John and Carol Show

Love Letters

2012-02-10T14:20:00.000-06:00

A blogger friend is hosting a "Love Letter Link-Up," and I thought I would join in by writing letters to some of the things and people that I love.

Dear Nap-Time,
You are one of my favorite times of the day. Seriously. I look forward to you and mourn your parting when our time together is over. Thank you for being so consistent and for allowing me the time to be able to eat 6 packs of Smarties with no one grabbing my legs and begging for them.

Dear Smarties,
I bought a bag of you this week just for me to eat. While this may not have been my brightest moment, I am so glad to have reconnected with you after all these years. I ate you for lunch yesterday, which didn't go as well as I might have hoped. Today, I am using you more wisely as a "treat" instead of a meal, and this means that we can continue our relationship. Which I look forward to.

Dear Traveling,
I love you so much! I think of you often and dream about our next rendezvous. I am looking forward to a big adventure with you at the end of April, and I am excited to see all that is in store for us. You remind me how big the world is, how creative my God is, and that my life is so different from so many others. You even let my kids come along sometimes, which is so kind of you.

Dear Traveling without Kids, aka Vacation,
I am really, really looking forward to you next week. I mean, I love my chitlins so very much, but I love my hubby even more, and I am stoked beyond words to be heading out to see you!

Dear Valentine's Day,
Thanks for giving me an excuse to make really cute notes with treats from my children and to teach them more about God's love. I love that everything is pink and red for a few weeks, even if you are an overly commercialized holiday made up by the card and candy companies.

Dear JPS, Lover Boy, Rock-Star Hubby,
You are the best husband God could have ever given me. He knew! I love that even in a week with long days and some discouraging moments, you have taken the time and energy to connect with me. I love that the giddy pre-trip feeling has set in, and we woke up making jokes, knowing that a fun trip is right around the corner. I am thankful to do life with you - the good and the bad - all of it.

Dear God,
There are not enough words. Thank you for everything. Thank you for saving me and loving me, in spite of and because of the wretch that I am. I am so glad that life is really about you and your story, not mine. I do not understand everything that you choose. Sometimes I wish I could underline those words and shout them at you. But, I know that when I feel that way, I can feel your still, small voice reminding me that you love. You love. And, that is enough - though I will never understand it. Thank you for being infinite in the face of my finiteness. I look forward to seeing you clearly some day.

Dear Lily and Bella,
Each day I am so thankful for you. I love the ways that you are growing into little people with big personalities. Lily, I love that I can hear you singing Jingle Bells from your room right now. Bella, I love that you are asleep right now, rubbing your little belly button with one of your hands to soothe yourself. Those precious little things are reminders that this time of life will be fleeting - the time when you need me like you do right now. Though some days are hard, I love being with you, getting your hugs and kisses and seeing your joys. What a privilege it is to raise you both!

Welp, that wraps up my little love letter fest. Clearly, it was in no particular order. Linking up with Lindsey!

John's Channel: Standing on the Shoulders of a Virtual Giant

2012-02-08T15:21:00.000-06:00

My palms are sweaty. I haven't been able to sleep for the last few nights. I have a reoccuring dream that I stumble without clothes into the blogosphere only to be pushed off a cliff and fall forever through cyberspace. Yes, Carol keeps telling me it is just a blog post, but it is so much more than that--this is my pilot episode.
  To prepare for this, my pilot episode, I followed the path traveled by many a great scholar, I went to Google. Yes, I googled "how to make a successful pilot episode." It felt as cliche as looking up a dictionary definition in preparation for a sermon, but it was all I had. Honestly, I discovered nothing of true value except that a related search was "how to have a successful first kiss." After chasing that rabbit for...well, let's not get hung up on how long I was distracted by this topic...I came back to my original topic. (Side note: wikiHow claims there are 19 steps to a first kiss, not sure what joke to make about that one)
  The only two morsels of information my attention span allowed me to pick up during my "pilot episode" research is that:
- First, the pilot should start with a teaser. Hence the ridiculous peice of drama that was the first paragraph--I'll try to steer clear of those in the future.
- Second, that you have to introduce the main character(s). In this case, that would be...well, me.
I am the "John" of the "John and Carol Show." If you've been reading the blog for any amount of time, you know more about me than I am sometimes comfortable with. (Don't think I haven't had Carol go back and pull content off the blog after it was posted...) That's okay. This blog has been a great thing for a our family.
  All of this to say, I'm standing on the blog shoulders of my giant wife (I am secure enough in our relationship to not edit those last two words, but I'll find out later if my security is misplaced). It's a little intimidating joining this adventure at this advanced stage, but here goes nothing. And I guess, if my character never really takes shape, Carol can just kill me off (blog sense, not in real life) in a not-too-distant episode.
  Amidst all of that, I forgot to tell you about myself. First, I get distracted easily. And:
- I'm 6'4"
- I run for fun...sick, I know.
- I love my family (that was a shameless ploy for an "ahh" from what I know is a largely female audience).
- I seek to know and love Jesus.
That's all I'm going to share for now. It's the first episode after all. I can't give it all away.

If my show doesn't get cancelled, future episodes, may or may not include:

- My Drive (and Crash) Towards Perfection
- Kids Don't Make Your Life Easier...They Make It Better
- Bucket & Sucket Lists (I apologize in advance for this one)
- Two Older Sisters, No Brothers and It Shows
- I'm Not Even Going to Try to Change the World
- Entitlement: Thank God I Haven't Gotten What I Deserved
- Me-Me Conflict
- Sabbath-ing With My Hands
- Why I Love Being a Dad

If you have a request, let Carol know. In conclusion (I learned to say that in my high school speech class) thank you for loving my wife...she is everything she's cracked up to be and thank you for watching the show.

Cleaning Confessions and a Moonlit Walk

2012-02-07T15:29:00.000-06:00

All right, I am just going to warn you now - if you are a clean freak - STOP READING. Okay, you have been warned. The last 3 weeks or so I have been trying to stick to a cleaning schedule of sorts. I kept seeing these things on Pinterest about how to keep your house clean in 10-15 minutes a day, and I thought, well, there are a lot of things that I do for 10-15 minutes a day. I could definitely give that time to trying to keep my house a little more clean. I don't need to read every Facebook status that my "friends" have posted all day. Maybe I should wash our sheets and towels.
I grew up in a very clean home, and I remember liking that as a kid. I want my children and husband to have a clean home, and I know this is possible. We pick stuff up off the floor around here, but that is really different from actually cleaning things. So, this cleaning schedule has been mostly a really good thing. Every day I check it and see what my task is. Some days are more cringe worthy than others - who ever likes to change their cats' litter box? Other days I think - "oh, that's it? that's so easy!" about something like dusting upstairs. I tried to keep it pretty even from day to day, and I am on a two week rotation with most tasks. That is clean enough for us, and I must say, it is much cleaner than before. I am still working out the kinks, but so far, I think it is going well. And, I will not have to wonder how long it has been since that particular toilet was cleaned.
So, that is my little encouragement to you - you who probably already do a lot better at this than me. There is usually time and space to start doing the things that need to be done anyway - I just require a system, apparently.
Last night, John got home right around 5, and since it was such a nice day, we decided to go for a walk. "Moonlit" somehow implies that this was romantic - I assure you, it was not, though the moon was out. We had the two friends in tow, and though it was a little lacking in romance, it was rich with quality and moments that I hope make up the fabric of our family's life. Time together, enjoying God's rich creation and the gift of one another's presence.

Here's a glimpse.

(I like the one on the left. He will be posting on the blog tomorrow!)

I could see the moon in the water, but sadly, it didn't translate on film or pixels or whatever.

Thankful for these moments, especially after a whiny day with friends. Some days are like that.

Weekend: SuperBowl and Activity Play by Play

2012-02-06T15:29:00.001-06:00

This weekend brought many things. I was suffering from a pretty bad cold most of the weekend, which was a bummer. We went out Friday night and discovered that we can get Lily to eat almost anything if it is pitched as a Vehicle for Ketchup. She loves the stuff. I held off on the discovery of condiments for years, but now that she knows, that girl loves her some ketchup.

We had a family yogurt date that lasted about 17 minutes total.

We vacated the premises when the running and screaming grew louder than we thought the employees should have to tolerate. John was just so wound up. As we were getting into the car, we realized that Bella is not a fan of her car seat, all of the sudden. She was gripping the car door and planking as John was trying to wrestle her in. That girl has some major muscle and fortitude. However, once she was in, she was a docile as a sleeping kitten. Crazy.

Saturday morning, while John was at work, the girls decided to make a lot of food. Bella focused on consuming an entire eggplant while Lily mixed up some "corn sauce." When I asked her what all goes into "corn sauce," she told me, "Chicken." At least she is primed to join the family business.

Because of a 90% chance of thunderstorms that didn't materialize, I went running with a friend in the afternoon instead of the morning. It was great to run with a friend, but unfortunately, this little 8 mile run produced my first vomit episode from this half-marathon training. I think it was the afternoon running, and I will try not to repeat that again.
We hosted our community group at our house for the Superbowl. I made festive cookies.

There were a lot of kiddos that needed feeding, and this is when I am so thankful for our banquette than can seat lots of peeps. Why yes, that table does seat 12!

The older kiddos played and then watched some of a movie.

The adults watched the game. Some of the time. There was also a ping pong game, a lot of dip eating and much discussion of things more interesting than the football game. Though, I must say, it was a really good game there at the end.

My favorite quote of the night was when the oldest girl (5 years old) came upstairs looking for Ms. Keri. She said, "Ms. Keri - Emma needs a whole new set of clothes." That is pretty much one of the last things a mother wants to hear, especially with no apparent explanation. Awesome.
And now, it is onto another week. They really do seem to zip past. I wonder what wonderful things and less than wonderful things this week holds. We shall see! Also, John says that he is going to post on the blog sometime soon. Just a little something for you all to be looking forward to - he's pretty great.

More Valentine's Crafts

2012-02-03T14:37:00.000-06:00

Since it is officially February, I can now say that it is officially, approximately one year since I really started blogging. And, I love it. I shared a couple of Valentine's Day Crafts on Tuesday that you can read about by clicking here. The Valentine Advent Calendar has been a hit so far, especially since I have been handing each girl a chocolate kiss to eat while we talk about God's love. Nothing really spells out God's love like chocolate. Yum. Last year, I shared two Valentine's Crafts, and I thought I would post the links to those tutorials.

Valentine's Day Picture Frame

Making Valentine's with Photos

And, since I was looking through last February's pictures to repost those, I ran across a couple old pictures of the girls. My, how a year changes things. I got all nostalgic.

Baby Bella

Two-Year-Old Lily, still just a tiny bit baby-faced

I am making Valentines for both of their classes, even though we won't be there that week. Wouldn't want to miss out on the Heart Day fun!

To see more fun ideas, you can click on my Valentine's Day Pin Board on Pinterest. Happy Valentine Crafting!

After the Rain

2012-02-01T22:48:00.000-06:00

This afternoon, what would have been a blizzard, was instead a thunderstorm. Last year around this time, there kept being a lot of snow. But, this year, it is simply warmish, humid and then raining. Which has its major pros - like being able to take a walk in the woods after the rain. Earlier in the day, as Lily was melting down when we left the playground, I tried to bribe her to leave peacefully by telling her we would go for a wagon ride later, after naps. The bribe was moderately successful, and the only reason she wailed on the way to the car was that she didn't want to hold her backpack, not because we were leaving. You win some, you lose some.

As the rain was pouring down this afternoon, I thought a wagon ride was probably out of the question. It was so dark and stormy and not at all like normal February. Turns out, it cleared right up, and since Lily's mind is like a steel-trap, off to the woods we went. Our neighborhood has "Green"space built into it. What this actually means is that the lot sizes are smaller, but there are woods between all the houses. Pretty genius marketing, and it means that there is a trail system throughout our neighborhood, so that is really fun. (Though I think the "Hiker Crossing" signs are a bit overkill.) Also, it gave me more opportunity to practice shooting manually for the class I'm finishing up.

Girlies loaded up with their snacks.

Leaf-hunting Lily. There were several for her to choose from.

The trail was a bit muddier and bumpier than I thought it might be. But, we certainly made it. It was sort of like this hike (only not even close), in that if I had known all of the water and mud that I would be trekking through, I might not have done it. However, at each step of the way I thought, "I can do this. This isn't too bad."

The pay off is that the girls LOVE ♥ our little nature walks, and it is always nice to get out of the house - especially in the late afternoon hours that can sometimes drag on. Here's a little self-timer goodie to show them later in life - look, I was there!

Linking up with Emily at

Valentine Advent Calendar and a Valentine Placemat

2012-01-31T12:13:00.000-06:00

That was a wordy title, but I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. This morning, I did a "Snippet" for the mom's Bible study that I attend. They asked if I could come up with a Valentine craft to do with our kids (or for our kids) that would help them learn more about God's love. (At least, that it what I think the question was. I accidentally deleted the email, so I hope that this works!)
As I was thinking about what could be fun, I decided to steal from another holiday's tradition and create an "advent" calendar of sorts. But with this one, every day would have a different aspect of God's love to learn about. Here is what I made.

And, you can make one too! Here is what you need - though, the good news is, this project is highly adaptable to whatever you have on hand or whatever you want it to be. I used a plaque that came from the Hobby Lobby Valentine section that already had a ribbon hanger on it. It was $4.99 before the discount.
I decided to paint "God is LOVE" on mine. First, I went and located a new cute font and installed it on my computer. It is "Roskrift Clean" (who names fonts?), and I downloaded it from Fonts 101 and printed out the text on an regular piece of paper.

Then, I used the same transfer method that I showed off when making the Dot Painted Plates. Color over the back of your printed page using a heavy graphite pencil. (A regular pencil might work as well - I haven't tried it.)

Then, tape the page in place over the plaque.

Trace over the edges of the lettering using a ball point pen.

Once you are finished, take off the paper, and your outline will be left on the plaque.

Then, use a small paint brush and paint inside the lines. A different, blockier font would definitely be easier to paint, but I did like the way this one came out.

Then, it was time for me to find 14 descriptions of love. I focused mainly on 1 Corinthians 13, but sprinkled some in from other passages as well. Here's the list that I came up with.

- Love is Patient

1 Corinthians 13:4

- Love is Kind

1 Corinthians 13:4

- Love rejoices with the Truth

1 Corinthians 13:6

- Love never fails

1 Corinthians 13:8

- Love casts out fear

1 John 4:18

- Love sent Jesus

John 3:16

- Love edifies

1 Corinthians 8:1

- Love always hopes

1 Corinthians 13:7

- Love is fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22

- Love serves others

Galatians 5:13

- Love forgives

1 Corinthians 13:5

- Love bears burdens

1 Corinthians 13:7

- Love endures all things

1 Corinthians 13:7

- Love is not proud or rude

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

I formatted those into two separate columns and printed them out. If you want me to email it to you, I would be glad to - just leave a comment with your email if you want a copy.

I cut them into little rectangles using my handy paper cutter.

Since I wanted them hanging in a heart shape, I laid them out on the floor. You could do fewer attributes and/or let them hang randomly as well.

I tied a second piece of small string onto the bottom of the Baker's Twine that I was using to make a V-shape that would help stabilize the rectangles as they dangle from the sign.

Then, tape the Baker's Twine to the card, and measure it up to the place that you want it to hang from. I tried to stagger them a bit, but since I was aiming for a heart, there were not a ton of placement options.

Then, I used a handy dandy Command Hook to be able to hang all of the attributes on. There is one for every day in February leading up to the 14th.

My goal is to take one down each day and talk with Lily (and Bella, sort of) about the description of love to be learned about that day.

The other idea I shared was actually one from my childhood. My mom (with my dad's help!) made placemats for each of us. They had verses, our names and clippings of stuff that they felt represented us. Here is mine.

What I learned about myself as an almost 10 year old girl is that I loved cats, piano lessons, cheese dip and cookies, but most importantly, that my parents loved and valued me so much. We used these at a Valentine's dinner, and I have had it for years.
So, that is what I shared this morning at Bible Study. If you have any questions - please let me know!

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup: Tastes Like My Childhood

2012-01-30T13:59:00.000-06:00

Last week, despite this being just about the balmiest January I can imagine, I made Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner. None of us were sick, and it wasn't really cold, but it is still January, so soup sounded nice. I called my mom to get her recipe. Then, as I was making it, I managed to do things all wrong, though it still turned out just fine. So, instead of step by step pictures, I am going to share the recipe and the end result. That keeps it simple for me and less confusing for you.

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup

Here's what you need.

5-6 chicken breasts (not pictured)
1 TBsp Lowry's Seasoned Salt
3 Chicken Bouillon cubes
1 TBsp Cavender's Seasoning
1 TBsp Poultry Seasoning
1/2 tsp Minced Garlic (also not pictured) (clearly, I was not very with it this evening- I never even put it in)
4 shakes of Garlic Powder
3 shakes of Onion Powder
1 16 oz bag Large Egg Noodles
Carrots - sliced, as much as you want (I was lazy and bought canned)
Frozen Peas, as much as you want

Cover your chicken with water and add enough to have a good base of broth. I added about 5 cups after I had covered my chicken. Add seasonings and bring to a boil. Boil about 45 minutes, until chicken is done. Remove chicken, and cut it up. OR - stick it into your Kitchen Aid and get perfectly shredded chicken for a lot less work! Thank you, Simply Healthy Fam blog, found via Pinterest, for this brilliant, time-saving tip!

Put the noodles and the carrots into the water that you just finished boiling the chicken in. Bring it to a boil, and cook the noodles until they are done, usually about 10 minutes. Add peas and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes. Add your chopped up chicken back in, and your soup is finished!

What I do love about this recipe is that it is very flavorful and very healthy. And, though it takes a while to get it all cooked, it takes very little hands-on time. I doubled the recipe - sometimes I don't think about how much it will make when I actually double something. I completely filled this pot.

But, that means I have lots to freeze for later, which works out well for us. So - go make this Chicken Noodle Soup - it really is delicious!

More Playtime and Photo Practice

2012-01-28T14:01:00.000-06:00

I am continuing to practice for the photography class I am taking (Ashley Ann's SnapShop). Fortunately, I have two little models around all the time, though their willingness is usually questionable. I feel like I am learning how to get more natural shots of them, which I love. I am also learning that taking good, high-quality pictures is something that takes a lot of practice, a willingness to try new things and sometimes, a bit of staging. It also takes a lot of extra thinking about the background that I hope I get better at. So, after a day inside and at home, we were ready to go outside, plus, I knew the lighting would be better outside than inside, which meant it would make for good practice.
What you must understand about this particular day is that this is the day that I realized Bella is a hitter. When something is taken from her, she does not respond graciously. As you might imagine, this does not go over well with big sis, who moans about being hit, though amazingly doesn't hit back. This is also the day that Lily was coming downstairs to go outside, and Bella, standing at the top of the stairs, threw the doll stroller down the stairs. I didn't see this go down, but I could hear the stroller banging its way down only to run into a little girl about 3/4 of the way down. Bummer. The screaming lasted for quite a while. So, all of that happened right before these pictures. I never want anyone to get the wrong idea while reading this blog that things are always picturesque around here, though once you see the first picture, there won't be any doubts about that anyway.

