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

5 Minute Challenge

June 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

This is the perfect night for a five minute challenge since I have exactly that before midnight. 😉

It h as been

a good week so far.

It’s Vacation Bible School week, and I’ve had the fun job of leading games for the 2nd-4th graders. I say that with zero sarcasm…I really am enjoying it.

It gives me a little taste of the teacher life I’ve been missing for a couple of years, and I get to hang out with some pretty cool kids.

Maelie has had a fun week, too, spending her mornings in the nursery at church with some new friends.

Then she and I get to spend a little time together before she goes down for her (long) afternoon nap. A change in schedule is def

initely wearing her out.

But she’s finally getting into a big-girl-one-nap routine, and it’s working. Love my girl.

Tonight Tobin and a friend headed to the Cubs/Brewers games and were treated to a rain delay…the game started 1 1/2 hours late. Yeah, he’ll be home sometime “in the morning”. I’m glad he could go, though.

:)

And Maelie and I got to hang out with our sweet friend

tonight, first at her house, and then she came over to watch Confessions of a Shopaholic after Mae went to bed.

We had a great time.

And what a great movie…I seriously laughed out loud through most of it even though I’ve seen it over a dozen times. Watch it if you haven’t seen it.

Fun times…now to publish this thing before it’s “tomorrow”.

G’nite!

Sig

Filed Under: friends, just life

Crazy and THE CAKE

June 12, 2011 by · 3 Comments

Crazy day. A good one, one that I’ll write much more about over the week.

We celebrated our girl tonight.

(Her birthday is actually Tuesday, but weekend parties are just better for everyone.)

And what a fun night it was!

We got the most perfect weather…low 70’s and sunny, lots of friends and fun and ( too

much) food.

I love memories, and THE CAKE is definitely one

I will always remember.

My dear friend, Kris, spent over two hours helping me put it together, and we were pretty proud of how it turned out.

I think Maelie liked it, too. :)

The Cake
The Cake
Maelie eating cake

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, food, friends, Maelie

Sisters

June 8, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Miss, Mel, Becky

Today: a day with my best friends, Missy and Becky. I love these two.

We grew up together, therefore they know more embarrass ing

stories about me than you can possibly imagine. :) But we’ve also got more amazing memories together than you can possibly imagine.

Days with the three of us…don’t happen very often.

And when they do, we laugh and talk like we’ ve ne

ver been apart.

I love that about us.

Miles, sometimes thousands of them, have separated us; marriage and kids have made us busy; different lives have kept us going in opposite directions.

But we’ve never lost this friendship, and for that I am so incredibly thankful.

It’s forever.

I love you, girls!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends

Sneak Peek

June 7, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Well, sort of…

Today Tobin, Maelie and I had an almost-90-degree family photo shoot. 2 1/2 hours + 3 outfit changes + 2 tired parents + 1 cranky, daisy-eating baby = some really stinkin’ cute photos, at least the ones I saw!

One of my best friends, Becky, takes amazing photos, and she offered to take our family pictures while we are in Iowa.

I haven’t seen the final ones yet, but what I did see? Awesome. I. Can’t. Wait.

Tobin snapped a few random shots of Maelie today, so here’s a tiny sneak peek of the cuteness that was abounding all over the place.

:)

Maelie in the park

And a bonus.

We celebrated Mae’s first birthday with family tonight.

My sister-in-law, Dianne, cooked an amazing dinner, complete with Maelie’s very own birthday cake.

I don’t think my daughter has ever had that much sugar in one sitting, but she sure did enjoy it!

And we had fun watching her.

:)

Maelie eating cake

Sig

Filed Under: family, friends, Maelie

Counting Blessings

June 5, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Just a few thoughts today.

We are headed to Iowa in a couple hours and will be gone til Wednesday…but I won’ t be gone from

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the blog. Promise. :)

I’m not gonna lie…it’s been a hard week.

It’s been busy…and a good kind of busy, but there have been some tough moments wrapped up in the week, too.

I’d much rather be running around than be stuck at home for days at a time, though…so it was good to have my mind occupied.

