Parenting is Messy...

Lately...I'm realizing something more and more.

Being a parent is messy!

I mean this in a couple ways.

First, yes I mean it in the literal since.  

Diapers are messy.

Spit-up is messy.

It seems like my house is ALWAYS messy.

Things spill.

There are ALWAYS clothes to wash.

Most days my clothes and I are covered in...something.

Usually I am sweaty from carrying babies, carseats and running in circles.

And I can count on one hand the number of times lately that my hair has actually been fixed and not just pulled up, out of the way.

But...

I also mean this is another way.

Parenting is not easy.  

There are  no perfect parents.

No matter what plans I have for the day...week...or life, they seem to change...A LOT.

I want things to be neat, smooth, in order...

I want everyone to stay on schedule...at all times.

I want my children to play with one toy, and then put it up before getting another one out.

I want  my children to behave perfectly in public.

I want to be able to snap my fingers and everyone is ready, diaper bags are packed, and we can leave the house.

And I never want my babies to cry...I never want them to have to cry.

I know I know...none of that sounds realistic.

You may be saying to yourself, "Wow, you're crazy. You expect too much."

But, I'm just being honest.  

And...I'm realizing more each day that this isn't going to be the way things go...

and that's OK!

We try to stick to schedules because they are very helpful, but it never fails. Someone gets hungry early or doesn't take a nap when they are supposed to.

I can't seem to find time to run and excersise as much as I want to.

There are always toys on the floor and my child pulls new ones out the second we finish cleaning up.

My two year old WILL pitch fits in public. 

And, my babies will cry...at home, in public...

And sometimes I have to let them cry.  I hate it, but it's true.

And, it will take us over an hour to get everyone ready to go somewhere...and by the time we get in the car, I wonder why I even got ready because I'm hot and sweaty.

And like I said I'm learning more and more, daily that it's OK!

I don't have to be a perfect mom. I CAN...and WILL make mistakes.

Some days will go more smoothly than others.

Some days I will just want to forget.

It doesn't REALLY matter what my house looks like or what people think of me when my kids go crazy.

And my babies will not hate me forever or be scarred for life because I had to let them cry for five minutes.

At the end of the day I can only do what I can do.

I only have 24 hours.

I only have 2 hands and arms.

God has entrusted me to be mommy to three beautiful, precious children and I am so thankful for that.  

He only expects me to trust him, and do the best I can. 

I love my kids!

I can't imagine life without any of them!

I wouldn't trade any day with any of them...for anything!

So...it's all worth it...

stress, frustration, tears, lack of sleep, a messy house, staring eyes in public...

messy hair and clothes, messy house, stained carpet

Today is almost over.

My kids are all asleep.

I wasn't a perfect parent.

But..I fed my kids, played with them, read and sang to them, snuggled with them and tickled them, and managed to keep the house somewhat clean.

And now...we'll sleep, and then do it all again tomorrow.

Briggs Allon Blackwell

I can't believe he's really here.

Since last December when I found out I was pregnant, time has passed so quickly!

I really enjoyed the experience of being pregnant and am so thankful for that time...

even with morning sickness, heartburn, swollen feet, and all that fun stuff.

I wasn't due until August 11.  

That would have been the very last day of our summer program at Look Up.

However, Briggs made his entrance into the world 10 days early.

Just after midnight on August 1st, it all started.

And about 12 hours later...he was here. 

Welcoming him into the world was also a wonderful experience.

Again, I am so thankful I got to have it!

He was not as big as we were thinking he might have been.

He was a little guy, weighing 6 lbs. 13 ounces.

He was long (19 inches) and skinny....

and beautiful!

We are so thankful that he was healthy and strong!

He's had some minor difficulties with eating since he's been with us,

but overall he's doing great!

He's such a blessing and is a wonderful addition to our family.

Eri loves him! 

Anders will too as soon as he's old enough to realize he has a brother to grow up with.

I find myself not wanting to do anything productive a lot of the time because I just want to sit and cuddle with him.

Ok, ok...I know what you really want is to see pictures of this handsome little guy.

I took a couple in the hospital before we left.

And yesterday at home I had some fun with him.  

Hope you enjoy some of my favorites...

