The girls and I have the house all to ourselves for a few days!! WooHoo!!! We're gonna party like it's our birthday....gonna make hot chocolate like it's our birthday!;)
...Normally, I must admit, I get a little anxious at being a single parent for days on end, but this time I'm excited about it. I guess Elle is old enough that we can all do things together now, Rae and Reece are such great helpers, that it's a fun girl-time.
I am a middle child. There are two years between my younger sister, Jenny, and me. I always shared a room (and sometimes bed, also). I went straight from sharing a room with my sister, to sharing a room with my college roommate(s), to sharing a room with my husband.:) I've never had a room to myself, or much alone time, for that matter.
So even though the thought of alone time is enticing, especially as I'm trying to take a bath, too much of it kind of weirds me out. I'm a people-person, what can I say? Over the last year Gavin has traveled quite a bit more than he ever did before (that's ending soon) but it has forced me to figure out "alone time". For a while, it would take me until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning to get to sleep.
Now, I find myself looking forward to these short trips! Wow! What a change for me. I always miss Gavin very much. He is the most interesting person I know, and the person I love most to talk to, among other things:) I'm just saying this has nothing to do with Gavin. Rather, it's much more about me being okay with me. ...and I am.
I pray a peaceful and blessed day over you, my dear friends.
It was interesting to see the responses after the final State of Union address tonight. Hillary responded in a very partisan manner. Obama responded in a hopeful, unifying way that was encouraging and inspiring. It is consistent with his message.
I've never been so involved with Elections, much less Primaries. Many share this sentiment and it is reflected in the record number that is showing up at the polls. I think it's much more than just a crucial race upcoming, and desire for change...we've had several of those kind of races over the past eight years. I think it is the clear fruit of Obama's message of hope and unity - that we can MAKE a change.
I believe in Obama's message and believe that change will happen under his presidency - YES WE CAN!!!
We had dinner with our friends, Mike and Meredith, tonight. It was a fun night of laughing, hanging out, great conversation, singing praise songs together, more great conversation, wine, home-made meatball subs!! (Mike is a great cook:) We had a wonderful time.
Their daughter, Caroline, and Reece are the same age and total "peas in a pod". They are both rough and sweet and charming - even more so together.
Meredith was telling me a hilarious story about Caroline that I just have to share. So here's your theology lesson for the day:
Meredith took the kids to visit their great grandfather. Caroline crawled right up to his chest (he was reclined), grabbed his face and kissed him saying "I love you grandpa". She sat back and thought a moment before asking "Grandpa, do you love Jesus?". He replied yes that he did love him very much and that he was his Lord and Savior. Grandpa then asked Caroline if she loved Jesus. Caroline looked down at the floor and shaking her head, replied, "Well, Grandpa, all I can tell ya is this, if a snake starts talkin' to ya, it's not a good sign".
......so funny!!! ...especially if you knew her.
Have a great weekend everyone! We're taking it easy and just hanging out with the family. Much love
This man has been one of my heroes since I first heard him speak 4 years ago. His life is an inspiration and he gives me hope for our country. I'm not saying he's perfect, but I do know that his influence has caused me to be even more passionate about the world we live in, the politics that govern our country, my brothers and sisters around the world and my neighbors down the street.
The girls have blessed Gavin and myself so much this weekend.
Rae has had a great "sister" weekend. She's done a wonderful job looking out for her younger sisters. Rae has found ways to play with each of her sisters and love them in their own special way. (It must be noted here that both Roo and Elle completely adore Raegan so anything she does with them is golden in their eyes) She's played make-up, put together puzzles and read to Reece. Eliot has greatly enjoyed the "lucky" rides (on the stuffed horse), tea parties with her sisters, and playing in the girls kitchen.
