A Girl After My Own Heart

Cutie has been faithfully taking her medication for her ear infection. She doesn't like the taste it, so to encourage her I give her a chocolate-covered pretzel when she's finished. Of course if Cutie gets a chocolate-covered pretzel, then Sweetie has to have one too. It's only fair, even if she hasn't just choked down artifically-grape-flavored, overly-sweetened medication.

Sweetie: Can I have two pretzels?

Me: No, just one pretzel right now.

Sweetie: But I have two hands.

You have to admit, she makes a good point!

You Did What?!?

Driving in the car this morning on our way to school...

Sweetie: Mommy, {Cutie} just spit her gum out on the floor!

Me: What? Why would you do that?

Cutie: I was done chewing it.

Me: (stopped at a red light, reaching awkwardly into the back of the van to find the gum) Maybe you're too little to chew gum. Big girls don't spit their gum out on the floor. I don't think I'm going to give you any more gum for a while.

Cutie: How long do I have to wait until I can have gum again?

Me: I don't know.

Cutie: How long? Maybe when I'm four?

Me: I don't know. I'm still angry, so it's not a good time to ask.

Cutie: When can I have gum again? When I am five? six?

Me: Probably when you are 18.

Cutie: When will I be 18? Does it go 4, 5, 6, 18?

Me: No, it goes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. It's a very long time.

Cutie: Oh.

These two LOVE all things girly,

frilly, sparkly and pretty.

We went to Urgent Care because Cutie was up much of the night crying and pulling on her ear.

After the doctor pulled and prodded and poked around he declared that, yes indeed, Cutie had an ear infection. He wrote some notes, circled some things, asked a few more questions, then turned to me and asked/spelled if she could have an L-A-L-I-P.

"Sure, she can have a lollipop," I answered, thinking, "I hope he spells the names of the prescriptions just slightly more accurately."

January Rain

When I was little, I loved the rain. It hardly ever rains here, so it was special. I remember thinking it would "wash away all my worries." Those were the exact words I would think inside my little girl head.

I remember some of the things I worried about then. I was small, but my heartache was real and weighty. Some of those worries are still with me. I guess I've always been a worrier. But as a child, rain was magical. It could heal. It could wash away the pollution of my cares.

The rain is still like that for me. Everything changes when it rains. The air smells so clean, the wet streets shine, the drops are music.

Rain gives me a fresh perspective. It changes my plans, makes me slow down, and reminds me that things can be made new.

The used tissues are piling up and the bottle of cough medicine is almost empty

We've just been laying low around here, cuddling up together in our red fuzzy blanket, watching movies, taking looong, lazy naps.
It is good to take a break from the hustle, let the laundry pile up, close the kitchen and order takeout.
Rest is the best medicine.

And then the conversation started to spin out of control

Gracie has yet another medical issue. I won't go into detail, but it has to do with her anal glands. Not cute. So we were at the vet again today, getting yet another perscription. I brought the girls with me so Matt could get some work done at home.

Here's what we chatted about as the vet did his work on Gracie's rear.

Cutie: Why is there a light switch?

Me: So you can turn the lights on and off.

Cutie: When do they turn the lights off?

Me: At night, when all the doctors go home to their night night beds.

Cutie: What color is the doctor's bed?

Doctor: Ummmm, I guess it's brown wood.

Cutie: What color is your blanket?

Doctor: My blanket is gold.

Cutie: What color is your house?

Doctor: My house is gold too.

Cutie: Can I come over to your house?

Me: (interjecting) I think the doctor would probably like his privacy.

Doctor: (graciously) You'd probably have fun at my house, because we have lots of dogs.

Me: Alright girls, we'd better get going. Have a great day, Doctor.

Goodbye Mapquest, Hello Open Road

Matt just bought me a GPS, and I must say, I am LOVING it. I type in the address of wherever I am going, and an authoritative female voice tells me exactly how to get there. I type in places I already know how to get to, just to see what she'll say. Tonight I typed in "Ross," because I wanted to do a little bargain shopping. She gave me a wonderful new route I had never considered before.

She is very knowledgeable and loves to share information. Sometimes she can be a little bit of a Know-It-All, but I know she's just trying to do her job.

She gets a little frustrated with me if I don't follow her directions. She'll kind of sigh under her breath as she states, "reCALculating..." in her most even tone.

But I think deep down, she really likes me.

