Fall already

I clearly have not kept up as I thought I would! 

We are back to normal around here, or the new normal since it's a new year with a new kid and a new dog! 

Bel is in 2nd grade, a new year with new excitement and new challenges. She continues to love art, always doodling, coloring or creating. The imagination on her is so fun to watch come to life! She is dancing again at the same studio but has added a class which she loves. There was also a driving force to join soccer this fall. When Buddy wasn't here yet she played, it was not anything more than picking flowers, but now she is running, kicking and we'll trying to play goalie. All in all a great start to a new school year!

Buddy boy...where to start with this guy? He is 3, boy, I mean all boy. Never in my wildest of dreams would I have been able to predict what being a mom to a boy, now two would be like. This guy is a hand picked gift and a true challenge. His energy is boundless, with eagerness to play, talk sports, toss a ball, take slapshots and shoot arrows with a hanger as is bow. He is 99% potty trained thanks to a long weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while we visited friends out east. He loves super heros too, he wants to wear them, rapead them, play them, and thank God for marketing because he can eat them too. He is back at daycare and loves it there and is bummed when his buddies aren't there. He also started Fath Formation and is super excited about it (he is working on learning the Hail Mary, his siter is teaching him). He will be starting to skate next week and I think that will provide him with what will be his love in life, hockey! 

Little dude is almost 7 months. He is a bundle, not a light one, of pure love. He smiles, snuggles and talks up a storm. He has adjusted to daycare though isn't a fan of napping (which isn't new to him) but has a BFF there and is with Buddy so it's great! He is curious about everything his siblings do and say. They are his world though he is for sure a mamas noy, which we'll I don't mind. He has finally out grown his daddy makes me cry stage so that has been fun to see the relationship between DH and LD develop. He is so good natured getting dragged around to what everyone else has going on, I hope his personality stays similar to what it is now, an easy going kiddo would be a nice change!

I started my 11th school where my career is continuing to fulfill my dreams of teaching. Each year is different, new challenges, new joys. I am blessed beyond measure to get to do what I love. DH is our constant. Though he is exhausted at the end of the day, his commitment to our family and faith is never shaken. We are looking forward to our 10th wedding anniversary this year and of course what the rest of 2014 will bring!

A reintroduction!

It's been a very long time since I have used this blog to keep up with all of our families doings! I primarily use Facebook because it's so easy to do and I haven't thought about how much I used to love writing here. I hope to be back more regularly to use this as a means of recording our family life and use Facebook less.  

In the time between posts our lives have changed a lot! We have an almost 2nd grader, an almost 3 year old and this winter added two babies (one human and one pup)! As you can imagine things are pretty different around here and we are loving it! Bel, Buddy and Little Bubs are an amazing trio of siblings. Our older two had no problems adjusting to a new baby in the house and new baby adores his siblings! As for the new pup, this is a new ball game for us. We lost our beloved Karamia around the second week of January, she was the most amazing companion and the thought of her being gone still brings me to tears at least once a week. The Zdog is our new girl, she is amazing! She was house broken within a couple of weeks, loves her daddy and Bel the best! She is full of energy which is a drastic difference from Mia who slept a good 22 hours at the end. 

As for the adults, well we are pretty status quo. DH continues to work incredibly hard, trying to build his business, growing in directions that hopefully are going to make the business better and better. He continues to be a wonderful leader of faith in our home and is the best husband and father! I continue to teach, continue to love what I do! Since last posting I have now completed my 10th school year and am feeling incredibly blessed to have a job I love, work with people who make me smile every day and to have so many students that make me want to do and be better at my job. 

With this I am back....I think! 

So let the blogging begin or start again 😉

Kid Free Trip!

Our summer trip without kids was amazing! We headed out east to celebrate our freinds getting married! So fun and such amazing history which obviously as a history teacher made me feel like a kid in a candy store! And becasue I am 11 months behind in posting It will be some awesome pictures to tell the rest!

Montana or Bust!

Just a week after returning from the North Shore we took on our greatest adventure yet! A road trip west! We left at dinner time on Thursday, June 22nd heading to our first stop in South Dakota, Sioux Falls. This was supposed to just be our staying point for the first night, but we ventured out the am of the 23rd to explore the name sake of the city, and it was beautiful!
Each leg of our trip was planned to take no more than 4.5 hours in the car at a time, this was to keep the kiddos comfy and not restless. It worked beautifully! From Sioux Falls we continued westward through South Dakota visiting lots of places along the way, on Friday the 23rd we hit up The Corn Palace, The Badlands, Wall Drug and ended in Rapid City for the night.


