When it Rains, it Definitely POURS. . .

Things have been a little crazy lately. Yesterday, we had the cherry finish on the ice cream sundae. Our car, my baby, our ONLY car, decided to quit on us. My Ford Escape. Only 6 years old and 60,000 miles. The engine is about ready to blow. Something about a rod hitting a valve. Basically, when Michael took it into a friend of ours (who is a mechanic with much experience) to have the lovely clicking noise we were hearing when accelerating checked out, he told Michael to drive in the slow lane on the way home and to have the number to a tow truck handy.....grrrrr! Sometimes I feel like we can never get ahead. The mechanic says we will need a new engine. We all know how CHEAP those run. . .even a used one. What to do. . .what to do. . .thank goodness Michael has nice friends at work so willing to give him a ride. But, of course, that only gets us so far. Stress and being broke are not a great companions, but they seem to be a constant ones these days. Have faith, have faith, have faith. . .this is what I keep telling myself.

My Smiley Baby Boy

I waited as patiently as I could for 3 months for my little Sawyer to give me his first responsive smiles. . .

definitely worth the wait. Oh, the things we can take for granted. Now, I can't get enough of them and I am so grateful for his little grins.
I love my little guy to pieces and his smiles make my heart turn to butterflies.

First Day of Ballet. . .

Was last Wednesday, but I finally got a quick chance to blog it! The girls absolutely loved picking out their tutu leotards a couple days before their first class. Lily (shockingly) picked out a pretty BLUE tutu leo with sparkles on the tutu. She did, however, want a pink on at first, but the on she wanted did not fit. Alex picked out a pink one with a pretty pink tulle tutu on it. She kept saying "Pincess! Pincess!" The both could not stop twirling around in the dressing room. Alex threw a lovely fit when we had to take them off.

The first day of class, Lily was ecstatic! She could not wait to get dressed in her ballet clothes and put on her ballerina shoes. We took some fun photos out on our front lawn. It was hard getting them to pose because all they wanted to do was jump around and twirl in their tutus! Little girls are definitely so much fun!Love this photo of the girls. Lily cracks me up. Oh,
how I miss these whimsical childhood days!

Prima Ballerina Lilyana showing off her moves.

Ballerina Alexandria

Lilyana's awesome self invented ballet move.
(Giggle to self, more like the next karate kid! Hehehe)

Lilyana did so well during her first class. I chuckled to myself to see that every other little girl in her class was wearing a PINK leo, except for my little Lilyana. She is such the star, lol! Lily tried her best to do everything she was asked to do. She looked like she was having a great time. She was very disappointed that she was not able to do the splits, but I told her she just had to keep practicing. She is very determined to accomplish it someday. Alex did well and her attention span lasted most of the class, so I was very impressed with her. She also tried to do as the teacher instructed, which really surprised me. She is just so much of her own independent little person and she likes to do her own thing. It was so much fun watching them prance and parade around and do the ballet moves in their little child way. I am so glad that we decided to enroll them in ballet. I think this will be a fun and wonderful experience for all of us!

It's My Birthday

Ugh. . .only 3 years left until I hit the big 3-0. I know what you are saying, it's no big deal, but 30 is my scary age. I wish we could just count down from here. I know I am a baby. I might cry today.

My Precious Babies. . .

My, how you have all grown. I love being your Mommy. I only hope that I can do right by you and raise you the way Jesus would want me too. Being a mom isn't easy. Especially, when you do daycare. It is easy to get frustrated, overwhelmed, and irritated. I hope that during these times I can find the strength to cling to the moment and remember that you won't be little forever. I want to be a good mom and I know that many times I lose my cool and disappoint you, but I love you all undoubtedly with all my heart. You are everything to me and I am so honored to be your mother. I don't deserve you, so I only hope that I can do the best I can by you and give you everything you need and deserve from a mother. I know I need to try harder and work harder to be a better mother. I need to make more time to give you and worry less about how my home looks. I want to enjoy my children again and enjoy being home with you. I don't want to waste or miss a moment with you. Like the rays from the sun, I want to soak it all in. Every bit of it I want to enjoy. . .the good with the bad. . .I know it won't last forever and that is what I am afraid of; wasting this time with you and taking you guys for granted. I know I have already made so many mistakes as a mother, trying to raise good children. I have not always set the best example for you to follow. I want to change for you and be better for you. So, I say a little prayer in my heart that when I am tempted to become angry or withdrawn or distracted from what is REALLY important that reality will reach out and slap me in the face and I will be reminded that I have made an eternal commitment to be the best mother that I can be for you and that I need to be more patient and kind and loving. That I need to laugh instead of becoming angry, speak softly when I feel like screaming and give you a big hug when they are being just downright naughty. All too often I have found myself taking for granted those that I love most. It is time to stop and relax a little (okay a lot) and just enjoy the moment. I know that one of these days I will turn around and you will all be grown. There are no second chances. Please, Heavenly Father, help me to remember this . . . there are NO second chances. I love you my babies. I am sorry for the way I act and treat you sometimes. I promise to do my best to change what needs changing.

I love you, please never forget that,
Mom