My funny valentines



Our first attempt at pigtails



Big sister has been displaying a really big heart lately



My sweetheart

I love them all so much it makes my heart want to explode. They love me well in return and for that I am blessed beyond measure.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Flashback Friday: Christmas 2011

We started off celebrating the Christmas season by attending a birthday party for Jesus at First United Methodist Church. They had a puppet show for the kids featuring tunes such as "Born in Bethlehem" (set to the Bruce Springsteen hit), games, crafts, and of course, birthday cake.

Lucy's class performed as angels in their school Christmas play. A bunch of 3 and 4-yr-olds in angel costumes singing "Away in a Manger" = heaven.

We also adopted an Elf on the Shelf this year - his name is George, after everyone's favorite curious little monkey, and he can be found in the silliest places after his nightly visit to see Santa at the North Pole!

Christmas morning was especially nice this year because we got to wake up in our own home and didn't have to pack up our entire house to travel somewhere! We had several of the girls' grandparents and their great grandfather over for breakfast and to open presents ~ it was a really special time for us all. The joy on the girls' faces when they saw their new swing set was worth all of Andrew's our hard work!  :) Thank you to all of the grandparents for making this a holiday for the girls to remember.

Picture slideshow made with Smilebox

P.S. I've been having a lot of problems with slow picture uploads to Blogger lately, so I'll be putting posts with a lot of pictures in Slide show format for a while.

Ho, ho, ho!

This was Hannah's first time meeting Santa ~ no tears! She had a major freak out when Rudolph came around to say hello while waiting we were in line, so I did not have very high hopes for a good St. Nick encounter. Lucy told Santa that she wanted a baby doll "named Hannah" for Christmas and that was it. She's been very cryptic about her requests this year, saying only that she wants some toys. Hannah's new party trick is to respond, "Ho, ho!" in a deep voice when asked "What does Santa Claus say?". It's quite entertaining!

I've had a blast this Christmas season watching these two become excited about lights and Christmas carols and trees and baby Jesus. Hannah likes to walk around holding "Jeeshus" from the nativity scene and Lucy is finally starting to get that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth. Christmas has also been a truly lovely time of year for me, but it is ever so much magical when seen through the eyes of a child.



A thrill of hope

It is no surprise to anyone living in my household that I LOVE Christmas music. I have mixes on my iPod, listen to a holiday station on Pandora, and love traveling along with the cheesy holiday station on the local radio. The girls and I had a dance party in the living room to the Rat Pack holiday tunes the other night. I even burned a CD mix with my favorite songs on it as a Christmas gift for our family members many years ago.

And while I have many favorites, both secular (Zooey Deschanel's version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" from the Elf  soundtrack just knocks my socks off) and religious, there is only one song that causes me to sit in the driveway with the car running until it's over ~ "O Holy Night".  These lyrics and the musical notes that accompany them get me every single time:

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

I literally cry almost every single time I hear this song. It's stunningly beautiful. I've heard it so many times, sung by so many different artists, but something new stirred in me today while driving the girls home (listening to Mariah Carey's version no less): a thrill of hope. Because really, isn't that what the Christmas season is all about? Hope that God would send his son, the Saviour, so that we might be made new. Hope that broken relationships may be mended. Hope for a fresh start and a new beginning.

So during this advent season, I will pray for the thrill of hope to take seed in my heart as I prepare to hear the good news.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2 NIV)

Wordless Wednesday: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas edition

Mommy's little helper

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

"Little Cindy Lou Who who was no more than two..."

Memorial Day mishap

Having the day off of work and all, we decided to cook up a little family adventure after nap time on Memorial Day. We packed up the towels, snacks, sunscreen, etc., put everyone's swimsuits on, and took the 25 minute drive out to Gonzales to play in the Jambalaya Park splash pad thingy.  It looked so neat and refreshing online, so imagine our delight when we got all the way there and saw the big sign that read "Closed on Monday". What the what, G-town? Fail.

So... we let the girls play in a regular old park for a bit but surrendered once the heat became too relentless and went on back home. We dug out Lucy's old splash mat (a 1st birthday present) and let the girls play in the backyard as the sun went down. I think they had a better time than they would have at the fancy water park and their parents were happy to be within reaching distance of a nice cold Abita satsuma beer. :)  Summertime and the livin' is easy... if you let it be.

