Let the games begin

So yesterday was the first day of my sweet Zaya's life where she informed me of our schedule for today. It was kind of weird. SHE made plans and reminded me of them about every hour until she fell asleep... and then she began this morning immediately upon lifting her head from the pillow.

This is what I was instructed to do: "First, we are going to the pool, then we'll come home and take a nap. After that we'll make cookies with frosting and I'll use a spreader."

Ok, so after Anna's nap this morning we headed out to the pool and ate our lunch there. Once everyone was adequately fussy we piled into the van and moved to phase 2 of the plans. Now everyone in the house is asleep so I, the puppet master, can prepare for phase 3.

Cookies are baked, frosting is colored and on the table. Now I have a moment before the cute ones wake and are ready to frost their cookies. I love that my girl likes to have a plan. I love it even more when we can allow her the freedom to make a plan and stick to it.

So now we shall frost... I bet phase 3 will be awesome!

Not perfect but its good.

Now listen, I'm no Kellie Hampton, my life isn't that 'pretty'. My life is a little messy, my kids are a little messy,my house is a little messy, my marriage is a little messy and truth be told, my faith is a little messy at times.

But, this is my life, those messy kids are the ones that God blessed me with, this house is the one that I have played in since I was a baby, JM isn't perfect and neither am I and that's what makes us interesting, and Jesus, He is the reason that I keep a smile on my face.

So, again, I'm no Kellie Hampton, but she does give me lots of inspiration into how to love on my kids and see the greatness in what may look less-than-great to others. Today was a bit too hot to get out to do anything exceptional but I didn't want the day to go by with out something fun for us to do together.

So we had a living room picnic. Very basic, but very out of the ordinary, so it was good. We ate hot dogs, popcorn and fruit, Anna ate some delish mashed up veggies and fruit and we sat on a beautiful little quilt that Mimi made for Zaya when she was a baby.

It was good to just sit and enjoy the fun with my kiddos. We need that, we need each other. If only daddy were here, it would have been a perfect little lunch.

But what did make it better was the fresh flowers that my sweet friend brought over yesterday afternoon after we had a conversation about how we both loved having fresh flowers in our house... those kinds of friends are breath taking. They minister to my soul.

So for today, happy picnicing! Summer is good here in the south, hot, but good... there is no where else I'd rather be.

Another day, another dollar... or not.

I'm tired. We're all tired. The little ones are down for a nap.

My Anna is cutting a tooth and is grumpy... that is really weird for this perpetually happy chic. She and Bean are joined at the hip these days... its constant laughter between these two :)

This one is sweet as ever. Today with her headband and sunglasses on , cellphone in the pocket and babydoll on her hip, she was being a mommy and looked like a big girl.

I love all of them separately and in a big pile on the bed. They're just lovely.

My house is a mess. And now so is my skirt. Thanks Anna. I'm going to bed and its 2:30... I may wake up

Lazy Days and Ikea

Right now its raining. A sweet, gentle, glorious rain. All three of my treasures are sound asleep in there respective quarters and I get to enjoy the quiet sounds of my dryer working away and rain lulling me into relaxation. Oh, these moments remind me to breathe. I love it. Its so good. I know everyones life is crazy but we are working to make ours less that way. I think that if we were not smacked in the face with chaos on a daily basis that would be weird but to live in constant chaos isn't healthy... for any of us. So today my job is to make a list of all the projects we want to do around the house and each weekend we are going to tackle one project and one fun adventure. This way our weekends won't escape us with out fun and memories (and hopefully cute pictures) but also we will have accomplished something and taken steps away from chaos into calm.

Last week we took a fun trip to ikea and it was such a treat and it also gave me some much need inspiration for decorating. I love ikea. Ikea makes sense. It just does. I love walking from one delightful decorating scheme to another. It just feels right. I can walk through there with so much confidence because I CAN DO THIS. Its rewarding just to know that it is a possibility. That I can simplify my clutter into a room that just makes sense. There is a light at the end of my clutter tunnel. So thank you ikea. You've done it again. The funny thing is that I walk in there with such excitement and hope and I think John Mark goes in tense and and with a death grip on his wallet! Ha! No, JM is actually the one in our fam with an amazing eye for decorating. I can copy an already well dressed room but JM he can take the pieces that we have and make it look like we MEANT to put those things together. He's great and really, he loves ikea too.

The rain continues... it is all the calm I need for today. Ahhhhhhhh...

I'm all over the place on this one!

I can't believe you're almost over June! I guess the craziness of this month is probably why I constantly think it is still the first week of June and then I'm floored when I hear what day it really is (this happens daily). Craziness is all relative- any house hold with three kids three and under is defined solely by the level of chaos it can endure- we can endure a lot! Its the good chaos most of the time :)

The, oh so popular, daddy sandwich!

