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Thank you for allowing me a two week break from the blog!

I didn't intend to not write at all while we were away, it just sort of happened.  And I thank you once again for your patience.

What a wonderful trip we had in Chicago.  It was filled with laughter and friendship, delicious food and decadent wine, running after babies and resting with girlfriends, teaching the young ones how to share and learning more about one another.  It was a rich time, a time to cry and a time to laugh.  A time to grow but also a time to remember.  This is our third or fourth reunion, (we graduated four years ago but I can't quite remember if we had one that first year out of school, for we were all living in Wheaton still anyways!), and already we have 7 babies between us.  Needless to say, it was not exactly a restful time together, but it was a much needed time of togetherness, a time to truly enter into one another's life and meet the other right where she was, in the rejoicing or in the sorrow.

We did not do too much outside of the home we were staying in, for there were only a handful of times where all the babies were awake together!  Each baby and mama would wake at a different time, and then it seemed one baby needed to go down while yet another one had still not awoken for the day.  So there were babies awake and there were babies sleeping at all times: monitors sounding in all different corners of the house and us mamas were always hearing "phantom cries"!   As I reflect upon the trip, I call to mind different moments that I LOVED:


I LOVED being with sweet Brookie at her house in Indiana.  We spent severa days together before the big festivities began and it was simply wonderful to be with her and to "breathe her air".  We made delicious "girlie" food and had white wine for lunch. . . just absolutely perfect

I LOVED staying at Sarah's house with Greg and Marlene; I LOVED and so appreciated Sarah's hospitality and hope to emulate that someday.

I LOVED that Tirzah was able to spend time with Miss Margery on Saturday:  Miss Margery was her babysitter and I think the two of the them had just the best of times together.

I LOVED seeing Peter and Taylor become husband and wife.

I LOVED laughing with Marlene simply because Greg is so hilarious.

I LOVED seeing the Ensing family, sweet Jonelle, Emily, and the dear Aagaard family.

I LOVED sitting with my girlfriends, up until midnight each night, just talking and catching up.

I LOVED puppy chow and red wine

I LOVED the farmers market in Wheaton . . . would have to say it is still my most favorite market.

I LOVED throwing a shower for Hope and dearest Blake

I LOVED how Renee was able to spend so much time with Tirzah over the weekend.  She was such a blessing to this Mama!  She took Tirzah to the zoo on Saturday during the shower, which was such a nice little break.  And then on Monday, a frenzied day, she was able to take care of her the whole afternoon and I am beyond grateful to her.

I LOVED going out for a ladies night on Saturday.  We got all the babies down and left them with 5 of the husbands!  What a treat it was to go out on the town!  We went to a beautiful restaurant in downtown Wheaton called Ivy and have the best time sitting out on the patio, enjoying drinks and several rounds of desserts.  The hazelnut brownie was by far the favorite.

I LOVED all the picnic and park dates we had with our friends

I LOVE this picture of all the babies

I LOVED staying with the Pearson family and how they opened their peace-filled home to our daughter and I.

I LOVED having an Oberweiss date with my sister Renee.

I LOVED eating donuts in the park with Lisa and Sarah and their children on our last morning in Wheaton.

I LOVED how well Tirzah did on the plane rides.  She did perfectly on the way there, and she was amazing yesterday on our flight yesterday.  It was over four hours and I don't think she ever cried!  I was able to pick our seat on the flight and I learned that the back row, on an aisle seat is the absolute best when you have a baby!  Quick access to move around and not everyone is watching you!  She literally was running up and down the aisles, but she was making friends with pretty much every person on the plane.  She would stop and say hello to someone using an iPad here, and then stop and smile at a little girl with headphones on there.  All the elderly people would reach out their hands to touch her as she raced by and almost everyone had a smile on their face as her red curls bopped by.  So we would run the length of the airplane for a few minutes, then we would sit down to have a snack for a few minutes, and then we would watch Tangled, which is her new favorite movie now, for a few minutes.  And that is how we passed those four hours.


I LOVED being able to talk with my husband several times over the trip.  I LOVE how he LOVES me and I LOVE how he knows me, even when four months have passed between us and even when thousands of miles separate us.  I LOVE him








What are you LOVING this Wednesday?