Circles & Diamonds

I bought Layla a giant Dora coloring book as a treat for when she came home from her first day back at "school." Turns out I didn't need to give it to her because she and Piper were having a grand ol' time playing with each other after an entire day apart. That definitely warmed my heart :-)

Today, I gave it to her and I made a few observations about the growth of her coloring that I was simply not expecting to see.

First, she was holding her crayon more like a big girl and less like a toddler! Instead of "fisting" it, she had it sticking out between her ring and pinky fingers.

Second, she drew a circle! Obviously not a perfect circle, but a circle nonetheless. This stuck out to me as I remember seeing somewhere a picture depicting the evolution of a child's drawings from the straight scratches a toddler makes to stick figures with all parts represented and fairly proportioned. One of the stages was making circular patterns. I had actually forgotten about this progression until tonight.

Third, I noticed her being more aware of what is to be colored and what is not...more aware of the lines. If you look at her drawing, you may not see this at first glance as she was most definitely still going crazy at times with her coloring :-) However, she was seeking out spots within the lines and coloring in those areas a significant amount of time.

Finally, as I was in the kitchen prepping some foods for pureeing for both Piper and our meals (trying out some Deceptively Delicious meals) I heard Layla saying, "Look, I made a diamond, mommy! Look, mommy! I made a diamond!" I really don't know what I expected to see when I walked in, but low and behold, there was a diamond! I could not believe my eyes! Again, not a perfectly formed diamond, but definitely a diamond. I am still in shock!



My little girl is growing so quickly! I hope to take notice and treasure even more of these little steps as she grows and matures into a beautiful young girl.

It's the Little Miracles

I first wrote this as a note in Facebook so I could tag some key people. I also wanted it in the same place as my other blogs, so here it is copied and pasted in all its glory :-)

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This summer has been quite different than I ever could have imagined. I had no idea what was in store for me when beginning my Master's and working to complete 4 graduate courses in 10 weeks (it's not over yet!). This on top of wanting to fully embrace my time as a stay-at-home-mom for the summer by doing as much with my girls as possible is time consuming enough. However, the first of the summer also marked a new, unexpected, journey in my life. One that I would never choose to be on, but here I am. This road alone could have been enough to push me over the edge of insanity. Some may argue that I've long gone over, but that's beside the point. :-) I've come quite close. I dare say I've found myself hanging by my fingernails at times. But I'm back up on my feet and I firmly believe I would not be here had it not been for certain people - those of you tagged in this note and a few others who aren't yet in the Facebook world.

The past several weeks at church, each sermon seems to be speaking directly to my situation. Nothing short of a God thing. This morning's sermon made me think of you, though.

How to be a Conduit to a Miracle - Acts 3

I'm not going to talk here about miracles as we think of them (i.e., medical healings). I'm talking about the small, little miracles that happen within lives everyday that we may not even notice.

I'm not going to repreach the sermon, but there were 3 points. It was stated that if you want to be a conduit to a miracle you need to:
1) Be plugged in to Christ (Acts 3:1 Peter & John are daily "plugged into" Christ through prayer time)
2) Give away what you have (Acts 3:6 Peter & John had no money, but they gave what they had)
3) Be used (Acts 3:12-16 Peter & John were willing to be used for God's glory)

An analogy was given comparing playing softball and our willingness to be used for Christ.

The pastor's daughters have played softball for a while and he's invested a lot of money and time into their sport. He doesn't mind if they strike out, but he gets "offended" when they just stand there at the plate and don't even swing at the balls thrown. He's invested so much into the sport and they just stand there as if to say, "I don't want to try" or "I'm scared I will miss" or "Maybe the next ball will be better."

Is this how God looks at us when we don't put into practice what He's invested in us? He's given us so many talents, resources, etc. He's given us time and energy. And we often just stand there resting the bat on our shoulder telling ourselves we can't do it. We don't know how. What if we miss? What if someone sees me mess up? I don't know what to say. Someone else will do it...

Thank you for swinging. Some of you may have swung once, others multiple times. You may be confused as to how/when you swung. But you did. You may have felt that your swings were nothing but strikes...but you didn't just stand there and watch the ball go by as many others have. That may have been the easiest thing to do. Who wants to swing only to face the "humiliation" of missing? I'm positive most of you had no idea what to do or say. But you swung. You tried. You allowed yourselves to be used. You gave what you had.

I find it far more than just coincidental that this sermon happened immediately following the week I had become quite irritated, frustrated, upset, etc. by focusing on what others had NOT done to help me through this time. God gave me a nice reminder that I need to focus on the work He is doing through those who are plugged into Him, giving what they have, and willing to be used.

You, my friends, swung for Christ. He is doing great things through this situation. You have been a conduit to a miracle.

I can't put into words a description of the miracle in my life; I can't name it. In fact, before this morning, I would never have even looked at this as a miracle in my life. But it is. I can feel it. And I thank you.

Swing away.* Always. Not just for me. Not just now. But so that you are always in a position to be a conduit to a miracle.



Proverbs 11:25 - A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.



*If I were ever going to use this in a message to others, I feel a clip from the movie Signs might be appropriate. Maybe. It is 11:30pm, and I could just be delirious :-)

It's nights like tonight

...that I miss peanut butter.

