Little Adventures

This week has seemed to go by quite fast and how in the world is September almost over already? I do not know where this year has gone and cannot believe we are on the downhill slide towards the end of the year! Crazy.

Maddy went on a field trip with her preschool this week and oh my goodness, she looked WAY too big in her new jeans, hello kitty tennis shoes and field trip shirt! She has been really "into" having me pull part of her hair back into a pony tail and then wearing a bow in the pony this week. I think it makes her look a little too grown up already. Wow. We had to take a picture to document how much she has changed since last year.

Brooklyn is seriously into everything. I mean everything. This week she has already learned how to take the bin off of the shredder (we unplug it for those that are worried for her safety) and then tried to eat the paper out of it. She likes to look out our back sliding glass door and one morning this week I caught her picking the sealant (that seals the door to the floor) off and trying to eat that. She LOVES shoes and if we, or any guests, leave any lying around she is chewing on those - flip flops and tennis shoes with laces are her favorites. She learned how to climb up onto the kid picnic table that Maddy uses for her art. And just today, I looked over and she was standing - unassisted, holding onto to just a toy vacuum cleaner. She is not even 9 mths old yet! Unbelievable!

Oh and don't you just love being able to push a real baby in your toy shopping cart? Love it!

Cotton Candy Pink

Maddy has been asking for a pink room for over a year now. She LOVES pink, princesses, polly pockets, Barbie - basically anything girly. When we found some adorable bedding at Target, that matched what I had been looking at in Pottery Barn Kids (just never went on sale), we knew the bedroom would soon be pink. It was hard for Sam and I to re-paint her room because four years ago, we moved her into the bigger bedroom and painted her room. We researched what we wanted for her (she was too little to voice an opinion beyond Dora) room and found a rug online. We matched the colors to that rug (even though we never bought the actual rug) and drew a mural on one wall. Then we spent every evening for a week painting her room and it turned out better then we could have hoped! To paint over that was sad because we invested so much painting her "old" room and we loved that mural. But we are allowing our little girl her independence and have granted her wish to have a pink room. So now one wall is Pink Chintz with some wall decals from Target (until we decide on something different eventually) and all of the other walls are now Cotton Candy Pink. We think it glows a bit at night, but Madison LOVES it! She would love it even more with princesses dancing on all of the walls and a giant Cinderella castle - but at least she gets the pink! Here are some photos of the old green room (excuse the picture of me - it is the best one I can find of the mural) and the new pink room - how my baby girl has grown and now the rocking chair is in her sissy's room!

Weekend Adventures

This past Saturday I was able to spend the entire day scrapbooking thanks to Scrap-a-palooza. I had a great time with two friends (thanks Sarah and Stephanie) who joined me. It was quite different then the group crops we are used to (Camp Scrap at our church). It was so quiet at the scrap-a-palooza (except for our table)! It was really nice to be able to sit all day long and work on scrapbook pages. I was able to finish 4 layouts completely. Although there were moments we did not think we could continue - we were getting sleepy, but then my sweet husband brought Starbucks by and we were good to go for the rest of the afternoon and evening! I had a blast!! Oh and to inspire all of you scrappers out there that are behind - I was scrapping the year 2007 (even though I do not have much scrapped for 2004,05 or 06)! Yeah, I am behind! Oh well, one step at a time!

The next adventure of our weekend was Sunday night when Madison decided to put make a "head pancake" from some goop she won at Incredible Pizza (called Flarp Noise Putty - it makes a child pleasing toot sound when she stick your finger inside it). Needless to say, it took about an hour and lots of ice to get all of the Flarp out of her hair. Thankfully no cutting was needed though! She sat very still and patient as I worked and worked to get it out.

And we could not wait, with all of our fall like weather, to get some decorations out and decorate the house a little bit. We love Halloween at our house (fitting we have a daughter with an October birthday who thinks it is a fabulous holiday) and found a few extra "spooky" decorations this year to put out. The picture above is our mantel and we also have some vinyl bats decorating our windows, arranged by Maddy. We are ready for fall!!

Standing Tall

The big news at our house is that Brook started standing alone last week - just when she turned 8 months old. She seems to be in a bit of a hurry. She is already standing much easier this week and has started walking along furniture and holding on with only one hand. We don't think it will be too long before she is taking off running down the hall after her sister!! And seriously - I was AMAZED when I looked at the first picture and saw how tall our little one is at 8 months (because our older one is VERY tall for her age and has never been on the growth chart - seriously miles above it). She is half her size at 8 months! Wow.

The pictures are from play time outside. Isn't it great when you are almost 5 and are big enough to get the mail by yourself! And don't you just love when your kids express their individuality through dressing themselves? Maddy has been shining through a lot lately!

