Satan Waltzed Right In

He didn't even sneak in the back door.  He waltzed right in the front door and was embraced like an old friend. He was covered in a cloak, a beautiful one made from love and compassion.  He is after all the ultimate beguiler. Hidden expertly in that cloak he began to dance and beckoned us to follow, to dance with him.

I have been a part of a beautiful community of mothers for over four years. A community of mothers who have encouraged me through some of the most difficult of times. I have a deep and true love for the mamas.  They have taught me how to love and encourage people who are new to our community. Until this week I do not think we have disagreed on much.

This week I feel like part of this community followed the beckoning of the beguiling.  They danced with the devil. They chose to embrace abortion. Let me preface my thoughts with a disclaimer that I wholeheartedly believe. I believe there is no sin that should cause Christians to turn their backs on others and not offer people the love that we have been commanded to give. God has set the example for Christians to follow. He forgives all who come to him and lay their sins at his feet.

Satan wants the world to think that when Christians speak out against a sin they also hate the sinner.  We are all sinners. 
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
I am a wretched sinner saved by grace.  Nothing I ever could do would make me deserving of God's love.  He gives it freely.  He commands me to give it freely as well. Nothing I could do would make me deserving of God's salvation. The cross was my atonement for my wretchedness.

But I am not to embrace sin EVER. I am not to tell someone who had an abortion that what they did was alright. It is not alright.  It is murder. Women make choices to end pregnancy for many different reasons and society says it is alright. 
Over four years ago we were given a incompatible with life diagnosis for the son I carried in my belly. We went to a specialist for further diagnosis and were told we should terminate our pregnancy.  Kill our son. He would never live on this earth anyway so why not just get it over with. No other reason but that. We were scared and felt all alone in a new world, but we we covered in prayer and God alone guided us through the next twelve weeks and then life thereafter. If you are reading this now and you chose to terminate your pregnancy please know I love you, most importantly God loves you.  He will not turn His back on you. God can use this situation to draw you near to Him, give you new life. No matter how much I love you and God loves you unless YOU lay it before God and ask for His forgiveness, it will not be redeemed. He and He alone is the author of life.

Our diagnosis could have just as easily been one that would turn the tables and put my life in danger.  I thank God everyday that it was not and that I have not had to walk in those shoes. I have often thought about what I would do in that situation.  It obviously would not have been some mistake God had made because he does not make mistakes. He is perfect.  He is sovereign.
Imagine with me for a second that some crazed person walked up to me and put a gun to my head.  This person then said the only way your life can be spared, to raise your children, is if you give me one of them.  They will take the bullet for you. What would you do? I am a mama bear.  I would fight, fight for my children. To terminate would be to say God had made a mistake.

I have seen a very disheartening exodus from biblical beliefs among this community all in the name of tolerance. I think tolerance has become lumped in to a category with love and compassion.  However, tolerance is not the inability to recognize the existence of a sin.  The bible is very clear about the destructiveness of sin.  We fail to draw a line between the sin and the sinner just as Satan wishes.

I will tell you that I believe the grief of a mother who has terminated a pregnancy without repentance is valid and so much greater than the grief I walk with over the loss of my son.  Her grief is laced with guilt, I believe, and for that I pray for her.  My heart goes out to her because her hurt is so real and hopeless and will remain that way unless she asks for forgiveness of a God that is good all of the time...A God that makes no mistakes.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden in light.

Satan's cloak may be beautiful and beguiling but it is no match for HIS words. These words offer hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary.  Here is a place to lay your head and be comforted. It is a place of quiet rest. It is a free gift offered to those who are willing to receive. Acceptance in a community of people is nothing compared to this! People are human and riddled with flaws.God is perfect in ALL of His ways.

Much Love, 

Three Years - Winner announced!

Today has been quite a day and tomorrow I will blog about it!  I.am.slap.worn.out today! 

Eli's third birthday is today!  I do not know where three years have gone.  I miss my boy! 

Happy Birthday to you baby!

In honor of Eli's birthday Pet Art Creations is hosting a giveaway on my blog. We had fun drawing the winner. 

There were six entries:

 I folded the names and put them in a box.  Then I called my boys for a little help.

 Cooper held while Jay drew. Notice Jay's shiny new grin.  It will be his for the next 36 months. 

