I'm still aliiiiiiiive!!! I've been posting regularly over on my Photo-a-Day blog and enjoying it! I do miss this little ol' space here, and I would say I'll probably be posting more often on here before too long, but for now, I thought I'd stop in to say hello.
Have you seen the new Disney flick, "Frozen"?? My girls are OB.SESSED. I've never seen them quite like this with another film, but when it comes to Elsa and Anna.... man!! Let's just say I have all the songs memorized and possibly even dream them.
We purchased the Barbie dolls for Bella and Summer for Christmas, and those dolls are getting quite the use out of their little $11 bodies. Summer, especially, loves to belt out Elsa's theme song: in the car, in the store, on the street, at naps... ALL the time.
Trav captured a bit of it yesterday. Of course, I'm sharing. And I'll link the "real" song, too, in case you haven't heard it.
Thought I'd compile a teeny tiny list of some things I've read lately, that I deem "pass-along" worthy:
"My uterus. My business." Elizabeth shares how asking a woman, "When're you having another baby?" is such a loaded question. And while I've never dealt with infertility or health issues related to bearing children, I have many MANY friends who have and, through their journey, have learned to have a sensitive heart towards questions of such a nature. I deem this post worth your while.
You may have seen this spoken poem floating around. It's titled "Embarrassed" and was written by a woman who was stuck on a public toilet's seat, after her just-nursed baby fell asleep. I applaud her words.
I don't really read much anymore... but I came across this site that lists 14 books to read before they hit the Big Screen. I'm not sure how great all the books are, but some of them looked enticing. And you know how I'm such a "book trumps movie" gal...
And just because I'm not allowed to have sugar (imposed by myself) and all I can think about are desserts and sodas (grrr...), here is a recipe you have got to try. If you like sugar cookies and frosting and that sort of deal. So so yummy.
Soooo.... Trav took the girls to see Monsters University last night. The theater's walls are covered with huge photos of famous movies, actors, etc. As they're walking out, Bella nonchalantly points to one wall and says, "There's Rhett Butler." And Summer echoes her, "Ya, there's Wet!"
Trav was amazed and made them stand by the wall so he could text me a video. I thought I'd share it as a timely video after my last comment about no one knowing the name Rhett. At least my daughters will be well-versed in their literature and know these important names!! :-)
(While my mom was here, we rented Gone With the Wind [the movie] from the library. Bella loved all the Southern Belle dresses and then got rather tied into the story line. She loved that "the man" shared her brother's name.)
Travis and I were so excited for the girls to meet Rhett. We had talked about him for so long and dreamed about who he would be that we couldn't wait to share in their joy over meeting their new sibling. We knew Summer would be OVER THE MOON. She had adamantly held to the fact that it was her "baby bruddah" in Mama's tummy, and being the baby-lover that she is, her reaction was spot on: PURE ADORATION. From the moment she burst into my recovery room, she shot straight to Rhett and begged to hold him. She didn't want to share holding time and practically swallowed him whole. And it's been the same ever since: she wants to see him first thing in the morning, begs to hold him, loves to boink his nose and pet his head and shake his hands and talk in a high, squeaky voice to him. This girl has the word "maternal" defined. For example:
Bella I was bit more unsure of. At times, she would seem excited about the baby in my tummy, and at others, completely nonchalant. When she entered the recovery room, it was warily. Noticing me in the bed, she quickly came to my side and wanted to know if I was hurting and where and why, etc. She stayed by my side the entire time and kept eyeing me, making sure I was still the same Mama. When offered Rhett, she denied him. Showed no desire to look at him, much less hold him. Rather, she stayed near my bed and drew me pictures on her special notepad. Her reaction didn't surprise me, as she is my child who is more hesitant to love and show affection. I knew that Rhett would capture her heart one day soon and there was no need to rush unfelt feelings.
The next day, we made it home in the late afternoon. Again, Summer nearly attacked us at the door, begging to hold her baby. Again, Bella showed no interest. It wasn't until later, as I finished a nursing session with Rhett and he was lying, sleepily drunk on my lap, that she wandered over and sat near me. His eyes went to her and his little hands involuntarily reached towards her. Her face lit with awe, as she whispered, "Mama! He's looking at me! He touched me!" And then, a little while later, "Can I hold him, Mama?"
Since then, she's been in love. She studies him and cares for him. She will be fiercely protective, I just know. Such a loved little boy... is it possible to feel any more blessed or thankful?
The transition has been our easiest thus far. Oh, of course the beginning is always difficult - getting used to less sleep, another being in the home, baby gear EVERYWHERE, etc. But, really, third time's the charm. And...... 'tis 9 o'clock. Which means my eyes are drooping and the house needs picking up and I need readying for bed. Goodnight, dear Reader.
