The Second Day

I remembered!  I remembered!

This first picture isn't actually from today, but I did download it from my camera today.  I think that somewhat counts, right?  I have this funny little thing about finding hearts in unexpected places.
Emma surprised me the other morning with a perfectly shaped heart cereal flake.  I mean perfectly shaped.  It even came to a point at the bottom (under her fingers).  We, of course, had to have an immediate cereal flake photo shoot.  Afterwards, Emma realized she was having trouble with the idea of consuming a heart shaped cereal flake.  We finally settled on the idea that if she ate it, she would just have that much more love in her day.

We "love" cereal!

Today we had a fun, albeit hectic, long, frustrating, manic...  where was I?  Oh right, today we had a fun (ahem) photo shoot for a stop action movie we made for Granddad for his birthday.  It ended up turning out pretty darn cute, and you couldn't even tell they had plastered on smiles.  Their smiles were covering quite irritated expressions over their manic mother's unseemly conduct.  But, after the sighs, tears, strangled yells (all mine), it ended up being a work of... fun.

An outtake of the 335 photos taken.

Victory Garden

Thirty days of Thanksgiving... well, at least I accomplished one day.
Let's see if my next endeavor works.
I've always wanted to keep a journal but honestly, I'm not organized enough to make that work.  My plan is to live up to my blog's name of "Picture This" by taking a snapshot of each day.  It will hopefully be my "photo journal".
So I will begin with a picture of the babes- even though it isn't from today.  Because, I mean really.  Look at them!  They're just too cute.

On to the picture of the day.  I was trying to find a good title for this blog post and stumbled upon the term "Victory Garden."  A Victory Garden was typically a home garden grown to increase food production during times of war.  Today, I felt a bit victorious when walking out to our little garden and picking our first delicious sweet peas.  We planted a garden a few months ago consisting of tomatoes, peppers, basil, parsley, romaine lettuce, sweet peas, and green beans.  All are growing well, we've been using the lettuce almost every day on sandwiches, in tacos, in salads...  But for some reason, I am most excited about these sweet peas.  It might have something to do with my own nostalgia.  I have such fond memories of picking and eating sweet peas right out of my Papa's garden.  Sitting right down in the dirt of the garden, plucking the plump pods from the plant, putting my thumbs in the seam and slowly opening the outer shell revealing the round, light green, delectable spheres.  And then, popping them one by one right into my mouth.  It was like my childhood came flooding back.  But it was even better, because now, now I get to witness my children enjoying and savoring the sweet taste of spring.  Right from their own backyard.  They had the best flavor.  Wholesome.  Grown and tended by hands.  Warmed and sweetened by the spring sun and rain showers.  It was pretty exciting.  Needless to say, today Victory Garden has a bit of a different meaning to me.

I can't wait to pick and taste the green beans!

30 Days of Thanksgiving- Day 1

Besotted

1.5 years.

18 months.

547.5 days.

13,140 hours.

I am in awe of how life has changed since this sweet child entered my world.  I have seen, experienced, felt, done things I never thought possible.  In the past 18 months, I have witnessed so many firsts: first smile, first tooth, first step, first word, even a first hospital stay.  I have witnessed love and friendships blossoming between siblings.  As well as compassion, camaraderie, challenges...  I have witnessed personalities mature.  Independence tested.  Reassurance sought.  I have witnessed family not as a noun, but as a living, breathing, growing, loving verb.  I have found my comfort.  I have found my solace.  I have found my anxiety, my fear.  I have found my frustration.  I have found my responsibility.  I have found my continuing, growing love.  I am besotted.

Wouldn't you be?

Love Thursday: Something Grand...

"If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite,

something that makes one feel aware of God,

one need not go far to find it.

I think that I see something deeper, more infinite,

more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the

eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning

and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle."

-- Vincent van Gogh

Love Thursday

Little Sister

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark...."

(Partial Quote)

~Barbara Alpert

One Month

Today at 6:00 am, my baby turned one month old.

I've had one month of baby ears....

One month of baby toes....
One month of baby fingers...
One month of this sweet baby face...
And I can't get enough.
So many sweet moments. So many sweet memories.

Every day she grows and changes.

Every day I grieve the loss of the day before.

But... I look forward to the new day ahead.

The moments still to come.

The memories still to be made.

It's going to be amazing... I can feel it.