True enough.

Spring Break has arrived.

To celebrate, Thursday after school we headed to Grand Rapids with the kids. Josh wanted to pick up a few athletic shirts, so we all went along for the ride.

We decided the next stop was dinner at the airport viewing area. Josh and I have been loyal Smashburger fans since we ate there almost every day this past summer.

Walking in to pick up our food, I immediately spotted Richard, the general manager. We got to know him quite well--he always asked about Tessa and the boys, how we were doing, how much longer until we could take her home.

He smiled and looked at me quizzically. I could tell he recognized who I was, but was having trouble placing me.

Refreshing his memory, we engaged in a little back and forth about how Tessa and the boys are doing.

After checking me out and handing me the shopping bag full of burger and fries, he said to me "You know, I kind of recognized you, but you just look a lot less tired."

True enough, Mr. Richard.

There is lightness and joy filling my days, and I will forever be thankful (as well as more rested).

“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” ~ C. S. Lewis

Hobbyist

A few years ago, I was talking to a friend whose dad runs a fairly large and established photography studio in this area.

I remember her saying that the invention of DSLR cameras was the birth of a million people wanting to be professional photographers.

I am not one of them:-)

But I must admit, I really like it as a hobby.

Setting up different backdrops, finding fun props, editing pictures once they are taken--all of it is fun to me.

And in true VanderPloeg fashion, a hobby isn't a hobby unless it is an obsession!

Where I am at.

There once was a little girl who played a complicated piece on her violin for a large audience.

The movement was sad and sweet and played with eerie precision, especially for someone so young.

As she finished and the applause thundered through the concert hall, a man in the audience leaned over to his wife and said, “Imagine how much more beautifully she’ll play once she’s had her heart broken.”

I read this story a long time ago, and it stayed with me.

Fact is, I don't like pain.

I don't seek it out or ask the Lord for trials.

Someone told me they specifically prayed that the Lord would allow them to take a portion of our burden.

I found that so beautiful; I could cry just thinking about the sacrifice.

My mom and I were re-hashing her birth today, as we often do. I love turning over key moments and lingering there for a while.

I can remember so much about that day- her first little cry that I waited so long to hear, the resident saying "She is opening her eyes and kicking, Jamie", Josh spelling out her name for the nurse to put on her name card, them tipping her face toward mine and seeing her scrunched up little nose all ticked off that she was born too soon.

Heaven on earth, folks.

Collectively, I felt our community exhale a sigh of relief.

She was here. She could breathe. She would live.

But everything about that pregnancy had been so awful, I had difficulty relaxing.

I felt like, at any minute, the other shoe was going to drop.

Talking to other moms that have been through a very difficult experience, I think the "Ok, I went through this once, Lord, but please don't ask me to do it again" thought is pretty common.

Someone recently asked me if I ever think back to what was happening last year at this time.

I replied that yes, unfortunately, I have the memory of an elephant.

I remember too much-things like laying awake until 3 am, rubbing my belly and talking to a baby I was suffocating. Sitting on the crinkly paper at the OB/GYN as he took every last morsel of hope away. Watching the kids circle through the revolving hospital door, wondering if I was going to leave with her memories in a box.

If there is anything I really struggle with lately, it is fear.

As exciting as it is to think about taking Tessa out and about, there is a huge part of me that is afraid. Like if I can keep her in this little bubble of our house, somehow she will be protected from harm.

I see my faulty logic. My head knows that God has her life under control and doesn't need my help. I was reading through my "I Still Have Hope" blog book the other night and someone had written that God doesn't all the sudden peek over the balcony and go "Holy cow! How did that happen?"

Fear is sneaky, though. It hits at the strangest of times, when I am least prepared for it.

Please don't misunderstand- God has been so incredibly faithful to us. We were carried through the valley. Prayed for, loved on. I can boldly testify that He is good. Before her life, I was proficient at pretending everything was fine. Vulnerability was difficult and I can see the beautiful music that was played through sharing months of sorrow.

The witnessing that would have never taken place without Tessa's story.

But try as I might, I cannot forget the pain and easily push aside the fear that comes with it.

I wish I could wrap this up neat and tidy.

I really do.

These are my wanderings as March creeps into April, when one year ago our world fell apart.

I read this verse today and it seemed so perfect:

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:7

Friends in Lower places

I often find myself reflecting back on last year at this time.

