okay, so here we go again!

Okay, so I am just a little delayed in getting this blog going. Please accept my apologies. (You know who you are. The only two I told I was starting a blog.) So since I finally realized that there would be no perfect time to get this going , and I might be interrupted during the process, I decided I could deal with those things and here I am ready to fill you in on what has been happening in our world.

Yes, there's a reason we call her Silly Lily....She is always smiling and making funny faces and noises. She is a true DELIGHT! She may have surprised us with her unexpected arrival, but she has more than made up for it with that smile! I cannot imagine my life without her. God knows so much more than me (yes, I know that is earth shattering information....I was in the slow line for that revelation.)

I have enjoyed her so much that I am getting better at letting some things around the house go. I have even gone to bed on more than one occasion with dirty dishes (gasp!) I have even not folded laundry as soon as it came out of the dryer. I have thrown all caution to the wind (hopefully not my family's safety) because I told Abby to turn the water off in the bath tub when it reached the the gray line...that would be dirt from previous baths and other dirty children. Anyway, I hope we can all still be friends with that information. What I am truly learning more and more is that this life is all about seasons. If I don't take the time right now to do the truly important things then that time is gone. Another season will begin. I am so grateful for these little girls who continue to teach me so much about myself and so much about my Heavenly Father.

So here's some more scoop on Lily...
She is now 8 months old,
She is the most petite little thing,
She is a proud owner of ear tubes (as of June 20th),
She can stand up in her crib,
She cannot sit down in her crib once she stands up,
She is going to be running with her sisters before we know it!

Did I mention she loves to eat!

Ella Katharine....

Wow, where have the last two years gone? My sweet Ella is 2 and very proud of it! She is still such a sweetie and quite a lover. She has a very big heart and oh so generous (like her Daddy.) She is turning into a busy, fast-paced girl who loves to "elp." She keeps us laughing with her funny ways and dancing moves. She is very protective of her baby sister and her big sissy too. I thought Ella was going to be my easy child, but she may surprise me. She is not too fond of any discipline we have administered. In fact, she thinks we are funny. Oh, Lord please give me wisdom...she is a smart one.


Ella had an accident about a week ago. She feel off a picnic table bench onto a cement slab and caught herself with her mouth. We were camping and this happened the second (and final.) morning of our trip. We have an appointment with the dentist but we are letting things heal a little before we go. Her teeth are still there and they are not wiggly...which are good things I have been told, but to my untrained eye they do look like they may have moved some. In all this we have confirmed that Ella has the pain threshold of a football player, unlike another sister we will not mention here. She is one tough little girl! My prayer for her is that as she grows God would give her an inner strength that only comes from time in His presence. I pray that her heart for Jesus would just continue to grow and that the joy He gives her would keep her dancing.

Forgive the poor photography. I wanted to try and show you how her little face looked the day after. I was also taking this picture while we were going up and down on a carousel. The only way I could see into her mouth at the time. She was a trooper...we went to the St. Louis Zoo and she had a blast!

Long day at the zoo!

More Zoo pictures

Yes, I know I haven't reported on Abby yet. I think I will do an entire post on her soon, but just a few tidbits....the girl has changed so much in the last year! Hard to know where to begin and by now you are probably wanting this to come to an end!

She loves BUGS! We have affectionately named her the bug lady. She is fascinated by them. Especially butterflies and the entire process of a butterfly becoming a butterfly. I mean she really knows her bugs!

I guess this makes it official....I'm a blogger.

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