sew girl, sew...

seriously,
i HATED home economics back in high school...
hated it!

then all of a sudden some light bulb went off in my head, and now i find myself sewing on a weekly (sometimes more) basis.
always on the search for new patterns, fabrics, and blogs!

yes, sewing is my newest rainy day full addiction!

anyway,
here is what i have been working on as of last night.
and i absolutely LOVE how it turned out!

alivia ballerina....

today was a sit in day at alivia's ballet class...
and well, it was just so darn cute i have to share...









i can't wait for the fall classes to start!
now, onto levi karate!

off to school! well, almost...

even from before the time levi was a thought it had always been in my mind that any children brian and i would have would naturally be in a christian school. it was always just kinda a given. perhaps because brian and i are both the product of private schools, or perhaps it's the scary thought of throwing our precious gifts into the world and worldly ways at such a young age that freaked me out. either way, it was just something i thought i knew, would be.

it wasn't until last year when i first started looking into private schools that my mind began to wander allowing me to look into the direction of what the public school system offers. although christian school still seemed like the "better" option to me the reality of thinking about three kids in private schools and the tuitions that go along with it seemed rather unrealistic.

however,
after much discussion between brian and i we both felt that god was laying on our hearts to take the leap of faith (which looking into the future financially, is a huge leap for us) and pursue the path of a christian based education. our hindsight view of our parents and all they sacrificed to give us the gift of a godly, private school education was thankfulness. and we want to do the same for our children.

so, as of 1:30 this afternoon, after our nerve racking interview we have officially started the journey of real school tuition.

levi is all set to enter K4 on august 24th at tabernacle christian school!
i can hardly believe by baby is about to go to school.
8:00am - 3:00pm, monday- friday.

ah! and what is even crazier is that i am about to go uniform shopping!

our children are the greatest gifts god has given to us. our prayer is that one day, all three, free willingly chase after jesus.
we don't want them somewhere where they can't bring up gods name. we want them to be able to speak openly about jesus and all that he has done to bless their lives.

as we creep on through the years i know that god is bigger then any problem that comes our way. i know that my trust is in him to bless us with the means to keep them there. although there will be sacrifices made to do so. i know in the end we will reap the rewards of it.

car tunes...

these song selections have been ours for some time now. and i have been meaning to blog down our favorite music of the time for about just as long. and tonight when i looked back and saw levi with his eyes closed, head bobbing to his grove it reminded me to do so....

alivias favorite song...
she refers to this as "my jesus girl song"

bethany dillon
~everyone to know.

levis jam...
toby mac (yes, i must admit it is weird to see my son bouncing about to the same guy i used to bounce out to)
~ made to love.

mommys pick of the month...
keri jobe
~revelation song.

i have all three of these songs on a cd i burned.
and we listen to them over and over and over and over.

i guess we just love music around here!

our get away that didn't change life...

back when kyle had his birthday party at the condo brian and i got the great idea to have a little mini get away with the kids. we thought it would be great fun to take them and stay at the condo for a week or so.

cause lets face it...
i hate sand, but more then that i hate sand in my car.
staying at the condo would solve at least half of this problem.

we had a week filled!

swimming, beaching, fishing and eating absolute junk!
the kids enjoyed late nights filled with ice cream and freeze pops.

it was very cute to see all three sleeping in one room together.
bringing back good memories of my younger years when i shared that very same room with my brothers.



both of the kids got used to fishing and touching the fish when they reeled them up. not so surprisingly, it has quickly become levis favorite hobby. he already knows how to brag with exaggeration with his catches. although he is still a little skeptical at touching the shrimp that go on the hook.
but not alivia....
she reaches her hand right down into that bucket and practically pulls those suckers right up....
laughing and giggling all the while saying "i touched it".





kyle and kathleen came out a couple nights and we all had fun swimming and fishing. glad to have them in our lives...
so glad they are jumping onboard the parent bandwagon.



and although brian did have to work a most of the days. we managed to get quite a bit of rest and relaxation. a fun family adventure filled with lot of memories and good laughs. and i actually have a bit of a tan going on here...
first time in three summers!

almost can't wait till we go back and stay there again.

attention, attention...

we have a new swimmer in the family...

yes, yes it's true after three short lessons with miss ashley and one fun time swim with aunt kathleen levi is an official fishy!

he's jumping right in, swimming this way and that way. taking breaths and going back in. he's diving for deep sea toys. laughing and having an absolute blast the whole time he is in the water. hard to believe that just three short weeks ago this the boy swimming around with no floaties was the same boy who feared for his dear life at the thought of even sticking his mouth in the water!

my oh my,
what a quick, sharp learning, handsome squirt i have on my hands.

p.s...
may i not forget to mention the fact that i finally got alivia away from the steps as well,
even if it is only with her hot pink tube...
it's a start!

a whole lotta this and a whole lotta that...

buckle yourself down grab a cup of coffee cause your going to be here a while!

i have so much to tell in fact that i'm sitting here not fully knowing where to begin.
and i think i will divide all these thought/life experiences into several more compatible blog segments.

so, here we go...


