All by myself.

On Monday, Emma will turn two. I am very aware that my girl is growing up by her constant demands to do everything on her own.  She no longer holds my hand while crossing the bridge on the play set at the park.  She doesn't want to sit on my lap on the train at the zoo.  And, she certainly doesn't want me to have my hand anywhere on her while she is riding the carousel.  She is on the fast track to all grown up and I'm grasping for the baby that I'm not ready to let go.  A missed nap left me a tired girl this evening, and this mama got just what she needed...  to rock her almost not a baby at all to sleep.  Ahh.

We had a great time at the zoo this morning with our friends Micah, Kinsley and Harper.  It's a good thing we were able to get out to enjoy the sunshine.  Thursday calls for more snow. 

Our friend, Chris, took some two year pictures of Emma and our family a couple of weeks ago.  I don't know how he does it, but somehow he managed to get some great pictures of our girl who never sat still, not even a little bit.

This last weekend we had a lot of fun getting together with Brett's family and meeting my father-in-laws cousins from Hot Springs, Arkansas.  We love getting together with family, and Becky and Mickey were such a treat to get to know!

I also had the opportunity to work with our church's Harvesters Outreach with my friend Dana.  We provide fresh fruit and vegetables, canned & boxed goods, clothing, books, prayer, worship, family portraits, haircuts, blood pressure readings, massages and brand new shoes. I love seeing all the ways our community reaches out.  We are looking forward to joining the Outreach team monthly!

This week we will be working on staying warm as another cold front blows in, and preparing for a very special party on Saturday ;)

Have a great week!

A week of favorites.

The last week has been full of all my favorites: park time, giggles, play dates, dinner dates as a family, and a little girl time with my bestie and other old friends I don't see very often.  

We haven't had a chance to get out to the park much this spring, er, extended winter.  Everyone has been feeling the blues lately.  Strangers share sympathetic nods while they button their jackets and pull up their hoodies before going out into the cold.  Sunday was a perfect day for everyone to put on their sandals and enjoy the rays before the expected snow begins this afternoon.  We are squeezing Emma into her winter attire that she barely fits into these days.  We refuse to move backwards in the progression of seasons by buying more boots and coats.

May is just around the corner, so we have been busy preparing our schedules for all of the upcoming weddings, graduations, and our favorite girls SECOND birthday!  I just don't know what I did before Emma.  She has become such a little girl.  She still loves to snuggle, which I hope she keeps for always.  She talks like a person.  It's crazy.  Everyday her words and sentences get more clear.  The other day she whispered "I of ooh, Papa" while talking to my dad. When she laughs, her whole body laughs.  It's perfect.  All of her stuffed animals are her "babies".  She has a couple of dolls she is really attached to.  She has us haul all her "babies" (eight stuffed and her dollies) up and down the stairs for every nap, bedtime, and awakening.  She won't let you forget a one.  It's pretty sweet :)  We dance around here a lot.  We will turn on Pandora while preparing meals and jam out.  Our favorite dancing stations are Cyndi Lauper, and The Temptations.  She loves to give hugs and kisses, say "bless you" after a sneeze, and she yells "AMEN" at the end of prayer.  Oh, and she really has a thing for shoes.  She will request a shoe change multiple times a day.     

Oh dear.

Have a great week!

Pedal Pusher.

Brett has wanted to get Emma a tricycle for awhile now.  This Sunday, on our way home from church, Emma holds up an old receipt in the backseat and yells "shopping!"  Brett, in all his daddy-gush glory obliges to her enthusiasm and stops by the first Target we see insisting that this is the day she gets her tricycle. Emma went all shy and passively reached toward the box when daddy asks her if she would like red or pink.  I think she knew we were acting impulsively and irresponsibly considering her birthday is a month away.  She was really excited about her own helmet, though.  The nice lady at the register cut off all the tags so she could wear it out of the store... and all the way home.  She squealed and danced watching Brett assemble her bike when we got back to the house.  Watching her beam with anticipation made it even more exciting for us!

The two of them were so proud riding up and down the block.  They have both been watching the other children in the neighborhood ride around with their daddy's with longing looks in their eyes.  I love watching my husband get so excited about teaching her new things.

What a wonderful way to end our weekend!

Hands...

Over the weekend, we met up with (most of) our small group from church to work on our service project.  We do one at the end of every semester.  This time, we tie-dyed shirts for the young boys at an orphanage in Ethiopia that our church sponsors.  Another group made pillowcase dresses for the little girls.  

I love our church for many reasons.  It has strengthened our faith through sermon 

worship,it has brought us to our amazing circle of friends that prays and plays with us, and it has given us such a heart for service by opening up so many avenues to serve in our community, and now around the world!

I'm not the best Christian.  Sometimes my heart and mind swim in doubt and self-pity.  There are a lot of times I find myself judging others and myself.  I worry too much about things I have, or don't have.  I compare myself to my neighbors. 

Finding this community of precious friends to offer their hands for support and prayer, they help me be a better Christian.  They remind me how connected we are to one another.  They open my heart to Jesus by watching them serve and love without boundaries.  They continue to leave an impression of God's love in my life.

I love that our children are a part of this.  Emma gets to watch this friendship and love and service.  We get to live by example of God's love.  She, and all of our children, watch us serve, pray, worship, behave imperfectly, and fail, and then be re-strengthened by His love. None of us are perfect, but we help hold each other to that bar of where we want to be, when we feel our hands are losing grasp.

My hands are still dyed in tints of black and purple in the creases and around the nails.  I kind of like having a reminder each time I look down of the way He is using our hands!

Bears in Chairs.

I went shopping with one of my girlfriends the other day.  I found a sweet little doll high chair (among other un-necessary items) for next to nothing at the sweetest little antique store.  Emma has loved this, and I've loved watching her tend to babies.  Every time I round a corner, she is feeding her baby or her bear.  There is nothing sweeter than watching your baby loving her babies.

We had a wonderful little potluck with our friends last Tuesday.  We have five kids under the age of two, so baby gates are a must at our gatherings.  The littles stand huddled around the entrances of the kitchen where the ladies gather waving their arms waiting for one of the bigs to feel bad enough to break them out.  Usually it is a dad who breaks down.

The weather is cold again today, and we are missing the sunshine we had over the weekend.  Em and I are taking things easy this week while we can before all the spring busy-ness begins.  In less than four weeks our girl will be TWO!  

Here are a few sweet pictures of our lazy days.  Be sure to scroll through to the bottom to watch Em dance!  Hilarious!