Saturday, May 31, 2014

Life Lately...

Life lately...I don't even know where to start. I feel like the past month has flown by. I wanted to add some pictures to the blog because my girls are growing and they make me laugh every single day with something they do or say.

We've been working on our Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes every month. We started picking things up in January and are filling a box for each month. January=1, February=2, etc. It's an easier way to pack boxes vs. waiting until the end of the year. 


Sydney Faith is growing and talking up a storm. 

There is no wondering what she's saying anymore.


This picture is funny and creepy at the same time. 

She said she put her babies in the bag to go "nigh-nigh." 


My people spent a Saturday making the flower bed pretty. 

I love it.


And I love them for working so hard.


Now if we can just keep them alive!


Our niece is participating in the Miss Arkansas pageant next month. We're excited for her!


Daddy told the girls if they couldn't speak nicely, to just stop talking and close their eyes. 

This one didn't open her eyes for a while. HA!


This was from one of our last date nights. He's traveling so much lately...any time alone that we can get...we take it!


Little girls are so funny. They're always playing house or dressing up.  

I believe that's a pair of bloomers on Sydney's head.


In Mama's heels.  

I swear I don't wear socks with mine.


It has been raining every day for the last week. 

We're so ready for sunshine again!


The girls ask if they can go outside every.single.day. 

The sun will come out tomorrow...

I hope.


I try to type out what the girls say as soon as they say it or I'll forget. 

Things like this make me smile.


She walked around with a cheerio stuck to her face for a good 10 minutes. 

And I let her because it was funny. 

I kept saying, "there's something on your face." 

She would wipe every inch of her face EXCEPT for the cheerio.


Daddy is traveling a lot. Which means lots of goodbyes. 


Which means lots of tears.


The mosquitoes are already out and they're loving sweet Sydney. 

Bless her heart, she woke up with these two bites on her arm. It must have been in her room!


My brother and SIL had a Memorial Day party for the family. 


I loved seeing all the pictures and my girls had the best time!


We all brought items to pack boxes for the troops. I loved this idea. I didn't realize how easy it is to request an address and list of items they need/want. These are a few of the items we chose. The post office even ships the boxes at a flat rate for you, no matter how much the box weighs!


I wasn't at the party because my sister was in the hospital. I wanted to stay with her. And I'm glad I did. She still has a tough recovery ahead but is doing okay and is home now.


I made peanut butter cookies for the girls this week. 

I don't know why I don't make them more often. We usually make chocolate chip but the girls loved these.


We went for ice cream last night.


Sydney's two year molars are cutting through. 

She has very little patience with anyone these days. LOL


Silly girl.


Amelia had Journey Girls tonight. 

They were asked to list some things they were good at. 

Amelia's list:

Riding my bike
Shopping
Loving people
Making cards
Praying
Cleaning my room
Singing
Dancing
Being pretty

I couldn't stop laughing when I read she's good at being pretty. HAHAHA!! 

Yes you are baby, yes you are.


We took Sydney on a date while Amelia was at Journey Girls.  

We went to eat at Kobe. 


She wasn't a fan of the fire in front of her. 


But she loved the food. 

She ate filet, chicken, and fried rice with chopsticks.

And drank her orange juice from a cup with an umbrella. 


 I can't believe how much she's talking and how clear her sentences are now.


She tells us periodically that she needs to go potty and will go. She even tells us when we're out and about. 

She gets a piece of gum if she goes in the potty. This is special to her. She usually gets gum at Easter and Christmas only. :)

Her new thing when she's going potty is to tell us, "I need some privacy, Mom/Dad." 


And I'm officially old because I get excited about things like new appliances.

I've been giving the girls green smoothies from a smoothie shop in town and they actually drink them! They have no idea they're drinking vegetables and I love it.

I decided I could make them at home.

Our blender was given to us by my Mom after we were married. We didn't have one and she gave us one that she wasn't using. So we've had the one on the left for 17 years. It has seen better days and won't blend ice very well.

I stayed up late reading my new whole food cookbook. We can even make our own peanut butter which Alex has wanted to do. SO EXCITED! :)


And that is what The Averitt Fam is up to these days. 

Exciting stuff, y'all. ;)

Love to all,

Monday, May 12, 2014

My Best...

I did my best yesterday.

I did my best to shower and clothe myself quickly, despite waking an hour past the alarm sounding.

I did my best to wake up the sleepy-eyed babies and nudge them along as I dressed them in their Sunday best. Even if one thought the other looked like a clown.


