2s

A friend commented on how much 2 of my kids looked alike at this age & I got nostalgic....so these are some pictures of my babies on/around their 2nd birthdays.

she's 2. Part 1.

Well.

In spite of my best efforts to prevent it from happening...

my baby turned two.

She is growing up & I can barely handle it!

How is this happening so quickly?

She's so tiny that it really did sneak up on me. I would laugh & say, "can you believe that little thing is almost 2?!"

Not fully understanding that that meant I would no longer have a 1 year old.

This little girl is precious in so many ways.

I adore her! Yes, she is confused about her role in this family. She is certain that she is in charge. And believes with her whole heart that she should get what she wants when she wants it & she has been this way from the get-go. I remember sitting with her in the hospital - just the day after she was born.

Just me and her. Or is it her and me? If my dad is reading this he will call & let me know....& I would actually really appreciate that.

Anyway, we were sitting there when our pediatrician came in to check on us. We chatted & she was just about to leave when I mentioned that my baby didn't like to be wet or dirty....even for a moment. She would yell to be cleaned off immediately.

This hadn't happened with the 2 that came before her & I thought Dr. F could offer some insight.

"Your third isn't supposed to be like that."

And that, my friends, really is who my kid is. She really likes to let us know how she would like things and she hasn't taken the hint that we aren't following her lead....maybe because we are following her lead. Maybe there in lies the problem.

And these are just a few pictures of day 1 of celebrating this baby girl's first 2 years on this planet.

I love being her mom.

I think we're going to have tons of fun together ;).

Happy birthday little girl.

first days

All 3 had their first days of something these past few weeks & we don't need much reason for celebrating around here.
First days of anything warrant cake in our house -
so that's what we did.

We sat on the floor & ate too much cake.

This school year has kicked my tail so far & in all honesty, I don't have to get too many people to too many places. I think it's this new early wake time.
I don't understand why people insist on starting the day before the sun is fully risen. And as I type this, I feel like I am repeating myself. Like I have typed these same words on this here blog in the very recent past.

Well....I'm not adjusting.
And I'm not sure what to do about that.
But this is one of the reasons that you haven't heard from us in a while.

mre later

I'm too tired from all the fun from this weekend. But I thought I would at least leave with a photo.
Will update when I am actually awake
Good night.
And Happy Labor Day!

lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have I mentioned that my big girl has been riding her bike without training wheels for a few months now? Or that she has lost THREE teeth!?
I told you.....we've had a lot of things going on around here. And there is life that I feel like I am missing & yet i am with them every day!! I'm thankful that most of their days are still with me. I'm thankful that I understand most of what they are talking about becuase, well, I was probably there. I love these kids more than I ever thought I could.
And this love I feel for them has had me meditating on this Love that the Father has for me.
My love for these children pales in comparison.
I know that.

I am overwhelmed by that.

But I am learning that there really is nothing they could do to make me stop loving them.
Nothing.
I am thankful for a Father who stands at the door and knocks.
Not waiting for me to get it right.
Not waiting until I clean up my act.

And I am grateful that I can convey that love to my children.
Not that I always do.
But it is my daily prayer.

That I would not get in the way.
That I would not misrepresent who He is.
Knowing that His love covered it all on the Cross.

a picture

I will be back to this thing....soon....i promise!
We had a great summer - one that ended with a whole lot of activity. Fun - super fun activity. And getting back into the groove of the real world has been harder than I thought. As if I have moved to a new country & learning my way around .... and it even feels as though there's a new time zone here in the real world.

I'm adjusting.
With the aid of strong coffee.
This isn't the best picture of the summer......obviously. But it is one of the ones that makes me smile.

being good stewards

As most people these days, the family budget has been under intense scrutiny.

Which isn't a bad thing.

And in the middle of all of this scrutinizing, we are gaining a greater understanding of the choices we make with the money we spend.
Learning, for instance, that the money I spend on the luxury of a cup of coffee for me could benefit a person who has no food to eat.

Choices are important & they effect people.

And when Lee & I do a great job at cutting back where we spend we high five and feel proud & that's good, right?

But there's this other side....I have watched business I love go under.
And those are people.
Those are families.

I don't want to make excuses for living extravagantly by any means. But I don't want to forget some people simply by remembering others.

A good friend a while back was frustrated because her dryer was broken & she didn't want to spend the money to have it fixed. That's never fun. When you're trying so hard to stay in the black. To maintain life as we know it sometimes.
But then we began to think of the person fixing the dryer. A person who has probably been really hurting in this economy. A person who may have a family praying for work.

I hope I don't forget that by not spending money I can hurt people too.
I hope I remember that it's so much about people. And putting dollar signs in place of those faces, those stories, can be hurtful.

I don't think this is even a complete thought written in this post. But it's been on my heart for some time now....and I wonder if anyone else has felt this way. I wonder if anyone has some wisdom to share for keeping the balance.