Waking up in Rapid on Saturday the 24th we got ready to do the next journey, kicking off the day with some Starbucks and Mount Rushmore! This was one of our favorite portions of the vacation, if you have never been as an adult we highly suggest you do this trip. It was a beautiful work of art, a wonderful - warm day and an amazing piece of history! We continued our day with a brief stop at the Crazy Horse Monument, a spectacular drive through Custer State Park and a winding drive over around and through the beautiful Black Hills. Eventually crossing the boarder into Wyoming for our next evening layover.

Gillette, Wyoming is a hustling town of hotels, gas stations and truckers stopping areas. Arriving after dinner time we were saved by our hotel having a small indoor water park that gave us a great place to play and let the littles blow off some steam (the reason we picked it in the first place). We had a nice couple of hours playing in the lazy river, water slide riding and a couple of games of basketball. In the morning of Sunday the 25th I brought the little guy into the after hours clinic because he had developed a rash, I didn't want to risk spreading it so we had him checked out while DH and Bel stayed behind for a little more water fun.

When we returned we hit the road again... this time for our main destination... kind of. We picked Gillette because it was a short 5 hours to Bozeman, Montana where we were reuniting with one the best friends a person could ask for. Kristi, her husband Jamie and their little guy Cole. Kristi and I became amazing friends in college and she and her family are in Montana for her husbands job. It had been over 3 years since we saw each other last and it was well overdue and a perfect excuse to have a family vacation. When we got on the road we were an hour in before we changed our plans for the day instead heading further west to go to Yellowstone! Crazy, amazing, beautiful! This turned our 5 hour final leg into a 9 hour drive through the mountains and around amazing sites!

We did finally arrive in Bozeman after bedtime on the 25th, and I have to say it was a fantastic reunion! We stayed with our friends for 3 days and experienced their city and places of work. Most importantly we were able to spend time together, our kids got to play and our friendships spread to them.

On Thursday the 28th we left our good friends, waving goodbye. This was hard, and well lets just say the momma's were crying. The kids were tired and well the daddy's enjoyed their time too. We drove from Bozeman to Bismarck, North Dakota. A long drive with mostly beautiful scenery. When we got to Bismarck, we went to eat and found we had a flat tire... at least we arrived safely and long story very short had it fixed on the morning of the 29th before we finished our last leg of the journey ending at the cabin in time for the fireworks on the 30th!


An amazing adventure that we are looking forward to doing again sometime.

North Shore Summer Style

So I am really, really bad about keeping things up to date on the blog... well at least this summer I have good reason. We have been very, very busy!

June 14th - 17th we took the Grandma's Marathon adventure. Uncle Doug ran the full and DH ran the half. We we blessed to have great weather and extended our stay at one of our favorite MN getaway locations.

 

Children & The Theater

When I was younger I had the amazing privilege of going to see shows at the theater with my family. From Cats, Phantom to Les Miserables, Rent, Secret Garden and even Lion King I have been blessed to have this as a part of my life. I love the idea that we too can share in these experiences as our kiddos get older and we started early with the girl. Isabel has had the wonderful experience of attending the theater a couple of times in her life. She has seen Mary Poppins, Cinderella and now Pippi Longstocking. We got the tickets from DH's partner to The Children's Theater and we asked Isabel's friend Griffin to join us! These two have been friends since Isabel was born and it is so fun to enjoy experience with them together, they are like family and we love this family! So the two little boy's Griffin's little brother and the baby boy stayed home with Sandra and Brandon and we took the olders to see the show! This was so fun, we can't wait to do it again!

4 months...since my last post!

I have started a number of new posts, none of them making it to the final cut. So here I go giving into a quick recap of what has happened in this time!

We are plugging away at spring, many days feeling a lot like summer, warm and refreshing! We are spending tons of time outside, flowers are already potted and a new bird feeder is hanging from the play house. The kids love to be on the swing set and enjoying simply walking around the lake or shorter around the block.
Another school year is close to the end which I am looking forward to for so many reasons! On the other side of that is that when I return to work in the fall our girl will be headed to school for the first time! We are so excited to see what this new adventure will bring.

