Feeling BLESSED

I am in the midst of updating our blog. I unfortunately am months behind. It's important to me that I include the missing months before moving on because we use our blog as family record. Today I just wanted to take a minute to write about some of my thoughts about things that have been going on.

A few months ago Jimmy was offered a job in the ARMY that was very unexpected. We talked about it, prayed about it, and thought and thought about it. We wanted to make sure this job would put him on the path toward his ultimate career goal. After some phone calls and e-mails, Jimmy was given the information he needed to feel good about accepting the job. I COULD NOT BE MORE THRILLED!!! I feel like it is a huge blessing for our family. He will be taking the Rear D command during the upcoming deployment. This means we will have Jimmy around for the next two and half years. There are other great things about this job but that alone makes for one incredibly happy wife. I really do feel like it is not only a great opportunity, but a huge blessing for our family.

I sometimes feel like life gets way too busy. We don't have kids in a hundred different activities yet, but somedays we run all over the place and spend so much time going. With baby number three on the way I have decided that I need to simplify and organize myself and our house and pretty much everything we do. It has been a lot of work, and I am not quite done yet...but it feels good and I can tell a difference already. My goal is to feel less stressed about things that don't really matter and to feel more at liberty to spend TIME with my wonderful family...enjoying them, instead of worrying about things that need to be done.

I think sometimes (for me anyway), it is so easy to get wrapped up in everyday life. I have been trying to find joy in simple things and have been finding so much joy in creating for my family. I LOVE to cook for my family. It makes me happy to see them enjoying food that I have made. It also makes me happy when my kiddos want to help out and come sit on the counter to cook with me. I also have been dabbling in a little sewing for Madeline. I found this GREAT website with free tutorials on so many adorable kid things. I have been busy making skirts for my skirt obessed little girl. I never thought I would see the day when sewing would be so enjoyable for me. Just ask my mom about that one! I have found such satisfaction in making things for the ones that I love.

Our kids are getting bigger...way too fast if you ask me. We always joke that it's a good thing we have another baby coming because right now we don't have any in the house. Madeline carries on converstations like an adult. She will tell you that she is in charge. She is so eager to learn everything and is so excited to start school with mommy next month. She loves to sing her ABC's and loves to have books read to her. We have quite the nighttime routine with her, and have had it since she was tiny. She insists all day long that she is a BIG girl but when I ask her when she will go to bed by herself she tells me that she's not that big yet and that we need to still lay by her. Sometimes the routine feels a little much, but most of the time I really enjoy the snuggle time with her. She likes to pick out a couple of books and then always sneaks in more. Then after prayers and songs she will eventually snuggle up and fall asleep. Before she does that though, she almost always talks and talks and talks. I love this part of the routine most. I love to hear what she is thinking about. Yesterday she had kind of an emotional day and she snuggled up to me and said, "mom I have had a hard day." A lot of times she will ask me if we can have pancakes in the morning (which we do on a regular basis) and everytime I say yes she gets so excited and hugs me and says, "oh thank you mommy." I love how excited she gets about the simplest things. She is very observant. She notices tiny details and thinks things through. She has recently been noticing how some of the Disney princesses wear their dresses off the shoulder...we have had to have some talks about modesty...thanks a lot Belle! She loves her friends and talks about them non-stop. She also loves nursery. She is silly and fun. She knows what she likes and what she wants and when she gets an idea in her head she can't stop thinking about it until it happens. She is very determined. She is still in the princess phase. She loves to dance. She also loves to run races with her daddy when we take the dogs for a walk. She really LOVES to run. She frequently will hug my tummy and say she's tickling the baby or giving him snuggles. Recently we were in the store and she ran away...nothing like that frantic feeling of loosing sight of your child. Well after a conversation with her about running away and how it is dangerous and how bad people could take her if we are not careful. She looked at me and said, "oh mommy.....I run REALLY fast!" Madeline has a memory like you wouldn't believe. She can recall things from a long time ago when she was tiny and she remembers the funniest details...like, "mom grandma Terri has a drawer with candy in it." Funny things that kids would remember I guess. She is learning how to say portuguese words and is doing a great job. She loves Lucas. Currently she loves to go out in the sprinklers and fill up big buckets of water to pour over his head...good thing he's such a good sport. She is such a sweetheart and I am constantly amazed with the things she can do or say. She has been such a blessing in our family.

Little Lucas is not so little anymore. He is a BIG sweetheart. He really is happy pretty much all of the time. It seems like the only time he gets a little cranky is if we don't feed him soon enough or if he doesn't get a nap on time. Otherwise, he is all smiles. He LOVES music. Turn on some music and his little body will start bopping. One of this favorite things to do is sit out in Daddy's car with the music on. He loves to dance! He is in the phase where he likes to take off his diaper. It's funny because I cannot remember Madeline ever doing this. He loves to shimmy it off and take off running. He loves trains, cars, and balls. He is a true boy. He is happiest outside. He loves to explore and dig in the dirt. He really loves to find the giant snails and bring them in to show us. He loves the ocean and the sand. He is starting to really love books. He adores his sister and follows her everywhere and wants to do everything she does. He is attached to his blankie and will take it everywhere he goes if he's allowed to. He thinks his hair functions as a washcloth and will frequently wipe his hands off on his head. He is a great eater and will eat almost everything. His favorites are still strawberries and green beans. He can say: Momma, Dada, Boo, thank you, hot, more (he loves to sign more too), fishy, Madeline, strawberry, he also loves to make car vroom sounds. He jibber jabbers all day long. He loves the movie CARS and gets so excited when he sees Lightning McQueen. He loves to chew on ice....that may be due to the fact that all of his teeth are coming in at the same time. He loves to go down for a nap or bedtime. All it takes is a kiss, some music and his blankie...and for now his pacifier. We are still trying to get rid of that thing! We have him down to just bedtime so we are making progress. He struts around like a big boy and you can tell he thinks that's what he is. He gets so proud of himself when he does big boy things. He smirks a lot. Especially when he does things that he knows are funny or mischevious. He likes to color, but still tries to eat the crayons too. Recently when he gets upset it is quite the sight. He will clench his fists and tighten his jaw until he shakes and that is usually followed by something getting hit. We are working on that one. ha ha. It's pretty comical to watch though! Lucas is really good at listening and doing what we ask him to. He is super curious and happy. Another sweetheart and giant blessing for our family.

I just wish that they didn't grow so fast!! That being said, I really do love watching them grow and learn.

So in a nutshell, that is what has been happening around here.

Dog Beach with Maka & Papa

We spent some more time at the beautiful beaches of Hawaii.

These were taken at the dog beach and the tide was WAY out.

Lucas following Grandpa around.

More of Grandpa & Grandma's Visit

Still trying to get caught up.

Here are a few more pictures from Granpa Larry &

Grandma Becky's visit.

We spent some time at Madeline's favorite place...

Chuck E. Cheese!

We got a night out with just the grown-ups and

Jimmy's parents took us to a SUPER NICE restaurant called

Alan Wong's. This was the view from our table.

I thought I had some pictures of the food, but I don't.

It was not only incredibly delicious but it was

incredibly beautiful to look at.