making brownies

I've been on a little break for the last couple of days. sick again.
I'm feeling much better today and thought I better put something up here. Here are some pictures of the girls "making" brownies on Saturday morning. (I say "making" because we used a mix. still fun)

Bean buttering the baking dish

Bell adding either the water or the oil

Bell adding the mix

Bean stirring

Bell gets a quick taste in

in the oven - new we wait

we did get a quick lick of the spatula first. yum.

Bell: "Hey mommy, you can actually throw this in the trash if you want to." 

wow... how kind. she's so thoughtful.

He's Always Been Faithful Sara Groves

crazy conversation

I would not do a good job as a stenographer. I missed a few lines in between these conversations. I was trying to write it all down, but they go so darn fast! This was all at breakfast this morning. I said nothing, just tried to get it all written down.
Enjoy:

Bean: What are you?
Bell: I'm Bell.
Bean: I know your name. What are you?
Bell: a girl
Bean: oh.
....time passes
Bell: What are you?
Bean: I a girl.
Bell: Oh! We thought you were a "nutball"!
Bean: Hey! We don't call names!
Bell: Oh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bean: I like peanut butter and jelly and butter on my bread. what do you like on your bread, Bell?
Bell: I like this bread and my other bread.
Bean: Oh! I like peanut butter and jelly and butter on my bread.
Bell: Oooo! That sounds tasty! I like a little water on my bread.  mmm, mm, mm.
Bean: How tasty!
Bell: Do you still like your banana?
Bean: I like my banana, but I don't like the yellow thing.
Bell: Mommy, I don't like oatmeal on my bread. That make it so yucky. But I like applesauce and water on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bell: I don't want you to talk to me ANY MORE!
Bean: okay
Bell: But, you can still pet Bailey.
Bean: okay

 

I actually took all three of these creatures on a walk today. :) It went pretty well. Bailey wants to go about 10X faster than I can manage and the girls go about 10X slower than I would on my own. But we managed. :)

praying and check-ups

I found this today while surfing from one blog onto another. It's an old post from a blog I follow currently entitled: Bring the Rain

It's a beautiful and inspiring blog. The particular post I found and loved was about praying for your children:
Praying for Our Children

It gives wonderful examples of prayers to say over/with your children during different times or activities during the day. Just wanted to pass on such great information. Check it out.

Today the girls had their  2 1/2 year check-ups. And aside from incessantly trying to play with the scale, they were really good. They both weigh about 26lbs. Bean is 1/4 of an inch taller than Bell (at this particular appt.). They're in the 25th percentile for weight and the 25th-50th percentile for height. They are growing well and seem to be very healthy.
They talked A LOT to the doctor... about all sorts of things. Including tattling on themselves for hitting/biting each other. They also let her know that they had to "sit on the naugthy spot and mommy say, 'that a bad choice!'"
oh my. i guess i shouldn't be surprised.

They also got their blood drawn for the first time. They were tough. I said, "you'll feel a little poke, but then it will be okay... you're tough, you can handle it"  - so this evening Bean is poking Bell and Bell is complaining she doesn't like it. (rightfully so) Bean looks at her and says, "it's just a poke, like at the dr. it just poke and then it wont hurt anymore." She remembered, almost word for word and cleverly used it to her advantage.  :)

Doesn't this look like fun????

6 months

I didn't forget.
I never forget the 23rd. It's silly, really. I should be focused the the 11th every month. That's when you were born... it's your life I want to remember and celebrate. ...not this.
But that's just what I want.
Instead, on the 23rd of every month I'm reminded that somehow time is still passing. Without you here, time is still passing. Our girls are growing and changing, making me laugh, reminding me of your humor.
I try to remember that you're no longer under the constraints of time, right? You are celebrating in paradise. You're not waiting for me.... you're outside of time knowing in an instant I'll be there too. You're at peace.

The 23rd hits hard, but it's everyday.... we think of you everyday. We talk about you every day. We miss you every day. And we look forward to seeing you again, someday.

