Living Life

April 11, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

When I look at my daughter, I just…

Smile. Really. Big.

She is SO…Mae. Just crazy, lovable, full-of-spunk-and-life, soaking-up-the-simple-but-lovely, WONDERFUL Mae.

I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that God gave us the sweetheart He did because He knew exactly what our family needed. She is more than a beam of sunshine…she IS the sunshine!

And living life with her is all kinds of complete JOY. From the morning greetings through the monitor that announce to the household that she is, indeed, awake and ready to greet the day…to adventures on slides at the park…to splish-splash baths in the middle of the day thanks to an unexpected mac ‘n cheese shampoo…to the nighttime cuddles when closeness is all either of us want.

Oh, I love her so much. SO. MUCH.

Here are some pictures…just life. Living it with people we love.

Oh, what beauty this life is.

The proper way to push a stroller…wearing daddy’s work gloves, of course!

One of her very, very favorite activities! “Ride, ride, ride!”

Stopping to smell the flowers.

Of course, no outing is complete without a stop to visit our favorite friends across the street and their sweet doggie, “Sissy”.

Holding hands while we cross the street…actually, looking back to say one more goodbye to our friends!

Time for a quick picture with mommy at the Easter egg hunt. Too fun! :)

A visit from Aunt Kris after church on Easter. (Maybe we should have taken the picture before we let her eat crackers!) Ooops! Oh, well, I still love her smile…she looks too grown up. 😉

To say she loves “swimming” is an understatement. I can hardly wait to see her joy when she sees what’s going to show up in her backyard this summer! 😉

Good times!

And, of course, swimming is never complete until we splash mommy really, really good! So fun. :)

And even if I did post this a few days ago, it’s worthy of a repeat ’cause I think we’re adorable. Yep. I do. 😀

Sig

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

Ramblings

March 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Just a few thoughts…that are really not connected at all, just not worthy of a whole blog post on their own. 😉

I spent more time today in my pajamas than in jeans. That almost never happens…and it was nice. But wanna know a secret? Sometimes I wish I was that woman who can go to Super Target on a Saturday morning and walk the aisles in her sweats, while sipping a Starbucks and looking disgustingly cute. I, um, think that’s maybe not me. But I’m secretly jealous of people who can pull off that look in public.

Last night we had friends over for dinner, and they stayed to look at pics from our trip. They are really nice friends. 😉 (Gosh, that reminds me I need to post Morocco soon…tomorrow.) We grilled out for, like, the 6th time this month, and my husband seriously outdid himself. I don’t know why the burgers and chicken were so good, but they were. SO. GOOD.

Anyway, I woke up this morning wanting a burger with pineapple and provolone…and BEFORE you scoff, you need to try it. It’s my favorite. :) I promised myself that if I did three miles of sprints, I could come home and eat one for breakfast.

I seriously hate sprints and only do them on Saturdays.

AND I thought about that burger the whole time.

And when I got home, I ate it before I even took a shower. HA.

😉

So my daughter seems to be changing her sleeping habits, which is not so wonderful. Yesterday she napped for a whopping 30 minutes and then stayed up until 10:30 pm…yes, you read that right. She slept this morning til 8 am, took a 2-3 hour nap, and now, at almost 10 pm, is showing zero signs of being tired.

Ugh…I’m afraid we may need to start phasing out the nap in order to get her to sleep at night.

I’m not sure I’m ready for this at all.

So I signed up for this.

The whole idea is that the group of women who write this blog (which has a HUGE following) are hosting a worldwide conference with “meetup” spots all over the place. Then each of the groups can watch the conference, which will be broadcast online. When I signed up, I figured…this is the Chicago area; there will be at least one meeting close to me.

Um, nope. The closest one is over an hour away. Bummer.

So I’m debating what to do. I can watch it at my house, but the whole idea of it is community. So do I make the drive to meet up with a few people and make some new friends or do I just chill in my pj’s and invite a friend or two to join me for the morning?

Still thinking on it. :)

And speaking of still thinking…I’m thinkin’ it’s time for bed.

This could be history, folks…I think I’ll be asleep before my daughter tonight. Oy…

Hope you’re all having a fantastic weekend!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, friends, just life, Maelie, running, where I am, writing

A Friday Photo

March 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

You’ll never guess who Maelie loves. 😉

A sweet friend gave her this today, and to say that it made her week is an understatement. We are pretty blessed. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, just life, Maelie

Little Blessings (Pt. 29)

March 27, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) Mae’s new favorite word. “Ok.” She has suddenly turned into a much more agreeable child.

:) Reading in the late afternoon sunshine.

:) Coffee, scones, and an hour with a dear friend.

:) Thirty minutes spent strolling the aisles of Target. Alone.

:) Gorgeous weather and grilling brats. Is it really March?!?!

