~Claire~

     Claire holding Drew in our "peace place".       Claire & Lily working on their snowmen.

Our firstborn, Claire Victoria, turned 5 on February 15th! Tonight, I am going to tell you a few things about our Claire that are amazing to me..of course, she's my daughter so you may not find these things to be all that amazing but that's okay. :)

~Claire is a fighter. She was never expected to even make it to birth but she did. She was not breathing when she was born but she pulled through. She is such a strong little soul and we are so thankful that she is!!

~She is a helper. Claire is always helping with everything. She is my "big helper" as she likes to say. Whatever I need, she is right there. She has such a servant's heart and that makes this Mama's heart so happy and full. :) She is always finding ways to be kind to others and most especially, her sister and brother. We have our occasional argument but most of the time, she is so thoughtful and sweet and just an amazingly loving child. We are so truly blessed to call her ours!

~The pictures above are how you always see her. She is always loving on her sister and brother. Always concerned and affectionate. Such a little mama to others. :)

~She is most usually very obedient. Now, we do have our little problems and this week has been a bad week. However, usually, she is quick to obey and very pleasant to be around. And, that makes for a happy family. :)

~Claire (and her sister and brother) are just the answers to soooooo many prayers that we prayed and the promises of God that we claimed and believed in!!! God is SO good!!

Here's a few things she has done lately that I think are so very cute and Claire:

~She checks the mail at the mailbox.

~She helps Lily write her name. Every time.

~Has started making muffins almost completely by herself. All I do is stand by and supervise to make sure she remembers and puts everything in correctly. Lately, I don't even bother. :)

~She makes her bed every morning and reminds her sister and helps her to do the same.

~She fixes Lily, Drew and her toothbrushes every morning and night.

~She "reads" to her sister and brother and can actually already read a few words!!!!

Claire Victoria, you are such a sweet wonderful blessing and an amazing daughter to mama and daddy!!! We love you soooo very much, baby. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

♥Julie♥

Happy Birthday, Claire-bear!!!! 5 years old...February 15th

Monday, was Claire's 5th Birthday. We just had a little celebration at our house with our little family. Her birthday party will be Sunday after bible study! I'll try to caption these pics but blogger is being difficult so we will see what happens!

Pancakes w/strawberries & whipped cream-Claire's request!Cake made by Claire & LilyClaire & Lily proud of the cake they made!(Yes, entirely all by themselves!!!)

Claire's favorite present! A baby doll that cries and drinks its bottle...she named her, Hannah.

More to come, as soon as I can get blogger and my computer to cooperate! :)

Pics from church camp (Part 1)...................

I am lovin' Lil's expression in this picture!! Cracks me up!! :)
Claire & Jase playing on the floor...
Lily & Claire taking song leading seriously!!
Kylie, Lily, Claire & Alaina (our own little quartet) :)
Claire, Lily & Jase in the sandbox


*I'll post some more tomorrow! What a FUN & CRAZY week we had!!

~Julie~

My first born...

*In honor of my first born child's recent 4th birthday and because Amy( I put it on there too, Amy!) tagged me on facebook, I am doing this little meme. I thought I would share it on my blog because right now I just really am struggling for things to post about! Play along if you would like!

1. Were you married at the time?
Yes

2. What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?
Long story but I fell off of the dr.'s table! Really!

3. How old were you?
25

4. How did you find out you were pregnant?
we could not have children for 7 yrs. I was at the ddr.'s office getting my horomone levels checked for infertility tests. She also did a pregnancy test.(blood test) Routine. I was just pregnant enough for it to show up. About 3 weeks. My progesterone levels were a -4. Not good at all. Went to a specialist that very day. Cost me $1,000 up front. Put on progesterone and stayed on it until I was 4 months pregnant. Never been so sick in my entire life. Migraines nausea vomiting could not even lift my head ! Awful but worth every bit!

5. Who did you tell first?
My Mom because she was with me at the dr.'s. Then home to tell Charlie .(I didn't want to tell him on the phone so I just to him to get dressed because we had to go the the specialist. he thought I was dying! I felt so bad! But I wanted to tell him in person!

6. Did you want to find out the sex?
Yes, we found out because we didn't know if we could have another baby(haha!) and we wanted to do the nursery up either really girly or boyish.

