- Built on a firm foundation... -

...because God is the builder of everything!

The house work has been going! going! GOING! STRONG! ...and things are looking amazing!  Brick work is in full swing, and we are set up for spray foam next week and drywall to follow.  I think it will really start looking like a home once the drywall is up!  More posts to come soon of the brick work and other progress.

In the mean time of all Brian's hammering and nailing, I snuck into the house one evening and scribbled some scriptures on the studs.  I mainly wanted one verse hung above the front door before the drywall covers it: 

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  

-Joshua 24:15

But Scarlett fell asleep in the car on the way to the house, and so after the front door was finished, I just kept going and going and going...  Harper had a pen of her own and was coloring away on some other studs, so the house is prettyyyyy much full of love and Jesus in all ways/shapes/forms, and I honestly couldn't be even a little bit happier about it. :)

Built on a firm foundation?  ...I think so! :)

- Mother's Day: The Day For ALL Mothers! -

[Belated, again...]

Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mamas in our lives!!!  Between a) having friends who struggle with growing their families or who have lost children AND b) working day in and day out with the infertility population, the past couple of years have opened my eyes to what a "mother" actually is. I'm bursting with love this year for all of the women who radiate a love that knows no end:

For the one who has lost a mother...
For the mother who has lost a child...
For the woman who yearns to be a mom...
For the mom with strained child relationship[s]...
For the mama who holds her child[ren] in her heart and not in her arms...
For all the women with bleeding mama hearts regardless of their struggles...
 
For all of these people ^^, today is for you! You are not forgotten!  Please know that your friendship means the world to me and you are are always on MY heart and forever in my prayers.  No matter what your situation is, you are loved and appreciated on Mother's Day and every day.  

But also!  They say life doesn't come with a manual because it comes with a mother, and I believe that this is true!!! Hugs and kisses today to my very own mother and mother-in-law as well as my two beautiful grandmas! I adore you and the way you hold our families together like glue! We are blessed by you.

A couple pics of my kiddos making homemade crafts and coloring cards for their grammies...

^^ Harper drew every sweet treat she could think of on my mom's card and then proceeded to "X" out all of the foods that weren't healthy. Banana + orange + strawberry passed the test! Hope your day was full of sweetness one way or another, Mom! 

We celebrated Mother's Day in Wisconsin as we wrapped up Katie's wedding weekend.  The kids, well mainly Harper, were so proud to give me the gifts that she made. I will cherish them always!

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!!!

- Teachers and Nurses: We make the world go 'ROUND! -

[Several weeks delayed, but better late than never!]

I don't have a ton of time to give a bunch of long-winded, worthy shout-outs today, but I still wanted to throw a little bone to all of the wonderful teachers and nurses in our lives [namely, me! Jayyy to the kay...]!!!  It really is a queer thing that teachers and nurses share the same appreciation week, because I think these are two of the most trusted, most appreciated, most needed, and overall BEST professions; and in light of all of those reasons, we totally deserve our own, separate recognitions! Alas, I digress..... 

Harper picked out some water bottles at Wally World that we personalized for the kids' daycare teachers...

...and they also filled out these cute little guys for their beloved teachers. Thank you to the four fearless women who take care of my babies on Mondays and Wednesdays! We are amazed at all the things Harper has learned at school [and Scarlett, too, but she just can't tell us about them yet!]. We appreciate your motivation and devotion and enthusiasm! Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

Then! National Nurses Week kiiiiiiinda flew under the radar this year [minus the delicious Starbucks GRANDE caramel latte that our surgery scheduler at work surprised me with! I only rarely ever spring for a tall! ;) Thank you, Ashley!!!].  However! It cannot go without saying that I am soooo grateful for all of the amazing nurses that have taught me everything I know and also become my very best friends... You all have seen everything there is to see and we've laughed and cried together over the years. Several of you have literally been by my [bed]side during the very best moments of my life as Brian and I brought two beautiful babies into the world, and I will never forget any of those suuuuuper special moments!  ME LOVE YOU ALL LONG TIME!!!

And then... I'll tie this up with a couple funnies...

**********

Overall:

CHEERS AND LOVE AND HUGS to allllll the teachers and nurses we know!!! The world is a better place because of the care you [we!] provide! 

- Bells will be riiiiiiinging... -

...WEDDING bells, that is!!! Woo hoooo.

We packed the truck as tight as we could and stopped to grab Starbucks for the masses before we hit the road run! run! running! for cousin Katie's wedding.  Lake Geneva, here we come!

