Our Fabulous Fourth 'O Fun

Here is a little look at what the Fourth Of July means to me ...


A good old family picnic in the back yard!

Pool time with siblings and cousins.

Getting to look into Addison's baby blues!

Gettin a bucket of water dumped on your head by your big sis ...

...and posin for a pic for your camera obsessed mama!

Runnin in the vast openness that IS Uncle John's big back yard.

Grandma's lovin on the babies!

Older cousins teachin the baby cousins ...

... how to hold their own in a noodle war!!

FOOD!!!

Sharing the empties with your family.

Puppy breath and baby breath mingling into somethin wonderful!

Re-tellin all the old family stories.

Did I mention ... FOOD!!!!!

Sneakin MORE food from the folks that will let ya get away with it and not tell mom!

Bakin a cake, thinkin you're all Martha Stewart, only to find out that not only did your blueberries run ...

... but that cake has been done already!

And finally, praying and trying to get a good fireworks shot, only to have your old battered camera fizzle every last time!

And, really, who could ask for a better day than that?

Even without that last great shot ...

Life Lessons From Beauty & The Beast

A few months ago I dug out a Princess Sing Along DVD that had long been hidden in the back of the DVD cabinet due to the fact that Hattie was MUCH more interested in things like Diego and, well ... mud. Princess were NOT on her radar and she wanted nothing to do with them. When choosing a Disney movie, my sweet little tomboy was more than happy with the likes of Cars and The Incredibles.

Umm, excuse me any Disney big wigs that may be reading this here little blog (HA!!) - why do you not make Cars & Incredible PJ's for girls? Girls do like these movies too. Same goes for you Mr. Nickelodeon Executive! Diego nighties would be MORE than welcome here in our abode! Thanks!!

(Sorry, just had to rant - tension breaker, had to be done!)

Anyhoo - as I was saying. Princess were, for the most part, unknown in these parts!

UNTIL, Sophie became old enough to voice her little opinion.

SO, we dug out the DVD and popped it in. Within 3 minutes BOTH girls were decked out in Princess dresses and mesmerized by the music on TV. I think that we watched it 5 or 21 times that day. And as they watched, they learned the movements and eventually learned to sing along with their new best friends. And THAT made this girly mama VERY happy!

Since then we (and by we, I mean I and all of my garage saleing diva friends!!!)have been on a desperate hunt for Princess movies. So far we have found Cinderella & Snow White - (PS, Disney peeps, I have a word for you on your little Vault Marketing scheme ... er, I mean, idea... when you get a minute!). BUT, this weekend we went to Hubb's sister's house to swim and I saw a ginormous stack of DVD's ... CHILDREN'S DVDs! A stack in which I found the treasure that is known as Beauty & The Beast.

Oh, the joy!!!!

So of COURSE, even though "Auntie Weezer" was out of town the girls and I "borrowed" her copy of musical-princess-wonderment and brought her home!

These two little girls were entranced from the very first moment. Now, truth be told, there were a few times that the show got a little too intense and sent Hattie hiding behind the chair or under the kitchen counter, but she never retreated so far away that the movie could not be heard. She kept on listening until she knew it was safe to come back out.

SO, as I am watching them I think to myself, wow - this is SO much like my relationship with GOD.

*stick with me on this one ...*

I was introduced to God early on, but really was not all that interested. I liked other things better, so I just kinda stuffed God back in the cabinets of my heart. But as I got older I became a bit more interested. And one day I was REALLY introduced to God - at a Billy Graham Crusade - and I was suddenly very aware of Him. I wanted to dress myself In God, learn to follow His moves and Learn HIS words.

I wanted to be a Princess ... a daughter of the King!

Little did I know that that was just the beginning of the adventure - there was a whole world of God and His beauty out there waiting for me.

But, as I started to see the whole big picture of who God is, there were times it all got a little too intense for me. Times when I ran away from it all and tried to hide. But I KNEW that I didn't REALLY want to be away from all of that GOODNESS, so I never went so far away that I could not hear Him. I just listened until I knew it was safe to come out again ... safe to keep learning and growing in the knowledge of who He is.

Eventually I came to learn that the only TRULY safe place was in that presence. With Him. I realized I had to stay in His arms until the scary stuff passed because that was the ONLY place where safety lay. That was the only place where the real adventure could be found. And it is the only place where I could SEE the beauty that IS my Sweet, Sweet Lord. Face to Face with the One who IS the adventure.

So, today we have watched Beauty & The Beast 1 or 7 times. Hattie is slowly coming out of hiding. She is seeing more and more of the whole movie each time we watch it. She is starting to sing along and learn the dances. She is starting to follow along ...

The other DVD that has played in this house a few (dozen) times a day recently is the one with the music that they learned at VBS.

And, in the weeks that they have been watching THIS DVD they have been singing THESE songs more and more. Doing THESE actions more and more. Following along with THIS adventure more and more.

So, this morning, after watching Beauty & The Beast - AGAIN - we put in the VBS one. As I watched two tiny sets of hands join mine in the air, in their own version of worship, I began to cry.

