Reentry

Alas, I have failed at blogging this summer.  Here is my attempt to re-enter the blog-o-sphere.  I make no promises :)

Funny how it's so hard to get rolling again when I haven't been at this for awhile...and how easily ideas seem to come to me when I'm consistent.  I would think it would be the other way around in that one would have more ideas when they haven't been shared for awhile.  Strange.  This feels a bit like that first painful post when I didn't have the slightest clue what I was doing and/or if anyone besides my Mom & sister would ever even find this little corner of the internet.

So I guess I'll start with some of my most recent pictures.  Perhaps they will provide a little inspiration:

We had a wonderful, low-key, do-nothing sort of weekend last week.  It was wonderful (did I already say that?)!  On Saturday Dan really wanted to do something fun with the girls outside after they got up from naps.

So we got them in their swimsuits...

 and filled up the pools.

 Yes, I said pools.  You know, because keeping things simple can just get boring when you're 2 1/2 and 11 months old.  Daddy thought an obstacle course would be fun.

It started out pretty well.

And we were careful to stay in the shade since we hadn't applied sunscreen (as Caroline was quick to remind us when we briefly stepped into the sunshine).

 Daddy even let them pick a few flowers.

 And I could stop there and let you think we had a fine afternoon, whiling away the hours with lots of splashing and giggling.  But here's a dose of reality:

Yup.  Probably not even 15 minutes in to our super-fun-filled afternoon, both of the girls were melting down.  Perhaps the water was too cold, the naps too short, and the expectations too high.  So it goes. 

So we moved on to Plan B:  gardening.  And the time had come to harvest the onions.  Dan had already pulled them and dried them for a few days, so we chopped off the stems, and Caroline collected them for us:

 But in the end, she decided gardening is best done like the original gardeners did it...

...you know, just like Adam & Eve.

3 Little Firecrackers

Happy 4th of July!! 

These cousins have been enjoying each others company for a few days - such sweet time.  Hard to believe that only one of these little ladies was around this time last year.  What a difference a year can make!

Tea with Memaw

Mother's Day this year was spent on a trip to Minnesota to see Dan's sister Jewel graduate from Northwestern College (not my alma mater, a different NWC).  It was a busy, but exciting trip filled with lots of great family time as some of Dan's extended family made the trip as well.  And while it was wonderful to actually be with several of the dearest "mom's" in Dan's life (and now mine) on Mother's Day, that time was really only gathered around the contintental breakfast table at our hotel before they all headed to the airport.  Sweet time, but rather rushed.  So as I anticipated that, I wanted to do something a little more meaningful for Dan's mom, our dear Memaw, blessing her for all of the wonderful things she does for us. 

And so...we had a tea party :)



I had so much fun putting this together!  I was given a tea set as a wedding gift and have rarely gotten to use it, so this was the perfect opportunity to dust it off.  My Grandma Ann has also given me several BEAUTIFUL serving pieces, including that silver tea set you see above and some pieces of crystal scattered across the table -- it was wonderful to get to use these and I felt a bit like Grandma was a part of it, too.  Plus, a dear friend here loaned me several additional pieces (like that stand above) that finished everything off nicely.  So fun :)

 Aunt Katee got to attend the party as well!  It was so fun to spend some time with her before she heads off on her next big adventure to South Carolina for the summer.  She's such a wonderful auntie!

Every good tea party needs some floppy hats!  Even Ellie joined the party for awhile -- although she mostly enjoyed puffs and milk.

Dan picked the wildflowers out of our backyard.  They were perfect, don't you think?

I hardly know how to describe to you the excitement of this little girl throwing a tea party for her beloved Memaw.  I tried to involve her in the process as much as possible -- she was the perfect little hostess!  She made the decorations, helped me bake, cleaned up her toys and even helped set the table.  

Can you feel the excitement?!

I also let her be a big girl for the party and use the real stuff instead of her plastic-ware.  Oh man, did she ever think she was a big girl!

She was all business, adding as much honey/sugar/cream/sweetner/etc. to her tea as she could manage...

...then carefully stirring after each addition.  She never took a sip, but she certainly enjoyed it :)

We had a wonderful time putting this together for Memaw, and I think she enjoyed herself.  Caroline informed me as we were cleaning up that we needed to have another tea party for Daddy "the day after Saturday".  Yes my dear, that would be fun :)  Happy [very belated] Mother's Day, Memaw!  We love you!

CHEESE!

My sweet Ellie girl just hasn't gotten enough air time on this blog of mine.  And this little ham deserves her fair share!

