My Sweet Adalyn

So all of my other three children have gotten a post all to themselves except for Adalyn so I thought she was more than deserving of her own little update!

This girl just puts a smile on my face. She is such a fun girl and so much fun to be around. Jeff always tells her "I'm going to miss four year old Adalyn". It's the truth. She says so many cute things that always have us giggling right along with her. She loves doing school with mommy. She has started to learn how to read and she is picking it up very quickly. Making mommy proud! This girl has a crazy memory and is so so great at memorizing Bible verses. We have ten posted on our wall in the school room that we have been working on. She can just rattle them off with no problem. She loves to play "dance class", "church" or "choir". She is the teacher and she tells her little class what to do. It always makes me laugh. The other day she was playing "church" and reading to her "students". This is what she said: "Okay kids. Jesus is the way and the truth okay." Haha, that's part of one of our Bible verses we have memorized. I love it!

This morning we had to go drop Jeff's jeep off at the shop, so we all hopped in the van in our pj's and it was pretty cold out. As Adalyn was buckling up she kept saying "it's so soakin cold!". So funny!

The other night, as I was making dinner the big girls were arguing about something. Adalyn started yelling at Aubrey and I told her to stop. Her response "Well I'm trying to tell her something and she just keeps erupting me." :)

This happened during Christmas time but it was so funny I didn't want to forget it. Adalyn and I were listening to "What Child is this" and I was telling her that Mary must have been so scared when she found out she was having a baby. Adalyn asked why and I told her because she was young and not married. Adalyn's response: "Oh thats not good!". Oh, I laughed about this one for days!

Although she has come out of her shell a lot in the last few months, she is still pretty shy. She does not like attention on her at all! She is a lot like mommy in that way.  If she says something funny and other people are around and we start laughing she covers her face and fights off tears. We have to be really sensitive to not embarrass this girl. 

There are so many more! I'm going to have to come back and add more as I remember them.

This girl loves to dance. More than anything! Her dance class is what she looks forward to all week. For example if it is a Thursday she will say "Today, is Thursday and then it's Friday and then it's Saturday and Daddy gets to stay home, and then it's Sunday and then it's Monday and then IT'S TUESDAY AND I GET TO GO TO DANCE CLASS!". She does this almost daily. She constantly dances around the house, or she puts cd's in her cd player in her room and just dances and dances (Avery has joined in now). I think we may be doing dance for awhile. 

Adalyn Ella is just a sweet sweet girl, who loves to cuddle and seems to always need "just one more kiss and hug mommy!". She definitely has her moments of throwing herself on the floor or crossing her arms and stomping her foot when she doesn't want to do something, but she tries really hard to make good choices. She is a great helper, she loves to help her little sister and brother, she is a Daddy's girl most definitely, she loves to read books (and the stories she "reads" are hysterical!), she loves to sing her choir songs for us and she really loves to play with her friends. She is growing up so very fast and I just am trying to cling to all the cute things she says and the cute way she says them. She always tells me she wants to be a mommy teacher like me and several times a day she says "mommy, I love you and you're pretty." I love this little girl of mine and I can't wait to watch her grow up to a beautiful young girl. I pray often for her heart, that she will learn to love God with all of her heart and that she will be a devoted follower of Him.

Landon is 3 Months

Can you believe it? 3 months already (well actually 3 1/2 now, I can't seem to keep up with it all these days). How does this baby stuff go so fast. The itty bitty infant stage is definitely over and we have a big baby boy on our hands. We weighed him a few weeks ago and he was almost 13 pounds so I'm he is at least 13 pounds now, but he could be even bigger! Landon is just as sweet as can be, he is pretty much happy most of the time (well as long as mommy is around or so I've heard), he has turned into an excellent sleeper once again (this has come and gone) and he has been sleeping 8-9 hours at night, he has a great big toothless grin that can melt anyone's heart, he absolutely loves to be talked to and sung too, this always leads to those big grins. He has started a little baby babbling which is just too cute. We get a little teeny tiny giggle every now and then but I know that big giggle is just around the corner and I can't wait for that. He loves his big sisters, all three of them. Aubrey can always get smiles from him. In fact, if he is crying Aubrey says "he doesn't need his paci, I can get him to stop crying without it." Oh dear, that girl needs to reminded often that she is just the big sister. Avery gets very possesive of him also. If one of her sisters is hugging him when she wants to, she squeezes her way in all while saying "mine". Nice huh!  I love this boy so so much and I thank God that He blessed me with this precious gift. I can't wait to see what this next month holds, but I also want time to slow down!

