little life update

Well I've seriously been neglecting to update my blog lately, and I know that some of you are family and friends who read it to find out how we are and what we're up to!

Blake is very busy with work, which is sad because we miss him - but we're so thankful that he has a job and is able to provide for our little family!  He's also discovered that he really loves to cook!  Almost every weekend, he's making some "manly, meaty meal" or good ol' southern comfort food, like rice and gravy or chicken stew.  I'm one lucky wife!

Isabelle is absolutely living up to the reputation of two-year-olds.  And it's not that she's always terrible, but everything is so BIG!  She throws BIG fits and tantrums, but she also gives BIG hugs and kisses!  She wants to do everything "by self."  She's in perpetual motion, and her vocabulary is expanding very quickly!  Potty training is going slowly - she can use the potty when I ask her to, but she usually doesn't tell me she has to go.  All together, Isabelle is turning out to be quite the handful with quite the personality.  She's recently started asking for a "little brotha," (I wonder who put THAT idea in her head!), and just yesterday when we walked into the grocery store, Isabelle shouted "I'm BACK!"  Lol, things will never be boring with her around.

Lacey is following in her big sister's footsteps!  At 18 months old, she's got a little personality of her own now, and when she sees Isabelle get something (food, sippy-cup refill, toy), she has to get it too, and she will let you know if she doesn't.  She follows Isabelle around the house as they play, which is a mixed blessing sometimes.  They'll laugh, play, giggle, and share for a good 2.5 minutes before one of them (usually Lacey) comes running to me with a bloody lip, black eye, or some other bow-bow.  I spend a good part of my day settling property disputes.  In other news, I've successfully weaned Lacey!  I'll write more on this later, but once she didn't need to nurse at night anymore, it got a lot easier!  And as she's slowly working towards sleeping through the night, I'm slowly working towards getting a full night of sleep!

And as for me, I haven't been up to much lately.  Just the highs and lows of daily life, I suppose.  I have my hands full with the girls (<-- understatement), and it's a daily struggle for me to balance my "Mary" longings and my "Martha" duties.  I would love nothing more than to play with the girls and pursue leisure activities all day long; but if I don't make time for my homemaker responsibilities, my family won't have a clean house, clean clothes, or food to eat!  It's always a struggle to balance, but in my spare time, I've been watching "Big Bang Theory" with Blake on Netflix, reading St. Therese's Story of a Soul, and dabbling in a little bit of gardening (just for fun).  I also visit with friends (either in person or on the phone) and I'm so grateful for their love and support.

We don't really have anything big planned for this summer - Blake has a couple of business trips, but that's about it.  We're about to fence-in the backyard so the girls can run around all they want, and we're constantly working on projects around the house!

Hope everything is well with all of you!