busy, busy, busy

we're always busy at the Konietzki house, but, the past few weeks we've been very busy trying to get the rental house all fixed up and ready to go!! Took all 4 kiddos over there a few days ago for the first time and they all enjoyed helping daddy and checking out every crack and crevice! I think the twins are gonna be "bunking" in the kitchen cabinets ;)

 sorry about the not so great picture quality...my phone doesn't take the greatest pictures- especially of incredibly fast moving children ;)

"where you go, I will go; where you stay, I will stay; Your people, shall be my people; and your God, my God." Ruth 1:16b

This was a verse that we had read at our wedding and at the time my incredibly smart mother in law said to me, "you know you have to mean this if you say it". At the time I was so in love and so enamored with her son that I didn't think anything more about it...but, the few times that our life has either been uprooted or there has been a potential for uprooting...I have always been brought back to this verse and my mother in law's wise words pop into my head. I wonder if she knew her son so well that made her say that or if she knew me well enough to know that following is not something that comes super easy to me. Either way, the momma is always right- and this time she was right on. I do have to mean it!

 Moving is not easy. Moving twice in the span of 4 months with 4 little kids is just plain crazy- not to mention incredibly stressful. But, I truly meant what I promised on my wedding day- where Korey goes, I'll go. Where he stays, I'll stay. Whether he likes it or not, he's stuck with me! Even in small, incredibly cramped quarters. Even on the very crabby, all 4 kids melting down in a small house days. Especially because there'll be no room to go anywhere away from each other :) We're about to embark on our new adventure...Saturday is the big day where we move all our big stuff!! woohoo! We'll be sleeping in new quarters this weekend :) Pray that the kids would just love their new surroundings so much that they sleep like sloths...never did get that sleeping like a baby- none of my babies were that awesome of sleepers!! 

the bottom?!

Before I had the twins I had an idea of what "the bottom" for me would...the ultimate show that I'd given up and just embraced the crazy. At that time I figured if I went to a store (even Walmart) in sweatpants without makeup that would be the ultimate bottom for me. The one sign that I needed to wake up and get my life together. The thing is...I already did that and surprisingly it didn't seem so bad. At that point I figured I just didn't care anymore, I'd already just accepted the fact that time alone was such a premium that given the chance to get out of the house I wouldn't even stop or think twice I would just run for the door :) 

But, today I realized that the ultimate bottom wasn't going to the store without make up and in my sweatpants- it's wearing un-matched socks- not just some of the time, not just once in a while, not just on the spur of the moment...but, ALL the time! I sat down today to match up socks and realized that I haven't done that in a long, long, long time. Hailey's never been one to match or care about things like that and I think she's been wearing off on me (or I've just gotten incredibly lazy) because I've been wearing un-matched socks a lot lately. Yikes! I even wore unmatched socks to Minneapolis with a group of girls, without even thinking twice about it. I think this is the ultimate bottom...the true sign that I need to get my life together...think I'll work on that next week :) tonight I'm just gonna sit here with my unmatched fuzzy socks and watch the biggest looser! (Korey's not home, so I get to watch whatever I want) :)

 Maelle's got some good style, too :) Must run in the family, huh?!

our life these days...

has been a little crazy...

has been filled with boxes (or should I say "filling boxes")

has been different...

to say the least.

the rental house is almost all ready. our house is almost all packed up.

I'm happy to say that we're all still smiling. we're all still happy. we're all still excited.

Hailey

what can I say about this girl that I haven't already said??! I just love my little Hailey girl! She lights up my life- and everyone else's, too. With life being in an upheaval, lately, Hailey has been a little ray of sunshine for me. She makes me laugh. She keeps me grounded. She reminds me of when I'm not being very kind of nice. She actually reminds me of a lot of things...I'm kind of forgetful :) She keeps me dressing well- I think her daddy may be secretly paying her, because she keeps begging me to wear skirts and dresses more... She's a true gem! Lately, we've been working on being a good hostess and what all that means-serving others, giving them first pick, allowing them to play with your best toys/things, sharing, giving up the biggest cookie, etc. and she's been so precious with her serving of her brother and her daddy dinner, wanting to make her daddy cookies and bars, and sharing her toys with her friends when they come over. I think she's gonna be a great hostess someday when she has a house of her own! 

