Say Cheese!

Every time I get the camera out, this is the face I get from Charlotte...

 

 

 

Pretty cute, huh? Now any time I say, "Charlotte, say 'Cheeeeese!'" she makes the face. I can't get enough of it. It just cracks me up!

 

I recall her big sister making a similar face just a few years ago...

 



Hello.

Well, hello blog. Long time, no see.

I always swore to myself that I wouldn't be one of those people that doesn't keep up with their posts. I always hate when I get attached to reading someone's blog and then they just quit. I'll check for a new post every day but I get nothing. They just quit blogging for months!

Apparently that's me. I am that person.

I blame the kids.

Really, I do! I blame the kids. Free time just seems to slip past me these days. Or at least enough free time that allows me to write new posts. When I do find some extra time, I normally find myself prioritizing what is more important. Some days I'm just happy to get a shower! Ha!

I'm really sad about this leave of absence I took because there are so many funny things that happen daily around here that I want to keep up with! It's just tough to find the time. I'll try to do better. Or I want to do better. I can't promise anything though.

Both of the girls are asleep for the night, Drew and Zoe are passed out on the couch, and it's New Year's Eve. Poor Charlotte has strep throat and ear infections in both ears so we had a nice evening in. We made homemade pizza, played with some sparklers, and put the girls to bed early with plans of catching a movie on TV... apparently Drew just couldn't hang. So I'm up by myself and it's pretty nice.

With tomorrow being the first day of 2015, it makes me think about everything that happened last year. We welcomed our sweet little Char Char. It's hard to believe that this time last year, we still didn't know if she was a boy or a girl... and now she's a month shy of being ONE year old!? How does that happen so quickly?!? Olivia was a flower girl in 2 weddings, one being my Mom's. We're so thankful for her husband, Kean. He's brought joy back to her life like she's never known before and we just love him and his family! We spent a few days with them after Christmas at their house and had such a fun time in Branson. Olivia turned 4 this year. Something about this birthday made her believe she needed to test my patience like never before, but she's still such a sweet and caring little girl! Drew turned 29. I turned 27. We found out we're getting a nephew! (In about 2 weeks now!) We had grand adventures floating down rivers in Oklahoma, playing in the sands of Orange Beach, and scuba diving in the grottos of Cozumel. My best friend/hair dresser moved away. Like 7 hours away, and I'm so sad. I miss her so much. And my hair misses her too! My sister got engaged to said best friend/hairdresser's brother. That is so exciting! Two cute little unicorns celebrated Halloween, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, and the absolute best Christmas this year.

2014 has truly been a blessing, and as cliché as it sounds... I can't wait to see what this new year will bring.

The Wedding

Once upon a time in a not so very far away kingdom lived a beautiful young maiden who possessed the powers to make her Daddy do whatever she wanted. He was weak to her powers and crumbled every time she batted her eyes at him. This is their story...

A few days ago, Olivia and I had this conversation...

"Mom, can I marry Daddy?"
"No, Daddy is married to me."
"But who can I marry?"
"Well, how about you ask your Daddy when he gets home."
"Ok!"

So that night she popped the question.

"Daddy, will you marry me when I get older?"
"I'm married to your Mama."
"I know, but there's no one left to marry me!"
"Ok, I'll marry you."
"Yaaay! If other boys ask to marry me I'll always say no because I'm already married to you, Daddy."
"That's what I like to hear... always tell the boys no."

Fast forward to this morning when she was playing dress-up... she came in the office and announced that she was marrying Daddy in one hour. Good thing she doesn't have a grasp on time yet. Drew called and told her that he could marry her when he got home from work.

As soon as he got home, he changed clothes and left to go fishing with a buddy and we were headed out the door to Livy's dance class, but you better believe she didn't forget about it! She called him as soon as dance was over and reminded him about his promise.

So tonight when he got home from fishing, she got dressed and picked out his wedding attire... it had to match hers, of course. She also informed him that he needed to put stuff in his pockets to make them look bigger. She handed him a small squishy football and a dog toy and he gladly did as he was told. Then we made the long trek to the living room and had a beautiful wedding. Ha!

I took a few pictures and Drew said,

"Ok, Liv. Are we married now? Is that it?"
"No, silly!"
"Well, what else do we have to do?"
"We have to dance!"

So they danced and spun and dipped and danced some more.

"We danced, so are we married now? Is it over yet?"
"No, Daddy. This is a deer shootin' wedding."
"Oh, I like that. We have to shoot a deer?"
"Yea, you hold these flowers and pretend it's the shooter and shoot that deer up on the wall."

They each took part in the traditional holy-matrimony deer shootin' ceremony.

"We shot the deer, so are we married now?"
"Not yet. We have to make a heart like this..."

"Ok, now are we married?"
"Yea, we're all married. Now you get to play dollhouse with me. That's what people do after they're married. They play together."

 Of course you can't have a wedding without witnesses.

 



...or a dog.

The beautiful bride finally got to marry her Daddy... and they lived happily ever after.

Just a Phase

For some odd reason, Olivia has had her mind fixed on death lately and that's all she wants to talk about. It's exhausting, really. She asks question after question, she wants to know every detail, and a vague answer like "you don't have to worry about that, baby" just doesn't suffice. She wants to KNOW.

