What a difference a year makes!

One year ago today, I fell in love . . . all over again . . . with being a mommy.

One year ago today, I held the tiny hand of my third-born child and prayed that God would continue to cradle him in His almighty hand.

One year ago today, I marveled at ten tiny toes.

Over the next seven weeks,

I was able to watch my little boy grow on the outside of my body . . .

. . . and I thanked God daily for the precious gift of his life!

I watched my husband grow as a father of three -

 he's such an amazing daddy!

I saw the joy of my son as he held the answer to his prayers for a baby brother in his arms.

I saw my daughter blossom as a big sister.

When the day finally came for our little blessing to come home,
it was yet another reason to rejoice!

Over the past twelve months, this little guy has grown A LOT
(he must be eating more than just socks) . . .

. . . smiled A LOT . . .

. . . played A LOT . . .

. . . and in general, added so much joy to our lives!

Happy 1st birthday, Noah Matthew! 

You are a gift of peace and rest from God

and we are so thankful that He gave you to us!

More park fun

Jaden is definitely outgrowing his bike!  (But he's getting every bit of use out of it that he can!)

What a big boy Noah is becoming!

Practicing his standing with Daddy

Pausing from her scootering to smile for the camera

This little guy loves, loves, loves swing rides!

Will he make it the whole way around?

Introducing Noah to the slide - he wasn't sure if he liked it or not

But he did like flying to the treetops in Daddy's strong arms!

What we like to do at the park . . .

Noah likes to swing - a new favorite activity

 Jaden and Daddy like to climb the rock wall

(and stand on the very top while Mommy holds her breath until they climb down again)

 Lael likes to play on the tire swing

And Mommy likes to take lots of pictures of her favorite people playing at the park!

Happy Easter!

Here we are on Easter Sunday morning . . . excited to worship our risen Savior!

 My boys

 Lael LOVES her baby brother!

 My sweet children - love them so much!

 Jaden - growing up so fast . . . almost 7 years old!

 And Lael is practically a young lady at 10 years old!

 Not to be left out, here's our sweet baby . . . almost 1 year old!

From our family to yours,

have a blessed Easter!

Hurray! We see the sun!

After a winter like we've had, sunny days are such a blessing! (Even if the temperature doesn't get as warm as we'd like!) We've been taking advantage of the sunshine and getting outside as much as possible! Among our favorite activities:

Going on nature walks to look for "signs of spring"

Riding scooters at the park

Taking stroller rides - okay, that's mostly Noah

Tire swings Climbing the rock wall (and then sitting on top of it)

Climbing trees

The next thing we're looking forward to - being able to pack our winter coats away . . . for a few months anyway!

Christmas 2010 highlights

Yes, I know that it's almost Valentine's Day . . . I guess I'd better get these pictures posted! (At least it's still winter, right???)

Here's the gang on Christmas morning

One of our Christmas traditions is reading the Christmas story from a book that we got for Lael her very first Christmas - when she was one week old in the NICU. We've read it every year since - but this year Jaden read it to the family . . . he did a fabulous job!

Lael's big gift this year - a wardrobe for her American Girl dolls and all their clothes and accessories.

Jaden's big gift - this really cool castle LEGO set!

Noah was just taking it all in . . . at one point he wiggled off my lap and into the trash bag - I think he did it just to get some attention ;-)

(By the way, his big gift - a high chair, just so you don't think we forgot about him.)

Christmas Day was spent putting LEGOs together - at least for Daddy and Jaden! We also had a yummy dinner of white garlic lasagna and watched Toy Story 3 . . . fun all the way around!

We weren't able to get together with Grandma and Grandpa until mid-January due to winter weather and sickness, but when we did it was a laid-back, relaxing day . . . even had some reading time!

Both Lael and Jaden were excited to receive slippers, Odyssey CDs, and especially books!

Noah's present was pretty fun too! It was a great day!

We're still waiting for some "cousin time" - we didn't get to see any cousins this Christmas - and we need a good visit with Nana and Papa too! But we are so thankful for the family time we had and the sweet memories that were made.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

Thanks for coming to earth as a baby so that we could have abundant life!

Spinach-Feta Strata

Here's what we had for breakfast today . . .

Verdict: DELICIOUS! MUST MAKE AGAIN!

If you want to make it yourself, here's how:


Spinach-Feta Strata


10 slices French bread ( 1-inch thick)
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 10-oz. box chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. groung nutmeg
1/4 t. black pepper
1 1/2 c. (6 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. (4 oz.) crumbled feta cheese

1. In a greased 13x9 pan, arrange French bread in a single layer.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, spinach, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Pour over bread in pan.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (or overnight).
4. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the strata comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

A couple of notes:

• I actually chunked up my bread because it was very dry and difficult to slice and it was still yummy.
• Also, I actually prepared this on Wednesday night and baked it this morning (Friday) - and it was yummy.
• Great to have for a busy morning when I still want to have a hearty breakfast for my family.