I am one of the lucky ones.

   One who married a man who seems to understand me just a little bit better than anyone else.  Better than my family, better than my friends, better than myself.

   One who can talk me off the ledge faster than I managed to climb up there.  One who sees me even now, not just for who I am (thankfully) but for who I'd really, really like to be one day.  One who manages to overlook my glaring faults, ragged scars, deepest flaws, and truest weaknesses, and see the beauty deep within, especially when I can't see it anymore.




    We recently found a new family car after ours kicked the bucket, and our girls' excitement over the whole situation was so contagious.  I had told them Daddy was coming home with a new car, but they would be sleeping and could see it in the morning.

   The next morning Jocelyn ran to the window and exclaimed, "Daddy brought us a car!  A new car!  Oh Daddy gets us such nice things."  And suddenly it was about so much more than just a car.  It was about the fact that our 4 yr-old already has the peace and security of knowing that her Daddy will take care of her.

That he will provide for her and that he wants the best for her.

   And I don't take that lightly.  The privilege of raising my children with a father who will always be there for them, when so many countless, countless children will never know that luxury.  They will never know the simple blessing that is a GOOD DAD.

   Even now, it is already shaping their view of their Heavenly Father.  Whether they realize it or not, it is molding and shaping the picture they will envision when they learn and hear about Jesus.  And that is no small thing.



  And the reason it is no small thing is because the kinds of questions they carry in their small hearts today, they will carry for a lifetime.  These are the questions they ask first of their Daddy, then one day of a potential husband, and they are the same questions that they ask of Jesus.

Does he love me?
Am I enough for him?
Will he ever leave me?
Will he protect me?
Can I trust him?
Will he be faithful?
Can I count on him?


And so we celebrate him today, on the day of his 31st birthday.

   And in a few months I will turn 30, effectively eliminating both of us from the 20s category forever.  I am a little wistful and nostalgic, as our 20s held so much joy, love, change, growth and excitement.  We dated, broke up, dated again, married, traveled, had babies, bought a house, and so many other major, life-changing milestones.  It feels as if we are closing a chapter to our lives that was such a whirlwind in so many ways, but of the absolute best kind, and I am sad to see it go.
  But I can't think of a single better person to be facing this next, new decade with.  And it's so exciting to think of what our 30s might bring!  Yes indeed, I am one of the lucky ones.  Thank-you, thank-you, for choosing me to do life with.  

Bring it on, thirty-one!  And hopefully many, many, more to come.

Darling daughter,

  My calendar tells me that tomorrow, you turn 4 YEARS OLD.  Although that simply cannot be, because it was just yesterday that you were the one inside of my womb, instead of this 2nd little sibling that is there now.

   I remember this day clear as a bell, 4 years ago.  I was two days "overdue" and thinking (as all overdue women do) that I would be pregnant forever.  I was huge and uncomfortable and tried everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the book to get you to come out.
















    I still remember attending the Christmas pageant and bawling my eyes out when Joseph cradled the baby Jesus close and the song played about being a parent to the Son of God.  I sewed baby burp cloths in prints for boys and girls, not yet knowing which ones I would get to use and which ones I would get to give away.  I didn't know what you were, and I was DYING to find out.  Which name would we use? Which outfit would we be taking home a little one in?? When, oh WHEN would you come???

   I thought it would be extra special if you had come out today, because today is your Grandpa's birthday.  But you waited until tomorrow, and of course that is perfectly fine too. 

   I was lying in bed around midnight when my water broke.  I had heard so many stories of false labor and first babies taking FOREVER so I convinced myself that we were still a loooong way away from holding you in our arms.  I was too excited to sleep so I got up, took a shower, and fiddled around the house, just passing time.  I thought your daddy would need the energy later if it was a long labor so I let him sleep all the way until 6:00 am.

   When I woke him up, I knew things were real.  This was it.  We were going to see you soon.  Excitement and fear mingled closely as you were my first, and I had no idea what to expect!  We called the midwife and she strongly recommended we wait another few hours, but Daddy insisted we go in, and it was a good thing he did, or we would've had you at home, or on the way!  


