fathers.day

No time.

Ugh.

Wishing I could do a magnificent post about my favorite dads.

But..like I said. No time.

Sooo....Happy Father's Day to my dad, to Dad B, and to my wonderful husband.

And a glorious THANK YOU and PRAY of WORSHIP to the BEST dad....our Father who is in Heaven.

1826 days (or 5 years)

On June 18, 2005 I stood before my friends, my family, and most importantly my God and I said "I do" to my best friend.

In the past 5 years we:

-changed jobs
-purchased a home
-changed jobs again
-bought a new (to us) car
-had a beautiful baby girl
-had a beautiful baby boy
-sold a car
-bought a minivan
-had two more beautiful baby boys
and
-bought a Yukon (still making payments on this one...)

We have participated in 3 different small groups.

We have been on SEVERAL wonderful vacations....to Coronado, CA...and the midwest...and even a cruise to Mexico.

We have had date nights.

We have laughed.

And cried.

But mostly laughed.

And most of all...we have seen God do amazing work in both of our lives. He has used our relationship with each other and with our children to teach us so much more about Himself and our relationship with Him. We have learned (and are CONTINUOUSLY learning) to TRUST in Him for our needs and to TURN to Him for everything. We have struggled with placing each other TOO HIGH at times...putting the other person even higher than God on the every-changing list of priorities....and we have struggled with placing each other TOO LOW at times....wanting to please our own selfish desires before meeting the needs of our spouse. We have seen God work out so many things....from where we live....to where we work....to the "instant family" He has given us.

These first 5 years have flown by.

And we can't wait to see what the next 5 years bring....and the next 5 after that....and the 5 after that....and the 5 after (you get my point) : )

Thank you, Lord, for protecting our marriage....and for giving us a love for YOU and a love for EACH OTHER!

i love chip brown.

Bloggity Blog.

I keep thinking I should get on here and write something.

But I can't decide what.

I want to do a post about my recent rendezvous with coupons....but I have a picture I want to upload first and I'm too lazy tonight...so it will have to wait.

I could post about how saggy your skin gets after twins. But that's gross. But let me tell you...I AM an expert on it now : )

Hmm..I could paint the picture for you of how lazy I'm being right now....dishes to do....dirty diapers waiting to be thrown away....stuff + clutter to organize. But I'm sitting on the couch.

I could write about how sad it is that poor little Ryken keeps partially waking up and crying a little...sounding miserable...due to his nose being all plugged up from a little cold he seems to have gotten.

Or about how absolutely WONDERFUL Kenzie has done at her first 2 swim lessons....of the 4 kids in her class who are taking lessons for the first time, she is the only one who does everything the teachers ask and hasn't cried at all. I'm proud of her & happy she's enjoying it!

I could tell you about how BIG my tiny little preemies are getting! Already in 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. And smiling and laughing all the time like little fools. I love those goobers...they remind me of how silly their big brother was at the same age....just little chunks of goofball with the added bonus of SUPER kissable cheeks.

I could talk about my husband. And how much I love him.

Or I COULD start pre-blogging a post for our 5 year anniversary that is coming up on Friday....if I were into being on the ball and ahead of the game. But I'm not. I'm a procrastinator to the core. "I work better under pressure".

But. I just can't make up my mind.

The moments that make it MORE than worth it.....

Tonight I had Kenzie up on my bed and I was drying her off from her bath. As I was drying her, she put her hands on my shoulders and said "Mommy, you're so beautiful." And I said, "You're a beautiful girl, too". Then she wrapped her little arms around me in a hug and softly said "You're my best girl."

There are no words for these moments. I am so incredibly blessed.

Our first family swim day of the year : )

Yesterday Chip had the day off. I took the babies to their 4 month appointment in the morning and then we hung out with friends in the afternoon. The babies woke up from their afternoon nap around 5:15pm and ate. None of the rest of us were hungry yet, and it was so hot outside, so we decided it would be the perfect time to go swimming! We got ready and walked to the pool.Babies ready to go....still sportin' their bandaids from their shots.
Rykie wanted to ride too.

All of my boys...not sure what Ryken was telling me.

Kenzie leading the way : )

We got to the pool and no one else was there. We got Kenzie & Ryken's lifejackets on and headed into the water...which was the PERFECT temperature. It was warm enough that it wasn't hard to get into at all, but cool enough that it was refreshing.



