End of an Era

Yesterday was Audrie’s last game of the soccer season. More than that, it was her last game with this group of girls. At this point, the team will be splitting up. Though Audrie might end up playing with some of her teammates, the team won’t look the same. She’s been with most of these girls for over four years, and with a couple of them for five. We’ve watched these girls grow up together.

We sure will miss this team!

xo

nessa dee

Wild Onions

We found them growing by the creek behind our house. We picked them. We washed them. We ate them. We felt like pioneers.

Oh, and we survived.

xo

nessa dee

Easter Eggs + Kite =

 

xo

nessa dee

Angels’ Voices + Bad Breath

This morning my ears have been graced with the sweet sound of Angels’ Voices. It’s Audrie’s current piece of music, and it’s beautiful. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have a house that’s filled with music each morning as she practices.

I love to just sit and watch her fingers move gracefully up and down the keys. It makes me wish I’d stuck with my piano lessons.

And these little notes from Finn to his sister make my heart smile.

It makes me wonder how someone so sweet could ever tell his mommy that her breath smells weird…just like throw up.

Hasn’t he learned the concept of tact, yet?

xo

nessa dee

[who’s suffering from a bad breath inducing cold, and currently eating a whole roll of breath mints]

Individual

Getting a good picture of the two of them together might be a challenge, but getting great individual portraits…that’s a breeze!

xo

nessa dee

387

That’s the amount of pictures I took of the kids in their Easter outfits.

3

That’s the amount of good pictures I got of them together. Why is it so hard to get two kids to sit next to each other and smile for a few pictures?

I’ll tell you why.

One kid’s a complete goofball, and the other kid’s a ham:

When one’s cooperating, the other’s, well, not:

There’s always posing, though, not exactly what I had in mind:

And then there’s the attempts to see how much one can annoy his sister:

387 pictures, 2 hours, lots of giggles, and a bit of lost sanity, all for that one perfect picture…

Sigh.

I can almost imagine what this would have looked like hanging above my fireplace.

Oh well, one can always learn from experiences like these. I’m learning that I should look through my viewfinder more often than not.

I’m also learning to redefine my original definition of a  “good picture.” Yes, having a whole album of perfectly poised and smiling children is nice, but having a story in pictures is even better. We sure did laugh a lot today. And I have the pictures to prove it.

xo

nessa dee

Five

Not a baby, not a toddler, not a preschooler anymore. I have a boy… a five year old boy.

When Audrie entered this stage, the transition was made easier by the impending promise of getting to revisit these stages. But now, 5 years later, I don’t have the distraction of preparing for a new little one, so the impact of how quickly my children are growing up is weighing on me. I have a 10 year old and a 5 year old. I say it every year, but how’d we get here so fast? I don’t know, but it makes me all the more thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to stay at home with them, watch them grow, and see them through all of these stages.

At times I take it for granted. I get distracted by the busyness of life. But then, I blink and my baby’s five, and I realize just how important these years have been and continue to be. I want to just sit here and hold my baby for as long as he’ll let me. I want to remind him always that he once told me he’s going to live with me forever. I feel so blessed to be his mommy.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

I love you,

Momma.

Finnanigans

Audrie: Finn, when you grow up I’m going to tell you how you used to like to play with Barbies.

Finn: Yeah, and I want to play with Barbie castles, too!

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Mom, do you know what keeps me up at night?

Halo. Halo keeps me up at night. I just hear dad playing Halo and my brain won’t let my eyes close.

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Mom, can you just be quiet for a little bit because I’m going to be doing my Karate moves over here.

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Finn: MiMi, I’m going to bring my money to school to get something from the snack machines.

[Later] MiMi: Finn, did you get your money for the vending machines?

Finn: No.

MiMi: Why not?

Finn: I’m just going to use yours.

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Me: Finn, do you want me to paint a big map on your walls with pirate ships in the water and cowboys on the land?

Finn: Yes, and I want me fighting the cowboys.

Me: Oh, you want me to paint you as a cowboy, fighting the bandits?

Finn: No, I want me as a pirate fighting the cowboys. And I want me flying an airplane, and me on the moon, and me as a police officer, and some Halo guys, and a robot, and a rocket ship.

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Finn: Mom, can you read this word I wrote?

[I read it to the best of my ability]

Finn: Oh, wow! That’s Spanish! See, I’m teaching you how to read Spanish.

xo

nessa dee