The O'Malley Clan

The most wonderful time

2010-12-25T20:52:00.005-05:00

The best thing about Christmas morning.... watching the excitement build as we waited for Daddy to check for Santa (start the coffee). We camp out on the steps and wait for the ok. I am the lucky one who gets to spend those last few minutes with them before the unwrapping begins. The cutest thing in the world though is watching my girls run into the living room.... straight for Grammy and Pappy. They bypass the gifts and hug and kiss Grammy and Pappy first. It is so sweet.

I don't know why but the day just flew by too quickly. I wanted more time to sit and play with my girls. Nowhere to go....Nothing to do but brush doll hair and play house. Try out new games and just enjoy each other.

I keep thinking about how fast it is going to go. The barbies and dolls will be replaced with ipods and clothes. I want to freeze time. Hold on to this. I love this age. I love the things they say, their perspectives on life. They teach me every day about loving people fully, speaking the truth, loving life and enjoying each other.

God, I thank you today and everyday that I get to be a mommy. Thank you for the blessing of these little girls.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T16:14:00.003-05:00

Santa Express

2010-12-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

There are so many fun activities to do around the holidays. Thanks to my hubby we didn't eliminate this from our Christmas to do. I considered skipping the train, we had already done so much.... it was only a week until Christmas. Maybe we should just skip it. The little boy in him won out. He wanted to ride on the train! It was so great that we did it. Our good friends the Booths joined us on Santa's Express. We ate lunch in a caboose, rode the rails with Santa himself and enjoyed a yummy hot chocolate after the ride. We even got a little shopping done at the Outlets.

This was Matt's first time on the railroad. I think he had more fun then the girls did. I love the man I married. Such a kid at heart.

Matt's 1st train ride.

2010-12-22T23:53:00.002-05:00

Birthday Girls

2010-12-17T00:07:00.001-05:00

Four little girls now 3, 4, 5 & 6.... well almost. Just a year ago they all met, and now they are the best of friends. They share winter birthdays and had an amazing birthday party with some friends. It's hard to believe how grown up the have all become just over this past year. The time is going too fast. Seems like it was yesterday that I was holding my brand new baby....and now she is 5 years old. I keep thinking about how much I just want to stop time. How fun it is to have them this age. I love tea parties and dress up.... not yet ready for shopping and boys. I guess I still have some time.

All things Aubrey

2010-12-15T00:13:00.006-05:00

Activities and Interests: playing dress up, doing puzzles, reading, running with mommy, Barbies, Disney princesses, singing

Arts and Entertainment: Backyardigans, Scooby Doo, Jimmy Neutron, Sid the Science Kid, Steve Songs, worship music

We are just learning to read. Short "a" sounds right now.

I to this day cannot believe that God entrusted me to raise this little girl. The size of her heart for others absolutely astounds me. Most days I feel like I have missed the mark as far as parenting is concerned, but in spite of my flaws, she continues to grow into a beautiful young girl. God has given this little girl a heart that loves Him and that loves others. This was my prayer for her, that she would see other people the way that God sees them.

She may be little

2010-12-13T20:53:00.001-05:00

She may be pint sized, but her personality is HUGE. I cannot imagine our life without our little Leah. She comes down in the morning and greets you with a huge hug. She likes to cuddle, which I absolutely LOVE.

It's hard to believe that my baby is 3 years old. She still seems so little to me. You can quote me on this, she will be the life of the party someday. She is always trying to get a laugh (usually resulting in some sort of potty humor. Matt says that she will be the girl that every guy thinks she must be in love with them...but she's really not. She's just that intense.

She is learning so much just hanging with Aubrey and I while we do school. She has started singing the time line from Aubrey's Classical Conversations school work (with the motions).

We have decided that Leah is in her own little made up world most of the time. Like everything else she plays intensely. You have to get down and see what she is doing and interject yourself into her story.

She is the light in our day and we love her so much.

Mr. Buddy Man

2010-12-11T21:33:00.002-05:00

Everett-Beverett (Leah's pet name.)
Buddy Man
Mr. Diaper Man (Aubrey's nickname for him.)

This past fall we were so lucky to have this little man join us during the week. Bright and early 4 days a week I am greeted by the sweetest face I have ever seen. His smile could light up a room. Aaron and Kristen have allowed us to be a part of their families life in such a special way and it has been more of a blessing to us then they could possibly imagine. Everett is the easiest little guy, just give him some blocks and room to move and he is content. He is teaching us how to have a BOY around the house. There is something just a little different about boys. It is so fun to have him around.

Please turn off your cell phones.

2010-12-10T21:46:00.002-05:00

Just needed a day where no one could reach me. A day where my kids, whatever they wanted to do came first...not a ringing phone or a dinging text. Aubrey asked if we could go to Longwood, it was freezing but we only needed to make it over to the Conservatory where it is always springtime. I brought paints and pencils and we found a cozy spot to work on our painting skills.
We painted, we paid in the Children's water garden... they had all of me. We pretended to be princesses locked in a tower. Logan was coming to save Aubrey, Grayson for Leah. I asked who would be coming for me to which Aubrey replied, "Matt, your husband, the king!" Matt was glad to hear she has it straight who the king is.

More days, please, where I feel free enough to turn off the phone and be available for my girls instead of for everyone else.

Take me out to the ballgame...

