Leah Noel, 21 Months

Now that Abby is back in school four days a week, I have some great quality time with Leah. I'm using it as my opportunity to catch up on some much needed photos of her. It seems I have fallen into the "second child = less pictures" trap and I'm trying to make that happen less. It takes some effort to get out the camera and capture just the everyday moments, but I know I will regret it if I don't.

She is growing so fast, speaking in sentences and keeping up with her sister. She loves playing with babies, reading books, brushing her teeth and eating yogurt. A lot of people say she looks like Brian, but after seeing these photos, I am reminded a lot of me.

Fabric is here!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been gathering a lot of ideas for the girl's room. Now that we know we are having a boy their room will stay mostly the same, however, I couldn't resist making a few changes. The girls now have bunk beds, which they love, but we didn't have matching sheet sets for them. I have been on the hunt for something cute, girly and fun, but had no luck in Home Goods, TJ Max, Marshalls, Target... you get the picture. I decided to search online and kept coming back to this great collection of prints by Dena Fishbein called Kumari Garden. They arrived in the mail yesterday and I'm so excited about what it will become. Once I have all the materials together I'm sending it out to Brian's Grandmother who so graciously offered to work her magic and create beautiful quilted comforters. I look forward to showing you the final product!

Flowers for a woman's soul

A couple of days ago I purchased some fresh roses just because. I love the soft pink in combination with the gold table cloth and every time I pass by the dinning table I stop to stare. It's amazing how fresh flowers can brighten a person's day (particularly a woman).

Where is heaven?

A couple of days ago I was driving in the car with the girls. We have been listening to this awesome praise cd our church released and we all sing to it. Both girls love the hallelujahs and specifically ask for those songs to be played. It's amazing how they know the words and tunes better than I do.

I can't remember how the conversation came up but Abby started asking me questions about what happens when you die and where do you go. Immediate joy came to my heart and I took full advantage of the opportunity to explain to her about heaven and how you get there. I was amazed by the questions she was asking and how much she remembered from Sunday school class and VBS.

At the end of our conversation I asked her if she would like to ask Jesus into her heart, so she could spend eternity in heaven. She paused and shook her head no. I was pleased with her response because I know that it is all in God's timing when and if He will bring her full understanding of who He is. It's not something I can do for her. She has to ask God for forgiveness on her own. She has to want for Him to take control of her life and make her a new person. I want that for my children more than anything in this life, but I can't make it happen. I can only pray and that's exactly what I did, out loud for Abby to hear.

I guess this story hits so close to home for me because that's how my decision to invite Jesus into my life happened. I was about the same age as Abby (maybe a little older) and I was asking questions in the car.

A Healthy Baby Boy!

We found out last week that we are actually having a boy! We were prepared to have another girl, but pleasantly surprised to find out it was a boy. Brian was more shocked than I was because he had it in his mind that he could only produce girls. I had a hunch that it might be a boy because this pregnancy has been very different from my previous ones.

No matter what the gender, we are so thankful that everything appears to be healthy. No matter how many times you have a baby there is such a desperate dependence on God to watch over and protect this little life growing inside you. As a mom, you do your best to take care of your baby, but ultimately it's your faith that has to be taken care of the most. It's all in His hands.

Healthy, Beautiful Girls

What more could I ask for?

VBS 2011

Last week was VBS at our church with 450 kids and 150 volunteers. The theme was "The Big Apple" and it looked like NYC all over the building. It was quite nice dropping Abby off for almost 4 hours and having the morning with just Leah to spend some quality time and get a lot done. It sure was a long week though as Abby came home tired and it threw Leah's nap schedule off a bit, but it was well worth it. Abby loves singing the songs she learns and I'm always surprised how much she retains. VBS was so important to me growing because my mom always ran the show. She was the one putting on the goofy costumes and getting the kids all hyped up. It brings back a lot of memories.















Abby was a little shy on stage during the final rally. She had her hands up to her face for most of the time. This is the only instance where she is ever shy.