More Snow

Crazily, we got even more snow the week before Valentine's Day. I was so glad that I was home this time and since it was the middle of the week I wasn't tired and was able to enjoy it fully with the kids. Clay and I took them out for a little ride in our homemade sled for a trip around the block and we had too much fun!!

joy of LOVE day 8

today's topic is gift from the heart, what they have done, said, promised, given...



These babies are my most treasured possession and I can't imagine a single minute of life without them in it!!

A rude awakening ....

Well, this past weekend, I switched my shifts around a little bit and decided to work Saturday and Sunday night in a row instead of my normal schedule. We have a nurse that is out because of her little boy being sick so we have been short staffed on Saturday nights. Well anyways, doing the 2 shifts in a row made me much more tired this morning and I just knew I wasn't going to have a bit of trouble sleeping with Little Love was at school.

There was some snow predicted for our area and by time I was leaving work, it had already begun to sleet and rain some. Upon arriving home, I check the news and at that point, all the schools were still in session. We kinda freak out around here in the South with any amount of snow accumulation or even possibility of it. Well, I told Clay that he needed to make sure he wrote down his phone number on the check-in sheet for Little Love because I was super tired and wasn't sure I would hear the phone if they were to close school early.

Around 11:00, I woke up because Little Man was starting to stir and I tried calling Clay on his cell. There wasn't an answer. I had an initial thought of fear rush through my mind because he had said he would come home after dropping off Little Love at school so that I could get some good sleep. I got out of the bed and come to find out, he was sitting on the couch doing some work for school. I asked him where his phone was and he said he had left it in the car but he would get it. I left Little Man with him and headed back to bed. I remember my phone ringing around 12:45 and it was my mom but I wasn't sure why she was calling me because she is usually super respectful and doesn't call when she knows I'm sleeping. I figured she had possibly forgotten and just sent her to voicemail and quickly fell back asleep. The phone rang again almost an hour later and it was her again. I got frustrated and answered in my continued state of exhaustion and she informed me that Little Love's school had been calling Clay and I for the past hour because school had let out early and they were waiting on me to get her! I flew out of the bed and unfortunately Mom had already had to leave form work to go get her but I met her just down the way to load Little Love up into my car and get us both home safely.

I couldn't believe they closed early because there wasn't a bit of snow on the ground when I woke up. I guess it was just the initial threat that caused them to make the rash decision. Well, that was my drama for the day. I just cried and cried, emailed Little Love's teacher to apologize and just couldn't believe she had been sitting up at that school as the last little girl waiting on her Mommy. Of course, her precious little heart couldn't figure out why I was crying and told me, "Mommy, don't cry, I was just playing with my friends." She had no idea what really had happened.

Bless her little heart and mine for that matter, I can guarantee there wont be any future nominations for Mom of the Year over here. I can also promise you it will be the last time I fall asleep with my phone on silent!!

joy of LOVE day 7

todays topic is generations ...



This is a picture form Christmas of my mom (Nana), Me, and Little Love and Little Man.

joy of LOVE day 6

today's topic is who they love ...





Little Love sure does love this man as do I. I think she is turning into more of a Daddy's girl everyday and it sure does melt my heart.





And Little Love also sure does love her bunny, "carrot". One of my mom's good friends gave this to us when I was pregnant with L and she takes it is always by her side. We sleep with her, take her to school and even as of recently, stroll her around in the stroller and feed her when I am feeding Little Man. We actually got her switched with another little girls bunny while at school one day and the director had to come by and fix the confusion. :)

can't help but smile

This precious little laugh is such a wonderful sound. You can't help but smile hearing Little Man having so much fun with his sister. I can't believe I worried as much as I did about having 2 and how it would affect Little Love. I couldn't ask for our transition to have gone better. He is her best friend already and it just makes me realize how special this small excerpt of time is :)

joy of LOVE day 5

today's topic is what you love to hate ...

