Things only my children can teach me....

Clark Lara Photography

So, it has been ages since I last posted and now I am ready to finally get back into posting at least once a month! Well, let's just say it's a realistic goal for me. I thought awhile about what I wanted to post tonight. My list included: kinsey growing up, grady growing up even faster, my 29th birthday, family life, friends, to go back to work or not and so on. While all of these options would make for good conversation I decided to enlighten you all and myself by talking about the lessons that my children have taught me. It seems like I have been so caught up in being a parent to two children under the age of three that I forgot about living life and cherishing each moment. I have had nights where I go to bed and hear the voices in my head tell me, " You are so out of your league...you will never get the hang of raising two babies at once!" Sometimes, it's easier to believe the negativity than it is to hitch up your pants a little tighter and carry on to another day. But, during these last six months as a busy, out of control, losing my sanity parent I have realized that with every bad, awful, no good, terrible day, my children give me reasons to keep smiling. So, here is my list and hopefully other mothers will read these and realize that their beautiful chaos is actually pretty normal.. at least to this mother!

Clark Lara Photography

Things only my children can teach me...


1. Being a mom doesn't mean you have to be PERFECT! Guess what... you are going to mess up every now and then.
2. Making me sit in time out is okay. I may HATE every second of it but as long as you give me a hug and kiss after time is up, I know that you still love me.
3. I think that you are BEAUTIFUL! Really, I do... you may see every wrinkle, extra five pounds, stretch mark, grey hair and under eye circles... but to me you are the most beautiful mommy in the world! (p.s. daddy thinks so too!)
4. STOP being so hard on yourself! Just because you stay at home with us doesn't mean that you are required to get everything done each day. Relax a little and enjoy your time with us. The laundry can wait until tomorrow!

5. Be SILLY! We love when you dance to the Wiggles and spin us in circles. Watching you let loose let's us know that it is okay to have a sense of humor!

6. PRAISE me everyday! We love to hear how much you love us, how smart we are and how much you love being our mommy! It makes us feel special and warm inside!

7. It's okay if you want to CRY! We know sometimes you are overwhelmed and we would kiss away your tears if we could. We don't like to see you sad but we will hug you until you feel better and that's a promise!

8. Stop LISTENING to what other people say! We love you just the way you are and we don't want you to change just because somebody else has a problem with the way you do things. Stand strong and believe in yourself... it's the only way we will learn to be confident too!

9. Let us get DIRTY! We know you hate when we come in filthy, but it is so much fun! We love letting our imagination run wild when we play outside. And we love it even more when you play with us!

10. Don't be so SERIOUS all the time! We know there are other things on your mind (i.e., bills, what to cook for dinner, calling the plumber, etc.) but we love you the most when you are smiling! It helps us know that everything is all right in the world!

Clark Lara Photography

11. Be PATIENT! We know it is easier said than done, but I promise that we will get it down. We just do it at our own pace.

12. Do not YELL at us! Yelling at us hurts our feelings and makes us feel terrible. Plus, we don't like the way your face looks when you get real angry. Instead, put us in time out or walk away from us and yell at the wall, the sky, a tree... anything besides us!

13. Take TIME for yourself. We know that you are probably laughing at this one, but we really think you are happier when you get a break from us every once in a while. Being a stay at home mom is a TOUGH job and everybody needs a sick day!

14. It's just fine with us if you RUN every time we fall. Some people tell you to let us get up on our own, but we know you love us more than that and sometimes we need you right away to help take away the pain. We will let you know when we don't need you to run.

15. ENJOY every second with us! Sometimes we know that you are multitasking while we are playing blocks together and we wish you would just devote that 30 minutes to us. We are growing up so fast and we don't want you to be sad when we are older.

16. Stay focused on GOD. We love hearing you tell us bible stories about Jesus and how he loves all the little children. We love when you help us say our prayers and we watch you as you pray too. Never stop being devoted to your faith...we want to grow up as believers too!

17. Newsflash: being a parent is HARD! You want to scream one second, and then cry the next. We know we don't always make it easy but don't give up on us. We are worth so much more than that!

18. A little MESS never hurt anyone. Yes, we are children and we make a mess quicker than you can say it. But don't fret over the toys we leave out because one day you will miss seeing them there.

19. TALK to us. So, we don't always make sense, but we feel so connected to you when you talk with us. We learn so much more when we are able to hear you respond to our little stories and questions. (FYI:  "Why?" is always a legitimate response to any of your answers).

