Not too much exciting going on so I have not posted in a while...still unpacking...it's neverending! We are getting there though...everyday I love this house more than the day before...I think we finally found the house that we will be in forever...it only took 2 other houses in the matter of 3 years but that's ok...this house is a keeper (UNLESS-all of our family would move down to Hilton Head with us...then we would be out of here in a second...although NY is pretty the taxes are a killer...anyway....here are some recent pics of the girls...

I had left the room for a couple minutes the other day and came back to see Abbie looking like this...thanks Sophie!

Abbie has a lot of hand me downs...therefore this justified me buying her this adorable cashmere outfit from Strasburg...she's so cuddly in this outfit!!

Wait...where is Abbie????

There she is!!

Sophie in her new cute pinafore...

Abbie (aka-The Blob)

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Ella

Happy Third Birthday Ella!!!!

My dear Ella turned 3 on Sunday. It was her first birthday with us and it was such an amazing day. I love this child so much...she has such an amazing heart...

On this day it's hard for me not to think back three years ago and wonder about her mother's story ...was she a single mother? Was she abandoned because of her cleft lip/palate? Was she the second child? My mind races with so many possibilities. I wonder how her mother felt when she left this tiny child in the freezing cold outside of the orphanage...how heavy her heart must of felt...and how heavy it must continue to feel. I pray for Ella's birth mother everyday and thank her for this amazing gift we call Ella Irene!

And here are some things I love love love about Ella

-She has the biggest heart of any child I have ever met.

-She loves to help whenever she can.

-She is so polite, always saying thankyou and please.

-She is freakishly strong and we have to laugh as she picks up heavy heavy objects with such ease.

-She is such a clown and loves to make Sophie laugh.

-She gets ready with mommy in the morning and always dips her fingers in my contact case after mommy and pretends to put her contacts in.

-She always volunteers to say Grace before dinner...and her prayer consists of looking around the room and thanking God for anything she sees (ex. Thank God for milk, chicken, Sophie, mommy, daddy, Grampy)

-Whenever I dress her up she has to run and show Daddy

-She has more energy than any child I have ever seen!! From the moment her feet hit her bedroom floor in the morning she is on the go (OK...I admit this trait does get a little tiring for mommy!)

There are so many more...I love you my Dear Sweet Ella!

oh my little Abbie...

I love this girl!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Here are a couple cute pics of my little pumpkins and sleepy black kitty. The girls had a great time trick or treating until the "monsters" started to hit the streets...my poor little Ella was sooo scared (this was her first Halloween with us)...Our village has set hours for trick or treating...so at 5 o'clock we ventured down our street and the girls were loving it...we were the only ones at this time...well once dusk arrived so did the "monsters"...Ella cried hysterically and had to go home with Daddy...so mommy and Sophie braved the streets (and monsters) alone...and of course our sleepy little kitty only lasted one house...

Reunited...after a night apart!

A lot to talk about...

Well we are officially into our new house-yay! We absolutely love it-it has all the space we need and we could not be more excited! It's a beautiful older home built in 1885 with many updates...we are so in love!

We also had the girls princess birthday party last Saturday. The girls had sooo much fun. This was Ella's first birthday party and she was soo happy-

We also got to go to the pumpkin farm on Sunday. It was a beautiful fall day- 60 degrees and sunny!

Here are some random cute pics I thought were worth posting...

Ella in her cute Etsy skirt!

Mommy and Daddy at a wedding without the kids!!

Working mom...

First, I promise to post tonight with new pictures...we have just moved into a new house so things are absolutely crazy. But I have many pictures I need to post and will do so tonight...pinky promise.

And now I have to post about this just to get it off my chest...lately I have been really struggling with being a working mother...when I had only Sophia I felt it was very doable...I went to work in the morning-came home and spent every second with my little darling. Then our dear little Ella came...although a tad more difficult I still felt as though I could manage everything....well now with my beautiful Abbie I find myself really struggling. Now I know I am blessed because I have a job that allows me to come home between 3-4 O'clock. However, when I get home at this time I have to find a way to divide my time between three children 3 and under (one who is still nursing), unpack a whole house, get the kids ready for bed, get the kids to bed, get myself ready for the following day, and then try to get to bed at a decent hour (usually around 10:30) only to wake up 2 more times in the night to nurse my dear sweet Abbie...now don't get my wrong I am NOT complaining. I love my family more than anything...and I am blessed that I have my loving mother who not only watches the girls during the day but helps with the house, laundry, etc. I also have a wonderful husband who helps out when he can...but I struggle with those things that people can't help me with...dividing my time between three beautiful children and letting each of them know how much I love them...while trying to run a home and have a career.

I have been feeling this way for awhile and this morning just solidified everything...my little Sophie always wants to be held in the morning. Well this morning Abbie woke up earlier than normal so I had to hold her instead of Sophie- so Sophie went to Grandma....when I put Abbie down a little while later and extended my arms to Sophie she did not want to come to me...she still wanted Grandma...

And then to top it all off guess what song was on the radio this morning...

"Cats in the cradle"....

I know many woman go through this-not just me-I just wish I knew how to manage it better...

So far all I have come up with is looking forward to November 2nd...daylight saving time...I gain an extra hour with my girls!

Happy Birthday, Sophie!!

Happy Birthday, Sophia Hope!

I prayed for this child and the Lord granted my request.

1 Samuel 1:27

My dear Sophie turned 3 today. I still can't believe it! It feels as if it were yesterday when I learned I was pregnant. But actually it was January 27, 2004. Greg and I tried for almost a year to have a baby. My frustration was growing as my friends would share with me their "good news". Then the unthinkable happened that took my mind completely away from having a baby. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and was given less than a year to live. Well his condition quickly worsened and he found himself in the hospital soon thereafter his diagnosis. One morning he were by his bedside when we were told his time was near. As we all stood around him he looked at me and told me I was pregnant...Greg and I were so confused b/c first of all we were not pregnant and second of all I never really talked to my dad about my frustration of not becoming pregnant...well he repeated it again and we shared with my dad, "no dad, we are not pregnant". Well apparetnly my dad knew something we did not...several weeks later we were pregnant! I shared the news with my mom and dad on January 29th...January 30th my dad passed away. I believe God knew that I would struggle with losing my father and sent me a little angel named Sophie to ease the pain...Sophie's middle name Hope is in rememberence of my dad...she gave me such hope in a time of sadness...Thank you God for this blessing we call Sophia! And here are some of the things I treasure the most about my little angel-

-She loves her mommy with all her heart-a true mommy's girl!

-She has such a deep belly laugh that melts my heart.

-She substitutes "v" with "b" and tell me she "lubs" me all the time!

-She falls asleep with her play horses in her hands every night.

-she calls marshmellows- "farfellows"

-She must kiss me at least 4 times every night before I leave her room.

-She loves to build castles with blocks

-She loves horses and makes the best horse sound I have heard-she has even received compliments from strangers!

-She is so cuddly in the morning.

-She pumps her one arm when she runs which looks quite funny!

-She at times compliments me on what I am wearing.

There are so many more...I love you my Sweet Sophie!

Birth

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday