Monday

The winner of the Curated by Kelly Giveaway is:

Julie Rogers!

Email me and we'll get you hooked up!

thevanillatulip (at) yahoo (dot) com

Brothers

Brothers.

Best friends.

These two will always have a special bond.

I can already see it forming.

And it excites me.

They're 22 months apart.

Constantly mistaken for twins because Cade is big for his age.

I could watch them interact all day.

They're constantly rolling and roughing one another up.

They'll walk past each other and punch as they're going by.

They remind me of baby bear cubs.

I love to daydream about when they're older.

Both tall, lanky, blonde teenagers.

They'll be two grades apart.

It's fun to think about them playing football together.

I can imagine them rolling around like they do now.

Except the punches will be harder and their muscles much bigger.

And then my mind drifts to when they'll be grown men.

And it makes my heart swell with pride.

These two little boys have changed my life.

Each night I pray for their futures.

Their future families and wives.

I pray that they would be leaders.

And that they would be strong and brave.

Someday they will be big.

And they'll move out of my house.

They'll make their own decisions.

They will lead their own families.

But for now...

I'm savoring watching these two little bears splash in the tub together each night.

Rolling, hitting, giggling.

Cherishing these fleeting moments.

Because before I realize it my baby boys will be men.

I love you my sweet little bear cubs!

First Time Obedience

Training up our children is hard.  And it is constant.  You have to be on your A-game all the time.  Always watching. Always correcting. Always guiding. Always encouraging them to do what is right.

Each family parents differently.  I love the beauty in that.  You do what works for your family.  You adjust and readjust.  You make up your own rules.  And sometimes you carry down the rules and guidelines that your parents had for you when you were a child.

One of the things that we have carried down from my parents and use in our own family now is, "first time obedience." 

  My parents used to teach classes called Growing Kids God's Way. 

  "First time obedience" is exactly what it sounds like.  

Our children are expected to obey the first time.  

We don't count to three. 

  They don't get a second chance or a third chance. 

  You come the first time you're called. 

  And you obey the first time you're told to do something.  

Do our kids obey first every single time?

 Nope. 

  Hardly. 

  But we're getting there. 

  It's hard and it takes time and effort to train them to obey the first time.  

Right now the one we struggle most with in this area is Cade.  

He's two and he has the mind of a two year old.  

He wants his way or the highway :)

But here's why we stick with it and why we're huge believers in first time obedience.

It's for their safety.

Here's an example of where it worked like it was supposed to.

Last week I took the kids to the park.

Long story short there was a man in sunglasses there who made me feel super uneasy.

He wasn't with a family and just hovered around where we were.

He left the park and went in the opposite direction of our car.

I loaded up my kids in the stroller and as I was almost to my car he pulled up in a vehicle to the side of my car.

There was nobody else in the parking lot.

No one to see or hear me if I needed help.

I was able to open the passenger door of my car and told my kids "get in the car NOW!"

There was no arguing or asking why.  They all climbed in immediately.

First time and quickly.

Just like I have been training them to do.

I climbed in the same door after them and locked the door.

He drove away once we were all locked in.

I have never been more shaken or rattled as a mother.

What if's have been in my thoughts since then.

What if my children didn't obey first time.

What if Cade would have ran the other way instead of into the car.

There was no time to count to three.

No time to chase a toddler.

No time to argue with little ones about why they had to get in the front passenger door.

They obeyed the first time.

I have praised and thanked the Lord every day since then for His protection on our family that day.

Praised and thanked Him for my children's first time obedience that day.

Needless to say our First Time Obedience rule has been enforced even more since that day.

It's so important to have my little ones obeying me first time.

Not just because it's nice when they listen but also for their safety.

I would love to hear some of the rules in your home that relate to obedience.

What works for your family?

Any tips you could share?

Hope your Wednesday has been a good one!

Guest Post+Giveaway: Curated by Kelly

Hello, Vanilla Tulip friends! I'm so excited to be a part of Ashley's wonderful blog today. I'm Kelly from Curated by Kelly and I blog about things I love and sell my favorite statement necklaces in my little shop.

My husband and I recently adopted our two boys and we are having so much fun being parents. Over the next year we'll be sharing more about our adoption journey on the blog. I also love to read and pull together my favorite finds. I do a giveaway of something I love on my blog almost every week. It's not usually something sponsored, just things I love that I want to share with someone else.

So why Curated by Kelly and why statement necklaces? I have a closet full of them and I'm asked all the time where I buy them. I finally decided to "curate" a collection of them in one place, at an affordable price. It's been such a fun journey and I'm always excited to launch new arrivals each Friday and see how our friends style them.

Please stop by, say hi and let us know what you'd like to see in the shop! Cheers. Kelly

Kelly is giving one reader a $50 store credit to her shop! To enter: You simply need to be a follower of her Facebook page!

 http://m.facebook.com/curatedbykelly?id=223968024406224&_rdr

 Leave a comment letting me know you've done so. The winner will be announced on Friday!

Moments- Part Two

-Part One Here-

+One of our favorite things to do in the afternoons is to gather around my camera.

