Remember How Blessed You Are.

Ever since Irelyn was a tiny baby she has done the sweetest thing. While nursing she periodically takes a break and just stares up at me. She patiently waits for me to stop whatever I am doing {usually messing around on my phone} and then just stares into my eyes for a while. Every time she does this I feel like she's saying to me, "Mommy, stop being distracted. Soak this moment in. I'm not going to be little for long. Touch my soft cheeks, memorize my tiny features, hold my chubby hands, remember how blessed you are." So that's exactly what I do. I am so blessed to have my two sweet girls in my life. They bring me so much joy and I can't imagine being happier than I am now. I am so grateful for this little reminder from Irelyn to pay attention and enjoy the little moments. And then she gouges my eyes out, grabs my glasses off my face and pinches my nose and I memorize these little moments too because someday I won't have a nursing baby scratching up my face and snuggling with me and I don't ever want to forget what a joy it is.

Lakeside Lavender Farm

Claire and I took our girls to a lavender farm yesterday. It smelled absolutely amazing and was such a gorgeous place to get some pictures of our girls!

There is just so much beauty in this world Heavenly Father created. It was wonderful to be able to capture some pictures of this small part of it. 

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I was originally going to end this post right at the sentence above but for the sake of journaling I wanted to write a little bit more about the details of this day/week. 

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I love how these pictures turned out and how peaceful they look. This week has been anything but peaceful. Race has had some bad back problems and because of that I feel like I have been running around like a crazy lady. Race has been to doctors, physical therapists, a spine specialist, and a chiropractor trying to figure out what is going on with his back and he has been on some pretty strong pain killers so the girls and I have been driving him around to all of these appointments all week. The girls have been such troopers through all of this. Irelyn sleeps tons and is pretty good in the car and Holland has been so sweet to Race. She keeps talking about how his back hurts and he has to go to the doctor. I'm sure Holland also hasn't minded eating out three times this week. Ketchup with a side of chicken nuggets might just be her favorite meal ever! 

Anyway, when Claire told me about these lavender farms earlier in the week I knew I wanted to go but wasn't sure how to fit it in with everything else. I am so glad we found the time to go though. I might have been way exhausted and a little stressed while we were there but there were a few little blessings about our afternoon at the lavender farm that I want to remember:

• Irelyn slept in her stroller while I got some photos of Holland and then she was so sweet when I woke her up take some pictures of her {I know, I'm crazy for getting her up to take pictures!}. 
• Holland was in a good mood and let me take lots and lots of photos of her {with some marshmallow bribes}. 
• Holland didn't have any accidents while we were out and about {We bring her toilet with us everywhere so she just goes on that in the car}!
• And finally, I was able to enjoy some of Heavenly Father's beautiful creations. 

I know that I will cherish these photos for years to come because someday my girls won't be little and things won't be this same kind of stressful and I'm sure that I will really miss this time in our lives. 

Anyway that's my spiel! Now here's to a relaxing weekend {hopefully}! Happy Saturday everyone!