Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Mommy & Me Pics

We had pictures made, thanks to my sister-in-law and brother. 

They were Mommy and me pictures. It was kind of bittersweet because I was a missing a girl. 

However, she was there... we took her things to add to our pictures and as the pictures were over the most beautiful pink sunset happened. 

I love these pictures. I'm going to share a couple of them with you. 

If you are local, you can look up Kori Hobbs Photography. She's awesome. 

We have been friends for years. Our oldest girls are a day apart. We had bedrest at the same time and kept each other company by texting all day long while we were laying. 

So... here are a few of our pictures! Enjoy! 

My sweet, sweet girls! They are the BEST of friends. You can see their closeness here, the way Makenzi wraps her arm around Addison. Addison in true form... refusing to smile, but she can barely help it! I love these girls, oh so much!!!! 


My big Makenzi! I can't believe how big she has gotten! She is beautiful. Those sweet little cheeks, that smile, and her looking so grown up. I can't believe how big she is. She is supposed to still be my baby. 


Of course, our little sidekick Bella joined in for a few pictures. They had their pictures made right before us. :-) 



Addison was being a little punk - and didn't want to smile for any of the pictures. I think this is probably one of my favorite pictures of her. That is her personality... trying not to smile but could barely help it. Those big sweet dimples showing, and those gorgeous, huge brown eyes! 


And last but not least... the pictures with their baby sister. I brought Emery's picture from her casket, the pillow the lady made out of my dress with the same embroidery that was on Emery's burial gown & the bow just like the one she wore on her head, and the teddy bear that came with her casket (which we refer to as Baby Emery). These girls (all 3 of them) are the reason I breathe. 

When I saw this picture, it brought tears to my eyes. It wasn't quite the picture of my dreams, but it is what it is. God knew better than me.  


I can't thank Kori, and my brother and sister-in-law enough for these pictures. They are so gorgeous and we will cherish them. 

Friday, August 5, 2016

Friday Favorites


Today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika with my Friday Favorites. 

ONE

It was back to school this week. Although not my absolute favorite (because who wants to wake up at 5am) but I love back to school pictures. 

I love the memories of going back and looking through the years and seeing how much my girls have grown. 


Yes, I misspelled school and had to write over it (ha!). I really started questioning myself on my ability to homeschool her at this point in the week. 

TWO 

I never thought I would homeschool, but I decided instead of putting Addison in an actual Pre-K program I would just homeschool her. 

I spent yesterday (Makenzi's random day off in the first week of school) making a Pre-K folder (thank you Pinterest) for Addison. 

Last night, we sat down and worked on it. She is so proud of herself and really concentrating on it. It makes me proud of her and even myself for being able to teach her. 





THREE 

SNAPCHAT FILTERS 



FOUR


I kept telling Jordan that Robby looked like a Barbie doll... not necessarily the best looking Ken Barbie but still he looked plastic to me. When I saw this comparison on Facebook the other night, I about died. I laughed and laughed and immediately screenshot it to share with Jordan. Someone needed to mess Robby's hair up!!!! :-) 

FIVE 


Hot pink sunsets!!! Always reminds me of my sweet Emery Hope who is painting the skies in heaven.  I am forever thankful for God allowing me to see her beauty through the pink skies. 

SIX 

I went with some friends to the CMA Fest back in June. We had the best time. 

We watched the CMA Fest on TV the other night and I saw Carmen and her Mom on TV, where Dierks Bentley reached down and touched her head! AHHH!!!! I was so excited. I squealed "Jordan, there's Carmen!" and he kept rewinding it until he got the perfect picture!!! :-) 


SEVEN

This Bath and Body Works body scrub!!! After a hard day for me, a headache, and just being worn out.... I get in a hot bubble bath and soak and scrub with it! AMAZING!!!! 

I received it in a care package from a friend after Emery passed away. I tagged her in Facebook to thank her. I am still so thankful for this little jar of happiness! :-) 


EIGHT

First week of school has us all like..... 


I will have to say it's been a good first week of school... a busy one, but luckily we've had a good one! 

I am looking forward to watching a couple of movies with the kiddos and Jordan tonight, while we eat Sloppy Joes (their request) and slice up a watermelon. Hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend!!!! 


August 3, 2016

I kind of slacked on writing on the 3rd. 

It was 6 months on the 3rd when Emery went to be with Jesus. 

It is so hard to believe it has been 6 months. 

Half a year! 

Some days it feels like yesterday, and others feels like it's been forever.  I miss her so much! Some days seem harder than others and some days I feel I've got a hold of this grief thing. My family helps with that a lot. 


When I see this hot pink sunsets, my heart just melts. I never got to see my baby grow up. I only was able to see her for 23 short days. However, I know God is allowing me to see her beauty through these pink sunsets. There have been so many pink sunsets since she joined Him in Heaven, that I know it is a sign for me to know she is ok and well taken care of. 