  

Tiny bubbles make me me feel happy, make me feel fine

Bubbles, Mommy, BUBBLES!


Lucy's favorite present from the Easter bunny this year by far is this plastic bubble blower. She's asked to "play bubbles" outside every single day this week as soon as we get home. She alternates between running through the bubbles and instructing us to catch them, and then squeals with delight over the abundance of soapy circles in the driveway. It's lovely to behold the sheer simplicity that brings such unbridled joy to the preschool set.  :)

Wordless Wednesday: Easter egg hunt edition

Jesus' birthday party

Our Christmas journey was a little bit crazy this year.  It was our first long distance road trip with both of the girls in tow, but it actually went shockingly well thanks to our only Black Friday purchase -- a DVD player for the car.  All of our surprises would surface after we arrived at our destination.  Our car got a flat tire (which had been repaired before we left), the plumbing under the kitchen sink at my in-laws was massively leaking and they scrambled to find a plumber open on Christmas Eve, my grandfather got a stomach bug so he missed meeting Hannah for the first time, and then Hannah & I got sick with bad colds (were both running fevers and placed on antibiotics by the time we got to an after hours clinic) so we missed seeing our friends.  My head was a total fog for almost all of our visit.

But amid the hustle and bustle, we had a great time just being together with our families and watching the little ones delight in the magic of Christmas.  Lucy woke up next to me on Christmas morning and whispered, "It's Jesus' birthday party!"  Wow.  I thought that the real meaning of the holiday had really sunk in and was so proud -- I mean, we have been reading Christmas books, singing carols, attending children's time in church, talking about the nativity scene, etc. for weeks.  But... then she continued with, "It's Daddy birthday party! And Hannah birthday, too!".  At least we're getting closer.  :)

Lucy really took her time opening each gift and would exclaim, "Mama, look what I got!" with a huge smile and an expression of sheer joy.  And my happy baby Hannah was thrilled just to crinkle wrapping paper and to have a seemingly endless supply of arms available to hold her -- her very most favorite thing.  Santa was very good to me this year... I finally got a DSLR camera!  You can see the evidence of my new present (major props to the hubby) in these two shots and in the slide show below.  The first couple of pics in the slide show are from my old camera and the rest are from the new one -- you can really tell the difference in picture quality.  I am so excited about learning how to use it to capture the unique expressions of my beautiful subjects.  Yay! 



Merry Christmas to all!!!

Merry and bright



Trying on Pop Pop's reading glasses

Personalize your own slideshow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas



And then there were four...

Helping Daddy trim the tree

Building our first ever gingerbread house with sweet Cooper

There was something so fulfilling and exciting about hanging stockings up this year.  The babies we have been dreaming about and praying for the last few years are here at last, in our little home, ready to experience the joy and love that surrounds the holiday season.  Andrew & I have been a married unit since April 2004, but now it finally feels like we are really a family.  I guess I can't really describe the emotions all that well in words.

Lucy was hardly aware of Christmas last year, but this year is a whole other story.  She adored getting to decorate the tree and has really enjoyed reading Christmas stories, ranging from the nativity story to Santa Claus to Olivia.  She has helped me roll out and decorate sugar cookies for her school's holiday party, declared that she wants a "train, princess, and football" from Santa, and sung bits and pieces of random carols (like Frosty the "No-man").  But I think she's most impressed with the bling and keeps asking to go see the lights in our neighborhood!  It's such a blast to see the magic of Christmas through a little one's eyes, especially since she has yet to be caught up in the commercial aspect of the season.

I love Christmas -- not only is it a special time devoted to celebrating the birth of our Savior, but done correctly, it's also a time to express generosity to friends and families and those in need.  Plus, I've always been ministered to through music so the simplicity and passion expressed through a beautifully-sung Christmas hymn gets me every time.  You will never see me with dry eyes after a room full of people sing a candlelit, a capella version of Silent Night during Christmas Eve service. 

However... our extended families are "broken" by divorce, our grandfathers are celebrating without the long-time companionship of their wives, and the amount of hurt and need in the world sometimes seems cruel and overwhelming.  So my prayer for this holiday season is for LOVE.  Love to heal hearts and relationships and bodies.  Love that mirrors that of a Father who gave his only son to bring hope to the world.  Amid the rampant chaos and spending and loneliness and hurry, I'm trying to make this Christmas all about love, love, love.  Join me?  

