Goldfish crackers and playdates

Real-life number two: We went to a friend's house for a play date today, and Benjamin ate the goldfish that his little friend had glued to a picture for a craft. Right off their refrigerator door. Real life is sometimes really funny.

Blessing number two: I am really grateful to have friends to have play dates with!

Blessings and Real Life #1

So, I would like to blog more, but don't always find the time to really write posts that express my heart. So I'm going to try something new.  I've been inspired by other blogs to write about real life--the good, the bad, and the ugly, and not make it look like our lives are "perfect" all the time, which is easy to do on a blog.  So however many times a week I can post, I'm going to write one real life moment.  But I also want to grow in gratefulness to God for the many, many, many blessings I experience every day. So I'm also going to post one thing that I'm grateful for.  And I will add lots of pictures to make it interesting :-)

So here is my start:

REAL LIFE #1: Last night, during bath time (which is normally a fun time, as both of my kids love the bath tub), they instead decided to have a "who can scream and cry the loudest for mom's attention" contest. I lost. Does anyone have the same experience that the kids only seem to lose it after their husband leaves for work?!

SO GRATEFUL #1: Benjamin has learned to play hide and seek with me!  It is so much fun to "hide" from my little guy and see and hear his excitement when he "finds" me! :-)

Photos from this past Saturday when we went to a nearby Pumpkin Festival at Silo Christmas Tree Farm. Another real life moment is that Benjamin had a breakdown as soon as we got there, until we gave him a bag full of animal crackers.  :-)  It was fun times from then on!

Benjamin visited the petting farm! To be truthful, he enjoyed acting like a goat and playing in the dirt, more than he did actually interacting with the goats.  He was in his element though.  One father, after his son refused to go into the farm because it was too dirty, actually pointed to dirt covered Benjamin and said his son should be more like "that boy". :-)

Trying to find some family resemblance

 1 month photos

2 months photos

What I see: Esther is definitely chubbier, and I had forgotten how Benjamin's ears stuck out, LOL! Also Esther's head seems longer to me.  But they both have the same killer smiles.  

What do you all see?

How does life with 2 kids work?

Long time, no blog.  It's because I only have 2 hands and they are both wonderfully full of children now.  We have only had Esther Grace for 7 weeks now, but it already feels like she has been a part of our family forever, and life would not be the same without her.

Benjamin & Esther meeting for the 1st time

Our first family photo

  I have 2 kids to snuggle, read to, feed, bath, play with, and smile for.  Of course that also means 2 sets of tears to try to solve (often at once!) and 2 sets of diapers to change and all of the other "work" that comes with being a mom has doubled.  I do get less sleep, but I wouldn't trade my littles for all of the extra sleep or time in the world.

Esther Grace, 1 month;  Benjamin, 16 months

The first month of Esther Grace's life was a whirlwind for me with the hospital stay, the first two weeks of just trying to function with little sleep and figuring out how to hold life together for 2 little ones, a last-minute (but much needed and enjoyed!) trip to MD for Brynn & Natalie's wedding, and then the passing of my much-loved grandfather.   It was a crazy time indeed, and my emotions were all over the place, and it was a daily struggle to lean on God for strength, and fight for joy.  Thankfully I have an amazing husband who consistently prayed for me, led me, and provided for me during that time, and wonderful friends who brought us meals.  I am so blessed!

Esther Grace with Uncle Brynn at the rehearsal dinner, and Aunt Natalie at the wedding (p.c. Featherlove photography).

Then Lola (Alain's mom) came to visit, and cared for the kids, cooked and cleaned for 3 days.  Can you say HUGE blessing of a respite?

Benjamin especially loved having his Lola here!

Now for the last two weeks we have been back to real life..no visitors, Alain is working the night shift at one of the busier rotations, and I'm back to being responsible for all of the cooking, cleaning, etc.  And I'm still trying to figure out what to prioritize, what to let go, how much time to spend with the kids vs. taking care of other stuff, and how in the world to get all of the "other stuff" done in the 2 hours (if I'm lucky) that the kids are sleeping at the same time during the day, and what to do when I have no such time!  Yeah, I have no idea what I'm doing. :-P

Baby bath time

A verse from my quiet times that has encouraged me lately is Proverbs 19:14, "House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD."

Prudent: Acting with or showing care for the future, wise or judicious in practical affairs.

