Walking Up Daddy

Happy Holidays!

We had a lovely Christmas and I hope everyone did as well. The festivities kicked off Wednesday night after Uncle Hanysie arrived. We decorated gingerbread men and watched The Grinch on TV.

Can you guess which person decorated which cookie? 

We spent part of Christmas Eve visiting Izzy and preparing for a family dinner. I made lamb chops and tried a new sauce that I had never made before. Thankfully, it turned out pretty good. 

Poppop and Lilla read Amelia Bedelia while I was getting dinner on the table. I have to say, it is the most annoying book because the words "Amelia Bedelia" are in it about 300 times. But that is the one Lilla picked and Poppop was a good sport to read it.

After dinner, we made smores in the fireplace which has become one of our Christmas Eve traditions.

The smores were so yummy...

On Christmas morning, Jay whipped up a batch of chocolate chip pancakes in which he tripled the amount of chocolate chips because he decided the amount called for on the recipe was no where near to close enough. He was definitely right because they were delicious.

After breakfast, we opened presents. Lilla loved the pompoms and pink baseball glove from Jay, and her new dress up clothes from me. But the biggest hit was the new bike which was at the top of her wish list. We waited until all the gifts had been opened and then brought it out and surprised her. She was so excited and immediately wanted to take it outside. She put on her peacoat and black dress shoes and headed outside to give it a test ride. (I did find it very amusing that she chose, with no assistance from me at all, to put on the coat and shoes that actually coordinated color wise with her red and black plaid nightgown. The girl looked good...) 

We all rested in the early afternoon before our guests arrived and the cooking started. Jay fried two turkeys that turned out beautifully. I unfortunately forgot to take out the giblet pouch (I did get the neck out beforehand), so it got fried along with the turkey. But it popped out intact when we carved the turkeys so no harm was done thankfully.

Mike, Mimi, and Alex travelled to celebrate with us. We had a great meal, and then sat down to exchange a few more gifts with each other.

Lilla was dying to open her enormous present from Mike and Julie. She couldn't wait to tear into it...

And she was thrilled that it was a train set! 

After we cleaned up all the ribbon, paper, trash, and dishes, we enjoyed desert and then Jay and I taught everyone to play funky monkey. I was pretty tired by the time the day was over, but all the work and days of preparation were worth it! To have family willing to travel to be with us, to be able to share delicious meals with loved ones, and to be with people who generously give and contribute as much as they possibly can is such a gift and I am so thankful to God for all his many blessings. 

We're Ready

I think we are ready... 

The presents are wrapped...

The table is set (at least for our first family meal on Christmas Eve. We have two more here on Christmas Day...)

The sheets are washed, the beds are made, the house is clean, the fridge is stocked, and the dog is off getting a bath.

Whew. It has been a busy couple of day. 

But we are ready for our house guests and our Christmas celebration. 

And of course I am looking forward to Haynsie's arrival later and a day of baking and playing with this sweet girl.*

*She asked me to take her picture with her Barbies and when she held them up she told them to say "cheese!"

Silver (Not Bells)

There was so much fun stuff to do this past weekend, like make candied apples and shortbread cookies, attend some holiday parties, watch some great movies, and do some last minute shopping. 

But I did not do any of that. Instead....

...I polished the silver. 

It was a monster job, and one that I have putting off for months. It is not the worst thing in the world and I can accept doing it because it is just part of necessary housekeeping. Jay was supposed to help me, but he loathes polishing silver, so I let him off the hook in exchange for a nice treat for me. I am still deciding on what that will be. I am glad it is over though.

Today was just a long day. Lilla was really good pretty much all day, but for some insane reason I decided to go to the grocery store (at 5pm) to do our shopping for this week and our big meal on Christmas Day. It was crowded and all the big race car carts were taken, so I didn't really have enough room to balance my purse, grocery list, and coupons which made it difficult to keep track of things. Then in the first thirty minutes, Lilla had to go to the bathroom twice, and spilled a huge bag of Cherrios all over aisle six. Thankfully, Jay popped in to help me, which served as a great opportunity to send both father and daughter home so I could finish in peace.

But this is what I found when I got home... 

...my baby asleep in her daddy's arms. 

