quick little update

My heart is leaping with JOY!!!

Today we signed our adoption papers and now we are just waiting for our court date to make it official!

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Asking the Lord for haste in this step and for all the details to be ironed out perfectly.

Thank you for walking with us through the years of waiting.

I can only hope you see the Lord in this goodness.

In hopefully, just two more short months will be having a celebration to bring 

Him HONOR AND GLORY for these precious gifts!

Blue doesn't always mean sad...

Especially, when it comes to BLUEBERRIES!

I pretty much love all fruits, but blueberries are my favorite!

They are just so pretty and yummy!

 Nothing makes me happier than eating a blueberry.

Nothing that is besides eating on in a pancake : )

or muffin. or waffle.

 The Thompson family are KINGS of lazy, Saturday morning breakfasts.

 aww...oj...blueberry pancakes..and BACON

Ok...now I'm getting hungry.

It's just Wednesday, and I'm already longing for this weekend...a long labor day weekend.

with blueberries...bacon...and snuggling with my family!

a different dynamic

Today starts the first day of the third full week of school.
We've fallen into this new normal which to be honest I thought I'd hate.
My boys are both gone all day long.  I was used to Scott being gone all day, but then summer comes and totally romanticizes my life.  Then it ends and I get sad.
Very sad.
But I move on, thankful for so many days with all of us at home. And part of me welcomes a routine again because we totally live without one for months. Things get crazy...fun, but crazy.
So I buck up and start trying to get a schedule together for me and the kids while Scott has PD's before school actually starts.  But this year was different.  I got kicked in the gut about my little boy going to Kindergarten. All day long, without me.  Us without him.
I was sure I'd fall apart once I got back to my car.  But I didn't.
I survived.  And the next day I survived.  The girls and I fell into a rhythm.  I've been getting soo much done.  I was gasp, loving our days!  I remember the end of the first full week pulling up in the car riders line.  I saw one of the ladies nudge him on to go wait near this orange cone.  He looked so small next to the other (older) children and all of a sudden I was overwhelmed by this wave of guilt.
How could I enjoy my days without him filling up so many of the hours?

I know life moves on...his...mine.
But there is something that just seems wrong about this new season.
I'm sure just like middle school will seem wrong.
and their first date.
and graduation.
and moving them off to college.
and standing with them right before they walk into a church to promise the rest of their lives to another.
I know that will seem wrong.
I'm also sure my parents felt the same way.

We'll make it...together...through all these transitions. For now, I'm trying to be the best mom I can to him for the hours I have him and enjoying this different dynamic with my girls.

btw, i love instagram for moments like this! : )

TOP TEN is hard TO DO

Ok...do you know how incredibly hard it is to pick just 10 favorite pictures to share. 

Well, I tried to not completely bore you with an overly photographed post about our vacation.  I still wanted to highlight it and thought I can pick my favorite ten to show overall the greatness that was our summer family vacay. 

Couldn't do it. 

I have like 16 here.

And that's only because it's like 1 am and I had to stop myself. 

There are soo many more, but you can get the gist from these how lovely of a time we had. 

Seagrove Beach is so colorful, happy and peaceful place!

 

My dear mother went with us and it made all the difference in the world.

We made so many beautiful memories together (and survived a 11 hr. car ride with three kids 5 and under)!

 My love and me under the romantic mossy trees : )

 My baby girl doing what she did best on this trip...I'm pretty sure she packed a good 1lb of sand home each day from the beach. 

 

 Our "Big Activity" of the trip was when we took the kids on a Pirate Ship complete with sunken treasure, sword fights and of course pirates.  They were pretty much in love and we were the heros.

This was just one of my favorites we took outside our condo as we were headed to dinner. She is just too stinkin cute!

Though Seaside (a mile and a half from our condo) was way more populated than I remember, we loved it.  This was the best "hot dog" food trailer EVER!!!  So many cute little shops and places to eat. Plus an outdoor movie.

 

Babies first beach experience.

 Big bro and sis- first time seeing the ocean. They were just so fun to watch. I loved capturing their amazement at seeing God's creation.

Nana is the coolest Nana around and even got the babes some new shades for the sunny FL rays!

 

My Little Bit looking soo very sweet during our family photo shoot!

Visit to the sweet shop...notice the stains on my messy man's shirt (all my life this boy loves to create laundry challenges for me).