The babies were just relaxed and hanging out the whole time. I was so glad they didn't start screaming. I had prepared myself to take them back home if I needed to, but luckily, they did great the whole time!!


Kenzie did great with her lifejacket. She has been heading right in this year without hesitation. She starts swim lessons next week which should be really exciting for her!


Ryken is a little bit more timid getting in. But he still has a really good time!


We set the camera on the edge of the pool and set the timer for 10 seconds.....and here is what we got:
Not too bad, huh?!




What a fun time!! Can't wait to do more swimming with my cute little family this summer...one of the best ways to beat the heat and wear out the kids, all at once ; )

4 month stats

Emery & Casey went for their 4 month well-checks today (they were 4 months on Saturday! How did THAT happen so fast?!) They are both perfect as can be (but I already knew that! hehe)

So far, their stats have gone like this:

Birth:
E- 6lbs 5oz 19in
C- 6lbs 10oz 19in


5 days:
E- 5lbs 13oz 18.5in
C- 6lbs 1oz 19.25in
(not sure how Emery shrunk .5in..lol)

1 month:
E- 9lbs 3oz 21in
C- 9lbs 4oz 21in

2 months:
E- 12lbs 8oz 22in
C- 12lbs 6oz 22.25in

4 months:
E- 15lbs 9oz 24in
C- 15lbs 7oz 24in

So...the most their weight has ever been different was when they were born and were 5oz apart. Since they were a month old, the have been 1-2oz apart each visit....and the past 2 appointments Emery has actually been the heavier one :) I guess since he's the older one he figured he wanted to be the bigger one too!

At 4 months old, Kenzie was 15lbs 11oz and 24.5in. Ryken was 15lbs 3.5oz and 24in long...so it looks like even though they're twins and were a month early their growth isn't being affected! Yay for mommy's milk :)

Sweetheart

Today...

Me: Ryken, your such a little sweetheart.

Kenzie: Mom, you're a little sweetheart too.

♥

1. crazy 2. scary 3. impossible??

Today Chip left for work at 6:25am and will get off at 2:45pm. So I got up with the kids. Typically, he doesn't work until at least 12pm....most of the time its 3pm. Because I get up with the babies to feed them in the night still, he gets up with Kenzie & Ryken when they get up at 6am. He's been doing this since the middle of my pregnancy with the twins when I really needed the extra sleep.

So. Since I got up nice and early, at 6:10am, I was feeling like I should DO something today....or GO somewhere...or something. Usually, I am not up and awake until 8:30ish....so by the time I eat, get dressed (if I actually EVER get dressed that day...sad, I know) and can even THINK about going somewhere it is almost lunch time and the babies are taking a nap and it just doesn't seem worth it. So today, I was awake and ready to go. But I couldn't think of anything to do. Saturdays are hard, because I know that most of my friends are enjoying the weekend with their husbands....having family time. So it isn't the best day to try to coordinate a spur-of-the-moment playdate. And it's always more daunting to run errands on weekends since everything is busier. But I REALLY wanted to get out. How much??? SO much that I loaded up all 4 kids and headed to the grocery store.

Yep.

That's correct.

The grocery store.

"I need to go to the grocery store." It is one of those sentences, that as I've had more children, has slowly, but completely, changed in meaning.

There were the pre-kid days: In those days...it was kind of annoying. But also no big deal. Like..aw man, I need this ingredient. Oh well. I'll just run to the store real quick. I'd get to the store...jump out of the car....run in....get what I needed....back to the car....back home.

Then...I had Kenzie. And I thought things were SOOOO HARD. It was a pretty drastic change at the time. I had to plan around HER schedule...when she had eaten...when she was tired. Loading and unloading took an extra 2-3 minutes. People would stop to admire the baby. A "quick trip to the store" just didn't exist anymore. But it never really crossed my mind NOT to go. Going just took longer.

Then I had Ryken. And suddenly, when I'd think of grocery shopping, I now carefully weighed in my mind whether I REALLY felt like taking the kids. I would sometimes take them, and sometimes plan to go when Chip would be home. It was also at this point, that going grocery shopping alone started to feel like freedom. A luxury. Time ALL ALONE.

Then I had Emery & Casey. And the thought of the grocery store.....myself.....with all 4 kids....seems: 1. crazy. 2. scary. 3. impossible.

It's just the grocery store, but as silly as it sounds, I have actually seriously had the thought many times "Can I do it? Should I even dare try??"

