Making Art Again

Sick Day

2012-01-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

This is the day that it started. Four hours up in the middle of the night had her dozing in her lunch last Monday. By the time she woke from her afternoon nap, her sad eyes told me that a Dr.'s appointment was in order.
Twenty-four hours later we were back in business. I thought that the rest of had managed to sneak by with out her passing her germs to us.

This picture does not fit in with my post, but I had to add it. We had Gus groomed on Saturday. I asked the groomer not to make him look like greyhound or a poodle. Apparently, I also needed to clarify that I also did not want him to look like a cartoon. I'm okay with this, I know that hair only grows one direction. I am a good and kind master and bought him a coat b/c it is cold outside and he is basically naked now.

Thursday night Kev started telling me he wasn't feeling quite right. Friday night he went to bed with shivers. Saturday morning Libby woke up with the same sad eyes that Maggie had. By noon on Saturday I had the shivers that Kevin had the night before. Throw in constant body ache, and I have been here, on the couch all day today.
Being a mom, and being sick at the same time is not fun, but it has it perks too. I got served this plastic meal today,

by this lovely waitress...pink eye and all.

and I got to watch them both my girls take out every toy we own and scatter them from one corner of my downstairs to the other.

Sick day is over. I'm hoping that tomorrow we are up and running again, and by we, I mean me, so I can keep up with my little destroyers.
Grace and peace
xoxo

From The Mouths of Babes

2012-01-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

From the open window in the corner of my room, while ~~I rolled my fitted sheet into a ball~~, folded my fitted sheet I heard "Wendy, you have to fly, Peter watch out for the alligator!"

On the way home from a birthday party Saturday night, "Mommy, Aiden's dragon party was so beautiful, it was just beautiful." (In your head while you read this imagine her saying it in a dreamy whisper...sort of like she was reliving all the fun in her head.) In the same voice after dinner the other night she told me her after dinner treat was "magical", then proceeded to stand on the middle of her table and sing a song about it.

Last night when Kev got home from his soccer game I witnessed this conversation,
Libby: Daddy did you win?
Kev: No Libs
Libby: Why you not win Daddy?
Kev: Well, the other team scored more goals
(Repeat this part three or four more times)
Libby: Daddy and there were lots of people there?
Kev: Oh yes, there were even lots of kiddies playing in the field next to me
Libby: Did you pet them?
Kev: No! That is frowned upon by most people
(Kev looks at me as if to say what is she talking about?)
Libby: But, why there were lots of cats there Daddy?
Me: Kev you said there were "kiddies", she thinks there were kitty cats playing soccer
Kev: Oh!!!! No Libs there were no cats, but there were children
She ponders this for a moment and then
Libby: But Daddy, did you win?
(Repeat the conversation again)

Libby Jones, professional bed time delayer extraordinaire.

Everyday with her is like seeing the world from a child's eye. It is delightful.
That's all.
Grace and Peace
xxxx

Happy Sigh

2012-01-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

About a year and a day ago, I was sitting in my living room chair nervously pondering the events in my life that I knew were about to take place. I was thinking about my Little and how well I knew her, and how much I loved her, and how I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do it all again. I was sure I couldn't be the same Mother to two children.

After all, your first born, is, well, your first...they get all those first things with you. I was certain that everything with Maggie would just be the second time that I had experienced all those big and little parent moments. Do you know what I mean? Second pregnancy, second birth, second newborn, second everything.
God had different plans for my Littlest though and even a year later I am moved to tears when I think about the way she came to us. I had no idea how I could love another baby as much as I loved my Libby...but then it happened...

I held her.
It was like... magic.

One year later and I can still say that birthing Maggie was the most amazing experience of my life. I speak the truth when I tell you that I could absolutely feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room with us that night, covering us with peace and comfort and endurance like I have never felt before.

Peace was there and when I screamed in pain that I couldn't do it anymore, He nudged me on and said I could. Then I reached down and there she was.

Our bodies sank into each other and I loved her. Oh, how I loved her so much. My mother bear instincts kick in, my arms wrapped around her perfect little new born body and I didn't want to let her out of my sight. I just wanted to keep her there in my arms all night.

My Maggie Bell.

Still amazing.

The little girl that amazed us that night continued onward and amazed us all year long, from her quizzical little newborn stares, to her surprising strength, to her sometimes shockingly bad sleep habits. She has taught us that no two children are alike.

She brought with her into this world sweetness that I'm sure it didn't have before. Her shy smiles are hypnotizing, as are the lovely red curls that frame the back of her head.

Sometimes I wish so hard that she would reach her fists up over head and do that new born stretch she did so well, just one more time. I wish I could feel her tiny body all tucked up next to mine, or run my hand across her new to the world wrinkled skin...

Time tells me that it is not possible. Time tells me to enjoy today, becasue today she laughs, and today she nearly runs to great me when we have been apart, today she can exert her will, and today she knows how to love us back.
Today she has been with us a whole year.

Happy hearts.

Here's to my Littlest. We love you deeply.

Grace and Peace to you my dear one
xoxo

Go To The Park More...Check

2012-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

You know, I don't have many useless words to attach to these pictures tonight. I did want to mention that in a recent post I had a rather embarrassing typo that I really should go back and fix. I believe I wrote "right" when I should have typed "write." When I post late at night, some times my thoughts get ahead of my fingers. Sorry 'bout that.
Oops.
I did go to college.
I have a degree.
I taught children at one point.
There are some things that even spell check can't catch, remember that time I typed Eater Sunday instead of Easter Sunday?
Occasionally, Kev will stand behind me and correct me when I make a mistake. This is really helpful in the I want to throw something at him kind of way:)

The wind is blowing outside my window tonight at a chilly 8 degrees or something ridiculous like that, but this past weekend told a very different story. Really, if it is 8 degrees outside, shouldn't it just snow? I'm just saying a little snow would go well with 8 degrees....

Back to this weekend past, my house was piled with piles, but I happily dropped my chores on the floor when my dear one said "let's go to the park," b/c I made it a resolution, so I had to. To be honest the chores and the piles were there when we got home and it was 6o some degrees on this January day.

Yes, the piles were there waiting for me today when it was much, much too cold to go outside. The perfect day to put piles away.

I could have a very pretty and organized house if I took the time to keep it that way, but for now, it will come at a cost. For today, I am learning to live with some dust and piles(with in reason of course) so that I don't miss days like this.

Because if I had stayed home and organized, I would have missed my girls hair pointing to the sky from the static on the cold plastic slide.

And I would have missed them laughing together...
Which I actually joined in on...
Which means I covered another one of my resolutions.
Laugh more...check

I heard the weather man say the temperatures will be back to 60 this weekend.
Resolution #6: Spend time outside when the weather is nice...
Well, I'll just see if I can cover that on Saturday.
Grace and Peace
CJ
xx

Resolution

2011-12-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

I don't generally make resolutions. I find that they are broken a week or two after January 1st. However, I thought that this year I would give it a go and have some resolve to enjoy the really precious things in my life.

This year I will cuddle with my girls on the couch more

I will speak with gentleness to my family

I will take my Little on more Mommy and Libby dates

I will go to the park more.

I will rest more.

I will spend more time outside when the weather is nice

I will listen closely to all of Libby's stories, b/c they are hilarious

I will think of ways to let our Dear One feel more special

I will treasure photos like this...

Oh wait I already do that.

I will be thankful for the father that my girls have

I will take more pictures of my Littlest

I will definitely go to Sweet Frog on Fridays...right after I get home from the gym.

Okay, maybe not every Friday.

No seriously, Fridays.

I will laugh more

I will praise freely...

Did you know that her name means freedom flower? How very fitting for her.

I will throw out my to do list to spend a fun day with my family

I will dance in the living room when the opportunity presents itself

I will stop and watch them sleeping

I will find a way for him to go surfing at least twice

I will treasure time with friends

I will take the girls to the Library once a week whenever we are in town

I will stop doing the dishes long enough to enjoy watching them love each other

I will make a big deal about birthdays

I will love him better

I will enjoy autumn and not let it pass me by

I will continue educating Libby at home

I will finish Maggie's baby book

I will do another Christmas countdown

So long 2011. Thanks for a year that was full of big changes.

Welcome 2012. I can scarcely believe that you are here already.

Grace and Peace and Happy New Year

Will Someone Please Press The Rewind Button

2011-12-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

I read a blog post the other day that was called "The Christmas Hangover," and instantly my mind said "man, I wish I had thought of that first!"
Every morning since Christmas morning, I have had thoughts like "I can't believe it's over," and "362 days until next Christmas," and "how could the entire month of December be past with out me watching Home Alone one time?" I still have pictures that I haven't posted that would make a great Christmas countdown post. I was saving them for a rainy day when I had nothing better to right about.
It has to be said that Christmas with kids is nothing short of fairy tail magic. It is awesome. Their eyes twinkle even more than the lights, and then there is ripping paper, and flying ribbon, and squealing, and "Oh, Mommy look it's a princess _____.

I loved our Christmas this year. Minus the West coast faces that I would have loved to smother with kisses, it was nearly perfect. We woke up Christmas Eve morning and had a Jones family Christmas at our house with Grandma and Uncle Trevor. Libby was of course perfect at being a kid, b/c that is just how she is and Mags just wandered around playing with paper and ribbon and bows and paying no attention to her presents. Gus ripped opened his packages and promptly ate his new bone. There were pictures, there were smiles, and I'm sure there were little tears shed by me b/c I love seeing my family that happy.

We drove to my parents house that evening and spent Christmas morning with them. I love, love, love that my parents, particularly my Dad, love present giving so much. With my sister and her family away this Christmas, there were multiple stockings that were to be empty this year, but seeing that they had extra guests they filled them just the same with pressies for Grandma, Uncle Trev, and Gi-Gi mom. It was so fun to all be together in one room. I know it wont happen every year...but I'm trying to savor this years Christmas. At least for tonight, I'm not quite ready to let it go. Especially, these pictures of my girls in their Christmas frocks.

Grace and Peace and Christmas
xoxo

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

I have had several Facebook friends become first time parents over the last couple of weeks. I always have this little magical moment when I feel so excited for them...even if it is someone I don't really know that well. I think to myself, "you have no idea, but your life will never be the same." In an instant you're holding this living, breathing, beautiful mystery. In that instant you become this whole other person that is changed from the moment before all b/c of a baby.
Isn't it ironic, that Jesus came to us in that very same way. In a instant, as his mother pulled him to her chest and she took a deep breath of relief, life as she new it was changed...and life for all of us was changed. In that deep breath, in that first cry of life, grace was born. My mind has been dancing around that thought and the beauty of that moment all day. I always wonder wonder if she knew. Did she know how her life would change b/c of her baby...
The evenings after both my girls were born I had this crazy adrenaline that kicked in and I just stayed awake and stared at them. I just couldn't take my eyes off of their tiny face, their little fingers, their fantastic crinkly newborn skin. I was in complete awe that my life was forever ever changed by someone so small...and yet, my life was already changed by someone so small.
I pray that as you look forward to a new year you will embrace the tiny baby that change life for us all...I pray that you find yourself changed b/c of Him already.

Merry Christmas dear friends.
I hope that you have a lovely Christmas day, wrapped in the magic that only Christmas can bring!
Grace and Peace
xxx
That's a wrap. A post a day since the first day of December...except for that one night. I'll see you soon, with pictures of wide eyed girls in Christmas jammies.

Fill 'Er Up

2011-12-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

I love these 3.

Ask me about the present I made for Kev using this picture

Tomorrow is a Jones family Christmas. I can't wait to share Maggie's first Christmas with her. Not to mention seeing Libby's face when she opens up her gifts. Kev's family has been with us this last week and we have had so much fun. Christmas day my girls will be filled to the hilt with grandparents. Surely, they will be spoiled rotten with hopefully just the right amount of gratitude mixed in.

I just finished watching "A Chipmunk Christmas," the brothers Jones our building the girls Christmas present in the kitchen to have it ready for them tomorrow, the Christmas tree is glowing in front of me and my dog is laying by my feet b/c he loves me.

I like tonight.
I hope your nestled all snug in your bed.
I'm going to watch visions of sugar plums dance in my head.

Grace and peace

Wrapping

2011-12-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

No time to blog...I'm wrapping, wrapping, wrapping.
But here's a ppicture of my wild girl on a train!

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Christmassy

2011-12-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

I just re-read this post. I actually think that I was asleep when I wrote it. There is no flow and that is unfortunate b/c I think that there was a potential for it to be really magical. Promise to write one today while I am still awake.

Last year on this date I was complaining about being pregnant and there was several inches of snow on the ground. Today, I am not complaining about being pregnant and it was over 60 degrees today. Despite the lack of frosty temperatures it feels especially Christmassy around my house. WE are celebrating this week with Kev's mom and brother. I feel like we have to cover every Christmas activity possible while we have them here since it is our first time to have everyone together. I want to make cookies just for the sake of making cookies. I want to watch Christmas movies all day long.

The other night we went to our local botanical gardens to see all the lights they put up. It would have been lovely if the entire state of Virginia decided to go on Monday night was well.

I guess everyone else wanted to feel Christmasy too.
Is Christmasy really a word.
Just asking.
Grace and Peace

December 20th

2011-12-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

I went in Pottery Barn today and they were taking down their Christmas trees.
I was so sad.
How could they be un-decorating already?
While I'm at it, how could fall and all the autumn holidays be past? Life goes too fast and is so over saturated with things. It is nearly impossible to just strip life back and just enjoy the good things at the core of what they are. In the world we (I) live in, I don't know how to make this happen. Especially, when Pottery Barn takes their Christmas trees down 5 days before Christmas.
Sheesh.
Just so you know, next year I am making all my Christmas gifts and I am not setting foot in a mall.
Maybe.
We'll see how I feel about this next November.

Have you ever been to Build A Bear?

The place was built for grandmothers and uncles to take the little people in their life.

There was no holding any one back today. There was no "not this time honey, maybe next time." Except for when she tried to pick out the peace sign and tie dyed bear and I steered her toward the cute bunny instead.

She was mesmerized by the experience, like the first time I took her to the movies.

Her choices made me laugh...besides her original choice of a peace sign bear, of all the hundreds of outfits in the store, she chose a Christmas dress for her bunny that is just a tad on the trashy side. I kept tried to encourage her to pick the dress with the puff sleeves and aprons, but I just let it go.

It was her special day with her Uncle and Grandma, and letting her choose just what she wanted was their way of treating her special.

I love when we have days that she just falls into little girlhood seamlessly. I get all teary when I see her have this much fun.

Here's to being a kid.
Grace and Peace
xoxo

Calling All Little Girls Ages 2-4

2011-12-19T21:23:00.000-08:00

Since we have lived in VA Libs has literally only had one little girl friend, the rest have always been boys. That means only one friend who really knows how to play baby dolls, one friend who "gets" tea parties, one friend that wears pink. I am sad to say that her one and only little girl friend is moving to CA. They had their last play date today. After we dropped her back off at her house, Libby said in an extremely pouty voice "I don't want them to take Katie away, she's my favorite." My heart kind of hurt for her b/c I know first hand how hard it is to say goodbye to friends. So for Christmas this year, on the top of Libby's list is a BFF, a kindred spirit, a favorite.

