vessel of love

As much as I adore these beauties,
being a wife and mother
can be a frustrating and challenging
task at times that sometimes
leaves me feeling haggard and worn out.
I have had my days of exhaustion,
anger, worry, fear and tears.
ANNOYED.  Boy, can I get annoyed
by my children (and occasionally my husband too).
But the gift I have received in knowing
these precious people I call family
outweighs the hard times a hundred times over.

I am realizing that usually the rough days
are that way because I allow the pettiness of
circumstance take center stage.
 I do not want to be a mother, wife or friend whose
days are dictated by circumstances.
I want to set my sights on what is higher
 than life's daily ups and downs because those things will
always be present and many times out of my control.
I have a choice to live in joy or to live in the
fleeting moments of a world that is everchanging.
I can choose to be a vessel of anger or love.
A vessel of bitterness or forgiveness.
A vessel of harshness or gentleness.
I choose the latter. I will fail at times~without a doubt.
And on those days I will ask for forgiveness,
readjust my focus once again,
dust myself off and move forward.

The fact that God has entrusted me with
these lives to love, serve, guide, discipline,
forgive and learn from is an enormous gift.
One that I would never exchange or return,
because they were wonderfully made
that I may enjoy and delight in who
they were created to be.

Hope you are enjoying the people you love today.
Everyday.

"If you have only one smile in you
give it to the people you love."
~Maya Angelou~

twenty twelve

Oh how I am filled with excitement for this year!
So much to strive for.
So much to live for.
So many people to love.
Big changes are coming.
I can feel it.
Opportunities for growth
and new found wisdom are awaiting.

Will there be trials?
Without a doubt!
Will there suffering?
For sure.

Yet...
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things
you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name,
O Most High.
Psalm 9:1-2

...and peace will be mine.

Wishing you joy and peace in this
new year from our family to yours.

xoxo

baby love

November 2010

How does one year produce

this much change,

this much beauty,

this much growth?

December 2011

feeling blessed more and more

each and every day.

A year already?

Time is flying by and I'm trying to soak up

every little morsel of goodness that

our little peanut brings into our lives.

She it going at turbo speed now

and into EVERYTHING.

The house looks like a tornado

has swept through and left every

room completely Josiefied.

She is all about mama

(which makes me even more smitten)

but doesn't really ever have stranger anxiety.

She will go to pretty much anyone

(although I haven't tried Santa yet)

and be a content little lady.

Her first teeth are finally coming in

on top and all at once.

Our little peanut is a sweet heart and

a firecracker all at the same time.

She's fun and frisky and a tad bit feisty.

She has captured our hearts in this

first year of life and

brings us pure joy each and every day.

We had a little evening celebration for

our sweet babe while we were in Austin.

Big J and little J

Happy Birthday little love!

Full of Thanks

The girls and I made a tree of thanks
last month to remember
and appreciate all that
we love about fall.
Of course pumpkins made the cut
 and we had a fun time
visiting the pumpkin patch.
I am so very grateful
for these girls.
They fill my life with magic.


And this guy here...I'm thankful for him
every. single. day.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Halloween ghoul & his girls

Mr. N won the prize for best googly eyes

and definitely the scariest looking

ghoul in the house

The little peanut was hands down the

sweetest little ladybug around

while her little-big sis was

 a beautiful ballerina

I went all out and dressed up

as a mom of three

and my beautiful Bri stayed home
(being grounded stinks)

and played the role of cinderella.

It was really our first Halloween at home.

We hurriedly carved pumpkins

early in the evening

before the little ones

got dressed up.

After knocking on doors

halfway up the street,

the little miss decided

we could hit the other side

and be done.

She prefers giving the candy I guess.

We had a pretty good turnout
of visitors and eventually ran out of candy
(which I was grateful for).

I think we'll be doing Halloween at
home again and again.

She's on the move

and well protected



Our littlest peanut started walking
last month
and has just begun cruising
the whole house
this last week.

We don't really keep this helmet
on her all the time,
just while she's awake...haha.
We're hoping to get her
into a bike seat soon,
but the helmet is gigantic,
and she's just really teeny-tiny.
And we love her that way.

A little more than two weeks
til our sweet babe is one.
CANNOT believe it,
but believe it I must.

I have written absolutely nothing
down about this little one's first
year of life,
which I so regret,
still....
just trying to soak up
the moments
each and every day.

summer bounty

mr. man and our little miss planted

only one tomato plant this summer.  i don't

even think they got it into the ground until

july but boy did it multiply! 

we've harvested at least 24 tomatoes

from this baby and  most of them are bigger

than my fist with still more to come.

they are so beautiful and tasty to boot.

i love watching my husband and girls

taking joy in the harvest of our little garden

of zucchini, cucumbers, mint, basil,

sage, parsley, oregano & strawberries.

we are getting excited to pick the rest

of them so that we can start our fall garden.

not only did the mr. plow the earth this summer,
i was also able to get dirt under my nails
planting some of my favorite flowers.
little m got her annual butterfly garden going
and i started a new flower patch to enjoy
dahlias, gladiolas, foxgloves, delphinium and more.
it did better than i even expected and makes
me smile every time i go out the front door.

feeling blessed to have a yard and a garden
that provide many moments of beauty.

hope you're enjoying the beauty of summer's end.

xoxo

A lil bit'o country

Two weeks ago my party partner (Julia) & I 

put together a cowboy baby shower

for my sweet cousin at her ranch out

in the soft rays of August sunshine.

The guest of honor sported her

baby belly beautifully (especially

considering she gave birth the

next day:)

We adorned the table with

sunflowers and spurs

and the little burlap bags held

favors of Udder Cream (hand lotion).

This woman was made to birth babies.

She delivered her little man 24 hours

after this photo was taken.

Total time in labor:

less than two hours.

And I thought I was fast

at a whopping four hours.

It must run in the family.

 

Here's the newest little man

and his older brothers one week

after the shower.

Such beautiful boys.

beenawhile

summer has come and gone and i've missed
this blog so much, but just haven't found
the time to fit it in. 
so very, very much to share that i
don't know where to begin.
i'll have to go wayyyyy back and
try to post a few times a week.
hmmmmm, can i commit?
yes, by golly....
i think i can.
i think i can.
i think i can.

no real reason for this photo
except i think it's adorable.