It's All A Matter Of Perspective

This morning has already been so much fun! Here are the boys at the breakfast table having some laughs together.

I gave Joshua some paper and a pen so that he could do school too! He's really smart! :)

Here's the young scholar writing his "paper" in his highchair.

The Lord spoke to me this morning and told me that my focus could be on the fact that I still have a nasty cold, the baby's kept me up at night a lot lately because he has a cold too, the sink is full of dirty dishes, the laundry still isn't fisnished, I miss my husband, etc, and so on......... OR I could focus on the fact that there are four beautiful children in my home this morning and their laughter fills the house, I watched Bailey Jo take Joshua out to feed the deer, Joshua was so silly in the highchair that I laughed til I cried, I prayed with all of them for a friend to be healed, my husband called and said he loves all of us, we found out we have a new baby boy cousin coming in July, etc... so on............. So it's really all about perspective today. The Lord has richly blessed me, and that's how I'm choosing to see things. Hope you feel the same way.

So, I know that I haven't blogged in forever (guilt, guilt,guilt) and it's not that I don't want to. To be honest I do not know how people with 8 or more children do all the beautiful REGULAR blogging that they do... but I know they do because I love to read them. I just can't seem to get it all done sometimes. Ugh. Well, I would love to spend hours here on the computer and tell you all the things that have gone on in the last several months... and believe me, there's a bunch. But, obviously I can't. Here's just a few of the major events: A good friend went to be with Jesus after her fight with cancer, a grandmother joined her in Heaven with almost 99 years on this earth, Taylor made 2nd team All State in football, my baby brother got married, Joshua turned 1, Taylor got his driver's license (yikes!) and tons of other stuff.

Birthday Boy!

Well, I can't believe a whole year has gone by, but Joshua turned one on January 4th this year! :)

Here's he and Aunt Allison hamming it up! She is pregnant with Joshua's new baby cousin! Hurray!!!!!!!!!!

Both of the grandmothers at Joshua's party... How blessed are we that we have the treasure of these two beautiful godly women in our lives?

The day after Joshua's party, my precious friend Caroline and her husband Jon visited us from New Zealand. What a treat to get to have them in our home. Can you tell that Joshua doesn't like the flash?

Finally back!

Yes, I'm finally back........ I think. You cannot even imagine how techno-challenged I am. I tried to get all fancy and make my page look kind of "fallish" and then, bam! I Messed up the whole blog! I've been working on this for weeks and now hopefully, I can at least write some and post some photos. We'll see...........

Bailey's Big Birthday Bash! (#12)

Can you believe that my Bailey Jo is 12?! Oh my, where has the time gone? We had a wonderful celebration on Saturday with a house full of friends and laughter. Bailey planned this party all by herself. She was crazy about the idea of having a Hawaiian Luau by the pool, but after days and days of rain we weren't sure if it would work out. The girls did swim for a little bit though and then played games, ate cake, and watched the Hannah Montana movie. (Troy and Taylor loved this part!) The original plan was for Troy to project the movie outside on the side of the house, but because of the weather we just did it in the living room. He hung a quilt and made it into a HUGE big screen. Daddy saved the day and made it very fun!!! He also sent Bai some beautiful flowers in all of her favorite colors (blue, lime green, and orange).

Here are friends Emily, Saida, Meg, and of course Joshua all gathered around to play "spoons".

Here are all the beauties with exception of our Emily (the photographer) and another very special friend named Taylor Campbell who is actually in college at TX State. Bailey just loves her and wanted to include her. Taylor was very sweet and VERY mature to not be "too cool" to go to a younger girl's party.

You know in hindsight, we are feeling so blessed that God has provided for us in so many ways. I mean, it's been less than a year since we've moved here, and already Bailey has several very special friends. Wow! :)

I am feeling very overwhelmed at the thought that my baby is 12. It feels like yesterday that we propped her up in Taylor and Emily's 4 and 3 year old arms. Bailey has been and continues to be a great source of joy and laughter for all of us. She's also very deep spiritually, always hungry for worship and bible teaching. One of Bailey's greatest gifts is her love for animals. I marvel at her responsibility and willingness to sacrifice for our pets. She's always taking money that she's earned and spending it on toys for the dog, as well as getting up early just to spend time with them. I know that God has plans for her to some day work with animals as an adult, but all of these character traits in her also remind me of what an amazing mother she'll be. She shows that every day with how well she takes care of not just the pets, but also baby Joshua.

The bottom line is - I am so blessed to have her as my girl. She is a spectacular treasure to our whole family and I praise God for the gift of her!

Happy Birthday Princess Emily!

Happy Birthday Sister!!! :) Today is Emily Ann's 15th birthday! I am writing in pink in honor of her. Since this is her 15th Emily really wanted us to throw her a Quinceanera... but since we're not Latino... AND we don't have thousands to throw towards a party... well, she'll have to just settle on a QuinceanRobertson. :)

This is the birthday breakfast photo that we do every year. This year we're delighted to have Joshua added to the family birthday pics. Emily's special order was bagels with cream cheese and apple juice. (I added cantaloupe)

Emily is such a precious jewel and my heart swells as I think of how blessed I am to have her for a daughter. She is a mother's delight. As I write, I can hear her at the dining room table patiently helping Bailey with her math. Emily is such a help to me as the keeper of the home, always offering help with chores and homeschooling with a sweet and helpful attitude. She is a godly young woman and I feel amazed at her wisdom and maturity. She has many gifts and dreams. We pray often about where God will lead her. Will it be to teach underpriveleged children, serve on a foreign mission field, or write books??? (these are the interests of late) One thing is for sure though and that is that God has placed a vision in her heart to be a helper to a godly man and to raise children. I am grateful that she doesn't see marriage, motherhood or homemaking as a "lesser" career, but rather a way to bring great glory to God and advance his Kingdom. She is a very wise girl indeed.

Here are some things said by her family:

Daddy- "One thing that a lot of people don't know is that Emily is a closet comedian. She is hilarious! She has such a wonderful sense of humor and is very quick witted. Our home is full of laughter with her constant sense of humor and quick wit. She is always lifting our spirits. I love everything about her."

Taylor- "She is smart, funny, and SILLY! She's so much fun to be around!"

Bailey - "I love that Emily and I are always gonna have such great memories together. Even though we're so different, we'll always be best friends."

Joshua- "I love it when Emily takes me to her room to play. She sings and plays with me and makes me feel soooooo special!" (Ok, I helped Joshua a little, but these things are true.)

Mama - There's so much to say... I think that for someone who is so serious about attention to detail and getting things accurate, Emily does an amazing job with laughing at herself and taking full advantage of the joy of the Lord.

As you can imagine, I could go on and on, but the school table is calling. Please feel free to comment on some of your favorite things about Emily. :)

It's so good to be cherished!

What a romantic man I'm married to!!! :) My precious husband has been working like a dog to glorify God and provide for our family. I cannot believe that in all of that hard work he has had the time or brain power to remember to "romance" me. He sent me flowers and took me (and Joshua - where I go, he goes) on a very special lunch date yesterday. We had a great time and even browsed through a bookstore together. I just had to share this photo of these beautiful roses he sent me. No, it wasn't my birthday, our anniversary, or anything of the sort. Just a simple - "I love you". In August we celebrate 17 years of marriage together and I'm thinking that the longer we're together, the better he gets. :) I love you so much Troy! Thanks for everything.