So I Will Dance With Cinderella…

November 1, 2012 by · 6 Comments

Oh, she was beautiful.

Absolutely.

She sat perfectly still while I did her Cinderella hair. Just for the record, that never happens, but she barely moved a muscle as I twisted her hair into a bun, doing what I could with her limited amount of hair. (Cinderella must have had a lot of hair…of course, it seems to work that way in fairy tales. No fair. At least she didn’t want to be Rapunzel!)

And she loved it anyway. :)

Tobin and I looked at each other, almost in disbelief at how fast she is growing up. Dressing like Cinderella. Old enough to know what it means to dance.

And perhaps the most heart-melting moment of the day was when she took her daddy’s hands and they twirled in a circle.

Danced.

I seriously couldn’t resist it…I had to sing. So I sang through part of the chorus before a lump formed in my throat and I couldn’t continue.

You see, there’s this place of honesty in my heart that I haven’t let find its place on my blog just yet.

That place where I truly ask myself, as the days slip by, if this is the only time we’ll experience this. If this time of dancing is only going to be with her.

Don’t get me wrong…she’s enough. More than that.

God poured his blessings into our lives on that Monday morning in June 2010. And He continues to do so.

I have never forgotten how wonderful it was to hear her cry, see her face, hold her for the first time. I remember thinking how tiny she was and how I felt certain that those moments would last forever.

Though they didn’t, it was a nice dream.

And as each day happens and as we soak up the wonderful and the terrible and the happy and the sad and the joyous and the frustrating and the completely blessed…well, we just do our best to make memories out of what we’re given.

Like those memories made yesterday as my sweet little Cinderella twirled with her daddy.

I don’t want to spend my days wondering; I’d rather just live them.

Live them fully as I let my little girl be Cinderella for as long as she wants to be. I’ll watch her twirl and sing and dance and be the wonderful Mae that God has created her to be.

And soak up the blessings of now.

So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms;
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew.
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella, I don’t wanna miss even one song;
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight…and she’ll be gone.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, family, just life, Maelie, music, where I am

The Funny Things She Says

October 28, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Maelie is always full of words…and she says some pretty hilarious things. Today was especially funny.

Here are a few memorable scenes from our day…humor me. :)

So Mae woke up pretty early this morning, and it was still dark out. I moved her downstairs and put her on the couch with her “special pillow” and her purple blanket. As I was tucking her in, she looked up at me, smiled, and whispered, You’re so kind to me.

Oh, melt my heart and make me laugh my head off all at the same time! 😀

After church today, Maelie and I stayed to eat lunch there. (Octoberfest…bring on the brats and kraut! :)) Since Tobin was home sick, we sat with our friends, Jonny and Kris. At one point toward the end of the music (read: live, German, pretty stinkin’ cool music), Kris got up and left. Maelie didn’t notice that she was gone right away, and a few minutes later, looked at me. Do you know where Aunt Kris went?

I told her I didn’t.

Completely dissatisfied with my answer, she ran over to the next table, got Pastor Y’s attention, and said, again, Do you know where Aunt Kris went? I can’t find her!

Good golly…complete sentences like that already…she doesn’t miss a thing! 😉

Perhaps my favorite…and, thus, worthy of being properly documented on the blog was later this afternoon. Tobin went to pick up dinner, and while he was gone, Mae and I were playing upstairs in her room.

Her pretend phone rang. (Ok, ok, so I made it ring. ;)) I answered it, handed it to her, and said, Maelie, who do you think is calling?

She looked at me, gave me that I-know-exactly-who-it-is look, and answered, It’s Jesus! Hi, Jesus!

She then proceeded to have an entire conversation with him, Disney Princesses included.

Oh, I love my girl.

And she will completely love me back one day for this post. HA!

😀

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, church, friends, just life, Maelie

Tuesday 10

October 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I made up the topic today. :)

Ten of My Favorite Things About Mae
(Today, anyway…there are a lot more. :))

10. She plays hide and seek…and it adds so much laughter to our days.
9. Her imagination is exploding. You know she’s soaking up things when her Care Bears get put in time out. :)
8. She loves everyone and is always happy to give hugs.
7. She gives me the biggest smile every morning when I get her up.
6. She loves all things girly…pink, sparkles, princesses, purses. (Proud mama moment!)
5. She has the cutest poofy pigtails ever.
4. Her smile always lights up the room.
3. She’s learning to pray and has the faith of a child…as evidenced by the fact that last night she prayed for her family and friends and for the Disney Princesses. :)
2. She has the most tender, compassionate heart.
1. She says, “I love you, Mommy,” every night.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, just life, Maelie, Top 10

Coffee Thoughts

October 21, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Tonight…yeah.