Here are some of my favorite Hailey quotes:

"mom, you don't have to bring your money to the grocery store. I'm bringing mine and I can buy everything we need" as she proudly showed me her wallet with 15 pennies and 2 dimes in it ;) 

"I have to wear my shades everywhere because Jack's so cool he's hurting my eyes"

"let's go get those stinky babies"

while stalling before bed, "wait, I have one more thing to tell you...I, ahhh, I ahhh, I just love you so much that I don't want you to have to leave and go be by daddy and watch his silly tv shows. you stay with me and I'll tell you a super duper fun story. won't that be better, mom?" 

when I asked her why she drew all over Maelle's face with a marker, "I wanted her to have a tattoo so she'd always remember that she's my favorite. it's a picture of me and her together at the park." 

when I asked her why she colored her eye lids and lips with a purple marker, "I need to wear pretty make up like you, 'cause you're soooooo beautiful" (at least she's a good suck up, right?)

when I asked her why she colored all over her pillow with a marker, "It was green and green is ugly. I wanted it to be purple, because purple is my second favorite color"

"I'm so good at coloring. won't daddy be proud of me and all my great work when he gets home" :)

(do you notice the pattern with all the coloring...crafts are her new "thing") 

"ooh, I look just like a princess in this dress. Jack, you be the prince and come rescue me. no, not the mean dragon. a prince. you have to obey your sister, just like the Bible says" hmmm...not sure about her theology on that one ;)

"awww, mom, these babies are so silly I just can't stop laughing at them" 

"I just wanna marry daddy. please, mommy, can't I just marry daddy. he's my favorite and I love him best of all. please, oh please" (sorry, sweet pea, he's my favorite, too, and I got him first) :)

Hailey and Jack are going to stand up together in my little brother's wedding at the end of August...they were practicing...hopefully they won't be running and Maelle won't be jumping in front of the picture, on the real wedding day :) 

30?!

Yup, I turned the BIG 3-0 this past weekend. So far I don't feel any different than 29. I had a hard time turning 25- it felt so old, I didn't feel like I should be that old. I wanted kids, hadn't had any yet (Hailey was born a month before my 26th bday). I didn't really have the life that I envisioned myself living at 25 and was sad about it. But 30 is a lot different. 30 just feels right, somehow. Maybe it's because I have good friends that I love that are older, so it feels like I'm closer to them, now that I'm in my 30's. Maybe it's because I feel like a mom of 4 should be 30 and I won't get as many weird looks, now that I'm older. Maybe it's because my babies are growing up and I'm actually having a hard time with that so I don't have time to think about the fact that I'm getting old, too. Maybe it's just the simple fact that my mom's gonna be 50 this year, so 30 doesn't feel quite so old comparatively speaking. (right, mom?!) :) 

So far, I'm liking the age of 30. I feel a little more seasoned; a little more grace-filled; a little more relaxed. Ok, I've only been 30 for 3 days, and 1 of them was spent in Minneapolis with 5 amazing girls and no kids, but it still feels kinda nice to be "old" :) And, I'm really hoping that I can spend the next 30+ years showing myself and those around me more grace than I did in the last 30 years. Being a mom is hard; being a wife is hard; being a daughter is hard; being a christian is hard; being a friend is hard; life is hard and I want to be able to grace myself and those around me- a lot more than I managed to do in my 20's. "Grace, grace, God's grace; grace that can pardon and cleanse within"- that's what I want to define my 30's!! 

just so you don't think this is all about me- here are some cute little girly pics :) 

sometimes on the harder twinny days- the days where both are teething and cranky- I like to dress them alike to remind myself that they're so cute and that having twins is so fun and so worth it :) 

(and it always works- they 're absolutely adorable) :)

Happy Valentine's day!

from us to you :) 

these little red butts are supposed to be hearts...close?! 

at least we tried, right? :)

peace?!