2010-08-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

On Father's Day this year Matt and I and the girls decided to head out to the Reading Phillies game. It was so hot that day and the kids were fidgeting and I was asked for the 18th time to take them to the bathroom. Being the wonderful mom that I am, I turned to Matt and said, "Can you please take them?" To which Matt replied, "I'd really like to see this play." Being my sensitive self I said, "Why, It's just the Reading Phillies?"

Come to find out I have been married to this man for 8+ year and he has never been to a real baseball game.... I mean a really real one. I had been to a number of games with my dad over the past couple of years. It never occurred to me that Matt had never been to a real Phillies game and wanted to go. Nice, huh?

I am hoping that I redeemed myself for this terrible oversight. With the help of our families, we arranged for Matt to go see a Phillies game with his Dad, Grandad and Pop pop... in a jersey provided by my wonderful Daddy.

It was so fun putting it together and giving him his jersey and tickets on his birthday. Just a few short week later he was sitting in the bleachers with the men. Happened to be that wonderful game which went on FOREVER. 16 innings I think was the final count.

Chicken Fairy

2010-08-23T22:03:00.000-05:00

Need I say more?

Beach Weekend

2010-07-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

I don't even remember the last time that we went to the beach with the girls. We've gone to the lake up by the cabin, it has a beach. Does that count? Julie, Allison and Adrienne invited us for a girls (and little girls) weekend away. We arrived in Ocean City sometime near lunch (yeah, we tried to get there earlier, but...). We sat their in the sand from about 12:30 till 6:00. Down to the ocean, back up to the towels, down to the ocean, play in the sand. That's the way in went for hours. Leah got to see the ocean for the very first time she was SO excited. She would sit on the shore line squealing and waving at the ocean to come back and splash her once more. We made our way to Atlantic City for a night in a fun hotel, complete with pizza, princesses and movies. A quick trip to the shops in AC in the morning. A treat for the girls at the Disney Store and a crazy ride home complete with some potty stops on the side of the road.

Thank you Booth's for an fantastic weekend away.

Today, you became a Christian. Happy Spiritual Birthday Aubrey!

2010-07-13T21:28:00.005-05:00

Today Aubrey made the most important decision she will ever make. She decided that she wanted to live forever with God in heaven. She prayed a simple prayer in the back of the car. It is beautiful that such a small child can understand the greatness of what Jesus did for them on the cross.

We pray for both our girls that they would love God with their whole heart and that he would give them courage and strength to share their faith with this hurting world.

I am so blessed that God has allowed me to be a part of such a special little girl's life. I know that God has knit her together perfectly for His will and purpose.

I pray that she will continue to grow in her relationship with Him.

Happy Birthday Grandad!

2010-07-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

One of the coolest things about getting to be a part of Matt's family when I started coming around was that 4th of a July was a big deal. Every year there was a celebration of not just Independence Day but also the honoring and celebrating of one very special man. Grandad! I am so lucky to get to be a part of this family and to get to be a part of Jack Webster's life and story. Every time I am with him, but especially on this day I think about all that he as done in his life and the amazing legacy that he is leaving behind. One of faith and respect and courage. I pray for many more birthdays with this man. We love you Grandad! Happy Birthday!

Blueberry Fun

2010-06-20T21:01:00.000-05:00

Tie dye for Dad

2010-06-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

I must admit I have not been that great about the cliche' Father's Day gifts. A hand made shirt, a tie, a coffee mug. But I think this year we hit the nail on the head. A group of moms and kids from our church got together shortly before the big day and made fantastic tie dye shirts for our Daddy's. Aubrey's and even Leah's came out quite cool. However Daddy and Pappy had ones that basically made them look like giant targets. Oh well, maybe we will redeem ourselves next year. I am hoping that Matt will have a whole closet of these by the time the kids are done doing these kinds of things. That would be awesome!

Hibernia Camping

2010-06-11T20:38:00.000-05:00

Matt and I share a love for the outdoors that we are hoping to pass on to our girls. We love hikes in the woods, food on a campfire and the opportunity just get away from it all. We tried even when the girls were really young to find time to take them camping. Right now we have opted for car camping... a little less adventurous then a 4 day hike in the woods. But just perfect for two little girl. Aubrey and Leah love being outside, what kid doesn't. Hibernia Campground is the best place to camp. It is so close to our house that we can head home "just in case". We can always run out of camp if we forgot anything too. They provide all the firewood and we have now been there so often that we know which campsite is THE BEST. (We are not telling you what it is.) Right now the girls love to run around barefoot, grass between their toes and find leaves and bugs... hoping to grow up girls that continue to do the same thing.

Eventually soon I would love to graduate to a couple of mile hike with the girls in tow, but for now, this is good. The food, the fire and time as a family.

Strawberry Festival

2010-06-04T13:06:00.001-05:00

These amazing shots are courtesy of my amazing husband.
Matt O'Malley

Going to the Strawberry Festival is a bit of an experience. Mostly a reminder that we are not going to let our teenage girls leave the house. We have gone for the past couple of years to taste the food (I mean what are festivals really about, but french fries, funnel cake and other yummy treats.) The girls both got to ride a ride. Aubrey went with Daddy on the Superman ride. Can't believe my little girl is that big. Daddy was wonderful and took the girls on whatever (of the 3 rides that we felt like paying for) they wanted... and Mommy got to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground, which is more and more appealing as I get older. Seriously.... who wants to be spun around in circles. Oh, my children who are spinning each other around in a desk chair as I type this.