:) The reminder of new life that spring brings.

:) Singing lullabies to my daughter while she snuggles close. I want to freeze time.

:) Perfect early-morning running weather.

:) A pretty important goal (to me) reached.

:) Hope…and my Father, in Whom I find it.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, friends, just life, where I am

It’s Late? Let’s Talk About Stuff.

March 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Yeah, it’s totally late.

And I’m drinking more of that coffee…

I really need to stop with the caffeine at night.

Tonight was my weekly workout with my awesome girlfriends.

It. Is. Tough. Seriously tough.

Our fearless leader knows her stuff…and knows how to make us sweat. We start off our workout with twelve minutes of stairs, alternating one at a time, then two. It’s crazy and always the worst part of the night, for me at least. :) Then we spend the next hour doing weights and (evil) lunges 😉 and more cardio and sometimes some yoga.

I’m pretty sure I burn an entire day’s worth of calories.

But it’s so, so good.

I’m not sure if I love the actual working out part, but I love the group of women who are there. It’s just a good time. So Monday nights are one of the highlights of my week.

But they are also pretty late nights because I almost never blog before I go. As my wonderful husband pointed out to me, as I was sitting down at the computer at 10:30 pm…”Um, honey, you don’t have to blog.”

I know that. But I want to. :)

So Mae and I have a wide open week, mostly. It’s spring break for Immanuel, Bible study is cancelled, and several friends are gone. We chilled today and are having coffee with a friend tomorrow morning, but other than that we are free and hoping that the week will somehow fill up a bit. If the weather warms up we’ll probably go to a couple different parks. Maybe grab a Starbucks. Take walks.

Sounds fun. :)

Really random, but Saved by the Bell is on Netflix now. Oh my, what flashback fun. I am not letting myself waste my brain on it too often, but an episode before I go to bed is not a wasted 22 minutes. Good, good times. Now, if only Full House would join the Netflix party…my other favorite from my preteen years.

What happened to TV? Really. (That could be a whole blog post in itself…hmmmm.) 😉

On to more random…I’m turning into a reading junkie. There are so many freebies out there for my Kindle, and a lot of them have actual substance. I stumbled onto this one that is such a cute read…I wish I’d had it when I taught 4th grade…it would have made such a fun read-aloud. (Though, for that one, I paid a whopping $.99…but there are lots of good free ones out there, too.)

Oh, I love books.

There aren’t enough hours in my day to read everything I want to. Sigh.

Well, my coffee mug is empty and I’m watching the clock turn later and later…so I should find my pillow.

G’nite, friends. 😉

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, friends, just life, reading

Coffee in a Packet + Friend Chats + Painting = JOY

March 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

So we’re coffee datin’ it tonight, even though it’s kinda late.

And I’m drinkin’ this.

Some would argue that it’s quality coffee. Or that it’s even actual coffee.

However, I brought a box home with me from Spain.

I like it.

And it reminds me of Indonesia ’cause I drank something similar there all the time. Except that was this. You can’t get it anywhere in this hemisphere, I’m pretty sure. And I miss it.

Since today was not exactly my favorite day ever, for reasons that don’t need to be discussed, it’s good that I’m drinking coffee that came out of a little packet. It kinda cheers me up.

A little.

It has that same, slightly-burnt-coffee taste that is strangely comforting and reminds me of my sweet 4th grade class who would always ask me what flavor I was drinking that day. And it’s only a little ick, mostly good.

Tonight, I’ll take it.

:)

So I’ll just say up front that five hours of sleep when emotions are running high is not a wonderful combination. I really had to search for the JOY in my day today.

What I love is that He always gives it, somehow.

And, thankfully I’ve been blessed with this girl who doesn’t understand what it is to actually have a bad day, though she’s definitely had a few. She just doesn’t get it yet. :) She, most of the time, runs around with a huge smile on her face, spreading sunshine everywhere she goes.

It’s really, really hard to be in a bad mood around that. :)

After church and lunch today, my girl and I took a walk down the street and then ended up at the house across the street, the one I swear she thinks is her second home. 😉 I got a chance to talk to my dear friend for a bit while Mae climbed up and down and up and down and up and down the front steps.

Then it was home for her so she could take the dreaded NAP. She protests it loudly each and every day. It doesn’t change anything.

While she napped, I decided to finally get going on a painting for her room that I’ve had in my head for over a year. I didn’t think I’d actually finish it today, but I did.

I’m happy with how it turned out, even if there were a few little mistakes…that I mostly fixed. 😉 Keep in mind that…1) I’m not technically an artist though I do occasionally paint; 2) lettering is not my gift; and 3) I still don’t love the colors…I wish I had added orange.

