Parenthood

Parenthood.
This word had been on mind the last few days. I know, I know... of course it would be, I have two kids, it would be silly if I did not see myself as a parent. But this goes deeper than just being a parent. It's more about the relationships and emotions that come with being a parent. The word parenthood seems to encompass, a lifetime, rather than just one single moment. It encompasses the whole, from even the mere idea of having a baby to... well parenting never ends... but you get the idea...right? I dunno, maybe I am just rambling on... and on... and on...
I think a lot of it has to do with the recent baby boom that seems to be surrounding us at the moment. I have several friends who are pregnant, and another who delivered a bouncing baby girl just a few days ago. Not to mention, that my sister in law is in a hospital, at this very moment, waiting to meet the child she has nurtured for 9 months, face to face. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, our kids will have a new cousin. We are so thrilled.
Anyway, this brings me to my point. When I got pregnant the first time, we were so excited, and we could not wait to enter into parenthood. The whole idea of being parents and having a baby was exciting and yes a little scary...If I knew then what I know now, I think I would have approached it a little differently. Oh, don't get me wrong, the rewards far out weigh the bad things. But for all you first timers out there... they smell fear. LOL
No really, the first few months are a little tough, but you manage to get through it. I think, it's that thought and the first few months of parenthood that actually prepare you for the rest of it. You see parenthood is not easy. And it is something you do for the rest of your life. Once you have a child, you never cease to be a parent. Yet somehow, we mange to get through (most days with a smile). Granted, there is a lot of God's Grace, a little raising of the voices every now and then, and lots of sticky, muddy, gooey hugs. (I love the hugs... they are the best)
Parenthood. It's a big word... it encompasses so much more than I ever realized. And for that I am truly thankful.
If parenting were easy, I don't think we would feel so many emotions all at once... joy, fear, happiness, anticipation... all at the same time. As a mother I take these feelings for granted. All these emotions that hit all at the same time. I take this in a stride these days. As a mother of two preschoolers, I don't have time to dwell on every emotion that comes my way. But I should... at the very least slow down, and savor these times a little more than I do.
Mike and I talk all the time about how fast the kids are growing and learning. I think this will be more pronounced in the up coming weeks. My brother in law is a Marine. He is returning from a tour of duty and will be home this upcoming week. We all are very excited to see him. My mom (in law) always tells me, he would ask how the little ones are, when he would call home. Just in the 9 months he has been gone my kids have changed so much. I mean, Tim can hold whole conversations on particular topics, tell riddles and actually understand the punch lines. Alexa is getting more girlie all the time. She loves to dress up, sing and dance to her favorite princess movies. These are recent things. Mike's niece's baby was just a few months old when Jess left, now he is almost a year. He is trying so hard to walk and talk... and he has managed to put on a few more pounds in the process.
This is the process of parenthood. It's not just the big milestones, but the little ones. The things that will help your child grow into a wonderful, compassionate, caring, smart, witty adult. It's a long process, but worth every minute.
Anyway, I am not sure if any of this makes much sense, but in looking at the time, I suppose I would be shocked if it did. This is what I get for deciding to blog at midnight. heh
I hope that the thing you take from this post, is this...
Parenthood is not easy, but it is worth every minute. Take time to savor all the moments you can, because it really does go by fast.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by to read the ramblings of a very tired, yet ,very content mother.

Quick note

Just a quick note to let everyone know I updated my "craft" blog. Please feel free to stop by, check it out, leave a comment or two... or three... or whatever. Thanks!
Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!
More updates coming soon! :)

Whew!

Well it seems like the last few months have just flown by. Where does the time go? Ahhh, yes, the ageless question of time.
Anyway, things are still busy here. We are planning to go to my cousins wedding next week and then the kids and I will be off to visit my folks for a week. It should be lots of fun (and very tiring... LOL)

Here are some updated photos of the kids for ya'll...

We took the kids bowling for the first time the other day. It was a hoot! The kids had a blast. Here is Alexa, all of 25 pounds, carrying a 6 pound bowling ball. You do the math. She was determined though to lift it, gotta give her credit there. As for me, let's just say the kids are a great excuse to use the bumper pads.

I have never been overly fond of bowling shoes, but who knew they made them so little. The kids just looked adorable in their little bowling shoes.

And here is one more of the two of them actually being nice to each other... LOL (Hey it does not happen to much these days... most of the time 30 seconds after they are hugging they are wrestling with each other on the ground.)

Anyway, I also took some time to update my "Craft" blog. I have made some changes, and will be using my craft site now to (mostly) post photos and photo related crafts. I would love it if everyone would check it out and post some feed back on the photos.

Thanks so much... Don't get to over heated this summer and take care.

