My Mother's Day

This is a picture of the beautiful roses given to me by my wonderful husband and precious girls today. Eliana picked them out, because pink roses are her absolute favorite. I spent my Mother's Day...well, being a mom! The girls and I are still sick with strep throat, so we didn't go anywhere. We didn't even go to church since we're still contagious. The girls are still running fevers, and we're pretty worried about Addie who's had a fever for 8 days straight now. In all my years of mothering (yes, all 4 years!) I haven't dealt with as much sickness as we've had in our family in the last month. (I know, I'm still a rookie and this is probably nothing compared to what it will be like when the kids are in school.) We've had 3 ear infections, 3 cases of the flu, 4 cases of strep throat, bronchitis... When it rains it pours! But through all this, I'm thankful.
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I'm thankful to have 3 beautiful, otherwise healthy girls that the Lord has entrusted me with. I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who spoils me 365 days of the year, not just on special occasions. Even though I didn't get out of the house for massage or pedicure this Mother's Day, I'm so thankful to be a mommy. By the way, all these illnesses didn't stop my family from showing me their appreciation today. Miller made us a yummy dinner of steak, salad, baked potatoes, and Texas toast. (Thanks to my sister-in-law, Karen for providing us with the steaks!). Then the girls and Miller, well Eliana and Miller (Addie had a case of stage fright) gave me the performance of a lifetime! Take a couple minutes to watch these goofballs. (Oh, Eliana decided to wear her Christmas dress and a baby hooded towel over her shoulders as her performance outfit. Addie is in her underwear because she was running a fever and we were trying to keep her stripped down to minimal clothing). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!


One last thing. Here's a song I adapted to express my sentiments this Mother's Day. Enjoy...

The 12 Days of Mother's Day (yes I realize this is redundant
To be sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas
(I started on the 12th day in the interest of time)

On 12th day of Mother's Day, my children gave to me...
12 pink roses,
11 doctor's appointments,
another ear infection,
a daddy with bronchitis,
8 days of fever,
a double ear infection,
a case of pink eye,
5 prescriptions for antibiotics...
4 cases of strep throat,
3 girls with the flu,
2 with diarrhea,
and an ear infection for my baby.

Date on a Dime

A few weeks ago my parents were visiting, which always means a chance for Miller and I to go on a date. Well, this time we happened to be...uh... low on funds. My dad was so generous to offer us some cash, but we really didn't want to accept it. So instead of doing the usual dinner and/or a movie, Miller had the great idea to go to Barnes and Noble to look at books ("look" being the operative word here). So we headed out and decided that we would pick out some books, and just read and talk together over coffee. Of course the object of dating is to spend time together and take a break from the kids, so what did we do? We headed straight for the "Parenting" section. Don't worry, we didn't stay there. We lingered for a little while, but once I realized they didn't have the book I was looking for (Bringing Up Girls by Focus on the Family's Dr. Dobson), we made our way over to the "Marriage and Relationships" section. We each picked out a book headed over to the cafe area to read. I have to say, it was actually one of the most enjoyable dates we've been on, and I can't wait to do it again.

Little Angel

I've really wanted to take these pictures of Olivia for a while now. I bought these cute little props, but they really should have been used when she was a newborn. She just doesn't sleep as soundly as she used to, and can't really be handled and repositioned while she's sleeping. I managed to get a couple shots before she started stirring, but they didn't exactly come out as I had hoped. I'll probably give it one more try, but these are the best of the ones I took today. Isn't she a sweet little cherub?

Texas Bluebonnets

One of my favorite things about living in Texas is all the beautiful wildflowers that bloom in the Spring. Of course, the famous bluebonnets can be found alongside the highways, and they're so pretty. On the way back from the Wildlife Center, we decided to pull over so I could take a few photos of the girls. Addie was too tired and grumpy to cooperate, so I only have pictures of Eliana. She's such a cheesy poser sometimes, but still adorable. I'm having so much fun with my new SLR camera. Make no mistake, I have NO idea what I'm doing, but I've discovered that I absolutely love photography. I'm still very much a novice, but I'm learning. I don't do any editing, so what you see is what you get.

The Strawberry Patch

Today was another beautiful Spring day! We decided to go to Gnismer Farms in Arlington (only about 10 minutes from our house) to pick some strawberries with Achi and Siya (Grandma and Grandpa). The girls had so much fun. Addie was looking like Diva in her sunglasses, but still so cute (notice the Dora shirt again? What did I tell you?!?!)

Our Safari Adventure

Yesterday we went on an awesome ride through Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. It's located in Glen Rose, which is only about 40 miles away. It's not really a safari, because the animals aren't indigenous to the area, but I kept telling the kids we were "going on safari" because it sounds more exciting that way. Anyway, takes about two hours to drive through the whole park, but that's going at a very slow speed (about 15 mph), stopping and taking pictures, and feeding the animals. The kids did really well with sitting for so long. You have to stay in your vehicle at all times, but you can roll down your windows and feed the animals food that is provided for you when you buy your admissions tickets. They walk right up to the car, and it's awesome! I'd say it's even better than any zoo we've been to. God's creation is so amazing. Here are a few pictures from our visit. Just so you know, the quality of my pictures isn't great. We went with my parents, so we had a car full of people, and I sat in the third row of our SUV. The windows don't roll down in the far back, so I had to keep leaning over the middle seat over the girls' car seats and sticking my camera out the window. Then the girls would scream when the animals came too close, so I was yelling "Close the windows! No, crack the windows! Open the window wider!" to Miller the whole time. Poor guy, he was such a good sport. Oh, and I also realized where I get my love for photography. My dad was yelling the same things, "Stop the car! Stop the car! Let me get a picture!" So anyway, some of my pictures were taken through cracked windows at weird angles.

Here are the girls in front of the admissions office.
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No zoom on these pictures. The animals are really that close!


Check out the giraffe stickingits head in our window!

Sweet Eliana

Eliana is such a special kid. Of course, all of my children are special, but Eliana's at that awesome age where she inquires about and understands so much. I love this picture of her because it kind of sums up her personality: creative, fun, beautiful, and a little quirky. This picture was taken when I was playing around with my new camera and decided to create a little studio in my house and take some portraits of the girls. (The new pics on the blog are from that photo shoot). Anyway, this one of Eliana was completely her idea. She posed herself and said, "Mommy, take one of me like this!" Lately she's been saying the most adorable things. Most of them are just cute and funny, but some of them are so profound. Here's just a list of little things she's said over the past couple months.

"When I grow up I want to be a princess, but I have to have a beautiful princess dress. Mommy, do they make princess dresses in grown-up size?" she asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Well, can we go get one? I think the store is closed right now, so we can go tomorrow," she decided.

"You want to get a dress in a grown up size now?" I asked, a little confused.

"Yes, you can just keep it in your closet for me until I'm big."

Isn't that adorable?!?!

Here's another one:

She was looking at a picture of me in my wedding dress that we have hung on the wall. (This girl loves fancy dresses).

"Mommy, I want to have a wedding dress like yours, but I want it to be blue. And a blue veil, too."


Okay, that's weird, I thought. "Sure, honey, but you have to wait until you grow up and get married," I replied.

"Well, who am I going to get married with?" she asked?

"I don't know," I replied. "Hopefully you'll meet a nice Christian boy one day... when you're big," I emphasized.

She paused thoughtfully, "No, I think I'll just marry Daddy," she said, matter-of-factly.

Miller just about melted when I told him this story. She loves her Daddy!


This morning she told me, "Christmas is not about candy or lights or Christmas trees or presents. It's about Jesus."

That's all I can think of right now, but I'll post more when I remember them.