paheoa;nfand;ajfdlmsa;w;lmvos

July 16, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

So, I let Maelie type the title of my post today.

~~ –>

No, not

really…although her new favorite activity is smacking her hand onto the keyboard if she can get to it while I’m working. I choose to lo ok

on the bright side and recognize the genius in my daughter…at a mere 13 months, she is already typing!

Wowsers. 😉

Today was just a day of blessings.

Some of you know this…we’ve been without a working shower for a few weeks now. Thankfully we lived in Indonesia and, on several occasions, had used a mandi, or bucket shower, so that’s what we’ ve been doing for the last month or so.

The problem with that is I never feel completely clean, especially since I really sweat when I work out.

We really tried not to complain, though, and for the most part did ok.

It was getting to be more than a sane person can handle, though.

So today was the day the shower got fixed.

(Insert HUGE HALLELUJAH! here.)

I don’t underst and the ins

and outs of what goes into replacing a shower valve, but I watched off and on throughout the day, and it looked far more complicated than I would have imagined.

(And also involved cutting part of Maelie’s wall out.) I am so thankful for an amazing friend who gave up most of his day to help us…

AND…

We both took showers late this afternoon. To try to explain how wonderful it was to have a working shower, water pressure, and hot water that doesn’t leak is something that, right now, cannot be described in words.

Maybe it’s silly to be overly thankful for a working shower…or maybe not.

All I know is that today was another reminder of how blessed we are.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life

Little Blessings (Pt. 2)

July 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Lately I’m j ust

really trying to focus on blessings. And there are tons of them… big and small!

:) A really wonderful day with my girl.

:) Having electricity when A LOT of people around us don’t. AND the fact that we didn’t lose any trees in yesterday’s crazy…um…”storm”?

:) The last big step toward buying our house was completed today!!! Closing should be soon.

YAY!

:) Coffee and a walk to the park with my girl and a good friend.

:) Much-needed friend time and a good chat during the above outing.

:) A hubby who’s going to hang white Christmas lights on our back porch. YAY again! (I always knew he was cool…)

:) A gift from Indonesia that arrived in the mail and is hanging on our back porch.

I will post a picture sometime.

:)

:) A free load of firewood.

:) Finding eyeliner that actually lasts all day.

(Even when I cry. When I cry. Miracles do happen.

;))

:) Time to strum my guitar and sing a few songs.

:) Workouts that make me sweat and stink and feel accomplished.

(And force me to do laundry to kill the stench. ;))

:) Diet Cherry Dr.

Pepper.

:) Reading Don’t Let Me Go, a gift I bought for my hubby last year for Father’s Day. It’s inspiring.

:) Watching my daughter get closer and closer to walking…and being so grateful for her life and the blessing she is to us.

:) Sparkly flip flops.

:) Hugs.

:) Looking forward to a trip we’re gonna take soon.

I could keep going, but there should be a Part 3 soon. Happy Tuesday, y’all!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life

Little Blessings

July 9, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Today was full of them.

:) Blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

:) A late birthday gift for Mae that came in the mail.

It really made me smile.

:) A short but sweet visit from Tobin’s cousin and his wife…which included lunch at my favorite place.

So good to see them and chat for a bit.

:) Another late birthday gift for Mae and the cutest v ase ever

as a housewarming gift for us.

Thinkin’ we need to go buy some flowers soon.

:) Going to Immanuel’s Summer Youth Theater production of Alice in Wonderland with a friend. It was a really good show, and it made me smile again.

:) A napless wonder of a daughter who was so happy to see me when I came upstairs to rescue her from her crib. That smile melts my heart every single time.

:) Watching Mae take three steps while holding on to her push toy.

So, so close!

Any day now!

:) Managing to come up with something for dinner without going out to get anything.

:) A daughter who loves Little House on the Prairie as much

as I do. (Yeah, I’m addicted.)

:) Frisbee tossing with my man.

:) Letting my heart hurt over things…and being able to give them to God.

:) Feeling blessed with where we are in life. It’s good. So is He.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, random

UNchange

July 6, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

My heart’s been going through a lot lately, some of which I can’ t even effec

tively describe.

It’s not like it’s drama…it’s not really even a big deal. It’s not sad, it’s not stressful, it just is.

Oh, I don’t know

what it is.

Maybe…silly? Anyway, it’s something I don’t really expect most people to understand, but I’ll talk about it anyway ’cause it’ s my blog.

:)

A lot of it has to do with a lack of change,

something my hubby and I chatted about last night.

A lack of change.

Dude, Mel, do you realize how much change you’ve gone through in the last yea

r?

Yeah, I know.

In our married life, Tobin have been the picture of what a constantly changing life looks like.