(Not sure how I survived winter…)

Anyway, today’s that kind of day where I need to count the blessings instead of the things that have kept me on the verge of tears for days. Isn’t it amazing how we just naturally tend to focus on all the bad stuff

?

So let’s look at some good.

And smile. Lots of smiling.

It’s good for the heart. :)

😀 Rummage Sale. That’s one thing that kept me busy this week. Immanuel’s PTL (the parent association) had its annual rummage sale this past Thursday-Sunday.

I showed up to help out because there was no good reason to not go…I have more free time than most people, and because people = fun. (Even if I’m working!) It was fun to get out, do something for a good cause, and get to know some people better, too. (And I’m still pretty proud of the Jeep Stroller I managed to snag at the sale, too.

;))

😀 Park. Yay for warm weather and being outside! Maelie and I had a lot of fun with a bunch of friends on Thursday morning at the park. We both got a little pink… thankfully I put sunblock on her!

It was fun, though.

😀 Pedicure. I’m throwing this one in here because it had been over a year since I’d had one. Therefore, completely justified. Even for this super-ticklish girl, there is almost no better way to spend an hour than to have someone ELSE make my toes pretty.

😀 Random naps.

I have napped in the strangest places over the past few weeks.

I’ve taken a couple outside in the yard, one on the porch with my feet sticking up in the air…no idea HOW I managed that one, and just a few minutes ago I woke up from a power nap I accidentally took while blogging. And I never sleep sitting up, so I MUST be tired!

😀 Music. I love it. I th ink you know that if you read this blog once

in awhile. 😉 Listening to it, making it…it’s all good. We sang Glorious Day (Casting Crowns) this morning at church…I just love that song. It made my heart happy.

😀 Road trips. Maybe. Honestly, I don’t love long trips, but sometimes they’re necessary. Like when a sweet former student is graduating or a sweet little girl is turning one and needs to celebrate. So I’m trying to be happy about the impending road trip we are beginning in just a couple of hours. We chose to leave in the evening hoping that Mae will sleep most of the trip and through the night. (The last two hours of the drive yesterday were kind of brutal. Earplugs, anyone?) Please pray for safety and for a happy little chica.

😀 Golden retriever love. Oh, the exuberance these boys bring to my days. As often as I get annoyed by the constant love-in-my-face all the time, I love my dogs.

😀 My sweet girl. I don’t give thanks for her enough…but I am thankful for her. Every. Single. Day.

😀 My hard-working hubby. In any relationship, it’s easy to look at the negatives, but really, there’s a lot of good with us. I love him, even on the hard days.

Ok, I could keep going, but really…we leave in an hour, and I’m not done packing yet…for me or my girl. I’ll see ya next time…from Iowa!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, family, friends, random

Congratulations, Kayla!

June 4, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Today I had the privilege of celebrating the high school graduation of a dear friend and former student, Kayla.

I am so, so thankful that we could make the trip…and it was worth it j ust for the look on her face when she saw

us and the happy-tears reunion that occurred.

:) God has given Kayla such a sensitive, caring heart, and she is open to whatever He has for her. I can’t wait to see what that is!

And here’s some fun…this first picture was taken the last time I saw her, in November, 2003.

She h ad been in town for

a few days and came over to my house to decorate cookies with me.

We had so much fun…and I had no idea that almost eight years would pass before we’d see each other again.

We won’t be letting that much time go by again.

Kayla 2003

And today. :)

Kayla 2011

Blessings to you, Kayla!

Lots of love.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, teaching

Going Back

June 3, 2011 by · 2 Comments

I’m going to forego Five Minute Friday this week and go a different direction.

Tomorrow is kind of a cool, not-sure-what-to-expect kind of day.

We’re driving up to Wisconsin Rapids tomorrow, my old stomping grounds from my very first year of teaching. I haven’t been back since the last day of school in 2002.

Yowsers, time flies!

My very first class is graduating from high school this year, and honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about that, other than very, very OLD!

One of the sweetest students I ever had

the privilege of teaching is graduating tomorrow, and she sent me an invitation to her ceremony and party.

