Four years...

In other news, today marks the day that Patrick and I were married four years ago. Four years... it seems like just yesterday and so long ago all at the same time. I am so glad that I get to walk through life with this man. 

Before we were together, when I had just turned 17, I liked Patrick and a different boy who went to my school. I remember praying about this and asking God to please have one of them pursue me if that was His plan. Shortly after, Patrick had me. We didn't think about everything before we got married. We thought we were really into our faith and that we knew what we were getting into. In some ways, this was true. We knew marriage wouldn't be easy and we definitely wanted to find out together. In other ways, though, we weren't strong enough in our Catholic faith, and I feel so blessed that we have both grown together. I feel like I could have ended up with a man who didn't necessarily love the Church the way I do now, and I would have made excuses for it. But... God was looking out for me, and I feel so blessed to have Patrick as my husband and the father to our amazing girls. I don't know if I should, but I trace a lot of it back to the night I prayed to God to direct my path with the man that I should be with.

A swing in St. Augustine

On our trip to St. Augustine a couple of weeks ago, we sat on a swing. They have a swing near the river on the Mission grounds. 

It was very chilly, so Daddy wrapped his sweater around Elizabeth.

We sat here for quite a while.

This was the view. I'll take it.

Christmas Pictures

This year, we decided to do things a little differently. We normally get our Christmas pictures done at Olan Mills. They do a great job, but this year, we wanted something more fun and spontaneous (and cheaper).

We had my husband's sister, McKenzie, take our Christmas pictures. She loves photography but this was her first time doing family Christmas photos. We think she did a great job!

It was so much more fun just hanging out and letting her take pictures of us. Here is Patrick Tebow-ing.

We got good pictures of us all separately. It was a little harder to find good ones of us all together. 

The picture below is the hand-shelf.

The mini-Tebow.

I had one here of Elizabeth planking across our laps... but alas- you could see up my skirt.

This picture is from 2009. Look at little Elizabeth!

Pa's 80th birthday

This is Pa.

Pa recently turned 80 and there was a little party to celebrate.

Pa is my grandfather-in-law, and he is adorable. Because of some drama, I actually only met him a few months ago for the first time. I think he likes me--- but how could you not like me if I help give you great-grandchildren like this one?

Happy Birthday to Pa!

I realize that Adelaide looks a little like a boy in this outfit... but it had a bow. She just didn't like it.

The end of the jumperoo?

Like her sister, Adelaide loves the jumperoo. It entertains her for a good while so I can get some two handed chores done. Only one problem--- her torticollis. 

I had read that children with torticollis should not use a jumperoo when they are in a tilt (it comes and goes sometimes). Our physical therapist, however, said that she didn't think Adelaide should use it until she could stand on her own... she (the PT) fully admitted that this would sort of defeat the purpose of the jumperoo, but she thinks it is best. 

Look at that happy face... sorry Adelaide- maybe you can enjoy it again in 5 or 6 months. 

The Shrine

In St. Augustine, there is a shrine. It is the Shrine of Our Lady de La Leche y buen parto (Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery). We came here a couple of times during our pregnancy with Elizabeth to pray that everything would go well, and it did. 

When I started having what we thought were contraction issues (we still don't know exactly what was going on... it seems my uterus liked to stay in a semi-contracted state a lot of the time) around 17 weeks with Adelaide, we prayed. We prayed in this Shrine again that everything would go well, and it did. I love this shrine. 

We went to St. Augustine a little over a week ago. We had a great time (more pictures from the trip later) but the best part... this was it. Prayers of thanksgiving while nursing Adelaide in the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.

I also took Elizabeth in (she was asleep in the stroller when these pictures were taken) and explained how we prayed for her here and how grateful we were that she is with us today. We lost our first baby with a miscarriage at a little over 9 weeks. Her name is Felicity Jane. We are so grateful for the gift of her short life and also so grateful for the girls we get to see grow up.

Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving at our place this year because it is relatively centrally located and it has a lot of living/dining room. We had card tables set up as well as our normal table and it all worked out wonderfully. We had 15 people and it didn't seem too crowded. Best part... I didn't have to cook anything. I did clean the apartment really well though, so I'm sure that counts for something. I was supposed to make brownies, and I brought the mix to my mom's the day before, because we were having a baking day. Guess who ended up making them. Yeah. Afterward Thanksgiving dinner, the young ones (those under 30) went outside and played baseball. Elizabeth kept wanting to switch balls with the big kids, luckily her daddy obliged. We were going to play hide and seek (which I love) but it got too dark. I don't like the time change.

I love Advent

This is the first year we have an Advent wreath and I love it. We try to light it every night and do an Advent station from the Magnificat after dinner. I love Advent because, while it is a time of sacrifice and preparation, it is a time of such joyful anticipation. Baby Jesus is coming!!! It is too wonderful to put into words. I love it, and I love sharing it with my family.

Cheese and noodles

We had food antigen testing done on our family (minus Adelaide). I would like to take this opportunity to mention how brave my Elizabeth is. She saw Daddy get his blood drawn and she wanted it done, too. (This was good because it saved me from deciding if we should test her or not.) She sat so still and didn't even flinch. I was very good with needles as a child as well, and I am very proud. Nowadays, however, it often takes some digging to get into my veins so I am not as brave as I once was.

So the results are in... and we are allergic to everything. We have no obvious allergy symptoms but we wanted to get tested to see if we had any delayed allergies that we didn't notice reactions too. Elizabeth also had a small rash around her mouth that could be from a food allergy. Now that the results are here, I feel like we bit off more than we could chew. (Get it?) I was sure that I would be allergic to cow's milk as I love cheese like nobody's business. I was so relieved that I wasn't only to find out that the one person who may love cheese more than I do is allergic. Elizabeth. 

She had me save this the other day because she was full. This is a salad plate, mind you, not a big plate, but the girl didn't want me to get rid of those few mac and cheese noodles. 

Elizabeth and her daddy are both allergic to cow's milk and gluten. This is going to be fun. We are all allergic to beef and gelatin. Some of us are allergic to celery, apples, cherries, bananas, eggs... the list goes on. We are now very overwhelmed trying to figure out what we can eat. The goal this weekend is to plan meals for the next few weeks and shop. I checked out books from the library on gluten free eating and a vegan cookbook to get ideas on how to make veggies taste better without using cheese. 

Hopefully, this will be a blessing in disguise and teach us to eat healthier by eating more fresh produce. It will also force us to eat at home almost all of the time, and we can finally kick our habit of eating out. Here is hoping and praying it all goes well.

My new stroller

As an early Christmas gift from my mother (who still spoils me--I am an only child), I received a double jogging stroller. She wanted to get me one a while ago, but I wasn't sure if I would use it. I thought Elizabeth wouldn't want to ride in it, and I normally wear Adelaide in our Ergo. One day, however, I went on a walk with just Adelaide and I put her in Elizabeth's old umbrella stroller. She was so content that, when the girls and I went to the playground a few days later, I put Adelaide in the stroller again. 

Elizabeth would not have it. She dealt with it for a while and then insisted that Adelaide should get out of her stroller and she should get in. I tried to give her a turn eventually, but walking while carrying a baby with one arm and pushing a flimsy stroller with your 30 pound toddler with the other arm isn't fun or easy... and it looks awkward. 

I asked Elizabeth if she wanted a stroller where she could sit next to Adelaide and she was stoked about the idea. Anyway, this freakishly long story is meant to say that I decided that a double stroller may be a good idea, and it seems as though it is... so far.

We tested the stroller by going for a walk with my mom to a playground near her house. Elizabeth is not a big fan of the tire swing. Adelaide had a good time.