it’s {embrace} the camera day!

isn’t it so amazing how life quickly changes?
just a few years ago, i would never have imagined that going
on a trip with a one year old would be considered taking a vacation.
but it was.
and it was amazing.

enter kansas.

first off, where can a mom go while only packing four diapers?
yes, that’s four diapers for four days.
not anywhere i frequent.

KS (my sweet friend, who used to live in socal now lives in KS)
provided everything for us.
and i mean everything.
from car seat to video monitor to stroller, to homemade baby food.
it was as though were at an all-inclusive resort.
seriously.
it was simply and purely wonderful.

didn’t oprah declare wichita as one of the most boring places she has visited?
well, she obviously did not hang with my friend, KS.
i found wichita to be absolutely fabulous.
we did fly over bales of hay right before landing,
but i find that exciting, not at all dull.

i loved spending so much time with L
and i think he enjoyed all the time he was able to spend with me.

i learned so much from spending so much time with KS.
she is an incredible Christian woman,
wife and mother.
the devotion and endless love
she shows for her husband and children is nothing short of admirable.
she is superwife and supermom.
all packed in one.


right after KS got married, she and her groom traveled the world.

and,
she also paints.
because she is incredible.
and her fabulous house allows for her to have her very own painting studio.
can you even imagine?
me neither.

another addition to her long list of talents is that she is a fantastic cook.
we munched on these all weekend long.
and of course, they are from her garden.

look at those clouds!

A, was such a good little mommy-in-training.
she wanted to do everything that we did.
including nurse her babydoll.
she even got to use her momma’s hider.

while the boys were sleeping, A busied herself by doing crafts.

she didn’t have any idea that she was adorning the
most perfect
tomato soup mustache.

A was a sincerely sweet and happy child.

not only was she absolutely darling
but she also wanted to help out in any way that she could.

this might possibly be my most favorite photo
(KS took it).

little P was such a good playmate for L.

he showed him what life as a one year old is all about.

swimming buds.

my little swinging baby.

what sweet little fingers.

because KS lives in kansas, that means that she has a basement.
which also means that L was able to sleep in a room
all to himself that didn’t have one window.
which means that it was dark and quiet.
every mother’s dream.

and this is what happened when i left L’s side for just a moment.
(thanks for the photo, DS!)

spending a weekend in kansas showed me what living in
peace and
calmness and
clarity
feels like.
i can’t wait to go back.

206. realizing three days after returning, that my watch is still on kansas time
207. a surprise fireworks show
208. walking in grass
209. running in grass
210. fireflies

but we just were!!
and, it was lovely.

L and i were supposed to go to wichita, kansas
last month but then he got sick so we had to cancel our trip.
we were so blessed with the opportunity to
have a do-over and soaked up every last moment spent in kansas.

KS and L in KS.

her sweet boy, P.

her adorable girl, A.

us girls.

we met pre-kids at church and have been (somehow) able to talk weekly for years.
i hadn’t met either of her kiddos and she hadn’t met L.
we talked non-stop for four days.
it was wonderful.
more details of the trip to come…

201. laughter and tears with KS
202. a nice passenger on the airplane who fanned a hot L
203. friendly wichita people
204. returning home
205. the wonderful greeting in-n-out burger always provides

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

matching shirts
and
matching headbands.

how 80s does she look?
so 80s.

the chalk on the face and clothes happened
about nine minutes after she got dressed and ready.

she’s too cool for school.

chalk: super huge hit.

196. purple
197. knowing deep down in your heart what you want
198. night jasmine
199. cold water
200. booking flights to my kind of town

this isn’t going to be pretty.

L had two breath holding spells today
(which he hasn’t done in 6+ weeks).
i think they are tooth related.

my parents’ little dog, Bella,
seems to have eaten the the fillings of a #2 diaper of L’s.

during my annual womanly exam,
i was graced with the presence of a non-napping-but-fussy,
L on my lap for the entire thing.
Auntie B said she’s just glad it’s not
embrace the camera thursday.
hysterical.

i was home for about 22 and a half minutes all day.

and to top it all off, i just went to the bathroom for the third time.
today.

you better believe i’m going to treat myself
to one of the most delicious homemade desserts
from one of the sweetest gals i know.

a humongous ice cream sandwich.
don’t worry, i’m not going to eat the entire thing tonight.
it wouldn’t be possible anyway,
because i’ve already eaten a few slices of it the past couple of days.
so don’t worry, i’m not going to eat the rest.
well, actually, i am,
just not tonight.
oh, nevermind.

i can’t leave it on that note, alone.
so, here are some more nice pictures.

mostly, to help you forget all of the horror
that i previously etched into your mind.

here is sweet L with his Grammy.
(i can’t really get away with calling him little anymore, can i?)

and here he is working out.

therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

and now, onto the blessings.