Year #1…he got laid off, job search, job switch for me. Oh, yeah, we were getting used to being married, too. 😉

Year #2…new job for him, new job for me.

Year #3…two jobs for him, another new one for me, selling everything, moving to Indo.

Years #4-8…Indo, which was full of constant change.

Year #9…EVERYTHING changed.

And now we’re going into Year #10. And other than buying a house, nothing’s changing.

It is the strangest, most unimaginable thing for us to consider committing

to one place for a long time. (I guess we’re past considering…it’s reality. :))

It’s kind of freaky to me when I consider settling down for good.

Don’t get me wrong…this is something we’ve dreamed of and hoped for…and are excited for.

But it feels like such a huge commitment.

Is it normal for someone to feel that way?

It’s something so strange that I almost can’t talk about it because I don’t want people to think I’m weird.

I guess for us…the fact that life is NOT changing? Is our change.

See if you can wrap your mind around that one.

:)

Please pray for us as we finish up the last things toward purchasing our house. Financing is figured out (Praise God!) so now we’re just waiting on all of the papers for closing to be finished, then we’ll sign them and finally be homeowners! Exciting stuff ahead…even if it’s not really change.

So many blessings to count. He is so Good.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, where I am

Spaghetti Face Steals the Saturday-Blog-Post Show

July 2, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Ok…so it has been a good week, mostly.

Lots of good stuff…my hubby had a birthday, some good friend time, excursions for me and Mae, laughs and memories, and…of course, the house.

THE HOUSE!

Can ya tell I’m still excited about that one?!

Thought so.

For the most part, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, too.

I love an upper 70’s/lower 80’s day. That is just perfection in my mind. Today was a little too hot, but it gave me a taste of my Indo weather, so who am I to complain?

Today ended up being a pretty good day even if it started off rough. (And early.)

I woke up with a killer headache around 6:15. The kind that you go to bed with the night before, hoping and praying that you can sleep it off, but it only gets worse.

That kind. It was so bad that even though Maelie was up, I followed my husband’s orders, took five Ibuprofin (I NEVER take more than three…), and crawled back into bed.

An hour later? Headache gone. Thank You, God!

We kind of took our time getting ready for the day.

We took Maelie for a walk, brought her home and let her swim in her sandbox (yeah, yeah, yeah…but how many one year olds do YOU know who know how to properly play with sand?!), and then we headed down to the Farmer’s Market in East Dundee. It was hot. And we walked around for about 30 minutes before giving up, grabbing some lunch, and heading home.

Maelie took a nap for over two hours and so did mommy and daddy. Once we were all awake, we played outside, swam some more, and a friend brought us a couple tomato plants so Mel can attempt to actually grow something in her yard/keep something alive. Wish me luck!

Then we went out for dinner to The Village, a place that friends had recommended.

We tried the double decker pizza, and it was good, but I was so stuffed when we left that it was painful.

We made a quick s top after dinner and then came home and some more good friend time before Mae headed

to bed.

But was MY day over

? Heck no…I went to Target, grocery shopping, and now…at 10:30 p.m., I am blogging. :)

You know, when I read over everything we did today, I actually feel a teeny, tiny bit accomplished.

(Oh, and I did laundry in there, too…so there’s some more accomplishment.)

Really, it was a great day. I love days when we just are. We h ang out

as a family, kind of take things as they come, and make memories.

Oh, and here is a memory…even if it’ s from la

st night.

At supper we let Mae eat spaghetti on her own for the first time.

This is what she looked like!!!!

We had a good time laughing with her, and I am SO glad we’ve got pictures to document this. Oh, she will so love us when we pull out this photo when she brings her boyfriend home to meet us someday.

:)

Thank you, God, for memories, laughs, fun, friends…and family.

We are so blessed.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, Maelie, random

Marshmallow Musings…and Some Other Stuff, Too

June 30, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Ok, so tonight is a first.

I’m blogging outside by the firepit.

Just cause I can. :)

I’m not drinking coffee or Diet Pepsi tonight, even though it’s Thursday. If I had something in my hand, it would probably just be water anyway because I haven’t had enough today.

I’m not going to be able to stay out very long, though, because I forgot to plug in my computer and I have exactly 17 minutes of battery left. Bummer.

Oh, well. I can get a good start, at least.

So the title of this post is a little odd, but there is some truth to it.

The other night, Tobin and I were roasting marshmallows on these cute little roasting sticks he bought for me in the dollar section at Target. :) Really, they’re pretty cool.

Anyway, each time, we would put two marshmallows on, roast them (he is more patient and likes them brown; I stick them straight into the flame and burn ’em good…mmmm), and then stuff the gooey, melty, sugary, yumminess into our mouths in one huge bite.

That’s when I kinda had an Aha! moment.

