happy birthday sara girl.

sweet sara,
i can't believe three years have passed since you made me a mommy. it has been such a joy to watch you grow up. i've been thinking about you lately and how much you have accomplished this past year. i am so proud of you. you endured some of the biggest changes in your short little life and you have faced them well.

you became a big sister (to a boy who just keeps growing and requiring more of your attention, love and patience), 

you learned to sleep in a big girl bed (and now its hard to think of you in a crib), 

you learned how to control your body fluids and use a potty (it took some time and tears but you did a GREAT job, sweet girl), 

you watched your first world cup and cheered for the USA so well (although you often jumbled the letters and cheered for SUA or AUS), 

you had your first experience with dance class (you can't hit a ball to save your life but you sure can dance!),

and you continue being such a blessing to your mommy and daddy. 

we are so proud of you and are so excited to walk out many many more years beside you. 

i love you!

love, 

your mommy

happy 3rd birthday sweet girl of mine!!

8 months... better late than never

i'm here. i just blinked and a whole month passed without a proper post. i had several thoughts of good posts but they never happened... you understand, right?!

so pretend that it is really JULY 10th.
look at my sweet boy.

i LOVE my kids.

i HATE dishes and laundry.

it stinks that motherhood includes all of it.

 it was one of those days, when i swear i have washed the same stinking dishes three times and i can't quite catch up on all of the folding before another load is started. and i snapped at sara. she forgave me and then told me she loved me. i cried. i was humbled. 

i guess it's good in some strange way that motherhood isn't "easy". it helps me see that i am not complete. that my strength is not enough to make it through the day. i will snap. i will get bogged down in the stuff that needs to get done. 

i need His love and grace and patience. i need His eyes to see what i am really depending on... me or Him. i depended too much on myself today. and then was reminded by my sweet girl that i need Him and His grace.

glad tomorrow is a new day.

happy birthday sweet man.

you are the best.

sara moments

here are a few moments from the past weeks i don't want to forget...

 sara started her first dance class... really it's called "creative movement" and they run around with scarves in their hands and pretend to be flowers and butterflies. today she told me they were trees. i asked her to show me what they did, she pointed her toe and tapped it on the floor. i totally remember being trees in my dance class as a little girl. weird.

 

we went on a date. our neighbor's dance recital. it was too cute. and sara LOVED it.

not the best picture. but, sara and wilson have had the sweetest moments playing together.

watching tv.

playing in the rain.

finding a little cave in the bathroom.

painting our nails for a wedding.

7 months

 

little boy started crawling about two weeks before he turned seven months old. first off, i can't believe he's seven months. and secondly, i'm not ready to baby proof or have a son who isn't content with a blanket full of toys. this past week he started to pull up on anything he can reach. seeing him pull up on the crib and cry as i put him down for a nap about breaks my heart. and this morning (as ryan was watching a world cup game) wilson pulled up on the coffee table and began walking around it. 

 

SLOW down, sweet boy! 

you only get to be a baby once... live it up!

the beach

i could totally live at the beach.... if we didn't have to work... and we had several extra family members ready and willing to entertain my kids... and we had our own pool... and we had dinner cooked for us each night..... so yeah, not moving to the beach any time soon. too bad.

last week we spent the week in florida with ryan's family. it was so nice. i really felt relaxed and "vacationed" when we came back. so much so that i can't get my butt in gear. but you would be proud...i have done the laundry... AND folded it. (it's just sitting beside me as i type... in neat little piles... just crying out to be put away... i'm giving it the silent treatment)

back to vacation details... the weather was perfect. we never got rained out. no one got sunburned. sara and wilson did great and enjoyed both the beach and pool. 

sara liked to start out in the pool and then make her way to the beach. wilson napped on the beach several times. they slept in the same room! (the first time in six months ryan and i haven't had a kid in our room! thanks stacy and rick!) 

we had our pictures taken on the beach. 

my favorite ever.

we visited seaside. sara pooped in her swimsuit. a couple times. thanks mom for potty training me. i appreciate it.

we saw crabs. lots. of. crabs.

we saw several fevers of stingrays. awesome.

sara and ryan built a "house" on the sand. they jumped from bed to bed.

wilson fell in love with balls.

we met the sweetest little boy! elias. sara was in love! she couldn't stop rubbing his head and calling him "sweet boy." 

now we are back. ryan started a bar review course. everyday. 4 hours. they ask you to prepare an extra 7 hours a day. who do they think we are ryan is?! 

we are putting together puzzles, taking walks and snacking on strawberries.

baby bedding

just wanted to show some pictures of a couple cute cribs. 

(say that ten times fast... couple cute crib... couple cute cribs... you get the idea)

 

 

it was fun working on both of these sets. it is always so rewarding to see the finished product.

finished...

law school. 

for the past three years we ryan has been in law school. 

these three years will definitely be marked as one of the hardest times of my life. i moved (for the first time) away from my family with a 2 week old. my husband became engulfed in a world that i couldn't really be a part of. he had to learn how to schedule and study again. i had to learn how to be more gracious and loving.  i had to make friends and learn a new city. and to top it off, we both lost some pretty important people in our lives and then added another last year. so. many. changes.

it has been a time of finding out what i am really made of ... and then finding God's grace to help me become who He wants me to be right now. i am leaving this season with a deeper understanding of life being one big process. there were definite times when i was disappointed in how i responded or handled situations and then times of rejoicing when i knew God had changed me and helped me. 

i am so truly, without a doubt supposed to be married to this man. i have enjoyed walking through new seasons with him. i have loved being able to talk to him, share my heart and gain new/better perspectives. i have loved and been blessed watching him choose our children over his grades or reputation. and i have been honored to stand by him as he fought through this season. 

ryan, i am SO proud of you. 

you truly are a man after the things of God.

congratulations sweet man!

half of a year

 

wilson, you are such a big boy. 

i am so proud of you!

my mom

what a great example of a good mother.

 you trained me in the way i should go and i am forever blessed. 

thanks mom!

our adbenture

the other day we went on an "adbenture" (sara-speak for adventure)

sara wore her tutu... while we hiked... that silly girl. 

she picked up every rock in her path.

 

we saw a bobcat.

 

i carried this sweet boy.

 

ryan thinks he looks like the son of Gilligan... right, huh?