Good morning friends! It has been a while since we have connected, and I have caught you up with life happenings! Time flies when you have a baby, and even more so when it's your second, but thankfully the time has been sweet! God has been so very good to us, and He gotten us through a lot of bumps in the road since Ollie has been born! So let's catch up shall we!?

It's hard to believe its been nine months since Ollie has been born! He has been such a good baby! It's also been such an eye opener how different two kids from the same family can be! He is so different than Maddie!

Maddie as many of you know, is more reserved, and even as a baby she would hide her face when strangers approached. Ollie seems to love people! He smiles and waves and just lights up when he sees someone new! He is also very active and is developing very quickly as far as his physical development! He is already taking steps with a walker at nine months, where Maddie was just starting to crawl at this point!

Now for the hard and honest truths- This winter was rough for our family! We have never really been a family that has gotten sick much, and yet our kids (and Sean and myself) seemed to go through the wringer this winter! When Ollie was just four months old, him and Maddie tested positive for RSV, then flu, then strep, and the list goes on... And Sean and I almost always followed suit. Not to mention Ollie has gotten 6 teeth already at nine months old!

The Lord has used these trials to teach me more about trusting Him for His protection and resting in the promises He has given his children in Psalm 91. I have read this passage for years, but this spring after coming through the thick of it, I have a whole new appreciation and revelation of the importance of trusting in God's sheltering presence. If you haven't read it lately, I would encourage you to read it daily and study it to learn all of the benefits God has for His children to run to Him for safety! He told us that in this world we would have tribulation, but He also promised that in Him we would overcome the trials of this world! I'm so thankful for the protection that we can find in His promises!

Through the many many hard nights of rocking Ollie all night long, and not knowing when we would see the break of dawn, I have found a new understanding of what it means to be the strengthened in the Lord. He tells us in Isaiah 40 that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, and I have found that to be true in this season of my life more than ever!

Now that we are on the other side of the long cold days, and we are finally starting to see spring breaking through, I am so thankful to say things are getting easier! Maddie is becoming more independent and she is helping a lot with her baby brother, and Ollie is finally sleeping through the night and taking two great naps each day, which gives me more energy to keep up with him when he's awake!

As far as this post-partum period for me, well... it has been one that has looked so different than with Maddie. My perspective and focus has been so shifted off of what I thought was important, and now I see things in a much different light. I have found that caring for myself comes from a very different motivating factor now, which is the sole purpose of caring for my family and fulfilling my call with strength.

I will admit with Maddie, I was motivated by my clothes fitting better after pregnancy. (Not that this motivation is wrong)... I have found this time around that I truly care about my health and know that I feel so much better when I take care of myself. This means working out 3-4 times a week, and making healthy meals for my family most days of the week! My body has adjusted slower this time around because I haven't made changing my body my focus, but it's amazing what happens when you take care of it... it just seems to find it's happy weight in time! Another lesson on trusting the Lord with my body has come from this, but I'll save that for another time!

As for Ollie and Maddie, they are quickly becoming the best of friends, just as I prayed they would! They are laughing with each other, and talking to each other daily (Ollie in all of his cute babbles), and she just adores him like a little mommy would!

Sean and I have had so much more grace with each other this time around. When we became new parents, it was a struggle to communicate properly, and we were often so tired we said things we didn't mean. We learned from that experience to keep our mouths shut when we were tired, and to talk about everything on our hearts when it mattered, and it sure made a huge difference! We have given each other so much grace and learned to be patient with each other in this season of being a family of four!

Sean has also been back to work full time since Ollie was about two months old, which was quite the adjustment for me! When Maddie was a baby, he worked from home, so I had a lot of help! This season has been an adjustment as I have had to learn to juggle being a stay at home mom to two (Maddie has school half days), and working from home; But God's grace has been upon me as I have looked to Him for wisdom on balancing my priorities.

Ollie is such a joy and such a fun addition to our family! He is truly such a smiley baby, and now that he is on a routine with sleeping and eating, he is such a happy baby! And speaking of eating, he sure loves to eat! We have tried the baby led weaning approach this time around, and I'm amazed at how much this approach has helped open him up to different textures and flavors as opposed to doing mostly purees, which is what I did with Maddie. I look forward to seeing how his palate develops with time with the BLW approach!

Speaking of Maddie, it's hard to believe how grown up she is becoming! She is starting to truly come into her own understanding of the Lord, and is asking all kinds of questions! It has been such a blessing and beautiful thing to experience being her mom! She has always had such a pure desire to know God, even from an early age, and she has always had such a compassionate heart. I can see the love and joy of God flowing through her already! One of the greatest joys of being a mom for sure!

As for our family as a whole, we are thankful for this new season (spring), and all God has in store for the future! Sean, (although he is very busy with his business Hatch Golf Co.), is already thinking about updates for the new Dashing Dish, and there are other big plans for our family in the near future that God is unfolding as well! We will be sharing as the Lord continues to lead!

It has been so good for my heart to share these updates with you all... after all these years I truly do feel like you are family! You guys have seen us through many mountains and valleys, and through them all, the Lord has been faithful! I pray each one of you are doing well and you feel the hope of new day is dawning with the start of this new season! xo Katie