Overwhelmed with Thankfulness

Each year we are reminded of just how grateful we are for hope. Not hope in this world, but a hope in the one to come.We are eternally grateful to God for rescuing us from everlasting separation from Him and giving us an inheritance in heaven, one that will never perish. So today and everyday, we are thankful for Christ's death on the cross because we know how desperately we need a Savior. Not a day passes that we aren't reminded of our helpless state apart from His grace. Our hearts remain rather full most days as we count our blessings, but especially on Thanksgiving, it is good for us to take the time to verbalize so many of the ways the Lord has poured out one blessing after another on our family. Our life is certainly far from perfect, but His provision for our family is perfect and we praise Him for that. 

This year, our family holiday rotation had us celebrating Thanksgiving with the Currie side of the family. We traveled to Clayton for a long weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the slower pace of life there which enables us to relax more and spend good quality time with our girls and with family. We spent Thanksgiving Day at his granddad's house out on the farm. The girls loved, loved hearing the cows moo, riding the gator, picking up acorns, and playing football in the front yard. And well, let's just say they still weren't too fond of Thanksgiving food yet. Maybe next year! On Friday, we celebrated Kendall's parents 38th wedding anniversary. The girls were anything but cooperative during our Thai meal, even with 6 adults helping! =(  (We are still working on having well-behaved children and clearly are nowhere close yet!) We did a little browsing through some Black Friday deals and then wrapped up our time in Dothan with a trip to Bruster's. That was probably the highlight of the day for the girls. They scarfed down their baby ice cream cones and were eager to dive into everyone else's ice cream. =)  Saturday was designated by the men as football watching day and if I was honest I would admit that I never even got out of my pj's that day. Ha! Sunday was spent at church and around the dining room table and then we loaded up and headed home! It was such a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving!

Enjoying some popsicles Nana & Granddad made!

Trying on some new hats + Ice Cream from Bruster's!

We are so, so fortunate to have family who also loves & models His love so well towards our family. We couldn't ask for more. We are richly blessed.

Visit to the Clifford Exhibit

With two toddlers now in full toddler motion, it is best for all of us if we plan several exciting outings for the girls each week. Our four walls begin to close in on us after spending an entire day inside during the winter. Kendall can immediately tell which days we haven't left the house-this mom gets a little cooped up! And well of course everyone knows Birmingham is not a booming metropolis full of places to visit, however it does have several great options that are sure to please these little faces! So back to the McWane Center we went with several of our dear friends, but this time they had recently updated one of their exhibits to Clifford! =) That my friends is perfect for these early learners who also happen to love anything dog-related. I love the fact that they can get out tons of energy and that 99.9% of the time I don't lose track of where they are. =)  I also love the fact that it is such an interactive exhibit chocked full of ways for them to use their hands and explore, investigate, and let their imaginations run wild. Oh the life of a child. I cherish this time I have at home with them and hope to always make the most of each day, teaching them something new or introducing them to something they hadn't seen the day before. They had a ball and could not have been more content! Thankful for this place, especially when outdoor activities are limited!

on the front porch ready to leave, then already enjoying this new environment!

Hiding in the tunnel, reading independently, and planting some flowers for them

Climbing in and out of Clifford's dog bowl, doing some coloring, and making sure that the mail gets delivered to the right people! :)

Digging up some bones & sliding down Clifford's tail

Making some music, testing out new buttons, and delivering mail =)

Thank you McWane Center for keeping my girls more than occupied. We shall return...

Brr!! A Trip to the Mountains!

And another rental car it is...to carry us to the mountains of Franklin, NC. To spend a long weekend     (Nov. 15-18, 2012) in a beautiful, spacious cabin with the Currie side of the family. And our trip would definitely have been incomplete had we missed out on a Cracker Barrel dining experience along the way. Maddie Grace sat very contentedly while making sure each peg was in its proper position while Makenzie made it virtually impossible to do anything other than let her browse the gift shop and wander around. She was not a fan of her high chair this particular evening. Alas, we survived  made a complete spectacle of ourselves while we tackled another meal out with our two active little munchkins! We knew we would arrive late regardless so we figured we might as well enjoy the ride (literally and figuratively=)

Girls, do you realize it is approaching midnight and you aren't acting the least bit tired?!?

Maddie Grace having fun with Granddaddy on the wrap around porch! Enjoying her freedom with such a large area to run around! It was so nice to have an entire day (Friday) to just relax, play with the girls, and have good conversation!

On Saturday, we all loaded up and ventured beyond the walls of our cabin to enjoy some yummy BBQ! Boy was it delicious and the weather could not have been any more perfect. We loved being able to sit outside and bask in the sunshine with those dearest to us!

We never bothered to attach their highchairs to any seats for the weekend so the girls loved being able to plop down in them throughout the day to make sure their babies were well fed. They sure are little mommies already that's for sure!

Besides Cracker Barrel, high on Kendall's list was to gather around the fire pit and roast marshmallows and make s'mores. We can check that off the list as a success!

It's time to say goodbye after we were informed that others would be checking in much sooner than we had been told...had to put on our happy faces and move to Plan B for the day...

A stop along the way to Highlands to see the waterfall...the girls were mesmerized by it and didn't quite know what to think!

