Our Week~

It's now Monday and I am finally getting around to finishing this post from last week.

It was such a busy week, but fun and well worth the extra craziness.

We went on a field trip to the Witte Museum on Tuesday with Ladonna and the school bunch.

It is always fun to do something new with the kids. We will definitely be back. Tuesday
afternoons are free admission... Otherwise it would cost us a pretty $28. I think we will stick to Tuesday afternoon:)

Wednesday we got together with the Wakefield's and as always had a blast with them.

Heidi has this way of keeping Caitlyn giggling the entire time they are together.

Most of the time I don't even know what is so funny but they sure do!

We went to Bracken ridge park and took a train ride after the kids were worn down from running around the playground. Poor Micah was with all girls who communicated their extreme excitement for the train with lovely high pitched squeals. He had so much fun but was very focused and serious about how the train worked. I think after we took the first picture of when we first got on the train he never cracked a smile again until we went through the tunnel.

I love watching his mind at work.
He can be oh so very serious.

I always love making time for these special events.

Some may wonder why it is so crazy just to add these 2 special occasions to our week but if you were to look at my pile of laundry you would soon realize that something had to give around here...and laundry is always the first to go.

Today is definitely laundry day.

Just a few of my favorite things...

Making a mess with my food and

blowing bubbles...

Drooling...

Keeping an eye on mommy...

Being with my brother and sisters...

Trying to figure out this crawling thing...

Drooling...

Practicing push-ups...

Showing off my two teeth

& making silly faces...

Oh yeah...and drooling.

~By Dakota Faith

I have to add why my day was "especially crazy" yesterday.
Dakota has been fighting a little bit of constipation and the night before last I gave her some prunes. Well they worked!
I was cooking breakfast yesterday for Caitlyn, Micah and Cassidy when I heard Dakota awake on the monitor. Micah very cheerfully said he would go talk to her while I finished flipping pancakes. 30 seconds later he came runnning out screaming:
"MOM! There's poop everywhere! ALL over Dakota!"
Yeah the prunes worked.
I had no idea so much poop could come out of something so little.
That was just the beginning of my day.


Thank goodness for His grace~

Sometimes it's just fun to listen...

I can't sleep. The past few days have been busy, but good. Today was especially crazy but so much fun. I always have quite a bit of work to do around the house after being gone. Laundry especially.

The kids were truly worn out after a nice day playing out. We spent most of the day with Ladonna and took a special "field trip" to the Witte Museum. Before I forget I have to write down the conversation between Caitlyn and Micah that took place during our ride home. It went something like this:

Micah: "Caitlyn, do you think if our car ran out of battery we could fix it?"
Caitlyn: " Micah, I don't know how to fix a car with a broken battery."
Micah: "Well, do you think that if the car ran out of battery we would have to walk everywhere?"
Caitlyn: "Yeah Micah we would have to walk everywhere."
Micah: "But if we had to walk everywhere that would take forever. It would take forever just to walk to HEB."
Caitlyn: "Yeah, and we would never get to go to Aunt Non's house."
Micah:"Do some people have to walk everywhere?"
Caitlyn: "Yeah Micah. I think some people don't have cars."
Micah: "Do you think Jesus will fix the battery for their cars?"
Caitlyn: "No I mean they don't have cars. They have to walk everywhere."
Micah: "Why do you think Jesus doesn't give them a car with a good battery?"
Caitlyn: "I don't know."
Micah: "Caitlyn, I'm glad Jesus gave us a good car...with a good battery."

week old cutie~

I have been spending some time with a dear friend and this cute little guy up in the Dallas area. Sara and I have been friends since we were little kids and it has been so amazing to see her as a mom. She is doing a great job...it brings me back to the time when I just had Caitlyn. All the new experiences and trying to figure everything out...wondering if you are doing everything right. It is quite challenging facing night after night without sleep and yet so very rewarding. Babies are such sweet little miracles. Dakota is only six months old and I have already forgotten how tiny she was. Sometimes I wish I could re-live some of life's sweetest moments.

It makes me sad to think that the next time I will see this little guy he will be much bigger! They just grow up way too fast. To see more of this little guy: http://www.justbephotography.blogspot.com

This time has been special also because I have been able to spend some one on one time with Dakota...who by the way is moving around so much! Last night she was playing on the floor and scooting all around when she finally made her way to the coffee table and pulled herself up! I was amazed...just waiting to see what she would do. She stopped for a second or 2 and then came crashing down. It makes me wonder what she is going to do next. It seems every day she is learning or discovering something new. She definitely seems to be very strong and actually reminds me a lot of her brother when he was her age. He was also very strong and smiled just as much as she does. She smiles even when she is in pain. It is hilarious. We went in for her shots last week and when she got them she had this huge smile on her face but a very nervous laugh that turned into a nervous cry that could almost pass for a laugh. Just listening to it causes you to question if she is happy or sad and then when you look at her face and see a huge smile you are left even more confused...wondering is she happy or sad?

