Frozen in Time

Every morning I wake up to happy squeals and giggles.  Phebe is the happiest baby I have ever met in my life!  She is so excited to see her brothers and sister in the morning, and she is especially excited to see Daddy in the morning!  It makes me melt when I see her toddle up behind her Daddy and wrap her pudgy little arms around his leg and squeeze him with all of her might!  The baby loves her Daddy.

Why do kids have to grow up?  My life is a little overwhelming and stressful with so many little ones running around, but if I could freeze time and keep them at this age forever I would do it in a heartbeat!  I love the hugs.  I love the sloppy, wet kisses.  I love the giggles.  I love the imagination.

I'm so thankful for my life.  I'm thankful for the happiness I feel.  I'm thankful I have the opportunity to stay home and watch my children grow.  It's something I take for granted sometimes.

I don't want my kids to grow up.  I want them to stay small.  I want them to want to snuggle with me, fall asleep while I play with their hair, invite me into their princess tent so we can read stories.  I want my life to be frozen in time.

Our Little Sweet Pea

I went into the girls' room this morning to get Phebe out of bed.  She was already wide awake standing on her tip toes trying to peek over the side of the pack-n-play.  You can tell she is smiling brightly just by looking at her eyes.  They sparkle!  I got her out of bed and she turned her body around and started waving.  She knows that once we enter the living room three older siblings are sitting on the couch ready and waiting to wave back.

Our little sweet pea is going to be 1 in two days!  I can't believe it.  Our last baby is growing up way too fast.  Where is the pause button?  I desperately need to find it.  I need to freeze time right in this moment.  My kids need to stay little forever.

Over the weekend I was really looking forward to sleeping in.  I needed the extra sleep.  My kids had other plans.  They woke me up at 6:30.  I rolled over to my husband and said, "Kids are exhausting."  It's true.  They are exhausting.  They wake up and demand things from you before your eyelids even flutter open to welcome the first glimpse of sunlight.

But my baby -- the last baby of the family -- is turning 1.  When I think about the fact that everything she says and does in her little life is the last of our baby firsts...I can't help but appreciate my little ones no matter how tired I am.

Paul and I are so blessed.  We are thankful for Zoe, Maximus, Titus, and Phebe.  I cannot imagine my life without these four amazing, beautiful, happy, healthy kids!  I can't wait to celebrate with our sweet pea!  Happy Birthday, Phebe!

Where is the pause button?

A couple weeks ago my husband and I decided to drive out to the mountains.  He made sure to bring his camera with him and he got some beautiful shots of the kids!  I can't help but share them!

It was such a peaceful afternoon!  There was no cell service so we didn't have any distractions.  We just spent the afternoon playing while Paul took pictures.  Zoe got to pick wildflowers while the boys got to throw rocks into a creek.  I enjoyed the view -- my family.

Summer is almost over.  Zoe starts preschool next month.  Time is flying by and I hate that life does not have a pause button!  Or even a slow motion button! :-)

The Bible says, Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.  This verse spoke to me this morning.  I read it minutes before my daughter came bounding out of her room and gave me the biggest hug and told me all about the dreams she had.

Billy Graham said that only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.  The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured.  They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry.

How are you influencing your children today?  I am about to influence my children by having them help me clean the house! :-)

Love to all!

Gracie

*Proverbs 31:28

Celebration

Last Thursday was my husband's 29th birthday, so we had a party with family and friends on Sunday after church.  It was wonderful having everyone over to help celebrate my amazing man!  I am so thankful for Paul.  Words cannot describe how crazy I am about him!  He is my best friend!

For his birthday I bought him a lime green record player.  He really wanted a motorcycle . . . but I think he was pretty excited about what he got instead. :-)  He has one record so far, the newest Black Keys, and we have listened to it about 4 times now.  He loves it!

Here are a couple pictures Paul took a week or two ago of our little babies.  I love them so much they will be framed and hanging on my wall soon!  I can't wait for him to take more of the babies all together.

Let them be little

fill their hearts with

laughter

help them grow wings

nurture their sense of wonder

inspire them to believe

love them like there's no tomorrow.

