Monday, Monday

So I was going to try and link up with another blog for Miscellany Monday, but I couldn't figure out how to do it! Ha! Someone will have to explain it to me, so I can try next week. I thought it would be a great link since I feel like that pretty much sums up my life most days, miscellanious! So, I'll just do my post anyway! : )

1. Randomness via my children
What they say is so true, kids really do say the craziest things! This afternoon, when Sawyer WASN"T taking a nap, he was having some alone play time in the playroom. I was in the living room and heard him growling in frustration, so I asked what was wrong. He came in and said, "Honey, I tryin' to get the bears in the bag!!" Hilarious!

2. Not So Happy Easter
Well, we had the best of intentions for Easter this year. We were going to have a house full of people, 19 to be exact, for lunch, that is until the sickness hit. I don't know that I've been so dissapointed in a while. First, Jack got sick, and then Sawyer, then Ian and me. Libby sounds like she may be getting it too, so we'll see. I was so looking forward to this weekend and all the fun we would have with friends, but also talking to Sawyer about what Easter was all about. He takes so much more in these days and I just had these wonderful visions of sitting around as a family telling the story of Jesus' resurrection. Let's just say that did NOT happen. I realized today though, as cliche as it may sound, the Easter story is not just for one day. I can read it to them everyday if I want (and I just might!) and talk about it just as much! I want my kids to be in awe of what Christ did on that cross and what it means for them.

3. Flowers
I love flowers. I love having them in my yard, on my table, and seeing them around town. I do NOT like all the up-keep that comes with flowers. I have decided that I'm going to stick with perennials and bulbs because they are my cup of tea!

(These are a few of the beauties that were blooming at the zoo recently!)

4. Jack and Giraffes

So after this little incident at the zoo, Jack is not too fond of giraffes. Can you tell why?

5. Libby aka Wibby Woo
I call Libby, Libby Loo a lot and Sawyer picked it up, but Sawyer has given it a new spin, Wibby Woo. Needless to say, it's so cute that it stuck. I mean, I think it fits that sweet little cutie pie in the sun hat.

February Flies by . . .

So, yes, I DO know that it is April now!  I promise, I'm not that behind. : )  There were just so many pictures in my February file that I couldn't let get by without a post.  So here you go!

February was filled with lots of cute boys playing . . .

A little girl and dedicating her to the Lord.  She is not ours, but a gift from Him that we are entrusted with.  A really cute gift! 

A lot of play time outside with all of the

nice weather . . .

Picnics as well . . .

Rockin' on our guitars . . .

learning more about being good big brothers and teaching Libby all sorts of things, like how to play with her toys . . .

Lots of time spent being firemen . . .

and being silly . . .

a fun Valentine's date for Mommy and Daddy . . .

and of course, there's always time for books . . .

 Oh, how these little loves have my heart!

Word FIlled Wednesday

So I always see cute pictures on other blogs for Wordless Wednesday and I think to myself, "That would be so easy. Why don't I do that?" Well, the answer to that is because I can't resist adding a caption to that picture. : ) I figured since that's the case, I should just title mine Word Filled instead! Since I'll be filling this post with words, I thought I would share something the Lord has been teaching me recently, in hopes that it will help you wherever you are!

A few weeks ago, I was really feeling pretty good about how things were going in our house. I was keeping a clean house, getting dinner cooked, keeping a good schedule for all three kids, basically feeling pretty good about myself. I was giving myself a pat on the back and congratulating myself on a job well done when it all came crashing down (I mean, you could see that one coming, right?). One little person got sick, and then another, and then another and then a big person. Needless to say, we spent almost 3 weeks dealing with sick, cranky children which meant all my hard work went down the drain. The TV became my babysitter some days, dinner didn't always make it on the table, and you wouldn't have wanted to walk in my bathroom! I was pretty frustrated about it all, when I realized exactly WHY I was so frustrated. I had been relying on myself to do it all. My pride had tripped me up and I had fallen on my face, instead of living on my knees in need of my Father daily. If you know me well, you know that my "independent" streak is something with which I constantly struggle. As frustrating as it was to realize, there was also a sense of hope in that realization. I was much quicker to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and see the places I needed change. I still try to have dinner on the table every night, a clean bathroom, and a schedule for the kids, but I know that without a constant reliance on the Lord, it will end up in shambles around my feet. My goal is not to pat myself on the back with how great I am, but to recognize my inability to do any of it without Him. Trust me, my inability is daily put before me with these three! With all of that said, my small group has been memorizing a verse every two weeks and so I chose James 3:17 "For the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." That is not the wisdom that naturally comes out of me, but it is the wisdom that I need to deal with all that is thrown my way each day!

