Sunday Scribbles~ Late Night Love

Chandler and I don't get a lot of alone time. It just isn't in the cards on most days. However, Baby Girl is teething right now so she hasn't been feeling very well. Eliot has been kind enough to move to the guest room so Chandler can sleep with me, making it easier to sooth her during the night. Last night it didn't phase me really, but tonight is different. I've just been laying here staring at her and realizing what an angel she is. She has finally dosed off after some major cuddle time with Mommy. This child owns my heart.

She's so incredibly sweet and as I get to know her little personality more I realize how much like her Daddy she is. She's gentle and quiet, loving and calm. She lowers my blood pressure I'm sure! She loves to lay beside me, hold my hands and stare at me until sleep takes over. She's so silly right now. The strangest things send her into fits of giggles and that is the sweetest sound to my ears. As I type this, she's giggling in her sleep...seriously. She's pure joy.

When I found out I was pregnant with her, I knew she was a girl. I knew it like I knew my name. The idea of a daughter at that time seemed foreign to me, but I figured if God gave me a daughter He had confidence in me to raise her. Even though I was sure she was a girl, I could have never been prepared for the love I feel for her. I pray that we're always close in that special way only a mother and daughter are. I also pray she reads this one day and knows that her Mommy has been head over heals in love with her since Day 1.

Chandler May~ You are too sweet for words!

Happy Birthday, America!

We had a lovely time at Centennial Olympic Park last night watching the fireworks or "fifarts" as Harris calls them! Harris had never seen fireworks before and he was mesmerized. He called out all the colors as he saw them... "rad, oange, gree, bwue, sheshow, poopa!" It was so awesome seeing his face light up from the lights and sheer excitement. Poor little Chandler thought we had all lost our minds keeping her awake so late so she just passed out :)

Side note: I highly recommend the fireworks show we went to. There was something so cool about seeing such huge fireworks with a backdrop of the the Atlanta skyline. Beautiful. Not to mention there's obviously a largely diverse population in Atlanta. It was very cool to see so many different cultural groups represented there to celebrate our country. It was a fabulous birthday party! I hope your was just as festive :)

Staycation 2012!

Our air conditioner has been MIA for a week and a half now. We toughed it out as long as possible but when Harris and I were not feeling well on Monday, we loaded up and came to the Marriott across the street until it was fixed. Well, it's Wednesday and we're still here. Hopefully all will be up and running tomorrow but in the meantime we're enjoying a lovely staycation.

Life is SO about perspective. It would be easy to complain about the fact we're in this small hotel room with two kids under the age of 2, but I'm totally embracing it. Why not? We've been able to snuggle with our kids all night, get creative with mealtime, play on an elevator (which for a 2 year old is amazing), hit up the swimming pool and have yummy hotel breakfast including Harris' first doughnut! There's a giant American flag outside of our window so Harris got a lesson on the flag and how to salute it in honor of Independence Day. Also, theres no housework in a hotel... Today we'll enjoy the Fourth of July celebrations around town and since we're still new to the area, it will feel like a real vacation. Instead of huffing and puffing about our seemingly inconvenient circumstances, we're making the most of it!

It's all about perspective! Happy Fourth of July!

Random Monday Thoughts

I've been a little lazy with the blog lately and I hate that. I don't want blogging to become an item on my to do list, but at the same time I feel like its so important to document life right now. Things are moving so fast and I can't put the brakes on! I watch my baby boy becoming a little boy and it it kills me. I see my newborn becoming a sweet baby girl and rolling over, laughing and playing. It's a blessing to watch my children grow but I sure wish the days were longer.

I've reached a milestone in parenting that I believe to be nothing short of God answering prayer in a blatant way. I was feeling so drained by parenting my children every day. There's never a break for a stay at home mom and it's tiresome. It occurred to me that I was being so selfish in my thoughts. I was worrying about my next "alone time" or when I could read or rest or take a shower alone. All of my thoughts were around ME. What an ugly way to live. I prayed for God to remove my selfish thoughts. I continue to pray this every morning when my eyes open.

The outcome has been a new view of my children. I'm laughing at the insanity of my days and the exhaustion of sleepless nights. I've realized (with a heavy heart) that these moments are passing so quickly so instead of looking toward nap time or bedtime so I can be alone, I'm soaking up every second of them being awake, with me. I know one day I'll miss having little people crying "Mommy!!" or needing snuggles or wanting me to read the same book over and over. I'll even miss the sleepless nights and the impossible attempts at a quiet meal. I'm going to embrace the crazy and soak up every minute!

Let the Party Begin!

When did my baby grow up? 

We started Harris' Birthday celebration one month early! He's turning two and that's a big deal so OF COURSE we'll celebrate for a month. For his first party he had a double party with his BFF Izzie who will be two tomorrow! They have been big buddies since birth so Izzie's mom and I thought it was only appropriate for them to celebrate together. (Actually, it was the genius thinking of Lindsay that brought the idea together. She suggested we do this in an attempt to let Harris celebrate with his friends! So sweet and thoughtful) Here are a few pictures from the day courtesy of  Katie Burbage!

