Wedding Weekend

What fun we had visiting our very own wedding site to celebrate with Shannon and David. A beautiful day, a heartfelt wedding. And, with photo proof, fun was had by all. :)

4D Ultrasound

Holy cute little babies! What a nice surprise it was for us to get a successful 4D ultrasound this week. It's almost like looking at a real baby and she is getting so beautiful.

We can't wait to meet her. :)

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my darling husband, father of my children. You are a calming presence in our lives, a great grill cook (hooray for summer!) and an all-around fun person to be with.

Thanks for being a great father to our boy. I love watching and listening to you play together, the sound of giggles echoing in my head. What a beautiful sound it is, and what a fun father you are.

We love you!

Cousins

Our happy , handsome boy!

It warms a mama's heart (and an Auntie's too) to see these boys playing so well together. So much more fun in their future!

Here, they are negotiating how quickly D can fly down the slide. G is trying to be patient, but in the end 'helps' little D out. :)

Happiness!

Cali Visit

We had a wonderful vacation in the Bay Area. Thanks to all our amazing friends for hanging out with us and we're thrilled that we lucked out with mostly sunshine (weather report said it was supposed to rain all week).

Here are a few photos from the trip.

Twin Peaks:
We spent some time in Napa Valley and got to visit with one of my dearest friends Tracy. Tracy, I love you and miss you and your daughter is just gorgeous!

Little D on the farm:


One of the best people I know:

I'll post more photos soon!

18 months

It's been a wild and wonderful ride getting to 1.5, but we're here and oh-so-happy!

Seven

I've always liked the number seven. It sounds good on the tongue; it is, or was, my sister's favorite number (mine was always eight). But to realize I have been without my darling father for seven years makes me like this number a little less today.

Most days I celebrate all I had with my dad... all the music, love, adventures and laughs. Today I am not celebrating, but instead am feeling rather melancholy as I reflect on what is missing from my life.

Sounds I miss - tea kettles boiling over and whistling rudely in the early morning hours as my starting-to-lose-his-hearing father forgot he put water on for tea. Soon after came the sounds of his slippers shuffling across the kitchen floor. I miss the turning of the paper-thin, crinkly pages of his Bible as he quietly read each morning, sometimes at the table, sometimes in a comfy chair. I even miss the sound of him clearing his throat. I miss his voice. I miss the guitar, which he often noodled around with, unobstrusively, in the background of our lives. That was so 'him,' to be out of the way and yet so present.

Sights I miss - the bathrobe, the slippers, his hands on his guitar or holding a pen as he recorded his thoughts or composed a letter to some lucky person. His little dance when a dance-worthy song came from the stereo. Hats, scarves, coats, socks - anything to keep warm. Baseball. Man, I miss the baseball, the finding of the perfect stick at the beach with which to send rocks flying into the ocean; the playing of catch in the yard and especially when he'd throw one reallysuperhigh to pretend I was catching was a pop fly.

Mostly I miss all that he is missing because he is gone. The weddings, the babies, the books to discuss, the questions I cannot ask him and the answers that will never come. I do not question why he is gone, that part has passed for me, but I still miss him.

Thank you, daddy, for marrying my beautiful mother and for giving me 3 gorgeous sisters, without whom I would not be handling your departure as well as I am. We still sing, we still laugh and we still cry. Our family is alive and well and your spirit is with us. Always.

Love, love, love,
Naomi