Tonight... i'll think about this laugh... and the beautiful little girls that always brought out your joy.

going public

The blogger rules say that you can have no more than 100 people on your "safe viewing list" to be private. If you get more than 100, you have to go public. We were at 101 a couple of days ago, so I just decided to go public. Which means that anyone can venture over here and view a piece of our life.
For those of you who know us, please don't use the girls actual first names in your comments. (i don't think anyone has)
If anyone with sinister motives finds us, I don't want him to actually be able to find us. :)
I also need to figure out how to watermark/protect the pictures I've put here. If anyone knows how to do that, please let me know.
The benefit of going public is the opportunity to connect with more people who share in different aspects of my life, moms of mono-amniotic twins (who's blogs i've been stalking for years anyway), young widows, etc.
My monkeys are are awake. Time to start the day.

imagination

The girls entertain me regularly with their imaginations. 

This morning when I walked in their room I heard all about the salmon patties they were making... salmon patties with "stinky cheese and stinky lettuce". :) 

They lay in bed before falling asleep and make "phone calls" to anyone and everyone. 

Yesterday they were wearing their socks on their hands and said they were oven mitts. They were "baking" for about a 1/2 hour before falling asleep. And, of course, there are daily fights over imaginary things being taken away or thrown in the trash. 

the baby got squished in this

this is what it was designed to be

While we're on the subject of imagination. I'll have Bell introduce you to her baby... you might be familiar with him. His name is Jesus.

Bean decided, later on that week, that she was Joseph. Sometimes they still prefer to be called Mary and Joseph, although Jesus is still in Florida with Grampy and Grandma. :)

Bell and Grandma with baby Jesus

Bean, Bell, and Grandma

love this one

i love bugs - take 2

"I love bugs, 'cause they're so cute... I love bugs" :) - Bell

I love bugs

Bell - "I Love Bugs"
an original composition
on an (slowly dying) keyboard

All Things New

just because it's beautiful:

Come broken and weary. Come battered and bruised.
My Jesus makes all things new, all things new.
Come lost and abandoned. Come blown by the wind.
He’ll bring you back home again, home again.

Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, the light of the dawn is upon you.
Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, he makes all things new.

Come frozen with shame. Come burning with guilt.
My Jesus, he loves you still, he loves you still.

Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, the light of the dawn is upon you.
Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, he makes all things new.

The world was good, the world is fallen, the world will be redeemed, so hold on to the promise.
The stories are true that Jesus makes all things new. The dawn is upon you.

Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, the light of the dawn is upon you.
Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, he makes all things new.
All things new.


Words and Music by Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive, Andy Gullahorn Ephesians 5:14 Isaiah 65:17 II Corinthians 5:17 Revelation 21:5  - from the album "Resurrection Letters II"

wonderful family

Bean, Aunt Carol, and Bell

Bean with Uncle Max and Bell with Uncle Jerry

Aunt Janie, Uncle Jerry, Grampy, Grammy, Bean, Bell, Me, Aunt Joan, Uncle Jack, Aunt Carol and Uncle Max

We also got to see my Aunt Kaye and cousin Alison while there were visiting Florida. (but, i didn't take pictures...darn) Also my cousins Stephanie and Matt. And Darin's Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave.

I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful aunts and uncles. Each of them has been so special to me growing up and I'm so pleased that my girls get to enjoy them too. :) They still talk about the evening when we took that last picture. ("there lots of people there. we say night night to all the people.") :)

Again... so blessed.

dancing in new dresses

Only three Sunday's ago we were dressed like this for church. :)

at the beach

 we did go to the beach... it was a cloudy day, but that actually worked in my favor for the photos. :)

Bean and Grampy

Bean

Bean

Bean

Bell and Bean with Grammy

Bell and Bean with Grammy

Bell (l) and Bean (r)

a "moment" caught

Bell

Bell

Bell

Grammy and Bean

Bean and the sand

Bean

Bell

Bell

zurburts on the cheek

sometimes they really have fun together.
i treasure those moments.

Bean's Battery

sending mail and taking pictures with flat stanley  :)

beautiful palm tree - bell, flat stanley and  bean

on our way to send some post cards

Bean with Aunt Janie and Bell with Uncle Jerry

Grandma helping Bell mail a postcard

Bean trying to climb into the doll house

Bell

Bean

Bean and Bell with Aunt Joan

 A great quote from Bean this morning:
"I can't remember 'cause my battery died"
and from yesterday:
"I have my tutu on so I don't fall down"

you say tomato

from today:

they sorta got it. :o)