Sophie

Channing Sophia "Sophie" was born Saturday, March 13 in our home. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 3/4" long.

She is a wonderful addition to our family. She fits right in! We like her. I think we'll keep her!

Cousins

Aren't cousins fun? They give you built in friends. Here is a picture of me and my cousin, Jill. I was three or four. Can you stand the cuteness of that picture? I love it.I have always loved that Jill. We haven't always lived close to each other, but I always loved visiting her. In fact, when I moved out of my parents' house, I moved in with her! Now, we live about 45 minutes away from each other and I always look forward to spending time with her! She makes me laugh harder than ANYONE. But we can be serious, too. I think I would never get tired of her. She should move next door to me. :)

Now, my Roxie has some cousins close to her age that she loves, too. They live not too far away. They came over yesterday (because my sister loves me and came over to cheer me up - I will discuss the blessings of sisters later!) and had the most wonderful time. But when you are a little girl, can you really just wear regular old clothes, I ask you? Indeed, NO. You must be a princess. So, here is a picture of three little cousin princesses in all their cuteness. Seriously, could they be any cuter?

I hope they grow up loving their cousins and looking forward to time spent with them even when they are grown, just like my Jill and me.

The Hardest Part

I mentioned that I'm reading a great book by Nicholeen Peck called A House United. Well, reading and re-reading. I love it. And I need lots of reminders. Anyway, in it, she tells a story of when her father asked her to swim the swimming leg of a triathalon in which he would bike and her sister would run. With some hesitation, she agreed and began her training. She had to swim in a green, murky lake and met up with many struggles along the way. However, because of her training and preparation, she finished in her goal time. As she and her father waited for her sister at the finish line, her dad put his arm around her and said, "You did the hardest part. You did what no one else wanted to do, and I love you for it." I sobbed when I read this part.

At one time or another aren't we all asked to do the hardest part? Do we accept the challenge? It is, after all, hard. But, won't it all be worth it when our Father puts His arm around each of us and says, "You did the hardest part. You did what no one else wanted to do, and I love you for it."?

Yes, I expect it will.

How Many Sophies?

We have an interesting situation here. The sweet baby we are expecting is to be named Sophie. Roxie has been insisting for the past few months that she has a Sophie in her belly, too. Her Sophie "moves" and makes her belly big, just like mine. She informs us that after my Sophie comes out, hers will make a little hole in her belly, climb out, and close the hole back up. Quite the imagination! Only now it's getting a little more serious. She wants me to go shopping and buy her Sophie new clothes. And she has started praying for both "Mommy's Sophie" and "my Sophie." Roxie's grandmothers are getting concerned. They think she may become quite upset when her Sophie never does come out. I think she'll be so thrilled about the real Sophie that she won't even care about her Sophie. After all, I'm pretty sure she thinks she is just participating in a big joke. I don't think she thinks there is even one real Sophie. But, just in case, I've been calling the baby doll Roxie got for Christmas "your Sophie." I sure hope it all works out!

Bunk Beds

Well, because of our coming addition, we are having to change some sleeping arrangements. Which, of course, means new beds. Or a new bunk bed. I have been watching the classifieds for 6+ months looking for the very bed I wanted. It appeared last week and, being the the sly shopper that I am, I snatched it right up!

Everyone is pleased with my purchase, though Christian is having a hard time with it not being his bed. Sometimes it's hard being the only boy. But, he's doing his best to be a good sport about it and Ashton has even agreed to trade beds for the night for ONE night. Roxie is thrilled to be in a big big-girl-bed (her former big-girl-bed was a toddler bed). The first night we brought it home, we only had a mattress for Ashton, so Roxie had to stay on her own bed. Unfortunately, she didn't understand and tried to lie on the slats, burst into tears and said, "Mom, I can't even lie down!" As you can see, we solved the problem and she is thrilled!

Selfishness

Yesterday, we went to my sister's house to visit her and also my parents who are in town for my niece's baby blessing. While there, my dad played a game with some of the the tiny grandchildren. Here is the game they played:

OK. Fast forward to this morning. There was some fighting going on, so I called the kids in to have a talk about selfishness. I used the word "selfish" a lot. All of a sudden, Roxie got excited and looked at me and said, "I played that game yesterday with Poppa and Lily!" Apparently she only heard the fish in selfish. I love that girl. The end.

Just a few pictures...

Here are the kiddos building a snowman, or, to be more precise, a snow-mouse. Would you expect anything less from my family, I ask you?

And here is Ashton just being herself. She was honestly reading and playing the piano at the same time. Not just plunking the keys. Playing a real song. She is a funny girl.