WOW Wednesday

Claire amazes me everyday.  Today (at 9 months and 6 days) she said "bye bye" for the first time and did what I thought she had been trying to do for a few days- sign "all done".  It's actually supposed to be with both hands- but this is a start.  Smart girl!

Claire is 9 Months old!

It's hard to believe Claire has already been outside of me longer than she was inside of me!  Here are some details about our little smiley girl.

Smiley

She weighed 17 3/4 lbs at the doctor for her 9 month visit.  I didn't get any other stats oops...

She is on the slower end of the physical development (sat up on the later end of the spectrum and is not crawling or scooting yet) like her big sis but she is already saying about 4 words that we can decipher.  (dada, baba = bottle, duh = duck, tiiii = kitty)

Her favorite pastimes are playing with Charli & laughing at everything she does, singing & dancing to mommy playing the piano/singing, eating puffs, seeing animals, talking to anyone who looks her way.

She's a pretty good sleeper but not as good as Charli ever was and still is.  She is constantly being talked about for how happy, smiley, adorable, "doll"-like, beautiful, etc. she is.  Her hair has ceased to be the main topic of conversation and has been replaced with how happy she looks.  Recently at church  one of the ladies on staff told me that Claire was the cutest baby in the church. Wow! What a compliment but more importantly she will be taught that "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

Sisters and Friends

Wow Wednesday

I've been making lots of smoothies lately for lunch... here's my recent favorite (i just made it up, so play around with the ingredients)

1 big handful of ice
approx 1 cup coconut milk (from a can or the kind that you keep cold in the health food section of the grocery store)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup strawberries
1/4 cup raspberries

Blend it all in the blender makes about 20 oz (I usually give about 4-6oz to Charli for a snack or with her lunch)

If it's not sweet enough for you, add a good squirt of agave nectar, but I think it's plenty sweet with a good ripe banana.  Enjoy!

Biblical Womanhood

I'm studying Biblical Womanhood right now with a group of mature, godly women.  I have already been encouragement in who I am and how I relate to my family and my church.  It is thrilling to be empowered through God's definition of what a woman is, equal to men according to salvation but made differently with different gifts, roles, and purposes in life.  It is no wonder even in the church many people are confused over this role of complementarionism.  This quote really struck me, "When young women learn more about womanhood from TV, movies, magazine, and the Internet than they do from mature older women, they will often make unbiblical decisions." Susan Hunt

I have so much more to process as I study God's word and learn from godly, older women, but what a gift!  It's a gift I will give to my girls that as women, we are life givers!  Not only literally do we carry our children and give birth to them, but we give life to our family and to our church as we serve and love them.  What a privilege!

Busy

I'm mostly writing this blog to remember this busy season of life.  Of course, life with two little kids is inevitably busy!  There's a lot of housework, laundry, meals, bottles, baths, toys, etc.  But I've also committed myself to a lot of outside "stuff", for lack of a better word.  I' m doing my best to keep my priorities straight- God first, Brandon next, the girls next, my other family next, and then my church family/commitments.  

Here's everything on my plate besides home/family stuff:  Ladies Board at church, Prayer Coordinator (steering team) for MOPS in the fall, music leader for Bible study in the fall, music team for VBS next week, keyboard/vox 2 times a month at church, playing 1st part for the upcoming concerts for Rivercity Concert Band, co-leading a college girls Bible study, mission project to the Moriah House. Whew! That was even a lot to type!  Not to mention I'm trying to exercise 3 times a week at least too...

Oh, did I mention all the house projects I've been working on??? geez, no wonder I've been tired lately!

But like it says in 1 Corinthians... if I do a whole list of things but "have not love, I am nothing".  So, that's my focus.  Doing everything because Jesus first loved me and has given me this life to serve Him in, not to earn His favor but from an overflow of gratitude toward Him.

Summer Lovin'

Watering our dahlias (wearing her princess grading gloves)

snack time at the pool

sweet sweet sisters

snack time in the shade

Bed Head

Claire has wild hair in general but that also makes for the craziest bed head you've ever seen on an 8 month old.  I don't know how I have such animated little girls, but they constantly crack me up.  Claire's hair is something I will always remember about her baby days.

Regular old wild hair

Ace Ventura-do

the natural 'bump'

comb-over fly away static-do

rough night

DIY mirror upgrade

Sometimes a reasonable home project is just what I need to put a little accomplishment in my week.  Our bathroom mirrors have bothered me since we moved into this house.

Our basic, unfinished GIANT mirror in the master bathroom

What you need:

12x12 sheet of square tiles (I used 2 inch squares)

100% silicone glue, clear

sissors

measuring tape

q-tips

masking tape

Remove this backing

Trust me, remove the backing before you start.  If you cut up the tiles, then begin to lay them out to glue you will notice that you can see the lattice on the back in the reflection in the mirror.  The lattice is incredibly difficult to get off of 36 tiles. 

Trim the excess glue from around the edges.

A dollop of glue and start sticking them in place.  They glue very easily to the glass... not so much on drywall... USE THE Q-tips to wipe excess glue from around the edges of the tiles.

Not too shabby!

TA DA!

I'm not gonna lie.  I am pretty proud of myself.   I have the materials to do the other bathroom too.  Both mirror updates came in at $60. I'll take it.

Heavy Hearted

My heart has been so heavy today for a family I don't even know personally.  They are a friend of a friend's.  Their Kindergartner, Lucy, has been battling cancer for about 15 months.  She was in remission but this past week she has gotten seriously ill and they discovered an infection and the cancer is back.  Her time on earth is, according to doctors, nearly over.  Her life has impacted mine so dramatically.  Praying for her on a daily basis for the last year+ has helped me keep a perspective on what matters in life.  What matters are all things eternal.  This family, though they grieve an unimaginable pain and loss, does not mourn like those who have no hope.  They know that death is not the end for their precious little girl.  Lucy will enter the arms of her loving Savior and healer the moment her body can't fight anymore, and praise the Lord, she will be healed.

"When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV