Author name: hill

something fabulous has happened.

something fabulous has happened.

D is very excited,

K is equally as thrilled,

L won’t stop smiling,

which all has made me very happy. 

we now have grass in our backyard!

and, this grass in particular
never
ever
has to be watered.
ever.

yep, it’s totally and completely fake.

it even has some brown specks throughout
to make it look real. 
prior to this, we had something i liked to call 
“the dirt circle”
which, as you can guess, was
dirt in a circle.

i couldn’t stand it. 
not only did the children bring in 
loads and loads of dirt 
every time they came into the house,
there wasn’t anywhere to put L. 
it was hot and dusty and just plain terrible.

a big thanks to B who negotiated with the owners of our house to put grass in.

we have been spending so much time outside now.

and there’s a perfect place for L to sit.

it’s awesome.

456. grass
457. having fun in the yard
458. L using the straw in his sippy cup
459. mobiles and fish
460. smiling kiddos

oh, the joys.

oh, the joys of self-feeding!

i couldn’t be happier.

and neither could L’s OT.

451. self-feeding
452. the brisk, brisk morning
453. feeling refreshed when the kids awakened this morning
454. bananas in my cereal
455. K and mommy time

a big day.




sunday was a 
very,
very
big day for us. 

the children adorned fancy clothes,
(which as you can see, they were absolutely thrilled about.)

L wore his sweet little shoes,

we were surrounded by our family, 

we all sat in the pews at church,

and waited in great anticipation

for our sweet little L’s baptism. 

the same pastor who baptized both D and K was able to baptize L as well. 
and what’s even sweeter is that she visited him while he was in the NICU and has been faithfully praying for him since before he was born.
there was even some water from the river jordan in the baptismal waters 
(which D and K were able to have as well). 

the event caused Auntie B to cry
(a very rare occurrence),

and Uncle J even wore a tie
(an even rarer occurrence),

back at our house,
Auntie B (and of course Uncle J) 
helped with the food.
actually, that’s not true.
they completely handled every element of the food.

mid-way through the celebration, 
L decided he no longer needed to wear his tie. 
it was probably a good idea because he was enjoying chomping on it,
a little too much. 

our handsome posing with Grammy.


Aunt P (a.k.a. tickle bug)
got some good hands-on time with little L.

and Grammy’s sweet friend, DF joined the momentous day.

sunday was a day that we will hold close to our hearts forever. 


“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 
plans to give you hope and a future. 
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me,
and I will listen to you.
You will seek me and find me 
when you seek me with all your heart.” 
Jeremiah 29:11-13


(the photos from church were all taken by my most talented brother.)


446. an unexpectedly warm morning
447. celebrations
448. cherry sauce on top of waffles
449. being able to watch the sun rise 
(i’m choosing to be grateful for this even though 
the children have been waking much, much too early)
450. having the family together

falling leaves.

since the leaves are 
just
beginning
to
fall
around here,

Auntie B and i brought back some authentic fall leaves from chicago.

the burst of color is just what our lawn needed.

i think that K’s hair would do 
really, 
really 
well in chicago.
or at least, 
we could blame the weather on her tousled locks.

441. having our christmas card photo already taken
442. coffee in the early morning
443. the promise (or hope) of a quiet morning
444. new progress with L
445. K’s inability to not dance when she hears music

standing.

nothing makes me more thrilled than watching L progress. 
when we started having him bear weight on his legs,
we would have to hold his little feet down.
but now?
now, he’s so much stronger.
and he’s so proud of himself.

and come on, how cute are those little converse?
so cute. 

p.s. don’t you just love the overflowing baskets of clean laundry in the background?
i don’t.
thankfully, my parents folded them all while B and i were out at a movie. 
nice!

i never thought.

today, i became the kind of mother i never wanted to be. 
i feared that someday something like this would happen to me.
and it has.
and i have been humbled.
oh, how i’ve been humbled.




you see, i am a mom, 
so i know where most things are at any given moment.
don’t believe me?
just try me.

the green racket ball? 
outside.

the tiger toy from Miss G? 
in the middle toy bin in the family room.

the noisy antelope musical whistle?
on the top, top book shelf.
(where it belongs.)

the sesame street coloring book?
under B’s bedside table.

extra clothes for babydoll?
in the small pink purse which is hanging on the toy stroller.

