life Archives - Page 6 of 14 - Heart of the Mama

project 365-2017; days 78-84

March 26, 2017 /

This week was Spring Break for us. Luke took a few days off work, which is always a welcome treat, but we had a lot to do with regards to the house project so it didn’t quite feel like a vacation. We had ideas of taking the girls to Indianapolis for a night or doing something a little more exciting, but we really just stayed close to home (with the exception of a one night excursion to New Albany, Indiana, which I wrote about in my recent tree house update). I think the girls enjoyed the week regardless, but I couldn’t help but feel guilty (and a little jealous) that we didn’t plan something out of the ordinary for them. I had this conversation with friends over lunch this week — if it weren’t for social media showing me what everyone else was doing, I would probably think our Spring Break was just fine. We spent time together. We enjoyed eating out more than usual. We visited family. We got to see Papa during daytime hours. Comparison is the thief of joy, and I must remember that…always.

So, here is a glimpse at our Spring Break. Call it ordinary. Call it boring. Call it whatever… but we call it ours.

78/365

Luke gets the tire swing spinning so fast it makes me sick to watch, but these girls eat it up. They couldn’t stand up once they got off the swing because they were so dizzy, but their smiles tell you they wouldn’t have it any other way!

79/365

Charlotte hasn’t been allowed to watch YouTube videos for a few weeks because she gave that up for Lent (thank you, Jesus…literally). However, she has had fun exploring some educational apps, and Noelle was being a good big sister and reading the directions to her.

80/365

Noelle mastered her little bike, so we followed through on our promise to get her a “big girl” bike. She is so proud of this thing and is doing great riding it through the neighborhood.

81/365

The big girls were distracted by something else, so when I found Shiloh, she was quietly playing with their Legos. I am sure the quiet part was on purpose as she didn’t want to be found, but I couldn’t resist a shot of her adorable little ponytail (and yes, she loves this dress/shirt — she is photographed in it weekly!).

82/365

One of our excursions this week took us to the girls’ favorite dessert place, Berry Winkle. It has been brutal having gestational diabetes and watching them enjoy their treats, but I suppose I am willing to deal with it to see their happy, messy faces.

83/365

Luke had to leave for a conference toward the end of this week, which really put a damper on the end of Spring Break. We all miss him terribly when he is gone.

84/365

As previously mentioned, I am on my own for a few days. I try to pass the time by doing fun things with the girls. I built a fort in the living room, gave them frozen pizza, and they enjoyed popcorn while watching a movie. I am relieved that it still takes very little to make them so happy.

comment

check these out, too

project 365-2017; photo catch-up
June 1, 2017

The one about the change
February 16, 2018

The one about how to donate your gently used makeup
March 21, 2018
project 365-2017; days 71-77

March 20, 2017 /

Highlights from this week… entering the last trimester of pregnancy… the beginning of Spring Break… hopefully our last snowflake for the season… another week in the life of our family.

71/365

This pregnancy has been difficult for me emotionally. Not only am I dealing with the constant battle in my mind regarding whether or not this will be our last child, but I am struggling with feeling uncomfortable with the way I look. It’s a long story that maybe I will write about in the future, but my body image is in complete shambles — so it took some serious guts to take this photo of myself. However, regardless of how I feel about my looks… I want to remember this time in my life and what it felt like to carry this special child.

72/365

The girls love doing crafts with stickers, glue, fuzzy pom poms, and anything else they can get their hands on. I just love to see them working together and Shiloh in a ponytail.

73/365

We got a little bit of snow this week. The weather has been so random and weird, but leave it to a child to enjoy it, no matter what! She immediately stuck her tongue out in hopes of catching a flake or two.

74/365

Shiloh gave herself a marker makeover about 5 minutes before we needed to leave the house. I asked her to show me her lips, and this is the face she made. You have to love it, right?

75/365

Noelle was literally jumping for joy at her dismissal on the last day before Spring Break.

76/365

We got Noelle an Osmo for her birthday. If you don’t know what it is, Google it, because it is a super cool, hands-on, educational tool that works with your iPad. She was enjoying the tangrams game.

