BUNCH OF ORANGES: "Seize Motherhood"

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Seize the Day! Seize the Moment! Seize Motherhood!

Flashback Mother's Day 2013.... Orange Family Stomach Bug! We all had it! I will never forget it! Luckily this whole year we have all been well! No bugs or flu... I feel quite fortunate!

Mother's Day 2014..... Hubby in Costa Rica for work.... I could have went with him.... BUT.... since we just went to Mexico and I went to Tennessee .... I really hated to leave the kiddos... so I was ready to embrace Mother's Day... That began at 4 am.... Jensie had 3 spell of vomit... barely any..but I knew something was up... so there goes our time of worship at church.... which really bums me out because I LOVE going to church! The kids woke me up with a huge bouquet of flowers and a beautiful flower corsage to wear to church! The morning progressed s-l-o-w-l-y with lots of kids whining, fighting, hitting & also me raising my voice. :( They couldn't even eat popsicles without tattling! SCREAM! Where can we go? What can we do? I already tried being patient and calm and talking Emmie through her meltdown since her siblings messed up her ice cream shop.... but as I am in the middle of that, Noah comes running out telling me there are ANTS ALL IN GUNNER'S ROOM! There was an old piece of chocolate in his wooden box and ants were everywhere and all on his bed frame! YIKES!

I resort to preparing a big fruit tray for them all to feast on and as I am doing this... all that can fill my mind is how I had just read that we should thank God for our problems. I also think of the special friend that has been on my heart that is now a widow with 4 children. I think to myself... maybe I am just getting a little of bit of her hard so she can have a peaceful Mother's Day? And really... is all this really that hard? Suddenly my frustrations leave me... I AM BLESSED! I gotta Get on with my day and quit letting these little goober kiddos get to me! It's UP and DOWN .... and that's the way it is! I can seize these moments because they will pass and all will bliss again! HE says THANK HIM for our problems! So that means SEIZE THE DAY AND THE MOMENTS! This is the day the Lord has made... let us rejoice and be glad in it!!!

what a perfect devotion for Mother's Day! We WILL have problems with 4 children! We HAVE to call on HIM to help us through the tiniest of problems!

The 4 BIG Reasons I Am A M-O-T-H-E-R!!!!!!!
I am BLESSED, BLESSED, BLESSED!!!!!!
I will SEIZE the moments even when they are hard....

I love the song on here this time "Automatic" by Miranda Lambert...
So true.... the chorus...
"Hey whatever happened to waiting your turn? Doing it all by hand? Cause when everything is handed to you... it's only worth as much as the time put in."
Motherhood is most definitely A LOT of time put in... a lot of selfless love and devotion!

Sonny has to be a part of everything now!

What? Noah is in the sandbox? I'm so Glad I have a 9 1/2 year old that has an imagination and doesn't play video games all day!

Park picnic.... Sonny was so good!

Their favorite tree!
Give us the Simple Life....

Backyard picnics... who cares what time it is......

Sandbox Kids!

Everyone needs a dog that will let you bury him

3 peas in a pod

Anyone else want on this crazy ride?

I am so happy to be on it with them!

They made an ice cream store... notice behind them... they picked my flowers to make the treats!!!!!
This is before Jensie dumped out the bucket and messed everything up and Emmie's meltdown!

Backyard fun!

The Orange Swim Team

Sometimes everyone needs a fruit tray.... it brings peace and harmony to fighting children and out of options mothers.... :)

A Ball of Fun! The ball is made of fire... and we are trying to roll with her! She is going to give us a run for our money!

Rotten!

Sweet!

Loves the water!

Ready to swim!

Little Lady

Isn't she lovely? Even with one cheek out? Hee Hee!

What a face!

Ready to hit

Running the bases

Anna Claire says her and Gunner are blood brothers... she loves them!

Last baseball game! Him and his buddy Callahan

Trophies!!!

Little guy.... getting big!

He made a butterfly and colored me a flower pot

ok, ok.... it's worth all the whining! LOL!

Made me cry the whole way home... he thinks my favorite colors are green & orange... b/c he always shares his skittles with me and he knows my favorites are green and orange.... that made me melt that he put that together

Call me baby! Call me always!!!

she is my nature girl... she would rather be in the backyard than anywhere!

She is holding my gifts... her handprint :)

Classroom time

Emmie and her teacher

Isn't she precious?

They sang sweet mommy songs to us

My placemat for our lunch together

A card full of goodies! Lots of fun information!

Really!! Really??? Made me cry... made me want one... for a few seconds.... no seriously... melted my heart that she would think this? Maybe she really knows how much I really do love my children?

Almost done with kindergarten!!!

Special Friends!

Love the kindergarten Mother's Day Program! What a treat!

These are the sweetest moments!

painted me a self portrait for Mothers Day
this child literally keeps life flowing for us! he is such the hard but such the happy and does have a bright, bright future.... it means so much to hear all the positive about him from others, especially all his teachers... but deep down inside.... I know this. I just have to keep it down in there for now so I can deal with him!!!!! LOL!