Merry Christmas!

Twelve Months

Or, in other words, one year!  This little lady turns one today.

What a joy Lydia is.  We love watching her explore and learn new things every day.  She is walking all over the place and is quite proud of herself.  She loves to be clapped at, and she loves to entertain us with the silly faces she makes.  She is turning into quite the picky eater - what child does not like noodles?  She loves to hug her dolly and to zoom the boys' cars around as well.  She adores her big brothers (most of the time), and boy, can they make her giggle. 

What a blessing Lydia is.  In reflecting back, one year ago today, it is with such an overwhelmed heart that I remember seeing Lydia for the first time and realizing that we had a girl. 

It was such an amazing moment, and we are grateful and thankful that God would choose us to bring up these boys and this sweet girl.

 "The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17

Piggy-clips, Korkers & More!!!!

So, you all know that I have a slight obsession with Etsy!  And, I'd love to introduce you to a new favorite Etsy shop - Ellison's with piggy-clips, korkers and more.  Check it out here!  And, for a chance at a super-fun giveaway, go here!

I'm absolutely positive that soon you will all see some of these designs modeled on Miss Lydia - on crocheted headbands, of course, until the girl gets more hair!!! 

And, because no post of mine is complete without a picture, here you go.

Birthday Extravaganza

So, "extravaganza" may be a bit overboard, but we did have a birthday celebration this past weekend for Samuel who turned six and Lydia who is nearly one.  The pictures speak for themselves!  I did include a couple of pictures of our the outside decorating - you see, Lydia's theme was a Winter ONEderland.  Turns out we even had a blizzard this weekend!!!

So thankful for these two and the joy they bring to our lives!  More to come on Lydia's milestone birthday when we get there!

Happy Birthday, Samuel!

After much anticipation and what felt like a countdown that was taking forever, it's here - Samuel's 6th birthday.  The countdown dragging on forever?  That's from Samuel's perspective.  From our perspective it seems we were just bringing this little blondie home from the hospital.  Each day leading up to today, Samuel's 6th birthday, has seemed to slip by so quickly.  This boy has brought us such joy and laughter ...

Samuel has a big personality.  He is so decisive, always knows exactly what he wants.  His smile fills up his face as he smiles through his eyes.  Samuel is strong willed, persistent and what many would describe as quite stubborn at times.  Samuel loves to cuddle, and he loves to push our buttons ... sometimes at the same time.  Samuel is shy but only at first.  He is a night owl and prefers to sleep late in the morning.  Samuel is a great little brother to Jack, and he is learning to be a great big brother to Lydia (oh, he loves her, but did I mention he likes to push our buttons?  And, hers?).  Samuel is a work in progress.  Aren't we all?  

We are so blessed by this special little man!  Happy Birthday, Samuel!!!  We love you and thank God for you!