Family picture time...


Emma - age 5 1/2
Anna - age 3
Over Thanksgiving Break, we had family photos taken. Tracy Fouts, a soon to be graduating IWU photography major was our photographer. She did an amazing job! We got so many great photos! We tried to get a picture of both girls together, but Anna wouldn't cooperate. Emma was fine taking pictures alone, so we got a few pics of just her. We later realized that Anna had no problem being photographed solo... she just didn't want to share the spotlight with her sister! We now have several great shots of Anna that really show her personality. Our family shot is being reserved for our Christmas card. :-)
The whole photo shoot was my mom's idea. She wanted a family picture taken with all the kids and grandkids. Tracy had so much patience! Not many people can photograph 16 people in one sitting. Kudos to her!

Could it really be possible?

I pulled out, dusted off, and used my Kathy Smith video. I actually did some aerobics this morning! :-) (That is not the impossible feat of the day...) It felt good, even though the video is SOOO dated.
As I was working out, Annie was in the play room. It was a little too quiet... I finished my video at about the same time I was wondering what she was up too.... red paint all over her! She found Emma's paint set. Lovely! I was going to take a shower after working out, so I threw in there with me. Fortunately, the paint comes off easily in the water. She hates showers though. That was punishment enough for her. At the end, she said, "I have to go potty." (This girl has been impossible to potty train- she likes the diapers, pull-ups, whatever - she is a stubborn one!). Anyway, I told her to wait until I we were done showering... she did! Then she actually went in the little toilet. A few minutes later, she said it again, I helped her get situated on the toilet, she went again! Then I got her dressed and she wanted to wear underwear. Amazing! She is now in a cute matching outfit - that she picked out all by herself - and is wearing underwear... she picked out tweety this morning. :-) Is it really possible that she could have a change of heart about the diapers? Oh how great that would be! My prayer this morning is that she will be done with diapers! I would love to be done buying them!

A little update... Anna had one accident... I was on the phone, she tried to get to the toilet in the downstairs bathroom, but couldn't climb up on her own. At least she tried... A little later, she went in the toilet again. And did another time as well... 4 times in one day! She wore underwear most of the day. I am so proud of her! She is pretty proud of herself too. I think she thinks she is pretty hot stuff. :-) Three cheers for Anna!

Gobble, Gobble...

Our church has begun a "turkey ministry", donating turkeys to families in the surrounding neighborhood that wanted one. Individuals or families from church then distributed them this afternoon. Our whole family went. It was fun to see the girls so excited to give something to someone. At the first house, just Dave and Emma got out of the car. Anna cried. At the next house, we all got out. Anna cheered. The girls were so joyful about giving! It was so refreshing. So many times in today's world all we hear about is "give me, give me, give me". As a mom, I hear that a lot from my kids. "I want milk." "I want gum." "Can Camille come play?" "I want to swing.... push me." It was great to see that they can also enjoy the giving. They were disappointed if the family didn't answer and we had to leave the turkey by the door. I really want this holiday season to be about giving, not receiving. This was a great start!

It all happens at once...

Why is it that everything decides to breakdown at the same time? Let's see, it all started when our computer crashed.... then there was the window regulator in my car ($$$), the lawn mower, property taxes were due (not broken, but still costs $$$), the garage door opener (as of this moment my car is stuck in the garage - it won't even manually open), the vacuum (fortunately, not very costly to fix), and the tires on my car need to be replaced, and we have a tree that is in dire need of a trim (and a neighbor who wishes we would do it soon). I am sure there is more, but at the moment, I can't think of what else. Not to mention Anna has a cold and I feel like I am coming down with something. It is frustrating. It sure seems like it comes in waves. Why is that I wonder? Is it so we depend more on God? Is it so He can show us His faithfulness in even the simple daily things... like fixing a vacuum for only 20 bucks? I am not sure why it happens, but I know that I have to trust God to sustain us!

If only...

I am cheating on this blog. I am copying this idea from a friend of mine. She wrote a post about the things she would do if she had an extra 20 minutes. I have been thinking about that today, and I am writing my own post about what I would want to do if I had some extra time on my hands.

If I some extra time I would...

- Read my bible & pray.

- Put some things away in the basement.

- Organize the basement.

- Clean & organize the garage.

- Go shopping... of course I would need money to do that...

- Go to Starbucks... or Tree of Life... with someone, my husband would nice!

