Yes, She's Still a Princess...

Today I'm going to share with you, nothing profound, maybe not even inspiring...but a little humorous. I found a book at the library that TOTALLY describes my Princess H. (and maybe her mommy just a little bit.)

Hailey has been a tomboy from the start.

Till she was maybe 3? she had almost no hair for pretty little clip in bows. She would wear the headbands for a little while, but even those were not her thing, like they are to so many other  little girls.

She prefers trucks and trees over dolls and tea cups.

She likes a little frills and lace every now and then, but like me, it just doesn't come natural for her. We tend to choose comfort over beauty :) :) High heels and fancy just doesn't do it for us.

We like pink, but yellow and orange do just as well for us.

But we are still Princesses. Not the Cinderella kind, but still a princess of sort.

We love to be doted on by our Prince Charming, dad to her, husband to me.
Flowers and chocolate make us smile.

So here's her story - and mine ;)

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink

Not all Princesses dress in pink.Some play in bright red socks that stink, blue team jerseys that don't quite fit,accessorized with a baseball mitt,

and a sparkly crown.

Some princesses when they choose, never pick out fancy shoes,but soccer cleats for outdoor sports with shin guards and some baggy shorts,

and a sparkly crown.

Some princesses roll around, wrestling on the muddy ground, then get right up to skip and dance in tattered, stained and muddy pants,

and a sparkly crown.

Some princesses wear their jewels while fixing things with power tools,saw,screwdriver,hammer,drill, they wear with pride each greasy spill

and a sparkly crown.

Some princesses break their nails planting flowers into pails,driving dump trucks, moving dirt,dressed in an extra large hand-me-down-shirt

and a sparkly crown.

Some princesses like to pedal wearing lots of shiny metal; helmet on head, and body armor,so that nothing bad can harm her

or her sparkly crown.

Then after a great victory lap (followed by a well earned nap), to the ball these princesses run, wearing no pink gown, not one!

 They waltz in red, fox trot in blue, they reel in plaid and polka dots too. And in those grand and fancy halls, one even hip hops in her overalls - and a very sparkly princess crown.

This book was written by ~ Jane Yolen & Heidi E. Y. Stemple

Just a Little of This and That....

I remember. on my last post I promised to share some pictures of the ice storm. but seriously, i never figured it would be 3 months until I post again  :) these last three months were spent enjoying life and catching up on neglected housework and a million other things in between. and really, i just didn't feel like writing. and the times i really did have something inspiring to share, i was busy, so i'd "write" the post in my head  and till I actually had time to sit down and type it out, the inspiration was gone!

our life these past three months has been the normal life of a young family :) which includes everything from tee-ball to birthday parties to weddings, fussy days, dirty diapers and everything a young family does and experiences! at the moment its a wailing child that seems very unsettled and thinks bed isn't the place to be.

some days seem like they will never end. other days are days you want to relive over and over again!

 

i found some old pictures on my camera that i kind of forgot i had. check out miss chubby cheeks! the picture above was her 7 months ago. the picture below is her now. Amazing what 7 months can change! she is no longer a baby who is crawling...she is now running and giving us a run for our parenthood! 

busy...is how people describe her. beyond busy...is what comes to my mind! church, family nights out and basically everything where you have to sit or stay in one place for any amount of time was purely torture...or maybe impossible would better describe it! there was times when i felt like huffing and stomping my feet because of how purely impossible it felt. and maybe or maybe not there were times that I did :) there are days i cry in frustration and can't wait til she's a few years older! 

but looking past all of that...she has added so much love and sweetness to our family, the busy-ness is a small price to pay. without her singing and her funny spunkiness there would be a huge hole! we love our madi!

daddy's got big shoes to fill! :)

braxton played tee-ball this year. i have a hard time believing that my colicky, first born is actually six already! (i guess there is hope for the fussy, teething 18 month old :) )

hailey is a proud 5 year old! (yep, that's cake batter lining the top of her forehead.it stayed there all day! :) )

this picture makes me laugh! joel had just lit her candle (we didn't have 5 of them, just in case you wondered :) ) and he stuck the burning match in his mouth and started blowing smoke out of his nose, and i actually caught her look of astonishment on camera :) :)

in february we got together with joel's brothers and their wives. every other year we rent a cabin in the smokies for a weekend and get together.we catch up on each others lives and just have a fun weekend.

there was five boys.i can only imagine what their mom had to deal with at times :) 

here's us...the wives of the bunch :) sisters by marriage. its always good to catch up since 3 out of us 5 live in OH.

My sister got married in April. I was lucky enough to go spend a week with my family, helping with planning wedding details and getting everything set in place. 