7. Due date?
February 14th, 2005 and February 21st ( I had 2 due dates!)

8. Did you deliver early or late?
day after; induced

9. Did you have morning sickness?
See #4 AWFUL!!!!! Alll day & all night sickness

10. What did you crave?
Ice chips and when I could actually eat at about 7 months, Taco Bell

11. What irritated you the most?
Being SICK

12. What was your first child's sex?
Female

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy?
19

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
low blood pressure & blood sugar

15. Where did you give birth?
McAlester Regional Medical Center, McAlester, OK

16. How many hours were you in labor?
15

17. Who drove you to the hospital?
Charlie

18 . Did you take medicine to ease the pain?
Epidural but I was already transitioning when they gave it to me ;Once I get to a four, I go fast!

19 . How much did your child weigh?
6 lbs. 15 oz.

20 . What did you name him/her/them?
Claire Victoria Rose (LONG story but a good one)

21 . How old is your first born today?
4

22. Who does your child look like?
Me & Charlie; A combination of my sister Tammy and Charlie's sister, Cheryl, I think.

23. Did you get mad at your husband during labor?
a little before my epidural ; one word, transition. Not really mad, just irritated. He wanted to eat!

24. Who was with you in the delivery room?
My God (see below),My husband,My Mom, nurses, and doctor,

25. Funniest moment during labor?
I don't really have a funny story. Claire was born in distress. She wasn't breathing and was purple.She had almost no heart beat. So, all I remember about that is being scared to death and praying that God wouldn't take her. But, this is funny: the day after Claire was born, dr. came around to see us. He was talking to me about nursing. Claire just wasn't latching on good. So he told me not to worry. He said that he was formula fed and he turned out to be a Dr. Then he said, my sister was breast fed and she is a drug addict and he wasn't joking! What he was trying to say it being formula fed will not make you a terrible person. It was pretty funny to a woman who had just gave birth and was extremely worried about being able to breastfeed!

Claire bear is 4!!!

*I am just now getting to post this! monday, my computer was acting wild(still is & it's NEW!) ugh. yesterday, we had to take Lily for her blood sugar test and Claire & Drew for shots. Well, Claire also got a blood sugar test. So, it was an awful day and we just really need your prayers. We hopefully will get the results today. I will keep you posted.

5 years ago, I gave my infertility to the Lord. After 3 years of waiting every month and then crying and being so depressed when I wasn't pregnant (again) and the 4 years before that when I had so many babies go to be with Jesus. , after all 7 years of heartache, we just "happened" to catch this pregnancy on a fluke! I just happened to be having blood work done and that is how I know that Claire is from God. She was detected extremely early, we got the correct medicine and I carried her to term! All of our babies are miracles but she was the first! And, what a blessing she is!

Claire is the very best little girl a mom could ever ask for. She gives me trials but she loves me desperately and she has such a love for God. She talks about Jesus all of the time and we sing songs everywhere about Jesus. She sings loud and she doesn't care who hears her! She inspires me and I hope she never loses that zeal for Christ.

Claire is an excellent big sister, amazing. She is always ready to help me with the other two and she tells everyone that Lily is her best friend and Drew is her baby. :) I love the sweet way she calls them "Lil-wee" and "Drew-bee" She is always such a helpful little girl and she always wants to learn how to do whatever Mama is doing. She is an amazing little chef (really!) and already can tell you what flour, sugar and everything else are and when to put them in. She almost has the exact measurements of the ingredients down pat! She is wonderful in the kitchen and she's only 4!

We can count almost to 20 now and we know our colors and letters (most of them). We know our ABC's!!! She always wants to read and for Mama to read to her and I love that! I used to be so engrossed in reading. She definitely takes after her Mama there!

What I really love to watch her do is to get down her journal and her bible and sit in the chair and underline things in her Bible and write and draw pictures in her journal. No, she doesn't really know what she is doing but she knows she that reading the Bible and taking notes is important so she does that. I think it's wonderful and it's really neat especially after we have just read a bible story she will sit down and basically tell it back to herself almost word for word and I love how much that helps her! She plays like she is reading Bible right now but in a little while she will be really reading it and that is just amazing!!!

What I am most proud of with Claire is her loving heart. She always wants to help someone and she prays for everyone she knows. She hates for other kids to be left out. I love to see that sweet heart in her at such a young age. And when she's acting ugly, she says this adorable thing: I will say, "Where's my good girl?" and she says, "Right here in my heart, mama" Isn't that precious?

So, HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL, PRECIOUS, KIND, SMART, LOVING, SWEET BIG GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU, (This much!!!!)

Mama

Valentine's Day & Claire's Birthday Party pics.......

Me fishing with my girls; ignore how I look, I do not dress up to fish! :)
Lily at the pond
Rose, Sarah & Ashlin (Amanda & Micah in background)
Michael, Granny & Jess
Jesse taking a picture of Aunt Julie taking a picture of Jess(haha!)
Our beautiful niece, Allison! Ann was too busy with the cousins.
Drew-bear up close!! How big is he?!!!! :(
Girls fishing with Daddy :)
Me; you can't really see my hair that great; Charlie's making me laugh
Claire's new outfit from Aunt Cheryl & family; she LOVES the glasses!
Daddy & Drew (ignore my dirty windows;lotion from the girls)
Claire reeling it in (not really but she thought so!)
Claire's cake & Valentine's cupcakes (we just combined) :)


*WHEW!!! What a crazy weekend!! More on Claire's 4th Birthday sometime later (hopefully today) I have done 8 loads of laundry and my house is a total wreck. I have been cleaning like a mad woman all day long and still have LOTS to do!!

Lily has a dr.'s appt. tomorrow to test her blood sugar levels; could ya'll please pray for our baby girl? Thanks so much.

Love to all,
Julie

show LOVE to your family; bake for them!! (Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel muffins)

*I have some posts scheduled to publish throughout the week. I sat down last night and worked on some recipes I have promised a few people. That's probably all I will get to post this week but there are quite a few so I had to get them out of the way sometime!

I made these last night for Charlie & the girls (me, too) lol. We had Darcy's Chai tea along with them and all I can say is, "Who needs Starbucks?" :) I didn't have the same kind of green tea as Darcy used but we made it work. It's delicious and the whipped cream and cinnamon with it; heavenly! Anyway, here's the recipe for the muffins. I think I may have shared them before but they are so good, I will share them again!

filling:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons brown sugar

streusel:

4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons white sugar (used half Splenda)

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts

muffins:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar (used half Splenda)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup olive oil (I used Smart Balance)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

To make the filling:
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar.
Beat until smooth, then set aside.

For the streusel topping:
In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans.
Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffin batter:
In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla.
Beat together until smooth.
Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full.
Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter.
Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

*I used Valentine's cupcake papers to make it special; all muffins this week will be baked in these! Hope you enjoy these yummy muffins!! :)

my daughter is a southern belle...

Claire, sitting at the breakfast table with her nightgown on, said, "I'll have sweet tea for breakfast, please". (we fix it with splenda & theirs is decaf). After I gave it to her, she said, "Thank you, hon". :) and after she got through with breakfast she said, "I have to go put on my dress now, mercy me, it's getting late". :)

I HAD to share that! SO cute!! Raising her right, I guess?! :)

updates with veggie princesses :-)

NO throwing up since 7 AM!!! Praying that IT is GONE!!!!! :)

just updating the family. we have some people who are worrying. :)

oh, also, anyone have any ideas on how to put together a Veggietales/Princess birthday party?! lol. Miss Claire has decided that is what she wants! Okay, yeah, I'll get right on that one! ;) Seriously, any ideas are welcome, Anyone?????

Mama, I wuv you...

The BEST words that I will ever hear! Oh, I love you so much, Care-bear & your sister and brother, too! These words bring such healing to me. They are balm to my soul. You make me feel like the greatest mama in the world when I know just how much I fail. You bring such joy into my life! I can never thank God enough for you! You are such a delight to call my own!

Thank you, Lord, for the amazing blessings that you have given me! Thank you for the privilege of being the very honored Mama to Claire Victoria Rose! Give me the courage and strength to be the Mama that my little ones so richly deserve! In Jesus name, Amen.

Pictures and Thank You's!!!

Thank You, Aunt Cheryl & family, for the dresses for Claire & Lily & the cute clothes & ADORABLE boots for Baby Drew!! =)

I have some more pictures to post but this is taking forever so, I will try again tomorrow! My sister got me some precious clothes for Drew that I want to show off! So, hopefully tomorrow I will get those posted! =)

Love,

Julie

34 Weeks

I am going to try to get my scanner to post a fabulous (who am I kidding?) picture of me 34 weeks pregnant. I will keep trying until I get it posted so hold on...it will be here before long, I promise. =) I realize as of yet, I have only posted one pregnancy picture. That is pitiful! I will try to do much better in the coming weeks. I have just been, can you say, overwhelmed?