Oh my sweet Emery, I saw this on Facebook the other night and it just rang so true. I will always wonder who you would have been... so many questions I ask. A lot of times they keep me up at night... what you would look like? Would you be a Daddy's girl like Addison or a Mama's girl like Makenzi? Would you look like Addison still? Would you have dimples like Addison when you smile? Would your eyes have turned green like your Mama's? Oh I just long to see you one more time... I long to hold you one more time. But I know... one more time wouldn't be enough. I wish I was able to love you longer and watch you grow... But I know one day I will be reunited with you in heaven, and I will be able to have you with me for all eternity. Love you sweet girl! 
  

We will get through one day at a time... I just pray God continues to comfort us as only He can. And I continue to pray He allows me to see pink sunsets as much as possible and I thank HIM every night I see one. 

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

First Day of 3rd Grade & "That Homeschool"

Yesterday - bright and early (6:45am) we left the house for Makenzi's first day of school. 

I can't believe she's in the 3rd grade. It does not seem possible. I reminisced some on first day of school years past... Oh my sweet girl has grown so much. She looked so grown up as we left yesterday morning. 

She had on her brand new outfit (I'm the Mom who buys ONE new outfit to start school since we start in summer time... and I'll buy her a new wardrobe come fall when it's actually cool). 


We have a tradition where I need a silly face picture with her sidewalk chalk writing. I love to see how she changes each year even down to her silly poses. 


I walked her into her classroom for the first day. I watched her put her things away and then one sit in her desk. I watched her chit chat with one of her friends at their cubbies as they put away their things. It's just so surreal to me to watch her in her little environment. 


I'll be honest... part of me was ready for school to start back for routine. Makenzi does so much better with routine. Plus I was ready for some quiet time... some me time. They stay up so late and sleep until I wake up, that I never had down time for just me. I wouldn't mind it so much if she didn't need me to fall asleep. 

However, I do miss her so much now that she is in school. I wonder all day long how her day is going, if she's having fun, if she's making new friends, if she needs a hug, etc. 

Makenzi Grace, Watching you grow up has been so much fun, but I am wishing time would slow down. I love that right now you still need me to walk you into school and I will do it until it's not cool to hold Mama's hand as you walk in. I love your dramatic personality, even if it kills me sometimes. I love that you love school (except the waking up early part). I just want you to know I am so proud of you and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. I can't wait to watch you just excel through the 3rd grade. Remember, God's got this! We prayed hard for this school year to be one of your best, and we know He will provide for you! I love you, baby girl!!! ~Mama

And this one - Addison Faith started "homeschool" Pre-K. We decided not to send her to Pre-K like we did Makenzi. It didn't benefit Makenzi and made adjustment to Kindergarten harder. And to be honest... with the year we had, we weren't ready to send our baby off to school quite yet. 

So, Addison and I started "That Homeschool" as she is referring to it yesterday. We worked on her letters and numbers, she told me her colors and separated her blocks into colors. She's super smart. I just want her to know the essentials before Kindergarten, so we will work every day on it. 

She wrote her letters some. I had her write her name and she always leaves out the "i" and the "s." I told her we couldn't do that and we were going to learn how to write them. She told me "Mama, we need to just leave those out because I don't know how to make them." So, she wanted to spell her name "Addon" and that's exactly how she was writing it. But we worked on it... and she finally spelled it correctly. 


When we told her we were going to do homeschool with her, her mind started going. She asked me one day "Mama, when I in that homeschool, I can still take naps when I want, right?" and then "Mama, when I in that homeschool, I can still watch TV when I want, right?" HA! She has a lot to learn about school. But we are working on it. SLOWLY but we are! 

She is so funny. I am going to love being able to teach her things at home. 

After we finished our little lesson yesterday, she told me "that homeschool is BORING!" Oh sweet girl! You don't know anything yet.... we only did school for about an hour yesterday. :-) 


Addison Faith - You are so smart! I am so excited to be able to keep you home one more year and teach you. I am loving watching you mature and grow. I love watching you learn new things and how excited you get when you figure something out. I love watching how you want to learn from your sister. I love when you show her something you've learned. You will excel in all you do. We are so excited to see you succeed. You can do anything you put your mind to and we are so proud of you! I am praying God will allow me to teach you all you need to know to help you be the smartest. I love you, sweet girl! ~Mama

I saw this on Facebook yesterday and I loved it. I think this is perfect way to Pray for our children while they're in school. I constantly am praying for Makenzi as she is away from me. I know it's a necessary thing for her to be in school, but I just pray she keeps God close and she stays safe. I say the same prayers over my sweet Addison  


Even though summer went by really fast (and it was a hard summer), I am excited for this school year for my girls. I am hopeful it will be one of their best years yet. I am praying everything just goes up for us now. We are putting our full trust in God to take care of everything, just as He has this whole year. As I tell Makenzi (and my Mama tells me), God's got this! We just have to let Him!