This is What You Get...

...when it's just Mom and the kids for dinner.

This is what you get...

...when Mom is home alone with the kids and in charge of dinner and bedtime by herself.

This is what you get...

...when your beautiful baby has just discovered her cute little feet and toes...

And this is what you get...

...when two sisters are crazy about each other and love to cuddle before bed.

And then you get one very happy and content Momma.  :)

The Big Hunt

I thought it would be fun to take the family to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday.  All I could find, however, was something (supposedly) at the middle school, but no one knew the time.  So I decided rather than load everyone up, drive across town, and spend thirty minutes frantically trying to make sure I didn't lose any babies, while simultaneously making sure no one got run over, we would just throw some eggs in the front yard and let the kids scramble to collect them.  After all, they're only 18 months and 2 years old, so I figured that would be tons of fun!  When I told my husband, and asked him to go scatter the eggs in the yard, he said, "Ok, so what are the eggs filled with?"

Me:  "Nothing."

Him:  "Oh. Ok."

Me:  "What's the point of that?  They're too little to eat any candy."

Him:  "Yeah...but we could eat it..."

Haha!  Oh well,  my little ones didn't seem to mind that there weren't any fun prizes to be found.  (Although we did enjoy some delicious Easter cupcakes afterward).  :)

And so the hunt was on.  Pumpkin was so excited, you would have thought it was the Olympic games.  And I really should have timed her she raced around to find them all so quickly.  She would count a few, then she would start naming colors: "And a pink one...and a blue one...and a green one..."

I really thought Bubba would enjoy participating just as much, considering one of his favorite things to do inside the house is put things in buckets and baskets and bags.  But outside, in the wide open front yard, he wanted nothing to do with the eggs.  He just wanted to explore.  Exploring is especially fun now that he is a walking pro.

But really, the best part was watching my sweet Pumpkin trying to contain all the eggs in the bucket and make it back to the house.  Apparently there were more eggs than the bucket could hold, and so as soon as she would pick one up, two more would fall out.  But she was determined not to leave a single egg behind, and I could see that this could easily go on for the rest of the day.  So I stashed a few in my pocket, and she carried her bucket of eggs proudly.  :)

It ended up being even more fun than I expected (for something as simple as a $2 bag of plastic eggs, filled with nothing), and if it weren't for the aftermath (a massive collection of "hatched" eggs all over my living room) we might just make this a regular event.

As it is, however, I think we will just make this an Easter time tradition.

He is RISEN Indeed!!

 ¹ "On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words."  Luke 24:1-8  

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!  Praying you had a blessed day!

5 Months! (And a milestone!)

Today, my baby doll is 5 MONTHS OLD.  

She is still the sweetest baby ever, and my husband commented recently that it just seems like she's always been here.

He's right.  I can hardly even remember my life without her.

She has started eating a little bit of cereal, but still doesn't quite know what to do with it, so it mostly ends up on the front of her shirt.

She LOVES when her big brother and big sister talk to her, and she loves to laugh.

And just in case any of you are good at math, and thinking that we're about due for an announcement, let me be the first to tell you: 

I am NOT PREGNANT.  :-D

This is a new milestone for us (I am typically 4 weeks pregnant by now), and we're hoping this trend continues.  ;-) 

Is It Monday Yet???

Typically, I am (as most do, I'm sure) counting the days 'til the weekend arrives, and I can spend time with my family, have help with the kids, etc.  Well, this weekend, it has been one thing after another and I am ready for it to be over!!  So please excuse me while I vent a little.  ; )

Friday was a pretty lazy day, and we tried to relax (it had been a long week), but we had a friend's birthday party to go to that night, so we spent the entire afternoon getting everything ready.  It was a pool party, so we had to dig through boxes to find all the "pool essentials," pack the diaper bag, and get us all dressed and ready to go.  We planned to leave early so we could run by Wal-Mart to get a card and gift, and arrive by 5:30.  Well, my husband took the older two and diaper bag and started loading the car, so I grabbed my purse and our Baby Doll and headed out after him at about 5:00.  I get to the car to discover that neither of us brought the keys.  So my poor husband spent the next 45 minutes attempting to break into our house, while I attempted to entertain three small children strapped into car seats (no small feat, I assure you).  When we finally realized there was absolutely no way in, we called the only lady who has a spare key.  Thankfully, she was already in her car on her way home, and stopped by and let us in.  I ran in the house and grabbed the keys (and a blank card, because there was no way we were making it to Wal-Mart at this point) and we were finally on our way to the party, with three cranky, screaming kids.