20. LIVE for today. You are only guaranteed today...stop worrying about what we need to schedule or do months ahead of time. Instead, live each moment with us to the fullest... the rest will take care of itself. Remember how you always say: "LET GO and LET GOD!" Well do it already lady!

Until next time, PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!!

Clark Lara Photography

3 Month old drool and Not so Terrible Two's!!

I am officially back to my blog..woohoo! I feel so bad for neglecting this precious space that allows me the opportunity to fill you all in on the little quirks and stumbles in our daily life! It has been a roller coaster of events since bringing home baby Grady. First, Thanksgiving and then Christmas with two kiddos! I had no ideas what to get little man...I definitely didn't want him to look back at pictures when he is older and see that big sister was pleasantly spoiled by Santa while he was only given meager offerings, so we got a little anxiousand bought too much stuff that I ended up opening by myself because as you can see little man slept right through Christmas!!!

But I felt better knowing that he if were awake he would have been spoiled just as much as Kinsey! Whom by the way had a great Christmas... and it was so much fun watching her open all of her gifts with such a big smile on her face!! It made the whole morning just perfect in every way possible.
She was so excited to see that her Santee (as she calls him) came to see her. Such a special moment for our little family:)

After Christmas, it seems like we were hit with the sickness bug full force and we are still not completely out of the water, but much better than we were! Grady ended up in the hospital for two days in January for dehydration and ear infection. I am pretty sure those two days have been the worst experience of my motherhood so far! I hated seeing him hooked up to an iv and just laying there sick and miserable, but prayer and the healing hands of our Lord brought him back to normal and healed him quickly. The next week, our precious Kinsey came down with her first ear infection ever and it just happened to hit both ears at the same time. It was awful!!! I now realize that once one kiddo gets better, almost immediately the second one will start to feel awful! It is just a part of having two babies in this beautifully confusing TEXAS weather. We were pretty much healthy coming into February until Miss Kinsey caught a stomach bug...luckily though it only lasted for 24 hours!! But now Mr. Grady is under the weather again.. not sure if it is just early teething because he is drooling uncontrollably or a bug! But last night was one of those nights that you remember when the sun set and were still awake when it came up again in the morning:) Crossing my fingers that maybe today will be better... it is so hard to see your babies hurting as any mother knows!
On a happier yet bittersweet note, Kinsey is fixing to turn two! Really? Did I just say that? Yep...it's true our little beauty is fixing to be two years old and in a way it is exciting but at the same time I want to SLOW down time!!! This year she is having a strawberry shortcake birthday party because it is safe to say that Strawberry Shortcake is her cartoon hero at this moment!! We pretty much watch Strawberry every day in the car and every morning on the HUB channel! I must say I have been busy making decorations and planning her party even though it is not until the end of March! I love planning special parties for my kids... it makes me feel happy to spend my time creating memories that I know they will cherish forever.
It might sound like this post has been nothing but a big girl whining session but do not be confused by my antics. I will admit that 2012 has started off rough and emotionally taxing, but we are grateful that we serve a God who delivers from each and every struggle we encounter. We are blessed to have our two children who keep us on our toes and thankful for the small moments like watching cartoons in bed and eating ice cream together. It is special moments like these that make up for all the craziness and insanity in the our lives. We may not have everything we want, but Kinsey and Grady are definitely more than we will ever need! I wish you all a super happy Valentine's full of love and time spent with those who mean the most!! Until next time, PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!

Diapers, spit up and baby love...hello, mother of two!!!

I am so excited to finally find a free minute to catch up on my blog! It has been over seven weeks since my last post and so many new things have been happening in our household! First and foremost, we welcomed our handsome little man, Grady Lane Reese, into the world on November 11, 2011 at 7:34 a.m. He weighed a whopping 7 pounds and 9 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. He is such a cutie pie, if I do say so myself!!!

Grady Lane @ one month old!

He has brought so many wonderful changes to our life that my heart can't help but skip a beat every time he smiles. Along with all of the diaper changes and the spit up, I find myself taking time to relish in the fact that God chose me to raise not just one precious baby but two! I am humbled to say the least. I was worried about finding time for both of kiddos, but to be quite honest with you Kinsey has learned to adjust and Grady just fits like a missing piece to our puzzle. Kinsey is such a great big sister...despite the fact that the first week home was a little rough and many tantrums were thrown by her and her mother! She loves trying to help me with Grady, especially changing his diaper! It is so funny watching her talk to him and love on him... at times I really think he can understand her 90 mph babble:) I can already see the bond that they will share as they grow up together and it makes my heart melt! 

