A candy birthday

I'm not a big party planner but, I do enjoy making each birthday a special day. This year Claire had her party before her actual birthday, so she will have another very small celebration this week.

I decided to turn the living room into Claire's Sweet Shop.  Everyone got a bag and helped themselves to an assortment of candy.  They also were free to eat candy during the party.  Only 3 people had cake. Claire had several friends from school and then our dearest, ever present friend Allie from our old neighborhood.  She holds a special place in each girl's heart and is invited to nearly every party we have.  And she honestly has fun and plays along despite the 6 year age difference with Claire.

Claire shines brightly on her birthday.  She is a bit shy at first but then happily enjoys the attention while still making sure everyone else is having a good time.  She is happy to do most anything on her special day and she was happy from morning until night.  She is sweet, loving and loves candy!

A long journey comes to a close

Every post needs a picture, right?

We moved to Chicago nearly 9 years ago for Matt to start Graduate school.  Just getting to that point was a long journey.  First he had to finish his undergraduate degree which he had given up many years prior.

Those years included a master degree, a 3rd child, a move to Colorado and then a move back to Chicago, daily trips to the coffee shop to write before starting his real job, several weekends away to write, 2 (or was it 3) week long "boot camps" and a complete restart on the dissertation after 2 years of writing.  Now we are nearing the end.  Graduation is in May and the dissertation defense is next month.

We can't wait to see what God has in store for us next.

For those of you who asked what Matt's dissertation was about:

"The focus of this dissertation is a theory, typically offered in a religious context, that certain propositions can be held (and in some cases ought or even must be held) by faith without regard for evidence."

I love how God turned a scary thing like philosophy (which many Christians never recover from) to work for His glory.

Oh how I love routines.

Winter is here in Chicago.  A strange winter, but here anyways.

We have had many many days of sunshine and freezing cold the last few weeks.  Before that was rain for days and then before that there was snow.  I think the city is not sure what season it is.  And I'm certain the birds are confused.

But, I have settled into a very comforting routine.

The day starts with a 6AM alarm.  This is rough.  I am not a morning person.  But, I know that the kids will be up at 7 and I desperately need to be awake before then.  So, I get up, nudge Matt and we head out to the family room to workout.  We are doing Chalean Extreme again this winter thanks to the recommendation last year from the amazing Joline Atkins (Beachbody Coach Extraordinaire).  We also are alternating in a couple days of GymBox which streams right through our TV.

After a 30 minute workout, Matt heads to the shower while I clean up the dishes from the night before and get the kid's lunches made.  Homemade breakfasts are a rarity at the moment and Anna thinks this is outrageous.  Every morning she comes to the kitchen with her hopes high that the noises of dishes are actually pancakes being made, but alas, they are generally not. I could digress into the long term consequences of choosing certain things for your firstborn but, I will just say - feed them sugary cereal and I think they won't want it when they are older.  I fed mine only healthy foods and now she only wants sugary junk food for breakfast.

In order for Claire to get from her 7AM wakeup to a 7:30 departure to school, she has been sleeping in her clothes.  Every night she picks out her outfit for the next day and puts it on.  I'm thankful for less laundry but not sure if this is an okay thing to do...  Our culture says - pajamas to bed and fresh clothes in the morning.  Of course it also says, baths every day and our kids certainly aren't following that "rule".

Ah yes - back to my routine.  The girls head out to walk to school with Dad, I head to the shower and Katherine snuggles up with her blankie on the couch.  Around 8:30, I head with Katherine to the bus stop and chit chat a bit with the neighbors (we live on the best block).  I'm back home by 8:45 and ready to tidy things up a bit, perhaps make some coffee and settle into work on Katherine's bed.  Yep, the bottom bunk is mine for the morning.  Wondering why?  The girls bunk beds are situated right next to their large double window and the sun streams in all morning long.  It is pure bliss to sit in the direct sunlight.  Plus, our older windows don't filter away the heat and it is just so warm - like a beach.  The kitty has also taken to snuggling up with me and my laptop.  Ah, peace, warmth and I can even hear the birds.  Cue the sappy music.

I'm making it through winter.  I'm not super happy or super sad. And I'll take that as a blessing.

P.S. - I couldn't make it one day, hour or minute without my husband, Matt.  And yes, his "friend" managed to fit in our car for the drive home.

Redefining White Elephant Gift Exchanges.