a big hunk of catch up

Hello friends!!!

My stars, it has been a while since swept off this dusty corner of the internet. 

This morning as the girls went about playing, I began researching a few things on the www's and ended up here, reading old posts, mourning a lack of desire to keep up with this place, and feeling a desire to play catch up right now.

This week marked 1 year since we packed up our little grey house in Oklahoma and moved our little family to Missouri, and it has been quite a year.

A year of travel :: we loved it and are always on the lookout for more adventures. We were blessed to have gotten to go to Colorado for a couple weeks in the mountains, across the ocean for 10 days to Osaka, Japan, Cincinnati for Christmas, and little trips to Arkansas, Tulsa, and Kansas City. My oldest often asks "What's our next adventure, Mama?"

A year of healing and growth :: everyone deals with hardships and sufferings of different kinds, but this year, especially, God's grace and love has been made known to me like never before. There are still days when the wound opens because of some memory, or someone's comments and the hurt comes back, but He is still there, and still good. New Year's Eve, best friend and I went on a date, and I remember making the comment "Boy, so glad this year is over!" and for him to look at me and remind me of all the good that came and continues to come, all the answered prayers, all the fun. So thankful for my best friend.

A year of new passions ::  Home based education has been a new found joy this year!! We all have been able to discover things we love and new avenues to serve in doing things we have always enjoyed!

A year of awesome kids :: every year I think they are awesome, and there is so much truth to each new stage is my favorite. And while Pip is the "most toddleriest toddler" we have ever experienced, she is also the sweetest little lovey girl. We love getting know these girls everyday! 

And I hope we will continue to live with thankful hearts, and joyful spirits feeling at peace in His Grace, ready to do all He asks!  

Have a fantastic weekend! I have missed this little space! Thanks for reading! 

 ::eden

just for you

I have given up for a bit on my weekly portraits,

times are a bit crazy and I am scrounging up

my little bits of sanity and using them on my family.

BUT,

because it's friday,

and I have a bit before my weekend fills up,

I am posting a few favorites to share with you! 

I can't get over the transformation in Pip since January!

 NG :: her signature hair hold.
Cord :: in her own little wonderland
Pip :: her jokes are the funniest

I hope you all have a great weekend! I hope you are refreshed, loved, and comforted!
More on our changes later, and why life has seemed so crazy over here to come!

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While outside taking easter photos for the grandparents, I caught some candid shots of my girls that I absolutely love!
NoraGirl: She thought the clouds looked like the biggest fluffiest blanket and wanted to sleep with it.
Cord: She told me she just wanted to watch the birds.
Pip: That was her original dress my mom picked out, the sweetest blush and cutest cut, however moments before we were to leave for church, she dumped orange juice all down the front of it so we changed dresses.

Happy Monday!

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NoraGirl: make believe in the backyard

Cord: picnic by the pond

Pip: back in her element

We LOVE the nice weather and are anxious about more outside fun to come!

Sonora's Tulip

Last week, I posted a photo on instagram

 and titled it, "Sonora's Tulip.

Today, I want to share my little story that goes along with that photo.

We love the library, we go on a weekly basis,

and this time of year is my favorite.

There are tulips all over the place,

brilliant white, deep violet, vibrant yellows and oranges.

Everywhere!

Tulips are my very favorite flower,

standing up straight, cupping sunlight.

Last week, Sonora found a picked tulip bud, laying in the dirt, 

she scooped it up and asked if we could save it.

I wanted to see if we could try, so we brought it home with us,

and filled up my blue mason jar with cool water and placed it inside.

Over the next few days the stem that was limp and weak, grew strong and straight,

the bud grew bigger quickly, then burst into the most beautiful white blossom I have seen.

The morning it bloomed, Sonora yelled, "Mom, we did it! We saved it!"

This week on our way back to our car, Sonora was scouring the earth for more dying buds.

She found one and it is now in a glass half full of clean water by our kitchen window.

I love her tender spirit, she who loves to care for all things.

----

Which, got me thinking about how as Christ followers

we should search intently, scour the ground, for those that need our help,

not simply wait for them to find us.

Then scoop them up, give them the Living Water

,

and watch them stand up straighter and bloom into the beautiful creation 

He intended them to be.

Then we'll cry out together, "Father, we did it! We saved them!"

Just my thoughts, I hope you have a fantastic day!

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NG: sweetness
Cord: I love her chipmunk smile
Pip: my littlest explorer

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Hooray, double the portraits this week! 

These are a mix of iPhone 5c and Canon t1i. 