Our beautiful babes continue to grow and amaze us each and every day. Bel is so grown up in so many ways and is an amazing big sister. She amzes us with how smart she is and how thoughtful she can be with her brother. I cannot wait to see what the next couple of months bring with our almost 5 year old! She continues to swim and even to part in her first meet, it was a fun meet the swim school she goes to held and this momma was one proud lady to say the least! My heart was pounding with anticipation and pure pride when she completed both of her races! She loves it too! She finished another year of faith formation at our parish and loved being apart of class. She will be continueing next fall as well as attending school. She has decided she would like to try t-ball this summer and I look forward to the outside playtime with her.

The buddy boy is also growing so quickly! He is crawling (Quickly) everywhere, he has a mission for each move he makes. We call him trouble too because he goes around with a cute little grin that is full of mischief and we are aready seeing the differences of having a girl and a boy. He currently has two teeth that are his little chompers. We have him in a big boy rear facing carseat now because I can't carry the old with him in it, he still can fit, I just am not strong enough :-) He loves to talk, squeek and say momma, dadda and numma. We are working on Bel Bel or sissy, but it may be a while! He is so laid back (much like his daddy) and goes with whatever we are doing. He doesn't complain too much unless he isn't feeling well which with seasonal allergies has been a little bit more trying lately. He has his second double ear infection right now, but you would never know it by being around him. I am thankful for the feaver for the tip though!

Both kiddos continue to thrive at their daycare and love being with Pam and friends. DH says baby boy jumps from his arms when he sees Pam in the morning and even though it is hard to be away at work, when I know that they are loved and cared for it helps.  Oma (dh's mom) gives us a couple of nights a month to go out without kids and that has been an amazing time for dh and I to spend quality time with just each other. We love our babies, but having time just the two of us, not exhausted from work or running around has been an amazing gift!

We are looking forward to a summer filled with adventure with family and friends near and far... especially those far who we have longed to spend time with. There will be more updateing and pictures ahead... this time I promise!

Snow has fallen... Daybook

Outside my Window:The snow is finally here! I love snow, I love winter, if it is cold there should be snow. There is only an inch or two on the ground, but it looks nicer than the brown grass!


I am thinking:About how my classes will go this week. I am in the middle of teaching WWII and also have a few student presentations this week.


I am thankful for:My mother in law giving DH and I the opportunity to have dinner a couple of times a month without children. We went to Axel's this week,and it was so good, we also headed to Caribou and Best Buy after dinner before returning home.


I am reading: Heaven is For Real. I have about 50 pages left, and I think I have cried for over half of it. It has many connections to my family life as a mom. 


I am hoping: This week goes by quickly, though I hate wishing away time (I want my babies to stay babies) I can't wait for uninterrupted time with them, and that comes on the weekends.


On my mind:Making sure that I stay up on grading, I have done pretty well with this so far since returning to work but I want to maximize time at home!


We're learning: How to build on foundations.


Noticing that: My children love each other, truly unconditionally love each other. They want to be together, they watch each other and there is true joy in their eyes when they look at one another.


A few plans for the week: The early part of the week is quiet, but Thursday there is swimming, Friday there is piano, Saturday dance and dinner with friends, Sunday church. 


From the kitchen: Baked Ham and potatoes tonight, tomorrow a pork roast in the crock-pot, Wednesday steak, Thursday pesto and chicken pasta, Friday pork chops. Saturday is yet to be determined as we need to chat with our friends to see what they would like :-)


Around the house:Organized chaos. Things are clean just not all put away :-)

One of my favorite things:Snuggle time with both my kids :-)


A picture or two to share:

Sitting like a big boy

Dance outfit and Happy!

Daybook Returns...

Outside my Window: I see grass that remains brown, bare trees and small hints that show we should have snow.

