School Books & Supplies

We are starting school on Monday, September 1st & our girlies are so excited! I think Mommy might love new school supplies just as much as our little sweeties do!

"What does a fishy do?"

This week Ava started making this adorable little face when we ask, "Ava, what does a fishy do?"
So precious! : )

"Donuts & Devotions Friday"

A few weeks ago we started doing what we call "Donuts & Devotions Friday". On Friday morning Daddy leads us in family devotions while we eat our yummy breakfast. Our girls love it and really look forward to it! Today Daddy taught about the Gospel. It was sweet to listen to the questions & thoughts that come out of our little girls' hearts about God! How precious the faith of a child! It is also fun because donuts are a special treat that we only have every once in a while ~ now every Friday morning! : ) Here are some pictures of us this morning!

My sick little Ava & my fearful heart!

My little Ava is sick & my Mommy-heart is learning to trust God yet again. On Thursday she started not feeling well & has been running a high fever ranging from 103.7 to 104.3! Since she has no other symptoms (besides feeling yucky!) my Pediatrician thinks she has a virus that will go away in a few days. When I discovered her fever at 2 am on Friday morning I felt that old and, unfortunately, very familiar fear welling up inside of me! Even though I've been down this road many times with sick little ones, my heart sank. As I scooped her up & walked around holding her, the only thing (in my exhausted and fearful state) I kept praying was "Jesus, please heal my baby & help my heart to trust you, God please protect my Ava & help me to trust you!" God is faithful, He is kind, He cares about the fears in my heart & about my sweet little Ava! In those 2 am moments (& many more in between!) I can easily be discouraged with myself that even though I have witnessed God's goodness and faithfulness with my own two eyes, here I am again, doubting His goodness. A few years ago I was struggling with the same kind of fears and my sweet friend, Vivian, told me about a quote that I have remembered and think on still. She said, "although God is absolutely concerned about what is going on in your heart & life, "He is not sympathetic to your unbelief"! So, it's a daily conversation with myself, to trust God in everything. My hope is that God will give me His grace to glorify Him even in those unseen, quiet moments, rocking in my nursery with my sick baby in my arms. My sweet baby girl is doing a little better today and I am praising God for it!

GRAD COUNTDOWN

My Hubby is completing his degree through Liberty University online at night. He started in March of this year and should graduate in August of 2009. I am so proud of how hard he is working for our family. He is extremely diligent and a very good student! Great job Baby ~ all your girls love you!

My "Fuzzy" little Ava Grace!

I had to share this picture of our sweet little Ava after she woke up from her nap this afternoon! She has very soft and very FUZZY hair that likes to stick up all over! You have probably only seen Ava at church or in pictures when Mommy has "done" her hair. This is how our little ducky looks au natural and it is so precious! Ava's hair is very sweet and endearing ~ Daddy, sissies & Mommy love it!

My sweet Girlies!

We had a sleepy, relaxed day at home today. It was overcast and gray outside so we couldn't swim which is our favorite summer day activity! Our girls enjoyed watching the Olympics and snacking on green apples with peanut butter and slices of cheese ~ YUM!

We love Auntie Raigan!

Last time Auntie Raigan came to visit she and our girls adopted "I love you always forever" by Donna Lewis as their theme song. : ) Auntie had it on her iPod and she would sing it to our girls every night before bed. Oh my goodness ~ SO precious! Our girls learned it in just a day and would sing along with Auntie. Our girls have a very special relationship with their Auntie Raigan and they love her so very much! (She's easy to love : ) ! ) For weeks after she left our girls would ask me to play it on my laptop and they would cry for their Auntie! Now "their song" is on our blog in honor of her ~ we love you Auntie!

Love,
Your 4 sweet little nieces Amy, Ashley, Abby & Ava : )

God's Unmeasured Grace

We sang "Grace Unmeasured" which is one of my favorite songs this morning in our Sunday meeting. Amazingly enough I was able to sing and focus on God while holding my baby/toddler, with my 4-year-old wrapped around one leg and my 2 big girls holding onto my arms on either side (Daddy was ushering)! It was one of those moments where God brings to life the words and they seem to apply to every area of your life in that given season. I was just struck with the truth of God's amazing grace and love and that it truly is more than we could ever comprehend. Jesus "paid for my sins" on the cross and, literally, "brought me to life". Life that I never would have had in and of myself, life that is so precious and amazing. I GET to know God ~ how absolutely a~mazing is that!? God's grace really does abound, I am overwhelmed when I think about it. Why would God want to pour out His grace on me? Not only in small, measured amounts, but abounding and unmeasured! God's grace is the ONLY thing that can turn me from my selfish pride, from myself! I long to be like Him, that only happens by His doing! Again, amazing! I do love the cross on which Jesus died, but I want to love it, to love Him, to love what He loves, more and more everyday. Just wanted to share the musings of an everyday Mommy who is usually semi-distracted during worship. God captivated my attention today and showed me Himself ~ He is so good!