Little Love and Little Man haven't been around long enough to fit into this category yet. I think as a married couple though, each of us have our quirks that drive the other crazy. I would say the #1 thing that Clay does that just drives me batty is forgetting to get the garbage out on Monday mornings. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not above doing this, have done so on multiple occasions but I am a bit germaphobic, so the though of messing with yucky garbage just gives the the hibby jibbys. :) This has always been Clay's "job" and since it has to be placed on the street on Monday mornings, when I 'm getting home from a long night of work. I like for it to be done when I get there.

Anyways, here is a picture I sent him to his Iphone the last time he forgot. I know, not the best tactect for forgiveness but I am working on that.

(ok I can't find the picture but I will go ahead and post this because I don't want to get too far behind :)

sweetest voice and big sister ...

I love how Little Man just sits there basking in her little voice and singing, just melts my heart :)
(oh and yes, I do realize that he is almost as big as she is already!!!)

joy of LOVE day 4

today's topic is what they wear ...

Little Love is quite the independent little lady these days. Clay likes to allow her to pick out her own clothes but this Momma just isn't ready for that yet. Not because I am worried about her growing up though but more so because she doesn't typically match when she chooses her own outfit!

This doesn't bother Clay but I just can't go with the flow that much :) Anyways, I will allow my little Princess to go out in her dress-up clothes every now and then though. For example, on Tuesday night, we headed to Jason's Deli for dinner and she had been wearing her Snow White costume for most of the day so instead of arguing with her and not wanting to make a big deal out of it, we just put on some pants that coordinated and a jacket and just went with it.







I do love that little thing even with her crazy dressing ways!!

I will say though that on any given day, you can find Miss Priss dressed to the nines in her smocked dresses and hairbows that size of her head. We are from the South so it's kinda a necessity when leaving the house around here :)





As far as Little Man goes, he just gets whatever I choose from his drawer. For the most part since it's been so cold, we have lived in fleece footed pajamas and sweat suits. Afterall, he is only 4 month's so we're not super worried about fashion at this time. I do love me some smocked outfits on little boys though and we definitely dress up when it's time for church but during the other 6 days of the week we just stay in our cloth diapers and jammies :)

Show Us Your Life - What your toddler eats?

Over at Kelly's Korner, she is having a blog hop today on what you feed your children. I try to feed Little Love as much organic food as possible. We do a lot of shopping at Costco and they have a really great selection of organic / natural foods. I typically, purchase the Kirkland brand all natural frozen chicken breasts and the organic ground beef from there. I actually try and get about 90% of my meat from there due to their great prices and fabulous selection on the kinds of food I like to purchase for my family.





For breakfast, we do a lot of cereal or oatmeal with fruit. She also loves biscuits and eggs that I try to do at least twice a week to give her a more healthy option and keep her full longer. I'm not opposed to cereal bars either but I just try to limit them to once a week or so. When possible, I try to steer clear of foods with high fructose corn syrup or things with lot's of additives. She has probably only had juice about a handful of times her whole life and just prefers milk and water which I LOVE! Makes my job so much easier.







For lunch, we typically do grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadilla's, Peanut butter and Jelly or lunch meat with cheese, Natural Cheetos, and yogurt or fruit. She does really struggle to eat a ton of variety but for the most part she will eat what I put in front of her. I think the problem with variety is my fault not hers :(





Little Love loves to eat fruit snacks and although I cave on occasion and let her pick out some Disney brand while at Target, I try and purchase the Annie's Homegrown brand as much as possible. They still aren't super nutritious or anything but Little Love is such a snacker that I try to have semi healthy options for her to choose from.



Another thing that she likes to do and helps me out, especially with Little Man around now, is she has a cabinet of her own to choose snacks from. I only place things in her cabinet that I don't mind her having pretty much anytime of day. She can ask me at any point for a snack and if it's not close to meal time I let her have the autonomy to pick out what she wants. She loves it and it is such a huge help!



I've had one rule since Little Love was small, and that is; I will not make her something special to eat each night, she must eat what Clay and I are having. Now, don't get me wrong, if what Clay and I are eating is spicy or something I don't want her having, I will make an exception to the rule but for the most part, she must eat what she is served. I am not a short order cook and will not make accommodations for her. I decided to do this when she first was able to eat what we were because it makes life easier for all of us. I didn't want her palate to just consist of macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. I have so many friends who have children that won't eat anything else and I didn't want Little Love to be that way.

