while daddy was away...

it's been a while since i've posted...i just can't muster the energy these days.

but, the birds were singing today AND i had my 30 week check up 

i'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

soon and very soon - spring and a baby.

two things i love heaps and heaps.

so, in honor of that...a post long over due:

J had plans a couple weekends ago that included warm weather and a few days' get away.

I always get a little nervous about flying solo.

I do it all the time for short bursts, but 3 full days of meals, keeping up the house, entertaining littles, ending fights over dolls and toys, in and out of car seats and bedtime routines can seem daunting.

Especially during these last few weeks of growing a human being.

But, my parents were kind enough to come up for part of it.

They were a big help, especially during Tulip's epic tantrum upon leaving Chucky Cheese (that deserves a post all its own!).

and although we missed daddy dearly, we enjoyed the quiet, cozy days at home.

most of our time was spent dressing babies and having picnics

and making sure that all pretend beings in our home were well cared for

we painted our nails

read endless stories

and

heard tulip's first "i wuf you, momma"

which caused me to cry big crocodile tears...until she followed it up with "i wuf waffles too" which produced some belly laughs that i'd been in desperate need of

and because it was downright frigid in minnesota that weekend, we had to burn off our energy with a few rockin' wild dance parties in the living room, where momma' got more than her week's exercise twirling little girls around and around and around and around....

our girly time was delicious

but oh, how good it was to see daddy walk back through the door on Monday.

i held down the fort while he was gone, but absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

it is times like this that my gratitude for him blooms

i don't know what i'd do without him to share this great adventure

almost 8 years ago, i promised him all our days together...

not realizing then how tough some of them would be.

so glad i made that vow.

it was one of the best decisions i've ever made.

for crayon out loud!

valentine's day is upon us and we've been busy...

for crayon out loud, have a happy one!  :)

the dreary wearies

i'll be honest...i've been in a little bit of a funk lately

okay - maybe a lot of a funk.

i'm not sure quite what my problem was...

maybe the fact that i have not slept well for several weeks.

 i know it is all part of the great plan to get me ready for nursing a wee babe.  but, seriously...it seems so unfair to be walking around in a haze of weariness, knowing that  it is only going to get worse :(

or maybe the fact that it was negative a million degrees for like a week and we literally sprinted from the car to the house and the house to the car, trying not to let our lungs turn into icicles on the way.  add to that the fact that we had no snow.  so, our wintery wonderland was brown and frozen solid.  no sledding, no snowmen, no skating....ugh.

could have also been the fact that my students have been either sick or tired or both for about a month and when i'm not getting one caught up from being gone with strep, i'm looking for at-home stuff for the next who is out for a week with influenza.

they're looking at me like they can barely keep their eyes open and i'm pasting on a smile, telling them, "today's a great day for learning" but...really...i totally get it.

they are tired.  i am tired.  boo.

and all i want to do is go home and take a nap.

but i have littles to look after and no matter how much i want to rest, this job of being a momma comes with no breaks.

there are stories to be read.

laundry to be folded.

supper to be prepared.

noses to wipe.

serious games of candy land to be played.

when i look at these pictures, i'm embarrassed at my depressing tone.

 i mean, look at how much fun we had - i think....i was maybe nodding off here and there.

seriously, though.  what a blessing to have an abundance of toys and activities to keep us entertained on days like these.

peachy-roo took the time indoors to discover a love for legos.

i, on the other hand, simply built tower after tower, telling her that's all i know how to do.

how lame! 

well, the other day i decided enough was enough.

actually, i got real convicted reading my Bible one morning and the good Lord gently whispered that my pity party needed to end.