Maybe it is because Spring is around the corner, her baptism date is set; perhaps it is the little pink Easter dress that arrived in my mailbox that I ached for last year, or the fact that we might actually take Tessa in public soon.

Exciting events I wasn't sure would ever happen.

This past weekend, to celebrate Cara's incredible weight loss (100 lbs!), we went for pedicures.

A few months ago, this same group met up at Cascade Roadhouse for a rousing night of karaoke fun.

Aside from my age disqualification, it is fair to say that I will not be auditioning for American Idol anytime soon.

Josh is an extremely talented musician...I barely feel confident singing next to someone in church. I may or may not lip sync as the pastor strolls by.

Our second group o' girls song was "Friends in Lower Places" by Garth Brooks.

I have always seen it as the bawdy bar song where drunk, happy people link shoulders and sway to the beat, reveling in the low places they are inhabiting.

Strictly referencing the title, this picture represents my friends in lower places.

....and I ain't talking about the establishment.

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
Elbert Hubbard

Without a doubt, they love me even when life isn't pretty.

When I don't have it all together.

They held my hand through the worst time of my life, and value me the same.

I {heart} these girls, and am so thankful God brought us together four years ago in the baby boom of 2008.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Wonderful Weekend

Josh heard the weather report calling for 11 inches up North, so we wanted to get as far as we could get before the snow fell Friday afternoon.

As we approached Cadillac, it started to get slushy. Viewing a car flipped upside down in the ditch slowed our pace to 30 miles an hour.

It was a {turtle} race to arrive, and we finished second (kudos, Dielemans!). Texting on the way up reminded me of the good old days of CB radios during our caravan mission trips to Canada.

Verdict: 19 kids + 10 adults = one of my favorite GWL trips ever.

Pictures don't do it justice....in true fashion, I didn't haul out my camera until the last day. I am missing half our group!


The news said there was 10 more inches after this photo was taken.

The GWL crew singing Happy Birthday to Chelle.

Tessa stayed in the room, but had to get into the action in her bathing suit for a photo.

Happy to be in a different surrounding, I am sure!

Spent lots of time in the lazy river

These two are quite funny together.

Spraying Dylan...as I said....horrible photographer that I only got half the picture. UGH!

A great time was had by all.

Apparently, GWL is exhausting.......

This is one of Tessa's favorite toys. I am pretty sure she missed it because she has never been this excited before for playtime!

As Kayden said a tearful goodbye to the room (four times), we promised him we would be back for his birthday in October. It's not going to be the same without the slew of kids to entertain each other, though!

So thankful for these friends and a wonderful weekend of fun!

Oh, how far we have come.

Praise Ye the Lord! :-)

I know Jeff Goldblum

Yeah, I just did it.

I name dropped.

But there is a bigger story I want to tell, so I hope you will forgive me just this once.

Back in the We-don't-have-kids-yet-so-I-want-to-try-and-be-an-actress days, I attended Playhouse West.

More because of my gender than talent, after a few months, I was placed in Jeff's class. I am sure he would have preferred it had I been single.

Twice I week, I presented my rehearsed scene in front of the others and jotted down his expert critique in my black, pocket sized notebook.

They always say "Those that can't do, teach" in regards to acting. I didn't want a washed up wanna-be; I was paying good money for the best.

Not that Mr. Goldblum is the best, but you get what I mean. I wanted to learn from someone I respected and was actually working in the field.

The first few scenes under his tutelage were uncomfortable and nerve wracking.

As time went on, though, the fame haze began to clear and the kinks in his personality emerged....the funny way he used words that most of us scratched our heads upon utterance, run-on sentences that never quite fell on one coherent topic, the cadence of whispers and stutters upon examination of our work.

He became normal.

Every once in a while, his band played at clubs around town. Most of the students would go to watch his performance and try to make industry connections.

A few months after I met him, I was standing to the side of the dance floor and caught eyes with Jeff.

He smiled and waved, mouthed "hello, Jalynn".

Have I mentioned that my agent recommended I go by that name to sound more exotic? Not my proudest moment.

I smiled back.

A simple exchange, really.

I didn't think much of it, until it hit me later.

Jeff Goldblum knows me by name.

A few other times this happened- when paparazzi would take a photo or a tourist would stop him for his autograph.

It would again hit me that he is famous, and I felt special that he was a small part of my career.



Yesterday, I was driving to Village Kids Consignment.

