Ramblings

There is so much going on here.
All the time, it seems.

First of all . . .
It has been a beautiful Spring.
I mean, we're getting some rain.  That's to be expected.
But Easter weekend was high seventies and sun, and this week's forecast . . .
Eighties.
80s!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just want to jump up and down, I'm so excited!
{But I won't, because I am typing this in bed ~ Kam on one side, Tay on the other, sound asleep}.
We may not have to move after all ;)

My brother is getting married in a few weeks.
Weddings are always cause for celebration, right?

And speaking of celebration:
My nephew is getting married this summer.
{Let's not linger on the fact that I am old enough to have a nephew planning a wedding} 

We've got birthday parties, and field trips, and homeschool testing {okay, so that's not all that fun, but it does mean the end of a school year.  Summer break, woohoooo!}

So much to look forward to in the coming months.

There are some sad changes ahead too.
Our best friends are moving away.
I can hardly believe it.
They have an actual move date, now.  So, it's official.
I'm beyond excited for their new adventure.
I know God has so much in store for them.
But my heart hurts.

 

 

 

 A little happy.  A little sad.
And we continue to seek joy.
I was just reading with my girls about the difference between happiness and joy.
Happiness is conditional. 
It's based on what you have or what your circumstances are.
Joy is not conditional.
It's a choice we make.
And it is present in spite of our circumstances.

Powerful stuff, right there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreams and Other Things

Night before last I had a dream that our baby girl made her appearance. And it got me thinking that it would be fun to find some pregnancy/labor/delivery statistics, and then post them. But I went looking, and couldn't really find what I was looking for :( Bummer. And the stats I did come up with weren't that interesting.

So instead, I'm going to ramble. I know how excited you are about that.

I'm going to be honest. I'm a little nervous. Isn't that funny? I mean, it's not like this is my first baby and I don't know what to expect. I guess Kam's birth sort of threw me for a loop. There was something sort of comforting about being induced. I was already in the hospital, I knew that sometime within the next day we'd have a baby. There wasn't as much of the "unknown". I don't really like the unknown.

Now I am constantly wondering, will I go into labor when Jeremy's at work? {He's a firefighter, and works a 24 hour shift at a station that's over an hour from our home}. If he is at work, would I wait for him to drive all the way home first, or would I meet him at the hospital? If it's the middle of the night, and he's at work, and my parents are gone {they leave to go camping on Monday for a week}, would my MIL stay with the girls while I drive myself in to the hospital?

Do you see? I WAY over-think things. I know that when the time comes, I'll know just what to do. I just have such an active imagination, and it's running a little wild right now ;)

And that's about all I got.

I have another appointment this morning. And then more waiting ;)

While I'm waiting . . .

I'm curious {I may just have to compile some stats of my own!}

How long were your labors? Did they get progressively faster? {Mine did not}.

Any funny stories you'd like to share? {Please no horrific ones, I have enough of those stored up}

Any tips or suggestions while we wait these last couple of {uncomfortable} weeks out?

Odds & Ends

Did someone hit the fast forward button? Life sure does seem to be moving even faster than before. {And I didn't know that was possible!}

We had a terrific first week back to school. I was a little apprehensive about the start of this school year. Homeschooling two instead of one paired with Kam's super loud and needy personality left me feeling nervous. But it was great! Kameryn enjoyed sitting at the table with the "big girls", and she had her own coloring books and activities to do. That's not to say that she didn't try to "help" her big sissies every once in awhile, but all in all we had smooth days.

We had dental appointments on Thursday. I hate the dentist. I mean, I love our dentist, but I really detest going to the dentist. This visit went particularly smoothly, yay! No cavities, and we got a referral for Kenners to see an oral surgeon. Did I mention that I am just now finding that Kenners is tongue tied? Sierra never had any sort of speech impediment. Even as a toddler. Geri {MIL} and I would chuckle because from the time that Sierra could talk, all of her words came out pretty perfect. These big words from a little bitty girl. Kenners, on the other hand, used to have a lisp {that went away on its own}, and has always had a little trouble with her Rs coming out like Ws. I figured it was normal. But once she turned 5, I thought maybe we should work on correcting it. Come to find out, she is physically unable to make certain sounds because her tongue simply won't move in the way it is supposed to. When I tried to make an appointment with our pediatrician, he wouldn't see her. He wanted her to go directly to a speech therapist. While I'm not against her having speech therapy, I truly believe that if we could correct the problem {the tongue tie}, we could solve the problem on our own. Anyway, I was so grateful to our wonderful dentist for not batting an eye, but giving us a referral right away. Miss Kenners has a consultation with the OS next week!

Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon at the hospital. My brother is having severe back/neck problems {which have really been going on for years, and are finally being addressed}, and he is finally scheduled to have surgery on Monday. I am praying that this will rid him of all of the pain he has dealt with for so long, and be the start of healing in more ways than one.

Okay, hold on to your seat . . .

Siding is FINISHED! WOOHOO! Seriously, I don't think any of us had the slightest idea just how big a job siding would be. We have a little caulking to do, and then . . . it's on to electrical! Need a photo? Here ya go:

Next week we have multiple appointments scheduled, and we will be picking out a front door AND paint colors.

What are y'all up to?

Rambles ~ That's What I Do Best

I feel a little out of the blogging loop these days, and sometimes it makes me wonder if I even have time for it anymore. But then I think about how many {wonderful} friends I've made, and how much I enjoy having a place of my very own. And that makes me want to stay.

I find myself stressing out a little when I'm "absent", and that takes some of the fun out of it. Plus, I have a hard time getting back into the groove after I've been gone a few days. {Anyone else have this problem?}. And let's not forget all the Summer fun we've been having. That, alone, leaves little time for the computer, don'tcha know. {Oh yeah, and did I mention my laptop is currently dying a slow death, making it almost impossible to use? Sigh.}

Anyway. A quick update, and then I have to get back to real life. I may or may not still be in my robe right now, ahem, at 1pm. I frosted my hair this morning {yes, I use a cap and hook. Yes, I do know that it is no longer 1987}, and, oh my, it has taken hours.

Now that I think about it, there's not much to update, ha! We've been outside, running through sprinklers, going for drives, working { a little } on the house ~ we're kind of at a standstill for the next week. That about sums it up. Windows were installed this week, and that was pretty exciting. Toward the end of next week we will install the woodstove pipe, and then roofing will begin. Yahoo!

If any of y'all are still with me, and I haven't yet bored you to tears, then Congratulations! You are true friends.

Can't wait to hear what y'all have been up to!

Checking In

Wow. Summer is busy! Whoever came up with "lazy Summer days" was sadly mistaken.

So, a quick check in before we head out for a week of camping fun ;)

First, we had a fabulous 4th. It was nice, quiet, and fairly relaxing. We went to church, came home so that Kam could take a snooze, and then headed to my mom and dad's for dinner and a few fireworks.

Kam enjoyed dinner. A lot.

And for dessert? Cookies. Sierra and Makenna decorated them all by themselves.

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I only have about a million more trips out to the trailer before we're ready to go camping, so that's good.

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If I can get my act together {that's a BIG "if"}, I may schedule a post or two while I'm away. If not, I'll see y'all next week. And now, I'm off to go read some of my favorite blogs. I've missed you guys.

Busy, Busy Bees

Whew! Where have I been??

I was afraid that when my sister and her littles left we would be bored out of our minds. Not knowing what to do with ourselves. How would we keep busy, I wondered. Yeah. I shouldn't have worried. We've definitely kept busy.

I will have more house updates soon. So, tune in. Or don't, if you're sick of hearing about it ;) Framing is officially finished, and now we're on to a little plumbing and windows. Woo hoo!

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A little bit on what's been keeping us busy . . .

This one here. She pretty much keeps me runnin' all.day.long.

Can you say, hand FULL? We're smack dab in the middle of the "screeching at the top of our lungs phase". Is this a phase? I can't recall going through it quite so badly with my other two. Pair super loud with demanding, and you've got Kam ;) Thank goodness she's adorable.

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We've been gearing up for the 4th. We don't actually have many plans, but my girls love an excuse to get dolled up. Who doesn't?

So, you guessed it, spa day. Sierra and Makenna both have red, white, & blue nails. Kam had half of them done, but she kept smudging hers, so we called it quits after our fourth attempt.

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In other news . . . we've been crafting!

