February Recap

February was a good month for our family. We celebrated Valentine's Day and our 11 year wedding anniversary, which makes the month extra special. Payton had several days off from school and I relish the extra time with her now while the boys are thankful for less car rides to school for drop off and pick up.

So much good stuff this month, let's get to it!

Craft Time

So much good stuff crafty wise around these parts. All 3 kids do not fall short on creativity. We have done specific projects, do what you want projects, valentines, and valentine boxes this year. It is the month of love, you know.

 

Riley made a cow in his free time. He has grown so much creatively and puts the most amazing pieces together. This was a valentine he gave to his sister.

 The heart above is from a class project Payton had to do. She was the leader of our whole household as we decorated this heart to share at school. 

 Payton made a unicorn valentine's day box for school with us.

 The Valentine's Day cards my kids made.

 The above and below pictures are painted by the kids after we gifted them for Valentine's Day. The top picture was the canvas Payton made and has hearts on it and it says: Family is better together. She thought of this all on her own. I love her sweet sweet heart.

The bottom picture starts with Jayden's work, then Riley's work, then Payton's. It's amazing the difference of ability by age, about 2 years between each.

Riley's robot we made together as part of his preschool.

Date Night 

Each year, we send Payton and her daddy to the annual father/daughter dance (see where I talked about this last year here). They have a blast and this year didn't disappoint either of them! I use this night to have a special date night with my boys. We do whatever they choose. They choose the same thing each year, dinner at the park and then playing at the playground. It also never disappoints. 

 She was so excited and wore her special Christmas gift we gave her!

 The boys picked their own outfits and both added ties to complete the look!

 Valentine's Day and Our Wedding Anniversary

We loop our anniversary with Valentine's day for the ease of life (and because the days aren't too far apart). We gave the kids Valentine hearts that tell them what we love the most of each of them and they also got a special heart drinking cup. They also received blank canvases (as shown painted in pictures above) that they could paint as they wanted. They made us cards. We had a homemade pizza night and watched Frozen II for the first time. It was a lot of fun. Home is where memories are made for us. And just where we belong.

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit

We love visitors! This time we decided to go to the museum in town and we all loved doing that! Then, Payton went with her grandparents and daddy to Pheasant's forever in town for their banquet night. Payton ended up winning a gun! I couldn't tell who was more excited, her, her dad, or her grandpa! They were just all so thrilled.

We are thankful for the time with them. Grandma spent a lot of time playing board games while they all drank tea. I imagine this picture being recreated in a few decades with these same personalities shining through. 

Random bits of our life

As I said above, we belong at home. So much life is lived here and my pictures provide proof of this. So... let's just share some total random bits of our story.

 Jayden loves the bath and loves his toys. Here he is seen lining toys up. This month we were stuck inside a lot and Jayden requested about 2 baths/day. Sometimes, I gave in. At the end of the month we were potty training and (if you've ever potty trained) you know that may or may not mean extra baths frequently.

 Payton received a special postcard from her teacher. She was so excited and it was just the kindest, sweetest note thanking Payton for being Payton.

 Since we were stuck inside, the boys have requested more tv and their new favorite place is in mommy and daddy's room. And, sometimes, I also say yes. Nothing better than cuddling into bed with these 2 and watching a quick show.

 A random photo I found taken by Riley. These kids may never know the depth of my love but sometimes, in photos, I can see it.

 The day the canvases were created.

 Playing with kinetic sand. Another great way to pass time when being stuck inside for long periods of time due to weather.

 We are still doing bead projects around here on occasion!

 We finally made it outside for an afternoon of fun!

 Baking with mommy! The boys spend a lot of time doing small baking projects with me while daddy is at work and sissy is at school.

 A beautiful photo my husband took after a busy Monday. When Payton came home from school all she wanted was to rest and watch a show. The boys needed that, too, as it had just been one of those days. All 3 kids piled up on me, clinging to me. I know what they felt like. Sometimes we just need our mommy, a good show, and some cuddle/quiet time.

As a mom, I soak this up any chance I get. The years go fast.

 Both above pictures of Riley dressing himself. He loves ties and looking handsome! But stays comfy with bottoms. I love him for all his beautiful, creative ideas. He also made a pencil umbrella (which he currently calls a rainbrella).

