Thursday, April 29, 2010

My Reesie-Piece

My "Reesie-Piece"...

I was sweeping in the kitchen the other day and I looked up to find my little Reesie in her sister's hat and her sister's boots. She had so carefully placed her baby doll in her high chair and sweetly covered her up with a blanket. My Reesie doesn't have that many "English" words that most people could understand but she has a way of clearly expressing herself and all her many thoughts.

"Is your baby cold?" I asked her. "Is that why you put a blanket on her?" She looked at me, crossed her arms, shook her body, and said, "Brrrrrrrrr! Brrrr, brrrrr, brrrrr!!!!"

I can't help but soak this girl up each and every day.

She calls kitties, "meow meows." When we ask her, "Can you say kitty?" She says, "Yes. Meow meow."

She calls a cup a, "bup."

She calls her Papa, "Pop."

She speaks Spanish when she wants water. "Agua, pa (translation... water, please)!"

She still has the best belly laugh ever!

And one of my most favorite things in the whole world to watch right now, is little Reesie running as fast as she can down the hallway to our room with her short little legs toddling as quickly as they can. Her legs still haven't caught up with her head and her heart. She thinks she is so much bigger than she really is. You can see the determination in her face as you watch her little legs try to keep up, as they work overtime to get her to her desired destination.

She still loves babies and kitties so much that she kisses them every time that she sees them.

If the answer to a question is "yes", Reesie always answers "Ye Pa!" (translation... "Yes please") So if you ask her, "do you want a cookie?" She'll say, "Ye pa."
If you ask her, "Do you have a stinky diaper?" She'll say, "Ye pa."


She's wearing a size 2T already... she's getting so big, so fast.

Each morning at the breakfast table you can usually find Reesie wearing her shiny silver sparkle shoes and a hat of some sort with her pajamas still on. Her shoes and her hat are the first two things she asks for when she gets out of bed.

On our trip out to CO she started sleeping in a big girl bed... and the whole transition went surprising well. It has only been on rare occasion that she has gotten out of her bed. Most of the time she just lays there and goes to sleep. I was anticipating a much more eventful transition but I must say that I am overwhelmingly grateful that she has done so well with the whole thing.

She's super independent, but is also quite the Mama's girl. She can easily entertain herself but she's also willing to hang out in my Mama's lap for as long as Mama is willing to hold her. :)

She's sweet as pie and stubborn as can be... if it's possible to be both, she is.

She's a screamer... a yeller, I guess is more accurate. If she wants something or someone has taken something from her she just starts yelling... in a very LOUD voice I might add! The other kids cover their ears as soon as they know they've upset her and she starts screaming. It's kinda funny... but not to worry, we are constantly working on "using our words" around here.

When she wants my attention she comes and pats me on my leg and repeats my name over and over again in a kinda deep, man sounding voice, what feels like a million times. "Moooom! Moooom!!! Moooooom!!!"

And even though I already wrote about it... One of my most favorite things about Reesie is watching her walk around the house pushing her shopping cart, with her baby inside, while holding her phone up between her shoulder and her cheek. She might still be little on the outside, but she seems so big to me on the inside.

You gotta love my Reesie-piece!!!! I know I sure do!!!

The Big FIVE!!!


It's hard to believe that my little Siah is 5 years old! I remember my own mother often telling me, "I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday." And it's so so true for me with my own kids. It seriously feels like yesterday that I met him for the first time... that I held him physically close to my heart and felt his heartbeat against mine. As I felt his chest go in and out on my chest, it was proof that he was ALIVE! After our first delivery with our twins and the memory of heart-wrenching silence as our first two sons were born, the sound of Siah's first cry will always be a memory at the fore-front of my mind. We had prayed deeply, sometimes we even found ourselves begging the Lord to bless us with a healthy little baby. And when he answered that prayer on the day that Siah was born, I remember thinking that this day, April 28th, will be a day of great celebration, a day that I will boast to anyone who is willing to listen about God's faithfulness!!! For me, my kids birthdays are so much more than just birthdays. They are 3, soon to be 4, of the absolute best days of my life and I LOVE to go above and beyond to make sure that they know how much I cherish them and how blessed I feel that the Lord has picked me specifically to be their mom and for them to be my treasures.

