Five Whole Years

Arabelle,

Today you turned five years old.  Five!!!  How is this possible?  Where has the time gone since you had the little baby voice in this video?  I watched you sleeping this morning in disbelief that another year had passed.  In disbelief that you are as big as you are, that you hold conversations, that you are as mature as you are and that you are who you are.  Life you with you is amazing.  This year has been a fun one for you.  You have learned to tell jokes, or your own version of jokes.  You have your first little pop star crush...a little Bieber fever.  (Although I am not sure you know what liking someone is all about since you also want to marry Lincoln.)  You have made us laugh until we cry.  You have taking a strong liking to posing like a model.  You also really like to dance.  You love deeply and are so passionate about everything.  You even are starting to tell your friends about God and how important it is that they know him and know he is our Father.

I am not going to lie, there are times when things are all sunshine and rainbows though.  You can make us work for it.  Sometimes the tears I cry aren't from a silly joke you told or when you walked in and said "Arabelle in da house", but from wondering how strong willed you can possibly be.  Which I am finding is very strong willed.  You know what you want that is for sure.  But in that you have grown so much this year.  You come and say you are sorry for things you do and are starting to understand repentance.  You want to pray about how you maybe yelled at us or didn't listen.  You are growing in such awesome and amazing ways.

I pray today and ever day that God blesses you in unimaginable ways.  I know that God has a purpose and vision for you that is far beyond any idea I have ever had or could imagine for your life.  He loves you and is proud of you, just as mommy and daddy love you and are proud of you.  We can't wait to see what this next year has for you.  Starting school is just one big thing I can think of.  I know you can't wait for that. 

Happy birthday Bo Bo Bear!  We love you!

Mommy

DIY Christmas Tradition

Hello there,

Since the weather is starting cool down and things are beginning to look a lot like fall, I have been thinking about Christmas.  I know, I am jumping way ahead.  It just happened.  I think it's from years of stores putting out things way too early.  I am pretty sure Hobby Lobby is already marking their Christmas decor and setting up for St. Patrick's Day. 

Anyways, last year while making nifty ornaments during craft time with Mary, I had an idea.  Maybe we, as a family, could make new ornaments for our tree every year. Yes lots of work, but what a fun tradition. Then we could donate the ornaments the next year.  I figured I could set a couple back from the bunches each year for Arabelle and Lincoln.  Then by the time they move out on their own they will have a good set of ornaments to decorate their first trees with.  What do you think?? 

Since I am seriously addicted to Pinterest right now, I have been looking at loads of crafty fun projects.  This is by no means limited to Christmas, but here are some super fun items I have found.

Like this sweet wreath, I mean how cute and you could so do this for just about any season:

Two Junk Chix

How about this cute tree idea I found on Pinterest:

And how precious is this?

 

 

 

Craft Rookie

I know not many ornament ideas, but I am still in the planning stages here folks.  Well I have to get up early for a track meet.  Yep, I am running in a track meet.  Have I mentioned I am 28 and not some amazing professional or Olympic athlete. I mean sometimes when I am dreaming I am...sometimes.  Nope my work participates in this Corporate Challenge thing every year.  Pretty fun actually.  So I am off to rest up so I am good and speedy in the morning. 

Wish me luck bloggies!

Victory!!

I am going to go ahead and say it...step out in faith and declare a victory.  A little over two weeks ago Ryan and I declared a war against our toddler.  We decided to reclaim captured territory and take back what is our God given right.  Ok that may be a bit much and I am not sure it's a God given right, however we took back our bedroom, we took back the night!

Ready for war!

A year ago when we sold our condo we hadn't closed on our house yet, so we moved in with family.  While our families were super gracious and we are super thankful for the opening of their homes once again to us, it threw our little girly's schedule into a serious tailspin.  I should really say there was an overall lack of schedule and that was the problem.  We were all, but Lincoln, in the same room and basically rising and going to sleep at the same time.  Once we settled into our own home, where Arabelle has a wonderfully purple room, she refused to sleep there.  It was as if World War III had broken out on nights that we tried to make her sleep in there.  And thus in our weakness we just continued to let her sleep in our room on the floor as an act of avoidance.  It was our peace treaty.

Then a couple of weeks ago we decided we wanted our own time.  I mean we should have that right?  Just an hour or two with no kiddos asking questions.  Some time to talk or not to talk to each other.  So we just buckled down and prepared ourselves for the oncoming war.  But you know what??  It wasn't so bad.  She maybe had one night where she was upset and we were upset and it seemed hope was lost...maybe not lost...just fading...or hiding in the midst of the toddler tantrum. She has overall done amazing!  She is sleeping in there every night and doesn't scream or cry when it's time.  Granted getting her to sleep in there has a long list of requirements ranging from a fan blowing on her face, to a cup of water in her play kitchen, to lastly but certainly not least having the Glee soundtrack playing.  (She likes the Glee soundtrack and who am I to argue?)  An added bonus of her sleeping in there is that for four consecutive nights she has slept all the way through the night and hasn't tried to come back into our room at some crazy hour when everyone should be sleeping.  This is definitely a bonus because we had resigned ourselves to her coming in between 12 and 3 in the morning and that would just be the way it was for a while.

I am so proud of my girl.  She is growing up and learning to be just a little more independent.  I don't want her to be too independent...I still like to snuggle with her and hold her little hand as much as I can.  I love that girl!  She is a gift from God and is teaching us every day what it means to be a parent.  She may do things with a little more spunk and a little more fight, but that is just how God intended her to be.  I think it will serve her well one day.

