Before pics of the house

The new (old) house that we bought "as is"

This is our new overwhelming project.  Yep, it really looks like that.  And believe me, it gets worse inside.

The original 1960 kitchen

We have a very long list of must dos for this house before it's ready to live in.  First, the exterior is getting a facelift - A new roof, new windows, and siding.  Oh, and we are making the house yellow with white trim and a black roof.  It will also get new exterior doors and a good grooming.

The Living Room

Next, the interior is getting all new hardwood flooring everywhere except the bathrooms.  The baths will get small mosaic floor tile.  The entire house will get repainted - ceilings, trim, walls, interior doors, closet interiors - everything. 

The guest/children's bathroom

The baths will get new fixtures and a good cleaning.  We will be adding new hardware on most of the doors, new closet systems to maximize storage, and a door into the back yard.

The playroom/schoolroom

We will be gutting the kitchen, running new electrical, adding new cabinets and counter tops, and purchasing appliances.

One of the bedrooms

The house will get mostly new light fixtures, outlets, and some updated molding as needed.  Whew, I'm just tired thinking about all of it!  But, when we finish we will have a cute home that will provide all of our needs for the next few years.  It will also be paid for.  We have a long list of other improvements that we are wanting to do, but they will have to wait.  Our main goal now is to get in and settled before the arrival of Lentz baby #4.

A new (old) house

Life is all about choices.  Some choices are simple and have little impact (like what to wear today). Other choices are huge, life altering decisions (like who to marry).  Lately, it seems we've had more than our share of the life-altering choices to make - having another baby, Scott going into full-time ministry, my choice to stay home with the littles.  It's these previous choices that have led to this new decision - moving to a new (old) home. 

We are downsizing, moving to the country, buying a fixer-upper, and making a life-altering choice.  We've been praying about this since Scott decided to go full time at the church.  We can afford our home but we can't really afford much else.  Our budget is extremely tight and we decided to try and reduce our monthly living expenses. 

When we started hunting for homes, I started praying for a very specific home.  I wanted a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home with a living room and a playroom, and a large yard in North Lee County.  And this was the biggest thing I wanted - I wanted it cheap enough that we could have no mortgage.  I know.  This was my "sun stand still" prayer. 

Now, God had blessed us tremendously over the last 15 years of marriage.  We have a nice chunk of equity in our current home and carry zero debt other than our mortgage.  No credit cards, no car payments, no student loans...that's all paid off.  But for us to continue to live debt free, we were either going to have to reduce our mortgage payment or earn more money.  We chose the somewhat radical step to live with less. 

We looked a lot of homes.  Small homes, old homes, new homes, homes in other areas - and after a while I was beginning to think that our home wasn't out there.  Then, we found this less than nice foreclosure that had a bit of possibility.  We walked through it and decided it would work.  It has 4 bedrooms although they are a bit small.  There are 2 baths although there is not really a master suite.  There is a living room, dining room and small kitchen.  There is also a utility room and a huge room that we can use as a school room.  It also has a large shop, huge yard and it's in Saltillo School district.  The downside is that it needs a ton of work.  The upside is that it has a great foundation and it was cheap enough that we will have some money to update it before we move in.  We won't be able to do everything we want right away, but we will be able to make it very comfy and cute and hopefully clutter-free.  

This will be our fifth move in 15 years.  More importantly, this will be our fourth home since Lyra Kate was born only four and a half years ago.  All three of our children have come home to a different house.  So will the new baby since we hope to move in by January.  We have much work to do over the next few months and we will still need to sell our current home, but hopefully within a year we will be completely debt free which is something when your our age.

I know this is may look like a step back to some people, but for us it really is a step forward.  We will have a home that suites our needs and no debt.  Anyway, I've always believed that a home is really made beautiful by the love you find inside it not by how it looks.

The end of an era

Lyra Kate in her first week of tennis lessons

There have been lots of changes around here lately.  This past June, Lyra Kate took her first sports lessons when she completed two weeks of tennis lessons.  This marked the end of an era here in the Land of Lentz.  What era am I referring to?  The era of quiet, slow weeks of being home inside our 4 walls.  I know, it doesn't sound like a big deal - but to me it was huge.  See, I've been holding back -  keeping all of us home, uncommitted to various activities for as long as I could.

