So Stinkin' Much

Dear readers, I warn you that this post, like pretty much all of my other posts, is rife with my high praises for motherhood and my precious family. If you are tired of reading such ramblings, than feel free to mosey on to the next blog on your reading list. If you don't mind my obvious affection for my husband, sons, and daughter, and like cute pictures, read on, readers!

I have a confession, friends: I am horrible at decorating. And arranging furniture. I just don't posses the capabilities. When He created me in my mother's womb, God, in His infinite wisdom, made a laid-back, low maintenance, singing, book-loving, cat person with a passion for being a wife and mother. He left out awesome culinary skills, self discipline in the areas of working out and resisting sweets, and the decorative ability that many of my friends have. I'm not complaining, I'm just sayin' that, when it comes to beautifying our home, Stephan sadly has to do most of the work.
  Because of this, I often feel a twinge of jealousy when we visit a friend's house and see their beautifully arrayed walls and shelves and creatively arranged brick-a-brack. It really does baffle me how they can think that way. My brain does not work like that. I just don't have that skill. So when I set my shoes to creating the perfect nursery environment for my precious baby girl, I sought help. Lots of help. And, dear readers, my friends delivered. I had websites, blogs, pictures and uber-helpful advice sent my way from some of the best friends a gal could ask for. So much so that, with only two house visits, I have in mind a vision for exactly what I want for my baby's room. This is what I have completed so far:

The "accent wall"

  For the other walls, I know exactly what I want, I just need to make a run or two to WalMart or Hobby Lobby to get a few items to complete my desired look. I'll try to remember to post pictured of the completed room once it's just that; completed. 
  Now for another confession, dear readers: I have let my sons down. In all of my drive and determination to decorate the walls of my little girl's room, I have realized that, in the months that we have been fully and completely moved into our wonderful house, I have never put an iota of effort into decorating my little boys' room. Sure, it has its little attempts at decoration here and there: a brightly colored fish tank, two pictures of Noah on the top shelf of their book case, and some cutesy stuffed animals that are for looking, not playing, arranged on the shelves of their bunk bed, but their walls and one window are bare as a bathing baby.
     It's really not to surprising, considering the spiel I shared in the above paragraph about my complete inability to decorate. And before this week, I never felt bad about it because, save for our dining room (the "fanciest" room in out house) and the two random paintings hung up in our living room, no other room had really anything hung on the walls. (You should see how plain and ugly our bedroom is. Good thing visitors don't hang out in master bedrooms). But now that the newest addition to our family is being treated to a beautiful living space, I feel bad for my Boogie Boy and Little Bit.
  So, to mollify my feelings of guilt ('cause honestly, the boys have never complained about a naked or boring room, so there's no other pressure to get things fancied up), I did something about it. I hung a curtain up in their room.
   Please, no applause. I'm just like you, only I found an unused curtain rod in my mother's shop and used it to hang an unused shower curtain in my son's window. I would show you a picture, but Witten's currently napping. It's a red curtain, if that helps any.
    I will, eventually, hang a few more things up in the boys room, maybe. I can't promise too much because if I had soooooooo much trouble and needed that much help in decorating a little girl's room, how on earth can I begin to strategize for the decorating of two very different-minded boys' room? also, what would I decorate with? I hate obvious, store-bought room themes, like Superman bedsheets or Jake and the Neverland Pirate wall murals. I'd like to accumulate an eclectic array of rugged, boy-ish things to fill the walls and shelves of the boys' room, similar to how I gathered feminine, pretty things for Baby Belle's room. I think I know where I might like to start, but for now I'll have to be content with the shower curtain hanging in their window.
  Then, maybe someday, when my ship comes in, I can start on my own bedroom.

         Pictures of my boys!

Witten loves to give kisses lately. Even to baby sister

Somebody's getting way to big! Stop growing, you massive four-year-old!

 And here is the latest of my precious baby girl:

It's like someone put lipstick on Witten. 

   My heart is as full as my growing belly. I love these kids so stinking much! I thank God and Stephan for these little ones, for without either of them, they wouldn't have been created.

  Speaking of Stephan, he just bought us an RV. With a little TLC and a TON of elbow grease, our family will soon be off on fantastic adventures as we created treasured memories!

