Happy Easter
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Author Archives: Julie
Hardly a break
We flew into Houston for spring break last week and will head home tomorrow. It seems there is always someone to see and things to do when we visit that I am not sure we got much rest. But at least I didn’t have to do laundry or dishes, actually had a date with my husband, and went to the coast for some bird watching together… ever seen a flock of pelicans flying in formation above your head? So here is our week in short:
We spent some time with my brother and his family:
Alyssa and cousins
Brother Brad and my dad
Braden, the oldest grandchild with the youngest
We celebrated Lauren’s 2nd birthday and played for the day:
I wanted to sign up Alyssa and Megan for swim lessons when we return in June, so Megan had to take her evaluation class. She did great. Walked right in the door to the pool with her instructor and did what she was asked. She only slipped off the step once while waiting for her turn. Luckily the instructor was right there to scoop her out of the water. Where is the panic button in that place?
We visited with friends and just hung out. It is nice to come home and see our family, but God has a funny way of showing you that he knew all along what he was doing. And we are in the right place for our family right now. We are so happy to be in Tennessee.
Audrey did roll for the first time from back to stomach…or so I hear. I was on a date.
And Megan has taken coloring to a new level.
God is alive
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
For us, this also reminds us that Noah is alive and well in heaven. It is like a little sign from him saying “hi”, especially to Alyssa. She looked out the front door yesterday screaming for joy, “come look mom!” I can’t help but to be truly amazed everytime I see a rainbow.
Lately…
I think it is a sign that you have slacked off on blogging when you have several topics to cover. Life just seems so busy lately, that I rarely have the energy to think of something to write about. From school, to managing 2 year old tantrums to the routine of a 4 month old, I am honestly exhausted by lunchtime. It is sad, I know. But lately the sun has decided to come back to Nashville and the weather has been great. I forgot how much fun being outside can be. Audrey has “kind of” upgraded to the exersaucer. She still spends most of her time laying around, but can hold herself up for a brief time and sit in this thing. Megan too can sit in it. However her knees are resting on the bottom of it and she gets herself stuck. Now that I think about it, that would have been a better picture.
This picture of Megan makes me smile. She is a little bit of my baby because she is holding “Lumpy” her elephant that she has had since 3 months old but has on her big girl panties too. She is so darn cute that I can hardly stand it sometimes. But so darn strong-willed. I am constantly re-thinking my parenting strategies with her.
And here is Alyssa and her friend, Mayson. They are in class together and have been playing in the neighborhood together too. We went bowling with her last week and had a great time. I love how kids can connect so easily. How they can like each other so much that they run with arms stretched out screaming each others’ name when they meet. How they can overlook differences and forgive so easily. I pray that Alyssa always has good friends like this in her life.
Impossible
I cannot believe this little girl is my baby…my last baby. Today, she is 4 months old. I see newborns and I think to myself that my baby is not like that anymore. She doesn’t curl up in my neck when I lay on the couch. Instead she constantly raises her head and bumps me in the lip. She doesn’t need me to hold her pacifier while she falls asleep. Instead she can soothe herself with her own thumb. She doesn’t need the professional swaddle job that only I can do. Instead I can just lay her down and she is good. She doesn’t need me to protect her from the actions of her big sisters. Instead she loves when they interact with her.
Of course all of these things are great. But they mean that she is only one step further from being my little baby. Why do they grow up so fast? And why did I get so frustrated in those moments that I now miss? Why can’t I just slow down and truly enjoy this time? Because I know in a short while I will look up and my girls will be all grown. It makes me just a bit sad to think of that day. So for now, we will play on the floor. We will smile and coo at each other. I will watch as you discover your hands, your tongue and your feet. I will help you learn to sit so you can see the world in a whole new view. I will enjoy those moments of what seem like endless feedings, because soon enough you will not need me for that anymore either. Lord, slow me down to enjoy this time of motherhood. Give me patience and peace knowing I am doing for my girls what no one else can do. And I am being exactly what you created me to be right now.
Another season
Soccer has started again. This time it is a bit more difficult for me. Ethan is usually on one of the two fields coaching and that leaves me with Megan and Audrey. It wouldn’t be too hard if Megan wasn’t the “I hear you, but I am going to continue to walk all the way across this other field and make you chase me” type of kid. She was eventually bribed to sit still with Daddy’s iPhone (I am not proud of that.) Audrey eventually fell asleep and I was able to see Alyssa’s 1st goal of the season. She did a great job!
Thank you Mr. Sun for visiting us this weekend. It was so nice to be able to play outside.
Blessed
I think it is a blessing that I have few friends. Because those few friends are real, true friends. I can say anything to them, I can ask anything of them. One of them is Melissa. She lives in Oregon with her husband, Jeff. They have been married almost 2 years and are expecting their first baby. Melissa and I met at ACU in Nelson Dorm. I don’t even remember how we met it just seemed we were always friends. We made fun of people together, we had classes together, we ate bkfast, lunch, dinner together, we snuck out to go dancing together. (You were not allowed to go to those places at ACU.) We were roommates for the next 3 years and learned a lot about each other. Now we try to keep up and see each other every year, but this time it had been too long. Mel Mel came to meet Audrey and see our life in Nashville. We had a great weekend which included Blue Bird Cafe, Mellow Mushroom, Carnton House, Maniacs and even some lazy time at home. Thank you Mel Mel for visiting. Thank you for loving my kids like your own and not once grimacing at Megan’s screeching. Thank you for being comfortable enough to stay in PJs all day with me. Thank you for your friendship. I am blessed to call you my friend.
Happenings
Just a few shots of the fun things going on around here. More pics in the Gallery.
Oma and her girls
I don’t know where Megan gets her personality
Probably the last snow of the season…I hope.
Don’t let this picture fool you, she really can’t sit this well in it.
Tooth Fairies
1 down and … how many times do we have to do this? What started over 2 weeks ago with a little wiggle ended tonight as Alyssa’s first baby tooth literally fell out of her mouth. We have tried to get it out for the last several nights because her adult tooth is already coming in behind it. Let’s just say that she did not like the method that Ethan and I were using. The sessions usually ended with all of us frustrated, Alyssa crying and asking God to just take it out. I finally let it go and accepted that it would come out when it was time. Tonight we were reading books before bed and I asked her to just wiggle the tooth while we read. One book later she spits something out of her mouth and gasps as she realizes it is her tooth. Painless. She screamed, danced around, ran downstairs to show Daddy. She decided she wanted to take it to school before she left it for the tooth fairy. What is the going rate for teeth these days? I wish we were done but now the other bottom tooth is loose too. I think God made this into such an aggrevating experience so I would not recognize that my baby is growing up. She is loosing teeth…. really?
Nana and Papa
It is always great to have my mom and dad visit. They were here for the weekend and the girls had a great time. So much that Megan was screaming at Nana as she was walking into the airport, “I need her back!” I loved the extra help and just spending time together. Audrey took her first trip to the park and we bowled again. Alyssa actually broke 100. See Megan’s first bowling video.
