Laughter

Oh my...I have to say I haven't received a lot of sleep this week.  And last night was no exception.  Abby had a melt down at bedtime which led her to decide to move to her old room to sleep instead of the room she shares with Hannah now...which made Hannah melt down because she was all alone in the room.

 After finally getting them somewhat settled and after many tears we fast forward to 2 a.m. where Hannah had a nightmare and woke up screaming MOM! down our long hallway...which woke Abby up from her room and led to the three of us standing in our dark hallway with major sleep in our eyes.  Which then led to all of us in my bed.  I "slept" sandwiched between two little ones, one tossing and turning and the other laying right on top of me giggling in her sleep.  The light came through the windows this morning and Abby was the first to wake up, rolling over, sticking her tiny face in my not quite awake face and saying simply: "Let's go have some toast Mama." hahahaha  Well...today I am thankful for the gift of laughter among extreme tiredness.

Beautiful Words

I needed some beautiful words today...words that would take me even momentarily from all the ugly words I've been hearing lately...there's just so much YUCK...Do you ever have those points where beyond being physically or mentally exhausted your actual soul feels tired?  I woke up today and my soul just feels, troubled, vexed, irritated, restless...and I found myself wishing I could take to the mountains solo for a couple days and just sit...in silence and surround myself with silence and beautiful words and just soak that all in and get rid of the noise and the BLAH...in some ways this is what my husband is off doing this weekend with his brother...but I'm talkin solo....no one but God to converse with, to be able to quiet myself and be still and just to not have to hear it!  Ahhh...this sounds so lovely! Well anyhow...in reading through a few things today I found some words that inspired a more peaceful soul and spoke to so much of the noise and BLAH I am speaking of... Proverbs 3 being one of these:

1. My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. 2. If you do this you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. 3. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. 4. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. 5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. 6. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take. 7. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. ...21. My child do not lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, 22.for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. 23. They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. 24. You can go to bed without fear, you will lie down and sleep soundly. 25. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, 26. For the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. 27. Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them 28. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say "Come back tomorrow and then I'll help you." 29. Don't plot harm against your neighbor, for those who love nearby trust you. 30. Don't pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm...35. The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame.
And along with this these words offered as a prayer by E.B. Pusey:

  O Lord, prepare my heart, I beseech you, to reverence you, to adore you, to love you; to hate, for love of you, all my sins and imperfections, short-comings, whatever in me displeases you; and to love all which you love, and whom you love. Give me Lord, fervour of love, shame for my unthankfulness, sorrow for my sins, longing for your grace, and to be wholly united with you.  Let my very coldness call for the glow of your love; let my emptiness and dryness, like a barren and thirsty land, thirst for you, call on you to come into my soul, who refreshes those who are weary.  Let my heart ache to you and for you, who stills the aching of the heart.  Let my mute longings praise you, crave you, who satisfies the empty soul that waits on you.

And then finally these words from Jesus Calling, (by Sarah Young) a daily devotional I am really loving!:
Rest in my presence when you need refreshment. Resting is not necessarily idleness, as people often perceive it. When you relax in My company you are demonstrating trust in Me. Trust is a rich word, laden with meaning and direction for your life.  I want you to lean on Me for support. ....
Many people turn away from Me when they are exhausted. They associate Me with duty and diligence, so they try to hide from My Presence when they need a break from work....As I spoke through my prophet Isaiah: " In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength."

Confidence

Confidence is feelin awesome about yourself...in a zigzaggy dress, pink knee socks and a headband hippie style...and rockin it like no one's business. ♥

She was dancing AND posing. :)

Some Days...

I just realized how awesome I must have looked, outside with my safety goggles on, 6 months pregnant, in my maxi dress, wielding a leaf blower...and then even more so as I encountered a thick spiderweb and did a major freakout whislt still holding said blower....

CUTENESS!

This picture (thanks to my mother in law Sonia!!) makes me smile. It's one of my faves right now. :)

And then there's this one.  :)  hehe

Little Things

How to stay mostly dry whilst running through the sprinkler...rain gear.

*I had a baby check appointment the other day and when I got back Abby greeted me at the door saying: "Me see the baby!? Can I hold him now!?"  She's super excited to hold a baby. :) 

*Hannah and Adam had a conversation about animals...and how we use some for meat...and how some are raised on farms and are meant specifically to be eaten...after much discussion surrounding this she mentions, "What if a person grows up and is raised on a farm?  Does that mean they are meant to be eaten too?" ...which then led us into discussions of cannibalism! :)

*Abby had her first dance class today...she dances every where...she talks about dancing, she sings about dancing she requests music just so she can dance many times a day...  She talks about ballet...she talks about tap shoes...she's watched Hannah dance now for awhile and tried countless times to join in Hannah's ballet class...and today, she got into the class and turned around running from the room crying.  We'll get there.  :)  As we sat in the classroom watching the other kiddos Abby kept saying, "I just need a minute."

Give Peas a Chance...

