How is it April already?!

April.  We've celebrated 3 kiddo birthdays already this year with Claire left in May.  And she's going to be 13.  How is that even possible?

The other thing that is crazy is my continual lack of blogging.  I really, really want to blog more, but that Instagram...it's just so easy.  But it's also kind of lacking wordiness.  And I can definitely be a wordy kind of a girl.

I was looking over my 2015 and 2016 (thus far) posts just thinking about how thin my blog book will be for those years.  I can probably just combine them with 2017-2020 and make it semi-worthwhile. :)

Okay, so we've had some major excitement around here since I last posted.  We have a new member of the family...gasp!!!  It's another girl...

Ahhhhh...isn't she precious?!  She certainly is when she's sleeping!  Welcome Ruby!!  Long story short...Josh's brother (who is a dog breeder...along with 46 other professions) was out of town for a couple of months on a special assignment, so we had his pregnant dog.  She had 6 adorable black lab puppies, and we kept one.  We absolutely love her, even though she's totally a puppy and wants to chew on all socks and shoes and slippers and legos and every other thing that isn't hers.

We've had her in the house with us for almost two months.  She's doing great overall, but I'm looking forward to getting past the puppy stage...in two or three years. :)

For anyone who isn't friends with me in real life, you will be shocked and surprised (and hopefully just as thrilled as we are) to find out that we're also having another baby!   

That photo was taken just prior to 20 weeks.  I'm over 26 weeks at this point and twice that big.  Maybe I'll talk Josh into taking a photo with my real camera sometime in the near future.  Okay, so the even more shocking news...

I know, right?!!  Shocking.  I still don't think I've wrapped my brain around it, nor do I think I will before he arrives in July.  And probably not even then, either.  It's going to take us a while to get used to snakes and snails and puppy dog tails (though, we're doing pretty well with the puppy dog tails right now).  

So, this is kind of how this baby thing went down:  I have kind of wanted baby #5 for a while.  I've been thinking about it for a couple of years, but I knew Josh probably wasn't going to be on board.  He was perfectly content with four kiddos.  I would hint around from time to time to get a feel for his interest level or lack thereof.  He was at like a 10% baby, 90% no baby level.  Not very promising.  I was really 50/50.  

So, then one evening last spring, we had a pretty major discussion about it.  It wasn't sounding promising (at all) for another baby.  So, I prayed for contentment.  And maybe I prayed for a surprise pregnancy as well...but definitely was praying more for contentment.  Then, in August, I had just decided that I was so okay with not having another baby.

Josh had been throwing out the thought of getting a dog in the house since Tucker was sick and didn't have much time remaining.  I wasn't sure I wanted another body in the house, but I warmed to the idea.  So, one night in September, Josh was sitting at the computer working, and I came up to him and said, "I think we should get a puppy."  His response: "I think we should have a baby."  

I.was.speechless.  Literally.speechless.  

I think my jaw dropped and my mouth was hanging open for who knows how long.  Then, I had to completely check my emotions to decide if I really wanted a baby #5.  Well, regardless, I decided that we just better hurry up and get pregnant before either of us changed our minds.  So, we did.  And here we are.  And the Lord is so kind.  We feel beyond blessed to be welcoming this precious baby into our lives, and our girls are beyond thrilled.  I fear that I'm going to have to fight for baby holding time. :) 

So, those are the two big adjustments in our world.  We have seven weeks of school remaining!!  Seven!!  So excited about that.  We've had a fun birthday stretch, and I make no promises, but I would love to post about birthdays and kiddos.  I actually do drag out my nice camera to take birthday pictures.  That will at least force me to upload photos, and I might even have one or two others that I could post.  That would be something, wouldn't it?

Thanksgiving, Christmas, House and More

We had an absolutely lovely Thanksgiving with our families despite me being sick with a horrid cold all week.  My mom had a great idea this year, and brought gingerbread houses for each of the girls to decorate as our post-Thanksgiving dinner activity.  The girls loved decorating while Dads and Grandpa slept and watched football.