Grace unmeasured, vast and free
That knew me from eternity
That called me out before my birth
To bring you glory on this earth
Grace amazing, pure and deep
That saw me in my misery
That took my curse and owned my blame
So I could bear your matchless Name

Grace, grace, grace, paid for my sins
And brought me to life
Grace, grace, grace, clothes me with power
To do what is right
Grace, grace, grace will lead me to heav'n
Where I'll see your face
And never cease to thank you for your grace

Grace abounding, strong and true
That makes me long to be like you
That turns me from my selfish pride
To love the cross on which you died
Grace unending all my days
You give me strength to run this race
And when my years on earth are through
The praise will all belong to you

"B" for Business Law

Randal finished his Business Law class tonight and got a high "B" as his final grade. Liberty University ranks their classes from 1-10, one being easy, 10 being the most difficult. This class was ranked a 10! Randal only has one more class as difficult as this one before he graduates next August! It was ranked a 10 for very good reason ~ it was intense! He says, "Whew ~ it's over!"
I have to brag on my Hubby......he is a very diligent student and works really hard in everything he does! We are so proud of him for everything he does for our family! His next 2 classes start on Monday with no breaks in between semesters. Next August seems like a long time away but we are so happy that God is giving him the grace to do it one class at a time! We love you our Randal/Daddy!

Afternoon with the Hollands

Today Jamie & Hudson Holland came over to play and stay for dinner. (They are some of our girls' most special friends!) The Holland's are leaving for vacation tomorrow so we had Jamie & Hudson over so Vivian (who is one of my very bestest friends! : ) !) could pack and prepare for their trip. Hudson got to play outside with Aspen & Auggie (our dogs were thrilled to have a little guy to play rough with!) while Jamie, our 4 girls and I did girly stuff inside. Jamie is very nurturing toward Ava and enjoyed carrying her around and she is a sweet friend to our big girls. We painted finger and toe nails, played games like "pretty pretty princess", played dress up and they all took turns taking pictures of each other with our digital camera. So cute and so the very definition of GIRL! : ) (Sweet little Hudson is such a good sport and endures all of the girls' silliness!) We had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of our afternoon together. We love you Holland Family! : ) Have a wonderful vaca!

Ava's 1st Birthday Pictures ~ Almost!

Okay, so I've been trying to figure out how to make a slide show of Ava's 1st Birthday since her birthday on Sunday, August 10th ~ obviously with no success! I'm gonna have to ask my Hubs to do it for me. He's my computer guy and usually laughs at my lack of computer savvy while he's helping me! He's so sweet but does enjoy having a little laugh at my expense on occasion. I actually don't mind, we all need to laugh at ourselves more : ) ! Anyhoo, I am one of those people who enjoy, dare I say, thrive, on doing things in a neat and orderly fashion & when and how I like them (can you say sin issue?)! So, it is humbling and good for me to NOT be able to just whip it out like I really want to! I'm hoping to be able to post the absolutely preciously adorable pictures of our sweet little Ava's 1st birthday very soon.

I can't believe that my little baby Ava is a year old already! It literally seems like she was a tiny newborn just yesterday! Our sweet little Ava Gracie Goo has been such a joy to her Daddy, 3 big sissies and I ! Ava's birthday, Sunday morning, started out with a visit to our Pediatrician because our sweet little Ashley was very sick ~ we found out she had strep throat! Yuck ~ my poor little Ashy! (She's feeling much better now ~ Yippee!) When Daddy got home from church we were all ready to celebrate Ava's 1st birthday. Our big girls had helped Mommy decorate the entire kitchen the night before and we had "crock pot chicken" for lunch (It's one of our girls' very favs!). So, we ate lunch at our cutely decorated table as a family. The theme of Ava's little 1st birthday party was "Princess 1st Birthday" in pastel pink and purple solids and gingham complete with a baby tiarra headband! (which she wore the entire time without trying to take it off ~ amazing!) SO STINKIN' CUTE! (As our Auntie Raigan would say!) After lunch we sang to Ava, helped her blow out her "#1" candle and put her little cake in front of her. (I made a miniature 3 tiered birthday cake that stood about 6 inches tall. It was white cake with cool whip frosting (so it wouldn't be SO messy!) with pink and purple sprinkles ~ it was really cute!) As we sang to her, Ava would clap and sing in a sweet soft little voice, "Ha Boo Ha Boo, Ha Boo, Ha Boo"! So precious! Ava kept looking back and forth from us to her cake with a cute little look on her face like, "am I really supposed to make a mess with this?" Daddy broke off a piece and handed it to Ava which she tried to feed to all of us then she put the piece back on the cake and tried to "pat" it back together! So funny and cute! When she realized how yummy it was she kept making an "mmmm" sound and trying to give us all bites! : ) Then we put her on the floor in front of all of her gifts and her sweet little blue eyes got big and happy! Our big girls "helped" her open all of her gifts and, as usual, the boxes, bows and wrapping paper were just as exciting (if not more!) than the actual gifts themselves! : ) I think that is so funny and cute! All of our little sweeties, especially our 1st little birthday princess, were all tuckered out from the fun and special day! On Ava's birthday I had time to reflect back on her 1st year and to thank God for what a precious gift she is to Daddy, her 3 big sissies and I. God has been so kind to give us our sweet, happy little Ava! If you don't know, we had 5 miscarriages between Abby and Ava so she (& of course all of our other girls too!) is a little miracle and gift from God! I was overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion as I rocked & cuddled with my big 1-year-old birthday girl! God is so good!

