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