If we could sit down and have a cup of coffee...

We could get all caught up.
You could tell me everything you'd been up, I'd fill you in on the happenings from our household.
We'd sit cozily in our living room, hands cupping tightly to our coffee cups while kiddos played underfoot.
We'd make a second pot because it was just too good to stop.
The coffee and the conversation.

So, come on in. Grab a cup...

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Going back a few weeks...we had a fabulous Friends Easter this year! In honor of the special day, God really set the weather on perfect for us to celebrate properly everything that Easter means. It was a joy and hope filled day.

 

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These girls. Sometimes I see them giggling and get glimpses of them as teenagers, telling secrets, planning shenanigans...and it makes me both excited and emotional. This stage of play they are in right now is so very precious. 

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Little miss turned 5 months old. She is changing and growing every day. Discovering new things. And being just the cutest little peanut while doing it.

 

We officially have a roller.

Somebody wanted in on the 5 month photos. She thought the tulip would double nicely as a telephone and had some correspondence to catch up on.

 

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Her independence grows with each day. She is a girl who knows what she wants, and while admittedly we've had some frustrating times this past month...she makes me so incredibly proud to be the mama of this fierce little warrior.

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We had our first sleepover with the Elhardt kids and it was a total success! 3 kids in the same room, and once Griffin stopped yelling "strawberry poopy", they slept the whole night through. How is she big enough for a sleepover?!

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I think we have a little budding artist on our hands. She LOVES art projects and become absorbed in her own little coloring world.

 

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Sisters.
My heart still does a little flip when I get to say "the girlS". Plural. The bond they have already is something incredible to witness. I'm so happy they will have each other, for always.

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This was the last bath in the sink. We've graduated to the bathtub. Still in the little blue bin...but this little water baby can kick water all over like nobody's business.

 

 

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We just got back from a weekend in Walla Walla and it was aahhhhhhh-mazing. 80 degrees never felt so good. It was all you could do to drag us back inside as the sun came down.

 

 Grammie and her girls.

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We're trying solid foods.

So far we are losing and she's winning. She is NOT a fan. I basically am shoving it in her mouth. Praying that it gets easier and she takes a liking to it soon.

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So there's our snipets...

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I'm so glad you came over. I love our little chats. Let's do it again soon, shall we?

Moments.

Okay. So can I be honest with you?
This week has had it's fair share of those moments.
You know what I'm talking about when I say those moments, don't you?

Those moments that leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed with life.
Whining.
Melt downs. (And over such things as the fact that I'm not twirling and spinning properly.)
Hectic mornings. (No matter how hard I try to be organized the night before. I mean, I even got the coffee ready for goodness sakes?)
Hair that is both shedding and growing at incredible rates and needs to be chopped and colored SO badly.
Numerous attempts at convincing an almost 3 year old to eat.
Bribes.
Underlying worry about Madeleine's heart issue.
Wanting to run. Needing to run. Not making time for runs.
More melt downs.

It was just mid-week and I was feeling spent.

The thing is...parenting is hard. There's just no denying that fact. For as much as we love our kids with ever fiber of our being, they can certainly make life challenging.

 



I'm reading "Carry On Warrier: Thoughts on Life Unarmed" by my guru Glennon Doyle Melton and one thing she writes about that has really resonated this week with me is questioning why we all have this idea that we need to feel like and portray that we are enjoying every single moment of parenthood.
Because honestly, who enjoys melt downs??

Instead, she writes, we should be satisfied and happy with a few special moments a day. If we can do that, we are a success. We cannot expect that it is pure bliss 24 hours a day.

 

 

Wouldn't you know...Wednesday night I had what may have been one of my most favorite moments to date as a mama to Charlotte. We were going through our nighttime routines, the stories were over, lights were out, and we were singing a few songs. She does this hilarious thing where she closes her eyes, sways her head back and forth and sings in a vibrato voice as if it is the performance of her lifetime. It's always funny, but for some reason...that night, it was the funniest. We laid belly laughing for a good 15 minutes....like the kind of laughing you do when you get the giggles with your girlfriends, tears streaming, and there is nothing in the world that could stop the laughter.

It was magical.

 

So, yeah. There have been a lot of those moments. But there have also been a lot of THOSE moments...and they make it all worth it.

 

xoxo

Life lately...

As told through our pictures...

 

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A trip to Whidbey to celebrate Nick's grandma's 92nd birthday. We thought the ferry would make the trip a bit more fun. In theory it did...until there was a major melt down when she realized we had to actually get off the ferry.

 

 

 Luck of the somewhat Irish...

 

 Easter preparations...

"Cautiously....slowly...a little shoulder lean in hug...and I'm outta here."
(I don't blame you Charlotte...why are bunnies always so scary?!)

 

Oh so close to rolling over...

 

 

 

 

My little dove.

Funny how nicknames start, isn't it?
I'm not sure where it came from, or how it stuck...but this little one is now officially, my little dove.

4 months old

 

Which seems perfect really as doves are often symbols of love and peace. And I can hardly think of two words to better describe her sweet spirit.

 

This sweet little spirit who has Persistent Ductus Arteriosus.

Let me explain...

 

At her four month well baby check up, our incredible pediatrician heard something abnormal with her heart. Since he wasn't sure what it was he referred us to a cardiology specialist at Children's Hospital. Our check up was on a Friday and we had to wait until Monday to get the referral and make the appointment, so to say it was a long weekend would be a gross understatement.

 

The not knowing what is or may be wrong with your child is all consuming.

Thankfully we were able to get in right away at Children's, and after some more testing, listening and a long echogram, the dr. was able to determine that she has PDA.

Basically it means that she has an extra vessel that didn't close up after birth, as it normally does. The way I understand it is that then more blood flows through the lungs and back to the heart, which makes one of her chambers (the bottom left one) work harder than it needs to and become enlarged. So the opening has to ultimately be closed up.

The good news? It's treatable and we know what the issue is.

 

So, we could be looking at surgery at some point in the future. Which is scary. Because no matter how often they perform these same surgeries...or how common or uncommon her condition may be...it's still my little dove they may be working on, and it weighs heavy on my heart.

 

That said, we are feeling cautiously optimistic. Children's Hospital is a world class facility so I know we are in the best hands possible. We feel so thankful to live where we do and have access to such incredible health care. She will remain under their careful watch on a monthly basis to continue monitoring her heart and eventually determine how it will all play out. 

And until then we will continue loving on our girl...and sending up lots of prayers.
As my sweet Papa wrote in a card to us:
"The power of prayer will work wonders!"

I believe it will.
xoxo