Infinity

What you see here is a picture of a statuette "infinity" by Kim Lawrence. During the four years I attended BYU, I would walk through the bookstore and see this statue on display. I loved this statue, it's grace, beauty,and meaning tugged at my heartstrings every time I saw it. But my lack of extra funds (as well as lack of a man in my life) during all those years kept me from ever purchasing this piece of art. Then, after I graduated and had a job and some paychecks under my belt, I decided to finally splurge and get this for me in hopes someday I would have someone to spend infinity with. To my dismay, this piece had been discontinued. Now fast forward over fifteen years later, this statue is now sitting on my shelf because my sweet (and unpredictable) husband overheard me randomly talking about this statue to my mom and how silly I was sometimes and cut through the bookstore on campus just to look at it and how I cried when I could finally afford it and it was gone. Well apparently it was still available in cyber somewhere and Geoff put it in the corner of our kitchen counter behind the mixer on a Thursday night and I didn't notice it until Sunday night! 

Geoff was dying during the three days the statue was sitting in the corner of the kitchen, just waiting to be discovered.  He kept taking pictures of me working with the statue hiding in plain sight!  I was clueless the ENTIRE time!

And yes, I bawled when I saw it. (But not as much as I did when I happily said yes to this amazing man when he asked me to be with him for infinity.) Thank you, Geoff Woodhouse. You are beyond wonderful!

New Furniture!

This year we finally decided it was time to replace our hand-me-down sofa, and we are loving the new additions!

I'm realizing that "Before" pictures are getting pretty sparse.  The second I realize I have time to tackle a project, I have to jump on the opportunity before a sleeping baby awakes or little kids aren't content playing on their own anymore.  So here are a few pics to show what we had before:

 The white leather sofa was pretty beat up--some seams were burst, it was so low to the ground I couldn't sit it in when I was pregnant, and it definitely had seen better days.

 This bookcase started collecting more than just books, mementos, and dust--so it was getting pretty cluttered and the toy bins weren't quite cutting it anymore.

I decided to change the layout of the living room to better accommodate our needs and uses at this time.  The piano was moved to a different wall, we got new toy storage bins to put under our nice, large windows, and the sofas (with tall backs to accommodate Geoff's 6'-3" frame!) were put against the walls instead of the windows.  And I must say, I love how it is working!

The upstairs wasn't the only area that needed a little attention and de-cluttering.  Here is a before pic of the basement:

We had a bookcase that was getting a little over-loaded and the large toy bins were getting a tad out of control.

IKEA's shelves and storage bins came to the rescue.  We sorted (and purged) the toys, 

labeled the bins,

 and are enjoying the results!

While I was working on the basement, I decided to also tackle the craft closet, a much-more involved task than I realized!  I do not have a before picture to show its state before I sorted, purged, and organized...but I am sure loving the finished product!

Adventures at the Children's Museum

Hylie and Eliana love going to the Kohl's Children's Museum.  We were able to get a trip in yesterday and as we were pulling up to the building, Eliana pointed out her window and excitedly squealed, "Babies! Babies!"  Both girls absolutely love the "Nursery" section of the museum--but they don't seem to mind any of the other interactive exhibits, either!  Here are some pics from multiple visits:

 Hylie tends to get very serious and focused during imaginative play!

 I don't think Hylie is ready for Eliana to take the wheel...

As Eliana and Hylie were dancing in one of the music rooms, Eliana actually recognized that the crazy shapes on the screen in front of them were their silhouettes, she identified both herself and Hylie!

And look who's always happy to tag along!

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Having our children has been among the biggest blessings in our lives.  They keep us humble, grateful, and on our toes.  It has been a delight watching our daughters grow and discover new things about themselves and the world.  As I hold Lillian, I find myself noticing the similar sweet features the girls share as well as their beautiful, unique attributes.  Here are a few pics of the girls side by side of what they all looked like at certain ages and in certain outfits...can you figure out who is who?

Top pic: Lillian, Hylie, Eliana

Blessing Dress Pic: Hylie, Eliana, Lillian

Bottom pic: Lillian, Hylie

Lillian - 4 Months

Lillian had a great 4 month check up, handled her vaccinations like a champ, and continues to hang out above the 99th percentile!  She weighed in at 16 lbs. and is 27 inches long.

She's a little "Chatty Cathy" and will enthusiastically tell you anything you want to know!  She's starting to move around a little bit more--when she's laying on the floor, she's seldom in the same place she started in.

Her giggles and smiles melt our hearts, she sucks on her hands A LOT and every once in a while just her thumb makes it in (and boy, she just goes to town when that happens!) and Mom is excited to report that her epic diaper blow-outs are lessening--whew!  

She's starting to grab at objects and currently her favorite thing to hold on to is Mom's hair.  I'm sure her sisters won't be far behind...we'll see how they handle it!  Hylie and Eliana continue to dote all over Lillian and in return they get cute smiles and laughs.

We sure love you, Lillian!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last week we celebrated how much we love each other in this family, crazy quirks and all!

Hylie and Eliana made little valentines for Geoff and we put together a heart-shaped pizza (which included heart-shaped pepperonis!) and chocolate covered strawberries.

Geoff surprised all his girls with balloons, flowers, and chocolate!

Me with my first and only Valentine!

Unfortunately, Hylie spent a lot of the day like this:

She had a temperature for two days, which then brought about a cough and congestion, but she is finally feeling (and acting) more like herself these days!

A Day in the Life of Geoff

Geoff has been with Sentinel Technologies for a year and a half and has been thriving in his position.  He has been given a lot of exciting opportunities to represent the company and has taken on a lot of responsibilities.  Recently he has been doing a ton of demos on stuff that I would never be able to explain...but the people he presents to understand what he's talking about and I guess that's all that matters, right?  Their PR person took a few pics of him in action, so I thought it would be fun to share them!

 Look at that handsome man deep in thought!

For more Geoff news: At the beginning of February, he visited the National Institute of Health so they could run a few tests and screenings.  When Geoff was 10-years-old he had a grand mal seizure and soon found out he had a brain tumor.  The brain tumor was removed but scans of his brain indicated he had Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  Ever since that time, Geoff's condition of good health never changed.  The Mayo Clinic would contact him every 5 years to conduct more screening and always sent him away with a clean bill of health, but Geoff always had a nagging fear that one day his MS would not be dormant anymore.  Last year, Geoff made a trip to the Mayo Clinic where the doctors removed his MS diagnosis!  They said if it has been dormant and never-changing for this long, there is no worry of it resurfacing.  The doctors then asked if Geoff would be willing to go to the NIH to do more extensive screening to see if any answers could be found as to why Geoff's MS never developed.  He agreed and had interesting and positive experiences interacting with the doctors and staff.  

That looks comfortable, doesn't it?

They took epic amounts of blood--so much that on the second drawing of blood (which occurred on day 2 of his visit, because they took the maximum amount of blood allowed on day 1) Geoff passed out!  Yikes!  Geoff survived all the pricking, probing, and intense MRI sessions and recently got the results of all his screenings: everything looks wonderful, the only 'red flag' was that he had a Vitamin D deficiency.  Ha ha!  I think EVERYONE in Chicago in the winter has a Vitamin D deficiency!  But on a serious note, we are so grateful for Geoff's health and for the miracle of his MS diagnosis being lifted.  Geoff is a loving, supportive, and involved husband and father.  The girls and I are so blessed to have him in our lives--plus, without Geoff, how else could we get such awkward face swaps?