A couple of recommendations

I'm home today with a sick Eliza; she was supposed to go to school today, and I had breakfast planned with a friend, and a relaxing, care-free day of errands. Instead, we have been curled up on the couch watching Sesame Street and other various cartoons. But that's OK. That's my job as a mom, and I love being able to comfort her when she feels bad. She came running in our room last night at 2am trying to talk with her mouth closed; thank goodness Stephen was a little more coherent than me, and he rushed her in to the bathroom where she puked on the floor. Evidently she had been HOLDING it in her mouth. Bless her heart. But we were actually grateful as that was a much easier clean-up than carpet.

So anyway, she is settled for now so I wanted to take the time to do a post.

Ok, for some reason I get a little annoyed when reading someone's blog and they say things like "you need to go out today and buy this book; it will change your life" or "you are not a productive citizen until you read this book." It's not necessarily the recommendation that bothers me, because if there is any platform in which to express your opinion, by golly, it should be your own blog. I think it is more the tone, as in "I'm obviously more educated and well-read and more informed than you are so it is my duty to enlighten you." So as I make these recommendations below, I promise it is not that place that I am coming from. In fact, I am probably the least-informed person I know. I only watch the weather portion of the local news so I'll know how to dress the next day. I prefer reading blogs to newspapers. And the presidential debates literally put me to sleep. If it's not a Comcast headline, then I don't know about it. So, please don't feel like I'm trying to "educate" anyone by recommending any books or movies. Rather, I'd rather just tell you about something that has changed me, and just might lighten your load.

• This past weekend, we saw the movie"Fireproof" , which was fantastic. Sure, the acting is a little weak at parts, but the message about marriage is wonderful. And since I'm not great at critiquing movies, Here is a good article about the movie, actually from the New York Times. And sweet Stephen surprised me with 2 copies of the accompanying book "The Love Dare", which provides 40 days worth of devotions and ideas of ways to serve your spouse. Your marriage doesn't need to be "in trouble" to benefit from the wisdom and message about marriage that God speaks through this movie and book.

• I just finished the book The Shack, and to put it simply, it changed my life. If you've ever felt that God couldn't possibly love you, that you were too small or insignificant for Him to notice you, or just ever been confused by the concept of the Trinity, then please read this book. It has been controversial, even within Christian circles, as seen in this article , but I am in the camp that found it profound. It changed my entire perception of how God views us; I've always known that God loves us, but this book shows us just how deep and lavish that love is.

And one more thing that I found especially poignant after just finishing the Shack. Aunt Amy forwarded this post about Eliza and the rainbow to a couple of friends of hers, and this is what one sweet friend had to say. I've so appreciated all the precious comments on that picture!

" And second favorite would be the rainbow shot. Before you even told us the story about your neice and not ever seeing a rainbow before, I could tell in her face how much that moment meant to both of them. I love photographs that tell more than just one story. I could see soooooo many things in that picture. First, the little girl's expression. Pure Joy in her face. Her mommy is holding her, protecting her, she's at the beach, the wind is blowing and to top it off, she gets to see a beautiful rainbow. Second, Mommy is loving her baby girl, holding her, protecting her and just absorbing the moment with her child. Third, God working in the background. Loving them, showing off some of his best work, looking over them and protecting them. Through the clouds something beautiful appeared. Isn't that how God works. When something ugly or nasty appears in our life, God shines through somehow. I love it when pictures make me say, "wow" out loud. That one did. Keep up the good work."

Alys Beach

Whew, I'm finally getting a chance to post some of our amazing beach pictures, big thanks to my talented sister-in-law Amy! BIG BIG shout out to Amy and Cliff also for having us as your guests for a few days at the incredible Alys Beach. We had a wonderful time spending time with them, and their precious boys Ellis and Owen, with lots of much-appreciated help from Gram and Papaw, too! It was good times at the beach, good eating, and relaxing by the unbelievable pool. We felt a little bit like the Clampetts walking into this pool, while schlepping all our toys and towels, complete with inflatable baby pool which we carried in a trash bag. We were a lovely sight. It was a vacation we will never forget!

Also, if you live in the Jackson, Mississippi area and are in need of a good photographer, please give Amy a call. Take a look at her blog to see more of her work---she's great!

Eliza's rainbow

For the past few months, Eliza has been a little obsessed with rainbows, and especially the fact that she had never seen one. Just a couple of weeks ago, she had me write out the words "I have never seen a rainbow" on a piece of paper so she could copy them on "signs" to put all over the house. A little strange, I thought at the time. Then last week at the beach, sweet Aunt Amy (Stephen's sister) was taking some family pictures for us one late afternoon as a storm was getting ready to roll through. We were just leaving as we could see the rain coming in the distance (a BEAUTIFUL sight in itself) when we looked up and saw this. What a BLESSING that God sent it when Amy was there to snap this shot! Eliza was so excited, and it was such a sweet moment to look at it and talk about how the rainbow was a sign of God's promises and how much He loves us. I never cease to be amazed at that thought.

