Every year I write a letter to my children in honor of their birthday. This is Noah's birthday letter. (This post contains affiliate links.) Happy 3rd Birthday, dear Noah! You were in full blown toddler mode this past year. It has been a delight to watch all the ways you have grown. Highlights from this past year: Throughout this past year you have called me Mama, Mommy, and Mom. You are certainly too little to be calling me Mom, but you hear your sister say it all the time so I can't blame you. ;) There are a couple of things you have stopped doing over this past year. First of all, you've slowed down on your thumb sucking. You … [Read more...]

This post was originally published on Oct. 27, 2010. Just a wild guess, but I doubt this phone call was recorded for quality assurance. RING-RING I answer the phone, "Hello." A woman answers me and explains that she is doing a fire safety survey.  "This is not a sales call." Ok.  Whatever. "Do you have a fire alarm or smoke detector in your home?" "Yes" "Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home?" "No"  Hmm...  Maybe we should buy one of those! "Do you own your home?" "Yes" "In case of an emergency, which of the following is the biggest concern for you: fire in the home, break-in, medical emergency, all … [Read more...]

Every year I write a letter to my children in honor of their birthday. This is Grace's 5th birthday letter. My dearest Grace, I am so grateful that I am able to be your mommy. We had a lot of fun this past year and you've grown up in so many ways. Happy 5th Birthday, darling! In this past year... In December we took you to the movie theater for the very first time. We saw Frozen, which ended up being a huge Disney hit. It was also a big hit in our house! Your obsession with the characters and the songs is intense. I can't imagine that you'll ever let it go. (See what I did there?) You love all things girly and anything princess … [Read more...]

My husband is the director of a nonprofit and one of the donors to the nonprofit has gifted us with a week at his beach house for the past 5 summers. I can't get over how incredibly awesome that has been for our family. This donor has such a generous heart. It means so much to us that he recognizes the "missionary type" work that my husband does and wants to provide some much needed rest and relaxation for our family. In honor of our 5th year at the beach this month, I wanted to take stroll down memory lane and share some photos from the past 5 years. It is crazy to see how my little ones have grown. Enjoy the photos as I cry in the … [Read more...]