April and May!

The last few months have gone by SO fast, and I really haven't had a lot of time to get on the blog. ;) 
That's pretty usual around here, but it just seems time gets away even faster these days with two crazy toddlers, and, the way things are looking, I don't think it's going to slow down any time soon!

I am not complaining, though, by any means. I love to be busy! 


So, that said, here are the photos from April and May. Enjoy! 

Daddo bought K and B a tent with a tunnel! They LOVE it. 

We spend a lot of time outside during the spring and summer months, and B would not be B if she did not have her boots on. For some reason, whether it is raining outside (which is not often around here!) or 90 degrees, she has to wear her pink rain boots. I think part of it is because they are easy for her to just go grab from her room to play outside really fast. ;) 

Easter was super fun this year. We went to GG's  house and looked for eggs in her back yard since Daddo was working. They loved Easter this year, since they are finally getting to the age where they understand what's going on! A little sidenote...Since I am writing this now (weeks after Easter, of course!) I can share this...One day I was in the back of the house, and K and B were in the kitchen. We kept the Easter baskets in there on the counter (away from where the kids could get them, was the idea) and K was calling my name. I didn't answer at first, to see what he would do. So he proceeded to say to Brookelynn, "Hey, Mommy's not here. Let's go get the Easter baskets and eat all the candy!"

That little stinker! They learn early, don't they?

Just chillin in the swing. She loves cars, just like her bro.

I think she was telling a story. 

These are a bit out of order! Sorry! But for Good Friday this year, we made Resurrection Rolls. The babies loved them, and Momma kind of did too! :) I will never forget what Kaleb said. I was trying to teach the babies that Jesus was in the "tomb" when he went inside the oven and when the rolls came out of the oven, he was gone (the marshmallows). But I don't think Kaleb got it - he kept saying, when he was eating his roll, "I'm eating God. He is going in my tummy." Cracks me up, this kid! 

We also dyed Easter eggs the Thursday before. The kids had fun, I think! 

She asked if it was "coffee". 

He loves to drive B around in his jeep. We got it from Shelly - it was cousin Abigail's, who didn't drive it too much, so it's almost like new! K LOVES his new Barbie jeep...Justin and I talked about painting it a different color, but K doesn't seem to mind...hmmm.

Had to get a birthday morning pic with everyone on my birthday. She wasn't feeling the greatest, but you can't tell here!

;)

Classic K pic. He is just such a boy!! Not sure what he's eating...

Didn't quite get the pull up on right that morning.

We went to a restaurant that night for my birthday and Little Missy was NOT well! Won't tell you exactly what happened but it was not pretty...you can use your imagination. But anyway, it was a birthday dinner I will never forget. Ever. ;)

However, for my birthday I got some Young Living essential oils, and we used Thieves on her that night. The next day, she was a lot better already! I LOVE my new oils. 

Justin also spoiled me by letting me plant a flower garden for my birthday. He worked hard for me! Here he is tilling the ground...It was some hard dirt! 

I babysat Shelly's 6 kids plus my 2 on a Saturday. It was surprisingly easy! It could probably be from the fact, though, that they all watched the movie Frozen and it captured their attention for a few minutes! But they are good kids anyway, so I'm really not surprised. My kids, actually, were the only hard ones to watch that day. Ha! 

Got a great pic of her littlest, Timothy, whom we lovingly call Tim. I ADORE this boy! 

And...this happened. And, yes, we got stitches. Three of them, to be exact. Still unsure as to what happened. Thankfully, Aunt Shelly was already home, and we had just been chatting in the kitchen, and next thing we know, K came out of the hallway screaming with blood gushing out of his head. Still not sure what it was that caused the cut, but was kind of scary. I debated back and forth on an ER visit, because it really didn't bleed much after a minute of gushing. But...you could see the skull. So, that kind of made me nervous... 

 The "before" photo. 

