spring has gone!

House on the market, school programs, soccer, a train ride, libraries, playgrounds....

it was a fun start to spring!! which clearly with 90+ degree weather has come and gone already!

Lillian is finishing kindergarten.

its been a fun year!!! i will be retiring my no-really-i-can-do-it-all Cape in a couple weeks as i surrender my duties as room mom to the next naive soul that walks into that classroom!! wow.

what an undertaking. i'm the first to say i have to work really really hard to be organized. its not something that just flows naturally for me. i need tools. like lots of them. and sticky notes to keep things 'fresh' on the brain!

Its something i have always felt has been a short-coming; blame it on the artist in me or the lazy. I just don't do organization well. most things never get put in the same place more than twice. i horizontally file. its really ok. i can function. there is a rhythm and routine to our life that allows me the freedom and grace to not drive myself bonkers at not mastering organization.

i am a mess. its ok. just as long as the mess gets hidden a little when potential buyer walk thru our house!!!

hard to believe she goes into 1st grade in the fall!!!

lost tooth #2 today!!!!

sweet bff the bean!! came for a quick visit! i can't handle how big they are!!!

THE TINYS!!!

with some new digs!

the foose and her puppy!! on the light rail headed uptown!!

Lucy is recently attached to 'puppy'. he actually is on loan from big sister . . a treasure from her disney trip! we don't go anywhere without puppy. i have to sneak him out of bed at night to wash him. i love this stage with her, especially around Lillian and Liam she just seems so small and still 'baby' to me. yet i know at this stage Lillian felt so grown up!!

we're in the midst of our lovely approaching 3s. a rough spot for the tinys. history serves as a great reminder having experienced two already through this stage. thankfully third time around you find a little more humor in the drama filled meltdowns..

we're a bit attached to the movie Tangled, and in the heat of the moment when she doesn't get what she wants lately, she tells me to go away, that this is her tower!! yeah, good one!

Liam was just a little excited to ride the light rail!!

he hasn't really stopped talking about the 'subway' train that took us to have ice cream!!!

outside imaginon uptown!

liam's best pirate impression!!

we did a soccer clinic with the Y. liam loved it. the coach was amazing!!

four4FOUR4FoUR!!!!

happy 4th birthday LIAM boy!!!!

my first glimpse of this boy :: I never imagined how many times my heart would melt, how hard i would laugh, how much i would feel like i am fighting my self in a tiny version, how much i would wonder if we were parenting right, how many tears i would shed and how hard i would pray for your him. . . in just 4 years! only a preview of what i am sure to come as we watch God shape this little man!!

There is something about the arrival of our tiny#2. I was more calm. anticipating sniffing and snuggling and kissing this boys face off! It was gonna be different. It was a BOY! our first was a girl. I was nervous, what do you do with a boy? would I love him the same? how was I gonna juggle two tinys? :: all totally normal 2nd time mommy thoughts. but pointless worry.

there is something supernatural when it comes to the capacity to love another baby, exactly the same, but different! There is so much that Liam has added to our family! I can't imagine not having the rowdy wild boy nature a part of our every day life.

Liam, at 4

I love how intense and fierce you are!

I love that this passion is something God has gifted you!

I love that there is never a question on how you feel about something, from your passionate expression of opinion to the gentleness your show with your sisters!!

I love that in that fierce spirit you are equally as tender hearted.

i love that you want to be a garbage man when you grow up.

I love that you can rock a pony tail!

i love how excited you are that we have another tiny on the way; and that you ask everyday if we can go get our baby!!

today; i loved the expression on your face as you opened your very own garbage truck!!!

i love the tenderness in your eyes right before you fall asleep, and ask if jesus wants to get out

of your heart so he could go down the slide at the pool!!

(You ask him where Jesus lives, he points to his armpit!! really i think he's just confused on where his heart is!!)

i love most that you know how loved you are!!!

looking for approval to commence the present opening!!

rockin a new pair of specs (thanks gaffer & gigi)

it was a special day. gaffter & gigi were here to celebrate, yaya and roo were here to celebrate . . big sister lillian said today it was the best day of her life...then she said, no, the 2nd best, the first was going to Disney...but this was a very close 2nd! From waking up with balloons all over our living room, to HUGE marshmallows with a candle in it to sing brother happy birthday, to lunch at our favorite cheeseburger spot, to the pool, another marshmallow.....my mommy cup was full today watching Lillian celebrate her sweet brother and her excitement for his birthday!

change :: full of surprises!!

Take into account the amount of fluctuation life has had the last several months :: you'll forgive no new blog posts!! and forgive only a photo on this one. i will catch up on each tiny in future posts!!

since Lillian's 6th birthday this past February we found out we were expecting TINY #4, not even 12 hours later Andy was offered a campus pastor role with our church which inevitably means a move. we looked at each other and took a deep breath . . while each thing is an amazing blessing we felt as though we needed to have a helmet on, anticipating being shot straight out of cannon at 100+mph. no looking back.

THE NEWEST TINY :

We've been prayerful about adding to our family for the last 2+ years. There we moments when it was no, then yes, then no way, then absolutely; how could we not. The amazing part to me was God's total control and orchestration of our conversations; we were ALWAYS on the same page. Clearly the answer ended being yes, that we were peaceful and excited about the possibility of another tiny!

We are due late October 2011!!!

THE JOB :

The job change is another answer to prayer. Being in full time ministry is a daily blessing for us; but it is also a daily challenge. To honor God in all you do, in work and life is a passionate pursuit with us sitting at the foot of the cross. There are sweet amazing moments where you feel God pouring out His favor; and moments of silence, where you cannot ignore his presence but feel alone. Long periods of waiting, and trusting, sharpening those deep parts of your soul and strengthening our faith.