Lyra Kate and her first day of Ballet

Childhood goes by so fast.  Before I know it, I'll be packing her up for college.  So, we've delayed getting involved in activities until this year.  She is only 4 and has many years left in childhood, but I still feel like we have shifted into a different time.  A time filled with soccer, ballet, recitals, and appointments.  A time of meeting new people, being in new situations, and trying new things.  I think these are all great and a necessary part of growing up, but I mourn the passage of the slow weeks at home where church and Kroger were are only outings in the week.

Lyra Kate on her first day of preschool lessons

So, we have added a few activities around here lately.  In August, we began Ballet and Tap lessons once a week.  She is really loving her class and can't wait to go each week.  We also began homeschool preschool lessons in September.  She is really enjoying those too.  She is very eager to learn.  We are also playing soccer this year.  This is challenging for Lyra Kate.  She is not aggressive.  She usually hangs back from the action during the games but she is improving.

Lyra Kate at her first soccer practice

So forgive me.  I know that this may seem like a silly thing to miss, but I really do miss when our life was activity free.  In a few more years, we will have multiple children in multiple activities and be impossibly "on the go!" For now, we will enjoy the newness of it all, as our little redhead takes her first steps into a big world.

Remembering the little things

Time gets away from me so quickly these days.  I seem to be constantly checking the time...
....is it time to start making lunch yet?
....is it time to get the clothes out of the dryer?
....how long until Daddy gets home?
....how long before bedtime?
....how much longer do I have to sleep before the alarm goes off?

I feel as if these days are getting away from me.  Things I thought I would never forget about my littles are starting to fade from my memory.  So today I am writing a post about all the little things my littles are doing that I want to remember.

Today I want to remember...

Lyra Kate with her pink bunny, hooded towel on her head singing "When will my life begin" from Tangled.  She was pretending to be Rapunzel and running around her room naked - straight out of the tub, signing as loud as she could!

Lila Grace sitting on the potty for the first time at bath time last night and complaining it was "too small".

Tucker melting into me this morning when I got him out of his crib at 7:15.

The way the girls are starting to just now really play together.  How Lyra wants to be the boss and Lila is just not going to be told what to do. 

How Tucker brought me the remote to the TV yesterday and just said one word "Dora".

Lyra Kate talks nonstop about being a Mommy and pretends Tucker is her baby.

How Lila Grace complains about everything - It's either too small, or too big, or too hot, or too sticky...everything!

Lila Grace learning to breathe during difficult panic situations for her - like going into a public restroom.

Tucker eating everything I give him.  I haven't found anything yet that he will not eat!

The way I put new laundered fitted sheets on everyones' beds and within 36 hours they all were pee peed on.

How yesterday, they all made me something imaginary to eat or drink and brought it to me at different times - Lyra "potato salad", Lila "lemonade", and Tucker "tea" (at least I think it was tea he poured it from the teapot and gave it to me in a cup).

How the girls play band all the time and need my ice tea spoons for drum sticks.

Tucker calling everyone Mama.  He's the first one to not call me Mommy.

How beautiful my children are.  This always surprises me.  Sometimes I look at them and they look like angels even if they don't act like it.

Lyra Kate wanting to be a Mommy and make chocolate chip cookies.


These really are things that I know will fade from my memory as they get older.  I must remember to do this more often....

A Suprise Baby?

Our children's converse shoes plus a new pair for a new baby

In case you haven't heard, we are expecting a new addition here in the Land of Lentz.  We are very excited.  We have shifted in the last few weeks into full pregnancy mode - cravings, exhaustion, nausea, maternity clothes - everything you would expect when you're expecting.

The above picture was taken by Scott on our sidewalk out front.  This was how we announced to the world, via Facebook, that we are expecting again.  It was cute, fun and easy.  A lot easier than tracking down 20 to 30 people and telling them one at a time.  That was great with the first three but we thought this would be quick and easy.  We would let the shocked public spread the word for us!

