Maybe I'm a bit sentimental...

Having a new babe in the house will do that to you I think. But, the other day as I was getting ready to run to Target with Shari I thought of a post I wrote way back when Sam and Amelia were still in the NICU. This post.
It instantly brought tears to my eyes. I thought of Sam and his love of firemen and his fireman costume that he adores. Here we are, four and a half years later with a healthy and thriving boy! How grateful is my heart when I think of that!

Then, a few days later, Amelia was getting ready to go to a party at my mom's work. She found a piece of ribbon and wanted me to tie it around her waist as a belt. She thought it looked SO beautiful. Then she went into the bathroom and came out with all of these bows decorating her belt. Oh my. It was just about the cutest thing ever. Then she went to the fridge and got this picture off that she had drawn, because she "matched the picture!"


I thought back to that post again and to my sparkle of a girl that we have now and thankfulness washed over me.
Thank you Lord for the gift of these children and that you are allowing us to experience this fun age of firefighters and fairies and creativity and princesses and make believe.
Sweet babies, growing up before our eyes! Jen

We all love when Grandpa Jim and Grandma Shari come for a visit! The kids look so forward to it and it just gets more and more special to see their relationships grow as they get older. They are always such a help, but this time especially I felt so thankful to have them hear loving on Sam and Amelia as we all transitioned to having a new babe at home. I think it really, really helped the kids to have them here giving them lots of attention, and of course that really helped me! Anyway, we made lots of memories! So sad to see them leave today, but I know it's time for us to start finding our new rhythm at home...so here we go! Love you Jim and Shari...thank you for every meal cooked, every broken thing mended, every snuggle to the kids and baby, every book read, walk taken, kitchen cleaned, encouraging word spoken, etc.etc.etc. You two are appreciated!

All for now,
Jen

Giving is truly better.

To understand the significance of this story, you must understand Amelia a bit. Though she has never been one to attach much significance to things, food is another matter. Specifically "special treats". She has a sweet tooth like no other. The way to her heart is definitely through her tummy. So you can imagine how excited she has been about Halloween. Last year she was in total shock at the concept of trick or treating and she looked forward to it coming again all year long. It is her Christmas as far as gifts go!

So, last night we got home with our bounty and she gobbled up her three piece allowance (she had already eaten several pieces during the day). Then she heard that we had almost run out of candy to give trick or treaters and quickly offered to put some of her own in the bowl to give. " Are you sure?" we asked in disbelief. She was on a mission. She poured about half her candy in the bowl and then opened the door and stood out on the porch. She was in her pajamas by this time and as I peeked out the window and saw her standing there by the door, standing so tall and serious holding the bowl out just waiting for little friends to come and get it, I almost cried. What a precious, surprising sight. I said a little prayer that someone would come (it was late by this time) and sure enough a big group came and wiped her out. She was not done yet. Oh no. She came in, grabbed her basket and poured the rest into the bowl, running back outside to give the rest away, I wish you could have seen her face and heard her voice. I did cry a this point. She was joyfully giving away her fortune, and it was inspiring (and humbling, really) to watch.

She went out to the end of the driveway and stood on the sidewalk. Sam was with her at one point and was yelling "Mena has candy for you!" to anyone he saw. The whole scene was just so funny because Sam is usually our giver and he didn't even think to join in until the very end. No, this was Amelia's lesson about the joy of giving. Well, hers and all of ours who were watching, Joel and Shari were out there with her as she sang loud songs about how excited the kids would be to get candy, how she didn't want her teeth to get rotten, etc,
Finally she came in to go to bed after we promised we would come and get her if anyone rang the doorbell. She still had some left and she also had put a stack of her drawings on top of the bowl to give away. This was put carefully by the front door. She put her shoes right by her bed " so she could get to the door fast if someone came". We turned out the lights and all started getting ready for bed. It was 10pm after all! But no, there rang the doorbell. Amelia squealed in delight and came running down the stairs. She let them choose their candy, handed out her drawings, and then retired to bed once again.

Oh, somewhere in there Sam found some stickers Shari had bought for Amelia earlier that day. He said, "Look Mena! These are for you!" You would have thought someone had handed her, well, massive amounts of candy! Shari and I thought she might cry she looked so genuinely surprised and thankful! She clutched them to her chest and then buried herself into Shari's bosom. Another teary moment for mama.

