Goodbye 2010!

2010 was a fun year for the Luiken family!  We enjoyed a fun trip up north, listening to Breena learn to talk & sing, a job change, and an addition of a little neice!  We were so blessed this year when our family went from a family of 3

To a family of 4 when Eli came into the world!

We are looking forward to 2011 & are so excited to see what adventures, discoveries & surprises the next year will hold!  Many blessings to you this New Year!



Typical Day

A typical day for me goes like this...

5:20am Awake to the sound of Eli whiny in his crib. Go in to give him a bottle. Lay him back down awake in hopes that he will fall back asleep.
5:30am Crawl back into bed trying to ignore Eli’s talking through the monitor
5:50am Receive a tap on the head and hear “mommy, I have to go potty” by Breena who was sleeping on the floor on our room. Rush to the bathroom. Watch her applaud herself after she pees. Wash hands.
5:55am Crawl back into bed with Breena. Try to convince her that it is sleepy time.
6:10am Give up on convincing Breena of sleepy time. Turn on cartoons.
6:12am Give up hope that Eli will fall back asleep. Bring him to bed to cuddle.
6:30am Give up hope that I can at least lay in bed for a bit longer. Eli is trying to crawl off bed. Breena is pretending to be a steamroller and is rolling over Allie. Get up and go to playroom.
7:00am Head into kitchen to make breakfast. Try to quickly throw together a healthy breakfast.
7:01am Pull Eli’s hands out of Allie’s water dish. Wipe up spilt water on floor.
7:05am Get kids seated. Give them food. Head over to sink to do up the dishes from the night before.
7:07am Turn to look at kids find Eli with banana’s up his nose. Discover that Breena is finger-painting with her yogurt all over the kitchen table. Remove banana from nose. Contemplate whether or not to stop the finger-painting. Decide it is not worth a fight. Allow finger painting to continue. Finish dishes.
7:20am Get Eli out of highchair after he screams because he is sick of sitting. Remind Breena eighteen million times to finish her milk.
7:30am Head into bathroom for a potty break. Listen to Breena yell that Eli is going to touch her pee.
7:31am Breena finishes going potty. We wash our hands. Turn to find Eli chewing on a bar of soap. Take away soap and shut bathroom door. Head into bedroom.
7:40am Spend the next half hour trying to get Breena to wear clothes. Tell her that it is not okay to be naked all day. Listen to her cry when I implement the “naked in bedroom only” rule. Get Eli changed in the meantime. Breena eventually agrees to put clothes on.
8:10am Free Play
8:50am Give Eli bottle. Try to keep Breena quiet so he can fall asleep.
9:00am Attempt to shower. Let Breena play in bathroom sink to stay entertained. Rush through shower.
9:10am Turn on Ellen & have snack with Breena
9:15am Breena is bored so head into bathroom to play makeup. Dry hair. Clean lipstick off of Breena’s face.
9:40 Eli up. Attempt to go somewhere fun.
11:00am Lunch followed by a cartoon. Try to clean up a bit while kids have quiet time before nap. Fold laundry. Walk to bedroom to put away a stack of laundry. Find the rest of my folded clothes sprawled out in living room. See kids on top of laundry mountain giggling. Refold said laundry.
12:30am Try to get both kids to take a nap. This takes 45 minutes. When one falls asleep the other wakes up. Respond to the requests a nuk, water, bear & baby a million times. End nap war with a raised voice and cranky mama.
1:15pm Try to gain some sanity by having “me” time
2:00pm Hear Eli whine. Rush in to get him
2:04 pm Breena up too. Go to bathroom for a potty break. She is cranky after nap and refuses to pull down pants. Help her with pants. Bribe her to pee. Fight with her to put pants back on. Lose the battle & let her run around in undies.
2:15pm Turn on a cartoon to cheer up cranky Breena. Realize I lost Eli. Search for Eli. Find him in the dog kennel playing in water dish.
2:20pm Get Breena a snack.
2:30pm Head to playroom. Play until Daddy gets home.
5:00pm Dave home. Finish supper. Hand him kids. Go to the bathroom alone for the first time all day.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of our Friends & Family! 





