every day i am one step farther away from having babies. every day it makes me just a little bit sad knowing this phase of life is so brief and is only getting shorter.
and yet every day i look forward to it all the same.
i'm having one of those days when i just need an extra breath of fresh air. thankfully its going to be in the 70s all week. i foresee lots of time spent outside. please cooperate, miss annie. mama needs a decent night of sleep (ie. longer than an hour and a half at a time) and some time with the warmth of the sun on my face.
its hard to be a light when you feel like your flame keeps getting blown out.
2.07.2011
want to win some really gorgeous jewelry for yourself (or someone you love) that supports a fabulous cause AND provides a fair wage to the artisans that create it? jump over to my photo blog for details & enter the giveaway.
no matter what, definitely bookmark the noonday collection for future gift giving and retail therapy :)
no matter what, definitely bookmark the noonday collection for future gift giving and retail therapy :)
2.06.2011
snow dayyyy!!! what a treat for my born and bred texas gals to wake up to a dusting of snow. it was just enough to make a few snowballs & run around in our brief version of a winter wonderland. they really loved it!
more pics HERE.
more pics HERE.
2.02.2011
1.28.2011
1.27.2011
i keep getting questions about the change in my camera bag from canon to nikon. i wish i had a great reason for the change, but in the end it was primarily fueled by curiosity, theft, and a tinge of boredom.
here's the whole story. my camera bag was stolen in november out of my car. it had two cameras, two lights, and four lenses in it along with various batteries, memory cards, and sundry items. all in all we are talking over ten thousand dollars. ouch, right? surprisingly i shed very few tears over the situation though i did let a few fall the night it happened out of frustration.
after a lovely round of phone calls to my insurance company, the majority of it was covered and i was faced with the dubious task of rebuilding the entirety of my equipment even down to the camera bag itself.
lots of canon faithfuls are jumping ship to nikon these days due to focus issues and i wasn't sure i'd love nikon but i gave it a shot. i still didn't LOVE it but i was impressed with the focus. i mean those suckers are sharp and consistent. i didn't (and still don't) love the color, but that is a learning and adjustment process.
when it came down to it, i made spreadsheets of cost comparison, i tried out a friend's d700 and ordered both from amazon for some comparison as well. i kept the nikon. i still miss my canon sometimes.
as for the boredom, i was 'diagnosed' in college with something called 'too many aptitudes' meaning essentially that new skills in general come too easily to me, which lends itself to me enjoying new projects but then dropping interest quickly when i try something else, and never feeling challenged enough to really dig deep into most subjects. basically its a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none syndrome... so i figured maybe switching to nikon would re-ignite a bit of a challenge on the photography front.
so when you get down to brass tacks, there wasn't much of a reason and i still love that beautiful canon glass. i'm enjoying my new equipment and am looking forward to getting to know it better this spring when i start working again.
here's the whole story. my camera bag was stolen in november out of my car. it had two cameras, two lights, and four lenses in it along with various batteries, memory cards, and sundry items. all in all we are talking over ten thousand dollars. ouch, right? surprisingly i shed very few tears over the situation though i did let a few fall the night it happened out of frustration.
after a lovely round of phone calls to my insurance company, the majority of it was covered and i was faced with the dubious task of rebuilding the entirety of my equipment even down to the camera bag itself.
lots of canon faithfuls are jumping ship to nikon these days due to focus issues and i wasn't sure i'd love nikon but i gave it a shot. i still didn't LOVE it but i was impressed with the focus. i mean those suckers are sharp and consistent. i didn't (and still don't) love the color, but that is a learning and adjustment process.
when it came down to it, i made spreadsheets of cost comparison, i tried out a friend's d700 and ordered both from amazon for some comparison as well. i kept the nikon. i still miss my canon sometimes.
as for the boredom, i was 'diagnosed' in college with something called 'too many aptitudes' meaning essentially that new skills in general come too easily to me, which lends itself to me enjoying new projects but then dropping interest quickly when i try something else, and never feeling challenged enough to really dig deep into most subjects. basically its a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none syndrome... so i figured maybe switching to nikon would re-ignite a bit of a challenge on the photography front.
so when you get down to brass tacks, there wasn't much of a reason and i still love that beautiful canon glass. i'm enjoying my new equipment and am looking forward to getting to know it better this spring when i start working again.