A bunch of scattered thoughts.

Coffee, definitely.

And sleep, early. Hopefully. :)

Yes, I am completely aware of what an insane oxymoron those last two lines were. 😉

I was realizing that over the last two weeks, most of my posts have been somewhat shallow. I hope that those of you who read here often know that’s really not me. It’s not, I promise…and I’ll always tell you that one of the things I really can’t stand is superficial.

It’s just that sometimes it’s so hard to be deep when life feels so upside-down.

I can’t go into it tonight. Maybe I’ll share part of it later…I’m just processing a lot and waiting on God for answers. Not easy, especially when the emotional, dramatic tendencies tend to so easily take over my thoughts and days, making things often seem bigger than they are.

I beat myself up for feeling things I do and for not having answers.

That’s basically the drawn-out description of the word, Wait. (You know, that thing I do so well.) 😉

It seems like more often than not, my plans tend to not turn out just as I’ve pictured them. Really, I think we could all say that. I’m human…something I especially rock at. 😉

It’s so hard for me to give things completely to God. I want to, but in my prideful, less-than-thinking-of-others moments, I get it in my head that I can somehow do a better job.

All of those really scattered pieces to say…I’m thankful. For a God who takes me…in all of my wandering and flailing and fighting…and loves me unconditionally. What an encouragement to my heart to know that He can take something of the mess I am and make it beautiful.

And, honestly, after the last year or so, I’m expecting something pretty amazing. I love that He can do that.

More importantly, that He will.

So now that I’ve been a little less shallow… :)

Life is…life.

With a two year-old, it seems that it’s always an adventure. We are in the thick of No way! and Go away! and I find myself wondering what happened to my parenting and my daughter. Our days are filled with so many wonderful moments and memories I’ll hold forever, yet one solitary incident leading to a temper tantrum which then leads to a time-out can ruin a good part of a day.

I know she’s two. (It’s what everyone tells me.) 😉

I know she won’t always fight me when I force her to take off her princess jammies. (You know, the ones she’s worn for a consecutive twelve days.) 😉

I know we’ll both grow through these mother/daughter battles and emerge with a stronger bond.

Because I know she’s two. And I’ll blink and she’ll be sixteen.

I’ve tried to focus on the joys that make up a day. I can honestly say that each night when I sing to her and pray with her, I fall in love just a little more. The frustrations of things melt away, and my heart feels so full I think it’s going to burst.

She truly is such a big part of my JOY. :)

She also starts gymnastics this week, which we are BOTH excited about. I think she’ll love it. And hopefully she’ll quit doing somersaults off the end of the couch. 😉

I’ve been good with running this past week, and though it’s sometimes-tough to drag myself out of bed so early, I’m always glad I did it. My goal this week is 20 miles. (Gosh no, not all at once!) I’m slowly upping my distance, though, and it feels good.

Now I just need to quit making dessert.

I made this today. It’s one of my favorites, and it was so amazing. (I sent some to our dear friends across the street because I knew I’d eat it all if we kept it.)

My other downfall is this. (Which I cannot seem to find on the internet. But go look in the freezer section of your grocery store…I promise it’s there.) Thank you SO much, Cool Whip, for taking two of my very favorite things and throwing them together into one container of gooey, yummy-ness. (Hope you could sense the dripping sarcasm there…)

Cool Whip frosting…no cake required. (I can so see myself doing a commercial for them, can’t you? ;))

Well, I should head toward bed. Early morning tomorrow, and I definitely need to be up to run off all of that frosting…

Hope you all had a great weekend. 😉

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, encouragement, family, just life, Maelie, running, what I'm learning, where I am

Random on a Sick Day

October 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

We are home sick.

As in, Mae is sick, I am home. Poor, sleepless, both of us. But mostly her. She’s just miserable. :(

But rather than go on and on about that, here is the random of life from the past week or two.