Christmas Walker

Eli woke up this morning and asked himself "what should I get mom for Christmas?".  His answer...WALKING!  Seriously, what nine month old learns to walk besides Eli & his super advanced cousin Makayla?!?  That's my big boy!

Giving

Yesterday the kids & I went to the mall to drop off our toy for Toys For Tots.  Before we left the house Breena & I said a prayer for the kid who was going to receive this toy.  We prayed that they would have a Merry Christmas & we thanked God for the gifts under our tree.  I explained to her that this toy was going to another kid who really needed a Christmas present this year.  The whole way to the mall I choked back tears as I thought of all the parents who cannot afford to buy their children Christmas gifts.  When we got to the mall I held Breena up so she could place the toy in the bin.  As she did this she said, "bye toy. here you go other kid."  Her words were simple but it warmed my heart that she understood that we were sharing this toy. 

I am so grateful that my kids will never know what it feels like to wake up Christmas morning without a present from Santa.  Even if we both lose our jobs & fall deep into debt we have such caring families that someone would be sure Santa came for Breena & Eli.  But not everyone is so lucky.  With just over a week until Christmas I encourage you to purchase a gift & donate it to a local charity.  It could be anything- donate personal care items to a homeless shelter, participate in a sharing tree, donate to toys for tots or Santa anonymous.  This is the season of giving- a time of year where I think we truly see the best in people.  We can't afford much, but I am overjoyed to give what I can to help make someone else's Christmas a little Merrier and keep the spirit of Christmas alive.  At our home we believe in Santa Claus... do you?

Nine Month

Nine months ago today this darling baby boy enter the world.  He was healthy & beautiful.  I wouldn't ask for anything more. 

Happy Nine Month Birthday Little Guy!  We love you!

I have to brag...

My big girl is catching on to potty training so well!  Five times today!  Woo Hoo!!!

She is so smart. Must have gotten my brains...;)



Snow Day

I hate snow days.  They make me crabby.   And when I am crabby I look at pictures of my cuties & it cheers me up. 

*sigh* that's better. 



...Love

Have you ever wondered what a picture of love would look like? To me it looks like this:

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to be a hundred minus one day so I will never have to live without you."

~Winnie the Pooh

pOtTy!!!

She did it!  Breena went on potty two times in a row!  I think we have a great start to potty training.  She is feeling especially encouraged because of the M&Ms and Princess stickers she received!  Here she is on her big girl potty!  We like to play makeup while she sits on it!

What a beauty!  So proud of her today!

EDIT:  4 times!  WooHOO!!!

Nights Like Tonight

I love nights like this.  We simply play music and dance around the living room.  Breena focuses hard on singing the right words through her giggles as Dave swings her around.  Eli lays his sleepy head on my shoulder as I gently sway him back and forth.  I caught a glimpse of our family in the window with our lit Christmas tree in the background.  I couldn't help but notice what a beautiful picture it was.  I love nights like tonight.

"Last Chance Daddy!"

Dave has a tendacy to pick on Allie.  He often makes her squeal.  Tonight I had had enough of the rough housing so I said quite loud, "Dave, that is enough!  She doesn't like that!  Leave her alone!"  Breena had apparently had enough too.  She looked at Dave and scolded, "Daddy that's enough, this is your last chance!  Allie doesn't like that!"  This kid cracks me up!

Kisses

Guess who learned to give kisses yesterday?  This little guy did!

I love wide open mouth full on gum kisses!  What a sweetie!

True Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving plans changed a bit last night.  Little Eli had come down with a cold and he gets wicked chest congestion.  After watching him struggle to breath & with the encouragement of family members who love him dearly, Dave & I decided to take him to the ER.  It was busy there. I was crabby about waiting and missing my family's Thanksgiving festivities.  When we were finally called back to our room and Eli was hooked up to an oxygen monitor.  It hit me that I was being incredibly ungrateful & selfish.  My sweet baby boy was so sad & feeling so crummy.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a child who actually sick enough to be in a hospital, or even worse have a baby who hasn't even left the hospital yet.  My poor attitude instantly changed to true thankfulness.  I am so thankful that we only spent 3 hours at the hospital and that the doctors were able to find some medications to help Eli breath.  Our family is lucky that we only battle ear infections & colds.  I will hold my tongue when I think about complaining about a cranky kid with an ear infection- it could be so so much worse. 

