Hampton's Third Birthday

We celebrated Hampton's 3rd birthday with an early friend party and a family party on his actual birthday. With most kiddos still taking afternoon naps/rests, we decided we either needed to do a breakfast party or lunch party. We figured feeding all of Hampton's friends and their parents for lunch would be a bit spendy, so we went for a 10am party. We met at our neighborhood pavillion and celebrated with a donut cake, fruit, breakfast caserole, juice, water and milk. Staying true to Elizabeth style I prepared WAY TOO MUCH food. I had counted all the dads, but none of them came. No big deal, I sent food home with Drew. The weather was great...a little overcast and not too hot. You never know in May and it seemed like every other Saturday in May it rained. Several of his friends had to move their parties indoors. At the pavillion we enjoyed breakfast, a good race, singing Happy Birthday and playing on the playground. We moved from the pavillion to Boomerang's, a great place full of really cool bounce houses. Hampton loved it!!! Lots of his "buddies" came and Jonathan's crew joined us after Campbell's blast ball game (pre-t ball). This was the first year he really understood what birthday's and parties are all about. So much fun!!!

On Hampton's actual birthday we were blessed to have Gran and Poppy AND Sweetie and Pops in town. Hampton was on cloud nine with another birthday cake and more gifts.

My mom's generous cousin sent Hampton some tiger ears after watching this video. He was so excited and proud to be a tiger. Thanks Polly!

We built up his 3rd birthday as his last day to have his "binky." After presents, cake and ice cream it was time to throw his binkies in the trash. I had "secretly" been cutting holes in them for a week or two, so that it would be easier for him to let them go. I probably didn't use my best judgement and made him throw them away before naptime. He threw them away without any complaint, but did not take a nap that day. Since then, he has asked for them once or twice, but for the most part hasn't looked back.

SOLD

As of Tuesday, May 19th, our house is officially under contract...SOLD And on Thursday, the 21st, we closed on our house in KS. Our official move in date is now June 21st...way too soon. We will close on the TX house on July 1st. This means we will not ever have to pay 2 house payments. Thank you Lord for your provision!

Baseball with Daddy

This boy adores his daddy...and his daddy adores him!

Takin' BP with Daddy

Pitching to Daddy

And that's the ball game.

We are throughly enjoying this Memorial Day weekend!!!

Just Like Daddy...

Can you guess what's going on here?

Anything to get closer to potty training :)

Look at me, Daddy

Daddy is traveling for the day and loves to see blog updates when he's away. Lucy has rolled over on accident before, but seems to be a little more intentional lately. Reid is not feeling well and can be a bit of a bear when he's under the weather. He was sleeping in his car seat when I filmed this. Poor little guy :(. He is actually closer to rolling back to tummy than tummy to back. They are much more mobile and are starting to wiggle off their blankets when they play on the floor. Life is busy, but so so so much fun!!!

Oh, and for the record, today was our first day on a 4 hour feeding schedule. Hopefully they will sleep well tonight. They have been going from 9pm to 6 or 6:30am. I feel like that is pretty good. Hampton has not been sleeping in like he used to and has been waking up between 6:45 and 7:15 (with the house on the market, we had to take the blanket out of his window...he likes to wake up with the sun :)). I feed the babies and go back to bed and then Ben gets up with Hampton at 8. Is it bad that we set the timer and make him stay in bed until 8?

The Easter Story According to Hampton

He really can quote the simple verse Luke 24:34 very well. "Yes, it's true. The Lord is risen."

You also get a little taste of his new "lanaguage." It doesn't get old, I promise :)

If you get a chance, please pray that we sell our house quickly. We have had lots and lots of showings (over 30 in 14 days) and at least 3 people tell us they are going to make an offer...but no one has yet. We have 2 really promising prospects that said they would let us know this week. We are not in a time crunch yet, but I would really like to live a more predictable life. It's a challange to get everything picked up (although our house is always clean...just a few cars and baby things around) and all three kids out the door when we are given short notice of a showing. I am thankful we have had so much activity and fully trust that the LORD is in complete control of this. I am asking Him to bring the buyer through the door soon. Join me if you have a second?

Wow

7 showings and 1 second showing in 3days...not bad. We're hopeful (and homeless for the day).

