Runaway dogs...

About a month ago, I realized how crazy this little family circus of mine truly is, will be, and probably will stay before it calms down.  It all started with one of Guapo's famous runaway scenes.  The kind where I open the door, he slips through it, and immediately runs down the street to have a romp through the neighborhood.
This was one of the times where I didn't bother to chase him because it was raining, a friend had just pulled up for a visit, and I knew he would be back later, scratching at the door, when he was done exploring.
Keep reading, this story gets better---
My friend and her two kids (3 year old boy and 4 month old girl) come in to hang out and eat lunch with us and we catch up and talk about life.  She tells me she would really like to be a stay at home mom. This is when the true craziness begins.
My kids are screaming at each other every time one or the other tries to look at the baby because they both want to be the only one playing with her.  Melanie pees on the floor in the front hallway, and while I'm cleaning that mess up and changing her, Easton is moving the bench from his table to the back door so that he can unlock it.  After getting him off the bench and telling him no, I turn around to put the bench back to the table and he is behind me getting into the garbage.  I turn around to get him out of the garbage and pick up the mess and he is back on the bench again unlocking the door (imagine this happening about 2 more times!).  To add to this the doorbell rings.  I answer it and it is a neighbor asking if we own a little white dog.  Why yes we do I say.  He then tells me that he is running around down the street.  My friend says she'll watch the kids so I can get the dog.  It's raining, hard, and I'm 5 months pregnant, running down the street, looking for my dog, who I can catch no sight of. (I can only dream what the neighbors were thinking watching me) I immediately gave up on that and came back to the house to find Melanie standing on a kitchen table chair playing with the baby who is in a bouncy seat on the table. This is fine, because she is keeping occupied and is having fun and not yelling at Easton! Finally, my friend and I sit down to eat, when Easton decides he wants to see the baby too, so he climbs up and gets on top of the table, knocks down my glass of water and sits in the water.  So, I take him off the table, take off his wet pants and put them in the laundry room and when I come out he as taken off half his diaper and is walking around with it falling off.  At this point, I just looked at my friend and started laughing and said "um, are you SURE you want to be a stay at home mom??"  She started laughing hysterically and we went through everything that had gone wrong so far and laughed even harder.  While we were still laughing there was a scratching at the door and guess who finally came home? Guapo! And he was sopping wet. I opened the door and he came RUNNING through the house as fast as he could with all the kids chasing him around.  I mean, why wouldn't that happen? More chaos was bound to ensue.
As much as I would like to just be able to sit down to a nice lunch with and friend and do nothing but talk and catch up, I realize that will not be happening for a while now.  And now we're adding another to this family circus! It keeps life interesting and good and keeps my perspective in check.  It also keeps my patience level up and keeps me laughing.  Cheers to chaos!
OH and by the way, about 2 weeks later, my kids locked me out of the house...!

simplicity...

God made man simple. His complex problems are of his own devising. Ecclesiastes 7:29

Simplicity sounds so good to me.  Our ladies Bible study has been studying The Celebration of Discipline and the discipline of simplicity has been especially intriguing.  Maybe it's because I've realized how utterly problematic things become when we don't keep it simple.  We become like spoiled children when we begin spoiling ourselves with things.  The more I have the more selfish I become, and the more I think about the selfish ways I've acted throughout my life, it makes me want to simplify.
My grandmother was so good at being simple.  As I look back at how loving, kind, generous, soft spoken and happy she was, it becomes so clear that she had the discipline of simplicity shining through her heart and soul.  She gave away everything, she barely had anything, and she was SO happy.  She spoke of Jesus all the time without shame.  She loved everyone.  She had a great sense of humor.  She was a role model of how Jesus wants a person to act.  I miss her so much.
I want what my grandma had.
Simplicity.

A hairy first...

Waiting for the haircut was fun..but the actual cut brought on a plethora of emotions!
Nervous, scared, sad, and finally a little bit happy...:)  My baby looks more like a little boy..a hard transition for me...one more step towards letting him grow.

The final product..and a new friend!

Afterward, we went to Target and browsed the aisles together, bought a few things and had fun. Easton showed us some of his dance moves in the electronic aisle. I wanted to put the video on here but for some reason it isn't working...for now you can watch it on Facebook! 

Here's to letting babies grow up!

Make a memory...

It is one of my all time missions as a mama to make memories for my kids, this is why we packed up and headed to the lake house on a cold Saturday, that threatened rain last weekend. And oh my did we have a blast! It was an all day play date with Tia (Auntie), cousins, and Papa.  Poor grammy was sick and couldn't make it, but don't worry, there was a certain little girl who made sure grammy got a get well phone call before we left for the day. :)
Although it was a cold, somewhat wet day, we made the best of it.  We played inside watching movies, eating, and taking cousin pictures until the weather permitted a park visit.