Here he is in his bumbo, but his head was getting tired so I was helping him prop it up. This was also like the eighth time he sat in it and I was feeling a bit guilty that I didn't really have any pictures of him in it. Poor guy!

Happy 2nd

 Time just continues to fly and somehow, somewhere I blinked and our sweet littlest girl turned two! It just really doesn't seem like it's been two years since this cute one joined the family, but it surely has been. Avery is seriously just cute cute cute. She has an adorable personality, she is full of energy all day every day until her little head hits her bed each night, she loves to be a helper, she would dance and jump all day long if she could, elmo is her favorite as is her baby brother, and she is just a joy to be around. She is still our tiny little girl and  I love her!

She has finally started talking a little bit more and says some pretty cute little things. Like I mentioned earlier she loves elmo, but for some reason she calls him "ice". I have no idea why but that's what she has decided to call him. If I ask the girls if they want to watch a show she runs to the tv yelling "ice" over and over again. She loves him and it cracks me up. When I took her sisters shopping for her for her birthday they just wanted to buy her every Elmo thing they saw.

Throughout the week day, when Daddy is at work she will often say "airs Daddy?" and lifts her palms up while asking me a question. It is cute! Once I tell her he is at work she says "I ont Daddy" which is translated into "I want Daddy". See, she is just cute! She also does the same thing with Landon whom she calls "buby".  Anytime she sees Landon she yells "buby!". That girl loves her brother.

Another cute thing she does is she loves to point to something and say "whas this?". Once we answer she points to the next thing and says "whas this?". This game can go on and on and on!

Avery loves Special K cereal. She loves to start her day out with a bowl of Special K. Once she eats one bowl she immediately says "I ont more" and she sticks her little pointer finger by her mouth when she says it. It is so funny. She does this with a few foods she likes. She is a super picky eater which is different than her sisters. She just doesn't eat much and it drives Jeff and I crazy!

On Saturday we had a little party for her with some of our Kingwood friends here at our house. It was lots of fun and she definitely seemed to enjoy having everyone celebrate her! It was a beautiful day outside so most of the kids spent the whole time outside on the swing set. It was a fun fun day celebrating our sweet two year old!

 

Check out Jeff's shirt. My friend made this for him to be funny. He was a trooper!

 

 On Monday was her actual birthday and we had such a great day together as a family. Jeff had the day off which was an added perk. It was another gorgeous day outside so we spent the day at two different parks, lunch at Chick-fil-a, playing in the backyard, pizza and cake for dinner followed by presents of course!

Presents and cake!

We got her this princess tent. She loved it! She would go inside and all she would do was jump. We were all cracking up. Then Jeff thought maybe that she thought it was  a jumping castle and I think he was right. It was so fun watching her!

Avery Brenna, you are one special little girl. We love you so very much and you have brought so much joy and laughter to our family. Happy 2nd Birthday beautiful girl!

