"Why I'm giving every day..."

Inspiration

2012-01-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

So I spent half the week trying to figure out what“inspires” me. Really, when I told my husband this week’s word he rattled offalmost 10 things that inspire me. And, he was right. But I kept pondering, “Howcan I sum it all up? What is the one unifying factor in this list ofinspiration?” In the shower (essentially the only truly quiet, alone time in mylife), it struck me: connection. Personal, relational, spiritual, emotional… Iam inspired when I witness or experience connection: a friend seeing the fruitsof her leap of faith into pursuing her passion, photographing a child’s joy atthe hug from his momma, my baby girl taking her first step, my husband sharinga breakthrough with a patient, God’s Word jumping off the page (or computerscreen) and straight into my heart, music fueling emotion, ideas coming tofruition after endless emails, my 5 year old little girl sounding out a wordand then jumping on the bed as she spontaneously puts it into a sentence… Yay,“connection” is my inspiration! Now, how to photograph it…

My brother often teases that he’s going to buy my family adrum set essentially to torture me with extreme noise for the next 15 years ofmy life. Naturally, the thought does get under my skin. But, you should seeTobias’ eyes light up when he plays the drums. His friend got a drum set forChristmas and ever since he’s played it, every night he prays about that drumset. He’s making a connection, he’s finding a passion, and that inspires me.Here’s his homemade version. His intensity is evident – he’s not just banging,he’s PLAYING the drums.

one thousand gifts in 2012

2012-01-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

So while I've been healing I've had an usual amount of time to think/pray/write/read. In addition to the Photography Project 52, I've been following the "Joy Dare" from One Thousand Gifts and compiling my thankfulness on a Word document (and with a couple photos).

Here goes...January’s Joy Dare:

1. 3 things about yourself you are grateful for
*healing from my surgery. Each day the pain lessens.
*Organized in order to focus my priorities
*equipped by the grace of God even though I don’t feel like it most of the time

2. a gift outside, inside, on a plate
*light
*hot bath
*meal I didn’t make

3. 3 lines you overheard that were graces
*“you are forgiven” (from Lydia to Tobias)
*“I pray that mommy feels better.” (both of the big kids bedtime prayers)
*“Liz is doing better“

4. one gift old, new; blue
*Guinness: his steadfast love and protection. This dog has faithfully napped at my feet while I have been down and out
*Friendship: Living in Chambersburg, my hometown, it’s easy to develop the friends I’ve had for years (even decades) yet God has brought some new friends into my life recently – a blessing
*My baby girl’s bright blue eyes. Man, are they striking ☺

5. something you’re reading, you’re making, you’re seeing
*Being a Mary in a Martha world – a book a friend loaned to me while I’m recovering. I’m such a “Martha” and a goal for the year is to be more Mary-like spiritually and socially
*Over the Advent season I embraced a program designed for preschoolers that included a Bible reading, lesson, and ornament creation each day. I don’t consider myself a particularly “crafty” individual, however I found joy in witnessing my children grasp the reason for our celebration through a tangible creative outlet. The author of “Truth in the Tinsel” from Impress Your Kids is embarking on a new venture this year with a “Superhero” theme. I’m pumped to join her.
*Lydia learning about the world: disappointment, reacting to unkind words, persevering through challenges, caring for those in need

6. one thing in your bag, your fridge, your heart
*lip gloss. Never know when the need will arise and so thankful it’s there when it does
*cheese. Man, do I love cheese
*Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior

7. 3 graces from people you love
*My husband’s servant heart: how he has sacrificially cared for me, our children, and our home while I have been down and out. No complaints, prompt response to my requests (which at times could be unreasonable), big hugs and listening ears
*I am overwhelmed at the response of my family, friends, and sisters in Christ who have provided meals for our family over the past week. What an abundance of generosity in time and resources and such a tangible gift of love.
*My mother-in-law dedicated 2 entire days to caring for me and my children. Not only did she love us but demonstrated thoughtfulness and care as she did laundry, changed the sheets on our bed, reorganized my linen closet and bedside tables, and provided opportunity for quality nap and rest time. Really, what a comfort and peace

8. A light that caught you, a reflection that surprised you, a shadow that fell lovely

As Tobias was eating breakfast, the reflections ("catch lights") in his eyes struck me

9. A gift in your hand, a gift you walked by, a gift you sat with
*School bags. 1st day all three kiddos were in “school” at the same time
* The big rock in my parents’ front yard = fond memories of riding, climbing, jumping off it, posing by it, parking beside it
*Tobias – with his baby sister asleep for the night and his big sister at a sleepover, Mark and I got to sit, just the 3 of us on the sofa “watching” Curious George

10. a gift that’s sour, a gift that’s sweet, a gift that’s Just. Right
*lemon – what a flavorful addition to my plain ice water or iced tea.
*Christmas cookies – yes, I’m still enjoying the gift of Christmas cookies. Mmmmmm…
* Yogurt – just the right amount of sweet and sour combined in creamy goodness

11. 3 yellow things that strike you as fresh mercy
*I came downstairs from putting Miriam for a nap to Tobias covered in paint. My flesh wanted to get angry with him, but the Lord stopped me as if to say, "Is this really something to get upset about? Love him and his crazy creativity and move on."

*My mother babysat for me last week and brought these books to entertain the girls. How refreshing was her thoughtfulness, sacrifice of time (and her precious personal days of which she only gets 5 per year!), and warm memories of these when I read them as a child

*the little yellow flowers that are the first to bloom marking springtime’s arrival

12. something above you, something below you, something beside you

*Ceiling. Really. I am so thankful for a roof over my head
*sidewalk. For the first time in 2 weeks I took a walk outside without pain.
*Lydia. Just hugged my arm and declared, “I want to snuggle.” Oh man, doesn’t get sweeter than that!

13. 3 sounds you hear
*Tobias tinkering on the piano
*Miriam’s giggle
*The door open and the assurance that it is my faithful husband returning from work

14. 3 ways you glimpsed the startling grace of God.
*Fellowship
*New faces
*Renewed enthusiasm for where God has placed us in our church

15. one thing you wore, one thing you gave away, one thing you shared
*Sneakers. Today I exercised for the first time since my surgery.
*Mark’s road bike. Ok, I didn’t give it away, but he did. I struggled with, “why don’t you sell it? Since I’m not working we could use some extra cash.” but was convicted and am so thankful he gave it to a dear friend.
*Inspiration. I shared a story (and then links to resources) about how God is working through His Word in the hearts of my kids.

16. 3 ways you witnessed happiness today
*Tobias mixing all of his paints together, applying a crazy amount of mixed paint on his hand, and splashing it down on the paper, over and over again.
*I was just picking up random books off of the floor in the big kids room with Miri in my arms. All of the “up and down” must have amused her, she looked at me right in the eyes and behind her pacifier gave me the biggest grin
*Lydia eating dirty ice she found in the backyard

Life

2012-01-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

This week's prompt word for the Project 52 is "life". My vision was to get all 3 kids (and their dad if possible) just "doing life". Unfortunately during the days when the light was favorable (man, it was cloudy this week!) either one of the kids was at school or napping. Finally, I gave up and figured, "I'll just have to work with what I got." which was these images:

Then, as the week was coming to a close, the kids were playing with a leftover Christmas gift box, making it into a slide. While her big brother and sister started making treasures out of the packing material, Miriam decided to get in on the action giggling at her failed attempts to crawl up the "slide". Finally, she sat still. I love her expression, like "Mom, thank you for your undivided attention amidst this chaos." This is real life: 1/2 dressed, stuff everywhere, creativity flying, and this sweet little dumpling right in the middle, while mommy's attempting to capture beauty and joy in the moment (and at the same time maintaining sanity - harder than it looks! ;)

Although nuts at times, I embrace the LIFE, the blessing from the Lord and believe He has placed me just at this time and this place to serve Him and love these gifts as He has called. I also believe He equips me and am overwhelmed at His grace for my failures. Praise Jesus for His abounding mercy and His amazing plan for life, abundant life, eternal life...

New Project: 52

2012-01-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I logged into blogger that I had to reset my password. Yes, it has been THAT LONG!

A New Year brings new opportunities and I just had to jump at this one: a "Project 52": a photo per week all year long. I knew it would be a rough start as I had surgery on Dec. 30th. Recovering from surgery and taking quality photos don't usually come hand-in-hand. I had a vision, so Mark helped me to roll with it. It didn't come up with exactly what I was hoping, but sometimes you just gotta go with what you got (particularly when you are in pain and not quite at the pinnacle of mobility and energy).

The first week's prompt word is "resolution". Mark and I are more "goal" than "resolution" type people. "Resolution" sounds so, well, resolute. "Goal" to me is something to work toward, something to strive for and for me, that's motivation, that's inspiration. That said, a new year's goal is to focus more on these little lives and less on all that my iPhone represents: social media, email, texts, scheduling... My goal is to spend quality moments with my little ones each day embracing their world while putting aside the ever-beconing call of the digital world.

The "Project 52" is with My Four Hens Photography
and can be seen on Flickr at here

Just Like Me

2011-08-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

It started innocently enough… I walk into Lydia’s room on a Sunday morning and ask, “What would you like to wear today?” Her reply, “Well, what are YOU wearing? I want to wear what you are wearing to be just like you.” Now I hear this refrain multiple times a week and I choose a purple shirt and capris or a black and white dress for Lydia to wear so she can be “just like me.” Lydia declares that her favorite color is yellow, “just like mommy.” And that she wants to play the flute and do ballet “just like mommy.” While it’s humbling to have someone idolize me, she does hear “Lydia looks just like you!” so often from friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances that I can’t help but think the idea has been planted in her brain.

And while it’s “cute” at age almost 5, it causes me to ponder. Does she want to be “just like me” when I speak harshly out of impatience or frustration? Does she want to be “just like me” when I stare at the computer screen instead of her sweet face when she’s talking? Does she want to be “just like me” when I run around frantic cleaning or picking up instead of reading or playing with her? Does she want to be “just like me” when I pray or sing? (she did tell me out of the blue today, “mommy, I like the Word FM – our local Christian radio station) Oh, my, how incredibly impressionable our little ones are. And how we should cherish these times that they look at us with awe and admiration (as I know the tween/teenage years are coming all too fast!)

So maybe the next time I’m interrupted from my “work” I’ll completely divert my attention to my little blessings, little lives longing for love, and be proud when I see them do the same. If they want to be “just like me” than I had better be “just like Jesus” And when I’m not, I will seek His and their forgiveness and we will learn together how to walk in His ways and live life to His glory.

Someday, if they are “just like me” may they honor and glorify the Lord as a forgiven child of God. May they exude grace and kindness and respect and love.

Sharing

2011-08-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

So last week Shutterfly sent me a coupon code to make a photo book for "40% off". I had envisioned creating this book even before Miriam was born and took this as a sign to just do it! Then today Shutterfly sent me an email telling me I could "share" this book. Again, I'll take them up on their suggestion... Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

I'm back

2011-07-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have obviously been absent from the blog world for quite some time now (like 4 months or so). I have a good excuse. I swear! I mean, just look at this face, can you blame me? :)

On St. Patrick’s Day we welcomed our dear Miriam into the world.

After much drama with a dangerously low heart rate in utero which made my scheduled C-section an “emergency” one, this little girl entered the world perfectly healthy. What a blessing! Over the past few months we’ve had the typical newborn sleepless nights accompanied by lots of snuggling, binkie sucking, over-the-top hugging and kisses from her big bro and big sis,

and developing in the way newborns are supposed to. Unfortunately, over the past couple weeks Miriam became a fussy eater which took us to the docs. Turns out she wasn’t gaining weight so he ordered blood work (just in case). A couple hours after the blood was taken (via healstick) we were called by the on-call doc informing us of the results of Miriam’s labs: critically high potassium levels which can impact muscle function including cardiac muscle. Off we went to the ER to obtain a venus blood draw. While there, Miriam was such a charmer, gazing at her caregivers and eliciting compliment after compliment on her “pretty bright blue eyes.” Thankfully, the second round of tests indicated “within normal limits” for most of the labs. Now our focus is beefing her up by feeding her more often and supplementing with formula. Our prayers are being answered as she weighed in at 11 lb. 4 oz. today - a whole pound more than three weeks ago when all of this started. Praise God! Now, if we could only get some sleep...

Miriam adores:
• stuffing her hand in her mouth

• grabbing at anything particularly necklaces, shirts, and her cow
• tickles
• bouncing
• faces
• staring at her Snoopy mobile

• supported standing
• “talking” (babbling, gooing, cooing)

Meanwhile the “big kids” have finished up a school year
Lydia at the end of the year "candy scramble". She got so much she was stuffing her bucket down to fit more in ;)

Lydia on stage for her final MDO performance

Tobias with his MDO teachers whom he adored. :)

End-of-the-year ritual: Ritas.

After a few days of mayhem when school ended, I implemented a “letter a day” lesson to provide some structure (and sanity). The kids latched right onto the idea of “lessons” and we’ve really had some fun with it. It’s amazing to see their thirst for learning. Now, just in case you are wondering, I totally do NOT make up these activities on my own. I get a lot of ideas from various homeschooling blogs who provide free printables and ideas. I also get encouragement and inspiration from my dear friend, Melanie who has directed me to resources and shared her knowledge and experiences (she's way more into the online homeschooling world than I am!) for which I'm so thankful. It's fun to share our flops and triumphs while keeping each other motivated...
Here they are creating "habitats" in shoeboxes.

Tobias telling me what he sees

Driving Trucks on the "T" after being dipped in paint

Tobias points out his favorite letter EVERYWHERE – T’s really are pretty popular, from crosses in church, to exit signs, to the pattern frames are hanging on a wall.

Lydia is having a BLAST with her summer activities. She just finished up a Nature Music Class,
Her class was featured on the CVSM Facebook page. Here she is being a butterfly

she's currently at her 2nd Vacation Bible School, and continues with ballet for another few weeks. It’s remarkable that the comments of her teachers and adult leaders are the same: they marvel at her enthusiasm.

Since Miriam’s arrival the kids have truly watched their fair share of television. Naturally a little “mommy guilt” accompanies this truth. However, I smile with pride when these two bring their TV characters into our world. They pretend they are “Diego and Alicia” or “Toby: you are Steve and I am Blue”. They “save the sloths” and “find the clues” documenting them in their “notebooks.” To get this photo I put the Apple TV on "pause"...

Both kids adore going outside. (If we could just get them to remember to shut the door – the AC goes out with them and the bugs enter in…)
Whether it's picking strawberries,

Spending the day at Fuller Lake,

Or splashing in the pool on our deck.

