Beatrix's Baby Dedication

Beatrix's dedication was beautiful. It really couldn't have been any better.

When we prayed over her at church I wanted to cry out of pure love, joy and faith that God does indeed have great things in store for my little Birdie.

When Kevin prayed over Beatrix I was just in awe of what a strong man of God Kevin has become over the last several years. Hearing the strength and conviction in his voice as he prayed for the Lord to shine his face upon Beatrix and guard her heart from all evil was amazing. When I stood there with my little Birdie in my arms and looked out into the congregation that was filled with our family and friends, I was flooded with the realization that I am blessed. Blessed beyond belief. Beyond what I could have ever imagined. God has given me everything that I didn't even know I wanted- everything I didn't even know I needed.

After church all of our families and several of our close friends joined us at our house for a lunch of massive proportions. We had ordered several trays of Italian food from one of our favorite local Italian joints and had epic amounts of salads, fruit and bread to top it all off. It was awesomely delicious. We ended up practically living off of leftover for the next three days. I started to reek of garlic from the marinara sauce but it was insanely delicious so it was totally worth the pungent garlic breath.

All in all it was a beautiful day that I can only hope that I will remember forever.

Mommy's Little Peppers and How They Grow...

Every day I thank God for all my sweet little babies. I am so incredibly blessed by them. They are all so different and add so much to my life.

Matthew cracks me up on an everyday basis. He has a million stories and explanations for everything. Some of the things he comes up with are insanely outrageous and hilarious at the same time. But he has such a sweet and sensitive soul. He currently refers to Birdie as - "My sweet little darling.... She's so adorable..." He's always wanting to hold her and give her kisses and snuggles. He's a remarkable big brother.

He reminds me a lot of myself sometimes. He has such a wonderful imagination. But I swear his stubbornness and love of debating had to have come from Kevin.

Phoebe is my wild child. Always jumping off of dressers or beds. Nothing seems to phase her. She's currently in a phase of stripping down naked every chance she gets. I seriously have to dress her about 20 times a day. It's exhausting. But what can I say- my little wild girl loves to be naked! I'm a hair away from buying duct tape to tape her clothes on every day.

She's frustrating and stubborn as all hell but when she bats her little eyes and gives me a hug I just melt. It's hard to resist such a cute little bundle of loves.

Beatrix is amazing thus far. She's already her own little person. She's sweet and observant but not afraid to let herself be heard. She has the sweetest little cry. Simply as if she's just letting herself be heard and as soon as she gets what she wants she is amazingly content again. She loves to simply coo at me. The best part of my day is when I simply cuddle her and she smiles and coos to me.

Elijah is just a sweet little bundle of smiles. He really has such a sweet a little heart. Things aren't always easy when it comes to my little Doodle but I can't imagine my life without him. He adds to my life in so many ways. His shy smile could light the moon.

Last week Elijah, Birdie and I went to get hot chocolate and hit the bookstore together. I let Elijah pick whatever book he wanted and he absolutely insisted on picking out books for Matthew and Phoebe too. He spent forever searching through the books to try to find the perfect books for the other kids. He picked out a Spiderman book for Matthew and Little Critter book for Phoebe. It was just so sweet how serious he took it. I was so incredibly proud of him for thinking of the other kids on our special little outing.

Truly, God has blessed me beyond my wildest imagination.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
Psalms 127:3-5