Resolutions Shmezolutions

Yes it has been almost 2 months since my last post. And yes, I did say in my post in January that I would be better at posting. Resolutions, shmezolutions. :) By now most people have forgotten what their resolutions were anyway (or they have just given up), at least I am still here, and still posting. Ok... maybe not as often as I had hoped, but... I'm here.
Just to be up front, this post will contain no pictures. Sorry, none at all. I just wanted to state that up front, so that any of you who stop by and just look at the pictures without really reading the posts (you have no idea what you are missing), can just go now! (you know who you are... LOL)
We just managed to buy a new computer and I have not had a chance to get my camera software up yet. But I promise, the next post will have pics, as I have some VERY cute ones of the kids in their sun glasses and some from the park, and... well you get the idea. With Easter right around the corner, there are bound to be some of the kids worth posting (as well as some very embarrassing ones of family members in bunny ears.)
Well... a lot has happened since I last posted.
We are still mourning the loss of our child. I was only 12 weeks along in my pregnancy, when I miscarried. Even that early on, it was hard. However, I can rejoice. God has blessed us with so much, and for whatever reason, he decided that we were not meant to have another child... at this time. It is all in God's hands, and for that I am grateful.
We have also experienced death on the other end of the scale. My Great Aunt Evelyn died just 2 weeks ago. She was 89 years old. A wonderful Godly woman, she will be greatly missed.
After all that, it was wonderful to get to spend a week with my folks. The kids miss them so much.
Even after a full week of Gramps driving her nuts by antagonizing her to tears and pushing her buttons, the first words out of Lex's mouth the Sunday after we got back were " Where's Gramps?"
Oh don't get me wrong... the two of them have a VERY antagonistic relationship. She loves to annoy him. Constantly hanging on his legs, wanting him to flip her over and spin her around, and the constant sound of "Gramps (slightly louder) Gramps (slightly louder still) Gramps (Yelling) Gramps!" all day long (it's especially annoying at 6 in the morning).
Anyway, the fact is that these kids love their grandparents.
And for Grandparents I am very grateful. They are full of wisdom, and good advice; they love to spoil the kids with things parents wish they could buy but would feel guilty if they actually did; and they love to babysit. For that last one I am extremely grateful. (Can you tell we are planning a night out and we will be hitting up the grandparents for babysitting... heh)
So, there is a little peek at just some of the craziness that is our lives.
I have been bugging Mike to get a post up, as I seem to be the one doing all the work, even though this blog was his idea. So maybe if all you bug him enough he will get something posted before to long.
Just in case I don't get around to posting before, Everyone have a Happy Easter!
Thanks for stopping by!

Serenity

As I sit here and type this, my daughter decided to climb in my lap and snuggle. I do love these moments. I admit, I take them for granted. With the addition of a third child on the way, I know there will be many more moments like this, so I tend to not look at it for what it truly is.... In all honesty, I am not really sure *exactly* all of the emotions these moments hold. There is joy, and happiness, contentment, love, and yes, even a little annoyance (that she keeps getting in the way of my typing, and wanting to me to look at her and to rub noses. It's cute, but it's hard to get much done) but I think by far, the largest feeling is serenity.
Dictionary.com defines serenity as:
se·ren·i·ty /səˈrɛnɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[suh-ren-i-tee] –noun, plural

1.	the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.

—Synonyms 1. composure, calm, peacefulness, peace.

Most of these moments spent snuggling with my kids are just that, peaceful, calm and tranquil. I love those moments, where there are no other distractions, and I can focus on my children. It's usually in those times I realize how much they have grown, and matured. I think that is because we are on the go so much, that I do not see those things until I am in a much less distracted state. I love those moments.
I am hoping with this new baby, I will have learned to appreciate those moments, and not just assume there will be lots of others. I know for a fact, that these moments are all to fleeting. For the first time in a long time, my son fell asleep in my lap at bed time last night. I had all but forgotten what that was like, as my kids are pretty good sleepers and do not require much to go sleep. It was serene. Peaceful. I cherish that, as my son, just shy of age 3, does not come and cuddle all that often any more (way to much energy for that). I realize that I miss that.
So even though there is that slight annoyance at having to retype the same sentence 3 times, because my daughter keeps wanting me to rub noses... I will cherish this moment. We will never be able to get it back, no matter how many others there will be.
I want my kids to look back at their childhood, on moments like this, and think "It's all good." I know I will.

Happy new year!

