Tis the Season

The past week has been crazy.  And wonderful.  Today as I was walking out of the school I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.  Sometimes I tell Chris that "my heart swells up with love".  He looks at me like I have lost it and goes on.  But I don't know any other way to describe the feeling. I love  the stage of our life we are currently living.  I love having Maddie and Ava doing "little" kid things.  And I love that Anna and Sam are older and able to do other things.  This week Maddie and her classmates sang at the school PTO meeting.  She is ordinarily very shy, but she sang as loud as she could and smiled.  It melted my heart.

Simply Thankful

During the month of November there is a trend on Facebook to name one thing you are thankful for each day.  I cannot remember to post everyday, but I am very thankful for so many things....

I am thankful for God's plan for my life.  I am thankful that God sheds such grace, when I certainly don't deserve it.  I made the life changing decision to follow Christ as a young teenager.  Needless to say, I have strayed from Him in the past 18 years, but He never stopped loving me.

I am awed every time I consider the path God has laid for me.  I just cannot comprehend why I am so blessed, but I am simply thankful.  I strive to love others and show them His love.  In the book of Jeremiah, God promises that he knows us before we are even conceived.  I am so thankful for salvation through Christ.  And I am thankful, that He knows my name.

I am thankful that I am a Mom.  It is so difficult and rewarding all at the same time.  I often say, being a Mom is similar to putting arms and legs on your heart and allowing it to walk around.  My children are really my heart.  Now don't get me wrong, I oftentimes think I am doing a really terrible job at this parenting thing.  I get angry over unimportant things, fuss and complain.  But at the end of the day, I am thankful for my children and the daily lessons they teach me about this world.

I am thankful for a husband that loves God with all of his heart.  When Chris and I met, I knew he was incredible.  Several years ago, he rededicated his life and was baptized.  He is so disciplined to read
God's word ( he has read the entire bible more than once), attend church and pray.  He teaches me daily about Christ love and what it means for us.  I love to wake him up in the middle of the night to pray.  He wraps his arms around me and prays the most sincere prayers I have ever heard.  He also has such strong faith.  I am a worrier and he is not.  He has faith that God will take care of all things.  I know He will, but I struggle with worry.

I am thankful for my past.  I am thankful for the lessons learned.  I am thankful that my parents taught me so much about life before their time on earth was over.  My Mom taught me what true, selfless love is all about.  I strive to love my children the way she loved me.  My Dad taught me the value of work.  I have to believe that he would be proud of where I am and who I have become.

I am Simply Thankful for where I am, what I am doing and who I am doing it with. 

Ava's Haircut

Maddie gave Ava her first haircut on Thursday night.  I would love to hear the conversation between the two of them while the haircut was taking place.  On Friday, we had it trimmed up.  It turned out really cute and all scissors have been removed from our house.

Halloween 2011

We celebrated our first Halloween in Grundy!  It was tons of fun.  The costumes were cute.  I found Ava's costume on Etsy and it was not cheap, so I made it myself.  She turned into the cutest little clown I have ever seen!

Maddie was a Fairy and Anna Beth was a character from Monster High. 

The was the first time our children have every had a real Trick-or-Treating experience.  The church across the street had hot dogs and hot chocolate.  The Law School sponsored a carnival and finally, the town had a Trick-or-Trunk activity.  It was loads of fun.  Now onto Thanksgiving....

A New Season

Lots of changes have taken place over the past two months for our little family.
1. We moved.
2. Anna Beth and Sam started school in a new (much bigger) school.
3. Maddie started Pre-K.
4. Ava started preschool and has a new babysitter (Ms.Ashley, and she is great).
5. I got a new job! I am a college professor, teaching Early Childhood classes!
6. We found a new church and we are excited to see how God uses us.
7. We got a new puppy! Her name is Piper.

Wow!!! We are ready for things to settle down! I feel incredibly blessed for the opportunities God has provided and for his continual blessing on our family! I continue to be amazed at the plans God has for us! What a wonderful journey.

Sunday Letters

My sweet friend, Jennifer just started a blog.  She is doing something called "Sunday Letters", I think she borrowed it from another blog.  It is an opportunity to write "letters" to the members of your family. I am going to give it a try:

Dear Sam,
The past week at the beach was quite a trip.  I forget how fast you are growing up and what a good big brother you can be.  You love the ocean more than anyone I have ever known.  The best part was Anna Beth acting like your spotter to let you know the wave was coming.  It makes me nervous.  I kept telling your Dad you were out to far.  I am really glad you are part of our little family.

