What A Difference One Year Makes...

I was browsing through some pictures tonight and found these from last year...


Sophie with Muncle Jon this week last year. Look at those chubby cheeks and short hair!

Sophie with Aunt Sarah Jo & Aunt Jac doing some "Walk Away The Pounds!" She has grown INCHES since this time last year! (Incidentally, Soph joined me for some Walk Away The Pounds this week and she kept up great for about a quarter of a mile. Then she said, "I'm hungry!", ate a banana and plopped down in the couch!) :)

Sophie (with her hair straightened) NOW. She looks SO grown up!

And SO tall!

Miss Gracie B. one year ago... all sweet and sleepy and snuggle in Aunt Nera's lap.

Grace in her favorite (and Mommy's too) swing!

And look at my walkin' girl NOW! I love her look of determination!

This girl melts my heart every day!



Well, they both do! They have changed and grown so much in the last year. I have too. I've been stretched and I have been blessed.

I have endured months, and I do mean MONTHS of waking up in the night over and over, 1000's of diaper changes, many sore muscles from lifting car seats and kiddos and more crazy messes than I care to remember! I've also enjoyed hundreds of slobbery kisses and snuggles and stories, and playing and laughter and blessings because of these little love-bugs!

This year has brought many changes to the people who grace these pictures. We now have TWO more babies to love! Nera has Arianna and Jaclyn has baby Ike. Jon is in College and by golly he is going to give meat another try! Woo Hoo! :)

Mammy with her four grand-babies!


Sometimes change is GOOD!

However... this...this NEVER changes! :)

It's Me again Margret!

i'm still here. still living and loving and cooking and cleaning.... and parenting and nursing (!) and organizing and garage selling and crafting and praying and parenting and dating (my husband) and exercising (that's a new one!) and still trying to learn to balance my life and my time.

the last couple of weeks have been full and sweet. my family was here two weeks ago. we visited a lot and laughed and tried to get out kids to cooperate and take pictures! actually they will be back next week when THEY MOVE MY MOM & STEP DAD HERE! wow! that's a biggie. i haven't lived in the same town as my mom since i was in the fifth grade. we are excited to have her close by and anticipating some (good) adjustments in our relationship at the same time. she will be living with in walking distance from me so i know we will get to see her often. :)

last week we had a garage sale and i am so glad that it is done! it was good though and i got my garage cleaned in the process and that makes me very happy! i am slowly but surely making my way through each room and organizing. a couple of months ago i was SO overwhelmed by my disorganized house that i was ready to move away and leave it all behind. thankfully, things are lookin up! i still have tub upon tub of sweet little girls clothes (and shoes and blankets, ect) that i'm really not ready to part with yet. one day... :)

mom (lisa) & i went to an aerobics class one night last week and we are definitely going back tomorrow. i am NOT a coordinated person, but i was actually able to keep up and i am inspired to keep the weight loss train rolling! nursing (and chasing kiddos) have helped me a lot, but now i need to start demonstrating some self-control in the "sweets" department and start toning up!

this week i am also starting the "Captivating" Bible study. i am really looking forward to being involved in this group and praying for the Lord to minister to my heart in the process. this period of lent is always a tender and pivotal time for me. this year I have my favorite lent devotional (The Christ of Easter by Calvin Miller- it is so, so good) and daniel and i are joining our church in praying for 40 days for our nation and the world. it has been very good so far and it has brought praying for the lost to the forefront of our minds and hearts again. i struggled a lot about what to "give up" for lent this year. i thought that blogging and facebook was probably the thing. i did this about three years ago and it was very good for me. i believe that this time though that a total internet fast is maybe not what i need as much as some guidelines to help me balance my time on the internet all the time. i may take a few weeks or days off, but i know that also doing some other practical things like moving the laptop from the living room will really help me in this. Lord, please keep speaking to me and making me more like You!

well, i guess that about sums it up for me! the girls are doing great. grace is taking lots of steps here and there! she doesn't just take off down the hall, but she is getting more and more brave. she is an absolute delight and daniel and i are loving the fun stage that she is in! so, so sweet! (well, except for during diaper changes!)

sophie is doing good too! i can see a light... :) we are having some really good days lately. we still have some tricky times and she definitely still needs a nap, but we are loving this stage too. her vocabulary is getting so big and she has the funniest expressions and faces (a lot like her daddy!), she loves to help me in the kitchen, and the thing she gets in trouble the most for is pushing her sister. :( She loves to type her name on the computer and the other day she wrote her name on our white board!!!! i was SO thrilled by this! she's a little s-t-u-b-b-o-r-n (like her momma) so she doesn't do too much "on demand," but we will keep working on it together. :)

ok, i was supposed to be in bed by 10 and i still need to clean the kitchen. (sigh!) i have been loving this spring weather and getting outside with my dirt-loving kiddos and my johnny cash loving husband (a new love for dan)! God bless and good night!

jennifer

(ps- i know that i need to change my background and update my blog list! hopefully i can soon!)

(pps- i have lots more pics to upload, but it isn't working for me tonight!)