What a joyous day to celebrate the life of Jesus Christ! It’s even better, hearing your daughter greeting people with “He Has Risen”, brings joy to my heart : ) It was such pleasure to celebrate this holiday with family, I can’t picture it any other way. It was a blessed day!
Life truly feels like driving in the fast lane, somehow days turn into hours, hours into minutes and minutes into seconds.Β It honestly feels like just a tiny bit ago, we celebrated Easter and here we are again, saying βHe is Risen!β Β Often times, days just fly by and I forget to record some of the memories that happen in our home on daily basis.Β Every memory is such a jewel.Β I am beyond blessed to be able to share every memory with my precious miracles.Β I almost feel like our life is happening behind the scenes, so I thought in order for me to show to my kids one day what they were up to at this time, I must illustrate the memories in pictures.
So, I got a chance to run in Shamrock Β½ Marathon. I have never done this one and was very excited to run it. I figured I am training for my Big Sur anyway, so why not do a race and so I did. What I didnβt realize is how much adrenaline you get while running with so many runners and I pretty much gave it my all. I did great, delivered my personal best time but realized a day later that my body was not ready for such strenuous run. Instead of pacing myself like I have been while training, I decided to take it to another level and ran it fast (for myself). The route was absolutely gorgeous and I would love to do it on annual basis. I had my best supporter, my sweet husband. He truly was the best cheerleader for me and rode his bike everywhere he possibly could to cheer me on and remind me that I could do it. He took over 80 picturesβ¦haha! I felt like I had paparazzi on every corner. It was so much fun to run it. I am posting a few pictures below : )
Just thinking of this trip, makes me want to laugh. The pictures will look like we had the best time, but in reality, it was somewhat interestingβ¦.haha. Letβs just say, it was our first trip with both kids staying at a hotel. I must admit it was all me, I saw this amazing Groupon deal for one night at this great resort and since we havenβt taken an official vacation since October 2011, we thought, why not? The biggest excitement for me was the snow and the fact that I get to enjoy it with my kids for the first timeβ¦so off we went. As we got closer and closer, the signs of snow were very slim, but we had hope that the higher weβll get the more snow we will find. Well, no such thing, there was pretty much none. To be honest, I was very and very disappointed, but had to have an attitude adjustment and switch gears that we will still have a great time. The resort was nice, cute rooms and great accommodations. Our son however was being our son and wanted to touch everything, go everywhere and just be Joshy. The reality set in, I will not be able to protect him from everything he licks or puts in his mouthβ¦.so I tried my best to let it go. The first day we checked out the place, went to little shops, looked at gondolas going up the hill and discussing our options to see snow. At the time we have made a decision to take the kids up the hill via gondola and enjoy the view while going up. After drinking some delicious coffee, we headed to the lake which was literally within a few steps from our room. That part of the evening was my very favorite. It was fun, peaceful, the kids were happy, the parents were happy, it was simply lovely. The next day as we were getting ready to go up on the gondola, our precious daughter started crying and declaring that she will not be going. Reanalyzing our options and considering that this so called βtripβ to the snow will cost us $75, we have decided to go look for snow on our way back home. As we packed everything up and headed back, we kept seeing a very small potential. Finally, we decided to just turn onto a random street and find a patch where the kids can at least play. As we have found the patch, got the kids out, got them all geared up with layers and layers of clothes, our son decided to take a dive, face down into the snow, which scratched up the area right above his nose and made it bleed. From that point on, our little boy was terrified of snow. It was more of an icy snow as it has set there for a while. All in all, I was ready to come home right then, but we promised sissy a snow man, so daddy had to make it happen. They had lots of fun making the snow man and sissy learned how to make a snow angel. The pictures will somewhat tell the story. Great memories!
I cannot begin to express how blessed I am with my Papi. It is such an honor to be able to call him my Papi. I feel grateful to celebrate yet another year of this wonderful human being that God chose for us to be our daddy. There is nothing that I desire more for him but health, joy, laughter and that ongoing spirit that keeps going no matter what life throws at him. Today, I just want him to know that I love him more than the words can describe and that he has been nothing but a true blessing to us and to our kiddos. Bellaβs love for her papa is very special and I know that she is one blessed girl to have her papa that is absolutely crazy about her. Happy Birthday our sweet Papi! We love you very, very much!
