Stressed spelled backwards...

...is DESSERTS!

Sometimes there's only one way to cope:)

When your baby gets very sick on her birthday...desserts. (Yes, we have eaten cake at several meals this weekend.)When your older child sneaks the tops off three cupcakes while you tend to your younger sick child...desserts. (If you can't beat 'em...)When every child who stays at your house gets sick one after another...desserts. (With extra germs apparently)

When your husband is gone for days of hardworking service and both kids inevitably get sick...desserts. (And thankfully you have parents to come to the rescue...luckily more desserts:)

When your child's fever continues to spike and any medicine you try to put down her makes her throw up...desserts. (Even tried sneaking meds in those, too!)

When you sleep halfway off the bed with a snoring/coughing toddler breathing in your ear...four nights in a row...desserts. (Close to visions of sugarplums?)

When you think about all that needs to be done before you host a 40-person party in a few short days...desserts. (You better believe there will be desserts there.)
Hmmm. My clothes may not fit anymore after this weekend...but at least I'm not stressed!

"On the Night You Were Born"

On the night you were born,

the moon smiled with such wonder

that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered,

"Life will never be the same."

Because there had never been anyone like you...

ever in the world.

Not once had there been such eyes,

such a nose,

such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.

When the polar bears heard,

they danced until dawn.

From faraway places,

the geese flew home.

The moon stayed up

until morning next day.

And none of the ladybugs

flew away...

So whenever you doubt just how special you are

and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far,

listen for geese honking high in the sky.

(They're singing a song to remember you by.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.

(It's because they've been dancing all night for you.)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,

or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,

or a little bird sits at your window awhile,

it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in story or rhyme

(not even once upon a time)

has the world ever known a you, my friend,

and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet

and played every horn

on the wonderful, marvelous

night you were born.

by: Nancy Tillman

"For you are fearfully and wonderfully made..."

Happy 2nd Birthday, Brenna Elizabeth!

Guess WHOOOOO's 2 this week!

Brenna, that's WHOOOOO!

Brenna, WHO has the biggest smile around...and causes smiles in anyone around. Brenna, WHO is happy-go-luckiness and moodiness all rolled into one.Brenna, WHO wants to do things "iself", shows impressive independence and initiative, and acts like she's already been 2 for months.

Brenna, WHO sings "Jesus Loves Me" in church every time she hears the preacher say Jesus, listens intently to Bible stories, and knows how to pray with fervor.Brenna, WHO loves reading every book on her shelf, watches whole movies, and can excitedly name most any Disney character and sing most any Disney song (particularly Hakuna Matata).Brenna, WHO adores this horse and this sister.Brenna, WHO is obsessed with lipstick and loves pulling her hair back in a ponytail because it's "yike Audey."Brenna, WHO loves holding/playing with my phone...especially when she thinks she's not supposed to have it...and maneuvers through toddler video games extremely well.Brenna, WHO will answer to no pet names, "No, I Bunna!" and sporadically growl at her daddy.

Brenna, WHO enjoys doing flips, playing "tickle me", sleeping on her pillow pet, eating "fishies", feeding the cat, running away from pajamas, tee-teeing in the potty, taking & looking at pictures on the camera, pulling her hair down, racing Audrey to brush teeth, singing ABC's along with toys, and announcing that Daddy took our Christmas lights down every time we pull into the driveway.

Brenna, WHO we all adore, our little hoot.

Kingdom Kids

Our house turned into quite a kingdom over the last couple of weeks.

We talked Q's for queens and K's for kings and learned the Bible verse, "Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Then we built our own royal castle complete with drawbridge and moat.
And as the "queen" of trash art :), we incorporated some shoe boxes and toilet paper rolls into our kingdom creations.Then to top it all off, we had a princess night out to see Beauty and the Beast 3D. Audrey, of course, had to dress the part...and Brenna was just happy to be there :)

You can probably guess who the rulers of our little kingdom are...

Uncles, Aunts, & Emus...Oh My!

We had a blessed weekend with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends...and yes, an emu. Keep reading to get all those details :)

First off, my little sister Albany (aka Aunt Bobby) turned 20! Everyone gathered to visit and celebrate her.
We were also celebrating the fact that my brother Austin and sister-in-law Melinda (aka Uncle Bub and Aunt Mel) are in town!We had a belated Christmas time with them, and they got the kids some super fun toys. I think the adults enjoyed the kids' gifts as much as them :)
The girls love their real Cabbage Patch dolls adopted just for them by Aunt Mel.The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying their company and showing them all of our tricks! We played hard at Granny's with horses and 4-wheelers......and then Austin caught a random emu! Nothing like being back in Texas!As Brenna deemed it, this dog pen is now a bird cage.

We look forward to spending some more quality family time (with or without more wild fowl) before Austin and Mel head back this weekend.

Artistic Expression

How's this for artistic expression...Body Art!

The expression seems "happy" to me!

Again, happy works of art :)

More art: you can never fail with watercolors...

What amazing masterpieces we have...and the paintings were nice, too :)