Oh, come on…you know you love the way my brain jumps from subject to subject with almost no warning. 😉

This is Mae’s current favorite.

I have to admit that it is, by far, my favorite Veggie Tale so far. There are a few that rank up there, but I love the message. And who cares if it’s Christmas-themed? She can watch it all year for all I care…and I’ll be right by her side, glued to it every time. :) If you stream Netflix, it’s available. Just fyi…it’s so good.

As my husband put it, I turned into a crocheting machine. Six hats so far. I’m planning to put a few on my Etsy store to see if they sell. And I reasoned that I needed to “practice” making a few before I sell them. They’re cute…like, super. And a few of you will probably be getting a free hat with a flower because I don’t need six. 😉 (If you have any color preferences, you should get in your request now while I’m still in practice mode. ;))

This was my first try. I’m keeping it for two reasons. There are a few mistakes. 😉 And, I like it.

This one is for sale. (I think.) Any takers? 😉

Mae asked for a hat. She even picked out the colors…I think it turned out really cute. :)

And, even though she’s not feeling very well, she looks adorable in it!

My mom recently took up pottery. She’s dabbled in a few artistic arenas in her life, so it wasn’t a total shock. (But, dude, she has a potter’s wheel in the basement. And is getting a kiln…) So when I was in Iowa last week, I got to see a few of her pieces. Out of all of them, I fell in love with this one…which I stole borrowed forever to use as a coffee mug, but it could probably be a few different things. Even though she insisted it didn’t look very good, I like the uniqueness of it. (And by the way, yes, I am wearing fingerless gloves in this photo. In the house. I am COLD. And WHO thought that fingerless gloves had any purpose at all? Someone made a lot of money off of the fact that people’s fingers are going to freeze. But they are cute, aren’t they? ;))

I got to see these two amazing girls last week. Ok, so I know we’re women, but when you grow up with two people, it’s just hard to call each other women. Even though we are. :) I think there is a photo of the three of us together somewhere, but I don’t have it…so you get these two pics instead. I’m so blessed and thankful to have them in my life…we’re the kind of friends who pick up exactly where we left off before. The kind that can dress alike and go out in public, even though we’re in our 30’s. The kind that, for our night out, go to Walmart and walk around and come back to the house to eat candy corn and peanuts and gab about life until 2 a.m..and it’s the best night ever. Love them.

My girl is funny. Here she is, trying to throw leaves into my coffee. And, true to form, me being overly dramatic to stop them from landing in the mug. I smile, though. :)

Supposing that’s probably about enough random for the day…though there might be more tomorrow. Hoping Mae is on the mend. Would appreciate prayer. :)

Love you all. Thanks for stopping by…even if it’s just for the random. G’nite! :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, family, friends, just life, Maelie, random, where I am

Just a Few Words

October 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Long day.

Preceded by a night of little sleep.

This morning we crammed in three errands, a trip to the doctor for Mae, and a trip to pick up a prescription. Then we came home and kind of crashed. Well, crashed minus sleep. (Does that make any sense? ;))

My poor girlie is sick…thankfully I took her in right away and her doctor got her started on something to help. Deep cough, feeling miserable, difficulty sleeping…those things just don’t work for a toddler. It’s hard to see her like that.

If you’d say a quick prayer for Mae, that would be wonderful. :) Nights are the hardest…for the most part, during the day, you’d never know she wasn’t feeling well. (She’s kind of on a permanent bounce-o-meter…or something like that. ;)) She even played outside in the leaves with Sammy tonight. But when the cough kicks in at night, it just doesn’t seem to stop.

Tomorrow is going to be a take-it-easy, stay-at-home day…hopefully it will help.

Seeing my kiddo sick and miserable makes me so sad…praying that this doesn’t hang on too long.

I’m off to get as much sleep as I can…from the couch cushions we put on the floor of her room…there’s no other place I’d rather be tonight. 😉

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, just life, Maelie, prayer

Sometimes We Just Chat…

October 8, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I like a good chat. Especially when there’s coffee involved. :)

Sadly, I drank too much coffee this morning and really shouldn’t have more tonight. Plus, it’s been awhile since I’ve had it at night…it would probably keep me up.