Travis and I like to find interesting/thought provoking/encouraging sermons/videos to watch together. It helps create conversation/topics/thoughts flowing between us. This video we watched tonight. It's not a sermon, yet it's well worth a half an hour of your time, if you like to do the same as we.
I was going to hunker down and post some meaningful, thought-provoking piece here today. Yet, every time I sat down to gather my thoughts, to corral them into one cohesive subject matter....
(a) books would be shoved into my lap with begs to read them
(b) something would be spilled
(c) girls want to sit in my lap and be loved
(d) errands need to be run
(e) lunch needed to be made
(f) disciplining needed my attention
(g) etc. etc. etc...
Therefore, I leave my daughters to entertain you, until my brain can get moving and organized into writing.
Since my facebook feed is exploding with {still... ongoing...} political posts, I wanted to gift you with a lighthearted post. Just a simple interview with my 4-year old yesterday during her quiet time.
And... today is the first Wednesday of the month! So... hop on over to my friend, Anna's, blog and participate in her "You Bake Me Happy" giveaway!! Yummers...
Post script: Travis read this tonight after he came home. "GAY?? Why did you put that word in the title??"
"Because, darling, I refuse to succumb to the meaning that our society has given that word. Gay means light and happy and carefree. And in the title, paired with "lighthearted", it makes sense."
"No. It doesn't. And you know, the F-word used to be a common word, too, but I wouldn't go around using that."
"What did it mean??"
"To plow the field... or something like that."
Ummmm... ya, not the same. Just the same, I'm using gay. You all understand me perfectly, don't you?
Summer's not technically a baby anymore. Heck, she's going to be 2 years old in just a month and a half. Which makes her a little kid. But 'round these parts, she's forever referred to as The Baby.
"Bella, be careful! You'll hurt The Baby."
"Trav, The Baby's crying..."
"The Baby's awake..."
"Can you help The Baby get a bite?"
She can be ornery and quite a lil' sassamafrass, but when she standing in front of me and I'm sternly reprimanding her, all I want to do is gobble up those cheeks, smother her neck in kisses, grab her into my arms, and smell her until my nose stops working. And that, my friends, is why she's liable to be called The Baby forevermore.
Without further ado, here is The Baby singing "Jesus Loves Me," accompanied by herself.
(Never mind my husband and our lawyer neighbor chatting about work)
As the mornings grow cooler with each passing day, my mantra remains:
Please don't go, summer. Stay with me forever.
It will soon be fall, as all the children marching off to school remind us. Fall is good, but summer is better. For fall tells of winter. And winter, well... it's the opposite of summer. It's bleak, frigid, cabin-fever, freezing, dark, long, cold, empty, lonely, BRRR!!!
But summer... summer is warmth, dancing outside, sprinklers, pool, tans, shorts, picnics, vacations, freckles, hot evenings, family walks after supper, worn-out kiddos, FUN.
And summer is exactly what we relished after supper tonight. Summer is what memories are made of.
The thing about blogging is... well, it only truly portrays about 10% of one's life. You can take a sweet picture, edit it, straighten it, crop it... and wa-la! I have a cute little family!
Nobody sees the mess, the fighting, the disheveled appearances. Well, I found this video on our camera when I returned home from my trip. Made me laugh. So "real life".
Enjoy the realness of life.
(All this written amidst me having to go upstairs and discipline
a little girl kicking books across the room during nap time. *sigh*)
This deployment has been one of my favorites, as favorite as deployments can go.
There were a couple of factors inducing this opinion:
- it's summertime
- my girls are old enough to have fun & sleep through the night
- we all were healthy
But, this deployment also yielded much fruit. For the first time in many years, I sense that the veil that has been over my heart and eyes has been lifted. I know our family has been bathed in prayer since this deployment began, and I don't underestimate the power of prayer. Travis has been surrounded by Godly men, strong men, honest and open men while out in the desert. I have had time to be in the Word, Godly family surrounding me, books to guide me. I also have been memorizing.
I wish I could say memorizing Scripture was one of my strong suits, but it isn't. In fact, it's a chore. But these past 3 months, it has been my joy and turned my heart towards the Truth in more than one instance. I've found that memorizing isn't hard to do, if you simply CHOOSE to do it. It's, more often than not, a choice of whether I took those 15 minutes to work on my verses or spend time on the internet.
My aunt and I memorized Isaiah 55 together. It's a gem to have hidden in my heart, and I'm so grateful I do.
