~Sweet Carolina~

Turned 8!

Oh my heart~  beautiful lovely girl.  My little goldfinch, I call her.

She is the one who never complains, sits on a branch in all her
golden glory and chirps happily away no matter the circumstances
surrounding her.

She never presses to get a word in edgewise, but if given the chance,
she is full of thoughtful ideas and a surprising amount of spunk - even
some dry humor!

Carolina is the one who looks most like her dad as a child - prettier though :-)

Lina loves yellow, but is expanding her preference to include blue and green.
It's a little hard to peg exactly what her likes and dislikes because she's so easy
to please.
It was a bit of a guessing game to understand her hearts desires for birthday
this year.
She did request dinner at a new Mexican restaurant for "Birthday Eve",
so Dad and I took her and enjoyed her all to ourselves while she packed away
the chips and salsa.

In the morning there was just the right amount of celebratory hoopla as she
examined gifts, soaking in every piece of her day.

Green glasses hand-picked by Aloria with Grama :-)
The three biggest boys gifted Carolina with a lovely little Blue Opal ring.
Susanna and Olivia put together a lovely box of yellow things - a daffodil
teacup and saucer, a handmade crocheted  necklace, a journal and hair bow...

Then we went to the park to meet friends and try out a very special new toy:

It had been sunny and warm the day before, but Carolina's birthday was
pretty chilly and very Fall-like.
This fact didn't seem to deter the children from having a ball!  So I wrapped my
sweater a little tighter and braced myself for another hour.

Chocolate cupcakes with green frosting and sprinkles. And for dinner that night, tacos.
When it comes to food, she seems to know exactly what she loves most!

Please Carolina, can I take a few pictures of you before the sun sets?

Happy happy birthday to my darlin'est and dearly beloved Carolina Truth!

We love you precious girl!!

New Bump in Town

It's true!
And once again, I'm a little slow in announcing our news.

We expect this little one to arrive around December 10th which puts
Baby at nearly 6 months along (this has been a fast pregnancy for you,
hasn't it!). Not so much for me, though the next three months will
probably be the longest :-D

So far this has been what my midwives call "boringly normal" as they
smile and nod and tell me what a good job I'm doing growing such a sweet
and compliant baby.
I'm so thankful for boringly normal, and while I do have some of the normal-est
kinds of pregnancy maladies, I'm often mindful of how precious this privilege is.

To carry another newly-knit life is a wonder I'll never tire of and one I don't know if I'll
get to experience again or not.  So in the midst of creaky aches and a variety of varicose
veins I choose to cherish the days of being with child.

And absolutely with certainty do I cherish this precious person of mine!

I can't wait to meet you Baby Bug!

Terrific Two!

Aloria turned 2 this week.
She was sick on her birthday, so I postponed celebrations until the weekend
when everyone felt a little better, dad could be home, and she could eat cake
which was the thing she was looking forward to most!

Her day started full of balloons and a table full of love gifted to her from all her
adoring fans.  Being two, she isn't well versed in the tradition of looking for the next
present to open.
She was happy as a clam to receive her bucket from Olivia and play with that
for a while.  Then she was given some stickers by sister Susanna and methodically
applied every one of them to a piece of paper before moving on to breakfast :-)

(Miles attends the party in a jammie that Bryce picked out for him

Much of the day was spent barefoot outside since the sun was so warm and
inviting.  It was precious to watch Aloria with her big brothers and sisters.
You can see that Olivia's dollar store bucket was prized :-)

Something really special that our birthday girl received, was a bunch of wooden
people that her brothers cut out, dad assembled, and sisters painted.
Daddy worked on a doll house for them that day though it was clear they could be
played with even without the proper housing.

Bryce gifted Lori with some "Twisty" straws.

When asked what she wanted for her birthday dinner, the excited garbles were
not easy to make out - except the last squeaky "Cake!"  which was as clear as
day.  There was something else about a candle, so that was the priority.
Cake complete with candle.

She wouldn't stand on her chair for a picture.
She wasn't into blowing out the candle.
So we left the candle burning and cut in.

It was a good party for a 'Lor, and she certainly made the most of it!
Eating cake though?
That was a great way to end a birthday celebration :-)

Happy Birthday darling daughter Aloria Mercy!

You are dearly loved by many.