Ten Things Tuesday…

I recently saw this “Ten Things Tuesday” on my friend Amanda’s blog, and I thought I would give it a try.  It might get random, but I’m going to give it a chance…

1.  This past Saturday, we got to go to 2 birthday parties.  The first one was outside at the park, and it was SO cold, but we had fun celebrating Teagan’s 4th birthday!

It was an Angry Birds themed party, and the girls loved it!  They both love to play Angry Birds.  Yes, Selah can totally work the iPod touch on her own…amazing!  It blows my mind!

Happy 4th Birthday, Teagan!!

Next we went to the Booth’s house to celebrate August’s 1st birthday!  I just love 1st birthdays…there is just something about them that is so special!

August wasn’t sure what to think of his cake!!

As you can tell, he had lots of people there that love him!!  Jamie and Blake both have big families, and it was so great getting to meet so many of them!  I am so thankful for Jamie and her friendship and for her letting us be a part of Augie’s big day!

Sage and Myla had so much fun together!

2.  We had an amazing worship service on Sunday morning.  Brother Tom always does an incredible job with the music, and this Sunday did not disappoint!  We had a guest soloist, Naji Spencer, and we sang “Oh Happy Day”.  I’ve still be humming and singing it all week.  I feel like I got just a small taste of what singing is going to be like in heaven!!!  Naji is UNBELIEVABLE!!! Even the 8:30 crowd was up on their feet clapping and some even raised their hands!  : ) I loved it!!  I hope Naji can come back soon to worship with us!

Ready for church on Sunday morning!

3.  Over the past 3 weeks, Myla has finally given up her afternoon nap….well, I guess I finally let her stop taking it.  She didn’t fight it much, but most days she really didn’t want to take it.  She would still sleep several hours, which was nice for me to be able to get things done, but she wouldn’t be ready to go to bed at 7:30 when we put her down.  Some nights she would lie in her bed talking and singing until almost 10.  Now that she’s not napping, she usually goes right to sleep, which is good.  She does rest during Selah’s nap time by watching a movie, but she generally doesn’t fall asleep.  I think I hung on to the nap longer just for me.  Ha!

4.  Since we’ve moved into our new house, it is so hard for me to keep materialism in check.  There are so many things I want to do to decorate and fix it up, but we don’t really have the money to do it SO I’m trying to be patient, and patience doesn’t come naturally to me!!!!  It can be frustrating!  One thing I really want is a farm table.  I’ve been on the lookout for several months now, and I’m trying to be patient so I can find exactly what I want.  I do have my dining room table for sale so hopefully I can get the farm table I want when it sells!!

5.  Myla and I had never seen Toy Story 2 or 3 until this week.  My sweet friend, Christina, let us borrow them.  We’ve watched them several times each so far!  We don’t have cable, so if the TV is on, a movie is playing!  They are the cutest movies.  I think my personal favorite is Toy Story 3!  I’ll have to admit having them has been a nice break from Rapunzel, which we have watch probably 50 times since Easter.

6.  This semester I’ve been doing Beth Moore’s “James” Bible study at church.  I have enjoyed it so much!  We’ve had assignments each week to do and this week our assignment was to examine all of our “stuff” and determine what we “hoard”.  Everyone hoards something…it could be clothes, shoes, kitchen stuff, money, time, etc.  I’m still examining my heart and asking God to reveal the areas that I need to change.  I feel like I did a good job when we moved of cleaning out things and only keeping the things that we need.  Probably my one weakness is the girls’ clothes.  Granted, my mom buys probably 90% of their clothes, and I am VERY thankful, but sometimes I can be very vain about what they wear.   And, I am attached to them.  It’s going to be hard for me to get rid of them some day.  I know that’s weird, but I guess it’s my thing.

7.  This weekend is the Double Decker Arts & Crafts Festival in Oxford.  I’m excited about it!  I plan on taking the girls to walk around.  Michael isn’t crazy about the big crowds, but I think it is fun to go and experience it.  Our church also does a Family Fun Zone on our grounds, which is always fun.  If you are in town, stop by for a hot dog and let your kids jump on the inflatables!!

Here are the girls at DD last year!

