Musings on life, parenting, Jesus, and more...

We were so fortunate to have a last minute visit from my dad this Thanksgiving. He was able to carpool over with a friend of his who has family in West Linn, so he arrived on Wednesday and left yesterday morning. Jenica warmed up to her Grandpa right away and loved bringing him books to read while sitting on his lap. It was very cute! We spent Thanksgiving with my Grandma's sister Karen, her husband Al and their two daughters Ceil and Kelly at their beautiful home in Albany, Oregon. The food was absolutely delicous and the company was even better. My dad and Rob also put new flooring in the kitchen and laundry room of our rental house in Molalla, so the weekend was a little more work and less relaxing for them that it was for me, but the end result turned out great. Thanks guys for a job well done!

It was 2 years ago today that our first little baby went to be with Jesus. At only 10 weeks along it was still to early to tell by ultrasound whether this first little miracle of ours would have been a boy or a girl, but Rob and I felt in our hearts that it was a boy. As part of the healing process, we named our little boy Joseph and buried his tiny body in a beautiful place next to the Molalla river. We have since been blessed with a healthy baby girl who brings more joy and laughter to our lives with each passing day. She is 14 months old already and we thank Jesus for her everyday. Since we got pregnant so soon after loosing baby Joey, it is sometimes easy to forget to give thanks for his time with us as well, but finding out that we were pregnant with him was one of the happiest moments for Rob and me and losing him has helped make our marriage stronger. The experience, however painful, has given me the compassion and understanding to relate with other women who have been through s...

(Just in case Santa doesn't get Jenica's text message, I posted her letter here.) Dear Santa, Here are a few things that I would like for Christmas this year: I would really love an umbrella stroller, you know, the kind that folds up really small and fits in the trunk. All Mommy has right now is the great big jogger, which is wonderful for when we go for runs or walks outside, but for trips to the mall or other shorter outings it would be nice to have something small and light to carry with us. I also need some fun plastic kid plates. I have lots of cups and silverware but only two plates so I usually have to use Mommy and Daddy's dishes. Theirs are boring and no fun so it would be nice to have some that are especially for me. I really love books but since I can't actually read yet, I think I might like to try one of those books that talks to you when you touch the pen to the word. Oh, and I tried out a rocking horse at Costco that was really fun! I don't have any b...

I'm a little behind on my blog updates but for those of you who aren't on facebook or don't check it often, I wanted to share Jenica's blue ribbon accomplishment from swim survival class. Getting her blue ribbon means she can turn over and float on her back for 10 seconds all by herself. She met this milestone on Thursday October 29th after only 5 lessons! Since then, she has continued to make amazing progress and her confidence in the water has grown by leaps and bounds! Her initial set of lessons was due to end today but I've decided to keep her in class until the pool closes for the Holidays so she'll have a few more weeks to work on mastering the skills she would need to survive if she were to fall in a pool or lake. The next milestone we are shooting for is to go in fully clothed, turn over and float for a full 5 minutes. Thanks so much to those of you who helped make these lessons happen for her!