Little Lady Friends

These two little lady friends make my heart so happy. 

Please meet the beautiful and preciously sweet little Isla Loren~ Daughter of my dearest friend Helene.

It can only be considered a gift to be pregnant at the same time as your closest friend. We experienced every week of the 40 together from the excitement of announcements to the final days and delivery.
Our girls were coincidentally given the same name, and born only 2 weeks apart at the exact same weight. I can't look at this little Isla without considering her one of our Father's tender mercies.
I fell in love with her the moment she arrived, feeling as if I had a bran new niece. I love watching her grow along side my own little Loren, and love that our girls get to be best friends from the very day they were born.
These Farland Gals are nothing but blessings to us! These are the moments of motherhood to treasure.

First Day to Church

After a full six weeks we are finally feeling comfortable getting back into life as normal. 

It was fun taking Loren to church for the first time, and of course with matching dresses for the girls. 

Miley loved being twiners!!!

Soccer and Ballet

The kids were able to sign up for some fun classes again this semester. Scotlin has been wanting to take Soccer for a long time. It's fun to see him finally old enough to enjoy a class all on his own. Miley has returned to dance class and is loving it even more than before. We love staying active and seeing their big beaming smiles at the end of each lesson. Proud of these two!

Presenting...

Presenting to you, the newest (and littlest) dual citizen of Canada and the United States. 

Loren had her appointment with the US Consolate bright and early this morning granting her dual citizenship, a US passport, social security number, and certificate of birth abroad. 

Big day for our little lady.

It was our privilege to take her oaths for her. 

We can only hope these connections to Canada can/will somehow serve our Canadian children someday. 

First Baby Grins

Loren looks a little different each new day, and lately we have been getting these sweet little grins!  

She is a little slice of heaven in my day. 

The First with Three

Baby Loren is now just over one month old. It sure is amazing just how fast this month has passed, and boy, what a month it has been. The first month with a new baby is a mixture of crazy and wonderful. You're not getting any sleep, and it's what you need most. You've spent only a few weeks with this little person that you could swear you have known a lifetime. Life seems to have no rhyme or reason, and yet you are a love sick pup over this precious little baby girl. 

Since Loren was born we have seen Justin through final exams, had the flu come through our home twice, celebrated Christmas, suffered mastitis and reflux, been to the depths of despair over nursing, and the list goes on and on. No two days are the same, and every minute is full, both morning and night. Although having three kids is a lot of fun, it is busy!.. and I have often wondered just how I am going to do this. ?? 

I am sure it gets easier with time, but I must admit I found comfort in some of Miley's recent drawings. They seemed fitting for such a stressful and exhausting, yet wonderful and precious time in our lives. These drawings were also extra special coming from my little girl Miley, who has gone through a stage we have struggled with lately. If a child's drawings say anything about how they are feeling or doing inside, then I would say we have nothing to worry about based off of what we have here...

Miley explained the person at the top of the page is Heavenly Father, the blue underneath him is the sky. Our family then sits above the earth (in green) at the bottom of the page. She drew these when Loren was about 2 weeks old. I love how she drew all of us, and included the baby in our family. So precious to and comforting to me. These drawings were all too sweet, and I caught her drawing Heavenly Father watching over our family many more times. I have to believe there is great truth to that. Clearly, little children can see things as they are, much better than we can. 

No doubt our blessings have been great this month, and we have every reason to count them daily. Although new, and sometimes hard, these days are full of my life's richest joys! I am starting to see more and more just how much we truly have been watched over. 

The kids both adore Loren. I thought as the weeks passed on, the novelty of a new baby might wear off, but so far their love and obsession over her has only increased. Miley loves to call baby Loren "baby sissy, honey bunny, and little sweetie pie." Scotlin gave her a nickname too, and so lovingly calls her his "little tiny tomato."
They both are in awe of her every little baby feature. They giggle when she grunts, and rush to her side if she makes the slightest cry.

Loren is adjusting to her new world. We have loved having her sweet presence in our home. I feel it is truly an honor and privilege to get to know her, and be in the service of taking care of her each day. We know just how quickly time can fly, so we are doing our best to enjoy every minute, and every ounce of this baby girl.

