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Crazy, terrible, ferocious, loud, destructive storms are nothing new or unfamiliar to me. I've lived my entire life in Kansas, Missouri, and now in Oklahoma, so I've "weathered' my share of intense storms and tornadic threats. 

Every spring - and often in the fall as well - we spend some time in our "safe" place. Since we don't have a basement or storm shelter in our house, our "safe" place is in our hall closet. About a month ago (April 18th), the tornado sirens sounded in the middle of the night, so we got the kiddos up and "took cover". 

Brianna found the whole experience to be quite exciting. 

Brenson, however, was less than impressed to be out of his crib and awake at 2:30am. 

As most of you have probably heard, we had a series of very devastating storms and tornadoes roll through Oklahoma yesterday.  We actually didn't have to take cover where we live, but there was a tornado that touched down in a town not far from us. And of course, there was the tornado that destroyed a good part of Moore, resulting in many, many injuries and loss of life. So heartbreaking. 

It's interesting to me how storms used to scare me SO bad. Then I had kids. While I still don't love severe weather, I don't experience the fear like I used to. I just kind of go into protection mode for my kids.

So of course, my mind is consumed today with thoughts of those parents who were helpless in the face of the storm. With a tornado the size of the one that struck Moore, there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. We can't predict its path. We can't run from it. All we can do is prepare the best we can, then hunker down and ride it out.

In moments like this - in days following this type of destruction - it's so important to remember where our priorities lie. The devastation is hard to stomach, especially when it's so close to home. I can't imagine what parents who lost children in this destructive storm are feeling. Really, it's enough to make me have a panic attack if I let it.

But, I don't let it. I won't let it. The thing is, as devastating and horrible and unimaginable as all of this is, I have a peace knowing that this world is not my home. I have a higher hope and a higher purpose. I don't have to be afraid of the storms. I don't have to fear losing my worldly possessions or even my life. Why? Because I serve a God that is bigger than all that. And His immeasurable love is bigger than the horrific events that transpired yesterday.

So, as hard as it is to watch the news right now, to see the photos of the piles of rubble, and to hear stories of people who lived this nightmare and of those who did not survive, I'm finding my comfort and peace in the Lord above. I hope you are, too.

From My Front Porch Lookin' In

Sometimes - in the middle of the day - I'll have to quickly run outside to do something. Or get something. Or see something. And while my kids L.O.V.E. being outside, sometimes it's easier and faster just to leave them indoors while I take care of the small, quick thing that needs to be done. 

Sometimes - in the middle of the day - I'll look up from my front porch and see my sweet babies watching me and waiting for me to come back inside to them.

And sometimes - in the middle of the day - I'm overwhelmed with emotions of how blessed I truly am to have these precious babies.

I love the view from my front porch lookin' in!

Angelina Ballerina

For Christmas, Brianna was gifted a V-Tech Innotab Learning Tablet from some of our friends. It was actually perfect timing as we were preparing for Disney, and this was a great way to keep Brianna entertained on the plane rides. She can play games or watch movies on her "tab" as she calls it, but they almost all cost to download so we haven't purchased many for her. However, before leaving for Disney, I did login and browse through the different videos available. We purchased her a few Dora episodes, and they were running a special on Angelina Ballerina episode, so I bought a few of those as well. We had never actually seen Angelina Ballerina before, but it's pretty cute and Brianna enjoys them. 

Chris is such a good daddy and is always on the lookout for things to do with the kiddos. When he saw that Angelina Ballerina would be performing live in a the big city near us, he bought tickets to take Brianna. I hope she knows what a blessed girl she is because he totally did this on his own. I had nothing to do with it!

So excited to be going on a date with daddy!

He even took her out to eat before the show AND out for ice cream afterwards. Seriously, so spoiled :-).

Chris also invited Russ (our brother-in-law) and Chloe Jo (his daughter) to come along so Brianna would have a friend there. My sister and I were cracking up though -- as girls we would have NEVER considered going to a show together and NOT sitting together. However, Chris and Russ purchased their tickets separately so their seats weren't together (although, they were close). They guys didn't see this as quite the crisis situation that we did, haha!