Because we want to be good stewards.
But we want to encourage others in their work, too.

happy

Some more pics of all the happy. It was a great trip....and that big girl said more times than I can even count, "I just love you, Mom & Dad. I just love you."

Filled up.

That's what we are.

And I've got more thoughts than I know what to do with rolling around in my head so stay tuned....

I may just let them all out on here. They've got to get out somehow.....

relaxing

We've been relaxing & enjoying each other for the past few days - somewhere where there is less laundry and more time to play. It was great. Many more pictures to come....

swim a thon

Our swim team had a great event. A swim-a-thon to raise money for the United Methodist Children's Home. The kids swam laps from the beginning of swim practice to the end.

An hour.

I had seen my girl at a swim meet and I was confident that she would do her best - but that her best would be about 5 laps....tops. I didn't know that they would let them use kick boards or flippers to help and that one lap would be considered 1 length of the pool.....but even so......10 laps.

Maybe 12.

Tops.

She's young. She LOVES to swim, but she's learning to swim.
Someone didn't tell her that because...
....that little firecracker swam FORTY laps.
FORTY!
I was so proud of her. She swam for the entire hour and thanks to some kind family members she was able to raise a substantial amount of money for this organization.

Check this place out - it's always encouraging for me to see the creative and compassionate things that are happening around us.

the 4th & birthdays

Just some pictures from the 4th weekend. We also celebrated a couple of birthdays that weekend. And those shirts.....I just love those shirts....and I love the gal who made them. She helped some orphans through Takes A Whole VIllage and also helped a family in the middle of an adoption by making these. And be on the lookout because you will see her again....she's so incredibly talented.....

This picture just makes me laugh....are they afraid of the cake? Discussing buttercream? Fascinated nonetheless.

Sixty Feet

You may remember a great big ol cupcake sale happening several months ago. It was a loaves & fishes kind of situation. Over $10,ooo was raised for Sixty Feet - the kids of Mukisa. The boys + a few buddies are headed back over to Mukisa in just a matter of days.

Here's the latest video .......

Nathalie from Sixty Feet on Vimeo.

gardens

Some friends met us at the gardens today - so much fun. When it's a thousand degrees outside it's nice to run around in a fountain of water. At least that's what it looked like - I didn't have my bathing suit on. But I sort of regretting not having it.

My boy made his stop to see his frog friend....this time he wanted his buddy in the picture. It's fun to watch him grow up with those frogs....

Twins. I love those bathing suits. And I adore these girls. That Sarah is a leader and she's gentle and so friendly. It's been awesome to see God working in her life. And her momma is so dear to me. When I realized that Lee & I would be getting married & that we would be living in Atlanta, I began to feel a little lonely. I knew I didn't have history with anyone and I wondered if I could have a real friendship with someone without that. I'm so thankful for so many of the women that have been brought along side me in my time here. Amy is one of those friends - instant connection. Easy to talk about the big stuff with. She's someone who can call me on the carpet. Helps me to be better. I listen to a guy from Stonebridge Church in Marietta who talks about the 'lettuce in your teeth' theory. The idea that you are going to have lettuce in your teeth one day. In the same way, you are going to mess up at some point and it's a good idea to have people who love you walking beside you that can be honest with you. She is one of those people for me.

baby girl

My bug had her first trip to the wter garden at the Botanical Gardens today.
I really & truly didn't think I caught any good shots.....but these really crack me up. This is her. Spicy. Very funny. Confident. And in love with her big brother. I look at each of my chidren and am always amazed at the very different people that they are. I am never confused to believe that I understand them completely. They teach me something different about themselves every day. And I know that they would be different without one another. Each one makes the other a little more of who they are supposed to be. I love love love these kids. But here's a little entry just for that baby.
The baby that never got the memo that she was a baby.

what was lost now is found....

It has been so long since I have blogged. Summer has got me good. I'm in slow down mode. We're learning how to take it easy again now that swim team is over. The big recent happening around here involved the losing of our beloved friend, Lucy - she's a lamb, or a sheep, but not a teddy bear. She's my big girl's bestie. Lucy appears in many of our famiy photos and I will be sad the day something happens to her. Which is why the days that she was gone were hard on her.....and on me. We looked everywhere & called everywhere that we could think of. And in the spirit of the celebration the Father puts on when his lost son returns & the idea that the Father actually leaves the fold to find that one lost sheep....and the fact that we just read a book where a cake is made to celebrate the finding of a little bear's lost trousers, we decided that a cake would be baked upon her return.
We had a swim team banquet one night & when we came home, daddy let us know that he had something for her.
"Close your eyes"
She fell apart into this emotional laughter, falling into my arms, almost crying....and remembering immediately that we would be baking a cake!
"It will say 'WE FOUND LUCY TODAY!'" at which point I reminded her that tomorrow will not be the day that we found her, to which she replied "It will say 'WE FOUND LUCY YESTERDAY!'"
Awesome.