And speaking of Kinsey adjusting, we are beginning our potty training adventure. It is definitely more challenging than I expected. She loves to use the potty, but I just can't seem to remember to take her all the time. Today was best day we have had potty training and I was doing great by taking her at least every 45 minutes to an hour, but then fatigue set in by dinner time and I just failed to complete my task!!! But it will all work out on it's own...I mean it has too at some point!

As for now that is all of life changing events..diapers, spit up and potty training pretty much sum up our lives right now! Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Well, actually to us it is...being parents is something that my hubby and I wanted from day one of our marriage and to be able to live out that dream together is worth every 2 am feeding, ten thousand diaper changes and 2 year old tantrums any day!!! My life is absolutely perfect and I am right where I need to be...with the ones I love the most! Thank you Lord for blessing me with such a priceless treasure....my little family!

Grady is pretty excited about being a part of our family...I think his face says it all!

Our little diva, Miss Kinsey!!!

Until next time... Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

( photo card made by: Spanki Mills Photography)

What a Blessing!

It's almost time for Baby Grady to make his arrival into our little family. I have been through every emotion  up to this point and I finally feel at ease with the direction our life will take. It is has been difficult trying to imagine what it will be like to have two children under the age of two in our house, but now I feel like the only way to see it; is as a BLESSING!
 Many people have doubts about my overwhelming sense of calmness in taking care of two children but I find that God gives me the strength and determination to do anything as long as we acknowledge that with him in our life...all things are possible.

I have been deeply invested in my first Beth Moore bible study for about a month now and let me tell you... my heart has never been touched this much!!! It is as if my entire outlook on life has changed or has evolved into something that yearns to glorify God and not the Babylonian culture that we are all surrounded by. It is amazing how much your life can change by studying God's word! I feel compelled to be a better mom through my faith. I am compassionate about being the kind wife and caregiver that not only provides for my husband and children, but that gives praise to the Most High! I feel that through my deeper connection with the bible, I have found a strength that only God could give me. A type of courage and determination to "step up" and believe that even if I fall (which I will) my convictions assure me that my Lord will be there to help dust me off and make me stronger. I finally realize that in the midst of all the trials and tribulations that I endure, God is building me stronger.  We belong to him...We are his children...We are the light...We are HIS! It is in these truths that I find the courage and strength to just be me! After all, he made me and molded me for his plan, not mine! And for once in my entire life, I can finally see the beauty in God being in control!

Therefore, this brings me back to the fact that I know my life is fixing to be chaotic and overwhelming at times. I know that I am going to have days when I just want to cry and scream. But I also know that these days go by too fast and that each moment spent with my family is a blessing regardless of the situation at hand! God has given me the greatest gift I can ever imagine. I have the promise of His Word, the love and commitment of a wonderful God-fearing husband, and the most precious daughter. My blessings will soon be added to once Grady is here and at that this exact moment in time I cannot imagine a greater gift from above.

Until next time...think of your blessings more than of your trials!!! Hug your kids and tell them how much you love them. Spend time with your husband and let him know just how much he means to you!
We can't wait to share baby Grady with you all... talk to you soon!!! PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!

Eight weeks to go...Nerves starting to show!!!

Reality has begun to set in! The weeks are flying by like crazy and I just now slowed down to really think about the fact that in 8 weeks our little man will be here and Kinsey will no longer be an only child!!! Two emotions run through my head constantly these days: Anticipation and Fear! I am so excited to meet the newest addition to our family and see if he has more of my good looks or my husbands. My fear is that I will not know how to make time for a new baby and my baby that depends on me sooo much! I fear that her feelings will be hurt and the last thing I would ever want is for her to feel neglected by me. We spend all of our time together and in just a short while, a new baby will change her little world forever. I know the change will be abrupt at first and then gradually she will understand, but I hate to think that I might hurt her little heart!!!!

