Touch

It's amazing to experience the power of touch. What it can do to you. What it can communicate. How it can heal. I think about the simple little touch of Neil's foot on mine when we're drifting off to sleep. Or when Claire or Eden hold my hand on their own accord. I feel so loved. I'll never forget when I first touched Eden on her last day in the NICU as I got her ready to finally come home. I had held her for about a minute immediately after she was born but then it would be 8 days until I touched her again because we always had to be gloved and robed. To finally touch my baby girl, skin on skin, was magnetic. I experienced it again when I first touched Halif after longing, praying and seeing his sweet face in photographs. To finally touch him again after 8 weeks of being separated was magical.

I didn't know that I would experience the power of touch today. Let me explain... this past weekend we were noticing that Halif's helmet was leaning almost over his eye and just wasn't fitting like it had been. It moved around a lot and didn't lineup when it was fastened. So I called the Cranial Technologies office today and after talking to them, they determined that he might be growing out of his helmet. She didn't want Halif to wear an ill fitted helmet so she told me to take it off until his OT can look at it at our Thursday appt. So, I took it off. It's been 3 full months that he has worn his helmet for 23 hours a day and the hour break is usually busy dinner, bath and getting ready for bed time. As silly as it sounds, today I got to enjoy my sweet boy's head... I got to kiss his forehead when I was trying to get him to sleep, I got to stroke the back of his head while I carried him in the ergo, I got to feel his head in the crook of my arm while I rocked him, I felt his head on my chest when he would lean on me and each time, I was so grateful. So grateful to finally TOUCH my baby's head and it was quite honestly overwhelming. So grateful for something so simple. Something we all take for granted. I'm not sure if we are completely done with his helmet and we will find out more Thursday. But I do know that I felt just a tad bit more connected to Halif today and pray I don't ever take the simplest blessings for granted.

My emotions were heightened today as a young family at church said goodbye to their sweet baby girl, Atlee Grace, after her 6 months in the NICU. I was once again reminded of how blessed we are with each moment of being in each other's presence physically able to touch and the blessing of how these little one's touch our hearts. Please pray for the Boone family with me for the days, weeks and months to come. And go love, kiss and touch your little ones.

my little scrappers

With Claire loving her camera and photography, she has taken even more of a love for scrapbooking! Especially since she got a scrapbook kit for her birthday from Mimi. She loves to do her book while I'm working on a scrap project. Eden is really loving it too and I hope that it continues so we can all share in it together as we create and preserve our memories together!

Bluebonnet Season

I just love this time of year when the roadsides are painted with wildflowers! Of course the bluebonnets are my favorite and this year was an especially good one with all the rain we've gotten the past month or two. We have a tradition of taking pictures in the bluebonnets and each season tells a new season of our lives. Here is a walk down memory lane...

2003 - nine years ago! a few months before we started a new forever together

2004 - we didn't take pictures together but this was on one of the many nature adventures Neil took in the forest area across from our apartments. Loved this picture with the apartment building in the back with the ever present balloons!
2006 - We welcomed our sweet Claire just a few weeks before! This was the picture we used for her birth announcements!


2007 - This was the year of the bluebonnet photo challenge =) Neil and I each took Claire separately to see who could take the best pictures! Just a friendly competition that we don't remember who judged or who won! Claire was just a little over a year

2010 - A few pics with Abbey and one with Eden in the same outfit that we took Claire's pictures in.
Eden Noel (1 and 4 months old) still 2010 - this was the first time we did professional pics and they were by Synergy Photography in San Antonio.... some of my most favorite pictures not only because they were amazing but because of the time of our lives it signifies! This was when we started our adoption process and we used these pictures on our thank yous for everyone who helped us in one way or another. These pictures will always be some of my favorite...

Eden - 1 and 4 months old
Claire - 4 years old
2011 - we were all set to get pics taken again but it was so windy that we delayed and then when we rescheduled the bluebonnets were gone!! It wasn't a very good year for them!

