Merry Christmas!

Audrey- 7 months!

Our little girl is such a doll! Audrey continues to be a very content baby (of course, she has her not so content moments, but overall, is so agreeable!) She is rolling all over the room now.... and her first tooth just popped last week, too! Audrey is eating solids like a champ.... 3 or 4 times a day. She still wakes up once a night to nurse, but usually, goes back to sleep easily. Her big brothers and big sis continue to adore her.... and so do we! I love how her entire face lights up when we walk into the room! :)

My friend, Abbie, captured these beautiful pictures of Audrey for us a few weeks ago. You would never know that she had shots the day before and woke up with a fever on the day of pictures. She was happy and smiling for LITERALLY less than 7 minutes that morning.... and Abbie just happened to catch these adorable expressions! I love this little girl so much....

And then, she let us know when she was FINISHED with the photo shoot....

Whew....

.... parenting is exhausting. I love being a mom, but wow, by about 4:34 this afternoon, I was exhausted.

It could be because Audrey still wakes up at night to nurse a time or two. AND because she napped less than 45 minutes today (babies are crazy little creatures, aren't they?!) Sigh.

It could be because Ellie is TWO and wanted to let me know it with a few tantrums today. Her day isn't complete unless she has used the words, "No, mommy!".... "Stop it!".... and "Mine!" no less than 786 times in a day (which equals 786 discipline tactics from mom, too). She can be SO sweet.... but wow... just wow. Sigh.

It could be because Aaron and Isaac love to fight until the cows come home (which requires its own share of discipline tactics, too). Sigh.

It could be because Aaron is getting letter grades for the first time this year.... and that means that mom gets to really help him study for tests for the first time, too. Awesome. Sigh.

It could be because I am in a total cooking funk and am tired of the room called a kitchen at my house (but my children still need to eat). Sigh.

It could be because we are working Isaac through a whining stage (it IS getting better, but wow, whining is NOT music to my ears). Sigh.

It could be because everyone ALWAYS seems to need something from me at the same time. Sigh.

And it could be because I often stay up way too late because I often get a second wind when I am enjoying SILENCE in my house and because it seems a little easier than prying myself out of my wonderful bed one more time for an 11 PM feeding. Sigh.

Yes, parenting is exhausting. To all of the wonderful, older and wiser women who want to stop me in Walmart just to say, "Enjoy these days. I miss them." Know that I am trying.

To all of the wonderful, older and wiser women who want to stop me to say, "Just wait until they are teenagers." Don't. Just don't. I may pummel you and just say that you have a memory problem.... and that you can't remember that the preschool and early childhood years are hard sometimes, too.... just a different sort of hard.

I'm trusting in this WORD today.... because tomorrow is a new day, too....

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:29-31)

And yes, I am going to go wake my sweet girl for a feeding and then, GO TO BED!

Mommy-friend, if you are exhausted today, I just want you to know that you are not alone. I am with you.... and God is with us....

Also, I am VERY aware that my life is VERY easy compared to some. My husband isn't overseas with the military.... I am not a single mom.... my kiddos are healthy today.... etc.... etc....etc. If that fits your description of the reason behind your exhaustion, know that I am sending you an extra dose of love today.

A quote for today....

"But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this.

I did not live in the moment enough.

This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed.

I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

~Anna Quindlen

A special edition of Thankful Thursday....

The "Thankful Pumpkins" on our table are full and that can only mean one thing: Thanksgiving is here!

Today, I am so thankful for….

The adorable way that Ellie’s entire face lights up when Audrey grins at her, and as she announces, “Aud-ey mile, mommy!”

Snuggle time when tucking Aaron in at night. He still loves for me to rub his back while we pray and read a Bible story together. I know this won’t last forever, so I’m cherishing these times (usually…. but sometimes…. keeping it real…. I am just too exhausted, and I rush).

The way that Isaac sings everywhere he goes…. at every moment. We often say that “life is a song” to Isaac. His teachers have even commented about how he sings through the day.

A text from Scott in the middle of the day, just to let me know that he is thinking of me. It means the world to me to know that a piece of his heart is still with me…. even when he is in the middle of a busy day.

The sweetness of Ellie’s voice as she says, “I love you, mommy.”

The precious sound of Audrey’s giggle when I tickle her under the chin.

The fact that Aaron still asks me for help when he needs a bandaid. I know that won’t last forever either.

Every time that we are in a crowded room, and Scott still looks for me.

My kiddos who still think that the “mommy tickle monster” and the “mommy kissy monster” are two of the coolest games ever.

Every time that Isaac crawls up into bed with me to snuggle. I’ve never met a kid who loves a soft, fuzzy blanket as much as this one.

Audrey’s face that completely lights up when she sees my face in the morning through the slats of her crib. I love that she nearly starts jumping when I smile at her.

