A Possible Repeat of Family Cuteness

You know what I never thought was that big of a deal but turns out I feel edgy without it? Baseboards. Well, the quarter-round that goes along the bottom of the baseboards, to be specific. I miss my quarter-round. I just can't ever feel like the house is clean these days. I know part of it is that our floor is rough concrete, but it's that small gap between the floor and the baseboards that just really gets to me.

We did a nice full day of school today. I felt very accomplished.

Claire had her first cello lesson. I'm not sure I see this having longevity.

I have been studying in Colossians. Did you know there's just a whole lot of goodness packed in those four chapters? Well there is. Read it. And then read it a few more times.

I have decided gluten should basically be eliminated from my diet. Last night, Jason surprised me with a date and and I splurged and had some breadsticks. I felt horrible afterwards. My stomach was swollen and tight and I had to waddle out of the restaurant. It was a good reminder of why I started avoiding it in the first place.

I can't remember if I ever posted any of family pictures but if so, enjoy again. :)

So, to sum it up...

I'm not good at posting. Not right now, anyway. I'm still climbing out of this strange funk that seems to not want to leave me alone. I can tell that I am traveling upwards and not downwards, though, and I am very encouraged about that.
Last Thursday, we ditched school and went on a field trip instead. It was extra fun because Jason was able to come with us. That was a first. (Sadly, I think the act of taking a field trip was also a first.) We went to see the traveling replicas of the Nina and the Pinta. I couldn't believe how small they were. No wonder those sailors went crazy sometimes.

Elaina with her classmate from CC, Alice.

Betsy, Claire, Alice, and Nora

We've had family pictures on the calendar for a little while. Eventually, I thought to check Jason's calendar and sure enough, he was scheduled to be away on that day. The photographer is technically a newborn photographer and only does family photos a few times a year and on specific days, so I wasn't able to change the date. We turned it in to a Sacran children photo session instead. A week or so before Picture Day, Nora decided to ride her horse (Eily) and fell off and scraped her face on the brick that makes up our fireplace. It was a pretty nasty looking scrape but the scab fell off just in time and none of the redness underneath should show up in the photos. 

 I had a harder time than normal coming up with outfits this go-round. I wanted something subdued and girly. And I wanted Elaina's outfit to be a little different- to show that she's growing up. I'm not sure that I pulled it off, but they all looked sweet and that's what matters, I guess.

We've been going strong day after day and this is the scene I usually see by the time we get home. I think we are all looking forward to the downtime that's supposedly scheduled after tomorrow. 

It's going to be a Home Sweet Home kind of weekend and Hooray for that!

All 99 of them

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the super-duper talented Gabe met us in Van Buren for our first family photo shoot in 4 years. (complete picture-scheduler fail) It went very well, considering the number of children and the ages of those children. We only had one melt down which in my opinion equals a stress free event.

We love them, Gabe. Thank you ever so much.

Click here to see all 99 photos. :)

Family Photos

Here's a little preview of our family pictures we had taken a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait to see the rest!!! (And yes, I really mean those exclamation points. I'm waaaay excited.    !!!)

Click here:
http://fireflyspark.wordpress.com/

First Day of School Photos 2011-2012

Elaina Ceridwen Sacran
5 years old
August 2011
 Kindergarten

Rachel Claire Sacran
4 years old
August 2011
Pre-School

Eily Edith Sacran
3 years old
August 2011
Distracting but Adorable

My class 2011-2012

Hey! Blogger's working again!

We've been adjusting rather well to having another family member. Some days are harder than others but that's to be expected. Nora James is growing like a weed despite the fact that she seems to spit up her entire meal every time she eats.  

The weather has been pleasant so I've had the girls playing outside a lot.

Daddy has been a huge help with the baby. Every morning I wake him up around 7 and he and Nora James go to the couch and cuddle together and I get back in bed.

The other day, Jason needed a break from painting so we all packed up and headed to a little park in our town.

NJ was being a little too rambunctious as you can tell from the picture below.

Making wishes...

"Practicing gymnastics"

Complete happiness

Postpartum belly

Miss Nora

We did it, we two.  It was excruciatingly painful and now I'm very sleepy, but we did it.

I'm too tired to type much so here are some stats:

Nora James
7lbs 11oz
19 inches long
Blondie
GREAT nurser
Loud squaller
Has her Daddy's nose
Needs to work on her burping skills

Birth:
Natural
Lasted about 6.5 hours
Would totally do it again if I had to but don't ever plan on it
Elaina was allowed to watch her sister be born. It was special. She did great.
Baby didn't breathe right away. They had to use the balloon pump to get her yelling. It was a little tense. Thank the Lord that she's fine and it wasn't more serious.

We love her. All of us. Even Pee Wee hasn't been jealous. Yet.

First glimpses

 Claire described her to her Bebe as a very tight blanket with a hat.

We have snow! Real snow!! Able to play in it snow!!!

Yes, I call myself The Walrus. Why do you ask?

Winter

We had a little snow last night and the girls played outside for about five minutes. It took about 25 minutes to get them dressed. I remember it being that way when I was little too except I remember playing outside a long time.  

Apparently Eily's pants couldn't take the weight of the snow or Charlie's  paws.

Both Jason and I are feeling a little bit unproductive today but we are trying to push through that feeling and at least get something accomplished that we can feel good about.

I guess I'd better go get Eily. She's bumping the pile of dirty laundry in front of the washing machine.