Oh Hello Again!

It's an understatement to say that it has "been awhile" since I last posted. There have been some big changes and milestones for our family that have happened since then.  Here is the biggest and by far SWEETEST change our family has experienced:

 

 This little 4-month-old, 12 lb package of sweetness is Nora Amelia. She was born to us on October 8th, 2013 and she has simply stolen our hearts.  She cries and fusses quite a lot (more than either of her older siblings did as babies) and she grins and giggles even more.  Carrying her was a little more taxing than my pregnancy with Collin, but giving birth to her was so "easy" it was almost dreamlike.  She hates napping during the day, but loves sleeping at night.  She loves to snuggle close to me in my baby carrier, but also loves moving around and flexing her muscles during playtime.  The whole family is smitten with this sweet little study in contrasts, but no one's affections for her seem to rival her big sister Lucy's (although Collin's run a VERY close second).

In other family updates, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer a little over a year ago and has since undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  We are all just so thankful that our "Mama Gail" was diagnosed early, treated in a timely manner and is now cancer free.  It was hard to see my mother endure the suffering that this chapter brought (especially with the miles that physically separate us), but it has also been a privilege to see her do so with her eyes fixed on Jesus and with a spirit of dependence on Him.  Thankfully her chemo and radiation treatments concluded BEFORE our Nora was born and she and my dad were both able to come and spend time with us as soon as she arrived.

 

It has been a "milestone" school year for Miss Lucy as she and I have been homeschooling for kindergarten.  While academic learning definitely does not come easily for her, she simply LOVES school time.  Even if everything else in her world isn't going her way, she is always eager to sit down with me for our lessons and I couldn't be more proud of her.  She is making particularly great strides in reading and math and it is such a privilege to be a part of that learning process with her.  

 

Darin and I decided to enroll Collin in a preschool class for this year which we feel has been especially beneficial for him in light of all the changes that a new baby has brought for our family.  He attends on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it has been just a wonderful addition to his life and I see the fruits of his teachers' investments in him as we continue to reinforce his early learning here at home.  He is a joy and his creativity, curiosity and desire to be a helper have blossomed during the past few months.

Darin and I are both pretty exhausted these days, but investing in the life of our little family has certainly been a rewarding way to be tired. These early days of parenthood may not be the most glamorously romantic times for a marriage, but working side by side sure opens our eyes to the depth of our devotion to each other and certainly reveals where our dependence lies.  Thankfully, though imperfectly, we are both depending on the sustaining grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in this life as we eagerly await our perfection in the life to come.  I have been especially blessed to see Darin manage a truly demanding career at our local community college in addition to serving and loving our family.  He has been creating and implementing programs in our community that provide vocational training to folks who are unemployed and underemployed and then connects them to potential employers.  It just makes this former social worker's heart go all a flutter and makes me fall in love with him all over again.  I love my guy.

We didn't get a Christmas card out this year nor did we even send out a birth announcement for Nora, so please accept this blog post as a (belated) substitute.  I am just so thankful to be the wife and mommy in this bunch.  On the pleasant days and the rough ones. 

xoxo,