Next time. :)

Mae clearly liked it, though…in fact, she wanted to play with it until we finally hung it up on her wall…where she couldn’t reach it! 😉

It was a good ending to a not-so-good day…and things are looking up, I think. :)

The coffee from a packet is definitely helping. :)

Happy end-of-the-weekend, my friends.

Love you.

Sig

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

Little Blessings (Pt. 28)

March 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) The funny things my daughter does…like pushing the capo for my guitar around in her stroller, yelling, “Capo! Capo!” (her newest word) Hilarious.

:) Wrecking dinner and being blessed with a hubby and daughter who will eat it anyway.

:) Computers that are still under warranty. Oy…

:) An awesome hubby who took Mae over his lunch break so I could go to my sweet friend’s organ recital. And actually sit there and soak it all in. ‘Twas wonderful…the recital AND the fact that I got to just sit for 45 minutes. 😉

:) Nine straight days of flip-flop weather. In March. Yes, please.

:) Walks with friends in the sunshine.

:) My Thursday morning Bible study…I love those women.

:) Something kinda cool that happened this week…I’ll tell you all about it in the next few weeks. But it made me smile really BIG.

:) Wagon rides and walks and playing in the backyard and sliding and trips to the park…with my girl. We have such a good time together.

:) Reminders from my Father this week. It is SO. GOOD. to be loved by Him.

Sig

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

Currently…

March 17, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Borrowed this from a fellow blogger.

In an effort to not think too hard…it is the weekend, after all. 😉

Enjoy. :)

Current Books: Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider…reading it slowly to digest it and actually apply it to life. Beginning a new Bible study book, Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram…looking forward to it. Just finished a Karen Kingsbury on the plane, Leaving. Problem is I scored that one super cheap…the other three in the series roll in at a whopping $10 each. I’ll be borrowing those from the library. But definitely a good read.

Current Playlist: No particular artists but lately lovin’ anyone who’s “redone” a hymn, like the one I posted a few weeks ago. Also have a playlist for running that I listen to. When I run. 😉 The rest of the playlist is whatever I’m singin’ at the time. Works for me. :)

Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Does The Bachelor count? I didn’t watch the whole season, just here or there, but my interest was definitely piqued with the finale. I truly don’t know what Ben was thinking…or that he was thinking…but I wish love for him and Courtney. Truly.

Current Colors: Always a fan of green. Really liking it with brown and cream right now, too.

Current Fetish: Flip flops. Always. Especially when the weather is summer in March. Score.

Current Food: Um…don’t laugh. String Cheese. Craved it the whole time we were gone. Something about a good shot of protein with just a few calories.

Current Drink: Two. Of course. Coffee…with whatever creamer I have in my fridge. :) And lately, liking Cherry Coke Zero. Both much better with a dear friend and a heart-spilling chat.

Current Favorite Favorite: Music. Love it all. (Well, mostly.) I sang through my whole run this morning. Not sure how I sounded, but the world…was just brighter this morning. Waved at a few drivers I recognized, belted out All I Need (Bethany Dillon), and soaked in the moments of the sun on my face. Music.

Current Wishlist: I don’t really have a list of wants other than shorts that fit ;). If I could wish for something, it would be that balance in life came more easily. I’m trying…and jet lag has helped with it the last few mornings. I’ve woken up so early and had so much time to accomplish things before the daily grind of life began. Morning coffee, Bible reading, laundry, blogging, running…have all happened before I needed to get Mae up for the day. Maybe I’m wishing that this trend can continue. I think it could be very, very good. Oh, and maybe I’ll wish that my book will get published this year…well, once I finish it. 😉

Current Needs: New black flip flops. Whether those are actually a need…it doesn’t really matter, probably.

Current Triumphs: How does one answer this without bragging? Or at least sounding like it. Being a pound away from my goal weight is definitely a triumph…and the fact that I decided weeks ago not to obsess over a number on the scale anymore.

Current Bane-of-my-Existence: I’m not, in general, particularly annoyed with anything right now. I really try to look on the sunny side of the street…and walk there ’cause it’s much warmer, too!

Current Celebrity Crush: Totally my hubby. He’s famous to me. :)

Current Indulgence: Today I finished round 2 of the Biggest Loser competition with my friends at church. And I am eating a big chocolate chip cookie sometime today to celebrate. And maybe some pizza, too!

Current Mood: JOYful. Allowing the JOY to seep into every moment…because life is good even when things are hard. I am blessed, I am loved, I am His…and that’s enough.

Current #1 Blessing: Family, friends…and the JOY they add to life.

Current Slang or Saying: Golly, Miss Molly… (to Mae); Oy… Aduh… (that one never changes)

Current Outfit: Brown cargo shorts, purple tank top, flip flops with rhinestones that are, sadly, falling apart.

Current Link: Um, I don’t know? I really, really like these shoes. I could add them to my wishlist, maybe. 😉 You can find them here.

Current Quote: I spent some time reading in Romans this morning when I got home from my run…the sun was shining, there was coffee made, and I couldn’t NOT sit on the front porch and soak it all in. Chapter 8 was particularly meaningful today, though no one verse stands out. But I also spent my Valentine’s Amazon money (finally) and bought the devotional, Jesus Calling, for my Kindle. And today’s thoughts were exactly what I needed to read. This stood out:

“Rejoice in the One who understands you completely and loves you perfectly. As I fill you with My Love, you become a reservoir of love, overflowing into the lives of other people.”

Wow…I want that to be me.

Current Photo: Um, bread, anyone?!?! (Sorry, I had to talk about it one more time!!!) 😉

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, family, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin, where I am

Little Blessings (Pt. 26)

March 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) Um…vacation time?! YaHOO!!!!!!!!!

:) Amazing friends who love our daughter and are willing to take her for us while we’re gone.

:) Flu shots that work.

:) Sunshine and sweater weather.

:) Unconditional doggy-love.

:) My sweet daughter and memorable moments involving door-closing, couch-jumping, and plunger-stealing. I so love her.

:) Surfing! I. Can’t. Wait.

:) A quick morning coffee and chat with my dear friend.

:) Free wi-fi so I can still (somewhat) update the blog while we’re gone.

:) Adventures with my best friend.

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin, travel

The Caffeine is Flowing…

March 5, 2012 by · 4 Comments

It’s Monday morning, and my humongo mug is full of caffeinated brew.

So. Good.

I am packed…as packed as I can be until tomorrow when I throw the last few bits into my suitcase, zip it up…and that’s that. Maelie is packed, too…though I am sure we’ve forgotten a thing or two. It’ll be ok, though.

I clearly have learned a few things from the multiple trips for which I have packed in five minutes.

Paperwork is done for the girl. While we don’t want to think of anything happening (to her OR us) while we’re gone, we have to be prepared. Just in case. Ugh…kinda makes my stomach twist. Thankfully, we have been blessed, over-and-above-times-a-million, with amazing friends who love our daughter and have our complete trust.

She’s gonna have a good time. :)

And so are we.

So I haven’t really talked about the trip much ’cause I didn’t want to make you all jealous ’cause I haven’t taken much time to actually think about it.

We leave O’Hare tomorrow afternoon and fly into Malaga, Spain, where we’ll take the bus to Marbella, a coastal city about 45 minutes from the airport. I chose it because it’s on the coast and decently near ports to travel to Morocco. When we did a little research, we discovered that Marbella seems to be how we travel.

Beach. Coffee. Surfing. Sun. Making friends. More beach. Definitely more coffee.

And I really can’t wait to surf again. I hope I don’t kill myself. 😉

We’ll check out Marbella on Thursday and then take the ferry to Tangier, Morocco Friday-Saturday. This is my dream. I have always wanted to go to Morocco. I don’t know why…except other cultures fascinate me, and I have a few friends who have been there and loved it. Enough for me. And a big thank you to my hubby for obliging. I know Morocco doesn’t excite him nearly as much.

And we are both definitely looking forward to the food there.

We’ll hop back to Marbella Saturday night and stay til Tuesday morning, when we fly here for a quick 22 hours and 50 minutes. 😉 We hadn’t planned on it originally, but the stopover was free and the opportunity to kiss under the Eiffel Tower was too much to pass up.

Oh, and a random confession…I kinda hope it rains a little while we’re there.

Kissing under the Eiffel Tower in the rain?

Right out of a movie.

(Hey, I can hope.) 😉

We’re so thankful for frequent flier miles so we can do this…it seems like a dream.

So, trip aside, it’s been a wonderful Monday for other reasons.

Going to bed early and getting good sleep…even if I woke up at 5:45 a.m. and wanted tea. So I made some and drank it. 😉

Two wonderful chats with friends from Indonesia. :)

AMAZING news about a former student accepting Christ! :)

Encouraging words from a friend. :)

A couple good ideas passed on from a friend about books to read on our trip. :)

Workout tonight…I’m gonna need it after my calorie binge this weekend! :)

Today Mae and I are just home…finishing up a few little things, hanging together, and just enjoying being mommy and daughter. She is full of sunshine and love…and she blesses my heart every single day.

I’m going to miss her so much while we’re gone.

But I also believe with everything in me that Maelie needs a mommy and daddy who invest in each other, too…and this trip is giving us time to do just that.

So I’m gonna spend my day enjoying the most precious little girl…cry a little when we say goodbye to her tomorrrow…and enjoy every single moment.

Well, my mongo coffee mug…the one I refilled once already…is just about empty. 😉

And I should get back to my girl…Elmo is almost over. :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, encouragement, friends, just life, Maelie, marriage, travel, uncategorized, where I am
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