nothing better than a baby's laughter....

tonight I laid in bed with karsen after a hectic day and sang a new song I wrote for him. he lit up like a christmas tree... honestly, grinned from ear to ear and then... for the first time... he laughed. deep down, belly laugh. I used my chin on his neck and chest area and sort of nuzzled him... he melted. oooh, karsen is going to be a sensitive little softy, I can just tell.
sooo excited to finally be reading my book on 'the spirited child'. just a nice way of saying 'your little hellion'! it's just, i'm realizing now that i was making classic mistakes, and now i'm aware and find myself looking over myself and observing me. one of the main things is getting back to time outs. and giving positive praise out of the blue, not sandwiching it between criticism, just good 'ol positive praise. well, she ate it up with a spoon! she was so happy to be told i was proud of her and she was she good at getting on the potty all by herself, and getting dressed, and buckling herself in the carseat, etc. this was all while eating an orange popsicle. she had just woken up from a nap, but she grinned from ear to ear.
there is so much love in this house...

This time is for real...

ok, truth be told, I have started multiple blogs. the reason I have not kept up with it? forgot my password..... pretty stupid I know. but that's what happens when you have kids- they turn your brain to mush. but now, this is saved as a favorite, so I have no excuse!
few things this blog will be used for:

1. record important events, post pics, etc. for my family/friends and for me to remember these beautiful, crazy, hectic times.
   
2. post my scrapbook, altered art in hopes of one day being published
3. since I am awful at journlaling in my notebook maybeI can be more diligent about this.
4. lastly I have seen the early signs of some mild post partum.... I don't want to be on anti-depressants. I want to be proactive and open up about all this. being a mom to two kids is a challenge and I am proud of myself and all my accomplishments!

God's Grace (among the chaos)

I love what god's grace means and I have always loved the way my mom's mother would express "there but for the grace of god go I." I had heard it so many times but never fully understood it as it is a rather profound idea of god's amazing love for us. anytime she would see an individual with special needs, she would first thank god and then say, "there but for the grace of god go I." what she meant was it was god's grace that she was not stricken with a disability or other challenge. It was not because her parents had paid money, prayed harder or loved god more that she wasn't challenged in some way. It was simply god's grace. so, my blog is titled to remember that among all the chaos in my life, I am still reminded, grateful and blessed for god's grace.

God