Well 2007 is finally here. It's hard to believe another year has come and gone.
It's been a most interesting year for us here... with two toddlers running around interesting is putting it lightly. LOL
The kids have grown by leaps and bounds this year. Last January Lex was not even walking... now, there is no stopping her. Tim has come so far in his conversation, sometimes I forget that he is still so little.
This passed Christmas was great though. The kids really started to understand the idea of opening gifts. Tim was a pro. It did not take him long to start ripping into things and oohing and awing over the new toys. I made a mistake with Lex Christmas morning, I let her open a present I knew she would love (a stroller and a new baby doll) and it was game over for her after that. She did not want to open anything else. Tim was more than happy to finish opening her presents. It was pretty cute and funny.
Well, you all will be happy to know I did in fact get a new camera for Christmas, so there will be lots of new pics for me to post. Especially if Lex keeps looking as cute as she does in this pic.
Wow, she really is growing up so fast. She is so girly. She loves all the fufu, purple, girly stuff. Her favorite things now are her doll (and stroller), Barbie and her tea set. (Oh and she does love to antagonize her brother... but that is for another blog.)
Anyway, here is a what she looked like a year ago, and next to that is a recent pic.

Amazing.
Tim is a whole different ball ball game. He too, has changed much in the last year. His verbal skills are something to marvel at, and he is showing tremendous athletic ability already. He is all boy... his favorite things at the moment are a big box of dinos he got for Christmas, his basketball hoop, and anything that will allow him to dig up dirt. (Oh, and he also loves to antagonize his sister, but as I mentioned above that's for another time.)
Anyway, here is the comparison of him, the first pic being last year.
Well, 2007 promises to be another year full of love and adventure at our house. I will do my best to keep everyone posted (it's one of my resolutions), so I hope you will all check back regularly.
Hope your year is full of promise and love and many wonderful adventures.
P.S. Anyone is welcome to stop by for an adventure at our house... I can guarantee there will be many (Tim has a VERY active imagination). Please just call first, so I can at least move the dust around and stuff all the toys in the closets. Hehehe)

Merry Christmas!

Update

Ok well I now realize it has been a long while since I posted. (My usual email from Rusty reminding me that I need to post must have gotten lost in the net... LOL)
I realize that I have not posted since we moved. So I figured I better get an update up.
We are now all settled into a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. It has 4 bed rooms, which is great for us, because now the kids have separate rooms and we still manage to have an office. :)
So almost everything is unpacked. We are still looking to get Mike another book case. Mike claims that most of the boxes were my craft stuff, but, I think the people who helped us move can verify that there were a lot more boxes labeled books (Not to mention that books are a LOT heavier than crafting supplies). Other than that, everything else has been unpacked for awhile now. For those of you that know me, you know I had most of done with in a week. Guess it's that A type personality... LOL
We even managed to find something fun to do with some of the moving boxes. Mike had fun making this "maze" for the kids to play in.
Things have actually been pretty slow here... The kids and I spend a lot of time at the park. Now that we have one only three blocks away, it seems such a shame to waste the wonderful Arizona weather indoors. Mike is working. We go to Church, and spend a lot of time with family. Pretty boring life really. LOL
I remember posting earlier this year, that this was the Chinese year of the dog, but in our house it was the year of the germ. This seems to be holding true. We managed to stay well through most of the summer, and then BAM... the germ strikes again. We even had to change plans at Thanksgiving. We were supposed to go see my folks, but ended up staying here and spending the holiday at my in-laws. Not that, that is necessarily a bad thing, as my MIL is a wonderful cook, and Mike's family is great. But it still stinks to have to change plans at the last minute... especially when you are sick.
Anyway, I cannot believe Thanksgiving is over. It's almost Christmas. WHERE DOES TIME GO?
Can someone please answer this question? I look at my kids and I think..."Wow, they are getting so big... How did that happen?" <Sigh> They grow up so fast. I was reading some of the back issues of this blog... Alexa's first steps, Timmy's mispronunciations... Where does it all go? Alexa is running around like a pro athlete now and Tim can actually hold a conversation with you. They do grow up so fast.
Mike's niece just had a baby. He is so cute. I was thinking as I was holding him... "How come I can barely remember when my kids were this small?" and then I thought "Well that's because Tim was NEVER this little!" Her baby was born at 7 pounds 9 ounces... Tim was 9 pounds 1 ounce. There is a big bit of difference there... LOL. Now Lex was just over 7 pounds, so at one point she was that small. It all seems so long ago. But I would not trade the last 3 years for anything. It is amazing to see how far my kids have come from the time they were born, and so dependent on us for everything, to these independent little people, who everyday learn something new, and try to apply it. (Like learning how to unlock the door and closing it promptly when the alarm sounded).
Anyway, I do have a few new pictures that I am posting. But I would not get used to the idea of to many more. My camera is dead... and I mean really dead. I am borrowing my MIL's for the moment. So you all may have to get used to actually reading the blog, not just looking at the pictures. :)
Anyway, I will try and get better about posting and I am sure there will be lots of pics floating around, as the cameras seem to come out for the holidays.
So I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, and just remember... my birthday and Christmas are right around the corner... feel free to contribute to my camera fund.


Just kidding.
Happy Holidays!