We usually decorate gingerbread houses at some point during the Christmas season, but this worked out perfectly.  I have a feeling that this will become a new tradition!

Our Christmas season has been fairly low-key.  My mom took all of the grandgirls to see Mary Poppins on stage.  It was a fun day for sure!  Claire and Meredith have been running all of the Advent activities in our house this year.  It's been a nice break for me, and they have been enjoying being in charge.  They are getting so competent in so many ways.  I just love it!

This week has brought on a bought of sickness from a couple of kiddos in our house, but what's new?  This is the week each and every year that someone tosses their cookies in my house.  We always host a large Christmas party for our friends on the Friday before Christmas, and each year someone is puking.  I fear those germs every year, but our friends continue to come back!  They must not be getting too sick from being here. :)

In other exciting news, my new refrigerator arrived yesterday!  Our old one has not been able to hold an appropriate temperature in the freezer or refrigerator for months (consistently 5-10 degrees warmer than it should be).  It has an unacceptable amount of moisture in it always, and despite cleaning it over and over again, I can't get the mold to stay away.  It truly disgusts me beyond what you can imagine.  The old one is a side by side and barely has room to put anything like a cookie sheet or a casserole dish.  I have hated it for years and have often wished that I could have back my old refrigerator from our other house that we purchased at a garage sale for $35.  It was old and ugly, but it worked beautifully.

I wanted to hug the delivery guys yesterday morning when they arrived.  I loaded it with our food and am amazed at the additional amount of space that I have a available.  Our new fridge has the french style doors at the top with the freezer at the bottom.  I have an entire shelf in the middle that has nothing on it!!  The usable space is lovely.  Feeling so blessed today as I get ready to eat my cereal with COLD milk. :)

In house news, the drywallers are finishing up this week in our addition!  So excited about that.  Josh is taking the week off between Christmas and the New Year to work on getting some things completed.  Our new driveway is completely done, and things are definitely moving in the right direction.  We are getting so close to parking in the garage!!  I am giddy.

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I've got for now.  I hope all of you are having a nice Christmas season! Hugs to everyone!

bedtime prayer

Josh's dad had back surgery this past spring, and Olivia has diligently prayed for him over the past several months.  Even though we've corrected her several times and told her just to pray for his back to feel better, she continues to pray for the surgery.  She added a little extra to the end tonight...

Dear God,

I pray for Grandpa and his back surgery and...(several second pause)...and that he doesn't get old.  Amen.

I hope it's okay to laugh during prayer time.  I couldn't help myself.

the first post of 2015

January.  The month for New Year's resolutions.  I definitely have a few goals for the year, yet I don't think I'm doing so well thus far.

Per the recommendation of my blogger buddy, Sarah, I started an Instagram account.  This may or may not be contributing to my lack of blogging.  More than likely, it is.  However, I confess that I've been really enjoying not being on the computer much lately.  And I confess: I love Instagram...like, really love it. 

Plus, I have that fancy new smart phone.  And who blogs from a smart phone?  No one.  I Instagram and Facebook from my smart phone.  They're so easy, but they're certainly not my blog.  And I love my blog.  

One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog once a week.  I'm obviously not doing well because it's January 23, and this is my first post of the year.  I'm not even including a picture.  Shameful, I know.  We'll see how I do.  

We've been enjoying a lot of downtime since Christmas, even since school resumed the first full week of the year.  It has been nice.  One of my other New Year's resolutions was to go to bed earlier and get up at a consistent time in the morning.  I'm always all over the board.  My friend, Deanna, is totally keeping me accountable for this one.  And until tonight, I've done extremely well at keeping my curfew.  Tonight? I've blown it already, so why not blog a little more?

Claire and I are spending a weekend together next weekend, Meredith's 10th birthday is just around the corner, and I have weekends out of town for various reasons through May.  I feel like I've been a planning fool over the last couple of weeks, and it seems that there is still a lot to do.  Putting out the hottest fires first.  I know everything will come together, but I've got way more tabs open in my mind than I'd like.  

