...that a washcloth sticks to her belly in the tub...

...that she can play the piano all by herself!...

...that Mommy's cupboard is a neat hide-a-way and her 100 cookie cutters are great fun to get out of the container...

...that her homemade baby wipes (made from paper towels) are fun to pull out!...

...that Daddy's nightstand drawer is fun to sit inside...

...that looking out Grandma's window with cousins Caleb and Judah is a lot of fun!

...that clean cloth diapers stacked up are fun to climb on...

...and that when the snow melts and you discover Mom's stash of hats and scarfs, it's fun to play dress-ups with Mommy!

Exchanging our vows

Gazing into each other's eyes...

Over the past two years our love for each other has grown deeper and deeper. We have shared many joys together and a few sorrows. Throughout the daily routine of life we have bonded closer and grown to appreciate each other more. One of our favorite parts about being married is the fact that we can share life’s experiences with each other. On our trips we can see the same beautiful sunset and not wish someone was with us to share the beauty. We can laugh at an inside joke between the two of us, know what the other needs by a glance, and we enjoy holding hands as we go for a walk pushing Fiona in her stroller. We look forward to spending many more years together- “until death do us part”!

~1st anniversary~

~2nd anniversary~

Enjoying a kiss!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj_w2MIvejE&feature=youtube_gdata

Fiona playing with her new car!

Fiona doesn't walk on her own yet, but this new walker toy may help her out a bit! She loves walking behind it making the music play!!

Samson and I celebrated the coming New Year an hour early with a sparkling grape juice toast and a kiss! The Lord was so faithful in 2011- His mercies are many towards me and my family. I know I can trust Him in 2012 because He has shown Himself faithful in the past.

I can’t believe I haven’t posted on here yet about our exciting news… we are expecting another little baby sometime around June 2nd! We are thrilled that the Lord has blessed us with another child! Fiona is growing steadily and by June will be quite the big sister ! She is practicing her mothering skills on her baby dolls presently. She kisses them, hugs them and even patiently disciplines them when they are misbehaving .  I love nursing her and feeling the little one in my womb move about and kick- a wonderful time of motherhood!

Lovin' my 'lil girl!

We had our first snow of 2012 the other day, and I took Fiona out to experience snow for the first time. She liked tasting the snow and I even helped her walk around a bit.

Before we went outside...

I was taking a while getting ready, and I also decided to try and take some pictures of her in her cute snowsuit... I guess she had other plans (like going outside?!)

First touch of snow...

"What does it taste like?"

"Whatever this snow stuff is... it's really cold and wet!"

"And it really doesn't taste that great, either!"

"Nonetheless, it is quite interesting..."

The other day I was invited to a ladies tea party at a friend’s house where I was able to meet Elisabeth Elliott! Because she is getting older, she isn’t able to talk to people now, but we listened to a recording of her talking about the Christmas story from several years ago. It was very exciting to meet her in person! I enjoyed reading several of her books when I was younger and am sure I will read others in the future.

Me with Elisabeth Elliott

l to r- My Mom, Elisabeth, Me, Fiona and my sister, Rachel

Samson made dinner for me the day of the ladies tea party since I was gone most of the afternoon … he made a lovely lemon chicken stir fry and fresh fruit on vanilla yogurt. We ate by candlelight and he surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers adorning the table! The flowers are cheering up my kitchen counter-top now, so I snapped a picture to share with you all.

We ate the stir fry before I thought to get a picture, but here is the lovely fruit bowl!

I am so blessed to be married to Samson- he was worth waiting for, and shows his love for me in countless ways each day. We will celebrate our second anniversary on the 9th of this month! I can’t believe we have been married for nearly two years- in many ways it seems like we’ve been married for more than two years, we’ve had so many wonderful experiences and traveled so many places together!

My dearly beloved husband

Perhaps I’ll be able to blog more often this year… but life with a dear husband and two little munchkins might consume most of my time I’ll post when I’m able and not neglecting other duties!

I had tea with a dear friend, Audre, the other day. I forgot to take a picture of the two of us, but I took a picture of the table before she arrived.

Samson captured her trying on my scarf~ isn't she cute?!

Any ideas as to where we are in this picture?

Fiona the day she was born!

The Lord brought our dear daughter, Fiona, into the world on this day last year. The past year has been full of fun “firsts” with Fiona: first outing; first car ride; first airplane trip; first smile; first bath; first time rolling over from her tummy to her back; first hockey game (she watched!); first tournament watching Daddy play table tennis; first word, “Dadada”; first time crawling; first swim; first food… The Lord has blessed Fiona with very good health in her first year- she hardly had a sniffle! She is such a blessing to Samson and me. Our home has much joy and laughter because of her smiling face.

We celebrated her birthday today with both sides of the family gathering at our house… about 25 people! Fiona was a little overwhelmed, but she enjoyed herself and is taking a long nap now after such an exciting day.

Showing her how to blow out her candle

Happy Fiona!

Getting a "grasp" of how to eat a cupcake- she loved it!

Seeing how her new baby doll can "suck" its' thumb

Cupcakes I decorated

Fiona's fancy cupcake

Fiona's funny hair!

Discovering a leaf

Enjoying time together

You might remember this former link of Fiona’s other funny hair day.

~Melody and Job~

I’m an auntie again! My brother, Josiah, and sister-in-law, Melody, had their second child, a chubby little boy on Tuesday… his name is Job Arthur and he weighed 9 lbs. 10 oz and was 21″ long. Samson, Fiona and I were able to visit them the other day and admired Job’s cute little newborn face! He smelled just like a new baby, fresh out of the womb- Ah! I loved it!! Fiona didn’t pay much attention to Job yet, but she was fasinated with Job’s older brother, Corban, who moves much faster and likes to talk to her. Corban and Fiona were playing with my brother, Uncle Justin, the other day when they came for a visit, and I snapped a cute picture of the three of them.

This morning as I sat nursing Fiona in my rocking chair, many thoughts came flooding into my mind. I began to look at her little face which gets chubbier by the day and pondered each little part. The glowing lamplight revealed the fuzz on the ends of her little ears. Her little button nose was nearly touching me, her big eyes slightly rolling around in mesmerization and delight, her chubby cheeks sucked furiously and then slowed to a suckle and her sweet hand was resting on mine in love.

I looked into my daughter’s face and was flooded with a feeling of unworthiness in being blessed with her precious little soul to raise. I tried to imagine what the years ahead will hold- what she will look like when she is two years old- what her personality will be- the questions she will ask- starting to home school her- trips we will take as a family- her first cooking attempts- her 16th birthday- Lord willing, her courtship and marriage, and I started to get very overwhelmed! Then I realized that I’m not in any of those places right now. I have a lovely three and a half month old baby who I can enjoy right now and I need not be anxious about the future. So I sat a few minutes longer and thanked God for the blessing of having a daughter and enjoyed holding her warm little body close to mine. Ah! The joys of motherhood!!