Wow...so I think my blog is a reflection of my life with 2 kids. I agree with all of those mommies who told me that there is A BIGGGG difference between 1 kid and 2...yes there is!!! I did want to take some time to update on our summer and post some pics of the kiddos! We went to Panama City Beach, FL last week. It was a WONDERFUL trip and the girls did almost perfect. We enjoyed time with grandparents and great grandparents and the beach was BEAUTIFUL!! We are taking Kate to Schlitterbahn this weekend with Aunt Kristi, Uncle Jerrod and Cohen. Kate says that Cohen is her "best friend" and they are like 2 peas in a pod. It should be a fun day! Josh starts law school in just 3 weeks and I am hoping the Lord will just provide for our already CRAZY lives during the next 3 years. We've enjoyed his last 4 months at home between being employed and starting school and we are all very spoiled by daddy being around so much. It will be a big change for us, but no doubt where God has us! Elle is 6 months old today and is sitting up (some) and beginning to almost roll over. She is so precious and it just the best baby we could have ever asked for. Kate loves being a big sister still and is turning into such a girly girl. She LOVES dress up and shoes and beads. She talks constantly about nothing but we love all the funny things she says.

Ok...pictures later...they aren't loading because they are too big and I have to resize, resave and reupload...no time for that now!

Giving Back...

Our church, Lakepointe, here in Rockwall is celebrating it's 30th anniversary this weekend. Its crazy that a church that started out with only 8 families has grown into thousands and thousands of people. They have organized several mission projects for the church members to get involved in throughout the weekend in celebration of the big event. Our ABF (sunday school class) participated in a food drive. The goal is to get 30,000lbs. of food together to donate to the local food pantry. We went door to door and asked people to donate a few items. It was a hot morning, but very productive. We tried to be intentional about explaining to Kate that not everyone has food at home and we have to help others and share with people who need food. I think she got it, because she got really excited each time someone would hand us a few cans. We enjoyed the opportunity to teach Kate about helping others and serving God at the same time. Here are a few pictures...

Oh...the BIG GOOSE EGG on Kate's forhead was from when she fell out of the stroller (OUCH!!) and the red cart in the back of the truck was our contribution...YAY for the "Canton Cart!!"

New Hobby...

So I am thinking about taking up photography. I witness so many precious moments throughout the day with my girls and I would love to be able to capture it all on more than just a point and shoot type of camera. I am looking into purchasing a nicer digital camera. Anybody have any suggestions? Does anyone know where to look for advice on this topic or follow any photographers?

Let me know if you have any info. that might help me out!

My friend Whitnee called at 11pm last night asking for prayer for Baby Lydia. Whitnee is a good friend of mine from Seminary and she had her first baby last Thursday via c-section. They have determined that she was born with a virus in her spinal fluid that caused her to stop breathing just after she was born. Whitnee was recovering at Baylor and they moved her baby to Cooks NICU. She has been in a whirlwind of emotion as she is overcoming the surgery, emotionally overwhelmed by Lydia's condition, and having to be sepearated for a few days inbetween. She has since been released and able to interact with Lydia some. She was told yesterday that once this virus passes Lydia should be ok, but might have a learning delay. They were in high spirits until last night when the hospital called to tell them that she had taken a turn for the worse and was struggling to breathe again. They had taken off the respirator, but were forced to put her back on and were concerned about her brain swelling. They suggested that Whitnee and her husband come back to the hospital due to the brain swelling and the fear that she may not make it through the night if that continued. I have not heard from her today to see what has happened, but I wanted to ask you all to continue to be in prayer with Josh and me for Whitnee and John and Baby Lydia. I know God is mighty, please pray for Baby Lydia’s health to be restored if it is His will, and for the Mills family. Also, hold you sweet baby even closer tonight and praise the Lord for the miracle of a healthy child.

Little Mama...

Kate is totally into her baby sister. Sometimes she thinks she is Elle's mommy too. It's sweet when she runs to give her a passy when she's crying or pats her and says "it's ok baby, it's ok baby..." over and over until Elle stops crying. I've see some jealousy, but for the most part Kate really LOVES her sister and tells people that Elle is her baby when they ask. Here are some sweet sister pics...