Our Sunbeam

Scotlin is our Sunbeam! 

He entered into Primary at the first of the year, and has been happy to be there. 

None of us saw this coming (including Scotlin)... how could Dooey be in Primary?!? 

He wondered at first why he wasn't headed to Nursery (He has loved nursery), but being with familiar friends, and having great Sunbeam teachers has made the transition smooth and easy. 

Scotlin gave the scripture on his first Sunday as a Sunbeam, and he did awesome. He couldn't be seen from behind the pulpit... but he was awesome. :) 

Love our Dude Man!

Handsome guys!

Our final Christmas in Nova Scotia

Christmas felt very complete this year having little Loren with us, and there simply was not much we wanted to enjoy more than a quiet Christmas at home all together. 

Christmas Eve we gathered at the church with the other student families for dinner and the nativity. 

We tried to grab a few photos by the tree before heading out, but the kids were less than thrilled to cooperate, leaving us with a few classic faces to remember the magic. ;)

I love the photos and these faces! Our greatest gift this year is having three little ones under this tree. 

The kids were tucked in that night cozy and warm. I held and snuggled Loren while Justin brought our gifts up from the basement and prepared our home for the magic of the morning.

With all calm and bright we sat together in the glow of the christmas tree lights, finding it hard to believe our fourth and final Christmas in Nova Scotia had come. 

The morning unlocked all the excitement the kids had been waiting for. 

Miley could not believe her eyes, and she was so thrilled to see Santa had come! Scotlin took one look at that the gifts wrapped in paper, and immediately burst into tears.  He thought he would come down to christmas morning and find all the wonderful things he had been asking for... these boxes wrapped in paper were a huge disappointment. :) We did our best to explain that the gifts must be opened to find a present inside, but it still took him a few minutes to warm up to the idea. 

I don't think I'll ever look at his face in this picture without laughing. 

He definitely got the hang of it. :) 

The morning was a thrill for these kids. They could not have been happier. 

Miley and Scotlin made personalized homemade ornaments for mom and dad. 

And even baby sis had a few gifts too.

The rest of the morning was spent quietly enjoying one another's company. Dad spent his time assembling parts and pieces, while I baked in the kitchen. The sounds of the children playing happily with their toys echoed through our home the entire day. Truly magic filled the air as our hearts were filled with gratitude and love for the blessings of family and of this great day.

We missed family greatly this christmas, but were glad we were able to visit with them for a little while, and feel of the magic there.  

We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful christmas and hope we can be together next year!

Merry Christmas, from our home to yours!

Preschool Christmas Program

December marks end of year Christmas Concerts, and we were very excited to see the kids in their first Preschool performance ever. Unfortunately, when the big event arrived, Scotlin was still too sick to attend. Miley was lucky she was able to go, and even more lucky to go with her dad. They made a little daddy-daughter date of the night. 

It was too bad for poor little Scotlin, I know he would have had a great time. He was so upset that he didn't get to go to his program and sing the songs he had worked so hard to learn. :(

Justin came home with a video of Miley and her little classmates singing which was pretty hilarious. The kids pretty much yelled the songs, but of course it was adorable. 

Afterwards everyone stayed for refreshments and a chance to meet Santa. 

Miley came home feeling like quite the star. We have been so happy to watch the kids enjoying preschool so far this year. 

Loren's First Weeks

Our first weeks with baby Loren were simply beautiful. 

We soaked up every minute in our own little baby heaven. 

Miley has been in love since the moment Loren arrived, as if she had her own new little personal pet. Wherever Loren is, Miley is sure to be found not too far behind. 

Miley has already given Loren little nicknames like "Little Sweetie Pie" and comments so dearly that she looks like a baby turtle. :)

Loren sure has a way with Miley... Keeping her calm and mild. One look at Loren can send a feisty attitude right out the window, replacing it with gentle tenderness. 

Baby Magic. 

Miley can not hold Loren enough. It's so precious to see how much she loves having her here with us.

