Trying to Send Invitations... In the Meantime.... :)

Hi, everyone!

I have collected several addresses for the invitation list, but Blogger keeps saying I have an invalid something or other, so I can't send them. I'll keep working on that, but in the meantime, I'll post some pictures!

We are coming off a crazy last few weeks since I blogged, and as usual, I am coming up for air. I am thrilled to tell you that Maia slept through the night last night, and this is one of the first mornings in forever that I woke up before the girls and actually felt great!

Ava is now officially 2 1/2 and Maia is 10 months old going on 11 months. They are an active pair and I am operating lately at a break-neck pace until bedtime, not leaving much time for posting. The Lord has been faithful to minister to me in this season and sends me reminders of His care and provision during my days of craziness. I don't have much time at all for quiet times lately and spiritual refreshment, so I've been counting on Him to refresh me while I sleep, and He does. How grateful I am for His ministering during my sleep to prepare me for the next day and what it holds, be a task or a conversation with someone.

Now, let's see. Where was I? Oh, yeah! January!!!

It's 9:44 p.m. and I've had my Happy Mommy drink made up of a cup of milk, a few teaspoons of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon, and I'll leave you with one photo that sums up the New Year.

We've jumped into it and haven't stopped since!



Here's to a New Year! 2011, here we come!

An Invitation

Just that word, "invitation" invokes something warm and comfortable and safe. I am extending an invitation for you to follow our family blog in the hopes that it will continue to uplift and encourage you and remind you that the Lord has His eye on all of His children and has good things planned, even when we can't SEE. My blog will be open to those by invitation only in the coming days. If you are following and would like to continue, please leave me a comment on this post with your e-mail address. Please tell me a little about yourself if I don't know you and why you are choosing to follow our blog.

There are many of you struggling in a waiting period with any number of things, something I'm intimately familiar with along my own journey with the Lord. Some of you may be struggling with infertility or you're on a journey with domestic or international adoption. To all of you, my hope is that my blog will continue to encourage you, as I write from my heart.

Again, please leave me a comment if you haven't already received an e-mail from me, and I'll add you to the invitation list.

Thank you and may God bless you abundantly.

Christmas with Mimi and Papa

Every Christmas, we drive the much-traveled route to my parent's house to celebrate the Christmas season, eat a yummy supper together and open gifts. We've been doing this ever since Ben and I were first married. It's always so warm and inviting, and Mom always goes out of her way to make it a special night for everyone. Thank you, Mimi and Papa, for a wonderful Christmas celebration! We love you!

Snow Day Play!

On the 26th of December, (whew, I'm getting there!) the cold tempertures held, and the snow was still on the ground... a lot of it! Ava could not wait to go outside to play in it. Maia had the sniffles, so she had to wait for her snow play day until a few days later. Daddy and Ava had a ball playing in the six inches of snow we got, and Ben took Ava sledding for the very first time. She loved it! She is our outdoor girl- absolutely loves to be outside doing anything! Just like her Momma. :)

Every morning, before anything else, Ava liked to play with the Christmas train.



One of Maia's last meals in her Bumbo.,, We have loved the Bumbo!



Hat, scarf, mitten, boots, I'm ready!















I was determined to try my hand at "making" something special for Ava for Christmas this year. I thought, "surely, I can make a pillow," and I did! She loves Tinkerbell, and I found some fuzzy fabric at Hobby Lobby to use. I was so tickled it turned out! Who knows, maybe I'll make a dress someday! :)

Calm, Quiet, Snowy Christmas Day

Good afternoon!

Miss Maia's Roseola virus is officially gone, and we were not sad to see it go because she was so miserable! I wrote a few posts back that she was diagnosed with the virus early last week, and Ava and I both had pesky viruses at the same time, making for a very very difficult week. We are like the groundhog poking our heads outside today. No public places for us this week! As of today, Maia's measle-like rash is completely gone, and she's returning to her happy-go-lucky self with giggles and grins. Ava and I are both 100%, and I am catching up on literally a million things it seems. The girls are napping on this Monday afternoon, and yes, I'm STILL posting Christmas pictures!