Here's to all my favorites who are far away from me...if I could, I would hug your neck and take you out for coffee.
Grace and Peace

Ooops

2011-12-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

There is one real reason why I didn't post yesterday. B/c I am too embarrassed to write about that I am going to make up a few.

#1 Gus got his head stuck in a box

#2 Libby pounded these candy canes with pot and gave me a head ache...

She pounded the candy canes to make this delicious peppermint bark. She did a great job for her first time I think. She has been a great Christmas project helper...that's the truth, I'm not making that part up.

#3 Maggie cried and distracted me b/c she rebelled against nap time several times this week. I edited the Santa hat on her head to make her look more merry.

You'll never know the real reason why I didn't post yesterday, unless of course you call me and I tell you what a horrible ordeal it was. Ick.
I promise not to slip up on the countdown anymore.
I promise to take better pictures than the ones on in this post too...
Until tomorrow, I leave you with grace and peace the wonderment of what really happened last night.

xoxo

Tilt Your Head To the Left

2011-12-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

Translation:
When Santa got stuck up the chimney
He began to shout
You guls (girls) and boys won't get any toys
If you don't pull me out
My beard is black
And there's soot in my sack
My nose is tickly too
When Santa got stuck up the chimney
ah-choo, ah-choo, ah-choo

Grace and peace
xoxo

Rear Window

2011-12-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

Their warm breath painted the glass and made me desperate to come inside and kiss their faces.

Tiny tots...their eyes always aglow.

Grace and Peace
xxx

Crafty

2011-12-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

When I walk through stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby I get inspired and buy stuff to make things that are crafty b/c I think it will enhance our life. Somehow in those brief moments that I'm dropping spool after spool of red polka grosgrain ribbon into my cart I truly think I have time to make stuff. I forget that I'm a wife, a mother, a zoo keeper, and habitual "yes" sayer. So I buy this stuff, and a lot of times it sits and collects dust for months and months until I get to it..However, this December I have sufficiantly ignored my responsibitlies just long enough to make some really fun stuff...
Item #1 The fireplace decor

I got inspired by Starbucks Christmas decorations circa 2007 I think. I had fond recollections of their balls of yarn and found it quite festive. I tucked the idea away deep in the memoirs of mind for a time that I deemed appropriate for making my own yarn ball wreath. All I did was, purchased a couple of flat wreaths, a spool of wide ribbon, 3 balls of yarn, and some styrofoam balls, and voila. I also threw a couple of mason jars up there and Kev cut some little logs up for me to add another layer of texture. The twinkle lights were his idea and I think they give it just the right touch.

Item #2 Cupcake wrapper trees
I used these to decorate at my MOPS meeting the other day, but now they are linning the middle of my dinning room table and I like them there. This project was cheap, cheap, cheap. The only thing I had to buy was Christmas colored cupcake liners. I made a cone shape out of cardstock and tape, cup the bottom out of my cupcake liner and started layering...I love how fun they turned out. I got the idea from a crafting blog.

Item #3 Rolo Pretzel Candy. Amen.
I realize these are not a craft, but I can't find the picture of the other craft I made so these little morsels from heaven are taking their place. I had never had these before and it is a good thing b/c one can not be in my presence with out me eating it....Therefor I gave all the ones we made away.
All you do is take a pretzel, put a rolo on top, sit it in the oven on 350 for 5 min, then plop a pecan on top.
Go to your kitchen and make these right now, and then call me and tell me how good they are.

Here's to making stuff....may we all find more time to do so.
Jingle all the way. Hey.
CJ
xxx

Just Another Day In Paradise

2011-12-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

There is no sugar coating today.
It was busy.
It started early.
It ended in tears for both my blessings.
One b/c it was too far past her bedtime, and one b/c she had consequences that she thought she couldn't bear.
Then I cried and Kev asked me to stop b/c he couldn't handle everyone but him crying.
We can't re-do today but we can start fresh tomorrow and that is a very encouraging truth.
Tomorrow, we'll be back to candy canes and jingle bells and I'll tell Laura how I made those wreaths on my wall.
Grace and please, please, please some Peace.
xoxo

It's Tradition

2011-12-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Last year, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, when my mom and I were decorating ginger bread houses together, I distinctly remember saying that it would probably be the last year we would be able to sit for hours and continue this tradition. I was right, the weekend flew on by and we never got the chance to decorate our houses.

My parents came for a visit this weekend and brought the kits with them. Mom and the Little carried on the tradition, even if it was a couple of weekends late. I was busy doing something, even though I can't remember what that was, but I know I kept thinking that what ever I was working on couldn't have been as important as decorating ginger bread houses with my family.

This is her finished product. Truth be told she was much more interested in eating the sprinkles than decorating with them. Right before I took this pictures the corners of her mouth were smeared with green sugar.
Yum.

My day today probably would have been better if I had green sugar smeared around the corners of my mouth too.
Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Warning:

2011-12-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

We kept Maggie Bell with us during church today. I wasn't sure that the nursery would take her with the runny nose that she had. When the music started she smiled and made noises like she was trying to sing with us. With out any prompting from me her little hands reach right for the sky like she knew that we were praising the King. It made me think that maybe she knows something about worship that the rest are too conformed to know. It seemed pretty natural for her.

Eleven months could not have been sweeter than they have been with Maggie. I don't remember life before she was here. I don't actually remember her as a tiny baby. I just know the toddling little thing I see wandering after her sister from room to room.

One more month till we have a one year old....which means one more month until I am a blubbering mess because my baby is all grown up. Would it be weird if I started swaddling her again in hopes that it would make her stay my baby longer? Just a thought.

3 days late...but there you go, Maggie is 11 months old.
She walks every where now. She likes to sit with Gus and makes the same ro-ro noise that Libby did when she was Maggie's age. She says hi, bye, all gone, Dada and Mama (at I think does). When she says hi or hello, she puts her hand up to her ear like a phone. She signs so big, where, all done, more, bye, hat and I think that she might have been signing thank you today. She gives kisses and hugs like nobodies business.
She is a sweet, sweet girl. She is ours.

With out further adieu, here is the warning I mentioned in my title. Picture, after picture, after picture of Maggie being cute. You don't have to look at them if you don't want to, but I really think that you will regret that decision.

Grace and Peace
xx

Merry

2011-12-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Merry is what my family is not today. Three million sneezes and noses that run a mile a minute sent us to Grumpsville.
Thereto...therefore, my pot is short.
Typo.
My post not my pot.

Things will be merry again tomorrow. I'm sure of it. This blog will be full of Christmas trees and babies and mangers and all of that...
Grace and Peace
Goodnite

Kris Kringle

2011-12-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have said it before and I'll say it again..the concept of waiting in a long line so that your children can sit on a stranger's lap is a very bizarre concept to me. We did it though. I put the girls in matching out fits, put bows in their hair and off we went to The Bass Pro Store to see...Santa!
Let me just pause to say that I like Santa, he is a symbol of giving, kindness, and yes, even though he is not the Reason we celebrate Christmas, he is a symbol of the Christmas season. So yes, I like him, Libby likes him. However, I don't go out of my way to ensure that Libby is on good behavior all year long just so that she stays on the right side of his list. We've never left him cookies and I've never put his name on any Christmas tags...But I suppose the idea of Santa is there somewhere in her mind.
We pulled into the BPS at about 6ish and we were given a card that said we were to see Santa at 7pm. There were families and children dressed in Christmas frocks everywhere. It amazes me the lengths that people will go for a photo op with their children. So, here I am buying into the madness. I too dressed my kids, sat them down on a strangers lap and topped the night off by sitting them in front of a taxidermy raccoon b/c I thought it looked festive.

Libby: "Yeah Mags, this is what she does. She'll just plop you down anywhere for a picture"
Maggie: No really, is that raccoon real?

Around 6:20 we got in line and waited, and waited till we were almost there...and then she saw him. In all her little girlness she exclaimed for all to hear "Mama, I see him, I see Santa!"

It was the epitome of childhood, until we sat her sister down in his lap. Then the entire store and restraunt stopped to see who was harming the small child.

It's tradition. Please oh please don't leave this post until you click on this link and go back to see Libby and Santa several years ago.

Hohohohohoho.
Grace and Peace

Caught

2011-12-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

Putting up Christmas decorations in a house with toddlers is pretty much like saying "here bull, run freely around this china shop." For the record this is the second time I have mentioned a bull in a china shop since December started. Basically our tree has so much stuff stacked up in front of it to deter the girls from getting to it, that you can't even see the bottom. Really, it's a good thing that you can't see the bottom of the tree b/c somehow all the ornaments at the bottom keep ending up on the floor.

As if the shinny ornaments and twinkly lights weren't enough to lour them to the tree, the barricade in front of it now adds a whole new dimension of desire. Their soul mission in the morning is to find a way, or a reason to get to that tree....

I caught them red hand today...Please take note of the difference in my girls personalities Libby determined not to make eye contact with me and Maggie shamefully hiding her face b/c she knows that she is in trouble.

Well, it's late and I need to hang all the ornaments back on the lower quarter of the Christmas tree so the kids can do their best in knocking them off again tomorrow.

Jingle all the way.
Hey.
xoxo

December Fashion

2011-12-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

Around the end of Novemeber I have this weird unnecessary panic attack b/c I think that my kids need to wear red the entire month of December. It is a self inflicted panic attack. It is also a bit weird.

I already have their outfits for tomorrow picked out; they're wearing Santa hats and elf shoes.
Just kidding.
I don't have Santa hats or elf shoes in their sizes, but if I did they would wear them and we would go find some fake snow and I would make them make snow angles in it while I took their pictures!
In my head I am shouting that last line while I am typing. I that passionate about December clothes being festive.

Here's to red cable knit tights, red dresses, red jamies, and red everything else.
xoxo

I Wish You This Kind Of Happy

2011-12-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was checking out at Walmart the other day next to an giant Angry Bird display. I thought to myself "who would buy these things."
Kev told Libby that he bought her prize and she could have it if she was on good behavior all weekend long.
She was on good behavior and got her prize.
And now I know who buys stuffed Angry Birds.
There is one asleep in my daughters bedroom right now.

May all your gifts bring this kind of happy.

Grace and Peace
xxx

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

Kev took this picture of me while Libby and I were baking yesterday...
Thanks for this babe, I love you too.

I joined the gym today.
Seriously.

Then I went to a cookie exchange tonight.
I replaced the calories I burned off at the gym.
Slllsssspp!
And they were good.

'Tis the season...

Grace and Peace
CJ
xoxo

Pay It Forward

2011-12-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loudly for all to hear"
Buddy the Elf

In the last two days I have not sat down much. Yesterday, I was triple booked, not to mention the errands I had to run in between the triple booking. Christmas time is so busy. WHY? I wasn't really doing Christmas things yesterday, but there was so many people out. However, in all the hustle and bustle of the day, I was able to witness multiple counts of good cheer in my fellow shoppers...For example, I am not exaggerating one bit, when I tell you that everyone over 60 who saw Maggie stopped to talked to us. I enjoy exchanging kind words with strangers. Why don't we do this more often? I also enjoy knowing that my sweet Red, makes so many people smile. One time, recently, I let a complete stranger hold her b/c the lady was enjoying talking to her so much.
Any who, I digress. While I was using the self check out at BJ's (do not do this when you buy a lot of items, it makes me start perspire and drop things) a woman saw me with all of my stuff and offered to help me load my cart. She loaded the whole thing and said "God bless you" when she walked away. It left me speechless and smiling. When I realized she was walking away while I was just dreamily smiling at her I think I muttered a confused "God bless you too" back at her before she got too far away.
Later in the day, I saw a woman change lanes to hand a homeless man some cash. By this time I was convinced that even though people may not be filled with this much "do-goodness" all the year long, seeing examples of it all the day long made me want to join in the fun.

I started singing "it's the most wonderful time of the year" out of the window of my car while I drove to the next place I had to be. People were staring.
Okay, I didn't actually do that, but I started thinking about ways I could spread Christmas cheer all the year long.
Happy Sunday, I'm off to do some good.
Grace and Peace.
xxx

How Lovely Are Your Branches

2011-12-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

We put up our Christmas tree. Mags wasn't actually there she went to bed early, but her big sister was here and was like a bull in a China shop. She kept running from box to box squealing, and ripping, and throwing tissue paper trying to touch each and every shinny thing.

I was squealing for a different reason. Apparently, I'm more attached to my ornaments than I thought. Our family tradition of decorating the Christmas tree turned into me shouting commands at my family "do not break the Christopher Radko Santa on the roof!" and "Libby that is our Christmas manatee, be very careful with him," b/c Christmas wouldn't be the same with out the Christmas manatee....Really?

Opening the box of Christmas ornaments is like saying hello to old friends for me. I love pulling out each and every one and remembering why I bought it or why it was given to us. Like the silver house with the red ribbon circa 2005 to remind us of the mistake we bought that year, and the black bear wearing a Santa hat to remind us of the time that Kev saw a bear on vacation. There's the wedding cake, the artist pallet, the robot, a snowman from 1978, and a little rocking horse from 2008.

I love them all. I love the memories that they represent.
In the end we only had one casualty tonight. Fortunately, it was a simple red bauble that had little sentimental value. I'm hopeful that this year it is the only decoration we'll have to say goodbye to...I have a three year old and a baby who is trying to be a toddler, who am I kidding? I'll be lucky if the tree makes it through the week.

Of course her Mo-Mo belongs in the tree :) I love how he shows up everywhere.

Maggie's little tree in her room

This is her looking a her tree in her room completed

I wrote this post several days ago and since writting I am sad to say that the Christmas manatee lost his tail, and I have gained some perspective...It goes something like this, "No, Libby actually there wasn't a manatee in the nativity, he came later."

Tinsel and Trinkles
CJ
xxx

Good Eyes Libby

2011-12-01T23:39:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up we used to tease my Mother for staying up till the wee hours of the morning doing house work. Now that I am the mother in this house I totally understand. There is precious little time that I have uninterrupted to just sort out the happenings of our lives. It is very late again, and I just crawled into bed. My lap top was waiting for me by my pillow since my love is far, far away saving the world one kettle chip at a time. So here I am being ever so efficient on my posting.

I actually had a whole other completely Christmassy post already written, but a course of events that occurred today is taking December 2nd in a whole other direction. It was a seemingly normal day for us, we played, I folded laundry, Libs ignored me when I told her to put her shoes on ....