The "after" photo. He actually did really well. I think I took it worse than he did. :) He only cried a little when the doc inserted the needle for anesthesia. I was proud and sad at the same time. I hope it's the first and last visit we make for a very long while, if ever again. 

Beautiful Oma (Justin's mom) on Mother's Day. So glad to have Oma!!! 

My momma and me a year ago. Mommy's day was not the same since we didn't get to see her, but I love her to pieces! 

Brookey before church on Mother's Day. :) Oma had stopped by, and she was having to say goodbye...;) 

And, I had to add this one to the last few photos because it just cracks me up! Not sure what he was doing, or trying to accomplish, but Justin said he woke up to this one day when he was on nights. Wasn't sure if he was still dreaming...  

Justin has been going on "dates" with his babies, and this blesses all of us so much! What a good daddy he is! Recently, he has been taking the kiddos fishing. :) This particular picture makes me laugh too because her shoes are on backwards. Daddy dresses the babies sometimes before his outings. ;) He won't mind that I shared. Love you, Daddo! ;)

Well, Kaleb has gotten finished with his quiet time (That's what he has now, instead of a nap...cannot believe we are at this point already! Where did the time go?!) so I'd better go. He is talking about his fish on the computer screen - he loves to fish with daddy. 

Well...I had the cutest video ever of the kids dancing that I was going to leave you with, but it is not working for me at this moment. So I will just leave you with this for now...

God bless and happy Spring! 

February, March pics

Okay, so here is the promised last month or so in pictures. Enjoy! 

Airplanes!

Daddy took care of us while Mommy went on a retreat. 

Happy Valentine's!!!

Daddy got a Taylor to help lead worship at church!!!

She can make the funniest expressions!

CHEESE!!!

He has to fix things around the house!! He is going to be our Mr. Fixit!!

More cheese! They LOVE making faces at themselves!

First day of spring, and he knew what to do - bring mommy flowers!

Last shots til she's four. Finally!! (These are a little late...)

Daddy let him play his old guitar...and he's a natural!

Time for potty training! K is in on the action.

Playing with butterflies and ladybugs! 

Oh, how I do love this time of year. Everything about it is "new". I am not a very big fan of winter, and I just love it when the flowers start peeking through the ground again and the warm sunshine sticks around.
Happy April!! 

Growin babies!

I have so MANY pictures to share from last month but I really don't have the time right now. 

Therefore, I will just share a quick little update on the kiddos and do the pics soon when I can get a chance! 

Miss B

• These days you are so very social!
• You love to squeal when people come through the door because you're so excited they've come to see you! (and it's not a small squeal either, but very, very loud!)
• You love people in general
• You are still a momma's girl - you need your snuggle time, especially when you are sick
• You have graduated to a toddler bed very, very easily. You go down without a fight and with a smile on your face
• You love to say your prayers, and your bible verse before you go night night. 
• We still read a book before we head to bed.
• You are saying sentences pretty well now.
• You love pink.
• You know the colors green, blue, brown, and yellow very well. 
• You count like this - "three, two three..." because when you were still really tiny, I would do a game with you where I'd throw you into your bed and count, "One, two, three," and now that's your version when you go to bed.
• You love hats, and sunglasses. You tried wearing your pink knit hat in the 80 degree weather the other day.
• You are quite the dancer, and you still love to do it, in your chair at the dinner table, and anytime there's music.
• You like trying new foods, most of the time, and will almost always eat it when there's a dessert around.
• You have not started potty training officially yet, but we are heading in that direction. You seem very interested in brother when he goes. The potty still seems to scare you a bit, but there is a definite curiosity there that I think will overtake any fear you may have.
• For some reason you like to start your words with a "t". And Kaleb's name is still "throw up". It's so funny that you call him that, but that is your version of his name, so we go with it! 
• You love the slide, more than anything - even more than the swing.
• You also love to point out the moon.
• You love to play ball.
• You adore everything about your brother. You want to BE him. You follow him around the house and do everything he does. It's kind of cute. 

K Boo!

