merry making

a few pics to tell the story of our christmas time. what the pics dont tell is, santa brought abraham the flu! i was quite impressed with the way he handled himself though. just as sweet as can be, just as long as we kept that fever down. my mom had the flu too and was in bed all the days leading up to christmas. which was kinda fun for me to get to think through the christmas menu on my own. although my dad did the grocery shopping and ended up with a 22lb. turkey instead of the requests "turkey breast". ah well, lots of leftovers!
i also made me first batch of toffee which was out of this world. and oh so easy. (kinda). during new years dinner my sister asked, "what makes it feel like a holiday to you?" and after some thinking, i am pretty sure its baking. there is something about the joy of getting your hands messy and creating something. i love it.
i made homemade cinnamon rolls for christmas morning. lets just say that i need some practice. although, mojo made a quiche that was quite to die for.
new years eve was spent playing games and watching movies and recovering because on the 30th we were out for my aunt's 60th birthday and then went to a "pre-emptive new years eve" dance party.
despite the sickness i feel like we had some good, good family time. i just wish there was more hours in the day to see all those we love in nashville.

5

tomorrow marks 5 wonderful years with my partner. what a wonderful gift. we've had a busy five years. we've sold three houses, had two children, got one masters and pursuing another, changed careers and changed cities...
we are looking forward to a few years of stability, although we arent sure when thats gonna be!
we celebrated by taking a too-short trip to paradise. our luggage got lost and arrived at our doorstep one hour before we left. so, good thing we are pretty easy going. we bought bathing suits when we got there and had an amazing time. there was a coral reef right off the beach and so we could snorkel anytime. we also went sea kayaking which is super fun and a great workout. we ate and drank to our hearts content and had mornings alone for the first time in over 3 years!

18 mos.

hi! i am 18 mos. old. i weigh a little more than 25 pounds and i'm 33 or 36 in. (my mom cant remember). i am very much a boy. i wake up dancing and go to sleep dancing. i love to sing along with my sister to twinkle twinkle and jingle bells. i only get about every fifth word, but my parents are quite impressed. my momma thinks i will be a musician like my daddy. i love when my daddy gets out his guitar and i start dancing as soon as i see him reach for it. i love animals and i love people. i talk all the time. sometimes with words, and sometimes with babble. i say thank you, without prompting so my momma thinks i am very polite. i say alot of words and some of my alphabet. i think my sister has helped me talk so much since she talks the entire day long too. my momma wouldnt mind having a mute button sometimes. i also climb on everything and give my momma mini-heart attacks all day long as i climb on things and jump off. my favorite activity with my sister is taking the cushions off our couch and jumping on it and sliding down the cushions like we are in a little gym. my parents think its probably bad for the furniture but they let us do it anyway. i'm the happiest kid around and am very laid back and make my parents and sister laugh all day long. my parents really like me and they give me kisses all day long and i give them kisses back. i like to give kisses.

truth of the morginsky household

a few times a week i put out carrots and hummus to give them something to eat while i cook dinner. it keeps them from being grumpy because they are hungry and also makes them eat their veggies. my kids love hummus and carrots so i didnt think it odd when the house got completely quiet after i served them the veggies while i was cooking.
but when i looked over i shouted, "maggie what are you doing?!!?" she replied, "Abraham needs some lotion."
Not only was Abraham's shirt off and not only had he climbed onto the table but Maggie was gingerly covering his arms and torso with hummus!


and here is the hard truth about parenting: after i snapped these photos i let them go back to their thing so i could finish cooking. i mean, he didnt seem to mind as long as he was eating and the olive oil surely moisturized his skin right?

thanks-giving

another wonderful year of giving thanks together. full of good food, warm fire, amazing desserts, good books and movies on a large flat screen tv. doesnt get better does it?

making cute baby onesies at my brother and sister in laws baby shower






maggie being silly

my photographer brother in law teaching me about ISO on the camera

maggie rocking out on the guitar, which is the guitar i learned how to play on in high school!

my beautiful niece and nephew

thankful heart

veggie tales quote: 'a thankful heart is a happy heart.'
i've been singing that song in my head all week. and its done me good. there is so much wisdom in that little sentence. our views on our lives, our views on our troubles-we can be joyful about it when we are thankful about it.

i feel like this thanksgiving i am more thankful-truly thankful than i have been in a long time. i say 'truly' thankful because i think its easy to be thankful when things are easy. and for most of my life, things have been easy. they still are, relatively speaking, but this semester was a hard one.
i climbed mountains within myself that i didnt know existed. i struggled with life and the everyday tasks before me more than i thought possible. and i experienced emotions (fear, anxiety, sadness) to a depth which i hope i never have to face again. BUT i have also experienced tenderness, community, & faithfulness in a way i hope to enjoy again.
and through this hard season i literally felt God popped his head up in circumstances to remind me "youre not alone and i know exactly what youre going through and there is a reason for it." sometimes its easier to deal with things if we know there is a reason for it. i know i am stronger person for this season of struggle and that makes a huge difference.
i also experienced the love of a husband that laid down his life for me everyday. who faithfully took care of kids when i couldn't, who spent hours every night talking and talking and talking (not a husbands perfect evening!), and who tenderly walked me through the hardest season of my life. for that, i am oh so thankful.

so i'm thankful. i'm thankful for times of darkness which brings sharper vision and clarity. for friends and family that faithfully listen and talk. for my husband and children which bring upspeakable joy. and for God who patiently loves his children and never leaves us just the way we are.

birthday blessings

i couldnt ask for a better life....

sweetness

while in nashville a few weeks back maggie got to play with her "first friend." i always called evan her first friend because he was born exactly 30 days after her and i was up in the middle of the night nursing when i got a text that he was born. during this playdate alice and i actually got to talk for like 3 hours straight because evan and maggie played so well and entertained themselves without...it was so nice!

my little goblins

auntie love

even though aunt nikki doesnt get to see them very often, she makes up for it with super gifts and super hugs and kisses! back in september (playing blog catch up) aunt nikki flew in from california for a weekend of kid time. we did lots of parks, great meals, walks and had great weather. then she made us an amazing dinner....hmmmm, i can still taste it.
one of the fun things we did was go to grants farm. we hadnt been there before and it was fun to experience with nicole. the goats were a bit aggressive and scared us all to death, so we ended up feeding them from outside of the fence! the clydesdales were my favorite and the kids loved them too!
we love and miss you aunt nikki!

what's a better fall activity?

apple and pumpkin picking....is there any other way to enjoy the first hints of fall? i think not! we drove down to illinois to enjoy the beautiful weather and teach the kids about orchards and green pumpkins.

kite flying

my husband loves to fly a kite. as a teenager he would take his kite to the beach and just lay down in the sand and stare up at the kite for hours. he loved it. last weekend he taught maggie to love it too. it was the first coldish day we have had. Abraham & I sat on the hill, had snacks and watched the sky and the marvelous clouds. it was a good family day. we were in our favorite place-Forest Park.