insta-september

9.6.20

"Like the sea that never will be moved am I,
Like the stars that time will never alter.
All my trust will be, O Lord, in Thee.
In Thy love, my faith will never falter.
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Like the mountain standing firm and true am I.
Like the tree the wind will not be bending.
I will still be found on faithful ground.
In Thy word my hope is never ending."
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I spent the week studying with my children about the signs of The Lord's birth and the faith of those who saw the signs and stood steadfast. They are building their foundations and I am strengthening mine. In this world filled with mighty storms and whirlwinds - I find peace in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My worry and fear turn into faith and focus and I echo the words of this song: All my trust will be, O Lord, in Thee. In Thy love, my faith will never falter.

9.9.20

Same dress. Seven years apart. My girls. ❤️❤️❤️

9.10.20

Happy HALF birthday to our C.S. - He's been anxious about when his next birthday will be and was so excited when we told him his half-birthday was soon. He asked if he could have a "Bump-ed" cake and the answer clearly had to be yes. So, happy 3.5, Caleb. You're independent, funny, suffocatingly loving, and want to do everything the big kids are doing. You're also .almost. potty trained which makes you practically perfect

9.17.20

We recently went through and pared down our board books so that the piles and piles of books would stop taking over Lucy's room. I kept only our favorites and stacked then prettily on her book shelf (not pictured) and on top of her dresser in her bedroom. Rocking her before her nap time is bringing me joy as I look over at that beautiful pile of messy, ripped, well-loved books. I love them even more for their worn covers and torn spines. I treasure the moments of sitting with my kids cozied up in my lap; reading to them and enjoying this life we live together. 📚❤️

9.18.20

This week our amazingly talented friend, Amy @_thebakeaholic, was hired to design and bake a large number of cookies for the Church's Global Missionary Department. She was telling us about her design plans and had brought sample inspiration pictures. (I love talking cookies with her! 🍪) we were discussing wording for one of the cookies and Lydia was giving her input as well. After a few minutes she went off to design a cookie herself to help Amy come up with ideas. I didn't realize at the time, but Amy took that little slip of paper home and after making a giant order of the-most-impressive-cookies-ive-ever-seen she MADE Lydia's cookie, exactly as Lydia designed it. She brought a few extra Missionary cookies and the "Missions Rock" design of Lydia's. It was amazing and thoughtful and so so fun. Amy never ceases to amaze me with her talent and it absolutely made Lydia's day!!

9.19.20

You guys, I was going to post about our great Saturday (awesome book sale, homeschool dreaming/planning/sharing with my Homeschool Hero @alimiddleton , and a successful lawn project completed -plus one of our first real dates since March on the docket for tonight, thanks @leahreetta!) - but I can NOT stop laughing at this series of pictures from our Saturday breakfast this morning. The boys (C&A) were in charge of making the pancakes and they made a HUGE pancake (with sprinkles of course- it is Austins birthday week after all). I snapped a photo and these are the best I got. It's killing me! 😂😂😂 I already want them to recreate this photo in 20 years. 🥞😂

9.22.20

Posting mostly for the grandmas. @suepeaden @lwalker23. Lucy loves getting in the tub and anxiously waits for her turn while her brothers get clean. She starts squealing and tugging at her diaper in her excitement and stands on her tiptoes trying to get in. (Of note, she absolutely can get in by herself if she tips herself over, so I am careful to keep a close eye on her while she plays outside of the tub.) She equally loves being in the tub and I'm so sad that our summer was such a bummer and she didn't really get to go swimming. (I'm also sad that Caleb missed this year of swimming, he would have loved it!)

9.23.20

This sweet Austin boy is SIX today! His one Birthday wish was for a flying helicopter and opening a drone last night as an early birthday gift was a huge win. He loves to do headstands, talk about the things that are on his mind, and has a super-sweet tooth. He also loves Wild Kratts and requested a Tortuga cake. After one cake overflowing and burning in the oven, we successfully made his dreams happen. I want to say that the cake looks better in person, but I'm not sure that's true. 🐢🚀Luckily he declared it "perfect" so I will take that to heart. ❤️ We love this boy.