 The boy have been loving making homemade pretzels! And they are super easy and super tasty!

 Another day of getting outside! We didn't realize Jayden lost his shoe until after the pictures were taken. He stayed still and said cheese while I took the pictures and cried as soon as it was done! He's such a sweet boy!

 Payton got a new dress and it has chickens on it! I couldn't resist because she has loved our chickens since the moment they came into our lives! She was so excited.

My mom came for a visit and captured a few beautiful pictures that I treasure as much as I value having time with my mom. I needed that this month and am so thankful for her and all she brings to my life, along with giving me life.

Would you believe that there were so many more pictures I considered sharing? I am trying to find a stopping point though. There was just so much good stuff this month! 11 years of marriage and we find ourselves now having the fullest, happiest little life as we review it each month. We couldn't feel more blessed and more thankful to God for all we have been given. 

How was your February?

January 2020 in Review

Another month has flown right on by. I had about 5 posts I wanted to do this month and didn't get to, sooo... this month recap will be another long one. I know not many will sit through all of this but I do pray that one day at least one of my kids will take the time to look through my documentation of their life. Or maybe it will be me, in my old age, looking through these cherished memories and crying like a baby thinking hard about how fast time goes.

Your guess is as good at mine.

But, let's get on with this, shall we?

Let's start with this one. The one picture that makes me want to freeze time and my feelings:

Holding hands with my babies. This is where it's at. Life is so good in these moments.

I am so blessed that all 3 of my children will still hold my hand but the window of opportunity gets smaller and smaller as they are getting older. Life is too busy for them to stop and hold their mama's hand. So I'm thankful when I do get the chance. And I dread the day the hand holding stops all together.

But, back to this month. There was so much outside time, playing in the snow! The kids even built a snow cave and then turned it into a tunnel in the back yard.

Winters here can get cold and long but we love us some good outside time in any weather. We have been loving sledding and fort building but are starting to look forward to laying out in the sun in the middle of summer!

When we can't get outside, we are found inside crafting and creating and spending lots of time together.

Payton even created her own doll after learning about the past ways of living at school (and she's listened to all of the little house on the prairie books)

And the boys know how to throw a good tea party while Payton is at school!

We took a few trips this month. The first was to get some more answers on our sweet little Jayden. He had doctors appointments so we made a trip out of it and got away for a few days. Payton was so excited to get out of school and get a break from life.

 We went swimming and shopping at the mall and got some of our favorite restaurant foods. I marveled at how much my kids are maturing. But the spotlight was really on this guy:

We learned that he has a milk and peanut allergy and are now changing our diet to accommodate his needs.

I packed so much food that we ran out of quickly on this trip so I need to pack even more next time.

 While on our trip we let the kids pick out new outfits for their bears and doll:

I have started adjusting to our milk and peanut allergy and am labeling everything in our house our child can't have:

So far, the transition, which started out as very overwhelming, hasn't been so bad. We were mostly eating foods Jayden could have but had to swap out the milk products. It's just a learning curve!

Payton and I decided to leave town one weekend and go see my family. We hadn't been back in so long. It was a quick trip but so, so fun!

These are all pictures with my grandmother. I love her so much. It's hard to think about how each time I see her, this could be the last time I get to say goodbye and hug her. We helped her clean out a closet of hers on this trip as she starts to prepare for transitioning to an assisted living facility (at some point down the road). I wish I lived in my hometown. Our visits home are so bittersweet.

Payton also got an updated bedroom! She is totally loving not having the washer and dryer in her room any more and a fully functional room for herself.

The weather warmed up towards the end of the month and the kids were able to get out without all the winter gear and start to learn to climb trees.

Payton even got herself stuck the other day and Monte had to come save her! She went a little too high!

Some very big news at our house is that we sold one of our rental houses, which happens to be our first home we had together. We spent our last night before closing at this house as a family. Oh, if these walls could talk.

Another moment that has been bittersweet. When we lived in this house we had no idea where life would take us. I can't believe how much has changed and how far has come. Monte and I started at this house with our two puppies. We had to say goodbye to Wes (one of our beloved dogs) in December. I wish he could have said goodbye to this house with us.