Last week Lydia found a barely alive cicada. With daddy’s help she proceeded to let it crawl all over her shirt and arm. Then, she and Tobias built a house for it. A little drama followed when it passed to cicada heaven (and then disappeared!) but it’s remarkable to me that they love nature so much. In fact, both of them slept in a tent in the backyard with daddy on 4th of July weekend. Well, if you can call a 4:45am wake up by Tobias “sleeping”. They had a blast chasing fireflies with their bug nets, making s’mores, and using their flashlights in the tent.

One of the running “themes” of our big kids’ play is “baby.” (I wonder why!) They take turns being the “baby” and the other fulfills the responsibility of feeding, napping, playing with, and generally ordering around. A glimpse into our world…

Future

2011-03-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

As soon as I saw the title of this final assignment, I knew what I wanted to capture: some how, some way, my WHOLE family together, one place, one time, loving on each other.

Here is the description: "What do you see in your loved one’s future? What will they be doing? What will you be doing with them? What do you look forward to doing with them? How is their future bright? Take a step in your own personal time machine and capture something with your lens that will foreshadow your loved one’s future."

I've heard this saying many times, but it seems particularly poignant at this moment, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future." Yes, in 2 short weeks we will be adding another little miracle to our family. I don't know if it's a boy or girl, I don't know what his or her face looks like or what type of personality he or she will have. I don't know whether this child will be healthy or have some sort of disability. I don't know how the dynamics will be with my three children...

This I do know, this child was known and created by a loving God. This child is loved beyond belief by his or her heavenly Father and is welcomed into a family who loves him or her unconditionally. This child is loved by family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. Oh, the blessings of this new little life. Oh the love that already surrounds this miracle. Praise God for this amazing gift of life, His perfect plan for it, and His indescribable love!

It has been a great adventure capturing the "Joy of Love" over this past month. Thanks for joining me - looking forward to sharing more love to come...

What they say

2011-03-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Now here's a challenge: "What do they say to you? this can be a favorite phrase or slang that they use OR it can be words that they use to encourage you and motivate you. You can also capture them saying a phrase they say over and over or just find something inanimate that best captures WHAT they say." Tough stuff. Really I contemplated first, "who says what that really touches my heart?" and then, "how the hay do I capture that in a photograph?"

Tobias recently started calling me "Mommo". No big deal, I guess. I mean, I suppose lots of kids have fun names for their parents. Yet, this little nickname has become special to me. It's something he didn't do because of his big sister. It's something special that just he and I share. It's a term of true love and affection. And I cherish it.

I set the camera on "continuous" and had him say, "Mom-mo" over and over again. Here is my precious Tobias saying my name in a way that only he can... (Ok, so I made a "story board" of this on Photoshop but it won't load on Blogger so I'm just uploading the pics)

I'll always be your "Mommo", Tobo!

Bromance

2011-02-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, first of all, I think the title of this assignment is hilarious. Second, I didn't really follow the instructions which read, "Who do they want to spend all their time with when they are not with you? Celebrate their bro-mance or their relationship with their best bud! Photograph them with their wingman."

When Mark and his friends orchestrate a time to hang out (which, unfortunately, is relatively seldom), it occurs what they call "late night" which means when all of our children are tucked into their beds. While this is incredibly considerate of them, it makes it pretty impossible to photograph them (in the dark). They also tend to "go to the mountains" which means I'm definitely not able to capture what they do. Honestly, sometimes I'm not sure I want to know what they do, so I'll maintain my ignorance about their guy-time and move on to a different type of male-bonding.

As I mentioned before, Mark loves learning about cars. And he is passing this love along to his son. Tobias LOVES watching Mark play "racing cars" on the XBox. Mark lets Toby choose the type and color of car to race and they have fun "zooming" them around the track and crashing into things. When it's convenient, Mark also attempts to catch "MotorWeek" on PBS on Saturday mornings. Here is a photo of Toby and daddy snuggled up delving into the world of "fast cars" for 1/2 hr. We often hear the refrain, "Daddy, I wanna watch racing cars!" I love to watch this love develop between father and son - not their love of cars per sae, but their unity and excitement in a common interest.

When you love them most

2011-02-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

This assignment was posted a few days ago. I'm attempting to "catch up" this weekend. I currently have a gloriously silent home so I'm taking advantage to complete these last couple days...

Here is "day 25"'s challenge: What makes you tick about your loved one? What do they do to go out of their way to make sure you are happy and that you have a GREAT day?

So, I am spoiled. My husband comes home from work every day at lunch. I'm not sure how to express how much I appreciate this daily act of service. Sure, he could go to the lunch room and chit chat with his coworkers. He could read ESPN.com or work on school work during his hour lunch break. Instead, he chooses to enter into what he knows will be a little bit of a crazy time (in the midst of a sometimes-stressful work day). He makes lunch for his 2 & 4 year old, he gives big hugs and asks how our day is going, he takes Tobias to the potty and puts him down for a nap, he gets the mail, and all four of us gather at the lunch table TOGETHER. It is a tremendous help to me to have this mini-break in the middle of the day particularly when my morning has consisted of rushing around, transporting little ones to their appropriate destinations, and completing various errands or chores. What a blessing this man is to sacrifice his "me time" for our family. I'm so grateful as he shows me and his children how much he loves us through this gift of time and attention.

Caught him playing games and goofing around with the kids. I love how he's wearing his scrubs and his OT badge is dangling.

We love you, daddy!

Where

2011-02-25T15:01:00.001-08:00

Once again, I'm a little behind. This particular assignment was tough because, well, it was relatively impossible for me to get to "where" I knew he was "the one" at a moment's notice. It's also posing a challenge because back then we didn't use digital cameras so I don't have digital files to even upload moments from those days...

Thus, the scanned photos.

Mark and I were in every class together in our Occupational Therapy program with 30 or so other students at Towson University. It was a pretty intimate group and, whether we liked it or not, we became closely acquainted with one another. We became friends, having lunch together periodically and gathering at evening study groups. Somehow (um, definitely God!) we were placed together as partners to create and lead a group in one of our behavioral health classes. I'll never forget the professors response, "That was the best partner project I've ever experienced in this course." We certainly complimented one another well, yet remained "friends" for a couple years.
Study group for Anatomy & Physiology = fried brains

THEN, Mark joined our Habitat for Humanity group on a spring break trip to Charleston, SC. Experiencing him outside of the academic element struck a spark. As soon as we returned from that week, we began dating.
Notice how he has a hammer aimed at my noggin. ;)

It wasn't until about a year later that our relationship moved to the "next level"... I was doing a 3 month internship in Santa Barbara, CA. I was all alone on the West Coast while he was living with his parents in suburban DC completing his internship. His parents graciously footed the bill for a plane ticket and we spent a glorious long weekend sharing sunny CA. This is where we had "the talk" and pursued our relationship toward marriage.
Here we are at one of the missions, typical of southern CA.

So these are the 3 turning points, special places and moments, leading to our union. It was fun to search for these photos and reminisce. Oh, how great is the Lord who orchestrated all of this and faithfully brought us to this day...

Facebook

2011-02-23T15:14:00.000-08:00

This is a kind of funny, kind of fun, "free day" assignment... "JUST DO IT! You know you have some awesome facebook photos of your loved one. Pick your favorite, copy it (save it) and print it to have forever!"

This has been Mark's profile pic on Facebook for, oh, at least 6 months if not more. We are at a friend's wedding in May of last year (I sang and played flute) goofing off at the reception. Mark stole/borrowed one of the bridesmaid's bouquets and he's infamous for making silly faces in photos without my knowledge. I love how happy we look/are.

And I've already printed it and framed it. Ahead of the game on that one!

I didn't go back to find the original file, just stole it off Facebook for simplicity's sake.

Face (portrait)

2011-02-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

For this day (which was yesterday), our assignment was: "Your task today is to just capture your loved one’s portrait. A head and shoulders shot. Simplify the background (find a neutral wall in the home) so that the focus is truly on them and their beauty."

Lydia was available and somewhat willing (or did I force her?) when the lighting was optimal, so I seized my opportunity. For some reason, when I look at these, I just can't comprehend how beautiful I think my daughter is AND how she's grown in beauty... You never can fathom the depth of love you'll have for these miracles when they enter your lives and these photos knock me off my feet with thankfulness for this love-filled life...

Hands

2011-02-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been following the "Joy of Love" adventure, you've noticed that I've taken a few days off. The weekend was Cah-ray-zee, so I opted for a little break. Never fear, I'm back. ;) And since I missed a few days I'll post a few photos per assignment.

Yesterdays was "hands" - we were to get out our "macro" lens and get up-close-and-personal with the hands of one we love. Now, yesterday the lighting was STINKY - it was very dark all day long - overcast/cloudy. Good day for a nap (in which I indulged) not so good for photography with natural light.

I attempted multiple times...

At the breakfast table while Lydia was "organizing" her jewelry box (Lydia's LOVE of girliness)

While we were driving to Kohl's after work (Mark's LOVE of cars)

My mom after family dinner cuddling on the sofa with her 3 grandchildren (LOVE just oozes here ;)

But I just wasn't truly thrilled with any of these. Thus, I attempted again today with the glorious sunlight reflecting from the newly fallen snow streaming into my windows.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree - Lydia checking out her photographs on her own little pink camera.

But then, came my favorite... Lydia was playing in the kitchen, turned to me (on the computer assessing the "hands" photos) and declared, "I want to pray". I immediately responded, "Go ahead, honey! You can pray any time, any where." I just so happened to have my camera right beside me and caught this one. I'm serious, it's not posed! Lydia's love of God just makes me glow with joy. The epitome of LOVE: Our gracious God who first loved us, so much that He gave His only Son so that we may have life eternal. To have my children know and develop their relationship with this amazing, loving God - now that's LOVE!

Staying In

2011-02-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

It's ironic that on the warmest day this year, almost spring-like, our assignment was titled, "staying in" when everyone just wanted to be OUTSIDE in the fresh, glorious air. Oh well. My kids did have some TV time after nap/rest, so I caught them zoning out with Dora before dinner.

Here is the actual instruction for the assignment: "What do you do when you are home together?" We were, again, supposed to set up the tripod and capture what we do when we're all here together. Honestly, there wasn't much time when the four of us were here at the same time yesterday (work for daddy, preschool, Mother's Day Out, music class, church choir...) so I just got the kids. And I pretty much never watch TV with them. Sometimes they "stay up late" (like 8 or 8:30 ;) with daddy and watch movies, but usually they get a TV show when I need 24-28 minutes (the running time of an On Demand cartoon) of peace like while prepping dinner.

Oh, and yesterday was "rainbow day" at Lydia's preschool. I usually just dress Tobias according to her school themes to try to carryover the lessons into home-life, thus, LOTS of colors and patterns. ;)

together (self-portrait)

2011-02-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

Go figure, the day we are assigned to do a "self portrait" with the one we love, I get negative amount of sleep the night before resulting in some serious puffy, dark-ringed eyes... Mid-day I decided in no way, shape or form was my face going to be in this photo. Mark came home at 415 and had to dash out at 445 for his night class, so in that time I set up the tripod and decided on a silhouette. I've never attempted one before, but today was the day.

Me & my true love awaiting another gift of love...

Kiss

2011-02-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Pretty self-explanatory. The assignment was to catch a smooch of a loved one. Our instructor gave a warning, "you may have to use your tripod and the camera's self timer to get you with your loved one." so I did. Honestly, I didn't think much about this prior to setting up the tripod. First, I was a little apprehensive about the tripod shots, particularly since it was chilly outside (we were on the front porch) and I wasn't sure how the tripod set-up would work out with focusing, framing, etc. Second, really never know what Lydia might do or how she might react in these situations. At times, she's completely cooperative, which happened to be today, until she got chilly of course. And I really can't blame her, I was cold too!

It was perfect to get Lydia to kiss me because, well, she's a kisser. Often the objects of her affection are inanimate. For example, she kissed her Tinkerbell lollipop she got at a Valentine's party today. She kisses her stuffed animals and other random toys that she's excited about. Basically, if she's thrilled or overwhelmed with joy, she kisses. Love this girlie!

I was chatting with a girlfriend and fellow photog this morning explaining how post-processing is really "not my thing." I love to take photographs, but the editing part somewhat frustrates me, particularly since it has been a "trial and error" process that has not come naturally to me. That said, yesterday I purchased (at half off I might add - score!) a few Photoshop Actions from http://myfourhensphotography.com/. This afternoon I had some quiet time to play around with them a little and am encouraged by the results. Now, it still took way more time than I prefer, but I suppose, with anything, this process becomes more streamlined with practice. Once again this class has challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone and explore uncharted photography territory for me. Fun!

Jewelry

2011-02-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

Some days I'm just not inspired. You know, just don't "feel" like getting my camera out and/or thinking creatively. This course is certainly challenging me to push beyond how I "feel" and "just DO it!" Yesterday I was zonked. Running the kids to MDO, working, walking with my love, grocery shopping, cleaning up from Valentine's parties, dinner at my parents... In the midst of all of that I just didn't get the time or the energy to get the right lighting or the patience to get the "right shot". That said, this is what I DID get...

The assignment was to: "Capture that wedding band on his finger today. if your loved one is not married to you, then try to document a piece of jewelry he or she wears." My whole idea for "generations" (a lesson I skipped due to illness) was to get my mom's, my, and Lydia's hands all together somehow with both my mom and I wearing the rings that we inherited following my grandmother's passing. So, I kind of resurrected that idea yesterday and put on Lydia the bracelet from her baptism that includes a charm of her great-grandmother. I wanted to try to get my grandma (we called her "Babe")'s ring in the photo too. My squirmy 4-year old, all jacked up on sugar from the Valentine's party of the day, just couldn't stay still to "pose" for this one. Although it's not what I had envisioned, it still captures the legacy of my grandmother, specifically the cross representing her faith in Christ that lives in the hearts of the generations that follow her...

This is taken about 4:30pm - although the sun was out earlier a huge cloud came through so it was rather dark, taken in the light from our French doors to our deck.

This is what I got of the wedding band. Trying to make our hands into a "heart shape" (I mean, it was Valentine's Day, after all!) Since she asked us to get the wedding band of the one we love, I focused on his ring. February is not the optimal time of year for beautiful skin. I feel like mine looks 80 years old!