I am not sure why she was so tired, but we did manage to wake her up and feed her dinner before putting her back to bed, though not without a little crying about having to go potty or that her new favorite nightgown was wet in the wash. The girl loves nightgowns, about as much as she loves her ballet outfit. She finally agreed to a regular pair of pajamas and was then off to bed.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a little calmer, and involve something fun like decorating cookies. 

Tea Time

Every November, I contemplate having some sort of Christmas party. It is something that I would love to do on an annual basis, but when I start adding up all the work and expense it would require, I lose steam. So this year I decided to have a Christmas Tea Party for Lilla and the little girls in her class. 

I am definitely partial to tea parties. Each Christmas, my mother used to take me and a small group of friends to the Ritz Carlton for tea. The last time we went was eight or nine years ago, and every year since then I have thought about how I could restart that tradition in some form or fashion. A tea party for Lilla seemed like a good step in that direction.

(The crossback chair in the picture is one of the new pair I ordered from Wisteria to use in our kitchen. The cane Shabby Chic ones are no longer manufactured, which is a huge bummer, so we had to find some new ones. I hope Shabby Chic comes back one day soon.)

To create a festive mood, I set the breakfast room table with red and white dishes. All of the red dishes came from Ikea, and they were a steal. I wasn't originally planning on buying any dishes, because Lord knows I have plenty, but it was either buy something or use my Spode Christmas china, which did not seem like the smart option since three year olds would be handling it all. I had the poinsettias already, so that was an easy centerpiece. The final touch was the glasses full of candy canes with ribbon tied on them for the girls to take home as favors.

Lilla and I spent part of the morning baking the muffins and cookies, both of which came from mixes, so that part was pretty easy too.

Lilla was so excited her friends came over to see her, and after some initial playtime, the girls took their seats for tea. Meti, Lily, and Allie all looked so cute. 

I served the girls tea and treats and there was a lot of discussion among them about how hot the tea was, but when it cooled down they drank it up. I am sure it helped that I put a ridiculous amount of sugar in it. All the girls were so good and behaved like lovely little ladies. After tea, they colored in some activity books I had for them, and then when they lost interest in that, they went to Lilla's room to play.

It was such a sweet and fun little gathering. I think a girls' tea party will definitely become one of our annual Christmas traditions. Maybe one day we will have an adult party too!

The Pink Pig

We finally went to take a spin on the Pink Pig. Allie and Lily and their moms met us for the ride and then we all enjoyed lunch afterward. I mean, how cute are those three girls? 

I have no memory of going to the Pink Pig as a child myself, but it was cute and old timey and even had reminders of the old Rich's around. The girls all rode together and definitely had fun.

Snakes In The Toilet

This is how today started off...

"Mommy, I need to go potty."

"Well, you know what to do. Go ahead."

30 seconds later I hear my baby scream...

"Mommy, there is a snake in the bathroom!" as she bolts out of the bathroom buck naked.

"There is a snake in the bathroom?"

She points and screams again, "Mommy, there is a snake in the bathroom!"

At this point, I am thinking she must mean in the toilet. Maybe a snake has slithered up our pipes and is sitting in the toilet, which I didn't even know was possible until Lindsey Lulu admitted to me a couple of months ago that she is a little neurotic about that and checks for snakes in the toilet every time she goes to the bathroom. So, I am thinking worst case scenario is that there is a snake in the toilet. No way is there a snake on the floor in there. But I also have mice in my attic, so what do I know?

Turns out, it wasn't a snake, but a really big worm that looked like a real snake, at least to a three year old. I was relieved it was something harmless that I could deal with, instead of an actual snake, which would have forced me to scoop up my baby, run upstairs, make a few emergency phone calls (to my husband, father, and exterminator), and then wait for someone to come and kill the thing. There was no way I would have even attempted to kill a snake that happened to be in my powder room, of all things.

You never quite know what the combination of morning and motherhood may bring...

Dinner With Friends

We enjoyed a fairly calm weekend, which I am thankful for. It definitely had something to do with Lilla spending the night at Poppop and Gigi's house Friday night. We talked about going out and hitting the town since we were childless for the evening, but the weather was terrible, so we stayed in and did nothing. We made a fire and soaked up the quiet around us. 

There were also no activities to rush to and no new projects. We just wrapped some things up around the house and enjoyed dinner with friends Saturday night. 

