And One More Makes Five

"It's A Boy!"  Those were Kurt's first words when our son was born last Tuesday morning at 11:02am.  We have been so blessed and we feel so honored to be able to welcome Carson Michael into our family.  He is a beautiful replica of our daughter Siena weighing just a pound more and an inch longer than she did three years ago.  And Milo is adjusting well, for all those who love him just as much as our two legged kids.

I started having contractions on Labor Day (how fitting) so we walked around the mall and Wal-Mart trying to encourage baby to come.  But it wasn't until I decided to turn in for the night that those contractions became consistent and closer together.  So our dear friend Amy Jo came over to sleep on the couch while we headed to the hospital at midnight.  But labor continued on into the morning since Raspberry was facing up instead of down.  With two incredible labor and delivery nurses, we were able to get baby to move facing down and ready to deliver before the doctor could even walk through the door.  And with just a few pushes, we had the American Dream; a girl and a boy and a dog.

Siena was so excited to meet her baby brother.  She was anxious to hold him and watches over him throughout the day.  Our second day home, she wanted to be just like him and take a nap where he was napping.  Thank you to all of you for your well-wishes, kind words, acts of service and just sharing in the joy that can only come from the Lord above.  The Lord giveth and taketh but today, we are praising Him for His gifts and for giving us the chance to care for his precious children.

Lazy Days of Summer

Most families are busy with craziness of life; activities, events, trips, etc.  Sometimes we even try to compete and one-up each other on how busy WE are.  Our family is a little different from the norm.  Our days are slow with activities that can be postponed, if necessary.  We spend plenty of quality time doing simple things such as making dinner, playing ball outside, going for walks, taking Siena swimming and having meals with friends.  I never thought I would enjoy such a quiet lifestyle, but God has been speaking to me over the years, encouraging me gently to "Be still.  Don't be in such a hurry."  

Why are we in such a hurry?  What does the next day or week hold?  More of the same.  A longer to do list of things that don't matter at the end of the month or year.  From the outside, this slower life seems boring and sometimes, it is.  I will be the first to admit that.  I thrive off action, adrenaline, a to-do list, but who can live like that long term?  Who wants their existence to be measured by what they have accomplished, especially when those tasks are more important to me than the greater good of humanity?  All I really have control over is our little corner of Carlow Court and my family that dwells there.  So we read the newspaper and the Bible, we draw sidewalk pictures, take Milo for walks, visit Daddy at his clinic and enjoy the slower times that have given this family a reason to smile through the lazy days of summer.  

Spring is in Bloom

It's Springtime in Tennessee. The daffodils have sprung and the trees are in bloom. It feels great to be ready for a new season even though the winter was not a harsh one. Siena is growing more into herself with each passing day. She enjoys playing with Milo and helping Daddy out with any project, including making pasta. She loves to dance and screams to do so until we turn on the music. At her Story time, she grabbed the hands of her friend, Eliana, and started to dance with her like she dances with her daddy, but Ellie wasn't sure what to do yet. Siena is a social butterfly who loves to see people and greets them at the door enthusiastically. Her words are taking becoming more pronounced and she can now tell the difference between a cow and a horse. She just got a new standing sandbox that has captured her attention as she learns the consistency of the sand and how to pour it from one location to another. Siena is also very excited to become a big sister in September. She has attended all the appointments with us, she has heard the heartbeat and we practice loving the baby with kisses at bedtime. Siena will be a loving big sister who will be ready to teach her brother or sister what she has already learned.

Christmas Joy with a Two Year Old

For the past 2 Christmas seasons, Kurt and I have looked forward to sharing the season with our daughter Siena. As an infant and a new toddler, Siena didn't get as thrilled about Christmas as we remember ourselves being. This year was a step to understanding why we celebrate the birth of Jesus every December. We sang Christmas songs and put up the Christmas tree together. She did get involved in putting the ornaments on the tree (Thank goodness for our investment in shatter proof decorations). She asked daily about the nativity advent calendar that we used to count down the days until Christmas. And yes, Siena figured out how to open her presents and didn't mind ripping the paper. Her reaction to Christmas morning was to jump up and down when she received "Toy Story 3". It was a treat to her joy and excitement which added to our enjoyment of this Christmas season.
But as you can see, Siena really enjoyed her cousins the most. She is such a social girl and thrives on play time with others, even if they are smaller than her, like Sebastian. Size doesn't matter, as she pushes cousin Cheyenne in a baby stroller. With any luck, the importance of family time will stick with her through the years.

Halloween with Siena

Halloween is our favorite time of year!! We host an annual Halloween party for our friends, our church hosts a huge party for the community on Sunday afternoon, and we love trick-or-treating. This year we walked down the Main Street in Murfreesboro where you can find all the historic homes. The streets were canopyed by the changing leaves on the trees and Siena was joined by several other costumed children out on a beautiful evening. Here are just a few of the pictures of our special Halloween weekend together. The weather was gorgeous, the candy was yummy and we were together as a family; you can't ask for anything more in October.

Siena continues to be a bright ray of sunshine in a world so badly in need of a smile. She greets people with her cheerful "Mornin'" and loves on anyone who comes by for a visit. We hope your Halloween was as safe and enjoyable as ours.

Siena Turns Two

To say that this blog is long over due is an understatement, like so many of us, the busyness of life has kept us hopping from one activity to the next without being able to maintain the normal every day things in our lives. We did take time out of our busy fall to stop and celebrate the birth of our beautiful, vibrant, petite girl. Two years ago on September 24th, Siena came into our lives as calmly as one could wish for a child's entrance to be. But she hasn't remained a sleeping infant; Siena is a bouncy, galloping, bundle of energy looking to draw in the next person to her world of play. She explores everything with a infectious laugh that brightens anyone's day within ear shot. She is a true Southerner with her polite and friendly manners as she greets strangers at the store. Our lives are full of more joy than I ever thought possible. Siena has quadrupled that joy and every day with her is a bouquet of smiles.

Siena's birthday party was for family, who could attend and her little play group. No activities were held because when you are two, you don't need activities. All you need is your friends and a few new things to explore, which in Siena's case, were juice boxes. I wish I could tell you that she was a well-mannered toddler that day, but the fact is, she snagged all the other kid's juice boxes and finished them off. Gifts were not as important as playing in the backyard, so they were overlooked for the time being, until all her friends were gone. It was a memorable day; a fantastic day to celebrate a fantastic little girl. We thank God for her precious life and pray that He will grant us many more birthdays to share with her.

Summer in Tennessee

Siena has had an exciting summer with a trip home to visit her grandparents, swim lessons, her first visit to the zoo and spending countless afternoons outside in her baby pool. The daily highlight of swim lessons at MTSU was going down the big slide NUMEROUS times. That and the fact that she passed and will be ready for pre-school swim lessons next year. The zoo was an experiment with animals, but Siena's favorite were the fish and the turtles. The baby pool in our yard may provide relief for Siena, but Mom & Dad find shade under the umbrella with lemonade and even that doesn't always work.

We also had to say good-bye to cousin Sebastian who moved away this month. Siena adored her little 3 month old cousinand covered him with kisses constantly. She also stole his toys when he was using them. I know everyone in our household will miss him and his mommy.

Up next for us is a visit from cousin Kirsten and Kalli and hopefully a trip to the drive-in when it cools off.