Of course, we've gotten some great comments.  Most we smile at and just go on.  Scott has his own way of dealing with inappropriate comments that is usually funny but embarrassing to the one bold enough to venture something they think is clever.  Of all the comments, the one I actually had to think about was "is this a "surprise" baby?" 

After contemplating that for a couple of days I came up with the answer - Yes and No.  First, I'll explain the Yes.

Yes, this baby was a surprise, just like the last 3 have been a surprise.  Why? Because we had 8 years of infertility.  We didn't just have a hard time getting pregnant - we had a hard time getting pregnant, staying pregnant, ovulating, everything! Before we had Lyra Kate in our tenth year of marriage, we experienced the following things:

Diagnosis of PCOS and anovulation (meaning I had no eggs to ovulate)
Medication therapy resulting in a pregnancy
Lost pregnancy at 14 weeks due to progesterone underproduction
Several years of anovulation
Many tests to determine exact problems with a fertility clinic
Fertility drugs
Declaration by fertility doctor that in vitro was our best hope, but even then I may not be able to carry a 
   child to term
Found a new doctor and started over with treatments
More drugs - every drug on market for fertility tried over 3 years in varying dosages
IVF injectable drugs used with Artificial Insemination
Artificial Insemination - tried 14 times
Surgery to correct issues - some endometrosis removed, a tilted uterus fixed, a herniated uterus fixed,
    ovarian resectioning
Recovery time from surgery waiting for my body to try to ovulate
More drug therapy
Another miscarriage at only 5 1/2 weeks
Declaration by our doctor that there was nothing else he could do for us so he was recommending in vitro
Consultation with in vitro doctors who declared we were good candidates

And then what happened, we got pregnant with Lyra Kate.  I took hormone therapy until my 16th week to stay pregnant with her.  We were actually waiting on my cycle to go start our first round of in vitro when we discovered we were expecting - surprise!

After she came, we were told the worst thing that I could do for my body was to introduce any type of synthetic hormone (birth control) to my system.  We decided to forgot birth control.  I mean we hadn't used any birth control for 10 years and we only had one child!  What were the chances....

We then found out we were expecting Lila Grace.  Surprise!  We were ecstatic!!  We just "got pregnant"!  No trying. No waiting.  I still took hormone therapy for 12 weeks to stay pregnant.

After Lila Grace's birth we thought long and hard about birth control.  We decided to forgo using any form of birth control and just see what happened.  Shortly after Lila's first birthday, we found out we were expecting Tucker.  Surprise!  We were thrilled. 

After Tucker's birth, our birth control decision remained the same.  We spent so much time worrying about getting pregnant for so many years that we just were not going to worry about it and let God send us the children that he wanted us to have.  I know, we crossed into crazy land on that one. 

And that leads us to now, expecting number 4.  When this one arrives, and it is only one, we will have a 4 year old, a 3 year old, a just turned 2 year old, and a newborn.  The girls will soon have birthdays and be 5 and 4, but we will still have four under five years old.

So, yes this child is a surprise.  Why?  Because I still have PCOS and can stop ovulating at any time. Because this child was unplanned.  Because, we lived a lot of years thinking and being told that this dream of having children would never happen for us. 

Now, let me explain the NO....

No, this child is not a surprise.  Why?  Because of what happened when we were waiting to start in vitro.  I was devastated.  I did not want to go through in vitro.  I was tired.  We were broke.  I didn't think I had the resolve left to walk through that.  So I had a moment, a conversation with God.  A conversation very similar to the one Christ had in the garden.  I asked God if there was any way for me to avoid this.  If he would just provide a different way.  Well, he did.  Without even trying, we got pregnant.  I knew the moment the test read positive that this pregnancy would end with a baby.  We had done all we could do.  Medicine had fixed what they could and then God stepped in an provided. 

After Tucker was born, we had a lot of sleep issues with him.  I don't think I got a regular night sleep for the better part of a year.  I was so exhausted.  I also had a c-section with him and  hiatal hernia surgery when he was 3 months old.  I was told by my doctors it would be best if I waited a year before getting pregnant. Well, I just trusted that if we were going to have another baby, God's timing would again be right.  What do you know, it's been 13 months since my hernia surgery.