1.25.2011
in case anyone was wondering when the 'princess' phase hits, in our experience it was right around 3 1/2. i just watched the entirety of 'beauty and the beast' with a little girl wearing a sparkly gown, glitter shoes, and a felt crown who insisted on having her hair bow changed to match the current color of belle's gown throughout the movie. thankfully she really only wears three colors...
in fact while typing this i just heard lily say 'okay eve, you're the wolf. chase me and my prince will come save me'
i'm not sure if this whole thing makes my head hurt or if i'm amused. i definitely love seeing how excited she gets about it. the other day kevin asked if she was going to grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer (don't get me started on his choice of options) and her response was 'daddy! i'm going to grow up to be a princess!'
she wasn't too fond of me when i told her that we don't really get to be princesses. i guess she has kate middleton on her side of the argument, but goodness i just wanted to give the poor child a dose of perspective! :)
in fact while typing this i just heard lily say 'okay eve, you're the wolf. chase me and my prince will come save me'
i'm not sure if this whole thing makes my head hurt or if i'm amused. i definitely love seeing how excited she gets about it. the other day kevin asked if she was going to grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer (don't get me started on his choice of options) and her response was 'daddy! i'm going to grow up to be a princess!'
she wasn't too fond of me when i told her that we don't really get to be princesses. i guess she has kate middleton on her side of the argument, but goodness i just wanted to give the poor child a dose of perspective! :)
1.24.2011
1.22.2011
three. also known as 'what were we thinking'.
in all seriousness, while i am totally and completely enamored with my newest bundle, her presence sure has rocked our previously smooth sailing boat. how could 9 pounds cause so much upheaval in our house?
i'm in the thick of it and i'm trying to keep perspective. my hormones are all over the place, which causes molehills to appear more like mountains. knowing this unfortunately does nothing to dissipate the rollercoaster emotions that result from something silly like being interrupted in the middle of a workout video by a crying child.
everyone tells you to 'rest when the baby rests' which is unfortunately when my other two children are awake since she apparently prefers sleeping during the day. everyone also says 'don't worry about housework or laundry' but then i wonder, who exactly is going to do it if i don't? not to mention that clutter and piles of laundry pretty much give me hives. just seeing them around pushes my stress level up a few notches.
so while i'm not trying to be superwoman, would it be too much to ask to not feel like a big slob who can't get anything done? seriously just now typing this i think i fell asleep after writing that last sentence. i wish i was kidding. that is how tired i am.
so pardon me while i attempt to draw a close to this pity party of one. i'm looking forward to warmer sunnier days when i (hopefully) have a little more of this under my wing and under control. maybe then i'll feel a little more like myself!
in all seriousness, while i am totally and completely enamored with my newest bundle, her presence sure has rocked our previously smooth sailing boat. how could 9 pounds cause so much upheaval in our house?
i'm in the thick of it and i'm trying to keep perspective. my hormones are all over the place, which causes molehills to appear more like mountains. knowing this unfortunately does nothing to dissipate the rollercoaster emotions that result from something silly like being interrupted in the middle of a workout video by a crying child.
everyone tells you to 'rest when the baby rests' which is unfortunately when my other two children are awake since she apparently prefers sleeping during the day. everyone also says 'don't worry about housework or laundry' but then i wonder, who exactly is going to do it if i don't? not to mention that clutter and piles of laundry pretty much give me hives. just seeing them around pushes my stress level up a few notches.
so while i'm not trying to be superwoman, would it be too much to ask to not feel like a big slob who can't get anything done? seriously just now typing this i think i fell asleep after writing that last sentence. i wish i was kidding. that is how tired i am.
so pardon me while i attempt to draw a close to this pity party of one. i'm looking forward to warmer sunnier days when i (hopefully) have a little more of this under my wing and under control. maybe then i'll feel a little more like myself!
1.20.2011
i read this...
"it is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity." -frederick huntington
it hit me solidly. but when i checked the note for its origin it hit me again. it was written in 1890.
"it is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity." -frederick huntington
it hit me solidly. but when i checked the note for its origin it hit me again. it was written in 1890.
1.17.2011
she's getting too smart for her own good. we were sitting in mighty fine on sunday and lily asked "do they have dessert here?" i said "nope!"
kevin eyed me and said "you know they have m-i-l-k-s-h-a-k-e-s". i said, "of course i do, we're not getting one"
lily sat quietly for about half a second and then pointed at a sign and said "uh huh mommy, there's a brown cow picture, that means they have ice cream here!"
darn you and your recognizable sign, bluebell!!
kevin eyed me and said "you know they have m-i-l-k-s-h-a-k-e-s". i said, "of course i do, we're not getting one"
lily sat quietly for about half a second and then pointed at a sign and said "uh huh mommy, there's a brown cow picture, that means they have ice cream here!"
darn you and your recognizable sign, bluebell!!
1.16.2011
1.12.2011
i'm thinking of writing up a quick resume for susanna. i think i could charge a pretty penny for her talents. perhaps a rogue government agency or terrorist group might be interested in her skill set...