The Three of Us

When I was young, the church I grew up in was small.

There weren't a lot of children my age.  

In fact, most of the time it was me, my cousin and a dear friend of mine.

There were other kids that came, but a lot of the time it was us...

the three of us girls.

We started in the nursery together.

We grew up together.

Only months separated our birthdays.

We went to elementary school, middle school and high school together.

We have so many memories together.

We have grown up and moved to different places.

We don't see each other often.

But, you know those friends that no matter how often you see them,

when you do see them it's natural.

You can talk and catch up as if you saw them yesterday.

That's how it is with these girls.  

So...

It's so fun that we all get to share the experience of being pregnant.

Yes, all three of us...

pregnant...

with boys...

Solomon is due so soon...

Bruce is due this summer...

and Briggs is due in August. 

The church we all grew up in threw us a shower and it was so fun to celebrate together.

I really love these girls and it's a true joy to share this time in life.

It really is so special.

Three to Five...

So...big things happening for the Blackwell family. 

At the beginning of today we were a family of three...David, Eri and I.

As of now we are a family of four...

and soon we'll be a family of five...

Crazy!

This afternoon we were so excited to welcome a new little guy into our home.  

He's one week old and he's beautiful!

He's Eri's brother.

He reminds us so much of Eri when we first brought her home.

He's tiny. He sleeps ALOT. He wants to stay curled up in a little ball all the time.

We are so excited that we get the opportunity to be his family...for however long that is.

It's scary to start over with this process...

the process of not knowing what tomorrow will bring with him, court dates, visits and all of that.

But we both agree that the goods outweigh the scaries!

Just as before, we'll pray a lot and take it a day at a time.

While he's here...we'll love him!

Eri loves him.  

She wasn't too sure when she first saw him, but after about five minutes she was in love with him.

Just as I figured, she wants to help take care of him and be around him all the time. 

Now to the second part of this story...

I've been waiting to post this for a few different reasons.

But, I wait no more.

In August, David and I will welcome another little boy into this world...

Briggs Allon Blackwell.

As of this coming Saturday, I will be 24 weeks pregnant.

We are so excited about this! 

I have experienced a lot of not so fun, and some really fun times being pregnant.

For about the first five months I did not feel well!

It as yucky.  

The only thing that made it worth it was knowing why I felt that way.

Now, I feel better but I have heartburn every afternoon and night. 

I've never had that before, but I now know it's not fun.

But...

I'm so enjoying this time.

For a couple weeks now I've been able to feel him move! 

That is such a wonderful and interesting feeling.

I've loved reading about how he's developing weekly, and seeing him on ultrasounds!

It really is such an amazing miracle!

The way God designed it all, the way it all works...it's amazing!

I'm sure I'll be posting more about this experience in the weeks and months to come, 

and I'll probably post some pictures soon.

So, as we move into summer...the craziest time of year for us (with our jobs),

we have a 2 year old, a newborn, and I will be very pregnant!

Maybe we're crazy.

But we're excited. 

We are going to enjoy it.

We are ready to take on this challenge and see what each day looks like.  

We'll pray a lot.

We'll take it a day at a time.

We'll treasure moments and days.

And probably one day we'll look back and say...WOW!

A Quiet Time in Life

Oops.

I haven't posted in a while!

I kept thinking I want to write something...and then I kept not doing it.  

Things would happen and I would think that it was something great to write about, 

but I seemed to have this attitude of...no, that's not really worth writing about.  

A couple days ago, a thought hit me...

This time in our lives right now is what this blog is about.

Yes, it's to update everyone during crazy or exciting times.

But, it's also to help us take note of and cherish the "normal" "calm" times in our lives.  

Right now we are in a holding pattern.

Things are calm.

We have some down time, and we are enjoying it!

In just a few weeks summer at Look Up is coming, and life changes dramatically!

And this "quiet" time in life won't last long, it never does.  

So, we are trying to really enjoy where we are, while we are here.

And that is what this blog is about.

"Onto Tomorrow"...

Today won't last forever. This time in life won't last forever. 

So, enjoy it now!

Enjoy today,

and then, move on. 

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Enjoy today, so you will be prepared and ready for tomorrow.