Freestyle Challenge.

Here is my take on kellicrowe's challenge for Freestyle.

Sorry for the bad picture...our scanner cord is still missing from rearranging our office. Had fun looking through my piles of candid pictures friends and family took at our wedding. Hard to believe it was five years ago. A fun day!

I will update on our trip to San Antonio soon...since we've been back, life has been about catching up on laundry, cleaning, entertaining kiddos (I mean, after Shamu, what do I have to offer?), and getting this page done!

Mail day.

In my book, a good mail day is right up there with

a good hair day,
a good mascara day (do you know what I mean?),
a good rainy day.

Hadleigh and I love to go get the mail. We have one of those "community" mail boxes (like for apartments) at the end of our cul-de-sac, an attempt I guess to unclutter the sidewalks, protect from identity fraud, and make the mailman's job a little bit easier. I personally miss putting up the little red flag...but maybe in our next move our mailbox will be more old-fashioned.

All that said, Hadleigh loves to open the "package compartment" (with it's locked key in place) and say "no box." That was today. Keys swinging from both package compartments, I knew there were no boxes for us. BUT

when we opened our little door we found a package from one Kelli Darr. She is "one of those people I know" from her blog...what a wonderful virtual world :) Check her out: she is classy, upbeat, colorful, has the cutest kiddos and as "they" say, she is a SuperStar! She had promised a lollipop for a correct answer here but this is what arrived instead:


Lots of fun scrap stuff including two cherry lollipops!

Thank you Kelli! A very sweet surprise! The twill color was just what I was needing on a layout I'm working on. How'd you know???

Hoping to get some scrapbooking done this afternoon even though I need to get ready for our mini-vacation to San Antonio!

Have a great weekend!

Thankful

for these two right here.

Not a new thought, at all, but sometimes life gets so busy and the chatter and noise of a two year old and seven month old can make you feel a little crazy.

And then you have a day like today. A walk on a suprisingly "cool" Texas morning...your little girl commenting on all the birds... how the bunny we saw "hops"...and there are two ducks playing on the side of the road in a puddle.

She has a low-grade fever today and so she is really cuddly...doesn't fight going down for a nap...falls asleep as you sing to her.

And your little boy can't figure out when to nap today...but he did turn around 180 degrees in his crib trying, and the "Mommy, aren't you so proud of me for that?" smile.

I got an email from a friend today with a video attachment asking me to pray for a mutual friend's baby, Spencer. He will be six months old at the end of this month...and he was born with some kind of heart condition...I wish I could remember all the details right now. But he is having surgery on Friday. Another surgery in this little boy's life. And the video...I wish I knew how to attach it so you could see...but it is a slideshow of pictures from this brave little boy's life...interspersed with excerpts from his father's journal and scripture. And it is set to the song "He's My Son" by Mark Schultz.

I cried the whole time I watched it. The pictures of little Spencer in the NICU brought back memories of Nathanael's time there...and made me oh so thankful for Nathanael's health now. Made me thankful for God's power in our lives...His power to heal. Made my heart so tender as I looked at pictures of Spencer's parents...knowing that they too realize perhaps for the first time in their lives just how fragile and precious life is. And seeing their strength through this...a strength that only God can provide...wow...

So I am tender and thankful today whenever I see my children, hear their voices, feel their tiny touches.

And I am praying for Spencer and Katie and Andy. Will you pray too?

Fresh Mint.

I love a light delicious lunch in the summer!

What could be better than apricot chicken salad, strawberries, and mint iced tea?

Mint dip for the strawberries!

I stumbled upon this recipe in a cookbook I got around the time I got married. It's one of those fundraiser cookbooks that a local Christian school did called "Taste and See...that the Lord is good."

I have made it SO many times...it is easy, quick, and so fresh! It is perfect with a fruit salad of any type, although berries are my favorite. And I have to say that it would probably even make cantaloupe taste good...although I can't bring myself to try it...'cause I don't like melons...but it is THAT good!

So I will share the recipe...and you can enjoy it yourself...I told Brent the other night that it tastes like a summer breeze in the mountains!