 Cooper got the honors of unfolding and reading the name. He was happy! He makes me happy.  Actually all of my babies make me happy, even on days like this one! (more on that tomorrow)

 Here is the name he read to me.  Then I had to snap a picture of it for good measure!

Yay Susan!  You are the winner!  I will give your name to Andrea and if you will contact her through Pet Art Creations' Facebook page, you can work everything out! 

 

 

Thank you all for entering our giveaway!  I might just have to make Eli's birthday, giveaway day every year!  It was fun! 

 

Many thanks for all of the prayers and beautiful words we received today!  These days are extra hard but I am feeling extra blessed tonight!

 

Much love,

My nemisis...

...seems to be technology these days!

I was made aware that some had been unable to enter the giveaway by posting comments on the blog. 
So

Here is the deal-e-o

You can comment on the blog before this post or send me an email at lcjhill@yahoo.com.  Either way you will be entered as long as you like Pet Art Creations on Facebook!

The giveaway will end tomorrow evening and we will put the names in a hat and let the kiddos help with the drawing.  It will be fair, I PROMISE! We just need some entries!  It doesn't cost anything to enter!  It is a really cool prize.  So, what ya waitin' for?

Much love,

Giveaway!!!!

Okay, forget the rafflecopter!  I dislike it A LOT!!! It is showing that there are five entries in the giveaway but will not show me who the entries are! I am going to try and reclaim those entries somehow.  I sent a message to the moderator of the website and have not heard back YET!  I am unhappy. 

Here is what I am going to do. 

If you have already entered the giveaway please comment on this blog post that you did. If you have not already entered and are waiting, then just comment on this blog post as well. Remember you must like Pet Art Creations on the FB for one chance to enter.  Leave me a comment stating that you did that.  Then leave a second comment here for a second chance to win.Just say hi and you are entered!

So sorry for such turmoil.  You have until Eli's birthday on the 21st to get entered!  It is a very nice prize! It is fun and whimsical!

Sending....

Much Love,

Quick Hello

Just a quick hello today!  I wanted to clarify that you may go ahead and enter the giveaway for Eli's birthday anytime between now and the 21st.  It is a really neat giveaway and I am quite excited about it!

Much love,

Birthday Month

Update: I just noticed that this post had disappeared from my blog.  I do not know how or why, but I re posted it and it seems to be on again.  Sorry for any inconvenience.


Wow, hello to all of you, my long lost friends.  September 4th was my last post. I do not know where time has gone!  I have sat down to type several posts in the in between and nothing seemed right.  I have missed my little corner of the world wide web!  It feels good to visit with you again...like I have been away from home on a vacation and come home.  If that  makes any sense?

Since we have not spoken in way too long and because it is Eli's Birthday month, I think I will have a little giveaway.  Bribing you to be my friends, perhaps?  NO, NOT AT ALL. Just showing you how much I love you. 

This month is Eli's birthday month and I wanted to do something special.  Andrea, over at Pet Art Creations agreed to give some blessed individual a really cool gift.

Andrea is a digital artist and she created this picture for me. She is also my daddy's sister. She took an image that I had taken and created this really cool scene around it.  I just love it!  Isn't is adorable? She even added a picture of Eli in the clouds.  How special!! I love how Amelia appears to be enthralled with the star fish.  It is just way cool! Wouldn't you like one of these?

 

Or what about this adorable baby? Do have a pet you would like to see in one of Andrea's incredible scenes?

 

I just can't handle the cuteness in this one!!

 

 

 

We will be giving away one digitally enhanced photo on Eli's birthday! Andrea will take one of your photo's, digitally enhance it, and have it put on an 8 x 10 canvas.  Yes, I said canvas. It just keeps getting better doesn't it? This is a $90 value.  Thank you Andrea for sponsoring this sweet giveaway!

 

To be entered to win Eli's Birthday giveaway just complete the Rafflecopter entry form! Happy sharing! Remember, the winner will be drawn February 21, 2013 as part of Eli's birthday celebration!