Did I mention that our Christmas decor hasn't yet left the house?  I didn't, I know.  That's because it should be embarrassing.  Most of it is finally in boxes, but the tree is definitely still standing in our kitchen with lights on it.  This is, BY FAR, the latest it's ever still been standing.  You can call it "festive," but it's definitely because I'm lazy and didn't insist that my husband find the Christmas boxes in the barn until this week.

You know those people that pull their Christmas decor out in October?  Yeah, we're like them only backwards.  We're leaving ours up until February...maybe.

I must admit, though, I haven't minded.  It's made January a bit more festive in our home. :)  Sometimes our trees are literally falling apart if we stare too long at them, but I'm pretty sure we bought the most hearty, glorious tree of the bunch.  As soon as we saw it, we claimed it.  (The Hallelujah Chorus may or may not have played as we looked at it for the first time.)  We definitely got our money's worth this year.

Okay, back to 2015...I'm completely looking forward to this year.  It feels like we're growing up a lot.  The girls' birthday stretch is upon us, and when it's through, we're going to have a 12, 10, 7, and 4 year old.  Boy, those numbers look big.  

Parenting this 9-12 year old stage is an interesting journey.  It has reminded me of my early years of parenting when I had zero clue on what to do.  I read so many parenting books then, and I have felt the need to do the same with this era.  I feel like I am constantly sponging information off other moms who have been there/done that.  They are secretly my mentors, and I am beyond grateful for them.  I have found myself praying for my children more than ever.  Obviously, as a parent, I know that I'm having an impact on my children, yet the weightiness of it all has really been impressed on me recently.  I'm stepping it up.

There is so much more that I could say, but I really do need to get some sleep.  I do have to run my household in the morning.  And Deanna will probably text me first thing in the morning, and I'll have to confess that I didn't get to bed until 2:21.  Hopefully, she'll spare me public humiliation.  Anyway, if I can keep my blogging resolution (and snag the computer from time to time in the evening), I'll have time to say more.  Until then, I pray 2015 is a blessing to you.

lake pics

We spent a week at the lake a couple of weeks ago.  We had absolutely gorgeous weather and made lots of memories.   

Monday was spent painting fingernails with the new nail art kit that Grandma had bought with Amelia on the way up to the lake the day before.  Now, let me tell you that I'm not a fan of little girls painting their own nails.  I completely understand that they need to practice to improve, but it makes this Mama a bit crazy to have them all wanting to do it all at the same time...at your parents' lake cottage.  

This may have caused me a bit of stress.  I told Josh that I was not having fun on this particular morning, and (after everyone's nails had sufficiently dried) he ordered everyone to put on swimsuits and jump in the lake.  This improved my sanity greatly.  And on a side note, I'm going to beg my mom to go with the hula-hoops next time. :)

We ended the day with ice cream from the local ice cream shop and a pontoon ride (or "contoon" as Olivia calls it...she also calls her swimsuit her swimsoup...and popsicles hotsicles)  

Tuesday was another swim day along with an all-family wave runner ride.  Claire, Josh, and Amelia ended up in the water at one point.  After Amelia finished crying, she thought she might want to fall in again.  The girls and Josh also went tubing.  

Grandma and Grandpa came back on Wednesday, but we were gone most of the day enjoying some time with friends.  

Thursday was spent playing and preparing for more friends and family.  Josh's parents came for a visit and a pontoon ride on Thursday.  

Amelia and Eden can finally sit next to each other without fighting at mealtime. :)  Eden is currently OBSESSED with Meredith.  Anytime Jill asks Eden what she would like to eat, drink, do, etc., she responds, "Well, what is Meredith having/doing/etc.?"  Every. single. time.

The breakfast crew...where are Grandpa's smiles?!