- Take a nap.

- Practice my tap dance routine... CSA show is coming up, Dec 3!

- Read more to my kids.

- Go get a tan (a fake one, since summer is over).

- Talk to a friend on the phone.

- Rearrange the furniture.

- Get caught up on my scrapbooking... of course I need LOTS of time for that!

- Catch up with some college friends in CA (via phone or email).

- Veg

- Watch TV... if there is something good on one of the three channels we get since we don't have cable.

- Get back to watercoloring... yes, once upon a time I used to watercolor.

- Go for a walk.

- Finish reading a book I started this summer... Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller.

- Clean out the frig.

Basically, if I had extra time, I would want to use it doing something I enjoy. Hmmm, if only....

Time for a change...

I enjoy change... to some degree anyway. I like rearranging the furniture. I like reorganizing the cabinets/closets. I like to try new hair styles (not so quick to change the color though...). I like to spice up the wardrobe. And so I thought it was time to change the template on my blog. :-) Whatcha think?

Yesterday I meant to post a special blog, but didn't get to it... So I will attempt to do it today instead. It is in honor of a dear friend, Mabel. She was like a Grandmother to me and yesterday would have been her 105th birthday, if she was still alive. Unfortunately, she passed away almost 10 years ago... a change I didn't like! I still miss her. I wish my kids could have known her. Oddly enough, sometimes Emma reminds me of her - even though they never met and there is no blood relation between them. They would have enjoyed each other's humor!
Mabel was always memorizing bible verses and short poems. I remember her saying, "I love you little, I love you big, I love you like a little pig." She was a silly one and fun to be around. For New Years' Eve she would call her pastor at midnight (and waking him up) and ask, "Is this 1-9-8-5?" (or whatever the new year number was... this year it would be 2-0-0-7.) The response was always, "No, you have the wrong number." She got such a tickle out of it.
In honor of her, I am posting a poem she memorized and said often...

HEAVEN'S GROCERY STORE

I was walking down life's highway a long time ago.
One day I saw a sign that read, "HEAVEN'S GROCERY STORE".
As I got a little closer, the door came open wide, and when I came to myself I was standing inside.
I saw a host of ANGELS. They were standing everywhere. One handed me a basket and said, "My Child, Shop With Care".
Everything a Christian needs is in that grocery store. And all you can't carry, come back the next day for more.
First, I got some PATIENCE; LOVE was in the same row.
Further down was UNDERSTANDING; needed everywhere you go. I got a box or two of WISDOM, a bag or two of FAITH.
I just couldn't miss the HOLY GHOST, it was all over the place.
I stopped to get some STRENGTH, and COURAGE to help me run this Race.
By then my basket was getting full, and I remembered I needed GRACE.
I didn't forget SALVATION, which like the others was free. So I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me.
Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill, For I thought I had everything to do my MASTER'S will.
As I went up the aisle, I saw PRAYER; and had to put it in, for I knew when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin.
PEACE AND JOY were plentiful; they were on the lastshelf.
SONG and PRAISE were hanging near, so I just helped myself.
Then I said to the angel, "How much do I owe?"
The angel smiled and said, "Just take them everywhere you go."
Again, I politely asked, "How much do I really owe?"
The Angel smiled again and said, "MY CHILD, JESUS PAID YOUR BILL A LONG, TIME AGO."

Happy 105, Mabel!

My Little Ponies...



I took Deb's advice on my inquery as to how I could attempt to make a "My Little Pony" costume for Emma for Halloween. I found sweats in the right color, used fabric paint to draw the proper emblem on the pants, bought fleece to make the tail and spray color for the hair. (You can't tell from the photo, but Anna had pink hair and Emma had pink, purple and green hair.) Emma was "Rainbow Dash" and Anna was "Pinkie Pie". The girls had a blast trick-or-treating. However, they don't realize yet that trick-or-treating is really supposed to involve more than 4 houses previously selected by Mom. We went to my parents, my sister, our pastors (who is also our neighbor) and our pastor's sister (also a neighbor and friend). Then we went to IWU to their "carnival". The girls were pleased with all the "goodies" they got for Halloween. :-) For as much as I dislike Halloween, we actually had a good night. The worst part of all of it was putting Anna in the shower to wash all the pink out of her hair... I mean there were ear piercing screams... oh, the memories...