She Turns Two!

Our niece, Taylor, (Paul's sister's little girl) turned two March 26th! Besides being super cute and funny, she's a huge Elmo fan, so Paul and I decided to take her to see Sesame Street Live since it was playing at the FedEx Forum the weekend of her birthday.  We had so much fun watching her dance and clap to the show.  And she totally melted our heart on the way home when she started singing--just out of the blue--"Jesus Loves Me."  
Here are a few pics...

Our beautiful Friday night date...on the way to Sesame Street!

Yep, he's smitten! and she loves her "Unca Pau."

Saturday we helped her celebrate with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party.  Kelly had her in THE most adorable outfit (see pics below), and even though the moon bounce was rained out, everyone still had a great time.  

{Super cute wreath Kelly made}

{Pre-party Primping}

{Ready to welcome her guests}

{Check out those heels!}

{Taste-testing before blowing out the candles}

{Post-party--Singing "Happy Birthday" to get her to smile...after 461 pictures we had to do a little coaxing :)}

We love this little chica and had so much fun celebrating her 2nd!

Laura

Let me tell you about Laura.  She's my sweet cousin (our dads are brothers).  She has the biggest, brightest smile you'll probably ever see.  A soft-spoken spirit that radiates kindness.  She gets as brown as a bean in 5 minutes on the beach (which totally cramps my style on family beach trips because it takes hours for me to nix the pastiness.) She's a marathon runner. A fluent Spanish speaker.  My freshman roomie.  A music lover (she can sing and play the piano, too. oh and she can dance, too...I wish we had video of all the times waltzed and tangoed around Grandmama's living room to her old records).  And a born teacher, especially gifted with those little ones.  

A little blast from the past--tailgating, sophomore year.

She's probably going to kill me for writing this post.  But she'll just have to be embarrassed and mad at me later.  :)  I just have to say how proud of her I am.  Laura has responded in obedience to the Lord in a huge way.  On June 28, she will leave to spend the next year of her life in Ecuador teaching English.  As I think about this huge step of obedience she is taking, I am reminded that it is in all the little ways she has been obedient that have led her to this place.  It is so amazing to see how God has been working in her life these past few years, all the little ways he has prepared her for this, His mission.

Laura will be working with Emmanuel Christian School in Macas, Ecuador.  (Macas is the capital of Morona Santiago province which is located in the eastern part of the country.)

While it is a Christian school, about 70% of the students come from non-Christian families.  So, more important than her role of teaching English, she will have the opportunity to share with her students the great love the Father has for us and His desire for an intimate relationship with us.  She has said that she knows "wholeheartedly" that this is exactly what she is supposed to be doing.   What joy and peace we can experience when we follow God's leading.  I am so thankful for her example of obedience, and I am so SO excited for her in this next year of her life!  I canNOT wait to see how God continues to work through her to draw people to Himself.  

Check out these two posts to hear about all this straight from the horse's mouth... :)

"His Ways"

"Carl and Ellie"

{If you have a moment, will you join me in praying for Laura as she gets everything in place for her journey in June and for her life in Ecuador this next year?  Pray for strength, peace, financial provision, and the sensitivity to see and then boldness to respond to the opportunities she will have to share Christ with her students.  If God leads you to financially support His work through Laura, you can learn more about ways to do that here.}             

I'm so excited for you Laurla! Now I've just **got to get a webcam** for this ancient computer of mine so that I can actually see/talk to you while you're gone!  I can't imagine not seeing you for a whole year!         

One More Grace

I just got off the phone with a sweet friend.  I asked if her week was off to a good start and she said, you know, I got up with a bit of the "Monday morning blues" but then I saw a post on facebook that reminded me I needed to stop complaining and be thankful...I got to wake up today.  This totally resonated with me and what I've been reading and thinking about lately.

A few weeks ago, I told you I started reading One Thousand Gifts. {I can't tell you how good it is.  God has truly anointed Ann Voskamp and her writing.}  Her whole premise is "All is grace."  Did you get that? (Am I getting that?)  

{ALL is grace.} every breath. every waking up. every day that is brimming over. brimming over with the "good". the "bad".  the busyness.  the tiredness. the joy. the frustrations. all of it. All is grace. 

She included the following quote in one of her chapters. Hit me like an arrow. 

Here dies another day

During which I have had eyes, ears, hands

And the great world 'round me;

And with tomorrow begins another.

Why am I allowed two?

-G.K. Chesterton

Why am I allowed two?

What am I doing with that allowance?

Later in the chapter she goes on to say, "If my inner eye has God seeping up through all things, then can't I give thanks for anything?"