I did my best to feed them a healthy breakfast donuts before church, so their tummies wouldn't make that 'grumbly noise.'

I did my best to take a picture. So when my babies look back, they have a photo of what mama looked like on those days when nothing could stop her...she and her babies would be at church.

I did my best to go with the flow. When water was spilled in the middle of worship, I made sure to look deep in her eyes and say, "it's okay, it will clean."


I did my best to find thankfulness in dirty diaper changes.

I did my best to overlook the clutter in the house and just enjoy the day with family.

I did my best to choose the bike ride over the phone.


I did my best to choose the walk around the neighborhood over the computer.

I did my best to be fully attentive.

I did my best to say yes when they asked for my attention.

I did my best to look in their eyes and truly listen to what they had to say.


And I noticed something in their eyes, each and every time.

When they realized I was truly watching...when they realized I was truly listening...

They smiled.

They laughed.

There was joy.

I did my best. 

And I think that's all they would ever ask of me.

I think that's all HE would ever ask of me.


Amelia and Sydney,

Know that I'll always do my best as your Mama.

Some days I'll fall and it will hurt me and you, but know that I'll always get right back up and continue to do my best.

And It will be good enough because we have each other.

And even better, it will be good enough because we have the grace of Jesus.

And His grace extends farther than mama's best could ever reach.

I love you both to the moon & back & all the way to France. :)

Mother's Day 2014...

It has been one of the busiest weekends that we've had in a long time. But fun and worth the tired.

I had a Moms' Night Out with a bunch of my friends.


We rented out the entire theater for the movie Moms' Night Out!

This is my friend, Tricia. She wrote the novelization of Moms' Night Out. She's so talented and sweet. I'm so proud of her!!


Few pics from the night. 

Me and my Mama, sisters, and niece!


Me with some of my LG sisters!

The movie made me laugh and it made me cry, so that's a winner in my book.


We saw Sleeping Beauty at the Children's Theatre on Saturday.


I had never really read/watched the entire story of Sleeping Beauty. It was scary to the girls at the beginning but midway through, they let go of my hand. HA! Amelia said she enjoyed it. I love taking them to the Children's Theatre. The girls are always so still and just glued to the stage. 


The weather showed some love on Saturday. It was beautiful.


I saw my nephew, Waylon graduate from high school on Saturday evening. So proud of him! I can't believe he's heading to college in the Fall.


Alex took the girls shopping on Saturday while I was at the graduation ceremony. One of Amelia's love languages is gifts. I know this because she loves to give gifts. She made me giggle with her ideas on what she was going to buy me for Mother's Day.


I arrived home late on Saturday evening. Alex let the girls stay up late. They led me to the kitchen with my eyes closed and yelled "Happy Mother's Day!!" Alex let them pick everything out themselves which I love. Amelia's card played the song, "You're Unbelievable" and Sydney's card had cats all over it, playing "Kung Fu Fighting." 


They came up with a holiday called Family Day. It's on this day that we'll purchase a bouncy house. Well played, Daddy. Well played. 

Amelia told Alex to take her to the store where we bought her ring. He thought that was Brighton (it was actually James Avery) but when Amelia saw the Brighton storefront she remembered they serve warm chocolate chip cookies to you while you shop, so she told him, "yes, they sell rings here." HAHA!! He said she shopped the entire store and decided on this ring for me. I wore it proudly to church today. 


This Sunday was just like any other. The girls and I were rushing around to get ready and out the door on time. 


And we did it!


But not before snapping our Sunday picture.


I love this picture of Amelia with Laila at church. They love each other like sisters. 


Journey Kids had a little video for the Mamas this morning. It made us laugh!


They made flower bouquets to hand out to their moms and it was so sweet. 


We usually go out to eat on Mother's Day but the wait is SO LONG. 

I don't know if you know this but kids do not wait well. And neither do some adults.  So we chose to grill at home. Alex grills the best filet! It was so yummy. We had salad, green beans, potatoes, and biscuits with our filet, chicken, and hot dogs. It's exactly what I wanted. 


While Alex grilled, the girls and I went for a walk and bike ride. 

Up and down the street. Up and down the street. Up and down the street. 

While Amelia said things like this: 


And Sydney smiled as if she had just received the best compliment ever.

And then we jumped on the trampoline. 

When trampoline time was over - it was time to eat!


It was a wonderful weekend. A beautiful mother's day with my family. Alex said something in the message that really stuck with me. I'm going to study that for a bit and write some more later. It was a good message. One that I needed to hear. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Love to all,