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/89bd521/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Much love,

 



She just knew

It was so real she could see it, smell it, taste it, feel it and it burned itself in her mind.  A permanent tattoo that perhaps would fade with time. 
She went in to deliver her baby.  In an instant like none other she was holding a lifeless body...willing it to breath.  Begging the doctors...nurses to check just one more time.  It was a mothers instinct that kept propelling her to get them to check just once more.  I know he will breath if you just listen.  Just once more, please... and they would only to shake their heads in tragic sorrow.  He was her second to be lost or was he?  Somewhere she remembers those people saying, "But you knew it could happen."  It has before, don't you remember?   Were there really six or was it five?  The questions began swirling until it made its own sense. It was a way to reconcile keeping her beautiful rainbow and having her beautiful boy too. I think.  I guess. It only made sense in her mind.
All of the sudden there was a loud gasp for air in the quietness of that tiny room.  Then screams...the screams of a newborn.  "Hurry", she screamed to him.  "Run, get the nurse."  I knew he was alive.  I just knew it, but they would not listen.  They didn't believe me but they will now. They came running in hurriedly and whisked him away.  They took him to the NICU to be kept alive.  He was kept that way for days, weeks on end.  Finally, they went home to shower and retrieve some things they would need, only to be called right back.  He needed them now.  It was a race to make it back.  She frantically tried to call her mother to beg her to go ahead so he would have someone.  She couldn't get her.  "Why was she not answering her phone?"  Finally,  her mom answered and she said she would go.  When they got there family had gathered. They all waited with bated breath.  He just needed his mommy and daddy.  That was all.  He was going to be fine and so was the baby of her friend whom she had walked through this journey with.  Her friend's baby was being put in a regular bed because she was doing so well. Her baby, her Eli would get there she just knew it. 

And then it was over before it really began.  I wanted to go back to dreamland just for a little while longer.  It is so rare for me to dream of him.  It has happened two or three times now.  This is the most I remember from any of them.  It was the best of both worlds because my mind worked it out for me to have Eli and Amelia along with my other sweetlings. 

Much love,

Pete and Repeat were sitting on a log

...Pete fell off and who was left?
Repeat.

Pete and Repeat were sitting on a wall.  Pete fell off and who was left?

Repeat. 

It has been one of those days.  I hate to go on and on about things that trigger bad days or having bad days because frankly, sometimes it sounds like a broken record even to me...kinda like Pete and Repeat...a never ending saga. Then I think well this is my place.  It is where I pour it out and it has been so long since I have felt compelled to pour it out. I guess that is a good thing...right?

I have been stung four different times while working in the garden this summer.  Twice by bumble bees, once by a wasp, and once by a yellow jacket.  Each sting hurt but I got over it pretty quickly except for the last one.  A stinking bumble bee got me on my rear end.  I think it hitched a ride on my fanny and when I sat in the car it got ticked and did a number on me.  It swelled, burned, developed a fever on that side and turned red and angry.  After Benadryl and consultation with my hubbs and mom, I decided the next day to let a doctor look at it.  Her response was confirmation that I had done the right thing by coming in. So, after steriods and antibiotics, my rear is on the mend.


Funny how sometimes a sting has minimal pain and other times it can really throw you for a loop.  It's a lot like grief. It has almost been two and a half years.  Everyday does not sting but sometimes it just randomly happens and it is beyond my control.  Sometimes it can be just as raw as it was in the very beginning.

I started this post on Friday and today as I sit here and write, the rawness has gotten better.  I think of him everyday.  I long for him everyday. Some days are just really bad.  They are fewer and farther between than they used to be, but when it hits, I can count on a rough few days.  I really hate that about grief, the fact that you never know when it will get you.  As I was really struggling those few days, I can recall at least five times that God put these verses in front of me.
Proverbs 3:5-6
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I love that about God, how He walks with us and He talks with us.  Even when we do not listen the first time...or second...or third, He does not give up on us.  He is patient and kind.

Even when I question Him, he loves.  When I begged and begged him to just let us keep Eli, He answered and told us that, while we would see a miracle, Eli was His and He was going to take him Home. I'm left questioning... If I had just had a little more faith would it have been different?  Did I just not ask in the right way? Did I step wrong in the valley?
Those things really haunt me sometimes. But He answers...
He says,"Lean not into thine own understanding.  Trust me and I will show you the way. "

What an amazingly loving Abba Father we serve!

Much love,

Tis the Season...falalalala...lalalala

Close your eyes with me for a moment.
Imagine would you........... butter popcorn...
 hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill...
 yells and cheers, the scent of bug spray...
 dust from a slide into 3rd...
the ping of a ball on a bat...leather...red dirt...grass stains...
small children running around playing...squealing with delight...
daddy's alternating between the daddy huddle and gripping the fence while giving some tough encouragement...Mama's, well just being mamas...
boys milling around in a dugout, waiting their turn.
Metal bleachers...canvas chairs lining the fence...
loud calls for the ump to "get it right"...
ground scattered with sunflower seed hulls...spitting...