Susanna Kathleen
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Objective: To aid in the discovery of factual information or implementation of torture by means of my unique methods
Education: School of life, 4 weeks
Work History: Internship with parents, Dec 2010 - present
- Ability to lure adults into a false sense of security and accomplishment
- Track record of successfully identifying the moment a target falls asleep in order to wake them immediately
- High levels of charm to maintain favor with target upon interrupting sleep_________________________________________
1.10.2011
Lily's story
lily making up stories (while dressed in poodle skirt, pearls and a crown)
just wait for the end... she cracks me up
1.07.2011
i often lament that my life feels like a gerbil wheel. life seems to be just about maintaining our own life 90% of the time and that rare moment that i get out of my small circle and impact someone else or feel i am genuinely serving is so precious. the 90% can be mind numbing and feel soul crushing. it can feel selfish and pretentious.
last night at small group there was a guy who clearly had a sharing heart that read to us from a chapter that is entirely familiar and that i started reciting in my head as he spoke. but then it spoke to me and i realized it was an encouragement to me where i am right now. a mom at home with her kids spending her days doing laundry and emptying a dishwasher.
while not an earth shattering discovery, it is comforting to me in a lot of ways. giving myself permission to say that i have difficulty not growing weary or losing heart helps me to realize that the place to go to renew my perseverence is in jesus, no matter how trivial my race may seem to some. it feels good to acknowledge that simply raising children, loving them with my whole self and helping them to develop is quite the exhausting race.
we finished our small group workbook last night and the epilogue had this lovely benediction of sorts from the author that we all thought summed up the book quite nicely:
last night at small group there was a guy who clearly had a sharing heart that read to us from a chapter that is entirely familiar and that i started reciting in my head as he spoke. but then it spoke to me and i realized it was an encouragement to me where i am right now. a mom at home with her kids spending her days doing laundry and emptying a dishwasher.
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
hebrews 12:1-2
when he said 'the race set before you' it struck me that THIS is my race. this life is what has been set before me right now. this is a temporary phase in life where small children demand my attention at all times and changing diapers is an immediate need. this too will pass, new challenges will surface and the race before me will change courses- it might look very different from this one, or it might not. but i haven't been asked to chart a different course, i'm being asked to run this race patiently and diligently with my ultimate focus on jesus.
while not an earth shattering discovery, it is comforting to me in a lot of ways. giving myself permission to say that i have difficulty not growing weary or losing heart helps me to realize that the place to go to renew my perseverence is in jesus, no matter how trivial my race may seem to some. it feels good to acknowledge that simply raising children, loving them with my whole self and helping them to develop is quite the exhausting race.
we finished our small group workbook last night and the epilogue had this lovely benediction of sorts from the author that we all thought summed up the book quite nicely:
to you, my fellow traveler, may God explode your heart with gratefulness for salvation, with anger over injustice, with love for the loveless, with selfless hours of service, with words that bring hope, and homes that bring warmth. may christ be in the food you serve; may he interrupt your schedule with moments that change the destiny of families; may his purposes become your purposes; and may the things that break his heart break yours. may he supply to you all that is needed to live large in the kingdom that is now and yet to come, and may we someday meet along a heavenly riverbank and meet each others' friends that now know the king of glory because of you.
next on the agenda is 'crazy love' by francis chan.
1.04.2011
two days worth of bonnie's posts of my wonderful susanna are on her blog at bonni-berry.com/blog.
i'm a big fan. of bonnie's and my girls.
i'm a big fan. of bonnie's and my girls.
1.02.2011
in an effort to motivate myself in the new year and post pregnancy healthy eating i dug out my copy of 'eat to live' and was reading parts of it aloud to kevin. when i said....
"look, it says that one study showed that those who ate vegetarian for more than half their life lived on average 13 years longer than meat eating counterparts.... wow. that's crazy. i'm not sure i want to live that long honestly!"
i love me some veggies and i'm going on 6 years now but seriously, living thirteen years longer on average?? i'm not sure i can handle being that old.
"look, it says that one study showed that those who ate vegetarian for more than half their life lived on average 13 years longer than meat eating counterparts.... wow. that's crazy. i'm not sure i want to live that long honestly!"
i love me some veggies and i'm going on 6 years now but seriously, living thirteen years longer on average?? i'm not sure i can handle being that old.
1.01.2011
new year. fresh start. resolutions just like years past that will be selfishly forgotten, abandoned or surrendered in a month or so. but its a great excuse for popping open a bottle of champagne and forcing my children to eat black eyed peas.
last night was the first attempt at having susanna sleep in her bed in our room instead of in OUR bed with us. she put up with it for the first stretch of sleep but after waking to nurse at 1am i put her in her bed and she cried. i quickly gave up and pulled her back into her spot with us and she was out like a light. it was quite an endearing moment in the middle of the night and i just laid next to her stroking her soft little head that fits in the palm of my hand thinking to myself 'thanks for loving me already'. waking up next to her was a sweet way to start 2011.
happy new year! i hope yours brings more joy than you could imagine and teaches you more than you think you are ready for.
last night was the first attempt at having susanna sleep in her bed in our room instead of in OUR bed with us. she put up with it for the first stretch of sleep but after waking to nurse at 1am i put her in her bed and she cried. i quickly gave up and pulled her back into her spot with us and she was out like a light. it was quite an endearing moment in the middle of the night and i just laid next to her stroking her soft little head that fits in the palm of my hand thinking to myself 'thanks for loving me already'. waking up next to her was a sweet way to start 2011.
happy new year! i hope yours brings more joy than you could imagine and teaches you more than you think you are ready for.