Yum Yum Club

We had so much fun with our friends at the teppan grill tonight. Good friends, good conversation, good food, good times!

Ugh! My tum-tum is too full.

Before Church this Morning

Cutie: My oowie really hurts. I fell at the park yesterday with Auntie Ellen. It really hurts.

Me: Oh no, I'm sorry. Where is it? (Nothing is visible to the human eye.) Hmmm, yeah, that looks like an oowie.

Cutie: I can't put it in the bathtub, because it hurts.

Me: Okay, we'll be careful.

Cutie: (After bathtime) I need a bandaid for my oowie.

Me: Here's a bandaid. Where is your oowie? Right there?

Cutie: No, right there.

Me: Right here?

Cutie: No, right THERE.

Me: Ahhh, yes. Right HERE.

Cutie: Yes.

Me: Okay, let me put the bandaid on. Alright, I think you're all set.

Cutie: (five minutes later) Hey, you put the bandaid in the wrong spot. My oowie is right here.

Me: Oops, I'm sorry. Oh well, we'll get it next time.

Cutie: (Contentedly leaving the bandaid where it is already placed.) Yeah, we'll get it next time.

Our Crazy Clan

• I am married to the man of my dreams. I knew he was wonderful when I met him, but everyday I learn more about who he is, fall more in love, and thank God that he brought us together.
• My three best friends are my sisters. When the four of us get together, which isn't very often, we make a scene everywhere we go. Our curls alone are pretty obnoxious.
• Twins are more common than single births in our family. There are three sets of twins among my siblings, my brother has twin girls, and we are hoping to adopt twin girls. That's five sets of twins. If you didn't get that, I'll draw you a diagram sometime.
• My Dad is the most intelligent person I know, and my Mom is the most generous person I know. They are so loving and supportive.
• My Grandma is a woman of prayer. She listens well and gives great advice. She is so sweet and loving. I want to be like her.

Musings of Little Consequence

Even if you have a REALLY big washer and dryer, you still have to fold all those clothes and put them away. And that takes a really long time. Especially when you have two little girls jumping on the bed where you are folding and sorting.

I really love the zoo. I try to take the girls every Wednesday for about an hour, and I think it's as much a treat for me as it is for them. We have our little circuit that we take around the small grounds. First we stop at the playground, then off to sit in the old jeep and take turns "driving", then we visit the birds and the wallabys and the monkeys. The finale is the train ride that goes around the petting zoo. I'm just amazed looking at all those beautiful animals.

I can't get enough Pride and Prejudice. But there are a wealth of sequels out there. Of course, they're not written by Jane Austen, but thye're loads of fun all the same. Right now I'm reading Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange. It's so good. I've also read Mr. Darcy's Daughters and Austenland (thanks, Mitch). All silly fun. Maybe I'll watch the 5-hour A&E miniseries again tonight after the girls are in bed. Who wants to join me?

Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies are so delicious. Just the right amount of crispiness and chocolatiness. Yum!

Embrace the Chaos

I'm working on letting life be messy, and I'm getting lots of practice! Hopefully I'm making slow, forward progress in trusting God to work out his plan in his timing.

As Matt and I were reading the Jesus Storybook Bible with the girls last night, I was struck by the story of Jacob and Leah and Rachel. Jesus was born from the line of Leah, the ugly sister whose father tricked Jacob into marrying her. I have been thinking about this all day- how God chooses the ugly things of this world, our sin, our pain, and uses them for his glory.

His ways are higher than ours. He uses chaos to accompish his purposes.

We just got back from the coast

and we had such a restful time, just being together. I loved the house we rented with an amazing ocean view. I'm hoping to make lots more family memories there as the girls get older.

We spent our time playing, playing, playing at the park, at the beach, at the house. Little Matty and the girls became the best of friends which was such a beautiful thing for Lisa and me to watch.

Happy New Year

2008



A brand new year, a fresh page, a blank slate. So many possibilities, so many memories to be made.

I love new beginnings.

This year I want to let things be messy.

One of my weaknesses is to try to control my environment so that everything is perfect. It's obviously an impossibly overwhelming, energy-draining, never-ending endeavor. While I know this, I continue to strive and fret when things don't fit the way I think they should.

So extra pounds, dirty laundry, disappointment, uncertainty, whatever, I just want to be where I am, and let it be what it is.