"Jewelry" assignment completed. Glad I waited a day to work on the post-processing. I definitely saw things with a fresher perspective today. :)

Routine

2011-02-13T16:52:00.001-08:00

Today's assignment included capturing an aspect of daily "routine" of one you love. I plugged away through the day: potty, breakfast, cleaning up, playing, dressing, church, lunch, nap, family swim time, dinner, groceries... And then realized that I neglected to capture any aspect of our daily routine. However, it seemed fitting that I got my camera out at bedtime because this is one of the most established routines of the day. I know for most young families bedtime can be a long, tedious process: snack time, potty, teeth-brushing, jammies, reading, prayers, songs, sleep (well, this sometimes comes after Tobias attempting to escape his room and lots of chattering between the sibs). Yet, when I reflect, it's one of the most treasured times of the day. Yes, it's annoying sometimes that the kids are so "needy" and I envision a day when I say, "Go to bed." and they do the whole routine by themselves. Yet, at the same time, I relish in this neediness as I know it's fleeting and at this point, they crave our attention and time. Not five minutes ago Mark went to check on the kids after saying the initial goodnight about 1/2 hr. ago. His question: "Tobias, what do you want?" Toby's response, "I want you and mommy to be in here [his room]". Guaranteed some days, this time of day is truly trying, frustrating, exasperating...but I am reminded of the love and lessons and tender moments of this "routine" that makes the long days seems oh, so sweet.

About the photo: Mark reading to the kids (Lydie is on the other side, but I was up against the wall and couldn't get her in the pic), not to mention my big belly got in the way of a more "interesting" camera angle. At 8 months pregnant, I just can't move like a spring chicken any more. I digress. No natural lighting. Used my external on-camera flash bounced at an approximately 60 degree angle. You'll note that both yesterday and today you see scratches on Toby's face, a result of Lydia's fingernails. Seriously, she clawed him in a fight. UGH. Anyway, I kinda like how it shows the tough parts of the day, but at the same time the serenity and intensity of listening to a story before drifting off to dreamland.

Eyes

2011-02-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

Today I'm not getting philosophical or even reflective. I'm just plain pooped.

The assignment: "Today I want you to take a crisp photo of your loved ones eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, to try to truly capture your loved one’s eyes today."

The instruction included having them face toward a window. My children were less than cooperative, but I managed to sneak out these 2 shots of them. It's remarkable to me how they actually look alike here (which I don't think they do in "real life" at all!)

Our instructor went on to note that she finds the best lighting to be in a doorway or covered porch. I never ever would have thought of this on my own, but accepted the challenge. This afternoon I attempted both.

Lydia in the doorway.

Kids on the front porch.

Simply love these eyes and the little souls behind them. :)

Dreams

2011-02-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

Today we were challenged to: "What does your loved one dream of accomplishing or doing? Take a photo that pays homage to this dream."

My kids are 4, 2, and yet to be born, so while they may have "dreams" (Lydia's is definitely to go to Disney World), they seem to fluctuate with the passing fads. My husband's, on the other hand, are pretty solidified. Mark wants to own a "racing car" (as he tells Toby).

Now, Mark has owned his fair share of vehicles. In fact, we like to tease that every time I have a baby, he purchases a "baby" of his own. At one point we owned 2 Subarus, a Chevy pickup truck, and 2 motorcycles. Yes, a bit ridiculous. Our garage has now slimmed down to simply Mark's 1st car, a Subaru Imprezza, and our "family vehicle", a Chevy Traverse. Oh, and lots of bicycles, but they get great gas mileage so they are a-ok with me. ;)

What hasn't changed during this revolving door of motorized wheeled machines, is Mark's undying passion to own a sports car. He dreams of what kind he will get and when he will get it. He dreams of where he will drive and who he will take with him. For now, he satisfies these cravings with an abundance of monthly reading material on the subject. He subscribes to at least three (maybe four now!) car magazines. As soon as they hit our mailbox they are devoured. He memorizes statistics which blows my mind as sometimes I have to remind him to take the garbage out. Seriously, he can tell you the horse-power, torque, size wheels.. on pretty much any make and model car. Amazes me every time. This "dream" is one from childhood (so I suppose I shouldn't dismiss those of my little ones) when he used to play games guessing cars by their headlights alone, which he can proudly still do, of course.

Here is where his dream resides, at this point, in stacks of car magazines and in his ever-expanding knowledge of cars.

By the way, if you want to provide immense satisfaction to this man, please consult him prior to purchasing a car. He LOVES to give car advice and search for the "just right" car for you. If you want to make his year, actually purchase one of the cars he suggests - it puts him over-the-top with happiness. A great example of how a little love grows when shared with others...

[Details of this photo: taken in our basement with essentially no natural light. Overhead florescent lighting, 2 table lamps with light bulbs. You know, thought I'd give myself a challenge. Not thrilled with some of the glare on the magazines, but like how the magazine titles are all in focus.]

Space

2011-02-10T12:29:00.000-08:00

Today's assignment: Document the space - where they are most comfortable. The leading question was: "What is their 'spot' in the house?" Honestly, all of the humans in my household gravitate toward the sofa. This is likely due to its strategic position in front of the television. :) The only family member that definitively has a "spot" is our canine, Guinness.

Let me preface this with a simple fact: I am NOT a "dog person." In fact, I spent much of my childhood doing anything I could to avoid contact with dogs. It wasn't that I was particularly "scared" of them and never had a traumatic experience with them or anything. I just simply didn't like them. To me, dogs were smelly and hairy and drooly and those characteristics created one image in my mind, "YUCK!" Here is another fact: I married a "dog person." Experiencing the true love, companionship, and devotion in the relationship with Mark and his dog, my heart began to warm to these creatures. As soon as we bought a home, Mark's first agenda was fencing in the backyard and hitting the animal shelter. There he found the perfect dog: Guinness. Now, I must say, I was not involved at all in the training of this dog. Mark dedicated hours each day to teaching Guinney how to act like a "normal" dog. You see, Guinness was a big scaredy cat. In fact, he was petrified to go down/up stairs, and practically pulled your arm out of its socket on walks to avoid getting within 1/2 block of a dumpster. He coward at trash cans. I know you are thinking, "Doesn't sound like the perfect dog to me!", but he was and is the perfect dog for our family. Almost eight years later, I love this dog. Prior to children, he went everywhere with us. He was a source of comfort during our struggle with infertility. And when I gave birth to Lydia and was hospitalized, I remember saying, "I miss Guinness, let's go home." He "protects" our children and is more than patient when they dress him up, chase him around the house, and even ride on him. I love how he naps with me, taking his place right by my feet keeping them toasty warm. And even though he is undoubtably partial to his man, he waits for me to come upstairs before settling in for the night. There are certainly things about this animal that bother me like his begging for table scraps and others that have just become a way of life like his black hair everywhere. Yet, these are the things we tolerate, and even embrace, for those we love.

These days Guinness is pretty lazy. He doesn't get walks nearly as often as he should. He spends most of the day napping on our bed. So here he is, in "his spot."

I'm still not a "dog person" but I do happen to have a soft spot in my heart for this dog. I can honestly say, I love Guinness.

Passions and Hobbies

2011-02-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

This one was super-easy. A true no-brainer. Tobias has a passion: trains. This is also super-easy for me to photograph because he spends so much time playing them. Nothing real philosophical today - just plain fun. Although, now that I think about it, playing trains is pretty much Tobias' primary occupation - it's more than "fun", it's a JOB. One that he takes quite seriously, I might add.

[Tobias intently and contently "chugging"]

I love to see how his big sister, who otherwise completely typifies the "first born" stereotype, has embraced his love of trains and often joins him in his passion. And how Toby's love for trains has sparked a renewal in his daddy's interest in trains. At Christmas time, Grandpapa set up Daddy's model train set and the three of them spent hours in the basement of Mark's childhood home cleaning tracks, testing engines, and celebrating when they got one to light up and make it around the track. We've been to two train shows as a family this winter and his great-aunt and uncle took him to one too. This passion of a two-year-old certainly has inspired those he loves and who love him to fuel and encourage his love.

[I neglected to mention: he's also pretty much obsessed with tunnels.]

And a little photography talk... We are to continue to focus on using "manual" mode of our camera and balancing exposure. I pretty much always shoot in manual these days, however getting the proper exposure is definitely a work-in-progress. The sun actually came out today and was streaming in my window which threw me for a loop (had to completely adjust all of my settings which I'm a little too slow at to capture kids in their "optimal" moments), but then I had fun figuring out what combination of settings would work best. Later I pulled the shades to practice that way which was completely different in technique. For the most part, I've been happily shooting with my 50mm f/1.8 for these assignments, however now I want a new camera so that the "noise" is not so prevalent on the higher ISOs. A girl can dream, right? ;)

Gifts of love

2011-02-08T18:22:00.001-08:00

So I pretty much feel like I "failed" at this assignment. It was to capture a "gift from the heart": something, tangible or intangible, that shows how others love through giving. Well, naturally my husband has given me more gifts than I can fathom. He has loved me through some dark days, particularly through a very self-destructive period. He persevered through infertility and prayed me through childbirth. Really, he has given me life - my own and that of my children. Truly, how do you photograph that!?!

And God's grace and love through my life is absolutely overwhelming. He loves me. He saved me. Again, can't imagine how to photograph the depth of this sacrificial love...

Perplexed and creatively spent, I took 5 minutes pre-nap attempting to get a photo of Tobias hugging my pregnant belly. This gift of love is one that I have cherished over the past few weeks. He'll randomly and passionately run up to me and declare, "Mommy! I want to hug the baby!" It melts my heart every time. The gray part at the bottom of the photo is my belly with his hand on it.

Who they Love

2011-02-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't given up on the "Joy of Love", just took a couple days off.

Saturday's assignment was "love to hate". We were in DC all day: National History Museum in celebration of Lydia's accomplishment of writing her letters and then celebrating Mark's sister's birthday in Rockville. It was a perfect day. Honestly, nothing I "hated" about it. ;) What I was planning on photographing was my dear 4-year-old's pacifiers. Yes, she still sucks/chews on them when she sleeps. I hate that I can't get rid of them. Yet, I love what it reminds me of... my baby girl. She will always be.

Yesterday was "who they love". I wanted to capture the kids with their daddy. Not only because they love him, but they love what he loves. You see, Mark has a slight obsession with the New York Giants. They are "his" team. And my children have, in their short lives, without force, adopted this love for this football team. When his daddy walks in the door at lunch, sometimes Tobias will randomly say, "Go Giants, daddy!" which is to say "I'm totally cheering YOU on!" They love their very own Giants hats and don them with pride, parading around the house. When we drive by the high school football field, Toby will say, "Daddy, the Giants are not out today." And when he sees a football player on TV will exclaim, "Daddy, the Giants win!" again to say, "Daddy, YOUR team, OUR team, WE won! WE are winners!" My kids love the Giants because they are a part of their daddy. They love their daddy and love his loves.

We were in a rush, late for a super bowl party on the way out of the house. We all wore our Giants garb. Completely aware that the Giants were not playing in the super bowl. (Ok, so we're in a little denial, but it's a fun denial ;) Anyway, the lighting was horrible. Of course everyone had to wear their hats creating serious face shadows. It was going on 5pm and light was waning. I had to jack up the ISO which, on my camera means "noise". I was going to ditch this photo, but then opted to use an action that incorporated noise and came up with this.

At the Super Bowl party I broke out my flash. Tried to bounce it off the wall, but got a reflection off the window, so bounced it off the ceiling and got this one. Daddy and his boy. Loving football together.

Today's assignment was "generations" - capturing the love throughout generations. It was perfect timing as tonight is our family dinner at my parents. Unfortunately I'll have to postpone my ideas for today as I received a call from my dad this afternoon that dinner was cancelled. My mom has pneumonia. These infections going around are serious stuff. Hoping and praying the ladies in the generations sandwiching me (my mommy and my daughter) are back to health and wholeness soon!

What they wear

2011-02-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

Today was "one of those days" (or more like "one of those mornings") in the Willson household. Lydia has been sick for the past couple days and, as she is turning the corner, becoming a little stir-crazy. While his sister was down-and-out, Tobias was getting accustomed to having more than typical amount of attention. As this became usurped, he decided to attempt to regain his new-found power only to find resistance. All of this made for a relatively frustrated mommy. ARGH!

Since we weren't able to leave the house, I anticipated staying in PJs all day, which is why I started by choosing "footie pjs" as my "what they wear" subject-matter. I took a few shots, then re-read the tutorial. Whoops. I neglected the assignment which was to get out the camera manual and read about the "metering" modes and try them out. I had visions of playing around with this on some varied subject matter like Lydia's $5 Veggietales watch or the holes and paintsplatters on Mark's jeans as he works on refinishing a dresser for our new little one. However, neither of these came to fruition as the daylight faded... So, I went back to my original shots and this is what I choose to share...

I wanted to get a little more of the feet in the photo (you know, to capture the "footie" part of footie PJs), but, due to my current condition, I'm just not physically able to get any lower. :) Although a little distracting, the blue tissue box behind Toby's head describes the state of the day as does the TV-zoned look on his face.
When I turned it to black-and-white I lost the background distraction and also drew the light toward his face (as opposed to his PJs). So different how the effects can totally change the mood of a photo.

So, yes, I love my kids. I love them when they are sick and mopey. I love them when they lounge around in footie PJs. I love them even when they are ripping things out of each others' hands (although this is obviously the most difficult time to love). I love them. I love them. I love them.

Then and Now

2011-02-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

Today's assignment involved capturing a loved one contrasting some aspect of them in relation to the past with the present. We were also to focus on "cropping" specifically cropping pretty close up.

When I met Mark, he wore glasses. All of the time. In fact, he was relatively blind without them. Here we are in 2005. Note the glasses (and my BLOND hair! that's what kids has done to me - my hair is now almost black!)

In the fall of 2007, we decided to invest in what he calls, "new eyeballs" aka lasix surgery. Totally worth it for so many reasons. No glare with flash photography for one. ;) Of course, Mark would call it a significant improvement in quality of life.

I simply love these big green eyes and all that is behind them: the sensitivity, devotion, humor, compassion, determination, honesty...the love.

How they LOOK

2011-02-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

I'm having trouble choosing one photo. ARGH. So, I just won't. I will choose 3.

Yesterday's tutorial video (which, honestly, I just watched this morning) discussed "finding the light" in your home. This afternoon, I found it in my entryway, just like our instructor. I never thought of taking photos there before, but found some decent "catchlights" in my subjects eyes...

Lydia, descending the stairs post-eyerub. She's sick, poor thing. It's how she looks today. :(

Guinness, anxiously awaiting his master's return from work. Longingly looking out the front window in anticipation.

Tobias, seconds after I woke him from his afternoon slumber. Putting on a show for the camera. It's how he looks, in all his glory.

Love, Love, Love

the joy of love

2011-02-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

So you MAY be seeing an increase in blog entries from me in the next month... I've started a free month-long online photo course and hope to share some of the shots on here. Check it out and join me! And let me know if you are doing this too.