  Be blessed, readers!

Five months, not too bad...

My boys are happily distracted in the back yard, the heaping pile of dirty dishes left over from Noah's birthday party are taking a bath in the dishwasher, and all the laundry that I care to put away right now has been dealt with.
Free time, yes, it's free time!
This will undoubtedly be a brief break from wifely/motherly/household duties, as something always pops up needing my immediate attention just when I sit down and get comfy, but I though I'd spend this rare, sweet moment of quiet on my blog. My poor, neglected blog.

Well, there was my first distraction. Fishing a Witten out of the pool that I told them not to get in this early. Now the boys are happily distracted inside. Let's see how long this lasts.

My dear readers, in the five months of blogosphere silence, a lot has transpired. If you missed the subdued announcement in my last post in January, I am, indeed, pregnant.

Me being pregnant at Easter time with my handsome, handsome boys.

 In t-minus two months, Stephan and I are eager and excited to welcome our third baby and first daughter! Her name shall be Meisie Belle Du Toit. Meisie is Afrikaans for "girl", which is an homage to her heritage. Belle is from Beauty and the Beast (my favorite movie in the world), and, of course, means "beauty". Du Toit is our last name, so that's a given. After we settled on the name, my husband started referring to her as "Belle", or "baby Belle". I LOVE it. So I'm thinking she may go by her middle name.

My little girl.

  We are over the moon excited to be welcoming a little girl into our family. Her brothers are, too. I'm looking forward to seeing what she looks like, who she takes after and what having a little girl in the family will be like. So much to look forward too!
     In other news, most recently, we celebrated our oldest child turning four. Four! Noah Sias will be four years old tomorrow, May 6th. WHAT? How? Where did the time go? Am I old? It's hard enough watching my baby boys grow up before my very eyes, but birthdays really drive it home that, honestly, they're not babies anymore!

New Noah

Now Noah

He is such a handsome boy. My goodness, God has blessed Stephan and me with adorable boys. He is far from the perfect child, as he does all the things every hyper, happy, grumpy, excitable, whiny, friendly, shy, loud, stubborn, sweet, little boy does. Every day is a practice in Godly parenting for Stephan and I. We are trying our darndest to raise him and his brother in a manner that reflects our Biblical beliefs and glorifies God. It's tough sometimes. I get cranky or impatient. I react harshly sometimes. But I am trying my best to apologize when I need to and show through my actions, not just my words, how to act and live life rightly. (Praise God for His help through the Holy Spirit). I love that Boogie Boy so much!
     In Witten news: my baby is no longer a baby. He talks a lot. He's so smart! we have to watch what we say around him, 'cause he's entered that sponge-stage of the tubby two's (Witten's not terrible. It seems completely disingenuous to refer to his second year as his "terrible two's"), in which he soaks up everything around him with remarkably keen senses. Witten wants to be a big boy like his brother, so he tries his best to do everything that Noah does. Except making stinky on the potty, which is putting a damper on potty training. He'll tee tee on the potty fairly regularly, but he has yet to make a stinky in the potty. It's all right, though. I'm not stressing this time around. He'll get it when he's ready. I hope.  

Just look at that squishy face!

Meanwhile, my husband has continued to be awesome. No, dear readers, I do not claim that my husband is perfect, as he is a flawed human being just like myself, but I do think that he is the bee's knees. Stephan Douglas Du Toit wows me weekly with his indomitable work ethic and can-do spirit. Oh, sure, he belly aches of aches and pains and weariness (he DID turn 29 recently. That's almost 30!), and yet he plows ahead with drive and a determination that I could never pretend to have.
  When I was young, my mother warned me against marrying a man just like me, as I am laid back, sometimes to a fault. Her warning is fair, as two me's would never get anything done. Well, momma, don't you worry. If you haven't noticed already, Stephan Gregory Du Toit is a go-getter who inspires me to be a better person. And, I think he's rather handsome.

 He has a heart of gold, that Stephan Cecily Du Toit. 

 Well, the boys have migrated from their room into the living room, raising the distraction level drastically. I'm going to sign off now, readers, with a promise to try to update more often. We'll see. I think I'll try to take the boys to the zoo now. I also have to grocery shop. (uuuuugggggghhhh!).

Be blessed, dear readers!