Nothing too exciting to chit chat over, really.

It was a Monday minus the workout. Which means Tuesday will start with a morning run, but that’s ok. I kinda like running when the morning temp is in the 30’s and I have to wear a hat. I haven’t run for a week and have missed it a lot…it’ll be good to get back to routine. I have a race in a month, and it would be nice to post a PR. Highly unlikely, though, since it’s such a crowded race. Hopefully I at least won’t get beat by people dressed like Hershey’s Kisses…not like that’s ever happened or anything. 😉

Mae and I had a low-key day, and that’s ok…we needed it, I think. We both slept in, so it was a later start to our day. She was such a sweetie, though…we played Strawberry Shortcake dolls and watched the Veggie Tale episode that is her current obsession, and she “cooked” for me in her kitchen. Watching her personality develop is so amazing, and with her in particular, entertaining. She makes me smile so much. :)

I also love how compassionate her heart is.

On Saturday I went to a nursing home to sing with a couple friends, and I took Mae with me. She spent over an hour talking to the residents, shaking their hands, handing out necklaces. It was so much fun to see. She truly cares about people, and my heart literally melted just watching her. Even though I’ve only been a mommy for a little over two years, I’ve definitely had those thoughts of what qualities I’d like to see in my daughter and, possibly, future children. I think compassion is at the top of the list…I can think of no greater character trait for someone to possess than something that completely defined our Savior. What a blessing she is. And not just to me. :)

Hope you all had a happy Monday…g’nite!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, just life, Maelie, random, running, where I am

Aaaaahhhhh…

October 5, 2012 by · 2 Comments

So, we’ll see how long this virtual coffee date (without the coffee) lasts tonight.

For now, it just feels good to sit down.

But, Happy Friday, friends!

I saw the BEST quote on facebook the other day. Something to the effect of…

Yay! It’s Friday! Oh, wait…I’m a mom.

So stinkin’ true. Most of the time I really don’t mind that, for the most part, my days get all mashed together and the general routine of them is the same, but about a week ago…

Well, this is tough to admit. Really.

My eyes filled up with tears, and I looked at my husband when he got home from work, and I told him I wanted to walk away from my life for the night.

Just a few hours.

I couldn’t believe how completely glorious it sounded to take a book to a coffee shop, order a steaming latte, crawl into a comfy chair (and probably cover up with a blanket…yes, IN the coffee shop ;)) and disappear into another world for a couple hours.

I didn’t do it…but it was a wonderful dream. One that I plan to make a reality soon. Blanket and all. 😉

But I did get somewhat of a break earlier in the week.

Mae had some awesome grandma time in Iowa, and I?

I had two days with my best friends. You know, those girls who know every single detail about me. It was wonderful and bittersweet and memorable and sad all rolled into a short 30ish hours. One of them is going through a valley so dark that I can’t even begin to imagine.

Yet, she shines.

She inspires.

She’s one of those people who reminds me, on days when I feel that there is no hope, that there is.

HOPE.

In every circumstance, no matter what. Will you pray for her? I know she’d be so thankful.

We had some good time together, complete with the misadventure of my van briefly going kaput, and as always, our time together was way too short.

But I always leave thankful for the time we do have. :)

Mae and I made the trek back yesterday, and she really was a very good traveler. The poor girl doesn’t like to be restrained, but she managed well despite being strapped into the evil confines of her carseat…she played with her toys, dolls, books, sang, talked, ate. It was good mommy/daughter bonding time, and I’m so thankful for her. What a sweetie pie. :)

It’s a busy weekend. Our church has a big day of serving in the community tomorrow. After six hours of my own personal concert (aka: the drive home) 😉 and two music rehearsals (last night and tonight), I somehow need to find my voice for tomorrow morning and Sunday morning. Hopin’ it’s there. :)

People from our church will be doing all kinds of things for people in the community…fixing up houses, cleaning yards, collecting food, making blankets and hats, putting together care packages for soldiers and shoe boxes of Christmas gifts for kids in need.

It’s so incredible to see the body of Christ at work in such a tangible way…really looking forward to tomorrow! :)

And even though there’s probably a lot more that I could go on (and on and on) about, I should probably end this for the night. My morning starts early, and life is just easier with a full eight hours. Ya know? :)

Hope you’ve all had a good week…have a happy weekend! Love you all.

