Cline's Birthday Weekend!

Hello all! We just got back from a fun weekend at the lake, celebrating Cline and his twin brother's birthday. Cline's entire family got to be there, so it was a blast! A bit exhausting, but fun, nonetheless. We all piled into one house for a few days and just enjoyed being together. We did this last year for their 30th birthdays, and it went so well, everyone wanted to do it again this year. I was ready to go on a little trip.  We haven't been anywhere since January, so I was ready to do something different for a few days. Enjoy the pictures!

We canoed - Christa tried, but the boat was too unsteady for her taste, so Cline and I took Abby Kate.

The girls really enjoyed just playing in the little plastic pools and in the sprinkler. They LOVED having their cousins around to play with. Christa also loved talking us into letting her have a little more soda than we usually do (as she's stealing sips of mine :).

Cline and Abby Kate paddled a little in the paddle boat. We rented a deck boat for one day and had a blast on that, too. I can't remember the last time I went on a boat ride, but it was fun to see all the houses on the lake.

Happy Birthday Chas and Cline! 31 years ago, they were born at 27 weeks and not expected to live. I have tried to wrap my brain around what that whole ordeal must have been like for my mother-in-law and just can't do it. I am so glad that God had other plans for these two boys!

The only person missing from this picture is Uncle Chris, who had to leave early to go to a work conference. (And Poppy, who is taking the picture)! It sure is fun to get together with everyone, but I was ready to come home on Sunday. Having to constantly make sure someone is keeping your children out of the lake is quite tiring!

Elizabeth is Four Months

Hello all!! I'm finally taking a few minutes to catch up on this blog. We have been staying busy this summer. I can't really pinpoint what we've been staying busy at, but let's just say I have 3 kids ages 4 and under, so that is enough to let a person get behind on things from time to time :) The girls are growing fast and doing new things every day. Enjoy the pictures!

Christa and Abby Kate attended a little school camp a few weeks ago for a few days. It is held where they go to their little pre-school, so we got out the backpacks and sent them on their way. They both had a blast, and I am very excited for what the upcoming school year holds for them!

We started cereal with Elizabeth a couple of nights before her 4 month birthday. I got the go-ahead from her pediatrician to try and satisfy her with cereal since I was still having to nurse her about 10 times a day. (Long story on that one, but here's the short version: Things got worse; I tried to quit; the "sweet petite" refused to take a bottle; things have magically been much much better since :) The cereal was short-lived. She didn't hate it, but still has a very strong tongue reflex, so she spit most of it out. We'll try again at some point, but since the nursing is going exactly the way I want it to for the moment, I've put this extra task on hold.

Hmmm.... this is different.

And Elizabeth is officially 4 months old!! This is one of my favorite ages! I love how she's a true baby, can do enough to be cute and entertaining (such as smile, give "kisses," take decent naps, etc.) but isn't quite mobile enough to need that constant supervision.

And she's 4 months old and dressed for the day! She is rolling over from back to front and front to back, is now a tummy sleeper, just like my other 2 were, is still sleeping in my room in her bassinet and with me during the night (don't feel like traveling far 3 times a night just yet), and is the sweetest baby ever! (Well, she ties for that role with her sisters, anyway). She just learned how to give kisses - a.k.a. slobber all over my cheeks and nose, and her whole body lights up with glee when I put her to my face and make kissy sounds.