Can you tell Lilla loves Ms. Tina? I mean, seriously loves her. She loves everyone she actually knows and is friends with, but she and Tina have a special connection. I love that she loves the people who are important to me.  

Ms. Tina made her a hairbow as a Christmas gift, which was so cute. I feel so grateful when people I value fuss over Lilla or do sweet things for her. They could just as easily not do anything. I mean, we are all busy and lead hectic lives and stuff falls through the cracks. But there is so much joy to be found in thinking of creative ways to give to or serve others, to find a need a person has or to take the time to do something that shows you are thinking of them and value them. I think it makes God happy when we give to others, even in the smallest ways. A simple hairbow does that. Isn't it so great that loving others can be as easy as that sometimes?

Moving on from that theological side note, Lilla was determined to hold Baby Georgia (who is so beautiful by the way...) She was very good with her, which is comforting since we will have our own little one in a few short months. Tina cuddled up with them and they all ready a bedtime story together. After that, the babies went to bed and we all enjoyed yummy Mellow Mushroom for dinner. It was the perfect type of comfort food for such bad weather outside. 

But the weather is still bad here three days later. And the mice are still running around in my attic. 

The Big Pagent

The big Christmas Pagent was today and Lilla was great! She woke up talking about it, and sang her heart out when they were on stage. She spotted us pretty quickly in the crowd and yelled, "My mommy and daddy!" It was very sweet. 

She was a shepherd this year, and Gigi made her costume out of some leftover white linen fabric I had, so it wasn't too hot or too cold, and Jay tracked down some white rope at Home Depot for her belt. It was perfect for her, and fit just right. I didn't bother with a hat or headdress because all she did last year was cry and try to tear her cow hat off. 

She stood with her friends Katie, Carter, and Lily. She absolutely loves them, and has pretend conversations at home on the phone inviting each of them and whoever else she has already "talked" to to come to the library and eat, which is interesting because we have never actually been to the library, much less eaten there.

I did get a shot of her and Lily afterward. 

Mike, Poppop, and Gigi all came to watch her and we had so much fun.

Mice and Mistletoe

As I sit here and type, I am listening to the sound of mice in my attic. One or more is running around up there. Fortunately, our bug guy came out again yesterday, the fourth time in the last month, to collect the dead mice we caught and set some new traps. All the rodents around here were displaced by the flooding a few months ago, and they are looking to set up new homes in other places, which is fine just as long as it is not in my attic.  

But it is okay, because yesterday was also cleaning day, so even though I hear the mice scurrying around, my house is clean and I am happy to enjoy that for at least one day before it starts to get dirty and messed up again. Everyone has clean sheets to crawl into and clean towels to dry off with and everything smells good. 

Except that I have lost one sheet. I never know how that happens, because I know I took the sheet off the bed and put it into the wash, but in the end I always seem to be missing one sheet or a set of pillow cases and it always takes forever to match the sets up right. Really, where does it go?

I finally finished decorating the house too. Mimi decorated my mantle over Thanksgiving, with my mother's carolers which are adorable. Lilla likes to look at them and tell me who is who and ask which one is her. The girl in the middle between Santa and Mrs. Clause, of course. 

We finally all have needlepoint stockings this year. I had one for Lilla last year, ordered one for Jay this year, and was able to get Haynes and I's childhood stocking before my dad moved a couple of months ago. They are a bit worn and faded, but I love seeing them and having a little bit of our childhood present in our Christmas. I like to put little treats in each one, and if anyone is getting small presents they go in the stockings.

We put Lilla's tree up and we had a ball decorating it the other day, but I realized that we do not have any ornaments that she has made at school or church or anywhere else for that matter. She has never come home with ornament pictures or crafts for some reason, which would be nice to have. But it looks pretty cute as it is, and I will put any gifts she gets from her friends under it for her to open closer to Christmas. 

We also got the big tree up and decorated, though every time we put an ornament on ten needles fell off, which is making me nervous about the tree lasting another two weeks to Christmas. I always tend to do monochrome gift wrap, and my choice the last couple of years has been silver paper with silver ribbon (I like how it looks with my Wedgwood blue walls). But this year the girl's gifts have hot pink ribbon, that I found a deal on at Michael's, and it really brightens up the bottom of the tree. 

