Dot Paint

With this crazy Texas heat, we've had to work hard to find ways to keep three kiddos busy in the air conditioning.  We've spent a lot more time inside than I anticipated this Summer.  I heard the high today was only 105 down from the weekend.  We're somewhere around 70 days over 100 degrees this Summer.  They're calling it the hottest Summer on record.  And still - I'll take it over a Philly winter any day.

These kids love to paint.  They love it. But, Ky doesn't fully understand how to use watercolors yet.  And I have a confession to make.  I HATE finger paint.  I hate it.  It makes a huge mess and it's gooey and they try to taste it and did I mention how messy it is?

BUT

While walking the aisles of Michael's the other day, I found....dot paint.  I'd forgotten such wonderful things existed.  It's less messy, no bowls of water to tip over, and Kyler can do it without help (which is important for Mr "I do it by self" right now).   So fun.

Darby still opts for watercolor sometimes.

One of her paintings.  She wrote "Pappy" all by herself.  She was so proud.  I had to take a picture so that we could give it to Pappy and still preserve the cuteness of the upside down and backwards lettering.

Where was Carson?  Trying to climb on top of the table and eat the paints.  He has discovered that he can climb on the dining room table.  Awesome.

Preschool

Our big girl started preschool last week.  She's been counting down for about a year.
She's only going 2 mornings a week, but I think it's perfect.  Cherishing every moment with her before 'real' school starts. :)

When we got in the car to drive to her school, I heard her take a deep breath and say "Wow, I'm really going to preschool."
Couldn't have said it better myself.

Baking Cookies

 

Because cookies taste better when they're made with tiny fingers.

And because there's nothing more fun than helping mom in the kitchen.

And because a house full of special memories and the smell of fresh cookies is the best kind of house.

Family Planning

"Hey Mom, if you need us, we'll be right over here making each other laugh."  Darby told me this morning.

3 kids in 38 months.  Is it what we planned?  Nope. I distinctly remember a conversation with a friend who loves having her kids so close in age and smiling and listening to her talk about how wonderful it is and thinking in my head. "Nope, that's not for me."  I love the baby stage.  Love it.  I wanted to spread our kids out so that I could fully enjoy and cherish each and every moment and stage of each child.  Make sure everything was manageable and still keep my house clean and stay involved in adult activities and relationships.

It's funny now when I remember how much time I spent thinking about what the perfect family dynamic would be and exactly how far apart I wanted my kids and how many I wanted and even which gender should come first....

So much pride.  Thinking I knew what was best for our little family.  Forgetting that the One who knows the end of the story...I should really leave that kind of planning to Him.  Sure there's wisdom in planning, but sometimes I hold on to those plans with white-knuckled fists.  And He smiles and slowly loosens my grasp finger by finger . . . because He loves me.  And He has better plans...

And I whine about how crazy my days are and how little sleep I get sometimes and how hard it is to get to know people when you can barely finish a sentence...And when I hear the "you have your hands full" about 8 times a day...and when I crash into the couch in my toy-covered living room after bedtime...

Children are a blessing.

 And it is hard.  Really hard and now that the baby is 13 months old I'm just starting to get close to feeling in control most days again.

I am so thankful that in the midst of the crazy days the Lord knew that these were the 3 precious children He had for us and they came exactly when He wanted them to and I can trust His plan.  And I look at their beautiful faces and I realize just what a blessing they are. And what would my life be like without them?

I sure am glad I'm not the one writing the story.   I wonder what else I would be missing out on.

3 lasagnas

And completing some of the unfinished posts from July.  :)  Have I mentioned it's been a crazy summer?

I know I am not the first to think of this.  I know it's something that more organized, disciplined moms have been doing for decades.  But for me...this was groundbreaking.

I made 3 lasagnas at one time.  Yes I hear your jaw dropping, so impressed with me right? 

I've never actually made lasagna from scratch before.  It always seemed like so much work when Stouffer's makes a perfectly good one.  But when I considered making 3 at once and freezing a couple, suddenly it seemed worth the effort.  It really wasn't that bad.  I just tripled the recipe, bought those little foil baking pans, then cooked one and froze two.  Tonight I plan on doing the same thing with a favorite chicken casserole recipe and Conor has requested a triple recipe of Shepherd's pie later this week.  Again, I know some of you do this all the time, but the idea of making the mess just once and having the night off later in the month is what finally motivated me to get it together.  PLUS a few days after making my lasagnas one of my friends needed a meal - so I just grabbed it out of the freezer and brought it to their family.  So easy.

But I must add that the best part of all?  Being able to say "I made three lasagnas today." It's an amazing trump card.
"Oh honey, no you don't have any clean work shorts to wear tomorrow.  But I made three lasagnas today."
"The playroom's a disaster and I'm not at all in the mood to clean it.  But I made three lasagnas today."

See how that works?  It's pretty great.  I'm going to defrost some chicken now so I can play the "I made 3 chicken casseroles" card tonight....and maybe tomorrow too.

One Year

It was one year ago today that I loaded up our three precious children, Carson - 5 weeks old, Ky - 18 months, and Darby - 3 and took them on a plane with a one-way ticket from Philadelphia, PA to our new home in Texas. (with help from my mother in law and our sweet friend Karen)

waiting to board the plane

lots of electronics and a 1:1 ratio :)

     I can't believe it's been a year.  It seems like just yesterday that we were playing in the backyard or meeting at Chick-Fil-A for free breakfasts or going out for lunch on Thursdays or cramming people into our tiny living room for small group...
I miss it.  I miss our friends.    I remember the day Darby walked up to me with her piggy bank full of quarters she earned doing her chores and asked if it was enough to buy a plane ticket to go back 'home.'   There were tears.  From both of us.

Transition is always hard. 

It's hard to leave a place where you're known...where on your worst day you can call a friend and cry on your couch while the kids play and you don't have to apologize for your tears or explain everything you say to let her know you're not crazy.  She knows.  She knows you're a mess and she loves you and it's safe.

It's hard to leave a place with friends that experienced so much life with you, that know your history, know where you've been.  Because they were there.  We got married together, had babies together, cried over lost babies together, tried to figure out this thing called parenthood together, dealt with screaming toddlers together, bought houses, fixed houses....all together.

Oh leaving that place was so so hard. 

But we knew.  We knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord was calling us somewhere else.  It's never been so clear.  And as hard as leaving was, we knew it was time - funny how sometimes you understand after the fact just how perfect the Lord's timing is.  And we knew He'd carry us through it, and He really has....

And here we are.  One year later.  Not as known, but becoming that way.  With friends to have playdates with and wonderful neighbors with kids the same age.  With people to meet for coffee or workouts or trips to the pool.  With friends we laugh and cry with and another small group that fills a living room.  And a church family that we love and that loves us.  And a beautiful house less than a mile from grandparents with the other grandparents just half an hour down the road.  And 3 growing kids who know their grandparents and beg for more time with them. And a job that Conor loves.  And plenty of warm sunshine...

And it's obvious.  So obvious that we're right where we're supposed to be.