You captivate me!!

Happy 2-Month Birthday Emery!!!!

Emery with her puppy, Maddie

Just wanted to say a hugely full-of-love Happy Birthday to our little sweet Emery! Sunday was her 2 month. Starbucks came out with these delicious little things called cakepops. I thought they were silly until I experienced one! So I decided to try to make them myself! I did and I dedicated them to Emery! :) They were quite delish!

Sunday, Sean and I took turns going to church. I had a very emotional but great time with the Lord during worship. It was much needed. I met with a friend afterward for a latte and then we relaxed at home as a family.

I can't believe 2 months have gone by already. She still seems like a newborn to me. Everyday she continues to change more and more. She smiles and interacts with us so much! Its a lot of fun! I love her smile! She captivates me!! I literally can't get enough of her throughout the day. Most times I'm good at letting her cry if she's falling off to sleep. But sometimes I cave and go to her to love on her and cuddle! I think I must kiss her a thousand times a day! I'm not kidding either!! UHHH!!! I love her so much!!! I am truly blessed! I have this beautiful child along with an amazing husband. Thank you Lord for pouring out your blessings on us!!

Happy birthday Lovebug!!

She's growing!!!!

Our Miss little Emery is growing!!!! I've been so anxious to know how much she weighs and how tall she is. I've attempted to weigh her at home but without confidence. So here's the verdict......

8 pounds 6 ounces

21 1/2 inches long!!!

She has grown 2 lbs and 11 ounces and 3 inches since birth! She is still in newborn diapers! I tend to think that she is the "norm". But I have known 5 babies born since she was born and I am pretty sure they all weighed more at birth than she weighs today!!! lol I just keep thinking that I can't imagine pushing her out now, at this size, without drugs of some sort!! haha However, with all that said, she is super healthy and I was excited to answer YES to every question of development the Dr. asked. Does she smile? YES! Does she smile in response to you smiling? YES! Does she track you as you move away? YES! Does she coo? YES!! Does she hold her head up on her own when sitting upright? Heck YES!! She is right on track! I am so proud of my little Lovebug!!!! The downside of the appt was that she got her yucky vacc shots today (minus the hep B). I hate those! And boy did she show that she hated them too! We felt soooo bad for her. I have been dreading this day. :( We headed from there to Kashefi's for lunch. Luckily it was past time for her to eat so that comforted her. Then we ran a couple errands and then sbux and to the park. We attempted to feed her again at the park and this time she was so fussy she only ate one ounce. I just held her and loved on her and she finally fell into a light sleep. But the fussiness has begun (I'm assuming from the shots). :( So we packed up and came home so she could rest in her own surroundings. She is sleeping soundly now. But it is a beautiful day and I am blessed to be able to spend it with my hubby and our daughter. I look forward to having hundres... thousands, more of these!!!

Happy 17th Anniversary!

Today is our 17th wedding Anniversary!!! Its so unbelievable how fast the years have gone by. Sometimes we can think that we haven't done anything in that time, but really, we have done a lot! Sure, a trip to Europe would have been nice... but we can't have everything. Right? Well I can say I have everything I want right now. I have, first and foremost, an amazing and loving husband. While neither of us is perfect (who is?), he really is the most close-to-perfect-husband I could dream of. He is an awesome friend and great lover. And I mean that in a way that he loves me soooo much. I not only know it, but I see it every day. (of course he is the other too!) And he is a fabulous father!! I have a wonderful job, a fabulous home, wonderful family and friends. And best of all (most recently), our beautiful daughter, Emery Rose (who as I type is crying as she tries to go to sleep. but what a beautiful cry it is!). She came as a huge surprise and at a time that I had completely let go of the idea of being a mommy, at least for the time. But God had other plans and His timing is perfect!!