A few days ago a friend asked how my quest for peace was going...and...well...let's just say it could be better. Korey's been working a lot getting our rental house ready, we sold our house and are packing up all our belongings to move into a storage garage until we can move into our new house, the twins are both cutting teeth and both learned how to run, Jack's been throwing a lot of tantrums and fits, we signed Hailey up for 4K, I've been fighting off one cold after another...and all of these things seem small, but have been adding up to one exhausting, irritating, and emotionally stretching month. But, on a happier and lighter note I feel like I may be making some slight progress in the peace department. I say slight in the slightest sense of the word...and I say it prayerfully and hopefully that I won't have the worst, most un-peaceful day of my life tomorrow! :) My verse, "Great peace have those who love your law and nothing causes them to stumble" Psalm 119:165 has really been defining my month. I feel as if instead of just getting on a crazy cycle and letting it define my whole day and all my emotions and just letting the panic creep further and further into my heart- I have been able to meditate on that verse. stop the crazy cycle. and move forward from there. I'd like to say that it happens fast. That Jack throws a fit and I immediately respond to him with grace on my tongue and kindness in my heart, but I don't. Sometimes it takes a minute or two for me to calm my heart down. I wish that I could pack my boxes and say that I don't get irritated or annoyed when the kids get into lots and lots of crazy trouble when I'm not paying attention to them, but I don't. Sometimes it takes a moment or two- a prodding or two by the Holy Spirit, before I stop my little internal (and sometimes, sadly to say, external) tirade and change directions. But, I'm glad that there is a change. I'm glad that the Holy Spirit's prodding has been more audible and that I've been listening a little bit more. I have come to cling to my afternoons spent in the Word and some days it's all I can do to try and hang on until then- until I get a little respite from the chaos and get to spend a few minutes with just me and my Lord. One thing I've been instituting new this month (I've tried to keep up with all the other things I started last month, too) is that I've been setting my timer for 10 minutes and giving myself that time to just be with God- just calm my nerves and spend some time in the Word. Then, when the timer goes off I can get up and clean the house, can do whatever work I need to do, or spend time with Hailey or get the babies up from the nap that they're not taking that day, catch a quick nap, take a shower, fold some laundry, make a phone call or just keep going with my Bible reading, if I don't have any other things that require my immediate attention. I think that grace to just take a few quality minutes with God has transformed my month the most. I don't feel the stress of looking around the house every afternoon and seeing all the mess, but still trying to focus on the Word for a long period of time; but in my heart I feel like I've been spending more time in the Word than usual, because I've been more diligent and more disciplined with my time. Obviously, it is only with God's grace and through God's Word that I can change my heart. I know that my life is not going to get any less crazy, any less chaotic or any less loud...I just want to have peace in the midst of the craziness and I think that meditating and contemplating on the truth of God's Word is the best way to get there! So, do I have more peace??!! Maybe...hopefully...but, I'm praying and begging that God will help me grow in that direction more and more each day.

my valentine

Korey- my love. my valentine.

In honor of  February being the month of love and because this blog is for my kiddos to read when they get bigger, I thought I'd share how I met my very own sweet Valentine! 

Surprisingly, Korey and I grew up only a few miles away from each other, went to the same christian school, but never really knew each other until one fateful day at the lake...

