A love story.

I watched this little film yesterday and was really touched by the couple's story. My husband Mac was in a horrible bike accident (before we met) and suffered from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He was in a coma for a day, lost his short term memory for two weeks, and had to do therapy for a year. As I watched the video I kept thinking how blessed we are that by God's grace he was restored to the amazing whole man he is today. I admire Larissa's devotion and love to Ian. It goes against everything that our world tells us marriage should offer. She entered into their covenant knowing full well that she would be a full time caregiver, provider, and possibly childless. All this without the guarantee that she would receive anything in return. I tried to put myself in her shoes and found that I probably would not have married Ian. One thing that I did take away from her example of selflessness is that I could be more supportive/understating to the small residual effects of Mac's TBI. I forget that normal things like tiredness effect him so much more and make life a lot more difficult. I pray that I can have a heart that is willing to serve so freely that my comfort and needs become secondary. I hope you enjoy this video.

Infectious disease central.

We currently have a case of pink eye, ring worm, and a sinus infection in our home. Awesomely cool.

A little Mac.

Welcome to the world sweet little Michael MacKenzie "Mac" McLain. We love you so much already! You have the best mom, dad, and sister around. :-)



p.s.
Henry has another ginger family member...woop woop!

image from here

New digs for a few months.

The past month has been a busy one. At the beginning of April we packed up our apartment and relocated to my in-law's place and then a week later left for California. The reason for the move is that the in-laws are trying out Hotlanta for six months and we get the luxury of house/pet sitting for them. Having a real house with a yard has been awesome! Henry is loving playing outside when we get the occasionally sun break, and our daily walks with the doggies (there are three little stinkers) are a treat. Having a yard is the BEST. We couldn't play in the grass at our last place being that it was a dog-poo mine field...yuck. Since we are now in a different city we have been trying to find some new walks and spots to visit. Last weekend we checked out Farrel-McWhirter park which was a-ma-zing. It is a little farm that is open to the public and it is free. Loved it...probably more than any kid there. All to say that we will for sure be visiting often. Here are some pics from the park and a sunny day in the backyard.

Oh, and if for some reason you thought to yourself that I looked a bit tired in the above picture...you are right. Henry's plague that he caught in California has now developed into a bad sinus infection. That, on top of several molars coming in, has made him a compete nightmare baby. He is not sleeping, eating, or drinking. The only thing he is content to do is scream in my face and throw things at me. The pics above were the only ones I managed to capture without him giving major stink eye. I know it is just a season, but Lord have mercy I am scared of my baby-toddler-monster.

Easter in the desert.

Over Easter weekend we spend time visiting my Grandma down in Palm Desert. The whole family managed to make it! It was so nice to feel the hot sun and enjoy the beautiful desert views. I love, love, love being in a warm climate. We had a lot of fun regardless of the fact that a little girl on the plane kindly coughed in our faces and gave us all the plague. As a result we really didn't sleep at night the entire time we were there since Henry was up being sick and a teething monster. We managed to survive by many cat naps around the pool during the day. We spent Easter going to a sunrise service on the golf course, an Easter egg hunt around the pool (Henry was obsessed), and brunch at the club. So nice to be able to spend it with family! Some other highlights were a trip to the living desert zoo, fro-yo every singe day, SUNSHINE, swimming in the pool, and some fancy dinners.

Woodland creatures mobile.

The last few months were full of sickness and a grumpy teething baby, but I finally managed to finish a mobile project that has been in the works for some time. It was created for my childhood friend Andrea, who was recently blessed with a little girl named Dahlia. This week I got to meet the little nugget and fell in love with her...she is so sweet! The theme for this mobile is woodland creatures which ties in with her nursery's Scandinavian fabric, woodsy art prints, and rustic furniture. It was really fun to design the little creatures and to even use my concept illustrations for Henry's birthday invites. 

Finally finished and delivered. It was such a treat to meet little Dahlia and catch up with a dear childhood friend.

Here are the final creatures in all their woodland glory.

A rainy Sunday morning.

Henry gets to eat his breakfast in his bedroom on the weekends (so Mac or I can sleep in without hearing Henry's extremely high decibel breakfast chatter). I think he likes the change of scenery.