Does This Dog Belong or What?

The dog fits(I must admit)in our family nicely. I just couldn't see it for the longest time but now I realize that Erin can do the dog thing. Max is a good boy and Gracie and Shiloh are smitten. As I was tucking Gracie in the other night, she told me that she loved me so much and she loved Max too. I then told her that I loved her so much more than I loved Max because he was just a dog but she was my baby. She then replied, "Mama I told you that I loved you and Max just the same."
Now that hurts Gracie. She turned every comment I have ever made about loving our family all the same and how we don't love one person more than another and turned that baby around right back at me. The problem is sweet Gracie-Max is a DOG and I birthed you!!

Milk-Where Do They Learn This Stuff?

I am definitely catching up on my little blog world journal today. It is so beautiful today and the girls were out a lot this morning so they needed some quiet time crazy bad!
Girls-Snoozing comfy in their little beds
Dog-laying right in front of the window basking in the sun
Nic-studying quietly at the kitchen table for his upcoming lieutenant exam
=Mama on the computer bloggin it up
So I caught the girls the other day drinking out of the milk jug. I had to run and get my camera and snap a few pics but all the while I am really wondering where they get this stuff. I have always seen people on tv drinking out of the jug and I hear people talk about people drinking out of the jug but we don't do that around here. Not that I have a problem with it-I don't think-but we don't do that so where did these children get the idea?
No-not even Nic opens the fridge, twists off the cap, and chugs it.
It is just funny to me that my 2 babies really are just learning this world everyday and figuring new things out for themselves. I love their spunk but I did encourage a glass next time.
Maybe I shouldn't encourage a glass-it might just quench their little spirits. After all, they did take care of their own needs and I didn't have to do 2 more dishes because of it. I really need to rethink my teaching on this one!

Sweeeeeet Little Photo Shoot

I had the privilege to do a sweet little 5 week old photo shoot a couple weeks ago. Wow-I am certainly feeling the baby fever(like many of my friends-you know who you are) after holding and posing this perfectly precious one. She is a beautiful baby and I had a blast taking 250+ pictures of her in various little poses. She was such a trooper-she hardly fussed in the 1 1/2 hours I was there moving her all around. She very peacefully drifted off to sleep at the end of the shoot while we were in her sweet little room. Of course my pictures couldn't end there. I think I shot 50 more after little chick was snoozing but then I remembered those newborn days and I knew I had to get out of there quickly because I didn't want to waste mom's quiet, peaceful, hopefully nap time!
Here are a few shots from my beginning and growing portfolio here:

Thank You Jesus for Healing my Heart

Gracie had her follow up appointment with the cardiologist today at Children's Hospital because when she was born the doctor detected a heart murmur. She was just 1 day old when our brand new pediatrician came in to the room to tell us that he heard something abnormal with her heart and he was referring her to a cardiologist. I never once felt real fear about this-even with a 1 day old baby. I knew she was going to be just fine. The next day we took her in for all of the testing they needed to do. I knew she was okay but that whole process was quite upsetting. You see your little sweet thing with stickers all over her chest and cords coming out. Not really the way you want to spend time with your 2 day old. They spotted the hole and called it VSD. A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole between the right and left pumping chambers of the heart. They told us the hole was in the best possible place it could be not affecting anything. We had peace the whole time because we just knew God had her in His hands. We just thanked Him for that news and thanked Him for healing her little body. From day one Nic constructed this beautiful prayer that we have always spoken over the girls:

The love of God is shed abroad in Gracie's heart by the holy spirit. God will never leave her or forsake her. God is her Father and she is His daughter. As a daughter in His kingdom she is taking her place and acting her part. What God said she is-we declare she is!
By His stripes-Gracie is healed! She can do all things through Christ who strengthens her. We declare these things are forever settled in heaven! They are settled in our hearts and in hers.

She has had a couple follow up appointments but today was her last. YES-her absolute last appointment with a cardiologist because the doctor, and I quote in his own words "declared VICTORY today!"
Isn't that awesome? God had that whole thing sealed up from day one with me. This is like the first huge thing in my life that I can honestly say that I really gave him TOTAL control of. I know that is why He gave me that peace immediately!
As we were walking out of the hospital today Gracie said "thank you Jesus for healing my heart!" I love it!
Here is her sweet little grown up self sitting on the table. I had to snap a couple of pictures.