To be honest, I'm just trying to make my pictures relevant to this post. What I really want to say is that there was a bird in my house today!
I had just fought off a rather large spider that had in come from the cold I suspect, when my Little said "Mommy, there is someping in here." The words "it's just a spider" were just about to leave my lips when I looked up and there perched on our ceiling fan was a little bird. How in the world did a bird get in my house? I'm guessing he flew, but why did he fly into my house? I chased him from room to room with my camera so that I would have proof that these crazy things only happen when Kev is out of town. I took inventory of the wild life that I have encountered in our home while he has been away. In his absence I have crossed paths with a dead rabbit, several live frogs, a chipmunk, some deceased moles, and now a live bird.

He held still long enough for one picture on my kitchen sink before finding shelter in our Christmas tree. Had I gotten a picture of him there you would have never believed that he was real....he looked like a little bird ornament. He eventually flew out of the open door to his relief and mine, but not without me yelling "Libby, hit the deck" several times while covering my head like we were under attack. Libby was still talking about it when her heavy eyes closed tonight. When we spot deer on the side of the road, I always say something like, "man, Mama has good eyes." After the bird flew out and we were calling friends to regale our tale Libby said "I have good eyes Mama." I told her she was right.

And b/c this post is not Christmassy, even though it was meant to be, here is a picture of some lights and ornaments.

Jingles and Trinkles
CJ
xxx

With Warmest Wishes

2011-11-30T23:13:00.000-08:00

I welcome you to the Christmas countdown. Let the useless words and priceless photos commence daily until the day we celebrate the birth of the King.
Batten down the hatches, December is here, and with it, the prospect of cooler weather (maybe), precipitation, candy canes, and the high probability that you will see many more pictures of Maggie in this bunny hat.

Happy December 1
Grace and peace
xxx

For some reason Blogger is not acknowledging that it is, in fact December 1st. According to my clock it is 2:15 am, confirming not only that I should be asleep, but that December is here and my first post is on time.

It's The Overflow

2011-11-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my Little was playing outside and all I could here was uncontrolled giggling. When I peaked my head outside I saw a November wind whisking away the last of the leaves from our oak trees and my Little spinning in the middle of it...My heart felt thankful.

Every day this month I have deliberately thought of one thing each day to be thankful for. We are so blessed, that I didn't even scratch the surface of our blessings.

I'm hoping in this life that the Jones family is building, that we don't hold onto those blessings. My prayer is that the mission for our family will be that we begin see all that our Father has given us begin to overflow to those around us...In ways that we never thought possible.

Our arms are full, but I pray that they will always be open.
Happy Thanksgiving..

xxx
Oh, and by the way, I feel like if I ever had "readers" they have abandoned this space due to the fact that I have all but quit blogging. Please come back, leave me comments (b/c they make me feel good) and b/c I am bringing back the Christmas countdown! A blog a day to help me and you, if you visit me regularly, feel more festive. It's true, and I promise will be better than last year when I was 10 months pregnant and very Scroogeish..thank goodness that baby finally came out!:)
Grace and Peace

These shots are of the Littlest toddling around the kichen

How in the world did I capture these pictures of my Little? She just crashed on the couch after a long day playing...I couldn't even wake her up a little bit.

2011-11-14T20:36:00.000-08:00

The Little almost always puts her shoes on the wrong feet. We tell her everyday that she needs to switch them, but I'm convinced that she enjoys wearing them on the wrong feet.

Somehow she knows about Sponge Bob Square Pants. I have never watched this show, nor has my 3 year old. I don't know anything about this cartoon, but I am sure it is not appropriate for a little girl. She keeps asking me "Mommy, why you not like Sponge Boat"?

Kev and Maggie left the house the other day during nap time. Since it was just me and the Little alone together I let her rest on the couch while we watched a movie together. She was so sweet laying there that I told her that I loved her so much. She put her hand on face and said "I forgive you Mama, I sorry, I forgive you." I guess she was just mixing up phrases she hears during our heart to hearts.

The Littlest cried herself sick the other day and while I was cleaning and comforting her, Libs came and asked what was wrong with Maggie. When I told her that Maggie was sick she said, "Mommy, I sick too. I need some medcine."
When I asked her why she needed medicine, she said, with an extremely dramatic voice, said "because my feelings are hurt."

It is hard to keep a straight face around this girl...
Grace and Peace

If I Ever Finish My Book

2011-11-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

If I ever start my book should be more like it. 2 weeks after Maggie was born I finished Libby's Book, She was 2 1/2. I swore that I was going to keep up with Maggie's from month to month so that I could have it finished for her 1st birthday. Currently I have a title page completed. Maggie will be one in two months.
That is all I have to say about that.

My second child is a mysterious little thing. I spent all that time with Libby getting to know just her...not to mention the fact that she is so similar to me that most of the time I can figure out her next move before she does it. In these ten months that I've known and loved Maggie Bell, I've learned a lot about her. I know that she is a delicate creature, prone to need a good minute or two of loving now and again. I know that she smiles and laughs if you look at her. I know that she is physically strong and will voice her opinion if she needs to...I know that she is just a bit shy. Despite all these things that I know about her, I am sure that she holds a secret just behind her pretty blue eyes that she's not letting me in on...I think that it something really good, but for now she's keeping it to herself. Maybe this will always be the case.

When we took our trip to the mountains a couple of weeks ago. She took her first steps. So I need to get that down for my memory's sake, that around 9 1/2 months old Maggie walked. It is not her first choice for getting around yet, but every day she surprises me, taking just a couple more steps. Last night she was standing up from sitting on the floor and then walking. Each time she did this, she would turn around and look at me with a big grin on her face to make sure that I saw her do it. There is real pride in her face when she walks. I can tell that she knows that she is doing a something big.

When Maggie smiles her little nose crunches right up. I know I typed this a couple months ago, but really if you look at her when she is crying and smile, she starts to smile and then she laughs and then you forget what it was that you were about to do...Her smile brings wonderful confusion to my life daily.

At 10 months old, her favorite food choices are blueberries and green beans. I think she weighed about 18lbs and was around 27 in long. The back of her head is full with little reddish curls that seems to be getting fuller every day. She likes to play with blocks (thank goodness about this) mostly, but she loves, LOVES to steal Libby's Mo-Mo (which is her little bear that is dressed like a bunny. I used to call him Bernie until she learned to talk and told me his name was actually Mo-Mo). When this happens we all laugh and Libs says something like "Mommy, Maggie stole my Mo-Mo, Mags don't steal my Mo." It really is funny b/c even though she is such a little thing, she does such a sneaky giggle that I know she realizes that she is doing something wrong. When Kev or I sit on the floor with her she crawls to us at top speed. When she reaches us, she buries her head into our chests...I call this the nuzzle. In fact, if Mags was a super hero, I think her name could be the Nuzzler. After all this time, she finally is showing some real affection for Kev...not that she didn't before, but I think it is a little more balanced out between the two of us now.

Time passes so significantly when you have a baby. Lately, Mags has been challenging me in the sleep department. A couple days ago it was making it through the night. Now that the night is sorted, we are back to fighting every nap time. I was rocking her today (and by rocking, I mean rocking and rocking and rocking) on one hand I could think of one million other things that I should have been working on. On the other hand, I thought about how in just a short time, Maggie will be done with nursing. In just a short time I'll call her my toddler instead of my baby. In just a short time this first year of her life will be done. It made me realize what a privilege it was to rock her.
She never took a nap this after noon. She just looked at me. She needed me to rock her today, so I did. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm sure she'll nap just fine...eventually.:)

Ten month Maggie...
One is on the horizon and I can scarcely even believe that it is possible that she has been here the better part of a year. To me she is still that crinkly newborn that I woke up with in my arms every morning...
But here she is, 10 months old...
This is what I know for sure...life is sweeter with MaggieBell in it.

10 months documented...check.
Now if I get past the title page of my book, I'll have reference post for ten months.
Grace and Peace.
xxx
PS Just in case you wondered, all of these pictures are a couple weeks old. The camera charger is still missing. It is sad. Very sad.

Before I Say Anything Else

2011-11-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

I (we) have lost the charger for our camera and we can't take any pictures! Wahhhhwahhhh!!!!

All of these pictures were taken on my cell phone...

Maggie turned ten months old and I need to take pictures of her!
How many times can I type "pictures" in one paragraph?

I am officially that Mom that did all the special stuff for the first born, swore I was going to do it all for the second, and am failing miserably at it....
Poor Mags.

So, today I heard two different woman, who are also Moms, call me a laid back Mom...I took it as a compliment, I think?
I don't sweat things like mulch eating babies and crashes on the play ground. I know that if we play with other kids we're going to share germs.
Sometimes, I forgo nap time in our beds b/c a quilt in the back yard seems like a better spot for dreaming. If my little ones find themselves lonely in the night I let them curl up with us, b/c I imagine when they are 16 the likelihood of them wanting to cuddle with us in the morning will have decreased.
I am hoping that none of these things will scar them for life.

Lately, the girls have been interacting more and more. Libby is fiercely protective over Maggie. When others get too close to her Libby will say "this is Maggie, she's my baby sister." Then she'll pick Maggie up and move her away from whatever child or adult, for that matter, that is getting too close to her girl.
Today she carried her around the playground. Every time she moved her to a new spot she would say "come on baby girl, let's go over here." It made me grin. Hearing them laugh together is probably the best thing that I have ever heard.

In other news, I have been determined to do some creative projects the last couple of days. The projects are going well but house is falling apart. I have realized that I have just enough time in my life for the things that are essential. Everything else is extra and I just can't seem to make time for extra. Even as I type there is mountain size pile of laundry luring over me in our bedroom. My dilemma is, do I finish the laundry and clean the bathrooms, or do I finish my projects?
Life is full of tough choices.

I took the girls to their well appointments the other day, and despite runny noses that won't quit, they are well.
I am thankful.
My Little is on the shorter side. She also made it through her first Dr.'s appointment with no crying, woohoo!
The Littlest handled her shots like a champ, barely even cried.
They were weighed, they were measured, they were given stickers and suckers.
Amen.

I'm not sure where I was going to go with this post. It seems like it has gone everywhere and no where all at the same time.

And that is okay. What is not okay is that I am still missing the camera charger so until then I am stuck with slightly blurry pictures from my cell phone.

Here's to finding it soon.
Grace and Peace
xoxo

1+1=Indecision

2011-11-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

You may not know this about me, but I have a real anxiety issue about sending my girls to pre-school, or any school for that matter. The reasons make a lot of sense in my head, but when I try to explain them to others they just come out muddled and senseless.

Here are some of them (these are just scratching the surface though)....judge me if you will, just not too harshly. I'm sensitive.

#1. They are going to be in school for basically the rest of their lives, why rush it?

#2. Picking a school (even a pre-school) is going to start shaping their world view...this is a big deal to me. I want them to view the world from Christ's vantage point. Even the smallest untruth could plant a seed of doubt that could grow into a view of the world that is contrary to the real TRUTH....trust me I know about this first hand.

#3. I'm not ready yet..I know it's not about me, but I'm being honest. Until they leave for college, school is going to get like 50% of their time or more....can't I steal these precious early days as long as can?

Which leads me to #4. I was teacher. Is it possible that I can teach them myself?
Now don't jump to any conclusions. I know that great and wonderful things will come from my girls starting school. I know there would be benefits to sending Libby right now. I know these things. I've heard all the pros, and I agree with many of them, but still, there is the anxiety that is telling me that for us, it is not time yet. Occasionally, I opt for listening to my intuition.
Back to #4...I have been exploring and trying out teaching Libs some pre-school stuff myself.
It has been really fun and has made me be more deliberate about the time I spend with her.

I'd love to hear your feed back on this.
It might add to my indecision.
It might make me feel guilty.
It might make feel like I'm stifling her education.
Okay, I was just kidding, no feedback.
Unless you want to.
But don't yell at me...
See what I mean.
Indecisive.

Grace and Peace

Halloween In A Hot Minute

2011-11-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Maggie,

I am sorry that for your first Halloween I did not take any good pictures of you by yourself. We will pretend that the these pictures of you are from your first Halloween.

Love, Mommy

True to form we have been super busy lately. When the day before Halloween arrived and I realized that we hadn't taken the girls to the pumpkin patch yet, I insisted that we stop despite our already jam packed day. There were no hayrides, there was no deliberating over which pumpkins were the perfect ones for our front porch. It was basically throw the girls down in a heap of pumpkins, jump up and down to get them to smile for a photo op, then throw them back in the car to get to the next event in time.

The same was true for Halloween Day. We were having friends over so I was busy most of the day preparing for that. About half past nap time I decided it would be good for Kev and I to do costumes as well as the kids (b/c I had time for this...really. These are the moments when in reflection, truly make me believe there is a real possibility that I have a few screws loose in the old noggin'). After a little Googling I found 2 simple costumes that I could easily through together with supplies from the dollar store.

Let me spare you the trouble of trying to figure out what we are based on our pants and shoes. Kev is a "Smartie" pants and I am gold digger, not in real life, just on Halloween. I hot glued "smarties" to Kev's best jeans. Seriously, they were his favorites. In my defense, let me just say that they were at the bottom of the stack and they were Wranglers! How is that I didn't know that my British husband wore Wranglers and if he loves them so much what were they doing at the bottom of a stack of about 6 other pairs? Anywho, a hot iron and some wax paper ought to take the glue out...I think.? I bought him a pair of $1 reading glasses and made him faux suspenders from ribbon. Voila, Smartie pants. For my costume, I pulled a gold sweater out of my drawer, sprayed one of the girls sand shovels and a pair of old heals gold, dowsed myself in gold Christmas decorations, then added gold sheen to my hair and face...
Lots of gold + a shovel = gold digger.

After all that rushing around and last minute planning, as soon as the guests arrived and we sat down in the driveway to eat soup and wait for the trick or treater's, it started to rain. Before I knew it, everyone was in our house and the children were restless. Our poor little ones never even got to knock on a door, let alone speak the phrase "trick or treat." B/c the daddies are good sports and lots of fun, they all grabbed a bowl of candy and picked a room in our up stairs so that the little ones could fulfill their Halloween hopes of getting a bucket load of candy..

They knock on our bedroom doors and giggled when the Daddy's would open it up and hand them a Kit-Kat...
Next year, I'm going to plan better, and make our costumes the day before Halloween instead the actual day itself.
Until then, happy hauntings!
Grace and Peace

Mountain I

2011-10-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

I miss my husband.
I really love that this is his idea of a trail.
If you were there in this photo with us you would be able to hear me saying "Libby, don't touch that leaf, I'm sure that it is poison ivy" I said that about every leaf I saw. I can be obsessive about things I'm nervous about like sharks, enrolling my daughter in pre-school, and poison ivy for example.

The Little got fed up with the trail and decided that my back was a better place to blaze Daddy's path.