Aubrey's Creation

2010-06-03T12:59:00.001-05:00

You can store all the artwork in her keep forever box, here's my way to keep memories that are a little more 3 dimensional. Can't I just keep her this size forever? This is the product of a quiet day at home. We should have them more often.

Lake Jean

2010-05-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

Summer fun on a lake up north. We were blessed with beautiful weather and the perfect place to sit and read and watch the kids play in the sand and water. We basically sat all day and enjoyed each others company. Shooting pictures of the kids and soaking in the sun.

We heart LaGarde's! Weekend Fun at the Cabin.

2010-05-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

Our favorite place and some of our favorite people. What a great combo!
The kids loved spending so much time together (until they didn't).

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

2010-05-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

We are so lucky that we have such an amazing place to retreat to. Matt's parent's cabin is like heaven on earth. Great food, great friends..... perfect views of God's wonderful creation. Nothing to do but read, talk and take hikes in the wood. The pups get depressed when we bring them home, as do we. I hope that we can continue to make memories at this cabin as the kiddos get older. It's so fun to hear about Matt running around here as a little guy and now he gets to share the same experiences with his little girls.

Why does washing the car always turn into this?

2010-05-27T12:28:00.000-05:00

Best Buddy Portraits

2010-05-26T14:19:00.000-05:00

Girls Mountain Weekend

2010-05-25T14:13:00.002-05:00

Aubrey enjoying her "coffee" on the porch.

Leah playing in the sand at Lake Jean

Mountain sunset

Strawberry Picking

2010-05-22T14:03:00.000-05:00

So often I fill my days with things that include other people. A play date here an outing there. I find myself more involved with talking to the other mom then actually spending time with my kids. I leave feeling like, wow.... I took them to "such and such" and I don't think I paid attention to them at all. That's a horrible thing to admit, but hey, that's life.
I have been trying more often to find things to do where it is just US. We headed out to Weaver's Orchard for strawberry picking early in the season. There were so many strawberries we basically planted ourselves in one place and just picked around us. Mostly we ate what we picked, but what made it home we devoured that night. No jamming for us.

Black Forest Trail

2010-05-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

Without children... four days in the woods. Not really the way a normal girl wants to spend her birthday, but I was with Matt (by myself....sort of, we had the dogs). I had taken a couple of days off near my birthday to go to a conference, but it fell through. Decided instead to head out to the Black Forest Trail (the PA Grand Canyon). Amazing weather and hiking for a few days, just us. I did come out a little worse for wear, quarter sized blisters on my heals made things a little rough but all in all such a great time to spend together.

Little Girls at Longwood

2010-05-19T13:47:00.002-05:00

Want to draw some attention. Show up at Longwood with four little girls in pink and white dresses. We decided to take advantage of the scenery and try to get some pictures of Ashley's girls and mine in their Sunday best. Thankfully, we were smart enough to bring a change of clothes for the fountains and another for the ride home. (That's three stinkin' outfits in one day!)
The girls ran from place to place barely giving us enough time to get some shots.

Springton Manor Farm

2010-05-19T13:41:00.000-05:00

Looking back I think we have had one of the best spring and summer yet! We had so many days out in the sunshine it felt strange to be inside on any given day. I am not looking forward to the rainy, chilly days that are to come this fall and winter. My kids LOVE being outdoors. We are lucky to live in such a great area.... where creeks, farms, gardens and parks are everywhere.

Sleep Over Party

2010-05-18T13:28:00.000-05:00

For a whole week we had a sleep over party. Day trips, picnic lunches and play time with our cousins. It was a great week. Although my children started wondering "what are we doing today, mom?" after their cousins had left. Seems they started to think that a once a day trip was the new norm. While it was fun while it lasted it would be a little hard to sustain. Exhausting! We had a BLAST though!

Bowling (a new favorite)!

2010-05-17T13:34:00.000-05:00

Cousin's Trip to the ZOO.

2010-05-15T13:17:00.000-05:00

Back to the Creek

2010-05-03T14:53:00.001-05:00

We spent most of our early spring sitting in the green grass and eating our snacks. We stomped through the mud in our rain boots and threw stones in the water. We met our friends with blankets and chairs and enjoyed the sunshine.

Toes in at Marsh Creek

2010-05-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

Loving the first couple days of spring. Warm enough to wear short sleeves and to put toes in the water. I love days like this. Nothing much to do other than lay around on the shores of Marsh Creek.

2010-04-28T15:28:00.000-05:00

I have been blessed with the friendship of not just one but two beautiful women. They are the first people I run to when things are hard. They are a shoulder to lean on and the very best friends a girl could have. I could not imagine what my life would be like without Jen and April. It's getting harder to spend time together as our families grow what used to be a group of 6 (Jen, April and I and our first borns) has now grown to a group of 11.
These women are my without a doubt the Godliest women I have ever met. My partners in prayer, my advice givers, my sweet listeners.... I thank God for the opportunity to live life with them. This year they both turned 30 (they probably don't want me broadcasting that). We had a sweet celebration of their birthdays. I love you girls!

