Has it really been a year??

I can't believe I have not posted in a year... I actually don't think that I have been on my blog in a year. So much has happened, but still so much is the same. Life with my three babies is never dull! This past year has been one of the hardest ever, but it is getting better!! My sweet baby boy has definitely been my most challenging baby, but now that he is a year old he is getting more independent and happier over all. I absolutely love how much fun they all have together. They are truly the bestest of friends. I love that. I also love that now that they are a bit older they are not quite as demanding of me. I am really excited about this coming year. It will be great to get outside and really enjoy the kids personalities. This is such a fun season of life!! I tell the kids everyday to stop growing... I know that I will miss these days, as hard as they seem right now, everyday is filled with sweetness. I am truly blessed and I feel like I become more aware of that truth as time passes.

moms....

“O dear mothers, you have a very sacred trust reposed in you by God! He hath in effect said to you, ‘Take this child and nurse it for Me, and I will give thee thy wages.’ You are called to equip the future man of God, that he may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. If God spares you, you may live to hear that pretty boy speak to thousands, and you will have the sweet reflection in your heart that the quiet teachings of the nursery led the man to love his God and serve Him. Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. Scarcely can the godly mother quit her home for a place of worship, but dream not that she is lost to the work of the church; far from it, she is doing the best possible service for her Lord. Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty. Christian women, by teaching children the Holy Scriptures, are as much fulfilling their part for the Lord, as Moses in judging Israel, or Solomon in building the temple.”

“The grace of God in a child is a very lovely thing, and it draws forth general approbation (approval / delight). Youthful piety is a very touching thing to me. I see the grace of God in men and women with much thankfulness, but I cannot perceive it in children without shedding tears of delight. There is an exceeding beauty about these rosebuds in the Lord’s garden. They have a fragrance that we find not in the fairest of earth’s lilies. Love is won in many a heart by these tiny arrows of the Lord, whose very smallness is a part of their power to penetrate the heart.”

- two excerpts from "Spiratual Parenting" by Charles Spurgeon

Thank you SGC pastors!! Very encouraging!

My favorite niece

My little niece Claire... I love her so much and I feel honored to be a part of her life. She is becoming such a lovely young lady. She will be five in January, and to see her transforming from a sweet baby girl to a loving, caring little lady is so dear. I love how she cares for her brother Henry and my Duncan. She becomes a little 'mommy' and helps them and directs them in their little activities. I am so glad that my children have the opportunity to live so close to their cousins and cultivate such close friendships. I love you Claire and I am so proud of you!!!



Here she is at the zoo showing Duncan the map... so sweet!





-- Posted from my iPhone

Rainy soccer practice

Fiona and I are camping out in the car while Duncan and Brian are running around in the rain playing soccer. Only one other boy from Duncan's team showed up so they just combined some of the teams to practice. Duncan is loving running around in the rain!! Here is my girl... poor little thing got 3 shots this morning :(. She is having fun eating crackers and sitting in the drivers seat :)






-- Posted from my iPhone

Crazy girl...

I just went to check on my daughter because she is still sleeping at almost 9 am and this is how I found her...




fast alseep... like I said crazy little lady!


-- Posted from my iPhone

Our Fall so far...

Oh my, how I love these two! I get teary just thinking about them! I am blessed! We have been doing well lately... Just keeping busy.

I am now 25 weeks pregnant. Only a little over three months till I have a tiny little baby. I am super excited about meeting a new little person! It is killing me not to know what we are having!! Ahhh, the suspense. However, lately I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed and panicky about having another child... 3 kids 3 and under... yikes. So if you think of me and my family please pray! We have a lot to do before the baby comes and details that we are still not sure about need to fall into place. So any prayers would be greatly appreciated!

I am now a soccer mom! Duncan started soccer last month. He is playing with the PeeWee program in Chesapeake United. It is so cute seeing all those three year olds running around! He is just now participating. At first he just wanted to stay near us. I think the team is becoming more familiar so he is much more comfortable. Brian is volunteering as their coach and he is doing a fantastic job! It is craziness trying to wrangle seven three year olds to do a somewhat organized sport! I am so proud of my boy!

My little lady turns one on Friday! I can't believe it! She is so much fun. She is so affectionate... always giving 'squeezes' and kisses. Oh I love it. She adores her big brother. He gets her to laugh like no one else. It is so dear to watch. He is so kind to her. She isn't walking yet, but she crawls everywhere and pulls herself up. I am crazy about her!




Cozy time on the couch after naps :)

Hope you are loving this gorgeous fall weather as much as I am!!!

Symphony Under the Stars

A couple of weeks ago, we sat on our blanket at Ches. City Park and listened to the Virginia Symphony play into the night. The weather was splendid and the kids had a great time rolling about! A great family memory.