I am thinking: About how hectic it can be during short weeks of school. We only have students three days this week, and though its often a blessing its also a curse when you have days filled to the brim with things going on, especially a week with parent teacher conferences!
I am thankful for: So many things, my husband, my children, my family, my friends.
I am reading: Heaven is For Real, well actually I am going to run to get it shortly :-) I am excited to read it as I have been told its a must read!
I am hoping: That my little man is headed in the right direction health wise. He has been battling a cold for three weeks, but I think he may be in the tail end of it. I would love a full nights rest!
On my mind: Thinking ahead to next year! School year that is, that's how I think. Bel will be in kindergarten and we have decided to send her to private school.
We're learning: still learning to get 4 bodies out the door in the morning on time. This is hard, especially with how cold it has started to be. DH's biggest pet peeve is our inability to get anywhere on time. Well what can I say, that isn't me!
Noticing that: I am feeling more organized now that all of the Christmas decoration have been put away. I love my Christmas decorations, but they take up more space, add more to clean and frankly I needed them gone! Now I am feeling better :-)
A few plans for the week: Well as it s already midweek we are in the day of long work... I have conferences until 7 pm, that's a 12 hour day without my family. Tomorrow is swimming lessons, Friday is piano, Saturday we are headed to one of DH's new clients and Sunday is church!
From the kitchen: I have been out of the kitchen this week, believe it or not I found joy in providing meals for my family while on leave. Since going back to work I have tried to remain in this role, but its also been difficult depending on what else is going on. Because of dietary restrictions while nursing, I have to keep dairy and soy out of my system. This is difficult as these ingredients are in everything! But my little guy is worth it!
Around the house: Clean...clean... house! Love!

One of my favorite things: Watching my children together, there is absolutely nothing better than watching them. God has blessed us with two precious gifts and I wouldn't be more happy!

A picture to share:

Best Christmas Gift

Gutherie Night



 



My Two Favorite Men



A Boy and His Toes



Sweet Girl Making Treats

XMAS 2011

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So slow, yet so fast.

It is December! I can't even begin to explain how this makes me feel! Our boy joined our family in July and I think I have done two posts since his birth, this is so horrible so here I am trying to play catch up! We have had such an amazing 4 months since he was born, trips, milestones and wonderful family moments.

Bel is such an amazing sister, she works so hard to entertain him, care for him and love him. I think back to her wanting a sister and though I understand where she is coming from I am so grateful that her younger sibling is a boy. Seeing them together is so wonderful, their similarities and their differences. He is for sure his father and she is me which is fun to watch. She is growing leaps and bounds both physically and as a person. She loves her friends at daycare and looks forward to playing dolly's on a daily basis while she is there. She also learned how to do a somersault recently and enjoys doing them at home. Bel also started learning how to play the piano, she has lessons once a week with "Auntie" Diana, DH's cousin, and her enthusiasm is wonderful I just hope those feelings continue! She also is swimming once a week and is doing freestyle and backstroke, I hope the other strokes will be as wonderful and let me tell you how proud this momma feels watching her swim!  She has started her second year in faith formation at our parish and she loves it, projects, games, songs and talking and learning more about God! We are excited to watch her grow in her faith, she loves to ask questions as well as explain Him in her own way. One question we often ask at dinner is where did you see God today? Though she struggles sometimes she knows that he is ever present in her life.

The little man is such a wonderful addition to our family, he makes all the suffering of another loss worth it! Both of our children have followed losses of our angel babies and its amazing to know that through all that you encounter the minute you hear that first cry it is eased. He smiles can melt the hardest of hearts and his snuggles are also amazing! He roles, has roles and loves to play! His favorite thing besides eating would be watching every move his big sister makes and every word that she says he pays great attention to. He recently learned of his toes and has endless amounts of entertainment time built into them! His favorite toys are Sophie his giraffe teether and Neptune the turtle from Baby Einstein. He also is a future water baby, he has gone swimming a couple of times some while we were at the Log Home Retreat and while we went to California. He started daycare with Bel this week and seems to be doing well, he does what babies do and I can't ask for more than that!

The husband has continued to be the strength of our family, especially while I have been off of work. He has had an amazing year and he and his partner are pleased with the year end results, the company has grown and he continues to make a wonderful contact for his clients. We have been fortunate to be apart of his clients growth and celebrate with them as they see success. On top of working he is always home for dinner and as we sit all together each night it is wonderful to hear about each others days even with sassy running around or not eating. He is looking forward to picking up some workout time and maybe some racquetball this winter with his cousins hubby Joe (Baby boys' Godfather).