So I guess that's why this baby is and is not a surprise.  He or she is a surprise because I am still amazed that we have 3 children and are expecting a 4th after all we went through.  And that he or she is not a surprise because God is still in the business of miracles if we only chose to see them.

A visit to Nanney's

Tucker was fascinated with the tractor

The first weekend of June, while my Mom & sister Kendall were visiting, we headed down to visit my grandmother (Nanney) on Sunday night.  We ate a huge supper around 4 pm and decided to make the 45 minute drive south to visit.

Gracie viewing the chickens

My grandmother and two uncles live on a little farm.  Well, by most peoples standards they live on a farm.  They grow a lot of their own veggies that they preserve, raise chickens for eggs, raise pigs for meat, raise goats and rabbits, and even raise an occasional steer for beef. 

Lyra Kate checking out the bunny

The little Lentzes loved the farm.  Grace wanted to dig in my uncle's garden dirt, which was beautifully dark and loose. Lyra Kate loved the little baby bunny - I mean who wouldn't, he's white and fluffy and can fit in your pocket!  And Tucker was all about the tractor.  Yep. He liked the big wheels of the tractor - boys.

Feeding time

I loved taking the kids down there to see all of it.  Both sides of my family had lots of gardens and kept animals as long as I can remember. My paternal grandparents, the Tuckers, had pigs and chickens too.  We always had fresh eggs, home canned tomatoes, and peas from the garden.

Lyra Kate and Uncle Joe walking past the tomato plants

I must admit, a part of my heart still longs to live that way.  To see my pantry filled with jar upon jar of veggies that I grew and preserved.  To go out each day and gather eggs, a chore of mine when I was small and visited my grandparents.  (Yes, I just realized I used the words chore and grandparents in the same sentence.  Boy has things changed).  I love the smell of the garden in the early morning, dirt and dew as the sun comes up. (We always worked the garden at first light or last light to avoid the heat).  Shelling peas all day long under the airconditioning and in front of some rented movies (usually Star Wars or Back to the Future).  Eating fresh fried green tomatoes dredged in our own grown cornmeal.  Yummy.  Ahhh...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. 

My sweet Nanney and her great-grand Allie

Unfortunately, I live in a suburb on a third of an acre where we can't even put a shed in our yard without it matching the exterior of our home.  I bet if we got some yard chickens the neighbors would never speak to us again! I am also married to a man who has so many wonderful qualities but working in the dirt ain't one of them!  So, for now, I will have to just visit our last farm in the family and show my littles what it was like to grow up like Mommy did (boy, do I sound old)!  At least I can come home with a few fresh eggs, a bit of home smoked bacon, and a bag full of fresh veggies for supper.  Oh, and the best part of the visit - hugs and kisses from my Nanney!

Tucker playing on the tractor stool

Family Fun Friday

We've had such a busy spring and now we are off to a busy summer.  The first two weeks of June, Lyra Kate took her first sports lessons.  We started with a two week Tennis Camp.  I know, tennis isn't where most 4 year olds start learning sports, but have you met our redheaded 4-year old?  She is just not your t-ball kinda girl.

Lyra Kate, standing on her circle, listening for instruction Lyra Kate, standing on her circle, listening for instruction

We were only supposed to have lessons Monday through Thursday, but the first day of lessons was canceled due to thunderstorms and we had to make up a lesson on Friday.  So, the hubby and I decided to make a day of it.  We got everyone up and ready to go, drove 22 minutes to the courts, got there just in time for the 8 a.m. lesson, and watched the hour long lesson complete with a popsicle break.

Popsicle time - look who jumped in line for her a treat too!



We then left the craziness of tennis and went to Connie’s for breakfast.  Ahhh, Connie’s.  How I miss living near Connie’s.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, Connie’s is this great little Chicken place that is locally owned.  It is across from the hospital (in town) and has the best ever chicken biscuits for breakfast.  They also have the best blueberry doughnuts, the best onion rings, and the best chicken strips.  When we lived in town, Connie’s was a once a week thing - before children.  Now we have to make an outing just to go have Connie’s. 



