Sweet Surprises

Twice this week, I have gone to lunch, opened my lunch bag and found these:

 

Notes from my sweet Lydia. It sure makes the afternoon better, having received a sweet note!   

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them". Psalm 127:3-5.

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.” Proverbs 13:22

These are two great verses relating to fatherhood. I tell Dave all the time, he is a wonderful daddy. Without being “emotional” (as he likes to call me!), I will just say that he makes this parenting job so much easier. And since lists are always easier, here is a list of what makes him an awesome daddy…

He plays dress-up.

 
 

He plays video games.

He is master at crazy faces and passes his talent to his children!

He loves swimming.

He enjoys the rides at the fair.

He’s great at helping blow birthday candles out.

He likes arts and crafts.

He likes taking the girls out on dates!

He likes going in cool caves!

He loves watching movies & will occasionally take naps with you.

                                           

He gives the best "sugar"!

He loves his girls and they adore him. At 8, Lydia thinks he’s silly. She just laughs at him and occasionally whispers something in my ear that relates to him being silly & fun. She loves to wrestle with him and watch movies with him. She told me last week that he "was good at knowing about everything except how to spell words"!!! At 3, Layton adores EVERYTHING about him. She loves hanging out with him, asking him a million questions about what he’s doing and why he’s doing it! She even talks like him, telling me what kind of wheels people have on their trucks. She is his shadow, she is never too far behind him. When he isn't home, she wants to know where he's at and when he's coming back.

He's tough at times but loving & patient ALL the time. Thank you, Dave for being the perfect daddy for our girls. You are one of a kind... :)

My energetic child...

This little girl has had an exciting weekend…

Friday night we went to a birthday party for one of Lydia’s friends. At dark, all the kids decided to catch lightening bugs. Layton, being Layton, decided to catch frogs. She was the only one who would come close to them, much less catch them. Of course seeing that the other children were scared of them, she teased them by acting like she was going to touch them with the frog. FUN TIMES! A 3 year old holding a frog, chasing screaming 8-9 year olds!

Saturday she helped me mulch the flower beds. She stayed out there with me the whole time, working. I am amazed at how much help she is sometimes. She was so hot, so I told her she could take her shirt and shorts off. I wish I would have taken a picture, her little face was so red. After we were done, we jumped in the pool. She was so excited that I was in the pool too. (I rarely get in!) She practiced her swimming, without floaties!

Sunday, she was energetic again. We ate lunch with the family at my grandmother’s and she ran around like a crazy woman. She squirted my uncle, who was sitting in a chair looking at his phone, with the water hose (from behind)! I’m surprised he didn’t have a heart attack, poor fellow. Shortly after that incident we left. As I’m driving down the road, the girls decide to watch a movie. When Layton put her headphones on, she started screaming that her ear hurt. She said it felt like needles in it. I pull over and see that a tiny pearl bead is IN HER EAR. She admitted she put it in there. I was afraid to try to get it out because 1) I didn’t want to hurt her & 2) it was really far down. Lydia hit full panic mode when I said we were going to take her somewhere to get it taken out. She started asking 500 questions: Are they going to cut her ear off?, Are they going to hurt her?, Is she going to cry?, Are they going to make her ear “dead” before they try to get it out?, Where are we going to take her?!!!!! Lydia grabbed Layton’s hand and was telling her that she would be ok and that she would be praying for her. J It was hilarious to hear at the time but it made my mom heart proud! By this time, Layton started panicking a little, especially at the words “dead” & “hurt”. Thankfully Dave was getting off work at the same time, so he met us at the care clinic. My mom came and got Lydia. I knew one thing for sure and that was that I DID NOT WANT LYDIA TO GO IN WITH US! It was sad to leave her crying and hysterical but I had other things to think about at that time. The doctors at the care clinic didn’t want to hurt her, so they said they would attempt one time. It took one lady to hold a light, one lady to hold the magnifier & one man to try and get it out. He moved it a little and another lady got it out. Layton was so good, she never cried. The only time she cried was while we were still in the car when Lydia was freaking out! Once we got in the office and calmed her down, she was very brave. The staff was so nice and I am definitely glad they were able to help us. Layton decided to go home with Dave and I went to my mom’s to get Lydia. She wasn’t convinced until we got home that her sister was ok. I actually think she was confused when we got home and Layton was swimming like nothing had happened! Later that night, we asked Layton why she put the bead in her ear, she replied that Lydia told her to do it, which caused major havoc between sisters! Later she admitted that she didn’t know why she put it in there.  Hopefully she has learned her lesson!

She’s wild & energetic but I love every minute of it.

Ssshun-ssshine

As we were riding down the rode yesterday, Layton tells me to look at the beautiful "ssshun-ssshine". I commented how pretty it was. She said, "when I see that ssshun-ssshine, I see Mawmaw". :)
This little girl makes me so humble. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't mention her Mawmaw and her memories are always happy. She remembers when she gave her certain things and when she went to her house and ate ice cream & popsicles. She always smiles when she is talking about her and mentions that she is in heaven walking with Jesus, having fun, singing, smiling, chewing gum...