Thank you God for reminding me this Thanksgiving to be grateful for the health of my kids.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for all we are fortunate enought to have.  A warm home, loving family, food on the table.  Today as we sit down to eat our Thanksgiving feast may we all be reminded of how blessed we truely are.  And may we also remember that the best things in life are free.  We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours.

Terrible Twos

It finally happened- the terrible twos have officially entered our house.  We are living with an tiny blonde jekyll and hyde.  Miss Hyde likes to appear around naptime and bedtime.  Miss Hyde also shows her face anytime she doesn't get her way.  Poor Eli has taken a few smacks already today.  He is the innocent bystander to our multiple personality toddler's tantrums.  And just when I have had enough of little Hyde's giant attidude- in walks my sweet Jekyll.  She has become quite fond of snuggles and hand holding.  She give kisses often and for no reason.  I wish this side of Breena would stick around more often.  But every once in a while mid-snuggle Miss Hyde sneaks in and demands some "candies".  She is pretty angry when the answer is 'no'!  I just keep repeating, "it's just a phase. it's just a phase."  *sigh*...

Our Babies

Yesterday we had some family photos taken.  I was pleased with the way the family of photos turned out- but not so pleased with pictures of just the kids.  So yesterday afternoon Dave & I took the kids to a local park and began snapping away in hopes of using one for our Christmas card!  Here are a few of my favorites:

My favorite one will be on our Christmas card this year so I did not post it.  We found out that Breena LOVES the camera!  She was such a ham.  Eli was happy as long as we were acting goofy enough to make him smile.  I love days like this!

The girl who cried turd

We have a Shetland Sheepdog named Allie. Allie is almost 3 years old. She is obnoxious & lovable all at the same time. Breena adores her. Eli likes to pull her hair. Allie is awesome with our kids. She never snarls when Eli gets a handful of fur and she playfully chases Breena all around our house. But their are two things I really dislike about Allie: 1) She barks all the time. 2) She is super furry
.
On rare occasions when Allie comes in from going potty outside she brings a little present in. Without getting too graphic I will just say it gets caught in her bum hair. The small remnant of her business eventually lands on my floor. Breena saw me pick it up to discard of it once & was obsessed with talking about how "Allie poopy on floor". Since then, every speck of dirt, piece of mud or grain of sand is an Allie poopy. Breena tells me she sees an Allie poo at least once per day. I have stopped believing her. So when I heard her yell, "Mommy! Allie poopy on floor! " on Tuesday morning I chose not to go check the scene. But she persisted, "Allie Poopy! Ew Allie!". Again I ignored her. Eli was on one of his usual tours of our house. I walked to the hallway to bring him back to his toys and there it was- an Allie poo! And Eli was headed right for it! I quickly removed Eli and barricaded off the infected area. I guess I should take Breena more seriously from now on...

(side note: Dave wanted to be sure he got credit for the clever title of the post. he thinks I always take credit for his jokes- I tell him he is just jealous that I am so funny!)

Bipolar Day

*Sigh* Today was a long and very bipolar today. We gathered in celebration of Grandpa's life today. We prayed, cried & shared stories. It was emotionally draining. My favorite part was laying a carnation on his casket before he was lowered into the ground. I was the first grandchild to place my flower there- and it was very sentimental to me. I love this man very much and today brought me peace.

AND today was also Halloween. Of course we couldn't allow the day to pass without trick or treating. So after the funeral & fellowship time we all loaded up and went to my mom's house for Halloween. It felt good to see the kids so excited to get candy. Watching their faces light up made the sad feelings from earlier in the day fade away. Life goes on. Grandpa would want us to smile and to laugh. Things are different, but not bad. We will adjust and keep living. Like the pastor said during his sermon today, we are the fruit of Grandpa. We should thrive and spread good to others. He wouldn't want it any other way.

And because life goes on I will post a funny story tomorrow about miss Breena. I wrote it the night before Grandpa passed but it didn't seem appropriate to post it while my heart was so sad. So stay tuned...it's a good one ;)

Comfort

Tomorrow we will lay Grandpa in his final resting place.    As I walked away from his bedside the last time, I looked back at him and envisioned the strong grandpa I remembered so well. Dressed in a plaid shirt and suspenders. I imagined his deep voice saying goodbye. I will always remember him this way.
 