Tucker eating off the ground, his favorite way to eat anything Tucker eating off the ground, his favorite way to eat anything

After breakfast, we ran by Fred's for sunscreen since I forgot it, and went to the Splash Pad at Veterans Park.  Oh my, what fun we had. 

Lyra Kate enjoying the water

Lyra Kate jumped right in the water and had a great time.  So did Tucker.  It was his first trip to the Splash Pad and he loved it.  He squealed and giggled and ran, ran, ran!

Ain't he stylish

Unfortunately, Lila Grace decided that the Splash Pad was not for her.  I was a bit confused since she loves the sprinkler, but she panicked and spent the hour hiding from the thing. 



Lila Grace's only run through the water

 Our strategy was to get there right at 10 a.m. to avoid the crowds.  It worked until around 11 when the second daycare van arrived.  Needless to say, it was time to go.

Lyra Kate under the flower sprinkler

We packed up to head home.  Of course, my hubby ran into someone he knew and spent 5 minutes catching up.  Meanwhile, I was attempting to change 3 kids, 2 in diapers for the the 20 minute drive home.  We managed to get it all together and headed home for lunch.

He was just fascinated by the water

 

We need more days like this, especially when they include long afternoon naps for the littles and for Mommy and Daddy.

Sticky hugs and snotty kisses

Being a stay at home mommy is hard. 
Being a working mommy is hard.
Being a single mommy is hard. 
Let's just face it - being a mommy is just.... plain.... hard.
It's the hardest, most tiring job you will ever do.
But today, I want to just talk about the unique challenges of the SAHM, because that's what I am and it's what I know.




Tucker the growing boy

It is a daily "dying to one's self" to spend all of your energy, creativity, and resources to rear children. Excuse me - "raise"children.  (I forgot I was southern there for a minute).  There are many different types of SAHMs out there.  Here are just a few that I have observed:
The going-back-to-school SAHM
The home-business SAHM
The I-wanna-be-a-Duggar SAHM
The country-club-socialite SAHM
The volunteer SAHM
The homeschool SAHM

Well, I could go on but you get the picture.  We all, as women, seem to look for something to "define ourselves as" other that just a Stay-At-Home-Mom.  We sometimes seem afraid to just simply be about the business of our home and family.  We seem afraid to let that be enough. 

Lila Grace and her bow

 I am simply a Stay at Home Mom.  I choose to be a Stay at Home Mom.  I love it, mostly.  I spend my days wiping various bodily fluids off children, teaching counting and behavior, fixing meals, doing laundry, and cleaning up messes.  And that's ok - I don't need to be defined as something else.  I'm not ashamed that this is "all" I do.  I don't feel as if my college education is being wasted (can education ever really be wasted) or that my talents could be used better by some organization that needs my help. 




Lyra Kate and that red hair


I am spending the best years of my childrens' childhood with them - day in and day out.  That's not to say that I don't dabble in a few things -
I am learning new things everyday so I am continuing my education.
I am reselling things we don't need anymore so I am making a bit of money.
I am in the unsure-if-God-will-bless-us-with-more-children stage so who knows how big our family will get.
I am not of the country club set but that's not something I will ever miss.  Scott is terrible at golf anyway!
I am a volunteer at our church and in this stage of life that's all I can manage.
I am a homeschool mom but we haven't officially started yet.

At the end of the day though, I am just a mommy.  And that's all I need to be.  I have chosen to sacrifice material things (and some sanity) to be the one who invests in my children all day, every day. I am privileged to get to do this.  I know.  I am blessed.

I'm just raising children and becoming an expert at accepting sticky hugs and snotty kisses without flinching.

Lyra Kate's Fourth Birthday Party

Lyra Kate and her cupcake

This past Saturday we celebrated Lyra Kate with a Princess & Pirate Costume Party!  I told you we did BIG Birthdays around here!  We invited all her friends and family and celebrated!

Daddy even dressed for the party!

Lyra Kate chose to be Ariel.  We bought her an Ariel princess dress when we went to the Disney store while on vacation.  I was not a fan of the "mermaid" style dress but it was her favorite!  And what do you know - she was the only Ariel at the party!  Smart girl.  We had Belles, Cinderellas, and Rapunzels too. A few pirates were also in attendance.

