she turned four

We blinked and she wasn't a baby anymore.  I'm not sure how it happened but suddenly her day was here.  She woke up with an instant smile on her face as we sang to her through her streamer-ed door.  Her smile so big, cheeks so chubby, her little slivers of eyes, gleaming.  She knew it was special.

  Our girly-girl who dazzles herself with jewelry, make-up and nail polish but prefers to watch Transformers, Ben 10 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with her brother.

There is no shortage of sass in this little three-foot-something frame.  Attitude also comes along for the ride.  She challenges everything, has an opinion about everything, submisses to virtually no authority unless its convenient for her.



But she cuddles better than anyone I've ever known.  She nestles her head into the crook of your neck, throws her arms around you and always makes a sighing noise of complete satisfaction as if with you is the only place she wants to be.

She loves fiercely, is disgusted regularly, is passionately loud and uncharacteristically gentle.

We should have given her the middle name of "mischief" or "sneaky."  She is always finding herself in a bind, with a crayon in hand and a blank canvas, also known as her bedroom wall, just begging to be colored on.  We think we have misplaced important things only to find them tucked away in her "secret hiding place" also known as her play kitchen.  It's a good thing we know her secret or there would be a lot more panic as we look for car keys, jumpdrives and wedding rings.

  

She's dramatic and resourceful.

 

And always finds herself shakin' her "tail feathers" to whatever tune is playing in the background.

  

She hassles her brother and gives him way more kisses than he could ever want; but we know its because she loves him so fiercely.

 

She was a healing baby for our family four years ago and she continues to do so four years later. 

  

A dreamer, a peacemaker, a debater.

 

She wants to be doctor so she can help people in this world.

 

We couldn't imagine our world without her.

Happy Birthday, little girl.  We love you more than you could ever know.

School Days!

I blinked...and it was that time of year again.  Thirteen weeks of summer flew by us and suddenly I have a six year old in Kindergarten and a three year old in Pre-K4.  I never know how much they change and really grow up until I see their pictures from the year before.  

I just can't believe that these two used to be babies. 

Here's to another year!

 

 

   

 

insane, ridiculous, fantastic

i felt the crazy desire to blog this morning.  i have taken a little hiatus from our personal blog, not really intentionally, but not unintentionally either.  in fact, i kinda forgot about blogging about our family life until my mom mentioned that my last post had been about Christmas crafts in late November.

quite frankly, i didn't feel like blogging.  our family had a rough six months that included some pretty serious spiritual attacks, tough parenting stuff, hard decisions and overwhelming exhaustion.  i didn't feel like blogging about "pretty" things when life just didn't feel that pretty.

but this morning, as i sit in one of my favorite houses that rests on one of my favorite farms, our littlest one came around the corner with crazy bed head and the sweetest smile.  i simply forgot the past six months and wanted to share with whoever follows this blog, one of my life's greatest joys.

this little one was an answer to prayers we didn't even know we needed.  she helped us through one of the most difficult times we've ever faced and many times i look at her sweet little face and am reminded that even in the midst of her temper tantrums, she literally saved our family from sinking too deeply into our grief over losing mike's dad, joe.

she is rowdy and rambunctious and pushes buttons i never knew i had.  she is fiery and opinionated and independent.  she draws me to my knees everyday in prayer asking God how on earth i am supposed to raise her to be the woman He wants her to be when i can barely get her to listen when i ask her to simply pick up her toys.

she questions everything and does very little i ask her to do, the first time.  she antagonizes her brother and taunts her father and overwhelms her mother.

but she is insanely passionate.  ridiculously nurturing.  fantastically loving.  she is the funniest little thing that comes up with the craziest ideas.  she is expressive and outgoing.  she's never met a stranger and likes everyone she's met.  she resists her boundaries but holds tightly to them too.  she is one of my life's greatest joys and i couldn't imagine our lives without her.  in fact, our lives would probably be pretty boring and mundane without her.

and above all, i know, without a doubt that all the things that drive me crazy about her, God will find a way to make those things work for the good of His kingdom.  And for me, that's all the confirmation I need to watch and train and guide her even through the toughest of her little stages.

piece of heaven

with our fall schedule slowing down a bit we've made weekends intentional and a priority. we try not to schedule any "work" related stuff. we stay away from our computers more. we play outside a lot. and the most recent activity the kids love...

