Juliet's TWO birthday parties!

Philip and Braewyn managed to each have two 1st birthday parties due to family situations or travel. I thought Juliet would be slighted but I was intending to have just one party for her. However, I suppose God thought differently as she, like her big brother and sister, can now tell people that she also had two 1st birthday parties!

I had her party planned for Saturday, Feb. 18th, the day after her actual birthday. We unfortunately got the bad news that Matthew's Grandma Brown had passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 15th and so on that day, we hurriedly packed and headed up to Kentucky to spend the next five days with our family there. It was a bittersweet time of reconnecting with family we don't see often, remembering (and hearing of the memories) their sweet Grandma Brown (Ruth Ann's mom), and celebrating the 1st birthday of one little miss in the mix. Matthew's cousin Cheryl very generously offered to bake Juliet a cake so we could have a make-shift party on her birthday. We were heading to the funeral home for the visitation so she didn't have too much time with that cake.

Enough to turn the bath water brown though!

Fast forward one week to today. Everyone invited to the original party here at our house was able to come to the rescheduled party and it was wonderful. Matthew and I decided on an easy to fix and eat lunch of sandwiches, chips, dips, strawberries, nuts, and M&M's. I wish I had taken a picture of the spread because it looked really good.

Lunch was followed by present opening and as one of my friends said, "Juliet is going to be one well-dressed little girl!" If asked I actually told my family and friends that she could use some clothes. Braewyn turned 1 at the beginning of summer so all her 12-mth clothes are for warm weather. Therefore, Juliet got lots of nice warm things to wear plus her very own baby Bible (thanks again, Grace)!

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for had arrived... the cake eating or destroying as you will soon see.

We love you, sweet Juliet!

The little beauty...

becomes a little, chocolate beast!

I thank the Lord for my baby girl. She has been such a blessing to our family. It's hard for me to imagine her walking (running!) around the house and having conversations with Philip and Braewyn, but in a blink of an eye, we will be there. With her being my third child, I am trying that much harder to keep her little as I know how fast she will be big like Philip and Braewyn.

My Philip is 7!

I used to hit these birthday blog posts right on the date but life is busy and things take higher priority. However, not to let our little miss's 1st birthday (this Friday!) overshadow her big brother, here's a post about Philip being our big 7-year-old guy (even though his birthday was back on January 22).

Wow, how the time REALLY has flown. Having a 7-year-old throws a mom into fully declared parenthood. He's no longer my little toddler which I can really shelter from the world. Philip is now aware of world events (he wants to be in the army and checks out books from the library about Afghanistan), affected by social dynamics (there was some neighborhood drama and he had to realize that we as a family are living for Christ and so are called to love others even if they are not liked by everyone else on the street), and coming into his own with moments of wanting to be my little buddy but others when he wants his freedom to be with the guys.

Having a son gives a mom such a special, unique journey to travel. I've never been a little boy and seeing life through his eyes is completely different. I praise God for my strong and fully involved hubby Matthew who is such a great role model for Philip. And I praise God for Philip who is such a great brother to his sisters. Even though he can bring Braewyn to shrieking out of frustration and Juliet to squeals when he sits on her, he also is Braewyn's favorite playmate and the one who can make Juliet laugh the loudest. These last 7 years have truly been the best of my life, and it seems each year just gets better than the last. I am so excited to watch as Philip's life continues to unfold before us and pray daily that he would desire to follow the path Jesus has created for him.

Philip with his birthday cake.

Philip is enjoys playing Upward basketball.

Three generations!

Preparing his own recipe, Chipsafiso, on Super Bowl Sunday!

Heading out into the woods with Daddy, a favorite for both of them.

My first born baby boy...

is now one really AWESOME kid!

Just Something to Say I Posted Something

I really have had many things floating around in my head which I've wanted to post about... going through the Daniel Fast with my church, meeting Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, realizing that a good day really does start the night before, and just living life with my wonderful hubby and three funny, frustrating, precious, gifts-straight-from-God children. Not sure if you've heard the phrase but it's true for this house. "The days are long, but the years are short." My youngest blessing, Juliet, will be turning 1 in just 13 days (February 17!). My how this year has flown. But in the same breath I can say, from the time my head leaves my pillow until the moment I lay it back down seems like an eternity sometimes. I finally nailed down my daily schedule on paper and it really has helped me to be more productive during those long hours. We're not to the point of following it perfectly (no need to be a slave to my schedule!), but it does keep me going in the right direction. I thank you for your prayers for me to be faithful to the Lord and to my family as I try to make the most of the time He has given me. Drumroll, please... (click on the schedule to see an enlargement)