And because I love them, and I know some of you just really want to see pictures of my three beauties, I'll leave you with my little loves.

Wait, when did this happen??

That's what Ian and I have been asking ourselves a lot lately.  We look around and say, "Wait, when did we get THREE children??" and, "How is it that we're old enough to have a THREE year old?".  Going a little bit backwards here, Sawyer turned 3 at the end of December!  I really can't believe he's 3.  I still remember bringing him home and and the joy we felt over every little thing he did.  Well, we still feel joy, along with a few other emotions from time to time, over the many things he can do now!  Just for my own sake, here's a small list of things he's doing now.

Favorites games/activities:  Sawyer loves anything that involves full body activity: football, soccer, sliding, swinging, pretty much anything outdoors, dancing, singing at the top of his lungs (bet you didn't know that was a full body acitvity!), and tackling (it's a Daddy thing) to name a few

Favorite books: anything with Curious George or Thomas the Train

Favorite foods:  Sawyer loves any fruit and vegetable.  I honestly don't think I've found one he won't eat!  From peppers to mangos and everything in between, he loves them all!  Not as big a fan of meat, but he'll eat it. : )

Favorite sayings:  At this age kiddos are full of funny sayings, so here are a few of his:
- mixed up blessing - "God our Father, God our Father, where are you?  Where are you?  Everyone is waiting.  Everyone is waiting.  Start to fall.  Start to fall."
- calling is brother Jackers and his sister Wibby : )
- in his most dramatic voice saying these like, "Awesome, dude!" and "Stupendous!"
- talking to strangers (I mean anyone we pass in any store!) "Hi there!  I'm Sawyer.  Who are you?"

If I could describe Sawyer in three words, I think they would be passionate, physical, and loving.  Everything Sawyer does, he does with passion.  Whether it's running around the yard, reading a book or getting upset, it's all done with gusto. : )  He's also extremely physical in all he does.  He runs just about everywhere he wants to go, is really great at anything resembling a sport, and shows he loves you with lots of hugs and kisses.  On the flip side of all that, he has a sweet and tender side that really comes out with his Mommy and his Sissy.  Often times he'll just walk up and put his hands on my cheeks and give me a kiss or say he loves me.  Libby gets more kisses than the law should allow and the way he pats her is in stark contrast to the way he does almost everything else.  He loves her so much and I hope that never changes!

Ian and I joke that there is no way our genes could have made his personality, but we know he is EXACTLY who we needed and wanted as our firstborn. I can't imagine life without him and the fun he brings to everything. I love you William Sawyer Headley and I always will!

Elizabeth Caroline

Little Miss Libby is here!  She made her grand entrance on New Year's Day  (1-1-11) at 10:11 weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz and measuring 20 inches long.  This time around was so different for me.  For starters I knew more of what to expect.  Her birth was different than Jack's in several ways, but I felt more sure of myself knowing what would most likely happen with each step.  My labor started at 3 am on New Year's Eve, but was very sporatic all day long.  Finally at 2 am on New Year's Day things really got under way and we called my parents so we could head for the hospital.  Things went much quicker than with Jack and it only took 2 hours to get my epidural as opposed to the 4+ hours that it took with Jack.  Lovely!  To make things even better, we had the same nurse and doctor who delivered Jack!  It was so special and comforting to have them both their, along with Ian and Mom.  Jack had to be seen by a specialist as soon as he was born and that plus some complications on my side, meant I didn't get to hold him until much later in the day.  With Libby I got to hold her right away and then keep her for a couple hours before she went to the nursery.  It was so calm and special.  All in all, I have to say that number two was a much better experience. : )

Libby has been a wonderful baby!  She sleeps great, eats great, and doesn't mind being jostled a little and poked by her brothers. : )  Speaking of those two, they have done so much better than I imagined!  Sawyer calls her "My Libby" and wants to hold her multiple times a day.  He kisses her and shares his toys with her.  I honestly couldn't ask for a better big brother.  I've really seen him jump into the big brother role recently as well.  He's done so great helping me by going to get things when I ask or cleaning up toys.  He's even trying to show Jack how to do things to be a helper too. I love my sweet, affectionate boy!
Jack doesn't have a whole lot to do with Libby, but he's very sweet when he remembers that she's there. : )  He's more concerned with keeping up with Sawyer and playing with trains, trucks and all things boy!  Just like Sawyer, he's become a little more attached to Ian over the last few weeks, but he's still a Momma's boy and I have to say I don't really mind!
Here are a few pictures of our life recently, and I'll try to come back and update with the rest of Christmas, Sawyer's birthday and our snow days. Who can believe we had two in less than a month! I had to ask myself if I was still living in SC!!

