Heartstrings

This little girl has a whole bunch of mine held tightly in her tiny baby fist. And when she smiles like this...

tug

tug

tug

until my heart is so filled with love for this little creature that I have to bubble up with huge smiles of my own, as well as a million kisses for her sweet face.

Tug away, little Rosalie. Those heartstrings are yours to keep.

we miss you, Lyddie-Lou!

This post is long over due (as are MOST of my posts these days, let's face it), but I couldn't NOT write one about my sister Lydia's visit here with us. She arrived only days before Miss Rosalie was born, so the timing was perfect. And oh, it was so wonderful to have her here... for TWO whole weeks!! A rare treat, considering we haven't gotten to spend that much time together since my family moved away almost three years ago.

Since I was big huge and pregnant for the first couple days and then, you know, had a baby, we didn't really do much that anyone would consider exciting or out of the ordinary. It would have been great to go to the beach together or something, but that just wasn't a possiblity. (although, Miss Ashlei did take her to Disneyland where they had a wonderful time, so hooray for that!) However, even though we didn't get to do anything "special", we had the best time.

We did a bit of shopping together, and tried on some simply fabulous hats

and then we went to tea with the queen in the royal garden. (not really. but don't those hats look like we should??)

we ate breakfast at our favorite place, Mimi's cafe and chatted about many different things as only sisters can. And we spent a lot of time together on the couch, watching TV, something I feely admit without any shame or fear of sounding lame. It was lovely to have a couch companion while I spent the better part of my day feeding a new little one. We watched America's Next Top Model, What Not to Wear, Friends... and Lydia introduced Jeremy and me to Supernatural. Hellooo, Dean and Sam! We almost made it through the whole first season while she was here, and it was so much fun enjoying one of her favorite shows with her.

We enjoyed some time with another sister, Jessica, first at a tea she had at her house and then at a lovely and encouraging morning at the park where great conversation and sharing of Scriptures ensued.

And of course, there were trips to Starbucks...



It was so wonderful to have her here to welcome Rosalie-- it made me so happy to see her walk through the door of my hospital room shortly after midnight that night the baby was born. It was so weird not having any of my side of the family around for this birth, and having Lydia here made it a bit easier. And of course, she was a huge help to me in the days that followed, and put up with me and a crying baby so well. I don't know what I would have done without her!



My girls love getting some Auntie time, and I love seeing it!




I blame these next pictures on the lack of sleep from which we were all suffering. It got a little crazy up in here! For shizz.





Don't ask.

But the best part of it all was simply having her here, just being able to talk to and love on her whenever I wanted to, seeing her with my girls everyday, eating our meals together, goofing around together, simply living life together! I am very close to my sisters, so this visit was like a breath of fresh, familiar, much-needed air.

you're beautiful, sister, and I love you. We're all so glad glad glad that we got to have you here and soak you up for those two weeks.



you know what? I get to see Lydia again in only 9 days! And, joy of all joys, she will be accompanied this time by my other dear sister Jerusha, my little brother Josiah, and my Mom and Dad, who are simply itching to hold their newest grandbaby. We are so excited to have them all coming, even though it will be a brief visit.

See you soon, family! We've got loads of hugs and kisses and sweet baby goodness ready and waiting for you all.

moi

So, I was tagged.... twice! First, by my lovely and dear cousin Steph, and then by the adorable and darling Davi.

These are the rules:

Take a picture of yourself right now.

No primping or preparing.

Just snap a picture.

Load the picture onto your blog.

Tag some people to play along.

I was a good girl and did exactly that.

here is what I looked like when I read Steph's post and saw my name:

and this is me right after I read Davi's post (and Miss Emma too, who happened to be hanging out with me):

Not exactly glamour shots. But rules are rules! :)

Can I just say how tired I am of being broken out? I feel like I've been one big pimple for nine long months. Arg. Thank goodness for makeup (when I get around to wearing it).

Thanks for the tag, girls! I shall, in turn, tag

Lydia

Jerusha

Kourtni

Susan

Tristan

Lisa

Bust a photo, ladies!

happy little things

~stacks and stacks of fresh, clean, folded laundry

~two hours of peace and quiet while all three kids napped AT THE SAME TIME (how else do you think I got all that laundry folded?)

~ringlets of long brown hair bouncing up and down as a little girl plays
~five straight hours of sleep in the night

~a phone conversation with a brother who is far away and greatly missed

~reading library books with two sweet daughters while the baby sleeps

~fresh-baked banana bread

~a vibrant bouquet of cheerful red and yellow roses and wonderfully fragrant lavender, all from my garden

~soft baby sighs and squishy baby lips

~new episodes of our favorite shows

~falling asleep with my husband's warm hand clasped in mine

~blank notecards that are just waiting to be written upon and given to someone I love

~Easter candy (mmm, chocolate)

~this adorable face

what are the happy little things that have popped up in your week so far, my dears?

just embracing it

Life. It is crazy, busy, and oh-so-full. Has it really already been well over a week since I last blogged??

And what have we been up to?

Well, there's been lots of loving on this little lady, of course:



We've spent lots of time in our jammies building forts and imagining all sorts of things...


(pardon the indecency! :))


... or dressing up!



Emma and Annabelle have been playing together SO nicely lately. I love listening to them and watching as they grow closer as sisters and pals!



We've had bathtimes. I am happy to report that Rosalie LOVES bathtime! She is pefectly content and happy as long as she is in soaking in her little tub. It's so cute.

(these pictures aren't from her very first bath; Jeremy has those on his camera, and I'm sure they're much better than my attempt)





And there's been lots of sweet, sweet baby moments that simply had to be soaked up and enjoyed...



Talk to the hand, Mom-- I'm sleepin' here!!

Seriously, I kind of forgot how time-consuming newborns are! And life doesn't stop just because a baby comes along. My days are filled to the brim, without fail! Nursing, laundry, trying to keep the house somewhat clean, nursing, giving my older girls as much of my time as I can, laundry, nursing, running errands, nursing, catching up on sleep when at all possible... and oh, yes, did I mention laundry and nursing??

Things are going really well. Rosalie is sleeping a bit better at night (3-4 hours instead of 1-2), and more importantly she's nursing like a little pro, which makes everything SO much easier. She gets more adorable and lovable every day, which more than makes up for her times of fussiness and frustration. Emma and Annabelle have been little sweethearts lately (for the most part), for which I am so grateful. The Lord definitely knows what I can handle and has not given me above that-- and even when I think He has, there is always that extra measure of grace right there waiting. In short, three weeks into this whole baby thing, we are starting to feel like life is becoming a bit more "normal"-- completely different from what it was before this little one came along and changed our world-- a new and improved normal!

In the midst of all this busy-ness and craziness, it's the little accomplishments that I've learned to call victories. For example, the other day, I shaved my legs... above the knee and everything. Accomplishment! Last week, I wore makeup three days in a row. Accomplishment! My kitchen sink is not full of dirty dishes. Accomplishment! I managed to shower before 10 am. Accomplishment! Today, I actually folded every single basket of laundry that has been sitting around for the last two weeks. Accomplishment! Whee!

I'm simply embracing the way my life is right at this moment, at this time and in this season. Even though, yesterday, I was pooped on three different times. And more often than not I am in my pj's and unshowered...


Hmm, this reminds me of a "belly shot"... it's still there. But not for long I hope!

... oh yes, my friends, it is a glamorous life I lead!

I love it.

And I wouldn't have it any other way!