I woke up Sunday morning thankful to be able to sleep in till 7:30am. Stephen had volunteered to get up with our little early riser. I relished my extra time in bed, telling myself not to feel guilty because, after all, it was Mother’s Day. That’s about as far as it went though. It still hadn’t sunk in that Mother’s Day was for me.

So what did my guys do for me on my special day? Breakfast in bed? Flowers? Gifts? They gave me the best thing ever—themselves! Stephen washed a counter top full of dirty dishes so I could wake up to a clean kitchen. (For some reason, a dirty kitchen bothers me ever so much on a Sunday.) He poured me coffee, and he and Silas made a card for me out of computer paper and crayons. I love it! Their simple thoughtfulness sweetened my morning and told me that I was loved. Best of all it was a surprise since I wasn’t expecting anything. Mother’s Day is a new idea for me.

Speaking of being a mom, it’s still hard for me to believe we have another person growing inside of me. Oh yes, I know I’m pregnant. This relentless morning sickness has been a constant reminder, but I often forget that all that sickness means another sweet pea is developing into a child. It seems as though this nausea us easing up, so I can soon start enjoying the coming of this new addition.

Baby TicTac now has arms! I had my 10 week check up this past Friday, and saw those little arms moving on the ultrasound screen. Baby was doing somersaults, and I loved watching all the movement. TicTac is now 4cm long, and I’m over 1/4 of the way there. Woohoo! Long way still to go, I know, but I’m glad at the accomplishment.

It’s been nearly 3 years since I’ve had seasons! Three years of perpetual summer.

Recently I’ve found myself longing for fall. I sit on the park bench and daydream about a chill in the air. I picture myself sitting by a fire. After we watch a TV show set near Christmas time, I start thinking Christmas is right  around the corner. Stephen saw the snow on screen and commented, “I miss weather.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE sunshine! In fact, before we moved out to AZ I would have said my favorite season was summer. Even now, after one overcast day, I find myself happy to see the sun again. But…three years of summer is enough to have me wishing for a change.

Tonight, we were granted our wish for weather. As I type, we are in the midst of a dust storm. The wind was tearing through our neighborhood, blowing trees, bushes, boxes, birds, trash, and lots and lots of dust. We heard some thunder and saw a few raindrops on the window panes.

Is it as good as a summer thunderstorm? Not quite, but I’ll take it!

We were in much need of a break from our routine. Sad to say, morning sickness/all day sickness has dominated my days this past month. I’m 9 weeks along, so the end of the first trimester is still a few weeks away. However, this nausea can leave sooner and make me an extremely happy mama. Of course, Baby TicTac is worth the discomfort though! Stephen has a very busy two and a half weeks of work coming up, so we were glad for a few days together as a family.

Our studio room was gorgeous and a lot bigger than we had expected! There was a kitchenette complete with dishes and silverware, a balcony overlooking the amazing pool, and even a washer and dryer set in a closet in the bathroom.

Mostly we spent time in the pool, reading, watching a movie, and catching up on sleep while Silas napped. It was great! Tuesday morning, Silas rode a miniature horse. He wasn’t too sure about it, so one lap was enough.

After checking out of our room, we drove up to see Lake Pleasant. It’s a huge man-made lake that attracts a lot of boating.What a relaxing start to our week!

At that time, Silas’s milestones came so fast, I couldn’t keep up with my emotions—1 day old, 1 week old, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 1 month, 2 months… She told me her favorite age is 18 months. A toddler’s personality is so much fun, and she loves how they aren’t capable of jumping even though they want to really badly! (I haven’t yet tried to get Silas to jump—maybe tomorrow.)

So, whenever I would feel sad that Silas was growing too quickly, I would remind myself that he hadn’t yet reached mom’s favorite age, 18 months. Today Silas is a year and a half, and surprisingly, I wasn’t sad about it.

We took him to the park tonight after supper and had a blast playing, laughing, climbing on the playground equipment, taking pictures, and watching him conquer the tube slide for the first time. His favorite thing was to run down the hill as fast as he could toward us not knowing how to brake before slamming into us.

This little guy is babbling up a storm these days. He says, “Da” (for Dad), baby, whoa, wow, hi, eye, “ah-dah” (all done) and uh-oh. Sometimes he pops out a new word here and there, but it’s hard to get him to repeat them. He’s also learned to touch his lips and say, “Shhh.” Silas can point out his eye, ear, nose, mouth, chin, head, belly and feet. He loves to lie down on his back, tickle his tummy, and say, “tickle, tickle, tickle” to get us to tickle him.

I think knowing that Silas will soon be a big brother helps me to be glad at this “grown up” stage.

After returning their burnt orange Dodge Challenger (Stephen’s dream car) to the rental car return, we drove home and stayed up late into the night talking. David and Tammy had brought Silas a new friend, the Leapfrog learning dog Scout. Silas loves him! We eventually connected Scout to the computer so he could “learn” Silas’s name, favorite food, color, and animal. Silas was so surprised and happy when Scout said his name for the first time! (It melts my heart every time I hear Scout say, “Silas.”) Uncle David and Aunt Tammy also introduced Silas to bubbles for the first time. Bitty Boy didn’t quite know what to make of the sudsy stuff, but stared wide-eyed as the bubbles floated past him. And, while Silas wasn’t at all interested in a piggy back ride, he was giddy about Uncle David’s crab rides. Our short time together was spent touring the AZ Historical Society Museum, Goldfield Ghost town, walking in the park, eating out, playing Settlers of Catan & Telestrations (a hilarious new game David and Tammy introduced us to), and discussing church planting and Christianity. The brothers even sang a duet together in church. Thanks so much for coming to see us, David and Tammy!

You have some incredible friends, Silas, who love you very much!

I had about 25 eggs with a couple jelly beans in each. After lunch we went to the park with friends, and I spread the eggs out on the Arizona grass. Silas went for them at first, promptly opened them and ate the candy inside. He picked up a few more wanting the candy, but quickly got bored and decided it was time to hunt for …what else? A stick, of course!Happy Easter!

28 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:1-7