As much as we want life to slow down, it isn't going to happen.  There is no pause button.  I want to enjoy every minute -- soak in every second I have with my family.  They are my pride and joy.  The Bible says life is but a vapor, it appears for for a little time and then vanishes away.  I want to spend more time loving and laughing with the ones I love and less time being stressed and aggravated, don't you?

My husband kind of laughed when I came home with my party supplies for his party.  He said he felt like he was turning 6 again.  For me, though, I wanted to celebrate his life!  I love celebrating the ones I love!  If that means feeling like you're turning 6 again, that's OK!  I would hate if he felt too old to celebrate his life. :-)  We are only given one you know! 

So celebrate the ones you love!  Celebrate the time you have while you can!  I know you won't regret it!

Parents' Challenge

I found this challenge over the weekend and was excited to start today.  Parenting is not for the weak.  When I feel overwhelmed because I can't keep up with the laundry, the dirty dishes, the diapers that need changed, the meals that need prepared, the yard that looks like a jungle...I realize that I spent the whole day forgetting about the little things that matter the most.

Every morning there are four happy, smiling faces that greet me before my morning coffee.  The pretend games are played all day long.  I need to sit and watch more than I do.

I am surrounded by superheroes and Barbies that are damsels in distress.

I live in a castle with princes and princesses that love to slay dragons and dance to music.

My couch is a pirate ship and the pirates take turns walking off the plank into crocodile infested waters.

My table is a tent where my children go camping and tell funny stories.

My tub is an aquarium where I watch my slippery, giggling "fish" who love to splash.

Why do I allow myself to stress?  There is no need for me to be.  I need to slow down and enjoy the life that I live right now in this moment.  These beautiful, happy children will leave the nest and I don't want to look back and realize I wasted my time trying to do other things that seemed more important at the time.

I decided to start today and I read Day One.  Go the entire day without raising your voice.  In less than half an hour since reading the challenge...I was challenged.  One of my children spilled a whole bowl of milk and cereal all over the table, the chairs, and the floor.

My son was afraid.  I could see it in his face.  He was waiting for me to yell and be upset with him.  Instead I kept my voice level and told him he needed to be careful while I cleaned up the mess.  I felt so much better than how I feel after I yell and get upset.  I looked at my son, and the look of relief on his face spoke volumes.

Why do we yell?  What's the point?

I can already tell that this challenge is not going to be easy, but I'm excited to make a lifestyle change now while my children are still young!  I still have a chance that most of their memories of mommy will be pleasant ones.

I encourage all parents to take this challenge.  We all have room for improvement in our relationships.  Our relationship with our children is not any different.  These little ones are our future.  Let's raise them right!

Phebe Eloise

On May 20th I was big and pregnant.  My body was starting to hurt whether I stood, sat down, laid down...I was just getting miserable.  I was ready to have the baby!  I had been praying every single day that God would help me to have the baby -- SOON.  I was so ready.

I had my weekly doctor's appointment scheduled for the next day, but I was going to call and ask if there were any cancellations because I just wanted to go in, have my doctor strip my membranes, and pray it would do something for me.  I had been dilated to 4 cm and my cervix was open and ready for weeks -- just no Phebe.

I just finished taking a shower when my phone rang.  The nurse asked if I could come in that afternoon instead of waiting till the next day.  YES!  My mom and sister came with me to the appointment.  My doctor swept my membranes (there were only 2 that she swiped...hardly anything was holding Phebe up anymore at that point) and then talked to me for a little bit.  She was even shocked I was still pregnant at that point.

She did tell me, though, that she was leaving for the weekend and wouldn't be back till Tuesday.  If I wanted her to deliver the baby before she left, I would have to schedule an induction for the next morning at 6:00 a.m.  I was so disappointed.  This whole pregnancy I prayed and asked God to allow me to go into labor on my own.  I had never experienced it and I really wanted to know what it felt like since this would be my last pregnancy.  I went ahead and scheduled my induction and felt discouraged.