So all this to say, each year I find myself wanting to do something extravagant for my treasures on their birthdays... but this year we are only four weeks into living in our new home, in our new State, in our new city, with some new friends. But, like always, the Lord, who never fails to bless us more than we could ever expect provided a perfect day of joy and blessing and friends, just for Siah's milestone 5th birthday!!!!

We started the day with a few gifts... Papa picked out a big boy bike, and Aunt Jennifer sent some fun things for Siah to open as well. Papaw and Granny got all the kiddos a zoo pass... and Gramma and Grandpa Jim and Las Vegas Grandma so generously sent enough clothes to cloth Siah for the entire summer! (Oddly Siah asked for clothes. He told me that when he woke up on his 5th birthday, he would be so big that none of his clothes would fit him anymore and he was going to need all new clothes. I love this kid. :)
The total truth about the bike is that it took most of the morning to convince Siah that his new bike was an awesome gift... He was frustrated with the kick stand cuz he couldn't figure out how to move it up and down... and getting started and reaching the ground took some getting used to since he was used to riding his old bike which is much smaller than his new one. But once he got the hang of it, he was super stoked!




We went to donuts for breakfast in our pajamas... like we do on every treasure's birthday... Siah got chocolate with sprinkles... Hal got "pink" with sprinkles and Reesie, crazy of all crazies, doesn't really care for donuts (which we discovered on Hal's birthday a few weeks ago), so she ate a poppy seed muffin and some fruit that I had brought for her from home.

We came home from the donut shop and got ready for the day. Tara had found some parks online, so we went to one of them and met a few new friends from church. Who by the way have been the amazing blessings to us since we met them the first weekend that we moved out here.


Reesie was having a bit of trouble with her joy... what a sad face...




Siah's friend, Campbell's birthday is just a few days before Siah's, and he got a new bike too. So the boys rode their bikes as fast as they could around the park.


We had cupcakes and candles (that didn't stay lit very long because of the crazy winds out here in crazy weather country). We sang happy birthday and Siah soaked up every second of it! (He asked me several times on the drive to the park if we were all going to sing happy birthday to him. :)

Everyone blew their party favors a zillion times...
Reesie blew hers... but she just might have been the saddest party favor blower I have ever seen... Not sure what was going on with her attitude... but she definitely was not her joyful self at the park.

Campbell got Siah a rocket, shooter thing which entertained ALL the kids at the park for the next hour.

Tara made Siah a super hero cape for his birthday and now all the kids have their own personalized cape with the first letter of their name on it. She also got him a mask which he has worn almost everywhere for the past two days. (Which by the way I must admit is one of my most favorite things ever... when my kids wanna wear their dress up clothes out in public. :)


We ended the day with our great, great friends, The Peeks, at Fargos Pizza. Then a scoop (or two for me :) of ice cream for only 31 cents at Baskin Robbins 31 cents a scoop, ice cream night!

It was such a sweet day with my (not so little anymore) man. Five years old is a big deal in a little guys life. He starts school this year. He can now take a shower by himself. He can zip up his own jacket. He takes out the trash everyday all by himself. He makes his own bed and brushes his own teeth. And today, he got to chew gum for the very first time. It was hilareous. We told him to chew it but not swallow it and to spit it out into the trash when he was all done. He put the first piece in and chewed it for a few minutes. He started making a spitting sound then he gasped, "Oh no!! I swallowed it!! What's going to happen to it in my stomach?" So cute!

Today I thought that he was doing so good just chewing his gum and then spitting it out into the trash... that is... until I was cleaning out the car this afternoon and I found his "stash" of at least 15 pieces of chewed gum stuffed between his car seat and Reesie's car seat, along with all the wrappers and some other snack items that I guess he no longer wanted. Let's just say that we had a nice little chat about where we are SUPPOSED to put ABC gum when we are threw with it. :)

Well, little buddy... I am so blessed by you and the zillions of ways that you make my heart light up each and every day! I sure do love you and I will never cease to thank the Lord for bringing you into my life!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Josiah Malachi!!!!!!