In fact, if you'd like to know- it was there, at that same lake, with Korey that I had my first kiss...well, ok- it wasn't technically with Korey, sadly, it was with his best friend, but Korey was there the whole time- kicking a bottle cap around on the ground and wishing it was him, instead of his friend I was kissing. (ok, I added that last part, but I like to think that's what he was doing- not just wishing I would leave his friend alone) :) 

After that fateful first kiss...we went our own ways for a few years, only to take up our friendship, again, after we hit high school. I was a year ahead of Korey in school, but that didn't stop me from having a little crush on this cute guy who barely resembled that dorky, tight black jean and baseball cap wearing kid that I met in the park years earlier. I found reason after reason to put myself in his path, all to no avail. I asked him for rides to school, I was friends with his friends, I talked to him before church and plagued his family with invitations over to my parent's house for dinner...but, never once did he ask me to a dance or out on a date...what a bummer!! Good thing I make a lasting impression (or maybe my persistence finally paid off) because a few years later, when we both were out of highschool- he got bored enough that he started calling his old friends to see what they were up to...apparently no one else was home but me and I've never been more thankful for my lack of a life and for my amazing ability to talk and talk and talk some more!! Korey must have been impressed with it, too, because less than 2 years later I finally convinced the man of my dreams to give me his last name!! :) 

I love you, honey, and I'm incredibly thankful that you chose me to be your wife! It seems like so long since our first Valentine's Day together...and even though our love, now, more closely resembles playdoh hearts than expensive jewelry and flashy nights out, I think it gets sweeter and sweeter with each passing year!

triplets?!

say what?! yup, you read that right...for a few hours (almost 24) we realized what it would be like to have triplets at our house! Our dear friends allowed us the privilege of serving them by watching their precious little Drew while they went to an overnight marriage retreat. It was a fun little time for us and, hopefully, a break for them! Since it was Korey's bff (yup, that's right- Korey has a best friend forever) ;) and his wife, Korey promised to help me out and help he did...he entertained (as evidenced by picture #2) he held babies (as evidenced by picture #3- down) and he found the baby gate and put it up so that Drew wouldn't fall down the stairs! What a great bff, huh?! ;) (sorry, I just think its so funny and love to tease Korey about his bff...bear with me)  It was crazy and wild fun!! We changed diapers in succession, we fed babies in succession, we gave sippies and bottles in succession, we put babies down for naps all at the same time- in fact, it wasn't a whole lot different than our every day normal life, except one extra! Which did make it a little tricky when the 3 of them were fussy...or when the 3 of them wanted me to hold them at the same time, but thankfully, I didn't have to do it alone- Korey was here! (totally not sure how you do it every day by yourself, Jess)  I think Hailey had a great time, too. You would think she'd be "baby'd" out with all the babies we have around here, but it's always fun and exciting to have a new one, I guess. She loved to play with Drew and feed him his breakfast. It was like a brand new toy for her!! :) Thanks for trusting us with your precious cargo- Jake and Nikki :) Hopefully he came back in one piece and we followed the whole sheet of instructions well enough to not damage him for life!!

one for the books

there have been a few moments where I have actually felt like a super mommy...yesterday morning was one of those times! I, all by myself, managed to get a bead out of Jackson's nose!! Lets not go into the reasons as to why my son was unsupervised long enough to get the bead into his nose, the fact that I'm not even entirely sure where the bead came from, the fact that I sent panic ridden text messages to a friend who'd "been there and done that" with her daughter- asking for advice, the fact that I bribed him with anything and everything under the sun- including an ice cream cone at 9 in the morning, or the fact that I'm pretty sure it came out only because of Hailey's sweet prayers and lots and lots of snot caused by all the crying and screaming- from him and mommy...because all of those things make me feel a lot less like a super mommy ;) Let's just focus on the fact at hand- I got a bead out of my son's nose- without having to take him to the emergency room!! woohoo! I can chalk that one up as an experience for the books! Good thing he doesn't look any worse for the wear and I can just sit and laugh at one more experience that I hope to never have to repeat!! :) 

the bead, the ice cream cone, and super Jack- the great bead sticker :) 