And I know i had pictures somewhere, but i cannot find them.that's irritating to me! her and josh make a cute couple! and it's fun to finally have a brother on my side of the family. joel was tickled to finally have a brother in law and my dad - well i'm sure without a doubt that he loves the  added "male presence" to the family! :) with three girls only he was hen pecked for quite awhile.with us girls finally getting married we are gifting him "sons" and grandsons which i know for sure and for certain he is deeply proud of ! :)

so here's just a glimpse of what's been happening in our lives.

nothing profound. just life.a life we love.

we are blessed!

And Then There Was Snow...

 Anyone that knows me well, knows that I'm not a fan of winter weather. I don't know ...but I think God built some bodies to stand the heat and others can battle the cold :) For me I'd much rather sweat huge drops of sweat and be smothering in the heat, than to have to bundle up in a coat and literally get sore from trying to stay warm.I know, I'm a wimp and I'm ok with that! :)

So imagine the shock my body goes through when we get a cold snap.I mean a REAL cold snap, people :)

I don't know about you, but this looks like a cold snap to me! :)

Even tho' I don't care for the cold, when there is snow predicted here in the South, I must say, even I get excited to see it...for a day at least  :) And then I'm good. 

The excitement was high.The snow was predicted for a Tuesday. Tuesday came and no snow for the whole day. The children were anxiously waiting.

 People hurried out to get their bread and milk...oh, and lunch meat! ; D

 Finally, when they were tucked into bed it started. 

Sometime after they were tucked in all snugly and warm, Hailey crept out of her bed, looked out the window and discovered SNOW! She called me to her room to share her discovery.We just had to wake Braxton to let him in on the excitement too. That night me and Joel slept with our blinds open, because it was so beautiful just to see the snow, gently, quietly fall from the sky!

The next morning, the very first thing the children wanted to do was play in the snow. I felt like a major part pooper but my desire to get wet and cold was pretty much 0! So I sat inside for awhile, watched the action.When Madalyn woke up I decided to brave it and go out for a little at least :) 

She was in awe...

...until she fell.And that was the end of her snow adventure!

These two were delighted! (Looks like we need some lessons on how to stay warm in the snow.Zipping our coats would maybe be a start! :) )

They ate snow...

....they threw snow

...they built "Frosty". (Sadly we had no magic hat to make him jump to life!)

Even Bella seemed to enjoy the snow!

The excitement of the children is enough to make me love it. Just to see their joy and happiness. To hear them thank God for sending the snow. That, my friends is enough to make any mama's heart melt!

So was the adventure of our snow day in the South!

God forgive me if I ever complained about the snow because two weeks later we got another cold snap!

That was way worse in every way imaginable.

I will share our ice adventure in my next post!

If Motherhood Came With Report Cards ...

...my report card would have showed a BIG,RED, N! - "N" for 'needs improvement.' Or maybe an 'F' for failed!


It seems almost everything I did today could have used lots of improvement.

My mothering skills lacked, my "wifely skills" lacked, my diy projects lacked ... even my cooking skills lacked (ok, that wasn't really my fault but we'll get there later.)

(And I know that this post already sounds so negative, but it's not. Hang in there with me! :-) )

I started my morning late...again...and that in itself is never a good thing...ever :-(  It's something I've been trying to work on, but my bed feels so,so cozy every morning  :-) So, I'll keep trying till I get an 'E' for excellent in this area! :-)

When my morning starts late there is so much that just goes 'down the drain'...good attitudes included!

So when two of my cuties :-) got into a ridiculous fight about who's oatmeal had more sugar, it escalated and became an intense "discussion" that raised this mama's blood pressure.
If there's anything that makes me want to run away crying, it's this - These crazy little cat fights that are totally ridiculous and unnecessary and leave me with absolutely no idea what to do and how to resolve them at that moment.

And I really don't know how it happened but my day just went down hill.

I was not a Proverbs 31 woman in any stretch of the imagination.

My lamp shade that I tried to re-do gave me more grief than relief. (I think it's really cute - but only when the light isn't on ;-) ) It definitely didn't go the way I dreamed it would!

Frustration and selfishness,snappiness and crabbiness took over until I felt the need to "disappear" and put myself in timeout for awhile (my children found me, and thought it was incredibly funny that they snuck into my bathroom and found me - yep, that's a mom's life)

Why am I telling you this?

Because I believe in real life...I know what real life is.
It's laughter and fun, silliness, love,smiles & giggles,happiness - oatmeal with just the right amount of sugar.

But real life is also, tears and crabbiness, bad attitudes,selfishness and frustration.

 And the reason I'm telling you all of this is because here at my house we do real life. 

We do love and laughter but we also do tears and crabbiness. 

And here on my blog you will NOT only find the love and laughter. You will also see days that we get big, fat, red "Ns" ! Days that we fail.The truth.

We are not perfect but we are perfectly happy being a family. A family doing real life.

And tonight I'm so thankful for grace and second chances. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow I get a second chance. Today I saw God's grace.

