Heart Reflections
My Sweet Girls – Brina and Karlie
I have the privilege of being a Mom to these girls!
I love being a Mom. It is the most rewarding, yet most challenging part of my life. I am thankful for the many blessings in my life and that my prayers to be a Mom were answered over 10 years ago.
The girls bring me a lot of joy yet they know how to best push my buttons at the same time. Being a Mom is a huge responsibility. I want my kids to grow up to love the Lord. I pray that God gives Jake and I the wisdom to raise these girls.
While they keep me on my toes the kids also know how stretch me and make me laugh. Thankful for the amazing girls who call me Mom. What a blessing it is to be their Mom!
I am thankful for my Mom, Mother-in-Law, Grandma’s, and the many women in my life who have shared their love, prayers, and words of wisdom with me. Wishing all of you a very Happy Mother’s Day weekend!!!
Our girls!
Flashback Friday: Sleepy Babies
Karlie giving Brina a kiss as they are sleeping.
The Flashback Friday goes back to when the girls were almost 3 months old. It was so cute seeing the kids snuggled up together in their cribs when we went in to check on the at night or first thing in the morning. They could sleep almost anywhere. Thankful for these two sweet kids.
Karlie sound asleep in her carseat. So comfortable.
Sleeping babies – Brina and Karlie!
Not sure how they sleep so well all piled up. (Brina on the left, Karlie on the right)
Karlie asleep in her swing under a pile of toys.
Travel & Vacation: Cute Panda Bears and Wildlife Show at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Panda Bear content to relax and eat bamboo
The panda bears were one of the girls favorite animals to visit at the Atlanta Zoo. I think the big fascination was watching the twin panda cubs. It was a little harder to get a picture of both of them at the same time, but the kids loved watching them eat and play. The Wildlife Show on birds was pretty neat too. Of course the girls went up after the show to ask more questions about the birds. The zoo worker was really great with the kids and patient in answering all the questions. On the way out the girls wanted a picture with the gorilla. It was a great day at the zoo.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), and Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
Looking pretty cute!
Look out, showing some teeth this time. Watch out! They may look cute and adorable, but I think it would not be a good idea to pet them with teeth that size.
Someone found an Easter pinata
Loving the bamboo
Peeling the bamboo stick apart, eating some pieces, and putting the other pieces on his belly for later.
Crunchy, but delicious
Good stuff
Panada’s look so cute
Checking things out around the pen
Heading towards some more goodies
Twin panda’s in their cage. One sleeping on the log and the other one eating some bamboo
Relaxing and chewing on some bamboo
Bird Show in the Wildlife Theater at the Atlanta Zoo
Getting all their questions answered
Brina giving Willie B a hug
Karlie and Brina enjoyed the Atlanta Zoo
Karlie all smiles
Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
He’s eying that cool looking pinata egg with sweet Easter treats inside it!
Another one of the neat events at the Atlanta Zoo was the Easter treats for the animals. We were able to get front row viewing at the Orangutan Easter egg hunt. It was super cute. There was a Mommy with a little one which the girls thought was adorable.
The Easter Eggs were made of jello and placed throughout the pen, pinata eggs full of special treats, leaf baskets with goodies, and cardboard cutouts with peanut like substance on the back for the orangutans to enjoy. They had a lot of fun finding and snacking on their treats. Even the baby found some. They had paper garland hanging up which the orangutans enjoyed moving and playing with as well.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) and Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
An edible Easter egg in the tree and one on the rock in the background….waiting to be found!
Swinging out to get the Easter garland
Oh yeah, this eggs mine!
Climbed up on top of the platform for this pinata treat
Enjoying the goodies inside the pinata Easter egg
Holding the cardboard cutout of the bunny rabbit and licking the treat off the back of it
Hanging out near the hammock picking up and eating eggs, delicious!
Look closely, he’s got a green jello egg in his mouth
Momma and baby
Sitting in the shade – Mom and Baby (the baby is not really little, but obviously still under its Mother’s care)
Mom and baby kisses
Licking the goodness off the back of the cardboard Easter egg decoration
Mom and baby looking for some more treats
The baby wasn’t too sure about everything at first so it stuck near its Mom at the beginning of the Easter Egg Hunt
The baby is getting brave. He is climbing the pole to get the Easter basket, with a little Chick, and goodies.
Made it, now to grab it and head back down.
The Mom watched the baby climb, get the treats, and bring them back down. Then she took the items from the baby and ate them herself, ha! The baby did get some treats, but Momma Orangutan got the first dibs!
Rearranging the Easter Garland in their pen.
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week was a busy, fun, and crazy kind of week, but all went well. We managed to get some items done and have a little fun as well. It was the first full weekend in a long time that we stayed home which was really nice for all of us. Thankful for some time together over the weekend and that we were able to work in the yard since it wasn’t raining. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful to get all the laundry washed and put away. Grateful that we have clothes to wear and that we are taken care of.
Tuesday – Thankful for the girls help in getting the pool items cleaned up and out of the front yard. They worked hard and were a huge help (and we had fun doing it together). Thankfully it was a hot day, but was got soaked cleaning off the mats.
Wednesday – Thankful for my man and everything he does for our family. Always love it when he comes home, get my hug, and a chance to catch up with him. He is always appreciative of my cooking even though the recipes don’t “turn out” as good as I hope.