I am also very proud of us. We stood our ground and made it happen.  We took back our time together and we are loving it.  We are actually getting to read books and talk about our days and catch up on TV shows that can't be watched when there is a four year old roaming around.  We get to be a husband and wife again and not just parents....we get us time. We love it!

Stand strong today bloggies, in whatever it is that you have been avoiding facing.  Stand strong!

Thoughts...

Hello there,

I know this is two in one day, but I needed to talk through some things.  :-)

In the last week or so Lincoln Man turned 2, I turned 28 and I had an actual conversation with Arabelle on the phone where she told me she missed me and asked legitimate questions about my day that were relevant to conversations that had actually taken place.  In all of this, I have felt a little sad.  My munchkins are growing up.  I keep thinking of Lincoln and Arabelle the first times I held them.  How their pudgy little faces looked eerily like me from the get go.  How their little hands clutched just one of my fingers.  How I carried them around and watched their every move.  I feel like they are growing up way too fast.  And I feel like I am missing out somehow on that.  I work full time and find myself longing to be able to just be a stay at home mommy. And maybe I am failing them because I am not staying home. I feel like if I am working maybe I should at least be doing my "dream" job...even though I still don't know what that is after years of contemplation.  I feel like maybe I should be more.  Whatever more is. 

I am reading a book called Bittersweet right now and it has me thinking.  A lot of the stories the author describes, ring true in various ways for me.  I just read a chapter about trying to do everything all the time.  The author explained how she loves to make lists and how she once added to her list "DO EVERYTHING BETTER".  She then went on to break down each word and how awful that was to say.  But it made me wonder how often to I find myself in the same thoughts...I may not write it down, but I am there.  I literally want to do everything better.  I feel a need to be a better mom, a better wife, a better employee, a better Christian, a better cook, a better everything.  Really??????  It's like dreaming the impossible dream about every little thing.  She explains in the book how she has started to learn to make a list of the things "I do" and the things "I don't do" and then reminds herself of these when she starts to feel that addiction to being everything creeping in. 

And it really does creep in.  It's not like you wake up in the morning and suddenly think I have to do and be everything everyone at all times today.  It starts small I think and then grows, kind of like a disease or an infection.  If you leave it unattended suddenly that list of things you wanted to do better has suddenly encompassed every aspect of your life. 

I need to remember that I am right where God has placed me.  Maybe I was created for such a time as this...just like Esther.  Maybe a little dramatic, but in honesty God is the creator of every aspect of my life.  He put the Earth into motion and created the stars, if he wanted me to be in a different place wouldn't he make that happen?  The truth is, I don't stay at home, I don't keep my house spotless 85% of the time, I don't always finish projects, I don't have dinner on the table when Ryan walks in, I don't make our bed every day, I don't always put away laundry and I don't have nicely manicured fingernails and toenails.  I do however, love my kids and my husband more than I could have imagined loving anyone, I do read lots of books, I do teach my kids all that I can, I do pray for my family, I do love God, I do have a good job where I work with lots of people who feel like family, I do love to bake and do it well (I think), I do like to start lots of artsy projects and I do love to listen to a variety of music and dance around with my munchkins.  I know there are lots more things I do and things I don't.  But for now, I am learning that every moment with my kids is precious. God has blessed me with those moments and I pray he continues to bless me with those moments.  I pray that through those moments, we bring glory to God in every way.  I pray that in those moments I can teach them about God and that hey would grow up in His ways and always be followers of God.  I know they are growing up fast, but that's the way God made it.  Maybe if I spent less time focusing on how I can do everything better and be everything, they wouldn't seem to be growing up so fast.  Maybe time might slow down just a little. 

I will probably still wish I could stay at home, but I know not everyone does.  My mom wasn't always at home with us, she too worked.  And you know looking back I don't remember longing for her to have been a stay at home mom.  I don't really remember daycare that much.  Just bits and pieces of different things.  What I do remember is the first time I ever made pancakes with my mom, I remember making homemade peanut butter, I remember going to the park and going to the pool with her.  I remember those precious moments.  I am sure it will be the same with my kids.  I am praying for contentment and learning as I go.  Today I will remember that I am right where God wants me.  He created me for a purpose and it isn't to do everything better.

And to close it up I just wanted to share my lovely babes with you.

You know she still sleeps like that sometimes...mouth open all flopped out.

And have you ever seen anything so precious.  I love his little face.

A Care Bear Girl

And finally with much delay here is Arabelle's 4th birthday.  It's only 6 months after the fact, but oh well.  Arabelle had quite the fascination with Care Bears for a while and of course that was what the birthday theme HAD to be.  It's really interesting to do a theme that isn't popular currently.  I searched for Care Bear goodies and couldn't find much.  So we had to just make some stuff up. We did lots of bright colors and tried to find bear stuff.  I made the invitations which had rainbows and cotton balls on them.  I think we all had a good time!  :-)  Enjoy!

 

 

Mimi made this awesome rainbow jello and we made the chocolate bears in all different colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know what is up with that smile!

 

Have a lovely day bloggies!!  I am home recovering from turning 28 yesterday.  Actually I am super happy to have a day off from work and relax and clean and check things off my list.  I know....sounds crazy exciting.  What can I say I am wild like that!!

Where the Wild Things Are

And finally after a year, here are Lincoln Man's first birthday pictures.  Here is how he became the king of all the wild things!

Homemade cupcakes

I painted these bad boys myself

Love that face

Actually eating his cupcake. Lincoln doesn't like sweets as much as his sister.

And there he is, King of all the wild things