painting.

i have to say i grin a little when the kids say they want to paint. sometimes i groan, thinking about taking out all those paints and using tons of paper for just three brushstrokes. but mostly i get excited at the possibility of my kids being artists.

look how different they each hold the brush

art has played more than a huge role in my life. it has played a ginormous role in my life. i've always said that i didn't care if my kids were ballerinas or ball players. whatever they choose, i'll support them in that. but i definitely wouldn't complain if they chose to be painters. or photographers. or cartoonists. or sidewalk chalk artists.

emi is my careful painter. i know she's not even quite two but she has a delicate hand. she never goes off the page. she always holds a paintbrush like she is touching the most sacred piece of paper. she has this super adorable focus face where she purses her lips together and her eyebrows indent inward. so cute.

landon, although my wild painter, has quite the imagination. he is always mixing pictures with the new letters and numbers he is learning. he also never forgets who the picture is of or what animal he painted. he seems to be painting a lot of caterpillars, spiders and gagas (mike's dad who passed away in 2009) lately.

in parenting, i feel like it brings out the best in me and the worst in me. my ugliness rears its head in heated arguments (yes, those happen even with toddlers) and cuddles and kisses take all of my burdens away. there is just something about watching these little ones create that makes me hope and wonder and stand in awe of these beautiful creations. my beautiful creations. mike and i's beautiful creations.

god's littlest, most beautiful creations.

9 Months!

whelp. another month has flown by.

our baby girl is 9 months old today. i fully intended on just taking like 5 pictures, just to get a good shot of what she looks like this month. and actually she was not cooperating. only wanted to play with the grass and eat leaves. but then, i got the novel idea to throw her (not actually throw her, but gently place her...) in the hammock. so glad i did.

got this idea to pair a photo with a block of color from another blog. i kinda like it. what do you think?

9 amazing months, little nohemi. i love you so very much.

4 months old!

I can't imagine that another month has flown by, but it has. Our little Emi girl is 4 months old! And look at me...I'm only 1 day late in posting pictures!

She's 24 inches long (up 5 inches from birth) and about 14 pounds (up 6 pounds from birth). We weighed her on a scale at the airport so who knows if its dead on or not.

Sister wants to sit up ALL the time. (Sister is what Landon calls her) She can't do it on her own yet, but she wants to be propped up whenever possible so she can look around at the world. Emi is still super quiet. She doesn't talk much but she coos at you like she's having a conversation. Always flashing her adorable little smile when your face does something funny. Oh, but she's a thinker. Always pondering, and crinkling her little forehead as if she is concentrating to take in the world around her. She absolutely LOVES cartoons. I know, I know, people say, "Don't let the TV raise your children..." I'm not...but...its so fun to see her face light up when she sees all the colors in Dora and her little legs and arms go crazy in her bouncy seat. Love it.

She has totally expanded my heart's capability to love.

3 months old!

Nohemi is unbelievably 3 months old already!!! I know I said that time flew when Landon was little but this is ridiculous. I just blink and another month has passed. Crazy.

Emi is such a sweet little girl. Her personality seems to be a lot like her Daddy. Calm demeanor, always smiley. And did I mention she sleeps an average of 12 hours a night!?! I mean seriously, I love this baby! She is doing so many new things. We've discovered lately that she loves being on the floor and she just scoots herself around on her back. She's even attempted to roll over a couple times. Her brother didn't roll over until he was 8 months old...we may have a baby genius on our hands :)

She has these super dark, blue eyes. They just stare into your soul. I don't know how this littler girl does it but she just instantly makes you happy when you're around her. You just drop the cares of the world off at the door and melt into her little grin. I love her for that. I love that I feel better when I'm with my little girl. I love that she makes me feel, already, like I'm the best mommy ever (even though I'm clearly not).

I often feel totally guilty, though. I feel like she is WAY more neglected than her big brother was. She spends way too much time in her bouncy seat as I'm attending to her demanding brother, or editing photos or staring blankly at my messy house wondering when it's going to start cleaning itself. But when I feel the guilt sink in, I look over at her and almost immediately she flashes me a little smile. Almost telling me that she totally understands and that she's content right where she is. What an incredible little baby. I can't wait to be apart of her journey. I'm so blessed for the three months we've already had.