Thursday – Thankful that we are able to get our HVAC unit replaced. Grateful for a husband who insists we have an Emergency Fun for these types of events because we were able to transfer the money over to pay for it. It will take a little bit to resupply the Emergency Fund, but at least we were able to get it. Also, thankful for the people who are installing it. It is a lot of hard work getting all the old stuff removed and the new items put into place.
Friday – Thankful for a date night with my Handsome Man! Love getting to spend some extra time one-on-one with him. I am very blessed to have Jake as my husband, words could not accurately express how much I love him.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
Flashback Friday: Sometimes Nobody’s Happy
Brina was watching Karlie cry.
On this Flashback Friday we go to May 2005. The girls were still itty bitty and in preemie clothes. Some days all it took was for one of them to start crying which would cause the next one to start crying. There were times when I knew exactly why they were crying and could help them (diaper change, food, etc…) while other times I had no clue.
I didn’t always get everything done on time or necessary in the right order during those days on little sleep. With the help and encouragement from family and friends we made it through. Jake was a huge help! Due to them being preemies and having the occasional apnea they had to wear apnea monitors at home. It was nice having the monitors go off whenever they had apneas and we never had to worry when they were sleeping if they stopped breathing.
They also had some caffeine in their first morning bottle every day. The caffeine was prescription based and helped with their apneas. The amount of caffeine they received would be the equivalent to my husband drinking several large amount of mountain dews back to back. Needless to say as soon as they stopped taking the caffeine in their morning bottle they started sleeping through the night. It was really nice once they started sleeping through the night. It felt wonderful being able to function on a full nights sleep.
Brina decided that if Karlie was crying she should probably start crying too! The joys of parenthood.
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week went by in a whirlwind. We wrapped up the girls Science Fair projects, Jake had a lot going on at work, I had several appointments, and everything else that we managed to squeeze into the week. Thankful for some time together over the weekend both at home and in Georgia. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for a day to re-group after a busy weekend.
Tuesday – Thankful for a being able to get my appointments back-to-back so I could get most of them completed in one day (and that none of them ran too late so I was able to make it on time to every one).
Wednesday – Thankful for Jake and his encouragement. He is always willing to listen and loves me despite all the crazy things I do.
Thursday – Thankful to have an opportunity to meet a friend for lunch today and catch up.
Friday – Thankful that the girls got their Science Fair projects completed and turned in today. Grateful for an evening with my family and excited about the fun adventures planned together for the weekend.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
Flashback Friday: Naps with Tigger
Brina sleeping soundly on her boppy with Tigger!
Today’s Flashback Friday takes us back 10 years ago. The girls were only a couple months old. They were great nappers and would sleep pretty much anywhere (from their cribs, swings, boppies, pack-n-plays, and other random locations). We usually rotated them to different spots to take naps so they got used to sleeping anywhere in the house. At night we would always put them to bed in their cribs, but were more flexible with their napping locations. Looking back on it they were awesome travelers because of this too. They could sleep at anyone’s house or a hotel and it never bothered them the least bit. Probably their favorite place to sleep was their swings, they LOVED their swings!!!
There is something so peaceful about a little one that is sleeping. So thankful for these two little ones. It doesn’t seem like that long ago they were rolling around on the floor, taking naps throughout the day, and playing with the little Tigger toys. The years have went by quickly, but I am grateful for these precious moments.
Karlie on her boppy with Tigger on her tummy and her foot sticking out of her clothes. She had a way of wiggling her toes out of the closed-toed outfits!Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week was crazy busy with everything going on with school. Extra projects, Science Fair, teachers trying to get the kids ready for all the state testing we have this year (which seems like it’s a lot). Not to mention Jake was traveling and a mirad of appointments that I had to go to throughout the week. I am thankful for some time we got to spend together over the weekend even if it was still pretty packed full. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for a library that waives late fees periodically. I needed this grace extended on my account. One of the kids books got misplaced and I hadn’t checked my account for awhile so a small amount accumulated on my account during that week.
Tuesday – Thankful for a husband who works hard to provide for our family.
Wednesday – Thankful for an orthodontist who is helping with kids teeth.
Thursday – Thankful to have Jake back home again. When he travels we all miss him very much.
Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to make some progress on the girls Science Fair Projects and especially thankful that Jake is willing to pitch in and help too. With two kids doing completely different projects it can get quite crazy at times with everything spread out!
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week was a whirlwind of activities as we got back into the regular school and work routine! It was a busy week, but I am thankful for time together with the family too. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for my Mom and the opportunity to celebrate her birthday! Wish I could be there to celebrate with her. Also, grateful for the nurses and Doctors looking after my Grandma in the hospital. We had a scare today, but thankfully everything is okay.
Tuesday – Thankful for two kids who work hard at school even when it isn’t always easy. We received their report cards today and I am very proud of them.
Wednesday – Thankful for those people who help keep me accountable.
Thursday – Thankful for Jake and he’s willingness to pitch in and help anywhere I need it from homework to meals and around the house. He is very thoughtful and considerate, I am blessed.
Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to go to the Zoo with the family and for a Date Night with my sweet Brina Bee.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
