Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Hello, Christmas......cookies

Micah's been gone for two days, so I thought I'd cheer myself up a smidge and make some Christmas cookies.

I listened to some Bing Crosby and Sufjan Stevens and ate too much butter cream frosting. So yeah, it cheered me up.



Oh, I love Christmas! And tomorrow Micah's coming home and we're getting a tree. Yippee!

Monday, November 30, 2009

My baby is 2!

If this is lame, I'm sorry. I didn't feel like uploading the same pictures to two different places! If anyone is interested in some Thanksgiving in St. Louis pics and Simone turning 2 pics, click HERE.

In a nutshell, we didn't hit a deer and our new 12 yr. old car has officially won my heart!
I didn't go into labor even though my doctor really didn't want me to leave AR.
I love my own mother dearly and her cooking is splendid, but Micah's mom's house is the place to be for Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 20, 2009

expressions

video

Monday, November 16, 2009

10 Honest Things

Okay, I just read Susan's most recent blog post and she nominated me to write 10 honest things about myself in my next post. Here goes!

1. I am way too excited about New Moon coming out on Friday.

2. I count EVERYTHING. Tiles, light switches, people's facial features, nails and screws in furniture. It's only since I've become a mom, and I think it's linked to the need to control things! I also love it when an address or a license plate has good numbers. Like 257 (because 2+5=7) or 2911 (because 11-9=2)

3. Somedays I feel like I have every possible wrong response to Simone and her changing needs and the best part of my day (probably both our days) is when she takes a nap and when she goes to bed. His mercies are new every morning. Otherwise I'd be in big trouble.

4. If we had enough money to do this, I would get a mocha cappuccino (or something along those coffee lines) everyday.

5. People's generosity to us in our married life inspires me to be generous, too. But I always say "when we make more money I'm going to do this and this and that for that person..." but money is just an excuse, I fear. Because I have other resources besides money that are just as valuable that I'm not giving of freely. Plus, even if we did make more money I'd obviously just go to Starbucks more often.

6. I adore cleaning. It's a relatively new-found love, and it probably goes back to the need to control things.

7. I have lots of fun ideas and plans for the future that go beyond 2012. And despite an intense faith in God and his goodness, the thought of the world ending then scares me. Dying isn't scary - it's the idea of living in a post-apocalyptic world that frightens me.

8. I started writing a "book" last year and I recently read some of it again and WOW is it horrible.

9. I have to know everything about everybody. It probably borders on gossip but I say it's because I love everyone and I'm truly interested. Probably a little of both.

10. I really love Dancing with the Stars. I mean I realllly love it. I call it DWTS, if that's any indication. This season is kind of blah, though. There are only 4 contestants left and I haven't voted all season.

....welp, those are what came to me off the top of my head! The rest of the "rules" are to nominate 7 other people whose blogs you love to read and keep up with so they can do the same thing.
1. Dorothy
2. Krista
3. Lara
4. Lauren
5. Sara
6. Jennifer
7. my other one is Susan, but she already did it :-)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Abundance

Micah is sick. Poor guy can't get a break. Tonight he's at the busiest station in the city, so if you're reading this before tomorrow morning, say a little prayer that he gets some sleep. Like...the whole night.

We crashed a deer on the way to Alabama. And it was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me. Not the actual impact, but the minutes after the fact where we looked at each other like Oh my dear God...what do we do? The sun was setting, we had NO IDEA where we were, and the front end of our car looked like we crashed into a deer. (I may or may not post a picture. It's just so depressing.)

I could make this into a verrrrrrry long story.

But there are a few bottom lines:
1.) we are alive.
2.) we had a heavenly weekend despite. (Nate was THE best person to get into a car with after all the scariness. We felt like crying but he's so goshdarn joyful all the time it was impossible to feel bad.)
3.) the deer collided with every essential part that makes a car run (except for my essentials like Simonegirl and Micah) so we are driving Nate and Christie's Saturn until we can find a new car.
4.) lastly, our delightful little cushion we've worked so hard to save was apparently being saved so we could buy a car.

I named this post "abundance" because after this deer situation, I realized a few things. I think Nate and Christie would literally do anything for us. And I think that's safe to say for all the family.

I'm truly okay as long as my two people are okay - even if we killed a deer and have no car and are stranded in the dark on a highway in Alabama.

I've always felt about 12 years old, but I kind of feel like I'm tip-toeing slowly toward adulthood. I felt pretty composed during it all. The only time my voice broke was when I was leaving a message on my dad's cell phone.

On the way home, Simone fell asleep and peed her pants. Normally this would have upset me, but it seemed like small potatoes.

This is a season of abundance. Thanksgiving is in two weeks, Simone will be 2 in two weeks. It feels like the crash dislodged some areas of my heart and I feel totally ready to make room for whatever God wants to refill it with.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

these are a few of my favorite things

Seasonal book displays in the children's section of Barnes and Noble.

Driving on Hwy. 12 by myself to see my grandma. (the trees are thrilling)

We're visiting Nate and Christie next week!!!!!!!

Simone is extremely sensitive and every so often makes sure we're doing okay. "You happy, mama? You happy, dada? Mone happy, too." (she calls herself Mone.)

This 80's song. (not crazy about the video, just the song. but Chrissie Hynde kind of looks cool no matter what.)

Simone says "On top of old cokey " instead of "old smokey."

Simone makes me sing "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables before bed at night. She wants me to do it exactly how Colm Wilkinson does it on YouTube which is really embarrassing and I don't do it when Micah is around.

Adding another member to this family. Thinking about what kind of family we want to be.

Simone can count on her fingers. She says, "Watch me now."

Micah Peter.

A couple weeks ago Simone realized that she didn't have to wait for us to get her out of bed in the morning, she could do it herself. So we've been waking up to a really croaky voice at our bedside, "Hi MamaDada."

St. Paul's. Specifically Lowell and Suzanne. Specifically the women's group. It's a rag tag bunch but I like that.

Holiday cut-out cookies. Ones that are actually edible like mine weren't last year.

***

Sometimes it's easy to wonder about God. It's easy to doubt and it's easy to believe He's not involved at all. Micah has had some horrible, horrible stories lately from work, and I have to admit my heart went there.

Maybe that's why I felt a compulsion to make this list. To remember good things. It's easy to let your mind be filled with darkness because truthfully, there's so much of it.

I just realized Simone kind of dominates this list. Probably because a.) I adore her, and b.) she's so innocent. She's such a promising beginning. She is tangible hope. How can I feel dark about things when she smells so good after a bath, or when she climbs up the slide at the park and looks behind her to make sure I'm watching.

God is renewing the world. He is reconciling the world to Himself. Children are a reminder of that. Cookies and husbands and families are a reminder of that.

It takes strength to hope, and I think when we make the conscious effort, when we resist the urge to doubt and despair, there's a victory for the good guys. Maybe it even hastens the day He redeems us all and calls us by name! Hallelujah!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Simone as a Cat; and Embracing the Big

Today for Simone's music class, all the kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Compared to the other costumes, it was obvious I spent about $2 and 5 min. on hers. Except halfway through the class, all the other kids were begging to take their fairy wings and lion's manes off. Simone kept her ears on the whole time :-)

This photo doesn't capture it, but she was really stoked about being a kitty.



***

The saddest part about crossing the "big" threshold is that it's hard for Simone to sit on my lap!



It's hard to believe I have 8 more weeks of growing to do - I feel stretched to maximum capacity as it is. This little person keeps moving like crazy - hopefully he/she is getting antsy and comes early so our deductible doesn't start over and we get the tax break! Oh money makes the world go round. *shudder*