Bella turns 4 years old!

Our sweet little Bella had her 4th birthday a couple of weeks ago, and it was probably my favorite birthday for her. This was her first time to have a friends party, and she helped plan it out. She also had a family dinner, and a party at her preschool. She was very spoiled! But who wouldn't want to celebrate the day she was born? She is just so sweet, and funny, and easy going! As I watched her interact and enjoy her birthday, talking up a storm might I add, I thought about how much she has grown over the past year. Last year she was barely talking and not hearing well. She was still very shy and quiet. This year on her birthday I saw such a HUGE change in her. Man oh man do I love my Bella.

Happy Birthday sweet girl...momma loves you to the moon and back! XOXO

Bella at her preschool party. She was queen for the day!

 Opening her special birthday package from Grandma and Grandpa in Wyoming. I don't think she knows the UPS man brings any other packages than from Wyoming.

 Coming home from preschool after her party.

 Mini Mouse cupcakes for her friends party.

 The set up for the making of their personal pizzas.

 Everyone got their own chef's apron with their first initial on it.

 Rolling out their dough.

 Toppings please.

 Opening gifts while the pizzas baked.

 The finished product!

Alyssa got to invite one of her friends for company.

Family fall fun...in pictures

WOW! I can't even believe that we are almost to Thanksgiving! Like everyone, this is a busy time of year for us. We are on the go, go, go most days and nights. We are tired, but having lots of fun and making lots of memories with our girls. Here is a recap of October in pictures. 

Bella went to the Tulsa Zoo with her preschool class. She cut open her head and was ran to the ER halfway through the field trip. Ahhh...memories!

Bella, Alyssa, me, and Grandma Wallace went for the girl's first pedicures. They had a blast!

 Me and the girls at the ward trunk or treat.

 Alyssa the "animal doctor" as she called herself.

 Bella the cowgirl! Yeehaw!

 Layla the monkey, but her daddy said she looked more like an Eewok.

 The girls before church. This was the day they gave their primary program.

 Layla's first time trick or treating for herself.

 She had a death grip on her candy bucket and wouldn't let anyone else carry it for her.

Layla and daddy before church.

 Layla at 16 months old and looking so grown up!

 Alyssa's always ready to strike a pose!

 Me and my girls before church.

 Me and the girls gretting ready to cook Sunday dinner.

 Alyssa going to the bus stop for school. She is learning SO much this year.

Knowing them when they are small.

I was talking with my older sister, Tamara, on the phone last night. We were going on and on about the ins and outs of our week, kids, weather, our mom's health, the twilight movie coming out, thankgiving vacation coming up, and on and on. This is pretty typical for us. We usually talk a few times a week. She is my "go to" person for ideas on throwing a good party. She is my sounding board when I want to vent about the stresses of my day because I know she knows all about it because she is raising 4 boys!
But this conversation got a little deeper. I was telling her how fast Layla's first year and a half has been. It seems out of all of my girls, her time as a baby lasted the shortest amount of time. I don't know if it is just because I am more busy or what, but I don't like it!
Tamara started to tell me about a woman who spoke at "Time Out for Women" from our church. The woman talked about how precious our time with our small children is. How as mothers, we should not wish it away, hoping for the next stage to come along, or hoping for it to become easier. We need to cherish each stage and stop and enjoy them because it is such a short amount of their life that they are small. It is a priveledge that we as mothers get to have to know these daughters and sons of our Heavenly Father when they are young, because they will never be little children ever again. In the next life, when our families are together again, we will all be in our "prime state." Which means we will all be adults.
That was sobering to me because as a mother of 3 young children, it is hard for me to imagine them as adults for eternity. They will always be my little girls. But growing up, learning, making choices on their own, living their own lives as adults is just the plan. They will really only be little children for a glimpse of how long they will be adults. What a blessing it is that I get to be the one that God chose to know these 3 little daughters of God from the moment they leave their Heavenly Father and come into this world, all the way until they are grown and return back to their Heavenly Father. It is truly awesome and I am grateful.
So thank you sissy, for teaching me that.    

Layla at 15 month old. Can you believe it? I almost wish it was colder night all year round just so she could wear these footsie pj's all the time. I think they are so dang cute!

Layla giving me a snuggle before bedtime. 

Alyssa's big run!

Bixby North Elementary had their annual Jog-A-Thon a few weeks ago. Alyssa's class were stretched out, pumped up, and ready to race! For every lap they do, they can earn more donations for the school. They have really fun running music going, water and popcicles for the kids after their done running, and the families come to stand outside the race track and cheer them on, spraying them with water bottles to cool them as they run by. It is a fun way to raise money for our school. 

Like most things she does, Alyssa goes ALL OUT for it. She started prepping for the big race a week before by asking to go jogging with me. She also asked Heavenly Father if she could win the race in her bedtime prayers. On race day, she was ready to go! She did a whopping 18 laps! And she only stopped to walk a few times in th whole 20 minutes their class had to run. She is so fun to watch. I told Rob that we just have to get her into some sort of competitive sport like soccor. She would just love it!  

 Alyssa and her good friend Tia from her class. They have known eachother since Kindergarten class.

