Birthday Party Pics...

I can't believe I am just now posting these. We have had the flu around here and this Momma has been exhausted. Actually, exhausted doesn't exactly describe how I've been feeling. It hasn't been pretty. But I got some sleep last night so things are better today.

My sweet friend, Vickie, took the pictures for me at Mika's party. She rocks. Seriously, she is so talented. She took so many pictures and I've had so much fun going through them. Rather than post them all individually, I made a few collages for your viewing pleasure.

Mika's Party was full of Pink, Purple, Red, Zebra, Valentine's touches, Family, Friends, Fun, Snacks, Cake, Cookies, Gifts, and Memories.

My Nanny made the smash cake. I did everything else. :)

Some of the guests..... we are so blessed that our kids are loved by so many people.

Such a special birthday girl. I love this baby girl so much!! 

It was such a wonderful time of celebrating our baby. 

Now.... I'm busy planning a party for a certain almost 4-year-old. Yikes!! I also have some other posts I'm working on. Hopefully I'll be able to stay rested and it won't be so long before I post again. 

Love.

That's What Friends Are For....

I LOVE that song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtGF2m102Wg

Friendship is something I really struggled with last year. I just read that sentence and it sounds completely silly. But it is true. 

All my life I've never had a problem making friends. I've easily made friends in every stage of my life. In fact, I've never really had a falling out with any of my friends. Of course, there are people I still talk to on a semi-regular basis but most of my friends and I don't really see each other or talk anymore. That said, I know that if we ever ran into each other that we would be able to sit and chat for hours. 

Recently, I've found there has been a little emptiness in my heart. After spending much time praying and trying to figure out where this bit of sadness was coming from I realized that it was because I really didn't have any friends. Ok.... not exactly true. Maybe it wasn't so much that I was missing friends, but that I was missing out on meaningful friendships.

Once I realized that I was missing out on friendships it was time for me to figure out how to find these friendships. Seriously, this is new territory for me. I've spent the past 4 years at home every day with my children. On almost all of those days, the only adult interaction I have is with Jared when he comes home from work. I love him dearly, but it just wasn't enough. I needed something for me (not in a selfish way, but in a way that helps me grow emotionally and spiritually).

I decided to re-join the Ladies' Group I was in when shortly after we were married (I had to stop going because of babies and Jared's wacky work schedule). I knew it was going to require a commitment from ALL of us for me to go - but Jared and I both agreed that I needed it. They are a wonderful group of women who love the Lord and I love them all dearly.

I've also started getting together with my S-I-L, Jill, for our daughters to play (as often as we can). We both agree that we may need those playdates more than our girls do. It's a win-win, really. 

And then, just like clockwork.... here comes the attacks of the devil. I started feeling like I was upsetting my girls by leaving them every other Monday night for group. I started feeling like no one really wanted to be my friend because I don't really have anything to offer a friendship - my kids and husband take up nearly all of my time, so what was left for me to share with a friend? I started feeling like I didn't really belong with these women. I could go on and on.... but, you get the picture. Attack. Attack. Attack. 

Through many tears and prayers I got past the worst of those attacks. God is so good! I've realized that I can be a friend. What I have to offer a friendship is me - nothing more or less. I have to ease up on the pressure I put on myself to be the "perfect" friend all the time. Is there such a thing as the perfect friend? Ha! And the truth is (and this is hard for me to accept sometimes) that there are people who actually want to be friends with just me. No pretending, no facades, just me. Humbling.

Here is what I know now:

• I need friendships. We all do.
• I have great friends from my childhood that I may not see regularly, but we will always be there for each other. Our friendships will change and evolve as our lives do and that's ok. 
• I have an amazing group of women in my Ladies' Group that I am honored to call my friends. I love each of them and I'm excited about growing our friendships as we continue to spend time together. These ladies are very special and God is using them to help me in so many ways. 
• I am so blessed to have so many women in my family that I can call my friends. 
• Jared and I are working on doing things with other couples. And I can honestly say that some of my favorite moments of the past few months were made with some couples that we love. 

