Pregnant!

I am pregnant with baby #5! : ) We are SO happy & grateful to God but very surprised! Our girlies are sooooooo excited about our new baby! I am 4 weeks & I'm due November 1st! We are praying for God to protect our precious little baby & Mommy too!

Organizing....

I have been very busy organizing over the past few weeks with no end in sight! It all started with my closet that had become overrun with what I call memorabilia. When my girlies were very small they "caught" Mommy's love of keeping all things "important". As toddlers they would say "Mommy, are you gonna keep this for "remember bill uh"!? : ) So, now my closet is overflowing with artwork, a sample plate from their birthday parties (yes, all 4 girls x 22 birthdays in all! Now you see the extent of my sappy-ness : ) !), cards from them to Mommy & anything that this super sentimental Mommy couldn't get rid of! Well, let me tell you, it was a MESS! I now have it all organized into 3 huge Rubbermaid tubs, YIKES! I have 4 medium sized tubs that I will use from now on, one for each of my girls. Hopefully, I will stay more organized this time! I LOVE order, I love to be organized & a neat & tidy space makes me ridiculously happy! So, you can imagine my joy at the sight of my beautifully clean closet now! I couldn't stop there, so I moved my little parade down to our basement & storage rooms! Oh my! It is still a work in progress! The thing that amazes me most is how sweet my girlies are when I am doing a project! They take care of each other & play together so awesomely so Mommy can get stuff done! It's hard work to get organized but I love the result (& my Hubby does too!) : ) ! So, my muscles are sore, my closet is clean, my girlies have watched a few movies & had lots of snacks & I'm still organizing my little heart out! : )

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day as a family but, for once, I didn't get ANY pictures of our great day together! It is so unlike me not to take any pictures but that week & Valentine's Day Ava was very sick : ( , Mommy was really tired & I just wanted our girlies to be able to enjoy their special day without having to "pose" every moment like I usually do! (um, I'm working on this issue.... : ) !) My sweet little Ava was very sick with an upper respiratory virus, which our Pediatrician calls the "crud" that is going around. She had high fevers, a terrible cough & very runny nose. Mommy was exhausted because I sat up for 4 nights holding Ava upright so she could breathe while she slept. Ava is doing better but now Abby has the same thing! : ( By an absolute miracle, on Thursday night I got myself to Walmart while Daddy was at home with our sleeping big girls & he took care of (by this I mean he held her on his chest while she tried to sleep with all of her snorty, snuffily sounds!) our sad little Ava so Mommy could get out and shop a little. I got everything I needed to make Valentine's Day very special for our girls plus I had lots of stuff from last year that I kept. So, my wonderful Hubby & I went out to dinner at Carrabas's on Friday night (that was the only night we could find a sitter!) & it was so yummy! We took our little Ava because she was just too sick to stay with Gordon (our babysitter) & her sissies. Randal, Ava & I had a sweet, romantic dinner together! Every time Randal & I would hold hands or kiss, Ava would get the cutest little look on her face & say, "Dad-deeee" & Mom-eeee" like, "what'cha doin?", in her sick, scratchy little voice ~ so sweet! We had so much fun together & it was just so wonderful to be out with my Husband! (& baby : ) !) That night I decorated the entire kitchen/dining room for our girls' little party & had their Valentine goodie baskets out & ready for them to find Valentine's morning. All day they kept telling Daddy & I how much they love us, "cause it IS love day, ya know" they kept saying, it was really cute! We had a great day of just hanging out as a family, eating yummy chocolate, playing, watching movies & having our little Valentine dinner party! Our girls are very sweet & always try to be grateful for things that we do for them. BUT, they were definitely HYPER after all that candy! You can imagine 4 little girlies bouncing off the walls, OH MY! At the end of the long but wonderful day I was just reminded how amazingly good God has been to give me my 5 Valentine's ~ my amazing Hubby & my 4 precious little girlies! Hope y'all had a great day with the ones you love! : )

Our new puppy Aiden!

This is our new little puppy Aiden! He is a Papillion, he is only 2 weeks old & he just opened his eyes. He still lives with his mommy dog at Pam's house (his breeder & our very close friend)! We get to see & hold him for the first time on Wednesday & we will be able to bring him home in April! Our girlies are SO excited & so are we! : )

Talking to myself......

On Monday I was having that kind of day where I had to do a lot of talking to my heart! I was discouraged as a Mommy, a home school teacher & especially a "preparer & shaper" of my little girls' hearts! There are many days that I feel like a complete failure but that day I was having a harder time than normal "talking" to myself instead of "listening". Of the many areas that I'm working on in my life, the one that sobers me the most is training & raising my little girls to be godly women, wives & mommy's some day! Talk about a daunting but treasured calling! I need God's grace & help everyday!!!! I have been going on special "dates" with my girls since they were very little but as they have gotten older, our times together have taken on a new dimension. On my date with Amy last week, I got to talk to her about our relationship & how I'm doing as a Mommy. It was wonderful to hear her sweet encouragement but also very humbling to hear how I can grow! I am learning that having older children is definitely different in a whole new way! My older girls need & crave more time to just sit & talk to Mommy & Daddy ~ they actually want real conversation!!!!!! When my baby or my Kindergartener fall down, get their feelings hurt or have a sinful attitude, a discipline, a simple "encouragement" & lots of cuddles makes everything better & absolutely does the trick! With my big girls, talking to them about what is going on in their heart & how they can grow & change AND pointing them back to the Cross & encouraging them to seek God on their own about it requires a lot more of Mommy's time, attention, patience & wisdom (????) ! I'm so grateful that God has blessed me with very affectionate & cuddly little girls because even my big girls still love to climb into Daddy & Mommy's laps & hopefully they always will! Many times after having one of these heart moments with my girls I come away with gratitude to God but I still know that there is so much more I can be doing SO much better! Then....I look up to the Cross! I HAVE to remember that God is at work in me too! He is good & faithful to help me be a godly, patient, loving & tender Mommy (& Wife too!)! I love my little girls & I am grateful to God that He has entrusted these little treasures to Randal & I even though I am so unworthy of such sweet gifts!

Mommy & Amy's Date

Mommy & Amy went on a date to Starbucks, the Christian bookstore & PetLand one afternoon this week & we had SO much fun together! As we talked at Starbucks it just hit me what a big girl my little Amy is becoming! She just turned 9 in December & is growing into such a mature young lady! As our firstborn, Amy has naturally always been very responsible & dependable & she is always eager to please Daddy & Mommy & most importantly God. I know it has been happening gradually, BUT, that day I think I realized it all at once, I sensed a new maturity about her, she is growing & she is not just little anymore! (I think I did a good job holding back all the Mommy emotions (& tears) I was feeling at that moment!) Amy & I talked about her becoming a big girl (yep, you know what I mean ; ) !) & she was extremely mature & responded in such a sweet way. As I watched my little girl across the table sipping on her frappuccino & nibbling on her biscotti, (in my mind, I could already see her as my little teenager!) I just couldn't believe that I was having this real, grown up "conversation" with my firstborn baby girl ~ my NINE year old! It made my heart so happy with just a tinge of "oh my goodness, my baby is growing up!"! We giggled a lot, talked about everything little girls like to talk about & she even still wanted to hold Mommy's hand!!!!!! : ) After Starbucks, we went to the Christian bookstore. Amy LOVES to read & she was so excited when we found a detective/mystery series called "Mandie". Amy LOVES animal, specifically dogs & she got to hold a puppy & a baby ferret when we went to PetLand! It was an awesome & very sweet day! I thank God for my sweet little Amy Rosie!