Time Well Spent

Clad in pajamas and sandals, Caitlyn came to me bright eyed and eager this morning and asked, "Mommy, can we go play outside?" A litany of excuses sprang to mind: it rained all night and everything's still wet. There's too much mud. The mosquitoes will eat us alive. I've got lessons planned for this morning. The laundry won't wash itself. Meghan needs a nap.

I put her off for a while, but with dogged determination, she came to me time and again with sandals in hand and an expectant smile, asking, "Now may we please go play outside Mommy?"

I finally relented after lunch. With Meghan down for a nap, I headed outside with Dylan and Caitlyn and spent a wonderful afternoon in the mud. They splashed in puddles, played with tractors, dug trenches, and crafted kingdoms. The sand castles we built today will crumble, but the memories we created will last a lifetime...at least for this mom who almost didn't make time to play.

Giddy Up!

Did He Really Just Say That?!

I was sweeping the dining room floor after lunch and Meghan was persistently under foot. Exasperated, I said to Dylan, "Honey, will you please take your baby sister into the living room so I can finish sweeping this floor?"

He picked her up, she protested loudly, and as he set her down on the carpet I heard him say to her "Chill, baby! Chill, baby!"

I feel perfectly confident in saying that those words have never been spoken in this house, so it really makes me wonder: where does he come up with this stuff?!

Amazing Artwork

"Jesus on the Cross", by Dylan

God Is So Good

This morning we celebrated the baptism of our sweet Meghan Elizabeth!

She has never looked as beautiful as she did this morning, her hair wet with water and oil and radiant by the light of her baptismal candle.

I am filled with awe and wonder at this precious little girl, this angel of ours who joins us now in our rich Catholic faith...and I pray that she will always know the peace and love she has been blessed with today.

A Late Night Incident

The strangest thing happened last night.

Darren and I were up late preparing for this morning's brunch, and the alarm was set for 5:00a.m. So I was a little dismayed to hear the beginning of a whimpering cry coming through the baby monitor on my nightstand not long after we finally got to bed.

"Give her just a second", I said to Darren. "Maybe she'll go back to sleep."

A few seconds passed, during which time the whimper progressed to a full blown wail. "Strange", I thought to myself. "That doesn't really sound like Meghan...or Caitlyn, either, for that matter". But I smiled at Darren as he said "Don't worry, honey, I'll go get her."

Now here's the creepy part:

Darren went down the hall, and looked in on both of our peacefully sleeping girls. He said he got chills as he stood in their doorway, watching them sleep, while hearing the crying still coming from the monitor in our bedroom.

I quickly silenced the monitor as he came back in to our bedroom, but needless to say, I didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night.

I hope that baby monitor will enjoy its new home...at our local Salvation Army, where Darren will be depositing it on his way to work in the morning.