Breathing a Little Easier

We listed our house today. I can breath a little easier now and most of the work is done. I'm glad. I have worked ridiculously for the past few weeks and now, all I have to do is maintain. We are having an open house this weekend and a realtors luncheon on May 8th. I'm hoping we are under contract by then though. As thankful as I am that there is a sign in our yard, today is a sad day. This is our home...and we are leaving it. I am thankful that even though we are entering a new phase of life, we still have many memories to hold on to.

When Hampton left for MDO today, things were still in a state of disarray. We were mainly ready, but still had lots of paperwork and misc stuff to clean up. When we pulled up after school, there was an exciting sign in our yard. H had fun hitting it and watching it swing (it's a fancy sign). We played in the front yard and visited with Daddy for a few minutes before we walked inside. When he walked in, I noticed him looking around, seemingly in disbelief. I asked him, "What do you think?" He slowly replied, "Mommy...our...house...it...pretty." When Ben walked in the room Hampton looked at him and said, "Daddy, our house. It pretty."

Please laugh at the sweet story and don't let it be a reflection of my housekeeping :).

Here are a few pictures of the home we have truly enjoyed. I won't say we loved it, because I'm always telling Hampton that we don't love things, we love people! That said, I love and treasure the memories we have made here.

Oh Sweet Racquet Court :)

Movin' Up...

...North that is. Ben was offered a promotion with in his company that requires that we move to Kansas City to work in the corporate office. We are frantically working to get our house on the market because we have already found a house there. By mid-summer, this will be our new home...

I'm still processing all of this, but here is an email I sent to some family...

Hey Girls,
I just thought I'd send you a link to some pics of our new house. We are in the option period now and are set to close the end of May. The sellers are going to rent it back from us until the end of June. So...we should be moving by then. We are a little anxious under the pressure of selling our house here. The last thing we want to do is pay 2 mortgages! I am really excited about the house and we have been amazingly blessed to be able to live in a home as nice as this one. That said, I am feeling really sad about leaving our life here. I love our life here...Watermark, our friends, Hampton's friends, J and A, Drew and even our neighbors. Last night as I was thinking about all the change that is about to take place, I got that homesick pit in my stomach. This is my home and I am sad to leave (crying as I type). I know there are open arms and lots of love to welcome us in KC, but change is always hard for me. Please, pray that we will continue to trust the LORD through this situation, that our house will sell quickly and for close to our asking price, and that we will all adjust well to these big changes.

Thank you for loving us and praying for us,
Elizabeth

Oh, how I dislike change!!!

GRACE!!!

The other evening I told Hampton that he needed to stop playing around the babies or he would get Sadman. He chose to disobey and as I walked toward him he got up and ran to the nursery. He got to the door and realized that we had moved Lucy's crib, his previous hiding place. Standing in the doorway he said, "Where is it? My hiding fwace is gone!"

I knelt down beside him and said, "Hampton, I know you realize that you disobeyed because you tried to hide. What did Mommy tell you would be the consequence if you chose to continue to play by the babies?"

He frantically replied through tears, "I want you to give me grace not Sadman!"

He fully understands grace..."Not getting a 'pankin' when I should."

Happy Easter!!!

What a Blessing

I cannot tell you how immensely God has blessed us with friends and community here. Just today, Meredith, Joy and Mary came to help me get my act together by organizing and packing some things in the house. The work they accomplished in the 4 hours they were here would have taken me weeks...literally. Meredith is such an amazing woman of God and I wish I could glean more wisdom from her. She and Charlie seem to have such a strong relationship and her kids are so grounded in their faith. Thank you girls for all your HARD work!!!

Not long after the girls left, Kristin showed up to bring us dinner. We have been provided with meals 3 days a week since the twins were 3 weeks old. I cannot begin to explain what a huge, huge help that has been. Often times people ask me how I handle all three kids at the grocery store, and I can honestly say I haven't had to make a big grocery run since the babies joined our family. I have had to run to pick up milk, juice and lunch stuff, but we have had so many bless our family with meals that I have cooked maybe 5 times. A huge responsibility was lifted off of me. Thank you to all who sacrificed their time and money to bless our family.

We have been so blessed through the relationships we have built over the past 5 years. We love and cherish you all!!!