One cousin missing/not wanting to take pics--but so it goes with unpredictable kids :)

Grandpa pulled the kiddos in a big wagon to the park, and the kids got to sit back, relax, and eat M&M's on the way there.  Pretty sure it was their little piece of heaven on earth.  When we got to the park, the kids played, played, and played until the adults got too cold and the kids' eyes seemed to droop a little too much.

And so back to the lake house we walked.  We went back inside and cozied up to eat a little ice cream and watch another movie.  It really was a great day.  For everyone.  The kind of day that I would remember if I were a kid because it was so full of things that kids LOVE: Cousins, Grandpa,  Guapo, park, food, and movies.
Both my kids passed out on the way home, and this is how they decided to sleep when I got them into the house.  Can you tell they're related?

And after that much needed nap on the couches with their butts up in the air, dinner at home, and bed time rolled around, I asked Melanie what her favorite part of the day was and her answer was so nice...she said "Papa".
I think all the kids would have answered the same..

Because grandpa makes everyone happy.

Even little girls named Ashlyn who tried to dodge all pictures that day!

                          
And if I were to perfectly put into words the way this day felt for me, and I think the way it felt for my kids, this quote would sum it right up!
"Hmmm, how to "can a day?"  You know, those days that seem just perfect you want access to them whenever the need arises."  ~Jeb Dickerson

On to more memory making...

This weekend gave us a semi good weather Sunday, so the kids and I decided to make more memories at our favorite park right here in little old Eatonville.  And what makes the park more memorable than a fancy little hair do?

And posing for mom...

And chasing birds...

And climbing rocks...

                          Don't mind the finger I accidentally got in the picture...
And all the other things you get to do at the park...

Yes, memories are special, especially when you're little and still learning.  And it's my job to make sure they learn to make happy memories.  I'm not always good at it.  It takes practice.  We sure have a lot of fun practicing memory making though!

Whatever is lovely...

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Philippians 4:8

With all the negativity that happens and is constantly begging for my attention, focusing on the lovely, good parts of my life are what get me through the tough days.  Days when it's raining, the kids are fighting, the napping isn't happening, hubby is working late, and I feel like I just need a break before I break down!

There are a number of things that are lovely about my life. My kids.

See...doesn't this picture make negative thoughts disappear?

More lovely things:
Heaven, that will definitely be lovely when we get there!
My marriage is lovely
My friends are lovely
My job (stay at home mom) that's really lovely!
My dog--he can be lovely...sometimes :)

So when things in life fight to make me crazy, I think of this verse and relate it to my life.
Either way, even if I feel like things in life will make me crazy, God tells me this...
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a SOUND mind. :)
God sure covers every aspect of life for us in His word, doesn't he? He doesn't give us any excuse for unacceptable behavior. 

To my kids...

When they placed you in my arms, you slipped into my heart. -Unknown
You help me love.
You take my breath away.
You give me energy.  
You inspire me to be better.
You give me patience.
You surprise me.
You teach me.
You bring joy.
You made me a mommy.
You help me find the good stuff in life.

Firsts...

This last Saturday morning was a morning of a first...Melanie got up while I was still sleeping and went downstairs without me! I woke to the sound of little feet running around downstairs.  I got out of bed and found her playing.  I asked "Did you wake up and come downstairs to play by yourself?" and she just started laughing like it was the best thing she'd ever done.  Luckily she can't get into much in the fridge otherwise she might have pulled what my sister and I used to do when we were little, eating licorice and whipped cream for breakfast. (luckily we don't have either of those things in our house right now)
In the last couple weeks little tummy tumblers have become normal for our newest addition.  It usually happens after I eat or drink something.  It feels like a little gold fish is swimming and flipping around my belly and even though that seems like it would be a weird feeling, I. love. it.  Makes the pregnancy seem more real, and I realize that I don't have 2 kids anymore, I have 3!
When I was younger I thought I would only have one baby, because I didn't believe I'd be able to go through child birth more than once.  Turns out mamas have high pain tolerances. I didn't have to go through child birth, c-sections became my normal.  And being cut open and sewn back together is so worth the love that is placed in my arms afterwards.
Easton started brushing his own teeth and he actually does a better job than Melanie.  It used to be I would have to pin him down and shove the brush in his mouth to get them clean.  Now he opens his mouth voluntarily, (says awe!) lets me brush around, and then finishes by brushing them himself.
While lots of firsts bring joy, there are other firsts that bring heartache and tears.  But it is these firsts that also put things into a greater perspective, bring your heart closer to God, and remind us that it is only through Jesus that we have a hope that inspires us to move on and live better, love stronger, and visit with friends and family more often.
This week brought news that a good friend has cancer.  Since then, I've been in constant prayer and I am asking you all, my friends and family to be in prayer with me.  I'm praying for healing and hope and strength for everyone involved.  Please pray the same and let us all be reminded about what is most important in life and let the trivial things slide.