Springtime...

...is when the outdoors becomes a mother's best friend.

A New Friend

A friend of mine and her husband adopted an adorable brother and sister from Ethopia.  The boy named Fikadu is Isaiah's age.  The first time Isaiah met Fikadu was a couple months ago in Sunday School, and I got such a kick out of how Isaiah described the language barrier. He said, "I talked to him, and he had no clue what I said.  He talked to me, and I had no clue what he said.  But I think we'll be friends eventually."  

Sure enough, Isaiah was right.  Two months later, they are buddies and understanding each other much better.  Today while they played, I grabbed the camera when  I saw them both wearing some hats the exact same way.

2 Months

My nephew is now two months old and as cute as ever!  His cheeks are ridiculously kissable.

I'll leave you with a quick Sieb kid quote:

I was telling the kids, "I love Prince Red Head and Prince Brown Eyes and Princess Gorgeous."

Isaiah responded, "And don't forget the bald guy you love the most!"

Rule of Thumb

When I was younger, I used to be critical of my hands. I thought my finger were too wide and too short.  But I'm feeling more attached to them since they are all still attached to me. Confused? Let me explain. 

On Sunday, I was making some omelets for the family.  To mix the cream cheese and cheddar cheese *super yum* for the inside of the omelets, I was using an immersion blender.  I went to clean out the blender, and my other hand accidentally hit the start button (yes, I'm stupid). We're pretty sure that it was my thumb bone that actually stopped the blender from taking off the top of my left thumb off.  The blade made it through 3/4 of my thumb, and part of my nail...disgusting.  Thankfully my mommy was around to be just that: my mommy.  

Around our house, there are a couple of times that bribes are acceptable; one of those rare times is when a child is injured and is too upset to sit still while I take care of the wound.  Candy can be extremely helpful in these instances. Anyway, a couple of days later while I was re-bandaging my thumb, Adriana stood by me very curious and very concerned.  She piped up in her cute little voice, "Momma, if you're a good girl, can I have a piece of candy?"

Visitor's Week

Two weeks ago we got to have not just one, but two sets of out-of-town guests.  The Siegmann family came from Oregon for a visit at the beginning of the week, and Steven's brother's family came to see us at the end of week.  The weather was a bit schizophrenic around here that week as we braved a Virginia sized snowstorm with the first guests, and took at trip to the zoo with the next with temperatures in the 70s.  We had SO much fun with both of them, and life seemed a bit too dull and normal when the week was over.

Adriana invading Elaina's personal space:

Before Steven and Eric headed to a Maple Leafs game, the boys made them a lego hockey rink:

Eric, Autumn, and Trinity with us at the zoo:

Short

Dear Neglected Blog,

  I haven't forgotten about you; I promise. I've just been busy- as in, really, really busy. Today I again remembered why I take the time to write posts.  It all flies by too fast.  Everyone told me it would; and yet, so many days seemed just the opposite: long.  Today I put the crib away.  It freed up space and made the room look so nice, but still I felt an ache in my heart.  There's been a crib in our house for nearly seven years, and it was hard to let it go. God only knows if and when it will be brought back out; but I'm finally realizing what everyone meant. Yes, the days can be long; but the time is so short. So, dear blog, thanks for helping me remember all the beautiful moments that God has blessed this momma with.

Sincerely,

A Woman Who Has More Than She Deserves