We arrived at the park (at 6:10), and began looking for the party-goers.  We saw an indoor pool, and assumed that was were we were supposed to be, but didn't see our friends' cars.  We quickly made a phone call and discovered that the party was actually SATURDAY night.  Really??!!  My poor lil punkin had been talking about going swimming ALL day!  So we headed home, and let them "swim" in the bathtub.

Fast forward to Saturday, and we have everyone ready and loaded again (a little more cautious about mentioning swimming, just in case), and arrive at the party.  We made it on the right day, on time, at the right location.  Score!  So we spent about an hour there (although there was still no swimming, because the water was only about 50 degrees!) and survived with only minor casualties (Pumpkin got knocked over by a kid in a tire swing, and Bubba fell and got a bloody nose).

When we got home, it was time for baths and bed, and once the kids were in bed, there was a pile of housework to do.  After such a long night, I forgot to get our bags out of the car, and did not get anything ready for Sunday morning like I usually do.  But I decided it would just have to be an early morning.

This morning I got up around 7:00 after a long night with Baby Doll.  I was so tired, but I knew I had to get myself and three kids fed, dressed and loaded in the car in time for church.  No big deal, until my husband went to get our stuff from the car and discovered it was no longer there.  My purse (and wallet) and our diaper bag were stolen out of the car sometime last night.  So I then spent a huge chunk of my morning on the phone with our banks trying to get all our cards and checks cancelled (and just barely made it to church in time to drop the kids off in the nursery and prepare to teach children's church).  : (

Thankfully, there was no cash in my purse, and they never even made any purchases with my cards.  I had also taken out my phone and my camera, so neither of those were lost, and I had my keys in the house with me, otherwise they may have just driven off with the car.

So honestly, it has not been the best weekend, and I am ready to crash tonight, and start fresh tomorrow!!

"The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day."  Lamentations 3:22-23 

Pretty Little Butterfly!

My daughter has an obsession with butterflies.  I'm not exactly sure where it started, but I believe it developed out of her love for an episode of Team UmiZoomi about a butterfly costume.  She would watch that episode over and over and dance with them, and constantly ask where her costume was.  As heartbreaking as it was, I had to tell her, day after day, "You don't have a butterfly costume.  I'm sorry!"

Well, when Grammie came to visit, all it took was hearing that her precious grandbaby "needed" a butterfly costume, and the hunt was on.  Step one: find an outfit to start with.  We lucked out and found this ballerina outfit at target, which is girly and pink, and has a nice fluffy tutu.

Then we had to find a way to give her butterfly wings.  This was a little more of a challenge, but we ended up finding a hot pink butterfly decoration at Hobby Lobby.  It is pretty and sparkly, and although it is intended to be hung from the ceiling, it worked well to adjust it slightly and sew it to the back.  To say she gets excited to wear it is most definitely an understatement! :)

She loves to dance around the room and "flap like a butterfly."  It's so cute!  We got a little on video, so you can see just how full of herself she is!  (As she dances, she says, "Look at me, look at me!!")

When It Hurts

Sometimes life hurts.

People can be cruel, circumstances don't go our way, loved ones get sick, incomes are lost.  Being in the ministry, constantly surrounded by church goers, does not make me immune to the pain that this life can bring, and unfortunately, being in ministry does not mean that everyone is nice and loving.  No matter how hard you work at genuinely loving people, you will not always be loved back.

The fact is, we live in a fallen world, full of fallen people.  No one is perfect, and even when I like to try and convince myself otherwise, this includes me.  And so what do we do when it hurts?  When we have been wronged?

The easy answer would be to act likewise and really show them what they did.  But this will not make things better, and more importantly, is not Christ-like behavior.  Instead, turn to the Lord.  He is a comforter and a friend, and His love never fails.

"The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all."  Psalm 34:17-19

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

And then, we must keep things in perspective.  As unfortunate as it is to be mistreated or hurt (especially when it happens in the church), God has things under control.  And one day, they will have to stand before a holy and righteous God and give an account for their actions, just like I will.  So I cannot worry or focus on what other people are doing or saying.  God will deal with them.  All I can do is continue to love them, and remind myself that I am a sinner just as they are.

"But I will keep on hoping for you to help me; I will praise you more and more. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, for I am overwhelmed by how much you have done for me. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. I will tell everyone that You alone are just and good...Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God? You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again."  Psalms 71:14-16, 19-21

And I will continue to press on in what God has called me to do, and never stop praising Him for His marvelous love, comfort and peace that only He can bring!!

Little Explorer

Playing outside, with my handsome boy (who is now officially walking everywhere, and very much in need of walking shoes):