trick or treat!

today was the day when i became the mother of a princess, a frog and a horse! we had so much fun walking around the neighborhood and trick or treating! what a treat for matt and me! the weather was beautiful and the kids were precious! sophie LOVED being transformed into a beautiful princess and ellee cherished the frog costume. she shouted 'ribbit' all over town! casey was a stud in his little horse onesie! thanks again to auntie kelli for lending us ALL of our costumes this year!

these are the days i pictured way back in the day when matt and i dreamed of having a family - to have it lived out for me tonight was magical. these kids run me ragged - but if anything was ever worth the work - it's them.

happy halloween!

untill tomorrow bordertown....

i am sitting in a coffee shop - on campus - over lunch. it's tuesday and i miss my kids.
i have always hated tuesdays - halfway to no where is what i used to say. its not close to sunday and definitely not close to friday. on days like today, i miss my kids.

so - hello sophie and ellee and casey! i hope you're having a really fun day with dad! mom misses you and send you hugs from minneapolis!

to all my 'i work outside the home' friends, send me a shout out when you read this...let me know what day of the week you loathe so i can both pray for you that day and so that i can feel a little better about my distaste for tuesdays!

on the upswing though - the coffee here is amazing. the university of minnesota is very involved in free trade and organic products - everything from the university dining services to the large-scale efforts to recycle. this coffee is both free trade and delicious! it's from a little shop on the edge of campus called bordertown. they also make amazing pastries in the morning and super good sandwiches in the afternoon. what's great is that students really support it even though it's a bit more expensive than say...starbucks. lots of students here are 'anti-starbucks' actually. you can imagine my shock! in any case - i have lots of meetings in this coffee shop and spend a good deal of time sitting in this very room - a perk of being assigned cubicle and not an office! i can meet in coffee shops! oh...the silver lining shines bright!

one other positive thing...it's almost 2pm! just a couple more hours until i'm home...

have a great night everyone! give your kiddies an extra hug and - if you can - spend the evening reveling the blessings that surround you! mine have black hair, curly hair and no hair...each one is such a gift.

brown hair and 3 kids...i'm ready to rumble...if rumble means drive you somewhere in my minivan

hello! i am holding myself accountable to blog on two things - 1) the song 'i am not my hair' AND 2) my children-less trip to chicago last weekend.

ok - so i heard this song by india arie called 'i am not my hair'. check it out on you tube for all of the lyrics, but it really made me think. i must have been having a vulnerable moment or somethings because the song challenged me to think about what is really important to me right now. its hard to remember that even when at work - where i am surrounded by really smart and incredibly well put together people - it's ok that i still fumble to drink my coffee each morning without spilling it down my shirt or to walk down the hallway without snagging my heel on carpet and nearly falling. i have actually felt a little 'released' from the pressure to 'do it all' because i realized - with the help of a silly song - that i simply cannot. i cannot be a great mom who looks flawless and always has it together. i cannot be a maverick (wink wink) at work and in the home. what i can do...wait for it...is be me. i am smart and i do have good ideas and i do give everything i have to my kids and my husband. dont get me wrong - there are days that one thing or another suffers because of all that i am committed to doing - days where i do spill my lunch on my shirt, days where i do have to walk out the door when my kids are begging me not to, days when i have to call in sick because i just cant leave - but i am learning to handle what i have been given. because, after all, it is mine. my life is mine to live and to enjoy and to soak up - not to suffer with. im working on it people! stick with me and by the time i'm 90 i may have something insightful to say!

ok - i will revel with the second question in another blog on another day...it's getting late!

the kids are good! casey is sitting up and eating some horrible looking meat paste business as a stage two food - it seriously makes me gag - but it makes him gaga!

ellee is so good - love her to bits. she is talking so much all the time! we try to understand most of it, but because she still struggles with some vocabulary - she can get fired up when we can't get it!

sophie is so good too. she was talking the other day about the kitchen and referenced 'that white thing'. i asked her to back up and clarify when she was talking about...turns out she was telling me a story about the dishwasher! she had no idea what it was because we have never had one before this house! i always load and unload it when she is in bed, so all this time, she had no idea what it was! needless to say, she was very interested to know that IT is the reason that we now eat off of out glass plates - not paper ones like in our old dishwasher-less apartment!

below is a video of the kids outside while matt was raking leaves. there is also a picture of me with my new brown hair at the top of the page. ahhh....it's a nice change to be a bit less maintenance...even if it is ugly.

love to you all!

october arrives and things slow down

sophie took this one and she is so proud!




















i have been reflecting this evening about the life matt and i are building here in minnesota. our days are filled with so many really fulfilling times; kids, work, family. each day the routine grows. we know how each day will progress - everything from alarm clocks to bathroom breaks to rush hour and meal times - it's beginning to feel like clockwork. it's life happening around us and happening to us.


we have so enjoyed the connections that we are finding with family here in minnesota - it's priceless. i do not want to negate the importance of that aspect of our life in any way - but - we cannot help but consider the things we have sacrificed in order to build this life.


family and friends in michigan and illinois - you are the people who have helped define us and without you, our identity is fuzzy. as we move forward in putting down some roots here, i feel like there is a fine line between being successful at building a life while respecting the one we left behind. making new friends feels like cheating on the old ones. i know it's a process, and i will continue to work to put all the pieces together - who knew that this old dog would have such a hard time learning these new tricks.


the beauty of this scenario is that our children have remained relatively immune to the sacrifice they made as well - thank God. they are happy and healthy. sophie is so bright - in every way. i can literally feel when she comes into the room - she exudes energy and influence. ellee is the sweetest counterpart to sophie. i adore hearing and watching as they interact. the other day, while driving in the mini-v, i heard sophie say 'elles?' as if to question if she was still in the car (sophie sits in the thrid row and ellee in the second so they can't really see each other). ellee responded with 'what hatie' (hatie is what ellee calls sophie). sophie then said simply 'hi'. ellee smiled and said 'hi' in return. that's it - but it was so telling of their dependence on each other - even in moments that mean nothing in the big scheme of things. it is burned into my brain and i love it!


casey is getting bigger and bigger each day! he was 19 pounds at his 6 month visit. he has a head full of auburn hair with just a bit of curl. he is sitting up and rolling over - a true athlete. his disposition is so kind and so sweet. he has his dad's personality along with his good looks.


the kids are good - sheltered from this storm by the love of people in sates near and far. blessings abound on this family and we feel it.


i have attached a little video from a dance party we had in the living room the other night - it's proof positive that these little lovies are all heart. if you listen carefully to the lyrics of sophie's song, you will also be privy to the great wisdom of a 3 year old!