i hear there is nothing like having a sister. . .

i have been thinking a lot about sisters lately. i have never had a sister. . so this whole thing is so new to me. having a sister seems complicated and beautiful all at the same time. these two girls cannot wait to see each other yet they are so feisty with each other. they squeal, giggle, yell, scream, laugh, chase, play quietly, grab, push! their relationship is so different from the boys. . . .maybe it is their age, their personalities, or twins are just plain different?????

the girls relationship seems so volatile and at the same time so sweet. i pray they love each other deeply and respect their differences and hopefully learn to appreciate their differences. as their relationship unfolds daily and changes yet stays the same in so many ways. . i commit to praying for their relationship and doing everything i can to cultivate a special loving bond and appreciation for each other. oh sisters!

here is a little sisters picture parade of some of my favorites!first picture together in the hospital. .
first easter together. . .

i was totally wrong - GUSTO!

with everyone one of our kids i had mother's intuition from the very beginning and nailed their personality. i mean from the very beginning like praying for them before they were born and as newborns. i predicted and just knew. . . kinkade would be low maintenance, easy going and easy to laugh. i knew keagan would be fiery, passionate, scheduled, and charismatic. when praying for lucia God always gave me the word "joyful" from the moment we met her at 3 weeks old she had a BIG personality in a little itty bitty body and this still holds very true! i was right on with all of them except one. . . . little miss emery pearl i was completely 100% wrong! we named her emery pearl because the name just encompasses sweetness to me. i honestly thought i finally got a quiet, shy, sweet child who would have quiet tea parties, color for hours, and hide behind my leg when we meet people. not the case. . . . emery has turned out to be our LOUDEST, bravest, feistiest, funniest, most INDEPENDENT, strongest willed, opinionated child yet!!!! there is one word to describe her "GUSTO!" she does life with GUSTO! everything is head on, full speed, with NO FEAR! she is more energetic and demanding then twin boys were at this age. we joke that she did not get the mcmurray children memo in the womb. . . because she has broken all the rules already -

- mcmurray children sleep through the night at 9 weeks.

- mcmurray children are NOT picky eaters they eat what is served and are great eaters!

- mcmurray children do not scream in public places especially grocery stores. (i have to secretly confess that i could not believe it when children would scream "NO!" and "Mine!" in grocery stores and wondered what on earth those parents were doing. well. . fast forward to emery i am now that parent with the screaming child in the check out line.

- mcmurray children get along with each other and politely take turns. they do not hit, push, yell, grab and run away when they want something.

- mcmurray children start time-outs at age 3 not one and half.

- mcmurray children love books and will listen to them for hours.

- mcmurray children write on paper only not walls.

- mcmurray children keep car doors shut while driving on the freeway. . . .

- mcmurray children stay somewhat near their parents when they are out and about at least so they can see them. we never know where emery is. i think she is looking for a new family. all our friends have caught on to this. . .they know we are total chaos and need all the help we can get:)

-mcmurray children talk early and clearly . .. . emery has made up her own language that she only uses when she wants.

-mcmurray children keep the name their parents give them. emery tells everyone her name is abby.
don't get me wrong we adore her i think that is the problem she is spoiled rotten. the other day aaron said the reason she wakes up at night sometimes is we have always cuddled, rocked, and gotten her warm milk . . .aaron made the comment the other day "i would probably get her an egg nog latte at 2am if she asked." all under the premise she is our last baby. . . .. . .

i have broken all my baby rules on sleeping.

now i get the whole saying - "oh, the baby in the family."

so what is it with this little stinker . . . here are some of me most recent theories. . .

- she is spoiled by everyone in the family especially her big brothers.

- she came with this personality. . my new parenting philosophy - you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. . and you do the best you can!

- God needed to humble us in our parenting.

- she has mcmurray/long female genes which are independent, strong, feisty,opinionated and FUN!

- she is the fourth child and is trying to get someone to pay attention to her!

- she came sweet and we have ruined her.
emery pearl you are our miracle baby and we can't imagine life without you. you challenge me daily, make me laugh all the time, put me on my knees daily and will always be our pearl of a girl!

we ALL love you even when you scream at us:)

pupcake date

nope it is not a typo. . . lucia has always called cupcakes . . ."pupcakes" it is one of those words that is too cute to correct. aaron and i have two big resolutions for 2011 or changes we want to make in how we do life as a family. i will write about the other in another post b/c it is heavy on my heart. one of the resolutions is to spend more time with the kids individually by going on one on one dates. we want to be more intentional about listening and conversation and simply to just spend special time with each one. we are off to a great start aaron has started friday breakfasts with Dad with the boys and has taken lucia on two great dates. i took lucia yesterday to a new cupcake store in spokane for a date! here she is with her cupcake! she chose the green one b/c it was so pretty then promptly asked after licking the frosting, "why is this whip cream so sour?"

i tried to explain the flavor lime.
her face is the most precious beautiful thing i have ever seen. this next picture is when she asked me to stop taking pictures and could we start the talking. when i asked what she wanted to talk about she said her dreams. . . . then she proceeded to tell me about a white bird dream.
we both loved the pink and brown striped walls on the outside of the building!
here's to many more special lulu dates!

happy new year!

we had our family pictures taken by the one and only - whitney http://www.flat4photography.com/Home.html

and mangoink.com did our cards of course!

our two favorite local businesses owned by our favorite people!

support both and you will not be disappointed they are spectacular!
whitney is so artistic and creative! she just has a gift for capturing our stage of life and yet making you look really hip! i love the pictures and i love whitney!
this last one kills me. . . .it is so my life!