Lily was still recovering from the stair incident, and when Bella got into the car, it put her back over the edge. Glad to have this moment captured forever.

Bella did quite enjoy her time in the Cozy Coupe.

I realized once we got down there that we all had on our sparkly Toms. Here are mine and Lily's.

Sweet face.

Lily spent some time in recovery on the swing, and I convinced her to take a picture with me before she got back to the business of playing.

Here's to more practice!

Let's Go See a Movie

2012-01-26T14:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, we went and saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D. This was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, and when I seriously considered going to try out to be a Disney Princess at DisneyWorld, I was going to aim for Belle. I figured I could wear brown contacts. So, I jumped at the opportunity to take the girlies to see it in the theatre. The fact that it was in 3D I was split on - I like 3D movies, but I thought it might be hard to get the girls to wear the glasses. Bella wore them the whole movie, with no fuss whatsoever. She also did great, with appropriate outbursts of enthusiasm. And, looking over, seeing her in those glasses absolutely made my week. Lily was another story (she usually is), but after half of the movie, I was able to convince her that it would be better if she did wear the glasses. So, she did, though she never looked at the camera or deemed it worthy of a smile from her.

And, for good measure, I present to you, Phantom Bella.

Family experiences make my heart all warm and fuzzy, especially when they go well.

This morning, I did a 4 mile run at the river in the foggy mist. I saw no less than 20 deer (and I was thankful to run PAST them and not OVER them), who must have thought I was crazy, since I was "putting my hand up" while bouncing my head along to Beyonce singing All the Single Ladies. Sometimes, a few of Beyonce's greatest hits can take you a long way.

Here's to You.

2012-01-25T15:11:00.001-06:00

Here's to You, Bloom group. You ladies make my Tuesday mornings so special. To get beyond the pretense and have real, raw discussion on stuff that matters is a blessing that most women long for and we get to experience. Thanks for keeping it real, working for it, loving me and loving the Lord. I have learned so much from each of you. (Why I felt the need to continue wearing my name tag at lunch is still a mystery.)

Here's to You, Community Group. I don't have a picture to share from our time together last night, because I know you all would make fun of me even more about the blog if I took pictures every time we met. Thank you for being so outrageous that we girls had to spend some of our time locked in the laundry room away from the guys. That was really hilarious. Thanks for sharing what God is teaching each of you and for being willing to read a sort of crazy book to see where it takes us.

Here's to You, Jen Hatmaker, who I don't know in real life but wish I did. Your book, Seven, is rocking my world in the best way possible, though I am a little nervous about the next several chapters. Thank you for doing something extreme to see what God had to say about the way you live and inspiring me to do the same. I am excited to see what God has to show me. And if I do end up eating only chicken for a month, the good news is, we own a chicken restaurant.

Here's to You, John, best husband ever. You took today off from work, and instead of packing it full of stuff we needed to do, you said you just wanted to hang out and have a "date day." This makes me feel so loved and valued. Eating breakfast, sans kiddos and sitting there talking for an extra hour was pretty amazing. It made me realize all over again how lovely it is to be married to you and be almost 7 years deep. I am looking forward to seeing Beauty and the Beast in 3D this afternoon with our two little compadres.

Here's to You, Lily and Bella. Lily, thanks for making me laugh when asking about John's glasses. You asked why he would need to clean them, and I said, "Sometimes they get dirty." And you said, "Why does Daddy poop on his glasses?" I laughed out loud. Bella - thanks for being such a great sleeper so much of the time. Last night, when your babysitter forgot to give you your paci to sleep with, you didn't wake up til 5:30 a.m. I got to cuddle you for a bit, and then, after a while, you went back to sleep. Here's to You both - being your mom is one of the best gifts God has ever given me.

Here's to You, anyone who reads this blog. I really appreciate your encouragement, thoughtfulness and kind words. Thanks for making blogging a fun adventure for me!

January Spring

2012-01-24T15:10:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday, Lily and I made our first real go at potty training. I hesitate to even talk about it on this here blog, because quite frankly, I don't want to have a million opinions and suggestions thrown my way. But, that is my problem and issue and pride and not a good reflection of what is going on our lives. Let's just say, it is hard and I am sort of at a loss for what to do. If you think of it, please pray that we have wisdom and patience. God sure knew what I needed when he gave me a darling daughter made of nails. And, as I must continually remind myself when potty training comes up, Lily will not go to college in diapers. Maybe kindergarten, but not college. So, sometime between now and then, this will all click with her, and there will be no fear, and she will use the potty.

After a day in the house working at our toilet skills, we needed an outing. We headed to the park in our neighborhood since we are experiencing such mild January weather. I am currently enrolled in Ashley Ann's SnapShop and learning how to use my camera in fully manual mode, which I haven't done since high school. I LOVE the course - it is super practical and easy to understand. Since I know I love her style of shooting, it is fun to have her insights on photography, especially since she has four children that she is capturing. I used yesterday to really start practicing, and I am loving the results. I feel like I still have so much to learn, and even more than that, I just need more practice.

Here is our time at the park after a rather frustrating day at home. I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend time outside with the girls, and they certainly loved it. Thanks, January, for being so warm. It sure beats being trapped inside.

Beautiful things to treasure forever from this particular afternoon: Us all three holding hands and walking to the playground from the car. Bella really loving to walk. Lily saying, "Look! Bella is walking" with such joy and enthusiasm. Bella climbing and exploring everything with great interest and snot dripping down her nose forever. Lily throwing rock after rock into the creek and loving it. I am thankful for these treasures - and for learning how to capture some of them better!

Lily's Panda Party: Part Two, Behind the Scenes

2012-01-23T13:43:00.000-06:00

So, here are a few of the behind the scenes details that went into Lily's party, that I posted about yesterday. I sent out these invitations.

In these envelopes.

I designed them and printed them myself. I searched on Etsy for downloadable clip art and found a little Chinese girl pack, which you can see by clicking here. I created them in Microsoft Word and printed them on card stock paper, and I scalloped the edges using a punch and then glued it onto black card stock. I ran the envelopes through the printer. I found the font called "Bonzai," which I downloaded free from Urbanfonts. I also got a font called "Bamboo" there as well.

I must say that this party was made much easier by my Silhouette - a machine that cuts things beautifully and easily. I made the food labels and the bunting using it, as well as the panda tattoos that the girls wore and that were included in the favor boxes. I made circle stickers to put on the cups and favor boxes using the panda clip art and Avery stickers that I bought at Office Depot.

Most of the decor - lanterns, pinata and favor boxes, were all ordered from Party City online. I looked around, and it had the best prices for what I wanted, especially once I got free shipping.

When it came time for figuring out a cake, I searched for cute panda cupcakes online and found Charm and Whimsy's take on them. She also made a few cupcakes using Pirouette Rolled Wafers as bamboo, which gave me the idea to wrap an entire cake with them. I saw these super cute Panda cupcakes on Bakerella and knew I wanted to make at least one - but not more than that, because they looked a little time intensive. So, those were the inspirations for the cake and cupcakes.

For the favor boxes, I included the following items.

- Adorable Panda Finger Puppets from Imogene's Tea Garden's Shop on Etsy. I sort of wanted to buy all the animals - they are so cute.
- Panda Tattoos made with the Silhouette
- Chinese Yo-Yos from Party City
- Glitter Bottles that I made (I did a tutorial on them back in August) using "Panda Gems" I ordered from Glass Gems by Christine's Etsy Shop, green pom poms, green glitter, and green leaf sequins.

and personalized Fortune Cookies ordered from Baked Just For You.

I asked people not to bring gifts, but if they wanted, to instead bring cash to give to World Vision. Honestly, after last year's party (which you can read about here) where Lily didn't care to open her presents, I decided that it was really overkill for her to receive more gifts. We have plenty, and she has more than enough to play with, so I would rather give to others, including a girl that we sponsor through World Vision that shares Lily's exact birthday.
Well, that about sums everything up. I am glad that I am only doing birthday parties like this about twice a year right now, but it sure is fun!

Lily's "Panda"monium Party: Part 1

2012-01-22T17:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we celebrated Lily's birthday, you know, almost 2 weeks after her actual birthday. You do what you gotta do. Her party was so much fun! A lot of work, but the pay off was worth it. Turns out, my little Panda princess sure loves a good party and loves having all of her friends at her house. As you may recall, about a month ago, I said to Lily, "You want to have a penguin party?" and she said, "No. I want a Panda Bear party." And thus began Pandamonium 2012.
I'm going to break it up into two posts - one being the actual party post and one with some of the extra details that went into it. I have realized that I sort of love planning parties. Having a theme and running with it is something that really gets my creative juices stirred up. And, pandas are really cute, so there is a lot to work with. In the end, I think this turned out a lot cuter than a penguin party would have for us - way to go, Lily. Here's the birthday girl post party in her panda attire.

Here are the girls waiting for our guests to arrive, while watching Rack, Shack and Benny. This is the only Veggietale Lily has cared to watch recently, so I find the Bunny Song playing in my head relentlessly.

First thing on the party agenda - eating. I went for sort of a Chinese/Chick-fil-A theme. I was going to get actual Sweet n Sour chicken, but decided that for ease and cost to us, I should serve Chick-fil-A nuggets with Polynesian sauce. I made Peanut Butter and Jelly "Sushi" and had Chicken Egg Rolls, Edamame and fresh fruit as our lunch spread. I mixed some Strawberry Breeze juice with Sprite for a fun "Pink Panda Punch."

Everyone ate, which is a major feat when dealing with this many toddlers, babies and young children. It always feels a bit circusy, but fun.

After lunch, it was time for the party activities. In keeping with an "Asian-ish" theme, I thought it would be fun to do a game involving rice. We got a 50 lb bag of rice from Sam's and filled a tub with it. Then, we buried little spiky plastic balls in it. We gave the kids each a set of chopsticks with the little kid helpers that make them like over-sized tweezers. In two separate groups based on ages, we had the kids try to dig out the balls with the chopsticks. Whoever had the most when it was over - after about 5 minutes, won! We had the older group of kids 4 and older go first. It was chaos, but the kids seemed to really be able to do it and enjoy it.

They used extra favor boxes that we had on hand to put their balls in. The winner received a copy of the Kung-Fu Panda DVD. Bella was crawling around trying to eat the rice off the floor. Like we don't feed her. And, Lily was kicking it while the older kids dug through the rice.

Then, it was time for the "Fly-Weights" as John kept referring to them as. This was even more chaotic, but they did manage to get the balls out. It turned out to be a lot of fun.

While groups of kids were playing the Chopsticks Challenge game, other kids, with their parents' help, were "Painting" their own Panda. I had an ink pad of Pigment ink out, and kids put the bottom of their fists into the ink to then stamp on the Panda's ears and eye spots. They then glued on the googly eyes.

Quick, easy and cute. Also, the ink came off with water - it even came off of the wall with just water, which was great to later discover. After the downstairs party activities, we headed upstairs for cake and cupcakes.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Lily, and then, I blew out her candles for her, because she froze up a bit under all the scrutiny. But, she loved the panda cupcake.

To round out the party fun, we did a Panda pinata in the garage. This was entertaining for so many reasons. First, John told the kids to line up from shortest to tallest. They all stared at him sort of blankly. After they did form some semblance of a line, they got started hitting the pinata.

It came time for the last little boy to hit, and the pinata broke open. Sort of. The body came apart from the head, but the candy did not come out. Sort of creepy to have a decapitated panda. And funny.

After that, we decided to let an adult actually break it open, and then it rained candy. Always good times.

After that, we gave everyone their take-out favor boxes and wished them on their merry way! Bella enjoyed the farewells, because she loves playing by the door. A dangerous passtime, but one I can't seem to break her of yet.

As John said, "No one will acuse you of doing this half way." And, it turned out to be so much fun and everything I could have hoped for. Which is nice, since it was a lot of work. We are so blessed with wonderful friends here that come and celebrate with us like family. I cannot believe we have a 3 year old on our hands, and so far, 3 has been much better than 2 for us. We want to celebrate the good times, I am so thankful that we have had a couple of more peaceful months with her.
I plan on doing another party post going into more details on the favors and cake and invites - I had fun putting them all together!

An Ode to Hobby Lobby

2012-01-19T13:51:00.000-06:00

Well, I said this was an "ode," but the truth is, I could not write a song if my life depended on it. I was listening to an interview on NPR yesterday (nerd alert) with the guy that composes all of the music for the Final Fantasy video games. He said that he always has melodies floating in his head, and the hardest thing for him is to pick which ones to use. I cannot even imagine having melodies that I was creating in my mind. For me, I always have crafts floating in my head. I am regularly planning things to make and figuring out how to do it in my mind. It sometimes literally keeps me up at night, which probably means that I am crazy.
Which brings me to Hobby Lobby. I go there usually about twice a week. Here are some of the things I love about it.

(last night the sunset was gorgeous!)

1. Lily used to call it Hobby Hobby.
2. Strains of all-instrumental versions of old Amy Grant songs like, That's What Love is For that transport me back to my childhood.
3. The people know me and my children. They talk about how the girls have grown and notice when I get my hair cut.
4. You can get most things half off from there.
5. There is almost always a mobile coupon for 40% off to be pulled up on my phone.
6. They have a fabric section with a good selection. (which is why I like it more than Michael's, though I frequent Michael's as well)
7. When we go there, we drive past Waffle House where Lily always remembers that her daddy took her to breakfast there and tells me about it, reminding me of how wonderful my husband is.
8. I know where everything is. This is critical when shopping with two little friends.
9. There is a forest of Christmas trees almost 6 months of the year to be enjoyed. They are currently not there, which is severely disappointing to Lily.

So, that is my list. Do you have anything else to add?

Keeping It Real

2012-01-18T21:52:00.000-06:00

This week I am under the weather again. What does that even mean, "under the weather"? I am shooting up Afrin every 12 hours to be able to breathe through my nose. It seems to be my drug o' choice that does the trick and allows me to pretend that I am not sick and carry on with all the things I think I need to do. And, many of them, I do need to do. I need to care for my children, feed them and clothe them and love on them when they jack their little faces on the sides of tables. (Poor Bella.) I need to make sure we have food to eat, clothes to wear and keep our house picked up. I am the Mom. These things fall to me.
But, what about all the other things? The things I want to do. The things I think I should do. There are so, so many of those, and sometimes, I feel like I start to crack a bit under the strain of my own expectations. I have these expectations that I can and should do it all. I want perfection. Is that too much to ask? I want (in no particular order) to have a clean and beautiful house, clean and cute children, a wonderful marriage, deep and satisfying friendships, the best birthday parties, great ministry, a sense of personal style, fitness, folded laundry, a cute blog that people like to read, a potty-trained daughter, an intimate walk with the Lord and then time to craft to my heart's content at the end of each day while I leisurely take in the latest episode of my favorite show. And, sometimes I trick myself into thinking that this is attainable. What is wrong with me? Why am I so broken in my heart?
I have always been an "achiever." I am a first-born child. I have always looked for the quickest, most efficient way from point A to point B, and I have had success in doing this in many areas of my life. But, life is not about efficiency or how many things I can cross off of a list in one day. That is not how God measures my time, and I want to be more about what he wants in my life. It is all his anyway.
So, the question that is echoing in my heart and mind this week is, "How can I make more of God and less of me?" I am naturally bent the wrong way to want to make the most of myself, to think that I could possibly have any good without him. As John the Baptist prayed in John 3, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Somehow, decreasing sounds painful and hard. Just as I have always sought after efficiency and success, I have always shunned pain and trials. I have valued and do value my comfort far more than I should. "He must increase, but I must decrease."
Instead of pursuing perfection, I want to be pursuing more of Christ. More fullness. More joy. More love. And sometimes, more pain and suffering, because he promises to be near to those who suffer and count it all joy. It goes against the grain of this girl to really want that, but that is what I feel God is putting on my heart.
So, that is where I am this week. I am planning for Lily's party and wondering about all of my priorities. I guess I can be a little intense at times - at least, that is what one of my friends told me this morning. Also, my mom tells me this, so it must be true. Mothers never lie.

And, I firmly believe that every post needs a least one picture, so here are a couple of the girls. I love the story that these pictures tell.

Also, is Lily's apron not the cutest? Thanks, Aunt Ellen, for making such a sweet gift that she loves!

Weekend: Starting to Get Things Organized

2012-01-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

This weekend held many things - a seven mile run that did not involve vomit (yea!), fun shopping at Sam's and walking past the security cameras,

marveling at how much food this little friend can put away in record time,

and playing a fun game in the garage.

Blowing a ping pong ball out of a PVC pipe brings some of the loudest giggles I've ever heard. And, aren't Lily's pigtails the cutest? I thought so.

In between some of that stuff, we managed to rest and prepare for a new week. One of the things that I wanted to accomplish this year was to re-organize (or organize for the first time) our house. I wanted to do it last January, but instead I started a blog. Which has been great, but does not make my pantry easier to navigate. So, here we go. I have an organization board on Pinterest that you can see by clicking here. There are so many great tips out there, but the bottom line is still that I just have to do the work. Or rope my super-organized husband into doing it ~~for~~ with me. He is the best.
One of the sites I pinned is doing a 52 Week Organization Challenge, and while I am not exactly participating, I am doing my own little version of it. She makes several great points - organization does not happen overnight, and it really does consist of forming better habits. So, after looking through all of the areas that she is tackling, I made my own list of areas in my house that need to be addressed and the order that I wanted to do them in.
The first area that is being tackled is our kitchen, which was broken into several sub-categories so I could check stuff off the list. We spent some time in the pantry this weekend, and I am loving the results. Now, it was not that bad at all, but it was bad enough that I found that I had at least 4 bags of chocolate chips - two of them opened. That would not have happened if they were all where they were supposed to be. I didn't take a before picture, but I did take a "during" shot.

He truly does love "arranging" things, which is lucky for me, because it is not my strong suit. I can keep up a system (when I put my mind to it), but I am not particularly visionary in this area of life. He helped me group things in ways that made more sense and moved things around to shelves that made more sense. When we had it all the way we wanted it, I used our trusty label-maker to label it all. As John says, it will provide a little accountability to me in our pantry when I see the labels. I am more likely to put things back where they are supposed to go. (The shelves all pull out, so it is a very accessible pantry that I love.)

John helped me make everything more functional, and now, I just have to keep it like this. Hopefully it will keep me from having three Basils, two Poppyseeds and way more canned tomatoes than any one family needs on hand.

Having a list and doing a little bit at a time seems to be the key for us. I get overwhelmed thinking of trying to get everything in perfect order at one time. But, I can clean out the pantry (with John's help) in a couple of hours one afternoon. It is not all-encompassing of our lives, but over time, and with each task - more of our home will be more functional. I will keep you all posted on the progress.
Planning for things really does make a difference. I look forward to sharing more of our planning and action steps - hopefully, you'll be inspired to do the same!

