A poem for Mom

This is the hardest thing that’s been done
To bury a loved one, as daughter, sister, husband or son
The time went to fast; how were we all to know
Her passing was a peaceful as the falling snow
There was so much more to do, more things to be done
More vacations to be had, more hugs, and more fun
We’ve all been so selfish, she gave us so much
She is laughing in heaven, and dancing and such
I am missing my mother, my mentor, my friend
But this is but another beginning, and not just an end
Just as a seed dies, it grows all the more
In our hearts and lives, her spirit will always soar
So yes we will cry, we will laugh, but we’ll never forget
Her life was a gift from God, and it’s still giving yet

Noah versus the Crawl

Noah began crawling this week, and now the game changes. He wrecks his brother's train tracks and gnaws on his sister's toys. Daniel has learned to stiff arm him, and Rachel just raises her voice yelling at him. And he enjoys every minute of their attention. I do have to baby proof a little better now, and make sure I have things picked off the floor too.

Saving the sippy cup for later...

Happy Valentines day with a happy baby in a box with hearts.
Someone is ready for the weather to get warmer.

We have moved Noah out of his infant car seat, because he was just to heavy to carry, in it, and now I need to be sure I have him well covered because before I could just zip him up all bundled up with the cover. But he just looks so cute in the hat.
Kevin's nickname for Noah is Mr. Happy, because he is still so easy going and happy all the time. What a blessing. This week is winter break for the schools, so I have a friend coming and watching the kids a few times this week while I go spend some time at my other job. It is always a refreshing change of pace, but I love my full time job better. We've had a good three day weekend, we find ourselves cleaning and reorganizing whenever both Kevin and I have some extra time at home. Just as an update on my mom, things are looking good for a straight forward treatment of her, but thanks for your continual prayers as she walks this path of recovery.

The Good and the Bad

The good news is that Kevin won an annual award this week for being the best financial analyst on the base. Last week, while Kevin was away, went well until Wednesday night when Rachel woke up with the stomach bug. It eventually went through all of us except for Kevin, who was able to come home Thursday night, and help with the puke and poop.

The good news is that we got folks in the house in NH again, and they love it up there. Kevin went up on Saturday to meet with the couple, and they are set to move in at the end of the month. The bad news on Saturday was that my mom went to the hospital, and now need surgery to take care of cancer and a problem with her liver....

You hear the worship songs in church that says that even when things are good I will praise God, and when things are bad I will praise Him. We seem to be getting a lot of both around here. The kids are doing great, Kevin is doing well, and yet my family is struggling. I don't want to be angry, but we still need to keep it one step at a time. So keep us in your prayers, and I'll keep things posted. But it's ok. The good and bad come along. I am learning that is what life really is about.

In any case, here are some pictures of the kids. I didn't get too many from last week, but they are really enjoying painting. I just wanted to point out the kid's different techniques.

I thought Rachel looked super cute Sunday morning.
Tonight Kevin and I are going on a much needed date, and we have some fun Valentine things planned for this week. I am glad we are learning about the Love of God, because that is what we all need.

Princess and the Pee

Here's Noah with a little reading material as he drinks his bottle.

This past weekend we went down to New Bedford for Kevin's cousin's baby shower. It was a huge shower, and then afterwards we had dinner with Kevin's grandparents.

Here's the party, looks like Noah is having fun.
He loves his cupcakes.

I was thinking about that title for a while and chuckling each time I thought about blogging. Rachel has been doing very well with potty training, and she is the type of person who will yell at the potty to make the stuff come out if it is not coming in her timing. If you didn't catch it she couldn't go to the potty because there wasn't any in her butt. Ah, to be so frank.

So it is Monday, all the kids are asleep, and I have tried to keep things busy this week. So far so good...but it is still Monday. Oh, and yes I am on facebook now, we'll see how that goes.