I always get a little backward when driving to Ada. I don't drive the roads much on that end of town.

As I was traveling Cascade Road, I spotted a building that looked very familiar. I couldn't place why.

Like a punch in the gut, I remembered it was where Josh and I went on April 20th and heard the words, "your baby has a 0% chance of survival".

The wonderful, sweet realization that I was driving past the place where we got ZERO HOPE to go pick out summer clothes for all three kids made me deliriously happy.

And it was a hundred million times better than my days of being an acquaintance of Jeff Goldblum.

I am still so thankful, so grateful.

Psalm 71:5-8
New Living Translation (NLT)

5 O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
6 Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!
7 My life is an example to many,
because you have been my strength and protection.
8 That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.

I can usually get two of the three in good moods;-)

Tessa girl turns 7 months old tomorrow, and continues to be a joy.

Taking her off caffeine changed her disposition entirely. I would have called her high-maintenance before, but she is currently easy going and quick to laugh.

She weighs a whopping 13 pounds.

22 inches the last time we checked.

She delights when her brothers smile at her, but doesn't much like hugs.

She is cooing and talking, rolling over, and getting into a nice routine.

Handing her monitor over was slightly terrifying, but it is absolutely awesome to not have to lug that heavy machine around.

She continues to stay home 95% of the time, and only veers out once in a while to Grandma's house. Every once in a while we head to the airport (another tangible reminder of last Spring) to watch planes take off and land.

I have tentatively set May 13th (Mother's Day) for her baptism, so please save the date!;-)

A fluffy post

Sorry, folks.

It's been one of those weeks. I wish I could muster a bit more content here at the MiniMe Mom blog.

My girl that was sleeping eight hours at night is still sleeping eight hours....but it's not as easy on me now that it is from 2am-10am, instead of 11pm-7 am.

All three kids made their rounds at the doctor's office.

Kayden had an earache.

Tessa has a cough, fever, and runny nose.

Bryce may or may not have giardia again.

Stop laughing.

It's not funny.

My French teacher in high school used to quip every Friday as we left her classroom, "Viva La Weekend!"

Long live the weekend, indeed, Mrs. Terpstra.

If nothing else, I am ready for some help loading the never ending stream of medicine syringes.

P.S.-Want to know where she thinks the giardia came from? See above photo.

Personally, I think it is from Bryce licking the floor at the mall a few weeks ago.

Why, Bryce?

My bathroom toilet has been in and out of service for a few weeks.

Josh would fix the clog; the boys would use too much toilet paper and clog it right back up.

It has been a never ending battle.

Add to that the stomach flu passing through all three men of the house...I have gone through four cans of lysol and three large tubs of wipes.

Today, Josh set out to find out what the true issue was with that toilet.

He augered and plunged and augered and plunged.

After an hour, came downstairs victorious.

Lysol was sprayed on every last living surface up there, so that my bathroom could again be in use.

Our family Christmas party was this afternoon at a local hotel. The boys were thrilled that they were going to get to go swimming, even though it was snowing. Bryce could barely wrap his mind around how that was going to happen.

After a morning of being crabby, we told Bryce that he needed to at least lay down for a half hour in order to have the privilidge of going.

Twenty minutes into his nap, I went up to see if he was sleeping and start packing swimsuits.

I noticed the bathroom floor was flooded with water.

One look into the toilet, and the reason was clear.

An entire roll of toilet paper was wadded up in the bowl.

I asked, okay, shrieked, "Bryce, what have you done?"

"I didn't do it, Mom," he replied. "I think Kayden did."

"Try again," I said. "Kayden has been downstairs playing basketball this entire time."

Bryce: "Well, then it was Baby Tessa."

Me: "How did the floor get all wet?"

Bryce: "I kept flushing til the water overflowed."

While Josh picked up the bathroom (thank you, dear!), I found an entire wall scribbled with pen and my Bible in a heap on my bed with a page ripped.

At the rate we are going, the kid is not going to have any toys left.



As I was feeding Tessa upon our arrival home, Bryce said he was picking up. Proud as punch, I praised him for picking up without my even asking.

He set the pillow back up on the couch, and was tidying up Tessa's diaper bin.

I heard him up in the playroom, and figured some toy had probably distracted his janitorial service.

A few minutes passed, and I realized he was quiet.

Too quiet.

