Remembering When

I mentioned last week that I was going to be selling some of my things on eBay, mainly dolls. As I was looking through my old collection and photographing the ones I was picking out to sell, I had fun remembering all the memories connected to each doll I came across; who gave it to me, where it was from, how old I was, etc... I am saving a few dolls that have extra sentimental value to them. Sophia has just loved looking at them with me and has even been able to play, very gingerly mind you, with a few.


For my 7th birthday I received my very first collector's doll. I remember it very vividly and am definitely hanging on to her! I captured Sophia discovering her and playing with her. It sure took me back...

Merrily Merrily Merrily Merrily

life is but a dream...

But for the Merrily I know, her life may feel like a dream, but it's a reality! And I know she would say a blessed reality at that! Sunday, I was able to go to a babyshower, hosted in honor of one of my dearest friends, Merrily. Her sweet daughter is due in a matter of weeks, and she was just glowing! It was so fun to celebrate with her and see her get spoiled with all manner of gifts to use once her baby arrives.

Merrily and I met each other the Spring of our senior year of high school at our University orientation. We met in line to get our ID pictures taken and realized we lived in neighboring school districts and knew some of the same people. We also discovered that we were both going to be nursing majors. So... we decided to schedule all the same classes for Fall so that we'd at least see one familiar face!

Come fall of our Freshman year, we saw each other a lot, as we had almost every single class together. I lived on campus, but she commuted from home. We became fast and true friends. The next four years saw a lot! We studied, cried, traveled, loved boys, lost boys, lamented boys, prayed, trusted Jesus, grew up a lot, lived together our senior year, worked out, ate junk food, etc... So many memories, this one post could never capture them all.

I am so thrilled to see Merrily, and her wonderful husband, Jeremy, become parents. They love the Lord so much, and it is thrilling to see them embark on this blessed adventure. Love you friend!

Merrily, opening up her gifts.

Possibly the only good thing that came out of my University experience... our friendship! :)

Me, Merrily, and Rachel. Rachel and I have been best friends since 6th grade, and she and Merrily hit it off once I introduced them! The three of us have had some adventures!

Gotta love the love

Jamie and I are looking to sell some of our belongings that were being stored at my parents' house. So, we took the opportunity to drive up there yesterday to retrieve some of them, photograph others, etc... We'll be trying our hand at selling on Craig's List and Ebay for the first time. Any tips???

We were able to see my side of the family while there. We love our family, so it was a blessing to spend some time with them! I captured some shots of all the love that was being passed around. :)

Grandpa Riley with baby Riley and Soph

Sweet Cora! Now one month old!

Riley and my sister's dog, Molly. They LOVE each other!!!

Cora and Uncle Jamie.

Riley and Uncle David

Grammy and Riley

My sweet-faced baby. Love him!

Soph cuddling her cousin.

Aunt Jeni and Riley (seriously, couldn't you just eat his cheeks?)

***

Can you believe it's May already? That really snuck up on me! Sophia is currently resting, and she's been "doing homework." She "writes" on a bunch of pieces of paper than comes out for me to grade them. At one point she called out asking what 6 + 10 made. I told her 16 and she goes (to herself), "Wooo, that's a lot of homework I've got to do." When she brought it all out for me to "grade," I missed a few and when she completed checking my grading and had me put a smiley face on the ones I'd missed, she goes, "Good job Mom." :) Utter cuteness, that one. She is making me do homework now... I better get busy.

Ruthie :)

Happy Happy

Yesterday, April 28, Riley turned eight months old! Happy Happy!

This would be my daughter, who is only four, working on eating an entire California Roll at dinner last night (that would be sushi - with raw fish folks). She loves it (much to the delight of her Daddy)!!!


Here I am with Shirmy, our dear friend who lives with us. We were treating her to dinner last night at our favorite local-ish restaurant (a Japanese Habachi Grill and Restaurant).

We were treating Shirmy to dinner, because not only did Riley turn eight months yesterday, but Shirmy was celebrating her birthday!!! Happy Happy!

Ruthie :)

Huge Praise!

