28 May 2010

toes


Sweet toes, how I love you.


Chubby and cute


deliciously soft

I could kiss you all day long!



sidewalk scribbles on a sunny sunday


Sunday afternoon (after going to a photography class), I came home to Sam chasing dragonflies in the front yard. I went inside to put my things away and, all of the sudden, Sam was at my side.

"Mom, come look what I made!"

"What did you make?"

"Come look, Mom! I made...ME !"

So we trotted outside to this


Sam had drawn a picture of himself with sidewalk chalk.
He was elated.
He also drew a picture of Ava (with a "really big foot").
And this "kid."



Here, he's drawing shoes on the kid because the cement was too hot for his bare feet.


And he finished with a drawing of a football (first, making sure that he counted the laces to draw it exactly right).


What do your kids like to do outside?



27 May 2010

happiness is...

...grass on your toes.


Playing with Daddy.


Sidewalk chalk.


Blue skies and cotton candy clouds.


Ahhhh...summer happiness!
Now stroll on over here to see more "happy" photos!

22 May 2010

i did it!


For the first time ever in my 35 years...
today, I got a pedicure. 


Huge accomplishment, I know. 
Sorry to get your hopes up. 

However, it is kind of a milestone for me because I'm not a huge fan of people messing with my feet...especially my toes. For some reason I had visions of toe-excavations and huge cheese graters being used. But it wasn't like that at all. 

I have to admit, it was nice. 

The foot and leg massage, 
the exfoliating scrub, 
the hot stone treatment, 
the full body massage chair after the pedicure, 
even the complimentary frozen yogurt with hawaiian fruit...
all very nice

I see more pedicures in my future.

21 May 2010

raw(e) this week


The RAW(e) photo challenge for this week was...

This Week

The challenge was to take a picture this week and of anything and post it. 
Fresh, new, current. 
No digging through archives to find the photo.

Our week hasn't been very eventful (hence the late posting). 
But, this morning as Sam and I were eating breakfast, I glanced over and saw this


Sam had turned every one of his strawberries over and was balancing them on their tops. For some reason it made me chuckle and reminded me of some kind of abstract sculptural exhibit. 

Well, that was the highlight of my day (don't be jealous!). 
Now, for some real adventure, head on over to Sailor and Co. and check out the other RAW (e) photos. 

19 May 2010

cheese puffs


Once there was a boy who LOVED cheese puffs...and making cheesy faces.



One day, the Boy and his Momma went to Sam's Club and saw this.




The MOTHER LOAD of Cheese Puffs! 
The Boy was so excited!! 
He could hardly contain himself.
"Pleeeeease, Momma...can we get these, Pleeeease?!?"
Thrilled that her fat-averting child was asking for something 
that would add some calories to his eating routine 
(albeit greasy, processed calories), 
she quickly consented and off to the check-out line they scurried.

As soon as they arrived home, the Boy asked for some Cheese Puffs. 
He had Cheese Puffs with lunch.
He had Cheese Puffs with supper. 
He had Cheese Puffs as a before-bedtime snack.

And then a curious thing happened. 
Early the next morning the Boy woke up complaining of a stomach ache...
and barfed up Cheese Puffs. 
No more Cheese Puffs for the Boy. 

The End.

18 May 2010

no better place

 
Can you hear the call? 
 Come to me my people, come 
Perhaps you feel like the Prodigal Son...  
longing for home but, afraid of the reception you'll receive  
if you dare to show your face?  
There's no need to be afraid of your Father
 When He sees you
will He frown, 
cross His arms and turn away?
 