I got up to double check where he was, and he stopped me to tell me not to go in his playroom.

There, in the middle of the room, was my new faiting sofa, freshly recovered from Josh's dad for Christmas.

Smack in the middle was a return address stamp for MiniMe BabyGear.

After being punished and put to bed early, I just went back up to check on him and tell him I still love him, even though I am dissapointed.

I asked him why he was so naughty today.

He replied, "Mom, I just couldn't control myself."

God is Good

Her name is Maddie.

She is four years old with a rare form of cancer.

They were dear friends of ours when we lived in California.

Her diagnosis came about a month after we found out about Tessa. Her mom just had a baby, and their family all lived in the mid-west. The shuffling they had to do between appointments and hospital stays, the unknowns of how chemo was going to affect Maddie- my heart immediately went out to them.

I wouldn't say misery loves company, because I would never want anyone to go through the year either of us had.

Misery loves understanding, and there is something about someone knowing where you have been that is so comforting.

Around 22 weeks, I got a note in the mail from Maddie's mom.

Scrawled across a plain white sheet of notebook paper were the words "God is Good".

I will be honest.

At that point, I didn't feel like God was all that Good to me.

I felt abandoned.

Forsaken.

Forgot about.

But that little message, from someone who was in the "pit of despair" with me, spoke volumes.

As time marched on, I felt God revealing his plan.

Bringing peace while I was waiting.

Giving hope.

Her miraculous birth.

Watching her grow.

Family and friends who were the feet of Christ.

I can say with absolute certainty.

God is good.

Psalm 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

As I reflect back on the roller coaster year of 2011, I praise God for keeping me safe in His grasp, even when it felt otherwise.

Wishing you a wonderful 2012!

Tessa Update

It's been a while since I have updated on Tessa.

No news is good news, right?

Overall, this girl is a delight to my soul. It's no secret I love this baby stage. I am reveling in her little grunts and baby noises, bath time and burping. So often, I find myself starting to pray for someone else, and ending up praising God again for her life.

She smiles and coos easily- the boys are finally seeing that it can be fun to have a baby around.

Tessa girl is weighing in at a whopping 11 pounds, 4 ounces. She got her second RSV shot this past Sunday. She absolutely hates it (I have heard it is thick because it is antibodies as opposed to a vaccination), but Walgreens makes it very convenient by coming to our house. Her home healthcare nurse is very nice.

Caffeine was discontinued two weeks ago. If she can make it the next week or so without an alarm, we will be wireless. I am not sure how I feel about that. I have come to rely on the monitor. I have watched her stop breathing enough times that it still scares me, even though it hasn't happened in a long time. Dressing her will probably get easier, though.

She had her first cold the week before Christmas, and managed to make it through without a hospital visit (praise the Lord!)

Sleeping is much better. She now sleeps about 6 hours straight, wakes up to eat, and then goes back down for two more hours. Amazing what a little sleep will do for a person! :-)

We have four doctors visits in the next two weeks. The biggest and lengthiest one is her developmental progress check on the 9th. She meets with six or seven different people to make sure she is on track for her adjusted age.

Please keep Tessa in your prayers, that she is developing normally. As always, that she remains illness free.

I hope you had a joyous holiday. Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow!

12th

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
and the future is unclear....I will be here

Words sung 12 years ago to the day, never more clear to me than during this past year.

A few random thoughts while looking through photos tonight...

~our wedding was the first and last day that Josh wore his ring
~child bearing takes quite the toll on one's body
~I really liked gold apparently
~15 pictures (out of 150) were of our marriage certificate. Wish there were digital cameras back then!
~the bouquet looks awfully heavy. Right, mom?


Happy Anniversary to my husband, my partner, my best friend, my shoulder to cry on.

Nobody's Fool

I have promised to dig this out for a while.

Okay, three years to be exact.

Don't get too excited.

I am a glorified extra.

From Wiki:
The Parkers is an American sitcom . A spin-off of UPN's Moesha, The Parkers featured the mother-daughter team of Nikki (played by Mo'Nique) and Kim Parker (played by Countess Vaughn). The Parkers' signature "Heeyyy" greeting made its way into popular vernacular in the early 2000s (decade).

This episodes premise: Nikki has been selling Lady Egyptian cosmetics and finds out that Lady Egyptian is a complete fraud. She sets out to expose her at a taping for her cosmetic line.

Warning: the foul language is beeped out, but you can still tell what they are saying.

