Control

So, here are my thoughts about having 2 children right away after getting married: Is this the way I would have scripted my life? No. But do I regret it? Not really. Would I recommend it? I don't know, but I would definitely not not recommend it. Why? Because I know that what I did was give up the control over this area of my life to God. And I've been thinking about that, and I feel like I'm starting to learn that there is such a great freedom when you're in a position of giving up your control to God. I've heard people say things like that before, but I never really got it. I always thought, "Well, if I'm in control I can do anything I want. How could I get more freedom than that?" But I'm starting to realize that when you are in control of everything you do, you also have to (try to) be the one who is in control of fixing all the problems that come your way. See, in my situation, if I were the one who chose to have my children right away I might be questioning my decisions about the timing of their births and scared of my husband losing his job in an economy like this. I very well could think to myself, "You are the one who chose to bring these little people here, and now it's your job to take care of them and make sure nothing happens to them!" I would no doubt have stress and anxiety because I'd be trying to control a situation I had no control over! But, since I left the timing of my childrens' births up to God, I can turn around and say the same thing to Him! (In fact, when I first got pregnant neither my husband or I had a job, and we just worked in exchange for housing, but since then my husband has gotten a great job and we've bought a house, all thanks to God's provision!) No matter what is going on in the world I have complete peace, because I know that I have surrendered my will to God. Whatever happens in my life I know God is the one who is allowing everything in my world to take place. I know that all things have a purpose, and all things will work for my good. No matter how hard or frustrating things may get, I am confidant that it is so so small compared to what I would be going through if the weight of the world were on my shoulders instead of His. So, I guess what the whole point of all of this is, that when you give up control to God you get peace in return, because you no longer have to hold everything together; and I can't think of any greater freedom than peace.

oh yeah, i have a blog now...

So it's been a month since I've written, probably because nobody but me reads it anyways! =0 It's been a busy busy month in this household. Amber is almost walking now, and getting into everything. She's picking things up a lot quicker than Ailsa did in the "getting mobile" department which brings a whole new game to the table than what I played with Ailsa. Gotta love how they always find a way to keep you on your toes.

As far as Ailsa goes, well she's making sure we know that she has every intention of being a girly girl. Everyday she insists on wearing an outfit (preferably a dress) with flowers on it. I actually felt quite accomplished today when I was able to get her to wear a shirt with pretty hearts instead. :) She also has a new found love of getting her nails painted.

JJ's birthday was last week, and I made him an angle food cake (another check off my list of things I've never made by myself before) and got him a mini remote controlled helicopter. I don't know who likes it more, him or Ailsa.

And, on a sad note, JJ's grandma also died just a few days before his birthday. She was a lovely lady and she is already missed by everyone who knew her.

Hair

For most of my life I have wanted to know how to french braid my own hair. I tried several times to teach myself, but the end result was always... well, embarrassing. But not too long ago I was on a long car ride, I think it was on our way back home from DC, which ended up being an 8 hour drive. So, out of sheer boredom I started fidgeting with my hair, not even really paying attention to what I was doing. Needless to say, I ended up with a french braid! WooHoo! Life long goal: accomplished. I can french braid my hair!

Confession #2

The other day I was sitting on the couch with my two little girls when I noticed Ailsa had a REALLY long toe nail. I decided it needed to be clipped right then and there. So I grabbed the clippers and got to work. As I was clipping away I noticed that Amber was climbing off the couch, and didn't really think much of it... that is until she hit the floor and started screaming. Oh yeah, she's the one who's only 8 months old and doesn't know how to climb yet! Ooops! =/

Size 3T Dress

When Ailsa was a small baby we got a lot of clothes for her from our friends and realatives, and I mean A LOT. There were tons of new and used treasures I sorted and picked through. Most of them were for newborns, but some were larger, reaching all the way up until 18 months sizes. But there was one dress I remember her getting that was a size 3T, and I remember thinking that it would be SO long until she would fit into that. Well, she grew really fast. By the time she was 6 months old she was 20 pounds and wearing clothes for a 12 month old. And by the time she was 12 months she was wearing all her 18 month clothes. Well, I thought that she'd be up the the 2Ts in no time, but then she started to slow down a bit. (Praise God! I'm short and pretty little, and it was getting really tiring carrying her everywhere!) Truth be told, we still can fit her in her 18mo jeans, that were always meant to be capris, and finally really are. Anyways, today I was going through the one small box of clothes we got when Amber was born (funny how things change with the second) when I saw lying next to it the 3T dress from way back; and since Ailsa was right there with me, not yet dressed, I decided to put it on her. Not only did it fit, but it was almost too small! Oh my, how time flies! I almost started to cry, not because I really liked the dress, but it just made me see how big she's really gotten. So, not knowing what else I could do, I went over and grabbed Ailsa and gave the biggest hug and told her how pretty she looked in her "new" dress.

Cards

I don't really consider myself an artsy person, but I like to make cards. Here are Three I've made recently. The first is for a baby girl, the second is a wedding card, and the third is birthday card, even though it almost looks Christmas-y. To make it a little more "fun" (aka challenging) I use only paper, a large pair of scissors and a glue stick. No templates, stickers or fancy tools. :) Maybe it's silly, but I really like how I didn't glue down the hair on the second one to make it look a little more realistic :)

Confession #1

I hardly ever do the dinner dishes the night we use them. Usually I wait to wash them until the next morning when baby #2, aka Amber, is taking her first nap of the day. I justify it by every once in a while getting baby #1, Aisla, to help me, which gives us some good quality time. The only real problem I can see with this method is that I rarely have time to fold the laundry...