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

A Treasure Chest Of Pictures


I sure do love these treasures...

First Runner up is...

Halee Jayden, My big 4 year old...





Josiah Malachi, My big 5 year old...



Skyler Reese... My almost 2 year old!!





And Now...
The three cutest treasures I am pretty sure that anyone has ever seen.... I mean, come on seriously!






Soak it up y'all!! I know I sure do!!! :)

The Good News Far Out Weighs The Bad

So... Sickness has been invading our household these past few weeks...

The good news is that we always get a few days of feeling good and having fun and being together...

The bad news is, the in between days, are are smelly, dirty, and kinda boring. On the in between days, when someone is sick, there doesn't seem to be enough lysol in this world to get rid of that feeling of thick germs that has invaded our house.

The good news is that I got six glorious hours of sleep last night.... after watching The Blind Side with my Joey last night...
The bad news is that my little man starting throwing up right before I got dinner on the table... And if you must know what an incredibly good mother I am, Siah had been telling me all afternoon that he was tired and not feeling so good. And instead of being sensitive, loving on him, and letting him rest, I told him to buck up... pull himself together... and find something to do joyfully without complaining. And the sweet boy said, "yes mama, " then walked back to the playroom to get a book. And a few minutes later I heard him crying for me, "Mama, I spitted all over my book... Mama, I spitted all over my book..." Man, did I feel like a super jerk!!! I totally asked his forgiveness and then came to terms with the fact that I was clearly not going to be winning the Mother-of-the-year award this year... Better luck next year, hey?

Anyways, The good news is that he hasn't thrown up all morning...
The bad news is that he's still not quite himself... poor little buddy.


The good news is that the girls got to have a little sleepover in the playroom last night so that Siah could have their room to himself....

There was no bad news in that according to the girls! When I came in to get them up this morning they were both under the covers in Halee's sleeping bag. :)



The good news is that the girls have found numerous ways to entertain themselves while I care for Siah. But my favorite thing to watch is Reesie walking around the house, pushing her shopping cart, while talking on the phone that she holds up to her ear with her shoulder. Whenever I ask her who's she's talking to she says, "Pop," cuz that's what she calls her Papa.


The good news is... Life is new EVERY MORNING!!!
Praise God that "this to shall pass!!!" :)

Friday, April 23, 2010

Loved It, Hated It

The kiddos wanted to brave the snow today. It's like a blizzard out there!!! It's been snowing all day.

"Please, Mama. Can we go outside??"
"Ok. But only for TWO minutes! I can't stand there with the door wide open and all that freezing air blowing on me and watch you guys for much longer than two minutes."

So I bundled them up....


And out they went... hand in hand... THose crazy treasures!!!

Siah... LOVED IT!!!

Reesie... SO SO...

Siah... LOVED IT!!!
Halee... SO SO...


Siah... LOVED IT!

Reesie... OK... Maybe she kinda hated it... :(


Siah... LOVED IT!!!


Halee... Maybe she kinda didn't care for it either! :(


Group hug.




They were all relieved to be back inside by the fire.

Especially little Reesie....


Her hair got a little crazy once we took her hat off. :)

Happy snow day!!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

5 Things That Made This Day Great

Five things that made today great...

1. This morning we got to see our little boy at our first ultrasound appointment out here.

2. I drank that nasty drink that you have to take when you get your glucose test done when you're pregnant... and I got a good flavor that honestly wasn't even that bad. (Lemon-Lime... It taste kinda like 7-up) The lady that drew my blood was a total pro and I didn't even feel her stick that needle in my arm. She was so sweet to me! I actually had a "good time" taking my glucose test and getting my blood drawn. Is that even possible?