Grandpa was 94 years old.  Ninety-four years of love, hard work, & happiness. I am a better person for knowing the unending love of a grandfather. It has been such a pleasure to have this man as a strong part of my life. I selfishy miss him.  But rejoice that he is wrapped safely in the arms of Jesus  Free from pain.

As a teenager I would look for poems that reflected the things I was feeling.  It comforts me.  This one is fitting of my Grandpa.

God saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be,
So He wrapped His arms around you
And whispered “Come with Me.”
With tearful eyes we watched you suffer
And saw you fade away.
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,

hardworking hands at rest,
God's Garden must be beautiful,

He only takes the best.

We will carry your memory with us always Grandpa.

A Beautiful Goodbye

Last night I said goodbye to my grandpa for the last time.  He was laying tightly tucked in bed.  He could no longer talk but when I sat next to him his eyes shot open.  I held his hand & told all about Breena's birthday.  He looked so tired so I didn't stay long.  When it was time to go I gently kissed his forehead & his cheek.  I told him I loved him and to rest well tonight.  I couldn't even cry.  It was peaceful. It was serene. It was beautiful.

Just a couple of hours later he passed quietly in his sleep.  I was so privileged to get to spend a few of his final minutes by his bedside. 

Rest Well Grandpa.  We love you.

"For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." Romans 14:8

Bug Turns 2!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BREENA ROSE!

You have grown into such an amazing little girl.



I thank God everyday for bringing you into my life.

I love you right up to the moon and back.

All my love,

Mommy

Breena's Birth Day

October 28th is approaching fast.  I can barely grasp my mind around the thought that my baby girl will be two.  TWO!  She is no longer a baby, not even close.  How can it be that the day of her birth still feels like yesterday?  These are my recollections of Breena's enterance into the world...

I went in for a doctor's appointment on Monday October 27, 2008 at 8am. Things were not progressing at all and my blood pressure had been elevated for several weeks. My Dr decided that the situation could become dangerous if we didn't get this baby out so he scheduled an induction. Dave and I checked into the hospital that night at 5:00pm. The induction officially began at 6pm. I labored through the night and most of Tuesday. I was given pain medication, which Breena did not like one bit. And my temperature began to creep up. Apparently I had contracted some sort of infection. This in combination with Breena’s racing heartbeat was cause for a concern. The decision was made to have a c-section. I immediately felt terrified and sick to my stomach. Several nurses rushed in and began prepping me for surgery. Dave called my mom and made sure our family knew what was going on. It took about 25 minutes and I was on my way to the OR. I was so exhausted I took turns opening one eye while resting the other. I did not want to fall asleep! Dave was such a trooper- he stayed right by my side reassuring me that all would be ok. Just a few minutes of laying on the OR table passed and at 4:58pm I heard it- the ear piercing scream of a baby. My baby. I was a Mommy. Holy Cow! I remember the Dr. saying to the baby, "its okay sweetheart" and then he turned to me and asked what “her” name was. All I could say was “well what is SHE?“ When they clarified that she was in fact a girl through my oxygen mask I blurted out "Breena! Breena Rose!" They held her up over the curtain and I got my first look at my daughter- a screaming, healthy red faced baby girl with dark hair. I felt so overcome with happiness and relief. I was so grateful that she was here and breathing and beautiful. And so grateful that labor was over. David went over to the warmer and began snapping pictures. The nurse then wrapped up Breena and brought her to me. She was the most beautiful newborn I had ever seen (and I don't even think I am being biased ;) ).  I gazed into those big eyes I wondered if this was a dream. I realized that I had been a witness to a miracle. I closed my eyes and quietly thanked God for this gift. It was about a half hour later that I was able to hold my little girl. She was 6lbs 0.6 ounces and 21 inches long. When Dave handed her to me the look on his face is one that I will never forget. Pure joy & happiness. Breena took my breath away. I nursed her and cuddled her. I told her that I was her mommy and I loved her very much.  My life was changed forever that day by this little girl.  There are no words to truely describe a mother's love for their child but once you experience these emotions life will never be the same.  Breena has taught me to love deeper than I ever knew possible. 

