These Little Moments...

I love the way that God works in our lives. Sometimes, it's obvious. Sometimes, it's more subtle. But when I look back over my life, I see countless examples where God was moving ahead of me, preparing the way, preparing my heart for where I am today.   I really wanted to be a choir assistant when I enrolled Gracie in the 4-year-old choir this past fall... I was always involved in our youth choir as a little girl, and then sang in the praise band and adult choir as a teenager. I have fond memories of this time in my life. Anyway, I didn't ask about being a choir assistant because the nice group of folks I saw those first Sunday evenings looked like they had it under control. I had this internal dialogue going with myself. Just ask. I didn't.   I had decided I would ask next fall and was content to attend the Sunday evening services that are held during the youth choir practices. But then I received an email. Gracie's choir group was in need of another ...

Today was an extra special day. I, along with a wonderful group of women, spent the afternoon celebrating the upcoming arrival of my niece, Ryleigh Michele. My mom and I co-hosted a brunch in honor of my sister, who will be welcoming her daughter within the next few weeks! I had so much fun "ooohing" and "ahhhing" over the precious baby girl clothes and necessities. My sister is blessed to have such generous family members and friends. I would say she is ready for Ryleigh now! (Thank you to my very talented friend, Megan, for the amazingly beautiful and delicious cake! Please note the invitation and how perfectly the cake matches!) Pretty mommy :) Congratulations, Ashley! We are anxious to meet Miss Ryleigh!

Last Wednesday, we left for Easton, Maryland. After a 7 hour drive, we pulled into my grandmother's driveway. Even though it was well after 10 pm, both my grandmother and grandfather were wide awake and ready to greet us. Upon entering the house, Gracie and Ethan suddenly found a burst of energy that left them jumping, laughing, and dancing around the living room. They were excited, and even though I was exhausted, I danced a little on the inside, because I was excited, too. This trip is one that was postponed when we discovered Gracie had the flu at a doctor's visit the day after Christmas. Gracie immediately took to her Great-Granny, no warm-up period necessary. They share a special bond that I'm sure began during those first nights home from the hospital after Gracie was born. Granny spent many hours holding my tiny Grace and I'd often peek in the nursery to find them lost in eye contact as Granny spoke quietly to her. Ethan was less interested in cuddling by the...

My boy turned 20 months old on February 16th! I am quite honestly in awe of how quickly the time since his birth has gone. I have started to embrace the fact that he is likely (see how I'm still not 100% there yet?) my last baby, so the further away from "baby" we get, the more I squirm at the idea of never doing this again. On the other hand, I have been blessed with two healthy pregnancies, two beautiful birthing experiences, and one child of each gender. It seems like a good time to wrap up the child-bearing part of my life and move on with my focus on raising the two I already have. I imagine that at some point it will be easy for me to make a more definite statement than the one above, but for now "likely" feels okay. Enough about that! Ethan Reid, you are this hilarious little human being. You make me laugh every single day. You surprise me every single day. You challenge me, test my patience, and demonstrate your strong-will every day. No matter ho...

We returned home yesterday from our week in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We were blessed again (we go every year at this time) with decent weather, considering ours is the last week in January. I was more than ready for this vacation, especially since it was literally freezing at home, with ice covering the roads the morning we left. We were welcomed by an amazingly beautiful ocean-front view. Our children didn't get the "we're sleeping in on this vacation" memo, but we did get to watch the sunrise over the ocean on more than one occasion, so it's tough to complain about that. They did finally both sleep in the morning we needed to be up and preparing to check out. Go figure. Gracie absolutely adores the beach. She'd happily spend hours running and playing in the sand. Ethan is not as enthusiastic about the whole beach thing. He was much happier on any surface other than sand and hated having the ocean breeze in his face. As he gets older, I imagine ...

After an entire week of rain, the snow we received Thursday night was actually a welcome change. Gracie was sooo excited; Ethan was obsessed with opening the blinds to watch it snow. I promised the kids that we'd go out and play after breakfast the next morning. Sean didn't go into work until around 10 am, so he was able to go out with us for a little while. Again, Gracie was very excited. She immediately began throwing snow, making snowballs, and laying down in it to make snow angels. Ethan, on the other hand, did not want the snow to touch him. He was fine as long as his gloves were on, but when the snow touched his skin in any way, he would scream. Gracie's school was closed, so we enjoyed our snow day!  (Maybe next time Ethan will have more fun.)

Last year, Sean and I (along with Ryan and Bekah) wrote down our resolutions (hopes, dreams, etc.) for the year 2012. As we've done in the past, we waited and opened the jar holding these year-old slips of paper the following New Year’s Eve, anxious to discover what we'd hoped to accomplish, and to see if we were successful. Among other things, Ryan hoped to graduate high school.  Check. Bekah wanted to Be Happy!...while also enjoying the first part of her Senior year in high school. Check. Check. Sean wanted to further his career, be more patient with his children, and cherish every moment with his family. How sweet. Check. Check. Check. I, apparently, wanted to lose 20 pounds, be more patient with my kids (common issue in this family), and “buy a van for Baby #3”... Hahaha! I actually have been more patient with my children, I think. I did get a bigger vehicle, though it is not a van and its purpose is not to make room for another baby. I did lose 15...