Motherhood

I have had a lot on my heart lately regarding motherhood, regarding home schooling. People ask me all the time "what made you decide to home school". That question honestly makes me sweat a little. I'm even scared to post this! I have a lot of answers to that question but I am so terrified of offending the person that asked me that my answer is usually "well, it's just something that we felt God called our family too". While that is a truthful statement there is so much more to it. It's not because I think the public school system is horrible (although I'm not really a fan of it :) ) , or that I want to shelter my kids. I love being a mommy. I love it with every ounce of my being, and I feel like this is the exact job that God made me for. He made me to be a mommy to Aubrey, Adalyn, Avery and Landon. He gave Jeff and I the job to teach our children. This is my ministry, this is where I am supposed to pour my heart out and this job is so fulfilling to me. I feel like if I send them off most days, all day that I am going to have a hard time ministering to them and teaching them the way I feel led to do. Even though it leaves me exhausted and many times it leads me to tears and frustration, it is what God made me for. I fully believe that. He entrusted me to these four little souls and asked me to guide them, to teach them, to love them, to sympathize with them, to connect with them, to pour His love into them on a daily basis. I tell Jeff that I feel like my time is no longer my own and that is the truth! I have the hardest time finding time to clean, to read, to shop, to be crafty. I know that's just part of the sacrifice. I have had to set my agenda aside,  set my to do list aside and stop making these unrealistic expectations of what I need to accomplish in one day. I have to make myself available to those four little ones that are constantly at my side, to read to them, to play with them and to connect with them every day. You know that's all our kids want from us. They want us, they want our time. They really don't want to watch tv, or play computer games etc. They want their mommy and daddy to sit face to face with them and talk and play and read. I have to constantly remind myself of this all day every day!I want them to grow up to become confident, independent adults who love God and become wholehearted followers of Him. This is what He called me to do, to raise these four to become followers of Him so that He might use them to bring others to Him. Eternity always has to be the goal! Jeff and I are the ones that are supposed to teach our children about God's unlimitedless love. That is how He designed it. So I must devote my time to them, I must devote my time to God, to allow Him to pour His truths into my heart so I can then pour it into my kids.   It's hard, most definitely it's hard. But I am so thankful that God did call us onto this journey and I would not have it any other way. I constantly thank God for allowing me to be home with my kids and to have the priviledge to be their teacher, their friend, their confidant, and their mommy. So that's my answer.

 Here is a glimpse into how many of my days go. There is some dirty laundry on the floor in my bedroom, and this day my kids never made it out of pj's, but here they all are. The big girls were reading and singing to Landon and Avery was trying to put Hello Kitty sunglasses on him. Good thing I was there to save him from that! Love these four.

I am by no means a perfect mommy. I am sinful human being that constantly makes mistakes, uses harsh words and looses my temper. But I serve a faithful God who forgives me, sympathisizes and allows me to try again day after day.

My First Born

This girl is so precious to my heart. She is my first born, most of the time she is our experiment, she is meant to be an example to all her littles, she is my helper, my rule follower, my dramatic one, definitely a girly girl and she has such a kind heart. I have poured my heart and soul into this girl of mine since the moment she was mine. I love her with every ounce of my being and being her mommy is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. She is growing up so quickly and somewhere along the way she began turning into a young lady and not my baby anymore. Yesterday I had one of those moments with her that made my heart almost burst! I knew if I didn't stop what I was doing and write it down it may get lost in my brain that is crammed with way too much stuff to keep up with anymore! Last night as I was making dinner she came downstairs with her Bible and sat at the table and began "reading"  it out loud. (She is making huge steps in learning to read by the way). She said a bunch of cute things that just had me smiling the whole time I was making dinner. But this part is what stood out to me the most. "

God is our Father and He made everything and we are His children. Christmas is about Jesus being born, not about presents, not about Santa. Easter is about Jesus being alive, not about eggs or the Easter Bunny. And that is the truth." I was pretty proud and told Aubrey how much I loved her and she was a pretty smart girl. She told me "Well you taught me it all Mommy. Oh and I learned a lot at church too!".

