Happy Father's Day

Vince,
You are an amazing daddy and we love you very much.
Happy first Father's Day.

5 Years Ago

5 years ago.
Really?
Some days it seems like we've just always been together. And some days it seems like it's been no time at all.
What do you say about 5 years of marriage to the man who is not only a husband but my best friend, my hero, my whole world?
I don't think I had any idea when I stood before God and promised my forever to this man what that would mean or where it would take us. Does anyone?
It has most certainly been a journey but it's been one I wouldn't have wanted to share with anyone else.
There have been many times over the past five years I have come face to face with the knowledge that God gave this man to me as a gift and his love as a priceless treasure. No one could have been better for me. No one could have made my dreams come true like he does every day and no one else could make my heart so happy. Not just happy but full of joy.
I won't begin to try to list all the things he is to me or why I love him.
Actually I did that once and I stopped at 200 because I thought it was getting a little crazy. I gave the list to V and he still carries it around in his flight case. But anyway, back to the mushy stuff.
He has always loved me unconditionally. Even when I didn't deserve that much love. He is gracious and forgives quickly, no matter what.
He is steadfast, strong, caring, protecting, supporting, encouraging, fun, a little crazy, sweet, entertaining, giving and thoughtful.
He has a wonderful servant heart. He's a man that seeks to honor God and follow after Him. He is a wonderful provider. He is always by my side when I need him. He makes me laugh. He makes me go weak in the knees when he looks at me, the same look he used when we first got married. It's so full of love some times I don't understand how he loves me that much.
He is kind. He is honest. He is simply a good man. He loves and feels deeply for his family and his God. He spends time with us and values things in life that truly matter, not getting hung up on things that don't count.
He prayers for me and with me. He understands me (well tries to). He puts me and Lydia ahead of his own wants and needs because he is happy only when we are happy and taken care of.
He's so stinkin smart he makes my brain hurt. He helps me when I need help with something and never makes me feel stupid or laughs at me.
He makes me feel loved and cherished. He makes me feel valued and special. He makes me feel safe, protected and cared for. He makes me feel honored that he has chosen to give his love to me and that it was me he wanted to share his life with.
Has it been always been easy? No.
We've hit some rocky spots.
We've had big moves. We've dealt with health issues. We've had hard decisions to make. We've faced fears together and struggled with various circumstances. We've had disappointments and unmet expectations.
We've had to work at learning how to do this thing called marriage.
We've had our bad times but oh so many good times. And though it all he has been my constant. He's been right there. Never complained, never wavered but held my hand and just kept loving.
Babe, the last 5 years have been amazing. I cherish the memories we've made and the life we've built.
Thank you for all the amazing things you are and the things you do day in and day out that let me know you love me.
My heart rejoices in our love. I am more thankful than I could say that you are walking beside me on our way to forever, sharing the good and the bad. But because you've been with me there has been far far more good than bad.
You've made me so happy and blessed beyond words.
I love you. I cherish you from the deepest part of me. I truly adore you.
Happy Anniversary, My Love.

That Was Fast!

Well here it is.

Lydia is 6 months old today.

When she was first born I thought 6 months seemed so far a way but it came in a blink.

Time moves so fast these days.

She has changed so much.

From this

To this

Happy 6 months my sweet baby girl.

Mommy and daddy love you sooooo much (so much it aches!) and we thank God for the precious gift of your life. You have enriched our home and brought us the greatest joy.

We know that you really belong to God but we are so blessed that He chose us to raise you and guide you and teach you His ways.

We cherish you, Sweet Baby, and we are loving every minute of holding you, caring for you and watching you grow up. Yes, you are already doing that. It's such an amazing and delightful process watching you learn new skills and discover your world. You change almost every day and it's a wonder to watch God's creation, perfect in design, all wrapped up in a tiny, beautiful package and given to us for a first hand look at God's power.

To see you grow and change and learn and discover and develop is truly God's handiwork in action and we just stand in awe and joy. What a precious treasure life is, what a priceless jewel you are.