And now, on to my cooking!

 Tonight I made chili soup. It wasn't a hit. It wasn't great! And it really wasn't my fault. It was a new recipe, a recipe I won't be going back to :-) A recipe that I would say gets an "N" for needs improvement.

But let me tell you what did hit me a BIG 'E' for today - 'E' for EXCELLENT! So excellent in fact, I wanted to share it with you! :-)

Around here we love cornbread!! And I found a recipe...on pinterest of course... that is absolutely irresistible!

(I am TERRIBLE at food photography!! So just trust me! This was DELICIOUS!) 

You can find the recipe here. You will also find a beautiful photo of the cornbread! :-) And you really,really need to use the cast iron skillet!

The "blob" beside the cornbread...well, it's just a "little bit of heaven" you can put in your mouth!! It will forever change your life. Your kids will LOVE you extra, and you may or may not get an extra kiss from your husband if you serve this at your next meal ;-) So if you're in need of a kiss, it's worth a try!! :-D But even if you don't need a kiss, do you and your family a favor, a BIG FAT favor and make this! :-)

 It's good on fresh baked rolls, toast and just about anything!! and yes, yes, on cornbread. It takes cornbread to a whole 'nother level! (we will refrain from saying just how much I put on my bread) You will find the recipe for this amazing, Cinnamon Honey Butter here.

 There's snow! I know, amazing!!! The kids excitement is so cute! Tonight after we had them tucked in for the night, miss Hailey crawled out of her bed (without us knowing) in anticipation to see if there's any snow! Of course she had to call me back to her room and she told me she wants to show me something out her window. Her eyes shining with wonder was too adorable! Of course we had to call Braxton over and show him too.His reaction was pretty much the same. They were waiting for this snow ALL DAY! To bad it waited to come till bedtime!  This is one reason I have to be ready to roll in the morning.Their excitement will have them up bright and early I'm sure! :-)

Anyway, I'm signing out for tonight. I'm going to rest my body and start fresh tomorrow. If you've had a day that feels like you got a big fat "N" - I encourage you to take heart! Everyone has those days! Don't sit in the dread of your failure. Stand up strong, God is good at giving second chances!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

                                                                                                   2 Corinthians 12:9

Dear Madi

Photo Credits to heidimastphotography.com

Heidi did a great job at capturing Madi's personality. She does so well working with kids that don't think picture taking is really that great. Thank you to Heidi, I have some great 1 year old pictures celebrating Madi.

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl!

Dear Madi,

I hope you grow up to be smart,tough and wise

but I also hope that you always have

the same innocence in your eyes.

It's hard to believe that you, our little Madi are one already! You actually turned 1 on November 28 already but  mommy seems to always be behind on blogging these days :) :)

You have brought a lot of life into our family.

I forgot how busy a baby seems to keep me.And you seem extra busy and some days you very nearly have me in tears! :)

But I'm so thankful that God has blessed us with you, a happy,healthy baby even though you have the ability to make our house look like a tornado zone :) We'd never trade you for a cleaner more organized house! I think you are one way God is teaching me about what's really important in life.

You have taught me so much...even in just the last week.

Today I was watching you walk.

You were walking through leaves that were thick and hard for you to navigate.

You took  one little step and then you'd fall over.You'd try again and fall over...and again,and again...

Until I came to your rescue, held your little hand in mine and helped you out of the "rough terrain."

When I was watching you try and try again I was reminded of myself, and how when I try to take a step forward in life, and I "fall over" again and again.

And how Jesus comes and takes my hand and helps me along.

Watching you fail to walk through the leaves but never give up,just reminded me that even when I fail so often in life, I should never,ever even think of quitting.

Jesus is always right there, watching me and helping me along.

You are an inspiration my darling!

There was never a child so lovely but his  her mother was glad to get him her to sleep.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nap-time is always a highlight at this house :) It gives me the time to recharge a little and to be again fully equipped with strength to make it through the rest of the day :) Energy to keep up with you :)

When my husband comes home,and if the kids are still alive, I figure I've done my job.

-Rosanne Barr

Some days keeping you children alive is maybe all that I get done.But that is enough.That is why I'm here, to take care of you and love you.

Motherhood is a rewarding job,a job that I wouldn't ever trade.

If all I ever get in return are those hugs and wet kisses, that is enough!Traces of your innocent love.Things that make me all fuzzy inside.

Having the privilege to be your mommy is a gift straight from heaven. I'm so thankful for the blessing that you and your brother and sister are to me and your daddy.

My prayer is that you grow up to be passionate about God. Use that 

energy and determination of yours for His Kingdom.

 Happy Birthday again my sweet Madi .

Thank you for all the life lessons you have taught me in these 12 short months.

You are a blessing!

You were prayed for!

I thank God for you!

With all my love, mommy