34 weeks! Whew! This pregnancy has flown by, for sure. It has really been nothing but a blur since I found out about this wee little one in my womb. I am still in shock that I am having another baby. Many may not understand that, but for 7 years I did not really believe that I would have children or to be more accurate, I really did not let myself think of it too much. So, to be blessed with not only one precious babe but 3 in 3 & 1/2 years? I am still dreaming. Most of the time, it doesn't seem real that I can be living this life out. But I am. Thank God I am.


Claire is going through some temper tantrum episodes and man, those are fun! haha. Some days I feel like a prisoner of war in my home. Lily is becoming more and more sweet and affectionate but also more independent! And, she can throw some whopper temper tantrums, too!


So, all in all, in the midst of baby preparations and day to day life, we have our hands full! We hit the bed exhausted every single night but praise God, we do sleep through the night most of the time! Claire is up to go to the bathroom but that is usually it. Lily usually sleeps like a rock. I just hope it continues after baby Drew arrives! Those all night feedings are tough enough without the other two waking up!


Lily will be 15 months old next week and we are on the countdown waiting for baby Drew!!! I have been sorting through baby girl clothes and boxing them up. Which is bittersweet and hard to do. I am so very sentimental. I have been washing Drew's clothing and blankets and sanitizing his bottles and pacifiers and just trying to get everything in a neat little place.


Drew's room is just off the girls' room but he will be sleeping with us for a while to start with (well, not with us, but in our room in a bassinet). So, I am trying to go ahead and get his room ready for his stuff but it is not going to well. Right now, it is stuffed with storage boxes and books. So, I am going through a little of that every day and trying to get it organized and cleared out of there so we can paint this weekend and move in the furniture for Drew. =)


Charlie painted the kitchen and some of the living room last week. He is also working on taking down wallpaper and painting the bathroom. I am helping of course, just not with the paint. He has also been doing a lot of work on our pool and everything outside. He is exhausted but happy.


Any ideas any of you have for organization would be very appreciated! Anything that helped you with a new baby coming? Most of all, I know that I am just going to have to get in there and throw a lot of stuff away!!!


Right now, Drew is kicking all of the time! He has the hickups almost every night at bedtime which Claire & Lily did not do, so it is a new thing and it is funny but I feel sorry for him! I HATE the hickups! I also have so much more fluid with him than I did with the girls. I feel so huge and unbalanced!



Also, any recommendations on a good (not too expensive) double stroller? I am definitely going to have to have one with a 3 & 1/2 yr. old, a 15month old and a baby!!!! =) That and A LOT of prayers!! lol. =) Anyway, if you do know of some good ones would you please let me know? Thanks!


Cravings so far: Fruit (any kind) especially watermelon and strawberries! Ice water with a whole glass of crushed ice to suck on and crunch. For some reason, it soothes me. I did that with Claire, too! Chinese food (sometimes) and Peanut Butter and chocolate. Italian sandwiches, olive salad and pepperoncini peppers. (all my husband's fave things). That's just a few of the cravings I have. But now, it is mostly just ice water and fruit. Which is good and fine by me. I have gained enough weight! =)



I try to talk to the baby every night with Charlie. Sometimes, I read out loud the verses in the Bible that speak of Andrew, the first disciple. I really do love that name. Charlie has always wanted to name his son Andrew and I think it is such a wonderful strong name. It really just fits this baby boy. And I love the shortened form of Drew. Charlie's dad's brother was named Andrew and that is why Charlie always liked it. It also has the exact same meaning as Charles, which is great!


The middle name choices that we have are going to be kept quiet until the birth. We just like for that to be a surprise and actually, we usually aren't entirely sure until we meet the baby. Claire was Claire Elisabeth Rene(Reen, not Renee) until we met her and then she was Claire Victoria Rose (her birth and Wilma's death the day of my baby shower in some ways influenced the change). Lily was Lily Sophia Elise for a while and then she was Lily Charlotte Ann and then Lily Sophia Rene and then we decided to name her after Charlie in case she was the last one, so she became Lily Charlotte or Lily Caroline and we were not sure about the 3rd name!!! But, when she was born, she was just Lily Charlotte Alise!!! (Lise after my Mom's names and Alise, short for Allison and Alise, short for Alisabeth/Elisabeth/Elizabeth (all family names).


