snowed in (for real!)

After teasing southern meteorologists everywhere, I've learned my lesson. Monday morning we woke up to real, mid-western like, sticky snow! Six inches of the stuff. School was cancelled for two days.

By the time I was out of bed, Dan had Big Girl layered up and ready to go play in it.

I grabbed the camera because I wasn't about to miss out on all the fun!

Dan went to work on Reese's snowman.

Along the way, he tweaked the design. The partial snowman became a snow seat for Chica.

After a quick picture of her on her throne, it was back to work.

Working...



working...



a real team effort. (Well except for me. I had to document of course!)





Annnd finished!

A few hours later he suffered a deadly, debilitating fall. Thank goodness. He would have been here until June.

ministry bubbles

Hi bloggers. I'm sorry I've neglected you, yet again. It's just been one of those weeks. A tough ministry week. Nothing new. If you've been in full time ministry for any length of time you know it's inevitable. Heck, if you work with people in any kind of job for any length of time, you know it's inevitable.

I was thinking about how to appropriately explain what happens when you get hurt in ministry. Ministry is kind of like playing with bubbles.

It's exciting. You find yourself doing things you didn't know you would do...

or could do. You get fired up. You're on a roll.

And then, without warning a little bit gets in your eyes.

It's just a tiny bit, but man does that tiny bit hurt. Stings, really.

You wonder if popping bubbles is even worth the risk of that kind of pain.

So you take a time out. You turn to One who is present and understands the pain. As you behold the One, the sting loses its edge.

With this new found sense of healing, you decide to get back in the game.

After all, the bubbles won't last forever.

The reward however, most certainly will.

a can of beans

Last week while dinner was cooking on the stove, Chica decided she wanted to help me empty the dishwasher. It always takes longer when she helps, but it makes her feel like big stuff. How can I resist? As she handed me a dish to put away I realized she's become much more efficient since she first started "helping." While we worked, I couldn't help but swell with pride seeing her shuffle across the floor and place the cookie sheet in the right drawer.

"She is such a smart child," I thought to myself.

What should I teach her next?

I wonder what age she could start doing laundry?

She is well on her way to becoming a productive, contributing member of society!

Just as I was writing her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, something caught my eye that stopped me mid-thought.

Perspective.

In the form of a can of green beans sitting in the utensil basket.

frozen in (kind of)

We're iced in bloggers!

The storm warnings started at the beginning of the week, followed by an all out grocery store mob on Thursday. By Friday schools were closed and later that morning the ice storm of 2010 arrived in all its fury.

All in all, I guess we got about an inch of snow.
(Indicator #1250 that we're not in the Midwest anymore, Totos.)

In defense of southern meteorologists everywhere, I will say that there is ice.

We stayed home yesterday as long as we could. My daughter is many things, but a homebody isn't one of them. I realized she had reached her breaking point when I found her squeezing half of my face cream out on my nightstand.

If you see me in the next couple of days and think my face looks a little dry, know that my night stand is thoroughly moisturized.

a magical announcement

Our family's taking a little trip. It's where Someone special lives.

We leave in 76 days, meaning a certain mouse has 76 days to rest up for the Chica.

He may never be the same.

negative mama, the pattern is full

For the first year and a half of my daughter's life, she never, not one time, ever said the word, "no."

In the past two weeks, she's making up for lost time. "No" has become a part of her everyday vocabulary. I hear it multiple times a day, sometimes twice in one sentence. When she's really ticked off, she repeats it while running in place, stomping her little feet to the beat of her own negative chant.

"Are you all done with that yogurt?"

"No!" (As she shovels as much yogurt in her mouth as she can.)

She must love how it sounds rolling off her incensed little tongue. Apparently, age 2 has come three months early.

Here are some things you should avoid asking my daughter anytime soon:

1. Are you happy to see me?
2. Will you give me a hug?
3. Do these pants make me look skinny?
4. Do you like my singing voice?
5. Should you get dressed before leaving the house?
6. Is there anything wrong with a mama's boy?
7. Do you love me more than you love Mickey?
8. Do you love me more than you love cheese?
9. Is Simon too mean on AI?
10. Do you promise never to lie to me?

On second thought, maybe you should avoid questioning her altogether. Unless you want to see the angry toddler version of Lord of the Dance.

birthday season

A few years ago, our church had a bit of a baby boom. Nearly twenty babies were born in the course of six months. Chica came right smack in the middle of it. I'm so glad God included us in that era of fertility. It's helpful to be surrounded by those who can empathize with your sore hips, round the clock feedings, sleepless nights, teething, discipline, etc. It also makes for a spring full of parties!

Yesterday kicked off the birthday season. Can you guess what the theme of the party was?

The owner of those sweet little blond piggy tails turns two next week.

The Birthday Girl wasn't very fond of her hat that her mom made for her.

Nothing a cupcake can't fix.

Swarming the pinata innards. (Sorry, is that gross?)

Loading up on the goods. Some of the prizes were little bracelets and rings. For some reason the girls looked so old putting them on, I couldn't believe it. And instead of bottles there were juice boxes. Where does the time go???

Here's the Birthday Girl with her mommy. Her mom reminds me so much of my sister. Danny and I love their family very much. She did an incredible job with the party, especially considering in just a few weeks she'll give birth to another sweet girl.

As the festivities wound down, I wanted to be sure to take a picture of Chica with the Birthday Girl.

I'm thinking it'll make the cover of her next scrap book. :)