Added a Rainbow

 Lee Lee colored a beautiful rainbow the other day... and it looked absolutely beautiful in our window that looks onto the backyard.  We have an amazing view looking over public land in our backyard -- not another house in sight -- and Lee Lee added a beautiful rainbow.

October

 October

If I Could Keep You Little

One of my favorite internet families posted a new video yesterday to the poem, "If I Could Keep You Little."

I had never heard this poem... and I'll be honest, I don't struggle with wanting my children to stay little.  I don't want to rush to their growing up either... I just feel so blessed watching them grow up into the healthy, loving, curious, amazing people they are becoming.  I don't want them to stay little.  I don't want them any older than they currently are.  I really feel like I do pretty well cherishing exactly where they are for the time they are that age.

That being said, this was such a beautiful video.

Most especially, the family has three children the exact ages of our three pregnancies up until this fourth one.  Their youngest is two months younger than Lee Lee.  Their middle child is about four months younger than the twins, and their oldest child is two months older than Tracey.  This is such a beautiful picture of exactly where our children are right now and how amazing the parenting journey is as they continue to grow.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.

Where We Live

This is where we live.

 

Autumn in the Mountains

It finally feels like Autumn has arrived in the mountains.  On Saturday, I drove from Denver back to Rifle, and I drove through rain, sleet, snow, and sun.  It is so nice to have some cooler weather here.

 

This Is Summer

This is the sight of summer and the sight of immeasurable blessings. 

Our three perfect, healthy children, in swimsuits with wet hair, sitting at our little picnic table, eating summer cookout food, in our beautiful yard.

I love these three little people more than I ever thought possible, and I love that they have each other, this summer, and forever.

Forever Country

Some of you may know that I was a music major in college.  I absolutely love music and spent four years studying all that things that makes music so magical.

These days, I do not often hear a song or an arrangement that takes my breath away but this one does.

Enjoy.

Preschool Pictures

Check out the most adorable preschool/toddler school pictures that have ever existed...

 

Nose Dive

Yesterday morning was a day I worked outside of the house... so I was dressed nicely, with my hair curled, and makeup done.

Tracey:  Mama, Eee pretty.

Me:  You think Mama looks pretty?

Tracey:  No.  Tracey pretty.

Yes, my sweet Tracey is very pretty... but in three seconds I went from flying high on such a sweet compliment from my two year old... to a fast nose dive. 

I love that girl!

 

1000 Words

1000 Words

 

A New Love

I have never loved my body.  Over the years I have come to appreciate my body -- how I am healthy, strong, fit, able-bodied, etc... but no matter my size or shape, I have never loved my body.

Even in recent years, I have come to really understand and identify with the joke, 

"I'd love to be the weight I was when I thought I was fat." 

Even at my most fit, I have never looked in the mirror or tried on clothes and been satisfied with my size and shape... I have always wanted a flatter stomach, fitter legs -- all in all, a more slender shape.

Now, for the first time in my life, I have a new love for my body.  Now, I do not look in the mirror and love what I see -- especially with many postpartum changes still occurring, but for the first time in my life I love my body.

In the past two years, I have grown, nourished, carried, and birthed three children.  

My body has housed them safely... and for one pregnancy, it safely grew two at at time.

My body produced the breast milk nourishment for my first child for well over a year.

My body is now producing breast milk nourishment enough for both the twins.

My body not only carried all three children to a safe pregnancy gestation, but it spontaneously went into labor and allowed me to labor and birth all three children without pain medication.

Although I had a little pitocin to help begin my labor with Tracey Ann, my labor and birth of the twins was completely unmedicated.

My body was able to do its job and deliver both Tracey Ann, and twins, Howard and Caroline the way it was designed to do and without anesthesia.

My body has recovered beautifully and very quickly from childbirth with the twins.  My body did its job -- it grew the twins, labored and birthed the twins, now is producing milk for the twins... and yet it has bounced back to the physical endurance I had before pregnancy.

Physically, I do not look in the mirror and see a body that I love or think is beautiful and perfect... but for the first time in my life, I look in the mirror with great love and appreciation for what my body has been able to do.  My body has produced my dreams come true -- my children.  My body, as of now (thankfully), is working the way God designed the female body to work, and, for the first time, I look in the mirror and appreciate what I see -- beauty and love. 