Tonight I had a slight glimpse of what a "more normal" life would look like. After dinner John Mark took the elders out for a walk and I gave the littlest princess a bath and put her to bed. This may seem like the norm for many but my husband not only works hard all week at his full time job but he also puts in some time at another little job throughout the week. So that means usually 5 nights a week I'm flying solo at bed time. Trying to get all three of those wild ones bathed, clothed, hair brushed, teeth brushed, books read, prayers prayed and Anna nursed. It is a wonder that I can function normally after that. But tonight John Mark was here to play with our kids while I got to put Anna to bed in peace... it was amazing. I love that the the Lord is providing for our needs through JM's jobs but I think I may start asking Him to provide a job with "normal" business hours... it would be nice:)

We do however do many normal things, like summer fun things! My fav is and always will be the sprinkler! I have found my self running through it a lime or two this summer with Anna in-tow... sadly, no pics!

My water babies! They have both just taken to water this summer... it doesn't matter where the water is, if they find it, they will be in it!

Funny faces and funny buns. I swear we don't have a bathing suit that will stay up. I can the ties so tight that I think he won't digest his food properly and still, those shorts come down!

She wishes she could get in n the action... maybe next year my love! Dang, is it me or is she beautiful? Seriously, I'm aware that I am a mom and I think my kids are all perfect and the best at everything... but she is freakishly beautiful.

Sometimes we have impromptu water fun. Like on our stroller cleaning day... Bean got a hold of that hose and we were all soaked:) It was good. Have I mentioned that I love our yard?

Sometimes the heat gets to be a little much for us so its off to...

CHUCK E CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!

Don't let the exclamation marks fool you... I learned that I am not a fan. I mean its good for an every-now-and-then type of thing but it was a hard to observe our culture from that place... I didn't like us very much.

Most days however, we just lay around the house, doing chores and letting life happen... its a good life.

6 months old!!!!

You may be wondering (or maybe not) why there aren't many Anna pics. Well, that is because my little one turned six months old this month!!! Dang, where has the time gone! She is my precious little bundle of love and I could literally spend an entire day cuddling with her on my bed- just the two of us, watching her move and play and just be her. She is sweet and cuddly and happy and everything a baby should be. I love her. I love her deeply. I thought that by the time I had three kids my ability to love would begin to wane... but alas it has not! With each of mine my heart has been refreshed to love again just as deeply and intense. She is no exception. This month she has cut 2 perfect little teeth and she is scooting all over our floor. I guess here n a week or two I'll have a crawler on my hards... I should do a better job cleaning my floors! Well, here are some pics of my littlest princess this month... I love you bug and my life is a better one because of you! The next 6 months are going to be a blast!

JM took this video this morning... awesome!

Enjoying Life

I am beginning to enjoy my life again. I know that its kind of a loaded statement because it implies that I haven't been enjoying life and with that there is speculation to why I haven't been. Well, lets just say that I have appreciated my life for the entire that it has been mine but there is a difference in being appreciative for something and truly enjoying it. I have appreciated all of this life's blessings including John Mark, the kiddos, friends but in this season I have not been free to enjoy these great blessings. Busyness steals my joy and pleasure. There is no time to relax an enjoy the lives before me when I am consumed with what must happen for our lives to function. And it isn't just people that I have stopped enjoying, it is hobbies and enjoying who God created me to be. I have lost sight of the person inside the machine.

So all of that to say that I ma beginning to enjoy life again. I 'm learning to allow God to heal my heart and carry my burdens so that I can enjoy the blessings in my life. I'm relaxing more and strolling along side this life instead of always trying to be a step ahead. Most importantly, I'm enjoying my husband, this wonderful creation , because we were made for each other. When you're fighting against the pressures of life and children it is easy to forget that you have someone beside you who wants to enjoy life with you... if you'd let them. I'm loving my precious ones more actively and enjoying their lives, because they deserve to be delighted in. On the 'me' side of things, I'm enjoying reclaiming my old body, diving back into healthy-'er' eating (: , going on dates, taking classes and of course, my new-found love of taking pics of my family. I want to document our life because its amazing to me. I used to take pics because I knew that one day I would be glad I did but now I just love the process. I love getting great pics of their little faces and knowing that they are going to decorate our halls and living room. I want to look around my house and always be reminded to enjoy... enjoy it all.

Here are a few of my favorite pics as of late:

Sleeping princess

My pretty girl

Love those legs!

Seriously, steals my heart

a girl and her daddy

Miss silly

Loves to play

Mr Silly

and sillier

yes, she is sound asleep

big blue eyes

makes my heart smile

I'll leave you with this lovely image of JM wearing my sun glasses... he sure can make pink look manly!

Well, I should be studying... but I'm going to go pour juice, roll around on the floor, nurse a beautiful baby, start dinner and smile a lot with my amazing, God breathed family.