191. dinner so graciously provided by my parents
192. my parents, who watch most of my children when i can’t be here
193. receiving sweet packages tied up with pink ribbon from K
194. spending time with just D
195. the promise that it’s a picture of a bird
and not a real bird that D is bringing home from preschool

today,
we made kites
(thanks to a fab link Auntie B found).
actually, the children colored on a few sheets of paper
and i cut, glued and sewed the kites together.
it was definitely more of a “i’m almost done, just hang on a second” project.
but in the end,

they were teensy,

and had cute little bows on the ends,

and they fluttered.

the children held onto the string (a.k.a. thread)
with their very own clothes pin.

and they danced all over while wearing their rain boots, of course,
while singing one of their absolute favorite songs in the whole wide world.

as you can see, K dresses herself these days.
seriously, this girl can wear anything,
kind of like my sister, Aunt WW.
actually, exactly like my sister.
the other day, K came home wearing a sleeve from coffee bean as a bracelet.
and you know what?
she totally pulled it off.

D, on the other hand, still wants me to pick out his clothes.
and i couldn’t be happier about that.

he definitely got the hang of the kite,
but i think he was envisioning something
that might have nearly reached the airplanes that fly over our house.

don’t worry, the marks on her arms
are just remnants of some painting fun.

i think my baby girl grew up a little today.

it makes sense because
she is nearly three years old, you know.

there was just enough of a slight breeze to carry our tiny creations
and to plant a smile on each kid’s face.
it was simply lovely.

my other sister, Aunt CC wrote a wonderful blog post the other day
that i have thought about over and over again.
and it think she’s right… multitasking is not what it’s all about.
i am trying to do just one thing at a time.
it’s so tough though.

delight yourself in the LORD
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

186. the smell of fresh laundry
187. chick-fil-a
188. a dad who always seems to save the day
189. encouraging doctor reports
190. longer rest times

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

you know you’ve had a good couple of days
when you have 659 new photos to download.
we have been busy, busy, busy
and loving every second of it.

my sweet college roomie, Auntie L,
and her two little munchkins, J and E came for a visit.

E and K are four months apart.
this means that when E came to our door, she was cradling her babydoll
which looks nearly identical to K’s babydoll.

J and D are six months apart.
J brought his woody and buzz.
which are nearly identical to D’s woody and buzz.

this means that the kids played together like a dream.

and, L slept through the night last night.
which means that i slept through the night last night.
woo hoo.
a great time was had by all.

once the kids were all tucked into every corner of the house,
we talked about the troubles of life
over cookies straight from the oven and cold milk.
the perfect accompaniment to tough times.

this woman gets tough times.
(i’m not linking to this just because she links to me
but because her words ring so completely true.)

it feels like summer here.
not so much the weather,
but more-so the activities.

i mean seriously,
does that hair not simply delight you?

D showing off how many post-its he drew on
and then stuck together.
(half fell to the ground before i snapped the photo)

note to self: before assuming this lovely animal is a giraffe,
read the words on the bottom “draw your favorite zoo animal”
and take note of which child painted it.
this is in fact a tiger.
not a giraffe.
obviously.

our coffee table has been turned into an unofficial train table for a week now.
i’m thinking it might stay this way for a while.

my two conductors.

the little engine that could.

apparently, i was interrupting something.

and here, L looks
exactly
like my Poppy did when he was in his sixties.
and i mean, exactly.

other than that,
we’ve just been going through some mail.

And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

176. D starting preschool today
177. running errands with just two children
178. coming home to a spotless kitchen (thanks mom and dad!)
179. wearing the children out
180. peace

we’ve had a bit of issues with obedience lately.
so, when i was at a complete loss as to what to do,
B prayed and the Holy Spirit revealed to him the new plan that we are following.
and you know what?
it’s been working
beautifully.
of course.
God is so good, isn’t He?

one element of our new plan is that each week,
the kids make a new sticker chart
(preferably during one of L’s therapy sessions –
so that they are occupied for at least five minutes of the session).

we are now making a weekly trek to the party store nearby.

here they are with their “back cacks” as K calls them,
all filled up and ready for our two-and-a-half minute car ride.
remember, they are my children so they come prepared.

and each big kid gets to pick out a little treat.
that is,
if and only if
their sticker chart is filled up.
(our CBS teacher always reminds us that motivation
is not only good for our little ones but for us as well).

the first week, D picked out this shiny sheriff badge.
see, when there is obedience, everybody wins.
even woody.

the second week, D and K both wanted more stickers for their charts.
so they were rewarded with stickers to be rewarded with.
sounds like a good plan to me.
when we are obedient, blessings abound.

…and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
1 Corinthians 3:8b

171. progress, progress, progress for L
172. live classical music
173. L in bed by 6pm
174. obedience (both for our children and us)
175. the coffee table being used as a train table