I look in the mirror and do not love what I see -- my size and shape, but I look at my children and I fiercly love what I see, and my body was instrumental in their existance, and this I love.

1000 Words

1000 Words

 

1000 Words

1000 Words

 

Mom, You're Beautiful.

Mom, you are beautiful.

Happy Mothers'! Day

Combining Vision and Mothers

So, I've been doing a lot of posts this week related to mothers and motherhood, which are appropriate leading up to Mother's Day.

Well, this post I'm really excited about because it combines the subjects of Mothers with the subject of blindness and visual impairments, which is related to my career.  I work with students with blindness, who, thankfully, are not mothers yet... but this video is an amazing combination of two of my favorite subjects.


God bless this Doctor for thinking outside the box and doing all that he could to give this woman the same experience as every mother he sees.

Love Poem

Back in November, Hubby and I had the pleasure and honor of participating in, and attending the wedding of my childhood best friend.

She had a Love Poem read at the ceremony that was written by a family friend, and it was such a beautiful poem.

It was printed in the program, but because I was a bridesmaid, and Hubby was tending to Tracey Ann neither one of us was able to make it away with a program.  Luckily, in this day of email, my friend was able to email me the poem so that I can share it here.

Love Poem 
by Jack Ridl

[He] makes the smallest talk I’ve ever heard.

                                              --John Woods

The smaller the talk the better.

I want midgets in my mouth.

I want to sit with you and have us

solemnly delight in dust; and one violet;

and our fourth night out;

and buttonholes. I want us

to spend hours counting dog hairs,

and looking up who hit .240

in each of the last ten years.

I want to talk about the weather;

and detergents; and carburetors;

and debate which pie our mothers made

the best. I want us to shrivel

into nuthatches, realize the metaphysics

of crossword puzzles, wait for the next

sports season, and turn into sleep

holding each other’s favorite flower,

day, color, record, playing card.

When we wake, I want us to begin again

never saying anything more lovely than garage door.

1000 Words

1000 Words

P.S. One year ago today was Tracey Ann's due date... Crazy.

Journey of Firsts from Pampers

In honor of the Super Bowl, here is the best commercial I have seen in a long time.  I could watch it over and over again...

Well done, Pampers.

And here's a little plug... Pampers are the only disposable diapers we use.  We use clothe during the day, and Pampers at night... they really are the best brand for all-night protection.

Enjoy:


I love this.

The Perfect Simple Night

Sunday night was the perfect night.  The perfect simple night.

Some nights are filled with momentous events -- fancy dinners, wedding receptions, parties, family reunions.  Others nights are simple, and in their simplicity, they are perfect.

Last Sunday night was the most amazing night.

My parents were in town for the weekend and, in almost snow-day-like fashion, they realized Sunday night that they needed to stay with us an extra day.  They had planned to leave on Monday, but Sunday afternoon, it was decided that they would stay until Tuesday.  All of us were able to relax a little more Sunday night, knowing that my parents were not leaving on Monday -- it felt like the night before a snow day.  Adding to the relaxed feeling was the fact that Monday was a holiday for my early morning school district.  While most Monday's, I'm on the road at 6:00am, this Monday, I didn't have to leave as early.  Everyone was feeling relaxed and happy.

We all enjoyed elk burgers and healthy french fries that my wonderful Hubby cooked... and then the oven broke -- like, although the oven was turned off, but was actually heating up so hot that it melted aluminum foil.  Thankfully, Hubby was right there to notice that the stove was rising in temperature and he was our Hero and handle the dangerously hot oven swiftly and safely.

Then, we all settled in to watch the movie, "My Cousin Vinny" -- the language is horrible, but the movie is hysterical.  At one point we were laughing so hard that we woke Tracey Ann, who was already in bed asleep.  So, then she stayed up playing, enjoying the family movie night with her grandparents while we watched the rest of the movie.

The night was just perfect -- the sound of my parents laughing, the sight of my baby girl playing at their feet, the knowledge that my Hubby is a great cook, and a domestic hero... and I was basking in the joy of it all.

The evening was so simple, and yet the evening was so perfect.

Thank you, Lord, for this perfect simple night.

1000 Words

1000 Words