I am henceforth called, Big Mama.

I LOVE let's play pretend around here.  Two little girls, a mountain of baby dolls, and boxes of play kitchen things and well....we play "house" a LOT.

You know what it really does for me?
















It makes me remember when playing "house" was fun and I get back to "playing" house myself and have fun doing it. :)
 

Oh by the way, when Emma is pretending to be a mommy, she calls me Big Mama. HA!

because sometimes you just. can't. make it.

Yes she is ACTUALLY asleep.  Snoring, no less.  I have no idea how she didn't fall.

a glimpse into life with three littles....and also...why I have no time to publish new blog posts

...because I spend all day playing with these babydolls!

My little sister gets hitched

First I have to say my little sister, Amanda, is absolutely my best friend.  Needless to say, watching her get married was harder than I thought it would be.  Back when I got married she told me she felt like I was dying.  I never understood until I was in her position.  It really was strange to feel like I was grieving over something so wonderful as a wedding.  I think I just knew, as she did when I got married, that things would never be the same.

I may have grieved the wedding, but oh how excited I am for her and her new hubby moving forward.

It was a beautiful ceremony and I nearly sobbed the whole time.  I used all the tissues wrapped around my bouquet in addition to two of the bridesmaid's tissues next to me. HA!

We had so much fun at the reception once all the stress of the day had melted away.  I always love seeing family that I haven't seen in a while.

 Who doesn't love a little dancing?

Enjoying some cake!

A Bulldog farewell.

Great friends!

Special thanks to Marian Brazzell for all the pictures!

Update on goals

My plan is to update at the first of every month and outline which goals I'm tackling in the coming month.  So here is where I stand on my goals.

Personal:

Read through the 12 books on my 2012 booklist. I MADE IT THROUGH THREE BOOKS ALREADY! Hopefully I can do some book review posts soon!

Complete the Couch to 5K program and run in at least one 5K race. This one is mostly for after the baby comes and I'm cleared to excercise.

Blog an average of 2 times per week. I'm a little behind, but catching up.

Memorize Colossians. Robert and my sister and brother-in-law are doing this together and it has been such great accountability.  We've finished Col 1:1-6 and are currently working on verses 7-8.

Keep my prayer journal up to date and be faithful to pray for requests. Still need to pull it out of a moving box.....:/

Marriage:

Go on two Marriage Retreats.  Nothing planned yet.

Have monthly date nights. Robert's parents graciously came and kept the girls for us one Saturday so we could see a movie. :) We had a great time!

Read one book together. need to pick one out. Any suggestions?

Children/Homeschooling:

Work on memory verses with the girls. We're reviewing some from the fall semester of BSF.

Start preschool with Emma in the fall. I'm researching materials and curriculums.   Would love suggestions here also.

Potty Train Elliana. Started Jan 26th and she's making great strides!

Make and implement busy boxes/quiet time. Not started yet.

Go on at least one family vacation. Making plans.....

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family:

Write at least two handwritten notes every month to encourage someone. Totally failed this in January. BOO.

Make a phone call to a distant friend every month. I left a lot of voicemails....going to keep trying.

Continue being involved in our local church/BSF group. Ongoing

 Host at least four dinner parties. I'm thinking this may be a late in the year accomplishment. HA!

Financial:

Continue to tithe 10% of our income. Ongoing

Give generously to needs in our community and around the world, as God prompts us. Ongoing

Finish paying off personal loan and increase payments to student loans. This will really pick up in Feb.

STICK TO OUR BUDGET AND OUR CASH SYSTEM! We did it in January!

Potty Training and Braids

I mentioned one of my 2012 goals was to potty train Elliana.  Well we began the process the last weekend in January when she hit 22 months old.
With Emma we used the 3 day potty training method by Lora Jensen.  It took a little longer for her because we started when Emma was older, but I had high hopes for Elliana.

Ellie had been interested in using the big girl potty for at least a couple of months since she was seeing big sister do it.  So we figured she would pick things up faster once we dove in.

Seeing my little baby run around in big girl panties was super cute and after two days she was really getting into her princess potty.  She calls everything poo.  So we have to laugh when she runs through the house saying, "I wanna POO POO in da POTTY!"

In the meantime, we're spending a lot of time at home playing, cooking, and cleaning up a lot of potty accidents. HA!

Here are a few snapshots from the last week.

You gotta lick the bowl, right?

Emma's first french braid. :)

Rascal!!!!

Emma in her "zone".

33 weeks

It is unbelievable to me that I am actually 33 weeks pregnant.  I know its been a busy year for us, but it still blows my mind that we're going to have another little one in around 7 weeks.
Here's a picture of the belly these days.  My mother tells me I'm carrying much lower than I did the girls.  (Boy, maybe?)

