anything sweeter than a sleeping baby??

Yup! 2 sleeping babies :)

aren't they precious??

we love to swim

water and summertime...they just seem to go together for us...especially since we have wonderful neighbors who let us invite ourselves over to swim in their pool!! 

woohoo for hot summer days that are spent at someone else's house! :)

 true to form Jackson spent most of the time scooting around on top of the water on a little boogie board! He's not a huge fan of water- even when  it's 90 degrees out!  

 poor May-May is still not feeling well :( still running a fever, still clingy...poor baby! hopefully she'll kick it soon!

 love my little kiddos, love the water and love the fact that my neighbor had an extra floaty so that both my little m&m's could go swimming at the same time!! 

Hailey

Hailey absolutely loves life! You can't spend anytime with her and not smile and laugh and giggle. She does everything to the max. I'd say she's the "heart" of our family. She already is planning out our days...it makes me laugh how much she just loves to "do" stuff. Every night before she goes to bed she asks, "who's coming tomorrow, momma" and if I say "no one" she says, "then where we going?" 

I had been really thinking about choosing a "life" verse to pray for my children. Instead of choosing whole life verse, right now, I found an idea on pinterest where you choose a new verse every year for each child. So, I chose for Hailey- "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones" Proverbs 17:22  My prayer for Hailey is, "Lord, give my daughter a cheerful heart. Use her heart to bring about good and peace in her life. Don't let her life get dried up with a broken spirit- keep her sweet and cheerful all the days of her life" 

 Here's a few things that Hailey's been up to...

*still going potty in the backyard. Did I mention that this girls loves life and loves to have fun?? Yeah, she really hates to have to take time out of her "fun" to be bothered by silly things like going inside to go potty!!

*she's been incredibly helpful and fun to be around...but, there are definitely days that have been rough. A few days ago, after one of them, the kids and I were sitting at the dinner table and I said to Hailey, "today was kinda rough, honey, what happened?" to which she replied, "I was really, really naughty, today" I said, "why" her response, "I just feel like being naughty today"! Guess you can't argue with that, huh?! ;)

Gotta love my little girl :)  

cutie girls

woohoo! our babies made it to 7 months old!! :) 

Today we had a little "photo shoot" to celebrate. I bribed Hailey and Jackson with cookies to help me and to play patiently...I'll leave it to your imagination as to who helped and who played quietly while we took the pictures :) 

Maysen's a little under the weather today...running a little fever and just generally wanting to be held...just not her usual happy and smiley self! We still managed to coax a few smiles out of her, though! 

"someone" (I'll let you figure that one out, too) decided she needed to play with the baby's # stickers while she was resting the other day, so we only have one 7 month sticker, so the girls had to take turns wearing the cute sticker and shirt :) (it actually was ok, because I only had one cute little white shirt, anyways) :)

Maelle was hamming it up today! She just adores her older sister and seems to shine when Hailey does her goofy smiles or makes silly faces at her!

of course we couldn't leave our resident princess out of all the pictures! 

I just loved the blue bow and flower...it really brought out Maelle's blue eyes! I wish the girls would leave bows or headbands in each other's hair, 'cause it would be so much fun to have them wear them more often, but it seems like the minute we put one on one baby the other baby rips it off and chews on it!! 

just couldn't resist a few at the end...Maelle was just too much of a ham to waste...poor May-may just wasn't into it, though...

don't worry after the photo shoot our neighbor came over and Maysen got snuggle after snuggle and both were happy as little clams!

ahhh, my sweet little twinnies!! I'm never going to go to a baby shower without buying the mom these little month stickers, again! a group of girls bought them for me and I have had so much fun with them- they're such a great idea and it's a super fun excuse to take pictures every month! 

Praise the Lord!

"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous And shout for joy, all you upright in heart." Psalm 32:10,11

Wow! God, my babies are 7 months old! I can NOT even believe how fast these last 7 months have gone or wrap my mind around Your complete and utter faithfulness to me in the past year. When I look back to this time last year- with the fear and trembling of the unknown and the complete and utter disbelief of the little that I did know and contrast that to the immense peace and joy that pervades my life, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Your hand of mercy is upon me. Regardless of the struggles and the hard days- even despite the lack of sleep Your mercy has surrounded me. You have kept sorrow far from me- You have uplifted and upheld me in my darkest and most needy hours. Your hand has constantly guided and directed me in the path You have chosen for my life. You have held me close, soothed my anxieties, quieted my fearful heart. You have given me Your strength and Your love when my own is depleted and that is the only reason I am able to go on many days. You have filled me with joy, despite what may be going on around me. You have given my heart a peace that definitely surpasses all understanding. You fulfilled all my hearts desire and more- my heart can do nothing else than shout for joy and continually praise Your name! 