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas card outtakes edition

Showing off our new Christmas pjs ~ thanks Honey!

This is one of a series where Lucy is either: sticking her finger in Hannah's mouth, pulling her ears, placing her in a headlock, or making sister mad by holding her hands down.  Needless to say... we didn't use any of these.  :)

Watching "Frosty the Snowman" (again!) and getting a little emotional when he starts to melt

Okay, so this one wasn't really taken for the purpose of using it on a card, but I couldn't resist posting it.  I mean, cute baby hat + cheap plastic Dora sunglasses + big Daddy smile = priceless.

School lunch

My little Butterball 



Her placemat read: "I am thankful for Hannah."  Be still my heart!



Chef Ronnell lovingly prepares the feast

Andrew and I attended our daycare's annual Thanksgiving lunch for parents yesterday and experienced our first "divide and conquer" scenario -- he ate in the Tigers classroom with Lucy and I ate in the Nursery with Hannah.  It's a wonderful opportunity for us to slow down a little bit and show our appreciation for the people who do an amazing job of caring for our little ones.  It's also nice to get a chance to visit with the other parents and swap stories from the trenches.  Mr. Ronnell is the center's on-site chef (he runs a catering business on the side) and he makes a mean fried turkey and cornbread dressing combo!  The teachers helped the kids create personalized place mats for their families and make crafts to decorate the dining rooms.

We moved Lucy to this center when she was 9 months old & it's one of the best decisions we've made -- there's yet to be a single day that I picked her up that she hasn't been smiling and content.  Yet another thing to be grateful for this holiday season ~ people who love your children and are invested in their growth.  It's the only thing that makes it possible for this working mommy to get to the office everyday.  Oh, and did I mention that Lucy's teacher, Ms. Betty, was absolutely instrumental in our potty training success?  We love her.

I got to end the lunch by rocking Hannah to sleep in the nursery glider before heading back to work.  Thanks again Southside for the thoughtful meal and for everything you do for our babies!

Five on Friday ~ Halloween edition

The "top 5" things I loved about this Halloween season:

1.  Getting to put my kids in matching outfits for the first time!  This struck me as something so incredibly fun and inherently girly -- I can't wait to do it again at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I used to hate it when my mom put me & my sister in matching clothes, but I totally get it now.

My favorite "lay lay" bug

2.  Picking out tiny pumpkins and posing in our church's annual pumpkin patch.  Oh, and actually making it to church only slightly late on-time for the first time since Hannah's birth.

3.  Leaving work early to participate in our daycare's Fall Fest activities.  Lucy got her face painted, did a bean bag toss, and pinned a tail on the pumpkin and received candy along the way.  Mommy got to spend a Friday afternoon outside in beautiful weather with her two best girls.  Win-win.

4.  Seeing the delight on my big girl's eyes as she ran from door to door to trick-or-treat for the first real time this year.  Lucy's still saying, "I go trick-or-treat. Get candy in pumpkin!"  Here she is with her friend Cooper (aka Buzz Lightyear), inspecting their loot.

5.  Experiencing the pure joy of watching your good friend's child become friends with your own.  There's simply nothing like it, and we're so fortunate to have the James family in our lives.

Cooper and his sweet mama Jessi



Easter people, raise your voices

Our Easter weekend started out with an egg hunt at Lucy's daycare center.  We didn't do Easter baskets last year and hadn't really talked about the concept of eggs last year, much less dyed or stuffed them, but baby girl acted like a pro when it was time to start hunting and gathering!  She's a fast learner, that one -- as soon as she figured out that there was candy in the eggs, she spent the next few days begging asking for "some". 

The biggest hit by far was an egg filled with a mini-wand and bubbles. Our most favorite phrase these days is, "I blow bubbles!" The child wakes up in the morning wanting to go outside to blow bubbles and is still talking about them before she goes to bed at night. :)

Boogie and Pop Pop came in town for the weekend to help us turn what is now the guest room/study ready into a pink bedroom for the girls to share.  Handy Andy once again worked his magic by undertaking the following tasks: scraping the popcorn ceiling and then patching and painting it, ripping out old carpet and installing a new floor, painting walls, and installing crown molding.  It's becoming a room fit for a princess (or two!).  Meanwhile, us girls enjoyed a much-needed pedicure and some shopping time!