Baby Stellan was discharged from the hospital today!!! If you remember, he and his Mama have been in Boston, where he underwent a risky surgery to try and fix his heart issue. The surgery was, maybe, partially successful, but to repeat it would have really been so risky it was an absolute last resort. At any rate, they were able to try a new medication on Stellan, which has seemed to do the trick to keep his high heart rate (called SVT, due to an accessory pathway in his heart) under control. They will be headed back home, where they will reunite with Daddy, and three siblings. Man, I cannot even imagine how good that reunion is going to feel! Keep praying, as this is not the end of the road for Stellan. If they can keep his SVT under control till he's older/his heart is bigger, than repeating the surgery to permanently fix the problem will be much less risky and effective. Thanks for praying. As always, visit MckMama's blog to read all the details in her own words.

Keep enjoying the nice weather!

Ruthie :)

Sublime Saturday Sun

Saturday I had the privilege of caring for our friends' two kiddos. It was a sunny, hot day and Sophia had a lot of fun having two extra kids around to torment, ahem, I mean, play with!

Riley and Charlie were so cute together. Charlie is about 13 mos, and Riley is 8 mos. They are about the same size (though Charlie is definitely taller) and seemed to like looking at each other. Oh, and I totally did not let them play around/with the outlet while I shot pictures. (Don't worry, there were outlet covers on and I quickly moved them to another location... - after I got my pictures. :) )

Double Trouble

Off for a walk around the block.

Emma is 2, and so cute! Sophia loves to boss her around and Emma loves to do what she wants regardless of Sophia's suggestions. :) They were playing puppy dog (nothing a little brown eye-liner can't create!) and dress-up most of the day.

The day was so warm, we even made it outside to play in the little pool. It felt strange to be doing that in April, but when the sun comes out, we don't argue!

Today is still warm, but not quite as hot, and there is a lovely breeze blowing through the house. Enjoy your Monday!

Ruthie :)

Poop don't lie

And yesterday, Riley's poop was telling me he enjoyed eating some paper. Aren't you glad you know that? :)

Ruthie :)

Significance

Today is significant for so many reasons!

1. It's my Mom's birthday today!!! I love my Mom so much. She has taught me so much in this life. She is my example and inspiration of being a good wife and mother, she constantly inspires me to be a better prayer warrior, she taught me how to trust the LORD, she gave me my gift with children and my sensitive spirit. I love how my Mom is so faithful and loyal, and I love her generous spirit. She has taught me the gift of being a giver rather than a taker. I admire her ability to be on time everywhere she goes, one thing I am definitely NOT good at. To put it simply, my Mom is one amazing woman who loves our Lord Jesus and I am privilaged to call her Mom and friend. I love you Mom!!! Happy Birthday!!!




2. Today my niece, Cora, is four weeks old! How the time flies. As I mentioned earlier this week, I was able to go visit Cora (and her parents :) ) for a couple of days this week. I adored being able to hold her and cuddle her. She is such a bright, beautiful little girl. And I adore her nice, full head of hair, that looks like it's going to be curly (I didn't get any pictures of her though :( )!!!

Not only is Riley very into crawling now, but he loves pulling himself up to stand!

3. Today a group of people, all of whom love the Lord and are bloggers (with significant followings), are traveling to Calcutta, India for a ten day mission trip, in conjunction with Compassion, the child-sponsorship organization. Each member of the group will be blogging about their experiences. It is a great way to raise awareness for the work that Compassion is doing around the world and a great way to encourage folks to sponsor kids!!!

Jamie and I recently started sponsoring a sweet boy from India and just received our packet of info to get started with correspondence. We are excited to play this teeny, tiny part to help at least one child in need.

Angie Smith, writer of the blog Bring the Rain, and mommy to Audrey Caroline, is on this trip. You can follow her experience in India by reading her blog.

If you don't currently, I encourage you to pray about sponsoring a child. It's a pretty small thing that can really make a huge difference in the life of a child.

Click on the above picture to learn more!

Have a wonderful day! Here in my neck of the woods it is sunny, blue skies and over 80 degree temps!!! We are loving it.