Belle (Layla) in deep conversation with Cinderella (Madi Paige)

Because Lila Grace has a giant stubborn streak, that she gets honest, she refused to dress as a princess.  So, we let her dress as a pirate!  She was the prettiest pirate there!

Is she not fierce or what?

We had a great time!  My parents were able to drive up for the weekend and attend along with my sister, Kendall, and her hubby, Uncle Tim.  After the party, Nanney, Emily, and Allie arrived for a visit. 



Princess Table

 We had a princess table and a pirate table.  Cupcakes, sandwiches, mints, cheese puffs, gold coins,
 pink mints, and pink lemonade!



Pirate Table

 Our birthday girl is quite the party planner.  She couldn't wait to blow out her candles and make a wish.  She wouldn't say for what she wished. 



Four candles on a tiny cupcake



All of Lyra Kate's presents were princess themed!  She received princess dolls, books, dress-up, and games.  Boy, do her friends and family know what she likes! 



Her new favorite storybook from Gammaw



We had a great time celebrating our big girl.  She talked of nothing else for a few days.  She loved her party and loved having her friends over.  And of course, she loved dressing up and getting presents and eating cupcakes.  Yep, I guess if I was 4, that would be my perfect day too.



Lyra Kate wearing Mollie Jo's Rapunzel hair



And then she was 3...

Our Lila Grace on the day of her 3rd birthday party

Where did the time go?  Just seems like last month we were celebrating her arrival.  Our second little miracle baby - so different from our first.  Fat and puffy with big blue eyes and the roundest bald head I had ever seen!  She was such a sweet baby.  So easy to care for, so laid back compared to her redhead older sister.

Daddy grilling at the Luau

We had a Backyard Birthday Luau.  It was a fun theme.  The weather was just right.  My mom and sister, Kendall, came early to help prepare - which I was so thankful for.  Scott grilled a fine burger and I made baked beans.  Nana & Pop even wore their matching Hawaiian shirts that they brought home from Hawaii. 

Colorful cupcakes - chocolate of course!

Miss Elizabeth brought Maylen and our cupcakes and cookies.  They were yummy!  Of course, Maylen refused to eat one.  I guess it's true what they say - baker's children don't eat cake. 

The gift opening mayhem

Gracie loved all her gifts.  She got a "puppy" from Nana & Pop, a pirate hat and pirate books from Gammaw and Pawpaw, a watch from Aunt Kendall, and a Tball set from Mommy & Daddy.

Gracie Girl the Pirate

We also got gifts from friends - cupcake dolls, lalaloopsie dolls, a Bethany & Co. frame, and few others I can't quite remember at right now at midnight!  The kids jumped and swung and played t-ball.  The men attempted horseshoes, but since Daddy set the posts up to regulation, everyone gave up - it was too difficult.

Lila's Birthday outfit - complete with matching pappy

All in all it was a great celebration of our Lila Grace - aka monkey, gracie, sweets, shirley temple, lucy...Well, she has more nicknames than I have time to list. 





Gracie girl at 3 months

When did my 3 month old bald baby become my 3 year old curly girl?  Ahhh, when I wasn't looking.

A Different Kind of Bucket List

You know everyone seems to have a "Bucket List: - those things you want to do in life before, well, you're life is over.  A person's personal Bucket Lists can tell you a lot about that person.  Some people long for adventure and have a bucket list filled with things like sky diving and swimming with sharks.  Others want to see the world and travel to remote places.  Some peoples' bucket list is filled with righting past mistakes and reconnecting with people who were once important to them.  Still others want to do iconic things like be in Times Square on New Year's Eve or Run with the Bulls in Spain. 

Me - well I have a different kind of Bucket List.  It's a Cooking Bucket List.  I know - how boring.  It's not written down anywhere but in my mind I have a long list of things that I want to learn to cook in this lifetime.  Correction - Not just learn - but Master! 

I love to cook.  I love to go to the grocery store.  I really love a gourmet food shoppe. I am over the moon in a great kitchen supply store. And if I ever have a mental breakdown, you will find me in the cookbook section of Barnes & Noble, curled up in a ball with my Starbucks vanilla latte, reading a cookbook.

