What a Beautiful Mess I'm In

Last week, we had a kind of disastrous trip to Wal-Mart. I knew before we went that it wouldn't be good, but I was already in town, and I needed to go, so I dragged the girls into the store. We had been there for less than five minutes when we had to make an emergency trip to the first aid section for some BandAids.

And yes, I was that person. You know - the one who opens up an item and uses it in the middle of the store before they pay for it. Yep, that was me.

But it was SO worth it. The tears stopped flowing as soon as Micah got a Princess Tiana BandAid strapped to her bobo. Life was good. For all of about five minutes. That's when Kendall had a meltdown. Her sippy cup was empty and she wanted more milk RIGHT THEN.

And so, I was that person again. I hightailed it over to the dairy section, grabbed a quart of whole milk and proceeded to fill up her cup in the middle of the store. Crisis averted.

We made it through the rest of the trip without any major mishaps. Both of my girls were happy for the time being, and as I drove out of the parking lot and caught a glimpse of their smiling faces in my backseat, I couldn't help but think that this messy, crazy, chaotic, and hectic life that I'm living is a beautiful one indeed.

Sometimes it's hard to look past the mess and see the beauty, but it's there nonetheless. Today, I'm praying that God will help me find beauty in the midst of the mess.

What are you praying for today?

Until next time, grace and peace.

My Girls and Me

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a good picture of a 3-year-old who can't be still and an 11-month-old who's easily distracted?

Exceedingly difficult.

That's why I settled for this as the best photo of me and my girls on Mother's Day. It's not perfect. For one, Dennis is lurking in the background. In addition to Dennis' inadvertent cameo, both Micah and Kendall seem determined to look at anything but the camera. And finally, it's glaringly obvious that I need to get my hair colored.

Despite all of that, I love this picture.

I'm usually behind the lens, so even if the photo isn't perfect, I'll take it, because I'm in it, and one day, my girls will appreciate it. It's also a perfect portrait of this stage of our lives. Both of my girls are just being themselves, and as much as I would love a snapshot of us all smiling at the camera, I really do want to remember what they were like at this point in time.

I used to think that a picture wasn't worth keeping if it wasn't perfect, but sometimes, perfect isn't possible. Real life is crazy and messy, and it's not always picture perfect. Our life is crazy and messy, and it's far from perfect, but it is beautiful.

Here's to keeping it real, y'all. That's what this blog is all about. If you're looking for perfection, you should go somewhere else. Now go post your less than perfect photos and link back to them here. I want to see your messy life, in all of its glory :)

Until next time, grace and peace.

Adventures in Childhood: Micah at Three and a Half

This is Micah. Believe it or not, she's three and a half. I honestly cannot believe how quickly the past year has flown by. One minute, I was writing all about her adventures as a rambunctious little two and a half year old, and the next minute an entire year had passed. How is that possible?

At any rate, since I devoted an entire post to Kendall the other day, I figure it's only fair to devote another one to Micah. Attention hog that she is, I'm sure she would agree.

My little girl loves, I mean LOVES playing dress up. The tackier the better. Most days, as soon as she's finished with breakfast, she heads for her dress up bin and starts piling on the layers. In case you were wondering, as long as it matches your tutu, a Santa hat is always in season.

She's one big ball of energy. The girl never slows down. If I get a decent picture of her, it's nothing short of a miracle. She's constantly on the go. She's a girly girl, for sure, but she's not afraid to get sweaty either. She loves playing outside, kicking the soccer ball, and running hither and yon.

Unless of course, she's zoned out watching Sofia the First with her babies, which, by the way, is one of her favorite pasttimes. She's been playing "Mama" for a long time, and she thinks she has it all down pat. I learn a lot about myself when I hear her talking to her babies. The girl repeats verbatim things I say to her all the time. Which means that she does, in fact, hear me, even if she pretends that she doesn't.

She's a really good big sister. She loves Kendall, and she gets a major kick out of making her little sister giggle. No one can make Kendall laugh like Micah. Kendall adores her big sister, and for good reason. Micah can be so sweet when she wants to be. Fortunately, most of the time she wants to be sweet to her sister. That will probably change in years to come :)

She loves drawing, and, recently she's actually started to draw pictures instead of just scribbling on the page. For a long time, she refused to attempt to draw anything. She would hand me a crayon and ask me to draw a picture of a house...or a little girl...or a flower...or a sun...but she wouldn't even attempt to do so herself. Then all of a sudden one day while I was filling some orders in the etsy shop, I looked up, and she had drawn a picture of the two of us, complete with a rainbow over our heads. She never ceases to amaze.

I love this little girl. She thinks I'm amazing, but I know the truth: she's far more amazing than I will ever be. I pray that she never loses the sparkle in her big blue eyes - that she never takes herself too seriously - that she will always be her sister's protector - and most of all, that she would grow into a young woman who loves and serves the Lord with all of her heart.

This little lady makes me laugh daily. She reminds me to just let go and live a little. She has brought such joy into my life, and I love her so.

Until next time, grace and peace.