12.29.2010
we are still alive and kicking over here. just making it through the week (and really, of ALL weeks for the girls to not have mom's day out this is not the one i would have chosen!!). happy tomorrow is thursday and even happier that the weekend is almost here!
pics of my three girls- the sisters -on the photo blog HERE :)
pics of my three girls- the sisters -on the photo blog HERE :)
12.21.2010
thanks to a post by my friend neely on facebook, we were tipped off to crazy pete's trail of lights just down the street from our house. kevin's dad came into town to spend a few days with us and we decided since it was such a beautiful night out that we'd go check out the scene. the girls loved it! eve cried 'more lights! more lights!' the whole way home and lily wants to take her cousins to go see it when they come into town for christmas.
for me it was just nice to get outside and get some fresh air and enjoy seeing the delight on lily and eve's faces as they took in the display.
for me it was just nice to get outside and get some fresh air and enjoy seeing the delight on lily and eve's faces as they took in the display.
me and my girls
12.19.2010
i'm still alive... barely.
no, i kid, i kid. seriously though, as though its a welcome wagon back to the world of newborns, mastitis paid me its third visit today. third kid, third round of antibiotics. breastfeeding and i just really have a love hate relationship.
my mom has been here all week and i'd be lying if i said i thought we would have made it through without her. okay, maybe we would have made it through but with much more fast food meals and no one would have a stitch of clean clothing on. as it stands we ate home cooked meals and i'm not sure there is a dirty linen to be found in this house (save the swaddle blanket miss annie just spit up on).
it is time for her to go home. back to my dad, to prepare for christmas, and eventually after the holidays back to work. its so hard for me when she leaves. every time i fall apart. why is that? surely by now i know that once she is gone i WILL be okay. life might not be quite so easy but it will indeed go on and eventually become our new norm. so why the tears? (to be honest, the crying has already begun and she's not leaving for 12 hours)
i can't explain it. i just mourn her leaving and having to regain my status as 'the mom' in the house. when she is here, she is the queen. she seems to get it all done without complaint, without losing her temper, and with such grace. so basically the opposite of how i operate :)
i remember the morning my mom left me home alone with lily. she was about 10 days old and i was terrified. mom walked out the door and i sat on the floor in my foyer and just cried holding this tiny baby thinking 'how can i be responsible for this child?? my mom is gone!' and i turned around and there was a note waiting for me. of course my mom who does it all, also thought to leave me a sweet note. i read it crying and got up and told lily i hope one day, even at nearly 30, she still thinks life is better with me around.
she's leaving tomorrow morning. i can do this.
no, i kid, i kid. seriously though, as though its a welcome wagon back to the world of newborns, mastitis paid me its third visit today. third kid, third round of antibiotics. breastfeeding and i just really have a love hate relationship.
my mom has been here all week and i'd be lying if i said i thought we would have made it through without her. okay, maybe we would have made it through but with much more fast food meals and no one would have a stitch of clean clothing on. as it stands we ate home cooked meals and i'm not sure there is a dirty linen to be found in this house (save the swaddle blanket miss annie just spit up on).
it is time for her to go home. back to my dad, to prepare for christmas, and eventually after the holidays back to work. its so hard for me when she leaves. every time i fall apart. why is that? surely by now i know that once she is gone i WILL be okay. life might not be quite so easy but it will indeed go on and eventually become our new norm. so why the tears? (to be honest, the crying has already begun and she's not leaving for 12 hours)
i can't explain it. i just mourn her leaving and having to regain my status as 'the mom' in the house. when she is here, she is the queen. she seems to get it all done without complaint, without losing her temper, and with such grace. so basically the opposite of how i operate :)
i remember the morning my mom left me home alone with lily. she was about 10 days old and i was terrified. mom walked out the door and i sat on the floor in my foyer and just cried holding this tiny baby thinking 'how can i be responsible for this child?? my mom is gone!' and i turned around and there was a note waiting for me. of course my mom who does it all, also thought to leave me a sweet note. i read it crying and got up and told lily i hope one day, even at nearly 30, she still thinks life is better with me around.
she's leaving tomorrow morning. i can do this.