Married life has been an adventure, I must say. It has been beautiful and it has been ugly. It has been easy and fun at times and it has been the hardest thing I've done. It can be bumpy and rough and scary and yet you can have the time of your life! Nothing worth anything ever comes easy. You have to work hard at it! You have to give it 100%, not the expected 50/50. I've heard that if you can survive the relationship of marriage then you can succeed at any relationship in your life. It is the ultimate training ground for honesty, commitment, loyalty, love, respect, selflessness, communication.... I could go on and on. I am still learning most of these. After 17 years, I'm still learning to communicate effectively and honestly. Its so hard. But what I learn along these years continually make me a better person. I am a better person because of my husband. My mom trained me up and helped mold me into the person I was to become with God's constant help. When I got married, my husband to the reigns. I am forever grateful to him (although he may think otherwise most of the time... lol). And I only hope I am the kind of wife as he has been a husband to me.

I love you babe!!! I look forward with great anticipation to the beautiful years of raising Emery with you. And the years beyond that! Many, many more to come!!! I wait for the next great adventure that God takes us on! I will go anywhere with you!!!! I love you!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Its the Food coma!!!!

Uh... she looks a little two content between those two boys!

Three peas in a pod!

It was Emery's first St. Patrick's Day! Oh yes... she is Irish!! So we were wearing our green! We had another playdate today with Evan and Ryan. Tonia brought us mommies bagels and coffee! Thanks Tonia! We had a great time hanging out. It sure is pretty funny with all these babies in one room. If one cries, then there's usually one more that will follow suit. And here we are juggling them all. I attempted a photo session of the boys but didn't get far because my batteries were all dead. I think that is rule #1 of photography 101. Always charge your batteries! blah! And anyway, we didn't start the pictures until a while after they ate so by the time we began, they were not very happy. Unlike the food-coma picture of the three of them! lol I got a few good ones, but we will try again tomorrow. I think this is my favorite day of the week when I visit my friend and her boys. Its so much fun. And neither of us feel we have to entertain the other. We're both so tired, so we can be tired and blah together. Its wonderful!

3 little miracles sittin' in a tree....

A story of miracles...

All ready for bed in their pj's!

Emery hanging with her beau-friend, Evan

Cutie pa-tutie, laid-back, Evan

Sweet but feisty, Ryan

Emery with her two prospects... which one will be the lucky guy?

(Evan's on the left, Ryan on the right)

A few days ago I had mentioned that God had performed yet another miracle within my circle of friends! Our miracle was Miss Emery Rose. And now our friends have received their miracles, Evan and Ryan. Yes... Twins!!

Four years ago, God brought a wonderful couple into our lives. We were instantly bonded by a heart for missions and, unfortunately, infertility. We walked through our infertility together over these past 4 years. Eight years ago Sean and I lost an adopted daughter at 30 hours of life. Last May I find out I'm pregnant and we're having a girl!! A year and a half ago our friends were going to adopt a baby boy but only days before he was to be born, the birthmom changed her mind. Last summer (only a couple months after we found out we were expecting), they found out they would be expecting twin boys exactly one month after our due date!! We lost a daughter, and God gave us another daughter. They lost a son, and God gave them a double dose of boys!!! It is so amazing! We both spent months dealing with our fears and worries of once again losing these precious babies, all the while allowing God to heal and mend the deepest recesses of our, still, broken hearts. But God was faithful! Emery was born 2 weeks early and the twins were born 4 weeks early... on Emery's due date!!!

Last night we had dinner with our friends and, as you can see, the babies had a great time playing in the play pen. They actually get along really well and seem to enjoy each other's company. They are too cute!!! As we sat there in the living room with these beautiful miracles, we reminded each other how we spent the last 4 years sitting in that same space worshiping the Lord and praying for each other... for our lives, our jobs, God's plan for us, and our desires to be parents. And now... here we were, together once again, but this time as parents. I wanted to cry when our friend brought up this realization.

We are constantly amazed by God's timing. It is always hard when your partner in (infertility) crime, moves on into parenthood leaving you behind, although you are always overjoyed for them! So we feel so blessed and express our joy often of how God allowed us this journey through expectance and now parenthood at the same time. We are able to now walk through the ups and downs of newborns... night feedings, crying babies, the joys, the frustrations, the insecurities... that come with being a new parent. It has been a joy!! We are thrilled for this new chapter God has opened for both of us.