Bike Rides

2010-04-21T10:28:00.002-05:00

I remember the days my sisters and I spent riding our bikes around town. We were allowed to ride all the way to my grandmom's (but usually tried to bum a ride home). We rode to the pizza place, to our friends houses.... pretty much everywhere. I remember vaguely the day my dad taught me to ride a two wheeler. I mostly remember not knowing how to turn and running head first into a pine tree.

Hoping for the same kinds of memories for our little girls as they grow up. I am guessing we should get to teaching Aubrey how to ride on two wheels. But can't I just keep her little a little while longer.

They are both growing so fast I can't believe it.
I will miss these days, where as far as they can ride is circles in the driveway.

Running with the Girls

2010-04-15T10:22:00.000-05:00

As a parent you walk a fine line with sports and extra curricular activities. You of course want your children to love the things you do. But you want to make sure that they are exposed to other things as well.

For example many of you that I do not do well with sports that are played with a ball or rather an object that it hurdled through the air at horrific speeds... towards your HEAD. Couple that with my lack of hand eye coordination... Not fun.

I am hoping as my girls grow that I can send them to Aunt Lindsay's for a little soccer fun, or to Aunt Carla's for a little bit of catch with a softball. But for now I am happy that they have both gotten excited to go for runs with me.

Yes, when we run together it is a little less effective (for me) than strapping on my music and just "going". We stop to walk, decide to get in the jogging stroller (that I brought just incase), run again...stop...walk...ride... you get the picture.

For now I am happy to share my love for running with them. I know as they get older they may move on to bigger and better things, but for now, they look up to me and that is kind of neat.

Seven Little Girls

2010-04-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

Taylor Paden

Leah Angely

Kelsey Irene

Aubrey Elizabeth

Ava Rose

Mackenzie Leigh

Brooke Jeanne

In a short period of time 7 little girls were added to our family. Seven....all girls, born to me an my sisters, who were also all girls (obviously). Right now our days together are filled with dress up and princesses and pretend play.... some day it will be make up and boys and fashion. For now I will treasure this stage that they are at together. I pray that they continue to be friends as they get older.

This is how Easter started...

2010-04-04T10:10:00.001-05:00

It is inevitable that every Sunday my children sleep in. Aubrey is up at 7 AM every other morning of the week but (you guessed it).... Sunday. Every church morning I am forced to walk upstairs and shake her little body until she turns over and sticks her little bottom in the air and says, "I'm still tired."

Easter was no different. Most likely because Mom forced everyone to dye eggs at an ungodly hour. We got a late start yet again and had to fit in Easter Egg hunting and candy before shipping them off to their Sunday School teachers. Ha!

We searched for eggs, ran like mad to get dressed and run out front to take picture.

This should have been the clue.

This is when mom and dad start to discuss why they are doing pictures when we are already late. I looked at Matt... "This is the best they will look all day. I promise that someone will be covered in marker from church... or chocolate...or..." He got the point. We finished our photo shoot quickly and jumped in the car.

We arrived at church just in time and started to pile out of the car. I had one foot on the ground when Leah decided to projectile vomit (nice mental picture) everything she had eaten that morning. I needed to go in, I needed to be in the building ten minutes ago. I needed to set up computers and check classroom and welcome visitors.

I grabbed Aubrey's hand and started to run for the door. "She's all yours. Sorry." Aubrey and I hurried away and Daddy got to take a puke covered kid to Walmart to look for a new dress. (Don't worry we didn't take our infected kid to church, just to my mother's house to infect her cousins.)

She never got sick again that day. It was a fluke...

Really glad I stopped to take pictures before church. Obviously... I am always right.

Our newest members

2010-03-16T13:34:00.003-05:00

Maybe it was to soon, but Nina (left) and Ellie (right) have succeeded in helping to mend our broken hearts. They are a riot! It's so funny to see their personalities. Nina is personable and a definite people person. Ellie likes her time to herself, but she's definitely the more mischievous of the two. They are sweet smart girls who have won our hearts.

Aubrey claims Nina is hers and named her herself. Ellie then I guess is defaulted to Leah. We thought that we had succeeded in making it out of the puppy naming process with out names like.... Ariel, Aurora, Belle and Snow White, but we were later informed by our daughter that "Nina" is from Imagination Movers (Disney) and "Ellie" is the girl from UP (also Disney).

Please come by and visit us....and see them before they are huge. Which they will be, sooner then we hope. It's cute watching the two little 12 lb puppies wrestle around, I'm not to excited to watch two full grown pups taking out furniture in the process.

Spring has sprung.

2010-03-13T13:28:00.001-05:00

The snow is finally gone.... melted, flooding...gone. Time to break out our raincoats and think about the warm days to come. We have finally located our raincoats, purchased new umbrellas and succeeded in finding rain boots for the whole family. My luck. Dry spell to come.

Chloe Bear

2010-02-23T13:22:00.003-05:00

April 15, 2007 - February 23, 2010

Remember when she ate the kitchen floor, the chair rail, chalk, the GPS, the brand new bed spread? Remember how she climbed up on to the back of the couch like she was a cat, but she was pushing 60 lbs. Remember how she liked to hug and how she LOVED whip cream.

We miss you Chloe.