Each time when Scott and I cuddle up on the couch to watch an episode of Chuck, The Sing Off, the Nightly News, or even an old episode of SNL after the kiddos are tucked in. I’m so thankful to be beside him in this journey…. and it’s pretty good to still laugh together, too.

Ellie’s cheesy smile every time we pull out a camera.

Aaron’s sweet, sweet prayers that warm my heart (and certainly the heart of God, too). I love it as he prays for people around the world to have the Word of God…. for the daddy from Burma to get a job…. for a sweet little boy in Ethiopia to get to come home to his family soon…. for his cousin’s broken leg. He is a rough and tumble boy who has such a tender heart.

The fact that Scott is one of the most forgiving guys I’ve ever met. I need his grace…. and he points me to the grace of God so, so often.

One on one dates with my kiddos. Spoonz has become a fave of my boys…. And I just love that they cherish one on one time with momma as much as I cherish the time with them. I don’t always do a great job of carving out those times with my kids, but I’m always so, so thankful when I do! I love that Isaac begs for dates with his mom!

Speaking of one on one dates with my kiddos, I LOVE DATE NIGHTS WITH MY HUBBY! He still makes me laugh…. he is still the best listener in my life, and the one that I most want to listen to as well. Don’t get me wrong, we’re completely human and he makes me stinkin’ mad sometimes…. but I’m thankful that we are always on the same team (even when we aren’t on the same page temporarily. Yep, very thankful for forgiveness in our marriage).

Truly, I have so much to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving, I am so aware of people who are buried in the midst of struggle and pain this year….. my heart is burdened for so many today. I am asking that God will allow these precious friends to find glimpses of blessing in the midst of heartache…. joy in the midst of pain. If that is you today, much love to you and many hugs.

Much love and many hugs to YOU, dear reader. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Precious, precious....

Audrey is officially 6 months old now. I think that every mommy blogger says this at some point: Where has the time gone?!! Although I am still celebrating all of her milestones.... rolling over, starting solids, etc.... honestly, I am having a hard time with how fast her first year is going.

She is such a sweetie, and we are so thankful to have her as a part of our family. Aaron, Isaac, and Ellie continue to be completely smitten.... her daddy and I are pretty smitten, too! ;)

In honor of her 6 month birthday, I'm finally posting some of her precious newborn pictures....

My friend, Abbie Louvar, has recently started a photography business and asked if she could try out some newborn pics with Audrey. I love, love, love the results! Visit her website HERE.

My friend, April Moore, took some awesome pictures of Audrey, too. You can visit her website HERE. And yes, I TOTALLY love these results, too!

My sisters and I played with this doll carriage at my grandma and grandpa's house growing up; it makes these pictures even more precious to me!

I'm so thankful that Abbie and April helped us capture a glimpse of Audrey's sweet newborn days. I'm so, so grateful for this darling little girl.

I'm learning new tricks....

We had an awesome speaker at MOPS last week. She is a professional photographer and came to talk to the mommas about how to improve their own photography skills. It was really helpful, made me thankful that we take a lot of pics at our house, and inspired me to want to take more (and improve the quality whenever possible!) I also realized that I wanted to occasionally post some larger pics on my blog, so I decided to learn how.... since blogger always limits the size. Here is a pic that I captured of Ellie a few weeks ago on a walk, and I just love her little expression.... and it's posted a little larger than normal thanks to one of my new tricks (thanks to google)!!! :) It's fun to learn some new things.

I love this kid....

Thankful Thursday....

Today, I am thankful....

1) For peaceful moments that I can enjoy with Audrey. With three older siblings, it doesn't happen often, so I treasure these moments! I love Tuesday mornings while Aaron, Isaac, and Ellie are at school when I can just sit, smile, and coo with her. Also, I treasure rocking her to sleep occasionally after a busy day.

2) That she has taken off with food and has jumped over the weight plateau she was experiencing! She is also a rolling machine now, too; so, so cute!
3) For awesome preschool teachers.... and that Isaac and Ellie are having so much fun there this year.

All ready for the "Pumpkin Festival"

4) That Scott is blessed with a great job that allows him to take sick days if needed.... and that he bounced back after a really rotten sick day on Tuesday.
5) For the contagious joy of children. Today, we saw our first snow flurries of the year in Indiana. Isaac, LITERALLY, started jumping up and down and yelling, "It's snowing! It's snowing! I can't believe that it is finally here! Is it real?!?.... Snow is my favorite time of the year!" Then, it also led to concern as he shouted "BUT MOM! We haven't practiced enough for our Christmas program yet!" and "MOM! We need to set up the Christmas tree!" He also said, "Is spring break starting?!!!" (not sure how that fits here, exactly!) I love the smiles that I get to enjoy as a momma and seeing life from their perspective!
Have a great day, everybody!

I'm a football fan!