On Sunday morning we did Easter baskets and headed to church.  This was about the only picture we could get of Lucy looking at the camera in her Sunday best (I came down with a wicked stomach bug that would last for 5 days, thus my ghostly appearance here).  Our church has an amazing choir, and they always pull out all the stops on holidays.  A truly magnificent rendition of the "Hallelujah" chorus and sharing communion with other believers in celebration of the new life we've been granted can cure almost any illness.

In between snuggle time with Lucy, Boogie cleaned and did laundry and helped us get organized.  We got down Lucy's old clothes from the attic and starting sorting them for baby Hannah.  There was much disbelief over the fact that Lucy was ever small enough to wear any of it and it helped us anticipate our new arrival! 

We are so incredibly grateful for all the love and support we continue to receive as we prepare our house to become a home for a family of four.  Even though we're already out of space, I'm starting to think that we'll finally get our house completely remodeled if we just keep on having babies!  :)

Pictures of Lucy's big girl bed and the new pink palace to come...

Lucy Go Bragh

My co-worker Susannah lives on the route of the B.R. St. Patrick's Day parade, and she invited us to join the annual parade party at their Garden District house.  She and her husband are the ultimate hosts -- fun personalities, great food (Stewart was the kitchen manager at our church for years), and gracious.  I always enjoy spending time with them and their family. 

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we brought Lucy out to enjoy her very first parade!  I'm not so sure she knew what to think about all of the noise (screaming crowds, music on floats, and marching bands), but... she loved all the jewelry and the snacks, especially the brownies.  She's already a bling and chocolate kind of a girl!!!  We're already looking forward to doing it again next year.

 

 

It's Carnival time

We decided to skip the extended Super Bowl/Mardi Gras celebration (a.k.a. "South Louisiana has completely lost its mind") and head up north to Shreveport to spend some time with friends and family during our mini-vacation. It was sleeting and snowing the morning before we planned to leave, so we even scored an extra snow day off! Nothing stuck to the ground down here, but Lucy sure did love trying to catch the snowflakes. And she rocked her pink cold weather ensemble quite well.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Katie came in town (from Arkansas and Texas, respectively) to love on Lucy, and we got to spend a lot of quality time with Boogie and Pop Pop, too. Lucy especially enjoyed getting to play "pajama dress-up party" in all of Boogie's jewelry. Don't we look like the height of fancy?

We took in some lunch at Superior and had a grand time at the annual Hank & Audrey birthday party/Mardi Gras bash at the Welch household. It's so nice to get the chance to hang out with so many friends our age with kids and to just let them all run a little wild! The Cate girls were nice enough to let us ride with them in their Barbie-themed float, so Lucy got to participate in the kiddie parade that rolled up and down East Kings Highway throwing candy and beads.

On Sunday, we got in a short visit with Nana and PawPaw who were visiting from Dallas and then had lunch at Imperial Cathay with Honey. Lucy's a lucky girl to be able to see all of her grandparents in one weekend! Honey had a super special Valentine's Day present waiting for Lucy at the restaurant. His name is Max and he is so huggable!

And because we completely and totally refused to nap pretty much during our entire visit, Lucy missed most of the visit I had with my wonderful high school friends Lisa and Jen. We met at the park, but it was so cold that we had to move to library to keep talking (in whispers). Lucy threw a tantrum and had to go home, but cutie Caroline Walls was an absolute perfect angel. Love that little one! I miss these ladies like crazy and it was great to catch up and learn about all the happiness in their lives right now.

Special thanks to Boogie for keeping Lucy so we could go out on a Valentine's double date with Aunt Katie and Dave at Olive Street Bistro. It was cold in the restaurant, they weren't offering their regular menu (big disappointment), and the musical entertainment was horrid, but... it was a Date Night, people!!!

There's never enough time to do everything and see everyone we want to on these visits. I wished we lived closer to everybody so these fun times could happen more often, but we so cherish the times we get to share with those we love. Laissez les bon temp rouler!