little.eden

We went to my sister's over the weekend, and I got to snap pictures of little Eden all day! I'm such a bad sister because I didn't get any of Jill and Eden...next time for sure! She was sooooo sweet and so much fun to see for the day. I can't wait until we get to see her again at Easter (oh, and Jill and Andrew too!). :)

photo.shoot

(click on the collage to make it larger)

Meredith's photo shoot was a little cold, but she was a great sport. She loved it when I asked her to jump while I was taking her picture!

I think we're going to go with the upper left hand picture for her official age 5 picture, but I think my favorite is the one in the second column where she's jumping off the step! So much fun.

number.5

(click on the collage to see a larger version)

I cannot believe that 5 years ago we were blessed with this little girl! Time flies. Meredith is such an awesome kid.

My mom tells me that she is so much like me (this would include her bad attitude). She wears her heart on her sleeve. If she's mad, you know it. If she's excited, you know it. She can be Jekyll and Hyde all in the same minute.

Meredith's sweet side is super-sugar sweet. She loves to chat it up and has big ideas. She is a cuddle bug through and through. She is a people person when she's at church and co-op. I hear constant compliments on her great attitude (where is this at home?) and abilities.

Her not-so-sweet side...well, it's getting better! I am hopeful. :)

Meredith is extremely particular about her clothes (another trait she received from me). She has favorite shirts that she wants to wear over and over and over and over again. And to bed, too. We have to draw the line somewhere!

She loves creating anything and is really excited to play soccer this summer.

Meredith, we are so blessed to have you as part of our family. You are such a joy. One of our favorite things about you is your passion for whatever it is that you're doing! We love you so much.

going.home

We get to go home today! Yay!!! Hopefully, she'll be back to this Claire soon! (Self-portrait by the way...timers are a beautiful thing!)

up.and.down

Poor Claire is on a crazy roller coaster ride.  We're definitely spending the night tonight (Tuesday), and hopefully she'll be able to come home tomorrow.

She was doing so well this afternoon, and Meredith, Amelia, and I packed up Meredith's birthday presents and headed to the hospital.  Claire wanted to watch Meredith open her presents.  Grandma even brought a cake up to her room so that we could eat cake! 

As soon as we walked in, I could tell that she was getting ready to spike.  She starts shaking, gets pale, and honestly, she just looks pathetic.  Her temp was up to 104.6.  They gave her Motrin, then Tylenol a couple of hours later.  Her temp came down about a degree, and then they had her take a 10 mintue lukewarm shower.  She was not a fan of this!  She cried the entire time.  The best part was when she was back in her room and requested ice cream!  So funny.

Thanks so much for your prayers!  We appreciate them so much!!

bitter.sweet

Today is Meredith's 5th birthday.  I really want to do a post about her (and I will), but instead of completely celebrating today, we're praying today.

Claire had been spiking fevers all day on Sunday and Monday.  Last night, she got all the way up to 106.6, so we headed into the ER.  She was admitted, and she'll be there at least until this evening...probably until tomorrow morning since her temps are back up again.  I am ready for her to be back at home, but we'll do whatever the doc says. 

They're pretty sure it's viral, so we're just praying that her body fights it quickly.

aunt.jackie

Guess who's an aunt. Me.

Ok, well I've been an aunt since I married Josh. I married into 5 nephews on Josh's side. And I'm currently an aunt to 10 nieces and nephews on that side.

This one, however, is different. This is my sister's baby. This one has some of my genetics in her. Eden Brielle. Isn't that such a beautiful name? Isn't she such a beautiful baby???

She is so precious. Our whole family (minus Amelia) was able to visit her over the weekend, and it was so fun to hold her and spend time celebrating her with Jill and Andrew. Congrats you guys! We're so thankful to have her as part of our family.

Am I a proud aunt or what?!!