We FINALLY got around to having A's birthday party last week. It was a simple affair, by way of birthday parties. We all went to McDonalds and we let the kids that came play like crazy on the playland... and we opened presents, and we had a MAGNIFICENT vegan birthday cake that Gran made for our little birthday girl. Not mind you that we are vegan, only that she is allergic to so many items that go into a cake, it is the ONLY way we can have a clean cake that doesn't cause problems. We have to be so vigilant with her diet. And though it was simple it was as much as our kiddos could handle.
Ash had a wonderful birthday. On the day we went to a place called Bounce-O-Rama with Dave's cousin Candise and her children. While there Ashlynn built up the confidence to go down a slide by herself. That new skill served her well at her birthday party. She slid down the slide with the best of them. My newly fearless Ashlynn bear.
So with out much more ado I will post pictures! We don't have any from the birthday party. ( I forgot the camera) and the ones that were sent to me from a friend post too small to see well. So I will instead offer more recent pictures of my sweet girls. Enjoy them!

Miracles and blessings and all things Ashlynn

Tomorrow my first miracle is going to be three. My Ashlynn Aoibheann was born at 11:39 AM on October the 29th three years ago. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life... or I thought so at the time... only it was followed by so many amazing moment since that I can hardly count them. Ashlynn was a miracle that blessed my life on that day, and has continued to bless my life since. Every single day she brings me to my knees with thanks that she is with me. Every moment that I have with her I thank God for.
She is a kind and generous little girl, who always tries to make others feel good. She is a beautiful little flower who I am proud to call my daughter. She is willful and headstrong. She knows what she wants and she is not afraid to go get it. She is everything a mother could ever want and more than I had ever dreamed. I can't possibly do this child the justice that she deserves. I am not the perfect parent that she deserves. Instead I have to be the mommy that tries her damndest to make sure that she gets what she needs. I just hope that I can come close to that mark.
I could go on for hours telling you all about her... but I think I will just show you. I am going to plaster this page with pictures ( new and old) of the most amazing soon to be three year old girl I know. Believe it or don't I have tried to limit myself with this post... I have THOUSANDS of photos of my girls. I could literally make a post a day for YEARS of photos... but then are there ever too many photos of my beautiful girls... I don't think so! So here are a few of my Ashlynn girl. From birth until recent.
My life is good. My life is blessed. I have the most incredible little miracles running around me and who could ask for anything more!

Mom, Dave broke it!

No seriously! He did.... he was going to clean my computer because it had been sounding sick... and then it wouldn't turn back on. Turns out he cleaned it a little TOO well. So our house has been a dance of musical chair... in front of the computer. So I have been grabbing the computer in moments when it wasn't being used. Now however Dave has a new computer and so I get his old one. So we are back up and running.
I had a wonderful birthday. My Dave has always been really good about getting just the right gift... and this year was no different. He got me a REALLY nice camera! If let to me I would have used my point and shoot for a million more years, complaining every now about shutter speed and thinking that some day it would be nice to get a new camera. I now have a 14.1 megapixel, 26x optical zoom digital camera. It also takes 1280 x 720 HD video complete with audio. It is NICE! We are still playing around with it... but it is NICE!
Lets see... Since last we spoke I had surgery... Nothing big... just a lady thing. A couple of masses in my uterus that needed looking at and they are nothing to worry about. Aidan's birthday came and passed. He would be four now. Amazing how time flies. No one but me seems to remember anymore... but I still say happy birthday to my angels... because they are still my angels. We got a furnace. Ours broke a few years back and we have been using well placed quartz heaters. ( like the Eden pure) to heat our house. Good thing the house is so small! :) As you might be able to tell we got Dave's retirement check and used it rather than rolled it over. Not the wisest choice by many standards... but we are going to like it when we get the electric bill! :)
I have two kids who are feeling their oats right now. We are now on a 1st shift schedule and at 8 PM it is feeling pretty late for them. Heck Dave and I are often in bed before 10 these days. So I will give you a few pics from my new camera to look at and call it a night.

I took a part-time job answering questions on the internet... from home. It is a nice little gig. I don't make much money BUT I can work when my children are asleep and it adds a little to our pot. I am thinking that if I do it right it might make Christmas a little easier. Keep your fingers crossed... because when I say that I don't make much..... I REALLY mean it. I make between .10 and .20 cents per question that I answer... and I take between 2-10 minutes to answer each question. Doesn't add up to much. Not to mention I have had to abort a question or two because a kid was in need and they can't wait until mommy has time for them. But again that is why this is the perfect situation for me. I have made 6.00 in the last week. ( I know I know) but if you add up 6.00 a week for a couple of months that can make Christmas a little merrier. Especially since Dave's new job gives them two weeks off at Christmas because of lack of work and that is not paid. We are grateful to have that information NOW so that we can plan for it. That will make the crunch a little less painful... and we have gone a two week period with out a check before... just takes a little finagling is all.
We got a chance to go outside today to play. It was so windy that we were afraid that trees would come down and the girls were a little unsettled a few times.... but that means that the mosquitoes weren't out either. Ash has had a few TERRIBLE reactions to them. Last week she got a bite on the soft tissue under her eye and it was swollen for 5 days looked like she was punched in the eye. I have pictures of playing today and you can STILL see the bruise under her eye. All because we can't get bug spray in her doggone eye socket. Taryn has a different reaction to the bug bites.... but no less annoying. She gets ENORMOUS welts that pop up with little blisters all over them. They last for weeks and then she actually has a few scars from MOSQUITO BITES. It is INSANE. So my ladies have been cooped up so that they don't get bit for a couple of weeks. They were glad to get outside. I was glad to get them outside. They needed it.
I will post a few photos for you to enjoy. I have a few really wonderful ones from today.... but then I think that every photo that has one of my children in it is wonderful.