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Interesting blog

We just got back from the beach, and I will post pictures as soon I get caught up with everything around here (it was FANTASTIC), but for now I'm just going to post a link to an incredible blog I've come across. Another friend had a link to it on her blog, and said it was some of the best writing she'd seen in a while (and she's a writer herself, so I knew it would be good!). Anyway, the blog itself is called "Et tu? Musings of a former atheist" and is a 31 year old devoted Catholic woman who, until 5 years ago, had never believed in God. She is an amazing writer with such an interesting perspective on things, and I must confess I'm envious of her spiritual depth---I've been a Christian for 25 years and have been in church since birth, but I'm nowhere near her spiritual maturity. And she's my age with young kids so I can really identify with her season of life. So anyway, if you have some time, sit back and read and be challenged. This is everything I love about blog-reading.

This one post blew me away, and it was featured on a "blog-zine", which shares posts from some of the best blogs out there. Here is a link to that article,"Building a House of Cards", and here is a link to her blog, "Et tu?"

Soccer and markers and labels, oh my!

We've had a lot going on lately, so here's a little catch-up on what we've been up to!

Eliza had her first soccer game on Saturday, and I have to admit, she's quite the little athlete! She gets that from her daddy, obviously. She scored 3 goals including the first 2 of the game (no goalie); however, we are having to talk with her about the "team" concept; every time someone else scored, even her own team member, she would cross her arms and pout because SHE hadn't scored it.

I think she was most excited about her Aunt KK who came home from college to see her game!

Stephen took Eliza to our local team's baseball game and she had a blast. Especially eating ice cream out of the little helmets, which was always my favorite thing to do too!

This is what happens when Mommy checks her email and Davis gets a hold of a marker. (Don't worry--it's non-toxic).

Davis thought he was big stuff when he climbed into this chair and played with the princess cash register.

To offset the princess cash register picture, Stephen took this one of Davis last week; he swears that when Davis heard the College Game Day music, he went and got his football and pulled up a chair (albeit a Cinderella chair). And all I see is a pink Belle ball. Such is the life of a second child with big sister.

Lastly, I've been labeling. My dear husband and I have a somewhat different way of "organizing". I believe in the mantra "a place for everything and everything in it's place." However, Stephen is what I call a "crammer". As long as he can see the playroom floor, he thinks it's clean; whereas I get panicky when all toy parts are not together. And for some reason, he just couldn't follow the organization system I had in my head. Probably the same reason he can't read my mind :). So I made these labels for our playroom to assist us in keeping it organized. It makes me happy to just stand and look at it.

Update on Zeke

So I stand corrected. My sister Heather informed me tonight that she distinctly remembers asking me why Zeke was no longer around, and I answered "He threw up too much. He died."

Yikes. Maybe I was a total weirdo as a child?

I do really HATE to throw up.

First day of preschool!

My little cuties started mother's day out yesterday, and they both had great days. Davis didn't nap there, but he did when he got home, which was nice. They were both pretty worn out, but love, love, loved school. And so did mommy :) Even if I did have to get my teeth cleaned :(

My imaginary friend

When I was a little girl, maybe 3 or 4, I had an imaginary friend. His name was Zeke and his dad was Pete Rose. I think I remember that he died by falling off a trampoline, but that seems really morbid. Do any of my family members have any memories of this??

Now that I've confessed, please don't think that I am a total weirdo. When my husband makes fun of me about this little part of my childhood, I tell him that having an imaginary friend is really a sign of extraordinary intelligence. I have no scientific data to back that up, but it makes me feel better to think it might be true.

I have no recollection of where he came from, or why I invented him, or why he disappeared. It's not like I was short on playmates; I played with my older sister Heather (pestered her is more like it), and my brother Chris would have been a baby at the time. I went to preschool and was in the church nursery from birth. I had the great fortune of growing up in the same city as most of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and saw them all often. But for some reason I invented a friend that did not exist. It seems very strange to me even now as I type. Does anyone have any insight to make me feel like I'm not a total freak??

I do have vague memories of talking to Zeke. Which is what led me to this post: Eliza talks to herself. Quite often. Usually when she's working on something alone while I'm doing stuff around the house, like when she's busy coloring, or doing a workbook page, or practicing writing her letters. Not when she's playing with dolls or ponies, like I would expect. What cracks me up is that sometimes she talks to herself like I talk to her:
"What's this letter? H? Yes--good job!"
"First, we are going to go upstairs. Then we are going to go potty. Then we will read books and go to bed."

Or, "Mommy says I have to clean up my playroom."

At first I thought she had obviously inherited my tendancy toward imaginary friends, i.e. extraordinary intelligence. So one day I nonchalantly asked her who she was talking to. She just said, "Myself." Well, I still think she is extraordinarily intelligent :)

Here is a little video I took of her today by holding the camera out while I stood behind a wall, because if she knew I had a camera and was watching, she would have stopped immediately and started doing her "cool gymnastic moves" for the camera instead. She's not talking to herself here, but singing. She does that often too; just her own little made-up songs. I have no idea what she is singing about here, but I do think it's pretty sweet.