And I began to pray that they learn, much younger than I did, that the TRUE adventure can ONLY be found at the feet of the One who can and WILL keep them under His protection through it all.

And what better lesson can this simple - girly - mama teach her children?

FishFlies, Festivals and Small Town Parades

This is what WE did on Sunday ....

Project 365 - Weeks 23 & 24

WOW, I have REALLY been slackin lately! But I am gonna start gettin better ... and just to show you that I haven't forgotten all of my bloggy friends, HERE are some pictures that I took - just for YOU!!!


June 14 - My little Diva girl, strikin a fierce pose! See that hair? Remember it ...

June 15 - My piano ... I LOVE it!

June 16 - And THIS is why you needed to remember the hair - my girl is sportin a new do! A new do that she sat still in a chair for! Small miracles peeps, it's all about the SMALL miracles!

June 17 - Sophie likes her O's - whether they are cheerio's or pretzels, she just likes O's!

June 18 - New curtains for Hattie's window. Why, you ask? You'll have to go one post back to find out ... I cannot bear to re-tell the story!

June 19 - Sophie made this little guy at VBS - is she not an AMAZING artist?!

June 20 - Hubbs bought me some new shoes for my Triathalon training. They are cute AND comfy! Thanks Honey!!

June 21 - Father's Day ... Hubbs likes his coffee - a LOT! - so one of his gifts was some nice containers to store the coffee, creamer and sugar in. Now he doesn't have to get down on the floor to get the stuff out of the cabinets beneath the counter!

June 22 - Sophie panicked when she got this jump rope draped over (no, not around, just over) her neck - after the blind cord incident, who can blame her? - so this is a picture of the jump rope on it's way out of our home!

Safety first!

June 23 - Hattie LOVES to read - and when Sophie is napping she can read in peace on the couch with no one around to take it away!

June 24 - They love 'em some Elmo!!


June 25 - Sophie got upset because I had done Hattie's hair and not hers - I could not put pretties in her hair to her satisfaction and she was NOT a happy camper. We tried a tiara, some clips and a few hats ... she was just not happy. UNTIL we wrapped a bandana around her head and called her pirate.

THAT made her happy!

June 26 - Hattie's favorite guy (and mine) - her daddy - took her on a date. She put on a pretty dress, got a mani/pedi and we did her hair for the occasion. She had a BLAST!

June 27 - POOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

June 28 - Small town parades are the BEST! The girls had a blast and we took a TON of pictures!

But, you will have to come back later to see more!!!

So, how was YOUR week?!?!

Don't Say I didn't Warn ya

I cannot even bear to look and see when the last time I posted a real post was ... ya know, the kind with words and stuff. Yeah, it's been a while.

And because it has been a while there is a lot to say.

I know, you're thrilled :)

But, before you begin, please be aware that this is gonna come with a few warnings. Because things have been crazy round here and I feel the need to keep y'all from such craziness...

WARNING: VBS songs are addicting. They run round and round in your head til it's spinning and then the songs have no escape so they STAY in your head. I was seriously lamenting this fact until I realized that they stay in the CHILDREN'S heads too.

And, really, how awesome is it that, after a week, my girls are still singin things like "I will not be swamped with fear. Cause God is always, always, always, YEAH, God is always here!", "This little light of mine", "You're powerful!" and "In all I do, I honor You"? Yeah ... that is some good stuff right there!

WARNING: Toy airplanes with movable propellers are NOT to be used as hairdryers in the make believe beauty shop of imaginative 5 year old girls. How do I know this? Let's just say a hair emergency of epic proportions was averted by the slimmest of margins.

Too bad too. I almost got to cut my hair off again!

WARNING: The pink lemonaid served at Costco is a STIMULANT to little girls and may cause them to bounce around your house like rubber balls gone berzerk.

WARNING: Celery left in the dark recesses of your refrigerator for MUCH too long becomes a slimey liquid grossness and is NOT to be touched by human hands ... except when hubby refuses to give in and buy a new fridge so wifey can avoid cleaning up said liquid grossness.

Did I mention, it was gross.

WARNING: Knowing that your current youngest child is destined to be your LAST child makes going through the baby stuff, to donate, give away and get rid of, a VERY emotional experience.

WARNING: No matter how sweetly a speech impaired little girl asks (using her voice and everything!) it is NEVER a good idea to mix chocolate pudding and Doritos.

The stains alone make this a bad combination!

And now for the serious one ...

WARNING: Being sure to have the window blinds with the safety cord (without the loop) does NOT guarantee safety. Pulling the blinds all the way open and wrapping said cord around the top of the window, assummedly out of the reach of small children, does not guarantee safety.

Because curious little girls can still find a way to get the cord down and may inadvertently find them selves in a very dangerous situation.

Last Thursday, the girls were playing in Hattie's room while I cooked them some dinner. I heard Sophie begin to cry and assumed they were fussing at each other (as they had been doing all afternoon). I called back, asking them to please get along. A minute later I noticed the the cry was NOT a normal cry so I began to make my way back to the room.

