Flower Girls (again!)

Last weekend the girls were the flower girls in another wedding.  The groom has worked for Joel for about 8 years now, and we are so proud of him and his new bride!  The wedding was beautiful and we wish them a blessed marriage :-)

Of course, since the girls were going to be flower girls we had a lot of preparation before the ceremony!  Last Friday I took them to get their fingernails and toenails painted.

While they were drying they enjoyed a massage in the massage chair!  I need to get me one of those :-)

And on Saturday we had to start early getting their hair and make-up ready.  I had a friend of mine do their hair and it looked fantastic!!!  The girls loved all their curls and were sad to have to wash them out that night!

 And of course I had to add a little make-up for the special occasion :-)

Here are some pics from the wedding.

My little beauties

 Lily likes the flowers in her basket

 Larry and the girls

 Darci and Zora

 Wedding Party

I just love weddings :-)

Congrats Larry and Darci!!!

Mother's Day 2011

This Mother's Day was very bitter sweet for me.  

SWEET because I have two beautiful little daughters and a precious son who I can't wait to meet.  I am so blessed with the little miracles God has given me in my children.  And I also have a wonderful husband who does his best to make my day special.

BITTER because I have no more grandmothers to wish "Happy Mother's Day", and because this is the first Mother's Day that I have ever spent away from my Mother (who just-so-happens to be the BEST mom in the world!)

We spent the early part of the week preparing our gifts for my mom, Joel's mom and Joel's grandmother.  My mom told me several weeks ago that all she wanted for Mother's Day was a CD of her kids and grandkids singing.  So Monday we went to the church and Joel recorded my sister, niece, nephew, me and Zora as we sang songs for my mother.  I decided to make the same thing for Joel's mom and grandmother because I knew they would love it as well. My mom received her CDs on Friday evening, and was so overjoyed and emotional that she couldn't even call us to thank us, so she just sent a text.  I bawled my eyes out.  I miss her so much, and my pregnant hormones aren't making the situation any easier!

Then yesterday I cried off and on all day.  Everything I saw seemed to remind me of my mom which only brought sadness since I couldn't fly out for a visit.  The good news is that she is coming back for the entire month of August when Seth is born to help me out!  I also had a flower shop in her town deliver a corsage to her yesterday so that she would have it to wear to church today. 

Joel and the girls made my weekend special by treating me like a queen...too bad every day isn't Mother's Day!  Last night Joel and the girls treated me to dinner at Johnny Carino's (I love Italian!).  They also took me to Old Navy to get some skirts I've been wanting.  They are the most comfortable skirts and I can wear them now (with a big belly) and after Seth is born!  I love versatile clothing :-)  Then today Joel fixed me a very yummy breakfast before we headed to church.  After church Joel's dad treated the entire family to a delicious lunch at Freddie's.  Mmmmmmmmm.  Then I called my mom and enjoyed chatting with her (and we actually were able to talk without any tears).  I then got to squeeze in a very short little nap before heading back to church.  When we got home from church tonight Joel lit a fire in the firepit and we had some s'mores before putting the girls to bed.  All-in-all I had a WONDERFUL day! 

My two little beauties

 Lovin' on little brother

 I can't wait to meet this little guy!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you moms out there! 

I hope your day was special and blessed!

Building Progress

On my last post the building of the second floor had just begun.  Now it is in full swing and the guys are really at a stand-still until the trusses are ready.

Front of house

The girls were terribly excited when they got to go up and explore a little on the second floor.  Here they are proud to be up there.

Here is the most recent picture of the front of the house.

 The fireplace is framed in

 The archway in the entry with fireplace in the background

 Open archway from kitchen to living room

 The staircase is in and fully functional :-)

 Big picture windows in dining nook

 Back of the house

 This is a little random, but really cool.  Some of our friends came up to help and check things out, and upon exploring the woods found this....

It is a fully intact turtle shell with no turtle inside!  Zora loved it of course.  She wants to keep it and put it in her new room when we move in :-)

I love going out there and just looking around and listening to the sounds of the woods and enjoying the beauty.  Here is a picture I took of the vibrant sky and trees from the back door of my soon to be new home!  Absolutely beautiful!

Hopefully the company making the trusses will get them ready soon so that Joel can get them up there and we can start on a roof!  Check back soon for more pictures.

Zora sings FOREVER

My girls have always loved music.  And they both love to sing.  Zora recently asked if she could start singing at church!  She sang this last night in service.  She wanted me to sit behind her on stage for a little moral support :-)  Her Daddy was running the sound system, so special thanks to my friend Cari for videoing it for us!  Enjoy!

Baby Seth in 3D!

It's funny.  This is my third child, but I have found myself more anxious this time than with the others.