I mean how could I not beam with pride for my first born after that. I have spent countless hours praying for her, worrying that she wasn't learning enough or quickly enough or that she wasn't always interested in learning about the Bible. I have learned along this mothering pathway that I must fill my own self up with God's truth and love by spending time with Him (which doesn't happen enough I must admit), in order to be capable of filling my forever needy children up all day. It's exhausting to be needed every second of the day, to never get much of a break and at times I feel like I am not at all doing a good job. I complain too much, I'm not thankful enough even though I know this time with them is so short and God gave them to me to minister into their little hearts. So when I moment like this happens I can't help but stop what I'm doing, grab my sweet girl and hug her so very tight, and thank God that His truths are pouring into her heart. I can see her little brain working, trying to figure it all out and I'm hopeful that it won't be long til she is ready to be apart of His forever family. 

I'm just a thankful and proud mommy today.  I love my children more than it is even possible to say, and I serve a loving Father who wants nothing more than for me to love Him in return and to teach others about Him. I am beyond thankful that He entrusted Jeff and I with these four souls to teach, to train, to guide, to love and most importantly to lead them to Him. 

These cute pictures where taken a couple of months ago on a Mommy Daughter date to the mall. I never got around to blogging it but it was such a fun day with just me and my girl (and Landon tagged along too but he let us have our girl time!)

This picture puts a smile on my face. Everytime she went around on the carousel to where I was standing she would sign "I love you" to me. How precious is that!

New Helmets!

The big girls were in desperate need of new helmets. We have been squeezing their heads into helmets they got for their birthdays two and a half years ago. They were so excited about these that they got for Christmas and asked all day if they could go ride their bikes with their new helmets. But because of the storm and  the cold temps they weren't able to go out. The next day  Jeff took them outside and on a walk to try them out. It was really cold outside (especially for us) but they had a blast and Jeff took some super cut pics of the girls. They were worthy enough of a blog post all of it's own!

Christmas Day

Christmas day was a wonderful day from the moment we all woke up, all the way til we crawled back in bed that night. It was a perfect day spent with my family, opening presents, playing all day, eating some yummy food and I just felt completely blessed to be with the ones I love most on this earth. Christmas Eve night we got cookies and milk ready for Santa. The big girls were pretty excited about Christmas morning and had a pretty hard time falling asleep. Adalyn gave us a laugh as she was going to bed. She told me "I'm afraid I might hear Santa and I don't want to hear him". We assured her he was in a hurry and would not be coming upstairs! Love that cute girl. Christmas morning our first girl didn't wake up til 10 til 8. Jeff and I were shocked! I went ahead and got up and dressed waiting for the rest of the house. I was a little excited myself. Once everyone was up Daddy read us the Christmas story, we said a prayer and we headed down stairs.

And this is what they saw when they got downstairs.

There were some pretty excited faces. Avery didn't hesitate a second to climb in her car from Santa. She loves it!

Aubrey and Adalyn both asked Santa for a new reading chair for their rooms. They were so excited when they saw what he left them.

Daddy reading one of the many new books they got!

 

Landon finally woke up and it was his turn to get to open some presents.

Time out to pose for some pictures!

The sisters exchanging presents. They love this part!

Adalyn was so excited to give Daddy this new cup she picked out.

Nana and Papaw sent us some fun gifts too!

I think Landon enjoyed his first Christmas!

This happened to be one of the girls favorite things they got. Adalyn played with this the majority of the day and they have continued to play with it constantly.  It's called Design and Drill. It was a good find and I highly recommend it.




I'm pretty bummed I didn't take anymore pictures of the rest of the day. We had a bad storm come through that day and it seriously knocked our power on and off all. day. long! We had a brisket in the oven and potatoes in the crock pot and every time it came back on we had to remember to turn the oven and crock pot back on again. It was a miracle we even got to eat dinner at all although it was an hour and a half later than we had planned. Then when it did come time to eat there was no power and it was dark outside so most of our dinner was eaten by candle light, and me, the picture taking queen didn't get one picture of that! Boo. It was a memorable Christmas indeed! We really enjoyed our day together and celebrating the birth of the One who came to save us all. That night after the kids were in bed Jeff and I watched The Nativity. It was such a good movie and we hope to make it a tradition.