Valentine Ephemera

I love Valentines Day. Before it is over and gone I want to immortalize in blog form the quilt I made the week before Connor was born. After taking down my Christmas quilt, my wall looked so bare that I decided to use the overdue part of my pregnancy to fashion some fabric lovin'. Kellie quilted it for me with loops and hearts that you probably cant see but should appreciate anyway because it's so darn cute!!






Connor looks at this quilt endlessly when he is on the couch. It must be visually stimulating to him, I know it is for me!!








I'll be a little sad to take it down!










Valentines Day wouldn't be the same without sugar cookies!! For the last several years, I have made sugar cookies and delivered them to family and friends. This year I was inspired by Erin to photograph them as yummy food!! All yummy food should be remembered in such a way! Here are the most delicious shots I got with the Cybershot. ( A great point and shoot, but really, when is that digital SLR going to drop out of the sky and land in my lap?)

I Heart My Jason!

I think I actually surprised Jason this morning!  Believe me, this is no easy task.  This is the guy that guessed my Christmas gift to him was a sleeping bag--by looking at the 6"X10" box that I had stuffed it in to wrap.  Since he is so hard to trick, I stopped trying several years ago and turned my attention instead to planning Valentines Day parties for my kids classes at school.  Kids are excited wether it's a surprise or not!  Well, this year, as I hibernate after having a baby, I decided to give it another go.  This is what I came up with:

I spent a couple hours blowing up a hundred or so balloons. Hid them in my daughters closet, waited until Jason was sawing logs (really), and snuck them into the shower of our bathroom. It took approx. 30 trips back and forth. Balloons are not easy to transport, by the way. They also squeak when rubbed together.

I then took my list of "101 things I love about Jason" and placed it in a prominent manner so Jason wouldn't miss it in the morning. I composed this list on Wednesday, while attending to other tasks during the day. It was surprisingly easy to come up with so many things--given more time I think I could have thought of at least 202!

I have to say, I consider myself the luckiest girl on the face of the Earth to have such a great guy! Our first Valentines day together was 22 years ago. He gave me chocolate and flowers, I told him I loved him and successfully stunned him into submission! He never knew what hit him and this Valentines Day, I thank my lucky stars he never looked back!

Connor's Two!! (weeks old!)

I'm trying not to hyperventilate at the thought of two weeks being already past.  

Actually, one week was enough to make me burst into tears several times that day. 

I don't know what I would do without pictures of Connor to revisit.

 

 

I spend a lot of time pouring over them, noticing every tiny detail and how he's changed.   I delight in every stage of my kids as they grow, ( not counting any stage that includes whining )  but at the same time that I am loving whatever cute thing they are doing, secretly I'm mourning the passing of whatever cute thing they just finished doing.  

I decided a long time ago that my idea of Heaven will be for me to be able to relive any moment of my life, remembering how the moment felt, any time I want.

Heaven for me now is the tiny moments with my kids that happen each day, and how they make me grateful each day that I am their mother.

 

It's the only job I ever wanted.  

Baby Love......

Announcing:  

Connor Malcolm Merryweather

Made His Appearance:  

Precisely 6:29 p.m. January 18th, 2008

Instantly Captured the Hearts of:                                      Jason, Tammy

Sidney, Spencer, Shelby

Nicholas & Cameron

Joy

Bliss

Rapture

Euphoria

What more can I say?

Patiently waiting.....

I knew I'd go overdue. I told everyone I would go overdue. It's just my way. But despite the slightly bewildered looks I get from people who don't (or can't) understand why I would voluntarily cancel an induction date, or refuse to have some kind of intervention, I am completely at ease with my very last stages of my very last (sob!) pregnancy. I have so enjoyed every bit of it. There is nothing, NOTHING like feeling a baby move inside you. Even after 4 or 5 months of movement I still get caught off guard sometimes and find myself catching my breath and laughing at the re-realization that there is someone inside me. I love watching my tummy grow and am still in AWE, even after five children, that your body can do such things! I mean, holy cow!! We're talking actual, new human being in the process here!!
Even when I felt like crap in the early stages, I knew this for what it was...my last chance to experience everything I love about being pregnant and giving birth, and yes...I ENJOY giving birth. Every painful, messy moment. It lasts an infinitesimally short time compared to the result and is easily forgotten. I have deliberately hoped that this pregnancy would last as long as possible so I could relish in it and it seems that I am going to get my wish! So, no...I am not going nuts waiting. I am not hoping at every small, medium, or large contraction I have that this is IT. This is not something I want to pass quickly by. Let me clarify...I am indescribably ecstatic at the thought that in a few short days, I will be indulging in my favorite activity thus far in my life. Holding and caring for a brand new baby! However, there is a part of me that will never be able to peacefully accept that this stage of my life is over.
I felt a bit of this feeling each time I was pregnant in the past and made sure I got a good-and-pregnant picture of myself, even if I had to enlist one of my kids to take it for me. So I have to express what a complete gift it is that I had the chance to have so many prego-tastic pictures of my fabulously large, enciente tummy taken by master photographer Erin Summerill. She has given me something that I will treasure forever and will possibly even make the unavoidable step into the next stage somewhat more bearable for me. So I will simple say: Thank You Erin! Your talent is being used for good!

My true obsession---

As I sit here blogging on All Hallows Eve, I ponder where my Whedon obsession has led me. First, Serenity, the movie that introduced me to Firefly, which remains the ultimate in my ranking of t.v. shows. Then, I ventured into the world of vampires and demons...with Buffy and Angel as my guides....I have come to recognize that people aren't black or white, by this I mean that there is good to be found in (almost) everyone, we just need to be able to take the time to discover the real person inside! Outward appearances can be deceiving! Well, I have looked beyond the epidermal layer and fallen in love!!! I now take this opportunity to reveal to the world the father of the love-child that I am carrying.............

Erin's Fab Photos

We recently gathered our brood of chickadees together for an adventure in family fellowship. With special attention paid to the couture & coiffeur, we met Erin Summerill (of ES Photography) at the appointed location and hour. We knew the challenge we were about to take on. Namely, the simultaneous coordination of seven individuals in a pleasing, well composed manner. I have to say, I found the experience quite pleasing, but I wouldn't necessarily say all of us were composed. After an initial set-up and snapping of the first group of photos, Cameron decided he had had quite enough. No more sitting still and smiling for him! After all, he was outside, which is never conducive for sitting if you are a two-year-old. Nicholas departed for his daily quest to find the perfect stick, and Shelby became distracted by the abundance of leaves at her disposal. Erin, recognizing a losing battle when she see's one, decided to get some shots of mama & daddy. I think Jason slipped her some green in order to get some shots for his own personal collection (if you know what I mean!).

After the offspring had burned through some extra energy, we gathered together again to try some group shots. Cameron still retained his non-cooperative state, but we pressed on. When about an hour had elapsed, the light beginning to fade, and Erin (bless her heart) obviously exhausted from her day-job duties of demolition to her newly-acquired home, we called it a wrap. I drove home pretty tired myself, thinking about how much effort it takes to pull off such a feat as family photos, and concluded that if Erin could find ten good photos in the batch, I would consider the effort a smashing success.

So imagine my surprise and delight, when Erin showed up at my home two days later with an entire disk full of great photos!! I mean like, over a hundred!! And a super-awesome DVD to boot!! This was completely unexpected. Although I never doubted Erin's photographic abilities, I did understand the limitations of a family of seven.

Here are some of the beautiful pics of my beautiful family. I thank them, and I thank Erin for such a treasure!!