puddle

they melt me...

piggy tails

bea's hair is getting LONG!

i have been waiting for this day and it finally came.

the day for piggy tails.

christmas wonder

Matt above, 1976...

Beatrix below, 2009
see any similarities?
i love this time of year....
full of wonder, full of grace, full of beauty

now that's the way to celebrate

Can you feel his excitement??

The fam, getting ready for a night of hockey!

We were in row 22 section 133! Amazing seats!!!

This is how Micah spent the first period.

I love the blur of the skaters. Beautiful!

Micah can make a friend anywhere. He ended up sitting next to this little boy in front of us. They were yelling at the hockey players and having a grand old time. It was both of their first time at a game.

Daddy at a hockey game.

The leafs won! Which made Matt's night complete.

Walking down to take a close look at the ice after the game was over.

Matt's birthday fell on a Sunday this year though we spent Friday celebrating it. I was able to get him hockey tickets to see the Florida Panthers play the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs have been Matt's favorite team since he was a little boy living in Detroit. This was only his third time seeing them in person. I asked him if he wanted me to get a babysitter and the answer was "nope, I want to go as a family."
And so we did. And what fun we had! The kids were amazing!! Micah was in utter awe when we walked into the arena. The face he made was priceless. Bea just sat on my lap the whole first period taking it all in. It was a wonderful night together sharing an amazing memory.
Happy Birthday my love!
So glad we were able to experience it all together!

one

Beatrix has been one for a month now and as evidenced by my lack of blogging about her birthday, time has flown. My baby is one! I feel like the last year has flown by in a constant state of delirium. She started walking at 11 months and talking soon after. She has such a beautiful personality and it has been wonderful watching how she has blended right in with our family. Her smile is magnetic and her laugh is like a hearing a million little tinkerbells. Micah is amazing with her. I call him second mother.

How does it happen?? A year ago she wasn't even here and now I can't imagine her not being a part of our family. I have to admit that I found the baby stage much more difficult with a toddler around, but looking back on this last year I realize that there really wouldn't have been any other time to spend with just her. Those late night feedings and rockings are what bonded us. It made me fall in love with her. The stillness of the house and the only sound being her breathing slowly as she drifted off to sleep. I pray I never forget those times...

Beatrix was a surprise! A girl when we were expecting a boy. She is just what this family needed. A femine Matt! I know it and I knew it from the time she was 3 months. She is determined, stubborn, and has a bit of the Harrison temper. But she is giving, and loving and silly and soft.

Thank you Lord for our treasure wrapped in the image of Beatrix Sparrow. A little bird baby that has brought nothing but songs to our family! Thank you for her life and watch over her as we attempt to raise this little one, mindful of You.

toothbrush

i was given to a boy 4 years ago. my fur is matted, i smell most of the time, i get thrown around, and i end up on my head alot, but i am so well loved and cared for that last night i was the most afraid i have ever been. yesterday started off like most mornings. my boy and i slept really great all through the night. we watched cartoons and had our breakfast and i got lots of snuggles cause my boy's mommy was running all around the house trying to get little sister dressed and ready to go. my boy asked if he could take me along and of course my boy's mommy said yes, she loves me and gives me secret kisses all of the time when no one is looking. we were finally ready to leave the house and when we got out to the car one of the windows had been broken and my boy's mommy looked so sad. but the neighbor came over and helped her call the police and before we knew it we were off to somewhere. my boy and i never know where she is going to take us. we went to some place that smelled like wood chips, i loved it there. and than she took us to a store with a big red circle and two little circles inside of it. i really don't like that symbol now. i thought it was going to be my new home last night.

sometime while we were in that big store my boy and i got seperated. sometimes he gets distracted and normally his mommy reminds him to get me, but she must have been distracted too cause of all that happened with their car. all i know is he was gone and i was all alone. no more snuggles, no more food, no more kisses. i was all alone.

it was really noisey in that place and someone must have found me cause next thing i knew i was in a box with really high walls. i kept yelling for my boy hoping he would hear me and come back to get me. soon it wasn't quite so loud and than i heard a "good night, see you tomorrow?" and someone answered back "no, i'm not on tomorrow". and than silence. dark and quiet and eery silence. no questions, no arguing, no laughing, no snoring, nothing. silence.