You are the love of our lives.

Today and always, here is one of the things I want to tell you, please learn this early and follow it. I pray every day you do.

Hold On To Jesus

(Click the play button on the page to hear the whole song)

Practicing Creativity or Gettin' Crazy With The Purple Paint

Because I don't want to spend a lot of $ on Bug's nursery but still want it to be a cute cozy place for her I have decided to stretch my artist creativity. I went online and got some ideas and then went thrift store shopping. Got me some paint and went purple crazy.
Even though she's 5 months old her room is still a work in progress. I'm the kind of person who stretches out decorating over a long period of time until I'm satisfied. It takes so long mostly because I refuse to buy things full price so the hunting to find the things in my head at cheap prices takes some time. Maybe by the time she's 15 I'll have her nursery just the way I want it. As for the rest of the house, that'll probably never get completely finished. But that's part of the fun and also totally off the subject of this post. So, back to my fledgling art skills.
Without further ado....


Purple Piggy
This little piggy [bank] was once a white and orange pig that looked like something the 70's threw up. I got it for 75 cents at a thrift store. The paint I got for $2 bucks and there you have it. A cute little piggy for Lydia to one day save her hard earned $$ in.

Wall Art

I wanted something on the wall besides just pictures so one day at Crafts 2000 I saw these wood cutouts for 50 cents a piece. I already had crafters paint so all I needed was the cutouts. I thought they would be perfect for the space and they are.
It took me awhile to get them all painted but I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Pictures

I needed two small pictures for the shelves in her room so I priced them. Small pictures are expensive.

I found a picture like the "sweet" one in a store for $20 and I thought, "I could make that". So I went to Goodwill and got a picture with a decent wood frame. It cost me $1. I found another nice looking wood frame for 50 cents which I used for the "precious little one" picture. I used my purple paint to paint the frames and the rest is just card stock and stickers.

All in all my decor cost me very little and I had fun doing it. I actually enjoy it more knowing I did it. And since I didn't spend that much $ I can afford to do more decorating and develop more of my artisitc side.

Lydia's New Discoveries

Oh Look! I found something yummy! Maybe I can eat it.

Yes! That does taste good. Almost as good as my thumb. Well, almost.

But my bottle is best of all.

And I can hold it by myself now.

I'm getting so big!

But my biggest new discovery is this

Ta Da!

All this new stuff is wearing me out.

Think I'll just lay here for a bit.

It took her awhile to learn how to roll over because she hates tummy time with a PASSION!

Now that she rolls over from her back we get to play the baby flip over game all day.

That's fun.

She doesn't mind being on her tummy as much since it's her getting herself in that position but when she figures out she's on her tummy she starts fussing.

I should let her lay there and figure out how to get from her tummy to her back but I only make her stay on her tummy until mommy's had enough of the screaming.

She'll figure it out one day.

One week later:

She figured it out.

:)

You Know You're A SAHM When...

(SAHM- stay at home mom)

you're the only one who can't smell the dirty diapers in the trash.

your new perfume is eau de spit up.

you consider a solo trip to the grocery store quality "me" time.

jammies and no make-up are your daily attire.

you are forced to use the toilet while holding your baby on your lap and with your whining 2 year old watching you and asking constantly when you are finished.

you have conversations with yourself in baby talk.

you wear a shirt because it’s “only” got one stain.

your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.

you have no idea what the current hit song is on the radio but you can sing right along with the Wiggles, Blues Clues, Elmo and Dora the explorer.

watching Barney makes you understand why dinosaurs are extinct.

you're so desperate for adult conversation that you spill your guts to the telemarketer that calls...and HE hangs up on YOU!

your husband comes home early and you have to fight the urge to get irritated because it messes with your routine.

you have accidentally brushed your teeth with Desitin.

you have caught spit-up in your hand.

you leave for a date with your husband carrying a diaper bag instead of your purse.

you can recite Goodnight Moon and Green Eggs and Ham by heart.

you have shared a fifteen-minute conversation about your baby with a complete stranger at the grocery store.

