introducing: nameless doggie!

sorry the last one is blurry.

considering:
mr darcey
gilbert
linford
samson
breggo

after much discussion, deliberation, and research, we finally decided to get a golden retriever. we wanted a family dog that would not mind kids crawling all over him and we wanted to be able run with him sometimes (the limiting factor for danes). so far, this little guy has been a delight...follows me around wherever i go and sleeps at or on my feet. marit adores him and tells him he is a "cute doggie." i think he will fit in nicely. he is 10wks old and slept through the night with no problems and has not had an accident inside yet. we just can't agree on a name. suggestions are welcome!

hipsters

marit's that is. we had her pediatric ortho appointment this morning. if you didn't know, sweet snuggles has hip dysplasia that has MUCH IMPROVED praise God, but we still see the orthopedist regularly. her x-ray looked beautiful today and she held so still while they "took a picture." the doc was very happy with how her little femoral heads are angled in her hip sockets and we are so thankful! being the conservative doc he is, he did encourage us to still let marit sleep in her brace (it has been 20 months of brace life now) for as long as possible. sometimes dysplasia can creep back up in children prone to it. so we are planning to give her a few days break and see if we can clear up this heat rash it has caused and then keep pressing on with brace-wearing. she is such a trooper! he did say that he thought "we have won this battle" which almost made me cry. she told dr b "tink you" and we headed home.

in other news, we have the sweetest little golden retriever puppy in our family now. he has been a lot of fun and fairly easy thus far. i will post a proper intro with a picture when we figure out what to name him...

just 5 between them

I took the kiddos to the pediatrician for their 9 month and 2 year check-ups and these are the recent stats:
marit is 25lb and 33 inches long...keeping her in the 25ish percentile

graham is 20lb and 28inches long...keeping him in the 50-75th percentile

they both did so well with a very long wait (thanks to lots of cheerios and silly games and toys) and we managed to evade any vaccinations this time. hooray for a no-stick doctor's visit!

we are currently hosting my brother and his sweet family for a couple weeks while he does research here. we are having a blast, but the blogging may be a bit spotty for a bit. we are also keeping our eyes peeled for the right dog for our family...more to come on that as well.

happy birthday to our sweet girl!

marit is a delight to us and we thank God for her sweet life.

it was hard to pick the right photos for this post because we have SO many of her beautiful blue eyes, pink cheeks, and blond hair.



she is now speaking in sentences mostly and loves to play outside. soon we will begin potty-training and pacifier untraining.


she loves little graham and gives him kisses and tries to make him laugh whenever possible.

i can hardly believe two years is here already.
she is truly a snuggle bug so we call her "snuggles."






one of the sweetest things about this stage is marit learning to care for others. though sometimes it is just a stalling technique, marit loves to pray for all the friends and family she can think of and sometimes that includes her bear, bunny, and doll. she loves to pray and if we forget she does not hesitate to remind us. our prayer for her is that she would know Jesus and the love and joy that are found in Him before she knows success, health, happiness...as those things do fade.

regarding 1peter 4:19

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

"Believers suffer in accord with the will of God, for he rules over everything that happens to them. As the sovereign Creator, God is also loving and faithful, therefore they should entrust their lives entirely to him, just as Jesus did when he suffered. Such trust manifests itself in doing what is good." esv study Bible

i love that the Gospel does not explain away suffering, but validates it and gives it purpose instead. yes this world is filled with it, yes God is still in control of the universe...otherwise there would be no purpose or comfort here or in eternity. i hope God will remind me of His faithfulness and goodness amidst suffering that is sure to come one day. did i mention that i also love the esv study Bible?

johnny jump-up: fun for the whole family

don't worry, marit and graham weigh about the same. marit missed out on this when she was the appropriate age due to day-time brace wearing. she is making up for lost time!

product review: merona double layer shirts

i haven't done any product reviews lately, but as i have revamped my wardrobe after being pregnant for two summers straight, i came across these fabulous shirts at target. i love them because they are soft, double layered in the front to add modesty, long enough to cover my whole torso, and they are on sale for $8 right now( normally $9.99). they come in a variety of bright or neutral colors and vary from ballet neck, gathered scoop neck, v-neck, short sleeve and sleeveless. they are really great! check them out if you need some cheap wardrobe help.