Well, of course I have to go!

But I also have to admit that the butterflies are turning summersaults already.

I’m not used to going b ack to

a place.

Life has been a series of moves from place to place…and I never really “go back”. Other than for a visit a few days at a time.

And for some reason, this one seems strange because it’s been SO long.

There are so many people from this little slice of my life who meant so much to me. It makes me sad that I didn’ t do more

to stay in touch.

Regardless of that, I’m looking forward to having a few hours to celebrate a dear student and friend and to possibly catch up with a few old friends, too. And maybe prove to them that I eventually grew up…well, a little at least. :)

Tomorrow I get to “go back” to one of the many homes I’ve had. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’m sure it will be wonderful.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, teaching

Life and Coffee

June 2, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

It’s morning. Looking outside, I’m not sure the day can make up its mind.

It started off sunny, and I was outside in a tank top. Now I’m inside (and freezing!) with a sweatshirt on, watching the sky turn slightly gray.

We’re supposed to head to the park

this morning so we’re hoping that the semi-rainish-looking clouds will give way to some sun. That’d be nice.

:)

I’m completely cheating on our coffee date this morning…I’m not even having Diet Coke.

I am having?

Water.

Not sure why other than it sounded good.

Perhaps I need help

?

If you popped over this morning, you’d find the house cluttered with random things that haven’t quite made it back to where they belong.

It’s been a busy

week, but it’s been good busy. I’ve missed being busy…it’s been a long year of not being busy.

Looking back at the year, though, I realize just how much God was there in my daily life even if I didn’t always recognize it. ‘Cause I am a people person and that’s where I thrive…when I’m surrounded by friends. And yet, I spent the good part of this year alone. I don’t say that to make you feel sorry for me…it was just how things were. And somehow God kept me from getting horribly depressed and feeling too lonely.

My daughter helped a lot with the loneliness…who can feel sad around a bubbly, funny, sweetheart of a girl like her

? She brings joy to even the dark, rainy, depressing, most alone days when there are no phone calls or texts or people around.

And God was good…giving me a few close friends to connect with, laugh with, be myself with.

I needed it.

Definitely so thankful.

**************************

So, we did go to the park.

(Sorry…took a bit of a break in the middle of our chat.) I am now sufficiently caffeinated (aka: drinking Diet Pepsi and trying to stay awake to finish this) and completely exhausted from a crazy long day.

Three hours in the sun + sunburn + lunch + three hour nap for Mae + short nap for Mel + pedicure + worship team practice = the last twelve hours. Kinda crazy day, but mostly fun.

And it was my first pedicure since Indonesia.

My toenails are cute again.

They even have little flowers painted on them. :)

And I’m fighting sleep, so as much as I want to stay awake and continue caffeinating myself so I can spill out my heart to you, I think my night is best spent sleeping, especially since I have to get up at six and have a long day tomorrow.

So, I wish you sweet dreams…and hopefully more of them than I will have in my six hours of dreamland.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, friends

Bakin’ Whoopie

May 15, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Hi friends.

So, I’m going to use today to promote my friend Lex’s blog and new business called Bakin’ Whoopie.  I think the name is genius.

(And the idea

~~ –>

? Even better.)

Agreed?

I thought so.

Lex makes the best whoopie pies…they are so, so mmmmmmm. (Really, I can’t describe them any other way.) You can read about some of the different flavors on her order page…there are many more to come,

too.

The chocolate chip are my personal favorite, but I think the s’more are great, too.

(And I heard a rumor about a root beer one, but I haven’t tried it yet.)

If you’re one of those poor, unfortunate souls who has never had a whoopie pie, you need to run out and find one…FAST.

Really, they’ re life-changing.

And eating one (or six!) just makes the day a whole lot better.

I hope you’ll hop over here and check out what’s goin’ on in the land of Bakin’ Whoopie. Leave her some comment love, and you could win a cool sticker.

(Which very few people have right now, so it could be a collector’s item someday!)

Th anks

a bunch!

😀

Sig

Filed Under: friends
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