Saturday Photo Hunt - Surprise

I love taking random pictures of people/places. This one I took at the Indiana State Fair last week. I thought this little old man just screamed the state fair. He was so adorable eating his ice cream from the Dairy Barn. However, immediately after I snapped this picture he looked up at me with the oddest expression. He was certainly surprised by me taking this shot!

This photohunt meme is sponsored by www.tnchick.com ...stop by and visit and join in the fun!

10 Smile Tuesday

Another week has gone by, and what good it does to sit back and remember what has brought joy and smiles for the week. It can be very hard to be a stay at home mom, when the days seem so long sometimes and you feel like you are waiting for nap/bedtime. Yep, I have those days quite often. Lilla still has a hard time with me giving attention to Anna. If often results in negative behaviors, discipline and just sadness all around. Don't get me wrong, she loves Anna, she just wants to be my whole world, and learning that she is not has been a constant struggle for us. So, I give her an extra cuddle or hug here or there and am forever telling her I love her. However, I am trying to also be mindful to remind her that I love Anna too. Quite the balance my friends, quite the balance.

1. Hammock. On the note of peace, I have to say my first smile would be my hammock. Yesterday, Anna was taking a nap and Lilla was watching a cartoon while I worked in the yard. I decided to take a short break so I layed in the hammock and I just starred up at the clouds looking for funny shapes. Ahhhh...the refreshment that brought to me to even have five minutes to just lay there. Very sweet smile indeed!

2. Tomatoes. Holy cow, have we got tomatoes! Even though all of our plants have been through heck and back this year due to all the rain and odd weather, we still have lots of tomatoes! So, I have made pasta sauce for the winter and a ton of salsa that I passed on to Michael's family. The cherry tomatoes have been my favorite, mmmm, to pop them in my mouth straight from the garden. Good eats!

3. More tomato. Speaking of tomatoes, I put Anna down next to the garden on Sunday, and she suddenly grabbed a tomato and just started chomping away. I was trying to get a good pic but unfortunately had the long lens on so I didn't get quite it. Hilarious though to watch her just having a ball with a big, red juicy tomato!

4. Free. In last Sunday's paper they had another free coupon for the state fair, so back we went. You can't beat free! Although of course it doesn't wind up being free when you have to pay for the food, rides and if you are like my husband, a rubber kind of broom that honestly does sweep better than I thought it would.

5. Ferris Wheel. Which, unfortunately I did not get a picture of us on. Lilla and I rode it for the first time together, and she loved it! She laughed and got excited...I of course, wondered if we would tip, when the wheel stopped us at the top. Whew, exciting stuff! Ha, ha!

6. My new ride. A couple of weeks ago Michael's car, which we bought used 6 years ago, started going on the fritz so we decided it was time for a minivan. We'd been talking about it for awhile, we just didn't want a car payment again. We decided on a very used one with a very low payment. So, it's nothing fancy, but it is super nice to have so much more room and not feel so overcrowded with the baby gear!

7. Preschool. Lilla is loving the start of a new school year for us. We worked a little this summer but not much. So we have been doing a lot more this last week, working on the letter E, tracing, cutting with her very own scissors. She just begs to do more. School definitely makes Lilla smile! And makes me smile too as I see her enjoy it so much.
8. Growing up. I can hardly believe how much Anna is growing up all of a sudden. She does a walk crawl now and will stand on her legs if you pull her up. She's babbling all kinds of syllables and is getting into everything these days. It's all going so fast and I can hardly believe in less than four months she will be 1!9. Flowers. Suddenly these lovely little flowers have sprung up around my deck. I just love seeing their bright shiney faces when I open my window in the morning!
10. Delicious! We gave my best friends inlaws a bunch of stuff from our garden and they (who are Italian) brought us back fried zucchini and eggplant parmigiana with garlic linguini. Oh my goodness...yummo!! Even the girls were munching away at it. Mmmmm....

What are you smiling about today?