8.  The road of adoption can be exhausting.  We’ve had a lot go on recently, and unfortunately I don’t feel that I can share a ton of details, but it has been a roller coaster.  I have prayed and praised God for His faithfulness no matter what situation I’m in.  I know He has a plan, and His plan will prevail. He has a baby out there for our family, and I can’t wait to see His plan come to fruition.  I do covet your continued prayers for our family, though, and hopefully soon I can share more details.

9.  Today we had a playdate at our house.  Jamie and her children came as well as Jill and her little ones.  The kids had a good time playing, and thankfully there were no total meltdowns.   I didn’t get a single picture…honestly I didn’t even realize it until after everyone left.  We had 6  children 4 and under, so we were busy!  I made hot turkey sandwiches and the kids had pizza!  As me, Jamie and Jill talked we discussed how easy it is as women to compare ourselves to one another.  I’ll admit, I live in comparison’s trap too much!  As women, I think we try and appear as if we have it all together, all the time.  I’m guilty too.  Just like today, I was running around cleaning and getting food ready before they got here so my house would look nice and we would have food to eat.  They wouldn’t have cared if my house wasn’t spic and span…they would love me anyway.  I, and I think most women, put too much pressure on themselves and create unrealistic expectations.  I have to pray against it often.  God didn’t make us perfect.  I don’t know why, I just felt like sharing that…maybe it will help someone else.  I’m going to really make an effort to take pressure off of myself about these things and not be judgmental of others!

10.  We have a pretty low key week the rest of this week, so I am thankful for that!  I have a roast in the Crockpot tonight for supper, which I’m excited about!  We are going to a benefit fundraiser for our local Save-A-Life pregnancy center on Thursday night, which I think will be fun!!  Thanks for bearing with me on my 10 Things Tuesday.  Hopefully, I will remember to keep it up!  Have a great week, everyone!

As of late…

I realized that I have not updated in awhile, so I look through my recent pictures, and there was really no rhyme or reason to them…so they will all be in one post!!

I love when I catch little moments together when the girls are playing and laughing.  I want to remember those moments actually happen!  Ha!!  They really do love each other, but they have a funny way of showing it sometimes. 

Last Monday, Mimi and Bodie were out of school, so we rode to Tupelo together to do some shopping and to play at the playground in the mall.  The girls love going there!   The only pictures I took were in the car on the way home!

Of course, poor Selah was passed out before we got out of the parking lot of the mall! She had played her heart out!

While we were in Tupelo on Monday, my friend Jill sent me a text and told me that she and her kids were going to Tupelo the next day to see Katie’s new house and asked me if we wanted to ride…so back to Tupelo we went!!  Myla and Mady were so excited to ride the carousel at the mall!

Myla has come a long way with stuff like this.  She used to be scared to death of the carousel…then she would ride it, but would only sit on the bench (which is Selah’s preferred choice to ride now)…but, now she runs and hops on a horse and loves it!!

Mady enjoyed riding a horse too!

On the second ride, both of Jill’s children opted for the bench!  I didn’t get any pictures at Katie’s house, but we had a ball!  The kids played and played and us moms talked and talked!  I’m so thankful for good friends!

One day last week, Myla was determined for Selah to get some panties and wear them.  Ha!  We went to Walmart and got her some Mickey Mouse panties (her request).  As soon as we got home, Myla got down to business.  She took her diaper off and helped her get her panties on.  I am really in no rush to potty train as Selah really has shown no interest and I think I would simply be frustrating myself and her if I tried at this point, but I let Myla entertain herself with her attempt to potty train!

The sweet and helpful big sister assisting!

I think Selah wondered what in the world was going on, but she went along with it for awhile.

Of course, Myla quickly escorted her to the potty to “try” and go with no luck.  Approximately 4 minutes later, Selah had an accident (which didn’t bother her in the least), but Myla was upset!  She kept saying, “Selah, you can’t tee tee on Mickey Mouse!  You have to keep him dry!”  Selah would just laugh at her!

Last Thursday night there was a Kindergarten Round Up at Bramlett.  Myla was a bit overwhelmed and very shy during the night as we toured the school and met teachers and other children.  I’m still torn about what to do as far as schooling, but I did register her and wanted to do the tour just in case. 

She warmed up as she got on the playground.  She later informed me that her favorite part of the school was the playground.  I still am in shock that it is almost time for her to start Kindergarten.  It just doesn’t seem possible!