Joel told Amelia that she had shown us what Jesus's love looks like. So true. You know that hymn about how His love is "vast, unmeasured, boundless and free" ? I kept thinking of that today. How God gives to us so freely so that we might give. Unmeasured. Boundless. Free. Who knew that we would see that in action through our little girl in pink pajamas, standing at the end of the driveway, giving in just that way.

She didn't seem to regret it in any way today, though she was up to her antics of talking a million miles an hour about why she should be able to eat this or that after her meal. Sigh. I can't wait until the candy is gone (Sam still has plenty and is very willing to share with his sister:)! Still, what a sweet ending to our Halloween night. And what a great reminder that giving is truly better. What joy it brings. To the giver and the receiver.

All for now,
Jen

What a beautiful day!

First of all, the weather today was beyond beautiful. Last Halloween was rainy and cold and yucky. This year couldn't have been more opposite, so hurray for that!! The day went by quickly and soon it was ready to get the kids ready! Sam was so excited to wear his firefighter outfit ("it's not a costume"). Grandma and Grandpa splurged and got this super realistic outfit for him and he loves it. Amelia decided to wear the kitty outfit she had from last year. She had the princess costume that she has been wearing frequently around town and the house, but the kitty costume means Halloween to her I think since it was their first time trick or treating last year and she wore it. Then we had little baby bear! (She did great and enjoyed her daddy carrying her in the fresh, evening air. She even skipped her fussy time!) So, they eagerly got dressed and baskets ready! We did a lap around the block and Sam loved the tasks of finding the front porch lights that were on and finding the door bells! Then we met up with a group of friends for more trick or treating and it got a little crazy keeping track of everyone and dark and so there are no pictures of that:)





How cute are our friends/neighbors?! This is Ally and her baby bee Charlotte:)

Are you ready to hear the sweetest story ever about this next picture? Well, I'm too tired to tell it now, but just get ready! It's gonna melt your heart.

Happy Harvest Day (as I grew up saying:),
Jenny

These are the days...

I want to remember this moment. We were upstairs and Amelia was hanging out with Jubilee and me. She helped me fold cloth wipes and then played with Jubilee and then ran to get my exercise ball when the baby started to cry. I love the way Amelia tries to help. She will see a need and then just suddenly run away and bring something to try and fix it. If I am nursing and say to myself, "I'm starving" ,Amelia will disappear downstairs and pop back up with a banana for me. Man, it is so sweet! This is pretty new, by the way.I had started to think all the people who told me Sam and Amelia would be such helpers were lying.:) Anyway, the house smelled like apples as Shari was downstairs canning applesauce, the window was open and I could hear Sam riding his Big Wheel down the driveway, and there was Princess Amelia loving on her sister. Then as I rocked Jubilee to sleep, Amelia got up on that ball and told me a fantastic, very long story about a troll. It was one of those moments that make all of the overwhelming, frustrating, crazy moments fade away.











Oh yes, these are the days. The overwhelming, frustrating, crazy, wonderful, tender, beautiful days.
Jen

Our littlest pumpkin...

Jubilee is one month old! How can that be?!?!
She is already changing so much, and I know time isn't going to slow down. I'm so thankful that Joel got to take off work for her first two weeks and that Jim and Shari and my mama are here to allow me time to soak her up and know that Sam and Amelia are being loved and cared for! The first week home was a bit crazy. Sam and Amelia were pretty emotional and not sure what to do with me needing to be with her so much. It was hard on all of us! I was still emotional about the birth experience as well, and together with hormones being all over the place, there were a lot of tears! Still, with mom and Joel being there, it wasn't as crazy as I had imagined, and there were a lot of sweet moments mixed in there as well. One thing that helps is getting MUCH more sleep than I did with the twins. Most mornings, I woke up feeling kind of rested! I did learn pretty quickly that having her in the side car crib next to our bed wasn't good enough for her:) She wanted to be right next to mama and immediately started sleeping longer stretches once we had that worked out! Gosh, the nights with her in my room in the hospital were terrible! I knew they would freak out if I had her in bed with me and she was NOT liking the plastic bassinet and literally cried from 2-5 three nights in a row! :(
We also learned that she is a pretty content baby during the day as long as she is being held. Once again, thankful for extra hands so that I can sling her or hold her most of the day (especially that first week home!) .She cries when she's hungry, has a dirty diaper, lonely, or tired. I felt like with the twins, things were such a blur I often never knew why they were crying! It's much, much easier with Jubilee!