Please Touch Museum

2010-02-18T13:15:00.000-05:00

The girls and I took a day to ourselves. Just us! We took a drive down to the Please Touch Museum and they had so much fun. I prided myself when we went to the "Hospital" and Aubrey dressed up in a lab coat.

"Paging Dr. O'Malley!"

And then I did something that I regret, because it's all I've heard ever since. We went and played in "McDonalds" and I regrettably taught the girls to say...

"Do you want fries with that?"

Take two

2010-02-15T13:05:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Ryan McLaughlin who organized and got free passes for a trip to Bear Creek. What an amazing opportunity for Aubrey to get her first taste of skiing. She LOVED it and daddy loved spending time with his little girl. After a little while on the bunny slope she was off to the "big swing" (chair lift) and skiing along side of daddy.

Aubrey learns to ski.

2010-02-15T13:01:00.000-05:00

February 2010

It's 55 degrees...in January.

2010-01-25T12:59:00.000-05:00

Little did we know what was coming in just a few short weeks.

Guess whose getting the shot?

2010-01-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

Your probably wrong.

Happy New Years!

2010-01-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Washing off 2009!

For New Years we had the LaGarde boys for the night. It was awesome! The night was non-stop. We did anything we could to keep two 2 year olds and two 4 year olds entertained until they passed out in their beds. This included the ultimate kid entertainment....bath time.

Why is it that kids can stay in tubs for hours and not care at all if the prune up, if the water gets cold?

In any event we had found something that kept them all entertained and all in one place.

But best of all....future embarrassment and blackmail for all parties involved. HA!

That's my girl!

2009-12-24T12:41:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve coffee break.
It's bigger then her head!

2009 Christmas Portrait

2009-12-23T12:19:00.000-05:00

I think that digital cameras were created for one reason, and one reason only. Holiday photo shoots. More specifically holiday photo shoots with children. Thankfully, April LaGarde has the patience of a saint and was able to capture some special moment for our family. Of course after all that work...did I ever send them out? Nope. Consider this your Christmas card.

Merry Christmas 2009!
Love, Matt, Missy, Aubrey and Leah

...and we're spent.

December Birthday Bash!

2009-12-21T12:05:00.000-05:00

Oh, the joy of having two birthdays... ONE DAY APART! Aubrey and Leah are exactly one year and 364 days apart. The things that we heard about having one in December must not have deterred us because, we did it again. Leah made her appearance the day before Aubrey's 2nd birthday. Last year we didn't really do much for their birthdays and the mom guilt had started to sink in. So we decided that this year that we would celebrate their birthdays together.

16 kids (most under the age of 5) and their folks helped us celebrate in style. We dressed up, we made cookies....we ate PIZZA! The girls had a blast and we did too. Although I'm thinking for future events. Separate parties... 3 kids each.... max. At least until their are like 12.

Who knows.

Thanks everyone who came and made our girls feel so special!

Snowflakes

2009-12-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-20T00:36:00.003-05:00

have you ever wondered how much time it takes to get kids into those snow suits? it's really quite ridiculous if you ask me. i don't remember how many times that i put leah's mittens on.... she kept taking them off again and again. finally after what felt like an hour of work we were all ready to go out. stomping around in the snow. making snow angels. throwing snow at the dog (that was fun). we even slid down the slide on our swing set. i'm not sure how long we were out. it was cold! when we had our fill we headed inside. dropped our wet clothes at the back door and warmed ourselves up with a cup of hot chocolate.

a day of cozy blankets, a warm fire, christmas movies and family.
we had a wonderful day!

the much debated over tree.

2009-12-20T00:22:00.000-05:00

fraser fir

2009-12-19T20:56:00.004-05:00

i never thought that christmas tree shopping would turn into a debate. i mean, i vaguely remember shopping for them with my family when i was younger. putting a mitten on this one to save it, a hat on that one...but i never remember it being an "argument" per say.

matt and i had to get our tree a little early, black friday to be exact. we were having my family for the girls birthdays and wanted a chance to decorate our tree together. we headed over to bethany farm, a dairy farm not to far from our house. it was freezing (and a little rainy) but we ventured out anyway.

the girls had a great time running between the trees, while mommy and daddy began their debate.

i like this one... no, i like this one...

Me - i like the soft tree with the long needles, i like them really bushy, when you can't see through them.

Matt - i like this one....the fraser fir, sturdy, doesn't drop needles as much, good for ornaments, blah, blah, blah (it's my story i get to tell it how i like).

standing in the freezing cold....poor Mr. Messner looking from Matt to me and back to Matt again. so, which one? the fraser fir. the one that will hold ornaments better, won't drop needles, is more likely NOT to catch on fire. (thank you Mr. Messner for siding with my husband).

i lost.

we loaded it up, brought it home and guess what... i really like our tree.

when i grow up...

2009-12-18T13:56:00.003-05:00

the other night it was just aubrey and i. leah was asleep and matt was out. we were curled up by the fire and talking about when she grows up. we started to have a conversation about where she would live, who she would marry...

me: where are you going to live when you grow up aubrey?
aubrey: in a different house.
me: not here with me.
aubrey: no
me: can i come visit?
aubrey: yeah

me: are you going to get married?
aubrey: yeah
me: who are you going to marry?
aubrey: logan
me: oh, are you going to have any babies?
aubrey: yes
me: how many?
aubrey: four
me: well, what are you going to name your babies?
aubrey: um, logan....sally....RUDOLPH (obviously we are watching to many Christmas movies).... and grayson.

it took everything in me not to laugh out loud.
RUDOLPH!

my first baby girl

2009-12-08T21:15:00.002-05:00

you hold a special place in your heart for your first little baby. as i looked back over my journals i found the prayer i wrote when aubrey was born. i wanted to share it with you.

you will never understand how much your God loves you... how amazing His grace is... how much you need His strength to get through the next moment until you look into the face of your child.

