One Year

Our anniversary was in September so you might be thinking why am I writing about it two months later? Well we had decided to postpone getting our photos taken so that we could have some more fall colors in them. :) My goal is to have photos taken each year around our anniversary to commemorate the year and add them to an anniversary photo book that was given us at our wedding shower. The goal is to add a photo every anniversary to watch ourselves grow old together :)

So on October 30th, the day after we got snow in October, we packed up the car with extra clothes and props and went with our friend, Sarah, to Glen Echo Park in Maryland. If you are in the DC area and ever need a reasonable, fun photographer, Sarah is your gal! :) You can check out her website at http://www.wix.com/adamssarah/photosbysarahbeth or her blog at http://theworldsarahknows.blogspot.com/. She was a joy to work with and was super fast getting the photos edited and back to us! We spent about two hours wandering around Glen Echo getting some awesome shots that I can't wait to print and frame for our home! :)

Here's a sampling! Enjoy!!

Eskimo Kisses!

Don't mind if I do!

HB, this one's for you! Thanks for teaching me!

The frame was Sarah's awesome idea!

Yay fall colors!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Like I said, she does amazing work :) I can't wait to decorate our home with some of these! So much love and fun!

Have a wonderful day!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Book Review: Just in case...

"Just In Case You Ever Wonder" by Max Lucado (illustrated by Toni Goffe) is such a sweet children's book! I can't wait to read it to my own children. It's a great way to introduce and remind children why they are special (God created them) and that they are loved immensely by God and their parents no matter what.

Lucado's simple language and measured rhythm makes for a great bedtime or anytime read for children. The illustrations are beautiful and engaging as well. Part of me wished it was a little longer but I also know that it has to be short enough to keep a child's attention and it definitely met that criteria. I think it's great for elementary age children but definitely a concept that could use some reinforcing throughout childhood. Since the author has daughters (and the book was written for and dedicated to them), the illustrator used a female child in all the illustrations which, to me, would limit it's visual appeal but the book definitely still has a message that sons need to hear as well as daughters.

Overall, a wonderful children's book that I can't wait to read to my own children one day. Simple, precious and a wonderful message...just in case you were wondering ;)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Disclaimer of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com program. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations. If you would like to receive books for free in exchange for honest reviews, visit BookSneeze.com. 

Snow!

So usually in Maryland we have a decent fall and the leaves show their colors for a time as God paints the world in reds and oranges and yellows. Well, today, He decided that a little white was in order too...

Yep, that would be a dusting of snow...and we're expecting more throughout the day along with rain. I took these pictures at 11:20 this morning and the snow is still coming down, along with some rain and sleet to make a "fun" wintry mix.

Snow (measurable anyway) in Maryland is fairly rare. For D.C., snow has only been reported in the month of October 3 times since 1884, with the last occurrence on the 10th of October in 1979 when 0.3" was recorded. The same is true for Baltimore, with 0.3" reported on that same day.

I'll post another picture later today since the flakes are still flying. I guess my poor little tomato plants are done for the year :( And with green tomatoes still on the vine! I was hoping they would have some time to ripen before we had a serious cold snap but that was not to be I guess. Better luck next year :)

So for today, we've got plenty of house chores to keep us busy inside so I'll enjoy the snow from the window and take a couple of pictures. Maybe a cup of something warm later while I watch this fall/winter wonderland. :)

Soli Deo Gloria,.
Meghan

NEW PHOTOS:

At 2:10pm

At 4:40pm

One of my poor, cold, unripe tomatoes :(

Introducing...

Baby Joshua!

I am so excited to announce that our nephew was born today, October 17th, at 7:15 p.m. and weighed in at 9 lbs., 13 oz. and was 22 inches long! We are so excited to have him join our extended family and can't wait to meet him!

He joins his older sister, Grace, in the list of children we love to spoil ;)

Congrats, JJ&G on your bundle of joy!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan


Update: Official time of birth was apparently 7:06pm, not the 7:15 I listed above :) 

Also pictures! Keeping scrolling to see this lovable bundle of joy!

In his new Pooh Bear outfit

With Daddy

Waiting for his first bath...look at that hair! :)

 

Snowflakes

This past September, I met a snowflake named Zoe.

Obviously, I don't mean a literal snowflake like we see in January (or on the left). Zoe is a snowflake baby, conceived as part of an IVF treatment but then not implanted. Her biological parents' first round of IVF was successful so they had embryos leftover that they chose to freeze instead of destroy. Over time, the rest of the embryos were adopted out to other families. Zoe was one of three adopted by her family but the only one that survived thawing and implantation. Her mom joked that they refer to her as both their oldest and youngest child since she was conceived before their other two children were born but wasn't actually born until last year. Zoe had been frozen for almost 10 years, the outside limit of the technology.

I got tears in my eyes watching this precious little girl enjoy her dinner and observe the world around her. We even got to sing happy birthday to her at church dinner the day after she turned one. It made me so grateful that the technology has been developed that not only allows these children to be created, but allows them to not be forgotten and frozen forever. Currently, over 500,000 embryos are frozen in the U.S., most still waiting for the parent couple's personal IVF use. A portion of those, though, are waiting to be adopted and it is estimated that over 3,000 babies have been born from such adoptions. You can find more on embryo adoptions here.

Anyway, that's what is on my mind right now. One precious little girl...unique as a snowflake :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan