Catch Up

Time goes fast!  Add a toddler, husband, and a demanding medical issue and you get me.  The way behind, well meaning mama who wants to keep an updated blog but can't always get posts written on time.  So sometimes we just have to play catch up.  

After birthday celebrations, thank yous are a must.  In order to create said picture, a photoshoot must commence.  Birthday shirt is put back on, M&Ms are out and used for bribery for smiles and cheers and try as hard as you wish but some pictures just end up like this:

And because one photoshoot isn't quite enough for a day, you might try to throw a valentine's day photoshoot in there too because well, why wouldn't you?! Much of that photoshoot might be spent like this:

Because no matter how much you try to convince your two year old that he "wheelie wheelie wheelie"  loves photoshoots and smiling, he might just get distracted by the wheels surrounding him.  Or, he might spend an insane amount of said photoshoot practicing his winking:

Again, why wouldn't you!  And then because things are not quite crazy enough, your medical issue might decide to flare hugely and land you in the hospital for an extended stay.  Praise the Lord, Grandma and Grandpa were able to come hang with Leo for a few days:

Since my release from the hospital and current status of unable to drive, we have been spending a lot of time at home.  The picture below features two of Leo's favs.  Fixing with his tools, and his "buck jammies:"

And this one captures his other fav right now, DADDY:

When said medical issue landed me in the hospital, the social worker and one of my doctors were SUPER nice to Leo and brought him two stuffed animals as well as a bag of crayons, stickers, and coloring books.  He thought visiting mom and seeing her "big guy bed" and getting presents was great.  Therefore, Leo has some new "guys" he'd like you to meet.  From left to right we proudly introduce Henry, Toby, and John Deere.

John Deere was a build a bear whom Leo "filled up" due to a kind gift card from a loving family member!  Leo is a great "daddy" to these guys and gives the best snuggles lay-ons:

 Because we spend so much time at home, we read a lot.  Leo's favorite books right now are Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Gorilla (which he "read" to me yesterday word for word all by himself!) and his Bible.  The bible is actually quite an obsession and I can only pray that his thirst for God's word is that intense the rest of his life.  He also spends quite a bit of time reading to the guys.  This time it was his other fav,  the farm book from Grandma, but they don't seem to be picky.   They tend to travel around in the basket in the back of the picture:

And he doesn't always need the guys to read to.  Many times he curls up just by himself to check out the books:

Things have been so busy around here lately that our diet has taken a bit of a hit.  We have found time however to test various flavors of doughnuts so that when cousin Mollie comes to visit we can pick the perfect one to share with her.  Wait, who are we kidding, we would never share like split a doughnut. . . We mean share like tell her which kind she should pick:

And Leo seems to have gotten over some of his fear of snow!!  He has spent quite a bit of time outside this week.  Shoveling and pushing snow with his skid steer.  Check out his equipment:

The days might seem long but we are learning that the years are going way too fast.  We are trying to live in the moment and capture fun on a daily basis.  I'm glad you stuck with us as we caught you up on what has been happening here lately.  We are thankful that God continues to provide and calm our hearts in unfathomable ways.   We are extremely thankful for an excellent medical team and their ability to help us tackle whatever issue comes up.  We never know what tomorrow might bring but we know that we have an ever loving, always providing, faithful God who loves us and wants what is best for us.    And all the while, we get to learn about what it is like to experience life through these eyes: