Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing you all a colorful Valentine's Day, full of music...

...love...

...sweet smiles...

...sweet treats...

...and God's richest blessings in your marriages and homes.

~Lots of Love from all of us.

Mommy Lessons - Part 1 of undoubtedly too many to count

These kids are growing so fast, changing drastically day by day. And I am finding, as I watch them, Patrick in particular, face new challenges, struggle with learning right and wrong and accomplish new and wonderful things, I, too, am changing and growing in a way that I never have before.

When I am frustrated with Patrick in those difficult times, I am reminded of and wince at the unending frustration I surely cause my heavenly father on a daily- no, hourly... minutely? (is that a word?) basis.

I will probably watch Patrick injure his finger for the 15th time tomorrow, since he seems determined to disprove my theory that he is, in fact, not strong enough to karate chop the kitchen table in half. At least, that's what I assume he is trying to do, as he is still unable to relay the inner workings of his mind to the rest of us. And I will feel a twinge in my own hand, knowing the pain he must be feeling as he looks up at me with those big, confused eyes as if to say, "Mom, how could you let me do this to myself? Make it better!" despite my half-a-dozen warnings of this exact outcome. But I won't wrap my child up in foam padding and tie him to a chair where he would be nice and safe, because this would teach him nothing, and also probably lead to a severely underdeveloped adult at some point in the future. Instead, I will continue to lovingly warn him of approaching dangers and pray that he heeds my advice. And as I do so, I hear a voice from above reminding me that I, too, must learn the hard way occasionally, even if it takes 15 times or 100. And God's seemingly negligent silence does not mean that He does not love me. It simply means that I still have lots of growing to do, and my Daddy is patiently waiting until I finally figure out that maybe, just maybe, He knows best.

When Olivia cries those terrible cries that are capable of sending every mommy on the block into instinctual action, I scoop her up and do my best to make all wrongs right again. Sometimes I know exactly what she wants or needs, and other times, I wish beyond explanation that this little creature could talk. Sometimes, she gets so worked up that she clenches her eyes shut and seems to refuse to acknowledge that I am even present. And in those times, I am given a beautiful picture of the hand that holds me so tightly. I know that every storm I face, even this entire life, is nothing more than a disappearing vapor, and my Creator is waiting for me on the other side. He always knows exactly what I need. Even when I am incapable of expressing my pain and frustration to anyone else, or even understanding it myself, He knows all of me, inside and out, and He is eager to meet my needs. Even when I am so caught up in a moment of pure, selfish anguish, and I am so convinced that the world is ending that my eyes, too, are clenched shut, my Maker is right there, holding me, waiting for my anxiety and fear to pass and my eyes to open long enough to see that all is well with my soul.

And, as I discover that my love for these two precious souls is, in fact, capable of growing even more with each new day, I am beginning to grasp the love of my Father in a way that I now believe a human being is not capable of understanding until they are a parent. Words cannot describe the amount of love and protection and pride I feel for these amazing gifts God has given me. And I just about fall over when I realize and think about the fact that this love I feel for my children is nothing more than a pathetic attempt at mere tolerance compared to the LOVE that the God of the universe has for me.

"For God so loved [YOU] that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Homemade Playdough

I made a batch of playdough for Patrick the other day. It took him a minute to figure out what on earth was in front of him and why, when he was sitting in his "eating" chair, he could not eat it.

But once he got warmed up, he really seemed to like it. Yay for creative entertainment!

Henny Penny and Six Chicks

Another fabulous pattern from Anna Maria Horner, found in her book, Handmade Beginnings. This will be Olivia's Christmas present this year. There's something so special about a handmade gift, and I hope she will love playing with this for years to come.


There's a strip of velcro underneath each of the mama hen's wings, and the little wings of the chicks are made with velcro as well...

...so, when these 'lil chicks get tired of playing...

...they can snuggle up nice 'n' warm in the safety of their mama's wing.

Is that not just the cutest thing you've ever seen!?

A Stocking for Olivia

After making Patrick's stocking last year, I of course had to carry on the tradition for our sweet Olivia.


So, I have been busy stitching lots of teeny tiny beads onto this felt stocking, which is ornamented with a holly wreath...

...a beaming angel...

...a sparkling ornament...

...and four shimmering snowflakes.

I am so excited to have one more little person gathered around the tree with us this year. Merry first Christmas, Olivia!

New Pajamas

It's been a kid-filled week for the blog. Here's Patrick, showing off his new PJ's from Nana.

We are SO excited! (Plus, Mommy got us all riled up playing peek-a-boo.)

Mmmmm... Ravioli!

All Smiles

Check out that dimple!

Ok, not so much of a smile here, but too cute not to post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are celebrating Thanksgiving twice this year. Once with Luke's family on Thursday, and again with my family on Friday. So I made two tarts today: Chocolate banana for Turkey Day No. 1 and Chocolate Pear for Turkey Day No. 2. Both recipes came from Once Upon A Tart.

And what could be sweeter than a pair of chocolate tarts?

Only this precious little face.

Miss Olivia says, "Have a happy holiday, everyone!"

Newborn Photos - Two Weeks Old

Welcome Baby Olivia!

The newest member of our family was born this past Saturday night, a mere six hours after I had my first contraction. Skeptical at first, after experiencing four days of labor with our first child, I hesitated to admit that I was in full blown labor, but that only lasted a couple hours and then we were headed to the hospital. We spent about an hour in triage, where labor continued to progress at lightning speed and were finally admitted and moved into an actual room. I had gone into this labor fully intending to have a natural birth, but at about 7cm, began begging for an epidural. The nurse started to get an IV set up, but couldn't even get past inserting the needle, much less get an anesthesiologist into the room quick enough. I moved from 7 to 8.5 in about 10 minutes, and in about another 15 or so, little miss Olivia arrived after a couple pushes. My midwife didn't even make it there in time, and the on-call doctor barely made it through the door fast enough to catch her. I got my natural delivery after all, though I'm not sure I'll ever be doing that again if avoidance is at all possible. We'll see. Maybe that magical mommy amnesia will kick in and I'll work up the courage to go all natural once again. Highly doubtful.

The wonderful Alexandra Treat is coming by tomorrow to take some newborn photos for us, but it will probably be a few weeks before we have pictures to share, so this one will have to tide you all over for now.

We love you, sweet Olivia! Welcome to the family!

Waiting for Olivia... a few favorites!

We decided to do our family portrait/maternity photo session at a little antique store in downtown Phoenix called Cheap Thrills. This shop was full of fun stuff to play around with, and Alexandra Treat of Wildfern Photography (who did our maternity/newborn/shower photos with the last pregnancy as well) did a fantastic job turning these shots into art. Thanks, Lexi!