And so it begins...

...the lifetime adventure with food!

Since I am so fond of reading cooking websites and blogs like this one and this one, I was excited that it was time for Mariah to taste her very first bite of "real" food. I think food is so fun and such an amazing part of God's wonderful creation!

We, of course (being the over-the-top-first-time-parents that we are), had to video this momentous occasion. Blogger is not allowing me to upload videos again today. I've been trying for several days but no luck...so a link it is.

Here it is!

*And please pay no attention to the mommy! I told David to NOT get me in the video because I was not presentable and my hair was...well, yucky...yes, that's the word. But he sort of forgot, I guess. Ugh!

Reading books (cont.)

Here is a little snippet of Mariah "reading" her book.

Loving books

Mariah got a bunch of really great books as gifts and I was thinking that I couldn't wait until she was old enough to enjoy them. I thought she was a bit too young yet but she already loves having stories read to her. It's great because I love reading out loud (even to David, which he thinks is weird but patiently tolerates anyway)!

Here she is enjoying her animal book that she got from her cousins:

Looks like she's at a really good part here...

I think she likes this one!

My favorite cooking blog

Cooking for Seven

Photo by Erica Berge

This is such a lovely blog. The photography is incredible, the recipes are scrumptious, and the writing is captivating. Not only that, the blog mistress is related to me! She is my beautiful cousin, Erica, full of grace, inner and outer beauty, and loads of talent.

AND...up until March 23rd, you can enter to win a pack of delicious granola if you visit and comment!

Happy Half Birthday!

Six months old today!

Six months...that's half a YEAR!! I think I am in denial. Just the other day David was looking at her and said that he didn't know how he would ever be able to walk her down the aisle, she is just too precious to give away! I think that day will come way too fast, so I am taking loads of pictures of these wonderful days that we have right now. They are each one such a blessing!

It reminds me of that song...

Hold tight to the sound of the music of living,

Happy songs from the laughter of children at play;

Hold my hand as we run

through the sweet fragrant meadows,

Making mem'ries of what was today.

We have this moment to hold in our hands

And to touch as it slips

through our fingers like sand;

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come,

But we have this moment today.

(Gaither)

Okay, I got all weepy just typing that! Oh goodness, the things motherhood does to you!

(Please pardon the creepy looking stuffed bee that she is holding in the above picture! It made her happy so I went with it.)

Wanted: Attitude shift!

This really got to me this morning.

"It's not what this church can do for you,

but what you can do for Jesus Christ and His church!

Think of that attitude shift, saying,

'God, You made this life and You have called me for more than just to save me. You have rescued me so that I could become a rescuer!'

It's not your-skin-and-how you-can-save-it, it's how you can spend it for His glory."

That's the ATTITUDE!

Rollin' over!

This afternoon I laid Mariah on her back down on the floor to change her diaper. Then I went into the laundry to grab her diapers and when I came back she was like this!!...

I was so excited that I grabbed the camera and took a picture, and while I was previewing the picture, she rolled over again!...

I think she is pretty proud of herself. Or maybe her big smile has to do with the fact that I was cheering and clapping like a crazy mommy!

Sleepyhead

If this doesn't work for you, click here!

Valentine's Day recap

My wonderful Valentine walked into the house a few days ago carrying these...

I just love them and I love him! I am abundantly blessed!

I had fun reminiscing over the last few years of Valentine's Days.

Three years ago: I was a completely single girl, not even bothering to mention Valentine's Day at all!

Two years ago: I was celebrating my first Valentine's Day with a REAL Valentine all my own!

One year ago: I was married to my wonderful Valentine and living in Ireland. PLUS, we had this to announce!

And now, we have our own sweet, tiny Valentine to love! God is so good!

Here she is with the neighbor boy. I guess I am going to have to talk to her about the six-inch rule.

Meaningful Conversation

I am having trouble uploading video to Blogger today for some reason. But you can click HERE to see Mariah "talking" to her daddy. She is such a wonderful blessing to us...an endless source of entertainment!

Stay tuned for another video taken just before I snapped this picture!

Blessed by Grandma!

