Everyday Miracles

It's easy when you're a mom of 2 toddlers to get lost in the monotony of the ordinary and routine - wake up before you want to get out of bed, change diapers, make breakfast, gulp down coffee as fast as possible so you don't have to microwave it again, hope the kids play so you can clean up the kitchen or check email or make a phone call, put Baby #2 down for a nap, guiltily put on Yo Gabba Gabba so you can get more work done, get Baby #2 up from nap, make lunch...

Serving 2 little ones in the small things has been one of the best things for my soul and one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I've joked that I would crave a complex leadership problem, strategic planning issue, or relational issue to solve OVER changing yet another poopie diaper.

It's been remarkably easy for me to become Judah and Addise's mom. Maybe too easy. It's easy to forget about the 3.5 years that we YEARNED for them. It's easy to forget the number of tears that were poured out as we pleaded for God to work miracles in 2 governments, provide finances, and transform our lives to bring our family together. It's easy to forget about the number of transitions, amount of loss and change our kids have gone through in their short lives. It's easy to forget that we are still learning how to be a family and we're still getting to know each other.

There have been moments in the monotony of the ordinary that I've received glimpses of the miracle that are Judah Abebayehu and Addise Aster Tarike Diaz. In those moments, I've had to choke back tears as I've wiped a butt, massaged shampoo into their scalp, or scooped another bite of applesauce into their mount. Those are the moment when I remember the miracle that is my everyday. The miracle that is my son and daughter.

Here are some snapshots [mainly off my iPhone] of the past several weeks. BTW: it's hard to get 2 toddlers to be still long enough to get a crisp shot. I hope you can see a wee bit into their personalities. They are beautifully and wonderfully made...

Playing on a car at Disney in Toon Town.

Addise's first time on "It's a Small World" at Disney.
She doesn't seem too impressed.

Judah's cashed out after a fun first day at Disney!

There are really no words to adequately communicate how funny this picture is to me.
Brian found our daughter sleeping like this one morning.
I'd like to point out that Addise has ALL those stuffed animals in her crib because she likes to shove her limbs into the crib slats. She's that kind of girl.

Playing with Momma's hand. She laughs and giggles and talks ALL day.
She brings enormous joy to our lives!

We went to the high school retreat for an afternoon and somehow returned with these sunglasses. He LOVES them.

On Addise's first birthday.
My maiden name is "Getz" and I wore this very shirt when I was Addise's age.
Funny thing is, she totally has "Getz" qualities: boisterous, fun, social, and strong willed.

She's totally a goof!

Judah's going "poopie" once or twice a day. MIRACLE indeed.
This picture was on the same day as his 2nd round of immunizations.

Lastly, a quick video of Judah's first time using a spoon. After being home for 2 months, it's enthralling to see their progress. Enjoy!

Addise's First Birthday

Here are a few pictures from Addise's first birthday. It was a wee bit anti-climatic because all four of us were in various stages of a 2 week cold/sinus infection. The day was pretty low key yet on the forefront of our minds was that 1 year ago today our lives changed forever. We just didn't know it yet.

Addise's first outfit on her birthday. It's hard to get this girl to sit still! Her shirt said, "Grandma's Love Bug" in honor of her Grandma Getz coming out to celebrate.

Needless to say, the sugar changed everything...I would like to brag that I made the cupcakes. I didn't buy them. I made them. From a box. It's what I do.

Before - she had no idea what was about to hit her!

Before - Judah was very excited it was Addise's first birthday,

for purely selfish reasons!

During - being introduced to her cupcake!

After - she LOVED her cupcake.

After - the sugar coma before the freak out. This was our worst night with Judah to date. He was awake until almost 10pm.

After - a bath was required.

For those who have 10 minutes to spend, this video of their first experience with this amount of sugar will be sure to have you laughing!! [Sorry for the microphone and filming mistakes. This was my first time doing a long video on my iPhone]



Flowers for her birthday. There are a bunch of asters in the bouquet in celebration of her name: Addise Aster Tarike Diaz. Her name means "new life and flowers". Endlessly true of who she is!
Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! We love you.

ONE!

Today is our daughter's first birthday!

She woke up bright and early this morning. Not the best gift for her momma and sick daddy, but I sense she wanted to make the most of her 1st birthday. PLUS, her grandma flew into town last night and she needed to meet her. She peed through her first cute birthday outfit of the day ["Grandma's Love Bug" onesie and hot pink Hurley pants], maybe because she wanted a wardrobe change ["Best Gift Ever" onesie and ruffled-booty pants].

Right now my little drama queen, nothin' but joy, splish splashin', gibber gabbin', hand-holding walking daughter is asleep in her room. I cannot describe how much JOY she's brought to our life. She is living up to her name: a new life of flowers...spring. We love her so much.

To make this day even more supernatural, on the day Addise was born I wrote THIS POST on our blog. How fitting, how timely. Only God. Even the picture speaks to what I was feeling, aching for, groaning inwardly about.

Shake-my-head, smile-so-big, jump-for-joy, my babies are home! And today we celebrate Addise's first birthday!

[Birthday pictures to come on another post!]