Thursday, June 30, 2011

Momma In Focus - Water

This week's prompt was water, yeah!  I debated on taking more pool pictures until I realized that I haven't yet taken pictures of me and Daisy playing in the sprinkler and boy does she LOVE playing in the sprinkler!  It is so ridiculously hot here in the Summer time which leaves us with very little activities we can do during the day outside.  We all go a little stir crazy being cooped up in the house so as soon as it gets closer to 5ish and our backyard has a little shade and a lot less baking heat, we go out to play.  I wouldn't mind if this was a daily tradition!  Daisy is so fun, animated and energetic when she plays.  I loved the facial expressions that Daddy captured in these pictures!  If you took any pictures with your little ones this week I'd love to see them and if you have any suggestions for fun Summer activities with a 15 month old I'd love to hear them!!

Next week's prompt: Patriotic











One Day At A Time


Wednesday, June 29, 2011

My Love Bug is 15 Months Old

I just thought you should all know....this is how you get a 15 month old to sit still for a quick photo session....Vanilla wafers and an awesome assistant...in this case, Grandma Lulu. hehe
My sweet little girl you are growing like a weed these days and you have SO much energy.  You go non-stop all day long, never sit still, take such inconsistent and often short naps and wake up early every morning because you just don't want to miss a thing! You really are an absolute blast.
We ask you where your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, teeth and belly are and you can point to them all now!
You are ridiculously smart....seriously, it is almost crazy to me how sharp you are.  I have a lot of phrases that I say and you now know them all:  
*Let's go throw away your diaper (you walk to the garage door so we can throw it out). 
*Let's go brush your teeth or get some medicine (you walk to your bathroom where we keep those things). 
*Let's go outside (you walk to the front or back door to go out)
*Where is the baby, ball, book, bucket, toy, blankie, paci, ball, doggie, duck, bear, kitty, ?  
*Go show Daddy, Grandma, Lulu (you go walk to that person to show them whatever you are showing them and always know where they are).  
*You point to my laptop and say momma (unfortunately that is what you call Daddy) and you want me to call him on skype!
*Let's go get the rocks (you love to play with the rocks outside).  
*We do not bite (I say this sternly as I hold your cheeks and look you closely in the face...you get both mad and sad when I scold you).
*Do you want a snack? (to which you often say nums loudly....meaning yes!)
*Are you all done? (to which you either shake your head no or say upee meaning yes).
*Time to take a bath (you walk to the bathtub excitedly because you love water)

You love watching the Wiggles every morning when you wake up and have even learned how to say Pop, pop, pop when you watch the popcorn song.  SO cute!  You dance by bouncing up and down, waving your hands above your head and shaking your bum bum whenever you hear music playing. You love to imitate any and EVERYTHING that you see mommy and daddy do.  Wash dishes, fold laundry, dance, sing, play Kinect, sit on the couch (you love sitting on the beds and couches right now!), watering the plants outside (I have got to get a video of this..you are so cute when you fake water the plants!), and clap and raise your hands at church.  Darling.
I thought it would be neat to show a couple comparison shots of you at 6 weeks in your basket and you at 15 months in the same basket.  Really shows how much bigger you are. hehe.  Plus it was just too fun to stick your big, chunky body in the tiny basket!  You really didn't seem to mind at all and in fact thought it was kinda fun. hehe

