A nice day

Today was a good day.  We had friends over to play and that is always fun!  We watched Reagan and Pierson for a little today ALL the kids were so sweet and wonderful!  The girls and I made pumpkin cookies.  Jace and Reagan helped me put them on the cookie sheet and we counted them and talked about pumpkins and what color they are.  And then while they were baking I let them stir some muffing batter for me so that I could make some whole grain banana nut and apple cinnamon muffins!  They had so much fun helping me in the kitchen today!  And watching them have so much fun was so wonderful for me!  I noticed today that the girls are growing up so much and playing so sweetly together.  Jace taught Reagan hide and seek, which was taught to her by David yesterday!!!  They took turns covering their eyes and counting while the other hid... they were so excited!  Then they took turns putting each other "down for a nap" and singing rock-a-bye baby and twinkle, twinkle little star to each other!  And Rory and Pierson got to interact more today too!  I faced them in their respective high chairs and they "talked" to each other FOREVER!  It was too cute!  Then, later on, when they were on the floor Rory kept crawling to him and trying to play with him.  She is forever trying to hold his hand - I believe she is going to be very demonstrative with her feelings as she grows!  I've added some pics of the kids below:

Update

Ha!  It's been a while... already slacking!  LOL  Well its really been kind of slow around here actually.  We've just been hanging out with a few friends and around the house.  Last weekend the girls spent the night at their Bic's and since Trey and I have not had that much free time in I couldn't tell you when we went to see TWO movies!  That's right---TWO!!!  But, you know, it will probably be another 6 months before we get to another movie!!! hahaha!!!  We went to pick up the girls and they were both in the BEST moods on Saturday!  They had obviously had a great time with Bic!  I really need to dress them up in their pumpkin dresses that my friend Jerica made them and also their costumes and take them back to Bic's for pictures on the wagon.  She's, of course, got it all decked out for Halloween :)  Maybe I will be able to do that this weekend and then I'll post the pics!  On the way home Jace just about conked out!  So we called Matt (he and Kai were here for the weekend)  and told him to put Kai down for a nap so that we could get all the kids down before they saw each other and wanted to play!  They napped a while and I ran errands while the guys watched--- you guessed it---FOOTBALL!  It was nice to see Matt and Kai!  The kids are all growing up sooo fast!  Then Jace's BFF Reagan broke her collarbone falling out of a chair!  Poor baby!  I know it hurts her sooo much!  But bless Jessica's heart, she was so upset with herself (even though it was NOT her fault) but she was able to keep a sense of humor about it---- she sent me a text from the dr's office saying that that it was HER child who had the FIRST broken bone!  It's been a running joke that Jace would be the first one to break a bone because she's so adventurous and really just doesn't pay attention to what she's doing!  Yesterday I had to wake the girls up and have them ready to go so that I could be at the Honda place by 8:00 for my oil change and tire balance.  Anyone that knows Jace knows that she is definitely MY daughter--- she DOES NOT WAKE UP WELL!  It was like 2o minutes of pure torture!  I had to fight with her to get her out of her crib and dressed.  It was actually kind of ridiculous...  I was so mad.  And then I felt terrible because I felt like I was being so MEAN to her.  But I don't have the time to cajole her every morning... it was an unpleasant glimpse into our future when I will have to wake her up and have her ready for school!  Thank goodness that is still 3 years away!!!  She was a PILL ALL day!  But I think she was just tired.  We put her to bed EARLY last night, like 7:30!  She did not get up today until 10:00 and then she went back down for a nap at 1:30 and slept until 5:00.  And then she asked to go to bed tonight at 8:00!  But she was so sweet today, so maybe she's caught up on her rest!  Rory is crawling EVERYWHERE!  And she's FAST!!!  She can almost go up the step in the living room by herself now... but luckily she has her big sister Jace to help her up :)  we have put pillows by the step because she just does a face plant when she wants down!  Jace "shared" her mandarin oranges with Rory today when I was unloading the dishwasher!  Man children can do things so quickly!  Well, you all know how sensitive Rory's digestive tract is right now as well as her little hiney!!!  Needless to say that was NOT fun later :)  But at least Jace was willing to share with her little sister...  who, by the way, LOVES her so much!  It's so precious!  She wants to be EVERYWHERE Jace is right now and wants to play with her constantly.  And Jace plays very well with her usually, but she is getting rougher so I have to keep a close eye on their playing!!!  Rory finally ate a sweet potato tonight--- I have been trying her on them for 2 months and she just hasn't taken to them at all.  But I got some in our organic produce this week and they must have a better flavor because she tore it up!  And I bought some yogurt tonight to try with her.  Yogurt is pretty bland so I am hoping she does well with it.  I got Jace's fall/winter clothes out from when she was an infant to get them ready for the Roar.  Let's keep in mind that Jace was born in June so she was only about 4 -6 months at this time.  Well, Rory is 8 months so I for sure thought the clothes would fit her.  NOPE!  Jace was a much bigger baby and was wearing 12-18 months stuff by the time she was 7 months old.  so everything is too BIG for Rory!  and I don't mean a little--- they swallow her :)  It's just amazing to me the size difference in the two girls!  I don't think it will really matter that much except that the pants keep slipping past her feet and the arms unroll over her hands and inhibits her crawling and she gets frustrated and MAD!  She definitely has a little temper when she's being inhibited in any way!  And she definitely lets us know about it too!  Well that's it for now!  I will post some pics soon!

