Wonderful post about being a mother...

from my friend Heather at arrowsprings...

Would not trade Mommy-thing for any-thing

Brutal weather...

This winter has been a tough one so far. We were hit with major ice last night. Great day to stay inside! I am so glad I don't have to go anywhere today and Jesse doesn't have to work until tomorrow night. There is still so much snow, as well. I have a feeling that February and March will continue the harsh trend.

Julia got her braces on yesterday and hasn't felt too uncomfortable, so far! That may change today. She looks really cute with her pink and purple bands.

On another note, Thomas is doing very well with his potty training. I am one that has waited a long time to train (for my last 3) and once we start they are trained in a day or 2 with only a few uh-oh's. Thomas has followed that trend. So...one in diapers and Thomas is wearing pull-ups at night.

Cute quotes..

We were getting ready to go on a field trip to the hospital when Thomas asked "Is Garrett broken?"...I answered no...he then asked "Well, am I broken then?".

Picture of Thomas at Christmas time with his cousin, J.

Anna

Anna is 15 months old now and is just too cute for words. She has taken a few steps and is getting more confident. She is also saying lots of new words. She loves to give her brothers and sisters hugs and adores any and all electronic devices. She is still nursing and still not sleeping great. That is very normal for my babies. It seems like they are about 2 before they are really sleeping all the way through the night. I can't believe how fast she is growing up and turning into a toddler. No more baby! The pictures were taken by my SIL, Debi.

Thankful..

I really enjoyed today's sermon about thankfulness. Pastor talked about being so captivated with God that we don't let the every day cares of the world get us down or discourage us. It is so easy to base our lives on events, seasons, holidays. It is not wrong to enjoy those things, but it is wrong to wile our days away waiting for the next one. We need to be thankful for each minute of each day...giving thanks to God. We have an amazing Father who cares for us and listens to us...He is the creator of the universe! How awesome is that? Jesus died for us and now lives and we have the glorious and true hope that He will return. I am striving to constantly see the larger picture in life and give thanks daily!!!!!

Loss

It is so hard to look at those images from Haiti. The little 11 year old girl that survived all that time in the rubble to die shortly after being pulled out...my heart breaks and I wonder how the world can just go on. So much grief, so much misery. Here is a good post from Jenni at One Thing with some ways to help. Please pray...for He is there.

Drenching Love...

I love this post from Large Family Mothering:

Drenching Love