The best part is that we are Evan and Ryan's godparents. I'm not sure if there's something deeper to that that happens, but I feel so much love for them! It only takes a few days and a look at a picture of them and my heart instantly longs to see them and love on them. Maybe its just because of all that we have been through. They, just like Emery, are an enormous answer to prayer. They are two beautiful miracles and a testimony to God's faithfulness and love for His children!! Thank you Jesus for keeping your promises and blessing the four of us with our precious children!!

aaaahhhhhh sleep!

Me and Melissa at Girl's night out!

Terry and Renee and the kids joined us for a Boursin burger night!

Mary and Annie with Emery

Mary and Renee at Piazza del Pane for Girl's night out!

Auntie Amy and Annie at Girl's night out!

Annie sure loves our little girl!!!

Well the last 5 days have been a blast! My sister-in-law, Mary from Seattle, said (while I was pregnant) that she wanted to come help out once Emery was here. We set the date for 3 weeks after my due date. She said that's when all the help is gone from locals but when the exhaustion truly sets in. Well, as we all know, Emery came 2 weeks early. Mary was so bummed that now she would have to wait 5 WEEKS before she could see her beloved niece. But that 5 weeks flew by and she and my niece, Annie, were here before we knew it! We were both wondering how she could help me as I'm not necessarily needy any more. Bottle feeding has definitely made life easier. I'm up and around and (almost) back to life as I knew it before. Just now I have a little munchkin who is always with me. She prayed that she would be a help. And boy, was she!!! I thought if she even does 1 or 2 nights of feedings for me, that would be worth the trip! Well... she did every night feeding for all 5 nights!!!! It was heavenly. Although, I did not feel rested until after 3 nights of 8-9 hours of sleep! Its crazy how long it takes to catch up on sleep!!

I have such a hard time letting someone help me, especially when I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. So I finally told her after the first day of trying to do things for me, that she would just have to jump in and do what she wants. She did and after a day or so, I finally was able to rest in, and enjoy, her help. She helped pick up, clean up, make dinner, etc each day. And we finally did a couple projects before she left. She does interior design and I wanted her help in decorating Emery's walls. We bought a great mirror and hung it. Other than that she gave me some great ideas and now I just have to be diligent to do them (given time and money). The other project was hanging a second wire shelf in Em's closet. It all looks great and I'm excited to hang up more clothes!

Her interior design skills also moved into my living room where she took the things I already have and moved them around until we had a room that looked like a professionally decorated model home. (she would humbly say... naaahhhh... but really!!)

I was so grateful that I was able to enjoy their time here. I hated the thought that she would only come to help and serve and I would not have the energy to enjoy girl time together. But we were out just about every day eating, shopping, and enjoying this beautiful weather. Sean had a three day weekend and so we were able to enjoy his company as well. Friday night we had a girls night out where my other two sisters-in-law in town joined us for dinner. Saturday night my brother and family came over for dinner (a crazy, loud night!). And Sunday, she sent us out for a date night. Dinner at Pismo's courtesy of one of Sean's frequent customers.... a baby gift of $50 gift card for the restaurant! (Thanks Roger!)

Can't wait for her to meet the whole family up in Seattle!! It was a fabulous 6 days!! But the vacation is over and we're back to reality... back to life. Time to rest and get Emery back on her schedule after many days of going going.

Has it already been one month???

Happy 1-Month Birthday our sweet girl!!!!

Today is Emery's one month birthday. And let me just say... it is also her puppy Maddie's 11 year birthday too! I can't believe it has been a month already. It has gone by fast. And we are watching her change every day. On thursday, her 4 week bday, she gave, what seemed to be, her first intentional smile while wide awake, to Sean. Today, I was feeding her and was talking to her and smiling really big. She was staring at me and immediately reacted to my smiling with a smile of her own. She stole my heart!!!! I also saw her first tear yesterday, which let me say, is only going to rip my heart out more when she cries. She continues to gain weight every day and so we see her features filling out. We are so excited for the coming months to see her personality and features really take shape. We are so blessed by this little gift of God. She really is an amazing little girl that only causes us to fall in love with her more each day.

Happy birthday Emery Rose!! We love you!!!!