Valentine's Snapshots

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are some glimpses of my day (the good parts). I am a bit sleep deprived and that does not mix well with whiny children. Christoph gave me tulips, I went shopping, took Emily to swimming lessons, babysat, helped Emily get her Valentines ready for school tomorrow, and now I'm going to relax with my hubby and watch a movie. Hope your day was great and you felt loved!

Pictures of my Life

So, last Saturday I turned thirty. It's been a crazy week and quite honestly I don't feel any different. I wanted to put these up sooner, actually on a day by day basis, but that didn't happen. Oh well. My birthday itself was pretty low key, I had to work the day before and after, so it was just a nice day of being lazy and hanging out with the fam. My brother Joel watched the girls so we could catch a movie. It was a relaxing day. Anyway, here's the pictures I took...Things that I'm thankful for, impact my life and make me happy. They are:

Lounging in front of the fire


 Katrina's curls
 


 Emily's eyes
 

 Swiss Rolls
 

 Eating fruit
 

 Elmo's World


 Taking care of my babies
 


 Wii
 

 My darling husband
 

 The promise of Spring
 

 The love of friends.
 

Life is good!

Valentines Fun

I just had to put in a quick little plug for Snapfish. They have these cute little free e-cards you can make and send out for Valentine's Day. I had fun making one and sending it out to family and friends. Check it out:

http://www.snapfishecard.com/Projects/view/72647/72652

Looming Thirty

I'm going to be turning thirty in a little less then two weeks. I hadn't really been thinking about it that much, it was just there, one more birthday. I have been feeling older, but I think that's partially related to being pregnant and having no energy. I try not to think about the fact that in two weeks my metabolism will bomb and it will be even harder to lose weight. :) Then I was on my way to work a few weeks ago and was listening to NPR. Weekend America was on and they did a little spot about turning thirty. They mentioned that for a lot of people turning thirty brings a lot of pressure, pressure to get a job, get married and start a family. They also mentioned that in 1960 70% of thirty year olds had done those things. In 2000 it was less then 40%. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for this, not the least of which is, some of those aren't such popular goals anymore, and there is less urgency to do them. The spot went on to interview a girl who felt she had accomplished the goals she set for thirty by the time she was twenty-eight. So, for the last year of her twenties she decided she would do something new every day. Most of them were small things, but she seemed to be having fun with it. So, I started to think about turning thirty a little more. I never really thought specifically about setting goals to accomplish by thirty, and yet, I have accomplished the "typical" landmarks. I'm married, have started a family, and even have a "career". I am happy to have those things and I think thirty would be more depressing for me if I didn't, but...I kinda wish I had done something more personal to commemorate the last year. Now there is less then two weeks left and no time or energy to do anything spectacular. However, I'm not going to give up that easily. I thought about it and decided to take a picture of something every day that I am thankful for, that impacts my life, or just makes me happy. So, here is the first one:


It's a little silly, but I love snow. It's so pretty and peaceful looking. It takes the ordinary, everyday and completely changes your point of view. It's really easy to appreciate when we don't get very much of it! :) (Sorry, I couldn't choose between the two pictures.)

Snow Day

This past week has been gorgeous and cold. It was clear and sunny every day, a really nice break from the winter rain. Then to top it off, it snowed on Thursday. I'd say we got about an inch of snow. However, it didn't start snowing until about 5:00pm. We had a meeting at our house at 6:30pm. So, between that and dinner Emily didn't get a chance to go outside. At about 9:00pm when everyone had left I was presented with the question, "Can I go play in the snow?" I don't know if this makes me a horrible mother, or an awesome one, but I had to say yes. It was supposed to be in the 40's the next day, there was the possibility of school in the morning, and it was the most snow we had gotten all year. I just couldn't say no. And you know what, we had a blast! It was so funny to see her bundled in her pajamas and tromping around the front yard. All around us was dark and quiet, with just an occasional car driving by. It felt so fun and mischievous to be out so late in our still neighborhood. Kind of like me and Emily were breaking all the rules together. School ended up being canceled the next day, and there was some snow left, so Katrina got to play in it too. Then we came in and drank hot chocolate. It wasn't much snow, but we milked it for all it was worth!

 

 

All Around Me

As most of you know, the new job I started back in February came with a built in commute. I decided that since I would only be there 4-6 times a month I could deal with having to drive an hour each way. Although I don't enjoy this drive at 11:30pm when I'm tired from working 8 hours, at 1:30pm it is generally pleasant. Unlike my commute when we lived in southern California, it's not an hour because I'm driving 12 miles in traffic, it's an hour because I drive 50 miles on a two lane highway. I get to look at green fields, farmhouses, trees, sheep, an occasional stream, and once even a deer leaping through a field. It's pretty peaceful and it gives me time to think.

On my most recent drive to work I was listening to my new Margaret Becker CD (Thank you, honey for the great Christmas gift) Just Come In. I have been a Margaret Becker fan since I first heard her music when I was 15. There are several reasons she is one of my favorite artists. I enjoy her music style and I love acoustic guitar. I like her throaty voice and most of her songs are in the perfect key for me to sing along and feel like it sounds halfway decent. Most importantly I think she has great lyrics. Her songs spoke to me when I was a teenager, and they still do today as a wife and mother. I think that says a lot. I'm the kind of person who the lyrics are almost more important then the music. If the words are lame, I lose patience with the song real quick.

So, I was driving to work, enjoying the sunshine and the beauty around me, listening to great music and the song Feel It All came on. It says:

"I think I heard your voice floating on the evening wind/ And felt you near in the touch of a friend/ This is life as it should be this is life complete/ Cracking the surface of every breath and finding you there/ In the center of it/ In the beauty of the morning in the rhythm of the rain/ In the symphony of laughter as it plays across a face/ In the colors of creation painting sunsets in the fall/ I want to feel it all"

I consider myself to be a sensory person. Sound, feel, sight are all important and make experiences much more meaningful to me. Listening to this song made me appreciate even more the beauty on my drive to work. It was also a good reminder not to take things for granted, and to remember to appreciate God's presence in the things around me. Here are a few places that have stood out to me lately...

* Emily's shining eyes as she shares a new epiphany
* Katrina's tight, spontaneous hugs
* Hearing and seeing the geese flying back north
* Drinking a hot cup of tea and watching the rain
* Smelling the roses my husband brought me

I don't know if it's appreciating the small things or seeing God's work in everything around me. Either way I find myself more grateful and more aware. I hope you feel God's presence all around you!

The Results Are In

Yesterday was the big day. Well, not THE big day, but a big day. It was a long day, full of work and meetings and shopping, plus lack of sleep from working the night before, but squeezed in there was my 20 week ultrasound. Obviously, we like seeing the baby move and making sure it's healthy and growing well. However, I think the biggest question on our (and everyone else's apparently) mind was, boy or girl? We found out what Emily was right away, but Katrina was shy and it wasn't until a later ultrasound that she made the big reveal. This baby was fairly co-operative and gave us a nice clear view to show, it's a boy! We are excited and happy, although not without some trepidation. After all we know what to expect with girls. :) Quite honestly, I think my trepidation is over the thought of having three kids, no matter what sex! Emily is excited, it is after all what she was wishing for! He seemed like a pretty feisty little guy, wiggling around the entire time. My favorite was a profile shot when he lifted both hands and pushed, flat palmed against the side of my uterus. Little does he know it's going to get a lot more crowded in there! Next on the list is changing Katrina's very pink room to something a little more masculine. ;)