Little Mommy

I think Breena is trying to steal my spot as the mommy.  Eli was crying in his crib and Breena ran in to his room, stuck her hand through the bars, patted his back and repeated "It's okay Eli, Breena is here!".  Later on I was trying to get Eli to talk.  I said, "Eli say mama!"  Breena budged in between the two of us and shouted "No! Eli say Breena!  Say Breena Eli!".  Looks like I may have to defend my role as the mama bear! 

Life

While I was feeding Eli his bottle, his eyes were locked on mine. He often does this while eating, it’s like he is examining every inch of my face. I got to thinking about his future. I wonder what he will do when he is older- he could be an astronaut. Or maybe a great scientist who invents a cure for cancer. Or perhaps he will be a school teacher who inspires kids to follow their dreams. The possibilities are endless. How lucky am I to be able to watch this little guy grow & explore the world around him? My thoughts then turned to Breena, perhaps she will be the first female president (although I hope there will be a female in office before she turns 37!) or maybe a nurse. Or maybe she will be an author and write a series of novels that change they way people think. That is a lot pressure as a parent- to prepare somebody to face the world independently. I hope to instill honesty & kindness in them. I hope they always feel how proud we are and know we will support them in every choice they make. Eighteen years is going to fly by, I can feel it already. Everyday is another opportunity for learning and teaching our kids about life. Today, the future female president learned that if she hits the future astronaut she earns herself a trip to a time out. One lesson down, a bazillion more to go!

Priorities

Today was a long day. Dave left for work at about 6:30am and didn’t return until 7:15pm. Our children both have ear infection and are on antibiotics. There ears are finally feeling better, but unfortunately the antibiotics do a number on their tummies. I changed at least 9 gross diapers today. Nine. Between 2 kids. Along sore tummies their attitudes become sour too. I spent most of the day tending to someone’s fussing or tantrum. I got nothing done today. No cleaning. Barely any cooking. So naturally when I put Eli to bed at 6:30pm I was desperate to get a few things done before Dave got home. I went into the living room to turn on tv for Breena to keep her occupied while I cleaned. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said in the sweetest voice “Mommy, hold Breena please”. All of the sudden, I didn’t care that our house was a mess. It didn’t matter that I still had not made my bed, that dishes were piled in the sink, that every dolly we own was sprawled out in my living room. At that moment all that mattered was loving on my baby girl. And so we sat together on the couch watching Blues Clues. I closed my eyes for a moment and felt her heart beating in her chest. I noticed her chest rise & fall, just like I had done for hours on end when she was a baby. When did this 6 pound baby turn into such a big girl? She will be two next week- I can still remember how her breath smelled when she had a belly full of milk. I needed this snuggle time tonight. I needed her to remind me of how quickly she is growing up and that I truly need to take more time to just sit and hold her. My house looks like a disaster- but I am going to bed and for once I don’t care. My children are snuggled tightly in her beds knowing that they are so loved- and at the end of the day that is all that matters.

A Laugh

After dinner tonight we all went outside to play. Dave started raking up leaves in the back. Breena immediately ran to get a rake from her sandbox toy collection to help. She slowly raked one leaf at a time into Daddy’s big pile. Once the pile was big enough Dave loaded the leaves onto a tarp and began to drag it to the front yard with his little helper holding onto the side. There is a somewhat narrow stretch of grass between our house & our neighbors. That is the route they took to get to the front yard. When the leaves were in there place Breena ran back to me and proudly proclaimed that she had helped daddy! She then turned to Dave & said “pull leaves through hallway daddy!”. Oh I love how the mind of a two year old works!  That kid seriously makes me bust a gut at least once a day!