What I found was my baby girl with the blinds cord wrapped TIGHTLY around her little neck and, though she was still crying, it was more of a gurgly cry than a cry-cry. I ran to help her and could not get a hold of enough string to loosen it. So, I grabbed the cord and yanked it from the window, pulling down and breaking the whole set of blinds. But I did get her loose and managed to save my baby from God only knows what.

A week later, she is just fine and all we have to show from our traumatic event is a fading rope burn around her cute little neck, brand new curtains on every window in both of the girls rooms and a lingering phobia of having ANYTHING on her neck - even a necklace.

I COULD spend my time wondering what if - what if I hadn't detected the difference in her cry? What if I had ignored the cry and kept cooking dinner? What if I had not gotten back there in time?

Yes, I COULD worry.

But I am going to CHOOSE to spend my time praising the One who let none of those things happen. The One who heightened my awareness of her cries and let me KNOW that she needed me. The One who protected my baby girl from harm. The One about whom I can sing:

"I will not be swamped with fear, cause God is always, always, always, YEAH!

God is always here!"

What HE said

The Tale Of A VERY Brave Girl

A few years ago Hattie got an adorable haircut. She sat so still and was so good for the hairdresser that we felt safe getting her a very short pageboy/bob. She wore it like that for a while and we loved it because it kept her from chewing on her hair. Also, because it just fit her so well.

Then about a year and a half ago we were at a shop getting a trim. They were running a special and had balloons and such to get people in the door. As Hattie sat for her cut a lady behind us was blowing up balloons ... can ya see where this is going?

As expected, one of them popped with a loud burst. Hattie whipped her head around to get a see what made the noise. Unfortunately, the girl was going for the bangs at that second and Hattie ended up getting stabbed just above the inside corner of her right eye. She screamed, jumped up and ran away and that was the last of our easy haircuts...

Until today.

Mrs. Sue very bravely agreed to take on the task.

Hattie knows and like Sue and so we figured it was worth a shot! I went first and prepared her for her turn coming up next. And, as amazing as it sounds, when her turn came, the girl could not get in that chair fast enough!

And she sat like a CHAMP the entire time!

So, of COURSE she got a reward ...

A little drum time! She is FASCINATED with the drums! It is always the first thing she goes for if she makes it up to the stage at church and she would drum her little heart out if we let her!

And, sucker that she is, Mrs. Sue let her!

Here are a few shots of the finished project.... In an effort to fix the awkward attempt at bang cutting by the mama (yours truly) she had to leave pieces a bit longer to grow them out to the rest of the hair, but how cute is that cut?!?!

I LOVE the back of it!

And Hattie thinks it is a "beautiful haircut".

And, what more could I ask for?

Project 365 - Weeks 21 & 22

I didn't get the pictures up last week, so this time you get to see TWO weeks of our lives. I KNOW you're thrilled, huh?!

And, with that, here we go:


May 31 - Hattie actually allowed me to PAINT HER TOENAILS! I'm sorry to get so excited, but I gotta tell ya, it is a STINKIN MIRACLE at our house!!!!! And, to further my happiness, it looks like Soph is interested in it too! YAY!!!!

(PS - the shot I took on Sunday was accidentally deleted, so this was actually taken the NEXT day ... which explains the fact that Sophie is in the same outfit and the same position in the next one!)

June 1 - To further our foot suspension of the moment, here is Sophie desperately trying to get Belle's oh so tiny shoes on her big 'ol feet!

June 2 - The day of the great lockout drama of 2009 ... you will be glad to know that the damage to the window has been repaired and we are all none the worse for the wear...

June 3 - in an effort to NOT repeat said Lockout Drama, Sophie was sequestered to her chair a little early ... and stayed there so long she fell asleep. Poor baby! Good thing school is almost out for summer!

June 4 - In full rebellion of the chilly weather that REFUSES to get up on out of the 60's lately, I gave our bedroom a little summer makeover. Off with the thick heavy comforter, on with the light summer quilt. LOVE IT!!!

June 5 - Yeah, she IS that fierce ... don't mess with my girl.

June 6 - FINALLY, a beautiful day (I'd like to give full credit to my summer makeover!!) so we spent it outside. And, after looking through the pictures I have just one question ... WHERE IS MY BABY?!?!?!

June 7 - The anniversary of the day I married the finest man alive. I took pics of the two of us together but was unhappy with my own appearance in every last one of em, so HERE are the blueberry pancakes that I made for my man ... they are his FAVE!

June 8 - Hattie picked out her own clothes ... right down to the choice of head adornment ... a backpack. Can't say the girl is without style!

June 9 - Road trip to Chicago. Here we are on one of the quieter parts of the journey. Once we hit Chicago traffic, our calm and collected driver turned into a MANIAC!

June 10 - Hillsong United concert. Oh, the worship ... good stuff man!

June 11 - Union Station - we missed our train back and had to wait til 12:40 AM for the next one ... that next mornin came EARLY!

June 12 - On our way home - Belle's mommy (Miss Erica) was napping for two in the backseat! There is gonna be a new baby boy in August, and I cannot WAIT to meet him!

June 13 - The hands of the man I love as he makes plans to increase the non-existent storage space in this house. I LOVE these hands!

Stop by Sara's place for more pics ... and it is never to late to join us yourself!!!