What if we just roasted ONE marshmallow each time? We’d still get the gooey, melty, sugary, yummy bite…it just wouldn’t be quite as big.

Deep, I know.

But it would

? Save half the calories.

I’ll take it.

And then tonight I roasted a few more and found myself thinking about how cool marshmallows are. I mean, after I’ve eaten that amazing, gooey concoction…there is still marshmallow cream left on the stick!

I amaze myself. (And probably annoy you…haha!)

So eventually I’ll move on to another topic.

I mean, really, we can only converse about marshmallows so long.

But FYI…I don’t like S’mores. I’m weird, I know.

I got my hair colored tonight.

That’s a really good thing because I couldn’t believe how much gray was popping through. Seriously, I am not quite 33…how on earth did I go gray already

? I was going back and forth on whether to cut it or not…I’ve kinda been in growing-out mode since January with a couple chops in between.

I almost had her cut it off again.

Then I decided to be brave and NOT do that.

She did thin it out, though, which my hair needs, oh, every five minutes. Yeah, I’m blessed with gray AND with super thick hair. I like what she did to it…she diffused it and we loaded on the product…and it’s actually pretty cute. Kind of one of those hair days you want to freeze and have every day because you know you won’t have it again anytime soon. :)

Why is it that no matter what kind of hair we (as in women) have, we’re never satisfied? At least I’m not.

Since I will be perfect in Heaven, I REALLY can’t wait to see what my hair looks like there! 😉

It’s been a pretty rough week with Maelie. Nothing that’s her fault…I think she’s still getting over the roseola or at least the effects of the fever/rash. Poor little girl. Yesterday was especially rough; today was not too bad, but she didn’t nap much. I think one of the hardest things as a mom is to know that my girl isn’t feeling well…and I can’t do anything about it.

I’ve had so many frustrating moments with her this week, but a lot of those come from the fact that I just can’t do anything.

And I need to make sure I don’t direct that frustration at her because that’s not right.

Oh, the things I keep learning. Remind me to give myself some grace. Ok?

And a friend gently reminded me today to focus on the good moments in between the bad…and Mae and I definitely had a few sweet moments today. Like when she sat and cuddled on my lap for several minutes at the park or when she woke up from her nap in a wonderful mood and we spent over half an hour outside together swinging and going for a walk….and there were lots of smiles and laughs then.

I love my girl so much. And I’m thankful for her unconditional love

for me on the days I totally blow it as a mom.

I am so thankful for God’s grace and His mercies that are new every morning. (Cause I need ’em!)

So eventually in this conversation, the house will come up because it always does.

And this time?

I’ll tell you about the fantastic birthday gift my husband got on Tuesday…a phone call saying that we got the house.

We got the house!!!!!

(Should it be in bold?)

We got the house!!!!!

We’re still figuring out a couple small details but as of now, we’ll be closing on it by August 1st.

To say I feel blessed is a huge understatement.

Right now, I’m just so thankful for my Father Who hears what my heart desires…and cares.

Pretty sure I can’t top that one, so I’ll end this for tonight.

Thank you to each of you who prayed for us while we waited.

And tried to trust.

He is SO Good.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, hair, what I'm learning

He is Good

June 27, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Sometimes it’s the little things in life that remind us how much God cares…

Like sunshine on a day that was supposed to be rainy and cloudy.

A good morning workout that left me feeling energized instead of completely exhausted.

Listening to a kids’ CD in the car with my daughter “singing” along…and realizing the truths spoken in those songs are His promises.

Lunch with a friend and a chance to catch up a little.

The ability to get through a daughter’s shots and only tear up instead of turning into a full-blown mess.

Hearing that a friend struggling to get pregnant is now over 20 weeks! (Ok, that one’s not small at all!)

Dropping another two pounds this week thanks to my pal, Jillian, and her kick-butt workouts.

And another good workout with friends tonight.

(I am really not as obsessed as I sound right now…)

A late night date with my hubby. We roasted marshmallows and spent some time together. Just us. It was nice.

Laughter.

Friends.

Love.

And today…

Going into World Market and finding sambal and Kopiko…two of the things I have missed most from Indonesia.

Kopiko, one of my favorite Indonesian candies.

Yeah, the corner is ripped.

I didn’t even make it out of the parking lot before I tore into the bag…

Sambal: Chili sauce. Or in this case, crushed chilis.

I haven’t tried it with rice yet, I just dipped my finger in the jar. But it passed the test.

:)

A small piece of one

of my homes.

He is Good.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, Indonesia

Things I Do When I Don’t Feel Like Blogging

June 21, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life

Thursday Diet Cherry Pepsi…and a Chat, Too

June 16, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Yeah, that’s the new beverage of choice. It’s good! Although I did have one LARGE coffee this morning, so had our conversation taken place then, it would have been a regular old coffee date. :)

It’s been a busy, good week.

