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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Twinkle Tots

We have been waiting for this day. The day that Delilah could start independent (not mom & tot) dance class. Most studios in our area do not offer independent dance class until the age of 3 but I found a dance company in one of my favorite neighborhoods and she had her first class on Monday and it was beyond amazing. 

In my early 20's, I lived in this neighborhood and daily I would see sweet little girls in their leotards and tutus skipping in and out of the dance studio. I would frequently say "that will be my little girl someday!" 10 years later and my tiny dancer is now dancing in that studio. 

My husband & I were totally the "New" parents at the studio. The other parents had clearly been watching their little ballerinas & tappers dance for some time. I do not think that I will ever take my eyes off of Delilah while she dances in class. We immediately had tears in our eyes, huge smiles on our faces,  joyous laughter and an abundance of love. It was a such a powerful 45 minutes on so many levels. 

I may not be able to sleep tonight due to the anticipation of her 2nd dance class tomorrow. Photos & video from class to come.





Saturday, January 18, 2014

Christmas tree oh Christmas tree: Our day at the tree farm

We still have our Christmas tree that we cut down on December 1st. It is not up and decorated in our living room like it was up until December 26th, but it is right outside on our deck, undecorated and dusted with snow. It's beautiful to look at and a beautiful reminder of the very special day that we had on December 1st. We went way up north to Woodstock & Harvard IL to have the ultimate tree farm experience. We will definitely be taking the long trip to both tree farms again on December 1st 2014. 


















 Thank you  Ben's Tree Farm & Oney's Tree Farm for a beautifully festive day filled with wonderful people full of Christmas spirit.












Friday, January 17, 2014

Delilah's Winter Wonderland Birthday Celebration.

Delilah turned TWO on January 5th and it makes me sad that I did not have a proper birthday post for her written on her special day. Thankfully, we had her birthday celebration on December, 14th. On the 14th, I was pregnant and we were so very excited to share the news of our pregnancy with our family and some very close friends. When Delilah blew out her candles, we made the announcement. The very next morning I bled, and on December 23rd, I miscarried. I feel so blessed that we were able to have her birthday celebration without any sadness in our hearts. We recorded the announcement and I can not bring myself to watch it or delete it. Someday, I'm sure that I will watch it and I will feel both love & sadness.

These are just a few photos from Delilah's winter wonderland birthday party. She was so very happy to have her friends and family over for a day full of festive fun. We had snow for sledding and our house smelled of gingerbread men for decorating. Thank you to everyone who helped make Delilah's day so very special. XO





                       




Delilah designed her own cake with the baker. She had big ideas!











Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Twelve in 2014 - January

12 in 2014

I am linking up with one of my favorite bloggers Jessica over at My baby birds for a Twelve in 2014 portrait project. On the 15th of every month in 2014 I will post one photo of my sweet Delilah. Delilah just turned 2 this month and I love the idea of capturing one photo of her each month of her 2nd year to share. My goal is to focus on capturing her personality and spirit in photo. 


Classic Delilah 



Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Digging Deep


I have recently been digging deep and looking for the good in the bad that we experienced a few weeks ago. I have had many inspiring conversations with some wonderful friends. I so much appreciate all of the ears that have been here to listen and the eyes and fingers that shared so many texts and messages. I have learned more about myself and more about many important people in my life. 

Digging deep is bringing me back to me. There are so many wonderful things that come with becoming a wife & mother. I wouldn't change any of it but I have realized that these past few years I have lost a little bit of me. There are parts of me, parts of my daily life that I need to always make time for and never let go of. Caring for Delilah is the most important thing in my life but when you are caring for others, you must never let go of caring for yourself. 

I lived alone for 10 years of my life. In those 10 years of my life, I had a whole lot of time to be me. I had responsibilities, jobs, bills, friendships and relationships but every morning when I woke up, I had the ability to do whatever I wanted. When I wanted to pick up and move, I did. In fact, I moved every year of those 10 years. I wandered but I was not lost. Back then, I handled heartache, fear and disappointment much differently that I find myself handling it now. I credit that to being older, wiser and having stability in my life.

