Marin. Four.

Happy Birthday, sweet baby girl! 

It was four years ago at this very moment when your daddy and I met you for the first time and our hearts felt more love than we knew possible. We think about that very special day all the time and merrily oblige your constant requests to "hear about the day I was born." We gladly tell you for the thousandth time about how LOUD and strong you were and how the nurse told us you were the "loudest one in the nursery" and also how the Pediatrician boasted in her Russian accent that you were "strong like monkey." It makes me giggle that God gave these two new, naive parents such a warrior for a first born. In every way you have grown us as we have helped you grow. 

This past year was a big one for you. You became a big sister for a second time and once again made our hearts burst with pride at your genuine joy about it all. You also started school this year, walking in bravely even though Daddy and I knew you felt shy and nervous. We are so proud of this BIG brave accomplishment of yours! You learned to ride your bike with training wheels, tried ice skating AND rollerskating for the first time. You took four trips to the beach (not wanting to return home after any of them). You have learned all your letters and the sounds they make. You can spell your name and seem eager to learn to read. I even heard you saying the entire pledge of allegiance while listening to your shower jibber jabber. You are fascinated by the human body and tell us you want to be a surgeon when you grow up. You also tell us you want to be a bug catcher. Haha Such a brilliant girl you are!

You have such a fun zest for adventure and imagination. At least ten times a day we hear "Mommy, you be-------, and I'll be -------." We go along with the request most times, playing like we are elephants or barbies, or Trolls. If you aren't asking to play pretend, we can find you packing a backpack with all sorts of treasures because you are "going to the beach today!" You love to do crafts and it excites you to make little creations/inventions; although, sometimes you find yourself frustrated when you feel like the thing you made isn't exactly what you wanted it to be, a bit of a perfectionist. 

You are curious and interested in concepts far beyond your years. You ask "how big is God?" almost every day. You request worship music in the car and want to know about heaven. While watching a Disney movie this year, you made the connection that grandparents don't live forever and I was crushed when you began to cry over the thought that the ones you love won't always be here. You were then comforted by the hope of Jesus and heaven. Your childlike faith is beautiful. And you tell us all the time "I asked God to ------ and he did it!" You house so many BIG truths and emotions in such a tiny body. It amazes us, sweet sweet Marin!

Your baby sister, Brite is your best friend. The two of you play more and more these days and it is truly the sweetest sight. You came home the other day from school and you hugged her tight, yelling "Oh Brite, I missed you, you mushy little girl!" Haha! You love her so much and are supremely good at being the oldest, patiently (most days;) teaching her to share and listen to Mommy and Daddy. There is never a time when you go to grab a snack or toy when you don't grab "one for Britey too!"

You are perhaps the most resolute person your dad and I have ever met. And your insatiable desire to do the thing you have set your mind to truly amazes us, little girl. Of course, with that quality, has also come many lessons on being "a good listener" and "making the right decision." Oh God has BIG plans for this grand gift of yours!

Our sweet Marin, we can't thank God enough for letting us be your mommy and daddy! All these days (and long nights;) with you are a gift! I wish I could bottle up those big golden three-year-old eyes and that fine blonde three-year-old hair and the way you still say "finda" for finger, ALL of it! You are growing up so fast and it is Mommy and Daddy's great and joy and privilege to call you ours. Happy Birthday, Moo! Oh we love you so!          

Valentine's Day

When Sisters Meet

Hello, Elin Ross

One week ago today, at 6:41am on a warm second day of February, we got to meet our Elin Ross.  Her little face resembled both her sisters, but was also uniquely different.  Beautiful in every way.  She weighed in as our biggest bundle, 8lbs 9oz, with jet black hair, dark eyes, a little bit of red in her skin.  Our hearts have melted for a third time.  We love you, Elin Ross Wallach. 

We're having a baby!

It's true! Another baby! Even eighteen weeks in, that news hits me with all its amazing force.  A baby, one of those things in life that can be planned and still be a shock. How on earth does God trust us to house a soul, a growing person?!  Such an awesome miracle. We see that, and we are grateful.
We are also TIRED.  Growing a person while raising two others is no small feat.  Let my recent absence from this space be a big blaring confession that we were on the struggle bus for a bit (and maybe still are at times). There is nothing like a first trimester to really highlight the endurance of your guy, and did it ever.  He worked full days and came home to babies holding onto his legs while he made dinner. He carried loads of beach gear and slathered sunscreen on two wiggly girls. He sent me off to nap.  He tried decoding my every aversion and craving. He gladly accepted every three-year-old invitation to play dolls.  BUT as the first days of Fall come peering in and all the nausea and tiredness of the first trimester wane, we have a fresh breath in our lungs and we are feeling good,  excited to meet this little one in February.  I can smell that soft fuzzy head already.  