************************nataley faye is ONE!*************************

yes, the baby of our family is technically no longer a baby but has entered toddler hood. even though she still is not toddling!
oh she has taken steps by herself, but still finds it much easier and quicker to crawl where she wants to be.
she took her first steps 3 nights before her first birthday (so july 12) but has been a little hard pressed to take anymore by herself.

you know i still remember the night i found out i was pregnant with nataley. i honestly didn't even think it was possible that i could be pregnant. but yet there it was in my hands...
a stick with two little pink lines that would once again change our lives in such a massive way.

my heart leaped for joy when i cheated and snuck in an ultrasound after agreeing with brian that we would be surprised at the birth to find out if she would be a boy or girl. god once again blessed me with exactly what my hearts desire was.

this year has been filled with many ups and downs. my brain had its challenges as it learned to figure out how to deal with three small children with only two small hands. we had our good days, we had our bad days....
yet every second has never been overlooked or taken for granted. we are blessed. we know that.

nataley,
you are my completed joy. my baby filled with patience and smiles from the second you arrived. attached to mommy. following me around the house. my blueberry eyed girl, my laundry destroyer, my best sleeper, my only thumb sucker. may god have his hand over you all your life. i pray you learn to love and follow his will for you. no words could ever come close to express the delight my heart holds in being your mommy. you are my absolute blessing.

no surprise,
nataley faye did a great job on her cake. i must admit i think she ate the most of hers out of all three of the kids on their first birthdays...
then again, she has always been all business when it comes to food.

random quotes from levi...

i totally plan on catching up on my blogging when i'm back home from staying at the key.
so many fun things going on there.

to give you just a taste,
here is a random levi quote.

last night they were watching TV in bed (all three in the room).
levi came out...

levi: something is wrong with the TV mom.

mommy: (looking at the screen, having no clue what they did to it)

levi: SOMEONE came right up and pushed this button. (pointing to a tiny button on the remote)

mommy: (now knowing how to fix it) well, who pushed it?

levi: i'm not sure who did it. SOMEONE just came in pushed it and left, i didn't get a good look who it was.

apparently, strangers come into there room there, play with TV buttons, and leave before they can take the heat for it!

all about alivia (well, mostly)...

i seriously can't even believe that i am taking time to sit here and blog right now, i have so much else i need to be doing...
i'm such a procrastinator, sigh...

but, i have so much that i need to quickly catch up on. mostly about sweet alivia.

you see, yesterday was a big day for her in many ways.
the morning started out about as cute as you can possibly imagine.

her first day at ballet. and can i just say that watching seven tiny, pretty little girls twirl around in pink leotards is just about the cutest thing you could ever see...
and when one of those sweet girly girls is your very own, well...
that can just about bring tears to your eyes.

i debated for a while to do ballet or gymnastics with her (i know she is young and has plenty of time to try out both). i really wanted for her to do gymnastics. after all that was always my childhood dream, and a quick look at alivia she just looks built for gymnastics. however, twirling around in pretty dress ups is her most favorite thing. and seeing as how i am no mother to twist my child's arm into my direction... ballet won.

and i am so very glad it did. alivia beamed with delight as she danced around following every instruction the teacher gave her, best to her ability.


later that night alyson and i took the kids and headed to my parents condo. brian and i plan on staying there for the next week and a half for a mini get away.

typical of my life i wait till the last minute to do everything...
i wanted to start getting things ready there so that we could sleep there and my house would stay clean for nataleys birthday party.

right after dinner, alyson and i were putting things away. there is a glass coffee table in the family room. we usually put if off to the side when we stay there but i hadn't done it yet. alivia went to climb up on it, alyson told her to get down. and christopher was trying to help her off of it when it crashed and shattered down with her in the middle of it!

all i can say is thank god alyson was there. cause i freaked out! we got her all cleaned off, and i am still shocked that all she had was a few cuts on her one leg and one on her hand. we sat debating if she should go in and get it looked at. and me being me felt it was better to be safe then sorry....
but, i headed to the restaurant to get brians opinion first. he took one look and said... yep! so to the er we went.

she did end up with three stitches and there was still one piece of glass in the cut, so i am glad i took her in. she did pretty well during the stitching, a little whiney but no screaming.

i always knew alivia would be the one to need an er trip first! i knew the "no fear" attitude would get her into trouble at some point of her life.

anyway...
we... i survived our first "trama" er trip!

sigh, now...
onto sewing the finishing touches to the girls dresses for nats party!



oh yea!
i said all about alivia mostly...

levi and alivia had their check ups this morning...

and as dr. southerland was checking out levis personal parts...
levi decided to tell his dr. about the game he likes to play on the wii which happens to be set up in my bedroom, which he happens to refer to as "mommys game"...

so this is what came out of his mouth as the dr. was pulling down his undies...
"i like to play mommys game in her bed"....

my face got a little red with that one. my son and his perfect timing!