Just a taste

These past couple of weeks has just contained milestone after milestone for Anna. She started out scooting toward a cup for a drink. Within days she was moving across the floor and now can get anywhere her little heart desires. I had her at the library last week and she was practically doing laps around the bookcases to get between me and some friends.

She then started saying, out of nowhere, "Mama". A week later I promise I'm hearing "Hi" and "Dada." She is singing, humming and screeching in large rooms just to hear the echo.

Today, she has decided to start pulling up on everything she sees. She wanted to get to Lilla's puzzle and she pulled up so hard on my leg she was standing clear up on her feet to get over my leg. She throws her body anywhere she wants to go and she is fast I tell you!

She is also eating anything and everything she can. Today she was mowing on spaghetti, pizza and macaroni and cheese are also some faves. Peas and blueberries are always yummy. She is just loving tasting it all!

Oh...and the cute factor has only increased...

Down on the Farm

This week we went to the state fair. Always a fun time I look forward to every year. Lots of animals, fried foods, people, music and random eye candy to boot! Of course I took lots of pics, so I thought I'd share a few.

That family shot...gotta do it!

Giddy up

First time eating that yummy corn!

Smooches

Taking a rest before the next exhibit

Little hands on the farm. The kids get to be farmers!
The sister shotIt''s great to be a kid!

Tick. Tock.

And so the days go. One by one. Faster all the time. Yesterday Anna clapped for the first time. She’s getting better and better at crawling every day. She started saying, “Ma, ma” at the beginning of the week.

Lilla eagerly looks at me with pride as she shows me how she is writing, very legible, D’s now. She uses the word please without prompting. After weeks of repeatedly asking, she was baptized on Sunday.

Yesterday, my husband turned 35. I just thought, wow, how can we be half way to 70 already? I often still feel like a 20 year old. Shouldn’t I be sitting in a lecture somewhere finding out about Pavlov’s dog? Who the heck would give this little girl two kids, a husband and a house to take care of?

It’s just amazing how these years have gone. Our family has grown. We’ve lived in our second house for over 2 years now. It’s been two years since we’ve been to Hungary.

I’d just like to stop time for a minute. Maybe sip some lemonade as I lay in the hammock, enjoying my still small children and NOT watch the world go by!

Free

Inexpensively is having a $25 gift card giveaway and I'd like to win it. How about you?

10 Smile Tuesday

Whew, I'm getting this one in just under the gun! It's almost Wednesday already and so I just wanted to post a quick 10 smile look at some of the great things that have been going around in our neck of the woods this past week.

1. VBS...wow! What a fun and encouraging week we had. I took the pictures for a slideshow we did on Friday and Michael was the bible teacher for the kids. It was awesome and fun and crazy and...oh, so full of memories! If you've never experienced one before, please consider volunteering next year. Well worth all your time!


2. Grub. One of my friends just wanted to do something nice for me today so she prepared a delcious meal and then came over with her two kiddos, who are the same age as mine, and we feasted together. It was just a lovely time, even though both our kids were off the hook. That's ok, adds to the memory!

3. Slip and Slide. Lilla has been asking me for days to haul out the slip and slide and I kept procrastinating. Today I decided to bite the bullet and I'm so glad I did. She had a blast on it, even by herself! Hilarious since she just runs all the way to the end and then hops in the puddle at the end.


4. Garden of Plenty. Our garden is starting to burst with some summer veggies now. Cherry tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, green beans, broccoli and zucchini! All just yummy and wonderful have plenty of!


5. Warm weather. It has been so chilly here this summer. So much so that we have barely used our pool at all. Well finally it has warmed up this week and we are taking full advantage of it. Such fun to be able to enjoy the sunshine and warmth of a summer day!

6. Sweet rest. Yesterday, the girls and I just layed in the hammock while we cuddled and talked for the longest time. It was one of those sweet moments you just want to capture in a bottle!

7. The Hubby. I just have to brag on the big guy for a minute. Pretty much every year he takes off at least a week to focus on missions. This year we couldn't go anywhere with a small baby so he decided to focus on VBS for the week. He really put so much into it and it was wonderful. I am really proud of him for all he accomplished and the seeds he planted. Not only that, but he got to reap some too as he led several kids to the Lord this week!