I had big plans for this blog this week, but somehow it is Thursday and I haven't posted a thing. I have approximently 1.8 million photos from our fall vacation this year...but a girl's got to prioritize. Single parenting leaves me with little to no alone time. I've been choosing sleep during my alone time, and when I say sleep, I mean lying awake wondering where my husband's been the last month.
Let me give you a rough idea of his schedule lately:
3-4 weeks ago Kev goes to LA for two days
He comes home drives to DC to pick up his Mum
Following day we all go to Neverland
Next day Kev goes back to LA for a week
Jumps on the red eye and we all pack up for 5 days of relaxing in the country
(Note the picture of Mommy finally relaxing)

5 days later, we all drive home
The following day Kev drives his Mum back to DC arrives home at 11:30 pm and leaves the next morning at 6:00am for KT
He stays there until Saturday and arrives home at 11:00pm
Sunday morning he leaves the house at 6:00 am to run the Tough Mudder (do not leave this post until you click here to see this picture of him running through live wires...Why would anyone pay to do that?)
He arrives back at Case de Jones at 8:30 pm mumbled a few words that sound something "I'm not 20 anymore" and went to bed only to depart our homestead again 5:30 am the next morning.
Currently, he is still away and I feel like doing this

Strangely, I kind of love these pictures of Libby...they feel very authentic

I'd like to go back to the mountains when I was sitting on my mountain deck, while my children and husband and mother-in-law and friend were frolicking around me while I sipped coffee and thought about pretty things.

One of these days my husband will get to come. Hopefully, I'll get to post about the rest of our mountain trip before I forget all the fun we had.

Until then, here's one more picture of my family together to prove that it does happen sometimes.

Here's to Kev! I miss him and missing him is worth a post full of whining.
Sorry about that, I promise to be more chipper in my next post...will that statement be more believable if I end the sentence with an exclamation point and a smiley? Like this!:)
Grace and peace

Blue Skies and Sunshine

2011-10-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

I often walk around and think really poetic thoughts about blue skies and sunshine and then I think, I'm going to blog about this later- it would make a great story. Then something happens, and something else happens, and by the time later comes around I can't remember what I was going to say about blue skies and sunshine.

I'm sure that on this day that Kev's mom and I took the girls to do a corn maze, I had some of those thoughts but seeing that it was two weeks ago now, I have no idea what they were.

I know the sun was out and I know the sky was blue. I also know that for October it was unseasonably warm. I know that a lady bug landed on Libby and Maggie and Grandma caught the sun on their cheeks. I also know and think that perhaps we'll wait for both girls to have the ability to run before we do a corn maze again...not sure even the Little understood the point. If nothing else, it was good use of energy for everyone involved.

This past week has been good for me. I was still pining for summer probably up to Libby's party...So besides the corn maze, I bought a couple of more pumpkins (I decorated the living room with them and the Little hides them behind the TV every day), finally made my pumpkin cookies(actually Grandma and Libby made the cookies), and we went on our annual mountain trip(I'll blog about that later). So now, I officially feel like autumn is here...well, all that and it finally is not 80 degrees outside and the leaves are starting to trickle of the trees.

Alledgely, there were four monsters hidden in this maze. We walked, and walked, and walked and only found three. I heard about a family getting lost in a corn maze and actually calling 911 for help. If I had thought of this I may have tried it. If Kev had been with us, he would used the GPS on his phone.

Speaking of phones, did I mention that I have a new phone? Did I mention that technology hates me? After 2 years of muting all of you with my face while chatting, Kev decided I needed an upgrade so he got me a "smart" phone. My "smart" phone pretty much just makes me feel dumb every time I use it... I'm losing my smarts as I type and it is all b/c of my new smart phone that could probably, all by itself, call all the people I'm friends with on Facebook, create a detailed grocery list for me and navigate me from here to Dollywood, if I could only figure out how it works. Oh, and figure out how to not hang up on everyone that calls me.

Sorry about that digression from fall stuff, but part of my fall has been trying to figure out that stinkin' phone.

One of these days, when I have one of those blue sky moments, I'm actually going to write the things I'm thinking about when I take a picture like this one...

I'm sure it had something to do with fall or yellow things, or something artsy like that, but until then ignore these useless words and enjoy the pictures of my little autum girls having enchanting autum days...

Pictures are better than words anyway...
Grace and Peace
xxx

Finding Neverland

2011-10-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

"It is frightfully difficult to know much about fairies, and almost the only thing known for certain is that there are fairies wherever there are children"

JM Barrie

Hands down my favorite party to date!

I have always loved the movie "Hook," and "Finding Neverland," so when I saw a party with a Neverland theme, my mind started churning. I thought that if I could con Libs into thinking it was a Tinker Bell themed party I could maybe get out of having a Disney princess themed party!

I had so much fun planning this year. I poured over pictures of fairies, wild young boys, and pirate ships to get inspired. Then I checked out JM Barries, Peter Pan from Library and fell in love with his whimsical writing. I'm hoping she'll look at the pictures one day and say, "Man, I have a cool mom." Maybe I'll look back and say, "man, I wasted a lot of time planning those parties!" Ha! Maybe we'll just looked back and remember that we had a great time.

Here are the highlights...
All of the children had a costume to wear. I think that they all tried them on and promplty striped them off. Except for Libs, she wore her Tinker Bell costume all night.

"I do believe in fairies...."

"...I do, I do!"

"By hook, or by crook..."

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

Last year, part of Libby's favors included making candy bags. I think all the Mom's were angry at me for filling their children with sugar. This year we gave them a fairy house and they got to stop by the Pixie Dust Station. I'm pretty sure that the pixie dust made the moms angry too, but it sure was sparkly.

The green stuff in the cups is Pixie Juice to the children...to the rest of us it is white grape juice, soda water, and green food coloring.

The bottle said "For best results, mix with faith and trust. Think happy thoughts."

I made clever "Neverlandy" tags for the food and drink like "Pirate Pizza" "Smee Tea" "Pixie Juice" and "Lost Boy Smores"....I think I am the only one who knew the signs were there. I also littered all the tables with quotes from Barries' book...I loved all of them and wish I could paint them on the walls of our house...things like "you know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming that is where I'll think of you" and "to love would be an awfully big adventure"....I don't think that anyone noticed these either...but they help me feel more like Neverland.

Fairy cakes. Devil's food with cream cheese frosting, and pumpkin with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

When the party first started Kev fixed her a drink, and she ran up to me and said, and I quote "Mommy, thank you for my pixie juice at my party!" Who knew pixie juice could make a girl so happy...probably one of the best moments of the night. I love that sound in her voice when she is about to burst she is so excited.

I'm pretty sure that party planning is a ridiculous use of one's time ...but the end result was lovely.

She loved every minute of it.

As for me, it is late and I'm off to join my girl in Neverland...."second star to the right and strait on till morning!"

Just kidding...
You thought I was done posting, but I'm not.
One more thing.
It is about Maggie Bell.

The other night when I was rocking her before bed, She laughed in her sleep, then tucked her head into my chest. I wish I knew what she was dreaming about.
I rocked her longer and decided that I need her to always be a baby.

She turned 9 months old this week.
She almost stole the show at the party.

She does pixie with natural ease.

That is all.

Grace and peace.
xoxo

Delightfully Simple

2011-10-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

Despite the countless threats of neglectfully forgetting an engagement, I am continually reminded of how simple our life is right now. If we want to walk to the park in the morning we can. If the mood seems right to wear tu-tu's, at 10 am, on a Tuesday, we do. In the back of my mind, I know it will end and so I remind myself to be grateful for a cup of coffee that can last all morning, while Maggie naps and my Little plays dress up. In the not so distant future, I see car line drop off's at 8:00 am, and I see ballet class at 7 pm so you must sit and finish your homework first, and I see a calender full of engagements that I just can not neglect.

So I am thankful for this simple time. Sometimes I think I cling to it, in an almost unhealthy way. Even now our life is too busy to do anything extra. I laid in bed last night thinking about all the wonderful little things my girls are doing right now that I am not documenting. So right there at 1:00am I said to myself "self, before anything else tomorrow I will post about our not so complicated life."

A good example of me not taking the time to document was the Little's birthday. We had such a great day...She was on good form from the moment she woke up. When she opened her eyes I said "Happy Birthday precious girl" and she said "Mommy, iss my birfday? Can I have my princess shirt now?" I smiled, tickled that she remembered the Cinderella shirt I tucked in our Target cart weeks ago and told her that we would save it for her birthday.

When she tip-toed into the kitchen for breakfast, she found that her Daddy had left the room filled with balloons just for her. She loves balloons so this alone would have been enough, but we celebrated all day, by using Disney princess dinner wear at every meal, playing at the park, and getting ice cream after dinner.

You know, sometimes we go to the park and it is just another trip down the slide, but on her birthday, the park was ours...we were the only ones there.

She ran from slide to swing to bridge, laughing all the way, with Maggie's gaze fixed on her and a look in her eyes that screamed "just you wait sister, give me a couple montha and I'll be able to run with you."

Before heading out to meet friends for ice cream, we gave her a few gifts to celebrate her third year of life. She was gitty with excitement and some how knew that we had saved the best for last.

Without any caution, she ripped the paper out of the bag and found her very own Belle costume complete with yellow gloves and a pink necklace...It was one of those life moments that made my heart and eyes well up b/c I know that look on her face...She'll feel it again when she tries on her first prom dress, and then again when she finds the perfect wedding dress. I could just tell, that in that yellow netting she felt beautiful!

I had big plans for my Little's 3rd birthday party, even though I was instructed I could not go over board any more after last year, and the year before that. Due to circumstances beyond our control, I've been forced to plan it on the fly so that her Daddy and Grandma (along with a few others) can be here. So this Tuesday evening we'll celebrate, with an intimate crowd, the day our Little danced into our lives. Some days days she's a pixie, some days she's a pirate, but all days I'm sure that her mind takes her to wonderful places...I only wish I could fully go with her to them and not be the one reminding her that it's lunch time, or clean up time, or nap time...

In the mean time, I'll be laying awake at night wondering how I'll ever make time to write about that special day and all the others in between!

Grace and Peace
xxx

No Time For Pretty Feet

2011-09-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

This one

and especially this one

Are taking busy to a whole new level...

So until time allows, I choose to be thankful for the business of them, b/c one day not to far from now, I'll have plenty of time for getting a pedicure.
Note to self...
I choose joy over frustration,
I choose patience over anger,
I choose sleep over a long post with lots of pictures :)

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Libby and Maggie's Never Ending Summer

2011-09-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

I made myself buy pumpkins this week. I also bought a pumpkin spice latte, two cans of Libbie's pumpkin, and the makings for cheeseburger soup...I did all these things to try and help me move on from the glorious summer we've had. I decided that as long as I'm not pregnant, summer is my favorite season. I'm sad to see it go.
We kissed our summer goodbye with a bang and spent a fantastically, relaxing week at the beach with friends.

I really like this family photo, but why, oh why didn't someone encourage me to do something to tame my hair down.

I wanted to stay.
I didn't want to leave.

In lieu of me not wanting to leave and wanting to move into our little cottage at the beach this post will contain millions pictures of our time there and the stories in between.
For our first story I bring you Maggie and the sea gull

She squealled at him passionately then turned to the crowd and encouraged us to clap for him

Or maybe she wanted us to clap for her? Whatever the reason, we all clapped and she felt like her work for the day was done.

Next Story
See Libs

See Libs run.

See Libs at the beach.

See Libs laugh.

See Libs run and laugh at the beach.
The End.

Much to the delight of my husband, we were sandwich between 2 tropical systems during our stay. This meant that everyday he and his long lost girlfriend got to go out and play together.

And everyday, I carried the girls to the water's edge so that they could catch a glimpse of the boy their Daddy used to be. Really beneath that strong, provider exterior, he still is that boy.

Before Kev met me, he used to travel to wonderful places to go surfing, so when he gets a chance to go, even if the waves are small, it makes me so happy for him...I harbor some guilt that b/c of me his favortie past time is on the back burner.

This is Maggie's beach hair.
It is luscious and I couldn't help but run my fingers through it all day long.
That's all I have to say about that.

One of my girlfriends once described Libby as a little fairy that the boys can't help but follow. It is kind of true, but not in a falling over their feet in love kind of way, in a Pied Piper sort of way....She just kind of leads them into mischief and they follow.

This is her and Maggie and all the boys. My girls are heavily out numbered for now. Libs loves them all...when we got home she kept saying "Mommy, where are da boys?"

This is Charlie, and while she doesn't show open favoritism, I do believe there is a twinkle in her eye when she talks about this one ;)

There always has been,
but please don't mention this to Caleb, or Aiden, or Robbie :)

And b/c I have no story to go with these, and I surely haven't include enough pictures yet, here are a few more

Seriously, someone just hand me a pony tail holder, a scarf, a visor, anything to tame my lioness-like main

These pictures are of Libby searching for shells...just so you know, it's late as usual and my creative writing skill are running low.

Keep the one on the right, chuck the one on the left.

Show this one to Maggie, "ya see it Mags? Iss- a shell, iss beau-ful!"

"Look Daddy, look at my shells! Can I keep um?"
Please don't pass by this picture until you examine the sheer bounty that is my Littlest's thigh!
It's fabulous.

And these pictures are of Maggie being 8 months old.

How did that happen? Did I say that last month? I really mean it this month, b/c the day past by and I didn't even realize it!
For the record.
8 months old=4 teeth, napping shockingly bad, cruising, loves Mommy but lights up when she sees Daddy, laughs uncontrollably at Libby and interacts with her regularly, loves green beans and blueberries. Still makes a funny little noise when she sees Trouble and cries at loud noises including but not limited to Gus's bark. Still nuzzles her head in my chest and still smiles with her whole body, still makes my heart melt when I see her.

One day our children rebelled against us when we tried to lay them down for naps, so we carried them to the beach and laid them in the sand.

We covered them with beach towels and the crashing waves lulled them to sleep.
I looked over at Kev and told him "this, is perfect."

While the stars didn't aline like this every day, that moment on the beach with my family was my favorite of the whole week, and maybe of the whole summer.

Goodnight summer...

Hello fall.
Grace and peace
xxx

Profound

2011-09-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

“Young boys (or girls) should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older.”

― J.M. Barrie

I thought about this quote tonight while I was feeding Maggie. I asked Kev if he would finish putting her down so that I could read to my two year old one more time. I had this fleeting and somewhat insane thought that maybe if I read to her, I could drag it out and she could stay little just a bit longer. As it was, she never even made it through the first book, Violet the cat was still stuck up a tree, and my Little was fast asleep on my shoulder.

As I pulled her quilt up around her shoulders Kev tip-toed in and said "when she wakes up tomorrow she'll be a three year old." I wanted to stamp my foot on the ground and say something ridiculous like, "not if I can help it!" But I didn't, I just turned off the light and thought about how much I love her.

There is this one moment that I remember like it was yesterday. We had been home for two days with our new baby...the house was asleep except for me and my Little. I picked up a book and read to her for the first time and then through teary eyes, I starred at her for the rest of the night. Just me and her alone in her room. I was overwhelmed with my feeling for this tiny person..they were profound to say the least.