The other big thing I have learned was when I was at a women's bible study a couple summer's ago. They had a nutritionist come in and talk to us about healthy foods for our children and what kind of expectations we should have for them. She suggested that they must at least taste each kind of food on their plates. She said that she even felt that licking or even the smallest bite to be acceptable when trying a new food. She also said that sometimes it can take as long as 6-8 times when introducing new foods to your child.

joy of LOVE day 3

today's topic is then and now ...

THEN:

this time last year we had a big snow and Little Love had a great time outside playing in it, we made snow angels, a snowman, and then we made snow cream upon coming inside ...





NOW:

a couple weeks ago, we again had a great snow and I had to drag Little Love inside. looking back on these previous pictures, I just can't believe how big she has gotten and how grown-up she looks, makes me sad to think how quickly like is just passing us by

the joy of LOVE day 2

How they look ....

Today we just had a day at home, we spent time with some friends over lunch and just enjoyed each other's company. Little Love got out her dress-up clothes and just had a blast playing with Little Man. She has started calling him her Prince Charming, (typically this is what she calls her Daddy, but yesterday she mentioned that H was her Prince Charming) :) I just love it!! I had such a great day just spending time with my babies.











to join this fun month of love, click here

Just makes me smile!

I just love to see my little babies smile. One of the happiest times is when they are in the bathtub together! They are just precious. H loves his big sister and vice versa. She loves to tickle his little toes while they are in there and help me by rinsing him off when it's time to get out.

silly girl

Little Love was getting ready for ballet last week and decided that she could dress herself. This is actually her newest talent that is a huge help, baring she picks out matching clothes! Well, she was surprisingly able to get her tights on and then pulled them up super high and wanted her picture taken. Vain much?? I do love her sassy little self :)

the joy of LOVE

I'm not sure if you've ever heard of Willette Photography but if you haven't, you should definitely check her out. She is fabulous and is doing a very fun thing for the month of February.

This is a FREE 28-day class. I can't believe she is willing to help all of us amateur photogs or those that wish we were, trying to photograph our children and loved ones.


from Willette's blog ...

participants will receive daily email prompts/photo assignments with some tutorial/instruction built into the daily email lesson. it is that easy. i email you every morning, and you follow the assignment/prompt if you would like. i will create a public flickr gallery where you can share if you so choose.

suggested class materials:

* someone(s) you love
* a camera
* a desire to stretch your photographic skills

what you can expect from this willette JOY class:

* a daily email during the month of february
* the email will contain a photo idea and occasional tips
* a public flickr gallery to share photos
* an album template download at the end for all of your photos you take during the class
* a journey to help you document your loved one(s) – whether it is a spouse, partner, child, pet, parent or friend

I chose to document my family. I'm not going to focus only on my children although that is probably what most of my pictures will include. I realize I don't have nearly enough pictures of Clay so I plan to try and get more of him and learn a few things in the process.

My babies "talking" to each other

Praying God's Word - Week # 4

January 24-30: Me…serving others (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Samuel 12:24)

This week was all about me and how I am to serve others. In 1 Peter God says that, "each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others , as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." I know there are certain gifts that God has given me that I am not putting to use. I prayed this week that God would show those to me and make it known how to better serve Him with what has been given to me.

In 1 Samuel, it speaks of fearing the Lord and serving Him faithfully with my whole heart. I am ashamed to admit it but the fact that I should love God above all others and serve him before anything else has been thrown in my face lately and I have been super convicted. I know that I place certain things and or people above God and this is something I am determined to work on.

Next week, starts a new month. I will be praying over the following for the month of February....

1/31 - 2/6 my children ... to trust (Proverbs 3:5-6)
2/7 - 2/13 my husband ... as a provider (Philippians 4:19)
2/14 - 2/20 me ... as a Mommy (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Proverbs 31:28)
2/21 - 2/27 our family ...for Clay & I as parents (Deuteronomy 6:5-9, Proverbs 22:6)