Today's assignment was to capture "what they do". After realizing it was a "snow day" and thinking, "I have all morning to take photos", I got called into work and suddenly only had 15 min. to finish up a craft, get everyone dressed, and get out the door. Oh, yeah, and complete my photo assignment. Yikes!

The photo tutorial was on using window lighting in our homes as well as getting "catch lights" in the eyes. My home does not have any gloriously large windows and I was shooting at 8:30am (not the optimal time for window lighting), plus I can't say my subject was the most "cooperative", but I worked with what I have and that's the challenge and fun of a course like this! I definitely had to jack up the ISO (as the instructor did) and use a huge aperture. Most of these are not or very minimally edited due to, well, let's just say "time constraints". ;)

A new favorite thing of Toby's to "do": snipping.

One of Toby's primary occupations: drinking.

What they "do"? He does a lot of potty time. :)

Love the contrast of his shirt declaring that he's "rough and tough" while sporting gorgeous blue headbands. This one is a little over-exposed...

This boy

2011-01-26T05:51:00.000-08:00

Mark and I agree: Tobias either is completely charming and lovable or giving us gray hairs. Seriously. But when I look at this face, my heart just melts.

As part of our “New Years goals”, we decided to memorize a Bible verse per week with our kiddos. I found a site that has some cute kids ones complete with suggestions for familiar children’s song tunes as well as motions.

http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/bible_and_rhyme_activities.html#BibleMemoryCharts

Here is Toby’s rendition of Psalm 119:

“Thy Word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin in the sea.” (against Thee ;)

A New Year

2011-01-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

Maybe, just maybe, I'll be a little teeny tiny bit better at blogging more regularly this year... Notice how I'm not making any promises whatsoever.

I whole-heartedly admit that I am a complete and utter blogging slacker. Honestly, the months of November and December were booked with portrait photographs mixed in with lots of family celebrations, school programs, and gathering of friends. Truly a joyous time, yet not many spare moments to focus on documenting our lives.

Here are a few quotes and comments from the Christmas season:

• Lydia dictated this letter to Santa:
“Dear Santa,
My children, Lydia & Tobias, were good.
My children are hoping you will take Lydia’s special bag by the fire.
I hope you bring me lots of presents.
I hope you bring mommy and daddy what they want too.
They wish you a Merry Christmas too.
I hope you know this is my card to you, Santa.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the nice presents.
You are a very nice Santa.
Baby Jesus is born at Christmas. I want you to know that.”

• A couple weeks before Christmas Lydia made this observation to me:
“Mommy, there aren’t very many girls at the Christmas story. Mary is the only one. I want to be the second girl. And then I’ll come back to you, my sweet cupcake.”

• When Tobias saw a Nativity set he would say, “I see Mary, Joe-fuss, and Jesus baby” (as compared to Jesus the adult, you know, with the beard and big robe).

• Lydia did wonderfully in her two preschool programs. She sang the songs, complete with motions and had a grin which you knew was genuine joy. Her favorite Christmas carols to sing were "Away in a Manger" and "Angels we have heard on high."
"Jesus we remember it's Your birthday"

After spending the beginning of my 2nd trimester battling a series of infections for 8 weeks, I’m feeling remarkably well. This baby is truly a “wild one”. Lydia was a “kicker/puncher,” Tobias did “yoga” (squirm and hold a position), this little one shakes my whole belly with his or her acrobatics. At about 9pm every night Phoebes (short for Phoebus our in-utero name) does something akin to a dance: rhythmic, whole body movements. It’s a riot! Lydia laughs and giggles when she feels the baby move. She loves to tell the story of how she was sitting on my lap while we were reading before naptime and the baby kicked her right in the back. We’re so excited for the mid to end of March when this little one is anticipated to arrive. We had a very encouraging appointment with an OB who is, if everything goes well, going to allow me to attempt a VBAC. So, we’re praying I go into labor prior to my scheduled C-section on March 28th. If you feel so inclined, please join us in praying for a safe, natural delivery.

My “nesting” project was to repaint our family room. As soon as Christmas was over Mark spent 2 weeks prepping the walls and soon we were painting every free moment we had. Of course, this was extremely disruptive to the “flow” of our lives since this is where we spend a good portion of our time playing and relaxing. We are so pleased with the final outcome which just needs a few finishing touches. So thankful for this “new” space in anticipation of the increased amount of time I’ll soon be spending here nursing, changing, playing, napping (Lord willing!)…
BEFORE

AFTER:

I continue to be awed at the time and energy Mark spends to show his love for me. Oh, how thankful I am for him!

Some random snippets about the kids:

• Call each other “bonky head” to be silly

(before heading out for their first real sledding experience at the Gotwald gathering at Camp Sequanota)
• Toby has a tough time saying “R”s so they usually come out sounding like “L”s. For example “Let’s Rock and Roll” sounds like “Let’s lock and loll.” ☺ We can pretty much understand everything he says if we know to replace about ½ of the Ls with Rs.
• Toby really enjoys being “maked” and telling other people that they are “maked” even if they are completely clothed.

• Lydia loves to pretend and create her own agenda (like getting all of her snow clothes on, going outside and eating icicles and sledding by herself after asking for permission). We're thankful she's taking an interest in learning to write letters and really starting to help around the house (putting clean silverware away from the dishwasher, putting laundry in the basket, setting the table, etc.) She is becoming such a sweet "big girl".
• Two weeks after “saying goodbye to diapers,” I’m declaring Tobias potty trained. Stressful? Yes. Worth it? Totally.

Whew, that's enough for now. Blessings!

"I'm 4!"

2010-10-29T10:51:00.001-07:00

It's a phrase we hear echoed to strangers in the general public pretty much every day. Yes, Lydia is more than thrilled to be a "4-year-old".

Ok, so she was 4 a few weeks ago. I’m behind on the blogging, as usual. Here’s what I posted on Facebook on her birthday: “rejoicing as I remember the first time I held the tiniest human I've ever met in my arms... Today I'm thanking God for and celebrating 4 years of the life of my healthy, bright, beautiful, caring, loving, thoughtful, giving Lydia Elise. Happy Birthday, baby. We love you!”

This girl has an amazing heart. In Sunday school last week we were asked to share “What do you think are the most remarkable and wonderful traits the Author included as He developed the character of your child?” I immediately thought of her giving heart. For her birthday she received a Strawberry Shortcake set to add to one she already had. She found both of her Strawberry Shortcake dolls and was toting them around in her purse (where she stores her treasures). When we stopped by a friend’s house to deliver meals, she had a brief encounter with their daughter, her friend. I missed the exchange, but it ended with Lydia giving one of her dolls to her friend. When I got in the car Lydia explained, “I gave Riley the Strawberry Shortcake because I love her.” Yes, Lydia will often say, “Mommy, I have a present for you!” Which, in her mind is saying, “Mommy, I love you so much! Here, have something that is special to me because YOU are special to me.”

In typical first born fashion, Lydia is a leader. She enjoys directing the play of pretty much everyone she encounters from her babysitters, grandparents, classmates, friends, and, of course, her brother. Like doing things like this...

Lydia is an initiator with an agenda. Her G-pa was babysitting one morning and he relayed the story that Lydia came inside from the front porch with a pumpkin in hand, retrieved a butter knife from the silverware drawer, and proceeded to attempt to carve her pumpkin.

Lydia is affectionate.

She hugs her teachers, her classmates, and even the farm animals at the petting zoo.

She hugs mommy and daddy’s friends. She hugs and kisses mommy’s belly (for the baby). And requires hugs and kisses prior to our preschool drop-off or daddy leaving for work.

Lydia is an organizer. It seems as if she is perpetually “reorganizing” as she calls it. This process includes taking certain “treasures” (little dolls, candy, play money, trinkets, jewelry, etc.) and moving them from one bag/purse/carryall to another.

She’s very particular about it and, of course, protective of it.

Lydia loves God.

As we were hiking at Cunningham Falls Park the other day, she was creating her own worship song. Strolling along, praising God in His creation. This morning she asked me to “read the Bible verse” to her from her devotion book we gave her for her birthday. And often she declares, “Daddy, I woke up praising God!” Her prayers have depth and thoughtfulness and she is excited to attend Sunday School and worship. Today when I asked her to sing a song, assuming she'd sing the "ABC's" or "Twinkle Twinkle", she broke out in "How Great is our God." :)

Sure, Lydia has her tough times. All of these positive qualities can easily turn into disobedience particularly when her focus is interrupted by a request from an adult. Through mistakes and discipline and prayer, she is learning.

And we are blessed beyond belief with her life. "Thank you, Lord, for creating Lydia and choosing her to be a part of our family. We cherish and love her and ask You to help us guide her in fulfilling Your plan for her life. She's awesome and so are You. Amen."

Back to School

2010-09-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Whew, I made it before the end of the month!
September 28, 2010

The school year is finally in full swing. Mark’s trudging through his “managerial accounting” course which is requiring a tremendous amount of individual and group work. He’s learning and can envision the applications, but coming from a purely health care background, the concepts are a bit complicated and certainly foreign to him.

Both of the kids are at Mother’s Day Out one day a week. I’ve been impressed with the preschool program where I feel Lydia is being challenged and provided with unique learning and development opportunities such as individualized computer time plus a whole lot of fun and love (she’s been such a “hugger” this year!)

Lydia is also attending preschool two days a week in the 3-year-old class with “Franklin’s Friends.” The atmosphere there is so warm and caring and she has a blast with her buddies.

Tobias is the shocker above all shockers. When I dropped him off the first day he said, “Bye mom, I love you.” And I walked out. That was it. No tears. No screaming. No reaching for me while wailing. Polar opposite of last year. His teachers LOVE him as he is the in-class entertainment. He provides songs at lunch (ABC’s, Happy and you Know It, Happy Birthday…) and disciplines the other kids at naptime (“Lay down. Be quiet. Listen to the music. It’s time to sleep.”) After giving out those instructions, he does follow them himself and naps well there. It’s such a blessing that he so enjoys and is enjoyed.

The kids also got haircuts last week. Lydia got hers chopped and it was Toby’s first one. They did amazingly well. See the smiles?
Lydia before...

We’ve had some great fall outings including an afternoon at Wheaton Regional Park with Grammy & Papa at the carousel & train ride,

Celebrating G-pa’s birthday with a picnic & creek-walking (and fish-catching!)

Apple picking,

Cheering on daddy in his first Sprint Triathlon. He came in 2nd in his age group and 9th overall. We’re so proud of our hero!

We also spent a bitter-sweet day with Mark's whole family celebrating lots of birthdays, but also bidding farewell to Laura and Nick who will be moving overseas for a few years. They accompanied us to the park where we shared lovely frivolity on the carousel and train, laughing at the kids, and chatting about life. We sure will miss them, particularly upon remembering days like this…

And some sweetness in our lives…

• Lydia sang me this original song to me at dinner this month:
“You look beautiful.
You look precious.
You look wonderful every day.

I love your heart.
I love you the way you are.”

• The pretend play in our house is developing at rapid speeds, particularly on Toby’s end. A couple weeks ago he “dipped” us ice cream from the top of the banister and delivered all sorts of flavors to us. Yesterday he had a whole imaginary playtime at breakfast with the “fish” in his empty cereal bowl. And at dinner, caught "fish" (ice cubes) out of his water cup requesting that we "say goodbye" to the fishies as he crunched them. The kids are coordinating their imaginations in a much more civilized, peaceful manner. Music to my ears.

Life'e moving along at rapid speeds. I'm thankful for this reflection on God's blessings and faithfulness. Praise Him with me! :)

Summer Celebrations

2010-08-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Toby’s birthday celebration at the end of July kicked off a crazy couple weeks of celebrating in the Willson household. Just 4 days after his birthday, Mark and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary with a delectable dinner at the Cashtown Inn followed by the gorgeous views at Hauser Estate Winery topped off with a hot fudge sundae. We rejoice for the gift of our union and our Creator and Redeemer who is our guide, strength, and inspiration.

In celebration of the completion of Mark’s summer grad class we hit the road – 5 hours, non-stop to VA Beach where we joined most of my extended family for 3 lovely days of sun, sand, and surf.

(oh yeah, and ice cream. :)

At our annual Chinese extravaganza at the Imperial Palace, I was treated to song (you really should hear the Gotwald’s sing by they way – they do harmony and everything) and cake. Can you tell I LOVE my birthday? ;)

The town of VA Beach even joined me in the celebration by setting off fireworks from a boat right outside our hotel window.

Unfortunately, my big birthday beach plans were somewhat thwarted by my hubby waking up with a vomiting migraine which left the kids and I on our own for the morning. I took them for a bike ride to the end of the boardwalk where we stumbled upon this awesome playground on the beach.

After packing and loading we joined my family for lunch, shopping, pool time,

naps,

and dinner before heading home, another non-stop trip.

I returned to a mailbox full of cards, gorgeous 2 dozen roses on my doorstep (from my dear sister-in-law Meredith),

and multiple serenades on my answering machine. What blessings are my family and friends who shower me with love and help me to be who God created me to be!

The other side of my extended family enjoyed a picnic at Cowan’s Gap for my cousin’s and my bdays. We played spirited games of bean bag corn-hole (and Mark and I actually won 2 games!)

took a little walk to the lake,

and had a scrumptious dinner with loving fellowship. Yes, and sadly it was the final celebration of my birthday month.

We’ve just been “taking in” these final days of summer: playing outside, taking walks, eating lots of ice cream…

Lydia declares that she is ready to go back to school (but NOT with the big kids!) and we are getting prepared for that transition after Labor Day. Another huge transition around here is the children moving to bunk beds. Tobias was climbing out of his crib with increasing frequency and proficiency so we decided to move him to a “big boy” bed and them into the bunk beds Aunt Leslie had in her basement (Lydia has been begging for bunk beds ever since she experienced my cousins over Christmas). It has been a trial with lots of frustration but guarded success. We went from having to have one parent in the room with them as they fell asleep for every nap and night time (to remind them it was time to put their heads on their pillows, quiet themselves, and FALL ASLEEP), to reminders and a few repeated “checks” which are decreasing in necessity. I have to say, it’s awful cute having them cuddled up in one room.
Reading to the kids before bed. (Tobias insisted on wearing those goggles. :)

Here are a couple developments of the kiddos…
• Lydia is drawing with purpose, creating scenes from her mind that actually resemble something.
This is 2 suns, 2 kids, and 2 beach balls.

• Tobias developed the response to the question, “Why did you do that, Toby?”, “Beeeeeeecause… I want to.”
• Lydie develops elaborate plans such as going to Disney World, and a “Party for Jesus” complete with a menu that she created, and delegated who is doing decorations, cooking, making dessert, etc.
• One of Toby’s silly phrases: “What’s going on, guys?”