Our House: Playroom Progress

2012-01-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

Last month, I made a lot of progress on our downstairs playroom and failed to blog any of it, because there were too many other things to be blogging about. Now that life has slowed down a bit in January, here is where the playroom stands. As a refresher, I painted the Rainbow Dot Wall back in July (you know, like 5 months ago), which you can read about in in this post. Things dragged, and I just haven't gotten around to finishing the rest of it. I am still not all the way there, but I wanted to show the progress and publicly commit myself to finishing it soon.
We bought rugs from Land of Nod to define some areas, and they have a lot of the same colors from the wall. Also, we found this really fun, round oversized chair on clearance at Furniture Row and snapped it up, so now there is a place for adults to sit in the room as well as kiddos.

I have finished up with the craft corner of the room, and I do love the way it turned out.

The craft table was Lily and Bella's main Christmas present last year, and the little tuffets are from Land of Nod. (Clearly, I love their stuff.) I did spray paint one of the tuffets to make it match. The art display is simply trim from Home Depot, spray painted cream. I added clothes pins that I painted the same yellow from the wall and super glued them in place. The hooks are for craft aprons that I have yet to purchase. I got the letters for "CREATE" at Michael's and painted them with another of the dot colors, and then added a few more dots above the letters for good measure.
I was in love with the dripping crayon canvases that I saw all over Pinterest and did my own take on it to make it a color wheel. I sat a bowl in the middle of the canvas and lined the crayons around it and hot glued them on. Then, based on a tutorial I saw on the blog, Whatever, I used a hair dryer to melt the crayons. Easy and fun. Very gratifying as well.

I have this shelf on the wall outside of my own Craft Room that I intend to paint one of the colors from the dot wall and use to house kid's craft supplies. Clearly, I have not gotten to this project yet.

I have done a little more work on the play kitchen, but I still have a few finishing touches. I have some antique handkerchiefs and embroidered tea towels that I want to use to make a bunting of sorts to give a little more pizzazz to that corner, and I have some yellow gingham fabric to make little curtains to go over the very faux window over the sink. I hung up an old crate that I got thrifting and spray painted creamish and added little canisters painted to match the wall. I labeled them as well, and sprayed clear acrylic paint over them so little fingers couldn't peel off the labels. The girls' main toys for Christmas this year were little kitchen utensils and bakeware, so now they are enjoying the play kitchen even more. Those cookie sheets are used for magnets that Lily has cleared off - another idea I saw on Pinterest that you can read about on this blog.

Here's the last corner of the room. We have a TV down there for Wii and movies. So far, we only use it when we have other people over and are trying to corral the kiddos downstairs while the adults are partying upstairs. I love their little chairs, and they do too. The dollhouse/bookshelf was Lily's birthday present this year. Part of the present was that she got to help John assemble it, which she LOVED.

If you have ever looked at cute decorated doll houses online, you will hear me when I say that it is easy to go overboard decorating a doll house. I have told Lily that she can help me, and we can make it a project together, but I think I may have a hard time keeping it simple. We shall see. The prints under the word PLAY are by the artist Katie Daisy that I purchased from Etsy. I mounted them on canvases painted blue - I was trying to bring the blue and teal over to the side of the room that ended up more pink that I would have wanted.

So, that is where things stand downstairs. I need to get some baskets to corral the toys in the bench seats under the window, and I think John and I may try our hands at building a cornice to go over the window to dress up that side of the room a bit. All in good time, or maybe not - it may take another 6 months. We shall see. We are loving the room and so are the girls.

Family Pictures and a Bit about Bella

2012-01-12T14:51:00.000-06:00

I was looking through pictures this week and realized that I never shared our latest family pictures. They were taken back in November by Luke at Main Street Studios, and as usual, I love them. We are still in that phase where it is very challenging to get both children to look at the camera, let alone to look pleasantly at the camera. Bella seems to go a bit stoic, and Lily is usually flat out uncooperative. Miraculously, Luke got some great shots. We used this one for our Christmas card.

And, this is the other one I thought about using.

Another favorite - it at least very much looks like what we normally look like.

Then, the girls modeled at hat for Heather Hill Clothing, an adorable boutique that is right around the corner from Main Street Studios. Luke does some work for the shop, and they needed shots of the cupcake hat. In walked these two adorable models. I do love the clothes and accessories in her shop - my mom got the girls matching dresses from there for Christmas that I love. ♥

And, we believe this may be the inaugural Crazy Eyes. Where does she come up with this?

We got some sweet shots of Bella in her birthday outfit from October that coordinated with her First Birthday Party, which was Candy Corn themed.

Speaking of Bella - she is such a funny thing. She took her first steps last week while we were in Wichita. She actually walked about 6 feet to get to me, but since then, she has patently refused to walk again. I think she honestly is living by the motto, "Why walk, when I can be carried?" She also is a fast crawler. However, what we are also realizing is that she is an adept climber. Last Sunday, as we were unpacking from wedding week fun and putting the last of Christmas up into the attic, (you can see where this is headed, I'm sure), the girls were playing in the garage while John was rearranging things. He had seen Bella get onto the bottom step and then shy away from it and lose interest. While continuing to organize (John is amazing at organization), he called down to Lily and asked if Bella was on the steps. She called back to him, "Yeah." John put one more thing away and turned to look around. He heard a little shuffle, shuffle on the steps and saw her little head poke up. She had climbed all the way up our pull-down attic steps.
I had been getting ready for church, and I hear John say, "You need to come here." He was sitting in the attic with Bella in his lap, and boy was she mad when we got her down and took her inside. I am so thankful that she is safe, and we are realizing that we may need to watch out for things we didn't worry over with Lily. Nobody expects their 15 month old girl who won't walk to climb into the attic - it just doesn't occur to you. At least, it didn't to us - I hope that doesn't make us negligent parents. Again, I reiterate, I am so thankful that it turned out fine and for God's grace in our lives and the lives of our children who live through our parenting of them.
And, in the future, I have a feeling I will not need to tell Bella "Aim High!" but instead, "Let's just take one step at a time." Or any steps at all, sweetheart. At this point, I will take any steps at all.

Love all the pictures! Thanks again, Uncle Luke! You're the best!

Project: Dot Painted Plates

2012-01-11T15:16:00.001-06:00

Last week, for LJizzle's bachelorette party, we did something a little different. Instead of going to a pottery studio, I bought plates at Target for us to paint. This is not an idea that I came up with - I first read about it on Under the Sycamore, and then I saw it again on Centsational Girl's blog. I had been wanting an excuse to try this out, and when we needed a fun and cheap plan, this is what we came up with. The tutorial on Under the Sycamore is great and gives all the info you would need on the paint. However, in that tutorial, she free-hands the designs, and I wanted something that could be easily replicated by a group. Here is what I came up with for transferring the design.

I went online and looked for pretty fonts, since I had decided I wanted to do some kind of monogrammed dessert dishes for Laura. I found Needle N' Thread, which has some old embroidery fonts that I thought would work nicely. I wanted to make one for myself to make sure that it worked, so I downloaded the letter S to my iPhoto.

I put it into a Word Document, so that I could resize it. I am clearly not very high-tech. But, it worked. Then, I printed it out, cut it down a bit and made sure that it was the right size for the plate I had.

Then, I turned it over and used a thick graphite pencil to color over the back of it. I think a regular pencil would work as well, but since I was going to have a lot of people doing this, I wanted it to be sort of fool proof.

I took the paper and taped it into place on the plate, then traced over it with a ball point pen.

When I removed the paper, the design had transferred perfectly! How easy is that? Very.

Then, I took the paint and dot painted around the outline.

Once it is baked, it is dishwasher and microwave safe. So, at Laura's party, we did a set of 8 dessert plates, 8 ice cream bowls and a cake stand, all in her wedding colors that also coordinate with her everyday dishes. Each girl got to paint one and signed her name on the back of it. It turned out to be such fun, and everyone was able to do it and did a great job.

Plates.

Bowls.

Cake Stand.

After doing this and realizing how easy it is, I feel that the possibilities for painted plate fun are endless!

Side Note:
On Centasional Girl's post, it mentioned something about the food safety of it, so I did some research. The paint company (Pebeo), says that it should not come into contact with food. After reading several different articles and a tiny bit of research, I am concluding that I would feel perfectly safe eating off of this paint. This paint is widely used for this exact application and is non-toxic, but does not have FDA approval. From what I can gather, it looks like the approval is so expensive to get that they haven't gone down that road, and they (the paint company) do not want to be held liable for anything. If that makes you nervous, you could always keep your paint on the rim of plates or the outside of cups or bowls.

Things Learned While Watching Mission Impossible

2012-01-10T13:47:00.000-06:00

Though last week was a bit nuts, we did sneak some time for a little tiny date night. After the Rehearsal Dinner, John and I, along with Ellen and Luke went to see the 10 p.m. showing of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I must say, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit - lots of action, just a teeny bit of gore and besides the very occasional bad word, it was pretty clean. It was full of product placement, which is so much the norm these days that it is entertaining to watch for all the ways products will be integrated into the movie. Also, I think Ethan Hunt has 29 lives or something, because the stunts are largely pretty unbelievable. All of that said, it was fun to go watch. Also, I love the Warren Theatre in Wichita so much, and the IMAX experience there was, in fact, "world-class" just as they informed us it would be during the previews.

Here are Ellen and Luke, both wearing Hog gear in enemy territory - brave people after my own heart.

And here are John and I, Breaking Dawn edition. I did not realize exactly how weird he was being until I saw this picture. Awesome.

Any night out like this is such a privilege!

Here's our list of things we learned while watching Mission Impossible. If you haven't seen the movie, it probably won't be that funny to you. And, if you have, it still may not be funny, but we entertained ourselves writing it after the movie at 12:30 p.m. as we ran to the grocery store for wedding day breakfast necessities.

1) Planet jokes never go out of style. Poor Pluto gets thrown under the bus so often, and hearing someone talk about Uranus apparently never gets old.
2) If you are equipped with enough Apple products, you can rule the world. Even if you have been disavowed by your government.
3) Chicks dig cell phones on a platter.
4) Chain mail can still serve a very real purpose in our day and age.
5) Blue = stuck like glue. Red = You're Dead. (I personally never want to have to wear those gloves outside of a tall building in Dubai.)
6) Cueing Dean Martin's music may or may not help your prison riot. It's not as soothing as one might think.
7) I don't ever want to be caught in a Haboob. Or meet the person who named them.
8) Old XM Satellites will one day be used to initiate the apocalypse.
9) We finally learned that the Box Car Kids were actually secret agents.
10) I wonder how many nuclear warheads have narrowly missed Little Rock. Maybe meteor showers really are our Cold War fears being realized.
11) Tom Cruise is the Most Interesting Man in the World.

When we ran into Dillon's to get OJ and Milk, and John decided he wanted to get some new vitamins, which is where we stumbled upon these pills. (These are not what John was looking for, for the record.)

"What are those?" you might ask. I still do not know. I was too busy giggling and texting a picture to Ellen asking her how many bottles she wanted me to put her down for to ever read the bottle. And, quite frankly, I do not want to type that into Google. So, I will never know what those pills supposedly accomplish.

Laura Marries Ryan: Wedding Week Fun

2012-01-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

Last Friday night, while most people I know were watching the Cotton Bowl, we were celebrating my baby sister's wedding. It was such a fun week, chock full of activity and togetherness. We drove in late Tuesday night, which left us to recover and get things going on Wednesday. That night was Laura's bachelorette party. It was pretty low-key, but tons of fun. We did dinner at PF Chang's - tastiness. Laura has some of the best, sweetest friends, so it was a fun night. We went back to the house for Laura to open her presents, and then, I had a craft all ready to go for the group. We had thought about going to a paint your own pottery place, but based on price and not loving the final results, we opted for something else. I will share this in another post, because it is that cool. Worthy of its own post.

The "McCulley" girls! My amazing sisters and sister in law. (She came straight from work as a Labor and Delivery nurse, hence the scrubs. Also, her stories are undeniably some of the wildest I have ever heard.)

That last picture pretty much sums up our sisterhood. A little spastic, but so fun. Thursday morning we had Christmas with my family. The girls have such a blast with their uncles, and we scored some really sweet gifts. Thanks, fam!

That night was rehearsal fun. We had the two flower girls who were supposed to ride in a wagon pulled by another 3 year old. Based on the steep pitch of the aisle and the number of children under 3 years of age involved, John and I were dubious, but willing to give it a go. In the end, we figured out that the ring-bearer, Noah, should pull the girls with John's help. Having children in weddings is just stressful. You want so badly for them to perform well, and that is just really unpredictable. The girls did great at the rehearsal, but at the rehearsal dinner, Bella made the rice mess of the century, which we let her make, because it kept her so stinking happy.

Lastly, we had the actual day of the wedding. Laura really did an excellent job of planning and being on top of things, which I am so thankful for. We did hair and make-up, then headed to the church. Laura got a little keyed up before her big reveal to Ryan, but after that, she was ready to have a great time. We did outdoor pictures. In short strapless dresses. In January. We were blessed with the best weather we could have hoped for on January 6th, but it was still not exactly balmy. When John and I were driving home, my jaws hurt from all the smiling I did all week, but also from the shivering. I think the pictures will be awesome, since they are by Luke, but it was a bit chilly. We bridesmaids kept looking for spots of sun and huddling in our red pashminas. This next picture is us girls waiting in the car while the guys finish up some pics in the windiest place. Laura truly looked gorgeous.

The girls arrived at the church in time to get all dolled up for pictures, and Lily even let us curl her hair. They also enjoyed playing the piano.

Getting the kiddos all looking was certainly a trick. I could not believe how sweet Lily was - amazing. We had to bribe her with stickers, but it was totally worth it.

The wedding was beautiful. Seeing two people commit themselves to one another before God and man always touches me, especially when it is baby sister. I was only slightly distracted by the sounds of John wrangling Bella, which I couldn't see. Other wedding attenders say they didn't notice her at all, but when it is your child, you hear their every coo. She was happy, but a little loudly so. John should get a medal of honor for all of the baby wrangling that he did, especially since it was mostly solo, since everyone in the family was integral to the wedding.

At the reception, we ate dinner, danced the night away and kept track of the Cotton Bowl score, especially since we were in Wichita where everyone was cheering for K-State. John changed out his usher tie for a subtle Razorback one for the reception. Good times. Here is the Bride with Crazy Eyes and Bella with John, enjoying all the lights and movement.

And, then, it was over. Just like that. (I wish it felt "just like that" instead of feeling like we had all been run over.)

That last statement might be a little dramatic, but family weddings are truly exhausting, especially once you add small children to the mix. My mom always says that the family deserves a trip as well, after all of the hype and then the clean-up. The girls did so well - beyond our highest hopes or expectations. We are so thankful to have married off the last of my immediate family. God-willing that will be our last wedding on my side, and we are so blessed to have all found godly spouses who are tons of fun to hang out with. It was a whirlwind, but one I am glad to have been in. Congrats, Laura and Ryan - we love you guys!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lily!

2012-01-09T15:29:00.000-06:00

The past couple of weeks have been nuts, hence the blogging hiatus. We were at my sister's wedding last week, which was beautiful and wonderful and exhausting. More about that to come. First things first - our oldest, our Lily, turns 3 today!
After being about a week overdue with her, I was induced on a Wednesday night. Very early Friday morning, after all of those long hours, Lily made her way into the world on January 9th! She made us parents, and after a long first week with her when we figured out the hard way that she was not getting enough to eat (we still call that week, "the dark days"), we have had to earn our parent stripes in many hard and wonderful ways with her.

Moments after she was born.

The ways that Lily is amazing never cease to amaze me. She is so loving to us (last night in the car she kept saying, "I love you SOOO much!" using different intonations), and she is becoming a bit of a cuddle bug in her ripe old age. She is creative and so entertaining - I am currently listening to her sing "Happy Birthday to me!" repeatedly during her rest time. She is a loyal little soul, who already loves her family and friends so well. Though she is usually a bit stand-offish upon meeting people, once she warms up, she is very kind. Lily is the best big sister in the whole world and is almost always on the look-out for ways to take care of Bella.
Parenting her has been more rewarding and challenging than anyone could have really prepared us for, and I feel that God is shaping us all through the constant rub of being a family together. We are so thankful for the great blessing of health and joy in this stage of life.
Because of the craziness of the last couple of weeks, I opted to do her party a couple of weeks from now to give me a little time. But, we wanted to make today seem fun - so, we filled the hallway outside her door with balloons. This process went mostly well, until some of the balloons started popping as we were moving them late last night, because a few were filled a little too full. John said, "I guess we decided to give the gift of psychological warfare to our child" since the popping certainly echoed in the hallway. Fortunately for us, it was only a few pops and only Bella stirred a bit. This morning, when we were waiting in the hallway to greet her as she came out, she opened the door, spotted the balloons, ran back into the room and started crying. We may be learning that she might not like to be surprised. After a few minutes and getting Bella as well (who was thrilled about the balloons), Lily warmed up to it all, and they had a grand time playing.

I guess balloons are fun, after all. We are in the thick of planning her Panda Bear Party. I was thinking of doing a Penguin theme, since that is wintery and cute, and when I pitched it to Lily, she said, "No. I want a Panda Bear Party." So, that is what we are doing. She is excited about it, though there is confusion about when it is, and she was asking for all of her friends to be here after her nap today.
Happy Birthday, Lily. You are one of the Lord's most precious gifts to us, ever, and we are so thankful and blessed to be chosen to be your parents!

On Being a "Runner"

2012-01-03T14:05:00.000-06:00

You may or may not have noticed my allusions to running. I have been doing more of it recently, and I am actually signed up to run the Little Rock Half Marathon in early March. It will be my second half marathon. I did one in November 2007 in Dallas. When I signed up to do that one, it was because we had just moved to Little Rock and my only real friend was running it and asked me to do it with her. (What I didn't realize at the time is that this actually meant that we would be running it at the same time, not that we would be actually running together. She is a stud runner, and I am a slow runner.) Most of the girls in our community group are doing the half marathon or some other race that day, so I decided to jump on the running bus again and hope for the best.

I thought I would give anyone reading this my quick running history and hope that it might encourage others out there who think that they can't run. I distinctly remember being in 7th grade, a new girl at the school, and being asked to run a mile. I hated every step of pounding around that track (as well as the horrible outfits we were wearing that included bright purple shorts), and I became nauseous. I tossed my breakfast on the side of the track. At that moment, I knew that I hated running and was not cut out to be a "runner."
I honestly thought and felt that my body was not made for running. I would, and sometimes still do, get extremely red-faced when I run. To the point that people ask what is wrong with me. It made me feel queasy, and it just felt so hard. Plus, I am not someone who does "acquired" tastes, so why would I take the time to learn to like something that was clearly hard and unlikable?
I am not sure exactly what changed or why. I think I probably grew up. John has always really enjoyed running, and though I can't really run with him, it made me realize that there might be something to it. I ran some at the beginning of our marriage, and began to see that most of it was a mental hurdle that I was dealing with, not a physical one.
So, when we moved to Little Rock and needed to have friends, I decided to give it a wild shot and train for a half marathon. My goal was to get through it, and I regularly said that I would feel that I accomplished a lot if I crossed the finish line and had managed to move my body for 13 miles in a row.