12.13.2010
susanna kathleen- our little annie.
we were at a loss when it came to naming our third girl. having already used family names for our first and second, we felt like we'd just plain run out of decent ideas (seeing as 'esther irene' isn't really our speed).
we tossed a LOT of names around. a whole lot. kevin has surprisingly strong opinions about baby names and did his fair share of veto'ing.
just a week or two before her birth i mentioned the nickname 'annie' and kevin was hooked. he then set out to come up with the perfect formal name for his girl that i could get on board with. (all of our girls have longer given names with nicknames) we considered a bunch and were out on a date saturday night and when 'susanna' was thrown out, we both liked it... a lot.
then i looked up it's meaning. ' It is derived from Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew ×©×•×©× ×” Shoshannah, which is derived from the Persian شوشان shoshan meaning lily, true beauty'. THEN we realized, our first date was at a restaurant called 'suzi's'. it just seemed to fit and when she was born kevin held her for the first time and confirmed 'yep, she's a susanna'.
so our dangerously close to unnamed child ended up with an adorably sweet name that feels just perfect for her, fits with lily and eve and has a sweet story to boot!
we love you, annie!
we were at a loss when it came to naming our third girl. having already used family names for our first and second, we felt like we'd just plain run out of decent ideas (seeing as 'esther irene' isn't really our speed).
we tossed a LOT of names around. a whole lot. kevin has surprisingly strong opinions about baby names and did his fair share of veto'ing.
just a week or two before her birth i mentioned the nickname 'annie' and kevin was hooked. he then set out to come up with the perfect formal name for his girl that i could get on board with. (all of our girls have longer given names with nicknames) we considered a bunch and were out on a date saturday night and when 'susanna' was thrown out, we both liked it... a lot.
then i looked up it's meaning. ' It is derived from Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew ×©×•×©× ×” Shoshannah, which is derived from the Persian شوشان shoshan meaning lily, true beauty'. THEN we realized, our first date was at a restaurant called 'suzi's'. it just seemed to fit and when she was born kevin held her for the first time and confirmed 'yep, she's a susanna'.
so our dangerously close to unnamed child ended up with an adorably sweet name that feels just perfect for her, fits with lily and eve and has a sweet story to boot!
we love you, annie!
12.12.2010
lily wanted me to take her up for naps today. she asked if i could hold her hand 'all the way up the stairs to her room'.
eve needed to be held in the middle of her nap today. i rocked her until i felt her breath grow steady and her fingers dropped out of her mouth.
tomorrow we all get to meet the littlest member of our family. there's so much love in those sweet girls' hearts- what a lucky baby sister.
eve needed to be held in the middle of her nap today. i rocked her until i felt her breath grow steady and her fingers dropped out of her mouth.
tomorrow we all get to meet the littlest member of our family. there's so much love in those sweet girls' hearts- what a lucky baby sister.
12.11.2010
ch-ch-ch-ch chaaaaanges! turn and face the strain... oh david bowie your wisdom astounds me (with the exception of space oddity... seriously what was that all about??)
my last two days as a mom of two are officially underway and the to-do list the length of my arm is keeping me distracted. kevin and i are going on a date tonight for just one more chance to sit and talk to each other before life gets turned upside down again.
some say that going to three was easier than going to two, some tell me that their third 'sunk their battleship' and it remains to be seen what our experience will be, but in the very least we are in this together! together with two amazing girls who are anxiously awaiting their baby sister's arrival. baby sister that also remains unnamed, unless you ask lily, in which case she will tell you that we are naming her 'pluukey'.
for now i am just going to keep moving, doing laundry, packing a hospital bag, wrapping christmas presents and not get too emotional. i'll leave that freakout for sunday night :)
my last two days as a mom of two are officially underway and the to-do list the length of my arm is keeping me distracted. kevin and i are going on a date tonight for just one more chance to sit and talk to each other before life gets turned upside down again.
some say that going to three was easier than going to two, some tell me that their third 'sunk their battleship' and it remains to be seen what our experience will be, but in the very least we are in this together! together with two amazing girls who are anxiously awaiting their baby sister's arrival. baby sister that also remains unnamed, unless you ask lily, in which case she will tell you that we are naming her 'pluukey'.
for now i am just going to keep moving, doing laundry, packing a hospital bag, wrapping christmas presents and not get too emotional. i'll leave that freakout for sunday night :)
12.10.2010
it has begun. i started crying this morning about my sweet eve being a big sister in two days. my cuddle monster who lights up my life every single morning when i walk into her room just has no idea what is going on.
i just want to rock her all day long and whisper in her ear 'you'll always be my baby... no matter what. i'll never let you be the 'forgotten' middle child.'
gah. tears.
i just want to rock her all day long and whisper in her ear 'you'll always be my baby... no matter what. i'll never let you be the 'forgotten' middle child.'
gah. tears.