What do you get someone who has EVERYTHING?

My husband and my mother keep asking me what I want for my birthday ( tomorrow) and I am having a real issue answering that question. I keep going back to the fact that I have every thing I could possibly dream of. I have a wonderful husband who loves me. I have two remarkable children who adore me as much as I adore them. I have amazing family that are always there for me. I am a very very blessed woman. I don't need a thing in the world... and while I am aware that needs and wants are very different things..... I don't want anything more than what I have either. Life is good. And I know it.

Yes I can say that books would be nice or this that or the other. But I guess one of the problems is that when you are as happy as I am..... some of that other stuff rather pales. I love to read I love to do crafts.... but I don't get much time for either of those anyways. But when I sit down to read one or the other of my children wants to be in my lap. That makes it tough to read or to knit/crochet. So invariably it gets put down for my babies. And yes sometimes that grates on the nerves. Say when it happens the twentieth time in a day. Most times, however, it is wonderful. I am so blessed by my children and having them in my lap and arms reminds me of that. I hold them and that love that is so big anyways, wells up inside me. It amazes me at least once a day per child and husband how very much love we are capable of.

I don't need so very much anymore. I have food, I have clothes, I have shelter, and I have love. So while I am aware that I should be able to answer that question easily... I have no answer, because on any given I am so full of gratitude for the blessings I have already that I don't know that I could ask for any more!

By the way. Dave went to an interview on Friday and was hired ON THE SPOT! We are so very grateful for the prayers and thoughts that were sent our way. Life is remarkably good!

One Enchanted Mom

I have wanted to be a mom since I was a child. I was probably one of the only girls in the world who had names picked out for children who hadn't been born yet when I was 13 years old. Those names changed as I got older and more sophisticated. I always wanted four kids. Two boys and two girls. I had day dreams of what life would be like with my babies.
The truth is that being a mother is even better than the dreams that I had when I was a child. To date there is NOTHING in my life that can compare. Becoming a wife is as deeply moving but it is a completely different feeling. There is nothing that can perk me up and fill me with joy like the smile of one of my daughters. There is nothing that incites more tenderness in me than the sweetness of a baby hug from one of my ladies. There is nothing that makes me feel more blessed than the moment when I settle down between my princesses to help them to settle down for sleep. Truly there is NOTHING in this world more amazing than my sweet girls.
Motherhood is not all beautiful moments and gazing lovingly at your child though. It can be dirty and stinky... and it can be frustrating. That newborn smell that everyone talks about... it's there to be sure, but sometimes it is hard to discern between the poopy diapers and the peed on bedding. Those moments of bliss when you are sitting next to your sleeping child thankful to God that you have been trusted with this little soul are punctuated by moments of sheer irritation when you want to pull your hair out. Mommyhood is down and dirty and takes no prisoners. And it certainly isn't for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.
I keep wondering when it will get easier... only when the aspect that I am frustrated by GETS easier something else gets challenging. One thing is certain: it is NEVER boring. I clean up no fewer than three spills ( of some sort) a day. I have taken some of the strangest things from little mouths and have found some of the weirdest things in diapers. I laugh at least 10 times a day at or with one of my daughters and I smile all the time. There is no end to the cuteness in my house. It just goes on and on. And where one kid leaves off the other takes over. It is amazing.
I am enchanted by both of my princesses. Amazed, Awed, and just enchanted. There is a magic in being a mother that changes you as a person. I am a better person because of my daughters. I strive to be more than I could ever DREAM of being so that I can be the role model that they deserve. I want my girls to know that they can do anything... but I have to show them that too. I cannot just say it and expect that lesson to be learned. It is a strange dichotomy that I have so much to teach them... and yet I have so much to learn from them. My heart is so full sometimes that I am sure that it is going to shatter into a million pieces. It is so wonderful it hurts. I have to remember to let go and let that emotion ebb and flow and remember that no matter how much of that love I let go there is always more where that came from.

Not feeling terribly artful with my words today. So I thought that I would share some of the photos that I have taken of the girls this summer. As I was saying yesterday... I get a lot of pictures that are the back of the head or were taken just a tenth of a second too late. Kids move fast and my stupid camera has a hell of a delay... BUT there are times when I get something that really is nice. There was one day in particular at the end of July when I got quite a few of those moments all in one day. So I thought that I would share them with you. All pictures were taken on the same day... and these are the best of the best. Enjoy!