February

February flew by... Clara is 3 months old and an absolute doll....we adore her, and we can't imagine our family without her.  She defines the term "good baby."  She is so easy going and really only cries if she is hungry or tired.  Otherwise, she hardly makes a peep, although now she has started to laugh out loud, and it's quite cute!  Her big sister can really get her going!  Clara is healthy and sleeps well...what more could a mom ask for????

Similar to Adeline and Charlie, we dedicated Clara at our church this month.  Above anything else, we believe guiding our kids to love and know Jesus is the most important responsibility we have in their lives.

Clara Eloise, we love you!  Our prayer for you (just like your sister and brother) is "that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.  And we pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:16-19

Dedication brunch following the service was so much fun!  God has abundantly blessed us with family and friends who love us, support us, and love on our kids!!

If you look closely, you can see that the kids are "parading" around the tables....and look who is leading this parade....little Charlie!  Hilarious!

A very tired Clara...

I love that our kids LOVE books....

See what I mean?  Look at Clara laughing at Adeline!

stacking bowls/cups...one of Charlie's new favorite activities

Charlie "overseeing" what's going on with the girls...

Auntie Kamiah

We enjoyed a couple of days with Patrick's sister, Kamiah, who visited us from Chicago.   The kids kept her busy the entire time.  I hope she wasn't hoping for a relaxing couple of days because she certainly didn't get any rest...that's for sure.   Thanks Kamiah for coming up to see us!  We loved having you!

We spent an afternoon at Edinborough Park - an indoor park with lots to do

Winter continues...

With Clara so young, and Charlie still pretty young, the cold weather has us indoors quite a bit.  Adeline and Charlie now "play" together more and more....this can equate to lots of peace and laughter, OR some yelling and arguing....it makes for unpredictable days!!  When Patrick is traveling, the kids are learning to be amore patient with me, as I learn to juggle taking care of 3 kids.  I am learning to be more organized and strategic in the way I go about my day, and this makes for a little more smoothness in our days as well.

Clara Eloise - 2 months old

"Clara, with this wand, I will turn you into a....."

Getting out of the house takes time so why not do a little reading while waiting for mommy...

Addie has always loved going to the library and getting books.  Charlie now loves it too.  After bringing home about 25 books, the kids are laying them out to start looking at them.

sisters...

Addie's favorite headband from auntie Mary...in Addie's mind, bright red goes with anything!  Such a fashionista!

the girls

Riley and Addie got their nails done using gift certificates they both got for Christmas!

In response to "Where are your eyes?"

Can you tell Addie has had some influence on Charlie who's holding Cinderella and a Dora book?