Aaron had a great season with Upward this fall; he learned so much and had a great time!

Looking long as the quarterback

Ready to roll as a runningback

Running out for a pass as a receiver

Digging deep as a defender

It was so fun to see Aaron strive to excel and grow during this season. He had a great experience (and we would HIGHLY recommend the Upward program to anyone who asks!) I just asked Aaron tonight what he wants to be when he grows up. His response: "A pastor and a professional football player!"

Thankful Thursday....

Today, WE are thankful....

That Stan's body shows no evidence of cancer and that he is now walking in remission!

Our senior pastor, Stan, has been battling glioblastoma since May (I wrote about it HERE). But last Friday, he had scans and shared THIS GOOD REPORT. Stan has been teaching our church body so much since his return in August.... and I loved his words in this post, "I pledge to give whatever remains of my life to bring God glory ... in whatever c​i​r​c​u​m​s​t​a​n​c​e​s I find myself!"

Scott and I are beyond grateful for Stan's return to ministry.... he was missed greatly by all of us! It's a great, great season at Sonrise, and we couldn't be more thrilled for Stan and his family.

Thankful Thursday....

Today, I am thankful....

1) For perfect timing. I received an email from one of my very best friends today that was completely encouraging when I was feeling a little down. The timing of when it hit my inbox was perfect. I love that.
2) For a great table of women at MOPS. We were missing a couple of the ladies at our meeting today, but I am still so excited to get to know this amazing group a little better!
3) That our sweet Audrey gained 8 ounces in a week.... and that her head grew a full centimeter. At her well-baby visit a week ago, she only weighed in at 11 lb. 4 oz. and the doc was VERY concerned as she had fallen off of her growth curve completely. I started nursing around the clock.... and started feeding her avocados and cereal (avocados are FULL of great nutrients and fats for baby's brain development). Result = success! What a relief!

4) For some amazing, much-needed breaks this week thanks to some amazing friends and family members. Scott and I were able to go on a breakfast date on Monday thanks to some great friends who watched the girls while the boys were at school.... I was able to enjoy MOPS this morning thanks to my mom for filling in for me in MOPPETS.... and we get to go on ANOTHER date tomorrow night thanks to my dear little sis! Yep, I'm feeling spoiled this week. I love my kids, but I love a break, too!
5) For the countless number of times that my parents have walked into the door of my house carrying a package of diapers. Seriously, their generosity astounds me.

Much love to you today! :)

Sisters!

First, I have a confession. I vividly remember lying on the table in the c-section room right after my doctor had delivered Audrey and announced that we have a beautiful baby girl. I immediately praised God and thanked Him through tears for a healthy baby (and no, that wasn't the confession). The confession... and then, I said, "Now, I can actually say that I really, really wanted another girl!"

And why? Because I grew up with two sisters who are now two of my very best friends, and I longed for Ellie to have that opportunity in her life, too.

A few weeks ago, my baby sister (yes, she is 32, but I still call her that occasionally!) was looking at some great black and white pics that we had taken by a friend when Isaac was 1 month old and Aaron was 3 1/2. She mentioned how cool it would be to have pics like that of Ellie and Audrey. While I'm not going to schedule a professional photo shoot of the girls right now, I grabbed my camera the other day and captured a few of my own. No, they aren't perfect.... but I think that they are so, so precious.

Sisters. Precious.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

You really are the most amazing nine year old I've ever met.... I'm so, so grateful and privileged to be your momma. I love you....

oh.my.goodness.
I feel like he looks so much older in this pic.... I can't stop thinking about the fact that today, we are halfway to 18! Yikes!

Some MORE words from my house....

Oh Isaac.... he keeps us on our toes.... and just says sweet things sometimes, too.

*Ellie nailed him in the mouth with her sippy cup today (sigh.... I can't stand that part of this stage....) After I had disciplined her, I was consoling Isaac. Through many tears and sobbing, he said, "Can we please just give her away to another person now?!" (and yes, I explained to him that life doesn't work like that).

*As he was eating lunch the other day, Isaac said, "We need to send the Operation Christmas Child kid some food. We could send it on one of our plates."

*Scott shared that the other day, he and Isaac were in the car and had to pull over for an ambulance. Isaac said, "I wonder if that's somebody who got bit by a shark" (we live in the midwest.... I'm just guessing but.... probably not).

Some words from my house....

If you are a parent of a little boy, you know that almost anything can be turned into a toy gun of some sort.... it's just what they do (and no, my boys don't watch violent movies or play violent video games).

Currently at our house, there is a small twig that has made its way inside from the brush outside, and yes, it is Isaac's "gun."

This morning, I heard words in my home that I never had imagined hearing....

Scott: "Isaac, put down your gun so that we can pray."

Nice. Very nice.

