Abigail's First Haircut

I finally broke down and got my baby girl's hair cut. What is it about a hair cut that makes a kid look SO much older? Maybe it's just a mommy and her baby thing!


Anyway...journling reads:
After months of telling myself that I was going to just let Abi’s hair grow out, I finally decided that I just couldn’t bear to see my beautiful little lady looking so shaggy anymore. So, took her to Great Clips, along with her siblings, to get her a $5.99 special haircut. She sat like a big girl in the chair all by herself except for holding Mom’s hand which I think was more for Mom’s comfort than her’s. Her sister Anna found a singing stuffed Barney to distract her and in a mere 5 minutes she went from messy to marvelous.


I scanned the little card that the beauty shop filled out and put her little curls on.
I used Katie Mann's Sew Long Ago kit for this. Aren't the cute little scissors just perfect? And the bright colors were just right with these photos with her bright colored smock.

BathTime Joy!

We have a new sense of bathtime joy in our house. Up until a couple of months ago bathtime was always lots of fun for my wee ones. Patrick and Abigail usually bathe together and have a ball. But that all changed after one slip in the tub. At least I think that is what caused the shrieks of terror that came from my baby girl whenever she got near the bathtub. One day I went to put her in the tub and she freaked. I vaguely recall that she took a little spill at the end of her last bath, but I really didn't think too much of it. I mean every child slips on occasion and take s plunge under the water. It happened and I comforted her. For the past few months every bath has been misery. Abi screams no matter what I do to comfort her. I have tried using the bath seat, and even taking her into the shower with me and holding her. It was so sad. She was TERRIFIED! She finally got to the point that she would play with Patrick from outside the tub, but if I made any motion to put her in, too, she would scream and run away. Last Monday, I went to give my little ones a bath and was prepared to make it quick for my little lady. As usual, when she saw my wet hand from testing the water temperature, she whined and ran away. I chased her down and plopped her into the tub and she only whined then got distracted with the tub toys and Patrick. The only time she screamed was when Patrick poured water even though it wasn't onto her.

This morning, I gave them both a bath and Happy Bathtime Abigail had officially returned! I am SO happy! She only cried when I made her get out. Woohoo!

ToothFairy Guild

Is it possible to get thrown out of the Tooth Fairy Guild? If so, the little fairy responsible for our household is in jeopardy of being tossed out right along with her male assistant! These two have got to be the most incompetent fairies in existence. Their record has been tarnished by totally forgetting to look for teeth under pillows, falling asleep before children who have lost teeth and most recently, the inability to even LOCATE a tooth under a pillow. (sigh) After this most recent fiasco the other night, my daughter, Anna, sadly informed me that the Tooth Fairy had forgotten to come. As she said it, she motioned to the sweet little baggie containing the prize tooth that she had even wrapped a pink scrunchy around to make it look like a pretty bow. It was sitting smack dab on top of her throw pillow on her bed next to her regular pillow. I quickly covered for our incompetent tooth fairies by telling her that she lost it so late in the evening that the tooth fairy probably didn't get notification of the tooth early enough to come that evening - a believable story that seemed to make sense to her. Then, I have it under good authority that our tooth fairies FORGOT all about it the following evening. Fortunately, the one woke up early and remembered in time to complete the sneaky exchange of tooth for Susan B. Anthony dollar just as the sun was rising.

But this is NOT the first time this has happened. Anna's older sister, Elizabeth, has actually had her tooth forgotten for days on end until she finally gave up. When she lost her next tooth she carefully placed both teeth under her pillow. Fortunately, our dear fairies came through with a wad of bonus cash to make up for their indiscretions.

I suppose there are many excuses that can be made for our Tooth Fairies. They have to work really hard hunting for well hidden teeth. Our children often lay awake quite late in their beds making surreptitious tooth snatching quite difficult. But, they had really better get their act together or I really fear what sad disappointment awaits our other two children when they reach that stepping stone in their life of losing teeth. I overheard the our male fairy commenting to his associate that he really feels that there needs to be a new system. Perhaps a more obvious location for teeth exchanges. I don't know - I certainly hope they can get their act together, and soon!