We awoke to a snowy Christmas morning, and the girls came downstairs to see what was under the Christmas tree. Ava is much more interested in surprises this year, and it was so fun to watch her approach her toys. She was so funny. We thought she'd rush right in, but I think she didn't know quite what to think of everything being under the tree. She just stood there for the longest time looking at us and then at the toys. She first spied a baby bed/changing table with some babies and bottles and such and has loved taking care of her babies. For the life of us, Ben and I don't know what happened to our pictures from Christmas morning. We have video but can't find the pictures! If I can find them, I'll upload them later to this post. We enjoyed a family Christmas breakfast, and the girls played with their toys before we headed back over to my Aunt Jill's house for our traditional Christmas meal. Maia was wide awake when we got there, so we were able to capture a few shots of her opening her presents that we saved from the night before.

There are more Christmas pictures coming up that capture the girls better as we celebrated with my folks a few nights later and then with Ben's folks a few weeks later. It was pretty much a non-stop Christmas celebration through mid-January!





Mommy and Maia opening her presents



My Dad sampling the turkey!

Christmas Eve

It took literally 25 takes to get this picture! We were on our way to the Christmas Eve candlelight service to meet my family.



Around 6:30 Christmas Eve, we loaded up the girls and met my family at Peck's Memorial UMC for the annual Christmas communion service. We kept both Ava and Maia with us in the pew, and they did pretty well! Ava even got to hold a candle for a few minutes before I decided that that was a bad idea with the wax and hair around us, especially mine!

We then headed to my Aunt Jill and Uncle Rick's house for our family Christmas celebration. My Aunt and Uncle live in my great-grandmother and great-grandfather's brick house that was built in the 1920s, and over the years, it has been the place of countless wonderful family memories. It's one of the most special places on Earth to me.

Because communion was late, Maia conked out when we got to the house, and she went to bed. That's why you won't see any pictures of her on this night. She was so tired. Ava got to stay up a little later and open some presents and play with some toys before heading to bed.

My cousins. Wes and Katie, sat behind us.



Aunt Jill made a play corner for Ava with stuffed animals and a cradle.



Aunt Jill and Ava



Mimi and Ava sharing a hug



Papa's here, too!



Hmmm... I think that's a cookie Ava is getting from Mimi!



If I could take a snapshot of one of my favorite spots in the whole house, it would be this dining room where the Christmas Eve treats are! Everyone brings something to contribute, and it is always the best food!



Uncle Rick and Ben in the kitchen... another one of my favorite spots filled with family banter, laughs, tears and prayers.



Ava opens her tricycle from Mimi and Papa. She'll be zooming around the circle in the spring!



Mommy helping Ava ride through the kitchen... Zoom zoom!



Here I come Aunt Sydney and Uncle Lonnie! :)



Uncle Rick helping out...



Ava playing "five" with Uncle Lonnie



Ava's characteristic big grin. :)





Katie and Wes with Ava

Roseola Virus Update and Christmas Eve Day

Hi, everyone,

It's been quite a week here at our house with viruses. Last weekend, Ava started getting sick, followed by Maia and then me. We're all still recuperating, and Maia has had the worst go of it. On Monday, without any symptoms or warning, her temperature shot to 104, and we sponge bathed, called Chilren's and gave her Infant's Motrin to try to bring it down. With all of that, we could just get it down to close to 103. When I took her in to see the doctor, he mentioned Roseola Infantrum virus which is notorious for high fevers and no other symptoms. When the fever return to normal, a measle-like rash develops. Just yesterday, her fever broke and returned to normal, and sure enough, she woke up with the rash this morning on her arms, neck, face and chest. She's having another tough day, is having a hard time sleeping, and Ava and I are still blowing our noses every 10 minutes and feeling lethargic. Thankfully, Ben has escaped all of this! Needless, to say, it's been a really tough week for us, but I think we're over the worst of it.

On to happier, more joyful things! Sorting the remainder of our Christmas pics today, and trying to catch up. I hope everyone is well!

Ben is like a kid at Christmas when it comes to trains. Every year, he can't wait to set it up. This year, he bought more track and we had enough to make the train go in a circle around our staircase. Ava absolutely loved it!





I turned around and found Ava putting Mary and the Wisemen in the green-pick up truck that goes on the train. Mary got to ride up top!