Our family: A snapshot, both literally and figuratively

We are all doing very well.

Patrick is working hard, reporting on a stressful story (please pray for the family involved) but is staying hopeful, balanced, and so remarkably present to Noah and I despite something that I am sure weighs on his mind. It weighs on my mind and I'm not the one who has to interview the father of a dying baby.

Noah is playing hard and learning so many new words and becoming more and more a two year old -- only a month and half to go. I am already getting excited for his birthday and seeing how much he will change and grow this coming year, especially in his role as a new big brother!

I am currently procrastinating on writing the conclusion for a little freelance article that's due... uhh... tomorrow. And otherwise I am getting hooked on baking with Noah, decluttering like a madwoman and reading when the need to just sit down, already! comes.

Our life is full of appointments -- the doctor, a chiropractor, and our doula. Many preparations are underway as we prepare for this baby's birth. I am finally really feeling ready -- well how ready can one be? -- emotionally, spiritually and, increasingly so, physically for our little Baby Appleseed to be be born.

This has been a very enlightening pregnancy. My two children are teaching me so much about myself, about my weaknesses and what it means to love unconditionally. I am absolutely in love with our Baby even though we haven't yet met, and despite my apprehensions from time to time about having two children, I am so excited about this change for our family. God is in control.

Meanwhile, my mother-in-law has begun chemo. She is in excellent spirits and is feeling relatively well. It will certainly be a challenging Lent for her, as the remainder of her treatments span the rest of Lent, so say a prayer for her as you go about your little sacrifices.

Before you think the following photo is flip, let me tell you that it was my mother-in-law's idea to let Noah try on her wig. She hasn't lost any hair yet, but she will, so she has this waiting. Anyway we all thought Noah looked so cute, like a little Beatle, that we needed a photo.



I will be posting soon on how I plan to observe Lent.

I must say, I am really looking forward to Lent this year, as February was such a blah month, and while March mightn't be any prettier or hospitable outside, there is something about Lent that gives everything so much more meaning. Plus it is such a beautiful time to look ahead, to feel refreshed, and to delight in the promise of New Life. And so I will embark on my second Lent in which the birth of my baby is just around the Easter-corner. It makes me all the more aware of what the gift of New Life means.