january 30th

oops. three weeks in and i've already fallen behind. true turned six weeks old and is ALL smiles and coos (that and a fantastic case of baby acne!) :) she loves when we mimc the noises she makes and will carry on a conversation of sorts with you. haven's favorite shows are madeline and sesame street and she's loving rediscovering old toys that we are still unpacking. we had a family date night this week to our mall's chick-fil-a and h and jon rode the train in the rotunda! it's physically impossible to smile more than she did-- so great. jon and i each spent some time dreaming and vision casting for the year and had a great time sharing with each other ON A DATE! our youth group watched haven (and a bunch of friends from church) and los campos kept true for us. it was great having a face-to-face conversation without interruption. we're excited to share more about one venture in particular soon, but just know that we want your bibles for our birthday.

january 20th

 teaching true her ballet moves :)

smiling at haven

this past week has served as a trial run for me. jon's been home with us since we came home to nj as a party of four and i've grown use to having him by my side 24/7 (literally). friends are still helping us with a few meals throughout and jon is just a shout away, but i've tried better to 'run our home' and return to my role as primary care-er. let me just tell y'all that there is an equation they do not teach in math classes i've come by--when you add one child to a family, the time it takes you to accomplish anything increases by 'x'; when you add a second kiddo to said family, said time increases by 'x+72 / the square root of how much laundry remains undone'! i'm curious to find if this remains true after infancy or could possibly grow even more.

 jon's begun work on the fence--his big hope to accomplish before returning to work. he is the best of the best and so humbly serves me and our family. haven was excited to return to bible study ("school") this week. we've been learning about the letter 'm' this week-- glueing marshmallows to 'm' outlines, eating m&m's, and finding books and roadsigns with our letter of the week. true's volunteering a few smiles for us, staring into space, and cooing more than ever. she's an attention hog and must be near your person at all times. two cars had issues that jz totally handled.

we talked a bit about dr. king with haven this week and it's funny what sticks in her sweet mind. 'martin' (as she refers to him--i wonder if he would mind, sorry dr. king...) lives in heaven with God, but used to live in 'merica before he died and he taught people to love each other no matter what you look like in your eyes. we definitely talked about this hero in three-year-old terms, but i love that she's getting the heart of his message. we are so thankful for the sacrifices he and his family and so many others have made, simply for the existence of ours.

 i'm sitting in 1thes 5 and soaking in being prayerful, thankful, and joyful in all things. it hits me, pretty often, this overcoming joy at this season of life. it causes me to wonder if it is in part to the sorrow that we've known-- if darkness makes light shine brighter? whatever way, i'm loving l o v i n g this season and humbled to feel so blessed.

january 13th

someone is one month old today!!!

our sleepy girl is doing so well-- tummy issues have disappeared and her first nj doctor visit was a success! all four of us, our doctor friend, a med student and all our favorite nurses squeezed into a tiny examine room; quite the site. two pounds bigger and almost two inches longer in this short month. haven was meant to be a big sister-- she is in her element and true loves her attention best it seems.

thankful for...
::friends with delicious dinners
::family dates to wendy's for frostys
::healthy girls
::caffeine
::a husband who installs dishwashers and wakes for midnight feedings
::white collar on netflix
::sunny windows
::isaiah 40:29

january 8th

haven is a great big sister!

 true is awesome at sleeping-- yay!!

 so tiny

 the newest family photographer sans pants, but with princess gloves so we're good, right?

 our first christmas as four!

 happy birthday jesus!

 introducing the sisters...

 h was so excited, she waited outside for t to arrive

 look. at. those. lips!!

meeting our daughter for the first time

i'm lost for words to describe the joy in my heart. God is so good. and gentle. and perfect in timing. and just plain ol' awesome. we are loving life as four and adjusting to 'fake' life (jon's on leave for a month) nicely. i'm challenged to learn/know/live ephesians 4:1-3, especially in my role as mama to these two girls. loving listening to haven recite over and over again the story of jesus' birth with her little people set. thankful for a date with h today at b&n for some book readin' and cupcake eatin'. can't inhale enough of the sweet smell of miss true. amazed at all my husband has accomplished this week and how he leads our family. thinking the christmas tree may never come down. oops.