Here is what I learned while training last time.
1) Most of running is a mental battle. (at least for me it is) I have to constantly tell myself that I can and should do it - to just keep running.
2) It gets easier the more you do it. Sort of like anything else in life. Before long, running 3 miles felt like no big deal.
3) Having something to train for really helps me, because I have a goal. It also means that we have put money down, and so I don't want to waste whatever cash outlay there is by being lazy.
4) Having friends to train with (or at the same time as) makes a huge difference. We would meet up and do our long runs together, and it was fabulous accountability.
5) My body may not really be cut out for long distance running. Any time I ran any distance over 7 miles, I would throw up about 20 minutes after running. Without fail.
6) I am a slow runner, but at least I am doing it. I usually run between 11 and 12 minute miles. Slowly. Some people probably walk faster than that. But I am doing it, and that is what counts.

I had a good half marathon experience last time and ran the whole time. It was slow, but I kept running, which felt good. I remember having people cheer for us all along the way - they called us "runners." That was a strange, but sort of glorious, moment. I may or may not have sworn half marathons off for life, due to the throwing up factor. But, here I am again, training again.

Here is what I have learned so far this time around.
1) Finding time to run when you have children is infinitely more difficult than it was before I had kids. It requires much more discipline and planning, both of which will serve me well, but are hard to enforce. I have actually spent less time pinning random stuff of Pinterest before bed, because I know I will have to get up and run in the morning. Probably a good thing.
2) Doing it with friends is really the best way to go. We all talk about it, and as it approaches, we will train together even more. Having that encouragement is great.
3) Sadly, running does not tone up my stomach. My stomach has never been my favorite part of my body, and post two babies, that is more true than ever. Running alone does not give me flat abs, which I find to be a major bummer.
4) Having a husband that is super supportive and helpful is a must. He helps me each week figure out when I will run so that he can take care of the girls. This takes a lot of coordination, but I am so thankful for his willingness and overwhelming encouragement. He is also running the half, but since he could practically go out and run 13 miles with no training (so annoying), I don't think it means quite the same.
5) Listening to audiobooks on my phone keeps my mind occupied and less likely to think thoughts like, "I still hate running. Why am I doing this again? I don't need to run that extra half mile."
6) I don't know yet if I will throw up during this training. The most I have run so far is 6 miles, and I was fine. Rest assured, I will keep you posted.

Well, if you made it through this long-winded post, congrats. I say all of this, because I was one of those people who was NOT a "runner." But, I gave it a real try and found out that it can be a really great release and workout. The accomplishment feels fantastic, and it is really wonderful to have a goal and work towards it with measurable results. So, you should try it. You really should. I believe with my whole heart that if I can do it, so can you.

"Settling" into the New Year

2012-01-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

We had ourselves a little New Year's Shindig that involved a nerdy game that we love called Settlers of Catan. Most of the people that came to this party were siblings and spouses from one very large family. We had had two tournaments previously, but it had been three years and about two kids for most couples since the last time we had gathered to play. And, children change everything. I hired a sitter to keep the kiddos downstairs, and I told her she might want to bring a friend - there would be about 8 kids. She then asked the general ages, and when I told her that Lily (almost 3) was the oldest, she did show up with a friend in tow. All in all, it went pretty well, and we had a great time.

(The only non-Dennis or McCulley (my maiden name) family members in attendance.)
I grew up with the Dennis family and have distinct memories of going over to their house and all of us kiddos running loose while our parents played cards together. I never would have imagined that our children would be doing the same thing 20 years later, but there we were, and I am so glad. This family has blessed our lives immensely.

(And - Ellen and Luke drove down to join the fun!)

(You can see in that picture how funny John is. What he is doing, I will probably never know.)

And, here is a final party picture with the winners (I got second!) and the scoreboard. There was a little cash money on the line, so that made it a bit more fun. Also funny, is it really just looks like I am a spaz crashing their cute family picture. (These people amaze me - recently they adopted a teenage girl. If you want to watch the video and marvel at the Lord at work in all of their lives, click on here to watch it, but only if you feel like crying.)

So, with all the kids involved, the party was over at 9:30, though we did stay up later with Ellen and Luke. When we brought Lily upstairs, she was crushed that the party was ending. We rang in the new year playing another German Game of the Year called Bohnanza. In it, you have several bean fields that you get to harvest. We clearly like our nerd games, but it was fun to be game playing again, since we haven't done it much since the advent of children.
On New Year's Day, we went to church and took down Christmas, to Lily's great dismay, horror and tears. I am always ready to get things back to normal and have a fresh start. After nap time today, Lily and Bella were playing together, and this is how I found them. They are resolving to have better dental hygiene this year.

This month, I am hoping to better organize our home, spend time re-prioritizing our time and energy as a family and celebrating Lily's birthday. After a family wedding this week, of course. I think life is funny, because I sometimes feel as if I am always looking for when it will slow down. And, it doesn't, which is often our own fault, but still. The wheels keep spinning. I pray that we will learn how to be more wise with our time and energy - our greatest resources, and I feel like, the hardest ones to really control.
What are you resolving this year?

Cali: Wrap Up and Re-Entry

2011-12-31T13:31:00.000-06:00

Oh, re-entry, why are you so hard? To be fair, re-entry has been made slightly better by the fact the girls have slept til 9:30 or 10 the last two days from sheer exhaustion and time-change. So, that has been nice. It was a great trip, but traveling with little friends is always a little more tiresome than traveling with adults. Plus, we are heading back out of town for my baby sister's wedding this coming weekend. I went grocery shopping last night and basically just bought milk and a little fruit, since there is no point to having real food on hand when we are about to leave again.
Here are some random pictures that didn't fit into any posts. I went running twice (John ran twice as well - I feel like we deserve a prize) while in Burbank, which was really wonderful. (well, the landscape was wonderful, I am not a wild fan of the running, though it is beginning to grow on me a bit more.) I actually looked down and realized there was an orange on the ground, that had fallen from the Orange Tree I was running under. Why are there no fruit trees in the green belt I live on? (another first world problem.) The other pic is the view from our elevator - we were chilling at the Holiday Inn on the 17th floor.

Here are the girls during/just after their naps in the hotel room on the first day. Naps always sneak up on Lily when she is in the middle of something. I would fall asleep if I were reading that phone book as well.

And, here's a cereal bar crime scene from the morning we were leaving. I didn't realize it would be quite so messy when I handed it to Bella.

This next picture pretty much sums up how our trip home went. Bella had used up most of her "good juice" the rest of the week and was over it all. That said, she really wasn't that bad, just super squirmy, squawky and sleep-fighty. By the end of the last flight, Lily was asking if she could go take a nap.

Though the girls had a slightly rougher time, the travel was still some of the smoothest we have ever had. I had no need to yell at anyone (like that ever happens), and we had all of our bags and all of our flights were on time. Can't beat that.
As it is almost time to ring in the new year, I am trying to sort through what things should change in our lives and hearts. There are always so many, and it can feel a bit overwhelming to set real goals. I am praying the Lord leads us to the things he has for us to learn and grow in this year. 2011 has certainly been a great year, though it has brought with it its fair share of heartache. I used to wish that heartache would never touch my life, and in fact, I lived as though it couldn't or shouldn't for many years. Now, I know that God uses that heartache to help shape me and remind me that life here is not the end-game. The heartaches remind me that heaven is waiting for me, and that is where we will be truly fulfilled. I am so thankful for the hope of Christ, and I am thankful for the ways it has been manifested in our lives this year.
Peace out, 2011. Happy New Year!

Cali: Day by the Water

2011-12-30T22:48:00.001-06:00

We spent our next day near the water and enjoying more of what Southern California is known for. The girls enjoyed playing with Grandpa after breakfast at Noah's New York Bagels and Crazy Eyes made her first appearance of the day.

Then, there was lunch at In-N-Out. Yum - though why anyone would need this amount of fries is beyond me. Bella slept through the whole thing, and we told her about it later. She was sad to have missed the giant fry tray.

Sweet Lily, then more of crazy eyes.

Next stop, Malibu, or as we like to call it, Malibooyah. It is so gorgeous - seriously, and it felt like we were in a crazy time-warp since it was Dec. 28th, and we were hanging out on the beach. There were tons of seagulls and bets on who would get hit with droppings. Fortunately, we all avoided that fate.

We tried to get Bella to walk, to no avail. She is getting heavier all the time.

Lily didn't want to be set down on the sand. I think she had forgotten how much she used to like playing in it.

One of the highlights of our whole trip was when we were watching John's dad, Lenny, dig a hole in the sand. Before we realized what was happening, he was hopping into the hole, fully clothed, and asking to be buried. Lily, in particular, thought this was a great plan.

Then, the beach gave birth.

Remarkably, he cleaned up pretty well. The hardest part of the clean up was getting the sand out of his back pockets. His plan was for John to hold him while he balanced on the wall and Sharon helped clean his pockets out. This was almost as hysterical to watch as him coming out of the sand.

It was a gorgeous time with perfect weather, and we very much enjoyed it.

We headed to Santa Monica and did dinner on the Pier at Bubba Gump's, and then took in the ferris wheel.

And then, our little family was over it. Lily was ready for the promised funnel cake and was not having another picture, though we took it anyway. I wonder how we will both feel when we look back on all these pictures. I think it will be pretty funny. It is actually pretty funny now, because I feel that you either have to laugh or cry, and I usually choose to laugh. (usually)

Vacation sure is fun, but it is definitely trying for the little ones. It was a great last full day in Cali.

Cali: Day at Disneyland

2011-12-30T12:32:00.000-06:00

Well, I love the Disney parks, so it was only natural that when given the opportunity to take our girls, I would be first in line. I have also always wanted to see a Disney park during the Christmas season, so I was doubly excited. And, it lived up to all the hype. It was magical. It was Christmasy and got even more so in the evening. However, all of the magic comes at a price. On this trip, that price was enjoying the park with 67,000 other people when a normal day at Disneyland only brings in about 40,000 guests. It was packed. Fortunately, we had our doublewide baby mover to clear our path, but it was still mind-numbing to realize how many masses of people we had to get through to do anything. It was also the press day for the Rose Bowl, so things kept being blocked off so that football players could do photo opps with the news crews. Crazy. That said, we had a great day, but I would definitely avoid the week between Christmas and New Year (and much of the holiday season in general) in the future.
We started our riding on the Jungle Cruise, because the line was relatively short (30 minutes), and I knew the girls would love it. They did, and Bella's oohhing and aahhing over everything was truly delightful. Lily took it all in rather stoically, per our predictions.

(our entourage - John's parents and sister Rachel and her boyfriend, Drew)

Another ride we got to enjoy was the iconic Tea Cup ride.

And then, Dumbo. Lily got to go on this one twice in a row, because Rachel and Drew, had ended up going in the next group. This was Lily's favorite ride.

We managed to sneak in a ride on the train, from which we could take in some of the hordes of people.

We ate lunch in Fantasyland and caught a glimpse of Rapunzel and her long hair, but as the wait time was 75 minutes, we forewent the opportunity to get a picture with her and settled for seeing her walk past our table. By this point in the day, Bella was quite worn out and ready to nap in the stroller, as indicated by her rubbing her belly button. We have realized that that is her official signal to tap out.

After wandering through Tomorrowland and taking in another ride, we made our way to the parade route and got some Mickey shaped treats. (always one of my favorite activities) We also took pictures with the castle.

This series of pictures should give you a good indication of how the girls felt about the Mickey sugar cookie. Lily gave most of it to Bella and then showed us her "Crazy Eyes" again. They made many appearances on this trip to the delight of everyone. The parade was magical (as you can see by my face).

By this point in the evening, we were pretty worn out, but wanted to hit a few more attractions before calling it a day. The Nemo submarine ride is truly amazing, and I was reminded of how many times I have heard that movie in the last year to recognize every line in the ride. Then, we headed over to It's a Small World, or as we will call it from here on out, It's a Small Fiasco. (John also said it could be called, "Small World, Long Line.") It is beautifully done up in Christmas lights for the season, and we had heard that the inside was also tricked out. The line said it was only going to take about 45 minutes, so we trekked on in.

After being in line for well over an hour, holding the dead weight of our young children, and Lily finally giving in to sleep, the line split, and we had the misfortune of picking the wrong line. The line that the handicap access fed into. The line that came to a standstill multiple times, enough to where the little boy in front of us starting asking all of the questions that I had in my mind about when it was ever going to be our turn. When our turn finally came, we tried to wake Lily, to no avail. The pictures tell the story, especially the one that is not staged where John and I are gamely trying to enjoy hearing Jingle Bells mixed with It's a Small World.

As we were leaving, John said, "When I break my leg, the first place we are coming is Disneyland. And, we will get to go on every ride before everyone else, and it will be awesome." As we left the park, we took in the beauty of Sleeping Beauty's castle decked out in lights, and the lights and the tree on Main Street. I really do love it there.

As we saw the castle, and I was remarking on how pretty it was, John said, "The beauty, the splendor and the wonder - they remind me of something. Your face." On that note, I knew we were a little over the crowds and ready to make our way out of the park. The girls were out before we got out of the parking lot.
All in all, it was a great day to spend time with family and experience the wonder of Disneyland with our girls. Though we didn't do a single "big" ride, we had a great time, and I am so thankful for the opportunity we had to be able to do this. It was magical.

Cali: The Trip Here and a Morning in Burbank

2011-12-26T17:48:00.000-06:00

Yesterday (Christmas) we flew into LAX from Little Rock. We felt like we got the best of both worlds, because we got to get up and have a lovely little family Christmas at home, and then, we got to head out on a trip. We packed on Friday to be ready for it, and when the time came, we really were. Here's our trip in Instagram pics from my phone.

I have to give a shout out to the girls, especially Lily. They did really well traveling. Bella is at THAT age (other mom's out there know what I am talking about). THAT age is when they think they know what they want but nothing really makes them happy unless it is something they shouldn't be doing. Example - Bella really wanted to kick every chair in front of her, and since both flights were totally full, that wasn't really an option. Sometimes distraction works, other times, there are some squawking screams that go with the territory. That said, Bella did pretty well, and since Lily loves movies and doesn't get to watch them often, she was set watching Tangled.
One of my traveling strategies is to dress the girls cutely. I employ this method for several reasons. One is that I am vain and like for my cute children to be admired. Another of the other main reasons is that if people see how cute they are, I figure that maybe they will be a little extra gracious with our family if we cry or yell a lot. John is so unpredictable. Traveling with two little "wildcards", as John calls them, can be a little dicey.
But, we made it here with very few incidents (the people on our plane were gracious and helped us all sit together when we had been split up to have three separate seats and though the Avis counter looked like carnage, it really moved much more quickly than we could have hoped for), and southern California and John's sister, Rachel, were ready to welcome us.
The girls are napping right now while John and I chillax in the hotel lounge. This morning we ate a most delicious breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe.

The above pictured item is the Banana's Foster French Toast, and it, along with everything else we ordered, was amazing. Then, we walked around downtown Burbank and reveled in the perfection of the weather here. The giant walk-(or run) through Christmas tree was a hit.

Then we headed to Griffith Park near the LA Zoo for more play time. It was great but for the fact that we are discovering neither girl really likes to swing, and Bella kept making a bee-line for the sand. She is sneaky, but we did manage to foil her plans.

As we walked into our hotel for nap time, we discovered this. A giant Santa that John dubbed, "Padre Christmas, the Ghost of Hagrid's Past." How's that for a little Harry Potter humor from a guy who falls asleep as soon as one of those movies comes on?

He is seriously like 10 feet tall, and Bella cried when we got near him. I don't really blame her. Looking forward to more adventures!

Merry Christmas: Making New Traditions

2011-12-25T13:31:00.000-06:00

It's Christmas Day, and we are sitting at the airport waiting to board our flight to LA, so this will be a quick post. Amazingly, we managed to get here with plenty of time to spare. We have learned that when you travel with children, over-preparedness only makes the trip more enjoyable. So, we are here and the girls are bringing holiday cheer to all we encounter (so far).
We have really enjoyed having Christmas with just our little family, though we miss seeing everyone we love. Last night we did the Christmas Eve Service at Fellowship, and the girls did pretty well. Lily did great, and Bella is just at that age. It was a great service, and this year, I have been struck by how beautiful carols really are. I wish we sang some of them year round, because the lyrics are so joyous and speak to the heart of who we are.

The girls enjoyed "helping" me pack for the trip.

We made birthday cupcakes for Jesus the night before and had them with dinner.

My family usually did a really nice dinner with filet mignon on Christmas Eve, but since John doesn't love steak, we decided to go the seafood route. We had a pastry with scallops, gouda cheese and a lobster sauce. It was heavy, but really good. I found the recipe here on All Recipes and did a pasta top to change it up a bit. Yum.
We read the Christmas story, opened a present and then watched the movie, White Christmas. The girls got to see about 30 minutes - through my favorite song, Sisters.
Christmas morning brought tons of fun. Lily was excited to open presents, and Bella was excited to be enjoying life with us all.

Here's Bella with her new owl hat, and Lily with what we call her "crazy eyes." Awesome.

I made a Christmas Breakfast Casserole and Monkey Bread for breakfast, and John and I had Christmas mimosas. It was really wonderful to spend relaxing time together and celebrating Christ's coming for us. Love came down - Merry Christmas to each of you!

Christmas Magic: Our Candy Village

2011-12-22T15:27:00.001-06:00

This morning, John stayed home and we made a mini-village out of graham crackers, frosting, and candy. I gave up making a real gingerbread house this year - it seemed like so much work. So, I settled for this, and as it turns out, it wasn't settling at all. The fun had by all was well worth the sacrifice. I used hot glue to construct the houses while the girls watched VeggieTales and John found the right size cardboard for our village. Then, it was time to decorate. I set Bella up in the high chair at the table and kept feeding her a steady supply of different kinds of cereal and candy which kept her happy most of the while.
Also, she has started smiling like this when you take her picture. Hilarious.

I put John in charge of the landscape. What began with a knife, ended with a tiling trowel. He kept saying, "We are not going to eat this, right?" Also, he wanted this picture taken and for it to have the caption, "When Men Craft." Over the top? Certainly. Really funny? Most definitely. (Yes, those are ear-plugs. You know, to keep out the Christmas music so he can concentrate.)

Lily enjoyed everything most thoroughly. She is loving Christmas time this season. Yesterday, she was listing off the characters of the nativity and said, "There was Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and the Wise Men and the Camels and the Alligators . . ." I hadn't ever realized that the stable was actually near a swamp. Learn something new all the time.

As John was taking these pictures

Bella got sick of it all, and then when we looked over, Lily had created a Sprinkle Tsunami near her little cottage.

Sprinkle Tsunami 2011

In spite of our setbacks (called children), we managed to complete our village in time for John to leave for work. And, fun was had by all. And, our table only looked slightly crazy when it was all said and done. In the next picture, where I wanted to capture the mess, Bella is playing peek-a-boo with her tray. What she doesn't realize is that the tray is transparent. We can still see you, silly girl.

Though these do not echo the beauty and craft of my past gingerbread houses, this was a lot of fun, and I was so thankful for the help of everyone involved. John asked, "Does this feel like Christmas magic to you? Cause I want to get all of the Christmas magic points I can this morning." I told him he did. We can mark "gingerbread" Christmas magic off the list for this year.