Princess of Fashion

What can I really say about this picture? This is my little Princess of Fashion, Anna. We only WISH we could all be as stylish as my little lady here! She IS stunning, isn't she?

I used Katie Mann's (www.katiemanndesigns.com) Ramblin Rose kit for this scrapbook layout because it's pretty and feminine just like my daughter!

Pizza Picnic

What could be a finer way to spend a Sunday evening sharing a meal with family? Sundays are traditionally family day. After church, all of you cousins along with your aunts, uncles, moms , dads and grandparents spend the day hanging out together at Grandma and Grandpa Richhart's house. Sometimes we even decide to do dinner together. This week there was Papa John's pizza and you little ones got to picnic on the family room floor on this tablecloth that has probably been around since your daddies were your age. The babies thought it was such a treat because they were not required to be confined to their high chairs on this occasion.

Elements used to create this scrapbook page are by my friend, Mo. They are from her Vintage 60s kit and Gingham Buttons and Bows kit. Both are from www.scrapbook-elements.com

Little Miss Sandy Pants

Spring has arrived and Abi has discovered the sandbox. It is so cute to see her toddle on over to it and struggle to get her chubby little legs over the edge. Once she's there, though, she will have her bottom planted in the sand for quite some time.

Another recent scrapbook page representing another sign of spring: anthills on the sidewalk. My little boy is SUCH a BOY! He loves bugs! And then, of course, his little sister does, too, because she adores him and everything he does. 

Sign of the Times!

Although there is not much activity happening in our pasture yet due to te fact that we are STILL waiting on our engineered septic system to be approved, our builder stopped by to introduce his son who will be assisting him and asked if he could place a sign in the yard. Now the neighbors will be fairly sure that we are not putting in a pond but BUILDING A NEW HOUSE. (Naw, I'm not getting excited!) Hopefully, within about a week there will be some REAL action happening in our yard!

Exhaustion

Exhausion seems to be my companion of late. There is so much going on and so much to get done! Not that this is unusual, but of late there has been more than the norm. I have been shorting my sleep to try and get more done and I do not think that it is really paying off. I feel like I am running on fumes and it is not fun. I am grumpy and seem to be out of the necessary patience it takes to be a mommy of four. I know somewhere I still have that patience, for God promises that, but right now I am too tired to dig it out of me!

This morning I was reminded of the verse, "I can to all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philipians 4:13) I need to realize that I don't need to live my life through my own power. I need to be yielded to Christ and allow Him to be my source of power and strength. Perhaps He brings me to this point of exhaustion to remind me of that.

Another verse I was meditating on this morning is Matthew 6:33, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be given to you as well." The "things" the verse refers to are mentioned in the previous verses and are what to eat, what to drink, and what to wear, but I think these things can represent all of our daily worries. I need to remember that if we need it for our lives, it will be given to us. Instead of chasing after these needs, I need to be chasing after God. Seek HIM first, then what is important will fall into place. I think for me right now this means that I need to stop worrying about each thing on my to do list and how I am ever going to get them all done. Instead my focus needs to be on God and allow Him to direct me. I need to "run with perserverence the race marked out before me keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

A recent scrapbook page I have created.
Journaling reads:
Patrick,I’m not sure when this began, but everytime I change your diaper, you squeeze the star on this toy that resides wrapped around the changing table so that it will play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Perhaps because I smiled, you began saying,“That song make you happy?” I had to agree that it did- especially when you asked mes o sweetly. This became our diaper changing ritual You ARE a clever little boy and now when I scold you for being naughty, you begin singing“Twinkle Twinkle.”“That make you happy!”you will proclaim and assume that I will no longer feel any need to discipline you because your sweet song has made me so HAPPY.

The digital papers used here are from Doris Castle's Moon and Star's kit.