march, april and may. the recap.

march and april came and went.
ben turned SIX and we went to the beach.
it was chilly most of our time there but still, we were together doing practically nothing.
glorious.

josh turned ELEVEN and decided, for the first time, that he wanted one big gift instead of a birthday party. (the kids get to choose one or the other but not both)
he chose a paint ball gun.
heaven help me.



anna turned NINE and had a sleep over.
only one girl stayed until morning.
these girls and the drama.



josh gave up baseball and asked to play soccer instead.
he loves it and is learning more and more each practice.
it's amazing how much happier he is.

anna is still playing softball and doing gymnastics.
she hit her first home run a few weeks ago, and just this week, she hit a GRAND SLAM!
she also learned how to do a one-handed cartwheel and a front hand spring.
and had some art in the art show again.



ben has learned so much this year.
he's talking so much more and understands so much.
his favorite toys are a beach ball and a half of a pool noodle that he drags everywhere--our makeshift bat and ball for inside the house.
he can hit that ball like a champ!



he's learning to bump a volleyball and kick into a soccer goal too.
sitting still is not his specialty!



when we were at the beach in march, we found a house on the bay that we fell in love with.
we have spent years dreaming about owning a place at the gulf but everything was still too expensive and out of our reach.
when we found this little cottage, it felt like home in so many ways that it honestly surprised me.
and when we couldn't get it out of our minds, we decided to take a chance.
we are now proud owners of a little periwinkle cottage on mobile bay.





yesterday was davis' SIXth birthday.
even though the situation with russia is still unknown, he is still so much a part of our family.
what i wouldn't do to be there with him.
i pray he was celebrated and showered with love!
thank you all for remembering him in your prayers.

we are in the midst of end of the year school parties and awards ceremonies.
next week is the last week of school and then summer is officially here.
i can't wait for the slower pace and for all the activities to be over.
we are all craving some down time and a nice long break from all the crazy.
just one more week...

etsy shop update.

i don't know if any of you still read this little blog or not...but just in case...

the shop has been updated with all of my favorite fabrics.
it's painful to let go of some of these.
tears may have been shed and my stomach may be in knots.
but i'm trying to follow the same advice i always give my kiddos: share with your friends.
:)

*****

anna is celebrating her ninth birthday today.
forgive me for the short post but there is a big slice of birthday cake calling my name.
hooray for saturday!

really live.

i read the news this morning and it left me sickened.
bombing suspects mother thinks he was framed... four jail guards impregnated by inmate...kidnapped boy freed by his mother...barge explodes killing four....

it is so overwhelming.
how do we explain these things to our children?
how do we protect them from the horrors that are out there?
like the rest of the world, i'm still stunned by the boston bombings, reeling from the idea that something so celebratory could turn into something so gruesome.
my children are still young but old enough now to start remembering these things.
how will it shape them/scar them?

my oldest asks questions daily about the bombers...why did they want to hurt us?  why don't they like americans?  why do they think they'll go to heaven?  why did they hurt those people? 
and the most important one of all: will they try to hurt me?

the only thing i can do is to redirect him to the Lord.
i encourage him to pray about it.
i encourage him to share his fears and questions with God.
i encourage him to continue to love others as Jesus asks us to do.
i encourage him to live his life without fear, to live his life as he needs to, and to live, to really truly live.

spring blossoms.

i've been overwhelmed by my emotions lately.
everywhere i look, there are signs of birth, of renewal, the beauty of an awakening.
spring has officially arrived here in the south.
and it's a down-right beautiful thing to witness.

i guess i've always been too preoccupied to notice before, but i am so acutely aware of it now.
and maybe i've even fallen in love with spring in a way i never had before.
fall is still my favorite but spring is very close second.
the cherry blossoms alone may have clinched the deal.

prayer request.

today was a longggggg day.
work was yucky.
i sat in a crazy meeting that made me feel...beat down and exhausted.
the traffic coming home was horrendous.
my car's air conditioner is still not working.
and, i forgot my sunglasses.

i came home cranky and whiny.
i didn't thank my parents for watching my kids.
i didn't thank john for taking anna to softball.
i didn't even notice that my dishwasher had been unloaded and my house vacuumed.
instead, i complained about my day and whined about how much i hate my job.

i'm a total brat.
and i'm sorry.
mom, dad, john, kids, i'm sorry for acting like that.
there are MUCH bigger things to worry about than an awful meeting and a bad day.


in fact, tomorrow members of several russian agencies are going to meet with the u.s. dept of state and other folks to discuss the adoption ban.
they will be talking about the details, the families, the children, the policies put in place to deny the children the opportunity to be adopted by americans.
this is BIG.

i have been praying for this meeting since january!
will you please join in me prayer tomorrow and thursday too?
please pray for hearts to soften, for action to be taken, for the families in progress to be allowed to continue, for the children to be freed!

this may be our last hope.



love to you all,
amy

i'm here. still kickin.

i sit here in the quiet of my dark house.
the sun is just now starting to make its way above the horizon in the eastern sky.
my people are still in their beds, every once in a while i hear someone shuffle around in their covers.
i just brewed a cup of coffee in my favorite black and white polka dot mug.
this lonely computer now feels like a stranger to me.
we rarely visit one another lately and i feel rather sad about that.

truth is i'm doing ok.
we are all so busy with the day-to-day stuff that makes up our lives.
work, homework, practices, projects, plans...you know it all well.
for me there's also a lot of praying and clinging and hoping thrown in there too--i'm still trying to do the best i can with this parenting thing.
the kids are getting older and that brings more and more challenges with it.
it's a struggle some days...and really and truly that's a huge understatement!

buck's up.  he just gave me a wet, stinky breathed lick on my hand.
he loves me.
he doesn't care that i haven't brushed my teeth and my hair is in a ratty bun on top of my head.
he doesn't mind my hulk hogan style sweatshirt and yesterday's mascara under my eyes.
he's pretty darn awesome like that.
i think he deserves a treat. :)

where was i...oh, yes, parenting.
so hard.
you know it well too, i'm sure.

then there's my little one across the sea.
reports from the orphanage are that he's doing well, walking better and even feeding himself now!
cause for celebration!
just wish, with all my momma heart, that we could be celebrating here together!
this week coming up is a big one.
wednesday and thursday russian officials are traveling her to talk to the US Dept of State and Citizenship and Immigration folks about the ban.
if you can, please pray for a miracle!
please pray for hearts to be changed and the gates to be opened so these children can be freed!
very important meeting to say the least.

oh, here comes ben.
i can hear him yawning at the top of the stairs.
yep, he's now climbing up on sofa and snuggling with me.
this boy, man alive.  he's just the greatest.
i know i say that all the time but he really is.
i just love him so much it's ridiculous.

did you know that ben turned SIX last month?
he sure did.
AND he blew out his candles on his birthday cake!

more soon.
promise.
(thanks melissa and poppy for reminding me that blogging is important too.)

i gotta run.
time to get dressed and meet up with nana for some yardsale-ing.
hoping for some great finds and hoping each of you have a wonderful weekend.
xo.

getting my spring on.

yesterday was warm and breezy.
the kids spent most of the day outside playing, and i spent most of the day inside decorating.

i opened the windows and the back door so the smell of spring could fill the house.
i was tired of the dusty books and candles of my winter decor and couldn't wait to lighten things up.
i think it's a good start.

p.s. i wanted to pull out my sea shell collection and put starfish everywhere but maybe it's a tad bit too early for that.  i'm just so dang excited for summer!