New Year 2012

My last blog entry was 7 months ago and is titled "Any day now...". That was two days before Emily was born. Needless to say, blogging took a back seat to babies and busy days. And it's really quite a shame that it took me 7 months to log back on to blogger.com, open my beloved blog, and take the time to write again. Because back when I wrote "Any day now..." we were expecting a baby and it was Emily Grace. On June 1st she was born and I immediately loved the dark haired, rosy little girl they placed in my arms. I held her and my heart was hers from that very first moment. Brent said, "It's a girl!" And my first thought was, oh a sister for Anna! And we all fell in love. Emily has blessed our family and made us four. She fit right in.

Emily is a beautiful, cuddly, content, and charming little girl. She deserves a blog entry every day to describe her loveliness. What a task to capture 7 months in one blog entry. She has grown so fast, almost too fast, and has changed from a little sleeping baby to a happy, active, and laughing little girl. She sits up by herself to play and has recently developed a strong interest in moving. Our guess is she will be crawling by next month. She is strong and determined and already gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth, just waiting for her coordination to catch up and send her off with a crawl. She watches Anna and loves to play. Anna cheers for Emily's accomplishments and is eager for the next, though sharing toys is a sticky subject. :) Sisters they are, both adoring of each other. Brent and I look so forward to watching their bond grow stronger and to see their relationship grow as they do. They are quite different though, Anna and Emily. At least as babies they are different in some ways. Anna always and still is sensitive and emotional, where Emily seems a bit tougher in that way and doesn't so much mind when she falls over or when a toy is taken from her. Emily is often very content, while Anna was much harder to please as a baby. Anna was curious, but calmly curious, and handled things gently and didn't get into trouble. Emily is also curious, but much more so and isn't shy to grab, pull, and chew anything and everything that interests her. Brent and I foresee Emily getting herself into all kinds of mischief. What Anna and Emily do share is their sense of humor. My mom pointed this out, actually. And she is right. Both girls are easily amused, funny themselves, and full of beautiful happy smiles. Two giggly little girls to fill our hearts.

Today is the first day of the new year, January 1, 2012. One of my resolutions is to return to blogging. I enjoy it and I like to share our story. And I hope it will be something the girls will love to read when they are older. This blog, starting way back in 2008 when I was pregnant with Anna, holds memorable, dear stories of our family. Someday when the girls are older I hope they read our stories and feel the love we have for them ... these precious days of their baby and childhood. Brent and I are privileged to raise these two children. Anna Marie and Emily Grace, our little loves.

We just celebrated Christmas and it filled our kids with delight. Especially three year old Anna, who lived fully every moment of Christmas this year. We were lucky to spend the holiday with family - making a trip to South Bend to see much of our extended family and my parents came on Christmas Eve to spend a week with us here in our home. We remembered Scott this season and with Christmas to remind us of our savior Jesus, born on this day to indeed save us, may we be comforted by thoughts of His saving power. Scott is deeply missed and he is carried closely and always in our hearts.

I hope you check back once in a while and I resolve to continue blogging! I won't promise a daily blog, but hopefully weekly to share the goings-on in the Hartsell home. Anna and Emily always give us something to talk about. :) Happy New Year to all my readers, wishing you reasonable resolutions and much happiness. XO