We Love Mickey! 

The Birthday Girl!

All of their buddies who came! How we managed this shot I'll never know...

Mommies and Babies BFF

So funny that everyone is singing to us!

Is that cake for US?!

Sweet Girl celebrating Harris' Birthday!

She had buddies her age there, too!

We had a great time and are so thankful for everyone who came! I'm especially thankful for my sweet friend Lindsay for all of her hard work and my awesome friend Laura who loves our babies enough to have helped us with the party! You girls are great. 

New Morning, New Mood

"Being a mother and raising children has not come easy to me." What a confession. 

I attend a weekly Bible study and have transferred my study to a church here in Peachtree Corners. I attended my first class here last Thursday and met some fantastic women to study with. We were in the midst of discussing our present sufferings as Christians as it is discussed in 1 Peter. This sweet girl said her suffering was being a mother. She said, "Being a mother and raising children has not come easy to me." After class I told her how much a appreciated her boldness to speak honestly. The truth was, however, I appreciated her saying out loud what I had been thinking. 

There are days that I think "shouldn't I enjoy this more?" or "I'm not doing a good job with these kids, I should go back to work and put them in daycare." It is on those days that Satan gets a good grasp on my mind and the domino effect begins. I go from questioning my abilities as a mother to my abilities as a wife, friend, daughter, etc. I had that kind of day yesterday. The day started out fine I guess but something went terribly wrong after naptime. One child woke up on the WRONG side of his crib and the other probably would have also had she taken the opportunity to actually sleep. From 2:30 until 6:30 our house was filled with screaming, crying and pitching fits and I must admit...not all of that was the kids. Needless to say, by the time Eliot got home we were ALL thankful to get away from each other. Eliot put Harris to bed, Chandler finally decided to snooze in her swing and I went outside for some peaceful alone time. I thought, "this day has been a disaster" and I was right. 

As I sat down to read my Bible this morning I stumbled upon this gem:

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 

1 Peter 5:8

Devour. That is exactly what I allowed my enemy to do yesterday and many other days in the past. How could it be that I have allowed motherhood, the most precious earthly gift God can provide, to become Satan's tool? Of course he would use that! Something that God intends to be a blessing would be Satan's first target. And I allowed it. As I read the words "be self-controlled and ALERT" I felt God telling me, "Ashley, WAKE UP! Don't you see?" Oh how thankful I am for those moments when God tugs at my soul and awakens my mind to things unnoticed. 


This morning the sweet words of Lamentations 3:22-23 ring in my soul:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for HIS compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is YOUR faithfulness."

So today I will NOT allow Satan to control this house. I will show more love and patience with my children. I will show more compassion and mercy toward them. Afterall, God shows me new grace every morning...my children deserve the same from me!

Sunday Scribbles~Because I Had 10 minutes of Quiet!

I'm thinking that my head may stop spinning any day now. The last two months have been crazy...no really. We have had a baby, a sickly two year old adjusting to baby, a new job offer, accepting new job offer, packing our Montgomery house and a move to Atlanta that began with a week of the whole family being sick while unpacking. All of this has gone on since February 11. I am beyond tired. However, in all of that chaos, we are having a blast here in Atlanta! I knew this was what we were supposed to be doing and I just continue to have peace about our decision to come, even in the midst of illness and fatigue. God's good like that :)

So here's an update on the kiddos just so that when my head does stop spinning I can look back and remember this sweet, chaotic time!

Sweet Chandler has been a complete angel since entering the world. She loves sleep, sleep and more sleep. She LOVES to snuggle and bounce with Mommy. She loves to be talked to and loves watching her silly big brother. She is sleeping wonderfully and after a few changes to formula and bottles, she's eating great, too. She started smiling at 5 weeks and hasn't stopped since. She is even beginning to let out a few giggles. I won't even attempt to explain how cute THAT is. She is perfect in every way :)

Harris. Harris, Harris, Harris. Where do I begin? This little ball of energy is a MESS. He just gets sillier and sillier. He is figuring out that he can say no to something and simply not do it OR do exactly what I've just told him not to. Welcome to Terrible Twos :) I have a hard time juggling wanting to put him in permanent time out or laughing at his sass. He is SO passionate about the things he doesn't like and more importantly, what he DOES like!

He has discovered the wonderful world of Disney movies. His favorites are:

Peter Pan (PeePie and his shawoah (shadow) are a hit around here) 

Cars (Cah (Lightning McQueen), Manny (Tow Mater)

Little Mermaid (mee-may or gool (girl) )

He is saying some really sweet things right now, too:

"Howol" What he says when he wants me to hold him

"Biiiiig House" Our new house in Atlanta ;)

"Bees" Every bug

"Geegert" Yogurt

"Chewies" Fruit chews

These kids just continue to keep me on my heels. I'm hoping that we will be completely settled in soon and life will be normal! I'm thankful for entertainment from my sweet kids during all the change the last two months. I'll say it again, God is GOOD!