Eleven

almost caught up!

miss baby is walking... i didn't encourage it but she did it anyway ;) i'm not ready to pass from the baby to toddler stage, however she apparently is. she took her first steps on Halloween and every day after that continued to improve her skills. her personality is really starting to come out as well. she knows what she wants and goes for it. she protests when her sisters bug her or take toys from her. becoming a bit of a stinker as she gets into things even if she knows they are off limits (ie: the fireplace... charred wood isn't poison is it?) our living room furniture is all rearranged daily when she is in there to block off things, i'm sure visitors would think my decorating skills are quite lacking (doesn't everyone shove a coffee table up against the fireplace?)

big sis wants to get in on the picture taking action

thankfulness

just a little reflection on thankfulness on this day of thanksgiving. 

our pastor this morning said something that resonated with me and i have been dwelling on it all day.  he said "we should be grateful for dirty dishes..."  and i thought, "huh. am i grateful for the dirty dishes that are piled up high in both sides of my kitchen sink at home right now?"

not so much. 

but i should be.

because having dirty dishes means that we have an abundance of food to eat to make those dishes dirty. 

i am thankful for heaps of laundry because that means we have more than enough clothes to cover our bodies and keep us warm, soft sheets and blankets to sleep on in our comfy beds, and fluffy towels to dry ourselves off after our daily hot shower.

i am thankful for sticky dirty floors to mop because that means i have a strong and safe home that gives me shelter each day. 

i am thankful for icky toilets and toothpaste covered sinks to clean because that means i have running water to keep us clean and sanitary.

i am thankful for dust in my house because that means i have "stuff" i love to showcase and entertain myself and family with.

i am thankful for the daily mess in my bedroom of a bed to make and clothes to put away because it reminds me that i have the love of my life to share that room with.

i am thankful for everyday messes, the "art cabinet" that is overflowing with paper, the toy that jams into my foot when i step on it, the sticky spots on my table and smudges on my windows because that means i have been gifted with four daughters who i love more than i can possibly grasp.

i am thankful for my tears and anxieties because it means God gave me a heart and a soul that feels.

i am thankful when i mess up because it reminds me of God's grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

i am thankful for all of God's good gifts (SO many more than i mentioned above), whether they seem "good" or not.  it is all in how you choose to view them.  my prayer tonight is that God gives me the grateful heart that chooses to see ALL things as blessings. 

holiday cards

as we near Thanksgiving I am reminded that time is beginning to tick on getting my Christmas cards ready...
i considered not sending cards this year.  the budget is tight and it seems like an "extra" that could be trimmed.  however, i love getting everyone's cards in the mail and seeing how families change each year.  with many of my friends this is the one time of year that we correspond.  i hate to miss out on that. soooo... i came across an offer from Shutterfly.  the deal is pretty simple:  write a blog post about their holiday cards showing off some of your favorites and then you get some FREE cards! yay!  they have some of the cutest cards:

love the fun look of this one

a great option for me to have individual pics of my girls rather than that illusive perfect family photo ;)

love the pine cone toile on this one

simple and adorable

it's going to be hard to choose! but that is another great thing... i can choose more than one design!   now i just need to start taking some pictures for that "perfect holiday photo shot"  (or just settle for that real-life-less-than-perfect option!)

they have other great stuff too.  some of my faves include:

how fun to drink your coffee from a personalized mug like this!

cutie-patootie birthday cards

hosting a party?  how cool is this invitation?

a great gift for a grandparent and can be personalized with everyone's birthdays and other big days

fun stuff!

halloween

some props for myself:

halloween party starts at 6pm
i start getting everyone ready at 5:30pm with no plan as to what each will wear. 
end up with 4 cutie patootie girls dressed as a 50's girl (thanks Daisy and Marissa!), a flower girl (same as last year, struggled with this one cause she has outgrown most of her dress up stuff), a butterfly princess and a miami dolphins cheerleader.
we make it to the chaotic tangle of sugar induced hyperactive kids, strollers, and parents party shortly after 6pm.  woot!

good times people, good times.  as we were leaving both chad and i breathed a sigh of relief and said "well that's done for the year. a whole 364 more days until we have to do that again." : D

10 months

miss baby is getting pretty impossible to get pictures of on the chair.  chad was nearby trying to help but a decent shot was not to be had.  oh well, it is a picture of our reality :)

so since this is over a month ago, i will once again claim mommy-brain as far as remembering milestones for this past month.  (hey, at least i got the picture taken)  seriously.  it all blends in together.  she just keeps growing and developing despite my attempts to keep her little.  i do appreciate that she will snuggle with me and loves to give kisses (pretty much licking you all over your face... somehow, not gross when it's your own, right?)

i {heart} only one spider

and her name is Charlotte.

