I'm not one to rush these things

   Little hands, little footsies, and big brown eyes.  In a word--WONDERFUL!  I've joked that God made little babies so cute so we wouldn't mind so much when they wake us up in the middle of the night.  Even if it's  two in the morning I love soft sweet baby skin and sweet little cooes that seem to say "Mommy, I love you."

cuddle time with daddy

   As a family, we have been through a lot together these past couple of weeks.  Not long after I came home from the hospital with Isabel we had to take her to the doctor for a weight check because she had dropped about a pound in the hospital.  Just trying to get out the door with everything I needed (including my sanity) was overwhelming.  All of my emotions just seemed to burst at that point.  We were running a little late too, which added to the stress of it all.  It felt like it was way too soon to be going anywhere!  I just figured if we were late that we had a pretty good excuse for it. : )

   This past Sunday I stayed home with Isabel while the rest of the family went to church.  Personally, I try not to rush my return to normal activity.  There are many dynamics and logistics that come into play when a family  is getting ready for church on Sunday morning.  Not only do you need plenty of time to get ready, but you also need a good cushion for the unexpected things that may come up.  It was enough for me to just make sure that my kids were all ready to go and not have to worry about myself and our newborn baby.  Especially since we needed a big cushion of time to deal with some discipline issues which happened back to back.  Oh!  It's hard to deal with those things on Sunday morning!  

   Once the kids were all ready to go, and all of our issues were dealt with, we actually had a little time to snap some pictures.  I took advantage of the opportunity as my children were all smiles at this point!

Clara, 4 years old

Javier, 6 years old and Clara

Brienne, 8 years old and Manuel, 2 years old

Manny LOVES his new backpack!  Maybe a little too much.
According to the nursery worker he did not want to take it off!  Oh dear.

Joelle, 10 years old and Clara

He often gives her kisses and says "She's sooo cute!"

Amera (almost 16!) and Manny

Time to go to church!
"Bye mom!"

They all came home in the afternoon to find me taking a much needed nap with Isabel.