the toy stroller?
tucked in the corner of D & K’s bedroom.

this doesn’t mean that each item is in their ideal place.
it’s just where they rest. 
you see, i am organized by nature
which means that it really bothers me when things aren’t in their proper places. 
i can’t always get to putting things back in their ideal locations,
but i sure notice when they aren’t where they belong. 
so back to today.
before preschool this morning, 
i could not find D’s sneakers.

i looked:
inside, 
outside, 
under beds,
behind doors, 
in laundry baskets filled with clean clothes, 
laundry bins filled with dirty clothes,
(sidenote: how do the dirty laundry bins get 
mostly filled up before i seem to put the clean laundry away?)
under tables, 
amongst wooden train sets, 
in the musical instruments 
and
behind the tv.
to no avail.

i couldn’t even find one of them.
totally frustrating. 
misplacing items makes me go bonkers. 
don’t get me wrong, i misplace things 
all.
the.
time. 
but that’s why i hate it so very much. 

you’re probably thinking…
“big deal, just have him wear some other shoes”
so in case you didn’t know, i am super frugal. 
D only has one pair of sneakers because he only needs one pair of sneakers. 
and here’s the kicker…
his preschool requires kids to wear sneakers. 
and here’s the other kicker…
i am a rule follower.
(as you probably remember)
i love rules. 
i love the comfort that come with rules. 
so i was tempted to keep him home from school today.
but i quickly realized that was probably rediculous.
so, off to school we went with a sandal wearing D.
i explained to the head of the school our predicament and she (thankfully) understood.

but that still did not solve where the shoes ran off to.
i began wondering if someone possibly took the grungy, worn shoes from our front porch. 
i couldn’t fathom that possibility, so i just kept looking.
everywhere.




lo and behold, 
the sneakers were found!
they were in an empty pot, on the front porch. 
hooray.
hooray.
hooray. 

431. the cheerfully bright yellow airplane that flew right over our house
432. being humbled
433. B’s progress on his new book
434. summertime, again
435. enjoying our backyard

the right now.

it’s {embrace} the camera day!



at L’s special needs mommy-and-me this week
i saw a brand new little baby who has special needs.
seeing those little fingers immediately took me back.
back to all of the questions.
back to all of the scares.
back to all of the worries and the fears.
back to all of the wondering about the future.

i feel for that new mommy.
that new mommy who is being inundated with troubling news and diagnoses.
with fearful warnings from doctors who are just trying to
“prepare” her for what may happen in the future.
when in fact, no one can really prepare for 
the things that happen that you wish wouldn’t or 
the things that don’t happen that you wish would. 

God comforts me with His word.
“Do not be afraid… your prayer has been heard.”
Luke 1:13

(photo from july 2009)
i chose this photo for
my favorite picture of my child

what seeing those little fingers showed me was that 

i’m in a really good place right now. 
a really good place.
right.
now.
not in the future.
not in the past.
but right now.

a friend recently asked me how i was doing.
then she said, “how are you doing spiritually?”
i thought that was such a wonderful question.
one of the best ones i have heard.

i have clung to and am clinging to
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ 
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, 
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

the diagnosis that L has received 
has the potential for taking me out of the right now.
it’s a constant struggle.
but when i find myself living in the right now,
i am content.
because the Lord is giving me everything that i need for the right now.
“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
Psalm 23:1


and i must remember to 
“take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 
2 Corinthians 10:5


426. the right now
427. finding comfort in God’s word
428. His perfect peace
429. recognizing that i am not where i once was
430. my fears dissipating

it’s not illegal.

this is how a recent conversation with my dear friend, KS went:

“i will if you will.”

“and we’ll take the weekends off to prove that we aren’t addicted.”

“it is going to help us be better moms, i just know it.”

don’t worry, we haven’t started doing something illegal.
we have both started drinking coffee.
and it is wonderful.
i get to do something each day that i am able to savor.
i don’t have to share it with anyone else.
the dishes are done throughout the day,
instead of waiting until the kids go to bed at night.
i am more cheerful.
and yes, i am so addicted.
other than that, we’ve just been hanging out
and haven’t been at all tired.

421. hazlenut coffee
422. not yawning uncontrollably
423. a little daily moment just for me
424. L’s sleep
425. D’s interest in the elections
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