Well, our celebrations don't cease when August does, we have lots of birthdays to celebrate in September (2 close friends, a new baby, and 5 immediate family members). Let the celebrations continue! :)

"Where's your...?"

2010-08-09T03:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning, Mark was attempting to keep Tobias engaged and quiet during the beginning of the church service. Mark initiated the name-the-body-part game. He'd quietly ask, "Tobias, where is your... head?" "Where is your...ear?". It seemed to be working: Tobias was smiling and silent. Until daddy completed the typical list of body parts and Tobias stopped, looked daddy in the eyes, and at the top of his voice (which, anyone who knows Tobias knows is QUITE loud) inquired, "Daddy, where is my penis?!?!"

Birthday Boy

2010-08-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Look who's TWO!

We had a lovely family birthday celebration a few days prior to his big day – all of our immediate family were present to rejoice in Tobias’ sweet life. What a blessing to be surrounded by such love, affection, smiles, and, of course, presents. True to form,Toby was so comical opening his presents – completely in awe and enthusiastic beyond measure. When he opened a shirt, he exclaimed, “Oh, Look! A new dress!” You can tell he spends time around his dress-obsessed sister. ;)

Here’s a clip of his reaction (to practically every present):

And here is Toby's amazing "dump truck" cake created by daddy and Grammy with lots of time, energy, creativity, and love.

Toby learning the finer points of his new Ferrari's from daddy. He quickly learned how to say "Ferrari" particularly in the sentence, "That's MY Ferrari."

We had pizza (Toby’s favorite) and took him out for ice cream on his birth date. Just so happened that, as we were running an errand prior to dessert, we ran into Uncle John, Aunt Leslie, and Rach so they joined us for frozen treats. And, of course, lots of playing and running...

Mark took the day off work Friday to spend as a family so we headed to Fuller Lake for some fun in the sun.

Here are some more things our 2-year-old is up to:
• Uses the words, “delicious” and “humongous” appropriately.
• Frequently reiterates, “I get it MYSELF!”
• Pretends he’s “Cap’n Caillou”
• Uses prepositional phrases in most sentences as descriptors: “This one is in the tunnel.” “My milk is on the table.” “I wanna go under there.”. "My Bryon the bulldoza is in the car."
• Speaking of “tunnels”, Toby has a slight infatuation with tunnels. Loves to manufacture/build/create them and drive his vehicles through them. He also loves to drive under or over them in the real car and loudly announces when this occurs.
• Uses “like” like his sister. (at dinner, from under the table Guinness is heard burping.) Toby: “Guinness is like burping.”
• A couple evenings ago after reading books we gather for prayer time. Toby initiates praying: “Dear God, Thank you play. Thank you toys. Thank you friends. [Giggles spurred on by his sister], Thank you Peek-A-Boo. [more Giggles.] Amen.” His first spontaneous prayer.
• Mimi & Pop-pop taught Tobes a little hand shake that includes a “fist bump”. One morning as I was still relaxing in bed, Mark brought Toby in. He crawled on top of me and said, “Mommy, fist bump!” So if you see him, ask him to “fist bump” – so cute.

Oh, how we love Tobias! Here's to a blessed year ahead, buddy!

Sum-Sum-Summatime

2010-07-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

On a very warm Friday, Mimi & Poppop took the cousins to the Washington National Zoo. We had an amazing time together experiencing the wonders of God's creation: the colors, the behaviors, the details, the relationships (lots of babies!)...

Attempting to "chill out" during these unbearably hot summer days. We have spent a good deal of time in the air conditioning the past couple weeks. Really, the kids didn't even WANT to be outside which was A-OK with me!

Here we are less than a week from our Toby-boy’s 2nd birthday. His life is cherished and we love him dearly. His personality has certainly blossomed over the past year, particularly as his vocabulary has expanded. So what is this kid up to?

• Passionately playing with trains and trucks: lining them, connecting them, chugging them around the track, making “tunnels” for them, driving them on various body parts (faces, legs, arms…). He also insists on being read a “train book” in which his favorite parts are the “engine” “brown one” and “cars” (on a car carrier).
So serious...

• Distinguishing and describing. Instead of saying, “oooo, big truck!” It’s now, “It’s a mixer. I see a bulldozer. It’s a scoop. It’s a dump truck. It’s MY backhoe!” And “It’s a blue train. There is an ornange (orange) engine.”

• Developing “pretend” play. The other day I overheard him playing by himself making two trains talk to one another: “Hello Uncle John” “Hello Aunt Leslie” “How are you doing today, Maam?”… He’ll also join his sister in setting a table and filling plates with pretend food. Toby is also game for a good old fashioned dress-up session.

(the redeeming factors in these photos: hard hat and truck-in-hand. ;)

• Becoming a bully. Just last week he started pushing and hitting other children in the church nursery. And his poor cousin, Ally got shoved around on her recent visit too. He’s also throwing toys. Hard. At people. He’s spent quite a bit of time in “time out” – over and over again.
• Counting. “one, two, three, five, six…” Never, ever says “four”. ;)
• Taking his role as “annoying” younger brother. The other night at dinner, as he sat directly across from Lydia, he looked at her and declared in a mocking tone, “My plate is BIGGER.” Of course this started a match of who can say, “no, my plate is bigger!” the loudest.
• Using past tense with surprising accuracy. “I found it.” “I got it.”
• Climbing out of his crib. He has done it a few times, particularly when he's angry (that I put him there for "time out"). I suppose a "big boy bed" is in his future (and ours!)

Lydia has had quite the adventures the past month. Becoming a “big girl” has opened a whole new world of possibilities. She enjoyed two Bible schools. It's awesome to hear her enthusiastically sing the songs that speak God's Word and His Truth.

And a week of evening “Princess Dance Camp.” She enjoyed dressing up, hearing stories, doing crafts, and flitting around. Her little show at the conclusion of the week was so cute. As one of the youngest, she hung right in there.

I’ve also been waking her from her nap around 3pm so we can have some quiet “lesson” time. We read books, do activities or crafts, and practice writing. She has really flourished during these times, taking them quite seriously with unprecedented focus. I’m so thankful she’s finally willing to and excited about learning with me!

Speaking of learning, Mark is trudging through his summer course. We're (I say "we" because it does impact our whole family...) more than 1/2 way there - wooo hoooo!

Here's to keeping cool!

Motivation

2010-06-15T12:01:00.001-07:00

Yes, I’ve been absent from the blog world over the past few weeks. Ok, so it has been a month. No excuses. Or maybe I do have some, like this…

And this…

And this…

Certainly loving warm weather, sunshine, water, sand, and even bugs!

We’ve found, at times, (or maybe most of the time), Lydia needs a little bit of motivation to try and complete tasks that are tough for her. For example, this girl has been asking for a Tinkerbell Polly Pocket every single time we go to Target. When I found out how much they are (WHOA!) I quickly headed to eBay and found a whole lot (that included Tinkerbell, of course) for less than $10 – SCORE! We told Lydia that in order for her to get a Polly Pocket she must learn to write her name (which she has been refusing to do for months). After only 2 practice sessions, she did it! Today she sat down with me and wrote her name of every different colored construction paper we have. She is now a proud owner of 6 Polly pockets. And we are proud of our little girl for FINALLY writing her name!

Tobias continues to “ooze character” – his newest development is whispering for dramatic effect. He’s also amazingly effective at bossing adults around (Sit down and read a book, mommy. Toby picks it out. I want… trucks!) but, upon our insistence, uses “Please” and “Thank you” and "Sorry". He is passionate about trucks and trains, particularly stacking them. He also takes them for rides in the stroller. Not sure how many almost-two-year-old boys ask for “tinkabell” and “Preensess”, but our Toby-boy does especially when his sister is parading around with hers. His use of adult names cracks me up too. As soon as his Mimi calls Pop-pop, “Tim”, he’ll say, “Hi, Teeeam”. And Toby no longer walks, he runs. Everywhere.

And what do mommy and daddy do with their spare time?

I had the blessing and opportunity to sing and play my flute at a friend’s wedding - my first solo gig. It was a beautiful celebration of God’s gift of love and awesome to praise Him through music there with my dad and Patti. Here are Mark and I fooling around at the reception.

I also just completed a Portrait Photography course through Hagerstown Community College. 3 words describe my exprience: Challenged. Inspired. Encouraged. Here are a couple photos that I took for my “assignment” which got rave reviews from my professor.

Mark couldn’t be happier to be on break from his MBA courses. Through a “God-thing”, he was introduced to an adult swimming course at the YMCA which he has been attending faithfully at 6am three times a week. I’d say through this he is also challenged, inspired, and encouraged. He’s delving into his bike-riding hobby weekly through the Summit Health Bike Club which rides from all over Franklin County. Mowing the lawn, attempting to sell his motorcycle, and working on the front porch are a few of his time-consuming, yet not quite as enjoyable “summer break” tasks. And yes, it will come to an end in a few short weeks when he starts his “Information Systems” course…

So we're loving summer. Even though it's not "officially" here yet, it sure is for us! Hope all who read this are being blessed by the summer change-of-pace and outdoor opportunities. Enjoy! :)

The daily-ness

2010-05-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a process but, alas, Lydia has finally filled up her sticker chart for staying dry at night: “Wakin’ up with a Dry Pull-up.” Her reward was setting up her fish tank again and, of course, getting fishies. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 met their demise within a couple days. Lydia’s response, “I’m ok if they die, mom.” “Can we just go get more?” So much for my fear of her being traumatized! By the way, she named them, “Shirley Temple, Eliza, and Nemo”. Daddy named the fourth, “Pica” (because he was the first to eat and “pica” is a disorder in which individuals eat dirt and random other non-typical foods).

The themes “Fish died” and “Tree fall down” are repeated by Tobias as he notices the fish tank or the sticks in our front yard. Yes, our pear tree that broke from the ice a couple years ago has also met its demise, this time due to the high winds. As you can see it fell in a manner in which it did NOT touch our home. God is awesome! He certainly protected us and our house. Now we’re working on getting rid of it…

Lydia is into making up stories. Last weekend she declared, “Mommy, I want to write a book.” So we created one entitled “The Little Mermaid” – the storyline is quite close to “Jonah and the Whale”. She even added illustrations but quickly tired of that after a couple pages.

"1, 2, 3, JUMP!": Tobias can finally get both feet off of the ground at the same time after months of effort and frequent demonstration by his big sis. She LOVES to jump and now likes to jump off of things. :)

(Sorry, I can't get this pic to go vertical. You'll just have to tilt your head and hope no one sees you ;)

We had our first “Parent-Teacher Conference” on Tuesday. I can say I was a little nervous. Not exactly sure why… I suppose it’s the anticipation that the teacher will indicate that our child is extremely disobedient or that she’s mean or that there is something wrong developmentally. Alas, she is progressing nicely… Whew! We were encouraged by her teacher to set firm limits as Lydia “needs to know who is in charge,” that she doesn’t appreciate when kids take things from her (but does seek adult assistance in resolving the matter), and that she’s still struggling to write her name. On the up-side, she is caring, musical, engaged in the group, and enjoys the other children. I couldn’t be more thankful for her experience at the Apple Place this year and for her more than amazing teachers with hearts of gold and patience beyond measure.

(Lydia running and jumping into her teacher, Mrs. Ross', arms at the last-day picnic)

Yes, there are some days when I am simply emotionally exhausted. These little ones wear me down and out. Yet, in one of my “Proverbs 31 Ministries” devotions it reminds me to “rejoice in the daily-ness of life.” Here is a portion of that devotion by Ariel Allison Lawhon (2010) that speaks to my heart.

“In those moments I force myself to take a deep breath and thank God for this season of life. These children. The privilege of wiping noses and bottoms and countertops. A privilege many women would love to have, but don't. I remind myself that the days are long but the years are short. And one day I will look in the rear-view mirror and see empty seats. The cup that is overflowing right now will slowly drain. The stretch marks will fade. And I will find that a new set of daily struggles has overtaken me. When that day comes I will find the strength to face them as well because God gives the grace, daily.

The daily-ness.

As C.S. Lewis once said, "The thing is to rely on God... Meanwhile, the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done."

Your daily-ness is probably different than mine, but it is nonetheless God-ordained. It is exactly what we need to live dependent on His grace instead of our own strength. The One who knows us best, who knit us together in our mother's womb, has allotted these days that are equal parts trial and triumph. And He knows that we will see Him most clearly from a place of dependence.

So today I embrace the normal things. The daily things. Another round of laundry. The ring in my toilet. The dust on my dresser so thick a child could write his name. But even more than that I want to celebrate the important things. A child slowly learning to read. A husband that finds his comfort in my arms. A baby who learns to walk and talk. Because all these are the things of life: some mundane and some holy. And all of them must be received daily.

Dear Lord, sometimes daily life is just hard. And we're tired. And overwhelmed. But You promised to be our strength and our hope and our comfort. So today we look to You for what we need. Would You meet us in this, our daily-ness, and help us receive Your grace? In Jesus' Name, Amen.”

So some day…
• Tobias will not erupt into a piercing scream at the slightest source of frustration and discontent.
• Lydia will not repeat “I want to do it myself!” (with attitude) 500 times a day.
• Toby will not distribute piles of sand all over the lawn (even though “sand stays in the sandbox” is a big rule around here).

• Lydia will not horde food, candy, special toys under her bed. She will not demand to use her pacifiers for sleep. She will not go to the bathroom 5 times after being put to bed…

Yet some day they also will not…
• Enjoy being sung to before they close their little eyes.
• Want to read with us, count everything and anything, fingerpaint with us…

• Enjoy driving trains on the windowsill for 10 minutes

• Make forts out of pillows
• Push strollers (filled with babies or trucks depending on the kid) around and around the “loop” of our downstairs
• Beg for “chok-et, gummies, and chuck chuck woosh! (swinging)”

• Be content watching tv during which they actually learn something
• Collect rocks,put themselves in cardboard boxes, dig in the dirt/mulch (and be ok with getting dirt dumped on them ;)

• Want to “help” daddy do anything and everything, help mommy cook or “keen” (clean)
• Be amazed and excited about any body of water from ponds to puddles.

So I’m sentimental today. Doing so helps me put the daily trials in perspective and embrace this season of life with open arms and a willing heart by the grace of God.

“Thank you, Heavenly Father, for entrusting these precious children, your creations to us. May we embrace this blessing and responsibility with joy, hope, and faithfullness. Amen.”

It's Hit...

