That's my son

Sometimes, I think about how my blue eyed boy

is such a happy little boy.

His smile is contagious

and he adds such a beautiful dynamic to our family.

Finished!

On February 14th 2010, I committed to taking a picture every day for a year and writing a little blurb about the photo, our day, or just a special memory. On February 14th 2011, I accomplished that goal.

The idea was born from a post I saw on a friends wall on Facebook referring to the site 365project.org. I didn't follow their key too much other than try to improve my photography skills and take a picture every day. Mostly though, it really encouraged me to make a memory every day with my kids, and I love that. As I look back through this journal that I made over the last year, I love seeing how much fun we had, and I can see some of the cool things we did, as well as a few of the hard days that were inevitable. I'd be lying if I said that it was easy, because finding time never is. But, lover of projects that I am, I've started a new one, prayer journals for Micah and Eden. I got the idea from this blog, and loved how she  said that if she's not on her knees praying for her children, she's failing. I felt so convicted by that and really hope that now that I am done with my 365 project, I will devote my time to these prayer journals.

Well Said

We stayed with my parents for a few days this past week while Mike was away on business. My mom and dad loved spending time with the kids and it was so nice to have a bit of reprieve. I think my mom summed it up well when she described Eden.

She said, "To know her...

...is to love her.

"She's adorable."

Priorities List

learn to love God

spend quality time with Mike

make Eden & Micah belly laugh

create a memory each day

.

.

.

I like this list much better!

To-Do List

work on micah's baby book

get videos/pictures off of computer

go grocery shopping

find recipes my family likes

write thank you notes

dust

work on the alphabet with Eden

do the Love Dare with Mike

empty the dehumidifier

clean my car and closet

search for a house

set up some playdates

plan our trip

laundry

organize craft drawers

teach Eden how to tie her shoe

My old-fashioned orange juice maker

Micah's 1st tooth!

This little guy woke up with something new. His bottom right tooth came through this morning. Here's to hoping we get some sleep soon.

A toothless grin no more?

I may have just spotted the culprit to our long nights around here. Not quite through the gum yet, but it's definitely coming.

My two rascals

Eden and Micah have matching pajamas, so naturally I told her I wanted to take a picture of my two little rascals.

Eden responded by grabbing a toy broccoli and saying "No, now Micah's a clementine".

How to have fun (if you're a 2 year old)

First, you need to start off with a nice clean piece of paper.

And then you'll need some bright colored finger paints.

But instead of using just your fingertips to paint, it's fun to dip your whole hand.

And don't forget to name the picture, like this one named "snakes and popcorn".

Sometimes painting is hard work, so you'll need to take a break to make some "tattoos".

And when you're done with your masterpiece, simply wash your hands in the paint.

The Knox Blox Fiasco

Eden loves to go grocery shopping. I've learned that nearly every grocery store will give you something if you only ask. Pick 'N Save will give her a piece of cheese from the deli or a cookie from the bread counter; The Piggy Store (Eden's name for Piggly Wiggly) will give a knox blox from their deli and a token for the machines at the front of the store; Sentry will give a helium balloon and a piece of cheese. I personally could care less where we go, but to Eden it's a pretty big deal with all the choices of cheese, balloons, and prizes.
Yesterday we had a heat wave here in Wisconsin, a whopping forty five degrees, so the kids and I headed out for a walk.

We walked to the Piggy Store, and Eden talked for over a mile about what color knox blox she was going to have. So we got to the Piggy Store and promptly went to the deli counter where I was told that they don't give out knox blox to children. I told the lady that they did because my daughter got one every time we've been to the store. She stared at me with a puzzled look and told me to go to the other end of the deli and she could have a free cookie. I'm mildly embarrassed that I wouldn't take no for an answer, but lady, just give me a yellow knox blox and I'll leave.
Now don't get me wrong here, I know that life is full of disappointments, blah, blah, blah, we have to teach that to our children.
So we just stood there, and waited. Another deli worker was close by and staring the whole time. Apparently, she never heard such a debate over a knox blox. This kind evesdropper walked up the the lady I was debating with and said out of the corner of her mouth,"just give her a knox blox." So, Eden got a yellow blox, and we had a happy walk home. I'm not proud of myself for being fussy, but I am happy I was my daughter's advocate, a big deal in her little world.

Decisions, Deciscions

Mike is an incredible dad. It's not just how enthusiastic he is, or how creative he is when he plays with the kids. It's like he makes a conscious effort to make Eden & Micah's life more fun. It might make his life a little more complicated and hard, but he doesn't care. So, usually Mike gets Eden ready for bed and he lets her pick out her own socks.

They empty the sock drawer on the changing table and he goes through each design with her until she finds one she's happy about wearing.
I've rarely tried Mike's method. It's just hard for me and it's just that extra step of selflessness that I don't feel like I've attained yet. But this morning I decided to give it a go. I told Eden she could pick out her socks and she came bouncing over to me with her socks, she'd picked "smileys".

"Mary had a little Man"

For her birthday, my parents gave Eden the Little People Nativity set. She loves it and she still to this day plays with it every day. She also loves the Christmas story of Jesus too. Setting up her little people and animals is a daily occurrence that often looks like this:

So, I shouldn't have been surprised when I heard Eden singing yesterday when she was setting up her nativity scene. "Mary had a little man, little man, little man. Mary had a little man that lived on Drury Lane."

