Home 3 weeks!!

Baby girl has been in my arms for 4 weeks, and home for 3 weeks!!! Whoo-Hooo!!! (2 more weeks until Mommy goes back to work booo-hooooo).


Anyway, in my 4 weeks of being a full-time Mom I have the following questions;


Why am I doing more laundry for myself? I always knew being a new Mom would mean a lot more laundry, but I always assumed it would be HER laundry, I'm trying to figure out why I'm going through more clothes for myself.

Why are my hands so dry? I've always been a compulsive hand washer, and would maybe apply lotion once a day, but now I keep lotion EVERYWHERE, and will hunt for it if unseen. Currently on my bathroom vanity there are 3 tubes of Crabtree & Evelyn hand therapy (10 points if you can guess what scents they are; hint 2 are the same).

Will I ever carry a purse again? I LOOOOVE purses, more than shoes. I haven't carried a purse since Madalynn was placed in my arms. My purse has been replaced with an enormous bag filled with bottles, diapers, wipes, and rattles, granted it's a fabulous Vera Bradley bag that my Mom got a great deal on, but it's not a purse.

When did I become a member of the WWE?? I never imagined a 17lb/ 8 month old baby could wrestle soooooo much. As a new WWE member what should my professional name be? (10 points for coming up with something fun).



When did I stop wearing lipstick, and start wearing chapstick? (I know the answer to this one... I don't like to kiss Madalynn's sweet face when I have glitterly lipstick/gloss on, so I just wear chapstick... most of you who know me well are probably the most surprised by this one).


Why can I not seem to get myself in the shower before noontime?


When did I learn to fall asleep to the buzzing hum of a monitor? And, when did I learn to jump up at the slightest sound on that monitor?


When did my heart start walking around outside of me, and take up residence in this almost toothless grinned, wild haired girl?

I LOOOOVE all of it!!!

Blog Hopping

When I was a little girl I would just love riding in the car at night, and looking in the illuminated windows of the houses we would drive by. I'd imagine what the family was doing inside, and what family life was like.... had they just finished dinner? Were they working on homework? Watching a baseball game on TV? A sitcom? Well, I believe my blog hopping/stalking comes from a similar curiousity. I feel like I get a quick glimpse inside the illuminated cyber windows of strangers & friends. I just counted on my favorites list & I have over 40 blogs that I check at least once a day.

So, today while Madalynn is sleeping I was going through my list of blogs to read, and I must admit I was quite jealous of all the recent pictures from Easter, and other things people had posted that were in the sunshine & green grass!! We woke up to snow this morning in the Boston area. It has stopped now, but we got a good 3 inches. Yesterday was a beautiful day in the high 40's (yes, after a long cold winter, we get VERY excited about the 40's). When I did see the grass yesterday it wasn't green, but more of a mushed down shade of brown & gray.

As ready as I am to have spring to come, I do have an appreciation for winter weather, even winter weather that lasts longer than it should. The reason for that is because once spring does come you drink it in!! You relish, and appreciate it so much. A feeling & sensation that must be absent for people living in warmer climates. You get excited when you see the buds on the trees, and the tiny crocus heads peeking out of the ground... the first day it breaks 50 or close to 60..... whoooo-hoooo!! It's time to open all the windows, and get out & about!!!

So, to all of you living with this long northeast winter too... hang in there... the blues, pinks, greens, yellows, and brightness of spring are coming... just around the corner.... I promise.

Baby girl is doing amazing!! She is becoming much more snuggly, and seems to look for me when I leave the room, and she is always smiling when I go to get her up from bed. The sweetest smile I've ever seen.

She had several visitors yesterday, my dear friend Robin came by with her 2 youngest John & Valerie, and then her cousins, and Aunty Jill came over too. These are a couple of pictures Robin took of me & Madalynn

Play Ball!!

It's opening day in Red Sox nation!!! Whoo-Hoooo. Grandpa thought the newest member of Red Sox nation needed to be decked out for the occassion, so he went to several stores yesterday on his way home from work to get her a cap & t-shirt.

Those of you who aren't members of Red Sox nation may not be able to appreciate how significant this is, but this is one of the high holidays on our calendar. I mean what other baseball team has news coverage when their equipment trucks leave Fenway Park to head for spring training?? Not the players mind you, but the equipment trucks!!

Also, because the opening day game was played in Japan at 6am our time, it is now over, and the Red Sox have their first victory of 6-5 in extra innings!!

Happy Easter

"2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! '"

-Luke 24:2-6

As we pause today to celebrate Easter with family & friends I pray that the true meaning & significance of this day is made real in your heart. It means so much more than bunnies, chocolate, baskets & colored eggs.


To me obviously this year it means so much to have my precious girl home. I can't get over how much I love her. Having her here is better than I imagined it would be. I'm looking so forward to celebrating many more Easters with her. Hopefully next year she'll be able to participate in the hunt with her cousins.



My first Easter dress

Cupcakes for the family celebration













































Baby girls first Easter basket... no chocolate this year.
















My Easter jammies... complete with a cottontail!!!














Look at this fun basket from Mommy... I think this grass is the most interesting.

Home One Week & 8 Months Old!!!

Today (well actually tonight about 11:15pm) we will have been home one week. This sign was waiting on my garage one week ago when we got home at 1am, courtesy of my Mom & nieces.

Time has flown by, and I love having this baby girl in my life. She really is quite goofy, and cracks us up all the time. My sister-in-law e-mailed me this prayer that Jessica offered the other night at dinner;

"She folded her little hands and said: 'God, Madawynn is with us now and I love her so much. So, she's here and she's with us. Amen.' "

Way too sweet.

On Sunday she met great Grandma Betty...

Today is also baby girls 8 month birthday!! After marking 7 of these markers thousands of miles away, it is such a joy to have her here in my house.

Home.... ****sigh****

I love being home!!! I love everything about it. I love being in my space, driving my car, living in my house, and most importantly taking care of my girl!!! I LOOOOVE being her Mom. She is such a sweetheart, and is bringing me such joy.

Her personality is starting to come out. She never wants to miss anything, and her big eyes are always following whatever activity is happening. She's sleeping pretty well, usually just wakes once during the night (Mommy is working on that). She slept through the night in Guatemala. She likes to babble, and let her voice be heard, and she seems to have a bit of a goofy side too, and just cracks me up sometimes.

Her cousins have been over to see her almost everyday, and they are all so sweet with her. I think while Jessica (the 3 year old) is in reach of her she has a hand on her. Either stroking her head, or holding her hand. It is so sweet.

It is so wonderful to have her home... .there is a baby in my house!!! All the months of paperchasing, waiting, and worrying about her future & when & if she will come home have just disappeared. It's like the line from the Steven Curtis Chapman song 'Love Takes You In' that says

"And like the rain that falls into the sea

In a moment what has been is lost in what will be"

I hope to post a video soon, if baby girl will let me.

We're Home

We're home, and settling in. These are the pics from our arrival at the airport courtesy of great Aunty Bootsie... it was so wonderful. I am so in love with this little girl, and being a Mom!!!

The balloons, carseat, coat & sweetheart nosegay waiting for us!!

Anxiously waiting....

Here we come....

Seeing Ga-Ga again!!!

Meeting Aunty Jill & Uncle Rob

Checking out her cousins.

A long day for a sweet girl.

The journey to Madalynn is now complete, and now our life as mother & daughter begin. I can't believe God gave me the gift of being this precious girls Mommy.