I kinda had to. I couldn't make a camp shirt for just one.

{If you'd like step by step pictures/tutorial for this, click here}

Sierra's is on the left, Makenna's is on the right. They chose their colors and helped me apply them.

FYI ~ wool felt is so much easier to work with than the oil cloth I used on Kam's shirt.

And after making Sierra's wool felt embellished tank top, you know Kenners was asking for one. So . . . this was her request. A ladybug. 'Cuz we call her Bug ;)

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So, that's it. We're getting ready to put on a movie and eat some ice cream. It's girls night, you know. Jeremy is at work. Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!!

Housekeeping

♥ Oh my goodness, it's been a long week and it's only Wednesday. This blog is in definite need of some housekeeping, so bear with me while I put my jumbled thoughts out here, and try to wrap a few things up ;) ♥

♥ First let me say THANK YOU for the "weather prayers". It has been sunny and dry! YAY! On the home front~ the trusses came yesterday, and everything went smooth as silk. What a blessing! Give me a day or two to go through {the millions of} pictures, and I'll post a couple of our "house". It's looking more and more like one each day, and it is so exciting. ♥

♥ My sister and her little sugarplums are coming for a visit TOMORROW! Ahhh! We can hardly contain ourselves. We can't wait to see them! ♥

♥ Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the super sweet birthday wishes! Guess what, 30 isn't as bad as I thought ;) I had a wonderful birthday. My parents and Jeremy's parents came over, Jeremy grilled the yummiest ribs I've ever had {and I didn't even think I liked ribs! Who knew!} the girls sang me the sweetest birthday song {Kam included!}. It was the loveliest day. ♥

{A few pics . . . I had to!}

Check out these yummy kabobs the girls put together.

Somebody got a new patio set for her birthday ;) {I cannot wait to put it on our new back porch! Squeal!}

Sorry about this blurry orange-y photo. I hadn't changed the settings before handing it off ;)

Kam had to sneak a little taste ;)

♥ Also, just want to say a GIANT thank you to Miss V ;) I won a $25 gift card to Wal-mart at her place last week. Thanks, Girl! ♥

Here & There

We've been on the go a lot lately {which suits Miss Kameryn just fine}. On Monday night we had a hankerin' for Mexican food, yum!

We had a bit of shopping to do, so on Tuesday we made the trip into town. The girls could have stayed at Old Navy all day browsing the jewelry.

I may or may not have purchased a new pair of shoes ;) I won't tell you how long it's been since I've bought shoes.

Watching Kam with the "Modelquins" cracked.me.up! She just stared like "what the heck is up with these people, Mom? They don't even blink!"

The best part of the day? We met up with my older sister, Heidi, for a quick visit and birthday hugs.

After a long shopping day we rushed to Sierra's final dance class before we break for Summer. Tomorrow is the big recital!

Other activities that have been keeping us busy this week? Makenna's last tap class was Wednesday night, and framing of the house has started. YAY!

And today, after my dr.'s appointment, we met my dad for lunch at Lil Cooperstown. It was delish. Out to eat twice in one week? I could get used to this!

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What about y'all? What have you been up to? Relaxing? Enjoying summer vacay?

I'm going to be honest, I'm kind of having a sad day :( Without going into a lot of detail, I think I may have opened my mouth too soon {and without thinking}, and hurt the feelings of a couple of very special people. Ugh. Not a great feeling. It's like, I see their side, but I see my side too. Does that make sense? Anyway.

Oh yeah, and if that weren't enough, I lost two blog followers today. You know what the worst part about that is? That I even care. Why does it bother me? I blog for myself. As a journal of sorts so that I can remember the day in and day out of my precious little family. But I love new friends, and when I lose one {or gosh sakes, TWO!} it makes me sad.

That's it. Whine-fest over.

Updates amidst the chaos

I'm not going to lie, it's a little bit chaotic around here. {Fingers crossed} tomorrow we start the framing on our house. It's so hard for me to believe that in a few short weeks our house is going to actually look like . . . a house! And that means, whether you like it or not, there will be more building pictures to come :) Stay tuned for those. Or don't. The choice is yours ;)

We are officially done with our school year! Sierra will be in 3rd grade next year {um, how did this happen?}, and Makenna will start Kindergarten. Oh my my. I am going to have my hands full. I am so proud of all that Sierra has accomplished this year. She tested at a 6th grade reading level, and is solving 4 digit borrowing/carrying, and has {almost} all of her multiplication facts down pat. Third grade, here we come!