I haven't had dinner. It's too late to cook anything, yet I need something substantial.

It's nights like tonight that I used to pull out the peanut butter and spread it on some toast.

It's nights like tonight that I used to pull out the peanut butter and spread it on a tortilla with a bit of drizzled honey and warm it in the oven.

It's nights like tonight that I used to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It's nights like tonight that I miss peanut butter.

Allergies: 2, Girls: 0

The girls had their allergist appointments today. Layla's was to retest for the egg allergy. Piper's was to test for food allergies.

Going in I was 99% sure Piper had a peanut allergy. When things like this.....







become commonplace, you know something's wrong.

When this.....





occurs after physically coming in contact with peanut butter, you can pretty much bet that's the culprit.


But we made it official today. Piper tested 4+ on a 0-4 scale. We will now be living in a "peanut-free" environment.

Layla tested 4+ on the same scale. It sounds as though her allergy has worsened, but this was a different test than the one we had a year ago. Her first test was with a blood draw and she scored a 2-3 on a scale of 0-6. I'm guessing that a blood test is more accurate.

Egg allergies (although they can be fatal) are not as likely to pose a serious threat like the peanut allergy does. So we do still have eggs in the house. I don't eat them, though. I've never been a fan of eggs. It's the baking that was an issue for me. But after a year, I have finally found a substitute I really like.

1 Tbsp. flax seed + 3 Tbsp. water = 1 egg
Mix together and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it becomes gelatinous (you will have to stir it occassionally at the beginning)

There are three benefits for this substitute:
1) It's natural (that boxed egg-substiute stuff scares me)
2) It's healthier than eggs
3) I can eat my cookie dough guilt-free!!

This peanut thing is going to give me a run for my money, though. Peanut butter is my favorite food!!

I've voluntarily been off of it for a month now and have realized just how often I eat it. It's the perfect snack! It goes with everything! And now I'm left without it in my diet :-(

However, the benefits (and cost) of breastfeeding outweigh my desire to eat peanut butter. So for 6 more months I will not consume peanut butter.

Our house will remain peanut-free for quite a while, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the delicious goodness that is peanut butter while I'm at work :-)

The egg allergy will still prove to be the most inconvenient and annoying because egg is in everything!! This peanut allergy, however, is going to be mentally difficult.

Tires Blow!

We were driving to small group last Tuesday when we suddenly notice an odd sound. This was shortly followed by a "ding" in the van. Yep, our suspicions were confirmed....we just blew a tire. Lovely.

I call around to get a decent price and find $116 to be it. Lovely.

It's Thursday, we're driving to drop off the van (which requires the hubby to follow behind) and low-and-behold a tire on the car goes out! Are you kidding me?!?!

Change of plans. We take both vehicles back home and decide to get the work done at the same place.

Jeremy's car was first on the list. Turns out the other 3 tires are in poor shape and it's not smart to continue too much longer on them. [We completely trust this guy, by the way.] Final bill - $200. Lovely.

Next we drop off the bad tire from the van to see if they can get that particular type. They can, and once the tire is put on we have a second total of $140. Lovely.

We hear similar news about the tires on the van. We'd probably be fine for a while....except that we're planning a trip to Texas in a month. So 3 more tires it is. The bill will be around $400. This brings our grand total to approximately $750. Lovely.

It's not like the tires on the van are old, either. We just bought the thing 2.5 years ago off the lot.

This is not the best of times to be facing a $700 expense. Taking three months off of work has really affected our monthly income....yet our daycare expenses have more than doubled to a whopping $900/month!! Things have been tight, to say the least. It won't change until September when the new pay-year begins, either. Lovely.

So are we really trying to sell our house in order to move into a bigger house with a bigger payment??? Maybe God really does know what He's doing with the timing of our house.

The feeling I felt as we were driving around south of town today makes me want to move regardless. I could literally feel my stress levels drop. It just feels so much more calm down there. There is room to move around. Streets are great for long runs. The wind blows freely through nature and only a few structures - quite the opposite of our current location. It was quiet. It was lovely.

But before I go on & on about something I can't control, how about I focus on this $700 pain in my side. Boy, do tires blow!

"I ate it"

That's what Layla said to me as she was sitting on the potty. No...she didn't eat anything that deals with the bathroom!! She was referring to play-doh. Lovely. I'm not entirely sure if she did or not, but I don't know what would have prompted her to tell me she ate it if she didn't. It looks like homemade play dough will make an appearance at our house in the near future.

I cleaned up the play-doh and gave her a cupcake to eat instead. Here she is enjoying the last bite. :-)



As I was cleaning her up she looked at her plate and said, "All gone. I ate it." Perhaps she truly did take a bite of her orange play-doh. :-/

Layla & Piper laughing

I just figured out I can share my videos from YouTube on my blog!

Here are two videos showing the fun we had outside my parents' house yesterday. We were sitting on the porch swing when laughter ensued. I have never head Piper laugh so hard for so long...and it was all due to the antics of her big sister. :-) I did miss her biggest bout, but will I really remember that years from now??





I believe this is just a tiny taste of the joy these two will bring each other over the years. I can't wait to witness it!!