You were born an hour after we got to the birth center. 

   Everything happened so fast, it all seems a bit of a blur.  Some would say that makes me lucky, but I think fast labors are some of the hardest of them all!  I DO remember how intense it all was.   Like a roller coaster, whipping you around the next bend before you can catch you breath.  I was harder than anything I'd ever experienced or imagined...and then, just like that, there you were.

   My baby.  A little girl, 7 lbs of perfection and a head of the darkest hair I'd ever seen.  You were, and still are, so very beautiful.  


   I couldn't believe how quiet you were!  I assumed all babies came into this world kicking and shrieking, but you were just the opposite.  For the first few months of your life, it seemed that you tried your hardest not to bother anyone.  You were so meek and mild it almost worried me!  Your cry was a soft little mewling, like a newborn kitten.  You were so darling and stole our hearts completely, right from the beginning.

   I remember feeling so overcome with emotion at your birth.  We both cried, Daddy looked like he almost fainted, and it was one of the most magical moments in my entire life.  

   When daddy went back to work and it was just the two of us, I rocked you in the nursery and read you a story as tears poured down my face.  It felt so strange to love something so fiercely....as if the strength of it would actually tear my heart in two....that's how I felt about you.


There have been so many fun memories with you already, it would be impossible to list them all.  

   Trips we've taken, places we've seen, people we've met....You have a love for traveling already and talk incessantly about our upcoming trip to Iowa.  I am so thankful for all of the places we've been and so excited for all of the places we'll go.

   Once you let someone in your heart, you love them fiercely, and I can already tell that you will struggle just as much as your mama with FEELING ALL OF THE THINGS ALL OF THE TIME and wearing your emotions on your sleeve.  It's o.k. though, we'll experience it and learn from it together.

   A big, fat thank you to all who entered my birthday giveaway!  What a fun, fun time that was.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I am thinking that needs to become a reoccurring feature around here.

  And the winner is.........*drumroll please*  JERIN YODER!  I am so tickled that she won, she completely deserves it!  And for all those who didn't win this time around, rest assured the winner was picked completely randomly through rafflecopter and random.org. :)  Maybe the next time will be your lucky turn!

   My birthday started wonderfully with Randy making me breakfast, but then continued fairly normal, with Randy having to work and me doing laundry and cleaning the house.  But I think that's kind of what it means to be an adult, unfortunately.  But after he got off work we dropped the girls off at Grandma's and got to go to the Duck game!  Plus the pre-game burger was possibly the best burger of my 29 years.  So that was a highlight.

   Back in the days B.C. (before children) we would get season tickets.  But that is just not very feasible in this stage of life anymore.  I used to take those games for granted, thinking it was all Randy's thing and I was just being a good girlfriend/fiance/wife to go along with him.  But it's funny how you sometimes don't realize a good thing until you don't have it anymore!  I MISS going to those games.

Turns out I secretly enjoyed them all along, even unbeknownst to me.



   Another great birthday in the books, and today I'm off to freeze up corn like a good Mennonite!

Over and out.

   These pictures are from waaaayyyy back sometime in June, and I forgot about them until now.  But I can't let this teepee just pass through our lives (may it rest in peace) without at least documenting its brief lifespan.

   One time when my Dad was out visiting us, he made a teepee for the children out of PVC pipe.  It fulfilled all of my teepee-loving desires, and we finally got it set up and covered in time for Charlotte's birthday in June.  It was no small task to cover that thing....requiring a last-minute dash to the thrift store the morning of the party for old shower curtains that (of course) weren't long enough and so I had to sew on the canvas at the bottom to make it reach.  Then after all of that, I still didn't have a clue how to fasten it to the teepee structure....hot glue?  Twine?  It didn't reach all of the places it would have needed to for the hot glue option and so I resorted to using twine and safety pins, and trust me, it wasn't pretty. At least it was decorated with a beautiful bunting borrowed from my sis-in-law, Jessi.