Old Year...

*MUSH ALERT* :0)

Today Ryan and I celebrate SEVEN years of marriage...

Engagement Sept 2005

Dec 30, 2005

The New Year always seems to make me pensive. Our oldest,will be five years old tomorrow. Her birth date is so fitting- a new year together, the start of a new thing, her birth started a whole new season of our lives.

Stretching to Family of 3...

  And it has been the most incredibly stretching and exhausting season. That day five years ago was just the beginning.
 

Mama and Roo (10 hours old)

We have learned more about ourselves and life in the last five years, than any other time. Parenthood is stretching. You cannot escape that you are forever being changed.
You find you are stronger than you knew, braver than you thought, and you are stretched into some one you never dreamed you'd be.

You are not the parent you thought you'd be...You are worse...You are better...

We daily pinch ourselves- is this real? 

Stretching into a family of 4...

Friendlys Birth Triumphant HBAC

Stretching into a family of 5...

Pips Birth. Finally Earth side!!!

It is..We are HERE...And this year has been so sweet...

Roo learned to ride a 2 wheeler!

Sisters...

November at the Playground

Christmas Kisess...

Snuggles

Christmas Morning...

HAPPY NEW YEAR from all the Joys!!!

A Wonderful Wintery Day

Hello, friends and family! This is Ryan, and this is my first post to this blog. Hannah Joy has wanted me to be part of it for a while, so here I am!

We had an absolutely wonderful day today. We rolled out of bed to find it snowing outside! After a quick trip to the grocery store, we spent a quiet restful morning together with "I Love Lucy" episodes playing in the background. The kiddos were begging to play in the snow, but we made them wait until after nap. Snow is one of their favorite things. It occurred to me today that if it weren't for them, I would probably never go out in the snow. But someday when it is just Hannah and me, we will surely look back to these days with a smile.

When the girls got up from nap, we headed out! They made good use out of all three inches of snow. First they threw a few snowballs, then made some snow angels. That was fun, but then they made the inevitable request for me to help them make a snowman.

I rarely if ever have the patience to put a full snowman together, but I mustered up enough to help them make one about 12" tall. It really ended up being a cute little thing! The girlies loved it.

Next they decided we needed to clear off the cars. I gave them brushes to use and we had a blast sweeping off the snow.

Now it is almost bed time, and we are all tired and happy. Muffins are baked, bread is rising, dinner is done and I am looking forward to hanging out with Hannah Joy after the girls go to sleep. The only thing that could make this weekend better is for Hannah Joy to feel better. She has a pinched nerve or something and has been lying down most of the day with very limited mobility. Tomorrow is our seven year anniversary, so I especially hope she is feeling better for our date.

Well, it's time for me to go put the girlies down for bed! Below you will find a video of us out in the snow.

Christmas EVE Part 1

I have a few pictures from December that I need to get from my Mom- I'll add this eventually...But for now, CHRISTMAS!

Christmas weekend was VERY busy. Ryan and I celebrated  "Same Age Day" on the 22nd and went out to eat and had a little fun bowling (not some thing we actually have ever done alone together- it was fun!)...It was so nice to sit for an entire meal, to finish complete sentences and relax! Thanks to my Mom for keeping all 3 kiddos for us!

Christmas Eve we had brunch at my Mom's with one of my older brothers and his fiance. It was a nice quiet morning...We missed the rest of my siblings (who were either ill/working or out of state)

That evening we drove out to my Aunt's house and got there later than we hoped to because of a random snow storm...I would rather forget the rest of that evening- but for the record: the drive home was a NIGHTMARE.
  The snow was coming down quite hard and the roads were a mess...Our 40 minute drive took about an hour and twenty, and AJ and PJ screamed THE.ENTIRE.WAY.HOME
PJ because she currently hates her car seat and AJ because her "belly hurt" (oh fleeting malady, which, also for the record, went away the moment we were all settled inside our cozy home). In fairness to AJ she had been exposed to a lot of different foods- she could have gotten hold of some thing she that was contaminated (she has food allergies) she tends to have a sensitive stomach and she *could* have truly had some trapped air in her belly that she couldn't work out strapped in her car seat.
 But the way she was screaming made it sound like some thing HAD to be rupturing.

I guess almost every child has *that* child...The one that is larger than life, that makes life infinitely MORE. That's our middle girl. We wouldn't trade her exhausting little ways for any thing but SHEESH- you will never ever appreciate the volume she can reach (and I have never met any one so LOUD) until you're trapped in a vehicle with her.
Anyway, between the stress of driving in the weather up and down big hills and the screaming children: exhausting and nerve wracking night. We got home to find Ryan's brother Shane had arrived. We gave the girls their ginger tea (we promised in desperation on the drive home), and got them to bed. Then we cleaned and wrapped and did all the Christmas Evey things that must be done. 

First Christmas!

The BIG GIFT assembled, Thanks Uncle Shane and Ryan!

She was very curious about the presents

We put this wonderful doll house together that we got with gift money from Great Grandma Connie Lou/GGpa Charlie and Great Grammie and Grandpa Wakefield- Thank you all so much- this dlll house is AMAZING and going to get so much use! (lots of pictures to come)