Our Baby is now the size of a ....

RASPBERRY! The raspberry (plural, raspberries) is the edible fruit of a number of species of the genus Rubus. Much more endearing however is the thought of our new baby in his or her tiny human form as the mere size of a raspberry!

I read today that the babies eyes, nose and tongue are forming this week. The bones are starting to harden and the gender beginning to distinguish itself; however, it will not be known to us until 18 weeks.

With my first two littles ones I did not find out their gender until delivery. I really enjoyed not knowing and it made it even more exciting to tell people. The poor little darlings ended up wearing yellow for the first two years of their life because of it. The preparation this time will be welcomed and it will be fun for the kids!

It will also significantly reduce the amount of yellow in our home ;)

On the B Side: I am grateful to be able to go thru this miraculous process again! I love knowing that my body is changing for the explicit purpose of welcoming another beautiful little spirit into our family! xoxo

Heard in our Home Today

"If I were you Mom I'd be really mad at you!"
-Dayton Homet

On the B Side: I am grateful for that darling little boy!!

Youssif

I have been following a very touching story on CNN.com about a little boy who was the victim of a malicious crime in Iraq. This sweet boy was set on fire by unknown assailants. His face has been grossly deformed and his pain unimaginable.

If you have a few moments please read the story of little Youssif and how he got his smile back.

It is a vivid reminder to each of us of the world we live in and quickly puts our own personal struggles into quiet perspective. What I loved most is the human goodness that has come out of such a despicable act of senseless violence.

Having a family of my own I've thought a great deal about what this experience must be like for a small child and his parents. I cannot imagine the devastating aches of their heart and the depths of their pain.

My favorite part of his saddening and touching story is that when Youssif arrived in the US he asked if he was in heaven. He has undergone numerous surgeries to date and has even had the pleasure of meeting Spiderman!

On the B Side: I am grateful for the human altruistic emotion I have experienced following this and also for the insight it has offered into my own life. There is much good in this world and I love knowing that people took action to help this little child and his family. XXOX

I've Recently Been Reminded...

In the Quiet Heart is Hidden Sorrow that the Eye Can't See

On the B Side: I am thankful for the quiet Christlike reminders that come during the seemingly most difficult of times. xoxo

Heard In Our Home...

Says Ellie as she climbed up on my lap while I was working on my laptop "Mom, Why do you smell like Jello?"

I proceeded to ask her if Jello Smelled good or bad she responded, "Good". Whew! She had me concerned.

Last night while we were all drifting off to sleep she quietly asked, "Mom, why do we talk?"

On the B Side: I love the innocence of children!

Holiday Highlights

My favorite will remain the innocent comment that Dayton made while lying in bed Christmas Eve. He innocently and unprompted by anything remarked, "I love the Christmas Spirit." He is such a tender hearted child. Ellie sense my joy at his commentary and hopped out of bed, stomped around and said, "I hate Christmas". Heaven forbid she should not receive some attention albeit negative or not!

The kids were up until 11:30 PM Christmas Eve brimming with a conglomerate of excitement and impatience. At 6:30 Dayton stumbled around due to a bad dream when all of a sudden he noticed the Christmas tree and was struck by remembrance. He started shouting, "Santa's been here, Santa's been here. Wake up everybody!" and he flipped the lights on in the Master bedroom (where all 5 of us were nestled due to the recent move). I saw three squinty eyed faces pop up and the girls raced out of bed!

Christmas music and a plethora of giggles filled our new family room as the children raced to open their gifts. We cut back considerably this year and I'm fairly certain that they did not notice as they all seemed well pleased. Mark was falling asleep while video taping and I'm certain we took few pictures as we were rather enjoying those moments too much to notice much else.

We drove each of the children to their respective parents home to run through the routine and experience their second Christmas for the day. I slept from 11 AM until 3:30 PM Christmas Day and it was delightful!

Mark's Father and his wife Cynthia stopped by in the afternoon and we were pleased to have company. Mark worked all day on cooking a turkey that we took to my Mom's for dinner that evening before picking up the Dayton and Ellie. It truly was a relaxing and enjoyable day!

On the B Side: I am grateful for the humble birth of our Savior. I love that we can commemorate this event each year and reflect upon his life here on this earth. XXOX