the month of here {day17}...steaming milk

it doesn't take much to make eyes grow wide and smiles even bigger.


it doesn't take much to pour love into them and watch them settle.


milk all steamed and frothy poured over a touch of chocolate melted and thick,

they lean in close and giggle loudly as whipped cream becomes the final touch.

it doesn't take much,

to do that one extra thing...

the one that makes them feel special and known.




we snuggle on couches that have settled here, but really have cradled us all along.


our bodies have made their own comfy impressions and we each have our spots that are our very own.

yes.  we are very particular about this.


and he cradles those grapes in his sweet little man-hands.  and i snap a picture because they won't be that little for much longer.

i look at his face and see the wonder there as he counts slow and steady,

one...two...free...!

and before i know it, these days will be over.


so i'll make it, those moments extra special, because nothing compares to the joy on their faces.

and i give thanks on this seventeenth day of this month that finds me here...and the three small ones to steam the milk for.

the month of here {day16}...a wonderland

i sat with my back to the window this morning, bent over math pages and focused on numbers.

i didn't see the first flake fall.

or the thousandth.

until the phone rang its ring and the happiest voice on the other end asked if i had looked out the window yet.


and that friend here thought to call, thought to make sure i had seen the snow, and my first gasp of delight was a shared one with her.

there is joy in those moments.


and the little ones dropped thoughts and pencils faster than i stood up and plastered my face against the window.


the first snow fell and not-bundled-up-enough-children pushed past their happy mama and bounded out onto the grass waiting to be tucked in for the season.

it's beautiful, this evening.  the air is hushed underneath the soft covering of white.


here the snow finds me, still captivates me with it's beauty and wonder.

and my children, with faces raised to the sky dropping downy white flakes, leave imprints on my heart that time can never melt away.

and i give thanks on this sixteenth day of this month that finds me here...and for the wonder that first snowfall brings.

the month of here {day9)...sweet sisters

she never slept.

which means we didn't either.

and the oldest began to resent the youngest for always. being. awake.


we've come through some years of turmoil.


so, really, when i snapped the picture of that happy red cup heralding the season, i didn't do so for any other reason than the sheer joy a pop of red can bring.

but then i looked closer and read what was printed on that starbucks red...

let's remember why we go together so well.

and just behind, buckled in side by side, i could hear their voices.


so many times in a day those same voices rise and fall with their emotions,

but they are fiercely loyal to each other.


and that has only deepened since we found ourselves here.


i never had one growing up, a sister of my very own.  God has given me an abundance as i've grown older...but to have one who knows me from the time i was small?

instead, He blessed me with two daughters...to show me the beauty of this intricate dance.


tonight, a brown box was delivered.


a book was nestled deep inside.


in the quiet i opened the fresh, white pages and almost immediately the tears came to the surface.

you keep your past by having sisters. as you get older,

they're the ones who don't get bored if you talk

about your memories.  ~ deborah moggach

each day that passes is being imprinted on their hearts...each day of here will become a memory that will stay with them and remind them because they will have each other to share it all with.

who will they be outside of here?

beautiful, glorious, wildly passionate, intensely loyal...

and sisters.  they will always and forever be, sisters.

and i give thanks on this 9th day that finds me here...and for the beautiful daughters who are the silliest and sweetest of sisters.

it's been a while...

but in the midst of readjusting to life at home and all that entails, i came across something my sweet sister-in-law posted.

cracks me up.

and if you know livie at all, it may just crack you up too.

seriously...life with livie is never, ever dull.

ride it like ben hur...

for my birthday this year, i decided to wish big. well...not big in the sense of wanting to travel the world or have a 23 carat diamond ring, but i did want something specific. 2 something specifics if i'm going to be specific.

i asked for a bike. but not just any bike...i wanted a cute one. and a chariot, so i could cart my two sweetie pies behind me wherever i happened to go.

so i put in my request oh...about a year ago and waited. and waited some more.

and the closer it got to my birthday i began to drop hints left, right and center hoping that *someone* specific wouldn't forget.

and then, one day, tony came home and told me he needed the car.