 Amelia caught a nice catfish:

Claire hooked a soft-shell turtle:

Meredith and Carter are inseparable when they're together:

This Meredith/Carter relationship amazes me each and every time we're together.  Our families get together 2-3 times per year, and they play together (almost non-stop) for several hours straight.  I have a picture of them together from 2009 (when they were 4), and I distinctly remember them not leaving each other's side that day either.  They eat together, swim together, play together, talk to each other, and wait to do anything while the other one is in the bathroom.  It's awfully sweet.

Lake days have always been some of my favorite days and continue to be.  Looking forward to spending more time up there before school starts.    

Christmas cookies

Lots of little hands made Christmas cookies this year.  My mom came over, and we spent an entire day making hundreds of cookies to donate to a local charity fundraiser.  We kept a few for ourselves and may have eaten one or two or twenty-six that day.  

b.i.f. twenty-seven

How can you not love a Christmas celebration that includes the leg lamp from A Christmas Story?

Meredith and Eden

Meredith LOVED her password journal

Olivia refused to let me take a picture of her and her doll...I snuck one from behind.

cousins!!

summer in pictures

grumpy face

silly face

bunny ears (Olivia is stuck on silly face)

happy face

{natural instincts}

Tonight while I was washing the pots and pans after dinner {this in itself is shocking, I know},  Olivia pulled out several bowls and measuring cups from the lazy susan.  She placed them in a nice neat line on the edge of the counter.

She chose the smallest one, sat on the floor, wrapped it in a dishtowel, and then proceeded to rock it and sing it a sweet little song.  The tune and the words were made up entirely by her and unrecognizable to us.  This did nothing but make it ridiculously adorable.  

{gingerbread houses 2012}

I'm just going to let these pictures speak for themselves.  I absolutely loved doing this with the girls today.  Such a sweet day.  Amelia and I worked on hers together. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{b.i.f. sixteen}

I put Olivia in some old bib overalls today {complete with a hole in the knee}.  A couple of hours later, I noticed that she had leaked through her pants and needed a complete change of wardrobe.  I laid her down to take her bibs off, and she began to wail. 

And I mean wail.  

She grasped onto the front of those bibs and hung on for dear life.  She was yelling, "Noooo! Doooh! Daahhhp!"  {In English, that would be, "No! Don't! Stop!"}

I began to chuckle and said to the girls, "I think she doesn't want to take these off!"  They all agreed.  

I did my best to try to pull them off of her, but she continued to cling to her beloved bibs.  The girls and I couldn't contain ourselves; we were laughing hysterically.  At this point, her little face was beet red.  I think she was even sweating.

I finally pried those overalls out of her sticky little hands while she spewed baby obscenities in my general direction.

This entire scenario made my day.

{keepin' it real}

I've been thinking about this post for a long time.  And by a long time, I think it’s been at least a couple of years, if not more.

We have a lot of fun in this family.  We work hard, and we play hard.  Josh and I work hard to make memories for our children and each other.  

I say it on this blog, I say it on facebook, and I say it in real life over and over and over again.  We are so blessed…and we are blessed beyond measure!  God is good…all the time.

People often tell me how much they love to read my blog and my facebook status updates, and they also enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures of my girls that I post.  I love all of those things, too!  I wouldn't post them if I didn't like them. 

My continued fear, though, is that people will think that we live a perfect little life.  I sure hope that you know that we don't.  Hence, the reason for this post.

Let me start by sharing some self-imposed guidelines for my facebook page and my blog:

-You will never see me speaking poorly of my husband.  It is not becoming of any wife.  I will not do it.  {On a side note, Josh does have his faults.  However, I speak about them privately to him, my bff Deanna, or his family.  These are people who are discerning and will not take my side undeservedly.}

-I will put a positive spin on almost any situation...or at minimum find a little humor in it.  This is who I am, forever the optimist.  I might grumble about something today, but by next week, I'm sure I'll be doing my best to find a positive side to the story.  Whatever the case we'll be making the best of our current situation.  How else will we endure it?  