She is so very sweet. I love this age when you start to see more and more of their little personality develop.

Lions, Tigers and Bears...OH MY!

I just love this picture...I can't believe she is getting so big!

Well, this evening the kids are officially worn out...We spent the day at the zoo with our playgroup friends. The kids had tons of fun and I had fun although I am worn out as well. I can get quite a workout holding Dakota in the snugli and pushing the double stroller. HA! HA! I asked the kids what their favorite animal was that we saw but they couldn't really narrow it down...I think they mentioned just about every animal. One of Micah's favorite though was

definitely "the mean bear."

Finally!

We got to go on a date! It has been too long. Dakota doesn't always take a bottle so we have to time it just right.

I cannot imagine my life without this incredible man. We always have so much fun together. It's amazing being married to the man that I love as well as my best friend.

Happy Sunday~

It is always good to have some family time. We spent most of the afternoon outside with this gorgeous weather and Daddy grilled dinner! I can't wait for spring and summer when we will get to enjoy the pool again. Suprisingly Caitlyn asked me to take a picture of her today... that rarely happens. Micah thought he would join in too so I got some posed ones of him as well.

Oh yeah...my closet got tackled today. So thankful for the chance to get organized.

Tonight Greg and I were supposed to go out on a late Valentine's date but Caitlyn wasn't feeling well and running a fever so we had to postpone. Hopefully we will get a chance to go out for lunch tomorrow and have a nice afternoon together. Looking forward to spending some time with my man! One of these days I also want to get some pictures of just the two of us. Kind of hard when you are the photographer but I just may try.

Happy Six month Birthday!

~WATCH ME GROW~

I cannot believe this girl is 6 months old!

She is cutting her second bottom tooth...both front and center.

She has also for the first time discovered she can make people laugh

and has also developed the cutest little laugh as well.

She moves around prettty well...

not officially crawling yet but definitely scooting.
Sleeping very well still and officially started cereal-

She gets some every night before bed and loves it.

Her smile can brighton anyones day

and she is well loved by her siblings.
Everyone who sees her says she is tiny...

that may be true.

BUT what most people don't know is that she secretly stores

all of that cute baby fat on her thighs.

Come summer time it will be well-seen

as she will be sporting spring dresses and shorts.

I could not imagine our family

without this precious little girl.

Confessions of a stay at home mom...

I have people ask me all of the time..."So, what is it like having four little ones?" I try to be honest because I really don't want to lead anyone to believe that it is EASY. It isn't, but it is all well worth it! I have always told Greg that one of my life goals is to one day write a book...perhaps it will be on motherhood...perhaps not. If it were to write a book on motherhood though I would definitley include all those gruesome details that can leave you laughing...and crying. Maybe crying because you are laughing so hard.
It would be real life stories...stories I have lived.
Yesterday was a great day but started out p retty chaotic. Cassidy had a shot the day before and wasn't really acting herself. We were completely out of all the basic food items...bread, milk, eggs,etc. so I needed to get to the store but one of my babies was sick. Her heart rate started to concern me so I phoned the doctor's office and they wanted me to bring her in immediately. I got concerned because the voice on the other line sounded concerned. Dakota was napping so my incredible husband put his day on hold to take Cassidy in for a sick visit. Thankfully all was well and they returned about an hour later. I had been getting things done around the house while they were gone but knew as soon as they returned it would be off to the store with all 4.
I quickly loaded eveyone in the car with the mindset of wanting to be quick...we had the afternoon scheduled to go out to the ranch to spend time with family and I was wanting to get there as well as the kids...they were asking about every 15 minutes. The grocery turned into the typical 45 minute trip. It always takes longer than I think. I thought I was getting more stares than usual...but no big deal. I shrugged them off...afterall I am getting pretty used to them. It wasn't until I got into the car and looked into the rearview mirror that I realized not only did I forget to put on make-up...that alone isn't a big deal... I had also slept in my mascara the night before and had lovely racoon eyes. YIKES!
No wonder I was getting so many stares.
I can honestly say that I have never done anything like this before.
Having four is definitley fun and challenging at the same time. I have said before that I wouldn't trade this time in my life for anything in the world...and I wouldn't. Not in a million years. But if I am honest to everyone who asks what it is truly like I would have to say that some things slowly change with each one...like the amount of time I spend getting ready for the day.
And my closet. It just doesn't look the same. I get everyone else's laundry done and put away but my gets jumbled up sometimes.
Thank goodness for His grace. Without it I would be completely hopeless. I would look like a racoon everyday.
By the way Happy Valentine's Day! May you be blessed by His Amazing Love.

Thankful for cousins and friends...

Food for thought~

Yesterday in Sunday school we went over Malachi 3:8-10 briefly and it got me thinking.

