No words...

There are simply no words that can describe the feeling of this...

The realization.       

I never put much thought, actually, to this day. I guess, subconsciously, I figured it would, well, just happen.

My child, my beautiful baby girl. My inquisitive, smart, oh so smart five year old has been awakened to the beauty and love of Christ. She knows of His saving Grace. She knows of His death on the cross. She knows of His resurrection. She knows that HE now lives in her heart.

Praise be to God.

My heart is now relieved.

My body aches with Joy.

My Chloe is now a believer.

Craft time!

Okay, so who has a toddler who likes to throw things? Yeah, I know! So, who gets really annoyed having to find those sippy cups that your toddler threw in the mini-van and it rolled under a seat?? Or when you are on a walk or in the mall and they chunk their sippy cup from their stroller and you have to chase it!? Well, I have found the best solution. I just love this website: Make It and Love it. It is the best crafty website with the best tutorials and ideas. I recently found their tutorial on sippy cup leashes and I made one and it has saved my life!

I took this picture in the garage...but you get the idea. You strap it to the stroller strap and then when they throw the sippy, you don't lose it! Genius!!

I used Olivia's baby car seat to demonstrate, but you get the idea



Here are some more pictures of some crafts I have made for Olivia: bibs, shoes, and a onesie



My Two Year Old

Spenser Tyndale, you are my light. You are my tiny little boy who is now two years old. You have three passions in your life right now: trucks, balls, and mommy (and in that order).

 Since you were just a few months old, I have called you my high needs baby, and high needs, my lovely boy, you are! Spenser you still have issues sleeping all night. You give us a few weeks of wonderful rest and then a week of non stop crying and needing to sleep with your mommy and daddy (we don't mind too much snuggling with you at night). You hardly eat and when you do, you have a better diet than I consisting of mostly veggies. You absolutely hate it when your beloved balls get wet or dirty and we must clean them at once. You must eat breakfast while sitting in some one's lap, preferably your mommy. Oh and your breakfast must be maple and brown sugar oatmeal. You tolerate milk only when eating oatmeal. You will drink a whole glass of milk only if we have put carnation instant breakfast in with your milk. You love cookies. You love candy. You love Spanish rice. You get up at six am almost every morning. You are high needs.

My precious little boy, you love trucks. When I say that I mean, you looove trucks. Anytime you say the word, you say it with a grunt. If someone else (mainly Chloe) simply touches a truck you start screaming for that truck. You will sit down with your basket of trucks and spend almost an hour placing them just right all around you. You do have some airplanes and those make different noises than trucks. Oh and your choo choo trains also have a different noise. I almost forgot your helicopter. I made an incorrect sound for that and you promptly corrected me with the right noise. I never understood a boy and his love of "things that go" until you came along.

We got you a basketball goal for Christmas and you were speechless when it was opened. You have now begun calling it a soccer ball goal and all the correcting in the world will not change your mind. So, you love to shoot your soccer ball into your soccer ball goal, and that is just fine with us. You went through several months of a crazy obsession with football. You watched football, you slept with a football, you went to church with a football, the store with a football....you also grunted and still grunt when you say the word football. I just love that you grunt!

You talk....oh my boy, you talk so much. I love that you say, "what is that" when you want something. I love that when we ask if you want something you say, "okay." I simply cannot get enough of hearing you say "see ya" when you are walking away from me. You say Chloe and Olivia very clearly. I almost cry every time when you say, "thank you" after wanting and giving me a kiss. Your sweet and innocent voice is just magical.

Spenser Tyndale, you are the proudest brother. You adore your sisters and want to spend as much time with them as possible, especially with Chloe. When we pick her up from school you give her the biggest smile. You two play so hard, love so hard, and laugh so hard together. You always want to give Olivia kisses and point out all of her body parts, which we are still trying to get you to just point and not touch her eyeballs! You are such a great brother at such a young age. I love that you love.

Spenser Tyndale, you are my son. You are two years old and I love you very much.

