2 weeks

isn't she perfect?

it's hard to believe that 2 weeks ago, i was worried about how my heart could possibly love anyone as much as i loved the two girls already in my life

how could i have doubted that the heart just knows how to grow?

30

we all have to join the 30 club at some point

and today was my day

i said "good-bye" to my 20's and let that decade fade into memory while stepping into the third decade of this wildly wonderful life

it started last night with a pedicure and long overdue chat with someone i truly adore

and continued this morning with 30 cards and letters from 30 people who love me...organized by my amazing husband

while they were all special and the thoughts put into them brought tears to my eyes, my very favorite one was from the hubster himself

what a guy, huh?

who needs presents when i've got him...

and them...

i had a proud moment as peach tackled her very first scrapbook, filled with a million stickers

(notice the wardrobe change - we've had lots of those lately...not sure what's up with that, but i'm learning to choose my battles)

then, she instructed her little sister in writing the alphabet

the girl has mad writing skills...

we enjoyed abundant snuggles

and a photo shoot

and i had some good laughs as the girls tried to incorporate sparkle into their play

we ended it with frozen yogurt, a movie and good talks with j about what the next 10 years might bring....

i'll confess:  i wasn't really looking forward to turning 30, but i can't deny that as the day came and went, i could not ignore the fact that my cup is absolutely overflowing right now

a good measure, pressed down, shaken and overflowing

i'm thinkin'  30 might not be so bad

april extras

what a whirlwind of a month!  it started with us as a family of four and a special visit from some dear friends....

the middle of the month brought some construction workers to our street to put in a new gas line

peach went right out and made friends with them, bringing them a picture she colored

i'm tellin' you what....this girl has a lot of great qualities, but put "easy to talk to" at the top of her resume

she can make friends with pretty much anyone

i'm hopin' that quality sticks

we had some crazy weather......

and i do mean CRAZY

the birds were so confused!

just a week before we added sparkle to our family, we enjoyed popcorn and movie night with these little munchkins, who i just cannot get enough of!

and the month ended with 70 degrees and our hearts growing another size as we added a third daughter to this wild party we've got goin' on around here....

april 2013...put it in the record books as a good, good month

a sparkly story

well...there they are:  three of the four gifts that just keep on giving

and even though i should be taking this time to sleep, our littlest (we'll call her sparkle) is snuggled up on my chest and i'm in the mood to relive the story of the day she arrived

so, here goes...

saturday, april 27th

i was exactly 39 weeks pregnant

we woke up, got dressed and decided to get a cinnamon roll at our favorite coffee shop

the girls wanted to go to the park and the library

it was a beautiful day and their wish was our command.

so, off we trotted, scoring some great books and a glorious morning of swinging and playing

little did i know it would be our last morning as a family of four

we headed home for lunch and naps

i laid down with the girls, snuggled in and soon i heard the rythms of their breathing turn slow and peaceful

i was just dozing off when i felt a mild contraction

i'd been feeling them off and on for a few days, so i tried to go back to sleep.

10 minutes later, another

and another 

and another

unable to sleep, i got up and washed a few windows

the contractions went from 10 minutes to 8 to 7 to 5....but still nothing terribly painful

i went out in the yard where J was working, to tell him what was up

he wanted me to call the hospital

they said to come in

i was a little skeptical...i didn't want to get the people who were going to watch Peach and Tulip to our house just to be sent back home

but, the contractions started to come regularly at 5 minutes and then 4....so we made the call

1/2 hour later, J's awesome teaching partner and her daughter were at our house, ready to love up our littles

i smothered them each with kisses, knowing that everything was about to change

i held things together until just before we left.

we couldn't find peach.

she was in her bed, covers up to her nose, crying.

when we asked what was wrong, she said, "momma, i'm going to miss you.  is it going to hurt?"

i had never experienced HER being worried about ME before

i crumbled

but j got me out the door and to the hospital we went

i wasn't progressing very far, but the nurse sent us on a walk.

it was 70 degrees and beautiful

walking with j and talking about this new baby was such a treasure

when we got back to the hospital, they decided to keep me

we called my parents and got something for j to eat

about 7 pm i was admitted

by 9 my contractions were constant and awful

i had about one really horrible hour, then the on-call anesthesiologist came and gave me my epidural

i had about 20 minutes of rest before the nurses decided it was time to push

10 or 12 pushes later, i heard the words "it's a girl"

and i can tell you that even though it was the third time hearing those words,....they were no less magical this time around

we sat and marveled at life with three healthy girls

and thanked God for this little jewel

we spent a few hours just looking at her, cheering her on as she nursed and trying to decide who she was

j went home around 3 am because he wanted to be the one to tell peach and tulip the big news

the next day, my hospital room was bustling with family and friends

i've got so much more to say about this little petunia

but tonight i'm tired and tomorrow there will be three perky little girls to wake up to

so, i'll save more pictures and ramblings for another day

blessed are we to have you in our family, little miss sparkle

yesterday

yesterday started like this....

 turned into this....

and ended like this...

a beautiful story that i'm excited to share soon.

welcome to the world, sparkle girl

still one

Well....here it is.

Today was the last day of ONE.

The last day of being one year old...on the brink of being able to valiantly hold up two proud, chubby fingers.

Two years ago tonight, I was feeling icky.  I crawled into bed with a headache, woke up an hour later and alerted J that we needed to go...like now

seven hours later, i was holding my spring tulip

fast forward 2 years.  tonight, j and peach are away at their wednesday night awana fun and it's just me and tulip.

naturally, we put on our galoshes and headed out to make a memory

just me and her

 

a few blocks away, we strolled up to our very favorite place in town. we were greeted by the owner, who told me to bring the stroller right inside.

we had some birthday ice cream, which the owners refused to let us pay for...you don't get that kind of lovin' just anywhere

i almost had to wrestle this kid to get her to share the monster cookie ice cream.

the girl knows what she likes

we sang "pop goes the weasel"

and she gave me sticky kisses while smearing ice cream all over one of the three shirts that still fit me

we had to fight some spitting rain on our way home...good thing we had the rain boots goin' for us

 once we got dried off and snuggly, her only other birthday request was games on the i.pad,

playing Elmo's Monster Maker to her heart's content without having to take turns with big sister...

when i think about where i was 24 months ago, i realize that tonight, i'm sorta feelin' the same way

i've got the "it could be any day...any hour now" feeling

and just like then...i'm excited...and sad

excited for this new person who will certainly open up a whole new space in my heart.

and sad that tulip is about to pass the torch of "baby" on to someone else.

very soon, this sweet baby of mine will become "big sister" and these 

wednesday night date nights will be shared along with a million other things

adjustments ahead for us all....

good, wonderful, beautiful stretching in our very near future

but tonight, she's still one

tonight, she's still my baby

so, i may just sneak upstairs and rock that one year old one last precious time before i open my arms to little miss two tomorrow morning

recipe for a good sunday

what are sundays good for?

new leggings for church...be still my heart

nesting....

washing up diapers for baby...

learning now to be a big helper...

glasses and pretend...

 and rest.

it just doesn't get much better than this.