I swear that night happened just yesterday, but today she stood in the living room with her hands on her hips and declared "Mommy, I do not want to watch the Today Show, I want to watch a movie." Then she changed her clothes 3 times, had a conversation with a rather large spider, and forced Maggie into a family hug. How is it she can walk, and talk, and run, and do oh so many other things..so profound.

Every year, around this time, I am reminded of the one truth in mothering that no other mother could have advised me on...in mothering your child you LOVE, and you LOVE till it hurts...Once the ache begins you are certain that if it ever stopped you would surely fall apart because you love them that much...Love soooo profound.

I am fairly certain that the Father uses parenting as way to draw us closer to Him. Not only in the sheer miracle that is growing a baby inside of you, but in loving them also. I'm sure that in loving her, with that deep, deep love, I catch just a glimmer of how He loves me, His child. Love...so profound.

Everyday, every tantrum, every tap on my shoulder before the sun is up wanting to crawl into my bed, every moment with this wild thing, I cherish. I tell myself that one day I'm going to miss every minute of this beautiful simple and uncomplicated stage of life...

My girl is pure delight. I tell her every night that she is my precious girl. The other night when I told her this she grabbed my chin and said "no Mommy, you're my precious girl."

So tomorrow she will dance into her third year of life, on tip toes most likely, living out the name we gave her when they placed her in our arms....Liberty Rose, our little freedom flower.

So here's to my precious, precious girl...may she always be as lovely as she is today, on her third birthday (sigh...the clock has ticked past twelve meaning that she truly is 3...how profound ;)
I love that Little girl.
xoxo

Postacular

2011-08-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

You should start here, then read backwards (when you finish a post click on "newer post"). I posted 8 times tonight...Skip all the words and look at the unedited pictures, that is a much better use of your time.

Here's to staying up to late and posting 8 times...
Grace and Peace
xoxo

Family Photo Dump

2011-08-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

Our week and a half of fun with our family went too fast. Since the hurricane landed us back at G-dad's and Babette's, our sweet cousin's absence is felt even stronger...Libby keeps asking "Where's my cousins Mama." Then when she sees a plane fly over head she waves uncontrollably at it and yells "Hi Mimi, hi GG Mom, hi Cousins, hi Daddy...we've had a lot of people leave on airplanes lately. Anyhow, Here is a photo recap of mostly posed pictures.

This is the best group shot out of approximately 1 million

The only 2 boys that didn't marry in

Babs and Mags

"Mommy, please don't leave me here"

Love them, all 3. I would have kept them if I could have devised a plan.

Libby loved them too.

Squaunch!

Squish!

Slurp!

Cheese!

Take 25


Take 46

I may have taken a plethora of below average pictures, but I'm keeping every one of them. They help me feel like California isn't so far away.

Grace and Peace
xxx

GG Mom

2011-08-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

You should go back and read this story about my Grams...She is a strong lady. Maggie's "Bell" comes from her maiden name.

I love spending time with her. I hope that I am like her when I'm 86. She goes to pool exercises 4 times a week. She just retired this winter, and she really loves the game show channel.

We just call her GG now.

xxx

Once Upon A Time....

2011-08-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

...Before I had little girls of my own, I posted pictures of my sister's sweet girls.
When I started blogging Allison was Libby's age...Sniff. Now she is 7, Sidney is 8.

I remember being 8...I got my hair cut short.

I remember being 7, I had a white bathing suit with rainbow hearts on it that I loved...but then again, who doesn't love rainbow hearts.

Amy and I are not tall ladies...I think that Sidney is well on her way to being taller than us.

Allison has always loved baby dolls...MaggieBell was good practice for her dolls.

Big girls, they used to be little. Sweet girls, that stayed the same.

xxx

My Little

2011-08-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

She spins and she sways

To whatever song plays

Without a care in the world...

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms

'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oooooh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't wanna miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone...
~Steven Curtis Chapman

I think the words to this song almost daily when I watch her....
She is an amazing little girl.

She is so close to 3 we can almost touch it.
That's all I have to say about that.

xxx

Red

2011-08-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

I got my hair colored last week.
I asked my hair lady if she could make my hair the color of my Littlest.
I never imagined a red head in my life, but I love it just the same.

My Mom says that her eyes look like blueberries and that her lips look like rosebuds...what a lovely description....

She thinks that she is as big as her sister. This little horse has been posted on this blog before, it has been around a long time...Maggie loved it, she bounced uncontrollably trying to make it go.

She gets where she needs to go very fast. Too fast actually. Those are steps right in front of her in this picture and she is making a b-line to get down them so she can catch up with the big kids.

She does not like baby food. She likes to feed herself...Which is good b/c all of my homemade baby food is probably melted from my power being off for several days.

I like her...and her red hair.

xxx

The Wolverine

2011-08-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

A free verse poem.

Libby and Christian.
They love each other.

They really do.

They show it in a special toddler way.

They are crying tears of joy...really.

Libby and Christian.
They Love each other.

They really do.

Right after I took this picture Libby said "Christian, I'm going to miss you" they she scratched his other eye...and he scratched her back.
Toddlers together are a special treat.

xxx

About a Boy

2011-08-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

See Christian
He is the only boy in a world full of tea parties, dress up, and princesses.

See Christian run

See Christian run fast

See Christian rarely slow down

See Christian pout

See Christian laugh

See Christian
We love that one and only little boy

xxx

August: The Unedited Version

2011-08-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have driven to my parents house 4 times in the last month.
I left their house last Thursday with intentions of staying at my house for the remainder of the month.
I am here again.
Kev went away for work and the prospect of staying alone in my house with no power, thanks Irene, sent me and the fam, pets included, back to B-town.
I don't know how many pictures I've taken this month. I do know that it is a lot, due a fantastic visit with cousins and my fancy birthday gift that I don't know how to use properly.
I also know that there have been multiple points in most days when I have thought to myself "This is a great moment, I am going to blog about this" but at the end of the day, I'm too tired, or someone is awake when they should be asleep, or a million other things have to be done instead of blogging. For example, today when Maggie's little hands came together and started clapping for the first time. Now, all I have to do is look at her and smile and she starts clapping...might be one of the most adorable things I have ever seen! Speaking of adorable, when I was walking out of my old room that the girls and I are sleeping in here at my parents house, Libby whispered "Mommy, today was a great day at Babette and Granddad's". She may have disobeyed for most of the day, but she was awfully sweet at bed time.
My next couple post are just going to me getting caught up on the last month...for my memory's sake, so don't expect any fancy writing. Do expect run-on sentences and spelling errors. While I'm remembering things, we experienced an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week..Neat.

Grace and Peace and catching up
xoxo

The Living Room Swing

2011-08-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Libby said, "Dance with me Daddy! C'mon you have to spin and spin"

This was followed by a "Dance with me Daddy," every time he even looked remotely close to slowing down.

Best moment of my week by far, except for when she looked at Maggie fussing and with a true to form Mommy face, said "Maggie, no fuss-a-fuss, no fuss-a-fuss-a-fuss."
Followed by uncontrolled giggling from both of my girls.

It's good to be 33. That is the age that I turned this week.
Being 33 is better than 23 b/c at 23 he lived there and I lived here.

At 23 they were what I hoped for one day and at 33 they are my everyday.

At 23 I thought about myself a lot more, at 33 I really want to serve others more.

At 23 I'm sure I went to a bar with friends to celebrate and at 33 I went to Cracker Barrel with my little family...and yes, that is much, much better b/c I'm sure that bar didn't serve biscuits and corn bread.

It's good to be 33.

Happy Saturday
Grace and Peace
xxx

It's True

2011-08-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

When Maggie was a newborn, I would hold her in front of my vanity mirror and stare at her little body against mine and feel relief that even though she was a whole month old, she was still very small. I knew I had time left with my teeny, tiny, wrinkled skin baby.

I held her in front of the very same mirror the other day and her chubby little legs are starting to hang off my lap...I sighed...not so little now, wrinkles replaced with rolls. We hit 7 months the other day and while she is growing, and learning, and changing everyday, she is much the same as I have always described her on this blog. At seven months she is still a sweet,sweet girl. People make the "what a good baby" comment about her...(I don't particularly love this statement b/c I think it is a bit of a slap in the face to all the bad babies out there...they can't help it, they're babies..) Still, it makes me glad that others see this quality in her like I, her mother, do. She smiles, she laughs, and she has one tooth with another on the way. She likes to feed herself. She likes to pull up on things and stand near Libby, but this makes her laugh so hard that she normally falls, but with real determination she gets right back up...she'll need to hold on to that one, it will serve her well in life.
I'm sorry I have to say it like I always do, but time is a wicked and beautiful thing...it is like trying to catch sand in sieve, or running water in your hands...how is my MaggieBell 7 months old?
She is though, and next month will be 8 months, and before I know it 16. Surely I'll be on some kind of happy pills by then, b/c this whole watching my children grow makes me a blubbery mess. Who knew it would be one of the hardest, most wonderful things I've ever done?
Happy growing precious girl. You are well loved.

xoxox

Tea, Miss Jones?

2011-08-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

The countdown started weeks ago. It had been one year and two months since I last laid eyes on my sister. One year and two months since I've hugged her kids. One year and two months since we laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

One year and two months since we bumped into each other in my mother's kitchen. One year and two months since we stayed up far too late together...Do you get my point? It's been one year and two months too long since we were together. This past week finally, we got to see them again. My Little asked me everyday "We going to Grandad and Babette's today Mommy? To see Uncle Matt and Mimi."

When we pulled into the driveway, two gangly girls came running outside that vaguely resembled the little girls I picture in my mind. Wow, what a difference a year and two months make!

The threw their arms around us and welcomed little Maggie for the first time. They grabbed Libby by the hand and whisked her away into the house. My sister reached her arms out to Maggie and held like she'd been waiting for that moment between them for 7 months...

My older cousin, who has a sister, told me one time that you love your sister's kids in a really special way, b/c they come from a person who knows you like no one else does...For me and my sister we played and dreamed together of being mothers one day, so to be able to hold that dream of your sister's in your arms is a pretty spectacular thing.

Maggie looked at her, like Libby did just a bit puzzled..."you're like my Mommy in a lot of ways...you look alike, you talk alike, but I don't think that you are her. I'll let you cuddle with me, but could you please make sure that she stays in the room!"

When I walked in the house I found that all of the cousins had abandoned their play clothes and were digging through Babette's dress up clothes. Sidney and Allison threw a table cloth on the play table, and they set it with Libby's princess tea set.

Sidney served everyone, and they all used prissy tea party accents..except for maybe Christian who kept swiping crackers before he was served them. However, he wore the cape they dressed him quite happily!

I really love how someone ran out in the yard and pick a bouquet of leaves! Do you see that little splash of green in the middle of the table? You can't plan these things...if a grown up had been in charge, it would have been far too pretentious.

Libby loved every minute of it, and I'm happy to say listens to her big cousins much better than she does me!

After I tucked Maggie in that night, I found all the children, washed and ready for bed listening to the biggest cousin read to them...I can't believe how grown up she is. Sidney was Libby's age when she was the flower girl in our wedding...Look at her now, holding the book up, just like her Mama, for all the little ones to see.

There is no story behind this next picture...just a place to tell you that together they make an unstoppable pair of mischief that is priceless to watch...

I'll be watching their mischievous tale unfold next week when when we get to spend a couple more days with them before they head back to SoCal...
I love them dearly...all 5. So thankful to spend this time with them...it's the crowning point of our summer. We've been waiting to check it off the to do list:
Run in the sprinklers-check
Eat watermelon- check
Catch lightning bugs-check
Play with cousins at Babette's house-check

Now if I could just eat a snowball and some steam crabs, I might be willing to admit that it is almost time for fall....hmmm, I'll work on that.

Grace and Peace
xoxo

The Stopping Place

2011-08-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have always said that I love having company, b/c selfishly speaking, it helps me keep my house tidier! I like the company too, I'm not purely selfish.

Sweet and sassy all around, I do believe that these girls came from a similar mold

Little Charlie and Libby...if he belonged to me he would be very undisciplined b/c he is so cute I could never be upset wit him

This summer our new home has played host to no less then 4 sets of out of town visitors, play dates, dinners, cook outs, morning coffee with girl friends and I really love it. I have always wanted to be more hospitable, but just never really did it. This new house has opened me up, and I want visators all the time. I want people to come into my home, and feel like they can put their feet up on the couch if they want to and this summer they have.
In particular, last week, my dear friend from high school, yes, high school, (that was 15 years ago in case you were wondering) came a visiting with her little sweetlings in tow.

I love the sparkle in Miss Amelia's eyes...I think this is b/c I recognize it and know it all to well :)

We lounged in pj's while our kids splashed and played outside. We talked about old times, new times, and everything in between...like we hadn't missed a beat in all these years.

Though he called her Molly the whole time they were here, she was okay with this and liked him very much!

It is a surreal moment when a friend you were a girl with, comes to visit you, and your girls, with her girl (and boy). Surreal, but very full circle I think.
Thanks for the visit friend...we loved having you.
And as for you there, reading these words...come and see us, have a cup of coffee, and kick your feet up on my couch...I do not find this offensive. Feet on the couch is encouraged at my house!
Grace and Peace

Bridal Catalogs

2011-07-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

One time in college when I was having lunch with some girlfriends our conversation turned to weddings and marriage and all of that, and I stated something like "I can't wait to get married and have kids." I don't remember exactly how the conversation went from there but I do remember feeling a bit defeated after the fact. The others played marriage off like it was something they would get to later in life if they had time, but it was not at the top of their list of things to do. I left lunch feeling like some kind of desperate woman in need of a husband.

I never want my girls to feel that way.
We took the girls to their first wedding last night. From the moment the doors opened and my girl caught a glimpse of the lovely lady in white, my Little was transfixed. She looked at me and said "Mommy, why aren't they dancing?"

I assured her that they would before the night was over. She sat there taking in every moment, and the when the officiant said "you may kiss the bride" she clapped with all little girl wonderment you can imagine at what she had just witnessed.

I cried with the bride when she spoke her vows to her husband, but my tears kept coming after she was done when I realized that yesterday most likely began a journey for my little girl in which she will dream of the day that she too will speak her vows to the one her heart loves most.

I want her to know that it is good and right to dream about that day, to want that day despite what society may tell her. I want her to know that God designer her for love...to give love, and to receive it, and to not feel guilty for wanting it.

Anyway, she danced the night away and hasn't stop talking about it since. When the bride and groom left Libs asked me where they were going. I told her they were going to live happily ever after, which I know isn't strictly true...but for now, as she is just shy of 3 years I thought that it was the easiest way of explaining it!

Here's to many years of purchasing bridal magazine and dreaming of their special day!