77/365

Charlotte is exponentially more needy at bedtime than our other girls. She needs tickles, snuggles, songs, stories, beverages, and often times a few “put-backs” into her bed. She has always been this way. I keep hoping she will grow out of it, but then I would miss out on sweet things like this. I am not exactly sure what Luke was doing, but they were both giggling.

comment

check these out, too

the one about kicking my Starbucks habit
March 10, 2018

project 365-2017; photo catch-up
June 1, 2017

the one about when I was 17
July 16, 2017
project 365-2017; days 64-70

March 13, 2017 /

Ok, wow! 70 days into this photo challenge. I think this is further than I went the last time I attempted Project 365 in 2015. Let’s keep it going!

As I was pulling up the photos for this week, I noticed that Noelle and Shiloh were photographed more than Charlotte. Other weeks, Charlotte is photographed more than the other two. It is interesting to see how some weeks, certain children hold more of the “spotlight” or command more attention than others. I love all of my girls equally, dearly, and (quite honestly) differently as they require different acts of love from me — but they are all beautiful and so fun to capture on camera.

We had a really busy week. Noelle turned 7 years old and had her first “school friend” birthday party. We also celebrated the other March birthdays in our family, including Luke’s mom and dad (his dad and Noelle share a birthday) and our niece, Alice. We made more headway in the demolition of the Tree HousE, and a group of my sweet friends threw me a surprise baby shower (no photo of that in this post, but I had to highlight it as it was so unexpected and truly caught me off guard)!

Scrolling through this post of seemingly ordinary photos reminds me to find the beauty in all things and to thank God each day that I have with my family. I am truly blessed.

64/365

I love the passion this child has for brushing her teeth. She’s a go big or go home kind of gal.

65/365

Just a couple weeks ago, this kiddo was nervous as heck to take the training wheels off. Now she cruises down the street with no problem at all. She has earned her new bike!

66/365

The girls love messy things like sand and play doh. I am thankful that we have had some nice days so the mess can stay outside where it belongs!

67/365

Oh, this child. Charlotte’s dinnertime photo for the week! Such a silly girl. As you can see, it was Chick-Fil-A for dinner as Mama was feeling lazy.

68/365

Something about squeaky clean babes. If you look close enough, you will see scratches on Shiloh’s face from her many scuffles with big sister Charlotte. The girls are tough and absolutely do not need to be boys to be a little rowdy!

69/365

I snapped some photos of Noelle in her special birthday Free Dress outfit (the students get a Free Dress day on their birthdays). She loved this skirt and how it twirled, and I absolutely love the light coming from behind her curls. It is insanity to me that this baby girl is 7 already.

Here’s a bonus picture for the week. Noelle had a painting party where Meghan from Works of HeART came and taught the girls how to paint a cute elephant on canvas. They also got to decorate cupcakes on paint palettes. All but 2 of the girls in Noelle’s class could come, and it was so fun watching them all play and sing and celebrate together. Noelle was slightly embarrassed when it was time to sing “Happy Birthday.” She was stone-faced the entire time until something, or someone, caused her to crack a smile.

70/365

As mentioned above, Noelle shares her birthday with Luke’s dad. Luke’s mom had her birthday a week before, and little Alice turned 2 just a few days ago. All of the cousins came to celebrate with the birthday people over the weekend. That would be 14 kids ages 10 and under! They always have the best time playing together and miss each other so much in between visits.

comment

check these out, too

project 365-2017; photo catch-up
June 1, 2017

The one about sustain me for today
February 8, 2018

the one about enough
December 1, 2017
project 365-2017; days 57-63

March 5, 2017 /

Birthdays to celebrate, major progress on our house, a Thyroid Going Away Party, and the beginning of Lent… we had a fulfilling week! As Spring gets nearer, our calendars are getting busier, and I have to remind myself, “Oh yeah, you’re having a baby in a few months!” We are taking things as they come…one day at a time. I hope you enjoy this week’s photos.

