stuff

Such a love-hate relationship...  i would LOVE to box up and throw out 1/4th of the stuff in my house!  If only I had time, I might!

10K

Blair and I ran the Monunent Ave 10K on Saturday.  I ran it back in 2005 before we went to Morocco.  I'd been wanting to do it again so Blair was gracious to run it "slowly" with me.  It was REALLY fun!  It was a beautiful, sunny, cool day- perfect for running.  It felt so freeing to leave the house with a friend and without my kids.  And to run!  

After it was over, I felt sad that I hadn't pushed myself more (and esp after seeing our time).  But my joints were sore enough the next day to convince me that it was still a big deal for my body.

Our Cheerleaders!

And we made sure to stay out until all the kids were down for naps!  :)

Bows & Ruffles

Trying to catch up on happenings/pictures while I should be cleaning my house...

I feel a little sad at the end of each season that my babies are moving on from a particular size of clothes.  Last Friday, while it was rainy, I took a few pics of Lily in this pink ruffled shirt that is nearing too little.  And the hair bow, I can hardly take the sweetness!

Like her brother, she has a drool pool on her shirt.  I have to constantly remind myself that this isn't a big deal.  I'd love for my kids to not have wet shirts all.the.time!

And this pic from yesterday, seriously, the sweetness is overwhelming! 

I know I am biased but "I'm crazy for this girl".

Peter-isms

The boy eats like a horse, literally and figuratively. :)  I threatened to start feeding him big fast food burgers this week to meet all of his caloric needs.  I discovered he'd eat a whole piece of fruit a few months ago so I usually cut it off for him.  Last week, I was lazy and gave him the whole thing.  He enjoyed every bite- core and all :).  (See the stem between his fingers.)  I figure if horses do it, Peter can too.  And I've checked with my Dad, he says its fine. :)

Mike and I thought we needed to record some of the things he says now that he is making such progress on talking...

-hears a sound he doesn't recognize:  "ut dat sound make?"

-wants to drive (all.the.time.):  "I need da keys.  Bounty on." (seatbelt on.)

-a muffin is called a "mun-cule"

remote control is "mo-key-a-troll" (we esp love that one!)

As I think of more, I'll add them. :)

Peter's Dinner

a whole pear
1/2 cucumber
6 chicken nuggets
Nutri Grain bar
piece of pizza

Besties

Oops, I skipped Saturday.

We went to an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

Such a pretty day and perfect first day of spring activity.

I enjoyed the socializing.

Lily got to see one of her best friends, Ruby.

They were so sweet sitting together while the big kids hunted. 

I didn't manage any pics of Peter :( but boy did he enjoy the chocolate and candy inside the eggs.  He got in a lot of sugar as he'd gotten jelly beans that morning for a minor haircut.

Its really not all that bad, I just forget to take pics til the end and he's so over it.

Then he got a bath.  :)

Covenant Baptism

Lily recieved the "sign of the covenant" yesterday at church.

I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around covenant baptism b/c its different than what I grew up with.  We took a class before Peter's baptism so it was "fresher" in my mind.  I agree with it in knowing that God is for us and pursuing us before we are aware of Him.  And it is He who is the initiator with us, not us with Him. 

"For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself."  Acts 2:39

We pray there will be a day when Lily trusts Jesus for her salvation and knows He has always been pursuing her.

I was embarrassed when I looked at these pics and saw how "improperly" I was holding her!  Her dress was all bunched up!  ugh.

Our parents, Lily's GRANDparents joined us for lunch.  And they provided a YUMMY spread of egg casserole, muffins, and fruit!

There was an unofficial dress code of aqua blue, blue stripes, or yellow/green.  :)

I couldn't get enough of her bare legs!!!

Picture Perfect Weather

No words needed... :)

Peter wanted to get in the "baby" swing...

flashback to the little munchkin almost 2 years ago...

a little heavier and a "head" taller.

This is so Peter- he was a little squirt as a baby and is a thick, tall boy now.

I get lots of comments about his height and heaviness (not fat).  :)

And this was another cute sight in my backyard...

I couldn't get too close, it was a fleeting moment.

What cuties!!

Yi-Yo

Peter loves a tractor (as I'm sure do most boys).  He has a toy tractor that plays Old McDonald so he started calling a tractor a "yi-yo" when he was first learning to say E-I-E-I-O.  All blended together the end of E-I-E-I-O sorta sounds like "yi-yo".  Well, a dream came true for him b/c Paw got one last weekend while we were at their house. 

And he got to "DRIVE A YI-YO!"

Irish Smiles

...b/c they certainly don't have Irish eyes.

Gram always gifts them with green b/c of the Irish blood on her side...
We gladly indulge and are hoping for the annual photo swap of the 14 great grandkids today!

Bet you can't guess... Peter is pointing out a bus at the intersection.

How much longer do I have to sit next to my sister?!

One last smile...

More words from Wellspring...

I love Wellspring.  God refreshes my soul through it.  I feel like a different (happy, free) person when I leave.  We are studying Galatians.  Today we started in on chapter 5 and this part jumped out at me...

Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.... If you let yourselves be circumcised (or serve small gods, lame masters, clean house, order, control), Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.... The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself thru love.

This explains a lot of my struggles to me.

Kim shared that often when we are having a hard time accepting forgiveness (or circumstances maybe?), its b/c we are serving a small god (my desires, wishes), not the Living God.  Christ has set us free, forgiven us, He doesn't serve my little gods but works all things for His Glory, even at the cost of my comfort. 

What on earth am I doing writing this out, it freaks me out a bit but I thought it was profound this morning and wanted to "record it".