We wouldn't trade these special memories with our girls for anything. Thankful for grandparents who love investing in their children and grandchildren!

Could this little face get any cuter? I think not! We love you so much Maddie Grace! And we love you just as much Makenzie-we just couldn't get you to slow down long enough to capture your precious face =)

A task too great for me...

The surprise blessing of twin girls has become the most precious gift God could have ever given us, but if I was honest, I would say it is also the hardest task we have EVER been entrusted with. The task of raising up girls who love the Lord, not just a cultural attend church and have the knowledge of God, but a deep love for their Savior. Knowing their lives are sustained only by His grace. Knowing His death on the cross was and is sufficient for their sins. Knowing that His love is unconditional and that His mercy runs deep and is more than they deserve. I want them to know those things and so much more and I know apart from God doing the work in their hearts that they will not desire the things of God on their own. 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

So I know what I desire for them and I know that they won't arrive there by accident. I so desperately need the Lord's grace in my own life so that I can be such a clear reflection of the Gospel to these two girls. Thank goodness for these precious smiles below that remind me that the task of motherhood is worth it. The days are long, but the years are short and I couldn't agree more with that thought. It's just that some days are REALLY long! I sincerely wonder if I will make it through the day-through the disobedience, through the fighting and the whining and the tears, through the food thrown all over the floor, through the missed naps, through their sinful tendencies that are exhibited on a daily basis. And then...I am reminded that in the same way we continue to love, continue to pursue, continue to give good gifts to our girls, MY GOD does the same for me. And that humbles me. That despite my sin, my shame, my failings, that He still comes for us, He still loves us, He still remains faithful to His children...."if we are faithless, he remains faithful-for He cannot deny himself." 2 Timothy 2:13

And THAT truth is what makes me able to wake up each morning with a HOPE. A hope for the life to come forever praising the Lord, the one who is worthy of all our praise and all of our affection. And I pray that when he returns I might be found faithful. Faithful to His word. Faithful in my marriage. Faithful to pouring truth into our girls. Faithful in standing firm on the truth of WHO GOD IS and WHAT He has done for me. To that end I pray....and I pray persistently.

Closer to 2 than 1 now...19 Month Update!

What new things you girls have done this month!? (from 18-19mo)

-Words Maddie Grace says: bye bye, Mommy, Daddy, dog, yummy, baby, ohhh, uh-oh, no, nigh nigh, me

-Words Makenzie says: bye bye, uh-oh, mama, dada, nigh nigh

-can name most body parts (ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, belly button, hands, feet, head, hair)

-can make lots of animal noises (duck, dog, cat, monkey, cow, tiger, lion, sheep, pig, bird, snake)

-love to “pull” their pillows out when tv comes on or to read books on

-both love to do acrobatic moves during worship time in their cribs (love to stand on their cup and balance or sit on it and roll around J) rather entertaining! They also love to twirl around in their cribs while we sing our worship songs!

-both will put hands together and bow heads to “pray” J

-love juice boxes and Steel City Popsicles a whole lot! (it’s a special treat!)

-Makenzie loves to swing on stuff! She is seriously a little monkey who needs constant attention to prevent injury…

-Makenzie also purposely falls backwards in her crib and then wraps her toes/feet around the crib slats to pull herself up with no hands-nice little ab workout!

-Makenzie is scared of everything J Really though, she’s afraid of some rather silly things (cotton bounce, scary looking animals, new ppl/strangers, stuffed animals that make noise, etc) & then of course the vacuum, blender, hair dryer, broom J

-Both will give two arm hugs but Makenzie will give lots of spontaneous hugs and loves to come up and squeeze your neck from behind-precious! She also loves to attack/tackle MG with hugs!

-Maddie Grace loves, loves, loves shoes!

-Makenzie takes her shoes and socks off in addition to her hair bow every time we are in the car! We find a little pile of her stuff between the two car seats when we arrive to our next place!

-MG loves buckles, earrings, accessories and is very intrigued by them

-MG will attend to one task for an extended period of time/concentrates very hard on finishing a task/studying how things work; Makenzie moves from one thing to the next and doesn’t stay focused very long

-MG still loves to say OOOHHH with her cute rounded mouth J we love it! Gets us everytime! She also has started this new “oiey, oiey, oiey” repetitious noise that’s adorable!

-They both love to play with puzzles and are pretty good at getting the pieces in the right spot-MG is a little more patient than Makenzie…surprise, surprise!

-they “brush it off” & like to have it kissed all better when they fall down or have a boo boo!

-they now “blow” on their food when it’s hot and want you to blow on every bite before they eat it J

-will grab diaper and try to pull it off if it’s not clean

-both have a hard time sharing toys (but esp Mak!) but will gladly share their food or snack, ha!

-Makenzie has gotten quite aggressive with MG lately and has become a little bully to her-she will run up and grab a toy from MG and then run off with it to a corner or behind something

-Maddie Grace plays very well independently (until Mak interferes!) whereas Makenzie needs a lot more attention and likes to be played with

-Makenzie is always on the go testing the limits-turn your back for one minute and she’s up on the table, climbing on the couch, or pulling down the gate to climb upstairs whereas MG is much more compliant and cautious

-Both are big fans of lollipops!

-Both are VERY attached to mommy and cry when I leave or go downstairs L