Ruthie :)

I'll have my people call your people and we'll do lunch

Riley and I are currently visiting my sister. Jamie had to work, so he's still back at home. I didn't feel up to bringing both kids, mainly because I wanted to actually have the ability to help my sister out, so sophia is spending some special time with Grammy and Grampy.

While talking to Soph on the phone tonight, I excitedly told her that I'd see her tomorrow. Her response?

" Well, don't come after breakfast because we're going to the park."

Glad she misses me so much! :)

Ruthie. :)

Orange and Operations

UPDATE!!!


Stellan went into surgery this morning. All day is orange day, for Stellan! Check out this post (which will be updated all day, can you find Sophia?) to see all the people praying for Stellan and wearing their orange!!!

Check out Jennifer's blog for updates as Stellan is in/and coming out of surgery... http://www.mycharmingkids.net

***

ORIGINANL POST:



Baby Stellan, who I've mentioned before, will be going into the OR, either tonight or tomorrow morning, to have a very serious and quite possibly, very risky (but necessary) surgery done. His heart has some extra electrical pathways, which won't respond to medications. The only answer is surgery to remove them. But, this surgery is super risky in infants due to their age/size. Also, Stellan's extra pathway/pathways are of an unknown type - so the surgeon/s aren't even sure what they'll find when they go in.

At any rate, he and his Mom, Jennifer, have been in the hospital for four weeks. Last week they were transferred from their local hospital in Minnesota to a hospital in Boston. Jennifer's Dad is with her, but her husband remains home with their other three chilren. Can you even imagine???

Of course she is scared, but she has the Lord in her heart and with her. Please pray with her, and me, and thousands of others, as this ordeal unfolds. Thank you!

Click HERE to read her latest post about the upcoming surgery. We will be honoring Stellan by have an orange-filled day tomorrow!

Anyone else out there follow MckMama's blog??

Ruthie :)

Slings

Let's talk slings... Do you even know what I'm talking about??? :) Here's a couple of pictures (that I adore by the way), to show the particular sling I own, in action...

Aunt Ruthie and Cora

Daddy and Riley

If I ever buy another one, I am quite sure I'll pick a different brand, because all though I love the concept of a sling, I don't totally love the one I commited to. It's got a lot of padding and it is really just too bulky and difficult to adjust. But, even with this particular, sub par (in my opinion) sling, I have become a lover of "the sling!" I actually can't wait to have another baby, just so I have a really good excuse to buy another one!!! :)

The sling allows you to cuddle close with your baby (or your sister's baby, whatever the case may be) and be a lot more hands free than simply holding them. I've used it on walks, in the grocery store, while doing chores around the house, and simply to calm a fussy baby. Being so snuggled close to Mama (or Auntie :) ), can really do wonders for a baby who needs some extra loving during fussy times.


If you are a Mama, I encourage you to try one! As you can see, they work great from newborn on up! Riley can still fall asleep in the sling really comfortably, and I can also adjust it so he's sitting more on my hip, nicely supported. I believe you can also wear your baby on your back with one. They are very versatile - and Dad's can wear them too! A sling would make a great shower gift as well.

Okay, so honestly, though I've had fun sharing my thoughts on slings, I really just wrote all of that so I'd have a good excuse to post those pictures. :)

Have a great Sunday!

Ruthie :)

All About A Boy

A letter to my son.

Dear Riley,

You are just over 7 1/2 months old. Back in August, I was so overjoyed to find out I'd had a son. I feel so blessed to be able to experience raising both a daughter and a son. Your big sister, Sophia, is about 4 1/2 years old, and she just adores you. It's been so fun to think back to when she was your age and compare the things she was doing with the things you are doing. Even at this early age, we can see how different GOD's creation of boys and girls are.

Mommy had to remove the bumper from your crib a couple of months ago because you were constantly pulling at it and trying to get it down/off. I don't remember your sister ever even touching it! When you are in your car seat you are forever playing with the visor. If it is up to shield your eyes from the sun, you will inevitably pull/kick it down. I've even caught you pulling it down to your mouth so you could chew on it! Again - I don't think Sophia ever touched that visor. You are so very active and I think you may be a kid who enjoys taking things apart to figure out how they work.