Happy 1st Birthday our sweet little Ava Grace! Daddy, Mommy, Amy, Ashley & Abby love you so much!

Ava's 1 Year Doctor's Appoinment !

This morning Ava had her 1 year check up and got shots. I still can't believe that our baby girl is already a year old. She is now officially considered a "toddler" and not a "baby" anymore! (Mommy is still a little sad about that! : ) ! ) We love our Pediatrician, Dr. Lookadoo! Besides the fact that his name is really fun to say, he is awesome with our girls! When Ava had to have her finger pricked the nurse had to squeeze the tar out of her tiny little finger! Ava never made a peep but was very intrigued by the nurses neon purple gloves. Then she played with and successfully removed the bright yellow band-aid that had to be wrapped around her finger like 20 times! : ) Our Dr. wanted to see Ava walk ~ she was so cute toddling across the room in just her diaper! Of course he wanted to know if she is talking and what she can say. She can sing "Happy Birthday" but like "Ha Boo Ha Boo Ha Boo", in a sweet soft sing songy voice, she says, "doc" for "dog", "golls" or something like that for "girls" (meaning her sissies), "oub" for "out", "uh oh" very clearly, "dypa" for "diaper", "Abou" for her sissy "Abby", "dut" for duck and of course, "Dada" & "Mama"! She cried when she got her shots but when I picked her up, she "pat patted" my back over my shoulder which she always does when I comfort her, as if she is comforting me too (so sweet!), cuddled with me and stopped crying right away. She was still a little cuddly and wanted to hold onto Mommy but she was back her joyful, happy baby self! So here are Ava's 1 year stats. She weighs 19 pounds and is 30 inches long. That puts her in the 20th % for her weight and the 80th % for her height. I think she's gonna be tall like Daddy and all of her big sissies. Dr. Lookadoo reminded me that I'm going to be the shorty in our family! : ) Amy, Ashley & Abby did great as they waited quietly in the exam room during Ava's appointment & they were very concerned about their baby sissy! I love that our sweet, happy little "toddler" is growing and learning new things everyday. How cool is it that God lets us do this Mommy-ing thing! I am grateful for our 4 little sweeties everyday but on "milestone" days like today I am especially reminded of how blessed we are & how good God is!

My First Post ~ The Palmer Family : )

If you've ever wondered what it's like in a home with a Daddy and 5 girls we can give you a window into this wonderful and oh so PINK life we live! (Now would be a good time to warn you that I admit to being a mushy Mommy, so beware! : ) !) This is the first of what will probably be many posts about life with our 4 precious little girls. Our friends have affectionately named us the "Palmer Pinks". Amy is 8, Ashley is 6, Abby is 4 and our littlest, Ava just turned 1 on August 10th. As you can imagine, our home is full of happiness, giggles, emotions (of every kind : ) !) , princess accessories of every sort and lots of PINK! I have the amazing blessing of being Randal's wife and our little sweetie pies Mommy! My Hubby/best friend and I have been married 14 years and I still get "that feeling" when I hear his voice on the other end of the phone or hear his keys jingling in the door when I know he's on the other side of it! I am absolutely blessed beyond comprehension that God would give us our girls ~ my best little girlfriends. They are just so sweet and lots of fun to be with! We live in Simpsonville, South Carolina which is just outside of Greenville and we love it here! My Hubby works in banking and I am a stay at home Mommy. We pretty much have and do everything girly and whimsical that you can imagine but our girlies also love to run and play, have light saber duels with Daddy and cheer for the Dallas Cowboys, Daddy's favorite and the BEST football team ever! We home school, love to play, imagine and make believe about any and everything, swim, jump on our trampoline, dance, sing, bake, cook, do art, play with friends and go to Starbucks! The most important thing you should know about us is that WE LOVE GOD and our family! So, there we are, the Palmer Family up close and personal. Thanks for reading about us ~ I'll be blogging you soon! : )