You love water and could easily play in puddles, pools, lakes, etc. all day long! You've gotten a little better about exploring new foods but, you especially like eggs, fruit, steamed broccoli, milk, crackers, cheese, sandwich meat and sweets (you got that from me I think)...
You bite a lot but, usually only me or things you are holding.  I am embarrassed to say this but, it really does crack me up because of the way you do it.  I do scold you every time and I think you will stop when your 4 incisors come in.  You are in a lot of pain and I feel so bad for you!
You get super stir crazy if we do not get out of the house at least once a day.
YOU LOVE ANIMALS.  I am in awe of how great your fascination is with all animals!!
You walk so fast now.  We really have to hustle to keep up with you!
You go to bed around 7:45 and wake up at 6 AM usually (a little earlier than I like...)
You wear size 4 diapers but, not for much longer
You wear all 18 month clothes now and some of them are getting small...depends on the brand
You have 12 teeth fully in, 2 incisors have cut through and the bottom two are sores...coming soon
You wear size 4 shoes
I stopped nursing you about a month ago.  I tapered off slowly to make it easy on both of us and and can't have imagined a smoother transition than we had.  We had a great run!! I feel very blessed to have nursed you as long as I did and blessed that I could wrap it up and move on.  You have done so well with sippy cups! You drink 4 sippy cups of milk a day and water with juice any other times that you are thirsty.
You really are an amazing little girl.  You keep yourself busy all day and are very well behaved so much of the time.  I feel so blessed to be your momma!!
I cannot wait to see what God has in store for your life. xoxo  Love you dear daughter of mine.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Give Me Just Enough

I've gotta admit that I was a bit convicted today.  I uploaded my blog to a printing website in hopes of printing the last year and a half of my posts as a memory book for Daisy.  As I was previewing the last year and a half of posts I have written I was convicted about how many more of my posts expressed my deep love for Jesus and what he was teaching me before Daisy was born and I noticed that as the last 15 months with my daughter have quickly rolled by and this season with my hubby has been so tiring that I have withdrawn from sharing what is on my heart or sharing what the Lord has been teaching me.  I have no excuses and in fact I am sure I know the reason for the lull....I am not pressing in to the Lord and His word as much as I could be...not even as much as I want to be.  So, tonight before I did anything else I sought the Lord.  I started reading passages from the New Testament but, kept getting so distracted for some reason.  I hate when my mind does that.  So then I decided to look up Francis Chan (my favorite Pastor to watch online) to watch some clips from his sermons.  Sometimes listening to the word in a lesson format brings it to life for me and helps me to visualize it better.  Not always, but sometimes and this evening that was the case.

The video below and passage of scripture in the picture above are what really stuck with me after my devotional time tonight.  The reason it stood out so much is that my mom had just quoted this passage of scripture to me when she was visiting.  She had been so passionate when she talked about these verses with me and I remember her passion.  I love when God's kids get passionate about His word!

 So here was the first point I had to chew on as I read the passage from Proverbs: I don't want to be a liar or a teller of falsehoods.  I know many people tell lies and falsehoods so regularly that they don't even recognize them as lies anymore.  I could very, very easily fall prey to this as it is a pretty "normal" practice in this day and age....a little tall tale here, a white lie there and before we know it it's just the way we talk.  These falsehoods get us out of things we don't want to have to do or people we just can't be honest with.  In a lot of ways lying is easier than telling the truth on many occasions.  Lies get us off the hook and allow us to escape responsibility.  But, let's face it...don't we all appreciate honesty...loving honesty preferably, in people that we call our friends?  Honest people are so refreshing, real and trustable....(evidently trustable isn't a word but, I'm making it one tonight!) 

I long to be that person to my friends, family, employers, IRS (eekk) and government, etc. I long to stand before the Lord someday in that long judgement line that we will all stand in and to be able to hear him say, "Well done good and faithful servant.  Well done."  I don't want him to have a list of all the times that I lied and told falsehoods.  I would be mortified!  He knows all that I do and He sees all that I do, so I would not be getting away with anything anyways; maybe temporarily but, not indefinitely.  I am accountable to Him.  I will never be perfect here no Earth.  None of us will be perfect here but, I certainly strive to be more like Jesus.  Who better to emulate than the one who was without sin? No other example is stable in this world of daily changing views. 