8. Yum! The Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread I made today. Can I just say yum? I got it from Paula Deen on the food Network website. It's fantastic and if you are like me, it's one great way to use up all of those crazy growing zucchini!

9. Popsicles. Since the weather has been heating up again we just had to pull out the popsicles. Of course Anna had to get her first taste, which was so cute! She was diving after it after that!

10. Crawler. Speaking of Anna, guess who has learned to crawl? In the past week she has really started moving and grooving. From backing that thing up to going forward four steps...whew, she's on her way!

11. Sweet Girl. And one for the road! I've been so proud of Lilla this past couple of weeks. She's been talking more and more about wanting to be baptized so she can follow Jesus. (Which I have never talked to her about) She's been wanting to pray for friends and she's really been helping out a lot. Oh, and she's also writing her D's legibly! :)


What are you smiling about this week?

Ambiguity

Ever have one of those moments that you just know you'll remember forever? Like when you first saw those two blue lines or you got a letter telling you that you did not get in to your first choice school or the day the man of your dreams got down on one knee?

Well, yesterday was one of those days for me. My husband, kids and I were sitting down to lunch at a local pizza place when the cell phone starting buzzing.

Me: Hello

Woman: Ms. ....

Me: This is.

Woman: Hi, this is Kelly at Dr. ... office. I was just calling to tell you that the x-ray showed the nodule on your lung is new since November. You'll need to schedule a CT scan. I'll transfer you now.

Me: (Looking at my two babies, just enjoying their pizza) Huh???

Now, to give a little background. I get pneumonia pretty easy so when I was coughing quite a bit last week, I just told the doctor to give me an x-ray so if it were pneumonia we could nip it in the bud. When they called me a few days later and said there was a nodule on my lung and did I know anything about that, I was so confused.

I mean, really, what the heck is a nodule?

They don't know. I don't know. Hopefully, on Wednesday (well, sometime after Wed) when I get the CT scan, more will be known.

10 Smile Tuesday

Another week has come and gone, and it is now the middle of July?!?! Where did June even go, my goodness this summer is going fast. It's been so cold it actually has felt more like a long spring. And wet too! Wow, we've had the rain this year. Usually by this time the grass is getting brown, but not this year. It's green and healthy and boy is it growing!

So, I haven't posted smiles in a while, so I wanted to do it while I had a chance today.

1. A big smile right at the moment is both girls taking a nap at the same time. We have had a lot of sickies in this house for the past few weeks, so I think both bodies are just worn down and needed recoup time. Nice for me to catch a little, unusual, break during the day!

2. The individual blueberry cobblers baking in my oven right now. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman, she has this very simple and delicious sounding recipe posted for them. She actually made them with raspberries but blueberries are what I have on hand, so just 11 more minutes and mmmmm...mmmm.....
3. Going to the children's musuem last Thursday. The girls and I had such fun with a friend and her children. Haven't been since the new year so it was fun to seem some changes and spend the afternoon exploring and pretending all kinds of things!4. Gymnastics. It was Lilla's last day for this class, she'll start again in August, and we just had so much fun. Lilla is not the most balanced person, but what she lacks for in balance, she makes up for in spirit. She is just ready for anything when it comes to tumbling and I love to watch!

5. Births. On Thursday, a third friend in two weeks will have had a baby. It's like a baby boom around here but it is so exciting to watch new life starting and families growing. Lovely.

