20 months

20 months is the age Norah was when she came to live with us

20 months is the age Sarah is now

I got this right?

I know this age

Now that I have had Maya & Norah from this age forward it should be a breeze with Sarah or at least a little more familiar

It is, yet it totally isn't

this experience we have had is unlike any other

I can tell you it is soo soo soo different knowing how to handle a 20 month old when you have had them for the past 20 months

Handling a 20 months old, who you have only seen a handful of times, who lived states away and was completely familiar with a different life, is a different story

it is just harder

you don't know their quirks

why they say or do certain things

you haven't seen them change and develop, transform from being a baby into a little person

you don't always know what their cry means or what foods they do or don't like

you don't know who their favorite little friend is or was

the only thing you do know for sure is that they need love  

and lots of it

Here's to knowing all my children from 20 months on!

Norahs 4th birthday

This was actually the first time we had an official birthday party for Norah in Colorado!  Her 2nd birthday was celebrated in California, and her 3rd birthday we did family style.  So it was sweet and special to have a birthday here for her!  And I let it be all about what Norah loves!  Princess, fairy's and dress up, that is what she LOVES so much.

We did a little fairy, garden party where all the girls attending got there own dress up dress.  There were 13 little girls, which was fun and a handful all at once!

Each girl got a fairy dress, crown, wand, & wings

garden food

my home-made pinata

the Birthday girl!

tiny fairy table

tiny fairy

painting

coloring with chalk in style

the little fairys

the big fairys

the party

Norah's favorite!

Tay!

Beautiful Mia

Norah wanted to play with baby Ellie and squish her cheeks, she even asked for me to take this photo!  Next time I will just have a baby party where Norah can play with lots of live babies

she loves lollipops so much they suck her whole face in

and she loves cupcakes too

The girls

Happy Birthday Nory!

 Norah also got her ears pierced for her birthday! It is actually something she worked very hard for and earned by waking up dry at night for over a month! She was so brave and didn't even cry! And after Maya watched, she said "Mommy, I will wait until I am 10 to get my ears pierced" 

Here we go!

all done

Love My girls! And love that Norah is their sister!

 

Life Lesson # 2 {Perspective}

I have no actual plan on this "life lesson" series I am doing, I don't even know that I would call it a series, it is just life lessons I have learned that I may randomly throw out there when I am in "the mood"  you know what that may be a bit more serious.

So for today it is Perspective.

I often have people tell me, " you are so strong,"  "I don't know how you have been able to handle all those losses,"  "I could never do that," and so on.  Let me tell you, I am just as weak as the next person, and I would have told you before that I could never handle a loss or multiple losses,  but here I am now, and I do have something, the Lords strength, hope, and some Perspective in life.

When it comes down to it Perspective has probably been one of the most beneficial things to help me process and get through loss.

I will never forget when I first really understood it.  I heard someone tell me a story, about a bear, caught in a trap. The bear was in pain and suffering, and a hunter was trying to help him out,  but the only way to get him out of the trap was to first push him further in.  All the bear saw and understood was that this hunter was hurting him more, and pushing him further into the trap, causing more pain,  he could not see the big picture that the hunter was really trying to help him to release him.

You see, sometimes it feels like it is getting worse, way worse, but sometimes what we see as hurt, may be help.  This is such a picture of what the Lord can do, we may think, "why is He doing this, why is He hurting me more?"  but in reality He is really trying to help.   The Lord can see our entire future, He can see eternity.  I can see here and now, right now as a 31 year old.    But if you look at my life on one gigantic scroll  it isn't all filled with only hurt and loss,  it is filled with blessings, love, friends, hope,  life,  and beauty and those times of hurt are these little marks on the scroll, they change me, help me to grow, and help me relate to others but they are not my entire life.  The hurts, and the blessing, they are all part of who I am.  And someday when I look back on my entire scroll will I sit and wallow in self pity, hopefully not, because that would be one pathetic scroll of a life! I want to look back and see that despite my circumstance, despite my pain and suffering that I chose hope and life in Christ.

I think that is one great thing about heaven, and those who are there.  You know why there is no sorrow in heaven?  Because they have a different perspective, they can look down and see the whole picture of our lives, they can see the hope that comes even at the end, they can see the big picture.  

Please don't misunderstand, when hard things happen I am not walking around saying "oh, its ok, I have perspective, God has a plan."  I actually I don't like when people say that kind of stuff in the middle of hurt,  I already know that, just let me cry and be upset.  And that is what I do, I get mad, I sob, and ask "why", I am human, but in the end I know that moment is not the whole picture.  God has a better one

Norah & Sarah's room

I am taking it one room at a time.  

This whole moving thing can be overwhelming when it comes to redecorating, so I just started by painting one room and slowly finishing it.   Maya has her own room now, but Norah & Sarah share, changing it up a bit!   The transition has been good and the alone time for Maya has been helpful and healthy for her.

We started our first painting project in Norah & Sarah's room.  I loved the theme of the room Maya & Norah had before and didn't want to buy everything new, but I also didn't want it to look exactly

 the same.  Here is their room in our old townhouse.  You can also look here for more photos

 

So all we did to decorate their room in the new house was buy a different color paint, some chair rail, and an organizer.  Everything else we used for the room was already in the previous room and was just re-used or re-purposed to save $$$.

Introducing Norah & Sarah's room!

We used a blueish/teal paint that we actually matched with one of the colors on the bed spread & then white chair rail (it was only about $30 for the chair rail and it was pre-painted)

reading nook.  Same ikea spice shelves I had in the previous room, just spray painted them pink. 

I used a storage cubbie flipped on its side so the girls could sit there and it could still be used for storage. 

Letters from their old rooms, that is still the "N" that mommy Carrisa made for Norah, will always treasure it!

lots of books!

I used an old mirror frame , spray painted it, and then used fabric that was originally for a window cover in the room. behind the fabric is foam board from hobby lobby.

The Jacket Hook is from hobby lobby, just spray painted pink

the little lion stuffed bag is mine from when I was little.  It holds clothes for a short overnight trip.  I still love it!

storage from target

lamp and all other bedding from target

can you believe tiny Sarah sleeps in this bed? me neither, every night I smile and giggle at how cute she is in there!

 And the 2 cuties that belong to this room

Norah

And Sarah!

 

 And you want to know something funny?  Lately people have been saying how much Norah & Sarah look alike and they think Maya is adopted. Funny how that works out