I thank God everyday for allowing me to be your mommy.
You are such a joy.
I love you more than words can say.

Precious Girl

Little girls are precious gifts, wrapped in love serene.

Their dresses tied with sashes and futures tied with dreams.

-- Author Unknown


My sweet girl,
What do I love most about you?

I love your spirit.
Your laugh.

I love your gentleness.
Your passion.
Your confidence.

I love how you can find joy in every situation.
I love that you love Jesus
and how you can't get enough of your baby sister.

I love how your hair curls
and your big brown eyes.

I love how you bounce into our room every morning {with a smile on your face} ready for the day.
and how you put your hand on your hip whenever you explain something to me.

I love your smile, your giggles, your song.
Oh, how I LOVE your made up silly songs.
{and the way your face looks when you sing them.}

I love your snuggles.
And the way you give hugs.

I could spend eternity counting all the ways
I LOVE YOU.

Thank you Jesus for making my world better with my little princess.

Happy 4th birthday baby girl.
You make my life so sunny.
xoxo

Sunshine

You are my sunshine.
My only sunshine.


You make me happy
{oh, so happy!}


When skies are grey.


You'll never know, dear,


How much I love you....


Please don't take my sunshine away.

Blessed beyond measure...

This weekend we celebrated our little Ellie with the most wonderful baby shower.
My sister Tammy and good friend Wendy completely spoiled us with a relaxed and super fun baby shower.

The house was decorated so beautifully and the food was SO amazing. And since Miss E is our fourth baby and third girl they decided on a diaper/meal shower and asked guests to bring either a package of diapers or a freezer meal for us.

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

AMEN and AMEN!!!

How awesome it that?!
Seriously?!
Diapers and meals... what more could new parents want?
Oh how we are blessed beyond measure!

We visited, played a few fun games and of course gushed over newborn sweetness.

One of the best parts of the shower were these birthday cards that Wendy had made.
They were numbered 1 to 18 and during the shower our guests took the time to fill in their hopes/dreams/prayers for our little Ellie. She will then get to open one up every year on her birthday until her 18th birthday. Isn't that the sweetest thing EVER?!

Our little one was so good. She slept almost the entire time and did wonderfully being passed around like a hot potato :)

And our older girls were so excited to be able to stay and celebrate their sister. Although our almost four year old had a hard time understanding why we kept calling it a "shower." She even corrected her grandma by saying "No Elliot has baths, she's too little to have a shower!"
;)

Daddy and our boy escaped to a movie before all the ladies arrived. When they came home they surprised us with a little gift for Ellie too. Big brother made us all close our eyes and then presented them proudly telling us that he had picked them out himself....

Isn't that sweet?

Yes indeed. We are crazy blessed.
Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family. We are so overwhelmed by your love for our little family.

And in the interest of keepin' it real around here...
Shortly after everyone had gone home my sweet Ellie decided to give me a gift of her own.
Any guesses as to what {oh so ironically} she gave?

Mmmhmmm.
That's right.

Sweet baby girl had the BIGGEST diaper blowout ever.
EVER.
Friends, I have changed my fair share of blowouts but this one definitely took it to the next level.

She had poo in her armpits.
'Nuff said.

And for the shower I had dressed her in the cutest little onesie that had to {sadly} slip over her head to come off.
Awesome.

So I gave her a nice bath (which she screamed through the entire time.}
Sigh.

Ah well.
No time like the present to put those diapers to good use. Right?!

It's a good thing she's so darn cute...

Tap.Tap.Tap...Is this thing still on??

Yup.

We're still here....

Still soaking up her sweetness...

Still subjecting her to mini photo shoots....


Still lovin' on her.

I'll try to muster up some blogging energy soon and post something more than once a week...
but for now I am just happy to spend my day soaking her up.
Can you blame me?
:)
Love to you all!
xoxo

All I want for Christmas....

The Tooth Fairy and Santa all in one week!!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!
{You'd think he won the lottery!}
;)

nap time

it's nap time....
she should be sleeping
BUT
i can still hear her bouncing around up there.
i've already been up there a couple of times to tell her to go to sleep.

sadly (oh, so sadly)
she's growing out of her naps.
most days she just has "quiet time" in her room
where she'll read books or sing quietly.
but today
TODAY
she needs a nap.
boy, does she need one.

i can tell from all the whining.
the crying over ev.ery.thing.
the short fuse.
and most of all i know from the one thing she only does when she's tired,
the sucking her thumb.

i should go up again and put her back in her bed....
but today
TODAY
i need a nap.
baby has been keeping me up at night and i'm crazy tired.

i can tell from all my whining
my crying over silly little things.
my short fuse.
so even though i can hear her up there
and know i should once again go remind her it's rest time.
i don't.
instead i lay on the couch.
give into my fatigue.
and fall asleep to an episode of 19 kids and counting.
(michelle is my hero. seriously. my hero.)

i wake up to a quiet house.
it's 3:05 and i have just enough time to stumble upstairs and get my girls up
before we have to shoot out the door to pick up big brother from school.

i open her door quietly and find...
awesome.
actually this isn't that bad at all.
just a couple of drawers have been emptied.
and check out her organization.
putting matching underwear with each pair of pants :)

i look at her bed and it's empty.
instead i find her curled up right next to it.

i wonder how long it took her to give in....

sweet child.
why, oh why do you fight it?
:)

Darth Vader, a Dragon and a Giraffe

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween too!

:)
And now, I just need Chris to find a place to hide all this candy....
My willpower is non-existent!
Ahhhhhhh!