He helped me out by giving us about three inches of fluffy white snow that has brightened everything around here, including my attitude.

i promptly whipped open the instructions for that lego set and put together a very impressive helicopter, a house that would have put any contractor's to shame and a duck.  yes, a duck.

peach was thrilled - momma's back.

no more complaining - consider it ALL JOY my friends - even the very cold, brown, sleepy days.

then, peach and i decided to get real fancy with a romantic valentine's day supper.

we invited grams and gramps.

got all dressed in our valentine's best.

bought kid wine.

added a few sweet decorations.

bought a new cup and called it a party.

just when i think i can't possibly do the extra work required to make memories....i'm reminded that those little extras are the things that keep the dreary wearies from overtaking our home.

it is so easy to let the insignificant negatives in life make me pouty.  sometimes the battle for joy seems too big.

but, the sun was shining when i went to work this morning.

and it was still light out when we had supper tonight.

ahh.....there is light at the end of the tunnel.

take a deep breath.

it's all good.

january extras

winter 2012 started out with all kinds of fun...

but has quickly turned bitter cold and brown.

the snow that we once enjoyed has slipped away and the winds have been downright frightful.

so, we spent the majority of January inside.

 which i'm pretty okay with.

there is something truly sweet about being all together under one roof with no excuse to run here or there.

just being together has been blissful...mostly

i say "mostly" because i know that too much of a good thing can sometimes turn sour.  and all this snuggling up inside is sweet...but it is also driving us to conversations about when we can put on swimsuits, flip flops and enjoy the backyard again.

i think we're getting spring fever - and it's only the beginning of february....

little miss likes to double the brrrr with popsicles on a forty below windchill day.  silly little pickle.  :)

hmmmm - these are the times when a girl needs to get creative and beat the winter blahs.

but, honestly, i'm running out of ideas.  :(

we got so stir crazy one day that i got brave enough to give this lil' peanut her first trim.

it was comical, i'm sure, to watch me chase her around our little bathroom while she turned on and off the lights.

but, we survived - she's looking less scraggly and i think i did a decent job.

oh the things that a MN winter will drive you to do!

in the interest of not undertaking any more crazy stunts like this one, let's hope for an early spring

full of goodness

i've been convicted lately of how often i use the word, "busy"

i realized it just the other day when replying to an email that a dear friend had written in the beginning of december...

i had asked her to send me some dates when she and her hubs could come visit us.  she sent three dates that would work in january.

and i just found the email...buried under all kinds of other "important" emails...just in time to have missed three opportunities to spend time with her.

ugh...that felt awful.

and as i started to apologize in the email, saying how "busy" things had been over the holidays, i realized how lame that sounded.

like being "busy" is some sort of badge of honor

"we've been really busy lately" seems to be the mantra of all the mommas i talk to...as if being not busy is a bad thing

it's not that i think being busy is bad...

but when it takes away from the important things that i really want to make time for, i shouldn't throw the term around like it makes me super-mom and everyone else just needs to okay with our "busy" schedules.

so, i've decided that our days are full of goodness, but not too busy for important things like baking cupcakes and making room in our home and schedule for friends that we love.

a few weeks ago, Peach dug this cupcake cookbook off the shelf.

my mom had given it to me as a birthday gift (in may!) and i had thought we were just waaaaay too "busy" to do fancy cupcakes like these.

but, with my new conviction lingering in the back of my head, i decided that peanut butter chocolate cupcakes from scratch were just the ticket for Monday afternoon.

we made a GIANT mess

and licked delicious batter right off the spoon while discussing how ridiculous it is that we EVER purchase cupcake mix in a box when the real deal is soooooo much better

here's what we ended up with  - not exactly the picture in the book, but yumm-o none-the-less

we gave some to friends, took a batch to day care and treated ourselves to a few for dessert.

yes, my life is busy.

but it is busy because it is full of really good things.

like these cupcakes

and this girl :)

giving good gifts

i LOVE giving gifts....

i can't tell you how many times i buy or make something that i just loooooove and have the hardest time wrapping it up because i want to either look at it or keep it.

i've been known to have a hard time keeping them a secret (and have even given a few early on occasion) because i just cannot wait

when Christmas came this year, i was downright giddy to give the girls the gifts i had been storing up since summer

i've already got valentine's treats and easter basket goodies that i've taken out, organized and put away, only to take out again, re-organize and put away again (mostly just because i like looking at them)

anyway, i'm rambling...

the other day i was reading in Matthew 7

"If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him."

whoa....here i am bursting with excitement about the tea set i just made my niece for her birthday.

making sure the letters are just right, picking out fancy napkins and making felt tea bags with cute little cupcakes in a pretty bag and painting wooden blocks with glitter to look like sugar cubes.

and God gets MORE excited about giving me my heart's desires

my Father wants EVEN MORE DESPERATELY to give me all the perfect details according to His will

i don't need to worry about how, in the WIDE WORLD, we are ever going to fit our growing family into this little house.