So, all that rambling to say, that we don't positively know yet but we will when we see little Drew!!! =) And no, I don't mind people asking me what we are going to name the baby, it's just that as far as middle names go, we really don't exactly know for sure until we see him! Hope that explains it better than I have been! =)


If it happens to be a girl, we have a short name list:


*Audrey(has been a top pick with all 3 pregnancies; LOVE it)

*Savannah(Love this, don't really know why)

*Raegan(after my sister and my dad)

*Anna(after my mother-in-law& I just love the name)

*Ava (biblical; pretty)


middle names:


*Elisabeth(grandmothers)

*Caroline(form of Charles)

*Catherine(grandmothers)

*Cate(same)



Third name:



No clue!!!! Truthfully!!!



So, feel free to make a girl's name suggestion if you have one!!! I always believe in being prepared but I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what to name this one if it's a girl (which I doubt almost 100% that it is ) but still, I like to at least have some good combinations ready!!! =)


Anyway, I guess that about wraps up this novel of things I wanted to say! Thank you very much if you are still reading and I promise to get my belly pics posted as soon as I can get the scanner to do it! *Definitely have to get a new digital before Drew arrives!!! =)

Claire & my many blessings....

I am so proud of this little girl. I am so blessed to be her Mama and watch her learn so many new things and grow into such a sweet and beautiful young lady.

She received a baby doll the other day that looks like a real live baby and squishes its face up and cries and makes sucking noises just like a real baby. She calls it her "baby bruddher (brother)" and takes such wonderful care of it. She "changes" it's diapers and feeds it a bottle and rocks it and sings a wide variety of songs to this little baby doll. It's so precious to watch.

She is counting really well and learning her letters. It is so much fun to work with her on all of those things. We love it! She is also learning to swim a little at a time. You can't push Claire, she does everything at her own pace and I so love that about our oldest girl! =)

Claire is very focused on her sister. She adores sissy and adores being the older sister. She is also very good at bossing sissy and correcting her (I have to remind her that I am the Mama, lol). She always worries about sissy and talks to her in the cutest ways.

Every morning she comes into our bedroom and gets in the bed with me to snuggle. She lies there and talks to me nonstop until we get up and get ready for the day. We blew bubbles this morning and giggled in the bathroom so we wouldn't wake up Sis. She is quite the master bubble blower! She is amazed that you can make bubble solution with dish soap and her shampoo! =) That was SO much fun and a great memory!

I love the way she sings to Sissy at night and when sissy is fussy or sleepy. She sings "Jesus Loves Me" and "Everybody ought to know". The other day she was trying to sing, "Wonderful words of life" and Lily kept fussing so Claire said, "Sissy, hush! I try sing wonful words to life but you make me not know words to life, Care not happy with you, sissy!" See why I LOVE being their Mama!!! =) They are unbelievably precious!!!

We have also learned a new thing to help Mama make: Brownies!! She loves to make brownies! It was cupcakes for a while and she still loves to do that but for now her most favorite is brownies. She is going to be such an unbelievably great cook !!! She does good! She already knows all the ingredients for sweet stuff! She knows eggs, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla and her fave right now, COCOA!! =)

I felt like bragging on my Care-bear today and I am thanking God for my sweet little girls. Claire is such an incredible gift in my life and her Daddy and I thank God every day for the chance to be parents to her and her sister and brother. Claire made us a Mama & a Daddy. She made us a family of three and today I am savoring the gift and the feeling of being her mama and also of being a mama to another precious little girl, Lily(thank you God!) and baby Drew (what a blessing!).

I love you, Lord Jesus and please make me worthy, mold me and make me into the wife and mother you want me to be. Thank you for this awesome chance that I never thought I would have and the amazing blessing of Charlie, the greatest husband and the most loving, kind and gracious Daddy to our children. I love them (Charlie, Claire, Lily & Drew) SO very much and you, Lord, are SO very good to me! Thank you for my family Lord and all the blessings that you have rained down upon us. What a marvelous God is our God!