Then there is me. Well Going from a complicated pregnancy to a healthy baby has been wonderful! I fully recovered from my c-section (a couple of set backs at the beginning) and I am able to play with Bel again, lift her and not worry about all the rotten things that can go wrong while in a high risk pregnancy and recovering. I was blessed with an extended leave from work and have just returned this week. I enjoyed every minute of being home, loving on my boy the same as I was able to with Bel, cooking for my family, enjoying my favorite cleaning and laundry! Now back to work I am struggling, mentally I am trying to jump back into my job (I have been off since June!) and emotionally dealing with being away from the boy. Its draining even the second time around. I can' t complain too much though because he sleeps through the night :-) I love my job and my coworkers so in time I will be fine, but I miss my kids which I have every right to!

I hope our pictures fill in the blanks of the last four months, I suppose I will need to keep up a tad bit more!

Summer's End

Summer has come to an end, not technically but as all Minnesotans know The Great Minnesota Get Together marks the end of freedom for kids and summer outings for families and Labor Day marks the end of summer cabin fun...even though we can continue after the weather cools down.



Up high at the State Fair

Full from the State Fair ;-)

With such a quiet beginning of the summer waiting in anticipation for our boy to arrive we tried to get some fun in while the summer was ending. We have had a couple of cabin trips where we get to watch Bel and her cousins fall in love with cabin life, a State Fair adventure with lots of yummy food and a belated friends birthday party for Bel and her friends, and with that summer is ending! Doing these things as a family of four is so different than what it was with just one, we have to have more time to get ready to go out, we have to find quick stops in order for me to nurse little one and even more daunting than that we need to find lots of things to keep Bel busy as baby boy is having his needs met. I am so blessed to have the partner in life that I have because without him these things would be almost impossible tasks!

Snuggle with Mason at the Cabin

With Griffin at Pump It Up

Birthday Party with Griffin, Grayson, Emmalee and Addie!

We have discovered early in our son's life that he is an outdoor kid already, this weekend at the cabin any time he was upset just taking him out to the waterfall or even just rocking on the deck he would calm right down and fall asleep. Bel too loves the outdoors and she too kept busy by playing in the water and sand with her cousins, had s'mores and ice cream... there isn't anything better than cabin life!

It doesn't get any better than this!

Beyond our adventures this is the second time in my teaching career that I will not be headed back to school with all of my co-workers, I have taken an extended maternity leave through early December. I am looking forward to the quality time I will have at home with my little guy and on occasion keeping his big sister home too have some fun too! We are also looking forward to other adventures soon like heading to the North Shore with Uncle Andy as well as heading out to California with little Grandpa and Grandma. And of course more time at the Cabin with Big Grandpa and Grandma! Life is wonderful!

New Life...It's So Beautiful

What do you say about a child you wondered about, one that you never thought was going to be. Words cannot explain what it has been like over the last two years wanting another baby, the heart ache that goes with a loss, and the joy that comes with a simple sign on a stick. This journey has brought us through an amazing roller coaster of emotions and physical challenges... but in the end, we received an amazing miracle, our son.

We knew that he would arrive near his sisters birthday, but his birth story is one that I didn't see happening to us. Our original due date was August 8th, but because of a number of complications that were a possibility along with having a previous c-section we were scheduled to have him about a week earlier. He however had other plans. Early in the morning on the 28th of July I wasn't sleeping as well as I had been,which wasn't all that great to begin with. Around 3:15am I woke up to an uncomfortable feeling, but I chalked it up to being 9 months pregnant and feeling exhausted so I fell back asleep. I woke up again around 4:20am to something I heard in my sleep but also felt, it was my water breaking! This all on Bel's 4th birthday! I woke DH up about a minute later when I was sure what had happened, he quickly got ready and we woke Bel up and started dialing the phone. This was all happening a week earlier than anticipated so our plans for who would have her during delivery and who would be at the hospital were all not going as planed. I got a hold of my parents and they met us at the hospital about 45 min. after my water broke. In the mean time I called our clinic who got a hold of our Dr., she called me back and met us at the hospital. Less than an hour and a half after my water broke we were in the OR waiting for our son to arrive. He was born at 6:31am, July 28th weighing in at 8lbs 6oz. and he was 20". Only 2 weeks early, 1 week earlier than planned, and sharing a birthday with his big sister... which runs in the family as DH was born on his oldest brother's birthday also.

The rest is standard, we stayed in the hospital for 3 days, came home and have now begun our lives as a family of 4... or 5 if you ask Bel because you cannot forget about the dog :-) We are feeling truly blessed by all events. About a month ago after a standard appt., one that covered all the complications that were being anticipated, after being told about the who the 2nd surgeon would be, and how fast they would have to work we stayed in the room for a couple of minutes to talk, just DH and I. We handed our fears, our anticipation and anxieties over to God, because without him, we wouldn't have been expecting at all. All complications were avoided, our Dr. delivered our son, and we are all happy and healthy.

