...just for Kelly (a day in the life of kayil and karis)

My dear friend has been in Uganda for what seems like forever finalizing sweet Chloe Laiti's adoption. Like all adoptions, their story is one of ups and downs and complete roller-coaster rides! I have two of her four girls for a few days this week and am keeping a photo journal of their days. I know as a momma that when I am not with my kids I miss the details...what are they wearing, what are they eating, playing, etc.

So, this is for you Kelly! We love you and continue to pray for you all the time.

breakfast smiles...

wanting to swing "myself"...

chillin and swinging...

my laundry helper...

and lunch helper...

picnic lunch!

"i like this lunch but i don't like geen gapes"

crazy cul-de-sac of bike riding kids =)

all that remained of Karis's popsicle, ha!

break time at the pool...

this one is out of order...but it was a  popcorn and AFV night!

Both girls had thirds of the spaghetti =)

silly teeth brushing faces...

bedtime stories and snuggles...

Kelly - As you can see, we all had a great day loving on your girls! This morning starts a whole new day of fun!

Remember, part 1

Scripture is replete with this simple command: "Remember!" or "Do not forget what the Lord has done for you..."

Personally for me, taking time to remember what God has done in my life is extremely vital to building my faith and encouraging me to continue living in faith for the future. It is one of my main motivators for keeping a journal, so I can have an actual physical and tangible reminder of what God has brought me through. 

This week last year I was writing posts asking for prayers for our sweet Eli as he underwent a complete cranial reconstruction surgery. I was very (very!) pregnant and nervous about Zoe coming early like my others. 

You can read more about the surgery he underwent here.

As always, God showed off throughout that week. 

Eli did great. 

The surgery was extremely successful. 

Zoe stayed exactly where she was supposed to. 

And here we are...one year later.

We recently took Eli for his one year follow up ct scan and visits with his doctors. Everything looked great and in the words of our neurosurgeon "Eli's brain looks happy." 

That's not the only thing that is happy. 

Man, I love this sweet happy boy. (even if he was threatening to shoot me with his water gun!)

the irony of my fourth child

With Zoe, I finally feel like I learned how to just accept and enjoy and wholeheartedly embrace exactly where she is in her development.

I didn't resent the lack of sleep or frequent nursings during the newborn stage.
I didn't rush to introduce "real" food.
I never pushed her to roll over or crawl or walk.

However, there is extreme irony in this...because...Zoe seems unable to just accept and enjoy and wholeheartedly embrace where she is in her development. I feel like she has been in a hurry to grow up and keep up with her older siblings ever since she was born and has done pretty much everything significantly earlier than the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

And I'm not ok with this.

So maybe I'm really not able to just accept and enjoy and wholeheartedly embrace where she is in her development? Cause she is developing way too fast. College will be here in 5 minutes.

...while not blogging

I have plenty of craigs-list weeks days with my kids. Plenty-o.

However, this has not been one of them.

I have totally enjoyed being with them this week. I've been much more intentional about protecting not just mine, but their white space as well and I think we have all benefited.

Making blueberry muffins with fresh blueberries we picked that morning.

Ella starting a new 500 piece puzzle.

Jeremiah and I stayed up way too late 2 nights in a row finishing it. I think we found a new hobby. Puzzles are perfect for two OCD adults. As long as you don't lose a piece.

We've also managed to re-arrange the family room (nothing like a good re-arrangement!) and I've gotten caught up on all my photo-editing. For the moment, that is. We've been swimming almost every day this week. It has been h.o.t. The first full week of true heat around here.

It is hard to believe we are staring the end of June in the face. This summer is just going to fly by, I can feel it.

And in other un-related news...Zoe has a tooth!

Happy Friday!

protecting my white space

Busy.

I really really despise that word. 

I am not a person to wear that word as a badge of honor or a reflection of how important I must be because of how busy I am.

Nope. Not me.

However, life has been busy lately. Busy busy. Busy with good things, but still busy.

I've decided that something has got to give. Even if it is something I want to do. I have more things (and new things) that I need to do. Or little ones that need me to not be needed elsewhere. I also am a person that has to have an ample amount of margin in my life. I cannot function (or at least function well) without some white space.

At the beginning of the year I set a main goal for 2012: making my priorities the ones that the Lord would have for me. Now that we are halfway through the year I needed to re-visit my priorities. Asking my kids what Mommy does a lot of  is always a really good revealer of how they interpret my priorities. And makes for some "ouch" moments as well.

In the spirit of keeping it real I confess that my blog takes up a lot of my time. Too much, I've decided. I am still planning on writing and posting regularly...just not near as regularly. I cherish the memories I've captured as I read through old posts and I don't want to lose that. I just need to be more present in the midst of making new memories during this stage in my life.

So...this isn't good-bye.
It's just sort of the start of a new stage for my blog. And for me, so it seems.

Not Me Monday

I did not neglect the hygiene of my kids last week and realize on Saturday night that I couldn't remember the last time they had taken a bath. Swimming counts, right?

I do not have a shoplifting baby and walk out of target with an item I had not paid for. Again.