Right now you still enjoy nursing four times a day and sometimes once in the night. You take two really great naps every day and sleep from about 7 pm to 7 am. You are always happy, even when you're sleepy or sick. Your smile is always beaming and your giggles are like medicine. You are just over 18 lbs, which means you are double your birth weight. You measure just over 27 inches long. You are between size 9 mos. and 12 mos. in clothing right now, mostly needing the length of the 12 mos. You have huge, adorable cheeks, but no rolls. You are built, solid and strong.

You started rolling like crazy around 5 months and have been working on crawling ever since. A couple of weeks ago you mastered getting to where you wanted by combining your rolling with a version of an army crawl. This week you started really crawling well, and forward! Well, today you found your wings and there has been no stopping you! You get where you want, and you get there fast. You especially like crawling to the spinning office chair our laptop sits on. You like looking at/chewing on, the underside of the chair. Mommy has to get after you for pulling on the power cord. I fear some finger flicks may have to start soon.

Yesterday, just as you were becoming an expert crawler, what do you do? You start pulling yourself up on furniture to stand! You do this in your crib too. Today you took steps forward with me holding your hands. I think you just might sail past crawling and start walking! We'll see.

Currently, you have two teeth. You enjoy eating your pureed food at mealtime. I imagine you'll be getting finger food before too long.

My favorite moments with you are when you're nursing. You love to play with my lips and tug on my hair. When you fall asleep in my arms and look so at peace, Mommy just feels so loved and special.

I love how much you adore your Daddy. You look for him when he's gone and get so excited when he comes home. He's your nighttime cuddler if you wake up and need help falling back to sleep. I hear you often listen to music with him during these wee hours on his iPOD.

I also love how you adore your big sister. She loves to cuddle you and play with you and hold you. Sometimes, since she's four and all, it's a little rough. But you never seem to mind. You just smile up at her and take it all in! She has never been able to keep her hands off of you since you arrived and begs to hold you many times a day. You are well-loved by her.

I pray each day that Jesus will captivate your heart and that you would grow up to be a godly man. I trust you in the arms of Jesus and thank Him so often for the gift that you are. He took your twin, Jeremiah, to live with Him in Heaven, but He's allowing me to have you, and for that I am forever grateful.

I love you my boy.

Mommy

Oh, did I tell you? You love socks too. Not just pulling off your own socks to chew on them and then your toes, but apparently your poor, innocent cousin's socks are up for grabs too. :)

Golden Silence

Baby is napping.

Daddy is dropping eldest off at friends' house for preschool, then off to the chiropractor.

Mommy is... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

As much as this mama adores the sweet silence, that feels stolen it is so rare, she cannot wait to smother her sleeping babe with kisses once he wakes and hear the excitement of new things learned upon the return of her sweet girl.

To read blogs and check email with two available hands and no one begging for books to be read; to anticipate a shower, alone, with no worries of what little hands may be doing while mama is otherwise occupied; to be able to get fully ready, dressed, hair dried and even teeth brushed!; to have these moments of quiet and alone, is needed and precious...

But.

They will never compare to my hours upon hours of noise, busy-ness, housework, cooking, cleaning, nursing, feeding, cleaning, disciplining, organizing, cleaning, throwing out, art projects, laundry, playing...

loving.

I adore my sweet stolen moments of silence, but I love the craziness that comes with having my kiddos close by and in my arms, even more.

Ruthie :)

A little photo shoot

While at Jeni and David's this past weekend, our family 'o four did a little photo shoot; taking advantage of the beautiful surroundings. Here are some of my favorite shots. Enjoy the eye candy... :)

Ruthie :)

She must taste good

I touched on this already, but here's more evidence...

Exhibit A2:



Exhibit B:
I guess they are on to something. Sweet Cora does look yummy enough to eat. :) I guess while most adults are willing to say that, it takes my kids to actually try it!

Ruthie :)