Praise the Lord that my babies not only survived the womb, they survived the first 7 months of life!! (we all survived the first 7 months of their life- and that is nothing short of a miracle) :) 

7 months

woohoo! we're past the 1/2 year mark!! And, just as I had hoped...I think I can finally say that I'm not in survival mode anymore. Maybe I've just lowered my expectations so much, but whatever the reason I'm loving the fact that we may have rough days here and there (some due to Hailey and Jack, though), but as a general rule we have hit our stride and can handle life fairly well around here!! Thank you, Jesus!! 

Look at how much these girls have changed in 7 months?? I can hardly believe it! They've gone from little 4 1/2 lb "lumps" who slept all the time to little 14lb "monsters" who creep and crawl (yes, Maelle got up and did a real crawl for the first time this morning) around and terrorize their siblings and eat leaves and grass and dirt and basically anything else they can get their little hands on!!

 Amazing, isn't it??!! They hardly even look the same, anymore!! 

Happiest babies on the block!! :) 

There is no friend like a sister...

My sister and I aren't twins. We don't have that special bond that begins in the womb and continues for the rest of your life. We aren't even very similar. In fact, you've probably never met two girls who are less a like than us. Yet, for some reason we get along. We've always loved each other and always had a pretty good bond. I'm not sure I would have ever said that she was my best friend while I was growing up...I'm not even sure I knew she was my best friend growing up, but she definitely was my best friend. I idolized her. I thought she was wonderful. In my eyes she could do no wrong. We shared a bedroom and a bed almost our whole lives, we shared a locker the one year that we were in highschool together, we went to the same college- we even took a lot of the same classes and I definitely "followed" in her footsteps and just let her lead me through school, but that's where it all stopped. She got married and moved to Minneapolis and I got married and moved to small town USA. While she was off living the city life and learning how to navigate traffic and enjoying a town with a night life, I was learning how to fish and cut up a deer in my own kitchen and take long walks with my dog and husband around town. It seemed as if the distance between us grew bigger and the differences that we had grew more and more noticeable. That's the best thing about a sister, though, you're stuck with each other and since we didn't have any other sister's we were definitely "stuck" with only each other. As we grew in our marriages and life threw us each one curve ball after another I think we both realized that although our lives aren't anything alike and we don't have a lot of our circumstances in common that we have a bond that is closer and more amazing than any other friend we could meet.

I memorized a poem for a class in college and the end of it says, "For there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands." (the goblin market by christina rosetti) This is definitely what Felicia and I have and that is what I pray for my baby girls! I pray that as they grow they will always have a deep and true love for one another. I pray that they will always be there for each other and will always remember to look out for each other. I know that there will be no greater joy than seeing my girls walking with the Lord, but I think the 2nd greatest joy will be seeing them enjoy and love each other as they grow! 

Here are my little "best friends in the making" :)  

 the best part of having twins...they always have someone to "entertain" them and "do" stuff with- even if it is just watch the traffic go by from the front door or wrestle with on the blanket outside :)

Love, Love, Love these two little peanuts!! 

May and Ellie, I pray that you will both always remember your bond. I pray that you will cling together. That you will help each other- physically and emotionally through life. That you will be ready with a hug, a listening ear and a smile or joke, whenever they're needed. That you will encourage and uplift each other. That you would spur one another one to the right things- not towards trouble- although I'm sure you will do plenty of that, too. I pray that you will always and truly be the best of friends! 

cooking with kids

Before I had kids and when Hailey was too small to help in the kitchen cooking with kids seemed so special and wonderful and "memorable" and was something that I just could not wait to do. I read all these cute blogs where the mom's cooked adorable looking things with their adorable looking children. They were always smiling, the kitchen always seemed clean and their treats always turned out. Now that Hailey's big enough to really enjoy cooking and baking with me I've found it to be none of those things. It's incredibly messy, it takes at least 4x's as long, she rarely looks adorable while we're doing it because she's often covered in whatever we're making, and often the treats don't even come out looking close to what they're supposed to!! In fact, if I were to be truly honest, 1/2 the time its not even fun. So...why do I do it...mostly, because I have the most precious and sweet memories of cooking and baking with my mom and my grandma and I'm hoping that someday cooking and baking with Hailey (and Jack and the M&M's) will be fun. That someday all the mess and the "messy creations" will be worthwhile...that someday we'll work side by side creating lasting memories (that don't include corn syrup running down the cupboard onto the dog, flour and or sugar all over the floor and burned fingers) and dinners you can actually eat and pretty desserts (other than rice krispy treats and schotcharoos). For now, though, I guess I'll take the memories that we can make (or that I can capture on camera, so we can remember) and the fun that we do have!! :) (it honestly is hard NOT to have fun with Hailey...she's so smiley and loves to laugh and have fun)

yup, it really did happen...someone spilled the corn syrup all down the cupboard and onto the dog's back...and, yes, it did take me scrubbing the floor and cupboard 3 times before it wasn't sticky anymore!

