Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Here are some shots of my "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice" as well as a few of the not so sugar and spice.



















Our house is buzzing with activity as we prepare for our departure to CO. Most of the buzzing however is unrelated to actual preparations and is more daily maintenance. Laundry, housecleaning, grocery shopping, cooking and entertaining 3 very bored and very active children. Throw in the birth of our niece (my sisters beautiful daughter) and a retirement party and we have very little time to get things ready to leave so our trip west may be delayed somewhat until we can find some time to get it all together. I am dreaming of more peaceful more organized days once we get settled in Colorado but until then we are plugging along and as I have trudged through the days I have drawn such strength, encouragement and inspiration from some amazing blogging mom's. As I have enjoyed reading through some of these blogs I am reminded of the scripture in Proverbs 27:17 that says

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
I love it how God can use His servants to point us in the right direction when we sometime lose our way as well as opening our eyes to new insights while reminding us of those things which are right in front of us but we just fail to notice them. For example Kim, from Lifesong has renewed and birthed within me a desire to pour Godly principals into my beautiful daughters while encouraging my spirit to draw nearer to the Lord. Then Kimber from 3 Peanuts inspired me with her healthy eating and living and to be more conscientious about what is going into the bodies of my family and then my sweet friend Jeannette whom I have never met but feel like I have known all my life from Threads of Faithfulness and Sara Beth Bows who reminded me how blessed I am to have these two precious girls to call daughters, reminding me not to get so caught up in life that I forget to enjoy "girly" things with them. I have felt such a deep conviction to give more to Emily and Grace during my day. I have been reminded of so many lost moments of being able to teach them valuable lessons while enjoying each of their precious personalities. I have to admit that my Cody's personality as well as his physical and emotional needs often require more of me than I am able to give therefore my girls get very little of their mama.

My girls are such blessings and I am so thankful for the joy that they bring to my life. Grace is so incredibly caring and has such a tender heart. She amazes me with her ability to absorb the activities around her and remember every detail. She is self-sufficient and is perfectly cable of running a household. She has watched me so intently and has taken in more than I imagined of what I do on a daily basis. As I have become so aware of how much she soaks in I have to confess that I have not always given her the best picture of what is a Godly attitude. My speech has not always been seasoned with the gospel and in the midst of frustration my actions have not been what I would want her to imitate. She is so eager to learn and help with the cooking and LOVES to prepare for a party. I have a great desire to spend so much more time fostering her innate desire to be a homemaker and teach her the art of gracious entertaining.

And my sweet Emily, she is just full of joy. She too is such a little lover. She is very quick to offer words and physically expressions of love and affirmation and can make the darkest day seem bright with her encouraging words. She makes me laugh with her wittiness and bright and funny comments. I love seeing how she has overcome her fears and embraces life with such energy and excitement. She too loves to kindle the fires of a pretend home and I want to make a better effort to foster that desire.

Both of my daughters are so incredibly feminine which I adore. They love to dress up and look pretty. They are in heaven when I let them play with pretend make-up and paint their nails. They love princesses and fairy tales and having tea parties. Everything about them screams girl and I love it but I don't always join in on the fun.

What a gift daughters are to a mother. As mothers we have the ability to give our daughters a picture of what God would want for them. Young girls of today are pulled in so many different directions and I pray that I will seize each and every opportunity to pour into my girls what I believe are biblical guidelines of honoring God in all that they do. I look forward to enjoying my girls and taking advantage of doing more of the girly things that we haven't been doing and that celebrate who they are as girls.

So as we embark on this journey in life I have the hope of having some new beginnings one being a fresh start to truly bask in the beauty of my girls.
My new blog design was created by Danielle at Blogs by Danielle. She does a great job at creating cute designs to showcase your blog but most importantly she is a delight to work with. If you are looking to spice up your blog I highly recommend her and now is a great time because she is having a sale. THANKS DANIELLE...I love it!







11 comments:

Jeanette said...