And the second point to chew on from this passage is the shattering reality that if God were to give me just enough for each day, that would be the best thing for me!!  Wow! That goes against everything we are taught to believe in this world.  We always want more than enough and that is probably because we never think we have enough to begin with.  If I only made a little more I could get out of this debt, buy that boat or go on that vacation but, we all know it is never enough.  If only I had a little more I would give it all away to the poor...ehem,  yah right, and then I would save the last million to live off of and never have another care as long as I lived.  BUT, therein lies the problem...if we have too much we have that mindset of, "I have more than enough money to live and die comfortably, I don't need God because I can take care of myself."  And on the other hand if I have too little and I am starving or living on the streets I might do reckless things like steal or kill to acquire what we need.  Just enough.  God give me just enough for today.  As Francis says in the video I attached...I dare you to pray this...do you realize how true this passage is???  IT is SO true but, not easy to chew on because if we are really honest with ourselves...we don't want to have to rely soley on God daily for all that we need because that requires us to trust him implicitly and not trust in our own resources and that is scary. We must relinquish our control...again, scary!  That means I have to learn how to worry less and trust the Lord to take care of everything.  Wait, isn't that what I am supposed to be doing anyways??  hmmmmm...It all comes around full circle and it was a nice wake up call.  Have you ever read this passage before and really dissected it? What are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear....


                                                                        Check it out:
Proverbs 30: 7-9
7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;
   do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
   give me neither poverty nor riches,
   but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
   and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
   and so dishonor the name of my God.






Photobucket

Our Bridge To Terabithia

At the point where a street dead ends in our neighborhood, there is a really steep sidewalk that goes down the side of this little hill and then it abruptly dead ends as quickly as it starts.  My husband and I have often walked down the sidewalk and then stood there looking at the unpaved ground following it and figured it led to nothing.  How silly that we never bothered to explore it further! lol.  My mom was feeling a bit more adventurous when she was here with us.  She suggested that we continue onward and I am so glad I was up for the trek! As it turns out there is a beautiful, lush, green forest with a simple little trail carved out of the middle.  We could hear a stream flowing off in the distance and even got to see a part of the spring up close and explore it as you will see below.  As night approached, we could see fireflies everywhere lighting up the darkest parts of the forest.  We saw bats too which was a little creepy but, still cool.  Then the unpaved trail unexpectedly turned into a wooden boardwalk that had just been built.  It was SO awesome!!!  Evidently our town is trying to preserve some of the marsh lands around us by turning them into walking trails to encourage people to enjoy them...and I definitely will!  I hope to walk this trail much more often in the future and will even use it for our family pictures from now on as it is so perfect!! I could let my imagination run wild here if I wanted to.  Animals that talk like the Chronicles of Narnia, trees that move and speak like those from Lord of the Rings, mystical kingdoms like Bridge to Terabithia etc.  So much fun!!  I gotta say....having something this beautiful just a few steps from my front door is why I love North Carolina so much!!!  SO much beauty all around and I love soaking it up! We surprised Joey by taking him on this trail on Father's Day and he was just as stoked as we were when we discovered it!








Photobucket
Monday, June 27, 2011

Happy Birthday To My Knight

Happy Happy 28th Birthday to my wonderful, amazing, best friend, knight in shining armor, prince charming, hard working, handsome, fish fanatic, Jesus lovin' husband!!!

The last 12 years with you have flown by.  We met in high school our junior year in keyboarding class and the friendship never ended!  We spent so many days after school on the sunny California beaches, you surfing and me laying out on the sand.  You had that awesome red Chevy truck with those loud subs that we used to crank up SO loud. We have explored new countries together, taken a cross country road trip, moved from our cozy home state of California to the unknown North Carolina, transitioned through different jobs, apartments and then moved into our first home that we watched being built from the ground up.  We have watched Friends Seasons 1-10 probably a million times together and each time, laughed as if we have never seen them before.  We love doing yard work together and would even fight over who could mow the lawn if our child didn't need my attention all the time. lol  You gave me the best gift ever....Daisy.  She looks so much like you.  Her brown eyes, round cheeks, little nose and infectious personality.  She has rocked our world and changed the way we see life.  I love when she does something hilarious and we laugh at her and then look at each other with that smile and twinkle in our eyes...the shared love we have for our child is priceless. 