2012 - this year... my sweet girls in matching dresses...these will also be some of my favorites for all time =)

Eden - 3 and 4 months old






our budding photographer and memory preserver!
It's amazing to see how God has weaved our lives over the past years! I pray that next year we will have three little ones posing in those bluebonnets and celebrating yet another season of what He has in store for our family!

Spring Break Project

Last year we painted our front door red during our spring break so this year we went a little bigger... xeroscaping our front side lawn that gets direct, beat down heat!! I worked so hard to keep it up with hand watering but I don't want to do that again this year! Well, we originally thought 2-3 days project and we now know it's a much bigger undertaking than we thought. Thankfully we are getting a lot of help from my dad, my mom and the girls helped me pick out some good plants and the girls are keeping entertained outside with playing with water, catching bugs and trapping ants =)












Can't wait to see the finished product with the crushed granite and plants!! A HUGE thank you to Neil who worked especially hard and to my dad who helped us above and beyond!

My baby

Eden a.k.a "My Baby" is 3 and 3 months... how can she be such a big girl already?

She asked me to take this picture of her after her purple class at BSF! She just cracks me up! My friend Crystal said it perfectly today after we were walking behind her watching her talk to herself with the biggest hand gestures (it was hilarious!) -she said "She's just full of personailty!"

Here are a few things to remember:
- A few weeks ago I was going to the store and asked "Eden, is there anything you think I should get at the store?" (a loaded question I know but they do help me remember!) and with a long pause and holding her chin she said "BEEF!" She does favor beef over chicken =) I didn't get beef that trip so the enxt time she was at the store with me she said "Mom, last time you didn't get beef at the store. We need to get beef." What 3 year old requests beef?!

- Although she gets a ton of attention for her curls, she wants "long hair" like Claire. The grass is always greener... Her hair is actually to the middle of her back when it's wet and Claire always tells her "Look Eden! Your hair is long!"

- She wants to do everything sister is doing and likes/dislikes whatever Claire does

- Jumping is her favorite activitiy - last night she jumped on a friends trampoline for over an hour and was still wanting more. She outlasted all the other older kiddos!

- Still loves all the villians - her current favorites are the Rat King, Green Goblin and Horax

- She has started praying the most precious prayers at bedtime and dinner - just love to hear her pray for her friends when they are sick or to keep them safe. Her thankful list is so sweet. I pray she always knows that we are to come to Him with all tings big and small with a pure heart!

- Tonight she kept coming out of her room with her panties and pajamas around her ankles just shuffling along and the last time waving her arms around... she was just looking for the attention while having a hard time falling asleep... Neil and I had to stiffle our laughs so she knew she seriously needed to stay in bed!

MLK

"The most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"

MLK

Isn't this the coolest mural? We went to our third annual MLK walk along with thousands of other San Antonians! It was another great experience and the girls really enjoyed being part of it. We ran into the Van Houten Family from church and had a great time getting to know each other. It goes a lot faster when you are with people you know and Claire had fun walking with Evelyn. It was a wonderful time celebrating such a courageous man of our history!






This will be a family tradition as long as possible as we look forward to it every year and every year the girls understand more and more!

Blading

Look who's learning how to blade!

This girl is surprising me left and right...just goes to show that you shouldn't pigeon hole your children =) As little as a few months ago Claire was leary of trying new things, easily gave up when she didn't do something right the first time, couldn't lose a game without tears, cried at the drop of a hat, was easily embarassed but the past month I've seen her change and grow. She's gotten more self confident. She's trying new things. She's going all the way across the monkey bars at school and when she falls off the "hard" one at the park, she tries and tries again (a few tears after about the twentieth time of not getting the higher bar in the middle) But the next day she was back on and did it all by herself!

It's been really amazing to see her grow up since she started school. To evolve more into the person God has created and intended her to be. As she continues to learn, grow, change and become her own person I look forward to being right there for her. Of course, she didn't want me to even touch her to help her on the monkey bars (but she did let me hold her up while trying out the blades). It wasn't easy to see her hanging there and not touch her... I had to sit far away but was always watching =)

Although it's hard to see your baby grow up, it's really amazing to be part of it.