For Your Entertainment

Everyone needs a good laugh every once in a while...well, we laugh at this video over and over again, so I just had to share.  (Watch the little 2-year old in the background.)

I think she got her dancing skills from her dad ;)

Hugs!

My Little Ella Bella

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that each addition to our family it going to add a little more chaos to our life.  So when Ella was born, I told myself that I was going to enjoy each and every moment of her babyhood so that I didn't just wake up one day to a one-year old and wonder how she got to be so big.  I am thankful to say that I have soaked up every inch of that baby since July 16th.  Her constant smile, snuggles, and bright blue eyes sure don't make it very hard to do.

Ella has brought so much joy to our lives!  It is amazing to watch such a little body do things on her own.  Paul and I constantly look at each other in disbelief at what this little person can do.  God's design is flawless!  You would think we wouldn't care so much about each stage the fourth time around, but we still get giddy-excited about each milestone...it is like she is our first baby!  

I love her round bald head (she has a little hair now).  I love when she makes spitting noises with her mouth.  I love when she gives us the "are you serious?" look.  I love it when she climbs on her little chair, turns around and smiles at us, as if to say, "look what I did!".  I love when she is sad about something so she lets out a pathetic cry, then puts her head on the floor like an ostrich.  I love when she gives us a cheesy smile with her nose scrunched up showing off her 4 little teeth.  I'm amazed at how much personality can be packed into such a little body!

She is such a good-natured baby and pretty much goes with the flow (the fourth baby kinda has to be like that, right?!).  She is a busy little girl; happily occupying herself by pulling everything out of the kitchen drawers, eating paper or food from the floor, or climbing up the stairs.  Now she is walking although often resorts to crawling because she is faster than lighting on those chubby little legs.  She is becoming a Daddy's girl, as all of ours tend to do at one point or another, and cries when he leaves the room.  It is actually very sweet.

I love to watch her interactions with her big sisters.  She lights up when she sees them and they love to entertain her.  My favorite time of day is when the big girls hear Ella wake up from her nap.  They race upstairs to the side of her bed to see who can get her to smile at them first.  I love that they all beg to sit by her during meals. I love that they want to hold her and that she looks just like a mini-version of each one of them.

She has been given all sorts of nicknames from: Ella Bella, Ella Belle, Boo (Rose calls her that like Aunt Olivia does), Baby Girl, Sweetness...one thing is for sure, she was definitely brought into a family who loves her to pieces!

Hugs!

Taking Control

It is hard as a parent to see your kids in pain and not be able to do anything to help them.  Like when Rose busted her chin and had to get stitches (twice!) or when she has growing pains in the middle of the night...all we can do in try to comfort them and let them know we are there, we know it hurts, and we love them.  I can't even imagine what Our Blessed Mother went through watching her son be ridiculed, beaten and put to death right before her eyes.

Here is us trying to take control: helmet plus chin strap...too much?

It is hard to watch anything but good things happen to our kids.  We want to protect them...to keep them close to our sides so that we have more control over what happens to them.  But as a wise mother recently told me, sometimes we need to let go and let God.  When we try to control everything, we are forgetting that our Heavenly Father is always watching over us and waiting to help us.

Parenting is a big responsibility, so why don't we let God lighten our burden.  Let Him take some of that responsibility.  Do the best we can and offer all we do to God and let Him take care of the rest.  God is a better parent than we will ever be, so I am trying to let Him show me the way.

Hugs!

Real life

I know my blog usually focuses on the fun we have as a family, but what you don't hear about is the reality behind the scenes.  Having 4 kids is kicking my butt!  Before Ella was born, I thought I had my act together and I could handle however many kids were sent our way.  Well, I have to say, I was wrong...I am no perfect mother!  I can just not get it together! We are late to everything, there is always one throwing a fit or misbehaving, the house is a complete disaster 98% of the time, there are loads of laundry that are NOT done...most days, I feel like I am in survival mode.

But today I was reading one of my favorite blogs, mychildiloveyou.blogspot.com, and felt a little better about my disarray at home.  Basically she was saying that God never promised that life was going to be easy.  I am trying to keep four little bodies healthy and away from harm, teach them their manners, give them all the love they deserve...all while trying to get their little souls ready for eternal paradise with their Father in Heaven.  That is a big job, the most important job I will ever have, so it should be hard!

I know this new revelation is not going to make my life a walk in the park, but I think it will help me get through each day knowing that every vocation has its struggles and all I can do is my best each and every day, keeping the end goal in mind.  God knows how much we can handle, right?!