Faith

I'll start by saying - I LOVE THIS STORY! It is a testimony of God's goodness in my life. It's a goody: I had always questioned if I would physically be able to have children. There was plenty of evidence that suggested it would be difficult if not impossible. However, about 5 years ago, I stopped putting confidence in the difficulties happening in my body. Instead, I started listening to my heart and my spirit, and I knew I was going to be a mother. God started confirming this promise to me - I was going to bear children.

So, I started acting on that promise. Brett and I selected names for our unconceived children, we painted the bedrooms where they would sleep, and we started buying our unborn children clothes. About 5 years ago, I was shopping at Target and saw these adorable shoes, and I bought them for my future daughter. I had no sense of sizing, so I picked up the size that looked cute. Well, about 2 months ago, I stumbled across them, and what do you know, but Kate wears a size 8! A perfect match with Kate's red flower girl dress!

3 pairs of red shoes, 3 red dresses, 3 cute girls :)

Also noteworthy - a year ago, I interviewed my Grandma and learned a little more about her life story. One of the clear themes was, although she had endured challenges in her life, her FAITH never wavered. She never questioned the Lord's goodness toward her. We know that blessings endure through generations, and I know we will see the gift of faith in all our children.

Look at sweet little Ellie Belle :0)

I just bought her these shoes - they are a size zero! Who knew they made shoes in a size zero. Adorable

Andrew & Nikki French!

Congratulations Nikki & Andrew! Their wedding was awesome. I don't think I've ever been to a prettier reception - it was held at the Akron Art Museum and the setting was amazing. It was a fantastic, super fun party. Amazing.

Kate Little absolutely had the time of her life. She danced NON-STOP! She did a combination of running around the dance floor and shaking it.



More pics to come, but a few good ones from my camera:

G.Nana and Ellie - both having an amazing time :)


Brady & Brett

Krissy, Nikki & Cousin Mike

Mom, Nikki, Krissy & Dad

2 cute married couples

Receiving Grace

Overall, things are still going very well around here. Although, about a week ago, I ran out of grace for myself. What I mean by that is, when Ellie was first born, I considered myself successful if everyone was alive. Now all the sudden I've raised the bar much higher, and I can have a tendency to feel like a failure at everything. Another big issue is, I've started working on small projects, which I really enjoy, but finding someone to watch the girls on short notice has been a huge challenge. I may only have an hour call to do, but it becomes a big issue. I'm still working through that. But, we're doing our best. I think it will continue to get easier, and I've got to give myself more grace when it feels like Kate's watched too much tv, I didn't cook a great dinner because I was holding Ellie who couldn't fall asleep, Brett and I haven't gone out and had fun in too long, I didn't have time to work out, I didn't have time to read, pray, etc. Physically, mentally, spiritually & relationally I may be falling short of my bar, but my bar is too high. I need to receive more grace.



Look at this sweet picture of Elizabeth GRACE - a beauty :)

The blessing of family

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family. Here are a few shots during Ellie's first month with people who love her so!

The School Girl

Kate started pre-school back in September, and she LOVES it!!! It is so good for her. The second day she came home and said, "Mom, it's time for Circle Time. Please sit down." Circle Time is a very structured time each day where they learn new things, sing songs, pick jobs, etc. She loves being in school. By the second week, her teacher told me she had made a friend, Avery. They like to do everything together - how sweet :)



I think I posted a while ago that I had planned for Kate to go to 2 different schools. One of the things I do as a consultant is "scenario planning." I think the second school was to ensure that if Ellie & I were having a tough time adjusting, particularly with sleep & energy, that Kate would still have fun and stimulating things to do. The great news is, with Ellie being such a wonderful and easy baby, Kate is only going to 1 school, Hyde Park Redeemer for 2 days a week, and then the rest of the time we're all doing stuff together. It's been really nice and a great blessing.



Today was the Halloween party - Avery, Kate's buddy, is the Fairy Princess in pink. Kate is a princess - way to go Tom Maybin on the idea of recycling the flower girl dress, adding a tiara and tada - a princess! Also pictured are the teacher, Mrs. Ahrens, twin brothers Joel & Joshua, and Mckenna the chicken. I loved today that Kate had something really fun to do, and I didn't have to plan or organize it.



Ellie had fun today too - here she is playing with her zebra toy from the Seddons. I think she's giving it a kiss :) What a cutie! Kate said today, "I love Ellie's pretty smiles :)"

Smile!

Look at this beautiful little baby!

(I will catch up my blog at some point, but I couldn't wait with this cute pic!)