Aubrey is here.... and i am in love. i am overwhelmed with the desire to nurture & protect her. is this how God feels about us? so much love your heart could break. i wish i could give my daughter even just a portion of the love & grace that my God has given me.

Father God, i am overwhelmed. this is all so new to me & i am scared to death. i don't have a clue how to take care of this little girl. how to lead her to your throne... i want so much for her not just to be fed & loved... i want her to know & love you. to have a heart for this world... that she would have a desire to lead people to you.

my sweet leah

2009-12-07T23:30:00.001-05:00

Just two (wow, two?) short years ago this little precious girl was placed in my arms. She captured me then....and hasn't let go. Every morning I see her sweet face looking up at me from her bed...her big blue eyes, her wide smile...I feel so lucky that I get to be her mommy. She has such a sweet personality, loves to do anything her big sis is doing, loves to cuddle, likes to make herself heard. She fills our day with shrieks and giggles (oh the joys of being a mom to girls!).

Tonight we made cupcakes after dinner to celebrate her big day. She sang "Happy to YOU" over and over again. Shushing us if we tried to sing with her. Asking me to light her candle again and again. What a precious memory!

I thank God for blessing us with Leah each day....but especially today.

We love you little girl! Happy 2nd Birthday!

so much to be thankful for!

2009-11-27T14:57:00.002-05:00

God is so good
God is so good
God is so good
He's so good to me

He answers prayer
He answers prayer
He answers prayer
He's so good to me

I sing that song to Leah every night before bed...and every night it serves as a reminder that God is in fact SO good to us. He has provided for us in ways we could never understand or imagine. He has his hands in everything that happens to us. He has blessed us with so many good gifts, our home, our friends and our beautiful little girls. I cannot imagine life without my precious little ones. They both bring such joy to our home.

To those who are close to us... you know that this year has been a crazy one at that.... We want to thank you for everything that you have done for us. God has been amazing and he has allowed you all to be his hands and feet in our lives. Every prayer, every kind word, every listening ear has been such a blessing to us. We are thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

best buddies

2009-11-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

aubrey and logan, best buddies

trick or treating. are we crazy?

2009-11-01T14:41:00.001-05:00

our traditional small group shot. there are 11 little rugrats between the four couples. we may be crazy but for the past few years we have managed to take our growing families for one night of chaos. the kids did exceptionally well despite the rain.

some day my prince will come

2009-11-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

happy halloween. this year we had two snow whites. i had intentions of making leah a ladybug but once she tried on this snow white costume (just like her big sister), i had to give in. she loves to do anything aubrey does. daddy spent the moments before trick-or-treating sewing them into their costumes (what a good dad!). the night was rainy but that wound up working out well for us. there weren't many trick-or-treaters. we were told to take as much as we wanted, which aubrey took as a go ahead to sweep about 5 full size candy bars into her bag. lucky us. i had snickers for a week.

october

2009-10-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

We got Aubrey in her tradional October shot. I cannot believe how fast the years are flying by. I've tried to get Leah to do the same shot, but every year I usually get one of her crying or walking away...she is not to happy with the camera. I did manage to get one of the two of them together on a trip to Longwood Gardens. I love these moments in our lives where we get to enjoy time together as a family.

highland orchards

2009-10-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

Just a few short weeks ago my family came down to visit and pick pumpkins. What a great opportunity for the cousins to run around and enjoy the fall weather. I cannot believe that the little girls that seemed like babies just a few short years ago are now 4, 3 & 2 years old (well, almost 2). Kelsey, Aubrey and Brooke are independant with minds of their own and Mackenzie and Leah try to keep up with their older sisters.

We spent our time petting the animals at the petting area, running around the hay maze and playing in the playground.

What should have taken a moment, their fall pumpkin picture, took about 20 shots and I still didn't have them all looking at me.

We picked out or pumpkins and got our cider doughnuts. All and all a perfect day.

orvis catalog

2009-09-08T21:57:00.001-05:00

seal harbor, acadia national park

2009-09-08T21:31:00.003-05:00

maine vacation

2009-09-08T21:27:00.001-05:00

pattee's pond... a maine vacation

2009-09-08T21:11:00.002-05:00

we left late on friday night. had so much to get done before we left.... but managed to check everything off the list and throw everything in the car. didn't know how it was going to work...driving overnight with two kids. would they sleep? would we make it? we were already exhausted. our trip down was a cinch. i drove the first half and matt drove the second. we arrived in maine as the sun was coming up, drove up the driveway, unpacked and relaxed away the first day. it was perfect.

we took day trips to bangor, camden, and bar harbor (our favorite place!). we got to visit a folk festival, stroll through camden and hiked (if you can call it hiking when you have two kids and a dog and it takes FOREVER to go a mile) around jordan pond in acadia national park. matt got to fish, i got to read and the kids got to play in a pirate ship in the backyard each night. we had wonderful weather and had a great time together as a family. what a great way to end the summer!

