...our little kingdom: February 2008

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Note to self

I have no idea who actually reads this blog. Unlike my stamping blog, if you come to this site you want to know what's really going on in our lives...or maybe you're just nosy- either way, we spill it all on this blog- the good, bad, & ugly. I have considered making another blog entitled "Note to Self" to record all of the things I have learned in my journey- especially with my new church responsibilities. This week has been a flood of "lessons learned" so instead of making my own private no-one-can-read blog, I'll just put it up here & I won't go into too much detail to save the innocent. :) If you read on, just remember- I am SO still learning.

So here they are, notes just for me-
Sunday: You can be really grouchy when you want to be, it's nicer on everyone else if you are kind. Breathing helps. Singing calms. Remember that one next time you decide to pre-make dinner before 9am church.

Monday: Obviously no parent is perfect, but hey- we knew that one already. Guilt does motivates us to do things, but it can also drag us down. The Lord is in control, He proved that tonight.

Tuesday: Sometimes nodding your head and smiling is better than opening your mouth. In all honesty, your experience of an "unbridled tongue" problem was a bit of a shock to more than just you. We're working on that, right? You don't want unkind words escaping again. The really unfortunate thing is that now that we have been placed in church leadership, we also represent the Lord when we're unkind. Hopefully everyone can remember we're human- but our goal (Lindsey) is to work harder at being a better example at all times.

Wednesday: 2 lessons- friends are good to center us & make us feel human again. Lesson #2 the work will never get done, it's always a work in progress. So just keep on trucking.

Thursday: Just one person's praises can make your whole outlook brighter. Remember that & return the favor.

Friday: (I've been doing visits to a lot of our church members and I was really worried about bringing my little girls along- that they would be pills & unpleasant.) When you're doing the Lord's work- he'll make good things happen to those around you.

So I haven't finished the week yet, but things are better each day. I'm striving to do my best- and that's what really matters! There were many smaller lessons learned- but these are good ones to note.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Trauma

Last night the family went up to the hospital to visit my dear friend, Mandy & her new baby and family. Preston, Ava's best friend was greeted with chicken nuggets and milk- what could be better than that? Riley- Preston's new little sister is cute and Mandy is doing well. It was good to see them. I'm so happy for them. They are dear friends.

After that we went to the park. I debated sharing this part for fear of being chided in my already guilt-filled-self, but I think there's got to be something we can learn from all of this. After we had eaten dinner, the girls were playing on the playground. Ava wanted to go down the big slide, which she has done before- so Todd & I went to help her. She did great. Well, as you know anything that Ava does, Sydnee also wants to do. She is so adventurous. So she climbed up the ladder without issue, with Todd right behind her. I was at the bottom of the slide encouraging them. In retrospect, he should have gone all the way down with her, but she's been down many slides- so we weren't concerned. Sydnee, who is normally fearless became scared just as Todd let go and in her panic Sydnee grabbed the side of the slide with such force that she yanked herself off and fell from the top of the slide. It's an image I'll be haunted with for all time. Since I was at the bottom of the slide and Todd was at the top, there was no way to catch her & she fell. I won't go into many more details other than saying she was fine. She cried (and so did I) & said her chin hurt, but otherwise was picture perfect. We are counting our blessings that the playground surface was gravel & softened her fall tremendously. I don't want to even think about other scenarios. There was a mother there who saw it happen who came over to talk to us- she said she was a family practice doctor & that Sydnee handled her fall well & looked fine. We left. Lesson learned, guilt pronounced. It's often a hard call as a parent to judge the ability or non-ability of a child. Sydnee is so small, but she is also so confident in climbing that it jaded us in thinking she could handle it. So I'm reliving it a lot today, but I'm trying my best to put it under the "lesson learned" category and move on. I can say for sure that there were angels there watching after her. I saw the whole thing happen and I can't help to think that something else softened her fall. To sum it up, I'm hugging both little girls a little longer today.

Now, I've got to get some work done. Hope your day is going well...

Monday, February 25, 2008

Happy Birthday Ava

We had a family dress-up party, it was a lot of fun & here are some of the fun people who came.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Happy Birthday Ava

Ava's first picture, 1 hour old

3 years old...

It's hard to believe that 3 years ago I was holding a newborn. 3 years seems like so long ago, especially when I look at Ava now. She is so fun, cute & smart. I was sitting down eating lunch with her talking about how its her birthday & she was so silly. She gasped and said, "It can be your birthday, too, Mommy!" Then she proceeded to tell me that fingernails were actually teeth on our fingers...did I mention she was silly?
I went to Wal-Mart today to get stuff for our family get-together to celebrate Ava tomorrow. I stopped by the container isle to price some items for Ava & Sydnee's closet. I totally scored. They had PINK medium containers with lids on sale for $1. I put them all in my already full cart & thought that it was probably misplaced & they were more like $4-6. NOPE! They were on sale- since they were pink, maybe they were Valentines? I don't know, nor do I care, but can I get a Yeehaw? Who can beat that? But I digress...
Tonight Todd & I are going to see Evita with the Prices. When I bought the tickets at Christmastime I didn't realize they were the same day as Ava's birthday, but oh well. She gets to celebrate her birthday with some of her favorite people today & tomorrow...again, "Who can beat that?" So here are a few of my favorite pictures of Ava...just to be all sappy.

I love this little girl. She has a fire in her spirit that is contagious. She has always been a social butterfly, observing the people around her. When she was a baby (and still today) people often comment on what a beauty she is- I've been her beauty inside & out. She is kind, and polite. She is a great sister, who loves her little sister & calls her her best friend. Ava loves giving hugs, and kisses and is great about saying I love you. She's always ready for an adventure & will play pretend for hours. She loves to play dress-up and we often find her asleep in her bed with a princess dress over her pjs. Ava is our teacher, being the first to join our little family. She is my little girl and my blessing, and today I celebrate my love for this blue-eyed beauty who came into my life & changed my world forever.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

How do you get a almost 3 year old to clean up a HUGE mess?

Answer? I have no idea...but I do know the game closet will be getting a lock on it. :)

Ava got into the games during my presidency meeting today. I'm not sure if I should clean it up or throw it all away. Either way I think I am the one who will really be cleaning is up, because this is actually a picture AFTER Ava had picked up a bit...interesting, isn't it? Feeling sorry for me? Don't, it could be worse!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Redemption

Since Valentine's was so bad, Todd redeemed himself by hiding this little table in the bedroom while I was busy with the girls. The cake was yummy- and so I guess he's redeemed himself, but he's still got to plan those dates! Don't let him forget! After our dessert, we had a romantic night of watching tv...and I believe I fell asleep...romantic, aint it? :)

It's not a lack of enthusiasm on my face it's a
"You're taking a picture of me when I look like this" face...

The yummy cake!

Isn't he sweet?

Doesn't that chair look comfortable?

Friday, February 15, 2008

It was a no contest

Due to a hectic & not-so-fun evening (Todd & I got into a tiff) at midnight we exchanged our gifts & Valentines. I won. No voting. I got him a night-over camping trip, the $10 paying for the camp site fees. This is my cute card, I'll be posting some other angles on my blog.

Todd made me some chocolate chip cookies because I had said, "There's nothing better in the world than a hot chocolate chip cookie."

Hope you weren't excited about voting, but this was a no contest! Wahoo! Now, if only Todd will actually PLAN the dates then it would be an exciting win! Hint! Hint!