different seasons in life

for those of you who know me, you know that i love things to be neat and everything in its own place. well, that is still true but i have also learned that there are different seasons in life where that is not as easily done or as important.  (paused to help a crying baby) 

this morning i was talking to my sister and she was telling me of a friend of ours that had given us both the sweetest heartfelt compliment.  our friend said that we inspire her.  how sweet is that!?  Me...I inspire someone?  Then i started thinking of all the other people who have given me so many wonderful compliments since the twins were born.  I am always getting, "Wow, you must be busy!" "How do you do it all?" (pause to help a different crying baby.) "You are awesome." (pause to help 1st crying baby again.) The truth is, I don't. I can't do it all. I tried and my family and I were miserable. I have learned to let things go a lot a bit and that is more than okay. (pause to help both crying babies)

well after talking with Joli, I looked around my home and saw what the Lord had so graciously given me blinders to.  There was is stuff everywhere.  I had an overwhelming feeling to invite everyone over to see that "I don't do it all".  I know that is not possible (mainly because I would then need to shower) so I decided to pick up my camera and show you all.  (pause to help a crying baby that is now on my lap)
 

(cute photo of the babies i keep getting up to get)

I hope these photos also show our girls that we played with them more than we dusted, more than i washed the floors or laundry. i hope they remember the fun we had playing in the playroom. Remember getting to jump on the beds or play in the sink of "woty".  Oh, that is my prayer for today.  I pray they know that we loved them more than a clean home. 

 

on this some note, i will say that i do believe in caring for your home and what is in it.  i feel that the Lord does want you to care and respect what you have been given or you should not have it...give it to someone who needs it more.  So, I am happy to say that 75% of the MESS in those pictures is cleaned up...but it was done with the help of miss gracelyn and during nap time.  (pause to go get the other crying baby) The other 25% can wait. It does not have to ALL be done.  (pause for crying baby...i guess they don't want me to do this) 

 
okay...where was I.  After all that crying, pooping, and vomit, I have no idea what else I wanted to say.  So, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
 
**photos are not edited....who has the time for that?!

stuff everywhere from this morning's photo shoot

the girls and my morning cups still in living room @ 11:00

playroom

this is how gracelyn faith gets on the counter

one unmade bed

second unmade bed

my closet

the soon to be redone (for the 100th time) nursery

hannah rose and elisabeth hope's closet

this really is not that bad....considering we go through 12 bottles a day (6 each)

I do hope this post is not going to just "air our dirty home" but I hope it shows other moms and dads that for every thing there is a season.  Our family is in the "messy" season and we are loving every minute! (guess what...gotta go get a baby)

ox...farah

10 in 10~~Day 2

Okay, I must admit this is a lot a bit harder than I thought it was going to be. Each thing that I have done has caused me to do two or three additional things and made somewhat of a huge mess. That's not cool. But, I do feel a sense of pride in finishing what I have. Tomorrow and Thursday may not be that productive. Tomorrow Little Miss and I are going over to a friend's house who lives near a lake to have a Lake Date. Super Excited!! And on Thursday, we are going to a Mommy and Me play date. Super Excited about that too...I miss all the moms and their cuties!! I still get chills at the thought of ME getting to go to a Mommy and Me group where I am one of the mommies. Wow, our God is AWESOME!

Okay....back to my list. I have need to hurry. Gracelyn Faith is almost finished drinking her milk with her daddy and I need to eat her face. :)

The List
Blue=Day 1
Green=Day 2

1. clean silver ~~not too hard
2. paint guest bathroom~~prepped everything...aka~take everything out and make a huge mess in guest room
3. redecorate bathroom~~gathered stuff together~~found more stuff :)
4. clean air vents~~that was easy and so needed. I bet we all will breath better now and maybe save a few dollars on the electric bill.
5. clean all light fixtures (yuck)
6. clean back and front porches
7. sell back porch furniture :)
8. clean out fireplace (yuck!!) ~~I want to rename this one DOUBLE YUCK!
9. get carpet clean ~~called to get this done today and they did not call me back :(~~Called again they are coming on Friday @ 11. Yay for now more Little Miss milk stains!
10. clean out my closet ~~Mama, do you want anything?
11. clean out front closet~~~~that was a job, but looks good!
12. clean out guest closet (scary!!)~~This was redonkulous!!!! This took up most of the day and made me go to Wal-Mart to buy a bucket to put more of Grace's clothes in that she has out grown! Tori, Little Miss King has a lot of stuff coming her way! I pray God blesses us with another one too. Grace had some cute stuff!
13. clean out kitchen junk cabinet (yes, we have a junk cabinet...sad, I know)
14. redo headboard in guest room (I have a great idea)
15. clean out bathroom cabinets~~not too hard...had a trash bag full of trash and a box full for the yard sale I need to have
16. vacuum around all baseboards ~~waiting to do after the carpet is cleaned
17. make signs for the garden
18. repaint back porch
19. wash curtains ~~no more jam from Little Miss' fingers
20. change curtains around ~~what a difference that made!
21. paint back door (it looks like some little doggies and a little girl have banged on it)
22. recover chair in bedroom~~kind of worked on this, but I did not like what I was using...on the hunt for some vintage looking to use.