In other news, the sun was going down the other night and told Kev to meet outside with the camera so I could take pictures of my Littlest. True to form, she was being extremely cute and as usual I started clicking and couldn't stop. I will post all of these pictures I took of her, and it will be your job to decide how they are different!

And one last shot of her and our gentle giant...
Do you remember these overalls? They are the same pair from this post, so long ago...
I did, and I couldn't let summer slip on by without seeing Maggie's fabulous rolls peaking out of them just like her sister's did!

Grace and Peace
xx

Sleeping Is Over Rated...

2011-07-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

That is, until the children wake up in the morning and I want just more 5 minutes of sleep all to myself. I have invested no time in this space in the last two weeks and when that happens I always regret it.

For the record, last week we thought that we lost Trouble. Every morning when I open up the garage door, he saunters out into the sunlight and stretches from his front paws all the way to his back paws, then flops to the ground and rolls in the light b/c the warmth feels that good to him. Then he positions himself between our fence and one of our big trees in the back and watches the morning unfold....He does this every day. I know b/c I watch him do it every day from my kitchen window. One day last week I realized that it had been days since I watched him do his morning routine...and we looked, and we called for him, we talked to neighbors, and much to our dismay we could not find him anywhere. By the weekend, I had resigned myself to the fact that he was most likely gone for good. I have had Trouble for a long time and despite the fact that his role in our family is mostly a silent one, I was so sad that he was gone. Five days from the moment I realized he was missing, he came back...he's even skinnier now then he was before but he is back and getting an extra dose of love from everyone, especially the Littlest who makes her special sound whenever he comes around.

In the midst of loosing Trouble, we woke last Friday night to find ourselves and the Little ones sweating profusely. Let me just pause here to say that I have not complained about the weather once this summer. If you remember last summer, when Miss MaggieBell was baking away, I basically complained about the heat in every post! Back to the sweating...At 3:30 in the morning Friday night our thermostat read 77 degrees and was climbing upwards...we lived for the whole weekend without any air....please feel sorry for me about this, it was the hottest weekend of the summer thus far and temperatures were creeping past the 100 mark...I actually sent Kev a text at work Sunday night that said "if you do not fix our air by tomorrow morning, I am never speaking to you again." Clearly the heat was making me disillusional, not to mention that it was going on 10 o'clock, the thermostat read 85 degrees, the little girls were still awake, and feeling the need to climb all over me like a jungle gym.

Just like the lost cat coming home, the air got fixed, by my handy husband Monday morning. Not sure how that is like the lost cat, but all is right at Jones household and yes, we are still speaking.

In reto-spect, I probably should have gone to bed instead of typing, b/c this post in really not worth your time in reading and I still have a bucket load of pictures that I need to post. It may not contain any whimsical stories about my precious girls, but in 6 months I will remember that Trouble was like the Prodigal Son and that my husbands Mr. Fix It talents continue to amaze me year after year!

Grace and Peace
xxx

Toddlers and Tiaras

2011-07-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

My post tonight was going to be over flowing with pics of little Jones girls, plus, tall tales of run away cats and primitive living over the weekend. One click of the remote steered my evening in a whole different direction. The TV vortex that is Toddlers and Tiaras had me glued to the TV for 2 hours past the girls bedtime and now I'm too tired to write any of my stories down.
I will tell you to never, ever turn on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras, it is absolutely impossible to stop watching once you start...Not b/c it is good television, but b/c it is that unbelievable that people actually live that way.
Until next time, here is a picture of Gus looking very viscous.

Grace and Peace and please, oh please don't enter your 2 year old into a pageant!
xoxo

Make A List

2011-07-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Kev is a list maker. He likes the satisfaction of crossing things off the list when he gets them done. I have never been a list kind of girl. I make them in my head and then forget about them. It's really not a good practice to get into. I suggest being more like Kev.
Last week, I kept catching moments that were so blog worthy. I would think to myself..."I need to blog about this so I don't forget how great it was." My mental list is lost in the fog of my brain and I'm not exactly sure I remember what they were. However, I'm going to sift through the fog and try b/c I know I'll want them to know these things one day.

So here goes...
1. Friday, I felt like I got hit by a truck. I told Libby that I needed her to be a big helper b/c Mommy wasn't feeling well. She said "You's not feel good Mama? You need a band-aid? Here, I'll go get it." She stuck it to my shirt, and you know, I did feel a little better.

2. Sunday night I was rocking Maggie to sleeping and I could feel her breath on my neck and I felt so lucky to be her Mom. Her little head was tucked perfectly under my chin and it made me want to stay there all night.

3. Both girls have been waking up in the early-EARLY morning and coming to sleep in our bed. I have mixed feeling about this. I looked down through bleary eyes yesterday morning and saw the Little with her arms wrapped around the Littlest and right when I thought I was going to call these early-EARLY morning sleepovers off, I let it slide b/c I know one day it'll just be me and Kev all by ourselves again.

4. The sun goes down late. It takes it's time and makes our street look pretty. I like the way it kisses the trees in our backyard...my sloppy picture doesn't do it justice.

5. I took Maggie to her 6 month check up today. She is 16 lbs and some change. She is 25 inches long.

She crawled, proper crawled not just a scoot, all the way down the upstairs hallway yesterday. When I checked on her during naptime she was half way to standing up in her crib. We lowered her mattress last night. It made me sad. Kev saw my face when I left the nursury and hugged me b/c he knows that things like lowering crib mattress reminds me that I'm one step closer to shipping them off to college.

I'm ridiculous, I know this. I don't know why I continue to be surprised at how fast my babies grow, but I am. I want them to grow, saying I don't want them to is silly...but seriously, it hurts sometimes. The kind of hurt of hurt that takes your breath away b/c it's beautifully painful watching them grow.
Sigh.
Wipe a tear.
Blow my nose.
Moving on.

For the record this is same dress that Libby wore to her 6 month check up. I remembered at the last moment this morning and dressed Maggie in it just because.
Now I can refer to it as the 6 month check up dress.

6. Kev is really good at almost all sports...basketball may or may not be one of them. It doesn't bother Libby...she thinks he is perfect at everything, no matter how many shots it takes to get one basket!

She was so proud of him.

On my list for this week is
1. Write my list down
2. Take pictures that are not blury
3. Take pictures in general
4. Go to bed before midnight
5. Blog more
etc., etc, etc...

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Six Month Maggie

2011-07-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Last spring before I ever knew I was pregnant, God planted a seed in my heart for my Littlest. One morning I woke up and I knew that some day I would know and love Maggie Bell Jones (I told Laura about it). What started with a name we thought sounded like a beautiful little girl, became our little girl, who we've now known for 6 months.
Maggie's name came from two very strong woman in our family. My father's grandmother, Maggie McDonald, who ran a working farm, and my Grams, whose maiden name was Katherine Bell (hence the reason we didn't put an "e" on the end of Maggie's Bell). I find it interesting that as I learn more about her each and everyday I am seeing that she too, like the woman before her, is very strong.

Right now she is showing us her physical strength, she could sit up on her own around 41/2 months, and by the middle of last month she was rocking back and forth on all fours, and now she is starting to crawl (much to my surprise, b/c Libs didn't crawl until after she turned 8 months old). She's even pulled up on me a couple of times and on one of our toys...What? Slow down baby girl!
At 6 months old, she stands up for herself, when her big sister tries to ~~bully her~~ gently play with her, not with a cry, but with a yell that sounds more like "hey, don't push me around Libby."

She adores Libby though, and I sometimes have to stop myself from intervening, for right when I think big sister is being too forceful, or playing to vigorously, I'll here Libby laugh, then Maggie will laugh, and then my heart hurts..but in the most wonderful way. The hurts cause it's bursting way. Then I scoop them both up and squish them in my arms.

At 6 months old she says Da-da..pretty well actually. I don't know that she is saying it to him, she seems to say it when she needs someone's attention. Her voice is raspy and Kev says she sounds like a country music singer.
I just started giving her solid foods. I was going to hold off a little longer, but her eyes would look so desperate at the dinner table, I gave in and mashed up some bananas the other day. So now we've tried apples, and avocado, and I'll start some butternut squash tomorrow. I think she just likes being involved.

At 6 months old her smile can light up a room...I think I mentioned before, that she smiles with her whole face, her whole body really. It is fantastic. I think that Bruno Mars wrote that way too popular song "Just The Way You Are" for her. You can't help but smile back at her and when you do, she laughs, which makes something that was already fantastic even better!

At 6 months old she does not like loud noises. If I vaccume, or the dog barks she immediately tries to find me. When we do find each other, she does that thing that she has done since we first met, where she nuzzles her head back and forth in my chest. I love this, and when it stops I plan on crying about it a lot.

I think that Maggie will always be the kind of girl that tries to find the good in all situations, b/c even when she cries if you look at her, she'll start smiling and laughing like she is saying "I really don't like what's going on here, but I'm working through it and I know it's going to be okay."

At 6 months old she notices everything around her. She loves Trouble (the cat, not the act of trouble). When she sees him, she makes this sound, like a low "oh." It is adorable and I need to film it before she stops this.
I am happy to report that depsite EVERYONE telling me that she looks nothing like me, Babs and I broke out an old baby picture and if it weren't for her hairline, which is exactly like Kevo's, she looks quite a bit like I did at her age!

I will never tire of saying how Maggie Bell just feels like home...when I nurse down for nap time or bed, I can't help but lean back and close my eyes and think that sitting in that chair holding her is probably the most perfect place on earth. When I look down at her, if I'm lucky, I'll catch one more glimpse of those big blues eyes before she drifts off to sleep.
You can't catch time, but if I could, I'd keep this girl my baby forever.
Half a year down. Happy half Mags! xxx

Grace and Peace

2, 4, 6, 8, She Likes To Manipulate

2011-07-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

( I want to be clear that if you don't want to read about poop then you should "x" out of this blog and come back another day!)
I've got to be quick b/c the cherubs are sleeping and as soon as they realize that I have stolen a minute of solitude to sit at the computer, instead catching up with house work, one of them will surely wake up.
(They woke up long before I finished this post, so now I'm frantically typing before I need to go to bed)

Let me sum this up, by saying that, by far potty training has been my absolute least favorite part of parenting. Here is a time chart of what we've been doing the last month, the dates are a round about estimate.
June 1- Mommy and the Little go on special date to Target and buy stickers, poster board, and another pack of princess panties...let the training begin!
June 2- The Little laughs at the chart, pees on the floor, and goes on her merry way

June 11- The Little is playing in her paddling pool, runs in the house to declare "that she has to go poohy!" and in the potty it went
June 12- Repeat of the day before. In my head I think "I'm sure that the time has come, and we are ready to kiss diapers goodbye... See ya pampers! Oh wait, I have a baby that will be in diapers for at least 2 more years. Sigh"
June 13-21ish- I brag to my friends "she's got it and basically did it all on her own," "She is a potty genius, her chart is full of stickers" Okay, really she had mostly good days, one or two accidents tops, but all in all good. However, she gradually went from poohing on the potty, to waiting for her pull up at nap time or bed time.

June 22nd- I make her wear an outfit she doesn't like and she hid in her play house to poop in her panties.
-I freak out b/c I really, truly, in my heart think she did this on purpose
June 23rd- Busy playing with a friend and poops in her panties again- I stay calm, but only just barely
June 23rd, 5 minutes later- standing in front of me while I'm nursing the baby, poops in her panties again- I freak out and put her in a time out
June 24th-25th- Tummy troubles and in pull ups most of the weekend
The next couple of days were much the same and maybe I got some of those days mixed up, but here comes my breaking point...
June 28th- Perfect. Everything. Pees, poohs, on the potty, all day long, on her own, with out me reminding her it was time to try again. Woohoo!
I celebrate we are over the hump!
June 29th- We go shopping. She freaks out in a dressing room b/c I wont let her wear a purple dress home. When I say freak out, I mean the kind of freak out, that causes on lookers to stare and judge. I mean, on the floor rolling and screaming. I still bought the dress. I hung it my closet and told her it was prize for pooping on the potty.
June 29th, 10 minutes after we get home- I can't find Libby. I locate her in the playroom pooping in her panties...I freak out b/c I'm convinced she is pooping in her panties b/c I wont let her have the purple dress

Basically the week fell apart after that. She would hide, I would realize she was hiding, and find her with poop in her panties. I was coming unraveled. One can only handle poop on there hands so many times before, you know, you just pop..and trust me if poop is in the panties it going to get on your hands, their legs,every where...it is gross!
Friday afternoon Kev came home to find me standing in the middle of my bed, with my fist in the air, my hair unnaturally full, screaming at the top of my lungs and I quote,

"I will not loose this battle! You are not getting your diapers back, you will poop on the potty again, and Mommy will prevail!"

She just starred at me, along with the dog, the cat, and the Littlest, with baffled looks on their faces.
Several hours later she poop in her panties...
at the pool..
I had aproximently 5 baby wipes with me.
It was neat.
God bless my sweet husband, he totally took over for me this weekend, almost to the point of not telling me when she had an accident, he just handled it. I kept finding washed out panties drying out on the wash tub in the garage.

Okay, fast forward to yesterday...Kev is back at work and I wake up with new resolve, "I will not freak out, I will encourage her to tell me when she has to go, even if she is just asking me for diaper to go in" I was so over cleaning up poohy panties and legs, and floors, and everything else that got poop on... I was convinced that I was the reason for all the accidents and she was forever scarred b/c I disciplined her several times for the poopy panties, not to mention my passionate soliloquy I delivered from my bed . I was determined to do it "the right way" this week...whatever that is.
July 5th- Libby hides in the closest to poop in her pull up...I stay calm, tell her that it was okay to poop in the pull up if she needed to, but to go to the bathroom to do it next time.
July 5th one hour later- Libby is quietly playing in her playroom, this is not normal, she always wants my attention in the morning, why isn't she asking me to play...Libby has poop in her panties again.. in my head I say, "are you kidding me it's the beggining of our day, it can't start this way!!!! Stay clam, stay calm, stay clam!!!! Do not start shouting about battles and winning, do not start punching your fist in the air"
July 5th after I clean poop up again- I pull out the purple dress. "Libs remember this dress that you love, you can have it if you poop in the potty three times."
Just like that, my kid goes in the bathroom and produces a rabbit size pooh. She does this 3 more times in the next hour, like she has been poohing on the potty her whole life.
She got the dress.

July 5th, after bedtime- I realize that rewarding the behavior (or bribing, whatever you want to call it) works. I headed to Target and leave with another poster board to make a "Pooh Chart", more stickers, and 3 prizes, each one a bit bigger than the last.
Row one of the chart had 3 spaces for stickers to win prize #1, 5 poohs for prize #2, and 10 poohs for prize #3. I wrapped each prize and put the new chart on the wall.
July 6th- I take the Little into the bathroom for the rules of the new pooh game. I teach her about working for the prize, or earning the reward. A few minutes later she declares that she has to go poohy! She goes, she gets the sticker and we count, 2 more times and she gets the first prize. Well by lunch time, she had the first prize. Every 30 minutes, she would yell "Mommy, I have to go poohies!" And every time she would go. Trust me when I tell you that she went no less than 10 times today. She pushed and grunted her way through each one in hopes that she would win all 3 prizes today.