It is unreal sometimes when I think about where my life has taken me in the last ten years. I am using ten years as a reference, due to the fact that I just attended my ten year high school reunion over the weekend. I had a great time catching up and cherishing memories with high school friends. It was wonderful to get to see the faces that made me smile and even made me angry all those years ago. It is interesting that even after ten years, we all still look and act the same. Of course there are exceptions to this statement... we have all grown up and many of us have families, but for the most part I could still the high school aura wrapped around us as we hung out together. I can still remember thinking that I would be married by 24 and have three kids by the age of 28. My how things went in a different direction, but for a good reason. In the last ten years, I have had my heart broken and possibly broke one or two hearts. I have seen friends come and go and I have often thought about the friends that I lost contact with after high school. I have struggled to pay bills and then had enough money to lend a friend. I have changed my mind about a profession numerous times and yet ended up with two degrees in Education. Through all of this, I managed to somehow marry the most amazing man. He has brought me through some of the toughest battles in my life and yet he still ceases to judge me. He makes no harsh comments about my moodiness or my insane ability to stress myself out on the most minute issues. He loved me for me from the very beginning and through all of my struggles in being a mother, a wife and a new member in a family he has always known the real me. In fact, even today as I continue to let go of guilts and grievances I have held on to for so long and find a way back to me, he is the one that helps me realize who I am and what I am not!
Being at my high school reunion, made me aware of the vast differences each of our lives contain. Some of us live in big cities, some of us in small country towns and some of us never left. There have been divorces, heart ache, joy, babies and new found love in our class as a whole. We have left our mark on our school ten years ago, but tonight as I sit here and reflect on everything I learned Saturday night, I now realize that we have gone out into the world and made a mark on people around us. We genuinely are a class that cared about each other and to this day we still do. It may be a silent nod or a simple smile that we use to communicate our respect and compassion for one another, but have doubt it's there!!!

I am not sure why I have all of sudden found the need to be so long winded and emotional but for some reason it felt good to reconnect with so many friends that I have lost contact with. It made me so happy to see others in love with their life and with the one that they chose to spend it with. It is heart warming to know that we all found our place in the world and even if we aren't sure we are in the right place, we are strong enough to fight until we figure out!!

Until my next social gathering with my newly reconnected friends, I will be in my house nesting for the arrival of Mr. Grady. Think of my often and say a little prayer to help me figure it all out. Every little thought counts and I am sure my Kinsey will appreciate all of the help I can get. I apologize for any accidental omitted words or misspellings, but I am way to tired to go back and proofread, please know that I will try harder next time....Peace, Love and the Reese's!!!

Busy Bee or Lazy, HOT, Pregnant Mama?

So, it seems like I can't decide if I have been a busy bee or a tired, no energy lasting, HOT as a forest fire pregnant mother! By the end of the day, well really by 4 p.m., I am DRAINED!!!! You would think that I have been super busy getting our new house decorated, but it seems to be coming together slowly. I am not quite sure if it feels like this because I have more rooms to decorate or just because I am plum tired. But either way, I have been spending most of my time doing house stuff!!!

Justin has been in Austin the past 2 weeks doing duty at the Capitol and let me tell you I never realized just how much I depend on him during the day and night. It has been hard to get in a routine without him here and the first couple of nights were rough. Especially getting up by myself all night long to put Kinsey back to sleep! He is usually the one who gets up with her and brings her to me and I have really missed his help. He is such a great dad and sometimes he doesn't give himself enough credit, but without him letting me take a breather every now and then I couldn't be the mom that I need to be! I will be so glad when he gets home tomorrow night, but the excitement will be short lived as he leaves again on Wednesday for a much needed hunting trip in Canada for five days. Things will be chaotic again without him but I know how much he loves his duck hunting and well, he is really good at it!

Once he gets back, we have my high school reunion to attend and I can't wait! It will be great to see some of my friends from high school and hopefully find new ways to keep in touch! I just wish I wasn't the size of a beluga whale when I see everyone, but growing a small person inside of my tummy can do that to me! Now the challenge is to find shoes to wear with my dress that I still need to get hemmed! Man, the more I type about what is going on in my life, the more I realize that I am really fixing to be a busy mommy bee! And to think I only have roughly 70 days left before this little baby makes his entrance into this world! Wowzers....panic shall set in NOW!!! But I think I will take a new baby over being preggo in this heat anyday!!!!