Pretty girls getting ready to see Angelina Ballerina:

Daddy-daughter date night!

All of the above photos I took before they left the house. I asked Chris to take photos at the show, but 1) he forgot the camera, and 2) he really didn't want to take it anyway :-). Oh well, I'm not going to complain since he was being such a sweet daddy.

He did snap these TWO photos on his camera. Again, SO FUNNY that he only took two photos, but I'll take what I can get, ha! I guess after the show was over, some of the cast came into the audience to meet and greet. Brianna wasn't on board with touching the cast, but I guess she did eventually warm up a bit.

The other photo he took was this crazy one of him and Bri being silly. For some reason, blogger is uploading it weird, but you get the idea :-). 

Bri had such a great time with her daddy, and still talks about going to see Angelina Ballerina (they went on April 12th). And I love that my husband wants to spend time with his baby girl. So, so blessed.

Paci Baby . . . Errrr, Toddler

When Brianna was born, I never really wanted her to have a pacifier. I don't know why . . . it just wasn't something I wanted to mess with, I guess. Well, really I think I didn't want to hassle with breaking her of the paci habit. I had heard too many stories of parents who had a really hard time breaking their child of the paci, so I thought why invite the trouble?

Haha... well, I quickly learned that sometimes we can be pretty idealistic before we become parents. The reality was that Brianna really needed something to suck, and it was going to be her hands or a paci. So, we chose the paci. 

Wasn't she such a cute paci baby? :-)

After about 6 months old, we made the paci a going-to-sleep thing only. I don't have a problem with babies that use a paci for more than just sleeping (although, Brianna never used it while actual sleeping, only while going to sleep), it was just our personal preference for the paci to be limited to that time only.

This picture makes me laugh . . . B has a paci in her mouth and you can see two others sitting on the end table!

At right around a year old, we got rid of the paci altogether. She was never overly attached to it and I was tired of messing with it. I had said from the beginning that she wouldn't have a paci after she turned one, so she didn't. Again, that is totally just my personal preference. It doesn't bother me to see a walker with a paci . . . unless they are like 4 or 5 years old, then it DOES bother me a bit. 

With Brenson, we actually tried to get him to take a paci (my how things change with the second baby, haha) and he wouldn't really have it. He did take a soothie but only right as he was falling asleep. I couldn't even find any photos of him with it. You may remember that there was only ONE soothie he would take, and after we lost it when he was 8 months old, that was the end of that.

So imagine my surprise today when I look over and see this:

Brianna has two pacis that are cheap pacis from Wal-mart that she uses for her baby dolls. Little man found one and popped it right in his mouth.

As you can see in these photos, he thought it was pretty funny. He wasn't sucking on it, just holding it in his teeth.

Silly boy!

I love how his eyes are just sparkling in this photo. I'm totally not worried about him getting attached to this paci because he saw it as just a fun game. He would have made such a cute paci baby :-).

Right there

Ya'll.

It's been over five weeks since my last post. FIVE.

I can't believe that much time has gone by! In the five {plus} years that I've had this blog, I don't think I've EVER let that much time pass between posts. I haaaaate that I haven't posted in so long. I've missed my readers! Hopefully, you've missed me, too (and thanks to those of you who have checked up on me :-).

I kept coming here last week, but I didn't know where to even begin. April was a BUSY month. And I still want to blog all about our Disney trip (that was 3 months ago). Not knowing where to begin was intimidating me, but I've decided that is silly. I'll just begin where I want and go from there :-).

So, let's talk about Mother's Day!

