Life is better with others

I have always felt as though life is much sweeter when shared with others, whether it's family or friends! I love being around other people, and am in a much better mood overall when I spend time with others. God has really blessed us with some great friends in VA over the last 8 years of living here! Since becoming parents, this concept is even more present in our lives! These friends lighten the load, and are a great sounding board when I have questions about parenting. We love and miss our families, but our awesome friends make life pretty sweet!

 Friends strawberry picking

 Guys from our small group at one of our socials

 'Seashell' with the girls

 Claire and Katey with their girls

 The Bible study I go to Sunday nights

Avery and her two favorite guys: Ethan and Kai

Avery with her buddies at her 2nd bday party

BC life

Life sure has changed since having kids. I call that life BC - before children. I hope what I'm about to say doesn't upset people. In no way am I saying that I regret having kids, or that I don't love them to pieces, but life has definitely changed, and if I'm being honest...it's much harder and complicated.

Since we are in the toddler and little baby stage, there is very little spontaneity in our lives. Avery's schedule is pretty open, with the exception of 3 hrs in the afternoon when she takes her nap, but Lucy's schedule is pretty tight. If we go places (especially with both of them) it's been planned out.

Vacations sure have changed, too! We went to Mexico twice, Europe for a few weeks, NYC and other mini beach vacations here and there BC. The only places we've gone with kids (and really just Avery because we haven't been on a vacation since Lucy was born) is NY and FL to visit family.

I miss the days of hanging out late with friends, not having to be home every three hours to feed a child, and I miss most being able to do things with John being carefree. I know that we'll eventually get back to that place again, but let's be honest...it'll be a while!

But you know what? I have gained SO much since becoming a mother 2.5 years ago! I have learned a lot about myself, my marriage has been strengthened, my patience has been tested, and I have experienced a love that is as close to unconditional as I will ever experience this side of heaven.

I am thankful for my BC days. I'm glad God had different plans for us, and that we didn't get pregnant when we wanted to. I'm actually thankful that our three pregnancies prior to Avery didn't work out (although they were so painful to go through!) because it gave us the gift of TIME! We were able to spend more time together as a couple, and grow before adding kids to the mix. Marriage is hard enough!

But I'm even more thankful for my AD days (adding Dorrs)! I love my two little girls with every fiber of my body!

 Europe summer 2008

 Mexico summer 2009

 Camping with friends fall 2006

NYC winter 2009

Mother's Day 2013 with my gals

Brown eyed sisters

A weekend of celebrations and fun

I'm coming off a high! I had 6 days of fun in a row...watch out, world!

Last Wednesday our small group had an ice cream social, and my bowl of coffee ice cream with candy toppings and chocolate syrup was delicious! Thursday was my birthday, and I got to have dinner out at one of my favorite restaurants with BOTH my parents and John! Friday John threw me a kick butt masquerade themed birthday party. Saturday John and I went to another favorite restaurants for sushi lunch. Sunday was Mother's Day. And finally, John took Monday off so we got to spend the day altogether. Ahhh! All that quality family time made this girl's heart happy!

I turned 30 last Thursday, and I've been thinking about how I want to make 30 a great year! There are a lot of things on my list, but at the top is growing closer to God, stregnthening my relationship with John, and mothering Avery and Lucy with patience, love, and kindness. It's overwhelming just typing those goals out, but under God's direction I can do it!

Here are a few pictures from my great week!

She just couldn't stay away...

So after 3 weeks of my mom leaving, she returned for a visit! She is such a blessing to me and John when she's here and my girls (I know Avery does, and I'm assuming Lucy does, too!) just LOVE her! I'm glad my mom will be here for my 30th birthday, and Mother's Day next week! Here are some pics of Nona in action...

Transition to Two

So we are almost two months into being parents of two kids, and I'd say I think I have a rhythm. Maybe...

Thank goodness Avery has a good routine, and hasn't wavered from it much since Lucy entered the picture. She wakes up around 7:30am, take a 2-3 hr afternoon nap, and goes to sleep around 8:30pm. She has adjusted pretty well to all the changes that bringing a baby home include. She's not acting out, but her regular personality traits (strong willed, active, mischievous...) are just heightened!

Lucy has a good schedule, too! She eats every 3 hrs, and sleeps between 8-9 hrs at night (aaammmaaazzziiinnnggggg!). I am SO thankful to have another good eater/sleeper on my hands! She definitely has a 'fussy time' of day, which is between 6-9pm. Unfortunately that's during dinner, bath time, and bedtime :( It usually gets pretty hectic and tense around here during those three hours, but we're working through it.

From the beginning, I told myself to stick to two important commitments: going to church every week, and going to small group every week. I don't want to miss either of those things. We go to church Saturday night, so it makes Sunday much more relaxed. I'm thankful both girls do well in the nursery/toddler room at church! It allows us to focus much more on why we're there!

I've been getting out more lately, too! Nothing too wild and crazy. Errands, a friend's house, the gym (not with Lucy yet, she's still too little), and the library.

I am SO thankful that I get to stay at home with the girls, and enjoy sweet moments with them. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days I wish to be in an office somewhere filing paperwork, but I realize that my position as a stay at home Mom is a blessing and a luxury.

We just had our last meal brought to us last Friday. Yup! That's right...7 weeks of meals! We are so blessed! I cooked meals in between the meals brought, but now that we have no more meals being brought, I'm on my own again :)

Overall, I'd say we're doing well! When I have bad days (and boy, do I ever!), I just remind myself that this is a short season of life, and that it will pass. I try to remind myself that one day, I'll actually miss this craziness :)

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Easter through the years

I love looking at pictures, especially ones from the past. I'm an extremely nostalgic person, and bringing 'old' memories back to mind is fun for me!

We had a great Easter this year as a family of 4 + my sister. It was very relaxed, which was perfect for me. I still don't feel like I have a rhythm down pat, although I'm working on it! We went to church in the morning, chilled in the afternoon, had a nice dinner, and then had friends over for dessert. I loved it! Not too lazy, and not too hectic. Just right!

I had the itch to look through past Easters. It's so neat to see how life (and our family) has changed over the years! Take a stroll down memory lane with me, won't you?

 Easter 2009. We did Beach Games in Va Beach with friends

 Easter 2010. My whole family came down for NY. Sam and Stella are so young here!

 Easter 2011. Our first Easter as parents!

 Easter 2012. Avery's first egg hunt.

Easter 2013. Lucy 5 wks old, and Avery 2.5

H*E*L*P

What does the word help mean to you? I looked up the definition online and found this:

1: to give assistance or support to 

2a : to make more pleasant or bearable 

3a : to be of use to : benefit

b : to further the advancement of : promote

4a : to change for the better

b : to refrain from

c : to keep from occurring

d : to restrain (oneself) from doing something

5: to serve with food or drink especially at a meal

6: to appropriate something for (oneself) 

I would say that these all describe my mom the last 5 weeks! (Except for maybe #4b, 4c, 4d, and 6). She has been a.m.a.z.i.n.g. and I don't want to even think about what the last few weeks would have been like without her help. She has basically been on 'Avery duty', which has really allowed me to a) take care of Lucy and b) rest. She has taken care of every load of laundry since we came home from the hospital, and made meals in between the meals friends brought us. She loves me, John, and our girls so much and there's probably nothing we can say or do to communicate how thankful we are for her time spent here. 

Here are some Nona pictures doing her thing...helping!