4 O'Connells

Messages while driving...

2012-01-24T23:18:00.000-05:00

I often pray while commuting. I'm alone in my car, I've usually listened to a teaching and I'm thinking of Him, and I look up to find myself behind cars with license plates that speak straight to my heart....

'Don't Give Up' taken 10/2011

I wasn't feeling particularly hopeless the morning I saw this on the road, but couldn't help but think of how many people this license plate would probably speak to while making it's daily commute. A license plate could change someone's day. Profound.

²⁵

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:25-34

'He's Worthy' taken 11/2011

Testify. Slap it on your license plate for all to see.

And finally, the most recent...

'Teach For Jesus' taken 1/2012

I know, you can't see the plate... the flash on my phone is pretty serious and it was nighttime. If you know me, you know I would loooove to teach and so this one spoke right to my heart. Teach for Jesus...

Where you are meant to be...

2012-01-24T16:49:00.001-05:00

This week our pastor spoke about the awareness that where you are is exactly where God has placed you. I always struggle with being confident in the decisions we've made and wondering if we're following the path that God has laid out before us. When we made the decision to move last summer, it was after many months of praying and the way everything worked out it was clear to both Bryan and I that this was of God. Now that we're here and settled in our very own house (which, by the way, is far beyond anything we ever dreamed of) we are waiting on God to reveal to us what he would like us to do with what he has given us.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, -Ephesians 3:20

Maybe this peaceful time together in 'The Homestead' is a gift and a blessing that we will cherish forever. Taking time to enjoy each moment we have together as a family and not rushing it and filling it up with places to go and people to see, but savoring it and being aware that life may not always be this simple. Being grateful and thanking God for this season in our lives.

We have plugged in to our new community, but the switch hasn't been turned on yet. I'm not good at waiting, I'm good at 'making' things happen, but this time I know better and I'll wait on God.

a warm day in December - just enjoying the beautiful weather

Jack was so happy to use the sawzall to cut the Christmas tree stump

Daddy love

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:10

So we are just enjoying our quiet time here together...

Making a Come Back!

2011-11-17T00:13:00.002-05:00

I have decided after reading a truely inspiring blog to start blogging again. Since I'm pretty short on time I'll have to give up something else to do this... thinking it's going to be Facebook! Stay tuned!

Bethany Beach 2010

2010-07-25T15:05:00.003-04:00

We just spent a week at Bethany Beach, DE - our favorite (who am I kidding.... our ONLY) vacation spot! It was AWESOME. Bryan and his brother Will have spent 2 weeks there every summer. Mimi (their grandma) would load them up and make the 3+hr drive. She would be sure to fill their 2 week stay with fun - shopping @ the junk stores, going to the 'honky-tonk', spending the entire day on the beach, and simply indulging the boys in whatever they wanted! This made for many, many awesome memories. As adults, the nosalgia they feel once they arrive at Bethany is manifested by creating this same expeirence for our children. I would say Will is worse than Bryan, but they are both pretty bad and the spouses just have to step back and follow their lead. And under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you ever criticize any of these nostalgic activities in any way whatsoever!!! I learned this the hard way on this last trip.

I can't lie - I love Bethany too. Even though my trips didn't start until I was an adult I would still agree that there is something magical about that place and I love watching the kids fall in love with it.

Here are some pix from our trip.....

2010 Blizzard!!!

2010-02-07T22:19:00.002-05:00

So we got almost 30" of snow this weekend and it was awesome! Highlights include:

Shoveling.
Hiking to the park.
Bryan getting his truck stuck on our street and having to call Jim to rescue him.
Shoveling.
Bryan practically dying of cabin fever.
Bryan going on snow exploration adventures and saving random people including a 16 yr old kid who was trying to make it to his job at Pizza Hut in his Eclipse.
Shoveling.
Jack almost getting frostbite on his face because he loves to eat snow.
Emma climbing on all the snow mounds.
Hanging out with neighbors - we have awesome neighbors.
Bryan taking the whole family on a snow exploration adventure to visit my parents house - their neighborhood hadn't been plowed - we made it through and Jack laughed the entire bumpy ride home.

