TWO for TWO!

Today was a good day :) Two years ago, I gave birth to 2 of the sweetest girls ever. Beautiful, healthy & whole. My life was changing in ways I couldn't have imagined and I truly felt like I had just received a double blessing from heaven. 

Today, those blessings feel like way more than double. 

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Ava & Lillian, you bring so much joy to my life. Your laughter and conversations light up my days. At no point in my life is this what I imagined as my future but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Just yesterday & today, I have noticed changes in you. What a joy it is to see your brain begin to put new concepts together. For instance, yesterday, you, Ava, introduced yourself to a complete stranger. "Hi! I Ava. I Ava! Hi!" Until finally, the stranger sheepishly answered you, "Hi, Ava." (I think he was afraid of seeming like a creeper or something) Ever since that point, you've been connecting everyone's name. Tonight you knew Daddy & Mommy's "other" names (Michael & Sarah). And right in stride, Lilly, you were right behind your sister. "I Lillian." It is sweet and fun and clear that you are your Daddy's daughters.

I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know your little personalities. I am NOT however enjoying all the temper tantrums and attitude but it's all part of growing up so I still love you just as much! :) 

Ava, you are Miss Bossy-pants. You think you are everyone's mama and will direct and demand anyone that is in your path. You are fierce but sweet. You make me laugh.

Lilly, you are my little monkey- climbing everything in sight! The gate doesn't trap you (or your siblings). You have a sweet spirit and a tender heart. In the past couple of weeks, when someone apologizes your (unprompted) answer is, "give you". (I forgive you.) Sweetest words I've ever heard from a 2yr old. Some of us big people could learn a lesson or two from you.

Some favorite moments I want to remember of your short life so far have to be you both singing your hearts out to 'Jesus Loves Me" & "Oh My Soul" & and any other worship song that comes to your minds. It is not uncommon to walk up to your bedroom door and hear you both but especially Ava singing at the top of your lungs. And a really sweet thing was to be walking through Wal-Mart (same trip as when you were telling a strange man your name), and pushing a cart full of kids singing "Jesus Loves Me." So precious. You blessed me.

All this to say, I am so proud of the girls you are becoming and I look forward to what the future holds. I trust that the Lord has great purpose for your lives. I pray that you have a desire to know Jesus and come to understand all the love and grace He has for you. Daily, I ask the Lord to help me as I help guide you. 

I love you, Ava.

I love you, Lilly.

My life is better with you both in it.

Happy Birthday, pretty girls.

Love,

Mama 

Photo Credit: In His Grace Photography

Embracing Lilly

Today I am embracing my sweetest little copy-cat. 

This is actually her, "I don't like this very much" face but mama got her kisses anyway :)

Lilly is such a goofball, monkey. She always has us rollin'! Most of the time she pretty much rolls with whatever but lately she has picked up some "terrible 2's" habits. You know, the regular screaming, laid out in the floor, kicking temper tantrums.

I'm embracing her no's and her giggles. Her screams and her songs. Her harshness and her I love you's. She loves hugs and kisses and 'Jesus loves me'. She climbs and jumps and never, never stops! 

We are so blessed to have this sweet girl in our lives. She fills our home with so much joy and I am incredibly blessed to spend every single day with her <3

throws

Lately we have been in the throws of terrible two's. . .

 Ava is all about screaming and throwing herself in the floor. One word to describe her... drama. 

 Lilly is testing every boundary and climbs like a monkey on EVERYTHING. 

 Two infants was sweet and challenging. 

Two crawlers was fun and busy. 

Two walkers was lighter on my arms and extra busy. 

Two (almost) 2 year olds is hysterical, fun, busy, and EXHAUSTING. 

 Whew! 

 To be honest, I am completely wiped right now. I also know that this season is just that, a season. And in all actuality, short. I have been given but a blink of an eye to assist in molding and training these little people. It may put a damper on my endurance to stay awake past 10 pm and get much alone time or even get a shower but it is worth it. They keep me on my toes and seeking the lord for wisdom more than ever. 

 So here I am at the end of the day still lacking for words and totally wiped. 

 To that I'll say... 

Goodnight.

Regular

Okay, so it's really time to get back on the regular with this whole blogging thing.

Jack Frost must be rebelling. I mean this is supposed to be his time of year but he certainly isn't showing up here in MD. I'm not really complaining. It just makes me a little nervous to really enjoy the 60+ degrees we've had. I mean really- January 31st and we could pretty much wear short sleeves. In Maryland. Good 'ole Jack's gonna have a goooood laugh when he finally decides to show up... chances are, he'll find us all with our pants down sleeves up.