11 Weeks

I can't believe it was 11 weeks ago that Lucy and Reid joined our family. They are such a blessing and I can't imagine life without them. I have noticed that Lucy develops socially about a week before Reid, but Reid is much stronger than Lucy. They have both started smiling in response to attention. And in the past few days Reid has joined Lucy in trying to "talk." They most definitely have their own personalities already. I'm not sure I would have realized how much personality shows this early if I weren't observing two at a time. Lucy is very laid back about everything. When she gets hungry, she works her binky like crazy, but rarely cries about it. Reid on the other hand...he is like clock work. Exactly 3 hours after he eats, he usually erupts as if we have totally forgotten about him and he will never eat again. As different as they are, I am so, so thankful that they are completely their own little people. I was thinking tonight, as I watched Hampton hitting the baseball, that I want to make sure that my children know that I love them for exactly who God has created them to be. They are all very different, and they are all mine...(at least for a little while). What a responsibility the Lord has given us.

They are my joy and crown.

Thank you, Lord for my children!!!

Here are a few pictures from the last week or so...Meeting G'ma

Hangin' with Pops

Hampton absolute LOVES feeding the horses with Pops!

Reid makes this face quite frequently. The other day Hampton said, "Mommy, Reid is so worried."

Tired? Sure

Madly in love? Absolutely!!!

Bunny Ears

This kid cracks me up!

On our way home from dinner this evening, Hampton and I ran into Target to get a birthday present for his friend Carsen's party. On our way in, we stopped at the Dollar Spot to look for some fun stickers to add to her gift. Hampton quickly found these bunny ears. He looked at me and matter of factly said, "I need to put deese on to hop like a bunny." I helped him put them on and he proceeded to hop like a bunny all through the store. I was doubled over laughing because they kept falling off so he held them on. Everyone who saw him smiled or laughed too.

I let Hampton pick out some new art supplies for Carsen. We debated between some Color Wonder products and sidewalk paint. I wanted him to get her the Color Wonder stuff, but he insisted we get the paint. I have really enjoyed watching Hampton make decisions and stick with them. He is definitely becoming who he was created to be and I am so grateful to be a part of the Lord's plan for his sweet little life.

After we checked out at Target, he wanted to wear his bunny ears out to the car. Ben rolled his eyes when he saw Hampton's treat, b/c boys don't wear bunny ears :), but he too laughed to see Hampton's excitement. Hampton held his ears on the whole ride home and hopped into the house like a bunny. So much fun!!!

I am crazy about my precious family!!!

I guess his excitement faded more quickly than I thought it would. He will probably be excited about them agian in the morning. Night all!

2 Month Stats

Lucy and Reid got 2 shots today at their 2 month appt. True to form, Lucy was easily consoled, but Reid took it a little harder. They both calmed down pretty quickly, but had a hard afternoon and evening. I don't remember Hampton reacting to his shots, but Lucy and Reid sure did. They both ran a tiny fever, were fussy and had sore legs (where they gave the shots). Ben is out of town, so I was thankful that it hit them at different times. I was able to hold and comfort both of them. Here are their stats.

Lucy:

9 pounds 10 ounces

21 1/4 inches long

Reid:

10 pounds 6 ounces

21 3/4 inches long

The babies are starting to smile and it is SO cute!!!

Eight Weeks Old

My sweet babies are 8 weeks old today. It's hard to believe it was nearly 2 months ago that they joined our family. You would think that by now I would have it together, but I still feel like I'm treading water. From the time I wake up to the time I crash on my pillow, I am going pretty much non-stop, but at the end of the day, I have nothing to show for it. I have a list a mile long of things I need to accomplish, but none of it gets done. I remember feeling this way with Hampton and I have to remind myself that even though you see no evidence that I have been busy all day long, my kids are fed, loved, learning and happy. I just want my house to be picked up too!!! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything and I L-O-V-E my family. I'm just a little overwhelmed right this second. Enjoy some sweet pictures of Lucy and Reid. I am crazy about them!


LUCY JAMES

Reid Matthew

Last night as Ben was putting Hampton to bed, the following conversation took place:

Daddy - "What do you want to pray for tonight?"

Hampton - "Boogers!"

Daddy - "Boogers? What about boogers?"

Hampton - "For people with boogers...bunches of 'em."

Then they both burst into laughter.

How sweet it is...

Images of Grace

We were so blessed to have the opportunity to have Lucy and Reid photographed by an amazing photographer. Amy has a true gift for capturing life through pictures and we were thankful to be able to "help" her start her new website. She has a well established photography business, but needs to start a website designed specifically for children birth through 1 year. On her blog, she asked for volunteers, especially multiples, to help. I have admired her work for quite a while now, so I jumped at the chance!!! Here are just a few...

I can't wait to see all the images she captured...it's going to be hard to choose!