Snow!!!

2009-12-20T23:00:00.003-05:00

So we got a little snow this weekend - somewhere around 18-20 inches! I took the kids out during the blizzard yesterday. Jack didn't like it AT ALL at first, but after a while he got into it. Emma had fun, but really put up a fight when it came to getting dressed. She didn't see the point in wearing snow pants. Getting two toddlers ready to go out in a blizzard is almost as exhausting as actually being out in a blizzard with two toddlers!

Meeting Santa...

2009-12-13T11:51:00.003-05:00

So we took Emma and Jack to meet Santa yesterday with Nana. By the time we got there Emma had passed out in the car and Jack wanted nothing to do with meeting Santa. Here's the first picture we took - Emma was really out - I couldn't wake her up so we wanted proof that she was in Santa's presence!

Jack was saying 'Bye-bye' and crying and Emma was totally out!!!

Emma finally woke up and we went back to visit Santa and she was soooo excited. It was such a special moment for me too - completely unexpected, but I actually teared up! I think it was just so touching to see her completely filled with pure joy! Christmas is magical!

Emma is soooo shy, but eventually she moved closer and closer, overcame her shyness and sat in Santa's lap. I love the look on her face!

Nana tipped us off this great Santa spot we didn't even know about. There was no line and the kids could actually sit in Santa's sleigh. This really added to the authenticity for Emma because she's very curious about his sleigh and all the logistics involved! When we saw him in the mall she wanted to know where the sleigh was parked and who was watching the reindeer. She's such a worry-wort! Jack never ended up in Santa's lap - everytime Bryan even mentioned Santa Jack said 'No! No! No! Bye-bye!' He doesn't like strangers.

Bethany Beach

2009-09-10T09:35:00.007-04:00

We spent Labor Day weekend at Bethany with Will, Robin, the kids and Aunt Paulie. We had a great time despite Emma and Jack being a bit under the weather. Jack loved laying down face first in the sand and Emma wanted to go swimming in the big waves! We did some shopping and just enjoyed Bethany. Can't wait to go for an entire week next summer. It will be great because the kids will be a little more independent too! We stayed at Fenwick Is. this time and it was a beautiful community, but we still love Bethany West which is an older community, but it's close to the beach - plus that's where Bryan and Will always stayed growing up so it's sentimental for them! Bryan and Will are so funny - they have to relive their experiences - have to eat at the same places and go to the same stores as they did when they were younger... maybe eventually we'll convince them to accept some new traditions! They're such old men!!

Willie shared his cotton candy w/ Jack - it was sooo sweet. Willie loves his little Jack.

At one point everyone (except Jackie) was crying - it was kind of funny. We were hot and waiting to get ice cream it was our usual naptime too.

Emmy

Walking around Bethany at night - Jack riding in Jackie's lap... cute! It was chilly!

Here's the whole gang!

Emma loved mushing the sand castles of course!!

Family of 4! Although I would love to have more babies, being at the beach made me realize how nice it is not being out numbered - how would 2 people handle 3 or more toddlers at the beach? It can be done, but it's a hard job!!!

Aunt Paulie, Jackie, and Robin

This is the house we stayed in... it was beautiful - and my favorite color too!

Jack really loved laying down face first in the sand... must have like the warmth?!

The old mens

Bryan and his mini-me

My handsome little Jack!

Whassss Dat?