fourth of july celebration

2009-07-04T21:07:00.001-05:00

annual party at the o'malley's. a celebration of country and granddad's birthday (we love you granddad!). i managed to dress the girls in matchy-matchy outfits, unfortunately i never managed to get a picture of the two of them together. oh well.

sunbathing

2009-07-02T21:03:00.001-05:00

i love my preschooler. she does things everyday that make me laugh. this particular day (while her sister was napping) aubrey decided to catch some rays with her momma.

working at the car wash

2009-07-01T20:55:00.000-05:00

spent the summer playing with some really great friends. hot summer days are the best times to break out the bubbles and let the kids go to town. we had an impromptu car wash in our backyard with the LaGarde boys and let the kids get nice and soapy.

portraits of a family

2009-06-30T20:45:00.000-05:00

checking out pictures in our files...

and ran across some that made me laugh.

thought i would share.

another trip to the mountains

2009-06-27T20:34:00.007-05:00

we were so excited to have daddy with us. our last trip to the mountains poor daddy had to stay home. the weather was yuck, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. spent some time indoors playing games, painting and reading. put on our rain gear and stomped around outside. it's such a blessing having the mountains to run away to. we are so lucky!

going to the dentist

2009-06-27T20:27:00.005-05:00

i have never been more proud of my little girl. aubrey had her first dentist's appointment and she did awesome. i knew that she would be a little nervous. new things always make aubrey a little scared, but she did great. we walked into the office and she climbed up into the chair. she was polite to the doctor and did everything that she was told. she was so excited to pick out her prize and her new orange tooth brush. after her appointment she showed off her sparkling teeth to anyone who would look. no cavities! good brushing little girl!

happy anniversary!

2009-06-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

there is one thing i remember very specifically about this day. i remember riding in the car with my family and bubbling over with excitement. i remember looking at my mom and saying, "i get to marry the man of my dreams."

lazy hazy days of summer.

2009-06-06T21:32:00.002-05:00

isn't it funny how the younger one has to do exactly what the older one does. i never would have just handed Aubrey and ice cream cone at 17 months. oh, the mess.... but things change. not only have i realized the messes are inevitable, but i have also realized that leah wants to do things the same as her big sister. it doesn't matter that the ice cream in the dish is the same ice cream that is in the cone. she wants a cone too. so i tried... and she actually did a great job with it. what a cutie!

mountain weekend

2009-05-30T21:26:00.000-05:00

the girls and i headed up to the mountains this memorial day to spend some time with grammy, pappy and the watterson family. (also trying to give daddy some time to get some stuff done around the house without us hanging all over him.) it was an amazing weekend. aubrey followed the girls around and leah just loved running back and forth trying to do everything the big girls did. to my pleasant surprise leah did great taking naps and sleeping in a new place. it was so great to be able to get away.

happy birthday to me.

2009-04-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

i thought thirty would feel....old.
thankfully my children make me feel young.

leah learning how to walk

2009-04-17T21:17:00.001-05:00

a day at the park to practice her new strides. now she can get away from mommy faster.

longwood gardens

2009-04-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

strasburg railroad

2009-04-05T20:57:00.002-05:00

everybody's birthday

2009-03-27T14:54:00.003-05:00

what a perfect way to spend a rainy day...celebrating everyone's birthday.
we spent thursday with our friends...gifts, cupcakes and balloons. the kids had a blast!

my dog thinks shes a cat

2009-03-27T14:50:00.002-05:00

she also thinks that she weighs 5 lbs. crazy thing likes to curl up ON TOP of my sofa, right under the window.

spring...we are waiting!

2009-03-27T14:43:00.003-05:00

still a little to cold to go out with out jackets... but the ground is dry. that call for play time at the park. just a short walk away from our house...a little park with slide and swings. the perfect distance away from home.

daddy's baby

2009-03-27T14:36:00.002-05:00

our little cuddle bug, the bean, peanut, sweetie pie.
whatever you want to call her... she is her daddy's baby.

spring planting at grammy's

2009-03-27T14:25:00.004-05:00

my little horticulturist loves to help grammy in the garden. she was out there playing in the dirt and watering the plants the first spring that she could walk. nothing much has changed. you can still find her outside as often as you will let her. leah likes to help too....

lazy saturday afternoons

2009-03-27T14:21:00.002-05:00

a day at the zoo

2009-03-27T14:14:00.003-05:00

spring is just around the corner. you can feel it in the air. it's just warm enough, with coats on, to spend the day outside at the Philadelphia Zoo. it's quiet. no one is around. we have the place to ourselves.

aubrey was more interested in the plants then the animals. i now have decided to call her my little horticulturist. leah loved the animals, she pointed and waved and could spot the ones we couldn't see. it's fun to see how different they are.

fun with little girls

2009-03-09T13:55:00.002-05:00

Tired of the dull, drab days of Winter...Tired of the SNOW. We trecked out to Lancaster to visit Hands on House with friends. Nothing is better then a day of face paint and "food shopping" (at the little pretend grocery store). Leah had a blast playing on her own...and following her big sister around. Aubrey is getting so independent...she played around with her little buddies instead of just Mommy. We finished up the day at McDonalds...what's better then chicken nuggets to end the perfect day?