I promise I really am crafty

I realized the other day that despite the name of my blog, I haven't been very "crafty" lately. I've got a stack of fabric sitting in my closet (yes it's still clean!!) of fall outfits for Eliza that I've already cut out (hurray! I HATE cutting out patterns with every fiber of my soul). And I've actually appliqued one (another hurray!). But it's still sitting there in pieces, like a long-forgotten toy that is longing to be played with. But, alas, next week is my saving grace: MDO is back in business! ("mother's day out" if you are not familiar with this lovely creation). Now that Eliza doesn't nap anymore, and I'm just so darn tired at night, I have very little free time to work on projects. Or at least I tend to spend most of that free time reading other people's blogs and looking at their lovely projects instead of working on my own. But next week, both of my beloved children will be at school at our church 2 days a week, and although I will spend one of those days working at church, I will still have one day to play. I'm determined to get back on track--I have a million ideas buzzing around in my head, if I can only get them going. And I better hurry; we are looking at putting our house on the market in the near future, and my beloved sewing machine and serger will most likely be packed away will all the legions of toys cluttering our house in an attempt to make it "show-ready". But....I digress. That's a post for another time.

One reason I haven't been sewing is that I've had a TON of stationery business lately, which has been fantastic. In addition to doing something I LOVE, creating stationery for people, I got to send the Adamus family a little extra last month as a result of those orders, which was great. I know they are preparing for back-to-school in Poland like everyone here, which means additional costs for their three kids. So a big thank-you to everyone who ordered from me--it's much appreciated! Below are some of my recent creations (I've changed some details for security purposes). Maybe I've been crafty after all...

Rollercoaster day

I've been in a little bit of a dry spell lately about blogging, as ideas to write about just weren't coming to my mind. Then yesterday I had a day of highs and lows; I was overcome with sorrow to see that little Joseph a 4-year old little boy that lives our area, passed away yesterday afternoon. I knew his parents a little bit, Allen and Gillian, in college, and heard about his illness a few months ago and have since been praying for him and following his progress on their blog, Pray for Joseph. It was only this past November that they learned he had an aggressive brain tumor. Since then, he's had an endless run of surgeries, chemo, steroids, and other treatments. In their post Wednesday night, they had gotten the news that day while at St. Jude that he only had a few days to live, so they were coming home Thursday morning to try to enjoy spending those days in their home where Joseph could be comfortable. But he died in their bed shortly after they returned home. I cried so much for them yesterday, and am still teary now as I write. Although I know Joseph is completely whole and in the arms of Jesus now, my heart is broken for his parents, whose faith has been so strong. I cannot imagine their pain as he passed into heaven, knowing that they would no longer be able to hold their baby boy in their arms anymore. I read an article recently by a woman who had lost her daughter at a young age, and she said for months after she died, her arms would physically ache from longing to hold her daughter again. Yesterday I just held Eliza in my arms for a long time (while watching Curious George), kissed her head about a million times, smelled her hair, while the tears fell for Allen and Gillian. Please keep them and their little girl Holly in your prayers.




That was the low of my day, and then the high was girl's night out with my playgroup buddies at PF Changs, yum yum and so much fun. It's so nice after spending days in my "faux workout wear" (it looks like I'm on my way to or from the gym, but I actually haven't worked out in months and just wear them for comfort) to get all gussied up and go out with to a great dinner with some fantastic girlies with no diaper bags, goldfish, or sippy cups in sight. What a joy to eat, drink, and be merry and only have to worry about myself. Of course, we love our kids, but it's nice to have a break from the constant care-taking of our kiddos. This playgroup started as a group of neighborhood moms with new babies--Eliza was just 8 weeks old at our first meeting and slept in the Baby Bjorn the whole time; and the other three little girls just laid on a blanket on the floor. For the past 4 years we've gotten together every other week for some much needed playtime for the kids and "adult" time for the moms. We've added new friends and siblings, and had one friend move away. Next year the oldest girls, including Eliza, will be heading off to kindergarten so we'll have to adapt our plans a little, but I truly hope we can stay together for many years to come. So here's a "shout out" to my playgroup girls (I think we need a name for our group?)--thank you for your friendship. Here are some pictures of the girls over the years:


This was one of our first meetings. That's Eliza--the 2nd pumpkin from the left. They're all so tiny!





This one cracks me up. Sorry Josie and Olivia by making you sit on the couch--it looks like torture!




I don't have any pictures for a while after this one above because we couldn't get them all to sit still in one place long enough.

This is from Eliza's party a couple of weeks ago. So big!! (thanks Hanna for the pic!)


So I ended my emotional rollercoaster day by feeling so grateful for the many blessings God has given us.