You are such a hard working guy and not a day goes by that you don't ask me, "honey, how can I serve you."  Who does that??  You do!  It blesses me so much that you actually enjoy serving me.  If I need anything....ever, you are on it and with a smile on your face.  You have set such an amazing example for me of loving your wife like Christ loved the church.  You really do babe.  You are a rare guy and I am a lucky gal.  So, since I didn't have a big hoopla for your birthday this year I wanted to make sure that you know just how much you mean to me!  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  Forever and always.  xoxo





Photobucket
Saturday, June 25, 2011

Being In The Moment

Moments that Make Me Smile
Sunrises, sunsets. Smiles. Laughter.
Yellow. Flowers and raindrops. Worship music. Windows down.
Hair blowing in the wind.
Slobbery baby kisses. Crashing of ocean waves.
Cricket chirps. Avacados. Oranges.
Sushi. Block BBQ. Movie nights.
Tan lines. Green. 
Fresh cut lawn. Birds singing.
Baby squeals and grins.
A perfect photograph.
A hug.
The word of God. Perfection.
Coffee. Tea.
Play Dates. Clean kitchen.
Brownies with Strawberries.
A great chat.
Powerful Sermons.
Rainbows. Thunderstorms.
Sleeping baby noises.
Hubby cuddles. Candle flickers.
What are some of your smile moments?

  It was priceless to watch and observe the sheer joy that my mom had being with Daisy.  She played with her tirelessly, read the same books over and over again, walked all over the place, played with boring toys day after day and never grew weary of it.  Grandma's, Grandpas and the older and wiser folks get it.  They get that life flies by and that if we aren't careful it will pass us up and we will have missed it all.  They get that it isn't always about the crazy big future plans so much as it is about soaking up the moment. Be here.  Be now.  Spice up the routine. Keep life fresh. 

These pictures melt me.  Daisy adored my mom and followed her all over the house.  She emptied my mom's purse, make up bags and pencil pouch a kajillion times.  She begged my mom to let her up on her bed where she could spend an hour playing with all of my mom's things.  She would reach up for my mom's finger as a way of asking my mom to take her outside or to go on a walk.  These pictures capture an inkling of that fun and I will cherish them forever. 











Photobucket

Imagine the Zoo For the First Time

While my mom was here we decided to venture out to the zoo which is about an hour and a half away from us.  The zoo is really lush and beautiful and has a great variety of animals but, everything is really spread out so it is a TON of walking and it was 96 degrees with nearly 100% humidity the day we went.  Hot doesn't really even describe how warm it was but, you can tell by looking at Daisy's flushed face in the pictures that it was super duper hot.  In case you are wondering, she is wearing pants because she falls periodically and the pants help save her knees from the concrete but, boy did I feel bad that she wasn't in nice airy shorts after we got there! The other bummer was that we got there later in the day, around 2:30 and the zoo closes at 5 so a lot of the animals were not even out anymore....The bears for example...Daisy's favorite animal right now.  They had all gone in their caves or dens for the day.  Daisy didn't know any different.  As long as she could see an animal moving, she was in Heaven!  She especially loved the sea lions, the birds, the turtles, the ducks and the statue of the big bear.  She is obsessed with bears right now.  She says "beah, beah, beah" in an excited voice and points at the laptop in our house for me to put on youtube videos of bears!!  The bears on the wall kept Daisy's interest for a LONG time.  She loved touching the nose and trying to reach the eyes.  She really thought it was real! She is a riot!!

I loved going to the zoo and realized that I have probably not been to a zoo in over 10 years or more.  Daisy enjoyed the experience a lot more than I expected her to at her age.  She is SO into animals right now and I think this live experience actually increased her fascination with animals.  Now she brings me only her animal books to read at home and wants me to make the sounds for every animal.  So awesome!  I think next year when she is a tad older I will buy a year long pass and go a lot!  What a great way to pass time and have fun at the same time!! 

{Oh, and I need to add before I forget that Daisy has been cutting 4 incisors for the past month.  She has had the usual low grade fevers, endless drool, brutal face and mouth rubbing, horribly short naps and is the usual teething fussy.  It could be worse but, it is definitely a bit more challenging than usual.  She has the top points in on both the top two incisors.  You can see the teething face in the pictures below.  We've been giving her tylenol for longer relief and oragel for short term relief when it seems like she is going crazy from the pain.  When these are all completely in she will have 16 teeth! Kinda ready to be done with these long, teething spells....been going through this since she was 4 months old.}  Oye!
















Photobucket