--Mommy

We had a truck/dirt theme for your birthday party.

Here is the happy birthday banner that I made for you and your sisters

This is the cookie stand that I made using cardboard cake plates and scrapbook paper

The yummy dirt cake that I made and put in dump trucks

I think your favorite present you received was your very own drill (just like daddy's)

Singing happy birthday to you, and you actually wore the hat I made you!

Birthdays

What's weird is you ask anyone I grew up with, especially my siblings, and they would have never guessed that I would grow up to love sewing and crafting. But I do...I can't help myself. If I could, I would spend hours admiring those awesome crafting blogs and then a few more hours attempting my own crafts. Anyway, on with the title of this blog. Starting with Spenser's first birthday and then Chloe's fifth birthday party, I decided that I would begin making the decorations (or as much as I could) for my children's birthday parties. I just thought that was something special and unique I could contribute to my children and I also thought it would be fun to look back at everything when my kids are all grown up. Last week (while preparing for Spenser's second..eek....bday party) I decided that I wanted to make something that I could display at every birthday party for my children. I knew that I wanted to have a birthday banner that I could display for every party and I also knew I wanted to use fabric. I decided to purchase a tan twin sheet and use both girl and boy fabric and spell out happy birthday on the banner...this is what I came up with:

So, it's really wrinkled right now, but for the parties, I'll throw it in the dryer and it will hopefully take out all of the wrinkles. It's also not perfect, but I really do love it. I can't wait until my kids are adults and I am still pulling out the tattered and worn happy birthday sign to celebrate with them!

Christmas Eve...

This year was our first year to attend our church's Christmas Eve service. Since we have never been to this particular service, we were unaware of a few key items. Like they actually do have the nursery available for our kids and about a million people show up to the service and arriving early is actually very necessary. However, we arrived late and brought all three kids with us to the very packed service. After running into our best friends---we are very blessed to have the Montoya family in our lives...not only are the parents our great friends, but their kids are best friends with our kids---on their way to joining the family choir for the service, we managed to make it into the service with no child crying or losing something that they brought. However, once the service started...things began to crumble. Spenser enjoyed the music, however, just couldn't handle that he had to be quiet and was not able to move around. Chloe started crying because she could not see her best friend, Lydia. Olivia started crying because it was time to eat....luckily she takes a bottle, so I was able to stay in the service and not leave to nurse her. However, Joul had to take Spenser out of the service and I was left by myself: I was feeding Olivia and trying to console a crying Chloe. Then I had to deal with the annoying teenagers behind me who were extremely disrespectful during the entire service. They began to mock the candlelight singing and their parents did nothing. It was very hard for me because I was not getting what I thought and had predetermined what I needed from the service. However, looking back I would not change a thing. This was my family...perfect or not....it was all mine. God had decided to bless me with three wonderful children and one amazing husband.

Although not everything runs smoothly all the time....I am thankful for the blessings in my life. I am thankful that my curious five year old has begun asking questions about what it means to believe in God. I am thankful that my "all boy" son has been talking and singing and loving his mommy. I am thankful that my pudgy baby girl enjoys her sleep and continues to give me sleep all night. I am thankful that my crazy husband loves me and supports me and makes me laugh. Because He lives....

God sent his Son they called him Jesus

He came to love, heal, and forgive

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives

Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know he holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He Lives

How sweet to hold a newborn baby

And feel the pride and joy He gives

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days because He lives

And then one day I'll cross the river

I'll fight life's final war with pain

And then as death gives way to victory

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he lives

.........more trick than treat for us.....

