Big Sibs

We are all getting excited about Lydia's arrival!  This anticipation is expressed in many ways and here are a few:

some of us make Lydia a "pretty house" out of paper

Some of us drive Lydia's momma CRAZY stalking around trying to snuggle with the belly

the sister-types like to practice their swaddling methods

and practice rocking the baby

and practice kissing the baby

and some of us get ready for Lydia by putting the baby's porta-bed together with great care.  :)

Some of the things I want to remember are not easily photographed, but are so precious, just the same:
-prayers of thanks for "our baby Lydia"
-the many many pieces of artwork creatied for Lydia Kate
-the way Camille breathlessly tells folks about our baby "Alivia Kate"
-the way every new baby and stuffed animal is now named "Lydia Kate"
-the way Reecie wraps her arms around my belly to give Lydia hugs and kisses
-the way Graham sings "Hush Little Baby" to Lydia each night:
Hush little Lydia don't you cry, Bubba's gonna buy you....
-the many, many conversations about who will change, feed, burp, help, sit next to in the truck, and be with Lydia each moment of the day  :)

I'm so excited to enjoy our precious people together and watch their relationships grow into something so beautiful!  

awake

It's 5:10am (new spring forward time) and I'm WIDE awake.  Baby bumpin' around....indigestion....and the cutest little (almost) three year old snuggled so close that I practically fell out of bed.  So here I am, in my "happy" place.  Recording these fleeting moments...how quickly I forget.

Yesterday was Hannah Reece's half-birthday--6 1/2!  I made her blueberry muffins for breakfast and we had grand plans to hit the skating rink for "Kids Skate Free" but finishing the girls' room took all afternoon.  And I love how it turned out!  Every inch of that 10x12' space is fully functioning.  :)  I look in there and STILL cannot get over the fact that God has entrusted ME with three daughters.

I started babysitting around the age of 11, I was a responsible, detail-oriented, baby-loving girl whom mothers trusted.  (I still can't imagine leaving my babies with an eleven-year-old---no matter how mature??)   Anyway, for several years, all of my babysitting gigs were for boys.  Gangs of brothers.  My mom would jokingly say that God was preparing me for a "basketball team" of boys someday.  Funny how those prophetic words (even in jest) stick!  :)  So with each new daughter I still can't believe it's true.  And I never would have imagined just how much I'd enjoy raising daughters.  They are complex little creatures, to be sure.  I am learning so much about myself (the good, bad and ugly) because a this stage, they mirror my attitudes and responses in so many ways.  I remind them often how blessed they are to have each other.  Even in the midst of squabbles and irritations, what a great blessing -- the assurance of life-long allies in sisterhood.

I pray that they would be women of noble character.  Honest.  Whole-hearted.  Kind.  Compassionate. Courageous.  Resourceful.  And I pray that the Lord would continue to grow me in these areas, too.  I get so overwhelmed by the "dailiness" of life at times that I lose perspective.  And then I fall into self-pity, or the "if only's" and that is just flat toxic.  Lord, rescue me from myself.  I want to be consumed with your life-giving, strengthening JOY and PEACE.  Fully surrendered to you!

sweet

The girls and I got a hankering for cupcakes tonight...and so we made 'em!  We're working on taking turns with the spoon in the kitchen.  Everyone wants to stir.  ;)

Here's "C-licious" after her nap, buck nekkid, chowing down on a  cupcake.  I love her warm snugs and sweaty baby head smell when she wakes up...can't get enough of my Millie girl!

She was so tickled with the way her voice sounds when she has her mouth stuffed full of cupcake.

One of our favorite traditions is the Christmas book basket.  So cool to watch the kids pour over these books, some familiar and some new to us this year.

Look at this little sweetie!  Eighteen weeks now.  

Feeling good.  Feeling sleepy.  Feeling HUNGRY!  Feeling some growing pains (round ligament).  Feeling little bumps and flutters.  Feeling so, so, so thankful.

fall wall + today

Oh, how I love these people I live with!  I am so thankful that they put up with my tired, moody, hungry-for-the-most-random-stuff-and-need-it-right-now pregnant self.   Look at these girls.  I'm trying to teach modesty here, but mercy, they are so blissfully happy when I let them jump on the trampoline topless.  :)  Sweet sisters.  They are starting to play together more.  Playing is not straight-forward as it is for boys, that is for sure.  Boys play, disagree, walk-away, and move on.  I'm encouraging the use of words, compromise and lots and lots of patience with these precious daughters. I love to see them play together!

This is one awesome man.  He cooks, he cleans, he takes all three kids on multiple errands and he grooms the dog.   He AMAZES me-I adore you Dan. 

Reecie and I did a little rearranging on our picture wall.  I took the mason candle jars down from the hooks on the second shelf and tied a little jute to the end hooks.  Added some clothes pins and we chose some current and past seasonal artwork from my little Picasso's and voila!  It feels like fall now.  :)  I love pulling out the kids old artwork and using them as decor on this wall with each season.  The second one from the right is something Graham made in Kindergarten, it says:  " I go to pupkin  I luv pupkins."  That was after we went to the most awesome pumpkin patch while living in Charlotte.  

Reecie surprised  G + C this afternoon with a scavenger hunt.  She asked me to get the Easter baskets down and made a "list" of items:  pumpkin, clothespin, little ball and a string.  She is so creative!  Graham found two of the items and Reecie "found" the rest.  ;)