Fast forward to 7:37 to see the segment...

Two Slices of Bread

Lunch is kind of a non-event around the Bird house.

Most often, I serve Bryce chicken fingers or leftovers.

Sometimes I get creative and boil up mac and cheese.

Every once in a while, it involves a toy in a box.

You get the idea- no fuss.

Simple.

Easy to do with a baby sleeping in my arms and two dogs under foot.

Lately, Bryce has taken a liking to bread.

Plain bread.

No cheese.

No meat.

No PB or J.

Just bread.

He probably would like honey drizzled on top, but Josh and I keep forgetting to purchase it on grocery day.

And you know I am NOT going all the way back to Meijers for a bottle of honey.

I digress.

A few days ago, Bryce yet again went into the fridge for his two slice main course.

As he was walking to the living room to sit down and have a "carpet picnic"- which is my term for him eating on the living room floor so I can relax on the couch while he eats because it takes him forever to gobble up two plain pieces of bread- I had the idea to surprise him with one of his favorites, an individually wrapped package of goldfish.

Due to expense, they are normally saved for Kayden's lunch. Bryce had been such a great kid, and so helpful, that I really wanted to reward him.

Plus, I feel guilty he eats like our ducklings.

My stubborn child did not want to see what I had for him.

He wanted what he wanted, and that was all there was to it.

He clutched one piece in each hand and, almost to the point of crumbling both of them, held on tight.

No amount of coercion would get him to see that something better might be in my hand than the bread in his.

I know I have done a lot of reflecting around here lately, so I hope I have not tired you with my anecdotes.

Of all my blessings from God, I would have to say my family tops the list.

I don't think that is a bad thing.

On January 17, I admitted that I had finally surrendered trying to control my family to God, after a long struggle with clutching them ever so tightly.

With both hands finally wide open, God gave me more than I even asked for bringing Tessa to our family.

Don't get me wrong. Looking at this from the top of the mountain is so much easier than from mid-climb. Many days, I questioned if I would ever get here. No doubt about it, I would have chosen an easier path in lieu of the extra blessings we received along the long and arduous journey.

See this beautiful dress Tessa is wearing?

My good friend Chelle reminded me of the significance this tulle and satin represents.

Two days after Tessa was born, Heidi and Kristi brought me a bag full of girly goodies, including this outfit.

Visions of her much, much larger and able to wear this were simultaneously uneasy and yet incredibly wonderful. Her future had been uncertain for so long that it was strange to immediately flip that switch and believe she was alive and thriving. For the first four days, I asked every medical person that I could find about Tessa's lungs. I needed constant reassurance that they wouldn't all the sudden become hypoplastic.

As I put her in this dress, my heart sings with a gratitude and joy that last Christmas I never thought I would experience. I am reminded that sometimes I need to stop clutching and open my hands wide for all the blessings God wants to bestow.

Psalm 31:19 How great is your favor, which you store up for your loyal followers! In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter in you.

Twins

When I took this picture of Tessa yesterday, I could have swore I had seen it before.

They certainly have the double chins in common:-)

Rethink

Kayden: Mom, when is your baby going to be born?
Me: What do you mean, K? Are you talking about Tessa?
Kayden: No, not Tessa. Your other baby.
Me: Honey, there is no other baby. Tessa is mommy's final baby.
Kayden: Well, then why does it look like there's another baby in your belly?

I might need to rethink my decision to wait until after the holidays to lose my remaining ten.

Thankful.

It was my fault, really.

In true fashion, I waited until the last minute to start preparing my dish to pass for today.

Everything fell apart when I realized I had to get all three kids dressed, finish the Apple Crisp, change my clothes and put makeup on, and get the car loaded in a half hour.

Calamity.

Of course I needed a picture of all three of them to mark Thanksgiving 2011 on the books.



All three were bawling for the first 10 pictures. I may or may not have bribed them with candy.

Although our "photo shoot" was a bust, it's pretty clear what I am thankful for.

Psalm 145:7
They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Sewing and Sitting

Have I ever told you how my love affair with sewing began?

We were newly married, living separate lives. Josh taught during the day. I was waitressing at night.

There were many long, lonely hours in our apartment.

Shopping is only fun when you have money.

My mom suggested I find a hobby.

Long before Project Runway made it cool, I watched a friend of ours sew a crisp red banner for Redlands Christian and it looked fun.

