A la maison

We had a wonderful time visiting Angela once we finally arrived...very long story made short- 2 hour and 20 minute flight turned into 6 hours on the plane = miss the flight to SC and stay the night in the Hilton eating a kid's meal of grilled cheese and fries for $20.

Anyway, once we finally got to SC we had a good time. I don't know how my friends with children did it while at BCOM (except that they had 2 rooms) but it is HARD to live/stay in a dorm with a baby! Extra props to the Dugans, Johnsons and others that finished school while living in such cramped quarters.

Angela had a great room and even her own bathroom so that was wonderful, and she even learned a little about baby-proofing for the future! *wink* H is very curious, as most babies are, and so we had to block things off and hide other things and basically make every day living a little more difficult than usual for Ang. Thanks for hosting us on your birthday weekend, I hope and am sure that you enjoyed having us as much as we enjoyed being with you!

Since being home H has been re-exploring her home and even when I'm on the phone she doesn't seem to care...very unusual for anyone with small children. So we're having good times and we're also heading out again for two days this weekend to be with family so hopefully that'll be relaxing.

I always forget how much I love my bed when planning a trip and so it's been nice to get back into our daily groove. I'll post pictures in the next couple days or so!

Her Chris Bear

I love the joy that my daughter finds in such repetitive things like her LeapFrog toy. She has taken to pushing the button and looking to me for my reaction to her giddiness. If I laugh, she heartily fake laughs along with me often ending in a squeal! And then does it again, and again and again. She also loves racing up the stairs with me following and squeals the whole way up. She doesn't tire from these 'fun' activities instead she relishes them with every fiber of her little being.

It's so fun to watch her and find out what she thinks is funny and what makes her laugh. I never knew such joy till she was a part of my life. I thought I had fun but I've not had as much fun as she has with her silly little toys. Her new thing this week is dancing to the music, she leans on her toy and stamps her chubby little legs with everything in her. I nearly died laughing when she first did this which of course made her do it over and over again!

Another cute thing, sorry, I can't help but write about her, she's too fun...I'll say, "Aaaawwwww" and she'll speed crawl over to Chris Bear and give him a full on body hug. See pics below!


Here's H with her Chris Bear (short for Christmas Bear)





Well, I've been on here far too long so...'till next time!

9 months

As Laura said the other day, 'I've now had H as long as I was pregnant with her!' and it's so much fun! Here are some pictures I took of her on Sunday (her 9 month b-day) and a few from Saturday at the zoo with Barb and her boys!


Also, please pray for those affected by the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis today. It collapsed during rush hour into the Mississippi River this evening. Please keep praying that those that are alive would be rescued as quickly as possible. For more information check out WCCO.com

Thanks and blessings!

Picture Update

Here are the pictures I've been meaning to post for so long! Funny note: Haddie was happily playing with Christmas Bear and her Leap Frog toy so I thought to myself, "This would be a good time to update the blog", but as soon as she saw the computer she speed crawled her way over here and wouldn't let me rest until we took some pictures of her/us. So here those are:

Picture time is over and she's not happy!



Here are the wine glasses I painted for my sister for her 21st birthday:





Here's Haddie feeding herself for the first time! I gave her the bowl and a spoon then turned around to wash some dishes and when I looked at her next this is what I saw, I laughed for forever!


And here I am with Erin and Brevin Isaac, Bernt & Erin's beautiful baby boy!




Ok, I think that's all for now!

The rest of my life...!??!*$%&^!(#)^E#%!?= Confused and is not to be confused with a swear word

Wow, well I don't know what it is lately but I've been asked 'what I'm going to do with the rest of my life' almost as much as I was when I graduated from high school and college!!!! NOT that it's a bad question it's just so...loaded/heavy?!?...not really sure of the right word to use, only that it's a pretty big question for me right now. And I'm not sure what it is about me that people keep asking...is it the fact that I'll soon be divorced after a few short months of a really rocky marriage; is it that I'm a mommy; is it the season; is it just me...do I look lost/unsure/unstable?

Don't get me wrong I'm not at all offended by the question but I'm really just not sure why I'm getting asked. Not only that...I'd love to have an answer. See, there are a million things I would love to do but just don't know where to start and there's the simple fact that I have a wonderful, beautiful, very engaging 7.5 month old daughter to take care of and can't just run off to grad school or another country on a whim. Not to mention that if I did my mom, sister and dad would all want to kill me because they'd never see H...

So, I've already been wrestling with the question anyway...maybe it's written on my forehead...because I don't necessarily want to work in advertising all my life. I do know that, for now, this is where the Lord has placed me and I am most happy to be here and serve Him where I am. But there's a part of me that's longing to be something so much more than I am right now...does this make sense? I feel like there's so much more of me to give and that I'm a bit stifled by my surroundings. I also believe that there's a whole part of me that wants to fly but is just a little scared to run and step off the edge of the precipice to see if my wings really work. I'm also afraid of failure, what if I'm not good enough, what if ____ doesn't work out, what if someone else's ___ is/looks better than mine...so, there you go. This is part of the reason why I am standing at the end of who I am and the beginning of who I want to/can be.

That about sums it up for you...the rest of my life. Perhaps someday soon I'll just take that leap of faith and hopefully by then my wings will be ready for me to soar. So Lord, here I am again...please help me cuz I can't do it on my own. Maybe You can even push me but, if You do push me please help me to take care of H too. Thanks God. Amen.

Baby Update

Please continue to lift up Ryan and Brianna during this very difficult time in their lives. This is an excerpt from WCCO's website on the Morrison sextuplets. For up to date information you can check out WCCO's website: http://wcco.com/morrisons

"Second Sextuplet Baby Dies
(WCCO) Another son of the Minnesota couple that became parents to sextuplets has died.

A statement from Children's Hospital in Minneapolis said Tryg Brenton, died Thursday night.

The four other newborns of Ryan and Brianna Morrison of St. Louis Park remain in critical condition in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's. The children were all born last Sunday.

As released Thursday by Children’s, Tryg’s brother Bennet died Wednesday.

The hospital said no further information is being released, as the parents both mourn their loss and continue to focus on their other children."

As a new-er parent I can't imagine the joy and pain they are feeling right now. My heart just aches for their loss but also rejoices in the gifts they've been given. I know that the Lord has a purpose and a plan for each of these little lives and I pray that His will would be accomplished and that He would be glorified in the Morrison family's lives. I can't think or even write about them without falling apart and am speechless at times not knowing what to pray but, God hears and understands those prayers that only seem like pain in our hearts.

Lord, I lift up Ryan, Brianna, Lucia Rae, Lincoln Sean, Sylas Christopher and Cadence Alana and pray that Your purpose and plan be accomplished in their lives. I pray that they would live and not die and declare the word of the Lord. I pray that their lives would be a testimony to Your goodness and grace and Your everlasting, all-consuming LOVE. Lord, I have never known suffering like this so I don't know exactly what to pray but, I do pray that Ryan and Brianna would grab on to You with everything in them because You are the only One who can get them through what seems to me the most difficult thing a person could ever be faced with. Lord, I pray for another miracle. Amen.

Bring your child to work day?

I'm playing "bring your baby to work day" today! And now that H is up and about and into EVERYTHING it's proving to be an interesting day....I'm hoping that my sitter will answer her phone soon! Good thing H likes paper and magazines and all cuz I didn't bring any toys with me either, knowing that there are plenty of toys at the sitter's house.

Anyway, we had an awesome time yesterday with my friend Barb and her two little boys. We went to the pool and splashed around and just had a good time together. Other than that, nothing new! I'll post pictures again soon.