Dear Anna Beth,
You are learning to swim.  I am so proud of you, especially your flips in the pool!!  You love the beach and the pool.  I am glad we got to take you to the cupcake bakery.  This week you and Chris made homemade icecream.  It tasted great and you made it all by yourself.  You are growing up so quickly.  I sure do love you.

Dear Maddie,
I asked you this week if you were ready to go to school, you replied, "nope".  Me and Daddy are not ready either.  You are getting big so quickly.  You have learned to fasten your own seatbelt in the car.  You also brush your own hair.  I love when you come to my bedroom each night and say, "can we cuddle?" Of course, you end up staying all night... I love it, but don't tell Daddy!!  You are such a girlie girl.  You love to dress up, wear make-up and paint your toenails. 

Dear Ava,
My sweet Ava.  I want you to be a baby forever.  I try to hold you like a baby, but you won't allow it.  You are so big, wearing big girl panties.  You loved the sand at the beach.  Daddy spent lots of time working to build a castle and you kicked it down.  Mommy laughed.  I love the way you talk all the time and provide explanations for everything. 

Dear Chris,
I sure do love you!  This week was our first beach vacation with no swim diapers, that was awesome.  I loved being together all week.  I can't wait until you don't have to drive so far to work.  I miss you in the mornings and when we get home in the afternoons.  I am looking forward to the next few months.  I am even excited about the uncertainty.  Thanks for being patient with me and supporting me in so many ways.  You are truly the "rock" of our family.  I am also really proud of you for finishing the 48 mile bike ride a few weeks back.  I am glad to be spending this life in your arms!

Baby "Harry" is Here

Harrison Robert Mullins entered the world last week.  He is a cute little fellow.  We are excited to have a new little baby boy!  I sure hope he likes to play dress up....the girls will have it no other way.

A little trip to the BEACH

Chris had a meeting at the beach.  We decided to make a trip of it.  We had a great time!  This was our first trip with no swim diapers... that is like heaven.  All of the kids loved the beach and the pool. 

When we checked in to the hotel, we had chocolate covered strawberries and wine waiting in our room.  Wow!!  Chris must be a VIP :)  We don't drink wine, but the strawberries were great and by chance there were six of them... one for each of us.

We ate awesome seafood.

It was a great week!  Sad it is over, but excited to head home!

“My Big Girl Panties”


Monday morning began like any other. Chris kissed me goodbye and headed off to Grundy. I stayed in the warm bed wishing I could sleep in, but instead I got up and proceeded with the usual routine. Four kids up and ready, teeth brushed, backpacks packed and out the door. I dropped everyone off at their appointed locations and suddenly the day changed from ordinary to really unordinary.

I drove to the airport, by myself. Boarded a plane, by myself. And headed off to the big city. I have never flown alone. I have never been to the city alone. Surprisingly, I was not scared or concerned. I tried hard to look like an ordinary traveler amongst all those “professional” travelers with their ipads and cell phones. I am not sure I fit in, but I gave it my best shot. I got a cab and gave direction to my hotel. After I checked into my hotel, by myself, I went to my room and the thought suddenly occurred to me….. “I think I am really a big girl now”. I laughed out-loud and determined that I am perfectly capable and competent to wear “big girl panties” everyday, if I choose to.

And so in my mind, having a husband, kids, a job and a house did not cause me to cross the bridge into real adulthood, but this experience did. What an enlightenment!

Tomorrow is going to be another new experience. I am taking the train and metro to the airport. When my plane lands I will drive home. There I will assume my ordinary life, which I am quite fond of, but it doesn’t always require “big girl panties”.

Catching Up

We decided to change things up a little this year for Christmas!  So, we headed to Disney for the week!  The kids were super excited.  It was our first trip to Disney with everyone and I was nervous!  I worried about losing a kid or someone getting sick, but all in all it was great! 

Vanessa and her family also went, so we hung out together and ate lots of meals together. 

Prior to our trip, people asked us some pretty interesting questions, since we were going to be there on Christmas.  They said,
"What will you do about a Christmas tree?"
"What about Santa?"

We laughed!  Christmas is not about trees or presents.  It is about spending time with the people you love the most, and we did just that! 

I am humbled we were able to have the opportunity and I really did cherish the memories. 

And so, we headed home after Christmas and it has been snowing since.  The kids have not been back to school, but they don't mind.  We can't seem to get back into a routine and our house is a disaster. 

I am looking forward to 2011.  Last year was amazing and I can't imagine what this one will bring!

From our family to yours,  Happy New Year!!