Devotionals and priorities...parting thoughts...

The time has come for me to say goodbye to this blog. It has been a great source of personal journaling and connection with family and friends. I have also met several incredible ladies through blogging and am so grateful for all I have learned and continue to learn from them.

I've reached that point in my life, however, where something's gotta give. It's impossible for me to be the mother I want to be, homeschool my three energetic boys, care for a new baby girl, cook healthy meals three times a day, keep a clean house, serve in my church, date my husband, have a growing relationship with Christ, mow the yard, weed my garden, grocery shop, fold laundry, scrapbook, travel, AND try to document it all through this blog. This season of motherhood will pass much to quickly and I don't want to look back and read about it, I want to look back and remember it and know that I gave my children my very best.

Week in review (last week, that is...)

Here are a few moments from last week. This week we're in Prague. Happy Independence Day!

The protectors

The little princess at four months old, and her protectors. Just look at those chubby little legs!

Joshua's German School

Joshua heading off to his "private German school"...

It's what God gave you time for...

I love the saying "I was a perfect mother...until I had my first child". Looking from the outside in it seems like such a simple task, wipe a few noses, bake a few cookies, read a few stories. If only it were that simple. The world as a whole does not value motherhood on a full time basis. The world says sure it's nice to have one or two children, but why should women waste their skills staying home doing nothing?

Mother's don't just read stories, they plant seeds of character and imagination. Mother's don't just sing lullabies, they instill memories of love and a sense of belonging into the heart of a child. Mother's don't just pray, they build a foundation of faith so the child knows what path to follow. Mother's don't just teach, they inspire the love of learning and the desire to make a difference in the world. Mother's don't just have babies, they raise future leaders of nations.

Beautiful messes

I appreciated the recent article from Upside Down Homeschooling on Embracing the Imperfect. Lest any mom's think homeschooling is easy, it isn't. 90% of the time it is a struggle to stay on task, keep focused and stay positive. I love a clean house as much as anyone (perhaps even more than most) but one only has so many hours in the day and every minute spent cleaning is a minute spent away from my children. My one and only new years' resolution was to relax and not stress about the messes. I did terrible the first few months- walking into a room with stuff on the floor was like nails on a chalkboard. Then I had a baby. I had no choice, I could either scream, hire a housekeeper, or just not care. I do still care, but I am learning to not let it stress me out or feel like a failure because of it. This is what our school room/office looks like right now:

And this is what we have to show for it...

Olivia, three months

We're spending this week in Holland seeing the tulips. I'll share some lovely photos next week, for now you can enjoy these chubby little cheeks!

Random cuteness and a favor...

If you are a blogger you've probably heard by now that Google Reader and Friend Connect are going away. If you're not a blogger what this means is that it's harder to follow up on your favorite blogs and know when they add new posts without manually going out to each blog site. PAIN.

SO...if you want to continue to follow my blog (you know you do!) There are three ways to do so:

1. Follow via Blog lovin' http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/4517235
2. Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Intentional-Life/258523914220660?ref=hl
3. Follow me via email http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheOsbornes&loc=en_US

Pick one. Pick all three. Pick your nose. Or not...Just pick one and if you want me to follow you back post your link in the comments!

Now for the random cuteness promised. Here are some pictures of the littles for your enjoyment. Entrepreneurs in the making...

And of course I have to show off my little girl. Two months old!

Don't hate me, but I'm spending this weekend in Paris (yay for macaroons and chocolate croissants!) If you haven't already entered to win a copy of Monumental, enter now! Tell your friends and get more entries. Winner will be announced when I get back next week. Good luck!

P.S. if you've ever wondered what we Mormons are all about, check this website out on Saturday or Sunday at 10am and 2pm MST (12 and 4 EST) where the Prophet and Apostles will speak to the world!

Happy Easter

A day late. I was enjoying time with family and couldn't pull myself away... We dyed our eggs using natural dye for the first time and while it wasn't quite as successful as I anticipated, it was a lot of fun and the boys thought they turned out great.

Skiing in Garmisch

This last weekend we went down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, one of our favorite places in Germany. This is our third time staying down here at the Edelweiss resort, the last time Ethan was only 11 months old. The boys took ski lessons while Grant, Olivia and I hung out and "rested". 

Simple things Sunday

We're spending this weekend skiing in Garmisch but I wanted to share a few favorite moments from last week. My baby girl is now six weeks old, and getting so big! She is sleeping 6-7 hours at night and is cooing and smiling all day long. She's such a blessing to our family!

Idar-Oberstein

My husband is on the high council in our stake and last week he was speaking in the Baumholder branch, so we decided to go with him and make a day of it. We packed a picnic lunch and drove up to the castle in Idar-Oberstein, just a few kilometers away. 

I've got mail...

My boys have been playing postmen for the past few weeks. Every day I get brought a little envelope (or three) filled with handmade love. Olivia gets her fair share of letters too...

Olivia's Blessing Day

We brought Olivia to church today for the first time to receive her name and blessing. It was such a special occasion and I felt of what a precious angel she is and of her great potential. She looked so adorable in her little dress (and even waited until after the blessing to leak through the onesie and diaper all over her back). 

Joshua's Five!

My Joshua boy turns five today! We love his huge smile and tender little feelings. He loves to spend all day drawing and building things. He is quite the creative little boy. We sure love you Joshua!

What are your favorite things to do?
Draw and Build

What are your favorite foods?
Pizza and Noodles

What do you want to do for work when you grow up?
Be an Engineer

What is your favorite color?
Red

What is your favorite poem?
The Owl and the Pussycat

Catching up...

Here are some random photos of what we've been up to day to day...

We got the boys a trampoline (finally!) and they had a blast putting it up and are thoroughly enjoying it (we just need to finish putting up the net)...

Olivia's first week

Olivia was a week old yesterday! She is such a little angel and it's so cute to see the boys with her. They huddle together and stare down at her telling her how cute she is. Ethan always wants to hold and comfort her and Joshua is always writing notes that say "Olivia I love you so so so much". They are much more gentle with her than I anticipated, even Grant adores her. Such a different scenario! I'm used to bringing a new baby home to other babies who just don't understand.

Baby Olivia

We welcomed little Olivia Abigail into the world on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 8:31am in Landstuhl, Germany! She weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.

Winter Wonderland

We've been having lots of great snow lately! I took the boys sledding through the woods behind our house (hoping to induce labor) and even took a *little* sled ride myself.

A screen-free home

When we moved from Kentucky we got rid of our 10 year old tv and planned to buy a big flat screen tv when we arrived in Germany. We went to the store and scoped out a few, but since we didn't have internet and cable hooked up yet we figured we'd wait a while. It's now been four months (actually, six if you count the two months we were in KY) and we haven't missed it a single bit!