The girls look forward to Michael coming home everyday, and this afternoon was no different!  They were standing at the window watching for him, and they both got so excited when they saw him turn on our road!!  They love their Daddy!

Tonight I went to see October Baby with some other girls.  If you haven’t seen it, and it is showing nearby you, go see it!  It is certainly tough to hear and watch, but the message is incredible!  Every life, born or unborn, has meaning and a purpose.  Please go support this movie!

Happy Easter!!!

Oh my goodness, I seriously cannot remember a better Easter holiday than this years!  Yesterday we went to Batesville to spend the day with Michael’s family.  Mary Jennifer, Spencer and “Baby” Luke (as my girls call him) came from Jackson too!  We spent the day visiting, hunting eggs, taking naps and eating!!  I am so blessed to have my in-laws.  They are seriously like parents to me.  Considering Michael and I have been together now for almost 17 years, I guess they could claim me as a daughter!  HA!! 

Myla and Selah are always thrilled to be with Sae Sae and Granddaddy (or Big Daddy Joe) as Selah calls him. It’s hysterical!!

They don’t mind Mommy being around either, but I’m pretty much chopped liver when the grandparents are around!  But, isn’t that the way it should be??

Selah and Rosco struck up their old friendship and played together throughout the day!

We were so excited to see Luke.  He has gotten SO big since Christmas.  I could eat his big, fat thighs up!  You can see how thrilled he was with Myla holding him.

Sae Sae and Granddaddy with their growing brood!  Sae Sae can’t wait to have more little ones running around!!!

Granddaddy was kind enough to hide eggs for the girls after we had a very delicious lunch!  Selah is figuring the egg hunting thing out for sure!

Myla LOVED it!

“I think I see another one!!”

They had to check out what was in their eggs!

I lost count of how many pieces of candy Selah ate.  Oh my…I’m surprised she wasn’t sick!

Selah and Granddaddy supervising Myla’s hunt!

Selah wanted to hold Luke too, but Luke wasn’t having it!! Of course, Selah’s “hold” is more of a choke hold!

I love to do Easter baskets for the girls, much to Daddy’s dismay!  Michael isn’t crazy about the Easter Bunny and Santa, but he lets me do it anyway! 

There’s just something about seeing their faces when they wake up in the mornings!

Myla was covering her eyes while she walked in.

Checking it all out!

Selah was still half asleep.  She had JUST woken up.  HA!  I’m not sure she knew what to think.

She loved her Elmo eggs

Myla was so excited that Selah got some flip flops!

She, of course, wanted to put them on immediately.  Thank goodness she let me put her white sandals for church!

We had to take some pictures are we got all dressed up!  I love these girls and that man!  I’m so blessed!

Me and my girls.  I have to tell you about their dresses, just because I love a good bargain.  Selah’s is a hand-me-down from Myla.  She wore it in Mary Jennifer’s wedding when she was the flower girl.  I got it for $6 at a consignment sale.  Last fall my mom and I went to another consignment sale, and we found the same dress in Myla’s size.  I think it might have been $20.  Either way, I was so excited when I found it, and I knew their Easter dresses were taken care of!!

Mimi and Bodie came to church then came over for lunch!  The girls love it when they are here!

Sis Sis was here too!

And so was Pey Pey.  These girls LOVE their Pey Pey!!

Our newest family picture!  I’m really getting excited that we can get pictures without tears now!

Little Angels.  HA!

Myla was super excited that Mimi and Bodie brought her Tangled.  Can you tell she was excited?  We’ve watched it 3 times today!

Peyton, Mom and Me – And let me just mention…I am so sad about how I look in these pictures.  Last year I lost 30 pounds, and I have gained it ALL back.  Looking at these pictures was a wake up call to get back at it and get this weight off.  Starting tomorrow I am doing PRISM again, like I did last year.  Maybe this will hold me accountable.  Feel free to ask me about it…I need the accountability!

Peyton, Sis Sis and me

Me and my wonderful husband!! 

As I said earlier, this Easter has been so wonderful.  The music and message this morning at church were unbelievable.  I am so thankful to serve a RISEN Savior!  I am also so thankful to have such a wonderful family.  I find it so comforting to have everyone here and all be together.  Sae Sae and Granddaddy came for lunch too, but unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of them today!  I hope you and your family experienced a great Easter holiday too!