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

by ruth hulburt hamilton


i've always loved this poem. i thought it proper to post today because it's exactly how i have felt the last few weeks. i'm such a person of order. laundry always done, house almost always neat and tidy.
but the last few days i have put off almost every daily chore, rather i have spent time taking in my children..
and loving every second of it.


on monday ...

brian and i took the kids on a trip down to the florida aquarium. i wasn't sure what to expect. i have learned that florida things never compare much to things from when i was growing up in ohio. but i must say i was pleasantly surprised and it ended up being almost an all day trip. levi is definitely expanding his knowledge of fish. brian eyes beamed as he watched his little boy point out a good handful of fish and shout out their names correctly
(i give this educational credit to animal crossings!).


we had dinner out, stopped at cold stone and started to make our way home when we came across an ikea!
i had to go in and see what all the fuss was about. the store was HUGE! but i must say i wasn't very impressed. most of the styles were a little to contemporary for my liking and it kinda looked cheap to me too....
sorry if you are an ikea fan!
but anyway, now i know.

on tuesday...

the weather was finally good enough for the kids to get their first swim lesson.
they have been talking about them with great anticipation, but as the stranger (ashley) made her way up the driveway they both got a little freaked out. i don't think they realized what a swim lesson would entail.

i made levi go first thinking to get the harder one out of the way.
little did i know, yea right!

levi did great, took right on, listened to every word miss ashley told him. by the end he was so impressed with himself for being able to get into the water without his floaties. so i think it is safe to say i will have at least one full swimmer by the end of summer.

alivia on the other hand (yes, my daughter that knows no fear) met her arch enemy...
the water.

this girl screamed and cried the entire lesson!
she listened and did everything ashely told her to do...
but she did it thought a beat red, teary eyed, screaming manor.

"mommy, i'm done... i'm done, i need out, out...." the only words she muttered the whole 30 min.
however, two seconds after ashely left the house i asked her if she wanted to do swim lessons again (not that i would be giving her an option, she could scream all summer long about them for all i care) but she looked up with a smile and said...
"yes"

sweet, sweet alivia!

we decided to head over to the beach to cheer my sister donna on for her 4 mile run in the evening. and on the way there...
i got a speeding ticket!
my first one ever!
surprisingly, i didn't cry. i always thought i would, but when the time came i felt nothing.
in fact, i laughed as the lady was writing it up when levi asked me if we were going to get arrested...
i was only going 6 miles over the limit... she "clocked me doing 46 in a 40"...
what can i say...
i'm a law breaker.



anyway,
here it is wednesday night...
and laundry isn't done, my floors haven't been mopped in days.
and for some reason, i still don't care.

i'm taking in these summer days with my kids.
playing, laughing, adventuring...


cause i know, my babies won't keep.

happy 4th...

for some reason this year the thought of freedom has hit me a little harder then years past.
proud to be part of the land of the free i guess.

so thankful for the lives spent protecting my rights, the rights to let me worship my god freely.


with that being said....
we spent the fourth pretty much the same way we have the last three years.

it is my dads birthday so we spent the whole afternoon with my large family swimming and splashing around.
dinner at mom and dads, and then cake.






levi discovered that he HATES fireworks. he has always been a little shaky around them, but this is the first year he understands that his fear is great, and he wants nothing to do with them. he spent the first 15 minutes at yoders parking lot screaming in daddy's car that he wanted to go home. it wasn't until nataley started freaking out in a terrified scream that i gave in and took those two home.

not brave alivia though. she stayed with her daddy and enjoyed every second of the holiday celebration. and felt the need to brag when they got home about how she wasn't scared and loves them.
(once again signs of my typical children... fearful levi, fearless alivia).

fun freedom day!

on a quick side note...
my brother kyle and his wife kathleen just announced that they are going to have a baby!
which makes me so very excited for them! once i get past the odd thought of kyle being a daddy! ;)
a new little cousin for the kids to play with...
and a baby fix without the responsibility for me! :)
congrats guys!
can't wait!

between the hours of 5 and 8 pm...

a short list of the activities that transpired in my home last night.
(in no particular order)

~ the cat pooped on my bed because (someone) shut the door to her litter box.

~ a whole glass of apple juice spilled all over my freshly washed and folded clothes that were laying on the bedroom floor waiting to be put away.

~ i was projectile vomited on by my youngest child. all over my face, all over my hair.

~ levi and alivia went to bring the dog in and came back several moments later sopping wet, covered in dirt from "runnin out in the rain".

~the dog ripped open the trash and spread it all over the kitchen floor.


all in a days work!

how was your evening last night?