When she's not being Elle's mommy, Kate likes to mommy her baby dolls as well. She tucks them into bed, puts them in time out, and I even caught her nursing one the other day. I had to grab my camera and start clicking as soon as I saw her sit down with my boppy and her baby...I knew where this was going. She is too fun!!!

My Productive Day...

Thoughts from today...

After a fun morning of snuggling on the couch to watch Mickey, reading about our ABC's, playing dollhouse, and too many trips to the potty to even count I put Kate down for her nap at noon. The house is so quiet. I love this time of the day because I finally get to hold Elle without interruption from big sister. As I lay with my sweet baby, my mind begins to race with all the "to-do's" of the day. This is the list that I usually try to get done while Kate is sleeping. My list looks like this:

A sink full of dishes
A dryer full of clothes
A backseat full of cheerios that Kate dumped out 3 days ago
Clothes to hang up piled on my dresser
Trash to collect and take out before trash day
Pictures to upload and blog about
Bills to pay
Kate's toy room looks like a tornado hit it

But the longer I lay there, the more I realize how sweet these moments of holding Elle are. I realize that my baby feels so good agains my chest and I just don't want to move and give up this sweet time together. The dishes, clothes, cheerios, trash, blogging, bills, and toys will all be there for years to come, but my little Elle won't always be in this phase. I decide that the "to-do's" can wait and spend the majority of Kate's nap just enjoying my Elle...and I feel like it was one of the most productive days I've had in a while!

Update

WOW...it's been almost a month since my last post! That just shows how busy and sleep deprived I've been over the past 5 weeks! Elle will officially be 6 weeks old on Thursday (in 2 days) and she is doing great. She is growing and growing which means eating and eating! She had been doing EXCELLENT at only waking up once during the night for the past 10 days or so and then last night we were up at 11pm, 1am, 3am and 5am. Tuesdays are my 12 hour work days so I'm feeling a little buzzed on coffee at the moment, and I hope this caffeine high doesn't crash anytime soon! So here are a few fun things going on in our lives:

1. Josh has been awarded a GREAT scholarship to SMU Law School (almost 2/3) and he will hear back about other scholarships in April!!

2. Kate has started to show some signs of jealousy with an occasional pinch or push on baby Elle. I can't say that I blame her...it would be hard to go from being the one and only to sharing that spot. I would like to pinch or push people sometimes too...isn't that normal to some degree?!?

3. I am back working 15 hours a week. One of my stay at home mom friends keeps Elle on Tuesdays and Kate is still doing MDO! I enjoy being back at work and using the other side of my brain! Mommy world is a blast, but it's nice to do something different during the week!

4. I am beginning to feel a little more "normal." It takes a few weeks after a c-section to "get back up on your feet" and I think I'm getting there!

5. I started Weight Watchers on Sat. There is a meeting at 7am right by my house and I figured since I'm already up, I might as well go! I have about 30lbs. to lose but I realize it took 9 months to gain and may not come off for 9 more months!

6. My good friend Joce (my spiritual mentor from when I was a teenager) came and stayed with us for 3 days to help with the girls! She is WONDERFUL x 10 and I loved having her here to help! Kate LOVES her and keeps asking when she's coming back! What a blessing!

7. Kate keeps asking to sit on the potty! This is exciting but takes a lot of work and committment that I'm not sure I'm up for at this point in my life. I feel like I need to follow her lead on this so on Monday she work "big girl undies" all morning and used the potty. We put a diaper on for her nap and today she is wearing panties over her diaper (which was a compromise to avoid a melt down this am). Needless to say, I think we are beginning to potty train. I tried to do this before Elle came, but of coarse, we waited until Mommy had a 5 week old and is exhausted to decide it was time. Figures!

So that's our latest! I will try to get pictures up of Kate and Elle soon! I just love having 2 girls and I keep looking at their latest pictures and thinking about how sweet this sister bond will be for them one day, but that's material for a whole different post!

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