cuter by the day

babies really do get cuter as they age. sure, they are cute at birth, but as the months go by you really do notice that those photos of the first few days/weeks weren't that cute. took these today of almost 5 MONTH old nate. i love this baby!

the annual

blah blah blah

i just spent probably over an hour looking at blogs. i can't say i read them all. i am happy to say that some of them cracked me up. i needed to laugh. yesterday i spent about 30 minutes reading hope's blog and crying my eyes out at a coffee shop. not that anything i am going through compares to her loss. it has been a rough summer in the refiner's fire. i am learning a lot and the root of most of it selfishness. you would think with three little ones that you don't get a chance to be selfish. you do. it is just that you don't have an outlet or remedy for it besides anger. i realize anger and selfishness are sin. that is why it has been rough. i have meant to write about this for the past few weeks but it is just too much to say. so, i guess i will try and communicate most of it. stop reading now if you want. i will understand. i don't tend to read long posts either :) remember i am selfish!

i wrote in my journal in mid-june that i find comfort from god's word. i wrote that again at the end of june. so there was about a two-week lapse in time alone with god. that is not real uncommon for me. it was just good for me to see that i do receive comfort there. i tend to say on a regular basis that i just need time to myself. through my recent consistent time in the word i am seeing that not only do i need consistent (weekly) time alone but i also need consistent (daily) time in god's word. god has been good to meet me there. he has given me ample opportunities to root this selfishness out. he called me out during a worship time a few weeks ago. basically a song said something about laying your burden's down. i said to him that my kids were my burden. he quickly spoke to my spirit that my burnden was the fact that i can't do what i want when i want. i immedately knew this was so true.

i think there is a lot more i could write but i just don't want to. i need to meet with god. today has been a bad day. that is why i have time online. i basically have to blow up in order to get time away. i am not saying it is chip's fault. i know i just need to have a set time. he doesn't know my every need. maybe that will happen when i get home. i get time to myself when my kids are napping. i mean time outside of the 4-wall house/room i have been living in this summer.

Time in Mobile

On the way back to the beach we stopped in Mobile for the night. I always love my time there and getting to see little Taylor. She is just so pretty and fun! She and Nate are about the same size and he is probably heavier, even though they are exactly 7 months apart.

He has on the shirt Streed wore in his 9 month pictures. Look at him. Does he look 4 mts? He isn't as chubby as Ella was he is just big!

Afternoon showers

Maybe this explains the post about the sunscreen. It has been so cloudy and rainy since we've been back here. We have not even gotten in the pool here once. (not that i mind) Streed has really been into Jadyn's Hello Kitty umbrella. I promished him at the beginning of the summer that I would get him one the next time it rained. So, he now has a Spiderman umbrella and he LOVES it.

Sun Safety

These were taken a few days ago. I literally cannot remember where Streed was or what I was doing but Ella was obviously ready to go lay out. She was making sure even her underarm would be portected.

A night out

A few nights ago Chip and I went to our favorite restaurant, The Boat Yard. We sat on the deck, laughed and enjoyed a great meal. It was good to be together and to get away for a few hours.

The kids stayed with one of their favorite sitters, Clara Mae. I gave Clara some books that they might like to read. One was the Cheerios book. You actually use Cheerios to complete the pictures on the pages. The kids cried and carried when we were leaving. Clara said that when she shut the door Streed turned around, dried his tears and said, "OK, lets play the Cheerios game". He is such a little actor. He can turn his tears on and off like I have never seen.

Loving the Water Park again this year

It is so hard to get them to 1. stand together, 2. look at the camera & 3. smile

Do you see I got all three of these! YAY!

I love this picture of my sweet boy. Chip swears that is Ella in the background.

It isn't but it would be cute if it were.

A different point of view

I was uploading some pics yesterday and once again found some
that I did not take. One actually took me a minute to figure out where and how it was taken. I am glad my children apparently share my love of photography. I actually didn't even know she had the camera. I love that in the last one she figured out how to take one of herself that was right-side up. Normally she has it so close to her face that you only see a blob of color. You can see the joy of accomplishment on her face. The more I look at them they all crack me up. The one with me in it she is apparently holding it down but pointing it up. She is holding her jaw real tight. She knows just what she is doing.

How does HE decide?

I did not think this post would go like this. Last night I was boiling some of Nate's bottles. I then decided to go outside and visit, forgetting the bottles. I stayed outside longer than expected. As I walked back to the room I could tell something was burning. I quickened my pace and opened my door to find a room FULL of smoke. All of the water had long since boiled out and the bottle parts had almost all burned up. ALL THREE of my kids were sleeping in the adjoining room with the door almost all of the way shut. They were fine. Once all of the smoke cleared and the room was somewhat cleaned we laid down to sleep in the room with the kids. It was then that our minds turned to what if...what if Nate had still been sleeping in our room...what if Streed woke up and came into our room and got disoriented...what if I stayed out a few more minutes... Our minds finally settled and we fell asleep. Last night I thought I would post a picture of the smokey room and tell the crazy story in more detail.

Shortly after waking we learned that a former co-worker had lost their 4 year old daughter during the night...cause not yet determined. Due to the night we had it made it all the more real that it could have been us. It begs the question, "How does He decide?" His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts. His plans for us are good and our days are numbered before there is yet one of them. Comfort comes from these words. Please pray for the Atchison family. May they find comfort in Him and His Word.