Ba-bye Binky, Hello Disneyland!

A few months back, Skylar said she was ready for her binkies to go away.  Yaya (my mom) had promised her that if she gave up her binkies, she would take her to Disneyland as a reward.  Skylar asked if Reagan could go along too so mom and I decided that we would make it a girls trip (well, a girls over two trip since we left Bailey with Daddy).  We decided to go the weekend before Thanksgiving since it would be decorated for Christmas but not crazy busy yet.

We left early on Friday morning and checked into the Disneyland Hotel! Then, we rode the monorail over to Disneyland.

This is the tree in Downtown Disney on the way to the monorail.

We had a fantastic day with the girls! They loved seeing Tinkerbell, eating ice cream, and shopping!

(yaya and the girls with the sun in their eyes!)

They got a little tired and hungry so we took the monorail back to the hotel and had a nice lunch and some rest time.  They got their second wind and we went back to the park.  Oddly enough, one of their favorite parts was playing at Goofy's house in his "yard."  There are a bunch of those soft climbing structures (like they have at our mall).  My mom and I were laughing about it, because they can play on those things anytime, but they had a blast because they were "free" to just play and not wait in line or hold someone's hand.

As we were walking back from Toontown (and Goofy's house) we realized that the Christmas parade (LOVE that they still call it a Christmas parade) was starting so we grabbed a spot next to Small World to watch.  Skylar fell asleep while waiting.  So sweet.

She woke up just as the princesses were passing and two of them even waved at her and blew her a kiss.  It was the highlight of her day!

Skylar on Small World ride

Reagan on the monorail (her favorite part).

We were there until almost 9pm and then decided to head back to the hotel to watch the fireworks from our balcony.  It was so fun! We sipped hot chocolate and covered up with a blanket.  The hotel has a "fireworks" channel that you tune into so you can hear the music that goes with the fireworks.

The next day we had breakfast with the characters, then shopped around Downtown Disney and headed home.

The girls with Jasmine

It was a great trip filled with memories! I'm so glad the girls had a fun time, but even more glad the binkies are gone from this house!

My babies are growing up.....

This time of year!

It's been "one of those days" all week.  


I feel like a broken record lately.  "Don't touch that."  "Put your shoes away please."  "Who emptied the DVD drawer again!?" "No, you may not have another snack.  I'm making dinner."  "Turn the tv off."  "Who gave the baby markers?!" "Is your homework done?" "Wasn't this room JUST picked up?!"  "Did you hear what I JUST said?!"  "How in the WORLD did you climb OUT of your crib?!"


Some days feel like it would be more productive to just bang my head on a wall.  I know that we have made the decision for me to stay home, and deal with all the sacrifices that come with that.  It's for the greater good of the girls.  It's just that some days it doesn't feel like it's for MY greater good.   At the end of the day, I'm spent.  I have nothing left to give.  I know that feeling is not unique to SAHMs.  Working moms must feel like they have even less to give.  


Christmas seems to add a whole different layer too.  This week (even though we're only halfway through), I was lamenting about how much I needed to get done.  I have tons of gifts to buy (and praying money starts growing on trees), decorations to put out, a tree to buy and decorate, Christmas cards and letters to finish, cookies to bake, and memories to make.  It's easy to feel overwhelmed.  


Just when I start to feel defeated (and tired and cranky), it seems like the Lord sends me a little perspective.  He doesn't require me to do any of those things on my to-do list.  He just wants me to be with my blessings and cherish them for what they are.


There are plenty of folks that would love to have my to-do list if it means that they wouldn't have to sit in a hospital next to their sick child (like a friend of mine), or watch a loved one deal with a terminal illness (another friend of mine), or watch a marriage crumble (another friend of mine), or wonder how to pay for gifts because of unemployment (another friend), or even have children to celebrate the wonder of the holidays with (yes, another friend), or ache from losing a child (another friend).  


Perspective.  


Overwhelming.
  


This season I will count my blessings.  Even the ones that don't seem like it.  The baby is showing us she's not a baby anymore.  She climbed out of her crib (more than once), and is talking non stop, as well as "asserting" herself more.  I am thankful that she's healthy, bright, and obviously agile.  Skylar wants every toy in every commercial, and even the "as seen on tv" items that are not toys.  But I'm thankful she lacks nothing and has few cares in the world. Reagan has lists of things she wants to do over her Christmas break.  More lists.  But I'm thankful she loves Christmas as much as I do, and wants to spend time with her family.  


I am truly thankful for this time of the year.  With the hustle and bustle and long lists of things to do, I am still reminded that the greatest gift of all was given in the humblest of conditions.  A baby born in a stable.  There were no icicle lights, Christmas cards, or trees.  


My blessings are many, my burdens are few.  I'm praying the same for each of you.

I heart Faces (and tooshies!)

This weeks theme cracks me up! I didn't think I had any "tooshie" pictures, but I did come across this one that I just love.  This is Reagan, at almost a year old.  She loved to be outside so when she wasn't able to go out, she would just stand at the back door and look.  My favorite part is that she pulled up so fast, she usually crawled her little legs right out of her jammies! Enjoy!

Head on over to I Heart Faces and see everyone else's (totally appropriate and clothed) tooshies!