6. Maternity shoot. Last week I had a chance to take some maternity pictures for one of those friends the day before she gave birth. I had fun doing it and thought at least a couple of the shots came out pretty well.7. County fair. Sunday we went to the parade and county fair in our little town. The parade is actually quite big and Lilla got ridiculous amounts of candy, which she really enjoyed. We then went over and visited the animals and exhibits and watched a llama dress up show. Not bad for a free day of fun!8. The bounty. Our garden is starting to bloom something serious. I see watermelons, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, cucumbers....so much good stuff! We are already harvesting some and having a blast doing it. There is just nothing like enjoying those fruits of your labor!
9. The big cut. Lilla got her first big girl cut this week. Of course I cried, but doesn't she look beautiful? And way too old! Good-bye little girl locks, I will sure miss them!10. Having the windows open. The wonderful thing about the weather being cooler is that the air doesn't have to be on and it's perfect weather for the windows to be open. I love the coolness of the breeze coming through and the freshness of the air!

What are you smiling about today?

Being present

As you may, or may not, know, I am an internet junkie. I get all my news, local, world and entertainment from the internet. I find phone numbers and old friends, pool care tips and devotionals, music and a history lesson, all in one place: the internet. I'm always jumping on to find some other little piece of information, updating my facebook status or checking what people are talking about on twitter. It's just a little jumping on here, a quick sign in there. Maybe while I'm nursing, or the peanut is playing dollhouse or I need a new recipe, it makes life so easy...right?

Well, maybe. Or maybe not so much.

The last few days as I've checked my twitter account, I've noticed a lot of moms with a whole lot of posts. Things like, "Just at the park with the kids...such and such just went tumbling down a hill. Ha, ha." Or, "Out for a date with hubby, checking email." Just updating their lives away.

As I was reading these posts I was just struck with the impersonal nature of the whole situation. I mean, where does the time begin where our very presence is given wholly to the other person that we are with? Where we are not concerning ourselves with having to write down every detail of what is going on, but start to live all those details instead? Don't get me wrong, I am all for journaling, I've done it my whole life, but I don't feel like that is what this is.

I know many see it as a way to socialize and be a part of something bigger than themselves. To reach out to the masses of people reading. And don't comments somehow make us all feel somewhat validated?

But, I just find to really be a part of the moment, these all too fleeting moments, maybe putting down the itouch or blackberry and not taking time to think about the funniest way to say your child just landed on their peanut butter and jelly sandwhich as they leapt from the second stair, off of the couch and onto the kitchen table, but just being present in that moment. Laughing, enjoying, crying...without ever having to update. Maybe it's that kind of prescence that we all really need.

Hope your days and nights are filled with others being present with you too!

Click

I am a photographer. I love pictures. I love to take pictures. I love the feeling of having a camera in my hand. If I were to walk into your home, you can be assured the very first thing I would do is to search out those pieces of you. To me it is a glimpse into the person, who they were and who they have become, what is important to them.

I see my life in pictures too. Like when I used to play in my turtle sandbox in the backyard of my childhood home all by myself. Click. Or when I first played Oregon Trail on a computer in a little room of the library at school. Click. The day I insisted I needed braces so at least one thing on me would be pretty. Click. The day I stood next to one of my best friends and graduated from Union County High School. Click. The day I decided I needed wide open spaces and moved to Seattle for grad school. Click. The second date with my husband, riding on the back of his crotch rocket and thinking of the bible verse from Joel, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten." Click.

There was another day that was a click moment too. Picking out the bedding that would be part of Lilla's nursery, 3 1/2 years ago. I remember it was the day of my shower and my mom wanted to get some things I still needed. We were walking around Target and I just loved the Amy Coe collection with pale pastel stripes on the dust ruffle. For the following 2 1/2 years I so enjoyed seeing those lovely stripes when I would go in to her room at night to rock, hold and nurse her. They were lovely. Finally she got to the point of being in her toddler bed and we took down the bedding, only to be put in a box for the next year.

When Anna was born she got a bed that doesn't use a dust ruffle, so when we had the recent MOPS yard sale, in went that dust ruffle. 50 cents was the going rate. The day went by and I didn't notice when it was purchased and gone for good. Or so I thought.

This Saturday I went to the local arts and crafts fair with my close friend, Shelley. A friend who sews, Emily, was displaying her beautiful creations. I was looking through her collection when I see a lovely dress she had made with pale pastel stripes on it. I commented on how lovely it was when she said, "Oh, that was a dust ruffle I bought at the yard sale." I couldn't believe it! The dust ruffle from Lilla's room...click...the snapshots came back.

