Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Hope's first Valentine's Day



Hope celebrated her first Valentine's Day with us. Dad dressed her in her cute bunny outfit that she totally doesn't fit into anymore. It was the first time in 13 years that I wasn't Mac's best girl, but I was happy to let Hope steal my thunder. Dad and Hope played Wii games and she helped him cook garlic mashed potatoes. We just enjoyed spending time with our little lady and really love being a family.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Reading Rainbow


Dad and Hope have their little bonding time each night. Dad loves to read to Hope and she tolerates his funny faces and stories. Dad and I play very differently with Hope. He likes to do flying baby and baby boxing and I prefer to change her outfit twice a day and sing to her. She seems to just enjoy being our baby. We love that about her!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

The Gift of Hope


Today is the one year anniversary of my dad's skiing accident. The accident caused severe brain damage and he spent several months in the hospital and therapy recovery. The accident was terrible in so many ways, but yet somehow it also served some good. It caused all of us to take time to reflect on what is really important in life. I believe I am like many people that sometimes forget what really matters and get caught up in the hussel and bussel of daily life. It was a good wake up call for me and I remember thinking that it would be so sad if my dad was never able to meet or hold any of our children. At the time we were not sure how or if he would recover, but I knew that I wanted to live with more purpose and glory to God for the ability to do so. I guess you could say it was that day that hope was born. We decided soon after to start trying for a child and I guess God's timing was clear...His patience was wearing thin for our delayed child plan. Many people have asked about Hope's name and the meaning behind it. Hope means so many things, but I guess the most imporant is that hope was renewed in my life. My dad was approached by someone that worked with him during his therapy the other day and they commented on how remarkable his recovery has been and that at his age and with his other medical complications this was not expected. He attributes it to the love and support from his family and that is the real meaning of hope!

Our little Hope is perfect in so many ways, not just because she has beautiful eyes or the cutest toes ever, but because she is HOPE!

I have had so much joy in seeing our family and friends enjoy Hope. The included picture is just one example of that. My dad, cousin Grace and little Hope. Enjoying the important things in life.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Independent Women


Last week was our first week solo since Mac started back to work. I was a little nervous about how it would all go down, but Hope is so amazing and we are having so much fun together. We really miss dad during the day, but we send pictures and then I give him a full recap when he gets home. I am going to see my folks in Bville once a week and then have come up a few times too, so that is really fun. Last Friday we spend the day in Bville and my sister and sister in law came over for lunch. It was really fun and everyone just doted over Hope all day. My dad is so in love with Hope and insists on holding her all the time. She seems to enjoy it and he really has the sleeper hold on her. Hope had a big day on Sunday. We took her to church for the first time and she did so great. Mac held her the whole time and she just looked lovingly at him and enjoyed it all. Hope also went to her first Super bowl party on Sunday. She was sporting her cutiest bunny outfit - look for pics of that next week. It is so fun now that she is fitting into big girl clothes. So many more options and I love dressing her up!

I love Hope more than I thought I could and feel so blessed that she is in our lives. I also didn't think I could love Mac more, but he is such a great dad, so it makes it easy to love him more! Hope and I are both pretty smitten.