The second week home (three weeks old), brought Grandma and Grandpa Hunt! Joel went to a conference out of town and I really missed him, but after a couple of days of more behavior adjustments from the kids, they started to settle down and the days got a bit easier. Still, I had forgotten how demanding a newborn was and would get really frustrated that I couldn't seem to spend quality time with the kids and take care of the baby! Once again, thank the Lord for grandparents! I don't know what I would have done! Hmmm, must not have the pictures downloaded from that week. Will work on that!:)
Then we come to week four. My hormones have definitely stabilized a bit, the kids (especially Sam) are just melting my heart as I watch them fall more in love with "baby Jubles", Jubilee is growing cuter and more alert by the day, and life just feels a bit more settled. Most nights she only wakes up once. It feels funny even writing that, and I'm sure it will change soon, but for now I'm enjoying it (though I do make sure and pump before I go to bed, in the middle of the night, and in the morning)!

Anyway, just wanted to get these thoughts down while I had the chance. Oh how we love this precious little one! Jen

Apple picking.

It's become a tradition I suppose, this Fall trip to Capitol Reef National park. This is our third year to come and enjoy the apple orchards, the amazing canyons and rocks, little hikes and the playground at Slackers (the kids literally played there for 2 hours the other day--have I mentioned how much I LOVE watching their imaginations in action?). In an effort to keep these posts simple, I'll just say it's been a fun little trip and I'm SO thankful for all of the warmth and sunshiney days. I feel like I'm drinking it up to try and store it for the wintery weather sure to be here soon!









We hope to be back next year!
Jen
Here is a post from our 2009 trip. What little cuties!
Here is a post from our 2010 trip. Love these pictures, especially the rock climbing series. They are such adventurers! They got out of the car this year and immediately were engrossed in exploration and play. I love it!

My friend Anne and I have had a few conversations about what our ideal self would look/be like. You know, like our best version of what our life could be. You have had those conversations, right?:) Well, I have had this picture in my head for the longest time of mine. I am a few inches taller and leaner (haha!), have long braided hair and am hanging clothes on the line. I have a baby in a sling and there are cats and children underfoot. The picture makes me think "contentment", which I guess is one of my greatest desires. Not "easy" or "stagnant", but content and joyful within the life God has given me. That's what the picture means to me (well, besides the vanity of wanting to be long and lean:). I guess that's what I think would "make" me be content, a life of home and children. Of course, that isn't totally true, and I do want to find my contentment in the Lord, whatever the circumstance.

However, the other day I found myself with a baby in a sling, hanging up diapers on the line, with two other little ones playing in the sandbox while their sweet and handsome daddy worked in the garden. I asked Joel to take a picture because, really, it was a little dream come true. A life of home and children! What gifts! I may not be tall or lean, the actual birth of the babe in the sling had left my heart a little broken, the kids in the sandbox were each adjusting to new life in the home, and I couldn't even find clothes pins to use on the line...but such good these moments do my heart! They make me sing praise to the Lord, for His goodness and faithfulness.

So far from perfect, but beautiful to me nonetheless.

With a thankful heart, Jen

Pumpkin Moonshine...

We have been reading " Pumpkin Moonshine" by Tasha Tudor, a sweet story about a pumpkin that rolls down a hill at a farm, causing barnyard chaos before it is turned into a Pumpkin Moonshine (or Jack o Lantern). The kids have been looking so forward to carving their own, and I have been looking forward to it for them, but I am just so deficient in my art project abilities!
Enter Mammy, our resident artist! They had SO much fun with her, scooping out all of the goop, drawing their faces on the pumpkins and then telling Mammy what they wanted the end product to look like:) Amelia's was the "scary happy face" , Sam's was the cat, and Mammy's was the peace sign. Beautiful! They worked so hard and long and could hardly wait until the sun went down so they could see them glow.
Thanks mom for doing special projects with the kids. Thanks to Shari for the wonderful dinner tonight, to Jim for all of your help and time that you give the kids. We have a little village going here, and I am feeling so thankful for it:)
Jen