Well...Chloe was more than super excited about Halloween this year. I guess since she is a crazy school age kid now, the hype of holidays has an even greater affect on her. She decided several months ago that she wanted to be a cat for Halloween. I was totally up for this, since she already owned half of the outfit. (black dance leotard and tights) Anyway, I found a really cheap cat face mask and tail and she was so anxious to be able to wear the entire outfit. Well, the Friday before Halloween, she was able to wear her costume to school, but they weren't allowed to wear face masks. So I made her cat ears from a black headband that I already owned and then I glued crayon covered card stock ears to the head band. Not the best, but she loved them. I also painted her finger nails and toe nails black...which was AWESOME! (for her anyway)

(Spenser just HAD to be in the picture)

Spenser, Joul, Olivia, and I all went to Chloe's school Friday afternoon to Chloe's school Fall party. She was so excited to see us, even though we only made it to the last twenty minutes of the party. (I have actually found it quite difficult to balance the needs of the two younger kids to the needs of Chloe and parent at school activities)

As we were leaving the party with Chloe she was asked by one of her friends (and the mom) to come over and have a play date. What? My child is not old enough to go over to her school friend's house and play. I almost cried...but this was a huge milestone...it means she is growing up. We, of course, said yes and Chloe spent several hours (without her parents) playing at a friend's house. Weird...very weird.

Anyway, the next day on Saturday we went to her cousin's birthday party and then she went home with Joul's parents, AKA Nana and Pappy. Starting last year, when Chloe was four, Nana wanted to involve Chloe in the charity of Samaritan's Purse. She let Chloe pick out all of the toys to be put in the shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. Anyway, Halloween weekend was the second year Chloe was able to participate with her Nana. When they brought her back to us Sunday afternoon (just in time for our church's fall fest) they told us that she was complaining that her bottom hurt. We asked her about it, and she said it hurt when she went to the bathroom. However, she said she was fine and wanted to go to the Fall Fest and trick or treating.

This is when it becomes more trick than treat for us.....

We ended up leaving the fall fest early because Chloe was freaking out. Every time she had to use the restroom she screamed and cried and I just knew something was wrong. We rushed home and checked her temperature and it was a 103. She was shaking and was totally scared to use the restroom. We almost took her to the ER, but thankfully our pediatrician has an on call service and we were able to get some advice that helped over night until we could bring her into the office on Monday morning. It turns our that she had a severe UTI...when I say severe...I mean the worst case possible. We were relieved to receive a treatable diagnosis and immediately went home to introduce the antibiotics. However, at this point, Chloe was unwilling to take any medicine and whenever she tried...she would throw up EVERYTHING. So, the pediatrician sent in another antibiotic that would possibly taste better and thankfully it did (even though it was the most expensive antibiotic EVER). Although we were able to get Chloe to take the antibiotic, she still needed to take Tylenol to help her fever. This was impossible...she just wouldn't take it. We threatened her, coaxed her, begged her, forced her...and yet, she still refused. Tuesday evening I was at Walmart and I get a frantic phone call from Joul telling me that Chloe was complaining of a headache. He checked her temp and it was a 105.....bad....very very bad! He called the doctor as I rushed home. He threw her into a cold bath (which she HATED) and forced her to take some Tylenol. Thankfully, her temperature slowly began to decline and we avoided, yet again, a trip to the ER. I may have purchased several dollar store toys to entice her to take her medicine...I am not above bribery!

Well...she got better...slowly...but she got better. She was actually able to go back to school today (Thursday). God is amazing and He helped us through this. We had several scary moments, but His presence was always felt. Thankfully, we had many people praying for her recovery and praying for our strength.

one month

Today my darling Olivia, you are already one month! I cannot believe that thirty days have gone by since you made your entrance into this crazy world. Life seems to pass so quickly with our little family and your daddy and I could not be happier. You bring so much joy to your parents and I think even more joy to your siblings. Chloe is the best big sister and always wants to hold you and talk to you. She loves that you two have matching bows to wear and she cannot wait to play dress up with you when you get old enough. If your sweet brother Spenser simply sees you, he wants to give you a hug. We spend most days just hugging you and I think you are okay with that! You have begun to spend more time awake and I just love staring at you. Your eyes are starting to lighten up and I think you are going to have the same beautiful, bright, blue eyes that Chloe and Spenser have! Olivia Brontë, you melt my heart and I am beyond in love with you.