My baby. My beautiful, loving, sweet little baby turned 4 today.

She stood in the mirror as I got myself ready for the day and said "mama...I'm taller". I looked down at her "yes honey...you're 4 now and you do look a little taller". Mommy had a bit of a rough day. Without getting into any yucky details, I've had complications from my surgery. I haven't been doing all that great (or at least not as great as I thought I would be). Because of this, her birthday celebration had to be minimized for the time being. My dad came over today to take me to the Dr. and I was not well enough to bake my baby a cake . Not to worry though, because my dad picked one up for me at the store . Thanks Dad. I love you!

My sister came over before I left for the doctor and brought me dinner for tonight. Spaghetti, linguine noodles, and some wonderful Italian bread for me to make garlic bread with. Thank you Linda. It was wonderful .  As my dad, Madeline and I were leaving for the doctor, I handed her a bag of decorations and asked her if she would decorate the house for Madeline. She did, and Madeline was sooooooo incredibly excited upon coming home to find that. She told me she wished for the house to be decorated with Thomas and trains, and her wish came true. It meant as much to me as it did to baby. I wanted to do it, but couldn't.

Mommy, Daddy, Tara and Madeline had dinner, sang happy birthday, opened a few gifts, and kept things easy. When I'm all better (hopefully by next weekend), I'll shoot for a bigger birthday party. But tonight was really nice and Madeline was super sweet. And now she's 4. Where have the years gone? It's going by so fast. Tara read her Thomas book (which she got for her birthday)....   

And Mommy tried to take things easy. I love these two children in a way that can never be adequately expressed.

I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but I never knew God....just how wonderful it would be.  So much more than I expected.

....is creating enchanting bedrooms. I created Tara's bedroom before she was born. I painted the clouds on her walls and tried to create a room that would not have to be changed after 2 years, but which she would love so much, that she'd keep it as is as she grew. So far, she still loves it.

I bought the bedding this past summer. It's so beautiful!!

Now Madeline, bless her poor baby soul. Her room came together much later. We didn't get her walls painted this this past fall, but I think her room is pretty too.  

She and I created the name letters together. She painted them with me....

....and it was Madeline who put the whimsical stickers on.  She also picked them out at the store.  I thought they were a great choice!!

All of her butterflies are made out of real feathers, dyed in such beautiful colors. They have pretty glitter on them too.

Hers is still a work in progress, but hope fully she will love her room for years to to come as well.  I'm going in for surgery tomorrow, so if I don't respond to your comments for a little while, you'll understand why.  I'm having a 9cm Lipoma tumor removed from my back.   Keep me in your prayers.

She made this in art class. She said she was told to "pinch and pull". They fired it for strength, glazed and fired it again. I really love her artwork. It's beautiful!!

I love you baby!

There is something magical about this time of year. We've come out of a long cold winter, and then suddenly the days turn into "lambs" as Tara says. The bugs are minimal and playing in the woods is an adventure. Since there is no foliage on our trees yet, the woods are a monochromatic shade of sepia. It is a beautiful backdrop for two little girls in the big woods...

Tara has discovered the joy of climbing trees. She told me "I never knew our woods was like a giant playscape!!" 

Every fallen tree became a horse to ride...

Or balance beams to walk across

Imagination was sparked as they suddenly became fairies..."This way Madeline..."

...."Coming Tawa!"....

She led them to the place where they picked out their magical twig fairy wands (I just love this next picture).

More trees to climb and magical adventures to dream up.....

I'm not sure what she was looking at up there, perhaps a magical woodsprite?

An ordinary walk...transformed into hours of climbing, imagining, and exploring.  This is one of the perks of living in the country.

There was one minor causality, and she was very insistent on pointing it out to me. This tiny scratch on her flawless skin.

An then it was back to our real world where I captured the joy that Tara and Madeline find in one another....

Sisters in love!

I am so lucky to have them as my children. They are totally awesome!!

Oh my...she has such an incredibly beautiful heart. This child has taught me so much in her short life. She brings me so much joy.

Her eyes sparkle with sweet innocence and exuberance for life.

And she is growing up. I wish I cold freeze time so my children will stay this age. I don't want it to end!

I love you so much Tara.  I love you with every ounce of my being.