Amid the constant errands, {trying to keep up on} the housework, and chasing after the littles, I've tried to get back into a craft groove. Saturday is the end of the year dance recital, and my little tap class has been working so hard. I wanted to do something special for them. I found the cutest little ballet slipper pendants {yeah, I know, I teach tap, not ballet, but tap shoe pendants were nowhere to be found, I tell ya}, and I can't wait to show you what I made for my little tappers. The challenge? We have a little boy in our class. No problem, I made him a unique gift all his own. I will try to snap some pics to show y'all soon.

This end of the year stuff is insane! This week, alone, we have Sierra's last jazz class, my last tap class, shopping for last minute odds and ends for the recital {plus I have got to start thinking about Father's Day!!}, a dr. appointment for moi, and finally, Saturday's recital. Whew! How are y'all keeping busy?

P.S. Did ya notice my new header? It was about time, don'tcha think?

Jumbled Thoughts of a busy Mama

Um, yikes. I have been abandoning blog land lately. Though I assure you, it's for good reason. Turns out, building a house is a pretty big {and slightly stressful} project. Who knew? I will have more house updates shortly as {squeal!} we are nearing time for framing!!! Yay!

A few more things that have been keeping me occupied:

♥ So, I have had a toddler before {two, in fact}, but boy, oh boy, Kam keeps me on my toes. I do not remember Sierra or Makenna being quite so . . . busy. Miss Kameryn Faith can destroy a room faster than you can say "Holy Tornado!"

♥ We are finishing up our homeschool year. There is a lot to do. Evaluations and planning for next year have taken up a lot of time. I'll have a 3rd grader and a Kingergardener in the Fall. Wow!

♥ We have two weeks left of dance classes, and preparations for the recital have kept us hoppin' {and tappin', ha!}

♥ And finally, day to day odds and ends, {including a lot of illness this Spring} have continued to keep us busy. Kam is feeling much better {thank you so much for all of your sweet comments and emails of concern}. No more fever {hallelujah!}, but she continues to be kept up at night with a cough. We are so looking forward to some nice weather so that all of these germs can just dry up and GO AWAY! :)

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That pretty much sums it up. Have y'all felt a little overwhelmed with the busyness as Summer nears? {Tell me I'm not alone! Please?} I'm ready for a little R & R ;)

Monday {Night} Ramblings

Does life ever move so fast that you don't even have time to blog about it? Yeah, same here. As usual, the days are flying by, leaving very little time to even crack open the laptop.

♥ Last weekend we attended my cousin's baby shower, and we had such a lovely time. It was great to see family, and celebrate a new baby on the way. Am I the only one who gets practically giddy at the thought of a new baby? Oh those tiny little hands. The way they just snuggle right in to your chest. And sleep wherever and whenever they choose. Sigh.

Anyway.

As I was saying.

We were at my cousin's shower . . .

Frolicking and having a good ol' time . . .

Playing peek-a-boo, and the like.

It was just lovely.

♥ Kenners played her last soccer game of the season on Saturday. In the rain. It's been doing a lot of raining around here. We were all ready for the season to end. Now we start the countdown to the end of dance ~ three more weeks!

♥ Apparently Kam doesn't need much sleep anymore. She is almost 16 months, after all. And naps are for babies, don'tchaknow. Ugh.

♥ We started another bible study, and I L.O.V.E. it already! Anointed Transformed Redeemed ~ A Study of David with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur. Any of you done this one? This is my 4th study of Beth's, and so far it's definitely a favorite. If you are looking for a shorter study {we chose it specifically so that we would be done before we got too far into Summer}, that is big on forming a closer relationship with God, you will not be disappointed with this.

♥ I'll post house pictures soon. Honestly, there isn't much new to report. We finished the foundation and have some "basement work" to do before the framing starts. We're sort of waiting on a little nice weather, and there is rain in the forecast for the next week. Care to say a prayer? :)

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So, what have y'all been up to? Anyone enjoying Summer Vacay yet?