 My girls and me in front of the bay!

Once we bought this board, he never stopped.

Waves were not scary to him...my BRAVE one!

And of course, all three of my blessings.

Sadly, there was one more pic I kept trying to find out of the no joke thousand pics I took.

My man and me on our date night (thanks Nana)...we took a tandem bike to ride up and down 30A to eat and shop.  It was a blast and I actually have the pic of us on it somewhere.  I hope it didn't get lost. It is such a fun memory!

Thanks Seagrove for being so kind to us.

I see you in our future again!

Life is messy

Seriously.
My baby boy is gone all day.
I miss him during the day, but weirdly enough I get soo much more done.
I feel guilty about that.
Last Sunday I woke up and couldn't hear very well.  As in I was in a tunnel...a deep one.
They thought it might be Sudden Hearing Loss, but was a little concerned because my mom has Menieres Disease.
Friday my fears were confirmed with a spinning room and accepting I most likely have the same disease.
Pitty party for me Friday night, but then perspective and thankfulness for such a small trial came in the morning.
Had an amazing Saturday with my family complete with a quiet breakfast at home, lunch with family, shopping and naps
Computer got sick Sunday night, thought I lost most of my pictures.
Praise God, it came back on...everything is finally backed up.
Whew....What a rollar coaster kind of week 1/2 it's been.

Life is so messy.
I'm just thankful that I have a God who loves me, sticks with me and gives me much grace.

In the wee small hours of the morning....

Nights up with baby can be a time of bitterness or a time of treasured moments. I think of how fleeting they were with my second.  How I never got them with my first.  I will relish the quiet feelings, soft baby coos and the delight at her eyes finding mine in the dim light. 

 At first when I was getting up every 3 hrs. it was tough.  I am not someone who wakes easily.  I was groggy and grumpy.  Now she generally gets up once...early in the morning.  I have tried every trick in the book and all the old wives tales from your second cousin's mother-in-law to get this baby to sleep through the night. I have given up trying to find the magic trick. There are times it is still hard but I try to remember it won't be forever. 

I enjoy sleep and I'll enjoy full nights of it again someday.  But this season where it's just time for her and I will not have for long.  

ten on ten. august 12

10 photos in 10 hours.

excitedly waiting to leave for school...spidey lunch box and all

home office from the couch...ideal : )

laundry folding...at least I can enjoy the sunshine (from inside the AC) while I do it!

working on our letters....don't worry, we'll keep working : )

{leftover chicken terraki & puree carrots}lunch for me and my girls...missing my boy

blessed nap time.

putting our shoes on in this house is an event all on it's own!

the beauty of a green thumb (my moma, not me)

10 adults, 9 children and tons of crepes = fun family supper

new niece snuggles

Linking up here: 

Our Little Home

Sometimes I get trapped in the unhealthy cycle of comparison.  It's a dangerous thing - leaving you ungrateful for God blessing in your life.  I long for more square feet, refinished hardware floors and a large porch.  I get tired and cranky as I trip over toys in my peg pen of a house.  I overwhelm myself with the projects and leftover home "to do" lists.

Then I think of the splendor these walls contain...

The little feet that happily run across these floors each day.

The meals and gatherings we've had over the years with our friends and family.

The sweet splashes made in our kitchen sink by our bathing babes.

The labor of love we poured into countless hours fixing so many projects to make this house our home.

It's where our littles' childhoods are made up of pretend, forts and bedtime stories. The prayers, tears and laughter heard through the rooms.

The holidays with all the dressed up magic making traditions and forging what makes up our family.

Where I'll always remember the pitch catch games between my boys and a little girl running barefoot chasing bubbles.

Then there is those moments of fullness of joy as the late aftertoon sun streams through the back of the house- straight through the front making me realize how thankful I am for all the long day has held.

It's the place each of our children were brought home to.  It holds our families stories. These walls may be small but they are busting with fullness and a very rich life.

Lastly - it wraps up every single moment of our marriage fixing it up together so proudly as we awaited our wedding, spending the first night together as husband and wife. Weathering storms, hard times and lots of fun.  Remolding our "suite" upstairs to have a place of our own after the kids came.

Looking at our little home this way - leaves me with a totally different perspective and a deep thankfulness to the Lord for such a gift.