V-Day and Dance Lessons
I must admit, Valentines day is one of my favorite days of the year. It might be silly, but it’s the truth and I look at it as a day to show even more love on others, not just your spouse but your neighbors, family and friends. To me, itβs more of an appreciation day. This year I felt very spoiled as my husband showered me with some amazing and surprising gifts. He knows how much I appreciate presents, so he went all out and made it a super special day for our little family. We didnβt do anything extravagant, but we did cook our first lobster tail and that was pretty amazing ο In the evening we did a little photo shoot with our kiddos holding a cut out pink heart and just simply enjoyed family time. Pictures will tell the story π
Dance, dance, dance⦠Sissy is back to dancing and it makes me oh so happy! She has been talking about it ever since I signed her up again and once the day came, she was overly excited. I must admit I was a little nervous to take her, as last time she cried a lot and wanted to be by my side, not really following what she was asked to do. This time, this girl surprised me in a huge way. As soon as we got to the class, she could not wait to go and join all the other girls. From time to time she looks for me to waive and blow a kissy and listens to everything she is asked to do. I must say, I am definitely a proud mama. I hope this love for dancing lasts, because I absolutely love it!
Thank you precious God for gifting us our son! We did not deserve such little miracle but you have trusted us to raise him and we would never be able to do so without You. It was a very special moment when we had one of our church pastors pray over us and our little bug. It seems only yesterday we were up on that stage with Bella, time sure flies. I ask nothing but for God to mold him into a man after His heart. I ask for guidance for us to be transparent parents that will only encourage, love, forgive and teach him what is most valuable as he walks through this life. Over and over I come in prayer to my Father and thank Him for intrusting us such gift, I also pray for protection from all the evil in this world. I pray that he will know good from bad and would want to keep only what is good from the Lord. I pray that he will know his purpose on this earth and itβs to serve His master and do something amazing with his life. I strongly believe that God will be right by his side and guide him along the way as he makes decisions as well as mistakes. I pray that God will always pick him up as Joshua falls down and carry him strong unto the finish line where He can say βwell done my servantβ!
This was somewhat random, but as I took Bella to get her cupcakes for her birthday, I started talking to the gal that was helping us and she mentioned that they do cupcake camps for kids as young as Bella. What it entails is paying a small fee, showing up on the day of the camp and spending 30 minutes purely decorating freshly baked cupcakes that βIcing on the Cupcakeβ provides. I thought it was wonderful. At first our girl got a little nervous with over 30 kids laughing and screaming but then she got the hang of it and was going it at it like a pro. She was the littlest one in that whole group and needed a stool to decorate her cupcakes which made it just so much more special to me. I think we might try to do this as an annual event for our kiddos. Thank you βIcing on the Cupcakeβ for making it special for our baby girl!
Kiddoβs Birthday Party
Of course we could not skip the birthday party for our loves. As the day of the party approached, our princess was getting more and more excited. A few weeks ahead she knew everyone that was coming and made sure to recite the names to me almost daily, funny girl π It made my heart happy to have friends come that I have not seen for quite some time and to just enjoy them in our home. The kids had a blast running around and playing with balloons and adults simply enjoyed watching the kids. The pictures will speak for themselves π Special Thank You, goes out to my family that came and helped hours in advance and made it all happen. We could not have done it without them! We love you!