Happy Valentines Day!

Monday was Valentines Day. I was not prepared, I had all these good intentions of things I wanted to do for Mike and fun crafts I wanted to make with Eden. We did both make daddy a card, and I did get Mike a present (Levi's). But I think the most romantic thing happened without all the hoopla of planning. On Sunday, we wanted to get out of the house. We needed some things at Sam's, and who doesn't love free samples of deliciously, fattening food. After we all piled in the car, Eden made the suggestion of going to the zoo. Mike and I looked at each other, and decided that was the best suggestion we'd heard all day. So we went, and then went to Sam's. I wandered off on my own to try to find a gallon drum of vinegar to no avail. When I got back to the cart, I saw flowers. Beautiful flowers. See, I may have suspected that Mike would get me flowers on Monday, because Monday was Valentines Day, but I never would have guessed he would get me flowers on Sunday. Aren't they beautiful.

Now back to Valentine's Day. I made spaghetti in hopes that we'd eat together as a family, but Mike called and said he was going to be late. Bummer. But it was Valentine's Day, and I couldn't be upset with my Valentine. Little did I know, he was shopping for his little ones, and brought them home adorable outfits.

Wild Thing

Mike and I tried to watch the movie "Where the Wild Things Are." We couldn't. It made me too sad. This poor little boy, whose parents were divorced, went around being sassy, disobedient, and just plain naughty. I was pregnant at the time, so maybe my fuse was just a tad shorter for tolerance. Anyway, I loved the book by Dave Eggers and vividly remember the mind pictures I got when I read about Max running around in his wolf suit. It was so boyish and wild. So, a while back, we got mailed a World Market reward and bought a dinosaur towel. To me, there's just something fun about wrapping up in a cute towel after a bath, that and we seem forever low on children's bath towels.
Eden tried it out for the first time the other night.

And my thoughts came racing back to Max in his wolf suit, only this is Eden in a dinosaur towel.

Our project for the day

I try to keep Eden entertained. We have a lot of fun around here, honestly. Some days we bake, some we color, some days we work on the alphabet, or maybe we just sit around and sing songs and dance. It's simple, and who doesn't love fun.
So, when I was little, I remember my mom would trace me on a giant piece of paper. I'd color it and I thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world. I got a big piece of paper from my mom and decided to make it our fun project for the day. I traced Eden and then we had to dump out all the crayons.

But a certain little person, just really wanted to find all the biggest crayons...

...so that they could be snapped in half.

Then we got back to coloring after all the big crayons were snapped.

And all the while, this little big boy looked on.

Baby Feet

Running low on fuel

Mike has been working like a dog lately, and metaphorically speaking "running low on fuel". Coincidentally, my mom sent me a picture labeled "a hard day's night" get it...working like a dog, hard days night, yes, we love the Beatles.

Now to try to get to my point; it's been a debate for Mike and I since the beginning of our marriage relationship, how many miles a car can run on "E". My thoughts tend to be more on the conservative end of the spectrum, while Mike likes to be on the liberal end of things. Last week, Mike was on his way home from work, he called me from his cell and told me that his car was running out of gas and that he was by the water tower a block away. He told me that he thought he could coast it into the parking lot, and he did. He made it!
I was irritated at first, "how irresponsible" my narrow little mind thought. "How hard is it to get gas" went through my head as Mike walked in the door. Oh me, of little kindness. My hardworking husband walked through the door, with a beaming smile. He said,"I didn't want to stop for gas,I was too excited to see you guys." I tell you, that man can melt my hard heart with a flash of his smile and his piercing blue eyes. But this was more than melt my heart, this was to stir my soul. God gave me a husband with a work ethic unlike anything I've ever seen and a heart for his family like most only dream of. Wish I'd have focused on those things before those naughty thoughts entered my head.

Baby Yiddish

Our PJ Library book this month was about baby yiddish. One of my favorites was "nosh" and when I saw this picture, it summed up the meaning perfectly.

Nosh, nosh, nosh.

A difference of opinion

Her idea of getting the hair out of her eyes.
My idea of beautiful.

My blue eyed boy

beautiful blue eyes...

...just like daddy

The prayer of a 2 year old

"Dear Jesus,
Thank you for MEeeee,
and thank you for Micah"

What's better than sipping hot chocolate?

Judging by these photos

I'd say having it all over your face.

Proof...

...that Micah is four and a half months and sitting!

The faith of a child

Eden turned two in October, and will soon be two and a half in April. Mike is thirty, soon to be thirty and a half :) tomorrow. Micah is four months, soon to be five on the 11th. Me, well, lets not go there. My point? Eden's not yet two and a half and has such a hunger and zest for Jesus. It's truly a beautiful thing. We work on Bible verses together, usually at her prompting and when we've said all the ones we know, she'll often say "work on some more." Oh that my faith were that strong.
Verses she currently knows and says:
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (We've just started working on verse 2)
Ephesians 4:32 Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted forgiving one another.
God, give me hunger for You like hers.

Sleeping Beauty

And the best part is that she's in my arms.

Our Current Situation

cozy........................................check
cuddling....................................check
snowed-in...................................check
pizza being delivered tonight...............check
what's missing???...............Michael, please come home!