a testament of God's love

check out Sara Walker's testimony. it is powerful and you will be touched by reading her words and hearing her story. click on the you tube video on her caringbridge website!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarawalker

full of thought...

the house is peaceful, the girls are at school, julia is napping and i am enjoying the quiet. i love the quiet. it is never quiet at our house so whenever anyone is napping or in bed, i just enjoy sitting in the quiet. :) i never watch tv, i don't have time. and if the tv is on, i always mute it. i like the quiet. by the time we get all the girls in bed, i feel like i have 30 min. maybe by the time i am thinking it is my bedtime! i crave the few minutes i have to myself, for they are so rare.

the only reason i force myself to sit down and blog anymore is to preserve the precious memories of the time that is going by SO fast with our growing family. i may be a little behind, but as long as i take 20 min. every couple of weeks, i can update enough to make it a part of our memories in the making. i love looking at the 2 blog books i have printed already, and i don't want to stop. i love remembering funny things they each use to do, the things they use to say, the "phases" they went through. it is so easy to forget things. those memories are truly PRICELESS.

and after this being my 3rd child to nurse, i now know maybe one of the reasons God designed mothers to breastfeed. it still amazes me, 1. how God forms, develops, and grows a baby inside a mother's womb, and, 2. how absolutely everything and anything a baby needs comes from the mother. how a baby can survive with nothing from the outside world except their momma. truly amazing. that is God for you. i have always loved nursing my babies and i have noticed with the more i have, the crazier things are obviously. i still think going from 1 baby to 2 was harder than going from 2 to 3. the having another baby is a breeze, somewhat, it is just the concept of the 2 or 3 kids that can be overwhelming. :) like when i had 2 kids under 16 months. boy how my world changed then. :) and when things are so crazy and chaotic and there are moments when i feel like i never sit down, nursing forces me to sit, stay still, be in the quiet (sometimes...if the others aren't yelling), and enjoy the time with my sweet baby. i have found it to be my quiet time to pray and thank God. i find myself praying my way through a lot of days, clinging to God to give me the strength i need to make it through a day i am so exhausted. nursing is a wonderful time for that. it forces me to "be still" in the midst of the chaos. thank you God for being my strength, my guidance, my peace, thank you for being my quiet.

and today, i actually have a little time to get some things done, but i am so unmotivated to do it. this is somewhat of an escape for me to sit and write and "get away" from my messy house. especially considering we really don't get out as much with 3 kids. i am looking around at all the things i need to do in my house....put clothes in the dryer, put more clothes in the wash, put away the clean clothes on the couch, organize a pile, pick up the millions of art papers all over our house, pick up the playroom, clean the kitchen, clear the table, organize another pile, put away more folded laundry, organize another pile, clear the counter, finish tagging consignment stuff...oh the list could go on. isn't that the story of our life? i sure wouldn't change it for the world though. i am not a neat freak by any means, but i do like a clean organized house and any parent knows, that is hard to come by, especially with 3 when the STUFF really adds up!! unorganization and clutter is what drives me crazy the most......and i have so much of both in our house! but... i have learned and still try hard to just LET IT GO on a day to day basis. just drop it, get on the floor and play with my kids instead. as justin always says, "these are the days, we can't take them back." and he is so right. they grow up so fast and as crazy as life seems to be most of the time, it is also the most precious times. my house overwhelms me so that is why i am constantly doing something. you know, there is always something that needs to be done....always..always. but i have learned to try and just accept the messy cluttered toy world and not let it get to me.

i love that my girls are so blessed to have so many fun things to play with, that they love putting on princess shows, building tents, having picnics and tea parties, coloring enough papers to cut down a forest of trees and cover our entire house, reading books to their babies, and just having fun as sisters. just the other day, justin and i were in the other room and i heard the girls in the other room playing with something and they were both singing, "God is so good, God is so good he's so good to me, He saved my soul, He saved my soul, he's so good to me." now that was a moment to cherish. they were also singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands, He's got the whole world in his hands, He's got you and me sister in his hands..." i love that they can be free to use their creative imaginations to play and create shows and build things. they are so creative and i love to watch them work together. why do we all strive for a clean house? i guess it makes things a little more calm, at least for me. if my house is in order, i feel like everything else is. i know that even if i do pick it up and organize it all back to its places, it never stays that way for more than an hour....maybe a couple hours if the kids aren't here. it is life. it is our life and i love it. i love that i can look at my girls artwork in any part of the house, whether it be on the floor or in the bathroom or in the playroom or on the kitchen table or on the fridge. it makes me happy to see their proud artwork. it melts my heart to see how hard they work on their little papers for me and for others. i felt so special yesterday because caroline was working so hard on this valentine for me and she didn't want me to come in the room and see it because she wanted it to be a surprise. i have let go having a clean playroom with a cleared off table. i have accepted the hundreds of papers thrown everywhere, the markers lying around without the tops, the broken crayons, the stickers stuck on the table, chairs, and floor, the coloring books sitting everywhere i look. what makes me feel special is what comes from all that messed up clutter....their priceless artwork. oh how special it makes me feel to have them give me a paper they have worked so hard on. :) i am so proud. i am so blessed. i PRAISE GOD for it all.

we are in the sick months of our not really winter weather this year. anna kate had the fever and cough thing last weekend, and caroline had it this week. every night it is like...what does the night hold? who is going to get up tonight? are they going to feel well when they wake up? did i mention clinging to God? oh how having kids makes you surrender and cling to HIM...at least for me. it is stressful. it is scary to have a really sick child. it is worrisome. it makes me anxious and nervous...especially fevers. i surrender. i surrender my babies in His hands, for i know he is taking care of them. it is far out of my control and i am thankful i have a Father that loves and takes care of my babies. they are ultimately his anyways, not mine. they are his gifts to justin and i. oh how i praise God all day for them and their health. justin is my rock. just the other night i was bent out of shape worrying about one of them and he said, "just go to bed and rest in HIS peace." so true. not always the easiest thing to do, but by far the best thing to do. rest in him. rest in him.

my girls have a way of melting my heart in so many ways. God sure has a plan. never in a million years did i think i would have a house full of girls. it is all in His plan. and i love to see how it unfolds. He is so good, so so good. thank you Jesus. awhile back when i was nursing julia, justin was getting the girls ready for bed and caroline came in to see me. she was jabbering away like usual and then she put her hand on julia's head and said, "you have the most specialist baby." and then she said "and you are the most specialist mommy in the world!"

and if i ever mention my head hurting or my back hurting or how tired i am, anna kate will come over to me, pat my back, and say "it's ok momma, i will take care of you. i will take care of you." it is the sweetest thing.

well i sure didn't mean to write a novel here, but it looks like i did. i feel refreshed after writing. i feel thankful. i am thankful for God's unconditional love for me, for his peace that surpasses all my understanding. thank you Jesus for being the lover of my soul. i am in constant awe of YOU. i hope everyone else will sense your peace and love today as well.

if you have made it this far in reading...i am impressed. :)

blessings!

radnor with daddy

love this..

i always get jealous when justin sends me fun pictures like this of the girls and i am not there to have the fun with them!

they love to go exploring with daddy! they get good exercise with daddy! they walk up the trails, look for deer, pick up acorns along the way, watch squirrels in the trees. he is such an amazing daddy. he loves to spend time with them, loves to take them places on adventures. they are some blessed little girls to have him and i am one blessed wife! :) won't be long before he has 3 little girls to tote around :)

they know how much mommy loves leaves :)

christmas program

before school in their pj's

here are some pictures from the girls preschool christmas program. caroline knew all the words to "o come all ye faithful" and "go tell it on the mountain" and sung them daily at our house. i love it when she knows all the words. i don't even know all the words so i learned them from her :)
caroline was so serious on stage singing and i could barely get her to crack a smile at me

daddy and julia

anna kate on the other hand, was all smiles, waving at me saying "hi mommy!" and giggled and smiled and sang the whole time

she is loving her first year of preschool! her teachers call her their "little assistant"

so proud!

the beauty of fall

i have to make a post every year about the beautiful fall leaves. the girls always have a blast raking the leaves up with daddy and making one big pile at the end of the slide. fall always flies by every year....we got our pumpkins back in the fall, in october, and we just got rid of them yesterday....in february. hopefully they will never live on that long again. :) and yes our christmas decorations did get put away...

our GOD is so GOOD!!

my 3 lil blessings

a new 4 year old a 2 year old

and a 5 week old

caroline was all smiles and poses when i had the camera out this time....love it when that happens!

i think this was the week before thanksgiving!

thanksgiving 2011

happy thanksgiving 2011!! i feel a little guilty i don't have any more pictures of julia to show for her 1st thanksgiving. :( poor 3rd child...you are always in mommy's arms and mommy rarely gets in a picture! i guess i should get better about getting my picture made with my babies:)


here are my 2 oldest sweeties, loving on each other

had to include this smile...

and this smile...

1st stop was granna and papa's...and what an absolutely beautiful day it turned out to be! we always end up outside if it is pretty! will, kaylee, and jackson were working on making a beaver dam across the creek! they all have a blast when we are outside.

once again, finding things to collect

anna kate with her hands in her "back pocket"

"look mom!" (i told her she is entirely too young to be calling me mom!)

granna and papa taking the girls for a ride in the ranger - always a treat!

anna kate and her heavy loot

2nd stop was at mimi and granddad's

i didn't get quite as many pictures, but i did get a few of the arts and craft mimi had prepared :) always a hit with my girls!

julia....ahh there she is, with auntie joanna!! asleep as usual at 5 weeks old! :)

i have so much to be thankful for. too many blessings to list! i have a Lord and Savior that loves me unconditionally, i have the most amazing husband, 3 beautiful and healthy girls, a wonderful family, awesome friends, a cozy home, i am so thankful! God is so good! be blessed today!