Reece, on the other hand, has had a great "daughter" weekend. I'm not sure when the shift took place, but she is a full-fledged daddy's girl....and I love it. It goes without saying that Gavin loves it.:) She woke up yesterday asking if we could bring daddy breakfast in bed. She was very specific and requested coffee, also. (Gavin loves coffee in the mornings, but usually has to make it himself because I'm so busy getting the girls off to school). She did countless other things over the weekend that surprised both Gavin and myself. Her thoughtfulness amazes us. Whether it's offering to feed Eliot so daddy can watch the football game, and mommy can fix dinner, or bringing me my clothes while I'm in the shower.....she was constantly ahead of the game and meeting our needs before we could meet them ourselves.
Eliot has us completely wrapped. She's bold and fearless. She's gentle and sweet. She's strong and smart. ....wrapped.
Sorry to gush - Gavin and I just finished putting the girls down and we walked in on Rae reading to Reece, again, and I had to share. Thanks for loving our girls with us....:)
It snowed yesterday. Our first snow of 2008!! Apart from several really scary incidents on the road yesterday coming home from picking up Roo, with Elle in the back screaming her head off (I was shaking as I drove); Rae being stranded at the school because we couldn't get to her; Gavin and Nick freezing due to walking home over 2 miles since Nick's car got stuck on their way to get Rae (we did eventually get her with the help of our friend with a 4-wheel drive vehicle), and after Gavin and I had written a scathing note of reproach to the School board, Superintendent, and anyone else we deemed responsible for not closing school before the roads got so ridiculously dangerous, ....we're now having fun and enjoying the beautiful snow:)
(side note: in Boston, or Boone, NC these 5 inches of snow would not be a big deal because the road crews can handle it......I can not say the same for this area. You wouldn't have believed the roads yesterday. I've never driven on roads that bad..NEVER. Cars were wrecked on the side of the road, in the middle of the road. Some cars were just stopped in the middle of the road. I had to drive in between, zig-zag through so many groups of vehicles.... No one should have been on the road yesterday, but there were a LOT.)
Now that we're all home safely we're really enjoying every part of the snow. The girls asked for hot chocolate this morning. After I fixed it they asked if they could have their hot chocolate outside. I said, "Sure, why not?!" I gave them some place mats to sit on and told them to get bundled up before heading out.
Reece came down with thin, white tights under a plaid skirt, with a striped turtleneck and thin jacket.......I figured they wouldn't be out that long, so after I had her put on some pants on top of the tights, they headed out. Here are some pics....It was too funny. Does she look Irish, or what?!
Here's to a SAFE and fun winter season! Let's all be careful out there:)
I'm borrowing this from my friend Anna. It was just too powerful to pass over. It's a video about a father-son marathon team, Team Hoyt. The son, Rick Hoyt, had always dreamed to run a marathon, but was born with muscular dystrophy. His father figured out a way for Rick's dream to come true.
For Christmas every year I make collage calendars of the coming year for my mom and grandparents. In addition I decided to make a dvd of the year in pictures. (Shutterfly rocks, btw:)) As I was going back over our year of pictures I was blown away. At the close of each year there is always an element of shock of some sort, disbelief of all that has transpired in 12 short months. Perhaps that will change as the children get older and our lives are no longer defined by the school year. But for now, and at this season of life with our children, it is quite shocking to reflect on a single year.
This year is especially shocking. It has been one of great blessing. Not necessarily monetarily, or materially, though the Lord has certainly more than provided all our needs and even many of our wants, but a sweet kind of blessing I don't remember ever having experienced in my adult life. I wish my words could give justice to what I feel. The only way to describe it is: a sweetly, peaceful, blessed year.
As I looked back over our pictures I was struck with the remembrance that Eliot was born this year. (I can't remember our lives without her and I'm dumbfounded that she only just entered our family) I am struck by how much my sweet Reece has matured and grown. She brings me such joy. I am pleased to see my very mature Raegan continuing to grow in her role as the oldest sister, and grow further in her understanding that she is a valuable and precious part of our family.
