the greatest gift is Love

at the young age of 20 months old, Emma is completely unaware of all of the ways that her life is blessed. she has no concept of the difficulty and hardship that are so prevalent in the world. she is in fact sheltered from adversity by default, as a member of our family. we have received much to be thankful for in this life. we have a roof over our heads, more than enough food on our table, a warm place to sleep. but more than all of these, we have Love – the love of the Savior, Jesus Christ – and love for one another. for Emma, this love comes in the form of older siblings that adore her and parents that cannot imagine life without our littlest angel. so Emma is doted on and spoiled beyond measure, all in the name of Love. with heavenly guidance, she will grow up to be kind and loving in return. and each day, I will thank the good Lord above for allowing us the greatest blessing – a family full of Love.

Emma on pop

So, it’s the end of the day. I am tired, and Emma is tired. We have been on the go and away from home for hours and it is now past bedtime. The method that Emma expresses her exhaustion is to whine and scream and cry for any and every reason. The method that I express my exhaustion is to give in to Emma’s every whim in the quest for a few moments of peace and quiet (please note: while this is my method of choice, I do not endorse this parenting style).

It was in the midst of such a scene that against my better judgment I did not intervene when Emma found a Taco Del Mar soda cup on the table and helped herself to the remaining pop therein. She gleefully sipped away at this cup, trading it in for one with more soda in it when the first cup ran a bit too low for her straw drinking skills. I sat in a chair nearby, watching with apprehension in my state of fatigue – knowing full well what was to soon occur. You see, Emma is one of THOSE kids. You know the ones….they are the kids that get super-ultra hyper when they drink soda with sugar in it. I’ve never had one of those kinds of kids before, and I always pitied parents who did. And truth be told, for some reason, I judged myself as a superior parent because I did not have one of those kids. Well, you’ve heard the Bible verse, right? It goes something like, “do not judge others or you too will be judged, in the very same way that you have judged others you will be judged”. Well, now I fully comprehend this Biblical warning because sure enough, the day will come when our little family will be out in public and Emma will have too much sugar and BAM! She’s gonna go all hyper-crazy! Me and my judgmental mouth!!

The one shiny silver cloud lining to this story is the following video. When Emma is all hyped up, she sure is a cutie! Note: this video clip takes place about 10 minutes AFTER the super-ultra hyper outburst Emma had when she was running all through the house screaming…. this time in delight rather than exhaustion.

the fleeting nature of time

wasn’t it yesterday that she was the little bundle of newborn life? I would sit and stare at her perfectly formed ears and nose and caress her tiny little fingers and toes. I can still feel her warm breath and contented sighs in the place at my neck that I would snuggle her into. and selfishly, I wished that time would stand still so that I could experience the sweetness of those moments forever. yet time marches faithfully on and now she is the one gazing down on one of God’s newest creations, her cousin and future friend, Alakai. and even though I am certain that the sweetness of these moments will fade in my memory, still I am grateful to have been chosen to be “mommy” to this precious little angel.

my favs

pretty pink hair bows and

Emma's sweet kisses

sign language signals and

cute plastic dishes

little girls tangled in black headphone string

these are a few of my favorite things

a meeting of the minds

intense concentration marked the mood as two opponents met across a level playing field. move was met by countermove; intellect stared down intellect. tension was high as each opponent carefully planned their strategy. only one player would be victorious in this meeting of the minds: she wore polka dots that day.

Easter greetings!

even though this is Emma's 2nd Easter, it was more like the first. she was too young the first time around to even notice that anything wonderful was happening around her. this year, she has been the center of our Easter celebration and it has been a delight to see the joy of tradition through her eyes.

when she awoke and was brought downstairs, the very first thing she saw was her very first Easter basket, full of plastic eggs filled with "baby appropriate" goodies, such as fruit snacks, temporary tattoos, tiny tubs of Playdoh, and yogurt raisins, as well as a small-ish bouncy ball and of course a hollow chocolate Easter bunny. she was instantly excited and exclaimed "bah!", which is her cute way of saying "ball". I put her on the floor and she scurried over to the basket to explore each of the treasures. breakfast today was not the usual breakfast bar and milk... it was Easter treats instead!

our most cherished Easter tradition is attending church to celebrate the death and RESURRECTION of our Lord, Jesus Christ. wearing a beautiful pink taffeta dress, Emma entered the church and joined the congregation for worship. she participated in singing the hymn, "Christ our Lord is risen today, Alleluia!" in her own precious manner, which is to say that she got a very serious look on her face and vocalized, "aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!"

after singing, new friends were made in the nursery, and dresses interfered in the climbing of the tiny slide. she was sleepy when we arrived home, but was cheerful enough to make up her very own Easter game (which you can see in the accompanying video clip). we have not yet had our Easter egg hunt (we've been hoping for the rain to take a break) but if necessary, we will hide eggs indoors for Emma to find and soon we will partake in a delicious ham dinner.

I hope that all of our dearly loved family members and friends have enjoyed a beautiful day of celebrating your own Easter traditions.

returning to the bowls

I am much more familiar with temptation than I would care to admit. Each day is filled with the temptation to eat more, and more often, than I ought to eat. Of course, I HAVE to eat every day, it is all a part of God’s plan. We eat, we drink, we survive. So not eating is not an option. I *simply* need to find the balance that is also a part of God’s plan: eat when hungry, stop eating when no longer hungry, do not over-do it with any one kind of food (sweets, for me). Finding the balance, however – resisting temptation – is so much easier said than done.


That is how it is for Emma. God uses her adorable little self to show me what He is trying to teach me. As I have previously mentioned, Emma is drawn inexplicably to the dog’s water and food dishes every day. She sits down and dips water out of the bowl with a spoon and then brings the spoon to her own mouth, losing most of the water along the way – but still… ew! She also loves to take the dog’s food and put in the water. This is a very fun game to her – she never grows tired of it. So strong is the temptation to engage in these activities in Emma, that no amount of scolding or diverting of attention stops her from returning to the bowls. Of course, the dog HAS to eat every day, and so removing the dishes is simply not an option.


Emma, and I, will have to learn to face our temptations and stand firm - - - RESIST! Thankfully, God is patient with us, even as we consistently return to the bowls!!

morning girl

shuffling around in footsy pajamas, hair mussed up from sleep, she finds joy in the simplest of pleasures - like using a pencil or wearing hair clips on her fingers. routine rules at the beginning of the day: diaper change, breakfast, Blues' Clues, get dressed, brush teeth and fix hair... now all ready for the day. ready to learn, to explore, to experience, to grow... thank you, Lord, for the beginning of a new day!

the perfection of the day

on a day like today when she is cheerful and silly, it is hard not to adore her, even when she is using a spoon to take "bites" of the dog's water out of the water bowl on the floor. my heart is wrapped around her entire being and I almost ache when I look at her. I want to tickle her belly till she giggles and give her millions of kisses all over the soft and tender skin of her back. my heart melts as she reaches out to take my hand and lead me somewhere, anywhere... even her frustratingly picky pallet is unable to sway my undying devotion.

today, she is perfect.

tomorrow, we will see!