Nicknames

Growing up I had some unique nicknames. Berlee, Berlee Bobs, & Babs were among the few odd ones I remember being called. While they were weird it was kind of nice to have a nickname, made me feel special. I didn’t really plan on giving a nickname to our kids but I guess it just sort of happened. We (ok pretty much just me) call Breena: Bree, Bree Bug, Buggy, Ladybug, Silly Sally, Bree Bear, Stinker, & Bugs Bunny. When she started to talk she would often say “that’s buggy’s toy!” I am honestly surprised that she knows her name is Breena since I rarely use her real name! None of these names are too terribly embarrassing, although I am sure someday she will disagree with me.
Poor Eli on the other hand, got stuck with kind of an embarrassing name. Since Elijah was born I was desperate to find a nickname that suited him. I felt that if I did not come up with a pet name he would think that I love Breena more! I tried calling him a few different cutesy animal names but nothing really fit. We call him “Buddy” pretty often, but that is not original at all! So I stopped my quest to find Eli a nickname and decided that we’d just call him Eli. This past weekend, Eli was racing down the hallway to get to a cord (his favorite thing to chew on!) and I yelled to Dave “Stop Wee Man!” . In that instant it occurred to me that somewhere along the way we had unknowingly given Eli the nickname of “Wee Man”. I’m not sure where it started, but we have both been calling him that for quite some time!
So if you are out in public and hear a crazy lady yell “Buggy & Wee Man come back here!” you will know it’s me! J

Is that a noodle in her ear?

Breena has been having trouble sleeping for a month now. She has been struggling with night terrors, has trouble falling & staying asleep. We have tried every idea we could think of to help her out and finally decided that her stress level (and mine for that matter!) had had enough. She has spent the last week or so sleeping in a sleeping bag on our floor. Breena woke up late Tuesday night with her usual bout of screaming. I picked her up and was immediately gassed by a horrible odor! I did what any self respecting mom would’ve done, the mom sniff. Nope. No poop. I called for Dave to help me look for this mystery odor. Together we nailed it- it was coming from her EAR! Bree had tubes placed back in July so I figured she must be getting an ear infection (although it was not draining). We got her cozy in our room and we all fell back asleep. The next morning I left a message for the ENT nurse. I then got curious and took our maglight flashlight to her ear and was surprised to discover a foreign object! It looked like a macaroni noodle. I assumed it must be the tube coming out. I texted my sister about Bree’s stinky ear & the noodle looking thing. She responded “What if she really did put a noodle in her ear?!?” Horrified, I called the ENT nurse again since she had not returned my call. I explained that Breena’s ear stunk and that I think I saw the tube in her ear. She told me that she “highly doubts” I could see the tube. To which I responded, “it’s either a tube or she stuck a noodle in her ear!”. The nurse did not think this was funny. She reassured me that tubes do fall out & there is nothing they will do to stop it. She called in drops for an ear infection and that was that. I kept an eye on the noodle ear for a couple of days. On Friday Breena had a fever (which could have been caused by the stomach flu that attacked our family but I decided to withhold that information from the nurse) so I called the ENT nurse back again. I gave them her history, reminded her about the noodle, and said I really think she needs an antibiotic. She shot me down again and told me to use the drops. By Saturday morning the tube had fallen out. So while Breena still has an “Owie Ear” I am so grateful that there is no longer a noodle sticking out of my daughter’s ear!

Rememberance

Sweet Baby



I think of you often.

I love you always.

Light a candle on Oct. 15 for babies lost to miscarriage or stillbirth

Kennels are for puppies, not for brothers!

Everyday things come out of my mouth that I never thought I would hear myself say. “Don’t eat leaves” & “Keep your hands out of Daddy’s cup” & “Diapers can’t go in the toilet” have been pretty prominent phrases in our house as of late. Adding to the list today is “Breena, kennels are for puppies not for brothers”.
Eli is so much different than Breena was as a baby. He bravely travels the hallway in our house & invites himself into any & every open door. Breena always stayed nearby. Today Elijah disappeared from my peripheral vision. I jumped up & went looking for my little mischief maker. I found him with both hands inside the dog kennel attempting to lift his butt up enough to drag it in as well grinning ear to ear at his sister who was holding the kennel door open. Breena proudly told me, “Eli in kennel Mommy! Good boy Eli!” It was quite comical, and harmless besides my son’s shirt covered in stinky dog hair! We spent the rest of the day discussing that kennels are for puppies and not for our brother!

