Sick.

All three of us are sick. Riley being the sickest:( Poor girl has lost her voice, so that when she cries no sound comes out. All you see is her face scrunch up and her open her mouth as if she is going to scream. Its partly funny but partly really sad. Leif has had the sore throat, headache and runny nose. Poor guy has been working everyday this week, although he feels so out of it. And I have been fighting it. Because well, I'm mommy and wife and if I get sick who will take care of daddy and baby? I think being sick while the rest of the family is sick just sucks. Its the worst thing in the world. You want to rest and not get out of bed but you have to. Dishes have to be washed, clothes have to be folded, babies need to get fed. All three of us have been sleeping together with the humidifier on. Its like when Riley was a newborn:) Baby has to go back to her own crib though as soon as she's better!

Thankfully my husband is such a great man. He has every other Friday off (I love that!) and instead of sleeping himself, he made sure I rested. I had been up the last two nights with Riley. I love him. And thankfully Riley has been handling being sick like a champ. She only fussed the first day, and after that has been her happy self. Sure she has no voice, has a runny nose and a gross cough but she doesn't care. Maybe its because of the extra attention? But really God has given Leif and I such a good girl. She's so calm about everything. It makes going out really easy on Leif and I. And makes being a parent super easy, haha. Unless its feeding time. Riley gets pissed if she's not fed when and where she wants. :) I'm so happy that night time feedings are almost non existent now!

So while we're all under the weather, things aren't really so bad. We're doing well and all of us are getting the rest we need. Just pray that Riley gets her little voice back because mommy and daddy miss it! And I'm sure she does too:) And pray that Leif and I are 101% better soon!

Even though she was sick she let mommy take a million pictures:)

Sacrifice.

Leif and I are in the process of taking bigger steps to get ourselves out of debt and to save money. We have goals for ourselves and our family. Leif would like to further his education in computers since that's what he does at JPL. Then eventually, hopefully be able to go back and get his M.A in Psychology, since well that's what he went to college for. I want to finish school but need to find a new major since my old one was limited to Biola and other private Christian schools. We want to be able to buy house, but only after debt has been taken care of. Thankfully I'm not having to pay off any of my school loans (Thank you wonderful parents) and so we only have to deal with Leifs. A year from now a big portion of our credit cards will hopefully be paid off and we'll have saved a bit of money.

To get to the places we would like to, it calls for sacrifice right now. Sacrifice is not always something I enjoy. Somedays are better than others. I think its hard to keep sacrificing when you don't see any change happening. I expect this BIG change right away, but sometimes its gradual. And with our current situation that's how it is.

Leif and I made a big decision to downsize from our current apartment to a smaller one. I had a really hard time with this. One, because I love my apartment. Its the first place I've ever lived on my own and called my home. Second, its so big and comfortable. I like being comfortable. I love all the space. But the smaller apartment is a smarter choice because: It costs less. Ugh. It still has two rooms and we'll be getting hardwood floors and ceiling fans. So I can't be that upset about it:) We also feel this is the way God is leading us. We can't really say no to Him, and we don't want to.

I know that in the long run this is what's best for our family and where we're headed. I know I'll look back a year from now and be so grateful we did this. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. I really appreciate them:)

Riley is 3 months.

Happy 3 months baby girl! We love every moment with you. You are precious and such a blessing. We will continue to love you and do our best to provide everything you need. Just keep growing, and being healthy. We love the big personality starting to come out! Thanks for keeping us on our toes, giving us your smiles and making us laugh. We love you more than anything and thank God for you all the time.

Gratitude Thursdsay.

Riley, I am grateful for you.
...For your smiles that are becoming bigger and more frequent everyday.
...For your little personality that is starting to show.
...For being so healthy and growing well! I love your little rolls.
...For being such a good baby, always letting mommy and daddy get sleep.
...For being calm and happy the majority of the time. Thank you!
...For the joy you bring me constantly, everyday all day.