I've gained about 25 pounds and everything so far has been completely healthy. PRAISE GOD!
I don't even feel like I've had too many symptoms to complain about this time. (Robert is grateful for that. ;)
I would love for your prayers in the last few weeks of my pregnancy that the baby and I would continue to stay healthy, that I might have the energy I need to care for the girls, and that we would have a safe labor and delivery.  (I'm attempting a VBAC, so that last request is heavy on my heart.)

I can't wait to meet this little one!

2012 Goals

I've never really enjoyed making New Year's resolutions.  Mostly because I would forget about them the second day of the year.  There was never any real motivation to follow through because my resolutions were, well, boring.

Now let's get REAL honest.  I have a problem with pride. OK I said it.  The real reason my resolutions never really stuck is because I didn't really think I had anything to work on. HAHAHA.
It took marriage, near bankruptcy, two kids, four pregnancies, and four moves later to realize I need work. A LOT OF IT.  Can I get an Amen?

I won't bore you with the details of how God brought humility into my life, but suffice it to say it's there.  Anytime my pride starts to creep back in God lovingly reminds me (ahem) why I need him more than ever to live in this sinful world.

So instead of resolutions, I have decided to set goals.  Goals that can be broken down into manageable pieces so that I have a plan to accomplish those goals.  Goals that I hope also set priorities for how God would want me to live as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend.  I'd like to share my list of goals for 2012 as a way of accountability.  My plan is to blog about the progress every so often.

Also I realize I'm a little behind as far as the beginning of the year goes.  But I've been making and editing this list for a few weeks and I finally feel like it is ready to be official.

Here it is...

Goals for 2012

Personal:

Read through the 12 books on my 2012 booklist. (See below)

Complete the Couch to 5K program and run in at least one 5K race.

Blog an average of 2 times per week.

Memorize Colossians.

Keep my prayer journal up to date and be faithful in praying for the requests.

Marriage:

Go on two Marriage Retreats (overnight trips sans children for planning, talking, goal accountability).

Have monthly date nights.

Read one book together.

Children/Homeschooling:

Work on memory verses with the girls.

Start preschool with Emma in the fall.

Potty Train Elliana.

Make and implement busy boxes for quiet time.

Go on at least one family vacation.

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family:

Write at least two handwritten notes every month to encourage someone.

Make a phone call to a distant friend every month.

Continue being involved in our local church/BSF group.

 Host at least four dinner parties.

Financial:

Continue to tithe 10% of our income.

Give generously to needs in our community and around the world, as God prompts us.

Finish paying off personal loan and increase payments to student loans.

STICK TO OUR BUDGET AND OUR CASH SYSTEM!

Book List:

1.       The Promises She Keeps

2.       Made to Crave: Satisfying your deepest desires with God

3.       Catching Fire

4.       Mockingjay

5.       Radical

6.       The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

7.       Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life

8.       The Simplicity of Homeschooling: Discover the Freedom of Learning Through Living

9.       Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches

10.   Heaven is for Real

11.   The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

12.  The Help

So there you have it.  I have actually made some progress already on a few of these goals.  But I'll save that for a later post.  What are your goals for the year?  Could I pray for you to accomplish them?

Ellie Bell

Elliana....whew.  I knew Emma was fun at this same age, but Elliana is such a little charmer.  I know she gets that from her daddy.  If you know her daddy then you know what I mean.  Somehow they manage to make you feel like you are THE MOST important person in the whole world when they interact with you.  Of course, flattery helps. :)  It's such a gift to be that invested in a conversation or person.  Ellie challanges me to be ever present with those I interact with.

I am so in love with her and her little personality.  She adores Emma and wants to be right with her most of the time.  She loves to hide, but loves being found even more.
and
SHE'S A BIG OLE HAM!  see...

She is the BEST sleeper.  As long as you don't count a 6 month ear infection AWFULNESS, then the girl has slept 8-12 hours every night completely uninterrupted since BIRTH.  Yes, God is gracious!

Elliana still takes one long nap mid-day and uses her pacifier (or her "dahss") when she sleeps.  She is still in a crib and I have no serious plans of moving her ANYTIME soon. :)

My sweet Ellie Grace loves Mr. Potato Heads, won't sit still for more than three pages of a book, just started enjoying building blocks, and will dance at the first sound of music (and demand you dance with her).  Seriously, she is not satisfied until every one in the room is dancing.

My absolute FAVORITE thing she says right now is "A CAUSE I HAPPY!"  It's her answer to just about any question you could ask her.  I think I love it the most because while she says it she tilts her head to one side and scrunches up her face.  If she happens to be in trouble its all I can do to keep a stern look on my face.