"I love my cousin"

that's what Hailey's been saying all day. she loves her cousin-Jace and his brother Cole.  Korey's brother and his boys are visiting from Texas for a few days and it was great fun to see the kids interact; enjoy the snow; teach each other a few new tricks; keep Grandma hopping; fight over paci's. In the beginning things were a little rough- no one was really sure what to make of the other. No one was really sure they wanted to share THEIR Grandma with anyone else. No one was sure what to think.  Thankfully, snacks and games are the universal kid ice breaker and they were soon fast friends! Jace and Hailey are a little over a year apart, Jace is the older of the 2, and Cole and Jackson are about 3 months apart, Jackson being the older of the 2. It was a fun thing to see- them all play together and share toys and giggle and laugh!  

one and the same

I love when I can put the twins in the clothes that I loved seeing Hailey in...

here's one of my favorites: 

Hailey winter 2010

(13 months)

Maelle winter 2013

(14 months)

I don't really see the similarities in these two...not sure who Maelle looks like, but I know she acts like her brother (and has her daddy's wild hair)- it's so hard to get a good picture of her- she's always moving and grooving :) 

here, there, and everywhere

there's one word that can describe what life has been like, around here, lately-

exhausting!!

The twinnies are crazy and wild. They're hopping. They're fighting. They're playing. They're climbing. They're jumping (yes, Maelle tried to jump off the coffee table this afternoon). They're digging in the garbage. They're putting their little fingers and arms in the cupboards and pulling stuff out. They're finding trouble anywhere and everywhere. They're wearing me out. It's not the same exhausting as the first few months of their life, but it's the kind of exhausting where I fall into bed, put my head on the pillow and immediately fall asleep each and every night. I spend so much of my day running after these two- trying to keep them out of trouble, that I'm finding it hard, again, to keep up with the rest of "life". 

Since the girls have been mobile we haven't gone anywhere, either. Korey even remarked today that the car always seemed to have the same amount of gas in it every time he got in and I had to laugh, because it's 100% true- not his imagination- I've just stayed home a lot, lately! It seems like we're in a little bit of an overwhelming stage, right now, and the mere thought of going anywhere with these two climbers and runners seems a little bit more than I can handle! 

Good thing they're still cute :) here are some pictures that I've managed to snag from the last few days...

Maysen and Maelle fighting over Hailey's chair- Maelle wins!

 Maelle, Maelle, Maelle...she's into everything. She's such a little bugger these days. 

 2 little girls...such big trouble!

good thing all this activity wears them out, too!! They've gone back to taking two long naps every day :) 

Did you ever hear what happened the last time I took all 4 of my kids anywhere, by myself??

Well...let's just say I had this great idea to go to Barnes and Noble to play with the train set. Korey told me I was crazy and I shouldn't do it and I almost immediately agreed with him...it was harder than I had thought to carry the over 20lb twins, one in each arm, and keep track of both Hailey and Jackson in the parking lot. I got more odd looks than I was prepared for (and more negative and not very nice comments than I would have liked). It was more work than I was prepared for keeping Maysen and Maelle off of the train table and from completely rearranging each and every toy and book on the shelves in the play area. But, the clincher came when I lost my son.  I turned my back for a minute and was helping Hailey put some books back on the right shelves (she had been picking books that I should buy for her, maybe thinking we were at the library- or that I was made of $, but either way, they all had to go back) and when I looked back on the kiddos Jackson was nowhere to be seen. I tried not to panic. The twins were still climbing all over the train table and working their hardest at clearing the shelves, so I allowed them to continue on as I scanned the place looking for my little boy. I've had that moment of panic when I loose a child in my own home (and let me tell you- that's still scary) but it was NOTHING compared to what I felt when I couldn't find him. Hailey ended her time and started helping me look for him, both of us were starting to border on panic- when an incredibly crabby and irritated clerk came up, holding his hand. It was hard to justify how I managed to loose him when she was looking down her nose at me with raised eyebrows and it was all I could do to hold back tears of thankfulness that my son was found- unharmed. I know I'm not the only mom that's happened to and I guess I should be thankful that I didn't have my name called over the loud speaker. But, it was the clincher for me...I quickly packed my brood up, headed for the door and have barely ventured out of the house since.