A Visit from Cousins

We had an unexpected visit from family in Huntsville.  They were spared major damage from the tornadoes that just came through, but they are without power until sometime next week.  They decided to come over and spend a few days with electricity rather than camping out in their house. :)  As always the girls are so excited when they come to visit.

"Uh, mom.  I'm not too sure of this..."

Kayla has become such a fabulous helper with Brooke.

Enjoying Grammie's roses.

15 Months

My sweet baby is 15 months old, for another few days at least. We are really starting to see her personality.  She loves to make us laugh and she is very good about making it clear when she wants something.  Sometimes we can figure her out, but she is always opinionated. 

She loves breakfast.  As soon as she gets up she is ready to eat.  It's not uncommon for her to eat 2 waffles and a nutrigrain bar in one sitting.

 She loves baby dolls, purses, and juice boxes.  

She says mama, dada, bye-bye, and mine. I don't know where she picked up the word "mine", but she says it and knows what it means.  I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

She is very ticklish, especially those cute baby thighs and neck.

She loves being outside, but absolutely hates the grass.  She will walk on it if she has shoes on, but screams when she falls and she won't do anything to try and stand up. I just laugh, take some pictures, and then help her back up.

She sleeps from about 7:45PM - 7:30AM and doesn't make a peep.  She still takes two 1 1/2 hour or more naps each day. I just lay her down and she is usually asleep within 10 minutes.

She wants to do everything her big sisters are doing.  Sometimes it gives me a heart attack, but I can tell how much she loves them.  Her face lights up every time they walk in the room.  I can't wait to see how their relationships grow as she gets older.

There is a First Time for Everything

Brooke will occasionally bring us a diaper and wipes and then lay down for us to change her.  Sometimes she needs a change, sometimes she doesn't, but it is oh so cute when she does.  Apparently she brought her diaper and wipes to Kayla because Kayla decided to go ahead and change her. I think she learned it's not that easy.  Once she got the wet one off she ran it to the garbage which allowed Brooke to pop up and run away.

Brooke didn't make it easy on her, but she did a pretty good job for her first time!

Easter Egg Hunt

The girls had been looking forward to the egg hunt all week.  They were so excited that the Andersons were coming over to participate. 

Brooke's first egg hunt.  She caught on quickly.

Easter Reflections

"In Christ Alone"

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

I will stand, I will stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I stand

This is one of my favorite songs.  It is so incredibly powerful.  I have been trying to find a video of it online to post, but I can't seem to find what I am looking for.  I'll keep looking, though.

There are so many things that God has shown me this week through my time in the Word.  It's amazing how He took a conference I attended last weekend and wove it into a long forgotten Bible study I chose to start back up this week.  I had put this study away over a year ago, and this week I picked it back up. 

Mark 12:30 says that we are to "love the Lord our God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."  I too often fall into such a superficial attitude with this command.  He's not asking for us to say we believe Christ is who He says He is and that we love Him.  He is commanding us to give Him all of who we are.  ALL of our heart.  ALL of our soul.  ALL of our mind.  ALL of our strength. As I have really gotten into the Word this week and spent time listening to God and what He wants of me I have come to a place where I am turning the little things over to Him.  Some of those things are silly, but by handing them over I have felt a freedom that I haven't felt in a long time.  I haven't been bogged down or stressed out over anything in particular, it's just the little things that I have laid down.  It has cleared out my heart, soul, and mind so that Christ may fill it up. 

This Easter season has been a changing time for me.  I have really thought on what Christ did.  How painful it must have been physically from the beatings, emotionally from the way the people lied about Him and the things they said to Him, and spiritually as He took on the sins of the world and when God forsook Him as He was filled with such sin.  As my pastor said today, He gave us mercy and grace.  Mercy is not giving us what we deserve.  Grace is giving us what we don't deserve. Oh how thankful I am for His mercy and grace.

And of course I couldn't end without some pictures of my babies in their Easter dresses.  Kayla picked them out and insisted that they all have the same dress.

Easter Fun

We have had a great week preparing to celebrate Easter. We read Easter books, dyed Easter eggs, made resurrection cookies, and focused on Jesus and His sacrifice.  I am so thankful that the girls, especially Kayla, truly understand why we celebrate Easter.  It's not about the bunnies and eggs, as cute and fun as that is.  It is about Christ.

Sleeping Baby

Brooke is the most amazing sleeper.  I remember a time when I thought the child would never put herself to sleep and sleep through the night, but at 15 months old she is great.  When it is nap time or bedtime I love on her a little and put her in bed.  She wants 2 pacifiers (1 for her mouth and 1 for her hand) and her lovey bear.  She may roll around and play for a bit, but she always goes to sleep.  When she wakes up she just plays around in her bed until we get her.  She very rarely calls out or cries.  One morning a couple of months ago she woke up crying.  I should have known that something wasn't right.  On the way home from dropping the girls off at school she threw up. Can we say gross? I still had a 15 minute drive ahead of me and no wipes in the car. Anyway, I am glad that we have a video monitor set up in her room or I'd never know when she was awake.  She loves to fall asleep on her tummy with her legs tucked under her and her little bottom in the air.  Often she will flip to her back or side, drape her arm across her eyes, and stick her feet out of the crib.  Sometimes her feet are above the bumper and sometimes they are sticking out below. I love going in while she is asleep and kissing those sweet (and sometimes stinky) little toes. I know those feet are only going to get bigger and stinkier, so I will take advantage of this while I can.

Kayla's Birthday Party

  My little girl is 6 years old! It is so hard to believe.  I will write more about that in my next post, but since we had her party the day before her birthday I will start here.  All week the weather forecast went back and forth as to if it was going to rain or not.  Thankfully we had a wonderful party outside and the kids had so much fun playing.  That's my kind of party. Order food, order cake, mow backyard, put out the toys, and let them have at it. 

The pink Barbie jeep is always fun.  We just had 2 little babies and a volleyball net to watch out for.

  

They even make up their own games!

2 babies + 1 red car = 1 interesting afternoon

Chasing butterflies.

Silly girls!

 

Kayla was quite embarrassed when we started singing "Happy Birthday." She is so much like her mama in that she doesn't care for a crowd of attention to be on her.

Brooke is loving her freedom walking.  Occasionally we will see her crawling and that seems so strange. She is quite comfortable walking on the grass now and she LOVES being outside.

Kayla is blessed to have so many people who love her and want to share in her special day. 

Brooke and her Nana. 

Sharing some kool-aid.  We put some of the individual powdered kool-aids in the pinata and of course the girls had to try it out as soon as everyone left the party.  I don't think we have ever made kool-aid and they think it is the greatest thing that you mix it up in a bottle of water and then you get a sugary treat.

Daddy wrote "Happy Birthday Kayla" on the patio and Kayla followed it up with her own sweet message.

That night when I asked Kayla if her party was as fun as she thought it would be she told me that it was even more fun.  I guess that makes for a successful party.  Happy Birthday sweet Kayla!