it was a long night and i started to think about my boy. was he missing me? was he crying? would he be able to sleep without me? maybe someone had replaced me? maybe he was fine? maybe... gulp! ...he didn't even realize i was gone! all i could do was lay in that cold dark box alone and think about my boy. think about how he named me after a toothbrush and how at first i thought it was a ridiculous name, but now, secretly well, i love it. it fits me. i am toothbrush. my boy loves me and he named me and now i was lost.

the next morning was sunny. i could tell even from my box. i heard voices again and than some strange noise and a drawer would shoot open. than to be shut with a bang. suddenly i heard the phone ring and a voice was coming closer. "what does it look like?" a man's voice asked. things on top of me were being thrown off to the side and than a hand and up out of that box i went.

"yes, tan and white? we have it here. you are welcome mam. yes, you are welcome. yes, i will put your name on it. how do you spell that? L-Y-D-I-A. ok, yes it is marked. and you are welcome again, mam. ok we will see you in a little bit." what? could that really have been her? could that have been my boy's mommy? did she think to call here? they must know that i am gone. they must have missed me! he must have been sad or she wouldn't have come looking for me! i am going to go home! it seemed i waited forever but finally i heard a little voice. a face bent over the box and a familiar touch, a familiar smell, a familiar kiss, it was my boy!

"i missed you toothbrush" he whispered. i wanted to tell him he was chocking me, but i didn't care that much. we were together again. "i'm so sorry" he said to me and i whispered back that it was ok, i love you anyway. he told me all about the rest of his day the day before and how his mommy had looked everywhere and how she had been so upset, how he had overheard his mommy tell his daddy that she wanted to cry. he told me how she had called every place they had gone the day before just to try to find me and he told me how excited she had been when she told my boy that i had been found.

i am so glad that we are together again. i love my boy and he loves me! what a great feeling to be home again after having been lost. my boy also told me that his mommy had told him that i wouldn't be allowed to go on rides in the car for a really long time.

hilarious

what i hear from the other room is beatrix giggling and micah yelling at her, "stop laughing at me bea!" i say, "micah that isn't very nice yelling at your sister like that." micah says, "i wasn't yelling at her i just want her to stop laughing at me." i say, "well maybe she just thinks that you are hillllarious!" stop, nothing and than a small voice says, "i do tell really good jokes!"

a windy beach day

Saturday I went to the beach to take some pictures and the waves were amazing along the pier. It was a lot of fun to walk the pier and feel the ocean spray in my face.

We don't get many days where those that love to surf can. Saturday was just that kind of day. There is a tropical storm in the gulf and it is making for some amazing waves. I had so much fun taking pictures of them surfing and caught some cool action shots.

anticipating the beach
Micah pretending to be a kite.
Someone had written I love you in the sand...caught her standing right by it.

Beatrix was soooo cute in the wind! She kept squealing and throwing her hands up into the air.
*sigh*

driving in the car

This morning Matt took Micah on several errands. They were driving home from home depot and Matt was listening to a cd. He had a moment where he felt a surge of love for our son and felt like he needed to express it.

he said, "hey Micah?"
Micah - "yes daddy"
Matt - I REALLY love you!
silence - (Matt glances at him in the rear view mirror) pause....pause....
Micah - "why don't we just enjoy the ride?"

Matt said he laughed so hard he almost had to pull over.

peter pan and the butterfly

We met our friends Matt and Michelle and their 3 kids for trick or treating again this year. Before we went out though we all gathered for pizza and a few pictures. Than we headed out to our neighborhood for some treats!

What words are there for this picture???

I mean really, it melts your heart into a gooey pile of mush!

Getting ready to take off

My amazing Peter Pan and his sword to fight off Captain Hook. He thought the sword was pretty fantastic!

I love these wings...I think they are so beautiful!

Cool rocks

Beatrix just may be a kitty whisperer....

this cat came right up to Beatrix and than laid down in front of Bea and waited for her to pet her.

The four of them begging at a door! Too cute for words!!!