(The cottage that John decorated was the mostly green one. He said, "That is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Green. They have two kids, Cash and Money and they are expecting a third. He will be called Benjamin." Yes, crafting with guys is definitely different. But, oh so fun.)

Another Night with the Lights: Garvan Gardens

2011-12-20T13:56:00.000-06:00

Last night, we loaded up and headed to Garven Gardens in Hot Springs to take in the light display. Somehow, John and I have managed to do this 5 years in a row now, so it sort of doesn't feel like Christmas unless we get to walk around the garden wonderland. Funnily enough, we haven't been any other time of year, though I hear it is beautiful, especially in the spring. Maybe this spring. We had a great time.

The girls were so fun to watch - especially Bella who literally Ooohhed and Aaahhed over everything she saw. She even delighted any people who happened to be near us. Lily was stoic, per her usual mode of operation, but she seemed to really enjoy herself.

They really loved when John would pull off and let them play with the Christmas lights. You know, we like to live on the edge. Their other favorite moment was when we pulled into a pavilion and John ran them in circles - so much fun to see their delight, including John's.

We did not wait in the crazy long line to go through the lighted train, held up by mothers with tripods trying to get a good picture of four children. I know I can be crazy like that, so I don't judge - I just don't get in the line. The weather was perfect and school is out, so it was busy overall, but not too bad. And, considering we have gone and had numb appendices on the walk, we were super grateful for the weather.

So, there you have it - another Christmas tradition crossed off our list for this year! It is great fun, and if you are in the area, you should definitely check it out. I will leave you with some very well-lit mushrooms. Sort of strange, but I guess it is a garden after all.

Gingerbread Houses of the Past and Winners!

2011-12-19T16:52:00.000-06:00

Well, this December is flying by. This past weekend the guys from our community group went on a camping "Mancation" as they call it. In the cold. I will never understand. They had a great time, however, and us girls got together with the kiddos several times so the weekend flew right past. John was home by lunch time on Sunday, so we still had most of that day to chill, which was nice.
Every year for a long time now, I have made elaborate gingerbread houses in December. This year, I think I will scale it down and involve my children - we have plans for it later this week. However, it will definitely not be as pretty to look at as in the past. So, I thought I would share my past gingerbread houses, since it is the week before Christmas, and they are super festive.
Last year's was probably one of the more bizarre ones yet. I called it, "Santa's Little Psychedelic Love Shack," which I realize is weird, but I really wanted to do hearts + Christmas and this is what I ended up with. It felt pretty psychedelic, because the light inside alternated between strange bluish lights.

In 2010, I did the home of the Sugar Plum Fairies. I baked gingerbread onto hangers to make the tree branches - it was fun.

In 2009, it was a much more traditional.

This year, I am thinking we may do the Little Town of Bethlehem. Though, since I have been to Bethlehem, I know that it will look nothing like the actual place, especially with Lily's involvement. Sometimes I feel that I missed my calling as a Food Artist. I really love doing these. I showed off my haunted gingerbread house back in October. Fun, fun.

And - I used Random.Org to pick winners for the Chick-fil-A Gift Card Giveaway and have contacted the winners - Lisa Sharp and Ty Henry, Congrats! And, thanks for helping support a great cause. After checking the charity's site today, an entire well has been funded, and it is going well over that, which is so exciting. Yea, Project 320!

Project 320: Win a Chick-fil-A Gift Card

2011-12-16T14:55:00.000-06:00

So, I wrote yesterday's post about refocusing this season, and I realized that it was still pretty focused on my family and our stuff and our hearts. And, since we are celebrating what Christ gave to us in this season, I want to be able to give more of our blessings away. We are blessed to be a blessing. So then, I saw this post on one of my all-time favorite blogs and realized that I could join in the giving fun through my own little blog.
Which brings us to water. Water that we have in abundance in our country and lives. Water that flows from our faucet at whatever temperature we would like it to be, ready to consume, ready to clean, ready to be wasted. Our relationship with water is so different than that of most of the world. The ladies at Project 320 want to do something about it and have asked us all to join them.

Building a well in Africa costs $5,000, which is a lot of cash money. Obviously, each of us could not build a well by ourselves, but with our powers and cash moneys combined, we can make a difference.
So, here's the deal. Have you ever found yourself thinking -

If you have, then this is the giveaway for you. I am giving away 2, that's right, 2 $30 Chick-fil-A Gift Cards. And, since this is a small-time blog, then you probably will have pretty good chances at winning one of those for your very own.

I will even throw Mini-Moos in for the winners if they want.

How's that for cute? And a good cause. Here's how it works.

1) Go to Project 320 and donate $10.
2) Come back here and leave me a comment telling me that you donated.
3) For every $10 contributed, you get one entry. So, if you donate $20, then leave 2 comments. $30, 3 comments - you get the idea.

This giveaway will end on December 19th at 4:00 p.m. CST, so you have all weekend to enter as many times as you want to. The winner will be randomly selected, which I will have to figure out how to do, seeing as I have never hosted one of these here giveaways. There is a first time for everything. I will mail out the gift cards on the 20th!

Please help make a difference and bring water to a community that desperately needs it. They will be forever grateful. If you don't want to Eat More Chicken (which I can't imagine), then head over here to see what other giveaways you could enter.

On a side note, as I was looking for a gift card to pose for the picture, I remembered the last time I had seen one in our house. This is where I found our gift card model.

Christmas Confessions and Letting Things Go

2011-12-15T15:13:00.000-06:00

You may or may not have noticed this if you have read this here blog much, but I can be sort of an over-achiever type. I have been wired like this for as long as I can remember. And, in Christmas time, this can come out in full-force. I also can have a mentality that if I "can" do something, that means I "should" do it. Exhibit A. I can make the girls cute Christmasy shirts, therefore, I should, even though the past several weeks have been crazy and most of the better events to wear these shirts to have come and gone. I saw this cute shirt on Pinterest and thought, I can make that. (as I just looked at the tutorial, I realized I was doing it all wrong, which I why these shirts never came into being for me). So, I started in on the shirts the other night and realized that it was harder than it should have been, and I was tired, and I just wanted to lay on the couch, not make a shirt.

I ended up going to Gymboree and getting a few Christmasy clothes for the girls to wear for the next couple of weeks that were deeply discounted. And cute. And perfectly fine, though not handmade. And I realized, I have a problem. I wanted those handmade shirts for me - the girls do not care one lick, unless I tell them to. Why am I stressing over something that does not matter? How did I become consumed with hand making a Christmas tree shirt that will not help us prepare our hearts any better for the coming holiday?
This is an easy trap for me to fall into. Teacher gifts are another example - I had all of these ideas, spurred on by Pinterest (hmm. . . sensing a theme with this. must use pinterest wisely.) this year, and I knew that I could make something super cute. I ended up doing CFA coupons, because that is practical, I have them on-hand, and everyone usually likes them. With all of the party mayhem, there was not time or energy to make anything else, though I kept thinking that I should, even this morning.
All of this thinking and internal debating has got me wondering, "Why do I do any of it?" What is the point? What is this season really about? I know what I want it to be about. I want to be preparing our hearts to celebrate the coming of Christ into this world. The miracle that is God made flesh. The Holy Night when our Savior came down. It is unbelievably miraculous, and I want to be rejoicing in that truth this season, not debating with myself on whether or not I should make poppyseed bread for my neighbors on top of all of the cookies I am giving them from our cookie exchange. (I opted not to, for the record, because I am trying to simplify. It goes against the grain.)
And, I haven't even addressed presents. My gift list is not even that long, but it still feels a bit burdensome at times. I am not really a gift-giver - it is probably at the bottom of my love language list, so I always feel that I am stretching to figure out what someone might want or need. We have decided that going forward, we are going to adopt this 4 present principle with the girls - Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. I have seen it on several blogs and also on Pinterest (there's a positive for pinterest in this post!), and I like that it keeps things simple and it helps keep expectations low. I don't want it to be about the presents for our children. (I feel that both my parents and John's parents deserve a shout-out here, because our Christmases were never all about the presents, and I am so thankful for that example!)
There are so many fantastically fun traditions that I love this time of year. I love the lights, the music, and the magic of it all. I want to make fun crafts with my kids, because that is how I celebrate things. But, I don't want to force it. And, I want to be flexible. And, I need to let things go. My girls will not have handmade shirts this year, and that does not take one iota away from what the real deal is. Maybe next year, I will make a detailed list of the things I will do, as well as the things I will not do. That might help me from getting bogged down in what "could" be. I want to enjoy and savor what is, and I want our family to be able to spend time rejoicing in the fact that our Savior came when we needed him most. He came to save us - it is the most beautiful story of all.
Merry Christmas. I am trying to keep things a little tiny bit simpler here. Let me know if you have any suggestions on simplification. (Though, I might add, life with toddlers is not exactly peaceful or simple, no matter what my plans for it may be.)

A Cookie Exchange and Fondue Night: the Last Round of Parties

2011-12-14T21:16:00.000-06:00

So, on Tuesday, we had two more parties. Today, Lily asked me when we were having another party. I was thankful to be able to say that we were done. She was sad. Turns out she likes having parties. I hosted a Cookie Exchange for my Bloom group. It was the 2nd annual, and most of the group was able to make it, which was so much fun. There were also 11 little children, so that made it a little chaotic. The cookie spread was spectacular.

That zebra-striped box was full of the most delicious, decadent brownies that I need the recipe for (hint, hint Anna). Everyone did such a great job bringing beautiful, tasty treats! The kiddos played and the mamas talked and ate cookies. Such festive fun.

Later that night, we went out with our Community Group for a progressive Christmas dinner and ended with dessert at our house. Also, there was a really great gift exchange, and I majorly scored receiving a stoneware ceramic pitcher handmade by the dad of someone in our group. I had to steal it, but that was worth it. And, Keri, your picture is on the blog. Enjoy.

Pay no attention to John's face in that last picture. We can't really discuss on the blog what he was doing. Again, I will say it. We are so blessed with community. And, though I am glad to be hosting no more parties before Christmas, I am so thankful to have spent time with the people in our lives. What a privilege.

Cranberry Punch: So Easy and Tasty for the Season

2011-12-13T15:53:00.000-06:00

We have been in party mode for the past week. Including one more to go tonight. Lily keeps asking when the next party is. And, as it turns out, she is becoming a little hostess. She made sure all the kiddos had balls this morning to play in the yard. It was so cute. So, here's a little party tidbit that I used twice this weekend. Cranberry Punch.
I love punch, and I thought it would be pretty simple to make up a little Cranberry punch recipe. Here's what you need.

The Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist
White Cran-Strawberry Juice
Vanilla Ice Cream
Fresh Cranberries

Put in your ice cream. The more you put in, the frothier it will be. I like frothy punch, so I put in about 12 scoops.

Then, pour in the entire bottle of juice and the bottle of Sierra Mist. Throw some cranberries on the top, and viola, you have Cranberry Punch. I didn't use the juice for the Friday night party, and it definitely needed some more flavor. The juice gives it the extra sweetness it needed.

And, there you have it!

Weekend: Chick-fil-A Christmas Party Mayhem

2011-12-12T16:08:00.000-06:00

Do you guys like the Mayhem commercials? They are some of our favorites. I felt like Mayhem came this weekend in the form of Christmas parties. Here are the highlights, mostly in pictures.
Here are the Spenst family photo booth sessions - apparently Bella likes to look to the side and Lily does whatever she feels like doing when we take pictures.

On Friday night, we hosted our operator party for Central Arkansas CFA peeps. It was a jolly good time. There was lots of food and a really funny gift exchange. Here is Tim opening bread up from Dale. Later, we discovered that $2 bills and other random treats were between the slices. Other highlight gifts included the Big Mac from last year (not kidding) and a picture of Papa Bear Alan, also from last year.

Here is Lily, taking on a Petit Four. I must say, the girls get MVP status for their behavior at both parties. They were delightful.

And, here's Bella with Papa Bear Alan.

Let's just say, these gloves were the gift of the night.

Here is a slide-show of the Christmas Photo Booth from Friday night. I am planning to email out these pictures to you guys - promise!

On Sunday, we had our all-team Christmas party, which was so much fun. We had the cow out to make sure people knew which house was ours. Also, it really trips out our neighbors.

Our amazing team provided most of the food for the party, and I must say, it is fantastic to have real-deal Mexican food show up at your house in bulk. Everyone loved it!

The girls loved being loved on by everyone.

And doing a bilingual gift exchange in our living room is always a highlight.

Ms. Frances drew names for the awesome door prizes.

You should come work for us. That's all I'm saying. It was a great time, and I am so thankful for the people that God brings to work for us. They are a special group. Here's the photo booth slideshow from our team party.

There was a lot of clean-up, but it is worth it to be able to have such joyous events. So, we felt like this, when it was over -

But, it was fun. Also, who has a beard that's long and white? Lily has a beard that's long and white!

Unexpected Candlelit Dinner

2011-12-11T22:01:00.000-06:00

This weekend has held many things. So many parties and people. So much fun. But in the midst of it, we had an unexpected experience. On Saturday evening, our power flickered a couple of times and then went out, right as I was pouring a pancake onto the griddle for Christmasy Breakfast for Dinner. Since John had just finished the rough draft of our new advent wreath, we decided to light it up and have dinner by candlelight and Mag-lite.

We were so thankful that it was the one day this weekend that didn't contain a party, especially when it was out for almost an hour. (We still don't know why. Our whole street was out.)

It was fun. It was simple. Afterwards, we loaded up the girls in PJ's and went and looked at Christmas lights. (For the record, our street has some of the best lights.) We loved hearing Lily say, "Oh, look, guys. There is more Christmas over there." The power came back on right as we were leaving the house, so we were able to open the garage door.
It was a sweet blessing of a quiet evening in the midst of the party mayhem. Thanks, Lord. We are loving celebrating Jesus's birthday all month.

Ten Observations from This Week and a Bonus Jolly

2011-12-10T13:23:00.000-06:00

This week has been a little bit on the crazy side for me. This weekend we are hosting two different CFA parties - one last night and one tomorrow afternoon. I feel so fortunate to have the space, time and energy to do this, but it does take a lot of those things. The last two days, especially, I have been running around like a crazy person. The party last night turned out great - I will post about it later. Here are the things that I observed/learned in the midst of the craziness in my house this week.

1) When preparing a Christmas Photo Booth, DO NOT try to iron the plastic sign. It will melt instantly, and you will think you ruined your iron. I am not sure how I didn't spot this outcome.

The iron turned out fine after a little elbow grease and a Clorox wipe.

2) When your credit card number is hijacked and used on the East Coast, and your husband asks you if you have been shopping at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, you can be thankful for several things. One of them is that our credit card has great fraud detection, because they called and alerted us that day and removed the charges. Another thing to be grateful for is that Arkansas is not far down the list of states to scroll through when having to change your credit card number on all of the things that are set up on auto-draft.

3) Don't finish decorating your basement when you have two parties that weekend. I shouldn't even have to say this, because most people are not foolish enough to do this. I am, because I knew we would be using our basement for our Sunday party and I pretty much had the stuff that needed to go places, but I have spent a lot of time this week finishing our playroom. Fortunately, I do love how it is turning out and do plan to share pictures next week.

4) Disciplining my child is a giant time-sucker, but it is my job. And, in fact, it is one of my main priorities in life. But that doesn't mean that when this sweet girl wants to have another hour long battle over something, anything, and everything, that I am not thinking, "I don't have time for this right now." But I do. Because that is what I am doing, and I know we are loving her well by teaching her the right way to act.

5) I bother to check the mail in December. Most of the year, I do not walk out to our mailbox. John usually gets it on his way in from work. But, in December, I am overcome with anticipation of delightful Christmas cards, and I find myself awaiting the arrival of our mailman and wondering what joyous holiday greetings we will get that day. Oh, I do love seeing the faces of friends and family arrayed on our coat closet door where I immediately tape them up. ♥

6) My laundry room smelled like chocolate. In preparation for the parties, the laundry room was a staging ground, and we had a lot of the desserty stuff in there. And it smelled like chocolate every time I walked into it. Also, I love miniature Mr. Goodyears and pick them out of the mix regularly.

7) Thinking "I never bother to clean that" is sort of the whole point of having someone else clean your house. I had our house cleaned this week in preparation for the party madness, which I don't normally do, but it is really great knowing that everything is actually clean. Like the tops of my ceiling fans and all kinds of other things that it never occurs to me to clean.

8) Being able to put watermelon on your fork and wave it around really is that entertaining/exciting. While out to dinner, Bella had the greatest time doing just that. Having children really does help you see the little things in life all over again. She is so fun.

9) It really is true when people say, "There is no such thing as bad weather. There are only poorly dressed people." At least, I can say that is mostly true. I am training for a half marathon (I should write another post all about that sometime), and I needed to get out a do a longer run this cold morning. I asked John what I should wear. He let me borrow some of his gear, and this is what I looked like as I headed out to the river.

I am actually still wearing that, because I haven't showered yet. Gross, I know, but it is a pretty comfy little get-up, ugly though it may be.

10) With all of the prep work, this week has felt really busy. It made me crave down time to really rejoice in what this season means. Lily and I have talked a lot this week about how we are celebrating Jesus's Birthday all month, and I am looking forward to slowing down a little to really soak that in.

Bonus: Here are some of the test pictures we took while getting the photo booth set up. It was pretty late on Thursday night. Oh, how they make me laugh.

So that's a little Christmas jolly for ya. ♥ from us.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T13:11:00.000-06:00

So, I know some blogs that do a "Wordless Wednesday," and I thought it might be fun to just post a picture, but the reality is, I apparently like to hear the sound of my own voice (or read the thoughts of my mind as it may be) too much. I like to add words. This picture is from this morning. It was a perfect, beautiful snowy morning. Snow covering everything, except the roads. Delightful. The girls went to Mother's Day Out as usual, no employees were calling to see if our store was closed and I ran the errands I needed to run this morning. All with snow glistening off of every tree branch, until it melted away by noon. Perfect.

I thanked God for the reminder that he is making things new always. Everything looked so different this morning, and it was nice to get that change in perspective. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of snow and the even greater beauty of the truth that you redeem all things and make beautiful things out of dust.

On Having a Strong-Willed Child

2011-12-06T15:15:00.000-06:00

So, last week I wrote about one of our battles in this post. Last Friday, before we left for marathon fun, I called my brother-in-law's mother. Apparently, my brother-in-law was a strong-willed kiddo, or, as we have re-dubbed them in my Bible Study Group to sound more positive - a "motivated" kid. Sufficed to say, I have one highly motivated daughter in Lily. Bette (aforementioned BIL's mom) and I have spoken in the past, because she now teaches classes on strong willed children and has a real heart to minister to moms who are trying to navigate through this. Which is such a blessing.
Talking with her was so encouraging. She reminded me of several things. 1) Lily is just doing her job in life trying to figure out her boundaries and if she can believe what we say. 2) My job description while raising her during this time is to Be Consistent. 3) Motivated kids often make great leaders and really motivated adults, and there are many positive traits that come along with the negative ones. I was also reminded that there is no way to go around, we can only go through. I think I catch myself thinking that I must be missing the magic bullet that will make things easier, which is absurd, wishful thinking. The only way through is to do the hard, sometimes maddening, sometimes mind-numbing work of just plowing through it, and, ultimately, to turn my children over to the Lord daily, seeing as they are his anyway.
So, we are learning at this house, always learning. And, I am asking the Lord to help me to be diligent in the tasks before me, large and small. I am realizing that my personality can be a bit extreme in areas, and God knew that giving me a child that I could not handle without his help would be a perfect shaping agent in my life. If my child obeyed without hours of fighting, what would be the fun in that? More importantly, I would be likely to credit myself for great parenting and not depend on the Lord for his wisdom and guidance, which ultimately would not serve our family well.
Here is my truly sweet girl - she actually put the glasses on and asked me to take her picture. She has taken to wearing these Mr. Potato Head glasses around the house, especially while pushing her stroller. Awesomeness.