Letter to Bella (Sissy)- 3 Years
My precious darling baby girl, you are THREE. Not so much a baby anymore, but to me you will always be my baby girl. You amaze us with something new every day. Numerous times you have made mine and daddyβs mouth drop from something you have said or a word that you have used. You are a very intelligent girl that has the greatest sense of humor with the most contagious laugh. We love you so much! Watching you this year has been not only exciting but also heartwarming. You have gained a baby brother and you have showed him nothing but love. He is crazy about his sissy and you love him right back. You have been the most amazing mamaβs little helper and your curiosity keeps growing more and more. You want to learn how to cook, how to tell time, how to read and write and to color the right way. The consistency is a bit lacking but you sure are eager to learn. You love asking βwhyβ? and not just a word βwhyβ but you always make sure to put it in a huge sentence and demand an answer. You have showed your mommy that she has amazing patience that even she did not know she had. I love teaching you new thigns and telling you new stories. I absolutely love reading to you and your excitement about every story I read to you. I treasure our moments with projects which you love dearly and give your fullest effort in every activity I give you. You have began to enjoy toys more, you have always loved puzzles and books, but now you actually like toys. The dolls are not your forte just yet, but you seem to warm up more and more towards playing with them. You have acquired a friend that you do not like to part with no matter where we are going. Whether itβs a super quick trip to the store or for a long road trip, you always make sure that he is right by your side. You call him βMishaβ who is your βbrown bearβ. Your relationship with βMishaβ started off when you found him wearing a bow and you gave him a name of a βpresent bearβ . Since then you two have become best buddies and you make sure to include him in every little thing you do. Your very favorite activity is probably dancing with him. You love to dance and you are so great at it. Mama will sign you up for dancing classes again. I truly believe you will keep enjoying it. I loved taking you to the Nutcracker and watch your little eyes light up when you saw your first real ballerina. You told your nana and mama that you will dance on stage like that one day and I can not wait to see you dance up there. You are gentle, girly, strong spirited, you love bows, dresses, puzzles, lolly pops, your plasma car, you love outdoors, you love to trace, color, build towers, play with balls, you love to run, take walks, go on trips and so much more. You have been sleeping in your big girl bed for over a year now and just recently you asked to take your bumpers out. Your daddy and I almost cried, because that was just another great reminder that you are growing up. Sweet baby girl, your daddy and I truly believe that you will go far in life as long as you keep God in your heart at all time. You love God dearly and talk about Jesus quite frequently. It makes our hearts happy π We love you very much and are very excited for the years to come. Kisses sweet baby girl!
Letter to Joshy (lil’ brother) – 1 Year
My sweet Joshy bug, you turned ONE. What a blessing that God gave you your first year of life, nothing but praise goes to Him! You are my bundle of joy that keeps on giving. Your smile is contagious and your busy spirit just makes things so much more exciting in our home. The day you were born and the second I got to hold you, you stole my heart. You are the most handsome little boy I have ever seen and I want you to always remember that. Since day one, we have been watching you blossom and take on life the way you perceive it, with open arms. You love everything about life, new food, places, people, but you definitely love home. The reason I know that is because every time we go away for a short while and bring you home, you just get ecstatic. You have a strong personality just like your mommy, daddy and sissy. We are not surprised, we only pray that God will use this amazing personality to take you further and further in life where God can be proud to call you His child. Some of the things you have been enjoying this first year: jumperoo, trying new food and just food in general, crawling, playing with toys (you love toys and I love that about you. You take your time to make sure you play with each toy) With the amount of toys you and your sissy have, it makes my heart happy that you appreciate them. You absolutely love your sissy Bella and you say her name about ten times a day. You light up every time you see her and when she plays with you, you have the best time. I praise God for these precious moments you and your sissy get to share. Ever since you learned to shake your head βnoβ you have been letting us know what you like and what you donβt. I still smile every time you shake your head but you always listen when mommy or daddy asks you to try whatever it is that you are shaking your head βnoβ to. So far, you have been a good little listener. You say many words already, some of the ones from the top of my head, ball, Bella, mama, daddy, apple, chandelier, water, bread, thank you, pear, toy, papa, thank you, grape, nana, and of course yeah!!! . (I absolutely love the passion in your voice and excitement). You started walking on January 22nd and you have not stopped since. You enjoy every minute that you get to explore new things. You love kisses and you love to be held by people that you love, you love to be outdoors and you love to dance. You are very ticklish and love to laugh. You are my precious jewel and I cannot wait to watch more and more as God molds you into a Godly young man. I love you my prince!