I want to begin by saying that Mother's Day is still a BIG trigger for me. Naturally, it was a trigger when we were in the throws of infertility - and I thought that those triggers would go away once we had children of our own - but they haven't. Not completely anyway. And I think that {for whatever reason} Mother's Day is when I feel those triggers the most. While my heart is so happy and full and blessed to be celebrating the day with my two babies, I still get highly emotional about the day in general. I just remember so vividly how hard the day used to be. I think of my friends who are still waiting, or who have gone through losses, or who have recently lost their own mothers, and I know the day is so hard for them. And this year I was feeling a bit of fresh grief for B3. So yeah, my emotions were kind of right there all day. 

Despite all of this, we had a wonderful weekend and I purposefully held my babies a little tighter and kissed them a little more. I hope the day was good for all of you as well!

We spent the weekend at my parents' house, and the kids had a BALL! They loved our little getaway. On Saturday, Mom and I went shopping for a bit then met up with the guys and the kiddos for lunch. After lunch, we decided to head over to Bass Pro Shop to see the animals. Such a fun {and FREE} outing!

Brenson had the best time seeing the animals (live and stuffed). He thought this bear was GREAT!

Brianna has never liked the stuffed animals much, but she loves seeing the live animals. She had fun watching these turtles.

Last year, they had a large, live alligator on the property. However, they have now replaced that gator with these little baby gators. They were more fun to watch as they were actually active!

Brenson had to try out a boat on the showroom floor. He was so seriously about it!

Saturday evening, we had a little birthday party for my mom. Really, we just had a nice meal at home and then she opened a few gifts.

On Sunday, we all got ready for church then Mom and I opened a few Mother's Day gifts. Dad gave Mom her gift from him at the same time as I was opening my gift from my children. Imagine our surprise when our gifts were the same type of bracelet! So funny considering this was pure coincidence and not planned!

Our Mother's Day bracelets:

After gifts, we headed outside to take a few photos. I know I only have two children, but it is SO HARD to get a photo of the three of us that is decent! Please tell me that this is just a phase!

Take one:

Take two:

Take three:

We give up! I think I may crop Brianna out of that last one because it's pretty cute of me and Brenson.

I love my mom so much. She's a constant source of love and support and such a great example to me.

The three ladies:

Trying to get a good photo of G-Jo and Grampy with the kids also proved to be difficult. Sigh.

However, then my dad turned around and took this family photo and I kind of love it. :-)

After church, we had mexican food for lunch (YUM) and rested part of the afternoon. Before heading back to church that evening, I tried again with the photos.

This was my fourth Mother's Day to celebrate as a Mom, and it was a beautiful day. I never take for granted the fact that I am celebrating as a Mom. God is so good.

DIY Coasters

For the longest time, I resisted Pinterest. I just felt like I didn't need one more thing to tempt me to waste my time on the computer. 

However, while I was planning a party last summer, I found myself needing some ideas. So, I joined Pinterest, and honestly I'm glad that I did!

Since joining, I find that I actually spend less time hunting for projects or ideas online. And I definitely spend less time trying to find something again that I found several months ago because now I just pin any idea that I think I like at all and everything is in one place. I pretty much only use Pinterest when I'm looking for something specific, so it really isn't a huge time-waster for me. 

There are times, though, that I just browse Pinterest for cute craft ideas. These DIY Coasters are an idea I came across and thought would make a super-cute little gift. 

To make these coasters, I first chose coordinating scrapbook paper that I thought would be cute. 

I cut the paper to size, then mod-podged it to 4 inch square bathroom tiles that I bought at Lowe's. These particular ones were clearanced, so I think I paid about 15 cents apiece for them. I used a total of six. 

After the first coat of mod-podge dried, I put a second coat on them. It dries clear.

Then, The Hubs sprayed them with clear acrylic sealant (purchased at Hobby Lobby in a spray can). I think he actually did two coats of that as well.

Once they were dry (it took several days), I put no-slip, self-adhesive feet on the bottom of them. I used one in each corner.

And finally, I stacked them up and tied them with a pretty ribbon!

This was such a fun, inexpensive, and cute gift to make! It didn't take much time, and I've read that you can mod-podge photos on the tiles instead of paper. Wouldn't that be so cute?

What fun things have you pinned lately?