Okay, you can open your eyes because you know where I am.  There is only one place on earth like it.  It is the little league baseball field.  You probably already had that one figured about at about yells and a cheers. 

As I sat at the ball field the other night, I just took it all in.  The smells, the sights, the sounds...all of it.  It was our next to last game.  One of  sixteen...I am glad it is over but a little bit sad too! The boys have so much fun playing little league. They enjoy the interaction and the action.

Lucie Rose also enjoyed her T-ball games and being one of those children running around squealing with delight at "her boys" games.

Amelia started walking during ball season and she became increasingly more active with each passing game.  She wanted to walk and was super cute hanging on to the fence mimicking others cheering.  She said even said Cooper's (CooCoo) name for the first time at one of his at bats. 

Then, there is that ever present what if  in here.  How much more busy would I have been with a two year old running around?  It wouldn't have been easy, at all.  I sure wish that I could have given it a shot though.  I sure wish that I could sit here and blog about ball season with a two year old and a one year old.  I'm pretty sure there would be stories to tell.  I miss him more and more every single day!

sigh.........

I have got a few pictures of this season to share with you.

Right before catching his first pop fly!

Both of my fellers on the field at the same time!

I am also so excited to see that I now have 100 followers!  Wooo Hoooo! Thank you to all of you who take the time to read about our journey! I promise you this journey is never dull, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes sweet...but ALWAYS a blessing to this mama! 

Much love,

Fifteen...

Today my honey bunches of oats and I celebrate 15 years of wedded bliss!

Fifteen years ago, I couldn't even begin to think of where we would be in fifteen years.   I never dreamed we would have five children, Jamie would be a bean counter, and I would be a stay at home, homeschooling mom.  Boy, how the times have changed. 

I was a complete and utter bundle of nerves this time fifteen years ago.  I was 23 and had always lived at home with my parents.  I was finishing up my college education and about to embark on an entirely new life.  I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted nothing more than to marry this man of my dreams, but I had a lump the size of Texas planted firmly in my throat.  It was new and I was scared.

Oh how true the saying, "Hind sight is 20/20" really is.  I had no need to be a scaredy cat.  God made this man for me and He would work it out.  That certainly has been my story for the last fifteen years and I am sticking to it!  

Happy Anniversary Jamie!  I sure love you ole boy! You make my heart smile anew everyday!

Much love,

In The Garden

Guest post written and typed by Cooper Hill

 A lot of things go in to planting a garden.  First you have to disk it twice to tear up all the grass and weeds. Then, you have to bottom plow it to turn over the soil and to get the good soil on top.  Next, you have to disk it again to make neat straight rows. It is now time to spray the garden to kill all the weeds and make sure they do not come back. Finally, you have to do the most fun and most pain in the rear end job! Planting it!

 Planting the garden is fun because it is hard work. It is a pain in the rear because you have to sit on the back of a solid steel planter and make sure the seeds stay where they will plant evenly.  You do not want any skips.  A skip is when there is not a seed where you want a seed.  To keep it from skipping you have to rake the seeds with your hand so the seeds will plant evenly.  Oh yeah, you do not want to get your finger caught doing this.  The planter looks like a small disk with seed buckets and a dirt packing wheel.  The dirt packing wheel packs dirt to bury the seeds.  It is important to bury the seeds in order keep them from washing away.

 It sounds like a lot of work and it is. You might want to keep this in mind before you try to do this yourself.  I am a country boy, so I like doing it.


I hope you enjoyed Cooper's take on planting the garden.  We are going to leave you with a few pictures of the garden and the farm.  The corn is not something that we planted as part of our garden.  It is just pretty and I wanted to include it.

Happy planting,

Cooper Hill

So Much To Do...

...so little time to do it all.

Instead of wishing all of my time away, I'd actually like an extra hour or two or twenty in a day! It has been Key-razy around the Hill homestead.  It always is this time of year. I just forget from one year to the next how nuts it can get. It is so easy to get discouraged this time of year.  I sometimes feel like I am doing lots of things partially and not giving any one thing the time that it deserves.  Take laundry for instance.  I am just barely hanging on people.  I am washing what needs to be washed for the moment and hoping no one has to go commando in their clean ball uniform.  You think I jest..