One day, Payton came home from school asking to make stone soup, a recipe she got from the school librarian. We let her do just that! It was great!

I personally got so much 1 on 1 time with each of my kids and I am ever so thankful for that. Quality time is my love language and I have soaked up every second I could with each of my children.

 Both big kids got outings out and both wanted the same thing: a treat with a park stop.

We also spent quality time at the house with each child:

 I have also started running again as time allows. Riley has been joining me for these runs:

I see so much online about 4 year olds being challenging but I find the 4 year age to be so freaking great. Both of my big kids have been just so fun and loving at 4. I just love every second I get with sweet Riley and enjoy the fact that he wants as much time with me as he can get. 

As I type this, I have spent the day enjoying the boys who wanted to dress "handsome" today.

We played cars together and got some outside time. Payton came home and our day shifted a bit into the doll world.

Life is so good to me and I am so thankful for this little family God has blessed me with. I hope your January has gone as well as ours has!

Purging clothes. I didn't plan to say goodbye to this so soon...

With school on break over Christmas and the start of a new year, it seemed natural to start to sort, organize, and purge our house a bit. I asked my daughter if she would like to sort some of her old clothes to give away to one of her younger cousins and one of her younger friends. She obliged. So, we started to sort through the totes of clothes I had saved.

I watched as my child sorted an entire tote of clothes, separating them ALL into 2 different give away piles. She didn't even bat an eyelash. Then, we moved to the dress up clothes. She found costumes she decided no longer fit or were close to not fitting and put them into the give away piles.

She didn't even stop to tell the outfits goodbye (we typically say goodbye to our stuff and thank them for their time with us, as is recommended with the KonMari method). But she just tossed them into their piles and was done with them. Just like that. It was too easy. 

I have stared at these piles a ton. I keep opening the containers I sorted these clothes in to and resist the urge to pull them out. And then I did pull them out. I took a picture and then promptly returned them.

You see, so many of these outfits, especially these two, represent a bulk of my memories with my 2 to 5 year old daughter. Both of these outfits are actually closer to rags than they appear as they were worn CONSTANTLY. My daughter loved both of these outfits so much she has slept in them (the few times we let her), worn them outside, worn them all day, worn them to parties, twirled in them while watching their corresponding shows they match, had tea parties in them, had dance parties in them, and even attended a princess party in one. Am I ready to see this season come to an end?

No, absolutely not. Yet, the door slammed close on me in a minute.

But, really, the season ended when my daughter started school. The week before that we were playing in the dress up box and as soon as school started our life began a new season. One that was busier with less time at home. Less time for imagination within the four walls we reside. I suppose it isn't all bad. We love school, her teachers, and her new friends. We love learning and seeing how much our child has grown. 

But, I will always lovingly remember the time we spent with these 2 outfits. So much time just being together.

I have since thanked the clothes and they are on their way to their new house awaiting a new girl to play with them. I hope they are loved as much as they were here during the season we needed them.

I imagine this will not be the only season in life that I struggle to enter while my children jump right in, embracing their newness. Bare with me, children and husband, I need the extra time to let things go.

2019: The Year in Review

One of my favorite things to put together for my kids happens to be the most time consuming. Our annual year in review video is done! Its really the only time I post any videos. I take a lot of videos on my phone all year long and I sort through them for keepsakes.

The last few years this has been extremely time consuming with the computer not working (or losing) my work along the way. This year my husband and I tried to work with our phones first and created videos on there and then combined them.



2019. What a fun year with so many good moments and hard stuff. Some highlights:

- We celebrated 5 birthdays!
-We sent a child to kindergarten!
-Our very first tooth fairy visit (and more subsequent visits) happened this year.
-Our middle child can write his name and name the letters in his name. He rode the ferris wheel for the first time ever this year!
-Our youngest started walking at the beginning of the year and was running laps by the end
- Said our final goodbye on Earth to our sweet puppy Wes
- Lots of sickness. Our youngest has had so much respiratory issues but we are hopeful he will eventually outgrow being this sick
- We had flooding for the first (and hopefully only)time ever.
-We made it to the zoo not just once, but several times.

So many memories made this year and we are so looking forward to the memories 2020 will bring!