you forgot your mother-in-law's first name because you now only refer to her as "Grandma."

you consider it a major triumph if you shower by noon.

you find yourself humming the "Rubber Duckie" song in the shower.

you have dressed your baby in whatever is on top of the clean laundry pile.

you cry at Johnson & Johnson commercials.

you can no longer wear black, for fear of massive spit up marks.

you find yourself constantly talking in 3rd person, “Mommy said NO!”

you know more about baby products than the latest trends.

you have had entire conversations centered around poop and pee.

you don’t own a shirt that hasn’t been stained in some way.

you think your baby is the cutest and smartest baby ever, other babies? Not so much

you think nothing of sniffing behinds for the poopie test.

you catch yourself carrying on a play-by-play in the grocery store (”Okay we need a some sour cream. Where’s the fat-free? It looks like they ran out of it again! Rats. I guess we’ll get the low-fat version this time and just not use as much…”) all to realize you’re by yourself for once and chatting with nothing but a dairy case, much to the amusement of your fellow shoppers.

your favorite moments of the day are cuddling up with a sticky, smelly, slimy, oozing, beautiful, precious, soft and wonderful, wiggling baby.

you consider parenting to be the best job in the world.

Happy 5 months, Baby Girl!

Happy Mother's Day!

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.~ Psalm 127:3

In My Front Yard

Here are some flowers from my yard. I know Daffodils are "common" but I just love their cheery yellow color.

And below is my "happy tree". I love it so!

When we moved in last summer it was a pretty tree with red leaves but this spring when it came to life I got the lovely surprise of finding it had little white flowers all over it. I guess they don't last that long and then you just get the red leaves, but either way, still pretty and for now the flowers make my day. Every day I look out and see them I think, "oh how pretty, look at those lovely flowers."

Part of the fun this spring has been watching flowers pop up where I didn't know we had flowers and seeing all the bright color. The lady that lived here before us apparently liked plant life.

(I won't mention the fact that we hacked a lot of it. There was just TOO much. Sorta looked like a jungle and I didn't want to do that much yard work.)

In the back yard I know there are a lot of lilies and some really pretty bushes that have nice color to them but they haven't quite bloomed all the way yet. They're getting there.

I'll post those pics later.

My "Happy Tree"-

A close up of the cute little flowers-

My Thoughts Exactly

I need to get busy today.

I don't WANT to get busy.

My to-do list is slightly overwhelming. Mostly because all week I haven't WANTED to get busy.

This has been one low motivating week.

So the question is...how much will I get done today? Who knows.

I'll be impressed with me if I just do the basic house maintaining stuff like

make the bed

do the dishes

straighen up the living room

Lydia's laundry

That's been the key this week-maintain, no extra.

Now where's my chocolate!?

At The End Of The Day

It's 10pm.
Lydiebug is all tucked in for the night, all is quiet.
Vince is gone on a trip so I'm alone. Trying not to hate that but after him being home for 2 months I'm still getting used to nights alone again. I miss him. Nights are still hard.
I should try to sleep.
I'm not ready to go to sleep but I know come morning I will wish that I would have.
But since I can't sleep yet I'm in bed with my head propped up with a bunch of pillows and I'm all curled around my favorite blankets.
I've got my laptop, my notepad and a book. What more could a girl need for a moment by herself before she goes to sleep. Well, coffee would be nice but I do want to sleep at some point so I'll scratch that.
So just because I'm having a random day I'm going to share some random things that I am currently addicted to...in totally random order.


THINGS I LOVE
(subject to change at my whim)

Lotion-
Bath and Body Works Ultimate Silk Velvet Tuberose Lotion....purrrrrr

Bubble Bath-
Mr. Bubble
"I don't want to grow up"

Candy-
Plain M&M
Always only M&M's. Perfect little chocolate bites of yummy goodness.

Hot Drink-
Hot Chocolate (not the yucky mixes but homemade like my momma used to make)
This is not to rival coffee because we know you can't beat drinks like Vienna lattes and such but we are just talking current addictions so that's what I'm drinking at my house right now.