Maybe it's because I'm older.  Maybe it's because I've read TOO much.  Maybe it's because our housing situation is "in limbo" for the time being.  Maybe it's because I know I've got to balance homeschooling two girls with an infant.  Maybe it's because it's a boy...maybe, maybe, maybe...

I'm not sure why I'm so anxious this time, but I am.  I try to not let myself get that way, but I almost can't help it.  I've been seeking advice from books, websites, friends, etc. and trying to make myself as knowledgeable as I can before this one arrives.  Things that I never even second-guessed with the girls are now making me fret.  Things that might happen during labor, immunizations, circumcision, and the list goes on...

I found myself frantic a couple of weeks ago and I asked Joel, "What's a parent supposed to do?"  There are "statistics" to support every viewpoint out there from the far left to the far right.  How do you know what the right decisions are?  I don't want to harm my child by doing something that isn't necessary, but I also don't to decline a "routine" procedure and risk harming my child that way either...

We had both read information from so many different sources that it seemed like it was all running together into a large mass of confusion with conflicting answers.  Finally, he recommended that I talk to one of my friends who is both a doctor & a mommy.  I brought up my concerns to her, and she gave me her "doctor" opinions as well as her "mommy" opinions.  Her advice was helpful, but she finally hit me with a ton of bricks with this simple, yet profound statement...

"Tara, just know that God is going to take care of your little boy no matter what you decide."  

This is probably the best advice I've received from anyone during any of my pregnancies!  So, thank you, Kristy, for bringing me "back to earth" and reminding me Who is ultimately in control.  I was so worried about what might happen, that I almost completely left God out of the miracle of life that He placed inside of me! 

So, now with that burden off my back, I have a great picture to share with you of our precious little guy!  At my doctor's appointment today she did a quick little 3D ultrasound and got a great picture of his little face!  He had his hand rested against his cheek :-)  From the picture we got today I think he is going to look very much like his big sisters...they all have the same "pug" little nose :-)

And I have to include a belly picture for my mom!

(24.5 weeks)

And last, but certainly not least, I must include this sweet picture of the best big sisters ever!!!  I just think it's too cute not to share.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

...a HOUSE!!!

The framing has begun and is going very well!  Joel is working so hard and we are very grateful for all those who have volunteered to help him in the framing process (Donnie, Larry, Landon, Devon, Wesley, Dad, Kevin, Ryan & Jeremy).  You guys are all VERY much appreciated and you're doing an AWESOME job!!!  Here are some pics of the framing process...

...and today they were able to start framing the upstairs!  Woohoo!!!

The girls and I go out almost every day to check out the progress, check on the boys, and even have a little outdoor fun :-)

Here are the girls helping out by picking up nails that had been dropped.

Zora and Lily pass the time out at the land in their own little ways.  Zora likes to help out for a little while, but she soon gets distracted by all the wonderful nature around her.  She is my little nature girl.  She loves to climb on the mounds of dirt and rocks looking for something interesting.  She collects leaves and other things lying around and creates "a salad" for all the forest creatures...

She also loves finding little critters and playing with them for hours like caterpillars...

...and ladybugs (she's making it "walk the planks")...

Lily passes her time much differently.  She loves to be "one of the crew".  She "helps" the guys in any way she can.

Sweeping up sawdust & debris

...picking up nails with Papa's magnet...

...measuring boards that need to be cut...

...even removing bent nails from boards that need to be reused...

Of course, both of them like to take some time out for fun, too!

Wheelbarrow Rides with Mamma

...and four-wheeler rides together!

Check back... there will be more house posts and a Baby Seth post coming soon!

Candid Kids

My kids 

CRACK ME UP!

The other night when I was at Bible study and they were spending time with Daddy, they apparently got ahold of the camera when no one was watching...This was the result:

Yes, the pics are hilarious, but the video is even funnier because they were trying to figure out how to switch it back to "picture" mode.  Funny, funny kids :-)

We also went to Woodward to get our usual spring pics.  I tried to get some "candid" shots that weren't necessarily poses.  I love their sweet little faces. :-)

Aunt Gina also came along and took some pics with her camera.  My sister recently started her own business, Letters from Life, and she wanted to try something new with my kids.  This was the result:

Is that not precious?!?!?!  Using my kids' bodies to spell their own names!  And I love the Bible verses she picked for them.  Lily's is obvious because her name means "flower"... Zora's name means "light" or "like the dawn" so I think the verse is just perfect :-)  If you love my kids' name pics you should check out my sister's website.  Her photography and artwork is beautiful and she does it all herself!  Click HERE to go to her website.

We'll be visiting Woodward again very soon to get our annual Easter pics.  I can't wait until next year when Little Mr. Seth will be there too!  I have to end with this sweet pic of my girls.  I love their hair in pigtails :-)

HAPPY SPRING!