And, here is my other darling. Bette reminded me that my job description will likely be very different with Bella. I am curious to see what it will look like and how she will continue to develop into her own little person. She is starting to say words - my favorites this week are "Kitty," when she shrieks and points as one of our cats walks by and "Peek-a-boo," while she covers her eyes with those precious pudgy hands of hers. Though she is not yet walking (and carrying around all 27 pounds of her is hard work), she is climbing onto everything. Exhibit A. Watch out for knives, Bella.

And, if you could hand me that dish, that would be great. Also, thanks for your kind comments about that earlier post. From what I am hearing, having a motivated child is pretty common, and though I am not happy that other moms are facing some of the things I face, I am glad to have community to share it with. Thanks!

Christmas Decor: Round Two

2011-12-05T17:33:00.000-06:00

The inside of our home is completely decorated for Christmas now, which definitely makes us all feel festive. Lily keeps saying, "Christmas came to our house!" Here is the big tree in our living room. I used bouquets of fake flowers that I cut apart for the poinsettias, dark blue flowers and silver berries. It is a lot of bang for your Christmas buck, and you can just stick them in the tree - they stay put, unless your 14 month old tries to rip them out. But I guess none of you have that problem at your house. (I have to be fair to her, she is not messing with them now they have been up a few days and the novelty has worn off.)

Here is the butterfly tree in Bella's room. It sort of looks like Easter threw up on it, but going over the top is so much fun!

Here is the tree in Lily's room. I used tissue paper to make flowers and stuck little drink umbrellas in for extra color.

I hung ornaments from the chandelier in our dining room and then basically set ornaments around on every free surface.

Yesterday, John said he wanted to make us an advent wreath, though it is a little late to use for every Sunday this year. I was all for this plan (and thrilled that I married a guy who likes to "craft" a little), and while he worked on it in his shop, I spray painted stuff silver.

These random trees that John brought home from CFA and this sleigh that I picked up on this thrifting trip needed some change-ups to fit in here. Silver spray paint to the rescue! They went from this -

to this -

Now, we just have to finish decorating the outside of our house. This crazy rain and the crazy run on Saturday have put a kink in our plans to get stuff up out there. It will happen eventually, hopefully before the parties this weekend. We girls have enjoyed a rainy day without leaving the house once, which rarely happens around here. To see the rest of the decor, click here. Merry Christmas decorating!

Memphis Marathon: Done!

2011-12-03T17:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend has been quite momentous already. Last night we traveled to Memphis in preparation for John's marathon. And he did it! Under his goal time! I am so proud of him and so thankful that he was able to do this. We went straight to Spaghetti Warehouse last night so John could eat pasta. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones with this idea - our wait was really long, so long that they gave us our food for free. Here is part of our wait.

This morning after dropping John off, we headed back to the hotel to change. We went back to wait for John around the half-way point, which was on Beale Street. The anticipation . . .

And, then, there he was!

We got three salty from sweat kisses as he ran past! The girls were so excited to see him.

We tried to catch him at mile 14, but we just missed him. I had done my research on how to kill time while John was running, and we girls headed to the Peabody to see the march of the ducks at 11. I was not the only one with this idea, so it was crazy, but fun. Bella slept through our entire visit to the Peabody.

After taking in all of the Christmas fun at the Peabody, we headed over to AutoZone Park (a baseball park), where the race was finishing. We got there a little early, so I had a lot of baby wrangling to do, which was made more difficult by the fact that neither girl could sit in the chairs without me holding the chairs so they wouldn't fold up with the girls inside of them. But, before long, we spotted him, running around the bend.

He did great! I really could not be more proud of him. It has been hard-fought training, involving injury, physical therapy, stretching, a lot of time and a lot of energy and a lot of time. We are both glad he is finished, and he has said that he won't be doing a marathon during this stage of life again. It is a big commitment. But, it is wonderful to set a goal and to reach it. He finished in 3 hours, 58 minutes and 11 seconds. Amazing!
Here he is with the girls, post-race.

Speaking of the girls, they really had their ups and downs, as everyone does. One of the major downs was that Bella was wide awake from about 2:15 to 4:45 a.m. This never happens, and I was very nervous about getting John the amount of sleep that he needed, so that meant that I was up with her, trying to get her back to sleep. She wasn't crying, she was just wide awake and would start to whimper when I laid her back down. It was my own marathon of 2.5 hours that I did not realize Bella had in her.
But, I am so glad we got to accompany John and be there for this achievement. I even thought that at 4:30 a.m. when Bella was still not seeming tired. It was worth it.

Tonight, we are headed for dinner at John's running sensei's house - they are so kindly hosting us!

Interrupting the Scheduled Programming

2011-12-01T17:39:00.000-06:00

Today I had planned to blog about the rest of the Christmas decorations, which are mostly complete. However, Lily has had other plans for my day. What is it about being two years old that makes life so incredibly challenging? I think that is probably one of the great questions in life. Lily is currently wailing from a corner in our house. (Side note: all of her usual corners are literally tear-stained.) She has been there for the better part of two and a half hours so far. Her room looks like this right now, and, per usual ritual, I have asked her to pick it up.
It is not happening. I feel like I have tried everything I can do without hurting her. And, she is playing extreme mind games with me. And, if I am really honest, I feel like hurting her. Usually I feel up to the challenge, but today, I feel like she is winning. I even called John out of desperation, because I needed just to bounce words off of someone who would not scream "no" at me.
I don't want to sound whiny, which may be unavoidable. Thankfully, Bella has been really sweet today, especially in light of the fact that she face planted last night on the wood floors and had a really bloody mouth. It seems all better now, but that is never fun. Speaking of blood, in the midst of Lily screaming from the corner this afternoon, she has also managed to pull off about half of her large toe nail, resulting in a lot of blood. On the bright side, there were no vampires around, and I was able to get a bandaid to patch her up, but still - really? Was that necessary?
I think people sometimes get the wrong impression from this here little blog that I have things together. We are interrupting the regularly scheduled programming to shout from the roof tops that that is not the case. I do not know what to do with my child, which makes me feel like a failure. And, I was a little irritated with God when he did not answer my prayer immediately and make her stop screaming. Though, I know he doesn't work like that.
I am seeing, slowly but surely, that God is more interested in the long-haul. He is interested in my heart, just as well as hers. Why is working on our hearts so hard? It seems that is just the way of things. So, this post is uglier than I was planning on, but it is real. It is where we really are. And - John just got home - what a great man to the rescue! Though we may have a long night ahead of us, I am glad to be facing it with him.

Our House: Christmas Decor, Round One

2011-11-30T22:04:00.000-06:00

Today I am elbow deep in Christmas decorating. I love doing it, and since this is the second year in our home, it is a lot easier this time around. I have always loved doing Christmas trees, and John is gracious about it and allows/assists me to do several. I finished two today, along with the mantle.

Our Willow Tree Nativity - John's parents so graciously got this for us several years ago, and it is one of my favorite things to get out every year. I feel that it is timelessly beautiful, and I am always so thankful they made that our Christmas present.

Flocked bird tree in the entry way. Some things I grow weary of, but this tree charms me every year. The greens, golds and browns warm my heart.

Last year I jumped onto the decorative mesh train, and I am mostly glad that I am on it. It certainly does give a lot of sparkle and pop, which I love. However, I tend to shirk big trends and this seems to be super trendy, especially here in Little Rock. But I like it for now, and it also makes an appearance on my living room tree which will make its blog debut tomorrow.
I made our stockings a couple of years ago patterned after that ones that I grew up with, only with applique on top instead of cross stitch. I keep meaning to add little jingle bells to the ribbon, but I haven't found the right size bell just yet. You know, totally a first world problem.

I put up a tree in our bedroom. This has all of our personal ornaments - we collect them when we travel, and we also have many of the ornaments from our childhoods. So, it is pretty random, but I love it. I had helpers with this one, which is why so many ornaments are crowded toward the bottom. I left them that way.

I am not sure how many ornaments will last through the season at the bottom of the trees or how many times I will have to tell Bella, "no." We shall see how that ongoing battle will go.
As we got out our Christmas stuff, I was thankful for several things. 1) John makes us put it all away in a very organized fashion with everything labeled, which makes it easier to decorate several trees. 2) We put the lights up in this special way, which makes it so easy to put them onto trees.

3) We have these little stomper things for all of our trees, so I don't have to reach down to plug them all in. Does that make me sound super lazy? Oh well, I am really glad I have them.

4) I am glad I am married to someone who likes (or at least tolerates) putting Christmas lights on our house. Here is the diagram he made from last year. ♥ him.

So, that sums up my first Christmas decorating post. I am trying to finish the rest tomorrow so that we get maximum enjoyment of it all.

Friends: Life is Better with Them

2011-11-29T15:39:00.000-06:00

This morning I had the distinct privilege of spending time with some of the women from my Bloom group. The church offered us childcare for a morning off, and we arranged it so that we could go and get pedicures together and then go do lunch. Which was as perfect as could be, though we definitely missed the girls who could not be there.

This is the second year that our group has been together, and it is such a blessing to know these women. We have been able to go deep and pass through the shallowness that can often exist in small groups. This morning we laughed about little things and talked about things that really matter to each of us, and I can see more of Christ through each one of these women. He is real in their lives and more real to me because of knowing them, which is, I think, the highest compliment I can pay to them. It didn't hurt that someone was rubbing my feet and making my toenails prettier during all of this or that the gyro I had for lunch was really tasty.
On another subject, last night John and I really started decorating the house for Christmas. We put up our nativity set, which I love, and it got me thinking again about how amazing Christmas really is. I love all of the merriment and the frivolity that goes along with it, but last night, it hit me - Jesus really came here to be with us. It all really happened. The shepherds really got the news from a host of angels. Jesus was born in a stable. Wise men saw a star and traveled to see him. I read this amazing blog post about it today that gave me even more of a sense of wonder and overwhelming joy to think of our Savior coming to give himself to us. (I also read this blog post about the most tacky nativity sets ever that made me laugh. I think the chicken nativity was my personal favorite.)
This season, I want to be intentional about drinking in the real joy to be had. I want to celebrate because of who Jesus is, and I want our family to see more of him during this time - not just eat more sweets, have more lights about and do more fun stuff. Though, I really do love all the fun stuff.

Returning from a Parallel Universe and a Momentous Occasion

2011-11-28T21:52:00.000-06:00

Last night we returned home from our 5 day trip to Wichita. We stayed at my mother's new house, which was delightfully comfortable - the bedroom we slept in had two giant walk-in closets that doubled as hidey-holes for our little friends who slept wonderfully in the dark, dark spaces. We stayed up late and slept in til the girls started rousing around 8:30 each day. We ate meals that other people prepared for us and had help with the girls. John didn't work at all. And neither did I, really - though my work sort of travels with us wherever we go. I helped Laura plan for her January wedding, and John did stuff like attend a hockey game. (side note: apparently the Wichita fans have been voted "most obnoxious" in the hockey league for the last 6 years. It probably has something to do with the cheers. One example: when the Wichita Thunder score, everyone cheers, and then starts pointing at the opposing team's goalie chanting "It's all your fault! It's all your fault!" in unison, which they follow with, "You suck. You suck. You suck." That would be a bit demoralizing, and it makes me glad that no one follows me around cheering when I screw things up.)
John and I remarked in the car that it felt like we took a sabbatical from our lives, which is very nice while you are on the sabbatical, but there is a rude wake-up call upon returning from the parallel universe. I have been getting that wake-up call today. I realized that the Christmas parties we are hosting for CFA peeps are not a month away like I had imagined them, but actually next week. How did that happen? I am not prepared.
On the way home, we took an ice cream break when both girls started crying. It was a good break for everybody. (Also, I wish we had Braum's in Little Rock.)

This may be TMI for some people, but we had a very momentous occasion this afternoon. Lily got onto her little potty, and, lo and behold, something actually came out of her (only liquid, but it was a first for anything to come out). We went immediately to Walmart and got the pony I had promised her - a little My Little Pony. I told her to hold up the pony and smile. This is what I got.

We may be on our way to being potty trained. Or we may not. I am not going to get too wrapped up in it all, and I promise not to buy a pony every time Lily pees. Also, you may or may not notice that the girls are dressed the same two days in a row. I do this when their clothes are mostly clean, and we are not doing anything particularly special. I usually wear different clothes from day to day.
So, we are back to life, back to reality. But, it is Christmas reality and that is a lovely thing!

Night with the Lights and First Family Movie

2011-11-28T14:14:00.001-06:00

Besides eating, laughing, talking, game-playing, wedding planning and movie watching, we did a couple of other notable things while in Wichita. Mom and Wes treated our family to "Illuminations"- a Christmas light event at Botanica Gardens in Wichita. It was really beautiful and a pleasant evening to walk through the lights - though it was a bit crowded.

Here are my siblings and their spouses (or soon to be spouse in Laura's case.) (my camera had a hard time focusing this night, which was a bummer, hence the blurry pictures)

Our little family. Hard to get a good picture when even John is revolting against it. Glad he straightened up and pretended to be happy in that second shot, which is more than we could get from the girls.

Mom and Wes.

Through the rainbow in the children's section.

Afterwards, we sat around eating popcorn and laughing, especially when John and Lily tried to catch it in their mouths. (again with the lack of focus - bummer, but I still love the picture)

We did the lights on Friday night, and on Saturday afternoon, we took the girls to see the Muppet Movie, which was their first movie theater experience. We were a little wary of how Bella would do, but it went better than expected. Mom and Wes and Aunt Ellen came with us a reinforcements, which was helpful.

Lily's reaction was about what we would have expected - she had a poker face, but seemed to enjoy herself and did not move or make a peep for most of the movie. Bella was also about what we expected - she did well for the first 45 minutes while the popcorn and Sprite were flowing freely. Then, she got antsy, and we took turns holding her near the exit in case she decided to start screaming. She didn't, and after a while, we brought her back to the seat. The best moment was when she decided using her hands was no longer necessary to eating popcorn and face planted into the tray of popcorn to eat it. Awesome. She also liked feeding John popcorn, which was super cute.

All in all, it was really a fun movie and good experience with the girls. (notice Bella's lack of socks - I cannot get that girl to keep anything on her feet. not sure what to do, especially since we are beginning to face bone-chilling temperatures. she is not yet fazed.)

"YOU are a Penguin Farm"

2011-11-26T15:27:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas is upon is. How is that possible? We have celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in Wichita, KS at my mom's new house. So fun to have everyone together. Here are the highlights, mostly in pictures.

There was a pancake breakfast on the morning of Thanksgiving courtesy of Mike and Ash (my bro and sis-in-law). Chocolate chip pancakes are the best!

The guys played pool in the basement that Mom and Wes are going to finish soon.

Aunts and Uncles are the best at entertaining little friends.

Mom and Wes with some of her siblings and their spouses. They did a great job cooking and baking for all of us.

Then it was time for the serious partaking of a thankful feast. With turkey being put onto Grandma's ceramic turkey platter. I got a shot of brother's plate.

(love the uncle photo-bombing the sibling picture)

The girls have had a truly great time with the family. At dinner on the first night, we were eating with all of my siblings. Lily was talking about how her peaches were actually penguin meat. Not sure where that came from. My brother asked her, "Have you ever been to a penguin farm, Lily?" to which she retorted, "You are a penguin farm." Oh, how we laughed. Though, we do not want our child to insult people, it was really really funny.
The bounty of what we have to be thankful for is overwhelming. Thank you, Lord, from whom all blessings flow.

Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies

2011-11-21T16:44:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks back, Mom and I were talking about what I should bring home for Thanksgiving. She requested the cookies I made several weeks ago and showed on the blog. I decided to do different sugar cookies, because, what I am realizing about myself is that I am not a huge fan of doing the same thing over and over. I like to try new things a lot. So, here are the turkey and pumpkin cookies that I just finished. (Kristin came over and helped me finish them! Thanks!)

I originally saw the turkeys done by a friend, Alicia, and have wanted to do something similar ever since. Turns out, they take a while, but I really like the results. And again, after learning this amazing trick via Pinterest, it seems so easy to do a lot of different colors, without having to clean up a lot of stuff. Hip hooray! So, last night, I stayed up til 1:00 a.m. listening to Anne of Green Gables of audiobook and decorating sugar cookies. I am super nerdy after all. But, I do love Anne so much, and when I am listening to the books I start to feel that I think and speak a bit after the fashion she does.

I outline the recipes that I use in that post referenced earlier. I "flooded" the body after outlining it, and then made dots of red, orange and yellow and drug a toothpick through them to get the "feathery" look.

The pumpkins were a matter of outlining in the brown and then flooding with the orange. I also added edible orange glitter, and then did some green piping for leaves and little pumpkin tendrils that I feel like kind of bring it all to life. I think Mom will be pleased, and they are yummy to boot!

Happy Hogs Game Day in the Rock!

2011-11-19T19:59:00.000-06:00

Well, surprise of all surprises, John called on Thursday to tell me that he had won tickets to the Hog's game courtesy of Chick-fil-A. (Again, insert praises of the most amazing company to work for!) To be sure, the most surprising part of this story is not that John won the tickets, but that he won them because he was the first to reply to the email. Because his inbox is sort of a running joke, everyone I have told of this has been amazed.
Because game day is a huge day for our store, since our store is located less than a mile down the road and we have the privilege of feeding the U of A Cheerleaders and the Marching Band, John had to do some figuring out how they could do most of that without him, so we could attend. But, he figured it out, and our gracious team served those guests mostly without him, and I was so thankful to get the opportunity to go cheer on the Hogs in person. We are not necessarily die-hard fans, but we live in Arkansas, and that is all Arkansas really has to boast of, and they are having a fabulous season, so we were really excited to be there. I also love doing stuff that is exciting for a lot of people, and Razorback games definitely qualify. Thanks, CFA and John!

We sat on the 6th row, at about the 10 yard line. There were a couple of Mississippi State fans in front of us who were pretty entertaining, but they vacated our area around the middle of the 2nd quarter, in favor of their fan area. There was also a Razorback super-fan sitting in front of us who was decked out in Hog apparel and was listening to the game on an ear-piece, though we were at it and who also felt the need to tell the players on the field what was going on, since they cared to know. He was a really nice guy, though and very well-intentioned.

And, since the Hogs made a sweeping victory of it, it was a great game experience. We left after the 3rd quarter so John could help deliver the marching band order and I could take dinner to our sweet friends who kept our girls - thanks, Kosses!
Other than that, this weekend I have been preparing for Thanksgiving fun and just started looking at decorating for Christmas. We got our stuff out of the attic last night.