• You crack us up! You are SO funny sometimes, especially when you wear high heel shoes around the house in your underwear. And you LOVE making us laugh!
• You are our little fixer-upper. Sometimes you take your screwdriver, or any of your tools for that matter, around the house and "fix" things. We have a Mr. Fix it in our house!
• You also love playing with anything having to do with cars, airplanes, trains, you name it, if it moves - that is what you gravitate toward! 
• You love food, but you always know exactly what you want. Your favorites are chicken, macaroni and cheese, fruit, "cracker sandwiches," (saltines with peanut butter in the middle), and string cheese. You don't like trying new things, but this last month you have tried things you have never tried before, and we are so proud!
• You love to ride your tricycle
• You love the park 
• You are somewhat shy so far, but not too bad...You get very involved in tasks, and they consume you...You are just like your momma!
• You are snuggly after you wake up from your nap
• You are "methodical" - you have to have your routine at night. We brush teeth, read a bible story, get a drink, say our prayers and our bible verse. In that order. Oh, and then there's the butterfly kiss and the eskimo kiss. And at least one more for good measure. Just a regular kiss last. Yep. I think that's it. :) Oh, and then you have to have your fan on. And your night light. Lol...
• You love Ring Around the Rosy. Still. So sweet!
• When music plays, you love to turn in circles! Around and around til it makes you dizzy!
• Your all time love is your trucks and cars. :) And fixing them. Oh, did I already mention that? ;) 
• You love Clifford the Big Red Dog. Tonight you said he was your best friend. 
• You absolutely adore your cousins!
• You let your sister follow you around the house and do and say everything you do. Literally, she adores him. 

That's enough of an update for now! I will do pics next time. I will leave with this-

Mark 10:14 - ..."He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'" 

Up His Sleeve

Wow.

Just wow!

I just got back from a retreat this weekend, and it's the only word I can say at this moment. 

I have been thinking of starting another blog alongside this one, just to voice my thoughts on our new church and the things that have been happening with it. The Lord is teaching us a ton, and I can honestly say that we are so incredibly blessed by it right now.

To give you some background - I have been attending a ladies bible study at our new church (well, I say "new," but we've really been going for about a year:), and have been so wonderfully blessed by going to it, as well. Been learning from some amazing people, and making some good friends. 

Justin's also been attending the men's bible study, and has also been immeasurably blessed by it.

And this fall, I began to sing with the worship team at the church. Immediately, I fell in love with the people on the worship team. They have such BEAUTIFUL hearts for Jesus and a fresh passion for him that is so rich. 

So of course, when I was asked to lead worship on a women's retreat our church was organizing, I said a big, "YES!" 

Well, let me tell you. 

I am coming off of my high, so just bear with me and my emotions.

Can you say, "FIRE?"

Yes, that's one of the only ways I can describe it. I just feel so incredibly immersed in His love right now, and full of gratitude for what he is doing!...

Our worship team started meeting a couple of months ago, actually, to practice for the retreat, because we were going to do about a dozen songs and wanted to have them down. 

And of course I loved it. We met every Monday night, and I felt instantly connected to these women. We had the same vision, and the same goal - for lives to be turned around, for those who were sick to healed, for a fresh move of Jesus, and for our voices and our instruments to be used for His glory.

I was also able to learn some new things about leading worship that I have never learned before. And they put in the time and effort to help me and were very patient with me while I was getting it down. You see, we go to what's called the "WILD church". (It stands for Word Is Life Deliverance) Lol. They aren't, of course, "wild," but they lead worship in a different form than I'm used to - it's very free and some of it unplanned! :) I LOVE this! But I wasn't very familiar with it, and was used to "going by the script." :) This took me out of my comfort zone, when we changed up the song in the middle of worship in front of everyone. I am NOT used to that! And they are gently teaching ME how to change things up. It's very freeing, and very fun.

