What I Like About You

Oh, sweet little pumpkin, stubborn and independent firstborn, beautiful daughter of mine.  There are so many things that I love about you at this stage of your life.

I love that you often put the emphasis on the wrong syllable.  For example, GEE-raffe, instead of gi-RAFFE.

I love that you call cheerios, cheerios, but any other cereal is just cereal.

I love that you call every lady at our church who has gray hair "Grandma."

I love that in an attempt to get out of bedtime, you continually ask for more food.  Especially cheese.

I love that you always think you're right, and will argue a point until I agree.  You even argue with cartoons.  When watching Team Umi Zoomi, they asked, "What color comes next?....{you answered red}.....Yellow, that's right!"  You responded, "No, that's RED!!"

I love that your new favorite phrase is "No, let me do it!"

I love that you can work the Wii remote to start your favorite cartoons.

I love that you are so smart, you know things I don't even know.  When watching Go, Diego Go, they showed a picture of an animal and said, "Is this a baby whale?"  You quickly responded, "Nooo, that's a Puma."  Amazing!

I love that you are so full of yourself, and have your daddy wrapped around your sweet finger.

I love the sweet puppy dog face you make when you want something, and sweetly ask, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease??"

But most of all, I love that you still sign when you say "I love you too, Momma."  

My Little Beauty

At four months (and a few days...), this little beauty is full of personality and attitude!  And I just love her to death!  She is my only baby who will let me dress her up for an afternoon of pictures, so that's just what we did recently.  I know before too long, she will be active and mobile, and will most definitely not want to put up with me, and sit still for such a thing!  :)

I cannot even believe how fast she is growing.  She is about the size right now (at four months) that her sister was at six months.  Not much longer and she is going to outgrow her brother!!  Next week we go to the doctor to see just how big she is, but I know the doctor will be impressed with her growth!  Just like her momma.  :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a very fun day!  My little pumpkin helped me make mint chocolate chip cookies!  They were very easy and VERY delicious!  As soon as she was up from her nap (hence the bed head...) we got to work.

Before getting started, she wanted me to take her picture!

Quick taste test :)

Working hard to stir the dough!

All ready to go in the oven!

She added the green coloring all by herself.  It ended up on me, the counter, her arm...oh, and the cookies. :)

It was messy, and very hot in our little kitchen (it was about 90 degrees today) and my little girl has no idea what St. Patrick's Day is, but we sure had fun!  And we had some friends over for dinner, so it made for a fun and festive dessert!

And here are some pictures of my other precious babies...just because I love them!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

The Little Things

On mornings when I feel like I haven't slept in three days, my daughter is on her 5TH pair of panties and it's only 10:30 am, my trash can is filled with sugar ants, and my son has been throwing a fit for 30 minutes straight, I find myself smiling, and thankful for the little things.

Little things like...

...discovering that my baby doll's diaper explosion was contained INSIDE her diaper. {whew!}

...having five minutes to sit and eat a bowl of oatmeal while my many small babies watch Dora.

...watching my kids make each other laugh with their silliness.

...a big plate full of home-made goodness from the Senior Adult lunch. {thanks to my hubby!}

...the beautiful, warm day, so that we can go outside after lunch.

...the removable cover for our highchair that can be thrown in the washing machine.

...the simple combination of water and vinegar that takes care of oh so many things. {including sugar ants}

...just enough caffeine to make it through the day.

...coupons for my grocery run tomorrow.

But mostly, on mornings like this...

...I'm thankful for nap time. 

Mommy's Little Helper, Part 2

I absolutely love this girl.  She wants to help with anything and everything, ESPECIALLY when it comes to her siblings.  Most recently, she has decided it is her job to feed her brother breakfast.  It is {slightly} more messy, but she loves helping so much, and honestly, then I can eat while she feeds him!

Yesterday I got a little of it on video.  :)

She is going to be such a good mommy someday!!

Be Bold

"When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

   "'Why did the Gentiles rage,

       and the peoples plot in vain?

  The kings of the earth set themselves,

       and the rulers were gathered together,

       against the Lord and against his Anointed'

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness."

Throughout scripture we see an emphasis on prayer and the importance of prayer in the lives of believers.  Too often, however, prayer becomes a time to hand God our laundry list of personal desires.  While scripture does, of course, say we are to make our requests known to Him, it can become all too easy to focus our prayers solely on what we want, and not on what God wants from us. 


