5 months

with how wonderful sophia is, amazingly enough, it's hard to remember life when it was hard with her. i think that's God's way of helping us cope, his way of making us want to have more. you can't really remember what it's like at the beginning.

yes, there have been moments in the last month that i have thought, 'this is so wonderful...maybe i do want to do it again.' but then reality hits and i KNOW that i don't want to. i just want to enjoy this bundle as much as i can. i want to take her in as much as i can. enjoy and be so grateful for how wonderful she is. and sometimes...oftentimes...i feel like i can't take her completely in. i feel like i might burst with the emotions that she brings out in me.

as sophia gets more mobile - more aware - her brother and sister become more in love with her. sophia went in her first swing ride the other day. and while she could have cared less, her sister, who was swinging next to her, was so happy she could not contain herself.



while sophia loves to be held, she really is content most anywhere.



but when isaiah realized he could hold her facing him, and she could stand and interact with him as she did...well it has become his new favorite pastime.



sophia gives the best open-mouth-slobbery kisses! if you try to kiss her on the cheek she will turn her face at the last second and get you on the lips. this sends her siblings into hysterics.

one of my favorite times with her right now is to snuggle and sway to music. her favorite song right now is 'you & me' by dave matthews band. it's technically a song for me and daddy, but it's like she knows and gets all comfy for a nice sway.

can you tell i'm just a little taken with her?

the last first

we're getting back into the swing of things around here. today marked the first day of school for matt, isaiah and alaythia. matt has been back teaching for a while, but southern started today. isaiah and alaythia had their first day of pre-school. i had to snap a picture before we all headed out the door this morning.


matt and i both commented this morning how this is his last first day of school. after this semester his course work will be complete and he'll be in the writing phase of his PhD. we're making progress! but this also means no natural rhythm of a school year. no spring breaks or winter breaks, or summer. just the plowing of write-until-it's-done.

but one thing at a time. i can't jump that far ahead.

i'm ready for the semester to start. i always am it seems. routine, hard work. i always feel strong at the beginning. i'm ready to send matt out in strength. tell him to go and work hard, i'll keep things going on this end. and inevitably, a few weeks in, i'm tired. i want to spend an evening together instead of him studying, i want him to stay around all day instead of being gone.

so my prayer this semester is for perseverance - to be a support to my husband, to love my kids and to keep the home running smoothly...and as i say to isaiah and alaythia, to do it with a happy heart.

this face

this face...makes any day.

big girl on a sunny day

after weeks of below freezing weather, the sun came out and it was near 50 today. so we bundled up and went for a walk/ride. seems like not a big deal, except for the fact that sophia rode in the stroller on her own. she's a big girl now.


we went up the seminary campus where we met daddy and isaiah and daddy got some football in. we also did a little hide and seek. i was amazed at how nice the fresh air and sun felt. i've missed it.

sisters

mommy got a night out a couple nights ago. alaythia was the happiest to see me go -- she got to play mommy to sophia.



this picture makes my heart physically hurt. to see alaythia's pure happiness showing on her face. sophia's hand resting comfortably on alaythia's face. this sister relationship is new to me. and the bonds that i see forming...well, it's a privilege to witness it forming from the beginning.

on guard!

it's all about fighting and protecting around here since christmas came. isaiah got a plethora of swords and even a whole knight suit. alaythia got princess dresses, jewelry and crowns. at any given moment someone is fighting or being protected.

one day i came out to the living room to find that isaiah had made himself a worthy opponent.



today, i wanted a turn with the swords. i took isaiah on, then said that i wanted a turn with daddy. the kids, having never witnessed this before, all got on the couch together and watched as we took the swords in hand. i quoted the princess bride, 'hello! my name is inigo montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!' when we were done, we turned to see how the kids were responding to it. this is how we found sophia:



luckily the camera was right beside us and matt was able to snap a picture before she stopped the pose.

first snow

today we had the first big snow of the season. it was so beautiful to watch the snow fall all day. school was canceled so matt got to be home with us too.

our good friends came over later in the afternoon to go sledding since we have a great hill just down the road from us. we all bundled up, sophia included, and headed out to the hill. the wind was whipping, but we had several good runs.

isaiah and oliver (who is a little over 3) decided to take a run on their own. both had gone down several times before and did great. we didn't think much of it to put them on together.

they came barreling down the hill screaming like girls and instead of going straight, they veered to the left, heading straight for a ditch...where they promptly fell in. after i knew they were both okay i was hysterical. it was straight out of a cartoon. one minute they were there, one minute they were gone and all you saw was a puff of leaves pop up from where they landed.

imagine how astonished i was to find i got it on video. watch til the end - at the top of the screen. as they got closer i got more nervous, so my filming when downhill. listen for my gasp too. i think it's pretty funny...now.