Shower Wars

With two young children I do my best to wake up before they do in the morning to shower. However, this rarely happens. Eli often likes to be awake by 5am & Breena is completely unpredictable. And so more often than not I shower while Eli takes his morning nap. Breena brings a book in the bathroom to read or splashes in water in the sink during this time. A certain SOMEONE has taught Breena that is funny to toss bath toys in the tub while someone else is showering. So this morning in came the toy hippo- she laughed hysterically as I tossed it back out and jokingly told her no hippo in the shower! Next came the rubber ducky- again I jokingly reminded my prankster of a daughter there are to be no ducky in the shower! She was quiet for a short time- I knew this was the calm before the storm. All at once I was bombarded by the hippo, the ducky, several tea cups, and a toy boat. And then in came Elmo toothbrush; Bree had clearly won the shower war! She had tears streaming down her face she was laughing so hard! She is such a silly girl and already has quite the sense of humor! Despite the fact that I have not had a peaceful shower in well over a year, I love playing our goofy shower wars as much as she does. Tomorrow morning a new shower battle will begin and maybe I can redeem myself. But today, we will go to the store to buy a new toothbrush!

About Daddy

My husband is the kindest person I have ever met. He is a fantastic father. I cannot think of one complaint about his parental skills. He is patient & loving with our children. He gives them baths without being asked. He is a great story teller. My “green eggs & ham” have nothing on his! Breena waits anxiously for him to come home from work everyday and always reminds me that “daddy’s makin monies”. Eli’s smiles are always the biggest for Daddy. I’m so thankful that my children have a strong & compassionate man as their father just like Dave & I both did growing up. The single best moment in my life was when he handed me our daughter for the very first time. I have never seen such a glow radiating off of one person. My heart melts everyday when I see him with our children. And really, could there be anything sweeter than a little girl with her daddy?

Meeting Eli...

About Eli

My Son is a spunky six month old. He loves to be swaddled up tight when he is sleepy. He loves peas
& sweet potatoes. He is an excellent crawler & can pull up on almost everything! He loves to lay on top of toys. He giggles when his tummy is tickled. He blows spit bubbles when he is happy. His favorite person is his big sister. He lights up when she talks to him & feeds him Gerber puffs. He loves to be naked & loves bath time. He falls asleep all by himself and doesn't like to be rocked. We are head over heels in love with this little boy and are excited to watch his little personality grow!

About Breena

My daughter is Awesome. She is incredible. She love to sing & dance. She loves to play outside. She gives the best hugs & kisses. She insists on a ‘mand aid’ for every boo boo. She giggles hysterically at the word squash. She is an amazing big sister. She runs to her brothers room first thing in the morning to say "good morning Eli".  She adores her Daddy.  She loves m&m and will only drink water with ice cubes. She knows her abc’s and can count to seventeen. She is very bright. She loves animals. She loves to paint and color with markers. She fills our days with laughter & smiles. This month she turns two and we couldn’t be more proud of our little sunshine.

Finding Peace

On October 2, 2007 we sat in the doctors office staring at the tiniest little heartbeat on the ultrasound screen. Our first baby was wiggling away & waving his sweet little hands at us. Little did we know that he was really just waving goodbye. Four short weeks later we were told we would never hold our precious baby, he had quietly gone to heaven. I felt my heart shatter in my chest.

Three years later I sit here watching my daughter splash in her bubble bath, giggling as she plops bubbles on top of her head. I finally feel like I can accept losing our first child. If we would have had that baby, we would not have Breena & most likely Eli wouldn’t be in the picture either. While I have had my moments of question, I have always trusted in God’s plan for our lives. I am truly at peace with our loss. In fact, I think I am a better mother because of it. However, every October a part of me still aches for the child I never held. When I hear the rustle of the crisp autumn leaves blowing in the breeze I cannot help but imagine it is our dear baby whispering to us that he is happily surrounded by angels.  And what a true sense of peace this brings my once shattered heart.

I have a request…October 15^th is Miscarriage, Infant Loss, & Stillborn Remembrance Day. At 7pm, please light a candle for one hour in memory of our baby & all the tiny souls who left this earth much too early. Say a prayer for their families. It may not seem like much, but to a mother of one of these babies it means everything.

I debated whether or not to write such raw emotions. But this has been weighing heavily on my heart. I promise for a more upbeat post next time.

Welcome!

So I have decided to start a blog of stories & adventures of our family. Yes, I could just keep a journal but lets be honest. Every mother loves to share stories about their children to anyone that will listen. It is simply more fun to share thoughts, ideas, & stories when someone is reading. So I welcome you to our little spot in the blogging world and invite you tag along in our little adventures!