Prudent defines everything I feel like I'm failing in right now.  How can I show care for the future, when I feel like I'm struggling to hold on to the right now...When just making sure that the kids are fed, there is food in the fridge, that Alain has a lunch packed, etc? Sometimes it seems that as far into future that I can manage to be prudent in is tomorrow morning.  And sometimes not even that.  And all of these "practical affairs" are things that I tend to get overwhelmed by because I am so lacking in wisdom for how to manage them daily.  There are many days when I feel like I'm barely hanging on to all of the details, and there are even more days when I know I am failing at many of these practical affairs.

One of my new "practical affairs" that I needed wisdom on...how to grocery shop with 2 kids!

So how did this verse encourage me?

A prudent wife is from the LORD.  I have spent much time trying to be a prudent wife on my own strength, and I fail every time.  I can't do this on my own.  I need His strength, His wisdom, His care.  I need discernment and guidance from the one who knows the future in order to be able to care for the future.  I need wisdom from the source of all wisdom for how to organize my days, weeks, and years so that I can best glorify Him as a wife and mom.  I'm so grateful that the one who called me is faithful, and that He will bring this work into completion. 

So how does this truth change my day?  

1. More prayer.  When I'm unsure, I pray. When I feel overwhelmed, I pray.  When Benjamin is throwing each temper tantrum (he is the cutest kid ever, but boy does he know how to get angry when he doesn't get his way),  I pray.  I admit my need for God, and ask him for the gift of wisdom I need to be a prudent wife in each situation.

2. Seeking out others. I am seeking to be more faithful to ask other godly sources of wisdom for help. I ask Alain for wisdom on what he would like me to prioritize, and for wisdom on training the kids. I call my mom. I am having a godly wife & mom who was in my exact same position in life at one time (wife of a resident, had young kids, etc) come over to share her wisdom with me.  This all takes humility that I don't have in myself, another thing that I need from the LORD for this season.

He is faithful. He loves me and saved me through the cross, and is now at work to sanctify me.  And I can't think of a better way to be sanctified than through being a wife to an amazing husband and have the privilege to care for these 2 wonderful kids. 

Much love, and a few more photos from the Abellada family.  If you read this, leave a comment!  Seriously, it's required. We love hearing from you!

Going to the zoo, and the pool have been 2 of our favorite family activities this summer. 

Benjamin is 17 months old now and his favorite activities are riding on his car, drawing with chalk, and anything to do with water (taking a bath, watering the garden, going to the pool, turning on the faucet when mama's not watching...)

Esther Grace is 7 weeks old today, and her favorite activities are snuggling, eating, & sleeping. Gotta love being a baby...

 Alain & I are just old :-)  But we have a great life...

Sweet moments not to be missed

It's been months since I've blogged. My baby has grown up to a one-year-old, and many sweet moments have been enjoyed. And I really need to start recording some of those here...

I get pregnancy updates each week on my Facebook page that tell me how baby Esther Grace is growing and how many more weeks we have until she joins us.  This week is 15 more weeks.  15 weeks seems like a very long time.  I long to snuggle this girl in my arms, look her in the eyes, and tell her how much I love her.  I also am about done with being "big" (even though I'm not near as big as I will be by the end--I think I just feel big because in addition to baby weight, I am often carrying around Benjamin's 18lbs as well.  God bless people carrying twins...), clothes not fitting, legs being restless at night.  It's too early to start thinking about being done :-)

MY BABY'S PROGRESS: WEEK 25

Only 15 more weeks to go

If my baby were born today, they would probably survive the ICU, as their tiny lungs CAN breathe. This week they SHOULD (if they're good) start scootching out of breech and rotating into a head-down position for their grand entrance into the world. Just (still!) 14 weeks until my days as a human pod are over! Woohoo!

So I got a new perspective today, and I hope that God keeps reminding me of how many sweet moments are available today, that won't be there 15 weeks from now.  Like feeling baby Esther Grace (who is every bit as active as her brother) kicking inside me.  That never gets old. And all the special one-on-one time I get with Benjamin.  So this morning I took Benjamin out to "help" me garden.  It was a blast...

So what if many of the herbs I had just picked went back into the garden...

And a lot of dirt ended up in my herb bowl...

And yes, some dirt ended up in the mouth...

Ben just loved helping mama, and getting to play in the dirt and grass.  It was so worth the extra time it took to clean him all up afterward.  And I told Esther how I can't wait for her to join us so Benjamin can show her how to garden...