We just got back from our spring break, 

so much catching up to do!

week 11 portraits ::

NG: wild woman
Cord: always, a l w a y s hiding.
Pip: unsure of her new loopdy-loop hair do, it is my favorite though.

week 12 portraits :: 

NG: first soccer game, her favorite part was the high fives at the end.
Cord: very sick little girl,  she is our brave little girl.
Pip: loved exploring Gram and Pops' backyard this past week.

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Sonora: prepping her friends for their adventure. She told me not to worry because she brought her bow and arrow.
Cord: this girls loves books
Pip: if someone leaves their chair out, she will climb onto the table.

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Nora-girl: she calls it "kiting" and I don't want to correct her.  We spent a few hours at our local park on Saturday and she spent majority of the time flying her kite and wanting to make friends with fellow kite-flyers.

Cord: She is such a fan of swinging, the entire time she yells "Higher!" and giggles. I snapped this with my iPhone, and IGed it, because i can't get enough of her joyful smile!

Pip: She is letting me do her hair now!! I am in full swing with "fountains" and "piggie-tails". And since starting piggie-tails for her, my older girls want them too!

Happy Monday everyone!! 

Our weekend was filled with house projects, 

family time out and about, and some wonderful meals.

I feel pretty blessed that I get to spend my days 

with these cool girls and their wonderful daddy!

How was your weekend? What are you thankful for today? 

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Sonora: she absolutely loves all things soccer right now, her first practice was last night. It was so fun seeing her run, work hard, make new friends, and cheer on her teammates. What she lacks in aggression she more than makes up for in her enthusiasm. 

Cordelia: "Mama, I so happy because I so warm!" Found out this week, with all the Oklahoma wind, this one loathes having wind blow in her face/ears/hair. She stopped, panicking in the parking lot the other day because the wind was so biting and fierce. 

Penelope: This girl does absolutely anything to see you laugh, and once you start she repeats it over and over again until you stop laughing or ignore her. Lately, she puts things on her head and whips it around searching you for some sign of amusement, then she fat chuckles. It doesn't take too long for me to give in and laugh right along with her.

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*this week I did a theme of favorite toys/playthings right now

NG: chips her puppy, once was mine, it's so fun to share!
Cord: birthday treasure box, it holds all things little, sparkly, and precious to her.

Pip: this old balloon has provided many minutes of fun for her, and tons of laughs for me.

I hope your Monday is full of joy!

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NoraGirl: "get well soon" balloon makes all the difference.

Cord: watching her programs.

Pip: I miss my baby, but I am quite fond of my toddler girl.

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Nora : playing in what she calls "Girl World". It's full of princesses, puppies, and ponies.

Cordie : been sick all week, lots of time spent snuggled under blankets and coughing.

Penny : she just runs now, all the time.

Guys, it's been a hard few weeks, and I am feeling rather melancholy. Hopefully I am just blue, I rrrrrrrreeeaallly don't want this sickness to get me too. And on that note, Happy Monday!!! *plop……plop* (dripping with sarcasm…get it?... well it made me smile.)

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Nora: being a rascal, she is 5 now.
Cordie: swinging in the big red swing.
Penny: wearing daddy's hat.

I hope your weekend was great and refreshing. We had a low key weekend ending in a wonderful Broncos win and premiere of BBC's Sherlock! As far as some of my other resolutions, I have been practicing out of my Pride and Prejudice piano book to work up my skill again for piano, and trying to find good fabric on Etsy for a project I am going to start soon. I am pretty excited about it! 

five

Well, I have a 5 year old,

and so far, I love it!

Not that I expected not to, but 

this is the first age of my girls that has felt big.

This year I offered Nora the choice of a birthday party,

or a family date, and much to my joy and surprise she chose a family date.

So we had a fun day planned, but when Thursday came around,

my best friend wasn't feeling so well,

so we improvised, postponing family date till he felt better.

Her 5th birthday consisted of,

- Chocolate chip muffins made by mama and the Cord

-Presents

- McDonald's with Playplace time 

- A trip to the mall with just Mama for photo booth pictures

(she wanted a little bit of lipstick for them and I obliged, eek)
- a visit from some great friends

- Facetiming both sets of grandparents,

(we are generously blessed in that department)
- a photo shoot in the leaves.

- Her favorite supper: Mac and Cheese, Chicken, Carrots, and Applesauce
- white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, complete with pony and raspberries

- And more presents

I think for improvising, it was a very fun, special, and full day for our girl.

And here is 5 facts about our 5 year old:

1. She wants to be just a mom when she grows up, 

but she doesn't know what to do with her kids all day.

2. She wants to dance in the Nutcracker,

she doesn't have to be Clara, she just wants to dance.

3. She loves to stick out her tongue in pictures.

4. Her favorite color is pink, purple, red, turquoise, and violet mixed together.

5. She is very thankful for her family.