Hectic Days

My days have been pretty hectic lately.  Ever since Grace began crawling and getting into everything, I have never been more tired!  She's even pulling herself up with the help of furniture now!  This girl is on a mission and it seems nothing will slow her down.  She's too busy to want to nap as well, instead she's rather play in her crib.  Needless to say, my hands are truly full!

I've been wanting nearly everyday to write posts for this blog, but haven't found the time or the energy to do so.  It's hard for me when I know exactly what I want to write about and every word is all written out in my head just waiting to be typed onto the computer, but yet I cannot find a moment to make it happen.  It's not that I feel pressure from anyone to stay on top of my blog with lots of new posts all the time, it's me.  I really do enjoy writing in here.  It's been such a great outlet for me and I love it.

But with the busyiness of my life right now, I don't think I'll be able to write on here as much as I'd like.   Atleast for a little while.  I'll do what I can of course, but I just want to let you know my posts might not be as frequent as they have been.  See ya soon!  (I hope)!

Times

Yet another song I've just heard and have fallen in love with. The song is "Times" from Tenth Avenue North. Love the lyrics. Hope you enjoy!

This is Beautiful...

YOU ARE MY ‘I LOVE YOU’

I am your parent; you are my child. I am your quiet place; you are my wild.
I am your calm face; you are my giggle. I am your wait; you are my wiggle.
I am your carriage ride; you are my king. I am your push; you are my swing.
...I am your audience; you are my clown. I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.
I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice. I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.
I am your water wings; you are my deep. I am your open arms; you are my running leap.
I am your way home; you are my new path. I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.
I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake. I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.
I am your finish line; you are my race. I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.
I am your favorite book; you are my new lines. I am your night-light; you are my starshine.
I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo. I am your good-night kiss; you are my I love you.

by Maryann Cusimano Love and Satomi Ichikawa

Gungor - Beautiful Things

I heard this song for the first time yesterday on the radio and I find it absolutely beautiful. I love the instruments used and the deep emotion it conveys. A masterpiece in my opinion!

Growing Like Weeds

The kids are growing like weeds, so I figured you'd all enjoy some more pictures of my little munchkins!  Benjamin is growing into the "Big Brother" role already, even at his very young age.  Last week at church the nursery workers told us that he was continually monitoring Grace and the other babies, letting them know if one of the babies was wandering off or needed some attention!  I was pleased to hear this, but not too surprised as he is constantly concerned about Grace and what she's doing all day long.  He's very sweet.  It amazes me how he pays attention to every little detail that transpires around the house - I mean nothing gets past this kid!  He's absorbing everything and with his little eyes almost always glued to me, it challenges me in a positive way, to keep a good attitude and a happy face.  If he hears me sigh or sees me roll my eyes, he's right there learning to do the same thing.....  I have to admit though, that when he shrugs his shoulders it's pretty darn cute!   =)

Grace on the other hand is as sweet as ever!  She continues to be such a happy, pleasant baby and adores her Big Brother Benjamin.  Every morning when she wakes up and every evening when she goes to bed Benjamin is right there giving her hugs and kisses, which in turn makes her smile from ear to ear.   One day I took Grace with me and we were gone most of the day while Benjamin and Steve stuck together.  When Grace and I came home, Benjamin was beside himself - he went crazy over Grace!  He kept talking and waving to her, smiling and kissing her with such enthusiasm.  It was a super sweet moment to see just how much he missed her, as that had been the longest they had ever been apart.

Benjamin will turn 2 years old next month and Grace will be 7 months old in a couple of days.  I was hoping Grace wouldn't hit certain milestones like crawling and walking as early as Benjamin did, but I don't think I'm going to get my wish!  She is almost crawling, which means she is advancing even quicker than Benjamin, but I guess she just wants to keep up with her big brother!  Gracie, the active little girl that she is: is sitting on her own, wiggling all over the floor, scooching both backwards and forwards while on her tummy, up on all fours and lunging forward, and also puts herself up to a sitting position from being on her tummy - ALL ON HER OWN!  I honestly can't believe it.  Next on my "To-Do List" is to get my house baby proofed for crawling again!

All three of us are enjoying our daily walks in the stroller together, sometimes twice a day.  We are loving the warm weather and just can't stop soaking up the beautiful outdoors!  It's been just great.  I'm enjoying every moment with my sweet little babies.  Their innocent giggles and sloppy kisses melt my heart daily.  I do however miss Benjamin's adorable curls.......you will notice in the pictures that Benjamin now looks like a mini-Marine!  Steve was "trimming" his hair a few days ago, when the clippers broke and the only choice was to give Benjamin a major buzz cut.  I wasn't too thrilled about it, but it's just hair and it will grow back.......  However, with his new do Benjamin does look even more like Steve and that's also pretty darn cute, if I say so myself!  :)

***And by the way, I've finished the Dugger Family book already and it really was encouraging and inspiring to me.  I don't think that having 20 kids is in our future, but I really admire them and their calling, and I sure do look forward to having more kids.   :)

Wind at My Back

Have you ever gone biking on a trail you've never been on before, where the route is entirely new to you and you have no idea what to expect around each corner and bend?  You know that there will be some difficult steep hills as well as some nice, long downhills to enjoy, but you don't know when they are coming or how long each will last.  One thing you do know however is that there will be both.  Ups and downs.  There will be times when it seems like you are going up hill FOREVER and you wonder when will it ever end!  And as you're in the middle of biking up this steep, challenging hill the wind starts to blow against you and you have to give it all you've got with every single push of the pedal.  And with each breath you take you wonder if you're going to make it.  The weariness is growing thick.  The exhaustion is setting in.  There's so much resistance - the hill, the wind - you're wondering how much more can you take!  You know in your mind that it's eventually going to end and that soon the wind will be at your back instead of in your face, but when?  Sooner than later would be nice, right?!

Well, the wind is at my back - finally!  It took much longer than I would have liked, but it has happened (dare I say it).  And it feels so good to finally be cruising down hill again - or at least on some flat terrain.  :)    Now don't get me wrong or anything, being a SAHM is my dream come true and I really love it, but I had a really rough patch recently.  It mostly was because the kids, as well as Steve and I, were non-stop sick with colds and flus and such.  When the days turned into weeks and then the weeks turned into months, I didn't know how much longer I could keep going.  I was weary.  Beyond weary actually.  I can't even think of the word to accurately describe where I was at, but it was hard. 

In retrospect, I can really appreciate that difficult time.  It brought me so much closer to the Lord - honestly.  I was forced to lean into Him.  There were many matters of my heart that came to the surface during that time too and if I hadn't gone to such a deep, difficult place I don't believe those matters would have arose.  I think God often works that way in our lives and I am so grateful for it (although at the time I would have given anything to make that difficult time end). 

So, here I am now.  Coasting on my bike with the wind at my back!  Enjoying every moment with my sweet kids again.  Not to say that everything's easy breezy all the time, ha!  Hardly!  Although my circumstances are much better than they were - our family is no longer constantly sick and I am no longer sleep deprived - it does not mean that my everyday life is easy and perfect.  But I am different now, not because of anything I have done, but because of God and the fact that He loves me and met with me when I desperately needed Him.