Found!

I have had piles of clothing all over this house for weeks. They have moved from room to room, been unfolded, refolded and then unfolded once again. You know why? Because the weather won't decide which season it wants to be. (It might also have to do with some laziness on my part when it comes to doing laundry but we won't talk about that.) The clothing has posed several problems.
Problem #1:  I need to have the electrician come to fix a few lights and put in some outlets but the mess is too embarrassing so I haven't called him. I'm tired of having a dark living room and plugging the dishwasher in with an extension cord.
Problem #2: I don't want to have anyone over and I don't want to stay home. The latter really doesn't help with getting the laundry done.
Problem #3: Things keep disappearing. Important things like Molly Bear and (gulp!) Brown Bear. Eily has been sleeping with replacement animals for a couple of weeks now.

Today I decided it was time for A Change. A Fresh Beginning. A New Start. I sent Jason to the store to get the largest tubs he could find because today THE CLOTHES ARE GOING AWAY!! I started in my bedroom where half of Claire's summer clothing was "piled" all over the floor in front of our bed. As I was digging and scraping up the clothing that had worked its way under our bed I came across some misplaced items. First, orange stacking blocks, next a leg to the bouncy seat I bought at the Growing Kids Sale, some fuzzy keys ( they are made out of cloth not covered with mold) and what do you know????!!!!  Brown Bear and Molly Bear. I don't know who was more excited, me or the girls. Those permanently stinky things have wormed their way as close to my heart as my own children (who I have decided are also permanently stinky.) Well, I guess I would be a little more alarmed if Eily had up and disappeared for two weeks but you understand what I'm trying to say here.

Jumble

Sometimes I go through seasons of not wanting to post. And I always fret that my readers will leave me. And you never do. ( Ok. so maybe some of you do.) But then I remember that I really only have about 10 readers and they are all family so the chances of them deserting me are low. And I feel ok about my respite from blogger.

I went to a Charlotte Mason seminar Monday and since I have been home I have started implementing some of the things that I learned. Most importantly, instilling the habit of obedience in my children.
One word to describe this: EXHAUSTING. But also very important. I realized yesterday just much we have slacked off in this area.

I'm tired and my fingers keep typing the wrong letters. And my thoughts won't form into coherent sentences.

So I'm stopping.

I might try again later.

Elaina's 5th birthday

Elaina had a birthday a few weeks ago and every time I have sat down to post the pictures Blogger wouldn't work. I realize that posting has been few and far between but I just can't justify being on the computer when I haven't cleaned anything. (That should give you an idea of what it looks like here.) Today I cleaned the kitchen and blogger is being kind so I knew I had better take advantage of the situation.

13 weeks. One baby. Quite the kicker.

I can't stop watching.

Eily.

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The Magic of Ordinary Days

• Went to bed last night and was asleep before 9:30!
• Woke up feeling almost normal
• Had devotions with girls
• Did a couple of reading lessons with Elaina
• Did a craft with the girls
• Made mini muffins
• Bathed girls
• Sent girls outside to play for a long time
• Cleaned the main rooms of the house
• Did laundry
• Fixed lunch
• Sent/answered emails
• Wrote blog post
• Uploaded pictures
• Helped girls build tent house
• Put Eily to bed
• HAVE NOT THROWN UP ONCE TODAY

Later on that night...

Before:

 After:

Claire's Birthday

A surprise on the way to Nanny's house:

Grrrr... I'm so sorry about the sideways pictures. No matter what I do I can't get them to upload the right direction.

Presents:

Cupcakes and Ice Cream:

Thank you Nanny and Pappy for hosting a wonderful party!

Happy 5th Birthday, Elaina!

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Happy Birthday, Claire!

Letter to come soon:

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Good job, the mother says.

I was watching old videos of the girls and I came across this one.  I think she was three at the time.

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A couple of funnies

We were at a church meeting all weekend. On Saturday, it was taking the song leader a few minutes to get the tune of the song in his mind and so there was a little moment of silence. Eily started singing out, "The more we get together, together, together, the more we get together the happier we'll be." She sang the entire song and then at the end she yelled out, "Everybody! The more we get together..."

Apparently, Claire commandeered my camera while I was taking a nap one day. A few minutes ago I downloaded the pictures and found her snapshots. I will share one and it will give you an idea of what the rest of the pictures looked like.

That is all.

Wow. Today officially starts my third month. The last month of my first trimester and I am really excited about that because the BEST time in my pregnancies is the second trimester. You feel the best and you have an ultrasound where you can find out the sex of the baby if you so desire. And we usually do desire.

My mom is amazing. She has come twice this week to help me clean and get some laundry done. Bless her little heart. Buh-less her little heart. (quick trivia: Who says that?)

I have nothing else to say so here are a few pictures.

Eily and Isra going into church:

Some of the kiddos at church this weekend:

Eily reading a story to her doll:

Goodnight everyone!

I am eating microwave popcorn for the first time in a loooong time. It's super yummy.

So it's a little late....

Dear Eily,
Mommy really messed up on this one and didn't make your birthday montage until four months after your birthday. In fact, if Daddy hadn't requested it I probably would have forgotten about it completely.

You are something else. We thought Claire had a strong personality but we didn't have any idea what was in store for us with Eily. You are incredibly independent. Your signature sentence could be, "No, no. I can do it." And then you do. You are smart and you are a smarty pants. Your speech has been so advanced for your age but unfortunately so has your sauciness. You keep us on our toes, that's for sure.

You love your sisters, wholly and completely. You call them "my gors" and are very lost when they go visit somewhere without you. You fight and argue but you also laugh and giggle. I'm so glad that you ended up being our third girl. What fun to watch you all play together and grow closer.

You can count to 15, say the alphabet and the Pledge of Allegiance and somehow, without any help from Mommy, you have learned some of your letters.

I can't wait to see what all you learn in your third year of life. We love our Eily Edith, our Thumper, our Pee Wee, our Evil Edith, our Necked Frog,
our baby girl.

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Today was our first official day of school. It really was a lot of fun. Claire woke up bright, shining and ready to go. Elaina? Not so much.

Yes. She posed herself.