Where the Poppies Grow

More and more I'm finding that the smallest, most simple things in life are oftentimes the most treasured, especially in motherhood.  And last week, one of those small joys was waking Marin up one morning to see that her poppies had bloomed.  We planted a small box garden with my dad a couple months ago, and we have faithfully watered it every day since.  It has been so rewarding to watch Marin observe the whole process, starting with her tiny hands carefully (then not so carefully;) pressing each seed into the soil. Not going to lie, watching her prance around the backyard with her little picked-poppy trophy made my heart swell a bit because SHE made a way for that little flower to grow, from start to finish (with a little help from her Papa of course).  And on this very normal Tuesday, we are glad for the soil, the poppies, the hands, the simple moments that are building this life.
Hope your day also is being filled with all the ordinary moments that make these days so very extraordinary.  

Mama Gone Chattanooga

Every now and then, when the winds of motherhood blow just right, I find myself in the car ALONE, and this past Saturday I embraced that very phenomenon.

Once upon a decade ago, I attended college in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I also met some of my dearest friends.  AND just so happens that one of those very dear friends moved back to Chattanooga in recent years.  Our families have met up in both Atlanta and Chattanooga to hang out on various occasions and we've loved watching our husbands and kids become buddies in the sweetest way. Ahh, but THIS TIME (you see where I'm going with this) our husbands so graciously sent us on our way to have a mom's day out.  Insert choir of angels.

We went for a jog like we used to in college.  We drove a scooter like the die hard biker chicks we are. We ate oysters and fresh guacamole at a restaurant by the river. We drank up the warmth of the day and sharing about our babies. We got pedicures. We welcomed texts from our husbands that read things like, Everything is going great! Stay as long as you want.  {Also, the baby pooped in the tub. Hope you don't mind if I leave there to clean later...}  Can't win them all, folks.  Wink.

I guess the point of the story is that sometimes sh*t happens (in the tub), but sometimes a mom's day out happens too and when it comes time to clean up the you-know-what, you do with a big smile on your face while you sing Fifth Harmony's song that got stuck in your head during your drive home.  And you're singing because your cup is so full and you feel SO flipping blessed to have the kind of friends that are pure human hallelujahs, and to have squishy precious babies to miss during a day away, and a super selfless partner in life who so graciously offers up a day such as this.  And a most AMAZING one it was!

Thanks for another fun adventure, Er! Love you so much.

A Mother's Day Weekend Beach Trip

What a fun weekend we had! On Friday afternoon Andy texted me "Pack the bags! We leave for the beach tonight!" And oh how I LOVE this sort of thing. The girls and I did a quick Target run then zipped home for Brite's nap and packing. We were completely packed and on the road within two hours, a packing personal record. ;) 

The drive to Hilton Head is somewhere around a five hour trip and with these types of adventures the drive is always the most daunting part SO we were super relieved when there wasn't a single tear shed the entire way there. We pulled into our hotel around midnight, scooped up our sleeping babies and tried our best to make a peaceful transition to beds. Of course everyone was roused awake, squealing, and jumping on beds ten minutes later BUT hey, after the drive from heaven, dues must be paid. We won't discuss how long it took us to settle the monkeys.;)
We spent the first half of Saturday at the beach, enjoying the endless low-tide sand and sea. Marin has always loved the beach, truly living up to her namesake by prancing around in a joyful oblivion. And Brite Wren, well, she liked eating sand. ;)

Andy and I traded off time at the pool with Marin while Brite took a much needed afternoon nap. After playing at the pool we headed to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants on the island and ordered our favorite dish. Marin crashed in the chair next to her before our food arrived, such a sweet sun-kissed sight. We ended our day with golden hour on the beach and one more quick swim in the pool. Both girls were asleep by 10:00.
Brite woke up at a crazy early hour on Sunday morning, so she and Andy went to find breakfast for everyone while Marin and I slept in. I was greeted with a cup of coffee, breakfast, and sleepy-faced Happy Mother's Day wishes. I couldn't have dreamt up a better gift than that very moment and this beautiful little trip with the ones I love. We reluctantly packed our things (after one last promised pool dip) and we were on our way home.

At some point on Saturday Andy and I looked at each other and sang the praises of time together and shirked weekend duties like lawn mowing and grocery shopping. There are plenty of joys in those everyday responsibilities BUT every now and then a weekend like this comes along and fills our hearts with memories of sandy babies and endless sky that offer reminders of the goodness of God and how deep his love must run.

Thank you to a husband who made this weekend happen and who so lovingly captured some precious pictures that I will always cherish.  Sometimes it hits me that I live in the glow of him and the two little ladies who made me a mom.  So very humbled to be theirs.  

With a big grateful heart...Monday, here we come.