A Beautiful Mess!

My life has been just CRAZY. A crazy, beautiful MESS! (p.s. have you seen that movie- super cute). The MOPS group I was in had the theme of a beautiful mess this year and I feel that completely and totally captures my life since I started in 2013- 2014. It has been undeniably hard. Two miscarriages, sicknesses- so many sicknesses (including gout, colds, strep, skin infections & momo), hard to figure out headaches (found out Alivia is sensitive to dairy), staples and ER visits (Nolan hit is head on the concrete), and Nolan's never ending skin issues. I'm a stressed out mama and Ben is a tired daddy. I feel like God used this theme perfectly in my life- I needed it. In the midst of all these health issues, we know that God has a plan and our mess, our sickness, our life is beautiful to Him who created us. Honestly without God, these days would be harder then they already our. But with Him, I am feeling ok and  starting to realize that life, no matter how much you want it to be perfect, is a mess. I seriously am praying for better health and to be accident free for a while, we would love a sickness break. Ben told me the other day- in sickness and in health we love each other and that goes without saying that whatever God hands us, though it be sickness or health, we know He loves us and cares for us too. 

Along with sickness, comes the chaos of having two kiddos about 20 months apart. Here are a few pictures that really helped contribute to my beautiful mess. Love them!

Poor girl got a comb stuck in her hair and it took over an hour to get out. 

Chocolate face and loving it. 

Making outdoor chalk paint- talk about messy but fun. 

Homemade flubber time, this stuff is a mess to get off carpet.

Playing in the rain water, and look at my little fashion girl. 

Planting seeds... Dirt is messy. 

Painting Olaf. 

So creative. 

Nolan throwing clothes down the stairs, such a boy! 

What the kids room looked like on a daily basis before I implement a new toy system. 

Much more work but worth it, these can be messy though. :) 

Are you embracing your story!? 

And He Said!!

Nolan's chatting it up these days. Here are some of his favorites:

- me show (he wants to show us something) 

- E, up until a few weeks ago, turned Evie    (Livie) 

- me sad, happy, scared (Showing his emotions)

- napki (napkin) and he wipes his mouth after almost every bite

- boo boo, ouch (when he gets hurt) 

- Monkey George (Curious George)

- foooood (food, especially in the morning when first waking up)

-  chacky (Chocolate) 

He repeats almost everything we ask him to say. I just love him!! 

And She Said (Zoo Day)!

We were at the zoo and I let Alivia eat some of her favorite treat- yogurt covered raisins (very rare treat) and when she was done she threw her hands up in the air and said, "I need to go wash my hands to protect Nolan." Cute beyond words. I love how caring she is and how much she loves him. 

Jamberry, My Latest Fun!

I just love Jamberry nail wraps. It's my new favorite thing. If you haven't heard of this company before, you should check them out. I purchase some for myself and Jamberry juniors. Love them!!!

My Little Cuties!

Family <3!

Just a few recent pictures from the IPhone! 

Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas both Christmas Eve and Christmas because Chris left early(ish) on Christmas day to return home. We had a blast. The kids, of course, loved opening Christmas presents, leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, and playing with their new toys. My favorite part of Christmas this year was having my family around. It was such a beautiful present in and of itself to have Chris and my dad here, along with my mom. It was just wonderful. I tried really hard to minimize the amount of gifts the kids got, but I did a horrible job of it. Between the free sites, craigslist, and the mom's sale sites I'm on, I got some fantastic deals and started looking in the summer= too much stuff! Come Christmas time, I had a stack. Next year I am going to limit the amount they get. This year, we just gave them what we purchased and sold and gave away some old toys they don't play with anymore. It worked out pretty well.

Here are some pictures of us opening presents!

 

 

My favorite gift for the kids- a nice size doll-house that doubles as a bookcase. I love it and so do the kids!