I have lots and lots to share in this blog post.  So, buckle your seat belt or hang on one.

Our science project for homeschool is in full swing now.  The boys have planted our garden and it is growing quickly.  Cooper is working on a blog post about the "getting ready" process. Look for it soon.

Sweet baby Amelia is walking now.  How can that be, right?? Okay, not full on walking but she took about seven steps on her own last night. (Correction:  As I am working on this, she just walked from the living room into the kitchen to greet my mom!) She is so very sweet and curious.  She is standing beside me right now carrying on the most adorable conversation. I might not know what she is saying but she thinks it is a very serious topic judging by the look on her face. I love to hear her say yes (ess), dance and outside (side, side). She had tubes in here ears a couple of weeks ago, immediately followed by a fever virus that completely wiped her out.  She is on the mend now and is back to her old self.
Mother's day is on the horizon, this Sunday in fact.  I know that it is a Hallmark holiday, but it is a tough one for me.  I know that I am not alone in that.  It is that way for many women for many different reasons.  It is tough for those who long to be mothers, those who only have babies in heaven, and those who have children to celebrate with but have children to miss on that day also. Sometimes I wish that it would just go away.  There would be a great deal less hurt for so many if it did.  Then I think about how much my children love to pamper me that day and I am just torn.  I honestly don't miss Eli any more that day than every other one.  I just think more about him being on earth and being a part of his brothers and sister's scheming for the day.  They will all descend on me while I am "sleeping" and his spot will be empty...As it is with any other family activity.  On another note entirely, someone asked me last week how many children I had now, and without even thinking about it I answered four.  I was then left with an intense feeling of having cheated Eli.  He makes five.  I could have gone back and explained, but then it would have been just awkward and uncomfortable for the others involved.  Will the awkwardness ever end this side of  Heaven?  Will I ever not care that I make others uncomfortable when I include Eli.

I Pray all of my lady friends have a gentle and blessed Mother's Day! 

Sending much love your way,

The Garden

I am so excited, for all of my homeschooling peeps out there, to tell about our Garden project this year.  I have been wanting a garden for a while now.  We tried to plant one in our back yard last year and well...it didn't quite work out.  We fed and watered and babied it but it never produced anything.  So, this year I decided to get my daddy involved.  He told me he would help if I made it a project for the kiddos.  I quickly jumped on that.  What an excellent way to end our school year and extend it also.  The garden will grow long past our last official day of school.  It will keep our minds from going to mush with a few weeks officially off. I can not wait to share our project with you guys. 

Here are a few of my ideas for integrating the garden into school curriculum.
1.) The boys are going to keep and illustration journal all along the way. 
2.) The boys have already helped to prepare the ground for planting.
3.) We have all planted tomato, pepper, and herb plants. There is much more planting to be done.
4.) We are going to create an Excel worksheet to document our expenses and earnings.
5.)The boys and I will be blogging about our incredible project.
6.)We plan of selling the fruits of our labors by possibly setting up a produce stand and taking advanced orders as well.
7.)Weed eradication skills will be perfected.
The list just keeps on growing as I type.  The possibilities are limitless.

We are all a little excited about digging in and growing a garden.

I took the boys down to the farm Saturday to help Papa spray and disk a little and I took some pictures while the boys were hard at work.  We also planted the first few things in our garden. 

Here are some pictures from Saturday.

Entering the gate to our garden

Disking the soil getting ready to plant

Coop getting a little driver's ed lesson!

The disk attached to the tractor

Papa and the boys



 Jamie and I lived down at the farm for almost four years before moving to town. I love the farm with a few exceptions.  The snakes are bigger, the mosquitoes are bigger, and the dad-blasted dirt road just about did me in. The serenity of the farm is just amazing and on a clear night the heavens are the most amazing sight. We had a garden way back when.  Of course, the boys were just babies and have no recollection of it.  The boys absolutely love the farm.  They look forward to going to help Papa on Saturdays. Not to mention they are learning to drive, shoot, and Lord knows what else, that might cause my heart to palpitate uncontrollably.  This garden will be a wonderful learning experience for us all.  Of that I am sure!

Much love,

Patience is not my virtue...

...but He is the Potter and I am the clay.  He is still molding me and making me!