When I see you I will run
  What's this? He's running to meet you?! 
 I will be there, I will be there
What comfort is found in His embrace! 
Before you call, I will answer you
  No excuses, no vain promises to do better...
He quiets you with His love and sings a soothing song to your soul. 
 While you still speak, I will hear 
He hears the longings and intentions of your heart,
listens in rapt attention while you pour out your soul.
My ears are turned to the cry of my chosen ones 
 He hears the cry and listens with compassion, 
ready to offer the Love that will banish all fears. 
In my love you can rest in me 
Contentment, peace, calm, rest ...
all found in the arms of your Savior. 
Will you trust Him enough to rest there? 
 For you are my very own 
 Despite your rebellion and stubbornness,
He has an everlasting love for you.
A love that fights for, protects and is jealous over you.
So hold on to the hope you have 
The hope birthed out of the love that's been lavished on you. 
Hope that knows no limits, no restrictions, 
no "If you do '....', He'll love you more." 
 That I would draw you to myself 
 With a love that keeps pursuing and never gives up on you. 
That pulls you in and captivates you. 
 For I will never leave you alone 
 Even in the dark, lonely places 
He is there. 
When you are blinded and disillusioned,
defeated and filled with regret,
He is there.
You are never alone.
I will not forget you, I gather my lambs in my arms
 Even though you wander and stray, 
looking to greener pastures. 
You are always on His mind. 
He will search you out and bring you back.
He will tend to the wounds and bruises,
gently nursing you back to health.
So I will comfort you and carry you close to my heart
Carried by the strong arms of the Good Shepherd.
Held close and secure.
Comforted by His presence.
There is no better place to be.


lyrics by Daphne Rademaker
 

13 May 2010

"way behind" wednesday


Ok. 
 I am way behind on my blogging. 

Blame it on my malfunctioning computer...
or uncooperative camera... 
or my Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Monday...
or the rain sweltering heat...
whatever the reason, I've got some catching up to do!

Let's start with Mother's Day.
After a (mostly) relaxing morning at home
(we go to church on Saturday night),
and some wonderful cards and gifts,
we met my parents and brother at Olive Garden for a yummy lunch
(gotta love those bread sticks and salad!).



Then we lazed around the house until early evening and met some family and friends at the beach for a cookout.


Sam, his cousins, and friends had a great time jumping waves, playing with boogie boards and digging humungous trenches in the sand.



The dads cooked up some mean hamburgers and hot dogs, and wrestled each other into the water (Marko has a broken toe to show for it {shaking head}....BOYS!!)
And the mommas...relaxed!


This was Ava's first time at the beach (even though we only live 20 mins away from it...sad. I know.) and she did really good. She liked the sand and the water (a BIG plus, since I hope to be there a lot this summer!) but wasn't too crazy about the wind.


All in all, it was a fabulous day!

12 May 2010

raw(e) automotive



So, this week's theme for the RAW(e) challenge (photos straight out of the camera, NO editing what so ever!) over at Sailor & Company is 

Automotive

and there's no way you're getting a picture of my 
so-ordinary-it-will-bring-you-to-tears car.
So I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into my house instead. 
Pretty much any day of the week you will find this scene on my floor...


Lines of Monster Trucks, race cars, motorcycles and the like. 

(side note: Sam is learning all about the letter "L" this week. Every time I write a word that starts with "L" I say it over in my head: L-L-Little, L-L-Lines, L-L-Like)

Anyways.... 

My day would not be complete without stepping over a multitude of cars, trucks, and various other vehicles. There are race tracks and bridges, train tracks and monster truck rallies, dirt bike tracks and jeep trails.

I guess it's just how we roll around here.

06 May 2010

raw(e): running

There is something to be said for procrastination.

Sitting here this morning, I was thinking that I really needed to post a photo for this week's RAW(e) challenge because I was running out of time. Then inspiration struck! 

Running out of time...


So here's my last minute, up to the deadline submission. But hey, there's still time to go check out the other great RAW(e) pictures over at Sailor & Co.! So get running!

04 May 2010

if i could ask God anything



The other day Sam and I had "the talk."

No, not that one...Sam's only approaching 5 (although he is fascinated with the human body)
The other one.

The one about heaven and hell.
Yep, that one.