My little barrel racer...

Claire raced (well, loped, trotted) barrels with her cousin Sarah tonight(This is late Tuesday night and I can't sleep) at my Mom & Dad's roping arena. She did great! She is truly a natural and not afraid at all. Although, Mama is a little bit afraid but I trust Sarah (she's been riding since she was 3 also) and I know first hand that Sarah can handle it. So, GOOD JOB, GIRLS!!!!

When I get a picture of her riding , I will have to post it! I did not bring my camera so I didn't get any this time. :o( I will soon. They ride at least 3 times a week so I will have plenty of chances.

Lily wanted to ride too but she will have to wait awhile until she can ride with me. :o)

Just an update on what my little cowgirls have been up to!!

*Congratulations to our niece Allison on placing 4th out of more than 300 kids at livestock judging camp. And also to Ann Mary for getting to be part of the team and doing so well! GOOD JOB, GIRLS!!!! :o)

Lily...

Please pray for Lily, she spent all last night throwing up! She is feeling VERY bad right now so I am thinking that maybe this thing they have is viral. Claire's fever broke Saturday night late and so we went to church yesterday but by the afternoon, she was feeling pretty tired and just not good. No fever but just worn out. She says her throat doesn't hurt anymore and I have NO idea what the white spots could be? Maybe yeast?

Anyway, so now Lily is feeling really awful. I will be on a blogging break the rest of this week. I just have to much going on right now and sick babies. So, after we get everyone well and spend some time at church camp, maybe I will get back on here to blog. Well, I know I will! :o)

Have a great week, everybody!!!

*I have to tell you; Lily took about 5-6 steps last night!!!! She was walking from here to there and then sitting down and laughing! She's SO funny!!!

Please pray for Claire...

A quick update on Claire: I believe she may very well have strep throat. She is not eating at all and I think I am seeing some white spots on the inside of her mouth. She is also running about 102 fever. She's napping right now but we may be heading to the emergency room if it gets any worse. Also, please pray that Lily and Charlie and most especially,I, because I am pregnant, do not get strep throat.

Please, pray, that my sweet Claire bear will feel SO much better soon! She is missing out on a lot today because of this and is really upset about that, too. :o(

Thanks, all of you, for any prayers you can give.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
Julie

A precious room for my sweet little girls...

This is what I have for Claire & Lily's room, so far. We LOVE cupcakes around here and Claire has quite an eye for picking out cute things! She found the night light at Cracker Barrel yesterday. Their room is already painted a pale green so I think everything will just work really well together! I am SO excited to see it all come together and watch the girls enjoy their room created just for them! :o)

This night light is available at Cracker Barrel Stores but not online. I am going to put this one in the girls room!

Pillows to match the cute comforters for their beds! Aren't these adorable?!

I can't remember where I found these but I am going to paint some of them to hang above Claire & Lily's beds with their photos. I am still working on getting the perfect shot to use for the white wood frames hung with white decorative pegs by beautiful striped ribbon! And, I will be trying to talk my sister into making adorable cupcake quilts for their beds. I cannot find any online or anywhere that just say "Claire & Lily" to me, so, I am going to turn to her for inspiration! She just doesn't know it yet! lol.

And, so there you have it! My ideas for the place I hope our girls will love to go and play and relax and just be theirselves! :o)

Next up is Drew's nursery so stay tuned!!!

"I'm cooking the cat!!!"

This is Claire's new favorite book! She LOVES to read it and then pretend to make cupcakes! :o) Actually, she has talked Daddy & Mama into letting her make cupcakes a couple of times!!! She is SO much fun!!! Her favorite phrase now that she says repeatedly all day long is, "I'm cooking the cat!" "Mama, look, I'm cooking the cat!!"

What a cutie-pie! I just had to share this little bit of my precious Claire!!!

And, she had a special date with Daddy last night to get an ice cream sundae! She got all her stickers for using the potty!!! Yay!!!! She's working really hard for some more right now!!! That's my girl!!! :o)

Happies...

This post is completely random so it's just a warning! :o)

Things that make me happy today: (in no particular order)

*My husband turning his alarm off this morning & getting back in bed to hold me; how very sweet!

* Grilling last night & working in the garden with Charlie & the girls.

* Claire & the pottty training sticker chart; she has to get 10 stickers to get an ice cream with Daddy. She is on #7 and working hard already today to get to #10! So proud of her; she's trying so hard!