 

  busted!! maybe you shouldn't eat anything that comes out of our kitchen...at least for a few more years ;)

fun in the sun

It's been so hot the past few days and humid that we've just been trying to get outside and spend as much time in the pool and the sprinkler as possible! Even May and Ellie got in on the action...wearing their cute little swimsuits for the first time!! 

Yup, it's official- these are the cutest twinnies EVER!! :) 

 do ya think we may need a bigger pool?? 

 did I mention how much we all love having Korey home from work this week?? Tomorrow starts his "work" part of the week- where he's planning on getting lots and lots of work done at the rental, so we probably won't see him much :( booo!! we're all sad about that, but it's a necessary part of life! (and my big sister is coming tomorrow night to hang with us for a few days, so that'll make it less sad) It's just so wonderful and nice to have "daddy" around for more than just the weekend. Life just seems to run more smoothly...even when your son has diarrhea at the dinner table, all over his booster seat or when the same son poops on the carpet- runs to the bottom of the stairs, because he's sad and upset about it, then slips in it and squishes it all over the carpeted basement and his legs, then cries even harder (yeah, we're sooo excited about not having Jack in diapers- insert sarcastic laugh)

Ok, who do you think is cuter- Maelle or Jackson?? 

it's a toss-up, isn't it?? I think they're both pretty adorable and were totally "hamming" it up for the camera :)

Happy Father's Day!!

Today is such a special day for everyone- we get a wonderful excuse to call up our dad's, visit our dad's or just plain tell our Dad's how much they mean to us! Since I already told my Dad...and my kids can't tell their Dad- I thought I'd tell you 4 of my favorite things about my babies' daddy! (in honor of- Hailey, Jack, Maysen and Maelle...my 4 favorite things from him) :)

1) Hailey and her daddy...I don't think this really needs any explanation as to why I absolutely adore this bond. From the moment she was born and his eyes were widened with wonder, he cut the umbilical cord and then barely waited for the nurse to place her in his arms. I've very rarely seen this man cry, but this sweet baby girl brought tears to his eyes in an instant and at that moment all the pain of childbirth was made worthwhile- just seeing the love of my life meeting the "newest" love of his life! That beautiful, beautiful bond continues to this day and I just love seeing it develop. She truly has a friend in her Daddy...and he has a little "worshipper" in her :) 

 2) he's so goofy and silly and is always making me and the kids laugh with his silly antics, dances, made up songs or otherwise silly things. I don't know how I would survive some days without Korey and his silliness!! He keeps us all laughing at life!

 3)he's an incredibly hard worker. He works hard at work and he works hard at home. He's never one to shy away from physical labor! (not to mention the fact that he's incredibly sexy with his shirt off...) ;)

 4) Korey is the best Daddy I could ask for my kids. He was involved and enjoyed Hailey and Jack, but that is  nothing compared to how he is with Maysen and Maelle. He is AMAZING with them. I'm not sure if it's because they're our 3rd and 4th and he's more comfortable with them or because there's 2 of them and it'd just be mean to sit and watch me struggle all by myself, but he often steps in and takes a baby and it's so much fun to see him really enjoying the baby stage! And, it's really fun to see how good he is at it all. He still doesn't change too many diapers, but he can get them both to smile and giggle like no one else and he often will give me a break and bounce one or both of them on the ball when they're crabby and nothing else satisfies :) It's even fun to go to the store and each of us take a baby and just "watch" him as he goes through the store looking all "daddy-like" cooing at his baby! 

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy around! I love you so much, Korey! 

fun, fun, fun!

When Korey works late we all kinda miss him and get a little "antsy" (especially when we're really stuck at home potty training) so I've been trying to come up with some fun stuff for all of us to do. (thanks to pinterest it wasn't too hard to think up some good, fun stuff) :)

 one thing we did was make "cloud dough" (1/2 c baby oil and 4 c flour). I could NOT believe how much my kids loved this. I guess what's not to love- packs like sand and makes a huge mess :)

 Maysen and Maelle have been super babies, lately. I am so thankful for how well they play together and how "entertained" they keep each other. Plus, it's just so adorable to see them on the floor playing :)

 Another thing we tried was shaving cream and food coloring! That was, also. a huge hit and a lot easier to clean up :) The only mishap was when Jackson tried to climb out of the bathtub and ended up slipping on all the shaving cream and biting through his lip...nothing huge, though! :) And, definitely not anything that getting wrapped in a lion towel and snuggling onto mommy's bed to watch tv couldn't fix :)

Korey has to take a week of furlough, again, this year and that starts next week!! Woohoo!! We all did remarkably well on our own the last couple of weeks, but it'll be so nice to have our favorite person around for a whole week!! :)