celebrating our girl

today is world down syndrome day. a day to celebrate miss maggie rae and all of the other sweet souls who also share that magical extra chromosome.

when i look at our girl i see her long eyelashes that frame her bambi-like eyes that are like windows straight to heaven. i see her smile that comes from deep down in her soul that can light up the room. i see her cute little rosebud-shaped lips that kiss anything and EVERYTHING they are in kissing distance of....feet, chairs, toys, her sisters, her daddy and me.

i see her sweet little hands and the way that they gently stroke my cheek while she says 'eassssh'... maggie talk for 'easy' . and i think of how her little fingers smell like a mixture of brown sugar and pineapple because she chews on them and she is just that sweet ;)

i see the way she laughs from deep down in her belly and makes it impossible not to laugh with her. i see the way she claps and says 'ayyy' for every little thing....and has made our whole family do the same. she has taught us to truly celebrate and take nothing for granted.

i see her little tushy that wiggles when she is crawling so fast chasing her sisters around the table. i see her tiny little legs that have to work so hard to do what she wants them to do. i see her cute little pigtails that remind me so much of her sisters.


and most importantly i see how she has changed our family. she has stretched our hearts and our faith. i see many things...but i don't see down syndrome. it is a part of maggie, but just a small part of many. it does not define her. so my prayer is that oneday everyone sees what we see....our perfect little girl who is HIS creation.

'i praise you because i am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, i know that full well. Psalm 139:14

rain, rain go away....

well we finally saw the sun this weekend which was a very welcome sight after many gloomy, rainy days. i know spring is the season for rain but it seems as we are getting even more than usual this year! so framing will hopefully start tomorrow...they are unloading the lumber as i type :) but there is a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow, so we will see.... just busy with school functions and painting the existing part of the carriage house while we had some sun. so really just some random pictures i haven't posted. sadly my hands have been busy holding a paintbrush....not a lap top ;)

:: my sweet girl has been spending alot of time getting those little legs stronger standing up at her activity cube her daddy made her for Christmas...

:: miss maggie in her cute piggies :)

:: my sweet girl and her sweet smile...


two of our girl's favorite things right now...making a mess (she emptied emme grace's project) and sitting 6 inches from the tv and watching blue's clues :)

and we also attended a wedding. the q & u wedding to be exact. rayley beth's kindergarten class had all the parent's attend the wedding and the reception, complete with cake, mints, nuts and punch of course ;)

all of the girls wore a letter u veil and carried tissue paper bouquets. and all the boys were dressed in their best and wore q bowties. they walked down the isle and the letters q & u were vowed to always stay together, for the sake of all 'qu' words. and at the end of the cute ceremony the pastor said 'q and u i now you pronounce you 'qu'...you may high-five your bride!'

it was so cute and they will always remember that q doesn't go anywhere without u :)

:: our beautiful bride....rayley beth and lila....the wedding program miss rayley made, that is herself she drew on the back of what she would look like on her wedding day....and all of the grooms, my don't they look so handsome?

:: rayley beth getting ready to go down the aisle...i started tearing up thinking about the day she really goes down the aisle

:: and the house. decisions, decisions....bringing home lots of brick samples (this brick that is new made to look old is my favorite so far) and painting sample colors all over the house....

:: what we have painted so far....i wanted to go darker so we went from a khaki to a deeper brownish-taupe color. i like it SO much better :)

:: the scaffolding where jeffrey and i have been painting from. i was on the very top. scared, but up there :)


so hopefully i will have pics of walls going up next post if it will stop raining long enough ;)

happy, rainy monday :)

spring dreaming....

so we have been really busy the past few days...field trips and open house at the girls school. pajama day and dr. suess day. but not busy with the addition :( unfortunately rain has put everything on hold for now, but hopefully walls will be going up in a few days. after lots of rain we were so happy to see some sunshine on tuesday, so the girls and i enjoyed the afternoon at my parents playing outside and watching miss maggie enjoy her new treat...suckers. or lollypops. whatever you prefer. but our girl doesn't care what name this new treat goes by, she is just in love :)

:: all done :)

:: ahhh, signs of spring everywhere!! don't you just love buttercups? it is such a happy flower...it is my second favorite flower. a very close runner-up to tulips :)

:: my beautiful big girls enjoying a beautiful day :)

:: my beautiful baby girl and her angel eyes


and then we had fun one night making our first homemade pizza...or kinda homemade ;) we were at publix and the girls saw the big ball of raw pizza dough and our chicken tenders from the deli dinner plan kinda went out the window. but the girls had fun making it and they said it was 'the best pizza crust they ever had'. i think their pride in their hard work made it taste that much better :)

and random cute from the week....rayley beth was sitting their baby dolls on our steps (the steps are the stadium seating for the dolls to watch the girls put on shows in their room ;) and i saw her working really hard trying to get the arms just right on one of the dolls. i asked her what she was doing....

'i'm trying to make her look bossy. she's the oldest... so she is the boss.'

wonder where she might have heard that....perhaps from miss emme grace who happens to be the oldest ?

:: i think she does look quite bossy ;)

:: emme grace's horse...it is impossible to look at that cute little jockey on that horse with that big behind and not smile :)

:: and rayley beth explained that this is her when she is a 'teenager and married with her husband, her baby, her daughter and her son. he is playing soccer (actually looks like volleyball) and he got hurt. notice the pool of blood and the tears... it must be a pretty bad injury ;) also note her black nail polish .. .. she always draws herself with black nail polish when she is a grown up because i tell her she can't wear black nail polish until she is a grown up :) and love her bracelet with charms of all her children....

:: this picture makes my heart so happy...

happy happy weekend :)