4.23.2017

My Wish For You, Logan




My wish for you Logan is that you find joy in all that you experience. I hope that you can be grateful for everything God blesses you with, find the silver lining of every cloud, and that you find your perfect place in life. 

I hope that your job is something that makes you happy 
and that you find love, because it so enriches everything else.

I want you to forever be close to your twin, your brother and your sister, and also your parents. 
I hope you know you can come to us, always, and we'll be there for you.

Thank you for everything you have taught me about motherhood-- like cutting nails; how to trust God during the scary stuff; and how to be brave during an MRI.  You are so tough.  And that toughness will get you through anything life throws at you.

Thank you for making me a mom, for being my first born, for being an amazing big brother and for loving your grandma's & aunts so much. You are precious to all of us.

I love you, Bogs.
Today & Forever.
Love, Mommy

***

It's a Boy!

My sweet baby cousin and her new husband are expecting their first little one. So over spring break we got to meet up for lunch and find out what it is!  I voted boy, but she was thinking girl...



Sisters! My cousins Savanna & Alix
My niece Annie





Love these babies together!

Cousins!

Nanny (my mom) with her only two granddaughters

My Uncle Jon (the soon-to-be grandpa) was enamored with Carly

Parents-to-be!




It's a BOY!
For a gift, I put a pair of hand-me-down Osh Kosh overalls from the twins and a hand-me-down dress from Carly, so either way, we'd be covered.  I can't wait to see their beautiful baby boy in those overalls.  

4.21.2017

Around Here: Week 16












Flying... a kite with Wyatt after school last Friday. He was elated. Overjoyed. It was the most precious thing I've ever seen.  Logan also got to fly it while we played at the park during the birthday party only Jack was invited to.

Planting... a succulent for my windowsill.  I put it in a Fiesta ware cream pitcher my mom gifted me.  Its on my 100 small things list and I'm so happy to cross it off!  I love it!

Contemplating... putting the twins together for fourth grade because Jack's awesome teacher is moving up. There are definite pros and cons, and I am open to any opinions or insight.

Hearing... that Logan's MRI showed some disturbing news.  Blogged about that here.

Waiting... for a plumber to show up after our garbage disposal died on Easter leaving us without a kitchen sink for four days. Thank God for paper plates and amazing neighbors!

Laughing... to myself as Carly pooped in the bath tub with Wyatt.  I scooped it out before he saw and ran him a shower once I got her out. Luckily he didn't ask me why I made him shower after a bath.

Working... all last weekend to get our backyard looking how we want for spring.  The boys were so helpful and we got rocks moved all along the house so no brush is up against it.  Josh also removed three stumps and two trees and I weeded the grass so he can plant fresh.

My three lilac plants from my Aunt Barbara survived the winter, and I can't wait for them to have blooms!

Cringing... as Jack and Logan wrestled and broke Logan's glasses.  Boys. (shaking my head...) Sigh.  Luckily we have a spare pair for each boy under the bathroom sink, so Logan got his out.  Fast forward to yesterday evening when he asked me to ask his teacher if he could sit in the front of the class.  So we played around with his spare pair and his other pair he broke and he couldn't read a word with his spare pair.  Then (lightbulb!) I realized that Logan and Jack had the same glasses, and Logan had been wearing Jack's spares all week.

Crying... as I read the last few chapters of Wonder to the twins. This has been such a wonderful, gut-wrenching, conversation-starting book... I can't recommend it enough.

Reading... Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst.  I finished it yesterday afternoon, and oh boy, did it speak to my heart.  So many good quotes & ideas:

"Even if something doesn't feel good, God can still work good from it." 

"Bitterness, resentment and anger have no place in a heart as beautiful as yours."

And lastly,
"I've got to spend time getting quiet so I can be prepared to hear new things from the Lord.  Isn't it a lovely thought that God might be waiting for there to be silence in your life in order to share some of His best secrets with you?"

I am also reading these books currently: The Gift of an Ordinary Day; The Lies We Believe; 1000 Gifts; Seizures & Epilepsy in Childhood: A Guide for Parents.  Then I'll be reading Freakanomics, Brain Rules and The Forgetting Time.  I also really want to read The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve.  She's my hands-down, all-time favorite author.  The book came out two days ago, and I'm dying to buy it for my collection, but we're on a budget, so I'm waiting.  My other favorites of hers are Sea Glass, Fortune's RocksBody Surfing.

Looking forward... to a gathering at a local church to hear a simucast of some Christian authors I adore tonight and all day tomorrow. Ann Voskamp, Shawna Niequist & Lysa TerKeurst. Squeal!

Thankful... that Josh knows my bucket needs to be filled and is willing to have all four kids for basically two days so I can attend this event. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me!

Praise This Week:
Sunshine everyday so we could walk to school
Logan's lack of medication side effects
Carly's sleep returning after a week of teething
My amazing neighbors
Our plumbing issues being resolved.

Prayer Requests: 
Clarity in deciding whether we want the twins in class together next year or not.


"Carry on.  
Things will work out.  
If you keep trying and praying and working, 
things will work out.  
They always do." 
-Gordon B. Hinckley

***


4.20.2017

Pool of the Wind Hike

 Also over spring break, we planned a hike with my dad to Hardy Falls "Pool of the Wind".  My sister and her son Ferris, along with myself and the twins joined my dad on this beautiful hike.  We had so much fun, and there was barely a complaint from our three little hikers. 

My dad is an avid hiker and I hope to instill in my kids the same love of nature he instilled in me. 
















 When you peek your head around that rock Jack (in red) is holding onto...

 this is what you see-- 
a beautiful aqua pool at the bottom of a waterfall.  
It looks like a mermaids lagoon.








**shoutout to my sister who took a lot of these pictures
-- thank you Roxanne!