Sadly, we are having major septic issues so I couldn't afford the dress, but Emily was so kind as to set it back for me for later. Then again, that, of course, may have been due to how tear stained it became after I cried over the snapshot in my head. It hurt me to walk away from the dress, but oh the tenderness I felt when I pictured the snapshot in my head.

Later, as I spoke with the local harvest council rep., my friend Shelley snuck back and got that dress for me. What joy and thankfulness I felt as I opened the package she handed me. Click, one more photo to hold in my heart.
And then, I must say, because Shelley has a little vicarious living to do through my little Anna since her youngest peanut is 5, she also had to get the little lovebug something too. Is this not adorable?



Thank you Shelley, for being part of this sweet snapshot!

Mighty

Psalm 127:3 Children are an inheritance from the LORD. They are a reward from him.

Life with kids lately has been trying. Lilla has been sick with a double ear infection and pinkeye and it is making her particularly clingy. This is difficult since I have a six month old that still needs to be carried everywhere and prefers to be held above all else. Anna has been fussy too, as I think she is teething. We've had a lot of long days, where my husband doesn't get home until late and I just seem to be losing my patience more and more with them. Emotions have run high and crying seems to be the norm. Often during these times it is a bit difficult to be thankful for my children and remind myself that I chose and GET to stay home with them everyday.

This week though, I couldn't help but look at my life and be thankful. Why? I'm glad you asked, because I want to introduce you to the Mighty Molly Mutz. Dennis Rainey, the host of Family Life Today is her grandpa and he wrote a beautiful article on her this past week. I hope you will spend a little time getting to know her too.

And then, hopefully, you will look at your children, and your life, a little different today. I know I have.

Yesterday, Today

Yesterday I was in a hospital room waiting for you to be born.
Today you are sitting up by yourself.

Yesterday I heard a small cry for the first time.
Today I blew on your tummy and got big belly laughs.

Yesterday I was handed a newborn diaper for your first change.
Today, you are in size 4 and growing all the time!

Yesterday you wrapped your little hand around my finger.
Today you are grabbing everything in sight!

Yesterday we became a family of four.
Today it seems we have always been.

Yesterday I fell in love with you, my little Anna.
Today, I'd do it all again!

Happy Six Month birthday, my little lovey! Thank you for bringing so much joy to our lives!

I want to be

Do you have someone in your life that you look up to? Someone who you see as a person you would like to be like, live your life as they have, maybe be as funny as or organized in your home life, maybe someone with a really great work ethic who has been successful or who has a great sense of humor?  Well, I have someone that I want to be like too.

Actually, I am thinking today of three men who’s lives exemplify a quality that I am amazed and in awe of…faithfulness.  Faithfulness to stand up and not only be afraid to go against the grain, but truly be willing to die rather than agree with something that goes against what they absolutely believe in.

Those men?  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who stood against the king in Babyalonia when he demanded they bow down to him.  Faithfulness.  They said they would not as they knew God could save them, but even if he didn’t, they would still not bow down.  Wow!  Faithfulness.  They were then thrown into a very hot furnace where not a single hair on their head was singed and they didn’t smell like smoke.  Faithfulness.

I’m thankful for these wonderful men to look toward as an inspiration, and, I’m praying for that same faithfulness today.

Babywearing Stash

Over at Adventures in Babywearing, Steph is asking everyone to show off their babywearing stash. I actually have a pouch sling, ring sling and two of these:
Both my husband and I prefer to carry her in the backpack. For my husband, he feels less dorky. For me, I have issues with backpain and one chubby little baby so this seems to distribute the weight much better! Anna absolutely loves being carried. She actually gets frustrated in the ring sling and pouch sling but in the backpack she is happy from the word go! It has been especially great when we are on trips, like San Francisco when we didn't even take a stroller. She is at eye level to everything and we can get in and out of places so much easier.

Do you love your slings too?