Regardless of how uncanny these temperatures are for the good old eastern shore, we are taking advantage. Twice within the past week, TWICE, we've made our way to the "big park." It is so fun to watch the girls toddle around :) (I'll get a vid of the walking up soon) I can recall going to the park before they were born imagining have 3. Even just a few short months ago, all three in tow, looking forward to watching the 3 of them playing together, seeing the girls walking around in my mind's eye. Unfortunately, it was way more glamorous in my mind. haha :) While I do enjoy watching them and having them walking rather than crawling on the ground, the logistics really do not allow me to take them by myself. They literally go in 3 directions and FAST! :) 

::side note::  while writing this, my son has "sipped" about 1/3 of my coffee. I'm gonna pay for that very soon....

Considering I began writing this post this morning... when I was still drinking my coffee... and it is now 11pm, I am going to leave you with some photos I took with my phone over the past couple days/weeks. 

Enjoy!

#1 wonderpets. #2 Ava taught her this. #3 hour and a half.

#1 Adorable Ava. #2 "The Boss"

Ava = pink & green, Lilly = purple & pink

love.

Never buy shakes from malakai- he will eat them before you ever have the chance to try it.

2 things: My girls are growing up. Sleeping kids = should have just stayed in the van.

So there ya have it. 

Now I think I'll make like a baby and head out... 

wait, no. 

As Mikey says, I'm gonna get horizontal.

Ok. 

Whatever. 

I'm going to bed.

Ima Mess. {Embrace the Camera}

Yep. My little monkey just left for a road trip with his Daddy.


5 days.


FIVE DAYS!


Oh boy.


I thought, maybe, I'd feel some freedom. I mean come on, lets be serious, no 2yr old for 5 days... seems like that would be divine. 


All I feel is sad. and lonely.


:(




But I KNOW he's gonna have a TON of FUN! He's going to be on a 10 hr car ride with his Daddy and then spend the next few days with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins... etc. And if I'm really real about it, this kid SERIOUSLY loves him some KENTUCKY! I mean like LOVES it. He's never lived there but its in his blood.

Example of a daily conversation we have:

Malakai: "Mommy we go Kentucky?" 

Me: "Not today, hon. Maybe soon." 

Malakai: "NO! Right now!" 

OR an example of what happens every. single. time. he talks to his Nana:

Malakai: "Nana, please may I come your house today?"

Nana: "Next time you come to Kentucky you can come to my house, Malakai."

Malakai, "OK. I come your house today, Nana?"

Nana: "Soon, Malakai. Next time you come you can stay at my house."

He's just too much. And I love him. And I'm gonna miss him. A LOT. I almost chickened out and just went with them. Like standing at the car hugging good-bye was almost too much. 

But here I sit. Missing my little monkey who's only been gone for like 10 mins. 

Can't wait to see him when he gets back!

So, are you ready to embrace the camera?

here's the nitty gritty:

1.  take a picture with you and your kids/spouse/family member/friend/whatever.

2.  blog about that picture and include a link to our blog, or grab our button.

3.  link your blog post up on the link tool here (@ the anderson crew).

4.  visit the other embracers...give each other lots of compliments about how good we look with our greasy hair andsweatpants velour jogging suits on.  cause yah, we need a little boost when it's been days since our last shower.

5.  have fun!

Embrace the camera: "Oh Fooey" Edition

Today its all about me and my little monkey Malakai ♥

Today I was reading in Ecclesiastes about seasons- let me tell you how much I am loving this season w/ my son. Its better than any autumn crisp morning or falling leaf or pumpkin spice latte.  

His exclamations crack me up daily... take for instance, "Oh my heck." or how about, "Oh fooey." (Thank you, Donald Duck) or even, "What my heck!?" (Thank goodness this is about as foul as the language gets around here... haha)

He is silly, loves to tease and be goofy. He climbs, jumps & makes messes. He is a helper and a good friend to his sisters. Throughout the week he can be my time to laugh and time to cry. My time to seek and my time to lose. My time to embrace and my time to refrain from embracing. :) My time for war and my time for peace. haha.

Really, I just love this little guy (aaaand the fact that my cell camera didn't think we needed to have noses).