This cunning Mama will not be manipulated by her cunning 2 year old. I was the one ~~manipulating~~ rewarding her, so I told her that I was proud of each and every pooh, but we would stop working on the chart for today, and pick up working towards prize number two tomorrow. Eighteen squares I put on the chart...In my head that meant eighteen days of practicing pooping and in the end she would get it, right? Well, at this rate she have the chart filled up by tomorrow and I'll be back at Target searching for even bigger and better ~~bribes~~ rewards.
I'm exhausted, no matter where you're cleaning poop up from, it is gross, panties or the mini potty, it is gross, and I've done it at least 10 times today and that is not counting the baby's dirty diapers.
I'm guessing that if you read this post carefully you are going to see multiple counts of poor parenting...I know that they are there, from the freaking out, to the bribing, to the standing on the bed shouting to anyone who would listen that I would prevail...but please don't judge me too harshly, I'm learning as I go. It's hard to know what to do with a little girl who has an iron clad will, and knows how to poop on command.

But there you go. The poop war is on...she was in the lead last week, but me and my pooh chart are trying to make a come back!
Happy potty training.

Grace and Peace
xoxo
By the way, I have been given just about every piece of potty training advice possible and probably tried it, I just left all of that out b/c this post was long enough all ready! :)
and yes, despite the stress of the last few weeks, I do believe that one day, when my little freedom flower is grown, I'll miss these days and my heart will ache to see her and that mischievous grin. :)

Sparklers....

2011-07-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Actually, there were no sparklers. The thought crossed my mind for a split second and then I remembered that yard a full of pre-school aged children was probably the worst place ever to have sparklers. We did have watermelon, flag cake, and much to the dismay of my husband, corn on the cob! I love 4th of July cookouts...it feels like a requirement of summer. Other requirements include, but are not limited to watermelon, corn on the cob, and playing sprinklers. Perfect, we're done with summer requirements until next year.
Look and see that Fourth of July picnics are good, and hot, and delicious! I'm going to try to describe each of these pictures using one word, you may feel free to do the same in your head.

Red head

Kindred.

Burly.

Love.

Nervous.

Boyhood.

Precious.

Fun.

Sweetness

Delicious.

again, Delicious.

sweet Liberty.

Laughter.

Sizzlin'.

Home.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend.
I hope you took part in summer rituals.
I hope that my home is always filled with this much goodness.

Grace and peace.
xoxo

Throw Out The ToDo List

2011-06-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday night after a long but fun day, I fixed Kevo a snack in place of dinner. He and I sat on our front stoop watching our neighbor set off illegal fireworks. We kept our fingers crossed that the loud booms wouldn't wake our worn out Littles. We toasted to a weekend of spending time with each other, as opposed to our normal weekend of getting as much done on the house as possible.

Earlier that day we took the girls to King's Dominion. I've been going to King's Dominion since I was a little girl, so I know exactly what my girl is feeling when we pull in the parking and she squeals when she's the roller coasters in the distance.

There is something about watching my kids have fun, that just gets me to that misty state. You know when they smile so big that it spills off their face and even strangers start smiling watching them have the time of their lives.

That was my Little when the KD worker measured her and found that the top of her head just barely grazed the line on her measuring stick that said she was tall enough to ride the kiddie roller coaster, as long as Daddy went with her. Her face beamed with excited pride as she rounded the corner, down the hill, with her arms up.

It made every hard moment we tackled this week worth it, seeing her that happy. I love those moments.

I love these moments too..when I get a chance to take a picture of my Littlest sleeping b/c even though she is almost 6 months old now, her mouth still does that fabulous thing it did when she was brand new. I still kiss that mouth repeatedly...all day long.

Sunday we woke up and decided not to let the family togetherness stop. So we packed up the car, and took some friends up on their invitation to meet them at VA Beach.

I will be the first to admit that day trips to the beach are not my favorite...especially when we live 2 hours from the beach and when you have kids you take EVERYTHING with you! You find yourself saying, "just throw in a whole case of baby wipes and sure honey, pack all 5 beach chairs, we might need them!" When you arrive you load your husband, your kids, and your baby stroller down with so much stuff, when you finally reach the sand you resemble something that looks more like a band of Gypsies than beach goers.

However, there is something I love about sitting in a make shift camp with good friends, while we swap sand covered snacks, and sand covered babies.

We say stuff like, "oh yes, we're getting on the road by 5:00, and home in time to tuck the kids in bed. Five o'clock rolls on by and the warm sun setting behind us asks us to stay just a bit longer. Instead of packing up we let her run with her friends a while more and let our chairs sink further in the sand...It happens every time.

Last night we pulled out of the public parking lot at 8:07, both girls covered in a thin layer of sand, but fast asleep after a full weekend of fun. I drove home so that Kev could catch up on work, and tuned the radio to "The Summer of 69" while Delilah and I solved the problems of the world.
When we finally made it home ,we tucked our babies in bed, sand and all, stacked the wet stuff on top the washer, and called it a good day.

A very good day.

Here's to letting that "ToDo" list go...I heard Jim Bob Duggar say "you'll never regret spending time with your kids" and regardless of what your opinion of Jim Bob is, he makes a very valid point!

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Alice

2011-06-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Laura took these pictures of Libby one day when she was here.

She said that she reminded her of Alice in Wonderland, the way she flitted around our back garden.

She does have a way about her that is very Alice-like, always in her own wonderland, talking to flowers and bugs.

I like this one b/c it looks like Maggie is holding on to her saying "please take me with you Libby!"

Sometimes I get frustrated with her for wandering around her own little Libby land too much, unaware of all the grown-up important things going on around her, but then I remind myself how much I'll miss it when she leaves Wonderland and goes to the mall instead.

Not to worry though...I think most of us keep a part of that little girl spirit with us, no matter how grown up we get. At least I do, you should see me when I get presents!

Grace and Peace :)
xxx

Recap

2011-06-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I write on this blog I listen to music...it somehow makes the words flow smoother and adds a soundtrack to whatever life story I happen to be telling. So, if I were adding a soundtrack to this post it would be "Lean On Me," or something even a little more cringe worthy like "Friends Are Friends Forever," does anyone else even know that song besides me? B/c in my head as I type, I am belting out Micheal W. Smith's best friend anthem! (I just googled it, and am now listening to it..."a friends a friend forever, if the Lord the Lord of them!)

Anyway, 2 weeks ago the new house had it's first out of town guests. It was perfect to spend a week watching my bff and her mama loving on my kids. Libs is a huge Laura fan, and I can not express to you in words how she pronounces Jan's name...somehow she adds a extra syllable and it sounds something like Ja-yan. So all last week I had to answer "Where's Ja-yan Mama?," "She went back to FL Libs," "Did Grandad go back to FL?," "No, Libs Grandad is at his house," "but where is Jayan?"...read, repeat conversation...all week long.

In case you don't know Laura, she is this girl I started laughing with 7 years ago and haven't stopped yet. I call her or she calls me most days, and when she doesn't I put her on the list, and trust me you don't want to be on my list. She's my person I call when I trip in public and she laughs with me...If you don't have a person I strongly recommend getting one.
I love her.
I love her mom too.
I wish we could have kept them longer.

Here's to visits from old friends, may we laugh to we're old and grey!

Grace and Peace friends
xxx

One Favorite Day

2011-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

One day, 10 years ago I met Kev. We had lunch together for a week, then he kissed me in New Orleans standing outside a court yard in the French Quarter.
He told me I was lovely.
When he left to go home, it took my breath away, and I just knew.
I never looked back.

One day, 5 months later, I was on a plane to England by myself to visit a boy I had eaten lunch with several times.
I was sure that I loved him.
He took me to this place and told me that if he ever asked a girl to marry him, it would be somewhere like this.

One day, three years later, he told me he loved me and asked me to marry him, in a place just like he said he would.

One day, 6 years ago, while the hot June sun set behind us, and those we hold most dear looked on, we got married. It was one of my favorite days of all time. I smiled all day and danced all night. It was perfect for us.

One day, 2 years and 8 months ago, he became a father of a baby girl.

and one day, 5 months ago, it happened again.

Ten years full of some my most favorite days.
Happy Birthday Babe,
and while I'm at it, Happy Anniversary and Happy Father's Day too...all of his special days happen at once!

Grace and Peace my Love, and lots and lots of favorite days!

When The Stars Aline

2011-06-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

There are days as a mom that I feel like I'm doing it all wrong...

But every now and then-, you get a day that is almost perfect, there are no blow out diapers, no melt downs, just a pretty baby girl that lights up when you look at her, and her big sister, who was calling out things like "Mommy look at me, I fying a plane,"

This picture does no justice...I took the girls on a Ferris wheel by myself. There was this moment at the tippy top when I felt really irresponsible as a parent. I was using my leg as a seat belt.

Libby was delightfully little girlish on the merry-go-round. She named her horse Giddy-Up and didn't want to get off After the second time around, we had to get off b/c Mama couldn't take the spinning anymore.

They wouldn't let Maggie ride a horse, go figure. Instead she had to sit in a carriage and look cute. So cute, that I started taking pictures and then couldn't stop. This happens all the time.

There are about 50 posts that I've been writing today, but I haven't even got to the ones I had planned to write. I just found lots of pictures that I haven't posted...so here they are all. Scroll down. All picture, few words, the best kind of posts.

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Swimsuits?????

2011-06-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

I promise they were wearing clothes when we went outside.

Libs found a watering can and thought her baby sister needed a drink
Watch out baby...keep your eyes closed

Don't worry she's okay

I'm going to ind to find their clothes right now.

Pop

2011-06-12T21:08:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would post these last pictures of our little pool...the dog popped it shortly after these were taken.

Now we have a pink and purple princess pool.

Remember that time I said we would have all princess stuff over my dead body? Hmmmmmm.

Cheers Dada

2011-06-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

We love summer-, mostly b/c it means we get to eat more ice cream then normal

There Was This One Time

2011-06-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Note to self do not leave Libby and Maggie alone with a tube of Desitin

Call Me MacGyver

2011-06-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Fact: Kev is away (of course Kev is away)

Fact: Laura and her Mom are here visiting and we are having a great time

Fact: The sink look like this after dinner

Fact: Laura reached in the sink and found that a dish rag was clogging the disposal

Fact: She plunged it. That didn't work. She called the 1 800 number on the side of the disposal, that was useless. Nothing was going down...in fact it seemed like more was coming up. Gr-oss.

Fact: I called Kev, told him about it, then said "don't worry, I got this babe"

Fact: I did a lap of the house found an old coat hanger, a turkey baster, my flower printed rubber gloves, and Kev's tool bag

Fact: Kev's tool bag was useless, but Laura organized it and took a picture

Fact: While I was Googling the steps to unclog a kitchen sink, we heard a strange sound coming from the dinning room. We found this

..of course my cat would bring a frog in the house while I am elbow deep in sink funk

Fact: Laura sucked all of the water out of the sink and disposal with a turkey baster

Fact: She is not acting in this picture...she was making this face the whole time

Fact: I took the pipes apart under the sink, found the clog (which made me gag), and unclogged it myself...not with any of my husband's fancy tools, but with my trusty coat hanger

Fact: I hope you enjoyed this little interlude in baby pictures to relive my heroic tale from this evening...

Just call me Roto Rooter

Grace and Peace
xxx

Write, Read, Repeat

2011-06-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Did anybody else realize that I blogged about Maggie's 4 month birthday twice? I didn't until I went back and read what I had written the last couple of posts. The second post I claimed to not realize that her birthday past, but apparently I didn't realize that I did realize that her birthday had past...and that my friends is what living a busy life can do to your brain...

Going back and reading my blog I occasionally have become repetitive in what I write, like how many times can I tell you that Libs is spirited or tell you that Mags is four months old... but it's my own version of a baby book. It's our life how it was happening on that particular day or in that particular moment.

Speaking of baby books, if I were actually keeping one I would need to write down that Mags is sitting up like champ. Her Dr. claims she has a strong core. Yesterday she was perfecting her "downward facing dog" and I watch completely amazed as my teeny, tiny, girl schooted her way across the living room. Isn't she too small for this? Shouldn't she still be sleeping soundly in the crook of my arm? Haven't I written this a million times? Yes, yes, and yes. It is what I do. I live in daily amazement that time is such a precious and wicked thing.

She fell asleep in my arms tonight after I nursed her, and I made a promise to myself that I would not forget how wonderful it was watching her sleep.
Speaking of sleeping, she fell asleep after some very passionate bouncing the other day. I tried to stop myself from waking her up, but my finger kept clicking the camera. It was completely involuntary, I couldn't do a thing to stop myself from doing it.

That's all I've got for tonight. I just wanted an update with these pictures in them. I've taken quite a few pics to attach to words this week and didn't want these shots of my sweet girl to be lost in the shuffle. I still haven't officailly taken any new house pics, however these were taken in Maggie's room. There is nothing on the wall, but there is a diaper box in the background.

I need a new camera, along with the ever failing battery, it's inability to focus, its sometimes pulling to the left, it is now adding the lovely little vignette around the edges of my photos, like you see here...this was not edited in.

Grace and Peace
Happy Weekending
xoxo

Mirror

2011-05-30T20:59:00.001-07:00

While I was waiting for my taquitos to brown on the bottom side tonight, I turned around to see my Little headed out the back door with a powder blue princess dress on backwards, a crooked crown carelessly covering her messy blond hair, Cinderella heals, and a tutu as the crowning accessory. She look over her right shoulder and said "see ya later Mommy, I'm going to show Daddy my dress." I could here my mother's voice echoing in my head, "Carly Darling, you look like you brushed your hair with an egg beater and what did you do to those tights, they need blow out patches?"

Typing that she is just like me just doesn't do it justice...She is so much like me, that it scares me...because I know me! I know that sometimes I just have to have a good old temper tantrum, I know that when I don't get my way I pout or even worse cry, I know that I'm prone to doing things (almost all things) the hard way, I know that sometimes I don't think things through before making a wise decision, I know the mistakes I've made (all of them) ....Yikes!

Dear Lord Jesus, Protect my precious girl. Amen.

Sorry, typing it out made me have a panic attack, and I felt the need to pray.

Some weeks, like this week, I feel like I sent prayers like that up all day long, or like this one,

"Lord, I'm not cut out for this, surely you made a mistake entrusting these children to me, b/c it is painfully clear I have no idea what I'm doing."

He doesn't make mistakes though does he? He knew exactly what he was doing sending my girl to me.

While I was packing, I found a letter that my Mom sent to my bff Laura to read at my baby shower when I was pregnant with Libby...it said "I'll warn you though, if your daughter is at all like you (and I pray she is) you will need to buckle your seat belt and prepare for an exciting ride."

