Playing house

One of my favorite activities is to listen to my girls play together. Right now they are playing house, with Sofie as the kid and Samantha as the mom. It's usually very insightful for me to gauge what kind of mother I am. So far, so good... Sam is being patient and very clear about her expectations. Right or wrong, doesn't that sound familiar?

2nd birthday party for Samantha

The family came over to celebrate the milestone of Samantha's 5th birthday today. Daddy got her a Princess cake that even lit up! Sam opted out of blowing out the candles again, but we'll work on that next year. I'm not arguing with her thought of, "Fire bad, run away!" yet. That's exactly what she's supposed to do in a fire!

Her new cousins made the journey and it was the first time I've seen them both awake! Sam and Sofie fought over holding Jordan, with Sofie telling her to, "RELAX!" when Jordan fussed. Sofie did not want to give Jordan up, which of course meant that Sam wanted to hold only her and not Dylan. Poor little guy, he's outnumbered being the only boy.

Watch week at Ballet

Last week Nana and Papa joined Daddy and I to go to Samantha's ballet class. She's quickly learning and loves it! It was great fun to watch and I am incredibly proud of her. Sam really is a cool kid. She's extremely patient for a kid her age, focused on what she wants and not afraid to stand up for herself. Sam's laugh is contagious and she is wonderfully silly! I love her so much!


This is sneak peak at the routine Samantha is learning.

Happy Birthday She!

Our family loves She. We have seen each other go through many things and I hope that my girls each have a friendship like the one She and I have. We girls need to stick together!

She - You deserve nothing but the best life has to offer and you are cherished by us!

Celebrations for Dylan and Jordan

Last weekend were Dylan's bris and Jordan's baby naming ceremonies. Both Daddy and I got to participate which was a wonderful honor. The arrival of our niece and nephew is a double blessing for our entire family! Sam and Sofie love their cousins and we are all grateful that we are living in the same metro area.

To Dylan and Jordan... we'll be the best aunt and uncle we can be, we love you!

Behold our latest family photo, including Tweedy! She is the first baby that Todd and Shelly had and it sounds like she's adjusting well to being the "big sis"!

Samantha is 5!!!!!

Happy Birthday Samantha!

I can't believe our baby is five years old!

Daddy took her to breakfast this morning, we both went to preschool to pass out birthday treats after lunch, and for dinner, Grammy and Sheila came for a pizza party. All in all, it's been a fantastic birthday and the first of many celebrations!

Here is a video from Sam's preschool... it's a birthday tribute of sorts!

Fire and Rain

This song has helped me through many dark moments in my life, usually when I need to hear it the most. It is one of the most effective attitude adjusters on me. This week it came on twice, both times with the kids in the car. I sang along and Samantha joined in. Sofie sang too. Tears came to my eyes when I explained to them what the song was about.


Prior to and with his death, my father taught me this lesson. He saw a lot of loss in his life and still kept a twinkle in his eyes. I now understand that there is freedom in letting go of resentments and simply living. Just appreciate and know what you have while you have it.

Life can change in an instant and all you can do is accept the ride on the roller coaster or go crazy trying to fight in. (By the way, you can't win the fight so just go with it.) The lesson here is to appreciate what you have, know that you are loved and show your love to those who you cherish because there is no guarantee that you will have a "next time".


Thank you to our family (both blood and not) for teaching me community. I am filled with gratitude knowing that my girls, Daddy and I are loved.

Mom's plumbing adventure during a week without Daddy

Daddy started his new job and it involved him traveling all week. We missed him, but we managed our own adventures. The girls were both sick with colds, manifesting as croup for Samantha while Sofia struggled with a fever. Sofia seemingly embraced her age (read: terrible twos) this week, but I think it was really that she felt horrible. There was a lot of crying and frustration on her part until the prescription drugs from our visit to the doctor kicked in.

Samantha was a champ and loved the extra time with her Grammy and Papa this week. Grammy took her to ballet and Papa took the girls after swimming, so I could attend a parent information night for Kindergartners. (Wow, I can't believe Sam's ready for school in the fall!)

In a nutshell, we were struggling but it wasn't too bad and we were getting by. Then I took a shower and the water didn't go down the drain. I had to leave right away to pick up the girls and then it was swimming and then the school thing, so I didn't get back home for a few hours. By then there was a leak in the living room ceiling. Papa tried to help with the shower drain, but ended up leaving after Sam went to bed. Sofie has been especially energetic this week and now takes longer to go to sleep, so it was another hour before she went to bed.

I called a plumber who told me I needed to cut the ceiling to drain the water so he could determine the type of leak. All sorts of panicky thoughts went through my mind and eventually I remembered that God has never given me more than I could handle, so I made the hole and drained the water. All by myself! The hole kept growing until I called my mom to talk about my latest adventure. And the leak stopped! Did I mention I handled it all by myself?!? Behold my hole... The plumber came the next morning and stayed the entire day. As of now, we have six holes in our ceilings and walls. The frozen pipe that started the issue is thawed, but we still need the shower drain replaced and the various holes repaired. Daddy made it into the "Husband Hall of Fame" by telling me that he was proud of me for handling it and doing what needed to be done.



One thing I hope my girls learn is to view any new experience as an adventure. Yesterday while helping the plumber, I got to use a drain snake and I got to break holes in the wall. I've never done that before, so it was an adventure. I may not have preferred to have the leak in the first place, but I learned a lot yesterday so in a sense, it was fun!


On a side note, tonight Sam fell asleep on my shoulder while I read to her. What a wonderful feeling. I'm very happy to be a mother to my girls.

The twins are here!

Congratulations to Todd and Shelly! The beautiful babies Jordan and Dylan are here! Samantha and Sofia are excited to lead their cousins down a path of good behavior, silly fun and other adventures! Okay we'll see about the good behavior, but our only hopes for Jordan and Dylan is that they are as happy as our kids are! Daddy and I are really excited to be an aunt and uncle!

Here is Sam holding her cousin... she did very well and Todd wasn't even that scared! He and Shelly seem to be handling the parental transition wonderfully!

A tale of 2 brothers with their girls. Dylan is still at the hospital, but will be home soon. There will be many pictures taken when that happens!

They share the same birthday as my father, so I hope that lends to the sense of adventure that my father had!