Friday is Lilla's Christmas pagent. She cried the entire time last year and was so loud that we could hear her wails over the other 100 signing kids. I think it will be better this year, considering she wakes up and falls asleep each day singing the songs she has learned for it. Not a day goes by that I don't hear Jingle Bells at least ten times. 

A Full And Happy Weekend

I woke up on Saturday morning to find Jay dressing Lilla for the Kid's Workshop at Home Depot. I enjoyed a nice quiet house for a couple of hours, while they made a pull cart together. Lilla told me all about it when she got home, and she particularly liked decorating it with Christmas stickers. Isn't it funny how girls just love stickers? If we were having a boy, I don't imagine he would get very excited about stickers. But Lilla just loves them, which why I tend to find them stuck to things around my house.

After they were done, Jay said she pulled her cart all over the store for awhile. 

We also attended two fun events yesterday. One was fundraiser for a private school some friends of ours started for inner city kids. We loved seeing old friends there and hearing about the school and all that they are accomplishing in the lives of these kids. 

Tina donated a piece which I was lucky enough to win in the silent auction. I just love her stuff and got a great deal on it. I will put it in Lilla's room, which is definitely a bit of an indulgence, but she is really into ballerinas right now, talks non-stop about ballet, and will be taking ballet lessons next spring. Fortunately, it will work in her room for years and years. Lilla is so excited about her new three ballerinas. 

After the fundraiser, we raced to church where we attend the evening service. I was a little tired and hungry, which is not always a good combination for a pregnant lady, and wanted to go get dinner somewhere instead, before we headed to our final event of the evening which was a christmas party. But Jay talked me into squeezing church in, and I am so glad we went. The service was amazing, and there was a new coffee bar in the lobby, so I was able to get several cups of really excellent hot chocolate to stave off my hunger. 

After church, we made it to our Christmas party and saw some Young Life friends and even won a gift bag in a raffle, and then headed home. I was so tired by the time I got into bed, but it was worth it!

Tuckered Out

Lilla has pretty much dropped her afternoon nap, although sometimes she still takes one when necessity strikes. But on non-nap school days, she gets so tired. She fell asleep on the sofa the other day at 4:45pm for a few minutes. When I went to wake her, she was so sleepy. 

I managed to get her up by luring her into the foyer to play with our Christmas snow globes. One of them, a gift from dear aunt Sarah, not only plays music but has a moving train inside. It is a beautiful snow globe that Lilla will restart to watch over and over. Getting to play with it really perked her up!

And on to Christmas!

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. We had a great meal, and a weekend full of fun activities. God was good as he always is and I have so much to be thankful for.

I unfortunately did not get any pictures Thanksgiving Day, which I am bummed about. We had a house full of fun sleepover guests and then more family came to share our meal. In keeping with tradition, I laid out my mother's china along with the chocolate pilgrim hats Lilla and I made for the place cards. But with all the activity in the kitchen, I just forgot to stop and capture any of it on camera.

We did get a picture of our trip to pick out our tree. I love doing that on Thanksgiving weekend. We got it up yesterday and strung the lights. I love passing it as I walk down the stairs. 

(I am not sure about my big maternity winter coat in this picture, but Lilla looked really cute in her black peacoat, skirt, and leggings topped off with her gold shoes.)

While we were at Home Depot, we checked out some of their weekend specials, particularly in appliances. Our washer has had a burning smell when it runs lately, which is a bit of a concern. Home Depot had some awesome deals on washers and dryers, like over 50% off, so we ordered a set that I can't wait to get in a couple of weeks. I wanted another set of white ones, but they had run out of those, so we had to order the cherry red version, which Jay preferred. They will definitely make our laundry room much more cheerful and anything that makes doing laundry better works for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I unexpectedly have a little time to kill before all the cooking starts in my kitchen, so I thought I would write down some of the things in my life that fill me heart with deep thankfulness. In no particular order:

I am really thankful for my husband. The list is long regarding things to be thankful for about him, and I love living life with him. 

I am thankful that I have a home, and one that I love. God made it possible for us to move here, and everyday has been lovely.

I am thankful for my babies - the one already here and the one on the way. I am so thankful for God's gift of two girls. 