 Alyssa's cheering team!

 Look at her determination! :)

 I had to put this shot in. Alyssa had stopped to ask this guy to spray her with water. But the funny thing about this picture is the guy. To me, he was just so girly looking. He looked like the lead singer from the group Train. You know when a man's pant are too tight? When they make everybody else feel REALLY uncomfortable talking to you. YIKES! I just got a good laugh out of him! (I know I'm terrible)

This is Alyssa teacher Miss Allison, soon to be Mrs...something else. Because she is getting married in a month. She is a fun teacher with tons of energy!

Run in with the swings!

Or maybe I should say run INTO the swings! This is our poor little Bella's eye after playing next door with some friends. Alyssa and the neighbor boy were swinging on one of those saw horse swing things on his playground. This wasn't one of those $100 cheapo Walmart swingsets. This was a REALLY nice heavy duty all wood play sets. So this saw horse was built to last! They were swinging pretty fast, and Bella, bless her little heart, walked right behind it and it swung right at her and the end of the seat hit her right square in the her eye. It cut her underneath her eye and in the crease of her eyelid. She was crying so badly that she couldn't even catch her breathe. Not our best showing with the neighbors. YUP! Bet we aren't invited over to play again.

Of couse these kinds of things happen when Robert is gone out of town for the week on business. So I was completely on my own! After cleaning it up and calming her down a little it was time to assess whether or not she needed stitches. So I called my brother in law in Wyoming, who is a surgeon, and asked him a billion questions to decide whether to leave it, or take her to urgent care.

Verdit was that she would be ok without stitches. I was still worried about it leaving a nasty scar on her eye. But after just 24 hours it had already healed SO much. Except for the nice black and blue eye.

Anyway, we all lived through yet another family injury. I am sure this is just one of many more to come.

Simple Fun!

Over labor day weekend we invited a few of the hardest working families we know over to our splash park to take a well deserved break from our labors. We had a dinner picnic and played. It was simple, delicious food, and perfect company and beautiful weather! It is when we are surrounded by wonderful friends that we realize how blessed we are to live in Oklahoma. They not only bless our lives, but more importantly they bless our daughter's lives. They have the best little friends.   

Last weekend we took a little family trip to the Tulsa Zoo. It was the first day that I remember now sweating just standing outside, so we wanted to get out in it as much as possible. The girls are at such a fun age to go places like this. They enjoy everything and watch everything around them closely.
We had a great Saturday together at the zoo and then to an early dinner with friends.  It was another simple and perfect day!

 I have lived in tulsa 10 years and we have been to the zoo a lot. Yet I have never been at the right time to see the elephant show. We just happen to go past the elephants at the right time. So we sat and watched the show. It was awesome! Our girls all loved it. Even Layla was very impressed and couldn't take her eyes off the huge creatures.  Our girls were laughing and clapping with excitement! They even got to sit up real close and get sprayed with water from the elephant's trunks.
I sat there soaking in the nice weather and watching as my daughter's burst with joy over this new experience. I just love moments like that! When I stop and look around and see such pure joy and beauty around me. 

Growing up!

Just a few recent pictures of the girls that make me smile. It seems like I blinked and then they were this big! I know I am partial, but these girls are super cute and amazing! I am blessed to know these little girls.  

Ready for church! 

All of them can't bath together anymore- they don't fit!

Alyssa and Bella on their big girl bikes!

Back to school...for awhile now.

I can not believe that I have not documented the first week of school! This school year has been in full swing for over a month and I am just not getting to write or post pictures about it. CRAZY!

Alyssa is in 1st grade and Bella started her first year of preschool. So it is a big year around our house. I would be down to only one, Layla, a couple times a week. But, I have taken on a few other children twice a week for a friend. I am still finding time to do part-time insurance billing from home. Which has been such a blessing. I work whenever I can. When the girls are napping, or after bedtime routine, or when their daddy is home with them on the weekends.

Alyssa and Miss Allison on her first day of school. She loves 1st grade and is doing such exciting things. Her reading and writing has really taken off! I think her favorite thing about 1st grade is that she gets to  Art, P.E., or Music class once a day.  Big surprise there!

 Sweet Bella on her first day in her preschool class. There are only 5 kids in the classroom so far, but she just loves it. She didn't even care if I walked away or not. She walked in there, gave Mrs Criner a bug hug, hung up her back pack, and sat down to look at books. "Oh ya...see you later mom!"

 These are the additions to our household twice a week. The Briggs kids! They are dropped off in the mornings before school and ride the bus with Alyssa. Then come home with her in the afternoons for a few hours until their mom gets off work. I wouldn't be able to take this on for just any family. But this family are such wonderful people. They are hard workers and don't have family who live close by to help them out. Their kids and my kids get along so great, so overall it has been a fun thing. Loud and crazy...but fun!

 This sweet little boy, who I would keep as my own if I could, is the 3rd Briggs kid. He stays home with me, Bella, and Layla while the others go to school. Bella and him have become like peas and carrots. They are fun to watch and he is a good boy!

My first time taking lunch to Alyssa at school. It is always so interesting and fun to watch your child in  her own environment.

The 3 amigos walking to the bus together.