Toothbrushes and Drawings

We're back to the routine this morning: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, feed the baby, pack lunches, comb hair, brush teeth and make the beds all before 9:00! After I dropped the girls off at school today, I headed by the drugstore to pick up a few things. I needed diapers for Lucas and new toothbrushes for the girls since their brother decided to pee all over their old ones yesterday (see note at the end of the post for an explanation as to how this happened....stay tuned). I looked around to see what toothbrushes were on sale, then grabbed two that looked good. I glanced down and saw that the ones I had picked out were level 3 brushes which the package stated were for 5-7 yr. olds. I started to put them back thinking that sounded too old for my girls. But then, wait! I remembered that they will be five years old a mere 17 days from now! And then it hit me-- my sweet girls will be FIVE! They will start kindergarten next year! They are growing up so fast. It reminded me to slow down and cherish every day with them. So in the end, I did end up buying the level 3 toothbrushes for my nearly five year old girls. It's funny how we get reminded of big truths through the simple things of life.

And speaking of my nearly five year old girls, I have seen a lot of growth in their drawings lately.Both of them love to draw, so here is the latest sample of each girls' artwork.

In this picture, Leah drew the sun, earth and moon. The pink lines represent a shooting star.

This is Hannah's most recent family portrait. I'm on the far left holding baby Lucas, followed by Leah, Hannah and Daddy. We're sitting on the couch and I love that we're all so happy. =)

** Oh and you are probably wondering how Lucas peed all over the girls' toothbrushes, right? I know you're dying to find out, so I'll not keep you waiting. Last night I was about to give Lucas a bath. Before I put him in the tub, however, I thought I'd let my buck naked boy look at himself in the mirror. He's just recently started laughing when he sees his reflection. So I held him up on the bathroom counter, and he smiled and kicked his feet and then promptly shot a stream of urine all over the toothbrush holder (and mirror) in front of him. And that's the story of how Lucas peed all over his sisters' toothbrushes. The End.

The Last Few Days....

have been filled will lots of food and family and friends. Mike's parents flew in on Wednesday and couldn't wait to come see the girls and Mr. Lucas. He has changed so much since he was born. They loved how much more he interacted with them with lots of coos and smiles and giggles. He is such a cuddly little guy. And Hannah and Leah always get excited to see their Gram and DooDad. We had 70 degree weather most of the holiday, so we've spent a lot of time outside riding bikes and chasing DooDad around.

Hannah and Leah playing outside on Thanksgiving Day

Lucas and my lovely aunt Mary

DooDad and my sleepy little guy
Me and my sweet husband. FYI: We did not plan our matching shirts. =)

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Stuff on My Mind

Lucas and I went to visit the girls at school today for a Thanksgiving Feast.
Little Pilgrim girl, Leah, with her friend Mackenzie
Indian princess Hannah

Wow! It is almost Thanksgiving! I cannot believe it. I'm having one of those nights where my brain is bouncing around from thought to thought, so I'll let you in on some of the things going on in my head at the moment.

1. One year ago today, I found out I was pregnant. I had been out running around buying a few last minute groceries for the upcoming holiday when I made the snap decision to buy a pregnancy test. I was just one day late, but just had a feeling that maybe, just maybe I was pregnant. So I grabbed a cheap pregnancy test along with my groceries and headed home. After everything was put away, I took the test and nearly fainted when I saw the positive sign. I felt giddy and shocked and excited all at once. I wish I had come up with a more exciting way to tell Mike, but I couldn't wait, so I called him at work and told him the good news. I don't think either of us stopped smiling for days.

2. Leah has her first real crush. She talks constantly about a boy at school named Colin. She told me, "Mom, I found the perfect boy to marry." What?! She's only 4! Ok, so she'll be 5 in a few weeks, but still-- she's so young! In the mornings before school when she's getting ready, she'll say, "Colin will think I look pretty today." And the other night the girls were at the dining room table drawing pictures when Leah proudly declared that she had drawn a map for Colin so he could find our house! When did you have your first crush?

3. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. We are celebrating with my mom's side of the family. Plus, my in-laws are flying in from New York tomorrow, so they will be there too! I think there will be about thirty people at our meal Thursday afternoon. I have a very large extended family which is fun since I am an only child. My mom is the second oldest of six children, so there are lots of cousins and now second cousins. Lucas is currently the youngest of them all, so he'll get lots of attention I'm sure.

4. Mike and I hung out at a place called Convergence the other night. It's located in The Plaza district which is undergoing a wonderful revitalization. Check it out!

5. I started listening to Christmas music this week and I can't wait to get our tree, hang up lights, and fully dive into the holiday spirit. We get to add another stocking to the mantle this year too!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family, good food and lots of laughter. =)

Little Brock

I promise I have some great blog posts up and coming, but before I get to those, I wanted to share a prayer request with you all. 12 month old Brock Hart is the son of my friend Jason and his wife Vanessa. At the beginning of October he was diagnosed with leukemia. Since then, he has also developed a severe mold infection inside his tiny body. Because of this latest development, the doctors have put a hold on all chemo until the fungal infection is cured. This week has been very hard, as Brock's prognosis is not good. Please join me in praying for this sweet little boy, as well as his parents, his three year old sister Jaycie, and all the doctors taking care of him.

This family has been so heavy on my heart this week. Each time I look at my own children, I say a prayer of thanks for their health and for the opportunity to be their mom.

You can see/read Brock's story here:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/brockhart

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!

Dirty Dishes??

Hello! I'm still here. It has been a very busy week and my brain is feeling like mush. Do you ever have those weeks? As evidence of my mental state let me share the following story. Yesterday afternoon I started unloading the dishwasher. I had a little bit of time while Lucas was sleeping and the girls were playing in their room. When I was about halfway through unloading, a thought crossed my mind, "Are these clean or dirty?" I thought for a few minutes and honestly-- I couldn't remember. I examined the dishes left in the dishwasher and they looked pretty clean, but I rinse them off fairly well anyway, so that didn't help. The area where you put the dishwasher soap was empty, which could mean the dishes had been cleaned, or that I had never put the soap in to begin with. After a few minutes of mental debate, I decided that yes, I had run the dishwasher and the dishes were in fact clean. I think. I was so tired that I was willing to run the risk.

That's the kind of week I'm having. But thankfully we don't have much going on this weekend. It's supposed to storm and we can huddle up and rest. Ahhh....

And since I don't have a specific picture to go with this blog post, I will leave you with the image of a cute baby. Because every blog post should end with a cute baby picture, right? =)

He's sixteen weeks old today!

Grandma's Birthday

In the midst of all the Halloween activities, we celebrated my mom's b-day on October 30th. Last year we had a big surprise party for her 60th. This year, we had a more low-key event. Mom picked one of our favorite restaurants called Old Germany located in Choctaw, OK. It's a short drive, so we all loaded up in the car and headed east right as the sun was setting. One of the great things about Oklahoma is the amazing sunsets we have. That night was no exception.

The sky looked like something straight out of a painting. It was simply breathtaking. Even the girls stood still for a few seconds to admire the vibrant colors.

Old Germany serves (no surprise here) yummy, authentic German food. It's in an old house that has been around for decades. It has a very cozy, warm atmosphere. There's even live accordian music which is a bonus. Sidenote: I'm very amazed at people who can play the accordian. It looks like such a difficult instrument to master.

We had a lovely, laid back dinner then came back to our house to give my mom her presents. I couldn't even begin to express how thankful I am for my mom. Not only for being such a wonderful, caring, loving, mother to me, but also because she is such an amazing Grandma to my children. The girls love spending time with her, and I look forward to Lucas developing a special relationship with her as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! WE ALL LOVE YOU SO MUCH!