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

With Greg going into finacial counseling he has learned many statistics concerning our country, one being the lack of Christian tithing to the church. I know Randy Alcorn also points this out in his book, The Treasure Principle (one of my favorites). In the past weeks/months spending a lot of extra time in prayer for our nation and future leadership it dawned on me as I read and re-read this verse and chapter that perhaps if we (as a church) would just choose to follow and trust our Lord on this issue, perhaps our country as a whole would be in a much better situation. Just a thought AND just another reason to be thankful for my husband...he does a great job at managing our finances and faithfully following our Father...much better than I could ever do!

What a weekend! I was able to shoot a beautiful wedding. Check out some preview pics: http://justbephotography.blogspot.com/ It was a bit challenging for my first project but at the same time very fun! I definitley learned that picture taking can be hard work...especially when you work at it for 10 hours straight. As always though, it was very worth while. This is such a fun couple to take pictures of and the best part is that they like my style of photography. I definitely learned that I do not do well with telling everyone where to stand and how to be exactly... I just like to watch people interact and enjoy the day. I shot it with another friend of mine (who is very pregnant by the way...I could not believe that she lasted the entire time-she amazed me!) who is very good at getting everyone to pose just right and I am sure she got some great pictures. It was definitely challenging but I love the pictures I have seen so far...not sure how long it is going to take to go through them all~

Greg by the way was definitely Super Dad for the weekend. I had the rehearsal and dinner Friday night and the wedding on Saturday and he took care of all four kids and did an amazing job. He is the best. I am extremely blessed to have such an incredible husband who so graciously allows me to pursue something that I enjoy doing...he has shown me support all of the way...in fact he is the one who got me into this in the first place, buying me my camera for my birthday and keeping it a suprise. He is also the one who encouraged me to start a small business. What a blessing it is to have such a giving husband and an awesome father who enjoys being with all of the kids.

This week~

I got some pictures of Dakota this week and I

just loved the one of Cassidy.

We were making our way down the step outside at Nana and Papa's house and I just had

to capture that sweet girl.

I got quite a few so it was hard to pick which ones to share.

They are both at such a fun age.

Cassidy is talking more and more and Dakota is moving more and more!

I think she will start crawling soon

and I am honetsly looking forward to it.

Her first tooth finally popped through this week so she hit a big milestone.

AND she finally took a bottle (thanks to Dr. Brown's)...another BIG milestone.

~Blessings to all~

Lesson Learned~

Tonight after dinner Greg headed off to class and the kids and I were finishing up at the dinner table. I hate to admit it but we were being really silly. I know I am supposed to be teaching manners here but sometimes it is fun just to get all the silliness out. Cassidy had a really long day without a nap so she wasn't really joining in on our idea of fun. She finished her food and went to drink her water when she spilled some of it all over her shirt and skirt. I saw a cry coming on so I tried to counteract her emotions of sadness with extreme happiness...I was all smiles for her and finally I saw her mood change. She looked at me and gave me a big grin. Then, she proceeded to dump the rest of her water all over the floor...all the while laughing and finishing off with clapping and saying, "YEAH!"
So now, thanks to me my 2 year now thinks it is funny to spill water all over the floor. I admit I also found it very hard not to laugh. I have a feeling I will be cleaning up quite a few spills over the next couple of days:)

My Girls~

Check it out.

I am so excited. This week after praying and talking to my husband, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to start a small photography business. I love, love to take pictures (as you can tell) and I honestly love even more to work with people and kids. I had a moment, hard to explain. I know it came from the Lord. I was in the shower of all places and a name for a photo business came to mind. I wasn't searching for it or seeking it out in anyway...it just came. It was a complete God-send. I would like to start out with focusing on maternity, infants and children and hopefully eventually expand into couples/weddings, etc.- I am doing my first wedding this weekend! The name that came to my mind was Justbe. Photography.
check it out: http://justbephotography.blogspot.com/
The name means so much to me. First, I really feel like it communicates my style of photography. I love to capture people naturally and I love to capture kids just being kids. It's fun to make people laugh and capture a completely radiant natural style. I feel like it also communicates the desire that we all have deep down inside and that is to truly be who God created you to be. So many people, may I say girls especially? fall into the lie that God has not made them beautiful and they hate their _______. (I will be the first to fill in the blank- I struggle with my man thighs) Such a lie! God has created us all exactly how He wants us and we should be confident in who He has made us to be. There is beauty in all of us and that beauty comes from our Creator so let's put away our "fear of man" because that is what it all comes down to eh? All of that to say that I am excited to see what the Lord will do and I cannot say enough how grateful I am for my Savior and Creator for not only CHOOSING me to belong to Him but also blessing me in more ways than I can even fathom.

She is almost 6 months old...

And I still love her little feet! She decided to wake up at 5am this morning so I am definitely feeling it now. I had some good quiet time with her though and couldn't help but take a few pictures.

I couldn't help but post these...

I love this face! It is always fun to get pictures of other little ones. This little guy is adorable.