2009-07-16T21:12:00.003-04:00

So Jack has gotten pretty good at walking. At first it kind of looked like he had gum stuck to the bottom of his feet when he would take steps, but now he can go pretty fast and sometimes he walks sideways... like a crab (only when he gets going too fast though). This week he's mastering the art of talking and walking at the same time and on 3 occasions he's asked Papa, Ms. Lina, and me "Whhaaassss Dat?" while pointing. It is so exciting and my Gran (mother of 8) was totally right - it's just as awesome as Emma's firsts. The amazingness doesn't fade just because we have experienced all of those things with Em. If I could figure out how to upload a movie on here I would...

Cousins

2009-07-13T10:23:00.004-04:00

Bryan and I hung out with our neice and nephew this weekend and we had a great day. Here are some pix from the events of the day....

Heading to the park - why do toddlers love things with wheels so much!?! Willie insisted on pushing the stoller and Emma pushed the mower!

Emma photography - she was trying to get Willie to smile and she was chasing him around with the camera saying "smile dude". Anyway, here's the shot she got, it was cute.

Willie is such a cutie!

We can't believe how big Jackie is... she'll be six soon and she's such a special little girl! She's really a little diva and she loves coming to hang out with Aunt Sara and Emma. She's still amazed that Emma can talk - too funny!

A little rest before we headed out to Burke Lake.

We had to practice our screaming for the tunnel on the train ride... the girls won!

Jack has decided that the train is very scary and he can't ride it. Everytime he sees the train he cries... hopefully this will pass. Everyone else had a nice train ride. Willie enjoyed waving to everyone.

Jack is 1!

2009-06-29T21:27:00.005-04:00

Jack is one! He is officially not an infant anymore, but he'll always be our baby! It's incredible that time can go by so quickly, yet so slowly at the same time. He's walking and talking and working on about 4 teeth. We go for his 12mo well baby tomorrow so we'll see what his stats are. I have been really bad about printing pix throughout the year so I made a DVD slideshow for the first year of his life and it was a great way to remember all the moments since Jack's arrival and both Emma and Jack really love watching it. Here are some shots from his party. Somehow we fit 20 adults and about 12 toddlers in our little townhouse. Jack's auditory sense seems to be super sensitive (this was clear even when he was a newborn) and he has a real love for music so we got him a bunch of little instruments which he totally loves. Also, we got him his own 'car' so he doesn't have to ride around in Emma's purple Dora car anymore.

Cupcake... yum.

Jack & Janey

Emma & Jackie Rose

The girls took the slides and discovered they worked better as horsies.

So many little ones... so fun. I love our neighborhood and our great neighbors.

Daddy, Mommy & birthday boy! Today was a good day.

Massachusetts

2009-05-22T14:46:00.005-04:00

I took the kids to visit Mass a couple weekends ago. Bryan hung at home and I went solo - it was an adventure. Emma didn't really sleep at night - we maybe got about 3-4 hours in each night, I guess sleeping in the same bed as me was too exciting. At one point she was so tired she was seeing things. She was up for about 4 hours straight and so we went downstairs to hang out and she kept telling me this lamp was bouncing - it was so strange. She seemed fine the next day. Amazingly Jack slept like a rock! It was awesome! He also discovered his echo at Judith and Jay's. It was hilarious because he just kept screaming!

The best part of the trip was being able to visit with my Gran and Grampa - this was the first time they've seen Jack so we got some really special shots. It was a good trip and I'm so happy I went, but I think I'll definitely take Bryan next time. We're hoping to go to San Diego next year - I think we'll be ready!

On our way to Mass... YAY!

On our way to VA... YAY!

Emma & Jack

2009-04-26T20:03:00.005-04:00

Despite being feeling a little under the weather we got out today and enjoyed the warm weather! Jack just started clapping - a developmental milestone - and so everywhere we went today he was clapping. It was pretty appropriate because we did attend a birthday for one of our neighborhood friends... good timing Jack. Also, my Gran's b-day was on Friday so he was able to clap over the phone to her!

We ate breakfast in Occoquan this morning and played at the little gazebo afterward. I got some great shots of the kids. Here is a really nice one of Emma. Capturing a good shot of a 2 yr old isn't an easy task - our new camera has the 'rapid fire' feature... now I just need to figure out how it works!