So, all this to say, I had a blast this weekend learning and growing in my new worship style. ;) 

I could go on and on about the weekend - lives WERE changed, and people met Jesus, some for the first time. There was a dowel rod team, a sign language team, and a comedy team, just to name a couple of the other teams besides ours. So many people used their talents and efforts to make this weekend amazing.

We had about 140 women come, from all over the area, and it was at a camp about two hours away from here, so I also got to know my friend Amy who I rode with. The food was also good, and we were served lunch by some of the men from our church one afternoon (wearing skirts, by the way - LOL. Guess they wanted to fit in!). 

I came back home refreshed and exhausted, as most of the time we do, from these things, right? 

I am still sorting out my feelings about what I learned, but I feel like one of them is that I am not done. Yes, the retreat's over, and we spent months preparing for it. And I am tired, and blessed. 

But there is more to this. 

You see, this was the first retreat of many - it was the first one our church has organized of this fashion. The next one is going to be in North Dakota, and then there is one this upcoming October for couples in New Mexico. Justin and I have been asked to lead worship there.

I am a bit nervous about that. Not sure what it involves, who will be leading alongside us, or what the details are. I am not sure if we will bring our children, or let them stay with grandparents. I am not sure what it will look like at all. We still have to iron all that out. And if we DO leave the children home, I will be nervous about leaving them, even though I know they'd be in the best hands possible if they are with grandparents.

It honestly freaks me out thinking about going! 

But - Justin has picked up his guitar again and is practicing making his fingers blistered these days...:) (For those of you who don't know, finger blisters are good things when you first start playing;)

And I LOVED the retreat and what the months of practicing for it taught me. I am sure we would only be blessed by leading worship again!

My dream for my family has been for us to grow closer to the Lord together and spend as much time in church as possible, immersing our children in the fellowship of believers and in Jesus. I think this may be one way he is fulfilling that dream - us learning to lead worship together, as a family. And that thrills me! And even if we don't take the kids with us on the October retreat, I know we will be involved in the worship at church for years to come, and that will help the kids be involved, as well. And hopefully, they will pick up their own instruments, or use their own voices to lead worship, too. 

I'm excited to see where the Lord takes us from here, and I feel this is the start of a good thing for us. A little nervous, but very excited.

God has great things up his sleeve!!!

My team!! From top left - Tia (guitar), GeorgeAnn (piano), Jackie (vocals)

From bottom - Amy (bongo), Pearlene (guitar), me (vocals) and Jayna (drums)

The "important" stuff

Just a few of the things I love right now about being a mommy are...

Folding tiny, size toddler 2 flare jeans. With heart pockets.

Singing. Really loud. 

Laughing. Really hard. At each other.

Dancing. ESPECIALLY the happy dance. Brookelynn does it when she's eating ice cream. It applies to other sweets, but especially ice cream.

Building snowmen.

Eating snow. 

Pig tails.

Silly songs, and bible songs.

Bubbles.

Coloring!

Watching a storm. Listening to the thunder, and talking about the monster trucks in the sky. Yes, that is what the loud sounds are. According to Kaleb.

Syrup. 

Chewable, gummy vitamins.

Cheez Its.

Green juice, made by Naked. Try it. It's good.

"Big special treats," after going potty. Yes, mommy gets some too. 

Worshiping together at church as a family. 

Finding peace when it's quiet. Which.is.rare.

9 p.m. Every night. Ahhh. (Just bein real, folks!)

Laughter. 

Pillow fights. 

Forts.

"Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere, clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere," time.  Yes, we sing the song.

Snuggles.

Butterfly kisses.

Tiny hands.

Tiny noses.

Big, curious blue eyes.

Soft curls.

Bows.



I could go on and on. But it's late and I won't. 

I have to sometimes remind myself these days, though, through the hustle and bustle of life, and having two toddlers in the house running around like crazy all the time, to just.sit.and.enjoy.

They will NOT always be here in the house. They will not always want snuggles. They will not always want mommy's hugs.

So important to enjoy the little things. :)