It seems to be more than I remembered it. I sure do love Christmas time!

Two Little Turkeys

2011-11-18T13:37:00.000-06:00

Next week is Thanksgiving! I am so looking forward to seeing family, playing games, maybe watching movies, laughing a lot, being thankful and, of course, eating a lot. So much to look forward to - I think my little heart may burst from pure excitement and bliss. In preparation for the great day, I made the girls turkey shirts, inspired by some like this that I saw on Pinterest. I used Minky Dot brown fabric for the turkey, pinned the ribbon to the turkey body on the underside of it, and sewed all the way around it. That secured the ribbons, and then I used the extra ribbon to make corker bows for the girls.

In the picture, Lily's shirt is covered with snot and drool from the crying fit about picking up her room after her "nap." She is holding the yellow car that has inspired her to call every yellow car that we see in public "her car." Bella is sucking that paci as if her life depends on it, and as you can see, with Lily's arm around her and them perched precariously on that step, it might.

Here is a close-up of the shirt. I decided to do a non-traditional color scheme and was pleased with the results. I cut a little piece of ribbon into a triangle and hand-stitched it on for the beak. I burned the edges of all the ribbon I used with a wood-burner. I think it is easier than using a lighter or matches.

Here's the bow. I have wanted to try this technique for a while, and my understanding was that you got the ribbon to stay like this using fabric stiffener. Well, they were out of fabric stiffener, but the kind lady in the fabric department who must have realized that a trip back the next day was not what I really wanted had pity on me and told me that it might work to use Elmer's Glue thinned out with a little water. Perfect! I wrapped the ribbon around pencils, sealed the ends, secured them with clothes pins and then painted them with the glue/water mixture. I went heavy on the glue in that mixture, because I wanted it to work, and viola, I had little corked ribbons that I hot glued onto a clip!

So far, the shirts have held up well, even with a wash under their belts. The girls are such snot factories right now that it would be out of the question to wear them without washing in between, so I am glad I sewed everything on.

So thankful for these sweet girls and the ways they entertain and delight us regularly. A new way of entertainment that Lily has found is when she is introduced to strangers, she has started sticking out her tongue all the way and wagging it from side to side while staring at them. She must have gotten that from John and myself - honestly, I am not sure the best way to break it, and since people always laugh, she is getting a lot of positive reinforcement right now on that one. Bella has become a screamer. It is her primary means of trying to communicate anything from frustration, to sleepiness to excitement. I am also not sure how to quell this development, though Lily tells her, "No, ma'm Bella. We do not scream" - but Bella doesn't seem to get the message just quite yet.
I hope your Thanksgiving plans are coming together beautifully and that you are spending time thanking the Good Lord for all of the good gifts that he gives. It is really quite overwhelming at times.

Lessons I Have Learned This Week

2011-11-17T14:58:00.000-06:00

For whatever reason, I feel that this week and month have gotten away from me. How did it become mid-November with Thanksgiving only one tiny little week away? How? It just hit me this morning that I need to figure out holiday parties and food and decorations and I am not sure how it will all come together. It will, of course, but right now, I don't exactly see the way through it.
And all of this made me wonder what I have been thinking about instead. I realized that I have really been learning a lot this week, which is probably better than focusing on Christmas decorations anyway, though that is much more fun. Here are some of the things I have learned this week, ranging from the ridiculous to the really important.
1) I need to be sorting my mail more regularly. Though I seemingly have a good system for this, I let it pile up. I went through it on Monday night and found two shower invitations for this coming weekend and a birthday party invitation that we had completely missed for last weekend. I felt awful and immediately contacted the mother from the party we had missed to confess and make amends. Carol - sort your mail a lot more often. It is not that hard, and then you will not miss parties.
2) If John and I are in the middle of a hard discussion, I need to ask more questions and come with fewer strong opinions. Being humble does not come naturally for me, and I usually think I know what I think about everything. I can grow so much in this area, and it would serve our marriage well for me to do so.
3) Boogie Wipes are worth the extra money for the kindnesses they do to Bella's face. She has had so much snot all over her face, and it was getting all chapped and red. The Boogie Wipes really help, and she submits a little more meekly to having her face wiped down with these. Just a little.
4) I will never understand God and all of the ways that he works. And, as one of the girls in our community group pointed out this week, I wouldn't want to serve a God that I could understand. But, that doesn't make it easy, and I am learning more about what faith really costs.
5) Good friendships are worth their weight in gold. I feel like I keep learning this, but I do not know how I would do life without the friends that God has so graciously placed around me. It brings me to tears even now thinking about it.
6) You can, in fact, have way too much Candy Corn at your house. Especially when you win an extra 367 candy corn pumpkins from your neighborhood fall carnival.
7) As aforementioned, John and I have had some harder conversations this week, and I am learning from them. Learning that it really is God who binds us together, and that we have to hide ourselves in him first and foremost, and we have to have so much grace for one another. Which is much easier said than done, but I wouldn't want to be doing it with any other person.
8) I really should stop putting bottles of Diet Dr. Pepper in my purse. How many pursefuls of pop will it take for me to learn this?

Those are all the lessons that jumped to the top of my mind as I sat to compile this little list. I want to be a lifetime learner, and thankfully, life is always presenting new opportunities for this. And since no post would be complete without a picture, I looked through my phone to find something cute. I was on the phone with John one morning and looked down to find this. Morning grape fun - sweet girls.

Cupcakes that Look Like Turkeys

2011-11-15T15:19:00.000-06:00

I titled the post like that, because I would never want someone to assume that I made cupcakes from turkey. That sounds sort of disgusting, unless it was some amazing Food Network Challenge where the people pureed turkey and used it magically in the frosting and everyone says it is good. I am still a bit dubious about those sorts of things. Anyway, these are cupcakes that look like turkeys, and they are easier to make than they look.

The super cute idea is not mine - it is from Betty Crocker, but I used a different recipe that I think is more fitting, since it is fall-tastic. The recipe I use is here from All Recipes, and I do add chocolate chips - sort of a lot of them, and I top them with Cream Cheese frosting. One of these days, I will find a good recipe for it. Until then, the store bought is tasty and so easy. Here is what all I used for Cupcakes that Look Like Turkeys.

1 box of some kind of chocolate cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
2 eggs
2 TBsp vegetable oil
1 or 2 cups of chocolate chips
Cream Cheese frosting
Almond Bark (not pictured)
Hershey Kisses (also not pictured)
More chocolate chips

Mix first four ingredients together for 3 minutes with a mixer (or in your Kitchen Aid). I had a helper, as usual. Turns out, she is getting close to being able to use the mixer, with less assistance from me.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into cute cupcake wrappers and bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until the knife comes out clean.

Once they are cooled, frost away! I like to use decorative tips, because it looks prettier, and honestly, it is easier. Especially since I learned this amazing trick via Pinterest. Ahh, Pinterest, you teach me so much. This has changed my food decorating life. I am not exaggerating. Again, my helper was in full force. Upon licking the spoon, she declared, "Yum. I really like it." No doubt, Lily.

Melt some chocolate chips in your microwave, and then put them in a ziploc baggie and cut a tiny hole out of the corner. (If you have regular decorating bags and tips, you could use those as well.) Pipe the bottom layer of the feathers and allow to cool. It will cool more quickly in the refrigerator.

While they are cooling, unwrap some Hershey Kisses and put them into your frosting to be your little turkey heads.

Next, melt some almond bark and pipe in over the chocolate feathers. Since it was so humid yesterday and today, these did not really firm up at all until I put them into the fridge for a while. Then they did great. While you have the almond bark out, give your little turkeys eyes.

Once the feathers have hardened up, you can stick them in as tail feathers. So fun. Now you have an army of adorable turkey cupcakes ready to conquer the world and bring thankful cheer to all you encounter!

I took them to our Bible Study brunch where Michelle Duggar spoke. Though she may have some extreme views, she has got to be one of the kindest women I have ever witnessed and so gracious. It was a privilege to hear her speak from her heart about speaking to our children's hearts, and how so much of parenting really changes our own hearts. How I hope our hearts are changed by the Lord in this process.

Meal Planning: Trying to Find What Works

2011-11-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

Currently, I am not in a Food Co-Op, which is a sort of tragedy in my life. I loved my different food co-ops, but I understand that it is not always to be, and so, I have been forced to really figure out meals in our little world, without them being delivered twice a week by friends. Also, we have concluded that we have been eating out more than we should, and I want to be a better steward with our finances. More reasons to figure out meal planning. Which led me to Pinterest, which led me to what I am about to show you. None of this was my idea - I saw it on Pinterest first, from the blog Controlling My Chaos and thought - that is what I need. Here's mine.

I ordered the vinyl through the site she commissioned to make it, Thoughts in Vinyl. I got it, and I put it up on my refrigerator. I should have used a level and made it perfectly straight. I didn't. Don't be like me - make yours straight. I followed the instructions that were included with the vinyl about how to make the little squares in Microsoft Word. It was really easy.

I took them to CFA to laminate them, but you could easily take it to Office Depot or somewhere like that. I made a bunch of extra squares, which you can see in this picture hanging out underneath the actual calendar. I plan on getting a manilla envelope to magnetize to the side of the fridge to keep the extras in when they are not in use. I also made little "Week Of" Magnets, so I would know what weeks were being planned. I got wet erase markers to write on these with.

So far, about 5 days in, I am really pleased with this system. I will keep you posted on how it fares in our lives. It allows me to plan for many different scenarios and to know what options we have available and what I need to shop for. Our schedule needs to be flexible, because things come up, and it is nice to be able to move stuff around easily. I can plan several weeks out at a time, and then use stuff up better. For example, we had Crab Omelettes (loosely inspired by this friend's omelettes, as in, the idea to make omelettes at all). I had leftover crab that will be put on grilled cheeses this week (not real crab, of course, but what we like to call "crab with a K" or "K-rab".) And, I know which stuff to use from our freezer and when. I think I am going to do a whole separate post on the freezer - I cleaned it out last week and am in the process of getting it all organized so I will not have meat in there from 2009. True gross story.
I think figuring out what to put on the squares was the hardest part. I tend to make a lot of different things and have a lot of variety, and I wanted to be able to do that. I also wanted to be able to write sides on to squares for certain meals - like when we are having people over, so I know what to get or make. I even left some squares completely blank, so I could just write on them. I only made 3 "Out to Eat" squares, in an attempt to eat out only once a week for dinner, but I did make some "Eating With:" squares, so we could plan to meet others out to eat as well. I don't count us eating at CFA as eating out, since we don't exactly have to pay for it there.
That is that. This weekend was very low-key. John ran 22 miles on Saturday in preparation for his marathon - I am in awe. We had a great date night last night and ate at the Red Door - their BBQ Shrimp and Grits are amazing, and we had their Fruit Crisp with Cinnamon Ice Cream which was dessert perfection. And we saw Moneyball, which we really loved. So nice to have a night out without little friends - but so nice to come home and find them each tucked soundly into their beds, both sleeping with their little bottoms in the air. ♥

Aunt Clara's Refrigerator Rolls

2011-11-11T14:10:00.000-06:00

This week I started baking for Thanksgiving. We will be spending it with my family, and I have been asked to make the rolls. Last year, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house, and so I had to plan it out really well. I got this recipe from my mother that can be made ahead and frozen, which I knew would work perfectly for us. It is my Great Aunt Clara's roll recipe, and I still remember eating these as a small child. Yummy. It is a pretty quick and easy recipe. I made it a couple of times this week, and I timed the last one - it took me about 15-20 minutes to do the first part and clean up from it. Then, it has to sit in the refrigerator for two hours or overnight depending on which type of yeast you use. Then, it takes about 5-10 minutes of hands-on time to put it into the pans. It has to rise before you bake it, but all in all, it is not a lot of hands-on time for the pay-off of homemade rolls.

Here's what you need.

1 cup of Butter Flavored Crisco
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of warm water
2 packages of yeast (either Rapid Rise or regular, depending on your time-frame)
5 cups of flour

Cream the sugar, Crisco and salt together.

Add the cup of boiling water, and mix until the mixture is mostly dissolved.

Allow mixture to cool, and then add the beaten eggs.

Dissolve your yeast into warm water and then add it to your sugar mixture.

Add the flour 1 cup at a time and beat it. Fold in the last cup.

Cover with melted margarine. I cheated and used spray butter, which you may not like, but it gives good butter flavor without the hassle of melting butter. Cover your bowl tightly and refrigerate. It you use rapid rise yeast, it will be ready in two hours. If you use regular yeast, it will be ready overnight.

I doubled the recipe, which I would not recommend. This is what I got after two hours. It had risen indeed.

I would recommend making batches separately instead of doubling the recipe, because of the timing issues. The second round I baked off of this batch did not turn out very well, but the first one turned out great. Then, I made the recipe again, without doubling, and it turned out just fine. That is my tip - don't double it.
After it has risen, put the rolls in the pan. I just grabbed at it with my hands and rolled little balls of it and put it into a greased cake pan. Let the rolls rise again in a warm place. I turn my oven on to heat a little and then turn it off and let the rolls rise in there.

Then, heat the oven to 375°. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes uncovered, and then cover with foil and bake an additional 10 minutes - for a total of 25 minutes.

Bella was really excited about the rolls.

Then, you have yummy rolls. You can serve immediately, or you can do as I did and wrap them up well to freeze for a later time. Like Thanksgiving, since it is coming up right around the corner. Crazy!

I kept the foil on them and wrapped them in Press n Seal. Then, we will let them thaw, and throw them back in the oven at 350° til they are just warm enough for all of us. Sounds delicious!

Thankful . . .

2011-11-10T08:50:00.000-06:00

Last week we went on a hunt for branches for our Thankful Tree. I decided to try to brave the green belt behind our house. This did not last long, since there were many more brambles than I had imagined. We turned around pretty quickly and headed to the green belt that runs between our house and our neighbor's. The weather was delicious, and the colors on the trees are so beautiful right now. The girls were being sweet - they love being outdoors, and we had a great time. I was glad I took the camera!

Lily with her treasures.

It looks as if Bella is yelling or screaming at the plants. She yells or screams mostly in delight, which is hysterical. Until you are in the car. Then it is mainly really loud.

Lily loves when she can see the picture we are taking as we take it - a handy feature on our point and shoot camera.

I never want to wish away time as a mother. BUT, I do think my arm my fall off soon from carrying this child. She is almost 26 lbs of non-walking fun.

Glad to enjoy these times out of doors while we can!

Thankful. I don't feel like I could ever be thankful enough. Truly. Thank you, Lord.

Linking up with -

Lily's First Performance

2011-11-09T14:52:00.000-06:00

I think that sometimes Lily may get a bad rap on this blog. She is really a very sweet girl - truly, she is. She is learning to say "Please" and "Thank You" on her own and is almost always kind to Bella. And, all of her teachers seem to genuinely like her and say that she is a pleasant and well-behaved child. Much of the time at home, she is pleasant and well-behaved as well. Until she isn't. Which I guess is how most of us are, and it usually does come out at home.
Anyway, yesterday was her first "performance" at my church Bible study group. All the kiddos ages two and up were set to perform, and since I have been seeing this for the past three years, I was really looking forward to seeing Lily in it this year. John came, and we had our money on Lily staring blankly through much of the singing. We were not disappointed. So far, when it comes to performing of any kind, Lily has no use for it. Here are the pictures and the play by play narration of what was happening.
Some pictures are courtesy of my dear friend, Lindsay, who was up much closer than we were. (When your husband is 6 foot 4 inches, you typically stand in the back out of respect for others.)

The children are herded out and corralled onto the stage. Lily sits and waits patiently.

The children stand to sing "Father Abraham." Lily remains seated, staring blankly.

They sit back down between some of the songs. Lily continues to stare blankly. We think she could see us. She will never tell.

During the singing of "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See," Lily becomes slightly more animated. She is especially concerned for what her little hands will do and where her little feet will go. So concerned, in fact, that her little feet keep moving throughout the entirety of the song. So cute.

Here's a shot of the whole group. This age of children is so entertaining to watch, because they have so little care for what is expected of them. Kids were pulling up their shirts, some were waving madly at their parents and others were crying in their teachers laps. You just never know what to expect. It was a large group, so I am not surprised that Lily was overwhelmed.

For whatever reason, at one point most other children were seated, and Lily chose to stand. I definitely don't want to crush that spirit.

All in all, it was enjoyable to watch, and it was so fun to see all the kids. Plus, I love seeing John in the middle of the day. Afterwards, we got to give her a hug as she headed back to class. She joyfully hugged us both and grabbed right back on to the blue strap that was leading her back to class. Sweet girl. It was everything I imagined this day would be!

Our Life is Not the Amazing Race

2011-11-08T15:49:00.000-06:00

Every Sunday night, when we are home, John and I settle on to the couch to watch The Amazing Race. It is our favorite show to watch, hands down, and it has been our favorite for years. We are intense about it. We DVR it so that we don't have to watch commercials, and we often will pause it to ask the other one what choice we would make in their situation. We are involved.

Five years ago, before we had children, we were going to try out for the show. And, because I am a bit delusional, I am still convinced that we would have made it on the show. I am pretty certain we would have a fighting shot at winning it, too, though strange things happen on The Race, and some things are outside of your control. You never know when you will have a bad taxi driver or when your bike will break (or in our case, when you might lose track of your passport.) However, instead of trying out for the show, we went on a mission trip to Africa and then went to language school in Costa Rica, which is definitely what God had for us at the time. And now, with two young kiddos, it would be really hard to leave them for that long.

So, we live vicariously through the race participants and add new places to our "must visit" list every week. The world is a vast, varied place that I am amazed we have the opportunity to explore from time to time. One down side about the Amazing Race in our lives is that our lives are not The Amazing Race. This is actually something that we say to one another rather regularly. If we are in line or driving and things are not going as smoothly or efficiently as we feel that they should, one of us (whichever one of us is feeling nicer) will say to the other one, "This is not the Amazing Race." As in, we do not need to be in a hurry everywhere we are going. We can enjoy what is happening around us without worrying about whether or not we are getting ahead.

But, we have to make that choice. We have to make the choice to enjoy and be grateful for what is happening around us and not rushing on ahead to the next thing. And, slowly but surely, I am realizing that godliness lies in the slowing, in the moment. After reading the book One Thousand Gifts, I started regularly reading A Holy Experience, the blog written by the book's author. I am so glad that I do. She regularly points to the ways that gratefulness is one of the highest forms of worship to our Lord, and it constantly reminds me to slow down, breathe and take in This Moment. Because God is in This Moment with me, and he has things to show me in This Moment. He has gifts for me to see in This Moment. And I miss This Moment all the time, because I am always thinking ahead or worse, I am distracted by things that don't matter, that cause me to miss This Moment in my own life.

As an efficiency junkie, I am always trying to figure out the quickest, easiest way from Point A to Point B, and I have had a lot of success in doing things this way. But, what have I sacrificed along the way? What Moments have I missed? I have seen a few situations in the last week that have reminded me of how we do not know what the next moment will bring, and they have driven me to the Lord in prayer, pleading for miracles and for hope.