DD #1's class read Charlotte's Web and at the end of it they had "Charlotte's Web" day.  The students could choose any character of the book to dress up as.  My child chose the spider...

i took 2 pairs of Chad's black socks and stuffed them with poly-fill (i think that's what it's called). i safety pinned them to her shirt.  Then i threaded them together at the ends with fishing-wire-type thread and tied that to bracelets that she put on her wrists so they would move with her.  it turned out pretty good but by the end of the school day she was quite annoyed with the extra limbs and one of the threads broke as well.  apparently it is hard to play on the monkey bars with 4 extra arms. ;)

benched

a quick little before and after of a project i did this fall

i "acquired" this bench for FREE (no, i did not steal it, i got it fair and square)

this is what it looked like (there was actually more moss on the top of it but i sanded it off before putting it in the house):

and after several months of it sitting in our back porch, looking rather sad i gave it some attention and now it is this:

just a little more sanding, paint on the bottom and then i hit it with some sandpaper again to distress the edges (gonna happen anyway in this household, just speeding up the process)

total cost of project:  FREE  (yay!)

now i just need to give that back porch some attention... (it reaaaalllly needs a paint job)

linking to: here and here

simple thanks

yesterday was a first for me as a mom. 

i.  the mom.  the one who cleans up after them every day just so everything can get messed up again 5.6 seconds later.  i was thanked for a particular task, that i do believe i have never been specifically thanked for before.   you see, i was scrubbing the toilet yesterday and miss j came walking in. 

miss j: "what doing mommy? what doing?"  
me:  "i'm cleaning"
miss j: "you clean potty?"
me: "yes, i clean the potty"
miss j:  "oh thank you mommy, you clean my potty, thank you!"

be still my heart. really.  my 2 year old just thanked me for cleaning the toilet.  maybe now that it is clean she'll be willing to use it. ;)

8 is great

our oldest turned 8 this fall.... 

the lucky duck got to celebrate the whole weekend before her birthday.   first a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese with 3 friends and her sister, the next day lunch at her grandmas where we celebrated with extended family, and then finally her actual birthday where she LOVED that everyone at school kept wishing her a happy birthday allll day long.  (in fact when she went to bed that night she was so sad that the next day no one would tell her happy birthday)

she amazes me.  my firstborn. the one who made me a mom. (a priceless gift) i know as the oldest we put high expectations on her and sometimes push her to grow up quickly.  but oh my dear daughter please don't grow up too fast.  i love how creative you are, always thinking up new crafts and stories to act out.  i love how sensitive you are to others around you.  you have such a soft heart.

trying out the new roller blades she got from us and sporting her birthday crown from school :)

i love you my sweet girl, may God bless you beyond measure this next year.

9 months

here is miss baby at 9 months....

not remembering much for milestones.  i know her shirts were getting less dingy and dirty and i scrapped the idea of sewing on microfiber cloths to the fronts in order to clean my floors.  that must mean she started crawling consistently up on all fours instead of slithering around like a snake ;) 

she is a champion eater  (at her 9 mo well baby check she was just over 20lbs, so yeah, she's got the eating thing down) LOVES bananas, likes pears, cheerios, those "puffs" (have you ever tried those? gaaag)  she will eat pretty much anything but if it is something that is not her fave (ie: anything in the vegetable group) she either waves her hands around, effectively knocking the offensive food off the spoon, or cries between bites, yet still opens her mouth when the next bite comes.  it's like she's hoping the next one will be better and then cries when it's not. 

she graduated to the high chair (so miss j is now on a regular chair) cause she was "walking" the bumbo around by pushing off with her legs, not so much a safe thing up on the kitchen island even if we are standing right there (one mighty push and she would be a-flyin').  she pulled herself up to standing.  and she is just the sweetest, cutest, cuddliest, kissiest, squishiest baby ever. :)  (besides my other 3, of course)

a few other pics of her from this month...

i {heart} the classics

we inherited an adorable red radio flyer tricycle (thanks Ria!) 

something i have longed for as they are classic (and work much better than those plastic wheel cheapy trikes)

the girls were quite excited for something new to play with outside and all wanted to play with it at once...

attempt numero uno on all riding at once

numero dos

failed

a little pride and backside has been hurt

these two chase her down hollering for all the neighbors to hear

sadly, i did not get the last shot.  they indeed figured out how to all ride at once. doing what those little steps on the back of the trike are for, right? standing on the back, hanging on to the person in front. :)

Labor Day

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time. ~Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815

i keep saying i am going to catch up, but i am still blogging about events from 2 months ago. so really, i am going to catch up. 

on Sunday of Labor Day weekend Chad gave the message at the Sunday Celebration service to end the "summer"  as we traditionally do we got some KFC after church (with my sis and her family) and then headed to the beach for a little bit.  (sis and her family chickened out of the beach as the weather was a bit questionable)  it cleared up for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  perfection.  sunny beach weather for about as long as our youngest can handle being "stuck" in her stroller ;)

this fish ran right in despite the chilly waters

this one played in the sand

this finicky fish decided to make sand castles since the water was chilly

this one avoided nap time and took in the sights from her perch in the stroller