-I will encourage others and share what works for us.  This is one of my constant goals in life.  I realize that what works for us may not work for other families, but I crave knowing other people's routines and tricks because that's where I get all of my ideas.  I steal almost all of them.  Rare is the idea that was mine first.

-I will write about memories that I don't want to forget.  This is especially true for our blog.  You will see our highlights and bloopers because those are the memories that I treasure.  This is our highlight reel.  These are the parts that would make the scrapbook if I had one.

And here is some imperfect, kinda grimy, non-supermom reality for your reading pleasure:

-On days when we don't have to go anywhere, I often stay in my pajamas all day.

-If I don't dress Olivia during her first diaper change of the day, you can bet that she stays in her pajamas all day, too.  On a positive note, she has spent less time in her jammies than any of my other children.

-We use paper plates for lunch almost every day.  For $2 a month, my sanity is saved.  Well worth the money spent.

-Sometimes, I let my kids watch t.v. just so that I can get stuff done.  {You might not think this is a big deal at all, but I have issues with the t.v.  This one is a big one for me.}

-My pots and pans accumulate on the stove because I hate washing them.

-Sometimes I lose it and yell at my kids.

-As soon as I clean a room, someone messes it up again.

-My kids truly do enjoy being together, but they also know how to push each other's buttons. One or two of them are awfully good button pushers.

-My house looks clean and picked up when you come over because I knew you were coming.  Stop by on a Tuesday morning, unannounced, and you'll get the real deal.

The organizational side of me that you see has been born out of necessity.  I am not naturally an organized person.  I have good intentions, I know how to organize, and I can probably even tell you how to organize some parts of your own life.

Personally, I struggle with disciplining myself to use my systems.  They are in place, but my motivation and energy often seem to be in short supply.  Still, it is extremely beneficial to know where to start and how to go about it when I find time, motivation, and energy.  Again, I would lose my sanity if I didn't at least have a plan.

Now about our stuff.  {Another fear of mine is that people will think that we have a lot of money because we have nice stuff.}

I will be the first to say that we do indeed have a lot of nice stuff.  Josh works really hard to provide for our family so that we can have and do a lot of things.  He is also an extremely skilled do-it-yourselfer, and this man can find a bargain like no other.  We have saved thousands and thousands of dollars because of these skills.  {We have certainly not saved any time because of these skills...just money...lots and lots of money.}

Our finances are a huge priority to us.  We are awfully disciplined when it comes to our money.  I'll be the first to say it:  we are cheapskates!  We have a whiskey appetite and a beer budget.  Actually, I think our biggest problem is that we have a top shelf whiskey appetite and a cheap beer budget. :)

We aren't big spenders on a daily basis.  A lot of the nice things we have were birthday or Christmas gifts from our families or each other, or we've saved and saved to make a purchase.  We are not extravagant.  When we do shop, we often shop at resales/resale shops, garage sales, or get hand-me-downs from friends.  We are frugal, and it works for us.

My birthday dinner the other night?  That once-every-few-years extravagance cost us almost 2 months worth of our eating out/babysitter budget.  Trust me when I say that I enjoyed every single minute of it.  My commitment to cook dinner each and every night of the month has served me well this year.

Our priorities do not include "keeping up with the Jones'".  I certainly struggle with this from time to time.  I think we all do, but we need to remember that the Jones family is probably in debt up to their ears and miserable because of it.  We will not be that family.  We will not fall into that trap.  We will be thankful for all that we have, knowing that we've been given more than we need and certainly more than we deserve.

I will do my best not to play the comparison game.  It is my hope that I am real enough that you actually do see some of our struggles and challenges...we certainly have them.  I want you to be encouraged and to enjoy watching our family make memories and grow.

What you see is what you get.  This really is us...just remember that a lot of it is the best of us.  It's the favorite-edited-photo side, the we-cleaned-the-house-before-you-came side, and we-probably-baked-some-chocolate-chip-cookies-too, side.  This is our best foot forward.  Please remember that sometimes we trip and fall flat on our faces just like the rest of the world.