We are so proud of this big sis! 

Recovery for me was and is slow but steady. I feel so great to be free of pregnancy, but have to remind myself, and allow myself to slow down and rest. The first week was a little rough, but I've slowly felt stronger and better each day since.

Mi's has been my greatest helper, and is right there with me to adore every yawn, stretch, and funny newborn face Loren makes. The three of us are loving all this girl time together. Just and I can hardly believe we have DAUGHTERS! Loving every minute of it!

We ventured out just a few times. I'm always so worried about Loren every second. Is she buckled in right? Is she too warm, too cold, comfortable, happy? I'll even stop to listen for her breathing. Life is so fragile with this little newborn, and my baby skills are more than a little rusty.
Most of these newborn days I felt like I was moving in slowmotion, with responsibilities whirling all around me. It's been busy with our three. A good busy, but also, a little nuts. Often times I feels like my head is no longer attached to my body. But I am sure we will adjust well in time.
 I always have a few hurtles to jump when it comes to feeding my babies, which takes a great deal of time plus physical and emotional energy. Thankfully, I had the help of mom first, and then Justin in the following weeks so I could focus in on just me and the baby. I can't get enough of this baby girl.

I love our quiet times together when I can gaze into her eyes and feel of her spirit and who she is as I get to know her. Loren is a little angel. I truly feel as if I am in the presence of angels just being near her. She is growing quickly... right before our very eyes.

Mom was the greatest help. I could never say it enough. I'll always treasure these choice moments and memories of mom in my home helping me with my newborn babies. She brings a whole new level to the joy felt at this special time.

During mom's stay we joked, giving her the nickname of "The Elf on the Shelf." It seemed that no matter where we turned she had something magically whipped up, and cleaned up. It seemed like no one ever saw her doing all this magic, yet it was around every corner. We enjoyed her delicious cooking, and had no shame putting on a few extra lbs. "Don't Judge" turned out to be the common phrase we would say to one another as we would down carrot cake for breakfast, and feast on warm homemade rolls for lunch... and then again for dinner... ;)
 Mom prepped me with everything I would need for when she had to leave. I cried my little eyes out when she had to go. Her trip went way too fast. I didn't want her to stay with us to be over. We both felt the pain in our separation. Mom says she feels like she left me in the North Pole... and I tell her that is exactly where I feel like I have been all this time! Thankfully she stocked our freezer with more of her homemade rolls, so we could drown our sorrows with them after her departure. ;) Couldn't be more grateful for all she did for us, and loved having her here!

Justin took over completely during his holiday break. Entertaining the kids, running all the errands, stocking and cleaning the house, leaving me confident knowing all is taken care as he returns to school. I wouldn't have made it a day without him. He has been extremely supportive and helpful as I've gone through many ups and downs from one day to the next. He has done a marvelous job of keeping our home functioning (which is a big job) and never with a complaint. He more than stepped up to the plate, and we were spoiled with how well we were looked after. I'm so thankful to this sweet companion of mine. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Poor Scotlin ended up with the flu the first couple weeks Loren was home. It was hard to gage what he thought of the baby and all of the changes with him not feeling well. A few times Justin and I thought he seemed different and might be needing a little extra TLC from mom and dad. We made an effort to take time out for  reading more stories to him, getting down on his level to listen to him, talking with him, and showing him extra attention. 

The first week He stomped around like a dinosaur and told us he wanted baby Loren back in Mommy's tummy. By week two he had a change of heart, creating a sweet little moment I'll remember...

He came to me while I was holding and rocking the baby asking if he could join us on my lap. He crawled up next to the baby, and together we talked about her admiring and counting her toes, and talking about her little movements. Scotlin stroked her head and softly said to me, "I want baby Loren to stay." Since then he has been a very sweet and concerned big brother. Immediately he runs to her aid if ever he hears her crying saying "she needs her brother!" He and Miley often argue over who's turn it is to rock her, hold her, or give her her binki. It sure has been nice having these two eager helpers! 

And it's even more precious to see how much they love this new baby sis!