Today is Tax Day eve around my house!  Yipee, Yay, Yo!!!

I am not a very patient person when I am tired of something and I.AM.TIRED of Tax season this year.  I had to pray and ask God to forgive me for my attitude these last few days because quite frankly, it has been rotten. I have been on edge with everyone, especially my kiddos.  I am so ready to have my husband back and the father to my children back, my help meet back!  I didn't sign up to be a single parent of four, even if it is for a couple of months a year.  Yep, those were my rotten thoughts yesterday. God was quick to remind me that there are many others out there that didn't sign up to be single parents either and they have to do it year round.  Alright Lord, I get your point! Things can always be worse and I am sufficiently humbled to that fact!

We are going to start spring break around here Wednesday.  The kiddos are excited and bummed that we didn't start today! Spring break plans consist of re-doing our flower beds, working on our vegetable garden that my dad is helping me with, and just spending some time together as a family! I am excited and so thankful that we will get almost an entire week together.  I plan on taking lots of pictures of my little family at work and play this week!  I'll post some later, with a blog post on our homeschool venture of a vegetable garden.  I am thinking of making the entire project part of our school day and even getting my boys to do a couple of guest posts about our experience and the entire process!

I am going to leave you today with a huge prayer request.  I have a BLM friend who needs so many prayers.  My friend Melissa C. lost a son to Potter's in November.  Then she lost her husband unexpectedly in January.  Now my sweet friend is in the fight of her life against an ugly disease eating away at her body.  She has stomach and live cancer that is only treatable through a transplant, not just a liver transplant but several organs in her stomach area would need to be transplanted. If the transplant does not work or for some reason her body will not allow the doctors to perform the transplant, she has been given up to six months by her doctors.  Now, I know that the God we serve is also the Great Physician and He determines her time here on earth, not doctors.  He can rid her body of this ugly disease and make her whole again. I pray that He does!  My friend has two very small daughters that need their mommy right now and she is very sick.  Her situation humbles me to my knees. Please join me in praying for her and asking, no begging God for a miracle! My friend is young and these things just aren't supposed to happen to young people, especially all three at once. We know that our plans are not His plans and while that is sometimes so hard to fathom, my friend is living it.  Please lift her up without ceasing. My heart is heavy for her.

Much Love,

Just beautiful!

Jamie's grandmother went home to be with the Lord this past week. She was truly a beautiful woman, inside and out! The very first time I met her she made me a part of her family.  She was a true southern belle and she never met a stanger. I have to say, I'm a little jealous that she is now holding my sweet Eli.  I am so happy for her that she has met Jesus and been reunited with those gone on before her. Grandma's mother died giving birth to her in 1932 and never got to hold her baby girl.  I can only imagine that amazing reunion in Heaven.  Imagine a mother putting her arms around a daughter that she carried but never kissed. I am sure there were lots of hugs and kisses exchanged when they first met each other. Heaven is so very sweet tonight and every night for that matter.

Much love,

Firsts

Today is the first day of spring.
It is absolutely gorgeous outside today.  It is 80 degrees with sunshine and a little breeze.  I am not an outdoor-sey kind of person, but today, I want to be outside. The grass is greening up...Trees are beginning to bloom.  All of nature seems to be coming alive after a long winter's nap. I got out yesterday and pruned all of the dead foliage off of the Oleander, Hydrangeas, Roses, and Crepe Myrtles. I am excited to watch them "spring" to new life.

Spring is a time of renewal, which is why I guess, it is very fitting that my sweet, precious, little Amelia Claire is one year old today.  She was born on the first day of spring.  Her birthday will always be after a long cold winter.

I remember this day last year.  I remember the first time she filled my arms. It was such a beautiful fulfilling feeling after a long cold winter. Little Miss Amelia is one of the sweetest babies. She is so even tempered.  She rarely cries and is quick to give a kiss or hug.  She has the cutest, toothie little smile. She loves to eat and has not yet met a food the didn't like. The little stinker can crawl faster than most people can run.  She is pulling up and cruising around but just will not turn loose yet.  I think it is more of a confidence thing at this point.  I'm not rushing her because I know that walking will eventually turn into running. I think you know where I'm going with this.  This sweet little girl is just a blessing.  I have loved every single minute with her this last year and look forward to a lifetime more.
I'll leave you with a few pictures of sweet Amelia's first year.



Happy Birthday Amelia Claire!

Much love,