Year of the Doll

I've decided to call Lily's first year my "Year of the Doll".  She is just that!  Tonight I took her to the dr for a cough she's had for 3 weeks (its nothing!).  We had to wait a little while b/c there was only one doctor there for the late appts.  We had the BEST time.  I loved having that one-on-one time with just her and no distractions, no temptations to "do" something else.  How ridiculous is that.  She was so giddy, happy, and lovey.  She's been leaning in for some "kiss" type thing lately.  :)  I have SO enjoyed this first year with her and feel totally spoiled with her sweetness and doll-ness.  Love you Lily Bug!

conversation with the boy

Today, we were in the car and Peter saw a car that looked like Uncle John's car (it was dark in color).  We just saw John and Jess over the weekend....

P:  "I see John's car!" 
me:  "Oh, that does look like Uncle John's car"
"Peter, did you know that Uncle John is Mommy's Brother!"
P:  "yeah"
me:  "oh, you knew that?"
P: "I knew that"

“Compassion International is trying to help release the poor from poverty, but it’s also helping to release us from our wealth.”

www.thisisreverb.com

Crazy, I've been reading a couple blogs this week whose writers have been in Kenya with Compassion.  This is the one I discovered today.  Lots to think about...

Outtings

Rewind to last Friday... my parents were here so my Dad took Peter for the day. 

Mom and I and Lily went shopping but we won't talk about that... I'm not a shopper, so no fun to shop with.  But we did have a nice sit-down lunch out!  :)

Daddy and Peter visited Tuckahoe Plantation.

Peter chased the chickens.

Paw snuggled Lily Bug.

Paw is so sweet!  I'm glad I had/have him for a Daddy and my kids have him for their Paw!

Pics from Bennett's Party

Bennett, Matt, and Carrie- such a pretty family!

What a sweet pic of Mommy and Bennett

Bennett liked the xylophone that Uncle Mike made him!

Each of our kids has a cousin who is 4 mo older- how fun is that!!

Mike and his brother, Matt with their babes

Weekend

On Sunday, we took at trip to Northern VA for Bennett's 1st Birthday Party!  It was such a nice get away... I love having plans these days that involve leaving my house and other people!  We drove up in the van with Kathy and Ski.  It was a beautiful day outside.  We loved seeing the other P's and sweet Bennett.  Everyone ooo'ed over Lily which is always fun, we ate some yummy food and enjoyed good company.

Our camera broke that day (before pics)... it had been in the making so I was sorta glad it happened, I hated the "limbo" of sometimes it doesn't work right.  So now we get to return it for a refurbished one.  We've just had it 4 mo and it has a 1 yr warranty.  :)

Yesterday was rough.  We had Wellspring, which I SO look forward to.  I tried REALLY hard to be on time, since this is such a problem for me.  At the last minute, everything went wrong.  Again, I sorta wanted to make a list to justify the craziness in my head.
- we are about to leave (9:10), I've just fed and dressed Lily and Peter's face is yucky with snot, I've forgotten to clean it so I wash it and brush his teeth
- go to pick Lily up to put in car seat, she's just pooped in the minutes since I just changed her.  I take her down anyway and think I'll change at church, I just have to get out the door.  Then I see its coming out of the top.  Have to take her out of all her clothes and redress her.  Thankfully, it didn't get on outer layers b/c she was wearing the CUTEST outfit.
- go back downstairs, I've forgotten her bear and blanket.
-come back down, can't find keys.  Look everywhere, no keys. I'm frustrated, emotional, so eventually decide we aren't going.  I eventually find them in Lily's bag.  In my trying to be organized, I put them there as I was gathering their bags to put by the door and just couldn't remember that in my frustration.
I was especially bummed b/c I really wanted to be there for yesterday's study about Abraham's sons representing the two covenants- one born of slavery, one born out of a promise of freedom.  I really don't understand this as I'd like to or feel I am living out of the freedom and promises offered to me.  I feel starved for teaching and Truth so I was just SO bummed all day about missing it.  Hopefully, I can listen online.

I do feel better this morning and hopefully we can get out today for some errands.  :)

On Monday, I met a Moroccan girl at the park.  I am hoping and praying for a friendship with her!  :)  It feels daunting but I am praying for the faith to move forward.

Birthday

My Birthday turned out to be nice.... late that afternoon I had a post in my head of the day's highs and lows... lets see if I can remember it...

high- running with Blair, we did 2.5 miles and then on Sat we did 3 miles- we are on a mile per week increase plan... :)  We run SLOW so I think that makes it OK.  I know Blair could go faster but she is sweet and slows it down for me, that half-marathoner! :)

low- Peter was whiny, whiny and it took us FOREVER to get out the door that morning (or should I say everytime we go out)

high- we went to Kangaroo Jac's with our friends, Erin and Logan- that was fun- then we had lunch from the Chick-Fil-A drive thru

came home for naps- I napped too! then talked on the phone to Kari  :)  And a package of sweets arrived from Nese and Robbie- what a dream!

low- Peter pooped in his Pull Up (we are just trying these) and it was EVERYWHERE- came out the top, I even got a smear on my pants- nice bday gift

high- Kathy came and took my kids to her house- love her!

low- my house was a WRECK b/c I acted like it was my bday and didn't do ANY housework, that didn't feel relaxing to see the mess around me

high- out to dinner with Tim and Joy, Chris and Kristy at a fun place downtown- our first dinner with friends sans kids in 2.5 years maybe.  And I got to snuggle sweet Micah!

high- lots of calls from family and friends and time at home with Mike w/o the kids here

Big Week

Peter turns 2 and a HALF (on the 3rd)
I have my birthday (on the 4th)
and our girl turns 8 months old (on the 6th)

how fun that we all have special days this week!

flashbacks to last year....

me and the sweet lily bug (i think i was 23 or 24 weeks preg)