Can't I?  Can't I trust Him--the One who gave up all of heaven for me--that much?  Can't I trust--and live like I trust--that if He gives me the one more grace of today, He has a grander purpose.  A grander purpose than my comfort, my plans, or my wants. 

Oh, for the grace to live like today is a grace rather than a drudgery.

And by the way, I'm on my third listen of this today.

A House Guest & Success

Meet Izzy.

We've been keeping this big baby all week for my mom while she and my sister are in Springfield, MO at basketball nationals.  Caroline's team is actually playing for the championship right now.  So wish I was there!! Anyway, Reggie has had a friend this week.  They are so funny to watch.  Izzy doesn't realize that she is about 10 times bigger than Reggie, and plays with him like she would any other huge dog.  Reggie apparently has trouble remembering his size as well because when they start playing, he gets scared, lays down stiff as a board (playing dead I guess), and then as soon as Izzy walks off, he runs up to taunt her again.  He's a peewee instigator, and Izzy is a rambunctious giant.

 

Instigating from his perch on top of the couch...

"Mom, why do you always let her win?!"

Our house guest will depart tomorrow.  Reggie is going to be bored out of his mind.

In other news, I have SPROUTS!!

I'm still waiting on the sweet pea flowers to peek up.

Squash

Tomato

String Beans

Happy Saturday to you!

a magnifying glass

"Our attention is like a magnifying glass--whatever we place it on becomes 

larger and more consuming of our time and energy."

What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, Lysa TerKeurst

 

How easy it is for me to divert my attention, my focus from the only One who is worthy.  One of my very favorite songs needs to be my desperate prayer to the Lord each day.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Do You Lilac It?

i LOVE. love. this color. on my toes now, and it makes me happy.

so glad it's spring. painted toes and flip flops are two of my most favorite things.

Weekending...

Just a few snippets from this past weekend...I love slow, easy Saturdays...

{making apple butter}
two words: YUM-O. :) I may or may not have eaten with a spoon what wouldn't fit into the jars...
recipe adapted from here. I halved the recipe and yielded a little over 2 pints.  
First, I peeled and quartered 7 granny smith apples and put them in the crockpot. (You can cook them with the skin on so you get all the good nutrients and then just pick it out later.)

Next I drizzled 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla over the apples.  Then just covered and cooked on low for 2-3 hours.  The original recipe said to cook for 8 hours, but my crockpot always cooks everything faster so my apples were definitely done in 2 to 3.  Also, the original recipe said you would have to mash the apples with a fork after they finished cooking, but mine were completely mushy--I just stirred them with a spoon.  Then stir in 3/4 cup white sugar, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves.

Cook on low for another 30 minutes to an hour.  Then spoon into jars!

 {Tie a pretty ribbon on, and I'm thinking these would make lovely happies.}

Note: I didn't boil the jars to properly seal and preserve the butter so I'm not sure how long it will keep in the fridge.  But I have a feeling it won't need to keep long because I finding plenty of excuses to eat it! :) 

{attempting to start a garden}
I'm planning to build a small raised bed in the backyard soon.  Let's just hope these seeds sprout. I have my doubts.  And so does Paul.  But he won't be too disappointed if these plants flop...it's not like he eats vegetables anyway. I mean really, who doesn't love a fresh tomato or squash from the garden?  I could totally be a vegetarian.
 

 

 

And now we wait...wish me luck!

{replenishing my supply of laundry detergent}

I've been making our own laundry detergent for about 4 months now...works just as well as store-bought, super easy to make, and a huge $ saver!  My sister-in-law has been making hers for probably a year now, and I know several other people who do it too.  If you'd like to give it a try, here's the recipe which I adapted from the one on this super cute blog
 

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

1 bar of soap, grated (such as Dial or Ivory)

1-2 drops essential oil (optional for added fragrance)

Just mix this all together and then put in a blender or food processor to get it to a smooth consistency.  Note: If you have a mediocre (at best) blender like I do, you will want to blend only small portions at a time so that your blender won't get clogged.

You only have to use 2 tablespoons per load...at first, you may feel like you're not using enough because you are so used to using a large scoop of the store-bought, but trust me, 2 tablespoons will do the job!  One recipe is enough to wash 32 loads.  

So how much does this DIY actually save you? Well, it depends on which store-bought brand you currently buy.  I did some calculations and bottom line is: with this recipe, your cost is 4 cents per load!  Liquid Tide can run as much as 35 cents per load--almost 9x the cost of the DIY.  And even if you buy the cheap stuff like we used to (i.e. powdered Arm & Hammer which is 9 cents per load) it is still a huge cost savings--less than half the price.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  I like to find ways to save money!

 

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, and your week is off to a wonderful start!