 On a final note, Kinsey has been doing the funniest things lately. She answers every question in her sweet, tiny voice with a simple, "No!" I can ask, "Kinsey, do you want a little brother?" And She will say, "NO!" I can ask her "Kinsey, do you want to eat fruit loops or cheerios?" And She will say, "No!" Poor thing, she is a little confused with the meaning of the word, but it's still cute to me...right now! She has also started to help me feed the dogs every morning and night. The amazing thing to me is that she knows which bowl belongs to which dog! She gets her smarts from me!!! She is growing so fast and talking soooo much. We just love her to pieces and our love grows deeper each day we spend with her! I love being a MOM and even in the dog days of summer, preggo and well beyond my comfort level for weight, I have found that a sweet, innocent smile can take away all the worry and doubts in my mind. What a blessing children are to their parents.... I am pretty sure I need her more than she needs me:) I hope you all have a great weekend and a nice, long Labor day weekend with the one's you love! Until next time, the busy bee is buzzing off....PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!!!

Some of the decorating we have done in the living room...still more to do, but it's a start.

A little touch of baby kinsey in the Master Bedroom! love those black and white pics!!!!

My new rug from Pier One... doesn't have any purpose right now other than to lay on the floor!! It's in the breakfast room....but I do not have any furniture to put on it yet, so for now it's kinsey's play mat!!!

Sometimes you just have to slow down....Right?

Well, since the last time I blogged I have had a crazy, fast, mind boggling life. It seems like I have been going 90 to nothing trying to get our house "home sweet home" cozy that I have forgotten to take care of myself! There is a good outcome and a bad outcome to this minor lapse of self concern. So, do you want the good or bad first? Okay, I will tell you the Bad first! It all started with a clumsy moment after dinner Thursday night that left my foot bloody. And for those who know me well, I FREAK out when I see blood. There is no middle ground when it comes to a blood oozing wound, especially on my own person! Anyway, I was clearing the dinner dishes when my clumsy preggo self tripped on the dining rug and haphazardly dropped the steak knife onto the top of my foot! OUCH and then blood! Lucky for me, my dear hubby is trained to deal with blood and guts so he took control before I lost my dinner. Thirty minutes later, a butterfly stitch and few tears....I was bandaged and only my pride hurt. The next two days were bearable, even though I walked with a slight limp ( it kind of looked more like a pregnant waddle intertwined with a ghetto fresh limp) !!! But just when things started to look rosy, things literally started to look fuzzy and black! That's right...my life is so unpredictable. I had just finished my makeup and hair for church on Sunday, when all of a sudden I began to feel hot and clammy and my vision turned to mush! I could not see a thing and I knew I was going down quickly. I managed to stumble my way to the phone to call Justin and tell him I was passing out so he could get home quick enough to help me and to be with Kinsey. It felt like eternity for him to show up, but it was only ten minutes from the time I called and he came in to find me on the floor in the kitchen and Kinsey sitting beside me. It was pretty scary and the most awful experience of my life. I was more scared for Kinsey than for me and I felt guilty thinking that as her mother I couldn't reassure her that I was okay. Anyway, I ended up going to the ER and found out that my body was dehydrated and that I had a small bladder infection. Great!!! Imagine my excitement, as they hook me up to a saline IV to replenish my body...oh have I told you all how much I despise IV's!!!! Yep....I cried like a big baby! Luckily, Justin held my hand and helped get through it. After 3 hours in the ER and a one hour trip visit in labor and delivery, we went home and the first thing I wanted to do was put my arms around my precious baby girl and never let her go! This is where the good outcomes plays out. I have learned through this experience that my family is by far the best and most precious thing in my life. Having a great husband to love and care for me is a dream come true. Our daughter is the most amazing little creation ever! I cannot adequately describe in words how much she means to me or how much meaning she brings to my life. The point through this rambling is that God brought me through this small trial to teach me how important each part of my little family is. We cannot function as a whole without each other and through this minor disaster our family is so much closer. We definitely couldn't have survived without my parents, they were here after Justin's phone call within minutes of my black out and took right over...helping fill in for me with Kinsey. I truly am blessed and sometimes I move so quickly through life that I neglect myself and the one's that mean the most to me. That is why I have decided to slow down.. what's the rush? The walls may still be bare and the floor still needs a good washing and not to mention the windows that need some sort of covering. But, it will all be in due time and it will be just the way God intended it be. I am looking forward to a positive step in the right direction. We only have 13 weeks until baby Grady is here and I plan on spending that time cherishing all the little moments that I have with Kinsey before life is once again on a two hour schedule:) Until next time, take care of yourself and love your family...PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!