But for some reason, today I felt up for the challenge. I wanted to get out. The kids were being good. I NEEDED to go to the store. And so...I loaded them up and off we went. As I started to drive, I actually panicked in my head a little and thought about calling my grandpa or Chip's mom or something and ditching the grocery store idea all together and just going to visit someone. But I really felt like I wanted to know I could do it. It seems silly, I know. But ever since the twins, I have had that feeling so many times.....just needing to know that I'm capable and it really isn't THAT bad.

So we got to the store. I was PRAYING that a "car cart" would be available. It was my plan. And I had no "plan B". The "car carts" are these amazingly huge annoying shopping carts that have a toy car attached to the front where kids can sit and "drive". Kenzie and Ryken LOVE these carts. In the past, I've always tried to avoid them. I literally would park on the other side of the parking lot to try to keep the kids from spotting them when I'd see them. But today, I was praying for one. As we were pulling up, I spotted a pitiful looking one at the entrance...the steering wheels had been removed and it was filthy. But it was a "car cart". So I quickly (as quickly as I COULD) parked and got the kids unloading....hoping it would still be at the entrance by the time we got there. And it was....."phew". So Kenzie and Ryken loaded in the "car". Emery was in his carseat on the normal "seat" part of the car (where people normally put carseats) and I was wearing Casey in a sling.

And guess what?

It went GREAT!

Neither baby cried at all. Casey slept in the sling and Emery was awake, but just hanging out, the whole time. Kenzie and Ryken didn't fight. Or cry. Or scream. Ryken yelled "Other way" a few times when he wanted me to go back to something he wanted. But it wasn't a big deal. We got everything we needed and checked out. I bought the kids some TicTacs as a special "treat" for being SO good.

So. Now I know I can. And it doesn't even have to be that bad. Will I start taking all 4 kids to the grocery store regularly? Probably not. And by probably not, I mean no. Just because I CAN do it, doesn't mean I HAVE to do it. So grocery store time will still primarily be "mommy alone time" (or mommy/one-on-one child date....that is fun too!)

But now the grocery store by myself with 4 kids 3 looks more like this:
1. crazy 2. scary 3. impossible

The "big kids"

Here are a few of my current "favorites" of the "big kids" : ) I absolutely LOVE watching these two interact on a daily basis. They are SUCH good friends! I have often thought over the past few months how HAPPY I am that I had TWO kids before the twins, and not just one. I think it has helped out the transition tremendously! Kenzie and Ryken were already so used to playing together and love keeping each other entertained. They have so much fun together and don't like to go places without each other. They also fight. And hit. And take things from each other. But what siblings DON'T do those things? Anyway....here are a few pictures that I really LOVE of K & R. Enjoy!

At Joe's Farm Grill...eating lollipops after lunch:



At the zoo:

Hanging at home:

Coconut Robot....I'm in love ♥

So....a few months ago a friend from college had a baby. I was admiring her ADORABLE baby boy on Facebook and that is where I was first introduced with the "My name is...." onesie. Her little guy was wearing a cute little onesie with a GIANT nametag with HIS name...looking all cute and handwritten. It was adorable. And unique. And just plain cute.

I realized that another friend from Taylor was the creative genius behind the design. So I visited Kacia's blog. The more I saw. The more I loved.

And so...I emailed her. HOW DO I GET MY HANDS ON THESE ONESIES?!?! She wrote back right away and we got the process started : )

I wrote the boys' names about a bazillion times...and when I finally settled on the ones I liked, I emailed her THIS picture:

She set up a "client" site for me to see color combos and we wrote back and forth coming up with exactly what I wanted for my boys.

And then. On Wednesday afternoon. I went to my mailbox and found a box. I opened it up and my onesies were HERE! Hurray! I couldn't WAIT for the boys to wake up from their nap. As soon as they did, I changed them and started snapping pictures:



Aren't they the CUTEST THINGS EVER?!?!?!? I love them for ONE baby....but for some reason, I LOVE LOVE LOVE them for identical twins. I think because I hear "which one is which" almost every day....sometimes even from my own mouth. And there is something really special about giving them their own identity. Their NAMES are a HUGE part of their PERSONAL identity. And having such a CUTE way to distinguish them from one another is awesome!