Maddy has been sleeping in the living room for the past week. She has been begging us for years for a pink room and we finally consented (we found pink bedding we all love and matched the walls). It will be a while before we as parents adjust to pink chintz and cotton candy pink walls. It is really, really pink! Of course, she is slightly disappointed because instead of princesses dancing all along her wall, she has a tree and animals that match her bedding. It was a sad day when we painted over her green walls because Sam and I spent a week in the evenings painted her room design then. Instead of wall stick on's that we put up this time, back then we actually painted the mural (funky flowers and butterflies). We hung onto it as long as we could - simply because we loved it and because we put so much work into it. But she is growing up and becoming more independent and we decided it was time for her to have a say in her room choice. We hope to return her back to her room tonight!

I was talking to a friend a couple of weeks ago about blogs and how we always "put our best face forward" on the blog. We are always happy, everything is rosy and life is perfect. I appreciate blogs such as McMama where she is absolutely honest about her life. The good and the bad. I have been convicted lately that by posting positive, happy moments all the time, I am leaving out the real life that is going on at our house and failing to document that portion of life.

The honest truth is that this summer has been a hard one for me. When I was working, I always told myself that I did not define myself by my job- ha, that was seriously wrong. When I was laid off, and was able to suddenly be thrust into being a stay at home mom (always my dream and a goal of mine eventually) I no longer had the "importance" of going to work and accomplishing something significant during the day. Suddenly if I get a shower, that is a huge accomplishment for the day! I no longer had co-workers to discuss life with, suddenly I am sharing life with a 4 year old and 8 month old - who are not always concerned (ok, hardly ever) with what is going on in "my life" and what God is doing through me. Having faith that God will work things out (such as finances) in my life has never really been a strong suit for me. I tend to want control and think I know better as to what I need. Boy am I learning the hard way (shouldn't I have learned this lesson the first time)? While we are not to compare ourselves and our lives to others, it is so hard for me not to do. I just look at other lives and think - man, if I just had that - life would be so happy and easy. SOOOOOO not the truth. Subtle lies whispered to me that steal my joy and what God has for ME and my life.

I have been holding on to His Word and books I have been reading (because down time has not been in my life for the past 2 years - and now I have A LOT of time). The Lord has been very patient with me and is humbling me greatly this summer (don't you know He is just going...seriously won't you just learn this lesson?). Here are a few of the quotes/ verses:

• "changing direction in life is not tragic, losing passion in life is." Cast of Characters, Max Lucado
• " Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints? Is your mental file of hope four times as thick as your mental file of dread? Are you four times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?" Cast of Characters, Max Lucado
• "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you much take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life." Galatians 6:4-5 (the message) Yeah - I needed to hear that one!
• And of course the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan is life changing (at least I pray it will be in my life). One little quote based on Luke 6:27-36 about loving your enemies "the faith is loving a person after he has hurt you. True love makes you stand out."
  
• And if you want to be convicted as to what true love is, Francis Chan suggests you read I Corinthians 13 and put your name where is says "love" and see if you are living out those qualities. Wow - humbling.
  

And since this post is now seriously LONG, I will just say this: I am blessed abundantly and it might look diferent than others around me - but the Lord is good and He has blessed me in a huge way in all aspects of my life. I am grateful he is not done with me and that "In everything God works for the good of those who love him" Romans 8:28. I am grateful for a husband, children, family and true friends that love me even when I am unloveable, difficult and unsure. I am thankful most of all that even though I am facing uncertainty about the future (I secretly LOVE staying home with the girls by the way), I know (at least most of the time) that God is SURE of where I am going and where He is taking me. Here's to being real with each other about our lives!

Okay - really the last thought: I am grateful to remember those who sacrifice their lives everyday for our freedom (and I was whining about my life?). May we never forget how our lives changed forever on September 11, 2001.

Summer Nights

It has been a different summer than we are used to, but we are loving all of the time we are able to spend together these days. My heart is full watching my girls grow and learn new things. This week, one of the things they did for the first time is ride a riding lawnmower with their daddy.

Throughout my childhood, one of my favorite things to do at my grandpa's houses was to ride the riding lawnmower. It was sweet to watch my girls enjoy that for the first time with their daddy. M wasn't so sure at first, but quickly became a fan. B had a blast from the moment we put her on there with her daddy, no fear whatsoever. We have been borrowing my grandparents mower since Sam hurt his back last month and are grateful to be able to capture these moments with my own girls. The girls are so lucky that they have a daddy that will take time out of a chore to make some lasting memories with them.

M, also had her first "ice cream man" ice cream for the first time this summer. The ice cream man usually comes at dinner time, so it is never really a good time to run out and grab some ice cream. But we heard him one night and she took her own money and picked out her own ice cream (spiderman popsicle) and enjoyed savoring ever bite. The evidence is in the last picture!

M, also this week, took snack to preschool the first time this year. It is a big deal because not only do they bring snack, they get to be line leader, take show and tell and play on the computer. She had a great time and told me that night it was the best day ever!!