I plan to do as much as possible from now on to grow my friendships. I have realized how important it is in my life and I will do everything I can to keep from letting go of my friendships. If you are reading this and you are one of my cherished friends, know that you mean so much to me. And if you are reading this and you feel like you need a friend, email me. 

I'll leave you with another video..... perhaps my FAVORITE friendship song of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXttyNf8zv0  I can't tell you how many hours my sister and I spent singing this song together. It's like someone took our relationship and wrote it into a song. Love. And can I just add that I miss Whitney Houston. The girl could SING! 

Refreshing

At home this week, things have been difficult. For some reason, my girls have been in some bad moods and having some behavior issues. We are surviving though. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've actually spent this evening praying and pondering some things I can do differently to maybe help them behave differently.

In the midst of these hard days, I've had some refreshing evenings.

Monday night I "rejoined" my Ladies' Group. We call us the Ladies' Group (LG) because no other definition fits. We do a little Bible Study, a little support, a lot of praying for each other, some eating, and so on and so forth. I'm just overjoyed that I'm able to be a part of the group again. I've been absent for a few years due to babies and my sweet husband's work schedule. But I'm back now, baby!

So I got to start the week with a great night with some great women. I've been struggling lately with "friend" issues. It is so hard to find where I fit in - being a SAHM makes it hard to make friends and I don't always feel like I fit in with the friends I do have simply because we are in different places in our lives, even though I love them all dearly and know we will always be there for each other. And really, it is just hard for me to make time for anyone other than my hubby and my babies. Taking care of them and our home doesn't leave much time for me to spend with friends. But I've decided that I need to do more things for myself because I know it will make me a better woman, wife and mother. So this is a true blessing to be back in the LG.

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of our group. In fact, I have no pictures for you tonight, it just isn't going to happen today.

Then last night I was able to have dinner with my oldest friend. I can honestly say we laughed from the moment we sat down until we got into our separate vehicles. It is truly refreshing being with someone who knows YOU.

And tonight... like I said, I've been working on some things I can change to help the atmosphere around our home. And I also started reading our LG book Crazy Love.

I'm already addicted and had to make myself put it down. I'm pretty sure I would have read the entire book tonight. I'm excited to see where this book takes me. Have you read it? 

Now that I'm feeling refreshed and ready to face tomorrow, I think I'll go to bed. Good night and have a great Thursday.

Love.

Play Date

Today we planned a play date at Heather's house. I loaded up the girls (as P says) and we headed over to play.

The girls have been so good for me the past couple of days so I was a little worried about how they would act. Plus, Laila woke up with a low fever this morning and wouldn't take a nap before we left so I had no idea how she would handle being gone all afternoon.

Thankfully they were all wonderful and we had a great time! Mika Lynn even managed to fall asleep over there (after fussing for a few minutes) and take a little nap, sweet baby.

We were celebrating another friend, Hannah's, Birthday today, so that made our afternoon even more special!

Heather made cake for us and cupcakes for the girls to decorate with homemade chocolate frosting and Sparkles (that is what Peyton calls sprinkles!). Heather is so great! We just love her :)

I think all the little girls had fun! I know I did and I hope all the other "big" girls did too! :) Thanks Heather for having us over! You are so sweet and such a special person!

And I'm so thankful that I got to spend some time with Hannah and Heather. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better! They are both so sweet and are part of my Ladies' Group. I'm so proud of my girls for acting so wonderfully today. They couldn't have been better! And as a reward, we had Sonic for dinner!! 

What will we do tomorrow??

** Laila isn't feeling well, her fever rose throughout the day (which I know is normal) and she became a little achy. I'm hoping it is nothing that a good night of sleep can't fix. Bless her heart. It is so hard to just hold and rock her like she needs to be when she is sick and still take care of the other girls. I guess I'm still figuring out how to be a mom of three! She's sleeping now and I'm praying she wakes up in the morning feeling GREAT!

Happy Tuesday!