Our Newest Arrival :)

We are so thankful for our newest little guy!! :) 

Ryan Winston

Born March 20th (right on his due date!) 

8lbs. 2 oz. (Our smallest baby) 

22 inches long

We are very blessed, he is precious! :) 

"I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." Psalm 34:1

Our New Son! :)

It's a boy! :) Introducing: Luke Alexander!

Born January 23rd, at 6:20am

Weight: 10lbs 4oz

Height: 22 1/2 inches 

We are all doing really well; my labor was only two hours and my easiest thus far.  :) God answered prayers, and I am so thankful how the birth went! Thanking the Lord for blessing us with this precious baby boy! :) 

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.  I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:1-4

Precious Little Girls

Lydia Faith

Sweet sisters :)

Four months old already!

Love these girls:)

Beautiful blue eyes and look at that hair! :):)

Blue or Pink? Date and Time? :)

I am wondering what you all think:). My due date is in less than a week away now. Of course this little one will come in God's perfect timing, but just for the fun of it what do you think? A girl or boy? And, what day/time do you think he or she will be born? :) 

     To make it more fun, there will be a prize for the one who guesses closest to the correct time and date.   :) 

Wondrously Blessed

"She says I shall now have one mouth the more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure or visiting, reading, music, and drawing.

Well! This is one side of the story, to be sure, but I look at the other. Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ's name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!"

― Elizabeth Payson Prentiss,

Lord Willing, we will be welcoming our new little baby in less than a month now! :)

Favorite Childrens Books

These are just a few of my favorite books for children. Most of them I remember from when I was growing up. We had lots of books and also visited the library quite often.

This book is out of print now and seems to be hard to find. It has been a long time since I read it, but from what I remember, it was a nice little story. :)

When I first saw this book I didn't really care fore the illustration style, but after reading it, it is a cute story about a little caterpillar who turns into a butterfly while learning some counting along a the way. Abby loves this one!

The Fire Cat Pickles the yellow cat with black spots :) I loved this one when I was little.

Buster Bear, Sammy Jay, Paddy the Beaver, Grandfather Frog, all characters in the animal stories by Thornton Burgress. When I was first learning to read, I would go and get these books from the library; I felt pretty important checking them out because they were chapter books :). Our library had the old nice hardbacks of the series.

Are You My Mother? This one is a favorite! I have a board book copy of it which leaves some parts out, but it's good for when the children are little.

Marcel the Pastry Chef What I remember most about this one is the wonderful illustrations! When I was younger we used to go to the library and bring stacks of books like this one home and my older sister would read them to us. :)

Good Night Little Bear I remember this book from when I was really little. It's funny, but the most vivid thing I remember about it is when the daddy bear is going to eat the piece of chocolate cake; I always thought it looked so good :). I haven't read or seen this book in years, but would love to get a copy.

Benjy and the Barking Bird We had this book when I was growing up. I spent some of my Swag bucks to buy myself a copy not too long ago.

Mommy Loves Her Bunny This is a cute little book, I love the illustrations and the words are sweet. I read this one to Abby just about every day before nap time.

What are some of your favorite children's books?

Take Time To Smell the Flowers

Abby, with some of her favorite things: her doll, green rubber boots, and "pretty flowers". Here, she is holding a dandelion for her doll to "smell". :)

Two Little Ones

These two little people were so happy to be playing outside today! It's been nice to have

warm weather again! We have been busy with all kinds of fun stuff, reading books to Abby, teething (William has two teeth so far), playing, training, learning, growing, :) etc. Their Mommy has learned that these two can move quickly and get into trouble so fast it's hard to keep up sometimes:)........

...Like the time they were caught playing in the toilet. lol, Yes, I actually took the time to take their picture before washing them up. I figured it would be something to show them when they get older. :)

Or the time Abby thought the wall looked like a good place to use crayons. Willy's expression, along with the fact that Abby was pointing at the wall and repeatedly saying "No No!, No No!!" as I took this picture makes me laugh when I look at it. (btw, Ajax worked wonders on removing the crayon, for which I was very thankful:)).

Wherever Abby is, William is never far away:). Here they are trying to empty out a container of milk powder before I got to the kitchen one morning.

The two little partners who are loved very much around here.:) All the crazy, amazing, tired, precious, busy moments add up to something beautiful. God is good, and we are enjoying life.

A Girl and Her Daddy

This picture makes me smile so I thought I would post it. :) It was taken last month when we were in Florida visiting my family. Abigail loved the beach. It's so sweet to watch a little one's wonder when they discover something new.