"AHA!!" my inner voice shouted! i knew exactly what he was going to do. my foot he had to stay late and finish up some paperwork. he was off to get my cutie pie bike.

but alas, as i happened to go by the dining hall that evening i looked to my right and saw the car parked happily in its parking space.

i have to admit, my heart sunk.

and so, since we were leaving the night of my birthday on our first holiday without the kiddos since birthing them, i figured that was my present - which seriously...was a *huge* present from both sets of grandparents.

so the night of the 26th i had dinner with my parents since tony had to *work late* again when there was a knock at the door. i looked up to see my husband's beautiful eyes peeking through the window and as i opened the door i saw behind him...

this...

and lest you think my 2nd something specific was forgotten in the excitement of it all...never fear dear reader. here i am, finding out that a chariot is on its way from my dear parents.

and here are my two little ben hurs...livie doesn't look that impressed, but she really does enjoy the ride - just took her a minute or two.

setting 'em off...

as dusk began to descend on us, tony could be found in the garage getting his *display of affection* ready...

after careful assembly, the match was struck...
please note the wagon on which the fireworks rest. it's the get-away vehicle in case our uniformed friends just *happen* to drive by.
hey look! it's me!! don't worry, i only got 2 sparks on my hand. i'm healing.
what one of my 16 rounds in my *mother load* (yes, that really was it's name) looked like when she exploded.sparklers to get everyone in the spirit...
the smoky haze, the echoing *boom* bouncing off the mountains, the colours, the chill, the laughter...i love independence day!

only one of these is dynamite...

(tony wants to know if you can guess which one:)!)

it was the middle of the desert, the sky over the horizon bleached white by the sun. i looked at a thermometer and saw the the temperature had surpassed the 100F mark. it wasn't even 11am yet.

it was hot.

tony pulled our car into a ramshackle of a place and told me to get out.

i knew what we were doing. i had heard of this place before and oh! i had always wanted to go.

at an undisclosed location that i have sworn to not reveal, i followed my husband down a windy path past the *first* fireworks stand to the other hidden *stand* and slowly walked into the fireworks stand of all fireworks stands. i was in awe. and terrified that in the 100 degree heat the whole place was going to go up in a sparkle-y explosion.

these are the fireworks that you have to sign a waiver for. these are the real deal. these are the ones that have made me fall completely in love with the 4th of july. these are the ones that have been the cause of many of the baker boys stories that still cause tony to laugh until his eyes are full of tears.

so tonight, after we have all sat on the roof of tony's parents house and watched the 2000 town fireworks go off in the valley around us, tony and one of his younger brothers will set off the *waiver* fireworks in the driveway. this year i'll even get to set one off!

one of the neighbours warned us after the parade this morning that the police would be patrolling our particular neighbourhood tonight because of a certain band of brothers reputation...i think tony already has his escape route planned...should be fun!

sweet friends...

a couple of weeks ago, one of my dearest friends from high school came to visit her parents, which meant that after 5 years, we finally got to have a long overdue face-to-face chat.

and she's 9 months pregnant, which was absolutely adorable.

sharon has walked with me through it all - the good and the not so good - and has remained one of my most cherished friends. with babies and distance it's been hard to maintain the contact that we once took for granted, but after 9 years (is that right sharon?) we still send each other 2 pairs of girly, crazy underwear for our birthdays. yes. the secret is out. don't kill me!!:)

thanks for the tea and dessert and the amazing chat sharon. and thanks for loving my girls! lyla is still asking for her aunty sharon...

which leads me to sharon's mom.

or as i like to call her: mudde mom. (long story involving caller id, sharon's dad's name and 2 giggly girls...)

or as lyla calls her: mudde gramma.

last week i had an *epicure* party at my house and as we all visited and ate and laughed lyla found a kindred spirit in her newest friend.

thank you mudde mom for making lyla's day. we'll never use the basting brush the same way again...because now, when i'm putting make up on in the morning lyla tells me: "no mama, use this brush".

i think...

the grocery store's name was *tom boy* and there was a *horse* just inside the entrance that you could stick a quarter into and ride for what felt like forever. i loved that ride.

today, it was lyla's turn to fall in love. and she did. even in her somewhat incoherent, pukey state that she has awoken in, she is still talking about the horse, the *nemo* and the *franklin*. very adorable in a smelly, sleepy, sticky way...

can't tell who's more excited...

this is the ride that didn't work...either that or it took two loonies* instead of one. i even tried stuffing twoonies down the slot, but they didn't fit...

well...i guess there was an extra loonie in the car...

livie chillin'...

and finally, *nemo*.

another satisfied customer...

*for all my american friends who have no idea what i'm talking about: loonies are a $1 coin and twoonies are a $2 dollar coin. makes for very heavy wallets...