* Lily holding my hand last night while going to sleep. Her teeth are really bothering her and she just needed Mama's comfort. :o)

* Drew kicking me with full body blows and hitting and kicking the matress when I lay on my side to sleep! He is definitely strong & active! It's so fun to feel him move around and know that he is alive and strong! What a blessing (believe me, we know).

* This breakfast casserole; I believe it is very close to perfection! Yummy!

* "Creative Discipline" by Lisa Whelchel (Blair on The Facts of Life); a funny great read that really makes you understand the true meaning for discipline and just what are we getting so worked up for anyway?! lol. It's a lifetime process not something that has to be perfected overnight! Anyway, it helps me A LOT! :o)

* My Brighton watch takes a standard watch battery.

* My fingers and feet are not swollen today (yet).

*Dr. Pepper lip smackers lip gloss! Seriously good stuff for a Dr. Pepper addict and the color is really flattering, as well. Just a hint of color, like a blush.(I have been using this for about 5 years or so and I LOVE it!)

*Jergen's Self Tanning Body Lotion; just enough color but not enough to make me orange, which every other lotion with self tanner that I have tried does! Wal-Mart makes a generic version and I think Target does as well. I know the Wal-Mart one is about $2 cheaper a bottle and it works just as well. Although, you can also get the Jergen's lotion that is firming and it does wonders for cellulite and stretch marks! Hallelujah; it's amazing what a good tan can hide! :o)

* Splenda- LOVE the taste of this stuff and trying to eat healthier so this is a must. I am addicted to sweets and this just makes it easier to indulge. We have sweet tea made with this every night and we like it more than sugar sweet tea! In fact, the regular sweet tea feels so heavy to us now. This is great to have in the pantry to make some awesome sweet tea or a quick dessert! :o)

* The Ashley Judd Collection at Goody's! when I lose this pregnancy weight; I am SO shopping there & buying myself a few items! They are gorgeous and VERY flattering! Check it out; you can't beat Goody's prices!

* Target's (Liz Lange) Maternity jeans; Awesome & they last through more than one pregnancy! So comfortable and cute with all your shoes!(By the way; I am NOT getting paid to endorse anyone; just sharing my favorites with you!) *And, although I love the ones that I own now; they do not currently have anything cute that I think would work if I wanted to order a new pair! But, Old Navy has some really cute maternity jeans right now and I want to order this pair and this pair in particular!

* New Living Translation Study Bible; to study with, I haven't found anything better. The charts and timelines and biblical history are so helpful. I have used this Bible along with my KJV and my NIV for years and I find that looking at all three helps understand the context that something is written in much better. Of course, this is JMHO(just my honest opinion) and I am in NO way an expert on what Bible to read!

* My Kitchen Aid Mixer for awesome meringue for coconut cream pie we had earlier this week; yum!

* My granny's patchwork quilt made with her old dresses(the same ones that she made our barbie clothes with). I love to cuddle up with this and read my bible and journal. Makes me feel warm and loved.

* Things that don't let us forget. A book I am reading right now by Karen Kingsbury, "One Tuesday Morning". I cried so much and it reminded me how blessed I am to have the godly man that I do for my husband. He is not perfect and neither am I but we do strive toward that same ultimate goal; to be more like Christ every day. I love him so much.

*Baby Einstein videos- BOTH girls LOVE these and Claire teaches Lily the concepts as they watch. It's a sanity saver for me and so precious for the girls to enjoy this together! :o)

*Babywise- Nobody throw anything; this has helped us with both girls (both sleeping through the night by 12 weeks) so it works for us! :o)

Okay, I guess that I am through for now! I know this probably bored you senseless but thanks for reading along! And, if you get time, let me know a few of your favorite things! :o)

Love and Blessings to all,
Julie

Yummy, Buttermilk pancakes!

Claire helped me make these pancakes for breakfast this morning! (not my picture because I still don't have a new digital but that's okay because we are trying to follow Dave Ramsey's plan and that definitely does not qualify as an emergency! So, maybe I will get it soon.) Anyway, these are so yummy and easy! I make the whole batch and freeze the rest for the rest of the week! Easy! So, try these and tell me what you think. They are incredibly fluffy and yummy!

Blessings on your Wednesday,

Julie