"that smile"

just lights up a room, doesn't it?

moving house and catching up

i don't think i'll ever catch up on all of the ways that God is displaying His grace in our lives-especially if we keep moving house!  our mother's day was back in march, and since i'm feeling all sentimental as i pack, i thought i'd share a photo of it. there they are:  3 little gifts. 

some saturday morning chocolate chip pancake love

the birthday party

we had a snowman theme and invited the nicholsons and a neighbor family.  gwyneth seemed to enjoy it.  when she went to bed that night she said she was going to dream about lovely parties and being 4.

the birthday

just over 4 years ago, God brought a quiet and stubborn little baby in to our family.  she came two weeks past her due date and certainly not the way that i had prayed for.  and now she is still quietly stubborn and doing things not exactly the way that i would like.  so unlike her older sister, she is shy and wild and crazy at the same time.  no sitting and looking at books for hours.  no sitting and listening to books for hours (unless it's about a little girl named lucy and her faun friend).  no looking people in the eye and flashing bright smiles.  nope.  she smiles when she's good and ready and not a minute before.  she runs not walks.  she screams not laughs.  she is my gwyneth grace.  and i am falling in love with her.  and i am learning to stop praying that she will be like me and that she will be wild and crazy for Jesus.  

the joy of the LORD is your strength

just a few photos from amelia's 1st birthday party. sarah's birthday was 2 days later so we sang to her as well. when we chose this verse for amelia in connection with her name, i had no idea how much strength and joy i would need! i am very thankful and learning to be more thankful for our sweet little amelia joy and for all that God is teaching me through her. the joy of the LORD is my strength.

train up a child

i can hardly believe that we are already ending week 2 of school for maggie.  i can't say there haven't been some bumps in the road, but i can say that the Lord has helped us.  all of us.  i walked her to school on the first day, the teacher introduced her to a girl named alice and they were off.  i watched through the window as the other girls pointed and stared and then started surrounding her.  then i watched alice take maggie's hand as she introduced her.  and i remembered that God can take care of my little girl however and by whomever He chooses.  the tears have been many and there are more ahead.  we are praying for wisdom and discernment and gospel fruit in maggie's life as well as in the lives of her friends. 

her first tooth!

what happened to my baby???

7 months and 30 something

my sweet little amelia joy is 7 months old today and to celebrate, she got her first tooth this week. she's so excited she can't sleep=)
and a special happy birthday to my dear friend mels. she's classy, she's cosmopolitan, she loves the Lord. and we just love her!

school daze

though i never aspired to "home school," that does seem to be what we're doing right now. we are still prayerfully considering other options. for now, maggie is learning to read and gwyneth is learning to hold a pencil and sit still. teaching maggie to read is by far the easier task. i am so thankful to the LORD for giving me the grace to do this. daily. grace. amazing. grace!

ok, i'm bragging but she wrote this all on her own!!!

4 months!

just wanted to say happy birthday to my little amelia joy! we love you!

happy birthday, gwyneth!

due to illness, gwyneth's birthday party was cancelled last friday night. this photo is from our new year's pork and sauer kraut dinner(postponed thanks to illness)/ goodbye to the nicholsons/ birthday party from sunday. it's been a rough start to the year but we are still very thankful for our crazy, not-so-little girl who was actually my "easy" baby! she is loads of fun, speaks with a bit of a british accent and falls down more than any child i've ever seen (to quote our neighbor). she doesn't sit still for long but she admires her older sister and loves to take care of her younger one. her sun rises and sets on her daddy (as with all of the girls in this house). she is easy to love but a little hard to keep up with. happy birthday to my little sausage-gwyneth grace!

a few firsts

first passport photo

first sunday at church

first smile (6 weeks)

first trip to starbucks

starting her young

we had our first outing while my mom was here. it was to tk maxx, of course! you can see that steve is thrilled=) we even went out to eat afterward. i regret to report that i did not take any photos of our first trip to ikea on the way home from the airport. oh well, we'll just have to go back!!

third culture kids

we were recently invited to attend a thanksgiving lunch with some other american missionaries in the uk. i was excited to tell the girls:
me: "we're going to celebrate thanksgiving with a bunch of americans!"
gwyneth: "i don't like americans."
me: "gwyneth, WE'RE americans."
gwyneth: "oh."

for just a few more days...

on saturday we took the girls to a park and today steve took us all out to breakfast. it's hard to believe that we won't be a family of four much longer! i am so thankful for our little family-it's hard to believe it could be any better. that is grace upon grace!

a walk in the country

just a few photos from a walk we took while on our holiday. it seems like ages ago already! we are very thankful for a relaxing time. the girls went to bed late and woke up early but, other than that, things went pretty well=) i'll try to post some more photos in the next few days.

4 years and a day

i never knew it was possible that one person could drive me so crazy and at the same time,
i could love her so much.
happy birthday, margaret bethan. i love you!

"dancing is the best part about wearing a dress!" -maggie