As I mull these things over, I am still thinking and praying about my response. I want my gratefulness to God to overflow my life and impact those around me, and that will take intentionality. We shall see. And, I am still sad that I have never gotten to do the actual Amazing Race, but I do know that I should not live my life like it is one.

Our House: Thankful Decor

2011-11-07T15:44:00.000-06:00

It is that Thankful time of year, and though I haven't yet managed to get our Thankful Tree up, I have finished the rest of the fall decorations, most of which have been up since late September. I like to get the mileage out of them. Here is our thankful mantle.

I made that bunting last year using heavy fabric with the letters cut out and ironed on. I am glad I still really like it this year. I really like putting random gourds around - I feel they have so much character. I used extra burlap behind everything, and the lanterns are usually there. I put red and black beans and acorns and white pumpkins in the apothecary jar. Basically, whatever was on hand or cheap. I have seen so many cute jars full of fall things. Here is what the mantle looked like in October.

I used the Candy Corn bunting from Bella's party and used five bags of Candy Corn to fill the jar. I had no idea it would take so much. Apparently some stores ran out of it towards the end of October. I guess you all know that I am to blame. I need to send all that Candy Corn to CFA for them to eat, because I certainly don't need to finish it. Clearly.
Here is our fall front door. As I said, this stuff has been up since the end of September. I don't carve many of the pumpkins, and then they last through Thanksgiving. Though, I did learn the hard way to put something under them so that IF they rot, they do not seep all over your porch and stain it. That was at the old house. Now, I tuck clear plant trays underneath them in case they go south.

I made the felt wreaths last year as well and still really like them. Good job, Last Year Carol. You picked stuff Future Carol would still enjoy. They took longer than I would have wanted them to, but they weren't hard. I cut felt into flower shapes and hot glued it on. It took a lot of flower shapes, and I had many burned fingers to prove it.

Here is my pumpkin stack. Since these were all the rage on Pinterest, I had to have one of my own. I just tore the stems off and stacked them.

And, just for fun, here is the pumpkin that I did carve this year. At Lily's request, I made "Flower Face."

Also for fun, here is what Lily was doing while I was taking these pictures. She is licking the window, of course. Last week we found her licking Bella's feet and later Bella's hands. Which is unfortunate, because Bella has decided she likes to put her hands into the toilet. Little kids can sure be gross and a little strange.

The very best decorations are the ones that are outside our window. Here is our view right now, and Lily and I get to comment often on the "red trees." Though when she says it, it sounds like "red cheese," and I puzzle over what that means until I remember she means "trees" not "cheese."

I am so thankful for the fall foliage, the gift of health for the time being and the treasure of time with our girls while they are young. People keep saying it will fly by, and though a lot of days it doesn't seem that way, I know it really will.

More Fall Adventures: Trip to the Buffalo

2011-11-05T15:49:00.000-05:00

Apparently during the Fall we have a lot of traditions. One of them is that we usually go to the Buffalo River area while the leaves are changing to enjoy the scenery and spend the night at a cabin. The last two years we have done this in conjunction with John speaking on a panel for JBU seniors about life after college. His advice: "You are not going to change the world. But, you can change your world." Maybe not so inspiring, but definitely what we have found to be the case in our lives, thanks be to God. So, we did that Wednesday night, then Thursday morning got up and did family Christmas pictures with Luke, then drove to Lost Valley to go hiking. Though it was a little after the leaves have fallen, it was still beautiful and quite peaceful on a random Thursday afternoon.

The girls did great. I think we were all glad to be out of the car and sick of hearing the first 30 minutes of Tangled - somehow they kept pulling the cord out, which means the DVD starts over, and Lily does not like to skip ahead. So, we were sort of over that by the time we got there. The weather was just crisp enough to remind us that it was fall, but not bone-chillingly cold.

Every year we take a picture on this log in the creek bed, and this year I realized I have never been there when it was full of water. Earlier this year, it actually flooded and washed away the bridge. Crazy what the change in seasons brings about. I am thankful to live in a place that is seasonal - I love seeing the trees and plants cycle through buds and blooms to summery fullness to fall glory colors and then to branch silhouettes against the sky. I feel like God uses it to remind me of his faithfulness in the midst of my changing experiences.

That last picture looks much more scary than it was. We climbed through the cave, and at this angle, it looks as if Bella and I are quite the daring combination. Bring it on.
We went to a cabin with a great loft for the girls to sleep on. Only, Bella is at sort of a hard age. She is into everything and is quite unresponsive to the word "No." We ended up blocking off the stairs with a chair, which was effective. We watched the Little Mermaid and ate dinner. Then, later, and we still don't know exactly what happened, but there was a horrible crash and Lily screaming. Blood started dripping out of her mouth. It was an awful moment, because I realized that if anything was truly wrong, we were a long way from real help. Thankfully, she was fine, and the bleeding stopped quickly. We think she had been standing on the luggage rack, and it collapsed under her. I guess you have to learn some things the hard way, but I am so thankful that it was a very minor incident.
We did cinnamon rolls from a can and scrambled eggs the next morning after our nearly 11 hours of sleep. We just needed to catch up from life, especially John, who is in the thick of marathon training.

And, we headed home, taking in the beautiful fall scenery.

We almost didn't go this year, but at the last minute, we decided that we should, because we could. I know there will be years when we can't, and we would be sad that we didn't when we had the chance. So, I am thankful for the time we had together, for the mercy of only trivial injuries and the sweet sleep that gives a renewed perspective on life. God knows what we need when we need it.

Fall Special Pictures by Uncle Luke

2011-11-04T15:18:00.000-05:00

A while back, we went to Siloam for JBU Homecoming, which I wrote about in this post. While we were there, Luke was running his Fall Special - mini-sessions with a set all set up and in place. We got to swing by and have some pictures made of the girls that are turning out to be some of my favorite ever! He got great ones of them individually and of them together. I am in awe!

All photos by Luke Davis of Main Street Studios.

And, we got a family shot, though John and I were not dressed for it and the girls were over it by this point. That is the great thing about these mini-sessions. For our girls - that is about all they have patience for.

Next week, Luke is doing is first ever Family Christmas Special, which you can read more information about by clicking here on his Facebook page. It is a great deal, so if you are anywhere in the Northwest Arkansas area and need Christmas pictures done so you can get really cute Christmas cards, you should check this out.
Thanks, Luke, for the pictures. As usual - you captured the girls beautifully, and I treasure the memories!

Our House: Laundry Room

2011-11-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

So, I got a little side tracked from our playroom and decided to decorate our laundry room. John did wonder why I felt the need to do this, and I had to explain that it just makes me feel better when things are a little prettier. I have fun doing it, so I did. Here is the "finished" room. It does make me happier to go in there, which is a good frame of mind to be in while doing laundry.

I painted the wall about a month ago, which you can read about in this post, and I made the sign on the main wall which you can read about in this post. The striped rug is from Crate and Barrel. I made two more signs that were inspired from Pinterest (I was going to link to my pins, but I realized once I looked, that I never pinned them).

This is my lost sock holder. This happens a lot, and now they will not be just floating around.

The other is just for fun. (and hopefully hope and inspiration in the face of relentless staining)

On the wall opposite the washer and dryer there are built-ins that service as our mud room, and I also store old towels and cleaning supplies.

Underneath this are the towels and extra paper products, but it was really difficult to get a picture of everything. Next to it is this folding station - though I never fold clothes in there or iron. Clearly, since it has bulk snacks on it. I decided not to move them for the picture, because that is reality. This room is right off of our kitchen and these big containers don't fit on any shelves in our pantry. Now that I am thinking about it, maybe they did, and I didn't try hard enough. Anyway.

I do love our laundry room and think it is largely very functional. I can keep bags here so they aren't in the middle of our kitchen and now, it is all a little prettier.

Halloween: Round Two

2011-10-31T22:43:00.000-05:00

Well, it is well-after bed time, but I am lasting on with the sugar high from the Smarties and the s'more that I consumed. I do love the fun of Halloween. We were the Birds and the Bees.

I kept the girls in their costumes all the live long day, because they are very wearable, and it is fun to spread holiday cheer to everyone. This picture is from a random man's iPhone in our CFA dining room during lunch. They both looked and sort of smiled - I wondered what he had that I don't to cause this behavior.

Tonight we had friends over for trick-or-treating. I got a picture of one of the families that went with us. (Their children are really good at smiling at the camera.)

The Bees were ready to head out for candy. Bella was really excited - she loves anything that has anything to do with consumption of anything.

Our neighborhood is a little over the top crazy for Halloween, which we discovered last year. So, there are lots of houses with candy and lots of decoration. We really only did one area and kept having to empty their treat bags into other bags since they were filling up. At one house, they gave us slap bracelets and toys. The kids were so cute, and I actually heard Lily say "Thank You" to an adult that she didn't know, which warmed my heart so much.

Somehow, Bella got a hold of a Tootsie Pop, and by the time we really realized it, this is what we found.

We gave it back to her, because she was so distraught over us prying it out of her little hand.

And, she held on to it the rest of the night.

We got a picture with all the kiddos. So fun!

Then, we did s'mores and apple cider while we passed out candy to the masses of trick-or-treaters that came by. One of the girls over at our house kept calling them "customers." "We have more customers!" And Lily basically repeated everything she said. Hilarious. Such a fun night. Such great friends. Such great memories.

I cannot believe tomorrow is November, and that we are ushering in the holiday season. I love that we have a month of gratitude to look forward to!

Halloween: Round One

2011-10-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to our neighborhood's fall festival to kick off Halloween round these parts. I dressed the girlies in their bumblebee outfits.

I got the tank tops and leggings from Gymboree on clearance, and I made the antennae (pipe cleaners wrapped around alligator clips with a yellow pom pom on top) and the wings (tights around hangers tied together with black knit and worn with elastic around their arms), and I made little knit skirts for them. I really did try to keep it simple, and I love the way they came together. And the girls seem to like being Bumblebees.
We headed down our street in the wagon.

We saw this gorgeous fall foliage on the way.

We arrived and tried to coax Lily into playing games. She warmed up after a bit.

After a little while, we did the pony ride, which was a giant hit for Lily.

Not so much for Bella. We took her off immediately.

She did like flying with dad much better.

The last thing we did was ride in a trailer filled with hay, pulled by a four-wheeler. Lily practically dragged us over to this - she was so excited. And it was a great way to round out the party.

One funny thing came from this little shin-dig. There was a jar of candy corn pumpkins, and people had to guess how many were in it. We got a call later that night that we had won, with the guess of 362 when their were 367 in the jar. She said she would drop off the prize today, and I didn't think to ask her what the prize was. We won all those little pumpkins. Lily asked if we could carve them - I wish.
Tomorrow we will be celebrating again with friends, and John and I will also be dressing up. Looking forward to another great time!

Sideline Mothering

2011-10-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

I am a mom. I am a homemaker. I do "mom" things. While it does not ultimately define who I am, it does dictate a lot of my life right now. This also means that I hang around with other moms a lot. Which I am so thankful for, because talking with other mothers and hearing about their mom worlds can help normalize my own.
However, there are some drawbacks. Comparison is something that so easily creeps into life, and the mom world is very fertile ground for this. And, while I struggle with comparison to some degree (why is your child so much more pleasant to adults than mine?), I have realized that more than that, I struggle with thinking that I know best - that I even know better than that mom might, maybe even about her own child. How horrible is that? I know the root of this is pride, and that is a sin. I found myself sideline mothering before I even had kids - thinking, "If only she would do this, then that child would not behave that way" or "Doesn't she realize what is happening?" I could be and can be extremely judgemental in my mind before I have even made a conscious decision to go down that road. I also thought that when I was a mom, I would get it right. Sure, I would make mistakes here and there, but ultimately, I would know what to do.
Then, I became a mom to these two precious girls.

And the curveballs began. Why is breastfeeding so much harder than it seems it should be? Why does my child crawl like a pirate? Why does it feel like I am wrestling a pig to dress my one year old? Why does she react so intensely to someone else eating something when she has a plate full of food? Why is it so hard to get into the car? Why does she have to ask "why"? Will my child ever, I mean, ever be potty-trained?
And the guessing game began. Oh how motherhood is so much more guesswork than I would have imagined. If something doesn't work, try something else. Ask your husband, ask the doctor, ask your mother-in-law, ask God and keep throwing things at the problem until something sticks. And then in a week, it will change. This is motherhood.
For all of that, I still often think I know or should know the answers. I have a degree in Family stuff! I come from a great family! I am smart! I should know what to do. I still often look into the families around me and think I know what they should do, which is wrong and prideful. They know their children best and are seeking the Lord for wisdom and trying their hardest. Sideline mothering is a dangerous and prideful road to walk.
What I am realizing even now, is that I am afraid people are sideline mothering me. I am afraid of being really real with where we are in potty training (which is nowhere), because I do not want some other mom thinking she knows best what I should do. That is the sick way that I think sometimes, and I don't want it to make me miss out on the wisdom of those around me. I want to be authentic about the real struggles that we face. I know that potty training is not a true hardship in life, and I know that someday, my children will be potty trained. They will be big girls, and this will all be behind us. (For good and for bad.) Somehow.
But, walking the road from point A to point B seems like a challenge right now. And, I am realizing that for Lily, it is largely a control issue. (I think. I am guessing again.) The Lord will give us wisdom, and we will do the hard work, and someday Lily will not wear diapers. It will be in the right time for our family. I will stop reading the research that children in our country are potty-trained later than most of the world and wondering where I went wrong. It will happen when it should, and I am praying that I will know at what point I may have to really force the issue. Because it may come to that.
And, I will thank the Lord for what he is teaching me through Lily and Bella, because it is more than I would have thought.

It was easier to sideline mother before I had kids - now in many ways I have more compassion, and in other ways, I still find myself thinking I know best. But I don't, and I am thankful for the humbling roads that I get to walk that teach me that. I really am, because I know that I will be a better mother, wife, and friend because of it. Thanks be to God.

Seven Years Ago - Our Engagement Story

2011-10-27T11:18:00.001-05:00

Seven years ago, the Red Sox broke the curse and won the World Series. Normally, I do not keep track of these sporty things, but it was the night John and I got engaged. I realized that I have never written out the story, and since it is a good one and very important, I want it recorded, some place where we can go back and remember it. Sadly, it was before I had a digital camera (gasp!), and because it was a surprise to me, I didn't know to have my camera with me, so - no pictures from that night. We do have great engagement pictures taken by none other than Luke Davis who was just a college friend then - we had no idea he would someday become family by marrying my sister, or that he would end up buying the studio that would shoot our wedding. Crazy world. I do love these pictures.

So, here's the story about how we got to the place where we could take these pictures - engaged. The plan, as I knew it, was that we were going to meet up with John's youth pastor from high school and his wife. We lived in NW Arkansas, and they lived in Dallas, which are about 5 hours apart, so we were going to meet up with them in some town about half way between for dinner. (We did end up actually following through with this plan the next month, so I did get to meet them.) As we were driving out of town, we were actually headed north-ish. This is one of the funny parts of this story. When John had told people of his plan, they usually noted that we would not be driving the right direction. John was confident that I would not notice. He was right. So, we headed north, when we should have been headed south, and I was none the wiser.
As we were driving, we got to a town called Disney, OK. Knowing my love of Disney, John thought we should stop for a picture with the sign in Disney. I was game, and I hopped out, while he supposedly dug for the camera. There was no camera to be found, so we loaded back into the car, only to find that it was "not working." What I did not realize is that John was stalling for time and not pushing down the clutch. I came up with the brilliant solution of "wait a few minutes, and try it again. surely it will work then." Since it was all a time-game anyway, he said that sounded like a great plan. (Do not come to me for car trouble.)
Since we were in a parking lot by a lake, people were coming in and out. I eventually wondered aloud if we should ask any of them for help. He said they all looked sketchy, and since I had apparently left my brain at home that evening, I agreed, and we continued to wait, with a not working car, in a parking lot by Grand Lake. After about 5 minutes, he suggested that we walk down to the pier, since we were killing time waiting for the car to fix itself. We walked onto the pier, and a within about a minute, a boat came headed straight for us. I remember feeling like we should get off the dock, since we were very much in the way, which did not seem to concern super-conscientious John at that moment. As I looked up at the boat again, I realized I knew the driver, and that was when I knew. This would be no ordinary night.
It was one of John's roommates driving the boat, and he ushered us aboard. We sped across Grand Lake as the sun set, with the wind whipping through our hair. That really is not embellished for dramatic flair, that is really what happened. The boat slowed as we neared the shore, and I realized that where we were docking was covered in Christmas lights and the path leading from the dock was lined with candles. It was gorgeous.
Because John knew that I would know what was happening at that point, he decided to get straight to the engaging part, which I appreciated. We went into a candlelit den in a beautiful cabin. There was a small, but tall, chest there with four drawers - it still lives on my dresser to this day, and I do have a picture of it.

He had me open the top drawer, which had this note inside of it, with pictures underneath it of our time dating.

Then, the next drawer revealed this note. He explained to me that he knew he was going to have to give up many things to get married, and those were listed on little notes underneath the yellow card. Basically, he told me all the ways he would need to die to self.

After telling me that he believed he knew clearly what God wanted him to do and all that he would need to give up, he had me open the third drawer, which had this verse inside of it. Makes me tear up even now as I look at it. John does a beautiful job of striving to love me as Christ loves the church, and I am so thankful for that.

And, the final drawer held that box. The one that I knew by this point must have a ring inside. He removed the box and got down on one knee, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. I said, "YES!" And, he slid the ring that I did not even know he had, the one with the antique diamond from my mother's engagement ring from my father that was once my grandmother's, he slid that ring onto my left hand. Oh, the joy of that moment.

The engagement ring was the simple solitaire, and the wrap around it is my wedding band. He explained that he had driven up to Wichita one Friday when I thought he was working and asked my mother for my hand in marriage. She had said yes and given him the diamond. What a precious gift!
After the thrill of the engagement, we got to explore the rest of the cabin. Dinner was set for us in the living room, on a candlelit table for two in front of a roaring fire. Our dear friend, Becci, had prepared it for us, with an amazing cheesecake dessert with raspberry sauce (I should get that recipe!). We called our families and friends to tell them the news. We talked about dates, because we had held off on any wedding planning at all until after we were engaged. We laughed about the surprises the evening had held, and we reveled in the joy of what lay ahead of us. And after all that, we watched the Red Sox win the World Series. Not because we are die-hard baseball fans, but because we had watched the whole series, and I genuinely wanted to see who would win. We had been cheering for the Red Sox, so it was a satisfying conclusion to our evening. His roommate had brought John's car around to the house, so we were able to drive home without going via lake.
Getting to the point of engagement was a long road for us. Not that it took so long, but it contained some unusual hurdles and hiccups, because of the time of life that it was. Sometimes I wonder what I would have thought if at that moment we had had a glimpse into our future. If we could have seen what our marriage would bring us, the good and the hard. I am so thankful to have said yes to John and ultimately to God on that night. I am so thankful that God writes stories better than the ones we would write for ourselves. He did for us, and I trust that he will continue to do that. And, while being married does not make our lives easier, it does make them enormously better. I would say yes all over again.