Elliana was always and still is a champion eater.  (She gets that from her daddy, too. ha!) She often wants bites of everyone else's food as well. (ANDREW!! haha) Her favorite foods right now are Rice Krispies, Bananas, and anything chocolate.  She can also put away the oatmeal.  Between her and Emma I have to make at least three FULL servings of oatmeal.

We just started officially potty training, although she's been interested for a while.  I think she'll pick it up really quickly.

Elliana truly is the light of our life like her name implies and I am so excited to watch her grow!

Enjoy the quiet.

My life is noisy.  How about yours?  Read this wonderful blog post and then join me in some silence. :)

http://joynessthebrave.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/its-a-loud-loud-world/

three's a charm

Emma is such a delight to me at this stage in her life.  She is a huge help around the house.  She unloads the dishwasher, sweeps, wipes counters, switches laundry from washer to dryer, and even feeds Rascal.  She has such a compassionate disposition that seeing anyone in pain hurts her as well.  I am always challenged to show more compassion when she is around.

She absolutely LOVES putting together puzzles and she's very good at them.  She got a 48 piece jigsaw floor puzzle that's 3 feet wide for Christmas that she can put together completely alone.  It really is impressive even if I am her mom. ;)
She adores her little sister and loves trying to make her laugh.  Their favorite game right now is hide and seek and to hear them giggle....oh, I never thought something would sound so precious.
She loves to play HiHo Cherry O and carry around bags full of knickknacks.
We don't watch much TV, but she loves the occasional Disney Movie.  Her current favorites are The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and the AristoCats.  (We do still throw in Toy Story for good measure).
She has a Jesse doll that almost never leaves her side and must always be tucked in right beside her at night.(see above)

She is still a lover of fruit.  I think she would live off fruit alone if I let her.  And she eats like a bird.  Nibble, Nibble, Nibble all day long. :)

A few of my favorite Emma-isms....
also- "ALSABOW"
blowing- "windin" for example- Mama that fan is WINDIN me!
How old are you? -"what old are you?"

Her get out of trouble techniques....
If I ask her why she's doing something she says "a cause when people do (fill in the blank) they don't get spankings"
or
She runs in the room with a very guilty look on her face and the following conversation begins....
me-"Emma what did you do?"
emma- "mama, just be happy, ok?"
me- "Emma what did you do?"
emma- "don't cry, but I (fill in the blank)"

She is fully potty trained now and sleeps in her own big, girl bed through the night most nights.
She loves our Tuesday Bible Study Fellowship.  We are currently working on bible memory verses and saying our own prayers.
Emma is very excited about the new little baby in mommy's tummy.  She says its a girl and we should name her Baghera. HA!
I am constantly amazed at the little lady Emma is becoming.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

2011 in review

I realize it's been a long hiatus for the blog.  Also it's funny to me that one of my last posts started by praising our "new" home town.  Because as I write this we are in yet another "new" home town.  This marks the fourth town Robert and I have lived since we were married.  The Lord has changed every plan I've ever made and boy am I grateful.
The last 6 months have quite possibly been the busiest of my life.
Currently...
We are blessed with two beautiful daughters and have one more precious blessing on the way.
We are finally living in our true home state of Alabama and close to family.
The Lord provided a new home to us that provides room for a growing family and the space to welcome many friends and family over for fellowship. (I was able to host a Thanksgiving meal in my home this year and it was so much fun!)
My little sister, Amanda, married an amazing man and added a brother-in-law to our family. (Love you Adam!)
I want to catch you up a little bit on how the girls have changed and what they're up to right now.  I have a new resolve to blog more often because the girls are constantly changing and I want to document all the fun things they are saying and doing.

Now, a review in pictures of the last 6 months.

JUNE

spending time with sweet friends in Valdosta

mealtime=funtime

JULY

Cooling off on a hot summer day in south GA

In Savannah, GA to visit friends

 August and September.....well let's just say we moved to a new state with two babies under two and pregnant.  There are no pictures.....and it's probably a good thing. :)

OCTOBER

Best Friends

At the Birmingham Zoo

Hayride at the Pumpkin Patch

Hamming it up with the pumpkins

 NOVEMBER

New house, new playroom, enjoying life

 DECEMBER

Emma turns 3!

Zoolight at Christmas

Whew, what a year 2011 was.  Lot's of changes for our family and we look forward to what 2012 holds for us.

The beach beckons...(may)

Setting up home base.

We were blessed to spend a week at the beach with our extended family.  It was so much fun going to the beach this year with two little ones.  There was definitely a lot more junk gear to haul down to the beach, but the girls loved it.

Ellie spent most of her time in the sand and Emma spent a lot more time in the water then I expected.  Granted it was almost always in someone's arms, but it was progress.

We also had a big surprise when Amanda and Adam got ENGAGED! (They recently tied the knot and we are all thrilled!)

We can't wait to go back!