God has a plan...and all the details are perfectly laid out in that

He's working on it...patiently waiting to reveal it to me

wanting it to be just right

i don't need to worry about what my job will look like 10 years from now...the gift is being designed...perfected...and i will unwrap  it in His most excellent timing

i don't need to worry about who my children will choose as friends

the Lord, whom i trust, is working it all out for our good...

...these lovely gifts that He's giddy about giving me.

of course, i don't believe for one moment that all this means that life is just peachy

i know that there are things that are downright awful that happen in this world and i won't pretend to understand why

but, His Word says that He's into giving good gifts....really good, awesome, detailed gifts

thank you, Lord for teaching me this

thank you for opportunities to see your Word in my life

and thank you, in advance, for the good gifts that i can expect as your beloved child 

wednesday night delight

when J initially told me that he was thinking about teaching an Awana class at our church on Wednesday nights, and bringing Peach along to participate in the cubbies (preschool) program, i was NOT in favor of the idea.

i'm pretty protective of our time at home.

i think it's because i know that the day is coming when our schedules will be packed with sports, band lessons, plays, musicals and all other manner of organized activities.

and this window of time when our littles are happiest just being at home is so precious to me...

but, i have to admit that J was right on this one.

he convinced me that it would be good for Peach and that i'd enjoy the extra time with Tulip.

that ended up being the understatement of the year....

i didn't think about it while i was whining and complaining that our wednesday nights would be occupied by something other than family time.

but, i have never had regular time alone with Tulip.

sure, i get little snippets here and there.

but, she's never really had my undivided attention.

Peach had J and I all to herself the first 2 and a half years of her little life

i look back on that time and realize how unique it was to be able to hold her whenever i wanted...

to be able to say "yes" to every whim that came our way.

Tulip never had that...

until our Wednesday night date night ensued.

now, we get a few hours, every week when it is just us.

and i'm trying to be really intentional about noticing her during that time...studying her....fighting the urge to get things done and just enjoying this sweet time.

because come May, we're gonna' have to share this time with the new baby.

but for right now, i'm loving Wednesday nights...

the way she gets all excited when she sees the moon from our deck window...

how she says "cozy" when she wants to watch a movie or read a book while wrapped in a blanket on the couch...

singing songs together in the car...

listening to her tell me all about her day in babble that i only catch bits and pieces of...

the way she does the splits and wants me to join her - yeah right!...

her fresh from the bathtub scent...

sharing snacks...

i really wanted to take her for ice cream last night.

but, we got all bundled up only to find out that our favorite ice cream shop closed at 4 pm...

drove down main street a bit further to find that another coffee shop that we love closes at 5...shoot!

so, we settled for a cookie at the grocery store on the other end of town.  she didn't seem disappointed. :)

we had the best time, just sitting in a booth, coloring, munching our cookies and sipping this yumm-o tea from a straw.  we were only there for a half hour, but you would have thought i took this kid to Disney Land - she was so happy to just be with me.

hope i never forget how awesome it feels to be loved like that.

coming home made the night even better.

because the best part of my Wednesday is always bed time.  J and Peach get home late on wednesdays, so Tulip and I just take our time.  we read at least dozen books, instead of the usual three or four.

we snuggle in the rocking chair, both wiggling to find that just right place around my bulging belly where we're both comfortable.

i shine her nightlight stars up on the ceiling and we look for the moon.  sing some more songs.

pray. hum.  and i let her fall asleep right there with me.

no other night of the week do i indulge in such sweet, slow rocking, stroking her hair, scratching her back, letting her drift off in my arms.

after she's safely tucked into bed, i usually have a little time to get some things done around the house before Peach and J come bursting through the doors, full of stories about all the fun they had at Awana.  it's a win/win situation to say the least.

this wednesday night gig is one of those things i would have never asked for.  just one of many reasons i'm so grateful that the Lord (and my husband) know the desires of my heart even when i don't.  :)