For each granddaughter that is born, my mom has crocheted a beautiful dress (click to see my niece, Erina, in her dress). It is the sort of gift that I can see being passed down through many generations. Well, just a few days ago, we got a package in the mail and inside, packaged between pieces of fine tissue paper, was Mariah's beautiful, much-anticipated dress! I was so excited and could hardly wait for her to wear it. I thought of saving it for a "special occasion" but then I decided that I couldn't possibly wait, so she wore it on Sunday. And she looked like a wee angel! Here are a few pictures of Mariah in it:

(this one isn't the best angle for her double chin, poor thing...but her smile is pretty sweet.)

Thank you, Mom! You have blessed us so much!

Good like a medicine!

Mariah has started to laugh and I LOVE it! It really does do your heart good to laugh and even more, to hear your child filled with so much joy. Isn't God good to give us laughter?

If this doesn't work for you, click here for another way to view it.

Randomness

These pictures are sort of random, but a fun look into life these days. So here they are!

Mariah NEVER has a lack of someone to hold her at church. These three sweet girls are wonderful to her and the two on the right are both newly married so they are sort of...how shall I put this...broody? Yes, that's it. I think they are all going to be wonderful mommies some day!

Caleb, Christina, and Mariah

Sound asleep in Grandma's arms

Mariah looks a bit stunned in this one.

Mariah loves this cute toy that she got as a gift.

It rotates and is so cool...toys these days are so fun!

Back when I was a kid, we had to make our toys out of sticks from the forest! (Actually, that's not totally true.We did make stuff out of sticks though, but it was because we wanted to, so you can stop feeling sorry for me now.)

Our little jumping bean

Here is a little video of Mariah enjoying her Christmas present from Grandpa and Grandma!

Christmas Day

Our second Christmas as a married couple and first as parents was a wonderful one. Here is a little peek at our Christmas morning:

David got a bike this year for Christmas!

(If you remember, he gave me mine last year)

So now all we need is a baby seat and we will be all set.

The view outside was so pretty that morning. Every surface was coated with white frost. It's hard to see it well here, but it gives the idea anyway.

Mariah didn't have a clue about how to proceed with gift opening. She did watch with great interest though. I guess her little brain is processing and preparing for an all out attack next year!

This is what our living room looked like after we were finished!

My family sent us loads of presents and spoiled us rotten!

Thank you all...we love our gifts and so does Mariah!

(I will post a video shortly of her enjoying her present from my parents!)

Merry Christmas!

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

(Matthew 1:21)

SNOW!!!

My wish came true! We got loads of snow yesterday and last night...it is sooooo WONDERFUL!! And it couldn't have come on a more perfect week. I couldn't resist taking some pictures of it since it IS, after all, an answer to my secret prayer for snow on Christmas. :)

It started as a frosty coating of ice on all surfaces, even the spider webs!

Then it started to snow and transformed Bready and Sollus hill into a winter wonderland.

We had to take Mariah out on a walk to experience her first snow. Not sure she was really able to appreciate it under all those layers!

It was beautiful and this morning there is even more snow! I am loving it. Thank you Lord! Such a heavenly Christmas present!

I think this picture sums up what Mariah thinks of it all!

Wide-eyed wonder...

Winter time!'

It finally feels like winter in Ireland. Yesterday we woke up to a very frosty day and even had ice on the windshield before going to church! It reminded me of Minnesota, so I really didn't mind at all. I do miss the snow though!

Mariah video

I was fooling around with the camera and iMovie this morning. Mariah was my victim!

Mariah - 11 weeks old

Well, it seems that Mariah has officially taken over my blog. She is definitely a point of interest as far as the camera is concerned! I will try to be a bit more diverse in future days, but for now, here is more Mariah!

Squeaky clean after her bath and chatting to daddy.

I really like these cloth diapers that we are using. This one that she is wearing is the Bum Genius brand and they are so easy to use! Love, love, love them!

And down below we have a picture of the cute outfit that the Sahlstroms bought for her! I can't believe how quickly she is growing into things! I just tried this outfit on a few weeks ago and it was way too big! But now...

...she fills it out nicely!

(that's the politically correct way of saying she is getting chubby!!)

So my most recent struggle is getting up early like the Proverbs 31 woman. I know, she is crazy perfect but it's a goal, right? So the last two mornings, I have somehow managed to get up early enough to read my devotions in the morning before Mariah wakes up and it makes such a HUGE difference in my day. I really gotta do that more! I don't know why it's so easy to forget what a privilege it is to meet with the King of Kings each morning. And that He actually WANTS to meet with me! Wow...what a nincompoop I am sometimes!