Normally the conversations begin with her in tears because she's worried about what will happen to Charlotte when we all die. Or she's worried that she will never see Ireland again. I always tell her that Jesus will take good care of us so she doesn't need to be upset about it... to which she replies...

"I'm trying not to worry about it but my eyes just can't hold the tears in!"

One night while we were laying in bed watching TV, she hugged and kissed me and said,
"I love you. When you die, will you die right beside me so I'll be OK?"

Doesn't that just rip you to pieces??? I can't handle it!

Then she'll ask...

"When you die, do you just stay dead?"
"No, baby. If you believe in Jesus you'll go to heaven when you die. And you'll live with Jesus forever."
"But didn't Jesus die on the cross?"
"Yes. But remember what happened on the third day? He rose again, so He's alive and He lives in heaven."
"Where will we die?"
"I don't know, baby. Only God knows that."
"Well, I believe in Jesus so I want to go to heaven so I can see Ireland again."

This is such a delicate subject. I know she's only 4 but she's also extremely smart. I try to make my answers age appropriate, but at the same time I don't want to withhold information that might confuse her later on down the road. It's never too early to plant the seed, after all it takes time to grow.

"Well, one day when you're a little older and you understand it a little better, you'll ask Jesus into your heart and you'll believe in Him as your Savior. Then you'll be baptized... do you remember seeing those people in front of the church when Bro. Micah dunked them under the water?"
"Oh yea!"
"That's called being baptized."
"Oh. I think I need to pray about that."
"That's a very good idea, sweetie. I pray about that for you too!"

I know this is just a phase and soon enough she'll move on to another subject to harp on, but this has been a daily reminder for me how important our role as Mama and Daddy are. We have two precious little lives in our care, and our job is to teach them about the glory of God. In comparison, nothing else really matters. Not what they wear, where they'll go to school, how many friends they have, nothing. I need to make sure I'm teaching them the important things.

Until they're old enough to study God's Word on their own, they're learning by example. And the example they spend the majority of their time with is me. Am I modeling who God wants me to be? Would it be OK if they grew up to be just like me? Is my light shining its brightest for Jesus?

I need to share Jesus. And that begins with me.

The Blessings

Lately it seems like the highlight of our day as parents is the mealtime prayer. I look forward to it every day. At first I almost dreaded it because it was nearly impossible not to laugh and the last thing I want to do is discourage her to pray, but it is so hilarious. Drew and I usually keep one eye open so we can smile at each other during the funny parts.

Since she learned to talk her prayer was simple and to the point...
Dear God, thank you, Amen.

And that's all she said until just a couple months ago. It's like a light bulb went off and she finally realized she could talk, really talk to God. And boy, does she! It's hilarious! Usually her longest prayers are when we're out to eat at a restaurant. When it's noisy and we can't hear what she's saying. But she goes on and on and on. And we sit there with our heads bowed, holding hands, biting our lips, trying not to laugh, all while she goes on and on and on.

One night at home this was the prayer... she had a little help from Charlotte, too.

Dear God, thank you for our food...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
thank you for our forks...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
and our cups...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
and please help Mama figure out what to cook with...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
and please help people build...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
and please help Daddy figure out what roads to drive on...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
and thank you for Jesus...
     Aaaaaoooooooaaaa...
In Jesus' name, Amen.

And this was tonight's prayer.

Dear God, thank you for our food. And thank you for our drinks. Thank you for Charlotte and Mama and Daddy. And please help... no, PROMISE that you'll keep people safe in the storms, I mean the really bad storms. And help people not to eat when their Mamas say it's not time to eat yet. Help 'em be still and just don't eat if their Mamas say don't eat. In Jesus name, Amen.

While we were at the beach, we had gone out for ice cream after supper one night and Ireland asked if we had to say the blessing. Livy said,

"No. We only say the blessin' when supper is hot."

She's quite the little blessing guru.

Summer Pics

I've been a terrible blogger lately. Our computer was in the shop for over a month and now my phone is on its last leg it seems so it has been a little difficult to post. But enough about that boring stuff.

 

A few weeks ago, we had some really strange but wonderful cooler weather so we went outside and snapped some shots of the girls. I'm no photographer but I managed to get a couple good ones.

 

I had plenty of help.

Camp Pappy Annie

Livy Lou is at Camp Pappy Annie. They took her and Ireland back to the lake with them Sunday after church. She has been having the best time, but Drew and I are missing her so much! It's just not the same without her at home. We're going up on Thursday to spend the rest of the week with them, and I can't wait to give her a big ol' hug and smooch!

Here are some of the pictures we've gotten...

Selfies in the Rain

We spent Saturday at a... drumroll please... softball tournament! Shocker. We left really early that morning because we stopped in Bryant to pick up our new car. Friday night was basically like Christmas Eve for Drew and me. We were so excited to go see our new car!

We stopped for breakfast on the way. Can you tell she had powdered donuts?

After we got all the paper work signed for the car, we headed on down the road to Jacksonville to play a little softball. The weather felt awesome that morning. It was actually a little cool and cloudy with a gentle breeze.

And then it got H.O.T.

And then it P.O.U.R.E.D.

So we took selfies in the car. Totally Livy's idea.

The tournament ended up getting cancelled due to the bad weather, so we settled for a good supper at Logan's Steakhouse before heading home.