We grew peas and the girls are loving them.  We have yet to cook any because they've either been eaten al fresco before making it inside or they've been shelled, put into a bowl and then eaten as a form of popcorn. :)  We juuuust need to teach the girls a little more about how to properly take the peas off the bush...every time I got outside after stringing the peas back up they look like they are trying to evacuate the garden because some little hands have yanked on the pods so hard they almost took the whole bush with them. :)  Not sure how many we'll get to actually cook or put in a salad...but they're making it into little bellies where it counts!

25 weeks

It was requested by a friend or two that I put up a new pregnancy picture...so thanks to Hannah here's the best one we get. :)  25 weeks and counting...my guess is little man Hermanstorfer will be here by last week of September.

Lil Conversations

Yesterday Hannah came in to the room flashing a diamond ring on her ring finger, (Fake of course) and announcing she'd gotten married.  When I asked her if she married a prince, she replied "Nope." I asked if she married a doctor, "Nooo! No doctor she said.  That's going to be me remember?" (She's been saying for almost 2 years now that she's going to be an animal doctor...I totally see this by the way.) So I asked if she married a president, "No!" She says..."Just a regular working guy like daddy.  That's all I want to marry is a normal working guy like dad." :)

Then later at dinner....

Hannah was being kind of obnoxious and reaching across the table to get more apple slices before she'd finished the bites of her other food.  Adam asked her not to several times and she kept at it.  Finally he turned to her and told her if she didn't knock it off she was going to have a fork in her hand....there was a small pause where she looked down (at her own fork in her hand) and then said, "Uh, but don't I already have a fork in my hand?" Oh dear....  :)

The Trip

So by now you know we took a little family vacation to Kauai, Hawaii.  :)  I didn't put a bunch of info up on Facebook, because there was no point and I'm not always comfortable putting things up about times we'll be gone and away from our house.  But we did indeed go, and we had a lovely time.  The girls were so happy to see each other after a week apart and played until late Saturday night when we all crashed...only to get up about 4 am-ish and head to the airport.  They did so awesome traveling, really no problems.  They are such lovely little people and charmed everyone they met, even when they were sick and feeling less than peppy.  The girls, Hannah especially since she was well for most of the trip, really enjoyed being at the beach and in the water.  Since we were on Oregon time and Kauai is 3 hours behind, there were many mornings we were up before the sun and had the whole beach and the little cove we found, all to ourselves.  Hannah was out boogie boarding and splashing about for hours each day, and when we found a great pool for them to swim in that was the next obsession.  We ate tons of fruit, saw hundreds of beautiful flowers, plants and hills, chased chickens and roosters, played on the playground in our swimmy suits, took lots of walks, ate lots of great ice cream from Laperts (YUM!!) and had a great time hanging out together the six of us!  We are so very thankful for the blessing of getting to spend this time with Adam's parents and relax for a week.  Adam and I are so grateful for the relationship and friendships we have with these two, and the relationship they have with our girls. 

Happy 4th!

What a great day we had!  Adam and I actually got to sleep in (8:30!) Normally sleeping in is 6 or 6:30. :)  The weather was perfect and we all got outside and started tackling the crazy lawn and garden projects that became overgrown while we were gone.  We slow roasted pork for sandwiches on the grill, made homemade frozen yogurt (YUM!) and later my parents came down to hang out and share the day with us.  It was a good time of relaxing and just enjoying each other and the day. 

The Travel



Starbucks and chocolate muffins while waiting for our plane.

Well we are back...the fact that I had to debate about wearing pants for today this morning when selecting my clothing was rather disheartening, but here we are.  We made it back at about midnight last night to Gramma and Papa's house and we all crashed.  I think we all slept til almost 10 this morning!  A first for sure.  :)  THANK YOU to all those who were praying for us during the trip and most especially for Abby.  She is feeling much better now, not fantastic but lots better.  The day before we left Hawaii Hannah started coming down with what Ab had and is feeling pretty miserable herself right now, but honestly I have the best kiddos.  They did so amazing on ALL flights to and back, and the ones back were more difficult because our layovers were longer and both were feeling pretty congested and miserable.  You honestly could not have asked for better mini-travelers.  So many people asked me before we left if I was worried about traveling with the girls and I truly wasn't...barring any unforseen circumstances. (ahem-getting sick) Seems like we are all coming down with this stuff and getting homes to our own beds will be lovely, but what a blessing to be able to have this trip as a family!  Adam and I haven't taken any real sort of vacation since our honeymoon nearly 9 years ago and with the girls nothing major like this.  They did so fantastic, and what an awesome time we had getting to spend the week with two of our most favorite people!  You really have to maintain a good sense of humor while traveling...because between the sickness slowly dropping us like flies and me breaking my toe on the way out the door to the airport (yes. seriously) you just have to laugh.  We are all safe and healthy and that's all I asked for. :)  Again, all the prayers were so appreciated because Ab gave us quite a scare, but I have to say I was very impressed with the care and attentiveness of both the ER staff on Kauai and the pediatrics office we visited a few days later!  Very impressed. 

Such a sweetheart...and feelin much better.

Do we look tired?