12.08.2010
let me set the stage. ruby and tess' first birthday party. lovely cookies & milk theme, lots of friends and family celebrating. ruby and tess starting to get a tad tired...
i walk by tess in the kitchen being held by my sister's best friend and it happens. she reaches her arms out for ME and lunges in my direction. SWEET VICTORY!! tess loves me!!! tess knows who her aunt mollie is and wants ME to hold her when she is overwhelmed.
it happened two other times during the party, once even when being held by her GaGa (my mom). i mean i don't want to brag or anything, but tess thinks i'm pretty darn cool. :) what a great moment for an aunt!!
and just in case you haven't ventured over to the photo blog- please go see their adorable cake smash and birthday pictures. i know i am biased but there is some serious cuteness going on over there :) http://www.bloomaustin.com/blog/
i walk by tess in the kitchen being held by my sister's best friend and it happens. she reaches her arms out for ME and lunges in my direction. SWEET VICTORY!! tess loves me!!! tess knows who her aunt mollie is and wants ME to hold her when she is overwhelmed.
it happened two other times during the party, once even when being held by her GaGa (my mom). i mean i don't want to brag or anything, but tess thinks i'm pretty darn cool. :) what a great moment for an aunt!!
and just in case you haven't ventured over to the photo blog- please go see their adorable cake smash and birthday pictures. i know i am biased but there is some serious cuteness going on over there :) http://www.bloomaustin.com/blog/
11.26.2010
Baby 3
baby girl is getting so big i can see her breathing! at least i think that's her breathing...
11.23.2010
Unlike the game “Simon Says,” with the church, if Jesus says it – we just memorize it – we don’t do it. If I ask my daughter to clean her room, I don’t want her to come back to me and say, “Dad – I memorized your words. I can say them in Greek. We did a study on what it means to clean my room.” No – I would just want her to clean it.
-Francis Chan
-Francis Chan
11.22.2010
lily might like the new minivan more than i do. she is amazed by the auto sliding doors and continues to exclaim 'mommy its beeeeeeautiful!' when she climbs in.
she is beyond thrilled to be in the middle seat and can see where we are going and can 'see the sky' (through the sunroof). i asked her if she liked it and would help mommy and she said "yes, i'll hold the baby's hand and give her a paci and when eve cries i'll say 'its okay eve, we're almost there!'"
lord i love that girl.
she is beyond thrilled to be in the middle seat and can see where we are going and can 'see the sky' (through the sunroof). i asked her if she liked it and would help mommy and she said "yes, i'll hold the baby's hand and give her a paci and when eve cries i'll say 'its okay eve, we're almost there!'"
lord i love that girl.
11.19.2010
11.13.2010
best feeling all day: watching eve point to the moon yelling 'moon! reach reach reach!' waving her hands in the air trying to jump for it.
most bizarre feeling all day: sitting in the drivers seat to test drive a minivan. i felt like i should be driving a gaggle of kids to church camp instead of my (soon to be) threesome.
feeling i'm most looking forward to of the day: my eyes closing for more than 45 minutes at a stretch. this pregnancy insomnia is for the birds.
most bizarre feeling all day: sitting in the drivers seat to test drive a minivan. i felt like i should be driving a gaggle of kids to church camp instead of my (soon to be) threesome.
feeling i'm most looking forward to of the day: my eyes closing for more than 45 minutes at a stretch. this pregnancy insomnia is for the birds.
11.12.2010
eve moves at 2mph. its fine unless you're actually trying to GO somewhere and its getting really uncomfortable to carry her everywhere and i'm exhausted. which leads me to this morning...
we were going to the bookstore and lily followed me to the car, got in, eve is still standing on the front porch. i said 'let's go eve!' about 5 times and she just stood there. ignoring me.
mind you, she is fully aware of what i'm asking her to do and she is capable of following directions. she is choosing to ignore me.
so i strap lily in and called out 'bye eve!' waving to her on the porch and started to drive away. i slowly backed down the driveway, pulled up to the front curb, and rolled down the window. she's just standing there saying 'mama?' with her head tilted, very confused and i called out 'are you coming???' and she yelled 'yes yes yes!' and ran down the yard to the car.
of course this whole time lily is concerned & saying 'i hope eve decides to come with us! we can't leave her!' and i'm telling her 'we are NOT leaving her lily, i'm trying to teach her a lesson'
all that because i am too tired to walk back up the driveway to get my child off the porch.
and to top it off- it is TOTALLY something my dad would have done to me, who i pretty much thought was crazy until i became a parent and realized he was a genius.
we were going to the bookstore and lily followed me to the car, got in, eve is still standing on the front porch. i said 'let's go eve!' about 5 times and she just stood there. ignoring me.
mind you, she is fully aware of what i'm asking her to do and she is capable of following directions. she is choosing to ignore me.
so i strap lily in and called out 'bye eve!' waving to her on the porch and started to drive away. i slowly backed down the driveway, pulled up to the front curb, and rolled down the window. she's just standing there saying 'mama?' with her head tilted, very confused and i called out 'are you coming???' and she yelled 'yes yes yes!' and ran down the yard to the car.
of course this whole time lily is concerned & saying 'i hope eve decides to come with us! we can't leave her!' and i'm telling her 'we are NOT leaving her lily, i'm trying to teach her a lesson'
all that because i am too tired to walk back up the driveway to get my child off the porch.
and to top it off- it is TOTALLY something my dad would have done to me, who i pretty much thought was crazy until i became a parent and realized he was a genius.