It’s VBS week, which I think I’ve mentioned once or twice. 😉 I’ve gotten to spend my mornings leading games for 2nd-4th graders, which is pretty fun most of the time.

(Today there were some listening issues, so it’s not fair for me to share my opinion based JUST on today.) Overall, the kids are really good kids, and I love the fact that they are willing to participate in just about anything and have a good time. And in the past, I’ve never loved the VBS songs, but the ones from this program are good. (And stuck in my head…so praise God they’re good songs!) Maelie has spent her mornings in the nursery with some of her friends, and I love that she already has some buddies and also that she has some pretty awesome people taking care of her. It’s been such a good week, and a tiny part of me is sad that it’s over tomorrow.

In addition to Maelie having happy VBS mornings, she’s just had a happy week. We’ve had some fun walks and lots of play time in her new sandbox (without the sand right now :)) She’s been breaking in some of her new toys, which she got at her birthday party Sunday night.

We had lots of friends and neighbors over and just had the best time.

What a blessing they all are to us!

And this chat would not be complete without me sharing the holy fit that Maelie threw today outside…because I wouldn’t let her eat rocks. Really, child, do I starve you THAT much?! She was so loud that I took her inside…but after that, she got over it. (And found some new blocks to chew on instead.) So, really, it was all good.

Yesterday I did something I hadn’ t done since I go

t back

to the States.

I went into a gas station to get a fountain drink…and about went into culture shock mode all over again.

Dude…I’ve never seen so many drink choices at my disposal. And 44 oz. for $.89?! I sorta went crazy and added a couple random flavors to my Diet Pepsi. It was a little strong, but thankfully it still tasted good. It would have been sad if I’d wrecked that drink, my first gas station fountain drink since returning to America.

Thornton’s, I shall be visiting you much more often! Thank you for your existence.

Speaking of things I haven’t done for awhile…playing volleyball?! Yeah, that’s one of them. Tomorrow night/Saturday morning, Tobin and I are playing in a volleyball tournament with some friends. I really, really hope I don’ t comple

tely embarrass myself. (Or hurt myself, which, really, is far more likely.) Joel & Sarah, Jonny & Kris, Tobin…I’m apologizing in advance. Just sayin’.

Tonight I took a shower, and the hot water was being stupid. (That’s been goin’ on a few weeks here now.) Well, I got impatient and decided to just take my shower cold.

Um….BRRRRRR? I had flashbacks to cold mornings in Indonesia when we couldn’t get the hot water heater to light and were forced to take cold showers.

I need to continually remind myself to be thankful for the little things…like hot water.

My big brother turned 40 today!

4-0. Crazy. (By the way, that does not make me old; it means there’s a big age gap.)

And…deep breath. I think that’s all. I’m sorta ready to get a good night’s sleep. One more day of VBS…followed by some weekend craziness.

I love my life.

And I love you all.

Thanks for reading. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, culture shock, family, friends, just life, Maelie

Dear Daughter,

June 14, 2011 by · 2 Comments

14 June 2011

My sweet Maelie,

Today you turned one year old.

It was a day full of laughter and love and memories.

As any special day goes, it seemed too short, and now I sit here on the couch as you sleep peacefully upstairs, wondering where the days have gone.

How can you be one already

?

The day you were born was the best day of my life.

They brought you over to me, and…you were everything I’d ever dreamed of and so much more. I remember how tiny and perfect you felt in my arms and how you snuggled up to me immediately.

I fell overwhelmingly and completely in love.

And somehow that day, exactly one year ago, feels like it was just minutes ago. Time has truly flown.

In between then and now there

were milestones, memories, pictures…all things that will remind us of the days that have passed.

But I have to admit to you that it’s bittersweet to realize that you are no longer a baby but a little girl.

And though I miss those cuddles and close moments, I absolutely adore the little girl you are becoming.

You amaze me each day when you discover something new, laugh at something (or nothing!), give love to those around you, and light up the room simply be being there.

You are truly special, a cherished gift from God.

There are so many things that your daddy and I dream for you, but we know that in the end, your dreams belong to you. The one thing we desire more than anything, though, is that you grow up to love God and serve Him with your life, however and wherever that may be. We pray every day that you will do just that.

And we will continue to pray that every day of your life.

In another short year, I’ll be writing you again, amazed by the fact that yet another year has flown by. I know that there will be more milestones and memories, but at this moment I want to savor here and now.

My sweet girl, you have added so much joy to our lives, and we are so very thankful for you.

Happy 1st Birthday!

I’ll love you forever!
Mommy

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, Maelie, remembering
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