I heart Faces Sun Flare Challenge

I am so excited about this week's theme over at "I Heart Faces"! I actually read the "sun flare" tutorial before taking my girls' Christmas pictures, so when I placed them on the bridge and saw that the sun was behind them, I tried every which way to get some "flare" into my photos.  Of course I was shooting with a Canon so according to the Boybarian Dad, (author of the sun flare tutorial, and owner of a Nikon), these are not nearly as good as they could have been.  :D This is one of my favorites from that day.  I love that Bailey has her little hands in her pockets (she was not even posed to do that!).  Their expressions are just natural because daddy was being silly behind me.  I even ordered a few of these prints with the caption "May your Days be Merry and Bright!" on them.  Enjoy!

I'm not perfect

I know. Shocking. But it's true.

There's a song by Laurie Berkner (who just happens to also be my favorite children's musician), that has a pretty catchy tune. It goes something like this:

I'm not perfect
no I'm not
I'm not perfect but I've got what I've got
I do my very best, do my very best, do my very best each day
but I'm not perfect, and I hope you like me that way.

You're not perfect,
no you're not.
You're not perfect, but you've got what you've got.
You do your very best, do your very best, do your very best each day.
But you're not perfect, and you know I love you that way.

(Or you can click here to hear it yourself)


How nice that children can learn at such an early age that no one is perfect. Nothing is perfect. I've been trying to change my use of the words "that's perfect" around the girls as well.  I realized I was saying it too much when I started hearing THEM say it.  Reagan likes things "just so" and can often be heard telling Skylar that she's not doing something right because it's not perfect.  I'm now trying to teach them that NO ONE is perfect.  Well, except for ONE person, but we'll get back to that.

I've struggled for years with perfection. Even as a child, I wanted things "just so." Now, one of my favorite songs that plays on my playlist is Francesca Battistelli's "Free to be Me." My favorite line is when she says, "Perfection is my enemy." Isn't that the truth?! Perfection IS my enemy. I will never achieve it, so it becomes a vice that destroys me.

When we moved into this house I wanted things "just so" but when my mom had her brain aneurysm and subsequent surgery, my plans took a back seat. So the house wasn't finished when we moved in. I tried to quickly get things in order but it felt like each step I took, I had to take two more backwards. I painted the cabinets. Then the paint peeled. So I painted them again. After sanding and priming again of course. We had a leak in our drain pipe in the garage. So after getting it repaired it took our home warranty company over a month to get someone to come out and seal up the drywall where they had cut into the wall to get to the pipe. Of course in that time, our little mice friends had moved in. So then we had to get rid of those icky creatures. It seems like projects get started but not finished. My bathroom still has wallpaper that I hate (and lots of spots where I got sloppy with the paint). My pantry has new contact paper in it, but it has bubbles in it. And only half of the cabinets have been contact papered at that. My sink has dried paint in it. I haven't cleaned a single window. The girls don't have curtains or pictures on their walls.  My dust ruffle on my bed is torn and 6 inches too short.  I could go on and on.

I found that when people were coming over, I was making excuses about why my house looked the way it did...unfinished. "It's still a work in progress" I would say.

Aren't we all?

I like to do lots of things, but I don't think I'm terribly great at any of them.  Far from an expert, and certainly not perfect.  I was beginning to start each day, feeling defeated.  I would exercise and eat right, but the scale wouldn't move.  I would pick up and pick up and pick up but the house would still look like 3 little girls live here.  I would attempt a new recipe only to have my girls make icky faces and I would end up making quesadillas for everyone.

Then I was driving and a song came on the radio that released me from my drive to perfection (probably not once and for all, but at least for now). I've loaded it to my playlist but wanted to give you the words also.

Natalie Grant-Perfect People

Never let Him see you when you're breaking
Never let Him see you when you fall
That's how we live
and that's how we try

Tell the world you've got it all together
And never let them see what's underneath
You cover it up, with a crooked smile
but it only lasts
for a little while

There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are
Broken and scarred
Lift up your heart
and be amazed, be changed
by a Perfect God.

Suddenly it's like a weight is lifted
When you hear the words that you are loved
He knows where you are, and He knows where you've been
and you never have to go there again.

There's no such thing as perfect people

There's no such thing as a perfect life

So come as you are

Broken and scarred

Lift up your heart

and be amazed, be changed

by a Perfect God.

Who lived and died to give you life

to heal our imperfections

so look up

and see love

and let grace be enough

There's no such thing as perfect people

There's no such thing as a perfect life

So come as you are

Broken and scarred

Lift up your heart

and be amazed, be changed

by a Perfect God.

Thank goodness I'm not expected to be perfect.  I'm so thankful for a husband that knows my imperfections and loves me in spite of them; children that know I'm not perfect, but still love me "to the moon and back"; and a God that created me to be imperfect so that I could find perfect peace in His grace and a promise of a perfect eternity in heaven.

I heart faces Autumn Beauty

This weeks theme over at "I heart faces" is "Autumn Beauty."  I don't normally participate because I'm so new to this photography thing, but the theme this week made me think of our pumpkin patch pictures, so I'm diving in! It was hard choosing just one photo, but this one is just a favorite.  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas Makeover!

I know, I know....it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I just LOVE Christmas! I'm ready to start decorating now! Since we are not having Thanksgiving at our house this year, I don't feel a need to keep the Fall decorations up.  It may have something to do with the Christmas stuff that has popped up in every store I visit.  Or the fact that we took our Christmas card photos this past weekend.  Or maybe it's just because I love Christmas and want to make it last as long as I can!

Whatever it is, I'm ready to put on the Christmas tunes, sit with my peppermint mocha by a roaring fire, and enjoy the sparkle of a tree.

40 days to go!