A little reminder for me

This morning, Audrey and I went to Walmart while the rest of the crew was at school (YAHOO!) Thankfully, she was sleepy during the trip so that was a huge blessing to me. However, one part of the shopping trip was not very peaceful.

When I was in the middle of the baking aisle, trying to find barley (note: barley is NOT in the baking aisle OR the breakfast aisle; rather, it can be found near the rice!), I heard an "interesting" dialogue between a mom and son one aisle over. It went something like this....

Son: SCREAMING
Mom: PUT ON YOUR COAT.
Son: SCREAMING
Mom: I SAID, PUT ON YOUR COAT.
Son: SCREAMING
Mom: IF YOU DON'T PUT ON YOUR COAT RIGHT NOW, I WILL SPANK YOU RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF WALMART!!!!

I kid you not, the mom screamed at the child to put on his coat no less than 10 times. I don't know how the story ended as our paths went in different directions (because I FINALLY found the barley! Thank you, dear Walmart employee!)

I am NOT posting this as a judgment on the other mom. I don't know her story. Maybe her son suffers from terminal hypothermia and must wear his coat everywhere he goes. But this dialogue was an awesome, awesome reminder for me:

I NEED TO PICK MY BATTLES WISELY!

Seriously, there are huge battles as parents that are always worth the fight. But some things (maybe even wearing a coat through aisle 7 at Walmart??) just aren't worth it. I make the mistake of choosing the WRONG battles all the time.... just ask my 8-year old about the fight we had about his recorder book yesterday morning.... on second thought, DON'T ask him about it PLEASE! :)

BUT.... I am continually working on this one. I am learning.... I am growing.... and I am thankful for the reminder that I received in the baking aisle this morning. I am also thankful that I finally found the barley....

Classic!

Tonight, our sweet neighbor girl was organizing a little readers theater with all of the kiddos of the cul de sac. Well, the story goes that the big kids told our adorable five year old, Isaac, that he couldn't participate because, "You can't read."

To which Isaac adamantly declared, "I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST! Philippians 4:13!"

Goodness. I love that kid. And is it just me, or do 5 year olds say the sweetest (and funniest) things on the planet?!

Also, well done to the staff and volunteers of KidZone and to Isaac's preschool teachers. He learned his memory verse from September! Last week, as I was dropping him off at preschool, I said, "Bud, God can help you do all things!"

And he said, "THROUGH CHRIST!" Love that....

One of our favorite fall treats....

I've posted a lot of recipes on this blog over the years, but none of them are quite like this one. This recipe is simply AMAZING! Scott's mom made this every fall when he was growing up, and when we got married, he immediately requested the recipe. And yes, when you read the ingredient list, you'll quickly realize why it is so amazing. That is why I only make it two or three times a year! A friend of mine was looking for some uses for apples the other day on Facebook, and I immediately offered to pass along this recipe (but not without making a cake with one of my favorite little helpers first!)

Who needs a cute little kitchen apron when you have one from Lowe's, right?! I love having little boys!

Apple Bundt Cake (or "butt cake".... as my beloved husband ALWAYS calls it.... lovely).

1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. SELF-RISING flour
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
3 c. apples, chopped
1 c. raisins (optional)

Mix oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend in raisins and apples. Use WELL-GREASED and floured bundt pan (seriously, WELL-GREASED.... I've never had a recipe stick to the pan as badly as this one can). Bake in 350 degree oven for about 1 hour.

And the icing on the cake (literally.... and seriously again, don't skip this icing. It is unbelievable!)

1/4 c. margarine
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1/2 t. vanilla
1 - 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Cook first three ingredients on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until brown sugar dissolves (boil for approximately 1 minute). Add vanilla and powdered sugar until desired consistency is obtained. Drizzle over cooled cake. ENJOY! :)

One of the best parts of this recipe: the amazing frosting pools in the middle of the cake (YUM!) When I came in from playtime with the kiddos outside to prepare dinner, I noticed that someone had cleaned out the pool. At dinner, I laughed and said, "Fess up! Who ate all of the frosting?!" (Aaron was the guilty party.... with a big grin on his face.... and a belly full of sugar!)

Look who is 2!

Oh Ellie, you are so much fun.... and you challenge my socks off on some days, too! I am constantly getting an education from you on raising a little girl.... wow, you are SO different from your brothers! You can say SO many words and use SO many sentences now. You love your babies and their blankies and their bottles. You love "princess" (Tangled) and "toy" (Toy Story). You give the best hugs and kisses. I loved it when I gave you a kiss the other night, and you used your sweet little hands just to turn my face so you could plant one on my cheek, too. I think it is so silly that you make me count your blankies in your bed before you will go to sleep at night and at nap. Thank you for being a good sleeper now; that is a blessing to your mommy. I love you forever and know that it is one of the greatest privileges of my life to watch you grow up and to raise you to be a Godly woman. Love, Mommy