Not Done

I guess I'm just not done reminiscing yet!  This time I have a co-conspirator.  Bella and I took a little time looking at her when she was a baby and I have to say, it was nice to have company!

Happy Birthday, My Babies

I was tempted to take the video from last year and add some pics and repost it.  I decided not to and figured I could lead you there.  Oct. 27, 2007.  I've been watching it all week!!  

I don't tend to get sad around my kids' birthday.  Sentimental, yes.  But not really sad.  Today, however, is a different story.  Perhaps it's because they're done teetering on the edge of baby-to-toddlerhood.  They're not in any way babies any more.  They're certainly not the wee people they were in this pic, taken right before Bella was discharged from the hospital.  As a matter of fact, this is the last NICU picture before we took her home.  

Anyway, I digress a bit.  Today I feel a little fragile.  I guess I need to get used to rights of passage happening all at the same time in my house.  That sounds as though I'm bucking against those special times.  I'm not.  I just realize that babydom is short-lived and it was here yesterday and now we're into toddlerhood.  And that will be short-lived, as well.  We'll all go off to school together.  And so on and so on and so on.  

The upside is that they're not all happening tomorrow ;-)  It just reminds me to redeem the time.  To make the very possible most of right now and not to wish it away because it might be hard or crazy at times.  I love my kids.  LOVE THEM!!  And I feel just as I did the day I found out I was having them .... all three of them .... totally and wonderfully blessed by God to have been given this unique opportunity.  So I get a little sappy at times .... I get glad again right away.  

Especially when my big boy teeters in here in his pajama top complete with blankie hanging out of his mouth like he just did.  And why?  Because he wants to sit at his momma's feet for a few minutes. 

I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!!

Some People Go to the Orchard to Pick Apples ....

And so did we!! But all the rest of you got there first because all the apples were gone when we got there.  So we did the next best thing, we saw the animals!!

English Toffee, English Muffin, English Tea, English Nail Polish

Yesterday, we took a little trip to see my best friend who had come into town to see her family.  So as we headed out on our journey, we stopped at McDonald's.  There Tim saw 2 of his students, and they all chatted.  Later the kids asked who the strangers were and Tim responded that they were his students and that he taught them English.  I'm insure as to the motive, maybe to impress her daddy or maybe she just knows herself better than I do, but Sophie promptly announced that she could do English.  When Tim, proud and perhaps a little confused daddy that he was, probed further, she said "yeah, I can, I can do English.  I can do English nail polish."    Entrepreneur?  Great thinker and philosopher??  Or just my silly Sophie???  You be the judge!

The Best Part of Apple Picking

The donuts!!

Family Time

This Time 3 Years Ago!

For you faithful blog followers, you're just going to have to ride this sappy mommy train with me for a while!  Curious, I take the same ride at the same time every year!! ;-)

Sherflets in Their Finery!

When you need a boost

My Bella seems to know just when we need a boost.  She'll look up at either Tim or me and tell us how handsome or beautiful (respectively) we look.  My favorite part is that it's just like it hits her.  And it is just about the sweetest thing ever.

Cutable Quotes

Installment number .... who knows??!!

From the wee bairn Sophie:  I threw my trash out in the trash because it was trash.  Can't argue with that now can ya?

Insight

The male child was in the mood to sing the other day.  We sat together at the kitchen table singing all sorts of songs.  And he shouted out all the verses that he knew.  When it came time for "Jesus Loves Me" one of us sang it a little differently than the other.  Had you been a fly on the wall you would have heard my son sing, "Jesus loves meat, this I know!"  And he sang it like he knew!!  

For the Birthday Girl

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

What Might Have Been Heard

I NEED a sucker ball!

I didn't get one.  See.  Aaaaa!!

I need to curl my tongue like this because I need to.

Can I watch a little bit Back-a-ardigans?

Little Artists

Do you notice anything about this pic?  This, by the way, is how we intend to store the artwork of our kids .... in more manageable photo format.  Well, let me clarify.  We will keep some of the originals, but this is how we'll keep the majority of the artwork.

Thinking Outside the Box

And reading inside it.

My Bakers Three

You can buy a whole new identity at the dollar store!

Stealing Affection from my Son