2010-04-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Oh, yes, the “terrible twos” have “hit” the Willson household once again. I know, Tobias isn’t 2 yet, but his actions and attitude tell us differently. He’s certainly making his desires known. Loudly. For example, when we enter a place where he knows mommy is going to leave him, he lunges for the opposite direction and cries at the top of his lungs, “I want dat bay” (I want that way!!!). In the same manner if he desires something, and his desires are pretty darn strong, he’ll cry, “I want dat bun” (I want that one!). He’s also discovered the wonderful (insert sarcasm) word, “mine”. What started out as a chorus of two has developed into Lydia responding, “No, Toby, it’s not yours. It’s God’s. Everything is God’s.” Sometimes she goes into a dissertation about how God and Jesus made everything in the whole world, followed by naming items she sees and declaring them God’s handiwork. :) As trying as this stage is, Toby can also be incredibly cute…

His curiosity and desire to learn words blows me away. Reading a book to him is a tedious task as he points to every single thing on the page and inquires, “What’s at?” “What’s at?” And when we’ve gone through all the items, we go back and do them again and again. We often hear exclamations of, “Look!!!” or "See!?!?!" followed by enthusiastic naming of whatever object he spies (typically birdies or trucks). What a cute kid.

His inquisitive nature leads him to respond to statements with the question, “What?” For example, as we are driving to school we pass a fire station. I comment, “The firetrucks aren’t out today.” His response, “What.?!” I’m pretty sure he means, “Why?” so I explain it that way. Silly kid.

Toby is also quite the little “helper”. Today I was about to vacuum and he said, “I wanna ba-koom” so I got his little play one and he went right alongside me mimicking my actions. I then got a wipe out and he said, “I wanna keen (clean) up” so I handed him a baby wipe and put him to work.

My girlfriend Jen describes Toby as, “oozing with character”. Right on, Jen.

Lydia had her theatrical debut starring as a “turtle” in her preschool spring program. Her favorite part was undoubtably bowing (followed by the cookies after the program). So cute to see these little people come into their own.

Lydia loves to take charge. When she gets an idea of how something should be done, she let's everyone in earshot know. Here she is bossing, I mean, playing with her friend, Luke. He takes it well, he has a big sis. :)

Over the past few days she has decided that she is having a “party for God”. She has a location, an ever-growing guest list, menu, and sat me down with her calendar this morning to pick a date. Just an example of how her little mind works…

Of course, there are those times when my children play TOGETHER - sometimes peacefully, sometimes not-so-peacefully. The peaceful moments are so very sweet...

Christ the Lord is Risen Today...

2010-04-01T11:33:00.001-07:00

...Halleluiah!

Our Holy Week celebration began at Falling Spring Presbyterian's child's "Walk through Holy Week." Church members, parents, and volunteers reenacted the story of the Passion in a simple, yet vivid manner including story, song, actions, interactions, drama, and props.
Before and after the walk they had egg dying, crafts, and cookie decorating.

Definitely not winning "mom of the year" for this shot: my son, standing on a chair with a knife in his hand. ;)

Tobes decorating

Coop chowing down (this kid loves my camera ;)

"Jesus" (in the red cape) entering Jerusalem on a donkey with the palm branches waving!

Partaking in the Last Supper

The "disciples" in the garden of Gethsemene (I missed them pretending to sleep)

The "walk" ended with an egg hunt symbolizing the new life we celebrate in Christ's resurrection
This was Toby's first time hunting eggs solo!

This is "old hat" for Lydie lew. She has a blast!

Then came Lydia's preschool Easter celebration.
It started out with dying eggs. (Measuring, pouring, counting, stirring... and getting messy in the process)

Mimi & Gpa helped out with the games (and Tobias)

Tons of fun and a gorgeous day!

Little bunny foo foo

Ended with an egg hunt

Annual Good Friday Easter egg painting at the G's

(Yes, they are painting with kebab skewers - an upgrade from previous years' toothpicks)

The masterpieces

An attempt at cousins pics

The individuals worked out much better

We had to put Toby in a flower pot to contain him. ;)

Easter morning
Me and my PJed kiddos

You got it, Lydia, REJOICE!

Easter breakfast at church
Tobes decides to chow down on some crayons at the craft table

Yes, it's a little strange, but we hunt eggs in the graveyard

Lydia was done hunting for eggs and moved on to picking flowers

Final egg hunt of the year at Mimi and Pop-pop's

A perfect day for twirling. :)

"Christ is risen, Indeed!"

Can't help it...

2010-03-31T18:50:00.001-07:00

Just can't help but post these pics of my darling little girl. Ok, so sometimes she's not so darling, but looking through all of the 3-year-old, big sister, drama queen, control freak behaviors, she is my sweetie. I love you, Lydie lew!

Snippets of Spring

2010-03-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

With the advent of springtime the Willson crew has been spending more time outside (and obviously less time in front of the computer). We all feel invigorated by the warmer weather and sunshine. Although, Tobias doesn’t seem to understand that it’s not the best idea to play in the backyard in the inch of rain or swing in the windy chilly air. He runs around in his diaper begging, “Outside. Play outside. Swing. Up high.” I was vacuuming upstairs last Saturday morning and I assumed my children were playing quietly in Lydia’s bedroom where I had left them moments before. As I was emptying the canister I heard a muffled, “mommy!” cry. I searched the bedrooms, checked the basement steps, and then, I saw the source of the plee… Tobias Alexander standing on the bench of the deck splashing in the rain water that had collected on top of a plastic toy bin slightly distressed that his clothes were soaked. Yes, he has discovered the lever-handled door, the key to his favorite place to be… (Needless to say, we deadbolt it every time now ;)

Some of these days have kept us in our PJs finding fun inside…
Reading on mommy and daddy’s bed…

Dressing up…

Eating lollipops…

Putting stickers all over Papa’s face…

Photo shoot with the cousins…

(and vegging in front of Veggie Tales after nap)

Others have let us enjoy God’s great outdoors…
Walk with Grammy, Grandpapa, and Aunt M…

Playground with friends…

Visit to Nana’s alpaca farm…

Both kids have been snotty, salivay messes out of every oriface on their head. I think it’s a combo of a spring cold, allergies, and teething (for Toby – he cut 2 this past week – 2 to go!). Nothing bad enough to really keep them “down” but annoying enough to make them uncomfortable, whiny and miserable at times. Lovely.

We also celebrated my dear niece’s 1st Birthday!
Her absolutely amazing cake!

Look at this cutie…

We love you, Rachey girl. Happy 1st Birthday! :)

Even proof that I do, in fact, exist…

With my true love...

And now we wait with anticipation the celebration of our Lord's saving grace as He conquered death and rose again for us! We pray this reality will overcome our hearts and that our children will begin to grasp the depth of Jesus' love for us.

First time for everything

2010-03-18T03:56:00.000-07:00

(Sorry the pics aren't centered - my default settings somehow were changed, I'll work on remedying this issue)

I was past-due for my bi-yearly dental check-up and I decided it was time for Lydia to accompany me. We prepared by reading books about the dentist and explaining what would happen when she was there. She watched mommy go first while simultaneously investigating the exam room. When it was her turn she jumped right up in the chair and opened her mouth wide. After her first opportunity to spit in the little sink she was pretty preoccupied with that fun little distraction, but overall she listened well and checked out great! In the midst of this busy day I neglected to bring my camera (shame on me!) but here’s a photo of her a couple days after her first dentist visit in Dr. Barra’s office getting a “ride” in the chair.

Her preschool class fieldtrip had the opportunity to learn about foods and drinks that are healthy and unhealthy for their teeth, hear a book about a child’s first visit to the dentist,

& learn to and practice brushing “Clyde”’s teeth.

A fun and educational time!

Mark and his friends simply love the mountains. So, a couple weekends ago, when the snow finally showed signs of dwindling to puddles, they decided to do a mega hike in Micheux.

Two 3-year-olds and three canines accompanied “the men” (as Lydia described them). Here she is exploring with her buddy, Luke

They were gone for the majority of the afternoon – during which time “nature called” for Lydia. Daddy had the great privilege of teaching his daughter the technique for peeing in the woods. A first time for everything…

A handful – a full hand

2010-03-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

I realized I haven’t mentioned much about our 19-month jabbering Tobias lately so here goes…

Toby’s sentences are blowing us away. Today he said, “Milk please” After taking a taste he demanded, “Put chocolate in it.” After yawning he says, “I’m sleepy.” He often tells his daddy, “In a minute.” (Do you think he hears that often?) Last night, I carried him into his room and as a last ditch effort to avoid bedtime he pointed to the CD player and said, “I want a song!” Then as I was lowering him into his crib, he put his finger on his nose and declared, “I have boogers.” A frustrating part of his language development: when he doesn’t know the word for something he says, “Da – boe” So we hear, “I want da-boe!” UGH! Probably the most touching of his verbal expressions are when he spontaneously says, “I love you.” And points to stain glass windows or books and shouts, “JEEUS!” “I want Jesus!”

He also started singing words – of songs that we understand. He has the first couple lines of “Twinkle Twinkle” (in a 19 month old way) and sings his bedtime song, “Good night, Toby.”

Tobias spends time with Pop-pop aka Gpa aka my dad on Thursday mornings (while I have a blissful hour of “me” time at the Y). Pop pop is teaching him how to spell. He knows “D” “O” of dog and if you say, “D.O.G., what does that spell?” He’ll shout, “DOG!” He has learned a few letters: “A” “T” “O” and “Y” by sight and counts to 3.

Toby loves doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING his sister is doing. Here they are "helping" me prepare "Green Eggs and Ham" in celebration of Dr. Suess' birthday.

And he's such a character - he's quite enthusiastic vividly shown by his facial expressions and volume.
Playing "Peek-A-Boo" in daddy's closet.

"OH NO!"

You'll notice there aren't a tremendous amount of photos of Tobias. Yes, it's because he never stops moving! Tobes continues to be a climbing machine and in fact, we’ve started putting our kitchen chairs up on the table (grade-school style) to thwart his ventures. Toby can definitely shake a groove thang – in fact, last week I had to interrupt a VeggieTales dance party for naptime.

Some of Toby’s favorite toys are his “choo choo”s.

He used to just say, “choo choo” but now he says “Thomas choo choo.” He’s also discovered the ball-popper: Endless hours of entertainment. He’s found other objects besides balls actually fit inside of it which is great fun, until he realizes that then the balls don’t come out. Then we have a sad Toby and frustrated mama… The worst so far was plastic straws. Daddy had to break out the screw driver and dismantle it to recover them. Thankfully, it promptly returned to working order. Whew!

Tobias often wakes up from his naps very very sad. Now, I know this is NOT normal for his age. We often find him screaming and writhing around followed by tooting. Poor kid has belly pain! He’s also obviously not ready to wake up as he’s doing eye-rubbing, thumb-sucking, and putting his head down (not to mention he’s very grumpy). I’m going to adjust his diet a little and see if it has any effect. A napping child makes the whole family happier. And we sure do like a happy family. ☺

As I was explaining to my dear friend Jen the other day, Tobias brings the greatest joys yet the greatest challenges in my life right now. He certainly is “precious in His sight” and ours. He's a handful, but we view our lives as having a full hand knowing our gracious God has ordained His life and blessed it...

Color color everywhere...

2010-03-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

On Mark's day off (from working the weekend) we took a trek to Easton, PA to the Crayola Museum
We started out with a neat demonstration of how crayons and markers were made. Afterward we put our tokens in the fun machines to get some of our own.

They had a "dino" theme throughout the museum.

Dipping warm wax onto our special shapes. Lydia had an "Easter egg" I got an "ice cream cone"

Lydie spent her time in the "sidewalk chalk" area erasing everyones' creations. Thankfully there was only one other family around so her damage was minimal.
We then cashed in 2 of our tokens for Model Magic and spent time coloring it and flattening it (not so much actual modeling going on - we were instructed to try to make a dinosaur ;)

With lots of assistance they used sponge stamps to make a little book cover which they ran through the "drying machine". A nice man then made a dino "book" for them with blank pages to continue their creations. Of course, their favorite part of this area was washing hands - they could have done it all morning. Who could resist? The sink was just their size!

This thing was awesome - music for dancing, and a shadow of your image on the BIG screen. Lydia is the one in front (surprise, surprise), their shadows are red.

Probably the only time in their lives that it was "ok" to color on the walls

After a packed lunch at the indoor picnic tables we headed up to the canal museum on the 3rd and 4th floors. The activities were a little challenging for the kids but they still had a blast.
The water table was a definite favorite. Daddy made an awesome chute for the boats to speed down. We had boat races and splashed a little.

Lydia learning how pulleys work.

Wavin' from the train

My little drama queen :)

And how a rudder works

What a fun day! Mommy and daddy wanted to explore the cool downtown of Easton, but the kids crashed (and slept the majority of the 2 1/2 hour ride home). The color of this day surely fueled our energy and provided hope for brighter days, full of life ahead.
"Thank you, Lord for the beauty of your creation and the wonder of creativity, infinite possibility, and endless variety."

Dedication

2010-03-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our darling niece, Rachel, and her dedication to the Lord last Sunday.

What a beautiful service of commitment, love, and life-long faithfulness.
The parents, grandparents, and pastor laid hands on her.

All the festivities wore her out!

Of course we had to get a "cousins" shot (or two, or three ;)

A sleepy, happy, girl

We love you, Rach! May our God, who chose you and loves you, enable us to teach you His truth and witness to His love so that you may know Him and bring Him glory with your life.

Out and About

2010-02-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

Despite the onslaught of nasty weather (snow, ice, wind, you name it, we've had it!) we are finally getting out and about a little more.

This week, Lydia had a "fieldtrip" to our local Giant grocery store with her preschool class. They learned about the different food groups (and received samples from each) as well as other ways to keep our bodies healthy like brushing our teeth, drinking water, and exercising.

Not surprising, Lydia was the "line leader" right off the bat.

Here they are "brushing their teeth" in the toothbrush aisle.

At each "stop" they received a food group sticker for on their hat and learned a little something about the benefits of the food group.

I neglected to capture the "live lobster" (a certain highlight of the day). Here they are all lined up in the dairy aisle with their string cheese.
She was so focused on that silly cheese. Like she's never eaten it (or anything!) before :)

At the end they got a treat from the "eat sparingly" food group, which happens to be the highlight of Toby's pyramid. :)

Lydia couldn't have been more thrilled with the bag of "goodies" they sent back to the school which included her very own ruler. I continue to be amazed at the simple things that thrill her.

And then there are the things that thrill mommy... My parents, Leslie, and Rach made the trek to the Polish pottery warehouse sale in the "white out" conditions yesterday. I definitely got my "fix" - this stuff is über-addicting (and beautiful, and practical!)

