Wordy Wednesday, A Cloudy Day at the Beach

These photos were actually taken a few weeks ago. We were going bit stir crazy being inside, so despite the overcast day, we spent the afternoon at the beach! It was such a pretty and cloudy Sunday afternoon :)

From July 27, 2011

From July 27, 2011

From July 27, 2011

From July 27, 2011

From July 27, 2011

The photos make it look like such a relaxing time, but it was so windy that the lunch we brought out with us blew all over the beach and hubby and I spent quite a bit of time cleaning that. While we were scavenging the beach for garbage Diana found a dead fish and gave that to Ellie, we grabbed that away just in time. We tried to set the camera on the rocks so as to do a family photo, but Diana was a little crazy person and kept running away and it was so windy I was afraid of sand getting into the camera, so that didn't work. The beach was just enough on a hill where Ellie could not walk without falling over and we could not keep Diana from trying to run into the water.

From July 27, 2011

It was so chilly. They would not eat because there was to much too see, but then got crabby because they were hungry. Ahhh! Life with little ones!This picture seems to sum it up so well.....

From July 27, 2011

It was still a great day and we were so glad to get out, but life sure does change when you have babies! It makes simple things like a picnic lunch on the beach turn into a huge ordeal, but Im thankful for every moment because it's already going by so quickly. :) Parenting is a much greater task than hubby and I ever dreamed, but God knows our hearts and has blessed us so very much. I pray that we can continue to see the joy and savor the simple and precious days that are spent training our children's hearts; and not lose sight of our blessings in the pressures of daily living.

From July 27, 2011

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.

Psalm 127:3-4

Sweet Tender Childhood

Last night was one of the sweetest nights with my babies! It all started with a not so sweet evening though.
After dinner both Diana and Ellie started just getting totally fussy and difficult. Hubby and I could not figure out what was wrong with them… we came to the conclusion it was just end of the day crankies. Anyway, after we had put them to bed we went to bed ourselves. Hubby fell asleep pretty quick but I was up for awhile (just reading and doing some chores) and both babies were still up at this time, which is odd because normally they are pretty good about bedtime.

So I went into the nursery to check on them to see if there was anything wrong. Nope, everything looked good! So, I gave them both a kiss and walked out. But boy, did that make them both mad! After hearing them both scream / cry for awhile I went back to see what I could do. Didi was on the urge of sleeping but Ellie was getting more and more upset by the second! So I got her up and took her to the living room. Clean diaper, she wouldn’t nurse, she didn’t need burped, and nothing else seemed to make her feel better. Finally, I just decided she needed some loving.

I swaddled her up super tight, turned off all the lights and turned off everything that made noise. I held her super close to me and just gently whispered how much mommy, daddy, and Jesus love her. She calmed down ever so slowly, finally falling asleep in my arms. It was so sweet and just melted my heart. I just held her for a little while examining every little perfect feature before taking her back to the nursery and putting her into the crib. I set her down then saw Diana in her crib holding her bunny rabbit just staring at me.

“Do you want some cuddle time too Didi?” I asked while I walked over to her. I though she would totally resist me when I tried to pick her up, but to my surprise not only did she let me pick her up, she melted right into my arms! She almost NEVER likes to cuddle. But this time she just let me hold her! I was so happy! She laid there with her head just gently resting on my shoulder. I just stroked her hair and prayed with her. I thanked God for my beautiful little family and thought about how much I love them. I gently swayed back and forth while holding Diana and she too, just fell asleep in my arms. I gently lay her back down and said another prayer of thanks before going back to bed myself. I am so blessed!!!!

Babies just need extra cuddle time sometimes!!! They seemed so overly tired. I guess it kinda surprised me. I’m always afraid I’m not spending enough time with them and giving them each enough attention. I also have a tendency to think that just because we are not out “doing things” and not going out on play dates all the time that they get bored at home. I spend so much time trying to teach things and play with Diana and hold and play with Ellie that I forget about quite time sometimes. I mean, we do have quite time and naptime of course. But just about every minute they are up I feel guilty that my attention is divided so I try to give extra, EXTRA attention almost every chance I get. Last night just kind of let me know that just because we are not out all the time and that even though my attention is divided, doesn’t mean that there isn’t enough going on. I can take a break every once in a while from “learning” and “playing” time and just relax a bit. Just because we’re at home the majority of the time doesn’t mean were not doing enough. The day doesn’t always need to be filled with “learning.” Some days you just need to cuddle and hold your babies. Just As long as they are fed and clean sometimes the only other thing they need is plenty of hugs and cuddles!