Christmas Day

2008-12-27T13:36:00.000-05:00

Christmas Portraits.

2008-12-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

What should only take a few minutes takes about an hour. Picture after picture....some with the dog some without. Aubrey on my lap, Aubrey on daddy's lap. Mom, dad changing places...some pictures of kids crawling out of the photo. Photos where dad's not in the picture because the timer went off to fast. FINALLY....something. Oh, the joy of family photos.

Bonus....a cute one of me and my hubby.

ONE

2008-12-14T14:20:00.003-05:00

when does this...

become this?

our little peanut is huge! well, huge for her. she is still a little peanut to us. leah bean just turned one and i cannot believe that it has been a year already. feels like they just placed her in our arms. the little baby girl that we brought home from the hospital is now toddling around furniture....saying words and has one spunky personality. we are trying very hard to teach her sign language (like we did with aubrey). she is signing "milk", "night-night" and sometimes "more". she says "daddy" clear as day.... and also says "duck" "doggy" and just added "aubey". still no "mommy" can you believe it? she even calls me daddy sometimes.

she love playing with her little people and putting them in and out of things....she'll also dance to anything that makes noise. her smile lights up a room and she brings us such joy!

cannot believe my baby is ONE.
happy birthday leah bean!

aubrey girl is growing up

2008-12-14T13:55:00.002-05:00

i cannot believe that my pumpkin pie (oops, can't say that...i am always corrected. "no, i am pappy's sweet petunia".) i cannot believe "pappy's sweet petunia" is growing up so quickly. our days are filled with playing house, school and doctor. it's hard to believe the little bundle we brought home is now a preschooler with quite an imagination. just yesterday morning she came downstairs and announced "when i grow up, i am going to be on stage." that's my daughter!

we just celebrated aubrey's birthday about a week ago. the big THREE...pretty pink princess costumes included. we are officially allowed to play with barbies now (although mommy has had them out for a while already)...it's like we've graduated from baby to little girl.

aubrey is so smart. she knows her whole alphabet and can identify almost every letter. she can write an "A" for aubrey and an "M" for mommy. her favorite thing to do with mommy is cut and glue pictures on paper....and she can use the scissors herself. she spends hours painting and doing art at grammy's house.

aubrey has become quite the little helper. she loves her little sister and takes good care of her. it's nice to be able to watch them play together and i get excited for the friendship that they will share.

i cannot imagine our lives without the precious little girl. we love her desperately.

happy birthday aubrey girl!

hats off!

2008-12-01T14:34:00.000-05:00

mommy's newest endeavor.... trying to knit. poor aubrey has become my model. i have finished three hats (i think) and am trying to make a sweater. just kidding.... just a scarf. who knows maybe i will actually have a hobby i am good at.

front porch accident

2008-11-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

and if that wasn't enough.... our front porch had an accident with a dodge RAM.

forced house projects

2008-11-14T14:40:00.000-05:00

not really what we had planned on working on next but we ran into some problems in our downstairs bathroom. yuck. seems our former homeowners didn't fix the rotten bathroom floor they just covered it up with plywood and another round of flooring. guess we got to get working on that.

bathroom floor

matt

halloween fun with friends

2008-11-01T13:39:00.000-05:00

Tinkerbell, an adorable chicken and my handsome prince.

don't you just want to take her home?

my beautiful little Tinkerbell

between the four couples there are eleven children. we are either very brave or insane to try and do things as a group. at least in this case we had the daddies there. the kids were adorable. we had everything from a princess to a giraffe. not one of the group shots turned out. oh well... what do you expect with 11 children. what started as a group of four children is growing by leaps and bounds. wonder what next years annual halloween trick or treating will bring?

.

precious girl

2008-10-28T12:45:00.003-05:00

my little leah,
you're growing like a weed. in just a little while your first year will be gone...and i have no idea where the time went. didn't we just bring you home? i love you desperately. i love to cuddle you...and thankfully you love to be cuddled. i love late at night when i wrap your blanket around you and rock, and rock.

you are getting into everything... cabinets, closets, anything you can get your hands on. you babble like crazy and have started saying some words. strangely enough your favorite word is duck, which can be either a duck or a dog. you say hi to anyone who will catch your eye, or while holding anything up that resembles a phone. you love your big sister and watch everything she does... you follow her around crawling as fast as you can.

you make us so happy and we are so glad you are ours.
i love you peanut butter.
love, mommy

she's growing up

2008-10-09T21:25:00.002-05:00

just about three years ago, matt and i placed our little girl up on some pumpkins and took this adorable shot. she was just a little pumpkin herself... but the years have flown by and we now have an preschooler on our hands. aubrey is amazing...she's adorable and keeps us laughing all the time. she's smart as anything and we love to watch her learn and pick up new things. thought you would enjoy seeing her progression through the years. HAPPY FALL!

"uh-oh"

2008-09-20T20:43:00.002-05:00

tonight at dinner leah surprised us all with a clear as day "uh-oh" when she dropped her cup. i couldn't believe it, until she did it again...and again. her crawling has gotten a little more speedy and coordinated, she's really moving now. i have found her standing in her crib, crawling up the step in our foyer and in many places that were not where i left her. personally i think she is trying to keep up with aubrey and do everything that she does. here she was painting with pudding just like her big sister was painting.