Happy Birthday Lauren

Our world was changed four years ago when God blessed us with a little girl....still our only little girl, surrounded by a brood of brothers. We love the touches of pink throughout our day. This post is dedicated to our sweet daughter Lauren Jana.

You still wear "hair pretties" everyday.....

You are very talkative and enjoy being around people.....

You are really into drawing right now.....

Your chore is to set the table.....

You can be a bit bossy sometimes.....

You love to wear jewelry.....

You still play with your babies, but now prefer the real deal, your baby brother Adam...

You actually love to do housework, which helps keep me on my toes....

You love playing with your little girly friends.....

You love having your own journals, and are always drawing in them.....

You are not as emotional as you used to be.....

You are very affectionate.....

You love having lots of brothers, but.....

You really want a little sister.....

You like it when Noah gives you piggy-back rides.....

You are Daddy's girl for sure.....

You like to put on my face cream at night.....

You still share a room with Luke, but not much longer.....

You love to sing and hope to be in the children's choir at church next Fall.....

You asked to have spaghetti for your birthday dinner.....

Your favorite color is pink.....

You love to brush my hair, but.....

You cry when I brush yours.....

You really want to take piano lessons.....

You still have a shoe fetish.....

You love, love, love pretty dresses and skirts.....

You really enjoy playing outside.....

You like to get the mail.....

Your favorite band is The Good Shepherd Band, you recently started listening to them at bedtime.....

You are such a mother hen to your little brothers.....

You were excited to get your "pink" laptop.....

You helped make your birthday cupcakes.....

You like to pick out your own clothes, and you do a pretty good job at putting together cute outfits.....

You have only had your hair trimmed three times in your life.....

You just learned how to write your name.....

You always ask me to color with you.....

You like to lay on Daddy's back when we say our evening prayers.....

You love stickers.....

You beg to "do school" like your big brothers.....

You have your own "pink" Bible.....

You are definitely my sidekick in the kitchen, always asking questions and wanting to help.....

You love to serve dessert at our small group each Sunday.....

You have the sweetest giggle.....

You love books.....

You run to the door everyday when Daddy comes home from work.....

You love to have your fingernails painted.....

You pray for certain people everyday.....

You make me cry sometimes when you pray.....

You like it when Nate reads "Frog and Toad" to you.....

You love to talk on the phone.....

I will never forget the day that we found out that we were having a little girl, Daddy named you right away and we were both instantly in love.   You were named after your Daddy's mommy who went to heaven when he was a little boy.  Your name is very special, and you will always be our special girl. I still get emotional when I hear your prayers....it's amazing how God uses such a little girl to lift so many people up in prayer. You never let us forget to pray....and have special people that you pray for. 

You were so sweet when I opened my hope chest and gave you my jewelry box that I kept from when I was a little girl.....I was hoping that it would mean something to you.  (I saved it in hopes that someday I would have a daughter to share it with.)  I smiled when you came downstairs this morning holding it in your precious little hands. You like listening to the music it plays, and watching the tiny ballerina as she spins around. 

 Daddy and I pray for you everyday....we pray that God will do a mighty work in your heart, that you would recognize your need for a Savior, and put your trust in Jesus Christ. We pray that you will grow up to be a godly woman....who will embrace the calling of being a wife and a mother, and know what a beautiful calling it is. We are so very thankful for your life and what a blessing you are to us....even through the challenges of raising you, we Praise God for your life.  I am thankful to have someone to sit on the couch with while we watch Daddy and your brothers wrestle.....it will only be a matter of time before Adam joins in. Having a daughter makes me so very much aware of the influence that I can have on another person.....I feel privileged and completely inadequate at the same time. I pray for God's grace to help me be a good mama to you and I hope that the bond that we share will only grow stronger.

Happy Birthday Lauren....

I Love You,

Mommy

Life Lately....

Life lately around here has been slow paced....we are "all" recovering from a nasty case of the flu. We were fighting fevers, trying to sooth body aches, and consoling endless bouts of coughing. I can finally say that today feels more normal than it has for a week. 

But before I go on complaining, I do have to say that God was merciful to us and we are very thankful to be feeling better. One of the hardest things for me as a mama is seeing my kids sick, feeling a bit helpless through lots of these moments.....and this time it was all 5 at once, so by the end of the night I felt overwhelmed, feeling so weary that all I could do was offer up prayers for my husband and all of our sick kiddos.  

I have been reading Elisabeth Elliot's "Keep A Quiet Heart" and in one of the entries, she talked about mercy, (God's perfect timing as always), anyway I was comforted by her words and spent a good bit of my time praying for God to have mercy on us through this bout of illness. God is merciful to a degree that I can not comprehend......and I am pressing into His Word reading about His endless mercy to His people. 

Even in the midst of being sick, I did enjoy the jammie days and extra snuggle time I was able to have with my family. Part of being a mama is trying to find blessings amidst the daily challenges we all face each day. 

The following photos are just a random slew of what I have captured as of lately. Normally I like my blog photos to be more cohesive....but that is not the way life has been lately, so you get a glimpse of this and that. 

Noah is not a huge fan of math, so he is trying to convince Adam to help him out. And yes....Noah prefers to do math shirtless, it apparently helps him think better.

Nate is really into Frog and Toad these days. One of my favorite things is listening to my kids read.

Sleeping baby with growing chubby cheeks....he has a 10,000 per day cheek kissing quota that gets met every single day...and then some. He is so very lovable.

I turned the big 35 on Sunday.....and let me just tell you that I was feeling every single one of those years. I would show you a photo, but I was looking rather rough around the edges if you know what I mean. I like to keep it real on my blog....but not that real. 

Luke's kissing lips....virtually irresistible to this mama. 

Nate is always building something. His block of choice is legos, but he changes it up now and again.

Sweetness

Adam just found out that he tastes delicious.....I have know this all along.

Snuggled up on the couch, trying to ignore me taking photos of him.

We all were rocking some awesome hair...what do you expect. We haven't left the house in over a week.  Haircuts are on the horizon for the boys....you're welcome mom.

I love watching Luke as the big brother.....most of the time anyway. Not the times when he drives his monster truck on Adam's face though.

Peaceful Noah.....but not for long.

There is always the scent of wrestling in the air in our home....even during the sick days.

Lauren and Luke love their rocking chairs they got from their Mi Mi and Pap Pap a while ago. 

Nate's the only kid in our family who has freckles.....and he is quite proud of them I should say.

Hoping to be posting more soon as we get back into the swing of things around here. Hope you and your family are staying healthy!

Perks Of Being A Kid.....

I love watching my children enjoy the little pleasures in life.

Sweet....

After giving birth to each baby, the first 4 wks. is what I like to call the "newborn bliss."  This is when your life gets turned upside down and your days and nights get mixed up.....and I honestly love this time. 

It gets sweeter and sweeter with each little one as I now realize how quickly the first month really does fly by. The little sounds they make when they nurse, the way they smell...oh how I love that smell, the way they stretch, arching their back while sticking out their tiny bottom, the way they grasp your finger in their baby fist, the smiles they give in their sleep.  All of the "little things" that I so enjoy.

You can see how fast time flies in the photos of our no longer newborn, but almost 4 month old...gasp! Noah is still the baby hogger...but I am thankful that Adam gets so much love and attention.  He really is a sweet baby and we are loving every moment.