I pray that you see our family continually loving each other, continually forgiving each other, and continually falling at the feet of our Heavenly Father in thankfulness and humility for all we have be given.

Thank you for being faithful followers of us.  We love having you share in our memories.  

{34 was a keeper}

Yesterday was my birthday.  It was, by far, one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

The girls knew that my birthday was approaching, and last week one of them asked me, “Mom, when is your birthday?”  I said, “Next Tuesday…six days from now.”  They replied, “In SIX days?!!  Your birthday is in SIX days, and you haven’t even mentioned it?!!  Aren't you excited about it?!!” 

As you can tell, they were pretty shocked that I didn't have a big countdown going.  Last week, I remember even thinking that I should get a little more excited about my birthday.  But, honestly, I just figured that it would be just another Tuesday.   

We would do our school lessons, I would make breakfast and lunch, clean up the kitchen eight times, put laundry away, tell people to simmer down and quit quarreling, prep dinner, plead with children to quit playing and get back to their chores, wipe noses, change diapers, etc.  It would be just another day in our home-sweet-home, until 6:00 arrived and my mom showed up so that we could celebrate by grabbing a bite to eat and spending our Kohl’s cash.

I thought it sounded fun enough.  And I was certainly looking forward to an evening out of the house.  Josh and I rarely go out to dinner alone, and I was obviously looking forward to a little alone time with my hubby. 

Well, Monday evening brought a lot of laundry because we were gone all weekend, and my typical Saturday laundry day had long since passed without a load completed.  Josh worked on processing the two deer that he had gotten the week before, and I did a couple of rounds of dishes. 

We headed to bed around midnight with a load of clean dishes in the dishwasher, a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, and a growing number of pots and pans awaiting their turn to be scrubbed.  I knew what I would be doing on my birthday.  Glamorous, huh?

Most mornings, Josh unloads the dishwasher, and throughout the day, I reload it.  It’s a nice process that seems to work very well in our house.  I was crossing my fingers that on this particular morning {my birthday morning!} that MAYBE Josh would actually reload all of those dirty dishes sitting on the counter so that I would only have to wash the pots and pans. 

I hadn't set my alarm clock on Monday night because I figured that on my birthday, I could certainly sleep in without feeling guilty.  I heard Josh get up and shower for work, and I stayed in bed…as usual. J  A bit later, I was certain that I heard dishes clanking around in the kitchen.  He was definitely reloading the dishwasher…total score!!  Bonus points for the hubby! 

Then, I heard something else.  Water running.  Pots and pans clanging.  Wait a minute.  Pots and pans, too?!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THIS GIRL!!! 

Yes, people, these kinds of things are exciting to me.  I am easily pleased. 

Then, I realized that the television was on.  We don’t do television in this house before 10:00 a.m.  I sat up and looked at the clock, and it said 8:00 a.m.  Now, all of the wheels start turning in my head.  What is going on?  Why did Josh not leave for work an hour ago like usual?  Why is Amelia watching t.v.?

I walk into the kitchen…excuse me…I walk into the crazy clean kitchen, and there is my lovely hubby, drying dishes {swoon}:

“Uhhh…why are you not at work?” 

“I might have taken the day off for your birthday.”

Ummmm…ok!  Love it!  And then he went and bought us all doughnuts…because I like doughnuts.  You’re welcome, children. 

And then he said, “You’d better get school finished early because you’re mom is coming at 1:00 so that we can go shopping.  And we have dinner reservations at 7:15.  And we’ll be coming back home to get ready because we need to dress up.”

And I think you might be the best husband ever. 

{And total cheers to my mom who stepped in at the last minute when plan A didn't work out because Olivia was sick.}

So, we had doughnuts and did school and ate lunch by 1:00 {it all goes way faster when there is someone else there to distract the little ones and make everyone’s lunch}. 