Excitedly, I told my mom about the new craft I wanted to master and she offered up her machine. A 15-year-old Singer, solid metal hunk of a machine. As I lugged it through three airports and two car rides, I am pretty certain it weighed at least fifty pounds.

"The next time I come out to California, I will teach you," said Jan.

Visions of new dresses, fabulous tops, and fashionable hand sewn accessories flooded my mind. My patience couldn't wait long enough for my mom's tutelage. Seven library books taught me the basics of about gathering, basting, buttons, and back stitch.

A new robe was the first thing I wanted to assemble, so I headed to JoAnns. To my surprise, the fabric would cost me $30.

I could purchase it new for that.

Futhermore, I didn't want to spend all that money to mess up and have to throw it out. We could go to In and Out three times for that kind of dough, after all.

Without a baby on the horizon, I decided that would be my first style to master. One yard would yield an entire outfit with booties, hat, and bloomers to match. I found a great deal on pink flannel and lace, and set to work sewing this:

Side note: Nastalgic to a fault, it was the first blanket I used with Tessa girl. I cherish this, although there are so many flaws and mistakes.

I wish you could see it in person. I actually hand sewed the entire binding. If you know anything about me, you will know that (now) I would rather break ten needles trying to shove it through my machine than hand sew a single stitch.

The next year was spent sewing everything. Nothing was off limits. I loved purchasing a new pattern from the store, picking out just the right material, and sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate and my Singer.

Josh parents gifted me with a brand new embroidery sewing machine on Valentine's Day in 2003. Working with a machine that threaded the bobbin without me hand reeling it was a treat. It remains one of my most treasured gifts.

Then I started sewing for work.

It was fun at first. The thrill of seeing something sell.

Three years and hundred and hundreds of hours into it, somewhere it lost it's luster.

I rarely wanted to sew on my time off.

I did not want to create.

Sitting behind the sewing machine for pleasure reminded me of the many projects sitting next to me that had to be finished. It was easier to get those completed than sit down with a fresh yard and an idea.

Even the fabric store, which I previously loved to peruse, lost it's appeal.

Being on bedrest forced me to, well, rest.

Let go of obligations.

Clear the schedule.

And as much as I miss going out and about with Tessa, there is such beauty in this season.

Before this happened, I would describe my life as a constant state of running (aren't we all?!)

23 round trips to Ypsilanti, regular OB visits, Kayden's basketball practices and Saturday games, Josh's coaching, church obligations, volunteering, room mom, class projects, committees, field trips, keeping the house clean, bringing meals, dinners, coffee dates, MiniMe BabyGear....the list goes on and on and on.

I never said No.

By the end of the day, I would lay down to start praying, and crash in the first few minutes of prayer. My intentions were good, I was just so stinking tired.

Running so much, I didn't have time to sit down with God. Relax in my favorite spot on the couch and read my Bible. Pray for others. Listen. Write things down I want to work on.

There is great fellowship with God in the quiet. Rather, the quiet and conscious. I didn't even realize what I was missing.

Two years ago, a lot of my friends did "Activity Buckets"- you put a bunch of ideas of things you can do together on crumpled up on slips of paper inside a bin, and then draw one out each day to complete.

I always wanted to do it, but was too busy.

We have instituted a new after dinner routine:

Each picks an activity and we play together until they fight:-)

I can say with certainty that I am loving this season of staying home. Although I wouldn't characterize our lives with a very feisty newborn as idle, there is charm in this stage of our lives.

I am even sewing again for fun:

"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." E.M. Bounds

Geh

I have been working on a bit more substantial post.

However.

I was messing around with my camera tonight, and Bryce wanted his picture taken. Looking through them, I realized my poor little boy looks homeless.

The two hours between Josh coming home and bedtime leave little time for Super Cuts.

Kid needs a haircut, stat.

I mean, other than the one he gave himself.

PS- isn't the " blue mustache" a special treat?

Oh, the joys of being outnumbered:-)

This rarely happens.

Josh was right.

9 lbs 1 ounce, and doing fabulous for her corrected age of six weeks (4 months actual).

Her height is 21 1/4", which is six inches longer than she was at birth.

She is in the 25% all around.

Dr. Kruggel says she thinks her cheeks might just be a little bigger.

Good thing I love fat babies:-)

Oh, and I am kidding. Josh is right far more often than I am!