11.10.2010
today i unfortunately have a plea to pass on that makes me doubly sad having just commemorated orphan sunday. so many beautiful children in this world simply looking for a family, for love, and ultimately, for the Father.
this is a repost from my sweet friend Ali's site. please pass this on or contact the woman below if you can be of help.
There's other stuff I want to say today, but this is on my heart and it's really important that this sweet boy finds the right home. I can't say much more without getting really involved in the subject. Please pass this along to anyone who might want to adopt baby Luke!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baby boy "Luke"
born September 7, 2010
Caucasian
Born full-term at 39.5 weeks
6 lbs 4 ozs
19 1/2"
Baby Luke was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome. He was discharged from the hospital on October 25th, and is with a temporary care family. He is being fed by a g-tube and is doing very well. A speech therapist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist have been working with him weekly. Both birth parents continue to express a strong interest in making an adoption plan for Luke.
Birth parents are educated professionals. Birth mom received excellent prenatal care of this planned pregnancy. No history of alcohol or drug usage. The birthparents are willing to consider an adoptive family residing anywhere in the USA. Their number one concern is that an adoptive family will have a great deal of knowledge about Prader-Willi syndrome and be ready to offer a structured environment in a loving home to their son with full understanding of challenges the child may face. Birthparents are not requesting an open adoption.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to be considered as adoptive parents for this little boy.
Thank you,
Leslie Wright,MSW
Birth Parent Counselor
Family Resource Center
5828 North Clark St
Chicago, IL 60660
Phone:773-334-2300
jturner@f-r-c.org
www.f-r-c.org
this is a repost from my sweet friend Ali's site. please pass this on or contact the woman below if you can be of help.
There's other stuff I want to say today, but this is on my heart and it's really important that this sweet boy finds the right home. I can't say much more without getting really involved in the subject. Please pass this along to anyone who might want to adopt baby Luke!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baby boy "Luke"
born September 7, 2010
Caucasian
Born full-term at 39.5 weeks
6 lbs 4 ozs
19 1/2"
Baby Luke was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome. He was discharged from the hospital on October 25th, and is with a temporary care family. He is being fed by a g-tube and is doing very well. A speech therapist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist have been working with him weekly. Both birth parents continue to express a strong interest in making an adoption plan for Luke.
Birth parents are educated professionals. Birth mom received excellent prenatal care of this planned pregnancy. No history of alcohol or drug usage. The birthparents are willing to consider an adoptive family residing anywhere in the USA. Their number one concern is that an adoptive family will have a great deal of knowledge about Prader-Willi syndrome and be ready to offer a structured environment in a loving home to their son with full understanding of challenges the child may face. Birthparents are not requesting an open adoption.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to be considered as adoptive parents for this little boy.
Thank you,
Leslie Wright,MSW
Birth Parent Counselor
Family Resource Center
5828 North Clark St
Chicago, IL 60660
Phone:773-334-2300
jturner@f-r-c.org
www.f-r-c.org
11.05.2010
10.31.2010
happy happy halloween! or as lily sang at dinner "happy birthday, dear molll-lllie"
more pictures on the photo blog, but for fun, look at how much they have grown! its hard to believe they will have a third partner in crime next year.
more pictures on the photo blog, but for fun, look at how much they have grown! its hard to believe they will have a third partner in crime next year.
10.26.2010
i remember going to buy lily a 'big sister' book when i was pregnant with eve. she loved it, she still loves it. we hadn't read it in a while and she picked it out tonight for her bedtime story.
i pulled eve and lily onto the bed to read it all together. i read the page:
the baby is too little to walk.
the baby is too little to talk.
the baby is too little to play with toys.
the baby is too little to little to eat pizza or apples or ice cream.
then i said 'lily is eve a baby?' and she nodded 'yes'. i asked, 'does she walk, talk, play with toys and eat pizza?' and a puzzled nod followed.
i said 'she's not a baby anymore is she?'
lily called out 'awwwwwww!!!!!' and gave eve a huge hug.
even my 3 year old is nostalgic.
i pulled eve and lily onto the bed to read it all together. i read the page:
the baby is too little to walk.
the baby is too little to talk.
the baby is too little to play with toys.
the baby is too little to little to eat pizza or apples or ice cream.