Yes, I love making food.  Unlike most people, I love cooking AND baking.  It is relaxing to me,  especially when I am making an old familiar recipe.  They are like old friends - comforting and calming.  If I've had a stressful day, a batch of chocolate chip cookies or a bowl of potato salad will de-stress me better than a long bath.  Now, I eat what I make but the act of eating the food is not the comfort to me - it's the act of cooking that calls to me.  It's my creative outlet.

I enjoy reading cookbooks like novels - from beginning to end.  There is usually one on my nightstand.  This too is a calming pursuit, one that is cheaper than endless experiments in the kitchen. I also enjoy cooking shows and blogs and find a lot of inspiration and ideas from some of my favorite cooks.

So, back to my boring Bucket List.  Today, I took the first step toward checking one of those things off my list - homemade pizza dough.  I know - how simple of me.  As I type, my beautiful pizza dough is resting in my fridge waiting to be rolled out for tonight's supper.  I can't wait!  It smells wonderful.  I'm sure I'll tweak it a bit before I settle on my preferred "go-to" recipe, but for me this is one more thing that I've been wanting to learn to cook that I can check off my list.

And babies came...

I was reading a post on a new blog tonight when I came across this phrase -"and babies came."  As it often happens, it triggered a thought that has led to this post.  The phrase itself seems like a phrase that just states a fact.  A couple got married and then babies came.  It implies the "expected" and the "inevitability" of babies coming into a family. 

For us, things were quite different.  We married and then no babies came.  We had planned on a large family that would be spaced just right, but no babies came.  We cried, and prayed, and wished, and still no babies came.  We sought doctors, and medicines, and procedures, and diagnoses, and still no babies came.  Our rooms and our hearts were empty.  We sought God's wisdom and peace.  We longed for little ones and still no babies came.  We hurt.  Infertility is a unique heartache that can only be known by those who have lived it. 

Years passed by and still no babies came.  We filled our lives with home renovations, careers, and entertainment.  We drew near to each other.  We came to accept that there may never be any babies to come into our family.  Our dream of a large family died a bit more with each passing year. We still prayed, and cried, and tried, and still no babies came.

Just a few weeks after our tenth anniversary, we found out we were expecting.  And then babies came, in God's timing and on His schedule.  Three in less than three years.  First a girl, then 13 months later another, then 21 months later a boy. 

I learned so much about God through our journey through infertility.  I am still learning from it even now.
People assume that we are done, that our family is complete.  I honestly do not know.  The main thing I learned about God is that He is in control.  He alone opens the womb.  He allows us the illusion of control and sometimes gives us what we ask for but He is still in control.  I still have the condition that caused our infertility.  Who knows if I will be able to have another child?  Only God knows.  We gave God our fertility already, many years ago when we had no babies and little hope of having any.  Why now would we change our minds?  If we can trust that He knows what is best when we have none then why can't we trust Him when we have three?

I guess what I am trying to say is that the lessons I learned in the dark, are still true in the light.  Our journey to parenthood forever changed our view of God, unborn children, pregnancy, and birth control.

And then she was 4



Our Big Girl on her Birthday

 Where has the time gone?  It just seems like yesterday that we welcomed our first baby into our family!  This past Sunday, Lyra Kate turned 4.  She has changed so much in the past few months.  She has lost the last of her "babyness" and grown into a little girl. 

On her 3rd birthday

In an attempt to remember this sweet age, here are a few things she is currently doing:

She loves wearing dresses or skirts.  She thinks princesses wear skirts and she thinks she is a princess!
She loves to sing and often sings along with her princess movies.
She still wears a diaper to bed but we're working on that.
She loves a cupcake!
She still steals Sis's poppy sometimes when she is trying to go to sleep.
She wants to have really long hair.
She knows exactly what she wants in her husband already, which is basically someone just like Daddy.
She is obsessed with getting married.
She loves flowers.
She prays everyday for a new puppy.
She loves giving kisses and hugs.

No, that's not Tucker, that's Lyra Kate at 15 months!

