a new decade

Tomorrow I enter into my third decade of life...and although I feel like many people dread turning 30, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it.  My twenties were FULL of about every new life change: graduating college, getting my first job, getting married, moving to a new state, having three babies and buying a house.  Of course there were many, many wonderful things that came along with that, but also a handful of challenging moments as well (starting over in a new city, pregnancies (I could list about 1,000 challenging moments that came with that alone), lack of sleep, demands of raising a preschooler, toddler and an infant, home remodeling, discovering my extreme selfishness through the incredible refining process of marriage and being a mom, wow...the list could go on and on).  I feel like I really grew a lot during that time.  And I pray I can learn just as much or more through this next decade.  Thankfully, no matter how much older I get or how many new things life will throw at me, God is faithful.  He continues to prove Himself over and over to me.  I'm excited to see where He takes me and my family in the next ten (and hopefully more!) years.  I'm thanking the Lord for my Easter birthday tomorrow!

giraffe

Snowman

Miriam is on Spring break this week and we were able to go to my parents' house for a quick visit. Even though Matt and I got the flu and also gave it to my mom, we still had a good time. On a non-sick day, Matt and my dad took Miriam and Abbie outside for a bit. Since the snow is finally melting a little, it also made for good snowman-making weather. We actually never got a chance to make one this year even though we had so much snow! I just love seeing this picture of my dad with the girls because I have several of my sister, brother and I standing in front of a similar snowman growing up. My dad always puts the top hat on top. The girls loved it.

the day we lost our child at the mall

Last Saturday, we thought it would be fun to run the girls to the mall to walk around. We usually let them play in the play area for awhile and then walk down to the ride-on toys (spaceships, trains, cars that we just let them sit in...they don't seem to mind that we don't put quarters in). Anyway, we were at the point when we were ready to move on from the play area and told them we would head down to the spaceship. As Matt gathered up coats and bags, I grabbed Ella and started walking out of the play area. Miriam was back with Matt and Abbie was excited that we were going to the spaceship, so she ran up to me. Just as she did, I turned around to see where Matt was and he asked where Abbie was. In that split second, she had darted past me and was probably thinking she was heading toward the spaceship. We quickly looked around the whole play area and then around the outside of it. Deciding she was still probably close by, we weren't panicking. Yet. Matt told me to stay at the entrance of the play area and walked around to the stores closest. I kept looking for him to return and when I saw him, I saw he didn't have Abbie. At this point, I started to panic a bit. The mall was VERY busy that day and I couldn't even fathom where my three year old would think to go. She wasn't old enough to understand which way to go or even clearly communicate to someone where she was intending on going. Trying to stay calm, I held Miriam's hand, squeezed Ella tighter and prayed. The minutes going by seemed like hours. Finally, Matt decided he would head toward the spaceship area at the other end of the mall. Again, minutes turned into hours (it seemed). Then I saw him bolting it back toward me...but still with no Abbie. He told me he ran into a mall security guy and they had just got a call from Bath & Body Works with a child alone. We flew to the store...just on the OTHER side of the play area. We ran in and there she was, chatting with the store clerks, putting on fragrant hand sanitizer and probably not really even realizing the horror we were thinking. We thanked the clerks and walked out trying to explain how she can't run away from us again. I have never been more thankful in my life to see her face and hear her voice. It was a terrifying 10-15 minutes, but we are so glad it all turned out well. And, after all was said and done, we still went down to the spaceships:

growing up

I have commented to a few people lately that although my days and weeks sometimes seem long, the months and years always fly by. I'm not sure exactly how that works, but it often feels that way. Sometimes I find myself just wishing for time to go by so that we can hurry out of these intense and often challenging days of parenting. But then I look at these pictures and wonder...where did that time go? I need to constantly remind myself to live in these moments, no matter how hard they are.

faces.

after griping about the snow...

The girls all had a fun time playing out in it yesterday afternoon. Miriam told us recently that we don't have any pictures of them out in the snow this year, so I wanted to make sure I got some before it hopefully melts soon!

the winter that never ends.

I'm not sure if it's just because the calendar says spring starts next week or the fact that last year was unseasonably warm for all of March, but I am sure longing for spring more than ever this year. Cabin fever has set in big time. I've tried to get out when possible with Abbie and Ella while Miriam is at school, but sometimes it just seems like so much work to bundle them up and get out the door. But we try. We have frequented the library, the children's museum and stores. I also have a Bible study Wednesday mornings and Abbie plays at someone's house Friday mornings. So I feel like we've attempted to get out despite the massive amount of snow and struggle to get into the 40's. My birthday is the end of this month and I told Matt that all I want is spring. We'll see if that wish comes true! I am thankful that Miriam and Abbie have gotten many opportunities to sled and play in the snow, but we're all ready for family walks, parks, and no snow!

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of some of our indoor activities....

big, big catch up!

Blogging has gone by the wayside for us over the past 9 months. Life has gotten busy and sitting down to update here has been lost in our routine. I do hope to continue to post a little more regularly as I feel like we're back in a pretty stable routine now. So...here are the biggest changes since last July!

Miriam started Kindergarten. It has been a great school year for her. She has a wonderful teacher and has learned so much. I still can't believe we've become parents of a school-aged kid! Where does the time go?

Ella has grown leaps and bounds! She turned one in January and is now, scooting, pulling up, cruising, attempting to walk, saying a few words, waving, smiling and loving her sisters. She is a delight. Still no teeth, however, at almost 14 months old!

Abbie turned 3 a few weeks ago and is growing up so much. She loves to chat, cuddle, color, and generally do whatever Miriam is doing. She is a good big sister to her little sister.

Matt is still working at church and keeping busy doing so. We are thankful for his job. I am still at home full time, although I just finished up a brief position as an after school teacher for a math club. It was about 8 weeks and a great way to keep up a bit on my teaching. Matt and I were also able to briefly escape this extremely long winter to Florida for an extended weekend (thanks to our parents!). It was wonderful! Other than that, life is carrying along as usual! Here are a few pictures of life lately...