Summer Already...

I have no idea where the time has gone! The last post I did was after our last major hospital visit in February! Well I need to be better about keeping up with posting, as soon enough we will be welcoming our baby boy into the world! As you can see from the countdown at the top of the page we are really in the home stretch! Our next appt. will be an exciting/informational appt. in which we will pick a day an learn what if any complications can be predicted. I am growing, which means he is growing... for those that want a good laugh and know us well, this baby is predicted to be bigger than our beautiful Bel was at birth... Lord have mercy on me!

Outside of the anticipation of our son coming into the world we have been keeping very busy. My wonderful husband as always continues to work and provide for our family, be home every night for dinner and spends endless hours playing with Bel. As for myself, I have just finished my 7th school year teaching (which I have no idea how it has already been 7 years) and I still love my job as much today as I did when I was first hired! I will not be returning to work until this winter and I am excited about the opportunity to be home for an extended period of time.

As for Miss Bel she is becoming even more independent by the day and yet still enjoying being a little girl. We lost our beloved daycare in February and had to make a transition to a new home. Thank GOD this went well and Bel seems to feel at home there and is thriving in the care of her new daycare mom. The little brother will join her there this winter. Bel has also began new adventures and continues with old passions. She started playing soccer this spring... she isn't thrilled, but she tried it... has started preschool and continues to swim one night a week. She even got her ears pierced! She loves being at the cabin, fishing with her daddy, playing in the sand with Grandma and helping Grandpa in whatever way she possibly can! We are looking forward to her 4th birthday coming up next month and all the new adventures she will have!

Life is wonderful, what can I say.

The News

Well of course our family and friends know, but we are excited and blessed to be expecting a baby this summer. For those whom we spend lots of time with we shared the news early, but because of past experiences we waited for the "special" week 13 marker set by our Dr. to share with everyone our news. Not long after the anniversary of our last miscarriage we were blessed with a new life. In true form of all of my pregnancies nothing has come without incident, with a couple of trips to the hospital under our belts already and appointments with our OB every two weeks we are well on our way to feeling further along, but in reality we are 14-15 weeks. High risk pregnancy is our way of life and right now I am currently serving the 3rd day of my 4 day "bed rest" that my Dr. has asked for after the latest trip to the Dr/hospital this weekend. The results of everything this weekend are all fine with both baby and I, but our Dr. said I needed to give myself some rest. For those that know me very well as you can imagine this is hard. I am not to lift much or even move much so this has taken away some of my household loves of cleaning and laundry. For those that do not know me as well, this is very difficult and not a joke, I described this to my mom as feeling useless. Logically I know that there is nothing more important than listening to the Dr. to protect myself and our child, but for the type A that I am it is difficult. For our Bel learning the news of being a big sister with a new baby joining our family she is over the moon excited... though we will see what happens when the new baby joins us. DH and I are filled with joy and anticipation and taking this new journey one day at a time.

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His Plan

Today marks one year after finding out we had lost another baby to our Lords arms. Today brings back emotions of fear, depression, anger and many that I did not understand and still do not till this day. It was a day of anticipation, waiting to see what the screen would reveal, instead it showed us what I feared and pushed me into a period of time that I never want to experience again. This loss had been different than the first, we were supposed to be in the "clear", at a time of sharing our glorious news with those we love. Instead it was retracting our news, saying goodbye to what we wanted to hold and love. The past year has brought about more trips to the Dr. than I would ever like to recount, blood draws that happen every 6weeks to this day. And an unknown future of bringing another life into the world or understanding that we were given a miracle when Bel was born.

No matter how angry I have been or how understanding I can be, there is nothing that takes away that spot in your family where the children you have lost should have been. You move on, but dates like today are ones that remind me to trust in God's plan, whatever it might be. As I look out the window today I marvel at the snow, a creation of purity, white and beautiful. I know that life is unpredictable and glorious, that His plan for our family whatever it may be is like the snow, pure and beautiful.

Chilly Daybook

Outside my Window: The wind is blowing so much that the political signs are horizontal and the trees that were trying to hold their leaves are running an up hill race! The rain however is not snow, so for now it is just fine!