So, was she being funny, like "I pray she is like you b/c what goes around comes around," or "I pray she's like you b/c even though your hair was always disheveled, and your decisions were sometimes rash, I am your mother and I couldn't imagine you any other way?"

For the sake of all that is good and poetic Mother Dearest:), I m going to assume the latter b/c I totally get it.

Everyday a two year wild thing holds a mirror up to my face, and I see myself in her. I can see her now at 2 throwing spectacular tantrums, I can see her when she 16 making rash decisions, and I can see her when she's 32 wondering how she made it here, but consumed with thanksgiving that she did, b/c she is a reflection of me. The good, the bad, and the "oh goodness, I hope no one knows I'm like this." I know that through that exciting ride He took my mother on, it brought me here, and here is with her, my Little ball of fire, my rosey cheek beauty. My daughter who is anger and sweetness all in the same minute...and I'm okay with that. She is mine, she has been entrusted to me, and He made her that way. I love the fire and the beauty all at the same time, b/c I am her mother and I couldn't imagine her any other way.

Grace and Peace and walking contradictions...He made us this way, right Babs...love you Mom!
xoxo

Put a Frame On It

2011-05-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Brace yourself....I'm about to show you the most adorable picture I have ever seen.

I did not take it.

My very good friend Beth did, who just happens to be a photographer, have I mentioned her before?:)

She also watched my children when we moved, so that I could stay focussed.

She also loaned us her husband to lift heavy things with Kev and another friend.

She is a good egg.

Are you ready for the cutest picture ever,

Prepare yourself for a mighty big grin,

Here it comes....

The suspense and all the hits on the "ENTER" key are killing me...

Just say it....."AWWWWWWWE!" Or, "hey honey you've got to see this" or, "I am going to mail this to Hallmark so that they can make a card out of it"

Hand placement, eyes closed, silly little grin, I love it, I love it, I love it!
Pure sweetness!

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Thanks for capturing this moment Beth...now when they get married one day we'll have this picture to add to a "walk down memory lane" slide show:)

For The Record

2011-05-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

For the record, my Littlest turned 4 months old. The day past before I knew it and I don't remember why.

For the record, she weighs 15 lbs exactly, and is 24 inches long, her head is perfectly round, and she does not like shots.

For the record, sometimes she puts both of her hands on the sides of my face while she sings a little Maggie song in my ear. It sounds like a gentle "ah." I close my eyes and listen when she does this and remind myself if there is anything close to perfect in life, this must be it.

For the record, she laughs with her whole entire body. It is infectious. If you saw her do this, you would laugh with your whole body too. She pulls every roll in her scrumptious, little legs up, grabs her toes, lets out a squeal, until it all becomes too much, then jumps and lets go into a full star formation. Then she looks at me puzzled, like she didn't know she had all that joy built up in her...It is wonderful.

For the record, I can't think of words to write how I love having a little baby in my life again. I hope I get to do it again one day.

For the record, MaggieBell loves Liberty, except for when Libs rolls over on her. Mags does not love this and frowns a spectacular frown that gives way to tears when this happens. Most of the time it is all smiles when my girls are together. I caught them holding hands in my bed Saturday morning, and I thought about how great it was all day long.

For the record, that last picture is one of my favorites of all time. These pictures are from our Mother's Day Mini Session, with Beth. I. love. them.

For the record, I love being their Mom more.

Grace and Peace
xxx

For the record, we are moved into the new house and are slowly digging our way into making this place feel like home. I'm thankful for good friends who care for my babies for me and for their husbands who help my husband lift the heavy things so I don't have to. I'm thankful for my Mom and Dad who have help me (us) on every move I have made...my Mom just know's how to make a place feel like home (Amy, You know what I mean right?)
When the mountain of boxes is shaved down to a hill, maybe I'll locate my camera and post some pics of the new homestead and of course some of my wild girl and my round baby! :)

Life Change

2011-05-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Moving houses is adding fine lines to my face and by fine, I mean wrinkles, not something that is "fine" as in attractive.
I don't want to negate my thankfulness for a home to call our own, but I am desperate to live in one place, not two, and have a schedule and a routine again.

Do you ever look at the background of my pictures,especially lately? My house is a train wreck...I need to move. Did I mention that?

I was determined to give them normal this week, as much as possible. We ate lunch on our blanket in the garden, we went on a walk, we cut peonies and put them in a Mason jar, we played with play dough, we made stepping stones for our new garden with their footprints, and we ate jello shapes.

Notice my paint palette on the floor, I don't know why this is here. I haven't painted in months. This is sad to me, I must make a note to remedy this in the coming months.My mind has actually been churning with some whimsical ideas for the girls lately.

In between all of that beautiful, I packed, I cleaned, I fixed dinner and schlepped it to the new house so that the girls could see their Dadue for an hour or two, before I schlepped everything back to this house only to tuck my ladies in their beds an hour later than I should have. Kev worked at work, then worked at the new house, and then worked some more, (be still me heart, he is basically like Superman).

Amidst all the crazy that was this week (and actually several weeks now) God gave me some sweet quiet times with both girls. While Maggie Bell napped in the morning Libs and I lingered outside, and I gave her lesson about bees, wasps, and spiders. She ran a low grade fever this week and actually slowed down enough for me to just hold her in my lap, which almost never happens anymore...

My own Princess Kate, watching the real Princess Kate, marry Prince William for the second time around. We LOVE Princess Kate.

It was a precious time.

During afternoon nap time, instead of putting Mags in her crib like I knew I should, I just held her while she slept. Sometimes Mags just needs all of my attention and I like this about her, it gives me a chance to stare at her for a while.

She doesn't always suck her thumb, but on this day she did, and I love it!

It was a precious time.
As this is my second time around, I know all too well, that I'll wake up in a few months longing to hold my baby, only to find that she is a toddler and prefers running to snuggling. While I know this is as it should be, I'll take the occasional sick day, if it gives me an afternoon of holding the first little girl that stole my heart right out from under me.

Fingers are crossed that we'll move this week. I was hoping to be out of here this weekend, but I was told that I need to be reasonable. (I wont mention who said this to me, except that it was not Libby or Maggie) :)

I can't wait to share the before and afters...Kev is pretty amazing, I tell him the vision I am having and he makes it happen. In between drawing sidewalk chalk balloons for my Little, and nursing the Littlest I have helped some too!
Here's to our home sweet home...
Happy weekending.

Grace and Peace

Stop Everything, Take A Picture, Just Because It's Beautiful

2011-05-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

The weather has been too beautiful to ignore this week. I can't tell you what day I took these pictures. I can tell you that I should have been doing something else...like PACKING! I was trying to catch the Little, but she kept running the other direction, singing a song that went like this....
"I'm running,
I'm run-ning,
I'm RU-UNN-ING!"

When I did catch her, here is the conversation we had...

Me: "Libby, do you see your balloon in the sky"

Libby: "No. I see a sheep"

In my head: "My daughter is a creative genius, she relates that clouds are fluffy like sheep. She is brilliant"
Then I realized that there was not a cloud in the sky, then she said..

"and I see tigers,

and bee-ars, and Trouby (the cat), and Dussy Boy (the dog)
"Mommy, do ya see um? Ya see um, Mama?"

The way that she dances through life is contagious at times. When she plays it just makes me want to abandon all my grown up responsibilities and come with her. So, sometimes I do.
I was chasing her through the back yard, when I looked back at our picnic blanket to find this little Littlest enjoying the fresh air.

Then she caught me looking and started smiling.

This is one of the things I love most about Maggie...all you have to do is smile at her, and she smiles right back.

Someone reminds at least once a day that she looks just like her father and nothing like me, but I am happy to report that she learned the face below from me...If you are bored with life do some research on this blog and you're sure to find a picture of me making exactly the same face.

Somehow she turned 4 months old today. I don't know how this happened...Did I say this last month or the month before that? Will I say every month till she turns one? Probably. Will I continue to say it each year for the rest of her life? Probably.
She found her feet somewhere between painting our kitchen cabinets white and buying a new refrigerator. She loves them and I love watching her grab them. It is one of the best things about babies. She also has a serious relationship with several of her stuffed anmials, particularly the giraffe that hangs on her car seat and the puppy on her play mat.

She and I got to spend several hours together today, just the two of us. Libby and her Daddy had some much needed time together while we ran errands. With only her smile and chubby legs, she managed to charm the entire makeup section of Nordstrom's. One woman actually said she wanted to eat her and another woman did a dance for her right there in the middle of everything...Call me crazy, but it was a little weird to hear someone say that they wanted to eat my baby, but at the same time, I totally get it.

I am out of words, and it is late, so I'm wrapping things up. Let me encourage you...if you see something beautiful today, like flowers, or a little girl running and spinning, or a baby grabbing her toes, stop and take a picture of it. It is a much better use of your time than PACKING.

Maybe I should be PACKING instead of writing this blog....
Hmmmmm.
Maybe I'll go to bed and PACK tomorow.
Grace and Peace
xoxo

Dearest Blog

2011-05-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

If I ever were to come back and write on you I would tell you that we bought a house, this house

We have not moved in b/c the kitchen looked like this before,

and we are in the process of creating an after photo that is taking forever. Therefore, I am neglecting you, and the laundry, and the grocery list, and the children. However, I have made some very good friends at Home Depot. They love my children and give the Little a balloon on almost every visit. The house renovations are taking over our lives, but we would like to finish them while the house is empty... Do house renovations ever really end though?

Also dear blog, I would tell you that one afternoon Libby got dressed up b/c Daddy was coming home from work...she even asked me to fix her hair. I think I taught her this b/c I get dressed up when Daddy comes from work. I don't often put on a princess dress, but once I heard a fine Christian lady speak about her mother in the 1950's always putting on red lipstick and heals right before her husband came home from work and I've been fixing my hair around 4:30 ever since....

Here's the play by play...we love when Daddy gets home

In other news, the Littlest was laying in the middle of her new bedroom while I was painting it the other day when we heard a thump. I turned around to find her on her tummy, then moments later she was on her back again. Milestone documented, baby knows how to roll over.

I have officially stopped fighting my inner demons over not being productive in the morning. I am not a morning person, and subsequently neither are my children. I have come to a place, where I think that I am okay with this.

The Little and I are cranky for a good 30 minutes and the Littlest will often fall right back to sleep after we get up. We have to have to linger over coffee and pj's before we can face the world.

I am not productive in the morning, and have come to realize that I need to stop feeling guilty about it. I get a lot more done in the afternoon and evening and if I say it enough times, I think I will believe it.

We took a break from house renovations for Easter and went to Babs and G-Dads. We also went on about 1 million egg hunts prior to Easter, so we have about a trillion plastic eggs floating around our house.

At this egg hunt, all the children went to the right and Libby went left. She had half a yard full of eggs all to herself. I encouraged her to give some away, b/c goodness knows no child needs 40 plastic eggs all to themselves...I guarantee that we have more that 40!

Here she is at Babs and G-Dads looking for yet more eggs.

This was Maggie's extent of looking...however, look at those fine motors coming along.

This Easter we learned that too much sugar turns the Little into something that resembles a gremlin and we are fairly certain that we would rather have our rosy girl as opposed to a gremlin, so we are cutting her sugar intake WAY back. I can't believe the difference it makes. It actually amazes me, gremlin be gone!

We also learned that the Littlest looks delicious in a bonnet (which I know I mentioned in my last post, but thought that she looked cute enough to bring it up again)

or a tu-tu...my, oh my, we are frilly round these parts....

I also learned that until I decide to exercise my way back to my old figure, I should face forwards for pictures.

So dear blog, I wish that my words were more creative. I wish I wrote on you more than once a week. I wish my life would go slower so that I could appreciate each moment I spend with these sweetlings. That is why have you though, so that I can remember that when they were little, the light danced off their pretty blue eyes, and that my heart skipped a beat every time I saw their sweet faces together.

We should be moved in by the end of the month and I will resume normal life and normal posting again. This is going to be a long May.
Until then...Goodnight little blog.

Grace and Peace and my sincerest apologies for any typos like last post (I hope you had a great Eater Sunday. If you ever wonder why this blog is riddled with typos, please know that I write them at midnight after long days of wrangling two little girls and a dog that resembles a yetti. )

xoxo

The Backlog

2011-04-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

I have so many pictures and so many words I want to write down before the moments just slip from my mind, like that one last thing I meant to pick up from the grocery store so often does. We are in a very busy season of life right now and blogging seems to be the last thing I make time for. I really hate that b/c I love this space of grammatical errors and run-on sentences. It is filled with our life.
So, here are two pictures of my girls on Eater Sunday, especially for my friend Miss Jan (aka Laura's mom) who requested to see them in their Easter outfits. I found a picture of a bonnet that I wanted to buy for Maggie, but thought my Mom could make one just as nice for cheaper...This one turned out more expensive (as always) and let's just say it turned out a hair more frilly then the original design I picked out! But I really don't mind....if you can't pull off an extremely frilly bonnet when you're 3 months old, when can you? Babs said she looked like a china doll, I said she bore a strange resemblance to Old Mother Hubbard...Either way, she is still very pretty and I like her round cheeks and bubbly lips very much. I kiss them often, repeatedly..Some times I can't stop and people start starring...but just look at her, how I could I stop myself!

Grace and Peace and Easter Bonnets
xoxo

Circus Side Show Act

2011-04-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

My girls were dressed up pretty on this warm Monday.
I tried to get them to sit together for a picture so I could have one of them looking just "so" on my front steps.
No one wanted to look just "so".

Maggie Bell cried and Liberty gave her a sticker to try to calm her down. It didn't work. I stopped trying to get a perfect picture after that.

The following pictures are more real life. Every time I try to go any where with both of my ladies I feel like we are on display. My mom told me that I need to get it together (thanks for that Babs :). Is it just me, or is it a work out, both mentally and physically, trying to go any where with two little ones?

I always wonder if I'm making it more difficult than it really is. I come home from most outings feeling like I need a nap more than the kids do. This could be any number of outings, from going to the grocery store (which after our last group trip, I have declared that I will never go alone with both of them again), the post office (ick), the park (which is supposed to be fun right?), a friend's house, and heaven forbid I try to go somewhere like a mall (my browsing days are through).

Truthfully, things go better when we stay at home and stick to the "routine"(as always, I use the term "routine"very loosely). I'm okay with that, we have a lot of fun at home, but we can't stay here forever. We have to go out sometimes, and there are days when we are all stir crazy and going somewhere is essential for our sanity.

You know, in the end I love the crazy- beautiful life we have. I'm okay with not strolling through the Anthropologie sale racks. I just need reassurance that I'm not the only young mother who finds going to the grocery store a challenge. I want to know that I'm not the only circus act in town.

Here's to our circus act, may I cherish every moment for all to soon, I will be performing this show alone, which won't be nearly as much fun.

Grace and Peace and little girls who I'm afraid will never look just "so"
xoxo