10 Smile Tuesday

Hey there, after a bit of a break, not for a particular reason but just because life happens, I'm back with some more smiles to share! I just love looking back at the week and thinking about ways that God has blessed us in the past week, both big and small. I love having my faith built as I see how God provides for us in life. Don't you?

So, now, on with the smiles:

1. Anna has started rolling over...ALL. THE. TIME!! She goes from back to front, and boy does she get frustrated there, but it is so cute to see her trying to get her little paws on things. Man, is she a curious little one. So different than a content Lilla at this age who took forever to roll over!

2. Dimple butt. Anna is such a chunk. I'm so not kidding. I call her my Michelan baby. It's so stinking cute I love to just not put a diaper on her. Oh, I just want to eat her up, that chunk is adorable!

3. Forgiveness. I am always so amazed to see the perfect innocence of a child. Lilla recently told me she wasn't going to be friends with someone anymore because they hurt another friend of hers. When I explained to her how we need to treat others the way that we wanted to be treated, she just replied, "OK." And ever since then she keeps telling me she is friends with the other little girl. She'll say, "We need to be kind and loving and nice to other people." Love it!

4. Better eating. It has taken 3 years for Lilla to want to put anything in her mouth, but suddenly she is eating things that are good for her. In fact, she asked me to make meatloaf yesterday! Given, she calls it Cheeseburger in Paradise, but who cares, if she likes it and will eat it, she can call it whatever she wants!!

5. Life lessons. Yesterday I got frustated with Lilla and said something I just shouldn't have. She replied, "We don't watch Spongebob because he says naughty things like that." Yep, she had my number alright! I am so thankful to God though as he humbles me every day and continually shows me how much I need Him. Even through the eyes of a child!

6. Girl time! Since I had Anna I have just not been able to have any alone time, much less time with any girlfriends. Saturday morning though, Michael watched the girls while my friend, Shelley and I just drove around to yard sales in the community. Not a huge thing, but so appreciated for at least a few hours of just being able to be Amy and not Mommy was nice!

7. Yard sales. Speaking of the yard sale, we found some sweet deals on kids clothes, an exhaustive concordance for $1, some homeschooling supplies and random other things. I haven't done that in forever so it was much fun!

8. Monitor. We found a wide, flat screen monitor on like 60% off clearance the other day at Wal-Mart so I got it for Michael for Father's Day. Of course he couldn't wait to put it up so I'm typing on it now and holy cow, what a difference! Not only for space on the desk, but you can see EVERYTHING so clearly, nice!!

9. Gardening. The last few weeks we have been planting, weeding, digging, hoeing and watering, and we are finally seeing things coming up and seriously growing now! We've got green and red peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, green beans out the wazoo, artichokes, honeydew, watermelon, cucumber, herbs, sunflowers...lots of stuff that I can't wait to harvest and share with others! It's been especially fun when Lilla and I go out together and work it like that. Just fun!

10. Steering. On Sunday night all the steering team members for MOPS came to my house and we had such a nice time looking forward to next fall and the planning for it all. I'm excited about what will be!

What are you smiling about today?

Help

The peanut has now been potty trained for a couple of glorious months. It's so great, and, quite nice on the wallet too, to not have to do the diaper thing anymore. I don't think anyone is really a fan, and I'm right there with those anybodies.

Part of the whole potty process though is helping the wiping of the tushky and the helping in public bathrooms. In and out, out and in. That can become a little bothersome and often is a rushed time where I'm just going, "OK, let's just move...come on..."

Therefore, a few days ago when I was relegated to the task again, I was just trying to push through when I looked down at the biggest blue eyes I've ever seen staring up at me so sweetly. I had to catch my breath at her beauty, even in this cramped and dirty bathroom stall. The kindest little voice said, "Mommy, can you help me wipe my butt."

I, of course, replied, "Yes, mommy will be happy to help you."

She then looked so seriously at me and said, "Yes, you need to help me 'cause you my mommy."

And I can only say, I truely am blessed to be! Wiping behinds and all.