then i said 'lily is eve a baby?' and she nodded 'yes'. i asked, 'does she walk, talk, play with toys and eat pizza?' and a puzzled nod followed.
i said 'she's not a baby anymore is she?'
lily called out 'awwwwwww!!!!!' and gave eve a huge hug.
even my 3 year old is nostalgic.
i just sneezed and lily yelled 'BLESS YOU' through the wall. its nap time and i'm at my desk in the office next to her room. it really makes me want to run in and play with her (since she clearly is forgoing her nap today anyway).
i have 7 more weeks with my girls before our world gets rocked again. i am quickly getting to the super uncomfortable phase, still have not chosen a name, rarely sleep and am finishing up the last few weeks of work. as i get more uncomfortable, cranky, and tired i am trying to listen to good music to improve my mood and spend time thinking about what i'm thankful for.
afterall, thanksgiving is just around the corner. i'm so thankful for my husband. so so thankful for my girls. i'm thankful to have learned my limits this past year and chosen to stick by them as much as possible so that my girls and my husband know they are my priorities. i'm thankful for my family and the support of my friends.
i'm thankful that i've refrained from killing my dog no matter how annoying i find him these days. i'm thankful that despite my frustrations lately, i haven't added any curse words to lily's vocabulary. i'm thankful for my housekeepers since i can barely manage to straighten up the house every 2 weeks for them to deep clean.
i'm thankful that in 48 days i get to meet my baby.
i have 7 more weeks with my girls before our world gets rocked again. i am quickly getting to the super uncomfortable phase, still have not chosen a name, rarely sleep and am finishing up the last few weeks of work. as i get more uncomfortable, cranky, and tired i am trying to listen to good music to improve my mood and spend time thinking about what i'm thankful for.
afterall, thanksgiving is just around the corner. i'm so thankful for my husband. so so thankful for my girls. i'm thankful to have learned my limits this past year and chosen to stick by them as much as possible so that my girls and my husband know they are my priorities. i'm thankful for my family and the support of my friends.
i'm thankful that i've refrained from killing my dog no matter how annoying i find him these days. i'm thankful that despite my frustrations lately, i haven't added any curse words to lily's vocabulary. i'm thankful for my housekeepers since i can barely manage to straighten up the house every 2 weeks for them to deep clean.
i'm thankful that in 48 days i get to meet my baby.
10.24.2010
Eve counting
we were having breakfast at my parents' house this weekend and eve just started counting over and over 'ooooone duuuuuu'. now i'm fairly certain she learned this from me threatening her sister
"lily! get over here! one... two........" she always seems to make it JUST before 'three' so eve may never learn to count past two unless i get off my lazy bum and teach her :)
"lily! get over here! one... two........" she always seems to make it JUST before 'three' so eve may never learn to count past two unless i get off my lazy bum and teach her :)
10.12.2010
more life lessons for miss lily. i have a feeling this is still just the tip of the iceberg.
as you have seen from time to time, lily has some serious style. the other day she had dressed herself in a purple shirt, khaki skirt, one knee-high pink sock & one knee-high gray sock with brown shoes. we were at the park and another little girl a few swings down started pointing at lily calling out 'that's funny!' and laughing.
lily looked bewildered for a second, then an expression crossed her face that broke my heart. i watched her cross her legs to try to block her mismatched socks from view and she sheepishly looked up to me for direction. i was quick to say 'sweetheart i love you and i love your socks'.
to be fair, the other girl wasn't intending to be mean, just had a genuine reaction. but seeing my baby be self-conscious for the first time was more than sad. it really made me dread her getting older and being more concerned with what others think.
her amazing dad sat her down at home and gave her a pep talk 'if other people don't like something we like, that's their problem! if YOU like your socks, that is all that matters to me.'
i'm sure lily hasn't given that moment another thought but i'm not sure i'll ever forget the look on her face and her little crossed legs on the swings.
as you have seen from time to time, lily has some serious style. the other day she had dressed herself in a purple shirt, khaki skirt, one knee-high pink sock & one knee-high gray sock with brown shoes. we were at the park and another little girl a few swings down started pointing at lily calling out 'that's funny!' and laughing.
lily looked bewildered for a second, then an expression crossed her face that broke my heart. i watched her cross her legs to try to block her mismatched socks from view and she sheepishly looked up to me for direction. i was quick to say 'sweetheart i love you and i love your socks'.
to be fair, the other girl wasn't intending to be mean, just had a genuine reaction. but seeing my baby be self-conscious for the first time was more than sad. it really made me dread her getting older and being more concerned with what others think.
her amazing dad sat her down at home and gave her a pep talk 'if other people don't like something we like, that's their problem! if YOU like your socks, that is all that matters to me.'
i'm sure lily hasn't given that moment another thought but i'm not sure i'll ever forget the look on her face and her little crossed legs on the swings.
10.07.2010
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