Tuesday

Today we spent a couple of hours at the park.  It felt so good outside and Jace had a BLAST playing with her friend David!  She was exhausted though, and ended up sleeping for 4 1/2 hours!!!  Rory had fun too... she took a short morning nap there in her stroller and went down for her afternoon nap at 2:00.  She is NOT going to be the napper that Jace is!  hahaha!  But she wakes up in an extremely great mood so that's good!  I played with them after they woke up and did some laundry---which is NEVERENDING around here!  LOL  We had to lower the Roar's crib tonight.  When I went to get her up from her nap she was almost able to pull herself up :)  I could just see her tumbling out of her crib soon...  After the girls were in bed I got busy tonight cleaning!  I had been doing some nitpicky stuff all day but once they were asleep I did a thorough cleaning job... dusted, vacuumed, mopped everywhere, cleaned the rug because it had spit up spots everywhere :)  and cleaned the bathrooms!!!!!  Trey went to bed early just to get away from all the cleaning!  hahaha  Some stuff I can do during the day when the girls are awake but it's just simply easier for me to mop and clean the rugs, etc when they are not underfoot!  Plus, I don't like to spend TOO much of my time consumed with "other" activities/things/chores, etc. when I could be playing, reading or just being with them.  We have so much fun together and Jace likes to help me with some chores now.  I sit laundry from the washer on the dryer door and she pushes it in for me, or she'll hand me stuff from the dishwasher to put away after they're clean.  She also likes to clean up messes on the floor!  Of course, they're usually messes she caused anways!  LOL  Now if only I could get her to pick up ALL of her toys every day!!!!!

Roman 12:12

"Rejoice in hope. endure in affliction, persevere in prayer."

A little update

It has been a fast couple of days...  Sorry to not post, but my computer's power cord broke and I had to wait for them to send me a new one.  Thankfully, they were very nice and quick about it :)  We didn't really do much last week...  just the usual hanging out with friends.  I had to take Rory to the doctor for her 3rd rotateq vaccine.  I sure wish her little bottom would heal up.  If you don't know, our little Roar has been blessed with EXTREMELY sensitive skin.  It constantly stays blistered... even in the cloth diapers.  But this past occurrence has lasted longer than normal.  It looks like a trip back to Dr. M. if it doesn't totally heal soon.  Trey, the girls and I got a Y membership from Gigi for a christmas/just because present.  So I took the girls to their first childwatch experience last week.  They did GREAT!  Jace cried a little when I walked out but when I went back to get them in an hour she did not want to leave :)  And the workers said that Rory was the only baby who did not cry at all!!!  Trey and I decided to try to work out together at least once or twice a week when he gets home, depending on how the girls are doing :)  But also to try to get up there separately some too!!!  Friday, Trey took the day off and we went to TN to see my Nana again!  I was going to go to a HUGE yardsale with her and Pam but Nana didn't feel like going.  It hurts her to walk too much right now.  Instead we went to several yard sales in and around Columbia.  There were, I think, at least 71 yard sales :)  One neighborhood we went too had 40!!!  I had a fun time!  I enjoy going to yard sales, especially with my Nana!  Although she tells me all the time to drive faster :)  We came home sunday and, of course, Jace did NOT nap in the car and Rory only got one nap.....  These things are never good!  We put the girls to bed at 6:30 last night!  Jace slept GREAT!  She didn't wake up until a little after 8:00 this morning, and she's in a FANTASTIC mood!  Rory, on the other hand, woke up at 8:00 last night and was NOT happy.  I guess she thought that was her 2nd nap.  I don't think she felt very well, especially because she was so fussy and that is very unusual for the Roar.  She finally went back to sleep around 10:00 and her sleep was very fitful until about 1:30 this morning.  But after she finally settled down she slept peacefully until a little after 7:00 this morning.  I was kind of hoping she's sleep longer but at least she woke up in a great mood.  They are both getting back on their schedules ASAP!  The moodiness that routine disruption causes is simply just not worth it sometimes!!!  They slept great at my Nana's but I need to do the car trips at better times since Jace won't sleep in the car anymore!  Well, we are looking forward to a wonderful and busy week.  Hopefully I will have more pics soon :)  They are both excited and moving around now so I am off to explore their world with them! 

Other family pics

I FINALLY downloaded some pics of Jace with some of our other family members!!!  They were on the desktop, which doesn't ever want to cooperate with me :)  LOL  Oh well!  Better late than never ;)  Here is Jace with her Bic and her cousin Presley (pesley as she calls her---she forgets the r)  This was at Jace's 2nd birthday party, a pony party that Bic threw for her at her house!!!  Jace and all her friends LOVED munchkin and the party!Here's Bic, Presley, Jace and Nathan!!!  Nathan manned the pony for all the kids :)Presley, Jace and Nathan...  Jace LOVES to ride the pony!!!  This was her Daddy's pony when he was a little boy--- neat, huh!?!

