Life With Our Little Ladies

We sent this guy off onto a new chapter of his life this month. We fed him well, had a "get the nerves out" dance party and prayed him into his next big adventure. It's a privilege to be his sister. We are proud of you, Cory, and are excited to see what God has in store for you next.


Enjoying our nine year anniversary to each other (exactly five months later) at the Carrie Underwood concert! We left all the girlies at home with Grandma and were pumped for a much needed night out together, all the quality time, our favorite pizza and Carrie Underwood. #delayedgiftsarethebest #stillcelebrating #almost9andahalf #lovehim #thestorytellertour



Great night. Great concert.


School pictures: first grade 🔹 pre-K 🔹one year


We are all enjoying frequent weekend visits from Uncle Cory!


Story time with Daddy


It wouldn't have been the first month of fall without our first round of sickness.


Sick day: high fever, two naps, wearing daddy's tshirt all day, lots of movies, a few bites of chicken noodle soup and crackers


Juliet tried to fight it, but eventually the nap won. 😂




Abby reading some comics with Daddy before bed

This Halloween, our house was filled with little ladybugs and lots of friends. We invited three families (the Cauwels family, the Torn family and the Togias family) over for dinner and trick or treating. It's always fun dressing up and getting candy, but it's even more fun when you get to do it with friends.





 It was chilly, but this little bug stayed pretty warm and loved taking in all the sights around the neighborhood.


Candy security didn't disappoint this year. Neither did Daddy Ladybug.







"Did you say candy? This sounds like fun. Yay!"


When your girls ask you to wear their antennae...

best daddy

Ella holding Mrs. Keel's hand through the corn maze.










A special morning with my girl complete with a white pumpkin (our favorite).

To our little Julie Beany-




...and just like that you stood up and became a toddler.

This month, you became:
1. our first child to fall down a full flight of stairs face first (no injuries, thank God!)
2. our first child to try to eat wild rabbit droppings in our backyard (seriously?)
3. our only child who will stop at nothing to get at the chemicals under the kitchen sink (child safety locks, anyone?)

You make us laugh, give the best hugs and kisses and keep us on our toes in ways your sisters never did!



13 months looks like:

• giving "high fours"
• saying more words like "hi" and "up"
• picking up everything, pretending it's a phone and saying "Hi!"
• all done nursing
• clapping enthusiastically every time daddy comes home or walks through a door
• big open mouth kisses
• always wanting to be touching mommy in some way
• giving your baby doll "loving"
• crawling into your sisters room to play with them
• puzzles with Ella
• reading with Abby
• practicing walking, but not ready yet
• loves Elmo
• reading all the books

We love you, "baby llama mama drama"!

Joe and I are sitting here watching the election results roll in. Everyone is talking about how our children and grandchildren will look back on this moment and ask us what we thought about it all.
There is so much I could say, but I will just say this for now.

These campaigns and the whole 2016 election process will go down as one of the messiest and nastiest in history. If nothing else, it has revealed just how broken we are as people (and as a country) and just how much we need Jesus.  I walked into the booth today thankful for the freedom to vote, but disappointed in the two people our country has chosen as our options, saddened by the hatred this election has uncovered (not just among candidates, but among friends and family members). I drove home praying to our sovereign God who is in control and has a plan no matter the results of the election are. My hope isn't in either imperfect candidate. My hope is in Jesus and because of that I can go to sleep in peace tonight.

One day when our girls ask, we will paint the whole picture of both sides. At this point, we have chosen to talk to them about the election in general terms, but not burden them with partisan views or our opinions of the candidates. We won't until they are old enough to process the realities themselves. We share as much as they want to know in a very age appropriate way, while pointing them to Jesus and encouraging them to pray for our leaders.

I acknowledge the celebration and historical significance of having a woman on the ballot this election. The impact Susan B. Anthony's fight has had on where we stand today as women in society  is amazing.  I just wish the woman on the ballot was someone I would encourage my daughter's to look up to. Before you think otherwise, I feel the same way about man on the ticket. Though Hillary Clinton is accomplished in many areas, she has many issues surrounding her candidacy (as does Donald Trump) that I won't overlook or celebrate in the name of feminism, history, lofty promises or the lesser of two evils. 

My newsfeed is filled with pictures of people cheering about how a woman president will give their daughters so much to hope for their future, proudly wearing buttons that say "So my daughter knows she can be president". 

As a mother of three girls, I will wake up tomorrow morning and look my girls in the eyes with the same message, despite how these results add up tonight. I will tell them "they can be" not because a flawed woman is elected president or not, but because Jesus is who He says He is and that doesn't change. "They can be" because He is.


On that note, I leave you with some sweet videos we took of the girls on debate day! 

Ella asked us about voting today. Who do you think you should vote for today, Daddy? FDR or Obama?



Listening carefully to all the crazy



And to sum it up: The whole 2016 election process has made me feel like this.

On Mondays, after Ella's dance class and during Abby's, Ella and Daddy go on a weekly Stewart's date. It's a special chance for Ella to have quality time with her daddy. She gets to bring an activity (she usually chooses a coloring book) and pick a snack to share, then she gets her daddy face to face for 45 minutes. Last week, she looked up at Joe toward the end of their time and said, "So, Daddy....what do you want to chat about?"



Sweet Oliver is always keeping his girls company.


Six years ago, a friend gave Abby a mini Vera Bradley bag. Now Juliet is enjoying the stylish gift!



There is one thing Ella wanted all day: snuggle time with her daddy. Thankful for this guy who eats his lunch quickly and spends the rest of his break right here. When he sat down with her, she couldn't stop kissing his cheek. At dinner tonight, when we asked Ella what part of her day brought her joy, she smiled at Joe and said, "When I spent time with my daddy!"






On Wednesday mornings, I help in the school library. The girls and I have dance parties in the car on the way to school and I get to see them in the library during each of their classes. It's safe to say Wednesday mornings are one of my happy places.



Joe was out of town for an overnight ministry trip and this little cutie decided mommy needed company, so she woke up for the morning at 5 am. I was exhausted. Juliet thought it was hilarious! :)



Juliet loves to play fetch with her buddy.




Ella likes to take her mornings off nice and slow.


Abby started attending Pioneer Girls twice a month after school. She loves her time spent with friends crafting, snacking and learning about Jesus. After their first meeting, she came home with this puppet of herself that included the words she would use to describe herself.  I love seeing the way Abby sees herself.
Abby Em- you are all these things and so much more. We love you! :)


I was in charge of making the carnival game for the Ella's class at our school's fall craft fair/festival. The girls got a kick out of the paper airplane booth making process!


Abby read over fifty five books this summer and was entered into her school library's summer reading prize drawing! She was excited to win her very first easy bake oven. The girls had fun with the process, but I'm pretty sure they were surprised by the results. They have been baking with me for real since they were two, so six cookies the size of a quarter were a little disappointing.


Abby went on a field trip to a local farm with her daddy as a chaperone. Her class spent the day enjoying all kinds of fall activities, including a hay ride, pumpkin picking, a giant slide and a trampoline.


And then one day they came out of their room looking like mini teenagers...



Date night with my two guys. We loved our first datebox complete with an "escape room" game, apple cider and make your own caramel apples and kettlecorn. It was a perfect solution to some much needed, intentional (and creative) time together without even leaving home (or paying for a babysitter)! P.S. We even solved all the clues and escaped before the timer ran out.




I loved the morning I spent with my middle girl! Ella chose the recipe she wanted to make, so homemade mac and cheese it was. She even did the work on the stove (safely with mommy nearby). We cooked, listened to music and played magnet dolls...all while staying in our pajamas!