After my appointment we went to Walmart to get some last minute items.  While walking around I did feel like my insides were going to fall out of my body, but no contractions quite yet.  We went home and had dinner with the whole family.  Around 8:30 p.m. I started feeling some contractions.  Nothing consistent, just here and there.  I decided to go on another walk hoping to cause more, but as soon as we went walking I felt like things stopped.  I was pretty irritable at that point.  I was not going to get what I wanted.  I felt like giving up.

I ended up going to bed.  I figured I might as well try and rest some before waking up so early.  Paul knew how discouraged I was, so he decided to help me take my mind off of it...by telling me fish stories.  See, the whole time my family visited the guys went fishing every single night!  They had so much fun and had plenty of stories to tell.  It actually did help me feel a little better.

Around 2:00 a.m. I woke up because of a hard contraction.  I laid there for a little bit and ended up feeling another strong one.  I got up and went to the bathroom and tried to figure out if it was just a fluky thing...or if this was the real deal.  I went back to bed and laid there for about 30-45 minutes before I woke Paul up and said, "I think this is it."

Paul got up and woke up my parents.  I slowly got out of bed in between contractions and went to sit on the exercise ball.  It didn't take long before my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart and my dad said, "And why are we not at the hospital yet?"

Getting in the car and driving to the hospital was pretty unpleasant for me.  I was very thankful we lived at the bottom of the hill and the hospital was only a couple blocks away!  Before I knew it we were in the room and I was getting hooked up.

I don't remember what time my water actually broke, but I felt the gush and immediately wanted to cry happy tears!  In the midst of pain I remember thanking God over and over for answering my request.  It may seem silly to others, but I wanted this so bad.

I only felt gushes of water here and there with contractions.  I figured Phebe must have been cutting off the water somehow because I didn't feel the huge ocean-like gush that I was used to when they would break my water with the others.

This labor was different than my other labors.  Because I was induced with the other ones I was used to the Pitocin contractions -- extreme and on top of each other.  Going into labor naturally is so opposite of that.  There were some breaks in between contractions that I actually dozed off until the next one hit.  Because the contractions were not on top of each other like I was used to, I just knew I would be in labor all day and I did not want that.  I never wanted drugs with any of my other labors, but this time I remember telling my mom and Paul both that I needed them.  I wasn't joking.  Get me the drugs.  My mom had to tell me more than once that it was too late -- I was dilated to 8 and Phebe was coming!  I didn't comprehend what she was saying because I wasn't having as many contractions...

It wasn't long before my favorite nurse came in to do the final check and my doctor was behind her.  They knew Phebe was cutting off the rest of the water, so my doctor finished breaking the sack with her fancy little hook and I immediately felt my body start to push.  I didn't know what was going on, but I pushed 3-4 times and here came beautiful, sweet Phebe and the rest of my water following behind helping to push her out.

Phebe Eloise was born at 7:45 a.m.  She weighed 8 lbs and was 20 1/2 inches long.

I can't help but tear up when I think of the story all over again.  Giving birth is one of the most amazing things I have every experienced -- and the fact that I was able to do it on my own without being induced...I cannot even begin to tell you how grateful I feel.  I will always be thankful for the Lord answering my prayer.  

Not long after Phebe was born people realized just how tired they were so one by one they left to go back to bed.  Paul and I crashed as well and slept for hours.  My other babies were not able to meet their new sister as soon as she was born because there was a ban at the hospital and no one under the age of 18 was allowed in the maternity section.  After everyone got some rest, though, we did sneak out of the maternity ward and down the hall so our little ones could say hello.  Thanks to my favorite nurse who will remain unnamed. :-)

Phebe is now 12 days old and is still adored by all.  She is the easiest baby...  She gets mauled all the time by her siblings showering her with sloppy, wet kisses and big, bear hugs.  She doesn't mind. :-)  She is so beautiful...  I look forward to the day when she is older and she wears matching outfits with Zoe -- but until that day comes, I will enjoy each and everyday I have left with a newborn in the house.  It's bittersweet to think about her being our last baby!