I fondly think about our friendship with the Wood family and how their friendship has ministered to us. Gavin hasn't had a friend like Sammy in years and it is precious and coveted. I couldn't be more thankful for the love we have found in them and their children. I am also blessed by the many friendships the Lord has brought us from Reston Bible.
We've been blessed to have many visitors this year: The Treas family, The Willis family, The Ryan family, Mr. Caine, The Dolan family, The Murriner family, our friend Jeremy Pryor, whom we've known for many years, our friend Marwa who brought her family from Israel, Nick's mom, Rita, my precious grandmother whom we call "Mom", many visits from my dear mother. What a blessing each of their visits were to us!! We LOVE hosting and are always blessed by company. (So if you're reading this and haven't yet visited...get to it:)!!! We'd love to have you!)
We have missed my sister, Jenny, greatly while she has been gone on the "World Race" through Adventures in Missions (AIM). However, she also has experienced incredible blessing through her many adventures. She has seen and experienced more this year, than many do in a lifetime. The Lord is continuing to bless her trip. (She'll be home at the end of April)
Our dear friend and brother, Nick, who lives with us, is also experiencing blessing. He has come back to a passion of cooking and will be attending culinary school later this year. We are thrilled for him to be following this dream, and to see where it leads.
God is so good! We are so blessed! I couldn't be more thankful.
As I look ahead to the coming year, it is unclear what is to come. There is transition in the months ahead. I'm not nervous. I know our dear Lord is in control and I trust Him. I'm praying for clear paths. ..closed doors where our ambitions may vary from His, and wide open doors for the path He is leading us down.
I pray your 2008 is a blessed one, my dear friends and family.
We had a wonderful Christmas! The day was magical. Waking up early with the girls and experiencing their excitement is always fun. Our friends, the Wood family, came over for a traditional southern Christmas feast, and brought a new friend along with them. (He was quite fascinating to talk to and a very humble spirit. We look forward to getting to know him better in the months to come.) My dad was here and Nick's mom was, as well. Everything was very yummy. We had great conversation, and the kids loved playing together and sharing their new treasures. It was lovely!:)
Mom was in Manilla with my sister for Christmas! It was quite an adventure. We are thankful to have her home safely....and back with her luggage:) She's still jet-lagging a little bit. (to be expected since they are 13 hrs. ahead of us)
We headed down to NC the day after Christmas and visited with both of our families for the past week. It was wonderful to see so many of my cousins this trip! We very much so enjoyed our time in NC and are now happy to be home. We just got back last night.
I pray you all had a wonderful Christmas and fun New Year. I'll post pictures of our trip soon.
Tonight was date night.....not mine and Gavin's date night.....Raegan, Reece and daddy's date night! This tradition was born long before Rae first looked at her daddy with a sparkle in her eye. My dad used to take my sister and me out on dates. Those were extremely formidable times and they are proving to be so for my little girls, too.
A few weeks ago Rae wrote Gavin a letter asking to speak to him seriously, in private about something serious. I'll have to find the letter and write out exactly what she wrote...it's hilarious! Anyway, the serious talk was about going on a date...at night...just the two of them. (Rae decided tonight that it would be okay if Reece came along, too) She wanted to go somewhere French because that's romantic. She also wanted to go somewhere where they could sit by a fire...because, you guessed it, that is romantic.
They both got dressed up in their favorite dresses, put some of their new make-up on that they got from their Aunt Gina for Christmas, fixed their hair all pretty and were ready to go. Daddy took them to Dante's, a very nice Italian restaurant, then off to Starbucks where they got a pumpkin spice latte. They had a beautiful time and were beaming when they got home.
It was very cute. I even got a few hours by myself to crash. Fun was had by all!
The love of a father is truly like no other for a little girl. I always knew my dad was proud of me and loved me. That knowledge, and lots of grace, got me through several sticky moments as a teenager who was boy-crazy. I'm very thankful for the love my dad poured on me as a child. I know the girls will only grow in their appreciation of these special moments.