Learning Room aka School Room

I love the idea of having a "learning room", one that is fun and inviting, where school projects could be done as well as more serious study if needed. I came across a few pictures of rooms which got me inspired. I really like the idea of maps, charts and pictures on the walls with maybe some dry erase or chalk boards. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete with out a pet, maybe a hamster or fish tank. :) Also, lots of good books! For the walls, I am so used to everything being painted white that I am ready to try something different. It will be a few years before our oldest little one is old enough to start school, but with a room like this she could start learning now (Not that our children need a special room to learn, but I think it would be a neat place to enhance the experience :). That's why I like calling it a Learning Room. Growing up, I thought it would be neat to have a special room like this, but not everyone has the space and that's fine too. Some of these ideas can be incorporated in other area of the house as well.

I *love* the huge map on the wall! It looks perfect in this setting. I also like the idea of having a small couch (or rocking chair to rock the baby while keeping an eye on the little learners:) in the room to make it more comfortable and homey. :)

I thought this would be a cute way to put up special pictures that the children draw etc.

I love the simple color scheme in this picture. Using a book shelf as a double desk is a neat idea. I also love the baskets! They would work directly on a wall as well; a cute way to help keep papers organized.

I have a long way to go before I come close to having something as perfect as the pictures, but hey, it doesn't have to be perfect. :) I intend to keep an eye out for items at second hand stores etc. and maybe someday I can make my dream learning room:).

Children Are a Blessing

"I want to see little children adorning every home as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less and less selfish and more and more loving because they have come. I want to see God's precious gifts accepted, not frowned upon and refused.

~Elizabeth Prentiss

Baby Sweetness

Little boy, eight days old

Such a tiny hand
Baby feet

New Baby Items

With little ones and babies here are a lot of things which aren't essential, in fact, when you think about it, most of the extra "stuff" and toys don't even get used much. On the other hand, I do think there are things that can help simplify and make life easier. That being said, I have decided to try out the following new items this time around.
I have seen so many great reviews about the Bumbo chair that I thought I would go ahead and order one. With our first little one I didn't have anything that she really liked to sit up in that would support her well (other then a baby swing and her car seat). So, I am looking forward to trying the Bumbo seat out. It can be used after the baby has good head control. I will have to see how it goes:). I like the fact that it's so portable.
Another item I wanted to try this time around is a moses basket. I was a bit frustrated when trying to find one here in Canada that had good reviews and was not too pricey, but I finally settled on one from Sears like the one above (without the stand). I am planning on using it for the first few months inside our baby crib which we have right next to the bed. Abigail also uses the crib (part of the night anyway:)) so I think the basket will be helpful. I also plan on using it around the house so the baby can nap close to me.
I also wanted to try using a nursing cover that has a ridged neckline which allows the Mother to see her baby. I bought one from Wal-Mart with Abby and never did use it much as it didn't allow me to see her and it felt like she wasn't getting enough air.

For all the other Mom's out there: What are some favorite baby items that you have found helpful?

Love is More Important

This poem helped remind me of what's truly important. Especially those times when I feel a little discouraged because I have to care for the baby and let the housework wait. I think I will print it out and frame it:). If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love- I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
But have not love- my children learn of cleanliness, not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before in picks up the toys.
Love is present though trials.
Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive.
As a mother there is much I must teach my child,
but the greatest of all is…..LOVE.

Perspective For Mothers

"As the years go by, you forget the bad parts. Or at least you put them in perspective as unimportant. Before you know it, you're wishing you had a baby around again. But be careful not to wish you life away.

First you wish you were pregnant. And then you wish you had a big belly to show off. But when the belly gets to be a burden, you wish for labor to come. And as soon as it comes, you wish it were over. You wish for the baby, and then you wish he was older. You wish your children toilet trained and done with school. You wish them grown up. And then you get what you wish, and your children are gone, and you've wished motherhood away.

The time it takes to have a baby is so fleeting and so full of everything, that maybe there isn't opportunity to savor it until it's over. And when it's over, you're left with you photographs and your memories and your regrets that you didn't appreciate it all the more at the time. You forget how busy you were and how tired. You remember only how wonderful it was to be a mother, and is.

So savor every morsel of motherhood as it comes along. It's important to make it count."

~~ Alexandra McCall (slightly revised) ~~

Abigail In Concert

Beethoven's piano concerto no. 4

Mozart's piano sonata C major


This child is amazing :). Actually, we had fun taking these pictures at my in-law's place. It was cute; she looked so small compared to the piano:).

It's a Girl!

Our precious little baby girl has arrived! Abigail Hope was born Tuesday August 17th; at 3:55pm after a 12 hour labour. She weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 3/8ths inches long. :).

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." Psalm 34:3

One happy mommy:):)

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."

~ Psalm 127:3

Little baby Abigail Hope

"Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."~Psalm 37:4-5