Not as good as Day 1. I wish I could add all the other things that I did today to The List that were not on there. Like:

• prepare and feed Little Miss 3 meals
• prepare and feed Little Miss many snacks....LOL just proofread this and had snakes!
(homemade fruit ice pop)
• cleaned kitchen from said meals and snacks
• washed dishes
• washed slippy cup parts
• unloaded the dishwasher
• washed a load of clothes
• folded towels
• sorted several loads
• redid the laundry liner...find it, iron it and put it back on
• read books with Gracelyn
• had "cozy" time with Miss Grace
• Played dolls...melt my heart!
(feeding baby Abby a snack)
• picked up LOTS of toys
• walked the dogs...Gracelyn walked Samson. Hilarious!! She loved it and did a great job.
• helped water the garden
• went to Wal-Mart...not my favorite place
• went to Good Will....found some cool stuff :)
• went to Habitat for Humanity
• loaded the car to go to the dump
• went to the dump and dumped
• went to Sonic and shared a Lemonberry Slush with Gracelyn....YUMMO but, sugar overload for her (not me)! You all should try one. Half price everyday from 2-5. A medium is only 96 cents.
• sorted stuff from the Yard Sale, moved to dining room and then moved it all to another place
• talked to my sister for awhile
• talked to my mom for a while
• changed a little butt butt lots of times
• painted the cutest little toe nails
• gave Gracelyn Faith a bath
• packed chicken and put it in the freezer
• straighted our room
• straighted Gray's room
• typed this blog while watching Little House
• retyped this blog three times.  Blogger kept loosing it "Error".  What!!!! Let me just call another REDONKULOUS! Okay...now I feel better.

Okay, I feel a little better about My List after seeing today's list with it. No wonder I am tired. It's a great tired. Grace was tired too. I stopped to eat her face and get her "cozy" in her bed with her baby Abby. She gave her paci to the dolly and made sure she was "cozy cozy"....oh, how I love her!! So now I am going to get "cozy" with my Mr. Big Love.

I hope you all are having a productive week too. I will quote Charles Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie), "God put sweat in a man's body to work". LOL...Joli, that was for you....and I guess me. I do love that show.

With Love
~Farah~

10 in 10~~Day 1

So, my mom and sister said that they would come and enjoy everything once I am done.  You gotta love them.  Thanks, Girls! Well, here is my list after Day 1.
The List
clean silver ~~not too hard
paint guest bathroom
redecorate bathroom~~gathered stuff together
clean air vents~~that was easy and so needed.  I bet we all will breath better now and maybe save a few dollars on the electric bill.
clean all light fixtures (yuck)
clean back and front porches
sell back porch furniture :)
clean out fireplace (yuck!!) ~~I want to rename this one DOUBLE YUCK!
get carpet clean ~~called to get this done today and they did not call me back :(
clean out my closet ~~Mama, do you want anything?
clean out front closet~~~~that was a job, but looks good!
clean out guest closet (scary!!)
clean out kitchen junk cabinet (yes, we have a junk cabinet...sad, I know)
redo headboard in guest room (I have a great idea)
clean out bathroom cabinets
vacuum around all baseboards ~~waiting to do after the carpet is cleaned
make signs for the garden
repaint back porch
wash curtains  ~~no more jam from Little Miss' fingers
change curtains around ~~what a difference that made!
paint back door (it looks like some little doggies and a little girl have banged on it)
recover chair in bedroom

Not too bad for Day 1.  One thing that I forgot....most of these project require lots of work before you can do the project.  So, should that count as doing more than one project? I think maybe.  I also forgot that Mr. Love is working everyday for the next 10 days and I will have Little Miss all by myself.  I hope she wants to be mommy's helper girl!  I will keep you updated on my progress.

~Farah~

10 in 10

I am going to start a 10 in 10 challenge. 10 projects in 10 days. Wish me luck. My list has some biggies on it! I think God is trying to work on my procrastination by placing this challenge on my heart. With Him, I can do it. Wait, did I just hear Him say that my mom, sister, sister in law, and nieces should come and help me. Come on girls!  I need your help!

So, here goes my list:

1. clean silver
2. paint guest bathroom
3. redecorate bathroom
4. clean air vents
5. clean all light fixtures (yuck)
6. clean back and front porches
7. sell back porch furniture :)
8. clean out fireplace (yuck!!)
9. get carpet clean
10. clean out my closet
11. clean out front closet
12. clean out guest closet (scary!!)
13. clean out kitchen junk cabinet (yes, we have a junk cabinet...sad, I know)
14. redo headboard in guest room (I have a great idea)
15. clean out bathroom cabinets
16. vacuum around all baseboards
17. make signs for the garden
18. repaint back porch
19. wash curtains
20. change curtains around
21. paint back door (it looks like some little doggies and a little girl have banged on it)
22. recover chair in bedroom

Well, there we have it. Those are some huge projects and 10 of them will be done in 10 days!  I am so glad that Jesus has my back!  That is the only way I will get 10 done. I will keep you updated on my progress. 
~Farah~

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Today’s favorite moment:

Gracelyn licking Matt’s ice cream cone. The chocolate dripping from her little chin, her blueberry eyes has wide has they could be, and a smile on her face that could light the moon.  Thank you God for opening my eyes to the “little things” in life that are so big. 

This year....

our tree seems different.  It looks pretty much the same.  Probably pretty much like yours or some one's you know.  But to me, it is different.  This year I am even more grateful for the "little things" about our tree. 

The three member gingerbread family that I bought years ago. I waited many years to hang Gracelyn's and I pray that next year there is one more gingerbread baby to hang. 

The pine cones that my mother helped me pick from her yard. 
They remind me of our conversation while we were gathering each one. 

The different ornaments from friends given to us over the years.

There are several special ornaments from some of my past and present students. 

This one is dear to my heart.  It is of our first three babies.  I know that we will be reunited with them in heaven one day.  I love them today as much as I did then and I always will.  Life begins at conception.  They were and are apart of us. I wish I had a picture of our other three to hang too. Sadly, I was not given their picture.

The candy canes remind me of what our Lord did for us. The blood He shed for you and me. They also remind me of my nephew Josiah Courage.  He loves a "can cane".

 

I love our tree. It is simple, yet so beautiful. 
It has a past.  I look forward to seeing its future and what it has in store.

God Bless

Farah