SWIM CLASS...

Okay so for just about three months now, Faith has been taking swim lessons at a swim school that I LOVE and actually she loves too, however, it is new and scary for her and it is NOT a warm fuzzy type swim school- it is ALL about being pool safe and learning to swim (no cute medals or awards just hard core learn to swim!). The good news (great news to a mommy that wants her 4 almost 5 year old to be SAFE in the pool and heck, everywhere), is that she IS learning to swim and is very proud of herself! She should be, she has come a LONG way and it has not been easy for her or myself. That said, today was a HUGE day for her as she took class and cried just a little (this is much,much,much improved!) so she finally got a ballon afterward and boy was she happy! Here is a photo of her and her friend Jeff (Great job too JJ) after class after they got their ballons. It was a fantastic day!!!!

Yipeee for Faith! :)

I had to take a picture but I did not bring my camera, so this shot is taken on my iphone- not great quality but you get the picture (haha).

Cheers,
Melinda

Growing up...

I am so amazed at how fast time flies and my kids are growing up! It just shocks me! Faith, my oldest, in the first photo will be five yes 5 years old in just a month and a half...Here is a little sneak peek of some photos taken for her birthday invitations for the "Luau Hula Party" she will be having in July. Gosh...my baby is going to be 5! Yikes! sniff, sniff...

Then there is Baby Grace, now three yep, 3 months old. I can not believe it! Seems like just yesterday I was taking the pregnancy test and jumping up and down with Faith and Brian that we were finally going to have another child and now she is not even a newborn really anymore. She is so active and is such a mover and shaker. We all adore her and our family feels so complete now having two girls- crazy busy sometimes but wonderful!

I also am excited to share these photos as I am learning to shoot in RAW and with my new Photoshop CS2- it is so fun! Sarah (my mentor and close friend) and I worked on these shots and more today and I am thrilled to finally be getting somewhere and feeling better about my photography...of course I have lots more to learn but I am so happy to be getting closer to where I want to be with it.

Hope your all looking forward to summer coming very soon...we can not wait!

XOXO,
Melinda

Pure Bliss!

Well, I am winding down from a wonderful "Mother's Day" yesterday...my first Mother's Day being a mommy to two kids not just one anymore. It was a great day.Starting with Church with the family in the morning, a lovely brunch out afterwards and all afternoon just playing at the park with my girls and husband (well the baby can not really play yet but she loves to watch her Big Sister play!). I could not have asked for a more perfect day! Funny how the older you get, your life changes and "The Perfect Day" changes too! Another thing I have to share is a fantastic sermon at church that morning about "raising kids" the pastor spoke of what really and I mean, REALLY matters to kids; makes them happy. He said, TIME spent with your children (that is the single most important reason I choose to be a full-time stay at home mom and love it!) as well as he also spoke about the fact that in today's culture- we strive so hard to give our kids everything; especially the edge to make it and do well and suceed in life however, with too much pressure our kids can many times do the opposite, so it was a great reminder to me to SLOW DOWN and just enjoy life and time with my kids and let them enjoy life too! The last and most meaningful thing he said was...PUT GOD FIRST IN YOUR CHILDREN'S LIVES- not soccer or piano lessons but GOD. I am thankful for that reminder and it came at a perfect time. So, enough about that for now but I just had to share.

Saturday afternoon we had a new family photo session with my dear friend and talented photographer; Sarah Metz (Thanks Sarah!) and she took some new updated family photos including the baby so we now will have some current family of four photos. Photos are probably one of my most cherished material items as they are something well worth paying money for as you can not bring back time but you can always look at a photo and bring back ALL the memories; feelings...everything! So getting our family together to get some shots of us all is precious to me! So, Sarah was nice enough to let me share one of the beautiful shots she took of my two little angels...sweet sisters- and they sure do love,love,love each-other. In this photo- Faith is 4 years old almost 5 and Grace is 12 weeks almost 3 months old. I KNOW I will look back at this picture all my life and SMILE! The girl's bring such joy to my life and I am so proud and lucky to be their MOM!

To ALL you MOM's...hope your day was very special.

Now back to the crazy days (reminding myself to SLOW DOWN and enjoy!) as we go,go,go...

Happy Monday,
Melinda

Happy Mother's Day!

No pictures today...just a little something special that my dear sister in law sent to me this morning to get me into the Mother's Day spirit (Thanks Suzie) , although a friend of mine told me yesterday- everyday should be Mother's Day -totally agree!

Enjoy MORE Pictures coming this weekend of the girls and all... Lots of fun ones I can't wait to share! ;)

Before I was a Mom... (FOR ALL YOU MOMS)

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.


Enjoy your Mother's Day weekend Mom's & Grand-mom's! :)

Love,
Melinda

Grace is ALMOST three ...YES, 3 Months old!!!!

Okay, seriously now...time flies when your having fun and boy are we having a blast with Baby Grace! She is such a fun and happy little baby. Her smile is infectious! Big Sister Faith just melts as do Mommy (myself) and Daddy and pretty much everyone that see's her and gets to see that big old smile she loves to share. I am so in love with this baby. Of course, I have always been in love with her older sister Faith (4 almost 5 years old now- wow...see time does fly!) BUT, I questioned if I had enough love in my heart to share with BOTH my girls before Grace was born. It is confirmed 110%- I totally am IN LOVE beyond my wildest dreams with BOTH my precious daughters; Faith & Grace (and hubby Brian too)! Okay, so enough gushing about my little angels (who at times push my buttons- both of them but I adore them even more for that honestly!) SWEET & SPUNKY LIKE THEIR MOM and their DAD too.

Now some details...

Grace is growing hair (Yipeeee!) and is looks like a medium brown, not as dark as big sisters but brown. Her eyes are still in question though- well, they are big and beautiful like Faith's BUT the color- hmmm, some days it looks blue, others grey blue and other days is is sorta brown so who knows... All I know, is they are bright and stunning (exactly like Big Sisters!!) which is going to make it very hard for Daddy to say "NO" to either of them ever. Grace is just about 10 pounds now , still sweet and petite and about 22-23 in. long. She is very strong, active and sleeps great and like I said before, very happy! She is a doll. Faith loves that she smiles at her ALL THE TIME (as do Brian and myself).

Sorry- I have not sent my recent amount of daily photos to you family & friends BUT I have been taking lots of photos I just have not got a chance to get them edited, cropped and sized nor post them BUT I will catch up on that this next week.

For now, here is a sweet shot of Grace taken last weekend of her and Daddy (observe the wildly growing hair she is sporting-luv it!).

The girl's keep me very busy and life is so fun! :)

Happy Friday Everyone & Have a wonderful weekend,
Melinda & Family