Easter

We had a great Easter! They are too young to really understand Jesus' resurrection (one much more so than the other:), but, boy, did they like the Easter baskets.

One of the 'pearls of wisdom' my mom imparted upon me in my you was "tomorrow is a new day".  I love tiny snipets of truth like this because they are so short that I can remember them and so, well, ...true.  I think it's fairly common, at least for me, to think, in moments of darkness, trial, and hardship....'this is is, things will always be this hard.'  And, 'I can't do it', 'I don't want to do it', 'I guess I have to keep going'.

And then one morning you wake up and see the tiniest sprout coming from the ground.  And you think for a minute, there might be hope...but the cold is still overwhelming and you forget.  But, before long, little by little, the world becomes alive and before you know it, you've forgotten the chill and the dark.  Ahhh, sweet Springtime.

It is an especially sweet Spring season here and we are thankful.  Both children are growing and thriving and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their brother or sister.  We have made it through our first winter without major health concerns or hospital stays.  And, everyday that goes by, I remember less of the hard seasons past.

And that's what we are celebrating this weekend, the promise of hope....the miracle of Easter--the love of a God that sent His own son that we might have new life. 

  

School Pictures

My kids have 'school' pictures tomorrow...you know, where a local photographer comes, snaps off 100 pictures in 2 hours and pays for her family's summer trip to Disney with the windfall?  Normally I like to rage against the machine and refuse to pay $30 for one measly little picture.  And, usually, it's not even tempting because: a) I've forgotten picture day and let  G go to school in a nasty Buzz lightyear t-shirt that I do not want preserved, 2) G's expression is morose at best, 3) I'd rather have a framed picture taken from my iPhone than one with a speckled gray background, or 4) all of the above.  But, last fall, this was one of proofs that was sent home with Lilah-->

Ok, I know I'm a bit biased.  And, she's got that whole 'I'm a miracle child' thing that tugs at your heartstrings, but is this not so precious???  It makes me giggle every time I see it and this is just a picture of the proof that I took with my camera (don't tell).  I didn't buy them because speckled gray is not a friendly background for a heart baby and I had just sunk some cash into some real pictures.

Tomorrow I am prepared.  My kids are going to school in cute clothes, which means I need to get my fanny in bed--because tomorrow morning is going to be a battle.  Lilah, as usual, won't care.  But G is another story.  He chooses his clothes 98% of the time and does fine about 50% of that.  In case you are wondering where I got my statistics, the 2% is church and since we only go on Sunday and he changes clothes about 5 times a day, Garrett's fashion is 98% freestyle.  I honestly don't really care usually, and I think he's so cute that he looks even cuter when he's wearing something that he decided looked great together (stripes and plaid, anyone??).  And the 2% makes our lives hell with the memory for the rest of the week, so we are too tired to struggle.

Anyway, I'm hoping for some good pictures--which means they will totally suck:).  And, G might be red-eyed and blotchy in his, but he will be wearing the green button-down.  If it kills me!

Frames

This is totally irrelevant, and I'm sure no one cares, but I painted these frames.  And a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into them....actually, just a good bit of time.  But, I NEVER do anything crafty, (unless you count the time a friend suckered me into making Christmas trees out of those cheap red glass ornaments---her's looked like Martha's and mine looked like trash, which is where it went)--so I wanted to brag.  Also, hanging these has pretty much been the extent of my decorating at the new house, so I thought I'd share.  In 3 years, when I get around to hanging curtains, I'll share again:).

One of the hardest parts of being a mom is the loss of freedom, at least for me.  I don't remember feeling it at all when I just had Garrett....I was still 'free' to do whatever I wanted (for the most part), it just involved dragging a little one with me.  Dinner, the movies, Europe....I could still do whatever I chose...I just chose not to do some things because the trouble outweighed the fun.  But, when Lilah came along, it was an entirely different ball game and the realization hit me hard.

It's not that I want to do much differently, it was just the idea that I couldn't, if I wanted, that gets me.  The spontaneity is gone and it sometimes makes me feel trapped.  It sounds terrible, I know.  But there is almost nothing that we do now that doesn't require special forethought or equipment, or is just plain 'not an option'.  The beach falls into this later category, I'm afraid.  We took Lilah to the beach last summer and it was just a smidge away from a total disaster....the sun, the sand, the heat, and the logistics almost pushed her (and me) over the edge.  She hated it and I came home depressed that I was never ever going to be able to go to the beach again my entire life.

But, I did!!! This past weekend, my sweet husband gave me the gift of staying with Lilah while my mom and I took Garrett to the beach.  Why did we go to South Carolina at the end of March, you might ask?!  I was asking myself the same question as we checked into our hotel and it was 50 degrees and raining.  (fyi, the answer is that I thought we shouldn't get any closer to baby #3's arrival)  Anyway, the weather perked up (a little) and we had a great time.  And Paul and Lilah got along fabulously.