I also try and work with our girls on memorizing. I've picked a few passages over the past months that we work on daily, or almost daily. I have no special recipe for this, except I break down the passage into small chunks and make up hand motions. We go over it and over it until they (namely, Bella) has it down.
And because I think simply seeing others do gives motivation for me to do, here are Bella's and my memory verses. Pick a passage, small or large, and commit it to memory. You won't regret it. God's Word is active, and like it says in Isaiah 55, "it shall accomplish that for which I [He, God] purpose."
(I picked Hebrews 13:5-6 for the children to memorize because we were
struggling with a bout of the "I want it!"'s and I wanted contentedness
to be on our lips and in our hearts. It has worked well to have this
one memorized, as we use it quite often while in stores and whatnot.)
You may have seen this floating around the internet, but I just had to share.
I had to watch it twice. First, I watched the whole show. Second, I watched her reaction. Both times, I cried like a baby. It may be important to note that my love languages are quality time and ACTS of SERVICE. Sooo exemplified in this video.
My sister and mom cried too, so we totally had to debrief and break it down part by part. Meanwhile, my white-wanna-be-black-gansta bro-in-law was like, "Are you guys CRYING??? I still can't get over the two guys kissing..."
ANYways, enough chitter chatter. Before I ruin it with my commentary... go watch it again.
The girls found our two baby play phones. I had a moment of "fast-forward" to when they will be teens. HOPEFULLY they will not have their own cell phones even then, but if they do, I hope they chat/text while lying head to head on the same pillow - even at ages fifteen and seventeen.
These two have been the best of friends now that Summer is really growing up. They can make each other laugh like no one else, and they follow one another around - making up games, playing dolls, chasing one another, etc. There is the occasion squabble, but 85% of the time, they are happy to have one another. And I thank God again for giving me two girls.
Thanks for sticking through my last heavier posts. I've been thinking much about this blog and what's appropriate or not to share on it. Marriage has not been all roses and rainbows for Trav and me. It hasn't been all thorns and valleys either. I think it fair to share both sides (to an extent), keeping in mind that we are committed 'til the end and by God's grace, we will HANG ON for the crazy ride that it is. For me, it is always encouraging to see other people struggle and get back up again... to simply know I am not alone. For this reason, I want to be open about where the Lord has us here and now. Plus, typing/writing is cheaper than therapy, right?? J
On a lighter note... these two lovelies are hams. In every sense of the word. Summer's personality and vocabulary is BLOSSOMING fully as of late... and every one of us is loving every second. She's quite an unpredictable, sly, lover-girl, humorous little one... so full of love and life and laughter. She mimics everything anyone says and I'm diggin' the communication. This age (16-20 mos) is truly one of my favorites.
Here's a bit of my every day noon time. I'm sure some of your noon times look similar. I can't help but fall in love with those jam-smeared faces and brown-skinned arms; grapes falling on the floor; hands dancing to the music of "Lady and the Tramp." I know I've said this before, but sometimes I marvel at how I have the privilege of mothering these two girls.
"Hey girls, look here. Mama's going to take a picture."
"Mama, did you get a picture of me doing this? This with my hands??"
"The beauty of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and His church shines brightest when nothing but Christ can sustain it."
- John Piper, This Momentary Marriage
I was gently reminded this morning that because my marriage is difficult (whether by circumstances or personalities or stubbornness on my part), therein lies the beauty of it all. The most beautiful marriage is the very one that would fail without Christ, and yet, with Christ succeeds and flourishes.
Our mornings start early. Without fail, no matter what time she retires, Summer is up at 6:30. Which, thus, wakes my other child. Despite beginning while it is still dark outside, we take our mornings slow.
A glass of Orange Juice
A bowl of oatmeal
LOTS of books
A few puzzles
A few hundred rounds of pushing strollers and babies
A quiet time in the Word
Lots of make-believe
Maybe a nap for the early-riser
We love taking our mornings slow - jammies, unruly hair, no appointments. School days are coming too soon... and that'll jolt us back to reality. But for now... we relish our young-babies-stay-at-home-Mama days.
Just a few pix from my old school cell phone for this Friday.
We're cat sitting for some friends for the next couple of months. I love cats (as do my girls) and yet, we don't have any pets due to the frequent moving/traveling lives we lead. Cat sitting is the closest we can get to appeasing Bella and Summer's wish of owning a kitty. Needless to say, the girls are LOVING life right now with Lucy.
Bella and Lucy bird watching
We received our R.E.I. dividend in the mail today. I guess we didn't spend much this year... Boo.
And a quick video of Lucy and the girls. Just an honest snapshot on a day with no naps for Bells. Classic.
Happy Friday!! We're looking forward to getting Daddy home soon. Yay!!
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