Summer Fun

I've been embracing my new life as a stay at home mom. My goal is to use my time wisely in order to give my kiddos lots of fun things to do. I am trying to find activities that will encourage creative play while working on some kind of skill they will need in school.

Today, we played outside in the pool. I kept giving them different things to play with to try and spark some imagination.

Noah was trying to pour water into an empty milk jug. The milk jug also had holes in it so when you pick it up water would "rain" out the bottom.

 Bella had a good time using a lid as a car ramp. Their favorite thing was when I poured a bunch of ice cubes in the pool and they had to try to collect them using scoops.  I didn't get pictures of this, because they kept asking me to go in and get more ice. They had a hard time using scoops so they ended up just using their hands and collecting them in a little bucket.

All in all, I'd say it was a fun morning!

Seth's Birthday

Seth turned the moldy age of 28 on the twenty third of March. I took him out over the weekend, but he didn't know what we were doing. I made up little rhymes for each part of our night, leading him around Springfield. He never knew ahead of time where we were going. Our first big stop was Bass Pro Shop where I made him do an ABC scavenger hunt to earn his next clue (which led him to dinner). He had to find an item in the store for each letter of the alphabet. He looks kind of mopey in the pictures, but I think it's all a show! He had fun, even if he didn't show it. I made him pose in front of every single item. He had 40 minutes to complete it, and I only had to help him a tiny bit. Then we ended up going to dinner, a movie, and Andy's on the way home. It was a great night out without the kids! Check out the scavenger hunt pictures on our slideshow.

My Normal Extraordinary Life

I am dedicating this post to our kids and the wonderful craziness they bring to our lives. As I'm writing this Noah is banging on a toy drum with some of my wooden cooking spoons. I'm having to yell at Seth so he can hear me, even though he's about three feet away. That's just a perfect picture of our days here.

We're constantly trying to get through the day. We're saying "NO!" when Bella is eating dog food or dumping the water bowl in her lap. We're chasing Noah because he's running around without clothes or a diaper. We're trying to enforce our "No TV Time" to encourage him to play and read. Our days are filled with small triumphs and struggles as we try to help mold these little people who God has allowed us to care for.

It's a job that holds a lot of burden and responsibility, but I would never trade it. I read a post on someone's facebook account recently that said she never understood why people wanted to have kids until she had one of her own. I can't relate to that. I've always wanted these sticky, crying, squirmy bundles in my life. I wanted a "normal" two parent family with lots of kids running around.

What I didn't expect was the awe I would have for the Lord after I saw how beautiful my children were. I remember minutes after I had Noah, looking at him in wonder. I always imagined what my kids would look like. I remember thinking, "Wow. God, I'm so glad it's you're job to create. I could never have designed something so good."

My days are filled with smiles and kisses. Yes, there's some yelling. There's plenty of time-outs and sometimes spankings. But the feeling I get when I see Bella reach up for me (her way of telling me to pick her up) or the way Noah runs to me when I pick him up after work, makes my everyday normal life feel extraordinary.

Starting Again

Well, you can see how well Seth did keeping up with the blog! I was thinking this morning how I could keep up with it a couple times a month-maybe. At least I can do more than 2 posts in a year and a half. So here it goes:

Bella just turned 9 months old this week! She is pulling up and starting to cruise around the living room. That girl is a smart cookie and a fast mover. Noah is as busy and crazy as ever. We are not a fan of the winter months in our house. I am in love with the summer and spending time with the kids all day. This summer Bella will be walking and we are going to take advantage of it.

As for now, we're just keeping busy keeping up with the kids and the house. Having two kids is more work than I thought, but I think a lot of that is working full time. It's a little late, but I'm going to post some pics of the kids during Christmas. This was the first year Noah actually knew who Santa was, and he was excited that Santa would bring him a choo-choo. I think Ya-Ya (Grandma Hagler) bought Bella more presents than anyone else!

Toilet

Noah will not stay out of the TOILET! Runs into the bathroom, minute later - Bang! Lid closes and he comes running out laughing. Sick kid!

First Post

I will see what all the rage is about and start a blog.

Nicki started back to school and not loving any minute of it. She would rather be at home with Noah. We tell each other all the time that we would rather switch places with each other. Not that I don't like spending time with Noah, but I really want to work.

Still waiting on that JOB! I was reminded of a song today "While I am Waiting" by John Waller. What an encouragement! Good days and bad days but we continually thank the Lord for taking care of us right now. I pray that i can "move ahead bold and confident" but continually humble myself before the Lord as only he can provide us with all our needs. I pray that "while i am waiting, i will serve you." Received great wisdom and encouragement from Billy yesterday. He reminded me of what I am getting right now being at home and what God taught him when we went through a similar situation.

Noah is the biggest HAM in the world. Every time any music comes on, he starts dancing which is hilarious. Already talking back! Someone told me today, "Like father, like son." WHATEVER!