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, being mommy, blessings, church, coffee, friends, just life, Maelie, travel, where I am

MoNDaY mOrnINg CofFeE LoVE

October 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Clearly, from the title, I need a good dose of the stuff.

It’s 7:45 a.m., the girlie is still asleep, we’re almost packed for our trip, and YES.

I’m drinking coffee. :)

Mae and I are headed out to Iowa in a couple hours. (I’ll tell you more about that at the end.)

In the meantime, I am SO incredibly, super-excited that I finished packing for both of us by 9:30 last night. That, like, never happens. Of course, there are still the last-minute things, but I’m impressed with my organization/lack of procrastination. And that I’m sitting down to blog before we go! (That usually never happens before a trip, either!)

Though I did make myself get up early so I’d have time for it.

Oh, the commitment I have to this space. 😉

Ok, I’ll stop. Obviously, I should be chugging more coffee if that’s where my brain is right now. OY…

And as much as I want to go on and on this morning, I need to keep it short. Ish. I told myself we’d leave at 9, but that won’t happen. Does anyone else out there do that? I SAID 9, so we’d be out of here by 9:30. That should happen. I hope. :) Really not relishing the thought of hitting the afternoon rush in Des Moines, and I think if we leave by 9:30 and don’t make too many stops, we’ll be good. Rush hour + Mel = don’t mix.

We had a good weekend. It was Pumpkin Days at Immanuel, and of course, we took our girl. She’s been fighting a cold for a few days, so she was definitely not as crazy as she usually is, but she completely hearts bouncy houses, and she had a great time with that. She even joined some of her older friends in the “big kids” bouncy house with the slide. Tobin and I were amazed that she could climb up to the slide in there. Sigh…my girl is growing up way TOO fast! We’re glad she had such a good time, though.

In just a few, Maelie and I will be heading to Iowa for a few days. The purpose of part of the trip is so she can have grandma/grandpa time. :) We’ll spend the night there, and tomorrow morning I’ll leave her in Creston and head back to Des Moines for a couple days to see my two best friends. Hence, the other purpose…to help one of them pack to move back to Creston. She and her six sweet kiddos will be moving in just a few weeks. I’m sad for them…they’ve had such a hard year. Though the details don’t belong on the blog, please keep them in your prayers. :)

It will be fun to have a change of pace from my normal, though I’m sure I will miss my girl like crazy! I’m looking forward to reconnecting with them and just being the three stooges that we used to be. We really are a riot when we get together. :)

Along with that, I’ll be taking a hiatus from the blog for a few days. Even if I can carve out the time to write, I’m not going to. I know it will all be here when I get back on Thursday night! 😉

So, in the meantime, prayers are appreciated since, as most of you know, I completely love driving long distances by myself. (Well, with a toddler.) Please pray for safety and good mommy/daughter bonding time. We have lots of fun music, snacks, toys…hopefully it will be a good six/seven hours. :)

So, happy Monday and happy week, friends! Back soon. :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, friends, Indonesia, just life, Maelie, prayer

Five-Minute Friday: Grasp

September 28, 2012 by · 7 Comments

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Grasp

I watch each step as her grown-up-much-too quickly toddler legs carry her faster than I could have imagined even a few months ago.

She’ll explore. Climb. Jump. (Jumping is her trademark.)

Eventually she always discovers the tallest slide…you know, the one that gives this momma’s heart a near attack each time she climbs toward the top. She’ll hang out on the platform near it, hover over openings that this Mama Bear thinks should never even be there…and sometimes she’ll go down the slide. Other times, she’ll climb right back down.

The truth is that going to the playground is more stress for me than anything.

I constantly wonder when it will be that she’ll take a nosedive or a freefall, totally-on-purpose jump.

And then…I remind myself.

That she’s two. Growing, changing, discovering, learning…just as she should.

And though it’s tempting sometimes to hold on so tightly that she’ll never leave my arms, I know that’s not my calling.

I have to give her that space to Grow. Change. Discover. Learn.

A little at a time, I have to release my grasp.

And watch her fly.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, Five Minute Friday, Maelie, where I am
«Previous Page
Next Page»