3. I actually got a nap in today... and it felt soooo good!

4. Can anybody say, "Praise the Lord for cereal!" ...

I attempted to make dinner tonight... It was a broccoli, beef stir fry thing... seems simple enough, right? Well, I guess not for this Mama. The meat was tough, the veggies were mushy. I took two bites, started laughing, then mouthed the words, "THIS IS DISGUSTING," to Joey who I can imagine was waiting for me to say that, so that he didn't have to eat another single bite.
My Hal, who is as sweet as pie, was cheerfully putting bite after bite in her mouth. I look over at her and she says, "Mom, this is so good. Thank you so much for my dinner." Then I kindly let her in on the fact that I know that it's disgusting and that she doesn't have to eat it if she doesn't want to... to which she responds, "Oh, then can I be all done?" :) "Yes, honey. We can all be all done."
So I cleared the table... and offered everyone a bowl of cereal instead. Reesie started clapping and singing her happy song... and Joey took me up on my offer... which tells you that dinner was R_E_A_L_L_Y bad... because on most days, Joey doesn't really even like cereal. It was hilarious. Let's just say that I am so thankful for cereal... and for my family that eats it when dinner doesn't quite work out.

5. And finally... I got to go out with a new friend tonight. She's hilarious, and fun and real. It was so nice just to get out of the house after a long weekend in doors with everyone being sick. :)

And that's what made this day great! I hope that you all had a great day too! :)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Second Violin



The past few days have had their fair share of yuckiness. Joey was sick with the flu for three long days. Halee got it yesterday. I got a very insignificant version of it yesterday as well. So far, Siah and Reesie have managed to get away free and clear. This past weekend was the first weekend that I have felt a major longing for familiarity. It has been cold so we haven't been outside much. And even though Joey was only ten feet down the hall, he was feeling awful, and to me, it felt like he was a million miles away. He was more than sweet to me, even though he was sick. But I think I have these expectations that the weekends will be wonderful because we'll get to be together. And when we couldn't be, it was quite a bummer.


But today, EVERYONE is on the up and up, and I woke up this morning to the following thoughts from A.W. Tozer...

He told a story of a man who was playing second violin in an orchestra. He told of how that man was satisfied with being second. Then he told of how if it were him, he would not eat, or sleep until he had become first violinist... then director, then composer, etc...

Then I read these words...

"We have been offered not the directorship of a great orchestra, but glory and truth unsearchable. We have been offered the glory of Christ and the face of God. We have been offered holiness and righteousness and indwelling by the Spirit. We can have our prayers answered and have hell fear us because we have a hold on God who invites us to draw on his omnipotence. We are offered all this, and yet we sit and play second violin without ambition."

I was talking to my precious friend Milly yesterday and she so sweetly reminded me that this time in my life... this new town... these new friendships... these extra times alone... are a sweet opportunity to fall even more in love with my sweet Savior. And she's right!

Lord, don't let me be satisfied with second violin. Thank you for this time in my life. Strengthen me to run in such a way that I might be all that You want me to be, for your glory! When I feel lonely, remind me that you have given me "glory and truth unsearchable. You have offered me holiness and righteousness and the indwelling of your Spirit. You answer my prayers." :)

May I run the race that you have set before me as if to win the prize. :) No second violin for me please. :)

*********************

Some photos just for fun. :)


My sick Hal doesn't even look very sick. She really somehow manages to find joy in most circumstances (which is one of the things that I really love about her!) She DOES NOT like throwing up, so she'll keep it in as long as she possible can. After she finally let it all out last night, Papa put her in the tub while I cleaned up the mess. When I went in to check on her she looked up at me with a beaming smile and said, "I think I would like to have a bean burrito please!" :) Needless to say I offered her two tiny spoonfuls of delicious apple sauce instead and she took me up on it. :) Silly girl. :)


Meanwhile... Siah and Reesie have been keeping themselves entertained. Today it was gorgeous outside but still pretty cold. So they bundled up and spent an hour together in the dirt.


My little boy is gonna be 5 years old next week. Doesn't he look old????

And Reesie-piece is quickly come up on the big 2! Only two and half more months!!! Which means baby brother is well on his way. (Which, by the way, we get to see him tomorrow at our first ultrasound out here.)

Ta Ta for now...