Mint Dip

1/4 cup lime juice (bottled is fine!)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (loosely packed)
2 3 oz. packages cream cheese
6 Tbsp. sugar

Blend the lime juice and mint leaves in a blender until smooth. Add cream cheese and sugar. Blend until smooth. Serve with fresh fruit.

I double the recipe when serving a big crowd (or when I want to enjoy the leftovers!)

June First.

Summer always seems to start for me in June. (Although we've had summer heat here in TX since April...but I won't dwell on that!)

So what is filling my time these days?

1. We put these alphabet wall cards up as a border in Hadleigh's room over the weekend. They are made by eeBoo. Glad that we FINALLY got that project done...it's been on my list since I bought them over Christmas.

2. Of course, that spurred another project...we bought canvases from Hobby Lobby and Brent sketched three of the floral designs from the cards on each canvas. Now we are painting them...which is a lot of fun.

I'm learning a lot about painting. (Isn't it sad that the last formal art class I had was in elementary school?) Painting is therapeutic I think. I am working on the azalea canvas (which is pictured in the card above). So far so good. It reminds me of my parents azaleas in Asheville. They are so beautiful in the spring. Mom always says, driving up the driveway when they are in full bloom, "Make a memory."

3. We are planning our summer trips. We head out to San Antonio next weekend for a short trip, Brent has a friends wedding in Virginia, he is going to the Osh Kosh Airshow with his Dad, I am going to OK to help with a baby shower for my dear friend Shannon, and I am taking the kiddos to Asheville to visit our families. I think that is it.

4. I am mentally preparing for our airline trip to Asheville...just me and the kids. LOL. Not quite there yet...but I'm working on it. (And the end result will be worth the chaos of the DFW security check...struggling with all that baggage...and entertaining two on the two-ish hour flight, right?!) Thankfully we have no connections!

5. I am trying to plan an early fall trip to visit my sister at Baylor. It's always fun to go back to your alma mater...especially when you can hang out with your little sis! (AND, Ali Edwards will be teaching some classes at Crop Paper Scissors, and I am hoping to join in! Registration starts today...just waiting to see if Brent can watch the kiddos!)

6. I am thinking about scrapbooking. It has been awhile since I have been at my desk creating. Lots of things distracting me, but I'm hoping to get going here soon. I need to complete the album for my parents of our trip to Barbados last May...and I need to get pictures developed so that I can scrap them. I won't overwhelm you by telling you when the last time we had pics developed was. But the idea totally overwhelms me!

Okay...off to take advantage of Hadleigh's naptime...of course, Nathanael just woke up! But he'll be down again soon...hopefully!

Laundry Day.

Since Brent was home yesterday, I didn't get around to laundry. (Love, love, love Holiday weekends. Especially when it's your anniversary weekend which means that Brent took off Friday too!)

So Hadleigh and I have been working on it today. I don't mind doing laundry. I don't mind folding and putting things away.

But I really don't like the laundry when it involves bed linens. I just really don't like putting sheets on the beds.

Don't get me wrong. I love clean sheets! But I just don't like dealing with fitted sheets. Especially on beds (like Hadleigh's) that are up against one wall. Or on cribs.

I remember once Oprah saying on her show that she HAS to have clean sheets every other day. Now that would be nice.

Very nice. But I bet you she doesn't EVER change her own sheets!

But today was fun because Hadleigh and I snuggled in the pile of fresh, warm-from-the-dryer sheets on my bed.

She thought it was fabulous. Kept smelling the sheets and her blanket! Kept smiling.

I had to take a picture ... didn't get a good one of us together...but I thought this one was cute.

A silver lining for making the bed!

Hide

and

seek.

This is Hadleigh's new favorite game.
She counts.
"1...2...8.9.10!"
She laughs when she finds me and then says
"One more." Holding up one finger.
Sometimes she tells me which room to hide in.
Sometimes she points to where she wants me to hide.

(I hid in a different spot than directed once just to see her expression.

Priceless.)

Sometimes she walks right past me when it is so evident that I am in her
peripheral vision. (I don't think I spelled that right.)

She never wants to hide. Only find.

Very entertaining.

We went to the zoo with another family in OKC over the weekend. Had fun although it was

Way Too Hot.