Three Years Ago

Three years ago we celebrated Cline's final days of residency in Augusta, celebrated Christa's 1st birthday, celebrated our long-awaited move home, celebrated the 4th of July, and celebrated a little life that we never got the chance to meet. Many of you know that I had a miscarriage shortly after Christa's 1st birthday. I will never forget walking into that ultrasound room full of hope and expectation, and leaving with the reality that a tragedy had struck our happy family. I won't lie - that day pretty much sucked the fun out of every ultrasound I've had since then.
Three years later, my life is full and happy most days. I am blessed beyond anything I can understand or imagine with a fabulous husband and the 3 most beautiful and precious girls in the world. I love my family more than I can express, and while I'm far from perfect, I am amazed daily at the wonderful life God has given me. But I certainly haven't forgotten or stopped missing our little "Teeny-bear." Cline and I have a good cry every Christmas as we hang the engraved Christmas ornament he got for me that year so that we would have a tangible way to remember our second child. I will occasionally see a child that was born in early 2009 (my due date would have been late February of that year), and I wonder what kind of a toddler my baby would be today. How would she and Christa get along? Would she be running and talking as well as that other little girl is? What in the world would she look like, since all 3 of my girls look so different from each other??
Sometimes, as I look at my beautiful, healthy babies, I am reminded of how much I lost that day. And so I hug my girls a little tighter and play with them a little longer. And I thank God a little more often for giving me the incredible honor of raising these sweet babies.
Sadly, I have had friends since that day go through similar experiences. And my heart has broken for each friend each time I've heard about their situation. I recently ran across this poem in a book that has been about as comforting to me as anything I've read, so I want to share it with my sweet friends who have also experienced this loss.
To My Baby

Is it proper to cry for a baby too small for a coffin?
Yes, I think it is.
Does Jesus have my too-small baby in His tender arms?
Yes, I think He does.
There is so much I do not know about you- My child
He, she?
quiet or restless?
Will I recognize someone I knew so little about, yet loved so much?
Yes, I think I will.
Ah, sweet, small child
Can I say that loving you is like loving God?
Loving, yet not seeing.
Holding, yet not touching.
Caressing, yet separated by the chasm of time.
No tombstone marks your sojourn, and only God recorded your name.
The banquet was not canceled, just moved, just moved.
Yet a tear remains where baby should have been.

-Bob Neudorf

Christa-isms

Earlier tonight, Cline and I were talking about some cute things that Christa says, and he mentioned that he wished he could write all of them down. Since that's sort of the reason I keep this blog, I thought I'd try. Most of these probably won't mean much to you all, unless you've heard her say them, but I'm going to post them in hopes I will one day get around to printing this blog out.

"We are holding hands like a family."

"This chair is just my right size!"

"Nice to meet-cha!"

"I'm not sorry for any-fing! I was pretty good today." (We ask her to say something she's sorry for every night before bed to include in our bedtime prayer - this is her typical answer).

"When people are cold, they need blankets!"

"People need coke." (I agree :)

"I need a gumball because I stayed in bed."

"God likes it when we share." (as she's trying to take a toy away from Abby Kate)

"We are hugging together. We are just loving on each other."

"I just need to give you a kiss and a hug and a love."

"I fink so."

"I'm a-full." (I'm full).

Random kisses (love those!)

American Girls

Hello all!! I have some pictures from various things we've been up to lately. Christa took a dance camp a couple of weeks ago, and had a blast!! But when it was time for their end-of-the-week "recital"...

... my little diva was so disappointed that she wasn't on a "real" stage where the audience was "dark" that she just stood there, terribly upset.

She did pose with her friend, Molly, after the recital, though.

Miss Elizabeth is as happy as ever!

And she learned how to roll herself onto her stomach. I found her like this about an hour and a half after I laid her down on her back.

We didn't get the best picture, but I am so proud of these 3 dresses; all of them are hand-me-downs, and they matched beautifully. I'm not sure where Christa's dress originally came from, but her cousin passed it down to us. Abby Kate's was worn by Christa last year, and was given to us from a sweet friend who knows how much Cline's family loves the 4th of July. Elizabeth's dress was a Christmas present to Abby Kate when she was 3 months old!

Elizabeth likes her Bumbo seat, especially when the older two are watching Strawberry Shortcake. She seems to like that movie, too! (Ali, the onesies you passed onto us are sooooo cute on her - thanks!)

This year, for the parade, we loaded the kids up on the boat with the great-grandparents. Our sweet cousins were there as usual, as well as some good friends, Quint (to the left) and Emmelyn (white dress/pigtails).

Elizabeth was eventually carried, but she started off in her stroller.

Ready for the parade with cousin Maggie Beth!

Have a great day!