bringing in the big guns

My mom came out to stay while Kit is out of town.

I am so thankful!

 The hardest time of the day is the evening and to have her here is such a blessing!

She makes things like dinner prep and cleanup and bath time so much more fun...

 And of course we had to have a game of cards before we went to bed.

It's too bad the kids don't like her very much...

Mom, We are so thankful that you are close and in our lives.  I love how much my kids know you and how much they love being with you...

You are an AMAZING mia!

lemonade

Our neighbors just left almost 50 lemons on our porch.

We said we would use them for lemonade and apparently my friend thought we wanted to open up a stand♥.

So what do you do when you do when you have that many lemons?

You make lemonade!

 We used this recipe from Paula Dean.

When I think about this time in our lives, one of the things that we are so thankful for is our neighbors.  We have shared life together, spent holidays together, enjoy block parties and spontaneous BBQs and we feel like there are a few that have become family to us.  We bring meals to one another, celebrate new babies, cry over the anniversaries of parents that have passed.  They love us and they love our kids and we actually live life together on a daily basis. When Kit is out of town,  we get invites for dinner or have offers to watch the kiddos so that I can get things done while Kit is gone.  It's hard with Kit gone but I NEVER feel alone when he is. 

So with all that said... 

We love our home, we love who comes in and out of it's doors and we are so BLESSED to have the people around us that we have.

Orlando, here he comes...

Kit is leaving today to speak at a conference in Orlando, FL.  He won't be back until Saturday and we all miss him so much already.  My mom is coming out tomorrow and I am trying to plan some fun stuff, but I just miss him so much when he is gone...

Here is what he will be up to this week.  Check it out HERE.

Kit Rae, be safe and hurry back!  We will be missing you, we love you, and we are always SO PROUD of you!

Ryder wants you to know that he can't wait to wrestle when you get home.

65th wedding anniversary

This last saturday, Kit was asked by his grandparents to officiate their wedding vow renewal for their 65th wedding anniversary.

It was a beautiful moment to witness.

They shared how they met and first impressions.

Priceless words...  

They are two of our favorite people and I love that they are in our lives.

We desire to have a marriage like theirs.  They put love on display to everyone around them and they have always had Christ in the center of their home.  They are such an inspiration to us.   We could not love them more and they could not be more precious to us!

 The kids:

 Cutting the cake:

 The Rae family:

These are the evenings and moments that you will never forget.

settling down and some thoughts on motherhood

After all the traveling and exciting things that we have been doing, it was a little weird how quiet everything has suddenly felt this past week.  (Don't misunderstand me, my kiddos were definitely the loudest part of the last few weeks, but you know what I mean, right?)

So I have been trying to get us back on our normal routine and schedules.  The tv has been off and we have been spending HOURS in the kids rooms playing with new toys and just being together.

  I'll sit on the floor and play, or I will sit in the chair and read, but it's so peaceful being together.  Ryder makes Eden laugh and he hands her toys.  Our rule is if he wants something that she has, he has to find another toy to "trade" with her.  So far, over the last few months this rule has worked for us.  I am so thankful for that!  I love just getting to witness these moments and be PRESENT for them.

In the evenings and during nap times, I have been having so much fun editing photos from our trips and activities and organizing them in albums.  I have carved out time to journal to both of the kids and fill out baby books.  It's really something that I enjoy doing.  I love seeing how the kids are changing and growing!  (I think that last year at this time, Ryder had about 15 words and really wasn't able to verbally communicate with me... I am so thankful for all of his growth!)

Kit and I look through the albums and have fun reminiscing over special moments that we have shared as a family.  When I think about this last year, there was so much of it that felt like I was in a fog.  I kept thinking "There are two of them and one of me!  How will I ever be able to do this?  How will I be able to nurture them and get them what they need?  I feel so strung out and tired ALL THE TIME!"

The beautiful thing is that those are the moments that I feel dependence on Christ and I am able to relinquish control.  A few moths ago a started coming out of that fog and I felt like I could really ENJOY being a mom of two little people.  I look at photos of the early days with Ryder and I feel this overwhelming sense of thankfulness and pride that I get to be his mom, and that we made it though those early day hurdles.  I look at photos of Ryder holding Eden or making her laugh and my heart swells again at what a  beautiful thing it is to have a sibling.  I am so thankful that they have each other!

I am so excited for all that 2013 holds and a goal that I have is continuing to invite Christ to be the center of this little life that we are living, and that I will continue to find balance in this thing called motherhood.
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!
(I can't wait to tell you about ours.  It involves Kit facilitating the wedding vow renewal of two of our favorite people...  See you on Monday!)

creating: yarn pom-poms

Over the Christmas break, my sister-in-law Mallory showed me how to make yarn pom-poms.  I have been pinning projects on Pinterest with them and have been dying to figure out how to do it.  Here is the way that she showed me and it worked perfectly!

Thanks Mal!

I am planning to use them to either make pom-pom flowers or garlands.

Next month our baby girl turns one and we are having her birthday and dedication celebration together with a little party.  My mind has been spinning with all sorts of ideas and I can't wait to share all the little details and special moments with you!

Man, I love her face!  I can't believe she is almost one!  

It goes so fast...

a decade

While we were in Shaver Lake, we had our 10 year wedding anniversary on January 4.  Kit's parents watched the kids and we headed to breakfast in town.

 We had a quiet breakfast just talking... It was delightful!

 Then we had a carmel apple crepe to finish off the meal.  It was so good!

Then Kit gave me jar that had special notes from events from the past decade:

The best part about it was that it came with the promise of a trip later this year, just the two of us!

I would love to be finished with nursing and have Kit finished with the bulk of his speaking engagements.  Just getting to talk about a trip together and plan time alone was such a treat! 

When we got home we pulled out our wedding album and reminisced over the day and celebrated with a bottle of champagne and toasted with our wedding glasses.

Kit~

I absolutely adore you! Thank you for an amazing 10 years.  I love forward to many more decades together!  Thank you for sharing life with me♥.