I am late posting these pictures, sorry Shelly! :-)
There is nothing like getting together with family for a relaxing weekend. But as much as we try, sometimes is doesn't turn out that way....the girls get too excited or are "moody" and it can be chaos. However, this visit was REALLY nice. We celebrated my Dad's b-day. (Happy b-day, Daddy!), took a walk around the land, just hung out, and watched the girls play and play.

Maddie and Ally just LOVE their cousins. It is always a huge treat for them to be able to play with Jesse and Elin. Maddie even cried when they left and at that moment I could feel how much she loved them. It was precious. I am so thankful that they have a relationship with their cousins and grandparents. There is nothing like being surrounded by family. We are blessed beyond measure.

Even our sweet Aunt Billie joined us. The girls and I picked her up in Burleson and we all drove together down to Abilene. When I was talking with Maddie about Aunt Billie she asked, "Aunt Billie is a girl??" I said yes. Then after a moment she said "Aunt Billie, I like that name...its an old name!"





I am so happy that the girls have such a longing for family. They LOVE talking about their cousins and Aunts & Uncles and grandparents. They are thrilled to be surrounded by all the love they give. And it make my heart full to know they have this connection and will be blessed from all these amazing people for all their lives!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all! We spent Easter with Brian's parents and we ended up doing the official Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday to get those nice and sunny pictures. There was fun and games and of course, crying and overly tired little girls. (They fell asleep at 8:00 that night, which is AMAZING for Ally at least, since she is my night owl.) There was basketball and horse-back riding after the egg hunt so all in all , it was a wonderfully tiring weekend!

Ally WITH a little attitude~ :-) (Probably b/c she was ready for the egg hunt, enough of these pictures!)

Ally WITHOUT attitude!

....and it is a race for the eggs! Happy Easter, everyone!

A Heartfelt Apology

(This seems like a long story but keep reading...I love the ending.)

Sunday afternoon, the neighborhood girls and Maddie and Ally were playing outside while I planted flowers in the front. They had been out there a while and had started arguing and bickering back and forth like little girls do sometimes. I finally had to sit them all down and give them my "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" lecture. As the arguing continued, I finally had to send the girls home to give each other a break....before they dispersed, one of the little girl's dog got out of the yard and start to make a break for freedom. As it ran down the street with all the little girls screaming behind him, "Come back!", I yelled (while on the phone, sorry, Amy!)for them to stop because who knows how far they would have run after this dog. Well, they all came back except one, Ilaina.

I get off the phone and tell the one little girl to go and tell her Mom and Dad that their dog is on the run. We think that Ilaina should be back once she realizes that the others are not with her any more. Maddie runs to tell Ilaina's mom that "she is lost" and she and I and Maddie set off to find Ilaina. It hasn't been long so we know that they can't be far but where are they?? Our house isn't far from the big cross over street and as we head that way looking up and down the crossing street, she is still no where to be found. At this point, Maddie has tears in her eyes and she is starting to cry. She is afraid that Ilaina is not coming back and I felt so bad for her. It had only been about 10 minutes but I am sure that is felt like an eternity to Maddie. Ilaina's mom and I separate, I go left and she goes right and Ilaina's Mom finds her down the street between some houses. As Maddie sees her she starts to cry harder....she was just so scared for her friend. We all breath a sigh of relief as Maddie and Ilaina hug.

Once we are back inside the house. I pick Maddie up and squeeze her with all of my might and reassure her that Ilaina is alright but this why we don't run off. I put her down and we head into the kitchen. Maddie grabs a pen and note pad and asks me to sit by her at the table for a little bit. I do and she then asks me how to spell "I am sorry for being mean, Ilaina" I tell her and she runs to put the note into Ilaina's mail box.

I can now see some of what was going through Maddie's head as we searched for Ilaina. She was thinking back to something "mean" she had said to Ilaina before she was "lost" and thought that she may never see her again. What a precious heartfelt apology and how incredible of Maddie to realize the need for it to be said.

How many times have you and I let our anger, pride or grudges get in the way of a heartfelt apology? Many times, I would think....I LOVE learning things from my children. They amaze me with their insights and innocent yet profound actions. I know that this is something that I will take with me from day to day. Never let the moment pass when a heartfelt "I'm sorry" is needed....

Perfection...

I have been thinking a lot about perfection....

It is something that so many people strive for and something that I admit to strive for in some areas of my life. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that this is a bad thing but taken to the extreme it can make a negative impact in your life as well as those around you. Here are my thoughts...

I found myself the other evening worrying about the cleanliness of my house (I don't have a maid) and the laundry that I still needed to do in order to "keep up" with my self-imposed expectations of myself. When my house is a mess and I feel overwhelmed after coming home from work and feeding and bathing the girls and wondering if my house will ever be as clean as I really want, I can get a little cranky. :-) My strive for perfection takes it's toll on my girls and my family. I know that the girls don't care if the laundry is folded and Brian doesn't get upset if the floors are not swept every other day and I hope that my friends wouldn't compare their house to mine if they stopped by and found the counter cluttered with mail I have yet to go through. No one is perfect! (I know that I have said this before but it does us all some good to hear it again, including me!)

In today's world a women has so many roles and with many it is a race to see who can juggle these roles perfectly while attaining the best husband, house, career, children. My heart is torn for those I see striving for this unattainable goal whether they realize it or not and for what I can see in my own life as being too goal-driven. And I admit that it is easy to get caught up in striving for perfection. But no life is perfect and the sooner we all realize this, the more fulfilled we will be. How can we give those around us our ALL when we are so focused on so many "balls in the air." It can be too much and can effect our family as well as our friends even when we think we have it all under control...do we really??

You can spend a lifetime, and, if you're honest with yourself, never once was your work perfect. ~Charlton Heston

I came upon this and I agree. It helps me to realize again that it is not about perfections of our "works" but more about the relationships with others and with God and when we can admit our faults and let others see that we are not perfect, it can bring new meaning into these relationships.

Perfection....now all I have to do is let go, will you?.....

A New Look

I love expressing myself on this blog. It has become something that I look forward to....

I have found that there are a lot of people I know who enjoy this same wonderful way of communicating. And while perusing some of my favorite blog sites, I noticed that one these favorites recieved a "face lift" in the form of an amazing blog design....I clicked on the link to the blog designer jillyblogdesigns.blogspot.com and found a young mom who is using her creativity in a very FUN way. I entered her contest for a free blog design, hoping but never thinking that I would win.

Well......as you can see.....I DID! Thank you, Jill for making my new look suit me to a "T." It is PERFECT!

Pillow Fight!

One minute sweet and innocent.....

The next, all choas begins.....

...watch out, PILLOW FIGHT!