I think I'll blow this one up... who knows when I'll get another shot like this. I really want to do a professional session with a photographer my sister-in-law used, but these will do for now. I don' t have any framed pix of our family since Jack came along!

I really love this one of us - it's rare that we get a shot where all 4 of us are looking at the camera and nobody is crying! I may frame this one as well - riding the train at Burke Lake is one of those traditions I know Bryan and I will always look back on fondly.

Easter

2009-04-13T20:29:00.006-04:00

Easter morning! Jack was hilarious with the grass in his Easter basket. He kept making these funny faces. maybe the texture gave him the willies - like fingernails on a chalkboard... I dunno, but it was soooo funny to watch. He kind of looks like an old man in this one...

He seemed to get great satisfaction when he realized he could just throw it all over the place.

Emma is what I like to call "totally two". The following sums up "totally two":

Picks out own clothes. Following criteria applies (in order of importance): comfort (jeans are out), color (anything pink), anything that is the opposite of what Mommy or Daddy suggests, and usually wears shoes on wrong feet. The picture above is a good example - this was Emma's idea of a "nice Easter outfit".
Says "NO" to everything, but doesn't really mean it - it's almost like an involuntary reflex. I've heard this re-emerges in adolescence.
Insists on doing everything "by myself". This is fine with me - to a certain degree. Exceptions include wiping after #2, using scissors alone, and driving in Mommy's car alone - all of which Emma feels she can do all alone and she is very passionate about her opinion.
Questions. Why? What are you talking about? Who did it? Where is it? She hasn't started on how or when... I'm sure those are sure to come soon!!!

Emma is a chocolate lover... what can I say? It's in her blood... seriously I think I ate chocolate chip cookies almost everyday when I was pregnant w/ her. She devoured an entire chocolate bunny in minutes. Bryan now knows he has to get the smallest one he can find.

Egg Hunt in Nana & Papa's backyard!

Jack is waving now - so cute!

Papa and Jack!

My beautiful sister!

Spring... where are you?

2009-02-08T21:32:00.007-05:00

This weekend was such a tease - it was 60's both days. It was sooo nice and we got to burn off some of our cabin fever! Jack had a great time riding around in the wagon like a big boy. After going to the park and playing with bubbles he got really tired and passed out sitting up in the wagon . I know it's probably considered baby torture, but I prolonged his ride so I could get some cute shots of him. He is so cute.... I love him.

This tastes pretty good.

Let's see what's happening in the hood.

Bubbles... cool.

Sleepy boy.

Handsome Boy!

2009-01-17T14:03:00.002-05:00

Check out this handsome boy! He is getting so big here's what he loves:

1. Eating his food in his highchair... he gets mad if you don't feed him fast enough. He can polish off a bowl of rice cereal and almost an entire thingy of baby food. YIKES!
2. Doing his jumping Jacks in his bouncy chair thingy (thanks Penny... that thing is awesome)
3. Anything Emma says or does - he just laughs every time he sees her or hears her voice.
4. Papa's beard.
5. Lady - he really likes pulling her hair.
6. Kitties - he really likes pulling their hair and eating it... I know ewww.
7. Sitting up and rocking like he's going to take off.... usually he just falls over and gets mad.
8. When Nana makes him do push ups.
9. Singing and music... he really loves when I sing and clap. We play band a lot with Emma. Jack likes the maracas.

We're really loving the two kiddos and just trying to savor our weekends and the evenings together now that I'm working full time. Life is good.

Lots of change....