She has become VERY mobile lately, crawling quickly and efficiently to wherever her little heart desires (usually chasing her sister), and now pulling up on just about anything she can get ahold of.  She is especially fond of Mama's legs, which is a little problematic in the kitchen, but quite endearing.

She LOVES this little table we have that plays music and makes all sorts of noise.  And it's just the right height for her to pull up on.  And she is so very proud of herself for this milestone reached.

My baby blue-eyes.  Man I love this kid.

And she really is becoming quite the little ham.  She can go from throwing a fit to smiling ear to ear if someone just looks at her and smiles (someone generally other than Mommy or Daddy - as in, an audience!).  She absolutely knew she was the center of attention last night during community group, and she took full advantage - waving, smiling, saying lots of "mamama's" (her new favorite!).  It was rather distracting, but really cute :)

And I think she's starting to figure out this camera thing...whatever this little cheesy grin is, it cracks me up!!

Daughter of an Oreo Lover

Last night after dinner, we gave the girls an early bath and headed over to a local frozen yogurt shop (because we had a buy one get one free coupon, of course).  It's one of those where you fill your own bowl with whatever flavor and toppings you choose...and there are a LOT of toppings to choose from.  Caroline and Daddy filled a bowl with cupcake batter yogurt and a smattering of toppings, including her favorites M&M's and Oreos.

As we sat outside and enjoyed the deliciousness, another family sat down next to us.  They had a little girl who appeared to be about the same age as Caroline, and the two hit it off right away.  I should add at this point that the other little girl had about 5 times as much hair as Caroline which was cut in a perfect little bob with a beautiful pink bow holding back her bangs just so, and she was taking tiny little licks of yogurt from her Mom's spoon.  Caroline's wispy fuzz was still a bit wet, she was in her pj's and had already dripped something chocolate down her yellow shirt.  The two starting chatting in adorable 2-year-old babble, and that's when it happened.

Caroline:  "Do you like ice cream?"

Other girl:  "Yep."

Caroline:  "Do you like Oreos?"

Other girl:  "What's that?"

Caroline:  "I LOVE Oreos!"

Other girl's Mama (also looking quite pristine) tries to describe - in detail - what an Oreo cookie is to her 2-year-old.  It becomes quite apparent that this child has never experienced an Oreo.

Caroline:  "You don't like Oreos?  I LOVE Oreos!  But they're Mommy's cookies."

Well, at least she didn't tell her that she might get one if she goes poopy.

I love my job

I was tired this morning.  Really tired.  So when I woke up at 7:30 to tell Dan good-bye and realized no one was crying or talking or moving yet, I went back to bed.  Then at 8:00 I got up and fixed myself a cup of coffee and had a solid half hour of peace and quiet to read my Bible and start my new study.  It was pure bliss.

Then they woke up.  And things got busy in a hurry.  Actually, that's not true.  Our mornings are pretty slow around here when we want them to be.  We lounged around, red some books, played on the floor, had waffles for breakfast.  When Ellie took her morning nap, Caroline played with a box of packing peanuts for at least a half hour, probably longer.  I did laundry and dishes, made some phone calls, etc.  But mostly I just enjoyed my girls today.  When Caroline woke up from her nap before Ellie, we played in the massive piles of pillows on my bed -- mostly because I was sleepy and it was a sneaky way to convince my busy girl to snuggle for a few minutes.

Some mornings, like yesterday, everyone is up at the crack of dawn (and some mornings, it's before that).  So when I realized we were already done with breakfast by 7:30, I decided we'd pack a quick lunch and go to the zoo.  It was 10 before we left, but that gave Ellie a nap and me a chance to get a little laundry done.  It was perfect weather and all 3 of us enjoyed it thoroughly.

I got to be here on Wednesday morning when Ellie really took off with the crawling, learning to sit herself back up when she made it to her destination.  I was here this morning when Caroline decided her babies needed real names, so she named them Bob, Babe & Mommy (brilliant!).  And right now, I'm watching my two girls play together, Caroline simultaneously performing and teaching Ellie how to drum, Ellie crawling towards her sister, grabbing for anything she can (and occasionally making big sister quite distraught in the process as she is beginning to disturb her plans...). 

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of days when no one sleeps and everyone needs it and the to-do list is 100 miles long and has to get done with both girls hanging all over me.  And I am no fun to be around on those days.  But on days like today and yesterday, I am reminded of how richly blessed I am to be a stay-at-home mommy.  I am forever grateful to Dan for working as hard as he does to allow us days like these.  And I pray that God will remind me of this blessing often and deeply both now and in the years ahead.

Happy [belated] Easter! He is RISEN!