Emery's Decication Day

Sweet one, you were dedicated on May 13, 2012, Mother's Day.  It was such a special day for our family.  All your brothers wore their pink oxfords in honor of you.  Your Pop, Erik's Dad, and your Nana, my mom, were able to come for your special day.  This is all of us in front of the church before the service.

Daddy carrying you down the aisle...

Standing before the congregation...

Leaving...

The church always gives us a gift on baby dedication day.  Our gift this time was Bringing Up Girls by James Dobson! :-)  In the hall after we left the service...

Daddy and Jack Jack...

Daddy loving on his little red headed angel...

Three generations...

You wore a very special dress.  It was made by my great-grandmother for her daughter, my Grandmother Barth.  So, Grandmother Barth wore it, then my Mom, your Nana, then me, and now you wore it.  The lace and detail on it are beautiful.

We love you sweet girl!  What a special Mother's Day this was!!!

Oh, my little cowboy!  Where has the time gone!  Five years old!  I always think five to be a turning point of sorts.  Baby doll, you are not a baby anymore!  You are bold and strong and confident and tender and altogether wonderful!  You are one of the middle men, and sometimes I worry that you, because you go with the flow, will get lost in the mix.  So, I make special effort to celebrate and draw attention to you, little man.  You are low maintenance, sweet one.  Just about anything will do for you.  You are funny and fun and easy to be around.  You are expressive and full of personality!!  I think it would be quite difficult for anyone to not adore you!  You. are. precious.

Love, Mommy

I love to make birthday cakes for my boys.  Yes, it adds to the stress.  Yes, it would be so much easier to buy one.  Yes, it takes time.  And, yes, the bakery cakes taste better.  And, yes, they look a lot better, too.  

But, my cakes have a special ingredient that no bakery on the planet has, and that is....

My cakes have Mommy's love baked right into the batter, and my boys know it! They like to hang out in the kitchen while I'm baking their cakes ~ monitoring my progress!!! They can't wait for their birthday cake to be done....

And, They love to lick the icing!

They may not have memories of having the fanciest, best looking, birthday cakes, but I hope they will remember that Mommy loved making cakes just for them!!!

Lije crashed  an hour or so before his party.  We had to wake him up when his guest arrived...

Jack playing with his little buddy from next door...

Happy fifth birthday, sweet boy!!

Blowing out candles...

Silly big brother...

Brother love for Jack...

 Buddies...

 Happy day to you!

You are loved, little man!!!!

Elijah ~ Superstar!!

I always hate to miss a chance to see my boys sing with their choirs.  So, I was tickled that Erik videoed Elijah's choir performance last night!!  Lije is the 2nd child on the left ~ the one dancing with his hands in his pockets.  And, you will have no trouble picking out his voice!!  Ha!!  I love that kid!  He is comfortable in his skin, that Lije!!  They always tell them to sing out, and my little man sings from his toes every time!!!  I'm glad I finally have it on video!!!  :-)

Abby and Elijah in New Orleans

at Pop's retirement dinner.

Erik's brother and his wife have the same number of children as we do.  Our first two are a year and a half apart (Caleb and Joshua), but after that all our children are between 4 and 6 months apart.  Jen and I like to think of them in pairs ~ buddies, as we call them.  Abby is 6 months older than Elijah, and they are buddies!!!  

Happy One Month, Miss Em!!

Emery Elaine...

You, my sweet, ushered in springtime.  I was amazed at how lush and green our backyard appeared upon our arrival home from the hospital.  Roses and lilies were in full bloom. And, the beauty that spring brought to our yard couldn't hold a candle to the beauty you brought to our home....

It became apparent about 3 days after your birth that we were going to battle jaundice a bit.  After checking in at the follow up clinic for several days, they surprised me and had to admit you.  Your levels were quite high, and it took them less than 30 minutes to wisk us away from follow up clinic and put you under bili lights.  

We had to stay two nights in the hospital with you under those silly lights.  We were so happy to finally be able to bring you home for good!

Everyone loves to hold you and kiss you and play with you!!  You are peaceful and sweet, and when we talk to you, you will smile at us!!  We love it!  Your big brothers love to try and make you smile!  Here are a few pictures from your first month with us, sweet love...

This made me giggle.... You laying there crossing your legs....

 Baby, we love you so much!  We are so glad that God blessed our family with you!  I cannot wait to watch you grow from month to month and from year to year.  You are precious and beautiful, and you could not be loved more ~ on earth, anyway!

Brandy Jaggers Photography...

Funny Video :-)

One of Erik's good friends (he and his wife have a large family, too :-) sent us a link to this video around the time of Emery's birth.  We watched it while we were in the hospital with Emery under bili lights.  We were deliriously tired, and we needed a good laugh.  We laughed hysterically, and I cannot tell you how good it felt!! :-)

Happy Anniversary, Love...

Photo taken by Brandy Jaggers

I wish I had a few more than 5 minutes.  I'd write you a poem or at the very least a nice long letter.  But, I have only a second.  One of our gifts is squirming on the boppy in my lap, another is playing contentedly in a crib with toys (this will not last long :-), and the other gifts are rounding up cattle (stuffed animals) somewhere in the wild west of our upstairs. The evidence of our love is undeniably wild and loud and may crash through the ceiling onto my computer at any second!

Thirteen years and I still get butterflies...

How do you do that to me????

I am fragile, weak, and easily shaken.  You hold me tight.

My head is in the clouds.  Your feet are firmly planted.

I like the gooey middle.  You like the crust.

I can recall every detail of my past.  You live fully in the present moment.

I am taken by the beauty of the backyard.  You alert me to the fact that I am standing in an ant bed. :-)

I talk incessantly.  You listen and hold your words close.

I like to write and read and think.  You like to watch and play .

My moods change by the hour.  You are calm and steady.

We just work together perfectly ~ crafted by His hands ~ made for one another.

Not many things in life are easy.

I am so thankful that our relationship is.

I love you.

me