Nichole, what a beautiful post. Ok, I admit...I'm crying! Yes, that's what little girls are made of!!!

I think we all, as moms go through times when we feel like we are just doing our "jobs". Cooking, cleaning, being a nurse, teacher, counselor, taxi driver, etc. etc. Add a major life change like starting home school AND moving and you're pretty busy. It is so easy to forget to play, enjoy, be silly...in your case dress up, paint toe nails, play house, do girly things! So many times I "think" I'm too busy to play with my boys and simply enjoy their company.

Thank you for reminding us to stop and smell the roses. You know, a rose only smells beautiful for a short while, then that strong fragerence fades and it's time to throw it away. This all too brief time in our kids life will soon be over and they will be out on their own. While there will be continued blessings through watching them grow and learn and start families on their own, I'm sure there will be times when we long for that sweet fragerence of their childhood. I know you are breathing in deeply the scent of your children and that you are making memories with them that will be ingrained in all of your hearts.

I feel like I've know you forever too and I'm so glad we've "met" in this world of blogging!!!

Blessings,
Jeanette

by the way, LOVE your new blog! Danielle did a fabulous job! Oh and the pictures of the girls are beautiful!!!

2 China 4 Addison said...

Wow Nichole, what an encouraging (and convicting) post. Then I read Jeanette's comments....I guess it's all what I needed to hear today!
Thanks to both of you.
Lots of love,
Becki
PS the pictures are beautiful (though not so much the snake!)

Football and Fried Rice said...

Hi Nichole,

What a great post & your daughters are beautiful :) I got your blog address from Beth in Colorado when she told me that you were moving here. How exciting! I would love to offer you another person to call/contact, ask questions of, etc!

We have 2 sons (9 and 6) and are waiting for news form China for their little sister. We are a home schooling family & we also go to Woodmen Valley Chapel.

I am not sure when you are coming, but you can email me from my blog - I'd love to hear from you.

Blogs by Danielle said...

Thank you for writing about my blog designs. I really appreciate it. And you even put it in bold :)

Beautiful post. You're such an amazing mom!

I loved working with you. What do you think of the turquoise paper?

Danielle

Keri said...

I was looking at the picures of the girls and just imagining all the wonderful, beautiful comments I would say about how lovely and beautiful they are and how gorgeous the pictures are and then...WHAMMO! I thought I had made it clear to the Chatty Sisters that I require a snake warning for all posts with snake pictures! I about had a heart attack! I have recovered now and I really do love the pictures of...THE GIRLS!

Love,
Keri

Sonya Lee Thompson said...

This is a sweet post! I am the mother of six children, five of them are girls! This raising princesses thing really is a priviledge. God Bless you in your endeavors!

Sonya

Anonymous said...

You have a beautiful family! I found your blog while searching for re-adoption info in Florida. I notice that you and your husband filed the paperwork with hiring an attorney. I have a few questions if you are able to answer them. Thank you very much, Tara
tkderossett@yahoo.com

Amy Jo said...

Oh, Sweet Nichole!!! Beautiful post & pictures. I love your new blog design and especially that Connor's picture is included. What a precious little face! I can't wait to give him a huge hug in Heaven and see your entire family together again. I can't wait until you're all settled in Colorado and able to catch your breath (and chat again!). Miss you and love you SO much!!!

P.S. Have to agree with the snake pictures...yikes! So glad that wasn't me with my girls!!! You're a brave woman-in SO many ways! :-)

Dawn said...

Nichole,
I love your new blog. It is just great. I also love all the photos of the girls... they are so beautiful!! I am sure you are soooo busy, and I know you are going through a lot, but if anyone can handle it, I believe it is you and God knows that! ;-) Can't wait to see you in CO in a couple months!!! Thanks for the wonderful post.
love
Dawn

Jeanette said...

Hi Nichole!!! I know you are super busy but wanted to let you know you've been tagged. Come visit my blog if you get a chance!

Jodee said...

Cute pictures! I love the white dresses!