firstborns are so special

there was a time...a time when it was just me and this little girl-

this little girl, that's so much bigger now...

seems almost hard to believe that she was so little once when I see how big she is now :) 

my sister is pregnant with her first child...her "Hailey Elise"...her child that she prayed and begged and asked God for repeatedly...her blessing, indeed. 

I'm beyond excited for her. She's been so faithful. So trusting. So believing that God would answer her prayer. And, He did. He blessed her. 

It brings a lot of those feelings back- seeing her enjoying the same excitement and joy that I did not too many years ago. It seems just like yesterday that I took that test and excitedly shared my news with the world. It seems like just a little bit ago that I marveled in God's goodness and graciousness every single minute. It seems like just a few hours ago that I brought that precious firstborn into the world. It feels like just minutes ago that they laid that baby in my arms and I felt like my life was complete. 

I have a hard time not tearing up and jumping up and down with excitement when I think of her as a new mom. Welcoming that first baby into the world is just such a special and exciting time. It's a precious and blessed experience. Something that can never be recreated, regardless of how many more births you have. I love all of my kids, every single birth was incredibly special and wonderful, but nothing equals the excitement and amazing-ness of the first one. And, that is something that my sweet sister is going to find out- sometime around October 6th.

I can't wait- to meet my sister's firstborn!! 

the m's

some days I just like to match my twins :) 

especially when they've been given cute matching dresses and shoes.

just love these little cuties!

do ya think they look like their sister??

 these 2 are Hailey around the same age...

16 months

what?! can you believe it...my babies are 16 months old!! 

This has been one huge month of changes and growth for our little m&m's. they've learned to say words, "ma" for milk "thank you" (Maelle) "hi daddy" (Maysen) "al-wee" (allie- from Maelle) "puh" for please (Maysen) "sit down" (Maysen)

I don't get how my girls can put two words together, but don't say more real words...little stubborn buggers!!

they've started sleeping separately...Maelle was getting so "jumpy and bouncy" and stealing Maysen's nukkie and blankie and messing with her so much that Maysen was starting to not nap in the afternoons, which was NOT cool for me! So, we begged my mom to let us borrow her pack 'n play and split the girls up. It has worked amazingly well and both girls are sleeping very well on their own! crazy, huh?! who would have thought there would come a day when my babies weren't snuggling in bed together...definitely not me!! I cried the first day and I still feel a little sad and miss those baby days when they snuggled together and slept on top of each other, but I know it's a good decision and every morning that they sleep until 7 or later, I am more and more convinced it's a good idea :) 

they're still constantly on the move- climbing on everything, but are definitely getting better about listening when I tell them to get down or sit down. 

the girlies are loving baths more and more, which is so much more fun and easier for me :) 

they're acting more like big kids, these days. They both love to sit at the little kid table and have lunch- so cute! They've even started to get mad if the older kids get different food than them. 

Both girls are starting to work on getting their molars. Maysen has one and 2 more are very close to coming in and Maelle has 3 huge lumps, but none of them have poked through for her, yet. Teething twins is not my favorite part of being a twin momma- it's actually very stretching and teaches one a lot of patience, but as soon as these little molars come in we'll only have a few more left! 

16 months...so big, yet still so little! I'm enjoying all of these little baby moments we have left, because I know all too well how fleeting these little moments are :) 

so big

My kiddos are growing up and getting so big. It's amazing to see and hard to keep up with. Jackson's looking and acting more and more like his Daddy. He's choosing to spend time with him over me. Hailey's becoming a great big sister. She's learning to do dishes. She's cooking on the stove. Maysen and Maelle are sitting at the table like big girls. Are talking more. (Macy says, "Hi daddy" and Maelle says, "thank you" so clearly that I can't believe that those are their first words.) My little family is seeming less and less little and more and more big! 

The hardest part of them getting bigger is that Maysen and Maelle aren't sleeping in the same bed anymore. My little ones have been together since the womb and it's hard to imagine that at almost 16 months they're done sharing a sleeping place. All those precious moments that I've seen them share are changing and growing with them...they still love each other, they still wrestle and give hugs to each other, they still hold hands, they're still very much a part of each other...but, they're growing up and I'm having a hard time not crying when I think of my sweet babies changing from babies to big girls so quickly! 

best of friends

A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. 

Proverbs 17:17

As iron sharpens iron, so friends sharpen each other.

Proverbs 27:17

One great thing about having all your kids close in age is that they can be each other's best friends. That has been more and more obvious to me the older the twins get. They, not only play with each other more, but they play with Jack and Hailey more. (and, unfortunately, fight with Hailey and Jack more...) 

I have been doing a study on the Proverbs by Beth Moore on Thursday mornings, at our church, and a few weeks ago it was on friendship and the importance of good, wise friends. It made me think of my children...because no one is closer than your family and no one has the ability to be a true and wise friend more than a sister or brother- no one sees all your faults, your weaknesses, your strengths, your raw emotion, your deepest fears and darkest secrets more than your family!   

The study not only gave me one more reason to be thankful that my kids are all so close in age, but it gave me something new to pray for my children- that they would be wise friends for one another. That they would not only laugh, giggle and play together, but that they would help one another, encourage one another, sharpen each other, and spur one another on to the truth. That they would forgive one another the hurts and not get hung up on petty jealousies, but always look out for each other and look for the best in each other. 