I am thinking: "Be patient and leave it in the hands of God... In every event the best we can do is leave ourselves in the hands of God." -St Teresa of Avila - This quote is embodies what I struggle with most in that my life is not only controlled by my own decisions but that if I hand the hard things over that it is what is meant to be.

I am thankful for: A wonderful weekend with family. We were able to spend MEA break with DH's family in IL and it was a relaxing weekend of eating, talking and prayer. I have said it before and I will say it again, marrying my husband has given me an amazing family lots of aunties, uncles and cousins... not second or third cousins and not great uncles and aunts, but amazing family.

I am reading: Small Steps for Catholic Moms By Danielle Bean & Elizabeth Foss

I am hoping: That the weather takes a better turn this weekend so that Trick or Treating is not too cold and wet!

On my mind: Part of DH's grad program is too look at self but also relationships, one thing that was asked of him is what do you and your wife do together... well, besides living our daily life. So we have be thinking about what can we do just for us.

We're learning: A new balance in life with DH's grad school. With mine it was all work oriented using lesson plans and creating new one's. So his homework is done at home and we are leaning new balance.

Noticing that: Bel is beginning to control her tantrums a little better, so thankful because she has this only child thing figured out and it worries me as to what will come in 13 years :-)

A few plans for the week: Well we are almost at the halfway mark, but work, daycare, swim lessons and dinner at my parents (spaghetti...my dad's... my favorite) with the girls in their costumes on Saturday!

From the kitchen: Tonight it will be homemade fettuccine sauce, pasta and chicken!

Around the house: Halloween decorations, Bel and DH dug them out a couple of weekends ago and they are the current decor in our home.

One of my favorite things: Being able to use the fireplace again, though winter is not yet here it is knocking at the door and with it comes many of my favorite things!

A picture to share: Many from our trip to see family.

A story

I sometimes struggle with what is too much to write and what is not enough. To most people I am an outwardly open person with just about everything in my life. However I am finding that as time goes on, and I get older that maybe some things about me are only open in my head. I love to talk with people and hear their stories, I love to people watch and make up my own stories for them, but when it comes to me well what is my story these days.

Our family story changes day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year. Despite changes it is also amazing to see the steadiness of what is our life. We have taken some trips this year, some for fun,some to celebrate, and others to say goodbye. We are continuing education, DH in his MBA program, my self as a teacher, and Bel at church. We have made a large leap of faith and have found a new parish up in the northern burbs and look forward to being a part of this new community. Spending time with friends and family are always a priority, but also making sure we have down time for just us.

DH is now fully in his classes for his MBA, working hard at his class work and as always working hard to be an amazing provider for our family, an over the top amazing daddy and the most amazing husband I could have ever been blessed with. I am so proud of him in everything he does but I do not tell him often enough. He is seeing a new side to balancing life, but if anyone is able to do this well, it is him.

Miss Bel is as always keeping us on our toes. She is a very grown up 3 year old! She loves to play, is very intrigued by movies and is a social butterfly (of course I have no idea where she gets that). She amazes us with each day and all the new things she learns and shares with us and others around her. Her swimming lessons are both a source of entertainment and hard work, she is having a blast in her new class especially because she is the only girl. She is starting Faith Formation at our new parish this weekend and is very excited! Bel is our everything and we are so grateful for her!

Me, well I am here. Work has been an adjustment this year with lots of new things going on in our building and district. New challenges and old, but the people are what makes it amazing. I love my students and colleagues, and well, the combination always makes it worth coming back for more! Being done with my own masters and supporting DH in his has given me new time with Bel, some of it a struggle with listening, but all of it amazing. I am finally "evened" out on all my hormonal levels (TMI, Sorry) but still struggling with what the future holds for our family. Being patient with Dr.'s and praying that we can expand our family. Life is always complicated in some ways and simple in others. I am using a new book for daily reflection called Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Think. Pray. Act. Every Day. By Danielle Bean & Elizabeth Foss. I love this book and have found that the simplest of acts can bring my head and heart right where they belong.

North Shore

This past weekend we ventured back to the North Shore. We have not been up since before Bel was born, and now that she is old enough to climb and hike on her own we thought it would be a wonderful getaway. We were fortunate to stay and Larry & Lisa's Log Home Retreat for the weekend and loved every minute of it. It was perfect fall weather for the perfect fall weekend!