It's a Golden Life

It is 66 degrees here in NWA and we are loving every minute! Malachi has short sleeves on with no coat! It feels SO nice. We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to the park! We were there for a record time of an hour and a half. It's so much fun now that Haly is big enough to play. She runs around, climbs on the jungle gym, slides down the slides and follows Chi everywhere! She learned something new today that made me so excited! She wanted to swing, so I put her on...and she pumps her legs back and forth! She actually has balance and doesn't fall backwards! It's amazing what they learn just from watching~ She has also learned to open doors! :( Here's some pics of our fun day! Haly Swinging! Happy Birthday to my Mother in Law, Leah. She is a beautiful lady. She loves Jesus with all her heart and it shows in everything she does. Malachi and Halynd are in love with her and enjoy spending time with her so much! It is such a blessing that Donovan's...

It's hard to believe that Halynd is 18 months old. She is still so little in my mind. Her body may be tiny, but her brain is growing! She is becoming so smart. Some stats about Hbug at 18 months: Wears 12-18 month clothes still Size 4 diaper-I am starting to think she's ready for potty training! I tried it last week and she told me whenever she was wet! After we did that for a day, she tries to take her diaper and pants off now when she's wet :) Size 4-5 shoe Has a handful of nicknames that she is often called: Halybug, Buggers, Hbug, Monkey, Haly B, HB. She STILL weighs 19.6 lbs. The girl eats like she's starving, but doesn't gain weight very fast! She's in the 6th percentile for weight right now! Still has 6 teeth on top and 4 on the bottom. Those teeth should be coming in any day now! Says anything you ask her to. She talks in sentences now. A couple weeks ago on a trip to Walmart, she was in her carseat and was whining because she wanted her slippers off. We...

I realized yesterday that when I was younger, I viewed my life as a circle. January-December was my life in full circle.Everything started over on January 1. Now that I am older, I see everything in a linear fashion. I've been reading "New Year's Resolutions" all day. This has made me think tremendously about what I'd like to set as goals to accomplish this next twelve months. I honestly think most important only goal is to stop having unrealistic expectations in life. There are numerous, uncountable areas of my life where I am living in the clouds. I am expecting way too much from everything and any situation. When this happens, it is very difficult to swipe aside those expectations that cloud my sight. When this happens, little lies knit themselves into my daily life, causing me to struggle from disappointment. I don't want to live this way. By dropping those expectations, I know I will leave room for whatever happens on a day to day basis. Lif...

Chi and Haly are getting so big. I love when Haly brings me a baby and wants me to play with her. I love that Chi often goes in his room and gets specific toys and makes up an entire scene with them. I love when Haly draws back from a hug and pokes my eyes, nose, mouth and ears-telling me what each of them is in her little voice. (I's, noose, mowt, ers). I love when Chi wraps his arms around my neck and gives me a "big kiss" without me even asking for it. I love that every time the door opens during the day, they both run yelling, "daddy!" So, the past couple of months have been trying. Doesn't it seem like every time you feel comfortable and have a groove, something throws you for a loop? I forget this happens often- far to easily. I have prayed about this much and come to the conclusion that nothing is ever going to just be. Our lives are constantly changing and evolving into what is from what it was. God doesn't want us to have a perfect life w...

My little guy is getting SO big. He has beautiful hands (Just like his daddy). He loves his "airplane hat" and will wear ONLY this particular hat in the cold. He loves to dig in the dirt, collect rocks and would run around outside in his Buzz Lightyear underwear in 30 degree weather-if I didn't stop him. He's very smart and loving. I love spending time with him. He has started to play independently. I can often stand outside his door without him knowing of my presence. He pretends all sorts of situations for Buzz Lightyear and Ironman to undergo. Just yesterday he rushed Ironman to the hospital because his arm fell off. He's starting to remember dreams and tell me about them. I love listening to his little voice. He brings such joy in my life.

While daddy was working on his Jeep this afternoon, Ms. Hbug and I took a walk around the neighborhood. I cannot believe she is already at the curious age where she wants to go everywhere and is so unaware that there are things that will hurt her. She is focused on looking at what's in the sky or across the street instead of what is directly in front of her. This reminds me of how God saves us. We are constantly focused on what is ahead of us. We look across the street & in the sky and are distracted so easily. We stumble over things & run through things. It's a good thing God can see what lies immediately in front of us. I'm sure he intervenes far more than we could ever imagine. I love this about God. He is constantly interacting with us in our lives. He doesn't just sit back in his easy chair with popcorn & some orange soda and watch us make mistakes. He is present. He is living in us and around us and through us. I love that I have this picture of God th...

It's that time of year again when I am searching through all my photos from what's gone on in the past year. I'm hoping to find a decent picture to use for a Christmas card! I've found some really awesome ideas on the shutterfly website. These are some of my favorites: Adorable Stationary Cards I love this one because it has room for multiple pictures ! Cute party invites I also found some good gift ideas. There are calendars and mugs and much more. What grandparent wouldn't love a calendar with all the grandkids filling up the months? Mugs and Calendars I love using shutterfly. They will even send cards to individual addresses if need be! We've used shutterfly for our engagement announcements, save the dates, past Christmas cards and birth announcements. There are always chances to earn free prints. They are already so cheap, too! The prints are always in great quality and very worth the money. It saves writing tons of holiday wishes in every card! Look out for...