57/365

We made a quick trip to New Albany and back last weekend to celebrate Luke’s grandma, Mary Ruth, turning 86 years old. We had a great time celebrating with family. Luke’s dad is one of 11 children, and of those 11 children, most of them have 2-3-4-5 children of their own, and most of them now have 1-2-3 children of their own…so we overcrowded her tiny house to shower her with love. I think she looks pretty stunning. I love how the second image shows just a small fraction of the little ones surrounding her, and how eager they were to help her blow out her candles.

58/365

We took a drive out to the country to check on the progress of the house demo. This was Noelle’s reaction as she examined the aftermath. My thoughts, too, Noelle.

59/365

Noelle has started reading Charlotte’s Web at school. She is so into it and asked for her own copy for her birthday. Spoiler Alert: We bought her one. I was going to move Luke’s coffee cup out of the way of this photo, but then I realized that it suited her. She’s an old soul. Responsible. Diligent. Perfectionist. It just seems like she should be drinking coffee, too.

60/365

Ash Wednesday. Enough said, right?

61/365

Aunt CeCe had to have her thyroid surgically removed this week, so we made some special thyroid-shaped cookies for a family dinner. Yes, there are thyroid-shaped cookie cutters. Shiloh stood here on a stool making funny faces into my mixing bowl for several minutes.

62/365

The girls wanted their nails painted. It was difficult for Shiloh to wait for them to dry, as shown by the exasperation on her face. Thank goodness for iPads and Moana on digital copy.

63/365

We had a super random, super rare date night. It included dinner, walking around Target, walking around Wal-Mart, and coming home. Fancy, right? Oh, this season of life we are in. But it was great to have a few hours to ourselves and not worry about the girls or life or anything. When we got home, all the girls were in bed, until this little one came wandering out. Pictured here is her hard sell for some milk that will “make her go to sleep.” Ok, Char. Whatever you want.

comment

check these out, too

The one about the change
February 16, 2018

the one about kicking my Starbucks habit
March 10, 2018

the one about enough
December 1, 2017
project 365-2017; days 50-56

February 26, 2017 /

As we finish out the month of February and look forward to March, I can’t help but be completely stunned that two full months of 2017 are over. A mild winter has put us in the mood for Spring, and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little boy in a couple months. While this project helps me to pause and remember to enjoy life’s little moments within the chaos of each day, I also think it is a reminder that time is flying by around us. It doesn’t seem possible that I have been doing this challenge for 56 days, but I have the photo evidence to prove it.

50/365

Oh, boy. So on this beautiful, sunny day, we decided that Noelle was far too old to have training wheels on her bike (that is far too small for her)! We told her that if she could learn to ride without training wheels on this bike, we would get her a new bike for her birthday. She was pretty motivated to try, but she struggled initially with the fear of falling. We will get there! In the meantime, please observe her awesome outfit…helmet, crazy pants, and cowboy boots.

51/365

Dinner time is always an adventure. You never know what meals the kids will love and what meals they will hate. Charlotte is our worst eater. She is so picky. When she was a baby and younger toddler, she would eat anything! She used to eat black beans by the can and blueberries by the container. Now she would prefer that everything be in nugget form. So, we keep trying. And she keeps being Charlotte at dinner time.

52/365

When you go looking for Shiloh and you find her on a bed of folded laundry, fast asleep.

53/365

I try not to allow too much “screen time”…. but sometimes you cannot beat the peace it brings.

54/365

Charlotte had her first official dentist appointment. She had a little bit of nerves while we were waiting, but playing with this alligator-dentist toy helped. She did so great… no cavities!

55/365

More freak weather for our area this week. It was literally 70 degrees this morning. Shiloh and I enjoyed some bubbles in the driveway.

56/365

We went from golden sun and 70+ degrees to 28 degrees with snow in about a 12 hour time span. I always knew Indiana weather was ridiculous, but this has truly been a record. I totally had to bribe Charlotte with jelly beans to go outside and take this picture (and doesn’t she look adorable in my hat?).

comment

check these out, too

the one about enough
December 1, 2017

the one about when I was 17
July 16, 2017

The one about sustain me for today
February 8, 2018