And then we went shopping.  I bought a dress, a purse, 2 pairs of awesome shoes, and a sweater that has nothing to do with my nice outfit.  I just liked it.  And it was on clearance.  And it was gray.  I know, perfect, right?! 

Oh, and some Christmas presents. 

Then, we came home, and Josh put on his new suit that he just happened to buy a few weeks ago without telling me {for some upcoming events} and decided that this would be a nice place to wear it for the first time.  Have I mentioned that I love a man in a suit?  Because I do.  {I will refrain from making inappropriate comments during this portion of my blog post.}

So we go out to this swanky restaurant and spend a gazillion dollars on dinner.  Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration…but just a bit.

It was an absolutely lovely dinner.  It was an absolutely lovely day.  Josh could have cleaned the kitchen and brought me doughnuts, and I would have been thrilled.  Everything else was just icing on the cake. 

I am an emotional being.  When I think of all I've been given, I can’t help but feel completely overwhelmed by all of my blessings.  And then I get all cryish and weepy because that’s just me.  I did that a few times yesterday, and I’m sitting here crying my eyes out right now…and wiping my snot on my sweater sleeve {don’t worry, it’s not the new gray one}.  Was that TMI?  Sorry.

So, for the record, let me just say this to my husband:  I love you.  I love surprises.  I love surprises planned by you.  They are always the best.  Thank you for knowing me so well and for creating a fabulous memory on a beautiful Tuesday in November that would have otherwise been a day just like any other.   Mwah!!

{thankful for this family}

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.  Psalm 100

Lord, let me never cease to give thanks.  Amen.  

Happy Thanksgiving!!

{thankful for olivia}

She's sweet.

She's soft-spoken.

She's coordinated.

She's smiley.

She's observant.

We're blessed beyond measure.

{thankful for amelia}

She's energetic.

She's appreciative.

She's giving.

She's inquisitive. 

She's constantly moving.

We're blessed beyond measure.

{thankful for meredith}

She's compassionate.

She's nurturing.

She's a cuddler.

She's passionate.

She wears her heart on her sleeve.

We're blessed beyond measure.

{thankful for claire}

She's as determined as they come {when she wants to be, of course}.

She's extremely helpful.

She's a problem solver.

She's a leader.

She's our least emotional child.

We're blessed beyond measure.

{thanksgiving prep}

We're spending this week prepping for Thanksgiving!  We're hosting Josh's family for the first time ever.  There will be 8 adults and 15 kiddos.  I'm really looking forward to it, and hoping my first turkey will be tasty!  

Happy Thanksgiving week!!

{olivia: 20 months}

Can you believe this little peanut is 20 months already?!  I know that I should have done an 18-month post...but what can I say?  Olivia's lucky she's getting an update before she's 5.  

Here are some things I'd like to remember:

-points to anything that she likes/wants and then immediately points back to herself. 

-says Mama, Dada, Pipper {her favorite puppy}, thank you, uh-oh, and...drum roll please...STOP!  As child number 4, I've decided that it's completely appropriate for her to know the word "stop" early on in her vocab. 

-she went through a phase when she scrunched her nose and gave a funny smile each time we asked her to look at us. {see photo above as proof}

-when she dances, she spreads her legs wide and rocks back and forth {she's got her daddy's moves}

-loves shoes, books, animals, balloons, coloring, pushing things, and drawing on each and every school book that is left unattended.

-entertains herself extremely well throughout the day while tagging along behind me.

-has effectively trapped herself in the bathroom...twice {just like Amelia}.

-jibber-jabbers and squeals on and on and on when she sees something that excites her {like all of the tacky inflatable lawn ornaments at Lowe's}.

-could happily play with her sisters all day...she adores them.

-runs to greet Josh with a huge hug every.single.day when he walks through the door. 

-ridiculously sweet.

-nicknames: Liv, Livi, Livi Lu, Livers, stink pot, sweet baby

Could not love her any more than we do.