A peace that transcends

peace on earth is filled with

patches of sunshine,

warm baths, 

sweet baby smiles,

tender sister hugs

 playing nicely together,

kids helping with chores,

sweet naps on the couch,

the peace of God is a calm and gentle spirit
 regardless of the messy house,
1/2 clothed children,
numerous potty accidents,
a washing machine disaster,
100 square feet per person house,
no alone time,
2 little people pulling at the shower curtain,
a cell phone going swimming in a coffee cup,
unpacking and settling in,
cold coffee,
spilled milk,
no sleep or rest,
spider infestations.
The peace of God transcends all understanding and is applicable and useful for every and any situation! And...best of all...the peace of God has been taking over my heart and my life the last 2 weeks. (your prayers have been working...thanks) The one HUGE blessing of this tiny house is that Korey has been home a lot. We have been spending a lot of downtime together, a lot of talking time together, a lot of filling up my little love tank. Moving and getting the rental ready for us was a stressful and emotionally draining time for all of us. It was hard to have a peaceful heart when you're life was constantly in an upheaval. We worked at it, we prayed for it, we memorized Scripture to help with it, we joined Bible studies, we read our Bibles...all of that helped and kept us in the best frame of mind that we could be in, but there is just nothing as calming and peaceful to a heart as a little bit of downtime after a crazy and stressful time. It feels like God just gave me a break- gave my heart a break- gave my kids a break-gave my husband a break...and we are all loving it and soaking it in!! 

the fun never ends

we've been in our tiny little temporary house for 2 weeks now...and it's been fun times 2 (or 4) :) 

The first week we were all battling a cold, so we didn't do much, but this week has been a little more exciting and fun- we've kept ourselves a little busier and we've been enjoying a few of the perks to living in town. It's been a little harder to keep the kiddos entertained, though, in a small place, so, we've had to get a little creative...

 the twinnies have even had to get new jammies, because their room is a lot warmer than the basement. Surprisingly, though, they seem to be sleeping fairly well- even without their dark little basement cave. Naps aren't as good as they used to be, but bedtime doesn't seem to be as affected. 

I think out of everyone, Hailey has been enjoying the closer quarters more than anyone else. She's had a lot of fun playing with the babies and playing "matching" with them :) She's been a good little helper and a joy to have around. Nap time and rest time have been kinda difficult, since Hailey and Jack share a room and I have been missing my little amount of alone time that I get each day, but so far it hasn't been too bad. We've kept our peace- for the most part :) 

 some of the best parts of the house have been the m's getting cuter and cuter. Maysen's been giving lots of hugs to everyone, especially her little sister :) It's so cute. Maelle's not a huge fan of it, but she giggles through it, most of the time. Hailey and Jack, on the other hand, love it. Both of the girls have been starting to say a few more words, too. Their personalities get crazier and crazier as the days go by and we love to watch them learn new stuff, even if it's crazy and wild and gets them in a lot of trouble!! 

Our little temporary house has been fun. It's been adventurous. It's been a big test of my patience and love. Today the kids and I tried to make muffins and the kitchen is so small and there is so little counter space that we had oats and flour all over, a spilled cup of coffee, a drowned cell phone and ended our super fun time of muffin making with time outs for everyone- mommy included :) I think that the next few months will be a time of growing on mommy's part and a little bit of fun on the kiddos part. 

ta-da

we did it! we moved our whole family of littles to a very fitting house...it's tiny- just like us :) 

before I tell you about it, let me just say that I LOVE (truly love) 2 things about a small house:

1)I can plug the vacuum in one outlet and vacuum the entire house without unplugging it

2)I always know what the kids are up to, because they're basically always within my sight or ear shot

anyways...we moved on Saturday- we were supposed to have some adult help, but as you can tell from the picture- they did a lot of hanging out in the mudroom, laughing, while leaving most of the heavy/hard work to the 4 biggest workers of our family ;) (wink, wink, thanks, guys, for all your hard work...not sure the kiddos coulda done it without you lending your muscles to the few heavy things you helped them with) 

actually...our friends and family were AMAZING and a huge help! My friend even put my entire kitchen away and organized it for me!

 Saturday night we spent the night in our rental house...I thought it would be sad to leave our house in Mosinee behind, on Saturday night, but I think God saved me from a boatload of tears by having chaos, in the form of 4 pee soaked kiddos reign and I was too busy wondering what we were gonna look like showing up at our new house with 2 naked and 2 very wet children to be sad about leaving(all our extra clothes were already at the rental)...case in point...in the midst of all the chaos we went and forgot Jackson's bed in Mosinee!! (I brought all the hangers from the entire house, but I forgot a bed...who does that??)

On Monday a friend and her husband offered to watch the kiddos so I could get the house organized and cleaned. It was such a huge blessing. Especially because on Monday Macy had woken up sick and crabby. On Tuesday morning Maelle woke up sick and crabby and on Tuesday afternoon Jackson woke up from his nap sick and crabby. So, we've been one sick and crabby house for the last few days and if I hadn't have gotten the house clean and organized on Monday morning I wouldn't have gotten it done at all! 

Other than sick and crabby, we've all been adjusting fairly well. Hailey loves the new adventure- she's even been doing the dishes for me (which usually results in a good floor scrubbing afterwards, too- so it's a two for one bonus). I like being closer to my friends. Korey's enjoying the 3 minute drive to work. The babies are liking that Hailey and Jack don't have as many places to hide from them, so they play with them more. Jack's loving the fact that he and Hailey get to sit at their little table for all their meals (we don't have room for our dining room table). The biggest drawback, right now, is that no one is sleeping very well...the babies just love their little basement cave. Jack doesn't like change at all and Hailey is a very light sleeper. But, we're all managing to survive and thanks to lots of prayer I'm keeping a fairly decent attitude, most of the time :) Today I was even able to sneak in a wonderful little "brain break" time to come to Starbucks, use their internet and enjoy the peace and quiet for an hour or so. (we're working on hour #2, now...) We haven't gotten the internet at our house, yet, but when we do I'll put some more pictures on and tell you more about our tiny little adventure :)