2008-12-10T20:51:00.005-05:00

1. I got a new job - had to go back to work full time. I really like it and working full time isn't nearly as difficult as I anticipated. One of the main reasons could be because there is a Target and a Starbuck's in the basement of my office building.
2. Jack slept through the night for the first time... for 2 consecutive nights...YAY (the first night isn't really confirmed because we forgot to turn the monitor on, but he definitely didn't wake up the second night)
3. Jack can sit up and eat his nummies in his high chair - this is very exciting for him because he can be at the table w/ us instead of on the floor or in our laps which seems to make him mad - at least at dinnertime.
4. My Aunt Ann came to visit for a few weeks and we got to hang out and pretend like she really lived here... it was so nice.
5. Emma's daycare provider is doing this really cool curriculum for toddlers and she comes home everyday with really neat crafts that she is so excited to share! I'll have to take some pix and post some of her masterpieces!!

It's been a while since I posted anything... here are some positives that have been been happening w/ us:

Dude... Jack has teeth.

2008-10-20T08:36:00.006-04:00

As of 10/20/08... Jack is no longer toothless!!
I've heard of 3 month old babies having teeth, but I thought this was urban legand. About 3 weeks ago Jack stopped nursing and he would scream when it was time to eat... so we've been doing bottles instead which he seems to prefer. Now this all makes sense! Although I still think he is HM (high maintenance) at least I understand him a little better. Last Thursday Jack woke up every hour... poor guy. Bryan and I were so excited the morning we discovered his tooth - here are some pix we took! Emma is very excited too and likes to check if his tooth is still there when she wakes up in the morning.

Burke Nursery rocks!

2008-10-12T20:18:00.005-04:00

Who knew Burke was so happening?! We took Poppa & Paulie to Burke Nursery this weekend and had an awesome time. Check out the pix! So we're officially Burke locals again! On our ride over Emma kept talking about 'Ella Bella' (one of her girlfriends from daycare). She kept asking if she would be at the pumpkin patch! Then, about 5 minutes after we arrived... guess who walked right by us?? Yup! Ella and her family - Emma knows people - it's funny! After looking at these pix I decided it would be really cute if I dressed the kids up in Halloweenish outfits and went back to get better pix of them, plus that would give me an opportunity to go on the cool slide again - I couldn't upload a picture of it... I'll try again later.

Oktoberfest

2008-10-07T21:04:00.008-04:00

We went to Ft. Belvoir's Oktoberfest this past weekend with Will, Robin, the kids and Kathy. It was basically a small fair with German food, German beer, and no farm animals. The weather was beautiful and we all got our sauerkraut fix while jammin out to the sounds of the German Brass Band! A very fine day indeed.
Rachel (Emma's cousin-by-association) escorted Emma around and showed her the ropes. I mentioned something about 'carnies' to Rachel and she wanted to know what 'carnies' are... I couldn't help but think of the Austin Powers definition... 'carnies... you know, small hands - smell like cabbage' hehe!
Rachel & Jackie mushing Emma on her very first roller coaster ride.
Bryan was just as excited to ride the rides... notice Emma's socks. One red, one brown - she's into picking her own outfits out!
Grandma, Emma, Jackie!
Aunt RaRa and Jack!
Grandma & Jack (my handsome little man)
This is what happens when you mix Oktoberfest with no nap!

First trip to Va Beach as family of 4....

2008-09-30T20:53:00.009-04:00

So we went to Va Beach this weekend for the first time as a family of 4. Overall it was a good trip and nice to see friends we haven't seen in a while. Emma did awesome both nights and Jack woke up every 2 hrs on Friday night, but slept pretty well Saturday night. Next trip we make I will definitely pack the night before instead of saving it for the morning of! Got some good pix though! Highlights included celebrating Sarah D's 30th b-day, meeting baby Stella, sleeping in a hotel room as a family of 4, and eating at Mi Hogar!

Bryan, Sara & Emma's footprints.

Jack & Stella

Emma passed out in her very own big bed!
Emma loving on Jack!

I can smile and talk!!

2008-09-05T20:24:00.002-04:00

Isn't he sooo sweet?! I LOVE his smile and he's becoming a professional coo-er! Nana has decided he's going to be a charmer and we're all in trouble!

