Baby, it's cold outside!

Wordless Wednesday...

Childlike faith...

Tonight we were doing our usual bedtime routine...after several story books, we do prayers with E and say a version of "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep..." E has managed to fold her hands or sort of bow her head during parts of this ritual in the past, but nothing very specific. Tonight, she folded her hands before we even started, a sign that she knew it was time to pray. She kept her hands folded for the entire prayer, and bowed her sweet little head. It brought this Mommy to tears to see a little one learning how to talk to Jesus...

Simple joys...

... a new wreath for the front door...

doesn't this cute little guy spread some holiday cheer?

...seeing my daughter enjoying Christmas lights!

It's going to be a fun Christmas with her this year!

You know you're tired when...

...you WAY oversleep and never even heard the alarm...or hubby's blaring clock radio!
...you shower, but forget to wash your hair...so you have to get back in and get that taken care of!
...you drop your makeup "tacklebox" on the bathroom floor, and makeup, brushes and a million little items go flying everywhere!
...you are making instant oatmeal for breakfast and almost pour the oatmeal packet contents into your full coffee cup instead of your empty bowl!

(Needless to say, it was a several-cups-of-coffee morning around here.)

Holiday Hoopla...

Need a giggle? Click here...

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

And yes, I did make these pies - one pumpkin and one pecan - by myself!

Can't wait to taste them!

Big girl....

I had to take E back to the doctor yesterday to get her ears re-checked. Sweet girl had an ear infection two weeks ago, and still has nasty congestion, so they wanted to check her again. The nurse had E stand on the "big kid scale" instead of laying down on the baby scale. E was very proud of herself. She stood very still and grinned at the nurse. Too funny!

We're on a roll now...

Tooth number three made an appearance today!

It's the other bottom middle tooth!
We're on a roll now!

Popcorn!

E tried popcorn for the first time today...mmm, what a yummie snack! Her eyes lit up with the first bite, as if to say "hey, mom, this is good -- you've been holding out on me all this time!" Sweet times with my girl...

Sweet memories...

Last night we went to the mall for a mini date night. We got Chick Fil A for dinner and did a little window shopping. (E ate almost half of my sandwich....and I'd fed her dinner before we left!!!)

Right before we left for the evening, dear hubby and I stopped to get Starbucks. While we were waiting for my peppermint mocha latte, I was showing E how you can toss pennies into the water. My sweet girl liked holding a penny, and didn't understand why Mommy would want her to throw it away! Finally, we convinced her to toss her penny (with help) into the sparkling blue water. Then she held my hand and marched down the mall in her new big girl tennis shoes, pleased with herself and having such a fun time.

Sweet times with my girl and my dear hubby....I love it!

Chuckle of the day...

Like most children, E loves to go outside. She constantly tests the front door to see if it will magically open, allowing her access to the great world beyond our little home. When people ring the doorbell, she is thrilled not only at the prospect of guests, but at the opportunity to step outside to greet them.

To indulge her new-found love of the outdoors, E and I have been taking walks around our cul de sac after her afternoon nap most days.

This afternoon, the wind was blowing pretty hard, bringing in much cooler weather. Instead of our usual long walk, we just went to the mailbox and back. Not long after that short trip, two Mormon missionaries rang our doorbell. Not inclined to answer the door to greet strangers (or to get into a theological "argument" at that moment) I decided not to answer the door. This did not sit well with my daughter, who proceeded to bang on the inside of the door, wiggle the doorknob and peek through the blinds of the window next to the door to see what was outside.

The missionaries' incessant knocking and doorbell ringing only furthered E's efforts. Finally, frantic that she was missing something very important, she burst into tears! It took me quite a while to get her calmed down.

I'm going to have to teach her that Mommy doesn't always want to talk to everyone that's on the other side of that door! :-)

Fun family weekend...

Hubby's sister Lucy and her boyfriend Alan visited this past weekend....such fun to relax and spend time with family! And E was spoiled rotten of course! Special memories...

Update on 23-month-old Rachel

Rachel was able to come home from the hospital this afternoon. She still has a lot of recovering to do, but her fever is gone, and her condition can be managed at home.

Praise God for His goodness!

Update on Amy and Frank and the babies...

We offer a prayer of thanksgiving with family friends Amy and Frank. Amy was stabilized at the hospital earlier today and allowed to go home. She will be on bedrest until doctors determine what caused her bleeding earlier today. The twin babies are doing great, but we are still concerned, as they don't know what caused this episode and are still really unsure what exactly is going on.

We praise God that Amy was stabilized today and ask that God keep her and the babies in His loving care and protection!

Prayer Requests...

Please pray for Wes and Jill -- Jill is Ben's cousin. Their 23 month old daughter Rachel is very sick with a double ear infection, bronchitis and pneumonia and is currently hospitalized. Please pray for this family (including three year old daughter Rebekah) that God will grant them strength to deal with this situation and that He would grant healing for Rachel.

Please pray for family friends Amy and Frank. She is 18 weeks pregnant with twins and this morning was rushed to the hospital due to cramping and bleeding. Amy and Frank have a three year old son named Christian. Please ask God to keep this family in His loving care, and to protect the lives of Amy and the babies.

We ask for God's good and perfect will in both of these situations!

Special memories...

Tonight we took E to our church's fall carnival. It's the same carnival I went to every year when I was growing up...the name of the event is the same, most of the games are the same...it's a quirky, sweetly familiar event.

It's so neat to be able to take my own little girl to an event like this - she can build her own memories of these fun times...and I have my own new memories of my daughter's fun at these events that layers beautifully over my childhood recollections of the same things.

My parents met us at the church for the fun, and our friends Ethan and Mommy Britney joined us for a hayride, the duck game (a favorite!), the fishing game, muffin tin surprise and more. Such a fun time!