She is excited about starting school - even if it's at home with mommy.
She can be very bossy and gets really mad at her sister when she doesn't go along with her.
She talks constantly.
She went around for days telling everyone she was the Birthday girl.
She loves pink.  I mean really loves pink.
She is still obsessed with our neighbor's black car. 
She thinks Tucker is the cutest baby ever.
She is a bit jealous of Lila's curly hair.
She has a temper which we are beginning to see more and more.
She wants a princess bed, really bad!
She always wants a story at bedtime.

Lyra Kate just hours old

Our First Vacation...sort of...

The view from our condo

We were in need of a vacation.  Just us, the five of us, that didn't include visiting family.  Since Lyra Kate came along, almost 4 years ago, we have only taken vacations that were to visit family - many trips to my Mom's on the Alabama Gulf Coast (I mean she does live at the Beach) and one long trip with Scott's parents to visit Gigi and Uncle Larry in Kansas City.  (The trip was long because it was about 11 hours in the car one-way, with a 2 year old and a 1 year old, both who got the stomach bug, and I was 4 months pregnant - not because we were traveling with Scott's parents). Anyway, I was longing to "get-away" for a few days with just Daddy and the littles.  And so we found one week in March where we could make a break for it and headed to the Smokey Mountains. 

This is what happens when you say "give Sis a hug!"

I love it there, in the mountains.  My people had to be mountain people, because I always feel at such peace there.  It was Spring.  Winter had left and everything was green and beautiful. 

Looking at the flowers

We are not much on going to the shows that they have in the area.  In fact, we had planned on doing much more before we got there.  Instead, we only went to the Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  It was our first trip and the girls enjoyed it. 

Looking at the fish

We spent two days in the National Park.  The first day "hiking"!  We actually took a trail behind the Sugarlands Visitor Center that led to a waterfall, which the park ranger suggested would be stroller friendly.  She was wrong.  Scott ended up carrying the stroller more than anything else.  The girls did have an adventure since it was muddy, beside a stream, and included a plank bridge. 

Our wandering child, Lila Grace, about to climb over the edge!

The last day of our vacation we spent in the park also.  We drove toward Cherokee about halfway.  We found access to one of the mountain streams that wasn't too step to climb down to with our 3 littles.  The water was low, exposing the river bed.  Our girls threw a lot of rocks.  And brought a lot of rocks home - something they apparently inherited from their Daddy. 

Rock throwing fun!

We then drove back to Sugarlands where we walked the handicapped trail.  It was a old homesite that the park is letting nature reclaim.

Old homesite - all that's left is the stone chimney

 It was by the stream.  We explored this area thoroughly.  Gracie found a walking stick which now has a permanent residence in our garage. 

Gracie's stick that she found in the woods

After that adventure, we drove towards Cade's Cove.  We were looking for the old schoolhouse, but we missed the turn off and couldn't turn around.  We ended up leaving the park through Wear Valley and coming back into Pigeon Forge from north of the National Park.  It was a beautiful drive.

Mountain steam

We have one rule about food when we are out of town - try to eat somewhere we do NOT have at home!  We did just that eating at Bubba Gump's (YUMMY), Red Robin, The Old Mill, Bullfish, Fudruckers and Calhoun's.  And of course we made the trek to the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg for breakfast one day.  It was wonderful.  Lyra Kate stuffed herself!  What can I say - we are Foodies (well, maybe not Gracie, she just likes chocolate). 

Tucker

We also did a good deal of shopping while we were there.  I love to shop at the Outlet stores for the children's clothing.  We bought most of our spring clothing that we needed.  We also took the children to their first Disney Store.  I didn't tell them where we were going so it was a surprise.  It took Lyra Kate's breath away when she saw the wall of princesses!  Gracie quickly found her guy - Buzz.  We let the girls pick one item each.  Lyra Kate got a Ariel the mermaid dress and Lila Grace got a real Buzz Lightyear.  We had two very happy little girls! 

Our favorite spot

Our favorite part was just driving and walking in the national park.  I could go every year if our budget allowed.  It was renewing for us to spend so much time together.  The children and I are always together but we miss having Scott with us.  This was a fun adventure.  I can't wait until our next one...maybe Disneyworld.