I did not take a 2 week vacation from my exercise routine.

I did not think it would be funny to jump out of a closet and scare my kids and have to live with the consequences of calming them down for 30 minutes.

I do not have a daughter who knows the difference between the real remote control and impostor remote control. And real cell phone vs. impostor cell phone. Or real keys and impostor keys.

I do not have a daughter who asked to do school within the first week of summer vacation.

I did not reply that she had to go watch a cartoon or something.

I did not eat an entire bag of white chocolate covered pretzels in one day. Ok, in one sitting.

And I did not finally reach my pre-baby weight and measurement goals. (I really should have tried the no exercise and entire bag of chocolate pretzels diet sooner, huh!)

Nope. Not me.

the hambrick kids present "Happy Father's Day!"

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

my mighty thor

He may be wearing the mighty hammer...


 But even superhero's have their moments...


And their boogers to pick...

However, the mark of a true superhero is that they always bounce back. With a smile...

thursday thoughts

The kids and I spent a few days at my parents house this weekend while Jeremiah was gone for a staff planning weekend. It was my first solo road trip with all four kids and it was actually...enjoyable. Ella was a rock-star helper and did everything (well, almost everything) I do when I'm not the driver. I found it a little hilarious when she asked the boys to "not ask her for anything else for at least 15 minutes" because she just wanted to sit there. 

Hmm...I know the feeling.

While at my parents the kids were swimming fools and managed to knock camp-out off of our summer bucket list. Although, let it be known for the record that only Eli actually made it through the night in the tent. 

The tents going up. 1 for the boys and 1 for the girls. Let is also be recorded that the girls put up both tents. My sisters are pretty much awesome!

We also knocked see a movie in a theater off our list as we went to see Madagascar 3. Funny movie. My kids loved it. I found it again, hilarious, that even with only the "little" ones going from my family we still managed to take up an entire row and a half at the theater.  

The boys had fun getting acquainted with their newest uncles. Yes, they actually have uncles now that are younger than them, ha!

Little Judah is quite the ham!

I love all the color that is in my family now...it's a beautiful thing.

Happy Thursday!

zoe elizabeth: 10 months

I will begin this with a video:

The girl has taken off. One day she was taking a step or two here and there. The next day she decided that crawling is so 2011 and didn't look back. And she is fast. I may or may not have already lost her a time or two as she really likes to sneak out the back door.

She has had a lot of changes with her eating habits this past month. Or rather, her taste buds. Things she wouldn't eat before, now she loves. Foods she used to love, now they are thrown off the high chair in disdain. 

Another big change that has happened over the last month is our friend "separation anxiety" has made its appearance. Zoe is extremely clingy at the moment and likes me in her line of sight at all times. While frustrating at times when I really need to do something, I've never had a mommy's girl before...and knowing she is my last, I am sort of enjoying it. I know it will pass and soon I will become the seeker.

Here's a photo series I like to call "the balloon"... 

So happy to have the balloon.

Lets squish it into the ground with our face. Good idea.

This is not going to end well.

And it didn't. 

End well.

Pop! (yet another reason why balloons belong on the spawn of satan list)

No new words, still just babbles and lots of Dada, Baba, Mama, and squeals. No teeth yet either.

She doesn't like loud noises. At all. The vacumn cleaner is her worst enemy. As is the blender. Or Ezra.

She loves to bob her head to music and will do this funny little squat dance. She can now instigate a game of peek a boo and duck her head behind the coffee table and pop back up with a smile.


Stairs are conquered. Bottom baby gate is now up.


Watch out world. Here she comes.


_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Zoe,

We are into a whole new stage of life with you and I am loving it! You are so fun, so full of life. Your sweet crazy smile make your Daddy and I laugh all the time. And your siblings are over the moon for you, even if you are into their stuff now. You are such a blessing and we love you so much! Happy 10 months sweet girl!

Forever, 

your momma

Jennifer Hambrick Photography

Without further ado, I present the project that Jeremiah and I (mostly my hubby!) have been working diligently on over the last few weeks: my new photography website.

You can check it out here.
(please do!)

While I hardly consider myself professional, I do love taking pictures. I love when I am able to capture that special look or smile or interaction. Over the last three years I have been pushing myself to learn more of the technical side to things, build a portfolio, and of course...practice, practice, practice.

My kids make the practicing thing easy, ha!

I say of all that in order to say that if you need some new family photo's, or have a big event coming up that you'd love photographed...I'm your girl.

Spread the word...

photojournal: an everyday interaction

Child #1 innocently playing with lincoln logs.

Child #2 notices child #1 innocently playing and immediately gets crazed excited look.



Child #1 shows me his frustrated face at the impending doom of his log cabin.

 

Child #2 shows me her frustrated face at the impending doom of her planned destroy-the-cabin fun.

Child #2 acquiesces to the fact that mommy is a perpetual fun-squlecher and moves onto emptying the box.

just...an afternoon

perfect weather,
my favorite people,
rain boots on a sunny day,
fence climbing,
grass observing,
sibling walking practice,
leaf collecting...

eh,you know... just...an afternoon.