Not only are these onesies RIDICULOUSLY ADORABLE, but they are also great quality. You can choose from 4 different colors of onesies (white, black, brown, bright blue) which are high quality organic cotton. They are soft and comfy and the perfect thickness (not too thick, not too thin). And the tags are hand-stitched with love ♥ The tags snap onto the onesies...so you can take them off to wash the onesie. PLUS when your little one gets bigger, you can just order new onesies the next size up to attach the original tag too....saving you $$ and getting more use out of the cuteness!!

If you like what you see and want to see more fabulous designs & get more info, check out Coconut Robot!! You won't be sorry!

Just for the record. Kacia did not ASK me to "review" her products on my super popular blog. I get absolutely NOTHING for writing this post. I am writing this COMPLETELY out of my l♥ve and excitement for this product!! And to show off how ridiculously kissable my boys look in coco.ro : )

I feel like I just ran a marathon.......

just to get to the starting line.

I know from other moms, that it isn't an uncommon feeling to feel "behind". I often feel like I am constantly just trying to catch up...only to fall behind somewhere else. I may get all the laundry done. But the dishes are stacking up in the sink. Or I get the floors vacuumed and mopped. But the bathroom is disgusting. If you're a mom, you know the feeling.

But then there are days like I had today. Days where you get ALL CAUGHT UP! I don't even know how it happens. God gives me some amazing amount of energy and motivation...and suddenly the day is over and SO MUCH got accomplished.

Here is the "marathon" I completed today:
* 7 loads of laundry, folded and put away (load 8 is in the dryer and load 9 is in the washer)
* Clean sheets are back on the beds
* ALL dishes are done, dried, and put away
* Bathroom was cleaned...even the bathtub
* Vacuumed
* Mopped
* All trash has been taken out
* Table is wiped up
* Food is planned for tomorrow
* Babies got baths
* Kids got baths
* I showered and straightened my hair
And to top it all off, I made a homemade cherry crisp.

It feels SOO good to have everything "caught up" all at the SAME TIME! But the funny thing is, that even with everything caught up, I feel like I am just at the starting line. I find it almost IMPOSSIBLE to get AHEAD! But I'll take being where I'm at. It feels really good. It's such a relaxing feeling to feel like I have to try to THINK of things that need to be done.

The thing I am most excited about on days like these is the fact that Chip will get to come home to a peaceful place of rest. This is something that I'm not able to do everyday. I'm not able to do it most days, in fact. Usually, when he walks in the door there is still SOMETHING to be done. He understands this stage in life and he is never upset. But as a wife, I love it when my husband can walk into our home after a long day (and today was a VERY long 16 hour work day) and do nothing but put up his feet and unwind. And the even better part is that I'm able to sit down WITH him and just enjoy his company.

I wish I were able to have more days like today. It is something I need to work on. I know many people will say that it isn't realistic to put that type of pressure on myself and that Chip understands. And this is true to some extent. There are days when I will give it my all and be doing my best and there will still be dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and toys everywhere. And that's ok.

But there are also days when I am just lazy and selfish. There are days when I could very easily get everything done and provide the peaceful resting place for my husband. But I choose to put myself and my desires above everyone else. The world tries to tell us that this is ok. That we somehow "deserve" to be lazy sometimes. And while I agree that it is ok to rest and that we need to prioritize and that sometimes a nap is more important than the housework, I also think that I start to allow the world's way of thinking to creep in sometimes and I use it to justify behaviors that are not ok.

And so. I will work on it.

I won't be perfect.

But I am excited to work on being the wife and mother and woman that God has created me to be. I am excited to have more days like today, where I chose to get up off my butt and get things done, to serve my family with a joyful heart.

The most amazing part of it all, is that God is gracious enough to give a HUGE sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we live in the way He has called us to live. The days that I indulge my own desires...the days I sit and watch TV or waste time on Facebook before getting things done that I need to do end in feelings of frustration and failure and disappointment in myself. Today, I worked hard and I did what I needed to do. And I feel great. Am I tired? Yes. But I'm tired at the end of days when I DON'T get things done too. At least tonight when I crawl in between the nice clean sheets I won't lay in bed trying to fall asleep while I think of everything that I never got around to doing today.

To do.

Today:

* 8 loads of laundry
* vacuum
* mop
* clean bathroom
* clean kitchen
* feed babies
* eat (yep. have to put this on the list or I might forget)
* straighten hair
* pick up toys
* stay off Facebook until above chores are complete

I'm not sure if I am up for this. But here we go............