On another note...
I'm in the kitchen, cleaning up lunch and notice that the kids are playing quite contentedly. "Something must be up," I thought. So I inquired, "Lydia, what are you doing out there?" Her response, "I'm hoarding things." Yes, Lydia loves to stash "special things" in certain places around the house particularly under her bed, under the sofa, and on/under her "desk".
Here's an example of her "stash" - includes rocks, Thomas trains, daddy's guitar music, and often candy. :)

I'm pretty sure it started by her not wanting Toby to get into her "special things", however now it seems more of a ritual, a harmless one at that. She's been asking lots of questions about God lately. Today's was, "Do I need to say 'sorry' to God for hoarding things?" Others include, "Where does Jesus live?" And she's putting together that people who have died are "living with Jesus." (like her great-grandmothers both of whom she knew). Her prayers are becoming touching and heartfelt. And she's "talking to God" throughout the day. "Mommy, please be quiet, I'm talking to God right now." She tells Him, "Sorry" for things she has done that He wouldn't be happy about and tells Him about her daily activities or prays for someone or something. My darling daughter truly inspires me... challenges me, yet inspires me...

The white stuff and more...

2010-02-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Shortly after my most recent blog a couple things happened:
• We completed our painting project – woooo hoooo!!!
• I spent a week taking care of a very sick Tobias.
He fell asleep on the sofa just like this. Must be sick!

Poor guy had a pretty high fever for days (2 times I checked it, it was over 104º!) and therefore was held A.LOT. I also had the opportunity to memorize every On Demand Wiggles episode. ;)

• We got snow. (ok, that’s an understatement). We got LOTS of snow.
The day of the first storm Mark got called into work so I decided to attempt to take the kids out into the snow myself. The chill in the breeze and the snow falling made Tobias wary of even setting foot off the front porch.

Lydia ventured a couple steps into the front yard where she promptly got stuck and declared her strong desire to go back inside. Go figure. I tried. A valiant effort.

Even our poor snowman was calling out the S.O.S.!

When the weather outside is frightful, a fire is so very delightful.

Particularly when it brings us these delightful goodies!

(Toby climbs on the table)

Thanks, daddy for the s’mores!

To keep ourselves occupied we get a kick out of dressing up Tobias

And doing LOTS of crafts. Valentine's Day gave us perfect projects.

Just when we were beginning to see signs of melting, cleared driveway, and mobility around town, Mr. Blizzard hit.

Here's a little perspective (and a glimpse of warmer weather to come!!!)

The playset

Now THAT is some serious snow. (I was sent out by myself during the kids' naptime to document this monstrosity of a storm, thus the random self-portrait. And note, I didn't last long...)

Lydia had the opportunity to play on a HUGE pile of snow at the high school with her friends, Riley & Luke. They had a BLAST! (so I was told. I was inside drinking tea and napping, in that order.)

Lydia is about to be tossed in the air by Mr. Dortenzo.

I also played around in the photo studio a little. My subjects were less than cooperative, but I still got some ok shots. Here's a glimpse. Check the rest out at my photo blog... It's Still Life Photography

Lydia has been counting down the days until Valentine's Day. Not sure why the anticipation - perhaps it was the thought of receiving presents and sharing cards with her friends, and having parties. I mean, it is something to get excited about! Great Aunt Vic & Great Uncle Eric brought over a special present...which resulted in lots of laughter, squeals, and hugs. :)
Lydia ADORES the huge horsey

Toby is still trying to decide...

Taking a "ride" with daddy

They always bring so much fun - bubbles in wintertime!

As we celebrate "Love" we are also ever-thankful for our cozy house, plenty of good food to eat, clean water, warm clothing, electircity!, satisfying jobs, loving family and friends, and most of all our Savior, Jesus Christ who loved us soooo much that He gave His life so that we might live. Thank you, Lord for all you are and your countless blessings!
1 John 4:9-12
"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us."

Proper

2010-01-30T17:08:00.001-08:00

Well, Tobias is officially 18 months old. I cannot believe I gave birth to a little, helpless bundle a year and a half ago. What a big boy and what a character he has become.

The past few weeks Tobias has started to use “proper nouns” – naming people and things… He says his name! (so cute!) “Toe-bee”, “Wuggles” (the Wiggles), “Elmo”, “Cookie” (for Cookie Monster), “Mickey”, “Minnie”, but my very favorite is…

…When I drop off the kids at Mother’s Day Out, Lydia likes to park in front of the church so we can say “Hi” to Jesus. You see, they still have their Nativity scene prominently displayed. Last week as we bid “Good morning” to Jesus, Toby blurted out “Gee us”.

“Ka goo” = “color” in Toby’s world – a task he greatly enjoys. I’m not sure which he likes better, the act of coloring or taking the markers or crayons in and out of their containers. Either way, he has a blast. He shows much more interest than Lydia did at this age.

Lydia likes to tell stories. We often hear, “Mommy, wanna hear a story?” Over breakfast this is what she told me,
“Once upon a time we lived in a castle where it was nice and cold and cozy. At the beach. Near the ocean. But there were whales who would bite us up, so we stayed in the castle where it was nice and warm. Theeeeee End.” (Can you tell she is a little bit traumatized by the whole “Jonah being swallowed by a whale” story?)
Here’s the one immediately following, “Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy and a dog and a cat (M: What were their names?) “Mason and Sheferty”. They lived in a castle. We lived in three beds. We had lots of animals. You guys (mommy and daddy and Toby) were there too. Theeeeee end.”

Another Lydia quote: She took instructions out of a new game, opened them up and said, “What does this say? Oh, it’s a message from the Lord. (now she sings)Don’t eat bugs, don’t eat cats…”
This is how we’ve spent the majority of our past few weeks… Goodbye “meditative”, Welcome, “Latte”.

Well, we did take a couple days off when we all had the stomach flu in succession. Lovely.

We also spent a lovely, warm, winter afternoon at the playground. Come on spring!

Brightened my day

2010-01-25T18:44:00.001-08:00

This girl just lights up my heart. Here's some of our morning conversation...

She said, "You have a beautiful singing voice, mommy. You are the most beautifulest girl ever...in the whole wide world."

She also declared, "I want to write a letter to God" ("And what would you like it to say?") "Dear God, Help me to listen." AMEN! :)

Here and there

2010-01-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Yes, these frigid days have been keeping us inside. Yet, we have been finding ways to entertain ourselves both here and there, but mostly here...

We play in cardboard boxes...

We play dress-up: I came upstairs to witness (and obviously photograph) a princess dress-up session which included Tobias starring as "Snow White" - assisted by daddy.

We play bubbles in the sink after dinner...

We visit friends (and meet their adorable new puppy)...

We play cars...

We humor mom as she practices her photo skills...

We decide to take up playing guitar

We take a trip to Adam's County and the Explore and More museum
Apple Orchard

Talk about living in a bubble ;)

My little baker

My little painter

More words Toby knows (he will SAY almost anything to repeat it):
“goose, cheese, hand, help, one, milk, nose, car, hungry (hungy), tub, cup, banana (a-mee-nah), “oh no!”, sheep, kitty, whoa, gum, puppy, ham, mine, NO”
Finishes the phrase, “Ready, Set,…” with “GO!”

To our shock and satisfaction, Tobias has pooped in the potty 4 times in the past couple weeks. It starts with keen observation of gas activity. We ask him if he needs to poop and he responds, “POTTY!” Lydia did not demonstrate this interest so we are understandably pleasantly surprised. I have no grand visions of saying “goodbye” to diapers any time soon, but am happy we are putting our foot in that direction.

Toby also is somewhat obsessed with light switches. When he spots one, he will lunge out of our arms with his arms outspread pleading, “On! On!”

Over New Year’s my mom watched the kids while Mark and I worked. When I returned home she exclaimed, “Lydia dressed herself today!” I thought, “Wow, I guess I really should be working on that with her.” Well, since then she has really started to show an interest in dressing and undressing herself (before she would beg for help) and is really getting quite good at it. In the way that saves me time and energy, I love that she puts her coat and shoes on before we head out in the cold, but in another completely motherly way my heart aches as my baby is acting like a “big girl.”

We are trying to beat away the winter "blues" and find the joy of the Lord in each day. :)

Resurgence

2010-01-03T18:31:00.001-08:00

After a brief hiatus, Tobias’ climbing ventures have returned. And, of course, he is seeking greater heights. The other day I literally left him for a minute and found him standing on top of the dining room table. WHEW! He’s now a pro at the kitchen chairs and is dying to learn how to crawl onto Lydia’s bed. He is using unique means (like climbing on top of the pile of library books) yet to no avail.

Lydia has also had a resurgence of sorts. After receiving 2 new baby dolls for Christmas, she is back to her adventures with Blooper. And as Tobias is reaching new heights, her stories are taking us into greater depth and distance. For instance, this evening she went on a dissertation regarding her driving trip to Phileedelphia with Blooper. Blooper asked, “What’s for dinner?” (Lydia went on to say that Phileedelphia has a lot of pizza and all Blooper wants to eat is pizza but Lydia declared, “No, we are having rice.”). She is also adding different voices to the characters, facial expressions, and a storyline that actually makes sense! She’ll do the same thing with her books, narrating the pictures. I tried to get it on video but she kept telling me to put the camera down.
Here's a snippet...

The remainder of the holiday was quite laid-back. The kids enjoyed days in their PJs,

playing and exploring their new toys.

Lydia is quite upset that all of the decorations are put away, “Mommy, where are all of the lights? And where are our stockings? Will you pray that God will bring us Christmas again?”
Even though daddy had to work on New Year's Day, we still got to watch Penn State win in dramatic fashion.
Cheering them on!

Lydia also declared this evening that “Tobias is my best friend.” A sweet sentiment, for sure, however she claimed this on a day when she threw an all-out screaming tantrum when Toby got one of her dollies out of its crib. Not sure I can whole-heartedly embrace this sweetness as truth, yet I certainly cherish the moments they play together and love on each other.

Ah, the love/hate relationship of siblings…

Joy to the world, the Lord is come

2009-12-31T06:14:00.000-08:00

I've decided to try to blog a little more frequently to ease the overwhelming task of once monthly. We'll see how it goes ;)

Sharing some photos of our truly joy-filled Christmas. We give all praise and glory to our newborn King, Jesus Christ.

Lydia sits on Santa's lap for the first time at preschool. I'm not sure she really "got it" but she liked him and loved the candycane filled with Sweettarts that he gave her. At one point during the month prior to Christmas Lydia came to us, visibly distressed, exclaiming, "Daddy, Santa didn't tell me what I want for Christmas! I don't know what I want!" ;) We then had the opportunity to reiterate the true meaning of Christmas, the greatest gift, Jesus, our Savior.

Christmas eve trip to "Tiny World", a little piece of Americana

A fire warming our lives as the love of the baby Jesus warms our hearts on Christmas morning

Presents!

Daddy showing off his gifts.

The kids having a blast with Toby's new "choo choo" track set. Since then he's been really into "ramps" running cars and trains down them over and over and over again...

A Christmas morning family photo

Tobes decide to escape and then longed to return to his family...

...REALLY badly!

Lots of reading happening on Christmas day. Cherishing these moments...

Family photo after Christmas dinner.

Unfortunately the ice prevented Mark's parents & Aunt M from joining us (and prevented us from worshipping on Christmas Day). Two big disappointments. We are thankful, though, that everyone was safe and sound.

Mark modeling my cousin's Snuggie during our trip to Johnstown on the "Feast of Stephen"

Toby showing the fam how he does "TWO!"

Great Aunt Judy reading her gift to Toby

"Princess Lydia" showing off her new tutu that Aunt Laura made for her Christmas gift and her new jewelry from Aunt "M". A rockin' visit to Rockville for all. :)

Cousin group hug

And here's the missing cousin (she was eating dinner when this photo was taken). It was a year ago on Christmas eve that this darling girl received a heart transplant at Johns Hopkins. What an amazing testimony of the Lord's faithfulness and goodness her life is! We love you, sweet Ally!

More cousins!

Lydie and Tobes got their first "American Girl" dolls - the Bitty Baby twins!
Toby loves to point out the "eyes". He really loves dolls (in case I haven't mentioned that before.)

Thanks Great Aunt Vic and Great Uncle Eric!

Rachey got a Christmas dolly too!

What a cRaZy crew!

"I can love because God loves me
I can give because God gave
Jesus' love is why I'm smiling
Why I'm giving every day..." ~VeggieTales

"Talkin' up a storm"

2009-12-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

Big event in the (or should I say "outside of") the Willson household is the SNOW!
Here are some shots of our first mini-snowfall: Toby wondering, "What is this stuff?" and Lydia chowing down. :)

Of course, last weekend we got "the big one", over a foot of snow. The kids were in awe watching from the inside. We couldn't resist taking them out in this gorgeous snowfall. Unfortunately, the amount of time it took to suit them up was the amount of time they stayed out (maybe 15 min.) before they were too cold and honestly quite miserable. Definitely not the "picture perfect" "fun time" we had imagined.

Yesterday afternoon with sunny skies and warmer temps, we tried again. And look how happy! :)

Now, on to my Toby-boy...

A recent big motor development for the Tobe-man is that he figured out how to go DOWN stairs. Although I still am wary about his solo navigation (he has fallen down the steps twice so far!), it’s nice that the kids can choose where they’d like to play more independently.

The huge development with Tobias this month is his vocabulary explosion. I’m including this adorable video and thought I’d try to catalog all of the words he says. Here goes… “Amen, Amy, Baby, Bubble, Ball, Book, Boot, Buddy (sometimes refers to “Bunny”), Bus, Bye-bye, Candy Cane (“Kahn – Can”), Cheese, Choo-choo, Cookie, Cow, Daddy, Doggie, Done, Down, Duck, Eye, Ear, Fish (shish), Go, Happy, Hat, Hi, Hot, In, Lydia, M&M, Mimi, Mommy, On, Papa, Pee, Poop, Potty, (what lovely “P” words), Please, Pretty, Pickle, Shoe, Snow, Sock, Stuck, Sun, Teeth, Tree, Truck, Two, Yucky

Basically he will try to repeat everything we say to him. If he can’t quite get the words, he’ll mimic the inflection in gibberish. What a character!

I’m not sure exactly how this developed – likely when we were working with numbers or counting with Lydia, but Toby holds up 2 fingers (thumb and pointer) and says, “TWO!”

Although we’ve noticed him saying, “I-unt-dat” (I want that) or “I-unt-dis” (I want this), we’ve finally have an official “first sentence”… Yesterday Toby woke up VERY early from his nap. After reading to him for about ½ hour I decided to cuddle with him in the glider before attempting to put him back in his crib. He obviously wanted to have NOTHING to do with snuggling. In fact, he pulled himself into sitting, gestured toward the bookshelf, and declared, “I want a book.” I couldn’t believe my ears but, due to my shock and lack of response, he repeated it!