Here's another shot of his sweet little smile! He likes to do this one a lot when he's nursing... it makes me laugh.

Frying Pan Farm Park!!

2008-08-16T16:05:00.004-04:00

Today we went to Frying Pan Farm Park w/ Robin, Will, Jackie & Willie! The kids had fun and the weather was awesome! We got to see pigs, sheep, goats, horses, a strange wagon ride guide,a turkey, and a horse show. The kids were scared of the big mama pigs at first, but once they realized they couldn't get out of their pens - they were OK! My favorite was seeing the Amish and Mennonite families at the horse show. Jackie was so cute at the horse show - she kept asking when the horse show was going to start... I think she was expecting a real show like Disney on Ice or something of that nature. I told her that what we were seeing was the show. The show consisted of the horses being trotted/walked around the ring one at a time while a woman announcer (who had a really monotonous, yet soothing voice) critiqued them. Jackie was convinced they were just warming up and any moment the 'real show' would start! Alas, the show never started and Jackie left unsatisfied.

Jack slept most of the time and Willie chased Emma!

Nana pimped my ride!

2008-08-08T21:41:00.000-04:00

Check out Emma's new tricked-out ride! Compliments of Nana - Emma loves her new bike and thinks wearing a helmet is cool. Bryan and I are very excited about this! She doesn't quite get the whole steering thing yet, but she just honks her horn at whatever is in her way... some things move, some things don't!

Big baby... little baby...

2008-08-08T21:20:00.000-04:00

So tonight we went for a walk to go get ice cream (per Emma's request... yes we've created an ice cream monster) and Emma insisted on getting into the Baby Bjorn - it was very funny! Here's what Emma looks like when she's devouring her "ife keem comb"! It's a serious operation and she doesn't like to be interupted. Jack likes going the DQ, but he got mad tonight since he can't have ice cream yet.

5 weeks ago...

2008-08-05T21:03:00.000-04:00

Here is my Grandpa holding me for the very first time! He was the first person I met after seeing my Mom and Dad for the first time.

Hello! I am very big - technically I weighed 9lbs and .6oz, but the nice nurses rounded up, so all my official paperwork says 9lbs 1oz!

Here is the last photo of me prior to delivery!

First picture of Daddy and little Jack.

Emma's first time holding Jack - somehow she knew he was one of us - not just some baby!

Ok, so I know this is a little backwards, but I wanted to post some pix of Jack from the hospital and they're only on Bryan's laptop which I'm working on right now as Jack and Emma are sleeping... so here are some of my favorites.

Life since Jack...

2008-07-29T21:10:00.000-04:00

Since Jack's arrival we have been a little overwhelmed! We are still getting to know our little man, but so far he seems to like our family. He's a great eater and he only eats every 3 hrs (usually), then goes into a milk coma until his next feeding. He does seem to cry a lot more than Emma did. We've been using the techniques in "Happiest Baby on the Block" - these have been working pretty good. Swaddling, sssshhhhing, swinging, and of course sucking! I have discovered that when Jack is swaddled and sucking on his pacifier he goes to sleep immediately when I dry my hair or when I run the vaccuum. I also run these appliances for the sole purpose of helping him fall asleep - whatever works right?!

Emma loves Jack and helps me with him all day! She's very worried about Jack getting his feet in his poo, so when I change him she oversees and makes sure to remind me by repeating "Brudda - NOOOOO feet in there - Mama hold!". What would I do without her?!

First Time Blogger

2008-03-18T08:58:00.000-04:00

Well - I have gotten inspired by my sister in law and friends to start a blog! Not really sure what to write about - so I suppose I'll start with this past weekend - St. Patty's Day 2008. We went to the St. Patty's Day parade in Manassas and had a great time with family and friends and what awesome weather!!! Can't wait for spring :)