As an adult it is hard to accept the loss of a loved one. We (I)  sometimes tend to focus on the memories of the past year of when she was sick or the thought of her not being with us anymore, which are all sad. I REALLY miss her, talking to her, getting advice from her, just being with her. There are so many times I want to call and tell her something the girls have said or did, tell her about something that happened during the day. Today as Layton & I were sitting at the cemetery talking, her running around, throwing dirt, talking about Mawmaw, I wished I could be more like that of my 3 year old. I prayed that I can focus more on the positive aspects of my loss. I prayed for me to remember the happy times more than the bad. I prayed that I will have a stronger faith because of her loss. I know that in time, my faith will help me through the bad times, it's just all a little overwhelming sometimes...

God’s Helpers

Mother’s Day this year for our family was different, we spent time with my mom and grandmothers and we honored Dave’s mom. This past year has been the most difficult, losing one of “our” mother’s but it’s also been a reflection of just how important mother’s are in our lives.

As a little girl, all I dreamed of was being a mom and thankfully the Lord blessed me 9 years ago with that dream. He has blessed me 3 times in my life, 2 of which I get to spend every day with and 1 of which I can’t wait to meet one day. Being a mom is all I dreamed and I'm thankful each day that my dreams have come true.

“God’s Helpers” by George W. Wiseman

God could not be in every place
With loving hands to help erase
The teardrops from each baby’s face,
And so He thought of mother.

He could not send us here alone
And leave us to a fate unknown;
Without providing for His own,
The outstretched arms of mother.

God could not watch us night and day
And kneel beside our crib to pray,
Or kiss our little aches away;
And so He sent us mother.

And when our childhood days began,
He simply could not take command.
That’s why He placed our tiny hand
Securely into mother’s.

The days of youth slipped quickly by,
Life’s sun rose higher in the sky.
Full grown were we, yet ever nigh
To love us still, was mother.

And when life’s span of years shall end,
I know that God will gladly send,
To welcome home her child again,
That ever-faithful mother.

Life

I’ve been a bad blogger….. I don’t know what is wrong! It’s not that I have nothing to blog about, just life! So since lists are easy, here is a list of what we have been up to lately, in no particular order.

My Painted Pretties

In our small town, during the spring, summer and fall months, we have a little thing called Bible Story Time on the Square. April was the first month and the girls had a blast. They played games, listened to bible stories, played with friends and got their faces painted. (Don’t you love the little couple in the background praying?!)

Black Eye

My little daredevil… Recently, one particular weekend was bad, all boo-boo’s occurred while riding her bike. After falling of several times in one day, both knees were scraped, a black eye and a busted lip. This picture was taken as the black eye was healing.

Hand on your hip…….

I bet no one has ever used the phrase “don’t talk to me with your hand on your hip”, except me. I get to say it regularly with Layton. 

Date Night for mama and daddy

We have  friends (last couple on the right) moving to Dallas soon. We get together every once in a while, without the children, and eat somewhere. We always have so much fun with this crew. We will miss them but look forward to visiting them in Dallas soon!

Friends

           

We have spent lots of time with friends. Especially since the weather is warming up! We love this time of year, when we can be outside.

Lydia the Gymnast

Lydia is still enjoying her gymnastics class. This particular night, she had pictures and had to wear her recital costume. Her recital is at the end of May and I cannot wait to see it. She has come a long way since August!

Softball cousins!

We have seen Ali and Lulu play several times this spring.  I love the game, Lydia and Dave love to socialize, Layton loves to eat!!!

How much stuff can you put in mama’s car?

A few weeks ago, we decided to go to Sam’s for the usual “stuff” and decided at the last minute to get a new tv too.  Just because we bought a new tv and all the accessories didn’t mean we could still get the normal Sam’s stuff too! We may or may  not have driven home like this…

Hot, hot, hot

The other night we were playing outside and Layton kept fussing that she was hot. She wanted to go inside and change clothes. After hearing her whine for a while, I gave in and told her ok. She comes out like this. I guess boots cool you off!

You wanna race?

                   

Our nephew comes over a lot and he and Layton are buddies. The other day we were standing around outside and Layton looked at him and said “You wanna race”.  J

Spring Break in Chattanooga

We decided at the very last minute to take a trip for Spring Break this year. We packed up quickly and headed to Chattanooga! We had an awesome time. We did the Aquarium one day and Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline Railway another day. My favorite was Rock City but Layton + rock cliffs = a whole new level of anxiety for Dave and I. I just knew she was going to be the first child ever to fall over Lover's Leap.  Dave said his favorite was Ruby Falls minus the part where he had to hunk over ALL the way through because he is so tall! The girls favorite part of the trip was the hotel swimming pool! :) We had all a great time, so nice to get a few days away from home.

Picture overload below! Please note that Layton has all the sudden started not liking having her picture taken, therefore she looks mad in most of them or is making some sort of crazy face or body motion...

                                               Aquarium looking out over the Tennessee River.

Love the pose!

World Largest Turtle Shell!

 

Not the greatest picture but this is in front of Ruby Falls. You would think when you ask someone to take a picture of your family in front of the falls, they would include the whole waterfall..... :)

                                                                Dave had size issues!!

Lover's Leap, absolutely beautiful.

Layton throwing out the peace sign!

Dave had a dead grip on baby girl!