This type of determination has also developed into temper tantrums when he doesn’t get “his way.” He’ll run with all of his might into something (his crib, a stack of toys), he’ll throw what he doesn’t want (a cup of milk), and then throw himself on the floor, face down crying and whining. Yes, definitely a “textbook” temper tantrum. I tend to ignore them, try to distract him, or remove him to a safe place alone. All of which eventually are effective in ceasing the tears. I find myself with the ability to “tune out” this behavior much more than the first time around (where I would get emotionally upset and try to “fix” the issue). I suppose I’ve built up some tolerance over the past 3 years. ;) Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one in the world with this issue, but then I receive my babycenter weekly email that confirmed that these outbursts are “normal” and I’m responding “appropriately”. Whew!

http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-16-month-olds-behavior-letting-it-all-hang-out_1213784.bc?scid=mbtw_post16m_3w:603&pe=2TSbwDP

Mimi & G-pa took the kids to "Music Together" class again this fall. Lydia adores dancing and the other little girls there. Each girl took a turn "dressing up" for the class. This is Lydia's outfit.

Both kids had a blast, as you can see. Tobias truly has rhythm - he pats and taps amazingly accurately to the beat. He also LOVES to dance - he twirls, and shakes his hips and head. I wish I had a video of it!

Lydia continues to develop her "pretend" world. She enthusiastically cares for her baby dolls, recently acquired as an early Christmas present, this one is "Lily Michelle"

Lydie is becoming a better "helper" and following multi-step instructions with much more accuracy. She loves to "help" with meal preparation, particularly when it involves the outcome of cookies.

As Christmas approaches, she is gaining more of an idea of what it's all about. When we first brought out the Nativity, Lydia would rock baby Jesus to sleep while singing him a lullaby. Not sure He would actually sleep to this rendition ;).

From our family to yours, have a blessed Christmas filled with the true JOY, PEACE, and LOVE of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

November

2009-11-29T18:21:00.001-08:00

Here it is, another month gone by, and 16-month old Tobias is exploding with activity, energy, excitement, and development…

Some of his favorite “activities” are…
• Attempting to jump. He goes up on his toes and raises his hands above his head. Mimicing his sister, he will then lift one foot off the ground at a time. So cute.
• Playing with G-pa’s watch (which he calls “dock” – maybe a combination of “tick tock” and “clock”)
Here he is with G-pa's "at" (hat)

• Putting things together, putting items “in” like trash cans, baskets, cups. And figuring out how things fit together. For example, the other day I gave him a plastic cup and he spent the time it took me to fix breakfast putting magnets in and out and in and out and carrying it around, and dumping it...
• Clearing off bookshelves (oh so much fun for mommy to clean up!)

What’s new with Toby?
• Tobes got 2 more teeth this month. I forgot how unpleasant this experience is since it hasn’t happened since he was 10 months old.
• Beginning to hit and push Lydia (and mommy and daddy) when he’s frustrated.
• A break-through at MDO: Tobias did not cry one tear this past week! Definitely lightens my heart to know he’s finding comfort there and having fun.
• Following more commands like “Go to your chair.” “Go upstairs.” “Throw this away.” “Take this to daddy.”
• Talking up a storm. It’s hard to write every new word he’s said. Some of his favorites… “dee dee” (DVD), “Bah-bool” = bubble (for anything related to water), “ah-pool” = apple, “ruck” = truck, “chooch” = church, “eat”, “byyyeeee” = bye, “mommy and daddy” (developed from mama and dada), “moon”… He’s also putting words together like, “Hiiieeee, daddy!” He pointed to my coffee one morning and said, “Hot juice.” Toby is very possessive and infatuated with drinking. I refilled his cup at dinner one evening and without thinking, gave it to his sister. He was not going to let me get away with that mistake and declared, “I WANT JUICE!” (his first sentence).

Sleepy head...

Truly Tobias is into anything his sister does. If he wakes up before her, he cries at her door, "Dih-dee-ahhh!" This month we've had instances where they used the dog water to mop/sweep the entire kitchen floor and where both of them decided to paint daddy's shoe (and themselves) red. Lydie the leader, Tobias the willing accomplice. Most days they spend a significant amount of time playing peacefully with one another. What a blessing that my children are becoming "friends"...

Here are a couple "Lydia-isms"

Lydia: speaking gibberish to Toby
M: It will help Toby learn to speak words if you speak to him using words.
L: Well, I’m speaking Spanish right now.

Since the weather has become cooler and drier I’ve been putting Vaseline on the kids’ faces to prevent chapping. Last night after tucking Lydia into bed, she declared, “Mommy, you forgot to put gasoline on my face!”

I love you, kiddos! :)

Boo!

2009-11-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple photos of our Halloween. We had a blast - and the kids looked adorable if I do say so myself.

Lydia's Preschool Halloween Party
The princess makes her debut

The cow...

...escaping...

...and longing to join back into the fun

Lydia in the "parade"

Princess arms

Princess on the Playground

Daddy removing the "gunk"

And Toby inspecting it

Lydia, tired of the gunk-removal process, moved onto stickers - much more her speed

Pumpkins!

Trick-or-Treating on Main (Street, that is, downtown Cburg)

The day concluded with a dinner at my bro's followed by taking Lydia up and down the street for her treats - a blast!
Mommy and daddy catching a quiet moment.

Cousins!

The morning after... :)

October

2009-10-29T11:02:00.001-07:00

The month of October has been a blur. Of course it started out with lots of celebrating, followed by the chaos afterward of finding spots for and playing with the new toys and Lydia creating thank-you notes (followed by mommy writing and sending them).

We also enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon in the pumpkin patch.
Our annual mommy & Lydie photo on the horse

Toby got in on it too this year!

Tossing hay in hunt for the gourds

Daddy in the hay maze

Lydie too

"The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind..."

Toby found one!

So did Lydia

Finally, this is "the one"

Look at the face on this stinker!

I love how Tobias is just loungin'

Tobias thoroughly enjoyed and was quite adept at feeding the animals.

Unfortunately, the middle part of the month was plagued by illness in the Willson household. A few days after I had not been feeling “quite right”, the chills and aches began. This was followed by days fighting a massive headache, sinus congestion, and otherwise feeling wiped out and worthless. Four days into my illness when Tobias spiked a fever I immediately took him to the doctors. After his exam, our doc did the test for “Influenza A” aka “H1N1” aka “swine flu” which unfortunately came back positive. It was too late for me to get any medication, but Tobias was immediately started on Tamiflu (as were Mark and Lydia preventatively). Besides a few days of fussiness you would never even know the kid had the same thing I did. It was a miracle and a God-send (as were my husband and parents who cared for the children and our house during this terrible time for mommy). During the midst of our illness there was time for some silliness.

Thankfully I healed just in time to enjoy Lydia’s preschool field trip to the pumpkin farm.

The hayride was the highlight of the day but Lydie also had a blast running through the mini-hay maze

and going down the huge slides (she went all by herself after her initial ride with mommy).

On a gorgeous fall day in Caledonia...

... the kids and I made our way to cheer on daddy and our dear friends for the MTeC race.
While waiting for the racers to finish, Riley and Lydia made a little housing development.

Daddy's team, 2nd Inaugural, crossing the finish line after about 7 hours of racing. Whew!

Mark couldn't have been more thrilled to have completed the race.

As were his team members.

And Congrats to the "Bad News Bears" who placed FIRST in the Women's Division. You go, girls!

What an amazing October! (and Halloween photos are still to come...)

So… what’s up with Lydia?

Lydia has developed quite a few obsessions over the past month.
• Band-aids – she sticks them on every piece of furniture and her brother but REFUSES the mere thought of a band-aid being put on her (even if she really does need it).

• Footie PJs – her cousin lent her a pair of footie PJs and she quickly fell in love. Thankfully Great Aunt Vic & Uncle Eric got her a pair for her birthday so at least we could rotate. She refused to wear anything else to sleep (including naps).
Painting in her PJs

• Brushing her teeth

– she found that she is capable of putting the “training toothpaste” on herself and since then, there has been no turning back. She fusses if she “forgets” to brush her teeth before naps or before she leaves the house. Now she even has her brother roped into it. He’ll stand at the sink, arms outstretched for the toothbrush repeating, “Teet, teet” (for teeth) and then “Juice” for toothpaste (I think because it has a “fruity” flavor.)
…I suppose there could be worse things to be “obsessed” about.

Lydia challenges us and inspires us. Her pure faith is amazing. Today’s conversation:
Mommy: Daddy won’t be home for lunch today.
Lydia: Oh, that’s too bad. I miss daddy. Where is he going?
M: He has a special class at work.
L: Well, I want God to bring him back.
M: He will darling…
If we all lived our lives trusting that God was with us every moment and that He has the power to "bring daddy back" aka do anything!

So what’s Tobias up to?

Toby is really starting to mimic adult behavior. Besides brushing his teeth he also combs his hair (or should I say, “head”) when he gets ahold of a comb, puts the toy (and real) phones to his ear after he pushes the buttons, mops and sweeps the floor (what a helpful kid!) and carries Blooper around saying “shhh, shhhh”, then kissing her. This is ADORABLE to me.

Thankfully the climbing has died down. I think he’s focusing on other things, particularly his speed. He is getting quite fast – bordering on running. My dad has nicknamed him “John Wayne” for the way he swaggers around, but that name might not be appropriate for long! He’s even taking some steps backward at times.

I have finally succeeded at getting Tobias attached to a “lovey”. I kept holding a special blanket I bought for him close to his face during story time before bed then putting it in his crib with him. And… it worked! He also has had a monkey, frog, and green baby blanket in his crib and has started to love the frog (which he calls “duck”).

Tobes is definitely trying to make his needs known through words and gestures. As we strolled down the dairy aisle in the grocery store, Toby spotted yogurt (a favorite). He immediately went into his chest rubbing sign for “please” and repeated in a desperate voice, “Peeze, peeze”. How can you resist that cuteness? Well, it’s kind of tough to feed a kid yogurt in the grocery store so we sped to the checkout before he spotted something else he wanted. His language certainly still needs an interpreter most of the time. For example, he kept saying, “kook, kook” in the car last night and I said to Mark, “Please hand him that Pooh book.” He also uses the word “doggie” for pretty much every animal, except duck (the only other animal name he says). G-pa taught him to say “poop” (obviously G-pa has cleaned a few of these in the past couple weeks) and “baby” as he looks at photos of Rachel on their fridge. One of the cutest little words is when he gets his fingers going and says, “tickle, tickle”. When he sees steam he says “hot” and then attempts to blow it to cool it off. He calls cookies, “gook kook”. Along the lines of food, he calls any utensil, “boon” (spoon). And he keeps surprising me with the words he knows. When daddy came home yesterday, Tobias grabbed his silly rain hat and said, “hat”.

Toby still gets sad when he’s not at home without a family member, but he is improving. According to Ms. Amy at MDO (by the way, she taught him her name and he says it quite well!) and Nicki in the church nursery he’s crying less so that’s a plus. And he and Lydia stayed with a babysitter at our house one evening and both did great – meaning no sad Tobias!

Tobias is such a character

– still a flirt, still a stinker, still our precious boy, still completely loved.

Lydia's 3rd Birthday!

2009-10-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

My beautiful Birthday Girl!

Lydia certainly celebrated her 3rd birthday in style. It all started during our beach bash with our family. Since her birthday was the following weekend, and we were all together, we decided to celebrate. Aunt M took us out for pizza and Lydia relished in the cupcakes that she and Gabby helped to prepare. (Special thanks to Aunt Laura who remembered to bring cupcake pans and sprinkles!)

The following Thursday she came home from preschool with a crown and a card and declared, “I’m the birthday girl!” and really hasn’t stopped saying it since.

That same day a special present from Gramma and Granpapa arrived.

On her big day she requested waffles for breakfast. After devouring them and much pleading I allowed her to lick the pan. Now, I think waffle batter is kinda gross but obviously Lydia thinks differently.

Mimi & Gpa took the kids for a walk.

And later brought Lydia a cash register.

Before nap Great Aunt Vickie and Great Uncle Eric brought Lydia some special presents

Of course the highlight was the big box the presents came in. Aunt Vic would sing her "birthday girl" song and Lydia would jump out of the box when it was over. Hilarious.

Uncle John & Aunt Leslie had a gathering of friends for turkey dinner that happened to occur on Lydia's birthday. They had a cake and sang for her. She felt so special. :)

At our weekly family dinner on Monday, Mimi & G-pa gave the birthday girl cupcakes (which you can see, she decorated with M&Ms)

She also received her long-awaited camera. It was a challenge at first, but she quickly figured out how to take pictures (and some pretty good ones, at that!) and frequently gets it out at home for some photo shoots. The cutest thing was that she set the camera up on the chair, and said, “Ok, guys, get together for a picture.” You can tell she’s done some “timer” shots in her days…

After lots of cupcakes, special treats, candles, singing, presents, and joy I think we may finally be finished celebrating Lydia’s 3rd Birthday.

Here are some Lydia-isms
• She’s currently OBSESSED with brushing her teeth. She’s getting quite independent at it. It’s getting a bit ridiculous at times – we can’t leave the house without brushing her teeth.
• Naming her poos. Sometimes when peering into the toilet after a BM it’s “Look! There’s a mommy and a daddy and a little girl and a baby” Today it was, “It’s a squirrel tail.” Why couldn’t she describe normal things like clouds?
• [Christian Radio station talking about sponsoring a child with Compassion International while on our way to preschool.]
L: Mommy, they are talking about God!
M: Yes, they are saying how much God loves children.
L: Well, God loves Tobias and God loves me.
M: Yes he sure does!
L: [exclaiming, looking to the sky] We love you God! We love you sooooo much!!!
• Expanding her play/pretend world. “Blooper” is mentioned every day, multiple times a day. Blooper, her doll, has a family, goes on adventures, and likes certain things (like broccoli and cookies). It’s almost as if Lydia expresses her feelings through the life of her doll/imaginary friend. Before she would just talk ABOUT Blooper but now she actually talks TO her imaginary friends. The other day she was directing “Oliver” around.
• Random quote: “I have boobs, if you care.”
• Woke up with a stuffy nose and said, “Mommy, my nose is blowy.”
• Lydia’s future…
o L: “Mommy, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?”
M: No, Lydia, What do you want to be when you grow up?
L: I want to be a shepherd.
• Really starting to organize her world sequentially. This evening when I put her to bed she said. “So mommy, when I wake up then I will get out of bed and shout for you. And we will go downstairs and eat waffles. Then I will come back upstairs and brush my teeth. Then I will play with my camera. Does that sound good to you?”

We sure do love you, Lydie Lew! :)