8 weeks old

Lily Claire turned 8 weeks old last week - At her 2 month check up with Dr. Griffin she weighed in at a whopping 10.1 lbs and 22 inches long! She has grown 2 inches in 2 months. It is amazing that they grow so fast!

You all can read on, but the rest is so we can look back one day and try to remember her so little.........

LC, Elsie, Leeeli, Lily Claire are all the names you are being called these days. You actually smile when talked to. Your first smile was on Christmas day. You coo, ah goo, and love love love to be held by anyone who is willing. You eat all the time still..... trying to get you to a consistent every three hour schedule is a little hard but you are getting closer! You love your swing - just the opposite of Luke - he could care less about the
swing when he was your age. You only take a passy when you are exhausted or really
hungry.

I have returned to work and you are staying with a young lady named Rosanna during my working hours. So far everything is working out just fine since you have entered this world. I am so very in love with you and I cherish our sweet time together all hours of the day or night.

In the middle of the night before I returned to work for the first time, you would just look up at me and smile while you were nursing. It was the sweetest thing so far.

Random Photos

Emma and Landon at Christmas Social

Cammie, Brooke, Emma, and Bailey

Christmas morning

Lily Claire

Coveting - from a child's perspective

Coveting... the word sounds so evil to me. We have always heard THOU SHALT NOT COVET... Now you throw in greed or jealousy and they make a little more sense in our day and time. This all sparked from a conversation Luke and I had this morning while I was fixing his lunch for Bible Play School.

Me: Luke, do you want chips or yogurt with your sandwich today?
Luke: Neither Mommy.
Me: You don't want anything but a sandwich?
Luke: No I want apple juice in a box with a straw with it just like Marc Owen has in his lunch.
Me: I thought you had apple juice every day in a cup with your lunch?
Luke: I do, but I want apple juice like Marc Owen's.
Me: Lukee, you will get apple juice in a cup today.

End of discussion...... easy enough... This has been on my mind all day though. How can this coveting start at such a young tender age? It is totally natural! We as humans are designed that way..... but as we get older we learn that we should not desire for what our neighbor has. Now we just have to withhold the urge to be like our neighbor and have all the items that they have, dress our kids like they dress, drive the new cars like they drive at 16. Go on the vacations..... I could go on and on - but this is a lesson that I did not learn until I was much older. I want it to be different for my kids - I want them to learn that they must work for the things and toys they desire need. Maybe they have to behave to get a certain piece of chocolate, or even better - some days no candy at all. By all means, I do not have this nipped in the bud, but I am learning every day that it does get easier if you just have the things you need. Contentment.... Are we content with what we have? God will provide for all our needs - we just have to let Him, be dependent on Him... that is all he asks of us. Galatians 5:1 says It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burned again by a yoke of slavery.


What is your slavery that you are being called to stand firm against?

2011 just as busy so far!

Hi everybody!
So far 2011 is just as stinking busy as 2010 was. Maternity leave is officially over. I go back to work with bitter sweet thoughts. This morning as I was nursing Lily Claire, she gave me the sweetest smiles, as if she knew I had a big day ahead of me. I was only at a local hospital, yet I missed holding her and listening to her coo at me. Six weeks has flown by and I did not get anything completed like I wanted. (Mostly pics for Luke's baby book) Yes, I said Luke's! I have all the words filled out, but no pics in it. I guess that is a downside to digital cameras. Can't wait to see how long it takes me to do Lily Claire's.

Speaking of Luke, he is eager to go hunting and shoot a deer or a bear. Both Emma and Dougie have killed their first deer this year and Luke is anxiously waiting his turn. He brought me this blow up plastic animal named Rody http://rodytoy.com, with a bullet stuck to his nose and said I shot a deer Mommy!
He is precious with many things he says but has yet to manage minding us one solid day! The other day his teacher told me about something he said in class - She was telling them all "how smart they were".... Luke responded, "You see my brain smoking Ms Christy?"

Emma has been selected to take the SAT as a 7th grader. We are very proud of her grades. She doesn't even have to study yet! She has the prettiest smile and silliest sense of humor.

Dougie is starting another season of Upward Basketball at church. Good bye to our Saturday mornings at least until the end of February - but he absolutely loves any sport! We are so very happy to share in his loves.
Emma got an I-touch for Christmas - her and Dougie were playing some app in the car one day. The question to Dougie was "What is your best feature?" He responded, "My hair." He wasn't playing either!

Okie dokie - gotta run......
Luv to all,

Good Bye 2010 - Hello 2011

I had this brilliant idea to do a 2010 year in review in pictures, but now they are on the home PC and I am on the laptop.....so to save some time you some boredom, I will just do a mini review and hit the highlights!

2010 what a great year you were for us......
First of all Doug was able to land a job in January 2010 after being unemployed for 6 months. Praise the Lord!

He and I celebrated 5 years of marriage - it only gets better every year! I have the best husband on the planet. (I'm sure we all say that about our men).

Dougie turned 10...double digits!!!!! He had an awesome year playing baseball. His love for the game is a passionate one - his coach told him he wished all the boys tried as hard as Dougie did.

Emmalaide became a teenager - OMW - 13 years old. She graduated from Nintendo DS to a cell phone and no longer likes Justice - now American Eagle and Dillard's and Macy's..... help me now.... I love clothes too so this could be bad.

Luke... I am not real sure what to say about Lukee poo. I can start by saying that Nina (Doug's mom) says Doug is paying for his childhood with Luke. He is a very sweet boy, he just gets a lot of spankings... I can remember one day specifically -he had three spankings before 8am. He loves "his" Emma and Dougie.

And last but not least we were blessed with a baby girl. Lily Claire so far is very laid back and I have enjoyed my 6 weeks off with her. Sadly, I have to return to work on Monday.

I know 2010 was not all peachy but I didn't want to dwell on the bad. I look forward to 2011 and keeping you all updated on the Springers.

Love you all!!!