In this passage from Acts 4, Peter and John had just been released from the religious leaders who were threatening them for speaking boldly in Jesus' name. "So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus."  Acts 4:18.  But after Peter and John are released, they went to their friends and together they prayed for boldness.  That they would continue to teach the truth and to share the gospel boldly!


That is a very hard prayer to pray, because it is much easier to just go about our lives and keep our mouths shut.  But God requires more from us, as followers of Christ, than to simply live our lives here on earth without a care at all for the lost and dying around us.  We are commanded in scripture to go and share what Jesus has done with the entire world, and to make disciples of all nations.  We cannot do that without boldness!  


Just this week, friends of ours were able to see a young girl devote her life to Christ.  She has had a difficult life, and has used and been surrounded by drug users.  But today she is bursting with excitement and hope.  She purchased three different copies of scripture to compare translations as she reads.  She is picking out a new verse each day to be her "verse of the day."  She is ministering to the homeless and homebound.  And this is a girl who does not even understand how to read scripture references (i.e. where a verse is found). Her life is completely changed and made new because my friends were bold enough to love her (even though she may have seemed unlovable) and to share the TRUTH with her.  


So this is my prayer for myself, and it is the prayer of our church, because it is our desire to reach our community, and to see lives changed every single day.  And I am so excited to see God do amazing things among us!

My SUPER Mom Powers

I have actual, real-life super powers.  Yup.  No lie.

What are they, you ask?

My SUPER Mom Powers.  I undoubtedly possess more, but here are just a few that I use on a regular basis:

Super translation power:  My two year old talks all day long.  Sometimes english, sometimes spanish, sometimes jibberish.  But most of the time, I know exactly what she's talking about.  Even with a pacifier in her mouth, even when no one else has any CLUE, I can translate her toddler-talk.  

Super diaper changing power:  I have three kids in diapers.  To say we go through a lot of diapers is quite an understatement.  But I am able to single-handedly* change all three babies all day long.  Even my squirmy, active, hates-to-be-changed son, who some days has three dirty diapers before his morning nap alone.

*Please note that my husband does change his fair share of stinky diapers, but he's at work all day. :)

Super boo-boo fixing power:  No matter the size or severity, a mere kiss from mom makes any boo boo "all better."  Even when I don't see the affliction, my daughter readily lets me know it's there, and asks, "Kiss toe (or knee or arm or head...), Mama?"  And so I kiss it, and she smiles and proclaims, "All better, toe (or knee or arm or head...)!!"

I may not be out fighting crime or defeating evil with these amazing super powers, but they certainly make me "Super Mom" to my kids.  And that is enough for me.  :)

Thoughts of Spring Blog Party!

I just love blog parties!  They are a fun way to "meet" other bloggers, and possibly win some awesome prizes!!  Lynnette @ Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground is hosting the "Thoughts of Spring Blog Party" this week.  To all of you hopping over from her site, WELCOME!

My name is Bethany, and this blog is an attempt to share my life experiences, the MANY lessons that God is teaching me along the way, and to brag (just a little) on my three amazing blessings, ages two and under.  I have been married to my husband for three and a half years, and love him more than any person on this earth.  He has been serving in different areas of ministry since we got married, and we have learned a LOT in that short time.  Ministry is not easy, but we are confident of God's call.  I stay at home with the babies, and am learning each and everyday the definition of love and patience.  :)

Just a few more random facts about me (because I know you're dying to know...):

How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.) Are they right?  My husband said Faithfulness.  I hope he's right. :)

What is your comfort food/drink? Anything chocolate, and a cherry coke.

Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it? Well, right now I have a strong desire to learn how to sew, but we'll see how it goes! :)

Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres? There are some great action movies that I love, but if I have a choice, I almost always prefer something light-hearted and funny.

Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?  When I have time to read, I love historical fiction!

Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).  Trying to please everyone.

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?  I would like to be back on the east coast, or with my friends in Nicaragua. :)

Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or some perform some other strange feat?  I really have no crazy, hidden talents.  I wish I did, I would be much more interesting! Haha!

What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).  Well, I guess I'm pretty good at math.

When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?  Talked more. Always.

If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in? I would probably still bargain shop at Target.

What movie or book character can you most relate to? The main character from The Measure of a Lady by DeeAnne Gist.


Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by, I'd love to "meet" you! :)