Harper chugged down her [first ever and super adorable] kids' hot cocoa before we passed two mile markers on the interstate, and Scarlett settled in for the ride with her binky and baby.  We were armed with buckets and rags [Harper has a particularly poor history when it comes to the beast that is car sickness and Scarlett seems to be mastering the trade like a pro, too... #boo #pleaseno #sayitisntso], BUT! Five hours later, we arrived to the hotel with only one false alarm that triggered me to fling off my seatbelt and dart to the back seat with bucket in hand.  Flying chunks are unfortunately becoming my forte, but phew.....never mad when the kids can hold them in. ;) :) 

Then! At the hotel suites that afternoon, Harper indulged in the pool with Papa and Daddy while Scarlett preferred a private soak in the jacuzzi.

A little deep-dish pizza filled everyone's bellies...

...before we dashed off to the post-rehearsal party!

Cousins flocked in from here and there and everywhere; it was so great to see everyone! 

We had breakfast at a local place the next morning...

...then did a little exploring of the quaint town...

...and checked out the boats on the lake...

...before it was time to get gussied up for the wedding!

Harper immediately restored her long-lost love with Logan. They were inseparable all weekend, and I love seeing my kids bonding with my cousins' kids! So cute!!! Logan lives far far away, so I see some FaceTime chats for these two in the future. :)

Meanwhile, Daddy took Sissy upstairs for a little shut-eye...

...so she come back full strength and party the night away!

CONGRATULATIONSSSSSS, Katie [and the not-pictured Scott!]!!! You were an absolutely stunning bride, and we loved everything about the wedding weekend.   The wedding cake was pretty good, too! ;)

We wrapped up the weekend with a brunch in the bride's suite the next morning. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone knowing we won't see a lot of the family for a while now, but we will cherish the memories we made and the photos we have!  [Oh, and it was Mother's Day, too... Got to open some homemade gifts from my sweet babies and also deliver our homemade gifts to our moms and grammies... More to come on that later!]

Congrats, again, to the happy couple! We were so very honored to be a part of your special day. 

xoxo

- Cinco Drinkos -

...Or maybeeee it was more than cinco, but who's counting when you have a dinner date with your favorite amigos?! #notme

Scarlett gave a few good shakes and then one final break to the plastic maraca that the waiter gifted us, and Emma was so embarrassed by the whole scene that she just had to gulp a few margs, too.

Happy Cinco!

- Wires and lights and friends...OH MY! -

I think I need to con Brian in to penning another "guest post" right about meow, because I have no idea what in the heck all these photos are of...  All I see is wires here and pipes there and dirt/dust/mess everywhereeeee, but I know that there is some pretty significant progress going on with allllllll the evening and weekend hours he's been putting in this month! 

[February/March 2019]

Check out day 1 of electrical wiring...

...versus day 33! 

And on day 50-something [?], Brian PASSED the electrical inspection on first try!  WOOHOOOO!  #marriedtoasupermanwhoknowsitall

In the mean time of all the late nights of wiring, Brian took a FULL DAY [!!!] off his 9-5 job AND the house work to celebrate the big 3-0 with me!  We went to a few light stores and granite showrooms and surprisingly -- no, not that surprisingly! -- have everything narrowed down to our final choices.  Here are a few sneak peeks! ;) :)

Muchas gracias to Roben who helped us figure out how to appropriately and perfectly light the entire house!  I appreciated her type-A personality and attention to detail all humbly hidden under the blanket of her expertise more than she knows!  

As March drew to a close and the weather stayed consistently warmer, we enjoyed lots of evenings out in the new subdivision and even made some new friends!  I am so excited to be a part of this lively neighborhood in a few months and can't wait for all the fun times and friendships that are to come!  [BTW, Scarlett is, in fact, quite fond of wagon rides despite not wanting to pause so her over-the-top mom could take another photo.]

Bring on the spring! :) :) :)

- If April showers bring May flowers... -

...then what do "May-flowers" bring?!

Pilgrims.

Meh.

They bring SPRING FAMILY PICTURES, of course!

And there were plenty of [almost] May flowers to revel in for this session!  Let it be known that I don't "spring" for these photography deals too often, because I have a pretty nice camera of my own annnnnd I don't like to shell out our dolla dolla bills.  I mean, really, the only two times we've ever had professional family photos were for the girls' newborn sessions in 2015 and 2018!  But!  Taking family pictures of your own family is usually stressful and someone [namely me] always ends up in a bad mood and it's rarely worth all the blood/sweat/tears when it's all said and done. And so!  As one of our Christmas gifts last year, my parents booked us a family session with Brittney, and I've never been so excited!

Brittney was literally my very first best friend [I can show you my kindergarten scrapbook with her name -- scribed in INK -- to prove it!], and I love that she was the one to capture these memories for us!  She is so laid back and all-around wonderful, and she wasn't at all flustered by Scarlett's signature squeal-flailing.  Win, win, winnnnnning.  You win it all in my book, girlfriend!

Long story short:  THANK YOU a million times over to my parents for gifting us this and to Brittney for executing and delivering!  I love how the photos turned out and I'm over the MOON to call these three beautiful humans mine! <3