Thirty-two. 32.

I'm not talking about the domino game that my Mamaw and the rest of the family used to play. Actually, wait...I'm pretty sure that was forty-two. Which I, am not. I'm not 32, either, but I will be in two days. I will be 32. That is insane!
I remember when I thought 32 was old. I remember when I used to stare at adults wondering if they belonged in the looney bin when they uttered things like, "Time flies", "It seemed like you were a baby just the other day", "I was your age once". Ha! "Yea right, old timer, you were my age like a million years ago" was a thought that passed through my mind. Now that I'm older not quite as young as I used to be, I can see that they were, without a doubt, right. Time does fly. The crazy thing, is that each year it goes by faster and faster. I'm not sure how that works, since every year is 365 days, but something is definitely NOT right.
Anyway, most all my life, I've always been told I look younger than my actual age. I still get told quite a bit, but not NEAR as much as I used to (the brewd of kids we have are spurring on early wrinkles). I was never one of those girls who wanted to be older, or look older. I was content. I liked young. I had a terrible time with every birthday past 27. I just saw myself getting OLD. And, though I can't believe I am seriously turning 32, I am feeling pretty good. I'm not worried, or mad, or embarrassed. I feel really good about it, to tell the truth. I mean, I have made lots of mistakes in my life, some really bad and big ones. But, I am only who I am because of what I've been through. I am me. I feel good about that. These two quotes come to mind.
The first, by Dr. Seuss:
"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
The other by R C Allen:
"We grow because we struggle, we learn and overcome."

My life has been harder than some, and easier than others...but this is MY life. It feels nice to be happy about celebrating my birthday. The day God allowed me to enter this Earth, to my Mother and Father. My husband. My kids. My home. I just feel good (did I already say this??). I have had a blessed 32 years. An amazing 32 years. Not perfect, but quite fabulous, if I do say so myself...and I do say so. So, happy glorious birthday to me. I have a feeling I am going to love, love, love what 32 feels like.

Oh, and a Happy Birthday to my friend, April, who shares the same exact birthday! Love you!

Happy Easter

I am so thankful Jesus gave His life to cover us. I think as amazing as it is, and as much as it truly means, we cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the sacrifice that was made for us, as sinners.
The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.
Matthew 28:6 (The Message)

Have a lovely and blessed Easter, wherever you are...

Bluebonnets

If you live in my state, Texas, then you know the state flower is a Bluebonnet. They bloom for a short time in the Spring, and are beautiful. They remind me of my Mamaw because her favorite color was blue. Anyway, in our area, it's a MUST to photograph your children in bluebonnets. The problem is they start coming up, you notice them, realize you need photos, then by the time you get around to it, they are gone! We have four kids, the oldest being almost 15. We have gotten bluebonnet pictures, all together, I think 3 times. Pitiful huh? Anyway, this year I was determined not to miss them. I didn't think the boys would be too gung-ho about pictures sitting in a bunch of flowers, so I thought at least I could get Isabel and Blake. Plus, just a few days before, I had all four kids get pictures together for our Easter card. I knew the big boys had already had their fill of sitting still and posing. The blue bonnet pictures turned out pretty good, I thought, minus Blake screaming his head off (what, you mean that doesn't make for a good picture???). Here are a couple :)


Thanks to my dad for taking the pictures!
Happy Spring, Everyone!!

Circus pictures

We went to the Circus when it came to town last month. We didn't go last year, and I'm not sure about the year before. Honestly, it's usually pretty expensive, and about halfway through, the kids are always ready to go. Kids are too hard to entertain these days! Plus, it comes to us usually during our "rainy part of the year" and it's almost always a mess! This year the weather was PERFECT. The kids had a blast. Besides my back pain, which has all but gone away now, we had an awesome time. Here are a few pictures my dad took.


These guys were very cool...they slipped a couple of times, good thing for the safety net!

Something about these huge animals sitting there in such a dainty pose, LOL, I found it really entertaining...

My girl riding an elephant (her 2 cousins were on there, too) during the break...

This guy was INSANE. Too hard to tell from the picture how small the box was and how he just folded himself up like taffy and got inside of it..eek! It amazes me enough when women do it, the fact that this guy could do it was crazy...

Pretty elephants and women dressed up...loved the butterfly wings!

Th-Th-Th-That's all folks!

7 months

I cannot believe Blake just turned 7 months. SEVEN MONTHS! I am thankful he is so healthy and happy...but sad to be reminded, for the fourth time around, how fast time flies! 7 months means he is closer to his one year mark than not. Just today he sat up, unassisted, for 5 minutes. He also crawled for the first time, for Daddy, but then for me! He didn't use his knees, but he pushed off with his feet, like an army crawl. I can't believe he was so bald @ 4 months and now has a head full of hair. Often people have told me my babies (as infants) look older than what they are (though they always tell me they are beautiful, of course ;)! Anyway, I think I finally figured out what it is. I think it's because they all have such dark, thick eyebrows, even when they are tiny. I notice a lot of babies don't have hardly any eyebrows at all. Anyway, it just came to me one day...but, I think that's it?!?
I must admit, even after 7 months of getting used to being a mommy of four, my brain still hasn't returned to "normal" (whatever that is). But, life is good, and we are blessed. Blake is happy and healthy (he just got over a seriously tough ear infection..thank GOD that's over with!) and he LOVES baby food (mainly blueberry yogurt, squash, and pears) and the baby biter biscuits. He's not really big on the "green" baby foods. Boo. But, oh well. He is still on Similac Sensitive and takes quite a bit throughout the day. He is close to 19 pounds. I can't believe he's going to need a "big boy" convertible car seat in just a about a pound. No more infant carrier. He babbles SO much, and drools still. He ADORES all three of his siblings, and our family dog, Kiki. Only a couple weeks ago he started "reaching" for us when we go to hold him...melts my heart when he reaches for me. Here in Texas, Summer is fast approaching, and I don't think it will be long before we take him for his first swim. He LOVES taking a bath, so I'm hoping he loves swimming as well. We got a new baby swing for him to attach to the big kids swing set in our yard, which he loves, of course. All of our babies have been movers. I'm also curious to see if he will follow suit of all his siblings, and be a climber. EEk. I kinda hope not! So, my baby boy is growing, growing, growing...and we are just blessed, blessed, blessed! Love to all...

Can't think of a good title here...

Every time Lifehouse's song, Broken, comes on...the lyrics "Damaged at best" stick out to me. Every. Time. Every time I hear those 3 words, my eyes tear up. Unless I'm too busy yelling at my kids to hush up, that is.
I think it's because that's how I feel about myself. Not in a down, depressing way. But, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I improve, I am still damaged. I'm still not good enough. On my own, I just fail. I am damaged at best, for sure. But, The Lord fills me, and makes up for my iniquities. My short-comings? They show up in droves. My failures? Overwhelm me on many days. At the end of the day, especially a bad day, it's nice to lay down in my comfy, cozy bed (thank you for that, Lord) and give it all to Him. I know He has me covered. I just love that song because it's such a precious reminder. If you haven't heard it before, please look it up and listen.

The Lord even covers me when I want to loose it with my kids, which brings me to the photos I'm sharing ;) yesterday, I went to get some Spring pictures with, dare I say it, ALL FOUR KIDS. What a workout. My Dad took the pictures and they turned out really cute. No editing has been done yet, these are in the rough, but I ADORE them as is. I'm doing something with the pictures of all four kids together, but I wanted to share a few of Blake, who is almost 7 months now.