Jace loved getting to help Bic lead Munchy (she talked about the pony for WEEKS!)

Here's where Jace got to spend some time with Presley recently!  Presley was being so sweet and giving Jace rides in her Jeep!  They love each other so much!  It's so sweet to see them hug, kiss, and get so excited to see each other!

 Jace probably wanted to drive!  hahaha!

 Here's little Roar with Aunt Sharon!  Unfortunately I don't have any pics of Uncle Curt!  Jace asked for Curt and Presley for 3 days straight after seeing them!  It was cute!!!

True Daddy's Girls!

These girls LOVE Trey so much!  I could almost be jealous, except that I see the ABSOLUTE JOY that the three of them bring each other!!!  I was fortunate to capture the look that Rory gets on her face EVERY SINGLE TIME she sees Trey.  It's priceless..... and "Whoa!" if Trey's first moves in the house don't include hugging her!  She definitely lets us know if he's taking his precious time getting to her!  lolHere is sweet Rory crawling in for her hug IMMEDIATELY!!!Rory has definitely become a Daddy's Girl!!!  No one (except for Jace) can make her giggle like this!!!She's tired of the tickles and wants to laugh at Jace here:

Jace has ALWAYS been a Daddy's Girl!  From the second she came out.  Trey could ALWAYS comfort her so much quicker as an infant.  She's hit the TERRIFIC TWOS, but she still adores her Daddy!!!

The first the thing the girls do when their Daddy gets home is kiss, hug and crawl ALL OVER HIM!  At least if we're not at the dinner table already, then they do it after :)

Jace's favorite thing to do with Trey is to climb on him and be thrown in the air!  This must be done every single night before bed!

 Rory is crawling now so she tries to get in to the action as much as possible these days!!!

 Oh, such LOVE & JOY!  I am so blessed in my family!  They are the best, happiest children.  THANK YOU LORD for my SWEET, HAPPY, HEALTHY, and BEAUTIFUL GIRLS!!!

And THANK YOU LORD for my SWEET, LOVING, and HANDSOME HUSBAND.  Without him our lives would be lacking in ALL THINGS AND AREAS!!!  GOD knew we loved and needed each other LONG before we did!!!!

Our Anniversary

Trey and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on the first of October!!!  It was a great day!  We took our time that morning with the kids and then went to lunch.  We chose to spend the day with our beautiful girls, the true treasures of our wonderful marriage!!!  God intended for us to have our family so young since it was on our honeymoon that He blessed us with Jace... our purpose in our marriage and in this life we have made for ourselves by His grace is to have the blessings that we have named Jace and Rory and to raise them in the best manner we know how.  So on "our" day we took our blessings to the Children's Museum at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and spent some fun family time exploring together.  There is nothing and NO ONE that our kids enjoy more than us and the precious time we can spend with them.  Here are some great pics to remember the time:

Psalm 91

Today has hurt my heart a little.  Sometimes, no matter how hard you try or what you do, relationships will just be what they will be.  As I was wandering through various blogs that I read and reading the few things that I do daily for encouragement (devotions/Bible) I came across Psalm 91:  

"Safety of Abiding in the Presence of the Lord

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord,

'He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.'

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence,

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, 

Nor of the destruction that lays waste of noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

and ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look, 

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because, you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place. 

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

Because he has set his love upon Me,

therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, 

because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble; 

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation."

It's amazing to me that the Lord shows you exactly what you need when you need to see it. 

Favorite pics of Rory

I have been remiss in posting more pics of the Roar!!!  She's starting to crawl but I have yet to capture that on camera!!!!!!!!

Jealous Jace

Jace was very put out that Jade was not giving her the undivided attention she felt she deserved!!!  Of course, as soon as Jade put Rory down and started playing with Jace again, she was FINE!!!!!  Trey said Jace is going to be sooo mad when she's older that I put these pictures of her on here.  Oh well!  She'll get over it, hahaha!!!

Friends

So on the way home from TN we got to stop and see our old neighbors from Prattville.  They had moved to NY over a year ago and it was so hard for us (me).  I was use to seeing Tamrra every day and our children are so close in age so it was nice.  She was such a huge help to me when Jace was first born and I missed having her around when Rory joined our family.  But thankfully NY did not work out for them and they moved back to AL, although to Ardmore.  But its not TOO far away, YAAAY!  But it bittersweet to watch how well Jace and Stephen played together the other day... he's almost 2 years older but he is so sweet to Jace.  And to see how BIG the boys have gotten... my goodness I've missed out on ALOT!  Ryan is 5 months older than Jace and such a sweetie pie!  I look forward to getting to spend more time with them.  It makes me want to be neighbors again, LOL!  Here are some pics: