Sunday Photos, 2010....

1/4 of the Sunday Photos from 2010. We have grown and changed this year, haven't we?

And a Sunday photo from today...

And my newest neice, Jade, almost three months old now.

We blessed baby Jade today and had a wonderful time with family. We sat in Miriam's kitchen, all the women, talking about the most interesting subjects. I looked around at all of us. Adults. We were kids together and now we are grown with opinions of our own that are all so different. I thought of my girls all grown and what they'll take from our life together. The things they will remember...

These are photos from our hotel stay over New Year's Eve. The top one is the evening, and the bottom one is the morning after.

We decided to make it a tradition to stay in a downtown hotel and have a New Year's party with the girls every New Year's Eve. Oh, and let me tell ya, it was a party! There were some super fun times and some super hard times.

The first thing that rushes to my memory is holding Tada and sitting around a tiny reading table playing cards with the girls. We played Go Fish while Jake was out getting pizza. Tada tried to use all of her fingers and toes to sabotage the game while Lillie kept stealing Ruby's cards and throwing them up in the air like precipitation. All the while, really, I tried to keep it light (while totally getting frustrated) and happy while Grace and Ruby fell apart. After all, winning is everything! In the end, their attention spans are short anyway, so they didn't mind that the cards were strewn everywhere.

Also, the sleep was horrible.

But the highlight? We drank sparkling juice and toasted to the new year. "To love, to life, to sisters, to family" I think they were. We had a high floor view of the street below where some downtown celebrations took place. They set the fireworks to go off on the roof directly below us, in our perfect line of sight. At the stroke of midnight and as Lillie slept, the whole downtown corridor lit up like the fourth of July (a cold one!). Tiny bonfires, which were the exploding fireworks, boomed below us while the actual show rippled in the air in above. I'll never forget how Jake held Grace and Ruby in his arms on the balcony, sillhouettes against the bright sky. I held Tada inside and sighed with happiness and closure.

This is our family. We're a tiny little one... with tiny little hopes and dreams. And I'm so happy to be part of us.

Sunday Photos and Christmastime.

Tired faces on Christmas morning.

My most delicious baby's first Christmas!!!

I die over that face on a daily basis.

Lillie, with a new dress and baby doll. In pure heaven.

Creating with play-dough.

Watching Daddy make waffles.

On Christmas Eve the girls opened a present they had picked out for each other. This is my favorite kind of exchange. They were so excited to receive and SO excited to give!

On Christmas morning Jake and I wielded our cameras and took it all in. Shopping and thinking through each and every gift all came down to the look on their faces when they unwrapped them. It was beautiful and so magical for the girls!

Christmas night we had my siblings and family over. We had soup, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, snacks, candy, treats, pie... and games. That's when it really started to feel like Christmas-- when your belly is distended and you laugh for hours with people you've known your entire life.

I drove down the street this morning. Everything so still, the winter emerged past Christmas Day and seemed colder and bleaker. I anticipated the coming year. Such a bright future, with hopes and dreams waiting to be realized.

There will be hard times, too, but I look forward to the good stuff!

Sunday Photos

Behold! Lillie's hair has been touched! And stayed that way!

It's one of my favorite times of night. The lights are all dimmed, I am burning a few candles. My Pandora station is massaging my shoulders, Ray LaMontagne loving me with his wondrous voice.

Today I wore a yellow thermal shirt with tiny flowers all over it. Jake mentioned it reminded him of when I was younger, of when he first met me. I told him that's why I bought it, because it reminded me of home.

Then I cried.

You see, I really miss home sometimes. I miss Mom and Dad and Humboldt County. The green, the redwoods, even the homeless people. I miss the Co-op and the fog and the cold cold salty pacific. I miss Crescent City and the Smith river. I miss Grandma Dotty's creaky house and the donuts at Eureka Baking Company. I miss my Dad's junky shoes and Mom's paraphernalia on the windowsill. I miss the stinky cars and Grandpa's beautiful place and I even miss when it rained so badly it flooded the house. I miss Old Town and the Plaza and the way all the old book stores smell.

I am in love with my life and where I am, but sometimes, in the calm of the evening, I really really miss where I came from.

Sunday Photos

This photo attempt was ridiculous in its entirety. But its my life. Half are listening, Lillie's disrupting it all, and in the end, four cherubic babies...

The weekend turns into such a blur by Sunday night.

The things I can remember are Lillie fighting for the following: to wear her skin tight Christmas dress for the third week in a row, to not get her hair done/touched whatsoever (we won, if only for a few moments!), to wear her cheapy-handmedown princess boots with backwards tights (adding no compliment to Christmas dress), and to bring her entire zip-bag full of ponies into nursery. Score: Lillie won 117-1.

Grace gets longer and prettier every day. She organizes everyone. She has a real sense of humor. Like, a real one. I love it. My little best friend. She always wants to know what's for dinner. When I tell her I have no idea she is usually dismayed. Let's channel her need to organize and plan! Maybe she'll take over cooking the meals. A mom can dream...

Ruby is a nut. I tell her to buckle her seat belt fifty times daily, every time we get in the car. She doesn't hear me or doesn't listen... and a few seconds later says, "Mom, do we need to buckle?" Maybe there's a swimming pool nearby of which I'm not aware. Maybe when I ask her to do something she slips under the water and swims around... the bubbles transforming my voice into an incomprehensible mush. Metaphorically, it happens every day!

And Tads... the most wonderful lady. She's my mistletoe, my cinnamon stick, my caribbean vacation. If only she'd sleep through the night like she used to. Mama's in her thirties, be kind!!

Sunday Photos

Our girls! They confound the wise...

That last shot... is our day in a still frame. Freeze it. Hit repeat. That's our day.

I was flustered at one point today... mess everywhere, everyone was hungry, I was wearing uncomfortable clothes and needed to change. I was holding Matilda on my hip. Her arm outstretched. The light fell into each groove of her plump arm. One crease at her bicep, one in the crook of her arm, one on her forearm. Her hand's knuckles had grooves of their own, tiny shadows resting inside.

I could have eaten that arm like a drumstick. I stopped and looked at it and marveled that I have had four of these miraculous babies.

And then I made lunch.

Holiday, Snow, and Sunday Photo.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I roasted my first turkey and hosted my family here, so I hardly took any photos... But don't worry, I made time to make sure I wasn't hungry... all day long. Not even for a second.

My sister in law slicing an onion for part of the meal. 

The way I love to see my couch. Full of people talking and laughing (and eating and drinking). My space is small, but my family doesn't mind!

The beautiful pie that Lynn made.

What the women in our family do at every gathering. Hang out in the kitchen, talk about the mysteries of the world and nibble. The best conversations happen in the kitchen!

My sister in law Lynn cooking giblets in preparation for the stuffing. 

Today's Sunday Photo.

It hasn't stopped snowing since... well, since sometime during my intermittent sleep last night. It snowed all night, all morning, all day... this photo was taken at 4pm, as Jake shoveled the driveway. Now, an hour or so later, the driveway looks un-shoveled again because of all the snow fall. Tada snuck out for a few seconds just for the photo, but the other three stayed out long enough to get a chill burn on their cheeks.

And after the driveway's done, what comes next? Front-yard sledding courtesy of Daddy.

Sunday Photo

Just a quick one before church. There is a shadow on Grace's face which I hate, but I love everything else about it. They're such a wild bunch... and my heart breaks for each one of them for a different reason.

I remember what used to happen when I had the upcoming holiday week off of school. I would sleep in, go to work (where I was highly appreciated and rewarded monetarily), grab some Wendy's, stop off at Barnes N Noble and read a bit of a novel. Put it back on the shelf, grab some hot chocolate and what else?? Maybe go to a movie?

Oh mama, those days are gone. These chicks don't sleep in when they have a week off of school. What would be the point of that? And even if they did... errands (mostly the kind where you get out of the car) are out of the question.

But look at 'em. What's not to love?

Sunday Photo

Get ready Lillie, that binky's gone for real this week! Ope--- is that my backbone? Over there in the corner leaning up against the wall? Was looking for it...

The voices in my head say this week will be just like the rest. With ups and downs and mental institutions. Bedtime routine being what it currently is, there will be some violence. Not against children, but against toys that are innocently resting in my path when my patience goes to bed for the night. Sorry, toys, you might get kicked... Mama's tired.

There is so much going on in the world. Even in my tiny little circle of acquaintance there is divorce, death, loss, heartbreak, disappointment, loneliness and despair. I soak up what could be, and for now, count myself lucky that somehow things are going really well for us. We have enough. We're lively. And I hope it stays that way.

Not convinced we party? Look at Matilda's face.