But, when it was just me, all of the space was mine. All of the space was my sacred, spiritual space. I haven't learned how to find my sacred, spiritual place in my current living space. When Patrick & I met, he owned this home. Its a very nice home, but it never felt like my home. It was very much a bachelor home when I moved in and we warmed it up with some of my influence but we always planned on selling and never planned on being here as long as we have been. 

We are selling now and we are on the hunt to find a place to call our home. A place that has that special place for all of us to feel connected and to disconnect when needed. Patrick's place to disconnect is definitely the garage. Me, I need a space that is all my own. A place where I can heal and be healed. A place where I can meditate, practice yoga and give and receive massage. A space that smells of incense, oils and me. A place where I can quietly read, think, create and connect to my spiritual self. 

For now, I have to create that space within myself. Last night I pulled out one of many storage bins filled with spiritual books. I have not given myself the time to sit quietly and read an inspiring book in much too long. I pulled out Urban Shaman, found a quiet place and sat alone to read. I read until my eyes closed. Now, I am going to pick up my book, find my quiet place and sit down alone to read myself to sleep. 

One good that I have learned from this bad is that it is more than ok and very important to make some time for yourself to just be.

Monday, January 6, 2014

2013 Blessings


New Year's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I love a new year, a fresh start. These past few weeks have been very difficult as we were hit hard with an incredible loss. The promise of a new year filled with new blessings gives us a bit of a lift. 2013 ended in sadness, but there was so much in 2013 that blessed us. 
As 2014 begins, here is an A-Z look back of some of our 2013 blessing. 

     A- Apple Orchards - We celebrated fall and had a beautiful, fun filled day at an amazing apple orchard and many pumpkin patches. Can't wait for fall 2014.

B- Beach - We hit the beach on a few very warm summer days. Delilah did not fall in love with the beach, maybe 2014 will be the year she falls in love.

C- Christmas - Christmas came on a very sad week for us but we had a very special day with family and Delilah's Christmas morning was beautiful and blessed. 

D- Delilah - Our greatest blessing.

E- Ellie-Mae - Man, woman & child's best friend. 

F- Friendships - Patrick, Delilah and I are blessed to have wonderful friends that we are very grateful for. 

G- Gatherings - Getting together with groups of people we love all at one place.

H- Health - This year my dad hit the 5 years after cancer mark which now means we can say cancer free.

I- Income- We are blessed to have jobs that provide us with steady income, food on our plate and a roof over our head. 

J- Jingles - Delilah loves music! She makes her own, loves when she hears a jingle or song and insists on everyone dancing. 

K- Kindness - The kindness that we give and receive. 

L- Love - We love & we are loved. 

M- Morton Arboretum - Our favorite place to visit year round. Many wonderful memories have been made here. 

N- Nieces & Nephews - They are the best!

O- Orlowicz family - It was the hottest day of the year but we had some quality, carnival face time during their quick visit. 

P- Pregnancy - We tried all year and towards the end we were expecting. We lost this pregnancy but we were blessed for the short time our baby was growing inside me. 

Q- Quiet - Quiet times are always a gift.

R- Road trips - We explored and discovered new places. 

S- Sleep - We got some, almost enough. 

T- Travel - We were blessed with safe travels by air and car. 

U- Uganda - We were blessed with information about orphanages in Uganda and what we were able to do to help. Helping others is always a blessing. 

V- Vacations - Special times with our little family. 

W- Wagon rides - Horse drawn in the winter and tractor pulled in the fall, we fell in love with wagon rides this year. 

X- XOXO - So many hugs & kisses.

Y- Yummies - Our growing toddler would probably put yummies at the top of her 2013 blessings list. 

Z- Zoo - Its always a process to get to and the crowds are a bit much but we always leave with a smile on our face. Delilah loves tropical world and monkeys. 

May you all be very blessed in 2014. Happy New Year!