Sam is totally intrigued with spiritual questions. 
Every time we read the Bible I can see his little mind start to spin 
and questions come out like,
"Why did Jesus have to die for us?" 
and
"How does God make thunder?"
and
"How can God be 'God' and Jesus be 'God' too?" 
(ever try to explain the Godhead to a 4 yr old? It's mind-bending.)

So, I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to answer the heaven/hell question. 

Thankfully, I happened to have this little gem on hand.




When I saw it on BookSneeze.com, I jumped at the opportunity to review it. I love reading how other people explain God and the Christian faith to children (mostly because mine asks TONS of questions!) and I sent for it. Written by Kathryn Slattery and distributed by Thomas Nelson Publishers, this 207 page book covers questions like, 

"Do I need to use special words when I pray?"

"Why did Jesus have to die?"

"What is sin?"

"Where did God come from?"

"If God loves people, why do bad things happen?"

Great questions that kids actually ask with simple, straight-forward answers. Each answer has a biblical reference too (which I liked a lot), so that you can take your child directly to God's Word.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good book. I would recommend it for ages 6 and above, since some of the answers were a little over my (almost) 5 yr old's head. I loved that it covered all the major themes of Christianity and even covered topics like holidays. To that end though, I was a little disappointed with the inclusion of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Halloween. I realized that it was a great starting point for some answers, but that I would need to fill in the gaps regarding our specific doctrinal beliefs. I also thought that it over-simplified the love that Christ has for us, without giving equal emphasis to our need for repentance.

All in all, a nice little book though. And I look forward to reviewing other books soon.
If you're interested in receiving books to review, check out BookSneeze here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”





03 May 2010

honestly...


I've been tagged!

 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3e7gsW6iI2moWBjyDj7ngThrDz7oq9I3vhJuF09Xwjrd1xLRv53mOAECxywWSXNcVXRRPp3ViRic_nV5Wi7QAv7us4xyEZ84EluyZM1-sFcp16bSYmrH75Gl_aAcRvKKZp0D4wafC8E/s1600/honest_award.jpg

Tessa over at A Bundle of Blessings tagged me with an Honest Scrap Award. 
Here's  the deal...I share 10 things with you about myself, and then I tag 10 others to do the same. Like I said here, I'm a total sucker for these kind of things

So, here we go...

1. I used to clog in middle and high school. For those of you who do not know what clogging is, it's basically redneck Riverdance. I loved it, and my feet still move automatically when I hear a song that I used to dance to.





2. I've always dreamed of recording a CD. Below is probably the closest thing I'll ever get to it (I'm the chick to the left). This is a live recording that my church did about 2 years ago (the sound is NOT the greatest). 





3. I once had a pet skunk...de-scented, of course. He still smelled.




4. My favorite car in the whole world is a Mini Cooper. If they made one into an SUV I would jump for joy! 'Course then it wouldn't be nearly as cute.




5. I could probably eat pizza every day of my life and be happy. Hawaiian and White pizza are my favorite.



6. I have never had a cup of coffee. Ever. Peppermint Mocha Creme Frappuccinos on the other hand...a totally different story!



7. I love period movies. The A&E version of Pride & Prejudice is one of my all-time favorites. 







8. I am a pattern junkie...scrapbook paper, fabric, wallpaper...if it has a funky, vibrant, or beautiful pattern I can't get enough of it!
 


9. My husband's family and my family have known each other our entire lives, yet we didn't meet until I was 18 and he was 23...on a camping trip set up by a mutual friend! We are the two smack dab in the middle. And, ahem, please keep in mind that this was 1994.




10. I lived in the same house from birth 'til the day I was married. Then my husband and I moved 6 times in the next five years. Minus the actual moving (packing, transporting, unpacking) I really enjoy moving to new places and having a change of scenery. (This picture cracks me up...who does this??)



So, there you go...my 10 things. 

And the 10 people I'm tagging are:

Mama M. @ My Little Life
Lindsay @ Because He Gave
Kristy @ PaisleyJade