We'll turn the little screen towards ourselves.

And then I'll just push the button.

Letting it snap picture after picture.

300 pictures in five minutes.

Five minutes filled with lots of laughs and giggles.

Lots of funny faces.

Squishing bodies close together.

Cheeks to cheeks.

Giggles as we look through the pictures taken.

And more giggles as somebody toots while we're taking pictures.

Wanting to remember little moments...even the stinky ones:)

 +Tiny toys and tiny animals.

I love the scenes I find all around the house.

The creativity that comes from them playing with these tiny animals never ceases to amaze me.

Some days they put together a circus performance.

And others they name every animal after a member of our family.

Somehow I always end up being the pig.

Hmm.

And I don't want to forget tip-toeing into their room at night to make sure they are all tucked in.

Only to step on a yak or a wild hog.

Painful.

There will come a day where I'll miss finding little wild animals on my floors.

My floors will stay someday stay clean and picked up.

Treasuring these moments.

+The shirtless wonder.

And usually pant-less wonder as well.

I can't keep clothes on this child for the life of me.

He's a free spirit.

Nakedness means nothing to him.

I love him for it:)

+I'll want to remember how somebody tore the deer to bits and I tried to salvage it by putting it back together with packing tape.

And now his antlers just hang their limply.

Poor Bucky.

And I'll remember how nothing is sacred.

Forget about having favorite things...

because eventually they will be torn apart or drawn on by little hands.

And this season will pass.

Although, I'm not so sure I'll miss having my things torn apart and drawn on;)

And the chalkboard.

I love seeing the little notes and picture that are drawn on it.

Baby hands drawing baby things.

+This girl was born to be a mother.

I want to remember how she swaddles her baby dolls.

And how she has to know where her Bitty Baby is at all times.

I want to remember that last week she wouldn't let me leave the doll 

in the car because it was "too warm in the car for Bitty".

 +This is a little lamp in the kids bedroom.

I want to remember turning it on every evening as the sun sets.

Reading stories to the warm glow of it.

And I want to remember how Cade always tries to take the balloon out of the little statues hand because he thinks it's a sucker.

Moments-Part One

One of my favorite things to do is to sit down in front of my computer at the end of the day to look through the pictures that I took.

Little moments captured.

Moments I don't want to ever forget.

I want to remember this season with my blessings.

The little moments that put together our day.

The smiles, the cries, the glasses we drank from, the toys we played with.

I love to think about how thirty years from now my adult children will curl up around photo albums filled with these pictures.

They'll look back on the details.

And hopefully the little details will spark a memory or a story.

These are a few of the snippets from our past week.

Moments I don't want to forget.

+She'll be three months on Sunday.

Her hair is coming in fuzzy and blonde. 

Just like her siblings.

She has the sweetest coo and giggle.

And her left ear sticks out just enough that it makes me want to nibble it every time I get near it.

+This has been my breakfast every day this past week.

An egg, fresh salsa and avacado.

When I look back at this picture I'll remember that I was trying to lose the rest of my baby weight.

And I'll remember that it was hard.

Especially with four little ones needing constant attention.

And I'll remember that though it was hard that I continued to stick with it.

(7 pounds down in the past 10 days! Can you tell I'm pumped?! ;) )

 +Our bathroom step stool.

I want to remember the fact that all three kids need to stand on it to turn on the bathroom light.

And I want to remember that the boys have to stand on it to wash their hands.

Because there will come a day when nobody will need the step stool anymore.

They'll be tall and lanky.

And the step stool will get pushed aside.

+I'll look back at this picture and remember how I wanted to freeze this moment.

My baby being little.

I want to remember her wobbly head and her milky breathe.

+Saturday morning breakfasts.

This past Saturday I opened my kitchen window as I cooked.

The fresh morning breeze and the smell of french toast cooking...bliss.

And as I cooked I could hear the kids playing in the living room while Travis drank his coffee.

And I thought to myself how I would blog about blissful Saturday morning breakfasts.

I called them to breakfast.

We all sat down.

A milk glass was spilled.

Syrup was poured on the table.

A temper tantrum was thrown.

Tears were shed.

Another glass of milk was spilled.

And more tears shed.

Wanting to remember every moment.

Even the spilled glasses of milk and tears.

Because someday I will look back and miss having little hands 

flailing around my table spilling the milk.

+Her chuckle and baby belly laugh.

When we tickle under her chin.

She melts me!

+Afternoon snacks.

I want to remember how my kids live for afternoon snacks.

Their current fave: graham cracker sandwiches with peanut butter

 and a glass of milk in a juice glass with a fun straw.

--Part Two Coming Tomorrow--

Phone Pics

+Just a few snapshots from my phone from the past few weeks+

This little area is one of my favorites in our home.

The dresser is a vintage one.

A coat of turquoise/teal paint later and I am in love with it!

I love afternoons in the kid's room.

This particular afternoon was especially peaceful and sweet.

I have more pictures of this little doll on my phone than anything else.

How could I not!? :)

I got out of the shower this past Saturday morning to find all Travis and the big kids cuddled around Eloise trying to make her smile.

I love catching little moments like this.