 

Merry Christmas, Darlin'

Happy New Year too!  Ok, so I realize it's not New Year's yet, but I'm kind of hoping we'll have a baby by that point, so I'll go ahead and say it. : )  I did the majority of our Christmas shopping online this year, so our Christmas season has been full of family fun, which I have to say is definitely the way to go!!  Since our kids are still fairly young, I decided that we would wait one more year to start any of the fun things I've seen around and just stick with learning the Christmas story.  We have several nativities around the house, two of which are just for the kids.  Every day we've tried to sit down at some point or another and tell the story of Jesus' birth (the short version : ).  Some days they sit still and listen as though it's the best thing ever, and others, well other days we throw pieces and could care less what Mommy is saying!  Ha!  That's the way it goes with two little boys sometimes.  Thankfully, Daddy also has two weeks off of work, so the boys have been enjoying lots of wrestling, tower building, piggy back rides, and all the things that only Daddy does at our house.  : ) 

In keeping with tradition, we went and picked out our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  The boys actually had a lot of fun despite the sour looks on their faces.  

 Here's proof that they really did like it!

 Sawyer was quite taken with the power tools and watching them shake the tree. 

 And we had to smell the tree for some reason.

 This year we got our tree from the lot that was on the property of White House Florist.  For those of you familiar with the big white house, you probably also know the red carpet they put out at Christmas.  Well, for me that red carpet and that house hold special memories.  The big white house, and the brick one behind it, belonged to my best friend and her grandparents.  Growing up, I think I spent most of my summer by their pool every year!  We always took a picture on the front porch as a family, and then took prom pictures their as well.  My bridal portraits were even done on that front porch and around the house!  Needless to say, we had to try for a family picture on the porch.  The boys were done with picture taking by this point, but we had to try, just for old times sake.  

 Aunt D came for a visit and of course the boys convinced her to read a few books.

Plenty of blocks and tower building have been found around our house recently.

and time with Daddy

and finally the Christmas tree decorated and full of lights!  I love sitting in the dark, quiet and looking at the tree.  Apparently, so does my oldest because I find it plugged in all the time, when I didn't do it. : )  The day we decorated, we brought it in and put lights on while the boys were napping, or at least we thought they were napping.  Sawyer had apprently sneaked down the stairs to see what was up, but couldn't keep quite once he saw the lights come on.  As soon as we plugged it in to check the lights we heard, "WOW, it's amazing!!!"  It was kind of hard to be stern after that. : )

Christmas cookies at Granna's house

 Sawyer, the old pro, showing Jack the ropes

 Jack trying to "sneak" some dough. 

 After that, Granna thought it was just easier to give him a cookie than to fight about eating dough.

 Cheesing it up for the camera in our Christmas pjs

 Also, cheesing it, but not willing to look at Mommy for some reason

 And the best thing to happen so far in the lives of these two little boys is the construction of a swing set in the back yard.  Grandaddy, Josh and Daddy spent a Saturday putting it together and since that day they ask to go outside about 20 times more than they did before!  It doesn't matter that it's been freezing cold most days, they will put on hats, coats and gloves as long as they can get on that slide and swing up high!

 But of course, when it gets to cold, coming in and warming up by the fire is a pretty appealing things too!

 Doing some chalk drawing on the porch

 climbing up to slide and looking cute as can be!

 head first is always better

or just crawling up the slide the wrong way : ) 

Well, I hope you're enjoying your Christmas holidays as much as we are, and we also hope you're able to slow down and spend some time thinking about and celebrating our Savior's birth.  With out that event, we would still be lost sinners, something for which I am truly grateful!

We've also had a bunch of family Christmas get togethers, so check back later for some pictures and stories about those.  It's always a barrel of monkeys when you get a bunch of family in the same room. : )