(Only the African animals moved around. Elephants. Rhinos. Hippos. Giraffes. The other animals all slept in the shade. Seems like a smart idea!)

And then Hadleigh decided to play hide and seek.
Actually, she decided to walk back to me from her daddy buying water.
And she started following two mommies with strollers.
But they weren't the right mommies.

We split up. Scoured our section of the zoo.
It felt like thirty minutes.
It was probably only 5. Maybe 8.
Our friend found her.


Praise the Lord.

Have you felt that sinking pit in your stomach before?
Felt something beyond desperation?
Watched the two and a half years of your baby's life race through your mind?
Feel like you've just let God's precious gift to you slide through your fingers?

I don't think Hadleigh even knew we weren't around her.
(This kind of concerns me :) )
But it wasn't until we left the zoo, several hours later that the feeling left me.

And even now, when I think about it

I get that feeling.

I look at Hadleigh a million times a day and I am so thankful for her.
Because for five minutes I had a glimpse of what life would be like without her.
I pray I never know that feeling again.

A side note.

I am now taking back all the thoughts I've ever thought about "those" people that have those kid harnesses at the airport. If I ever fly by myself with the kids...don't be surprised to see me with one. It's not because me or my child is "undisciplined"...but because she is precious...and oh so curious!

Mimi.

It's always wonderful to have family for a visit.

I love watching my children love my mom.

Hadleigh adores her.
Wants to be wherever she is.
Doesn't want to get up from her nap until Mimi is back from the store. Wow.
Hadleigh loves her Mimi. Thinks Mimi exists solely for Hadleigh :) Cute. She's learning to share Mimi.

Nathanael grins at her.
She loves that.
Loves his giggles...his smiles...all his "boy" sounds that a 6-month old is discovering he can make already.

It's fun to see them interact and remember things from my childhood...the same songs Mom sings...the same games she plays...

It's amazing how love abounds, generation after generation.

Perfect.

Thunder in the afternoon! I love it!

We have had several days now of "severe weather" each night.

I love the thunderstorms.

Not so much on the hail. Or the thought of a tornado touching down and taking us to Oz.

But I love the rain and the thunder...and isn't lightning just magnificent?

Give me a summer rainstorm any day. Makes me want to take Hadleigh out and splash in puddles. Maybe we will when she "wakes up" from her nap. That is, if she falls asleep to begin with. She is still just playing in her room.

But back to the rain.

It makes me want to make *another* cup of tea this afternoon! Right now, my choice is Vanilla Almond, from The Republic of Tea.

Curl up with a good book under a blanket.

Darn. Here comes the hail. Glad the car is in the garage. Amazing how in Texas we can hardly get any snow in the winter, and yet, in 60-70 degree (and hotter) weather, we can get frozen balls of ice everywhere.

Some crazy lightning...and the sky isn't even very dark. If you were to go outside, you would probably describe it as bright, though not quite sunny.

Now just rain. Steady and soaking. I hope this weather pattern keeps up all summer. Because if I haven't already mentioned it,

I love rain.

Refreshed.

A word that describes exactly how I feel anytime I get to visit with my best friends and college roomies!

We had a great time together for lunch on Saturday...it was a spur-of-the-moment trip, but it couldn't have been better unless Steph (our other roomie) had also been able to make it. But Alabama is a few states over...so thank you Shawna, for flying down and getting us all together. It was so worth the drive! Hard to believe it has been 5-6 whole years since we were all together on a daily basis...miss those days SO much. But I am thankful for the times we are given to be together now!

Fun to see how much has changed since those "good 'ol days". Let's see: I have two kiddos, Shannon and Courtney are both pregnant with their first, everyone is married now and the five of us live in 4 different states (two of us in Texas!) Hair is longer ... shorter ... highlighted ... unhighlighted... Careers are blossoming and changing...

What is the same?

We still laugh together.

We still cry together. (Okay, so usually I start the tears...)

We still have a blast no matter what we do!

We still talk into the wee hours of the morning.

We know we can still count on one another for anything. at any moment.

We are still {real} with one another. Transparent. Genuine. Heart-to-heart.

God has blessed us beyond what we could ever ask for in a friend.

These girls are still my very best friends in the world.

That will never change.