Graduation

Now that Joshua is 7 months old and sitting up unassisted he has graduated to bathtime in the bathtub instead of the kitchen sink. It's not as easy on the knees and back for mommy, but at least I don't end up soaked.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. Considering that I met my husband when I was 15 and my mom died when I was 17 she is much more like an actual mother to me than a mother-in-law. She is a remarkable woman. She is gracious, caring, gentle, loving, wise, humble, generous, hospitable and a wonderful cook! On top of being a fantastic mother-in-law, she is the best grandmother! Our kids love her. She always stocks the pantry with our kids' favorite foods before we visit, she has toys, books, and movies for the kids at the grandparents' house. She lets them play the piano in their living room. She will light saber fight with Daniel and play tea with Maggie in the same hour. She reads, plays, bathes, feeds, rocks and spoils her grandbabies (in a good way). Joshua has yet to discover just how wonderful his grandmama (that's what we call her) is, but I know that it won't take long. Just one of the fond memories I have of my mother-in-law is when she came to stay with us right after Daniel was born (she arrived at the hospital a few minutes after Daniel was born). Not only did she tidy up the house while we were at the hospital, she went grocery shopping and prepared a meal for us. Then one night when I was up in the middle of the night with a screaming new born she came to my rescue. I couldn't get him to breastfeed or calm down. I was on the verge of a melt down when she came and took him to the nursery/guest bedroom and sang and rocked him until he went to sleep. I was able to get a couple hours of sleep and it made all the difference in the world. She was also there to encourage me (along with Davis) when breastfeeding was a struggle and we had to go to a lactation consultant. I honestly don't know if I can say enough about my mother-in-law. She is truly a blessing and I am so very thankful for her. She raised a great son (two actually) that has become a wonderful husband and father. I love her more than I can say so that is why I wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday on our blog today! I'm extremely grateful that she was born. I love you, Mom, and I hope you have a great day!

Never leave your camera

This weekend I went to a lovely baby shower for a church friend. I took my digital camera with every intention of taking some pictures of the event and of our friends. However, I was asked to take some pictures of the shower for the mother-to-be with her digital camera so I left my camera sitting on a table. It wasn't until after I was home from the shower and leaving to go out with my family that I discovered that my digital camera wasn't in my purse. I then called the hostess of the shower and asked her if I had left it at her home. She said that I had, and sent it home with another friend that would give it back to me at church the next day. I retrieved said camera at church the next day without incident. Then lo and behold when I uploaded the pictures from my camera onto the computer I found this gem.

So let this be a lesson to never leave your camera unattended; you never know what you might find.