Cooking Gadget-
Silpat
Found here
My MIL gave me one, along with some muffin pans and I am in love with them! I use them on lots of stuff. I highly recommend them.

Pillow-
My memory foam contour pillow.
I got it at Kohls and it has been a life saver, or at least a neck saver. I used to get really nasty headaches but since I got the pillow I hardly ever get them. And it is very comfy. I sleep so much better.

Blanket-
When I lived at home I had this comforter forever. It was old and dingy. When I moved on my own I bought a new one but kept that one.
Now I use the old comforter as a blanket. It's perfect on a chilly evening to curl up with it and some hot cocoa and a book and just chill in my favorite chair.
I did that a lot when I was pregnant.
The blanket is still dingy and frankly, looks rather gross but it really is clean and oh so wrap-upable.

Socks-
Right after I had Lydia our Pastor's wife, Laura, gave me a baby gift and in with the gift she gave me a pair of socks. I don't know if she was aware of this but she could not of gotten me a better gift.
On those long MI winter evenings or the cold mornings I need something to patter around in and these are perfect! They are also very cool looking. They kinda snuggle your feet and make your toes wiggle in glee.

Dental Product-
Okay, maybe it's weird that I have a favorite dental product, let alone an addiction to one but I do.
Last time I went to the dentist they gave me a sample of G.U.M soft picks and my mouth said "ahhh".
Seriously these things are great. I will sit around reading or playing on the computer and use these. They feel so good and help keep your smile all pretty like. Can't beat that!

Baby Bug
*Her smile- It just turns me to goo and makes me all squishy inside. No matter when, no matter where, no matter my mood or what's going on. When she smiles, life is just good.
*Holding her- I could spend all day holding that girl. And when she reaches out to touch me with that cute little chubby hand, mommy mush. That's all I am.

Food Addictions of the Moment-
*PB and honey sandwhiches
*Dried Apples- And I don't like fresh apples unless I personally pick them off the tree.
*Cottage Cheese
*Blueberries- frozen from when we picked the 30 lbs of them last summer (I'm on my last bag. bummer.)
*Popcorn- and not the microwave kind, I want the real stuff
*Grilled hamburgers- When I was pregnant I craved CRAVED them. And I didn't want a resturant or fast food (shivers) one, I wanted a homemade, on the grill, hamburger. I still think that's my favorite supper menu food right now.
*Red Bell Peppers
*Grapefruit
*Avacado
*Fresh Italian Bread dipped in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar (I just drooled)

Overall Biggest Addiction-
My husband :)
And that one won't change!

BARK!

I like dogs. Really I do.
But there's one dog...

I'm slowly developing a strong dislike to a certain neighbor dog.
This dog, let's just call him Wheezy, likes to bark...constantly. Especially right around 10pm. Every night. Nice.
What's worse is that this particular dog sounds like it has a terrible case of emphysema. It's the most grating bark EVER.
I hope he's cute (never seen him) because there has to be some redeeming quality to this mutt or that is one useless piece of dog fur.
He's the one black spot on what should be a pleasant experience of opening the windows at night to sleep with the gentle breezes blowing and the soft sounds of nature singing their lullaby.
It should be quite relaxing. And it is...until.
Until Mr. Wheezy comes out for his nightly concert that seriously makes my ears hurt and my toes curl.
I should feel sorry for any poor creature that sounds like that but I don't because I think he knows what he sounds like and is happy about it, carrying on all the while imagining what he is doing to all the people around him trying to sleep. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's proud of himself because he sounds proud. And the prouder he gets, the louder he gets. He's showing off. And before he finally decides to call it a night and curl up in a ball somewhere to fall asleep laughing at the noise he's made, I'm laying there thinking of all the ways he could "accidentally" go away.
And as I think, I smile as I pull the pillow over my ears and try to uncoil my toes before drifting off to sleep dreaming of a day where there shall be no more Wheezy kind. At least in my neighborhood.