THE MOVE

means we will be moving just about 40 miles south of where we live now. Our house has been on the market almost 70 days. The stress of keeping it clean with 3 tinys, a dog, a tiny on the way, school year finishing up.....I don't even know where to start with how difficult its been.

The depth of trust and faith this has beckoned from me to really believe it will all fall into place has been a more difficult challenge than I expected. It has shown me areas of sin and prompted confession of my desire for control. I have great days, then terrible ones. I wake each morning more and more grateful that HIS mercies are new each day! another opportunity to trust in crazy circumstances for HIM to show himself faithful!

I wake expectant that He is the one leading us. HE has orchestrated all this. HE knows we have a baby on the way, and a child entering 1st grade, and that i am a crazy hormonal nesting mess!! HE knows all that, HE has ALWAYS known all that and knows the outcome!!! so, in our daily tornado of chaos, I am peaceful. I am trusting. and I am constantly confessing when that bit of anxiousness creeps in!

updated posts about 3 tinys & liam boys bday coming!!!

be ready

not sure what to do with this boy! except maybe eat him!!

He comes home from school wiped out on Thursdays!

at 3 1/2 he really doesn't need a nap everyday, its been so beautiful here the last couple of weeks we've been spending hours at the playground!! but about ever 2 days he gets 'nap worthy'!!

today was gymnastics day and he 'jumped on the river' and swung like a monkey

i've gathered that the river is a long trampoline built into the floor, and then they get to swing on a rope and drop into a pit full of foam!!!

something about Liam, he's strong-willed. he is like mold-breakin-wrote-the-book, fight ya til the death strong will when it comes to some things!!

and most days i can handle it....and some i can't!!

but you learn as a mother of 3 all carrying this characteristic, that one day that WILL, will be one of their greatest strengths, its just that parenting through it poses its challenges.

i just have to pick the battles to fight and encourage the will and right to choose when it doesn't pose a life-threatening, starvation or catastrophic consequence

so yes, today was perfect timing... he said he was wearing a daddy shirt and his cowboy boots to bed, i said, 'OK!!'.

these printer drawers were a gift from our gigi! they have finally made their appearance on our wall!!

these have been hanging in our playroom. they have always been liam's i've just not been in a place to trust he wont tear things off the wall until now!!!

i am waiting for inspiration to finish them!

liam boy loves his new bed!!! the bed and ceiling in his room are the same color!!!

scrumptiously six!

i.can.believe.she.is.6!

she had such a fun day!

dunkin doughnuts with her class

mcdonalds happy meal for lunch

a surprise visit from gaffer & gigi

and dinner with the whole family!!!

this birthday girl went to bed wiped out!!

we did a big party last year, so this was our year to do something chill with one friend!!!

there was no hesitation . . . she screamed, SELA i want SELA to go!!

Sela and Lillian both have February birthdays!!!

she bounced back and forth between bowling, discovery place, and painting pottery!

pottery won out!!!

it was so fun to watch these girls paint!!! so excited to see the final fired cupcake jar!!!

we pick it up tomorrow!!!

my big tiny!

so at 6; we talk about wiggly teeth and argue about what to wear, she already wants to stay up late, she's not ready to have her ears pierced, she loves shoes, she always shares her opinion, she is gentle, she is moody, she is giggly, she loves to make up songs, she loves to paint, she writes her 5's backwards, she loves lipgloss, she rocks a pair of leggings and high-top converse, she wears a cape to the playground, she loves jesus, she loves telling jokes that make no sense, she's ipad savvy, she's still a little afraid of automatic flush pottys, she loves macaroni and cheese, she uses the word 'seriously' all the time, she baby talks to birds outside, she always has painted toenails, she doesn't like meat, she is an amazing big sister and my favorite 6yr old!!

love you lillibug!!! ps, stop growing so fast!

cowboy up!

my brother Grant's boots from when he was little!!! the tinys LOVE them!! and love to fight over who wears them!!

clearly he was done with the photo session!!!

oh wait

i.heart.this.boy

dance with me

she has been looking forward to this day for several weeks.

the 'sweetheart' daddy daughter dance invitation came home from school

and was quickly elevated to front and center status on our fridge!!

today when she bounced off the bus she said; is it time mommy?

can i get ready for my date with daddy?

they go on dates, but the last couple of weeks she has been bursting at the seams for this one!!

so what girl doesn't primp for a date!!

no, i am not encouraging her to date. seriously-side note-we are avid parenthood watchers, you can catch on NBC; and i am gonna have raw knees from prayin thru a house full of teenagers!

help me jesus...

anyway...i really felt like it was so important for her to feel as adorable outside as she is inside!!! so we pulled out all the stops....high pampering!

bubble bath, blow dry, curlers, mani pedi wrapped in a robe!!

she even picked out jewelry...in addition to the ring and bracelet she drew from the treasure box at school!!

i love this girl. i love her excitement and preparation to spend the evening with the man she loves the most! i love what his love does to her heart!!!

she kept trying to figure out who of her friends were gonna be there

i think she was really excited to show off daddy!!

i know they are having an amazing time! the hubs will have to weigh in on his side of the story!

but i will never forget the pure joy in her eyes knowing she had daddy to herself tonight!

sure fills up my cup!!

waiting for the curlers to cool

now waitin for the nails to dry

probably my favorite series of her in a while

except that she looks so grown up already!

so excited for their 'la la' to go on a date with daddy!!

a week from now my sweet lillibug will be 6 whole years old!

next thursday is her birthday! yup, i am in disbelief.

xoxoxo