-- Posted from my iPhone

I love him...

I love how sweet my little Duncan is. I love how kind he is to his little sister. I love how when I put on a new shirt he says, " mom, I like you shirt". I love how he says "I want to do it by my big self"!!! I love him so much I can hardly stand it!!



-- Post From My iPhone

A wonderful surprise...

My dear husband surprised me with a trip to Washington DC to visit the National Zoo! Isn't he sweet!! We have been wanting to come to this zoo for quite a while and I am so excited for the opportunity for a little weekend get away. It has been such a pleasant trip. The zoo was huge and boy was it hot. Duncan loved it! He said his favorite was the hippopotamus. He and Fiona did such a great job dealing with heat and the long day. Duncan would run from one animal and would just giggle with excitement. We are going to ride the subway into the city and might try to check out part of a museum before we drive home. Here are a few pics of the zoo.




Of course the Elephants.... They are building them a new enclosure that is crazy big!



The Capy Bara


The Hippo


Maned Wolf... He looked like a giant fox.

An enjoyable morning!

Today my sister Abbey and I went to the zoo together. She brought the twin boys she nannies for, Jackson and Tucker, and we had a blast. Duncan was SO excited to show every single animal to Abbey. I love spending time with my sisters. We always find so much to laugh about. Abbey and I are both pregnant and she is due only 2 days after me! I am so excited that our little ones will be so close. Thanks Abbey for spending your your morning with us and making such a fun memory!!





Taking a peek at the Red River Hogs sleeping in the sun.



-- Post From My iPhone

anticipation...

Waiting patiently for the cookies to come out of the oven...





-- Post From My iPhone

My sweet boy...

You know they don't feel well when they randomly fall alsleep on the couch...



-- Post From My iPhone

I'm back!

I can now post again thanks to my new phone!! Yay!! My computer needs some serious help so I am thrilled to use my phone in the mean time. Thanks Erin for the recomendation on the Blog Press App!

This is my dear 9 month old Fiona just waking up from a nap! My sweet girl!




-- Post From My iPhone

Surprises!!!

Baby #3 is on the way!!! I can't believe it!! We were all quite surprised and excited to start a new chapter in our lives.... three kids... WOW!!!!

the greatest show on earth...

So the whole downloading thing is still not working and I'm really bummed because I wanted to post some pictures of our exciting weekend. We got to go to the circus!! I have never been before so Brian surprised me and bought tickets for Saturday. What a sweet guy :)!! I think I enjoyed it just as much as Duncan. We were able to go early and walk around with the elephants, horses, zebras, and tigers. It was amazing to be so close to the elephants. I could have just stood there and stared at them. They are truly incredible.

After that we made our way into the main arena. There we watched one of the elephants come out and paint a picture. The girl, who I am guessing is the main elephant handler, was telling us that she is a fourth generation circus performer and has been around elephants her entire life. Clowns were all around us. I kept getting sprayed with a water gun by one of the clowns while we were watching the artistic elephant.


They cleared out the ring and the show began! It was so entertaining. Brian said it seemed so much smaller than he remembered from when he was a kid. I wonder if it is any smaller... or maybe he just got bigger. hehe! Out of all the acts, I really enjoyed the tight rope people and the elephant acts. I didn't realize that elephants were so flexible... for lack of a better word. I have only seen them standing around, but they were sitting on stools and climbing all over each other.

I still can't get over how expensive it was! The cotton candy was $12!!!! I mean it came with a pointy hat and all but that is excessive. I wanted to get Duncan something , so they were selling these fancy flash light things so we bought that and it was $22. Absolutely crazy!!!! Anyway, it was so much fun and of course Fiona was perfect. She really liked all the lights :).

Thank you my dear husband for a truly remarkable weekend!!! What an awesome memory for our little family :)

On Sunday I opened at Starbucks so we couldn't go to church. When I got off, we did a ton of yard work and got all the beds ready for some planting. I can't wait to plant some flowers!!. Duncan had a blast finding all the bugs and worms, and helping collect sticks and things. Boy was he dirty last night!



Fiona has her 6 month checkup tomorrow. I am looking forward to finding out how big she is :) My chunky girl! I am so grateful for this little girl. I can't believe how much I love her. I know this sounds silly, but before I had Fiona, I was concerned about loving another child as much as I loved Duncan. But it is so neat how you really can love all your children with THAT kind of love. What special love that is... it really makes me understand a little better how much our heavenly Father loves us. It seems so much more real now that I have children.

As soon as I am able I will post pictures from the circus and from Easter :)



The picture of Fiona is from a few minutes ago from my phone and this picture of Duncan is a few months old, but I love it because he looks like such a little boy.