He is growing into such a sweetheart and I pray daily that God would use him in mighty ways to bring forth His message of the Gospel. 

Malachi 2:7 "For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts." (ESV)

So, are you ready to embrace the camera?

here's the nitty gritty:

1.  take a picture with you and your kids/spouse/family member/friend/whatever.

2.  blog about that picture and include a link to our blog, or grab our button.

3.  link your blog post up on the link tool here (@ the anderson crew).

4.  visit the other embracers...give each other lots of compliments about how good we look with our greasy hair andsweatpants velour jogging suits on.  cause yah, we need a little boost when it's been days since our last shower.

5.  have fun!

And if the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack.

Today started rough. Actually if we rewind to yesterday, it started then. Okay so, maybe its been building for a while. My little guy is 2. He's smart (a little too smart sometimes). He's funny and even hilarious. He is a joy, a hugger, a jokester. While, he isn't bad and is far from the worst, he is definitely two! Oh boy is he ever 2. And I am definitely a mom of 3 under 3. Most days we get through the rough patches unscathed. Today, I wasn't so sure that would be the case.


So yesterday.


Really as I sit here writing this I can't even think of why it was so rough except to say that as I was laying in my little guy's toddler bed next to him praying, my heart was suddenly broken. And it still kind of is. Broken for the number of times I raised my voice to that cutie little face. Broken for the anger I felt at times towards him and his behavior. Broken knowing I hadn't been loving him like God loves me. Broken realizing that tomorrow when he wakes up, he will smile and be so happy to see despite my lack of care for his spirit. Broken knowing these were the memories I was building for him in his early childhood. Fearful that my lunatic screams would be all he remembers.


So what did I do? I prayed. I prayed for Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to restore order and peace in our home. I prayed for protection over my son's heart... protection from me. (Learned that one from my daddy) I prayed against chaos and fear. I prayed for our home to be a beakon of christ's love and grace and peace. I prayed for a gentle and quiet spirit. I just prayed.


Walking out of his room I felt like things were different. Like tomorrow we would have a new day, a new beginning, a chance to do it all right. And then tomorrow came. Boy did it come... And I wanted yesterday. He was on a mission. Maybe a mission for the most spanks in one day. Possibly a mission to see how quickly he could have his mommy committed. Perhaps a mission to just irritate the heck out of everyone in the house. (Or maaaaaybe just being 2 and testing every limit possible... just because that's what 2 yr olds do). Either way, the craziness was happening and it was leaving me defeated. And frustrated. And feeling like a failure. I was failing my kids, my husband, my God and myself. All before 10 a.m.!


Two things happened. Friends and coffee. I text my dear friend kelly to ask her to sit wth the girls while they napped so I could go to the grocery. And then I made coffee. By the time she came down, I had talked to the hubs and had 1/2 a cup of coffee in me. She suggested I leave the boy with her- thank you Jesus for good brave friends! I didn't hesitate! Who knew walmart grocery isles were the perfect place for alone time???


The remainder of my day was most certainly better than the start but it wasn't perfect. I tried not to raise my voice so much and I actually don't think he got any more spankings. As I sat down after the kids were all tucked away, I suddenly felt this overwhelming love. Love for that sweet boy I had just put to sleep while praying with him. Love for those 2 sweet sleeping baby girls. And I knew. I knew that jesus loves me. I knew that I had been blessed with 3...THREE of the most precious gifts a human being could ever receive. I was left speechless knowing that jesus loves me so much that even in my failed attempts at loving my children I was his precious gift and he reminded me that he still loves me- no. matter. what. He is who gives me the capacity to love. Wow.


When I got in the shower I realized 2 things... 


First, I can do nothing without christ. He is the finished work. I can, however, do all things through christ who strengthens me. 


Second, the enemy wants nothing more than for me to accept defeat and be crushed by my own frustration. The thing is:  I am not defeated-he is! I am more than a conqueror in christ jesus. No, get this, NO weapon formed against me will prosper!!!


We will receive peace in our home and reject chaos. I will love my family more today than I did yesterday. And if the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack.


Joy- I'm taking you back! I'm choosing to rest in jesus.


Nehemiah 6:3 "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down."


This thing called motherhood is a great work and is not for quitters. I will not come down. I will not be defeated. Lord willing, I'm gonna keep on building this wall.


**If you actually read all of this, God bless ya :-)
(The Nehemiah mention was not fully an original thought but was inspired by this post from another blogger over at Letters to Ames.)