I am thankful for my family. They are wonderful to have around and they are so helpful and sweetly contribute as much as they can. Mimi beautifully decorated my mantle this morning with some garland and candles and then first thing this morning Uncle Haynesie tackled the sink full of dishes left over from last night. They all love Lilla and she adores them. They are great confidants and sounding boards about life's issues and the relationships between us are full of such love. I could not ask for anything more.

I am thankful for all the new things that God has taught me in the past year. I can definitely see a theme in where he has been leading me, particularly in revealing some of my some blind spots, as well as showing me the need in my life for better boundaries. It has been a good year of learning for me, and I am so thankful.

I am thankful for my writing job with the Atlanta Examiner. I really needed something to strengthen my writing skills and help build my freelance resume. God provided this great opportunity for me and I am so thankful.

I am thankful for dear friends. It is an amazing gift from God to be able to do life with other people and an even greater joy when those relationships deepen and expand and increase as the years go by. God has put some amazing people in our life and I cherish their friendship.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Connected to God

The holidays are my favorite time of year and in preparation, I have made my shopping lists, placed food orders, and am knocking projects off my to do list. I feel ready for a house full of people and food this week.

On the other hand, I am also very tired. I have been waking up in the mornings wiped out and feel that way all during the day. But the truth is that I am a more than just tired. I am irritable and impatient and about things that should not cause me to be irritable or impatient. 

I wish I could blame all my irritability and impatience on some of the other stressful things going on in my life, like sick relatives and long work hours, but deep down I know that it is just me being an unpleasant and selfish version of myself. 

It is the me I am when I am not spending enough time with the Lord, or having my tank filled up by him. It is the me who thinks I can keep on going in my own strength, while clearly seeing my attitude deteriorate day by day.  

Because of this, I have started praying again that the Lord would crucify me, my self and my self-will, and my conscious and unconscious sins. Part of me doesn't want to pray for that. I mean really, who wants to be crucified, literally or figuratively? 

Yet at times, I know that is the only way the Lord can do his work within me. God so often needs to pierce me or let me get roughed up by life, in order to get my attention and help me see that I am not living properly connected to him. 

And when I am not living connected to him, with his life and love filling me, I usually do not have much energy left over to give to others. I may have just enough to serve my own interests and my own desires, but apart from him, I do not have the emotional or spiritual reserves to help others, consider their needs, or give to them willingly and joyfully. Apart from him, I tend to expect others to give to me, make special allowances for me, and meet my needs. I slip into being a taker, instead of a giver. 

It is a great priveledge and gift to be able to live connected to the sovereign God of the universe. Even in our fallen state, we can draw on his strength and power to sustain us, as well as share his love and goodness with others. As the Christmas season nears, with all the busyness that seems to overtake life, I have to continually ask ask myself, "Am I more interested in giving to or taking from others? Am I living in and for my self or connected to God?"    

It's A Girl!

And the sweet thing is sucking her thumb in our ultrasound picture. Jay and I about melted at the sight of that...

Mystery Chef

I have been a bit behind on posting because my camera has been having issues, but I think things are all worked out now. Anyway, I was the Mystery Chef in Lilla's class this week which was pretty fun. Once a month, a parent brings food items to the class and leads the kids in making something. I led them in making a person out of veggies. I put the veggies in individual bags and each child got their own bag to work with. When I passed out the bags, and the kids saw they were getting veggies, a couple of them immediately said, "I don't like this kind of food." I said, "I know. I don't like it either. You don't have to eat it."

Lilla sat with Lily and Thomas. Lily did not make the veggie man. She actually ate all her veggies before we even started. Notice her empty plate. But all the kids did really well and followed instructions and participated in figuring out which veggies should go where.

Lilla was pleased, in the bashful was she gets when she is very happy, that I came to her class. It was fun for me to see her in action at school.

Tea Time

I was steeping my tea this morning when Lilla asked to try some. It was pretty hot, so after it steeped, I let it cool down a bit and then poured her a spot of it. (Do you love the English words I am trying to use in this post?) Fortunately, I had a cute smallish pink tea cup that was a close to perfect size for her little fingers. She took a few sips and then didn't want any more. I think it was still too warm for her taste. But it was a really sweet moment - to sit there and share my morning ritual of Earl Grey Tea with her. 

Christmas Cards

I am ordering my Christmas cards this week from my friend Natasha who has a company called Push Papers. I have the design and picture all picked out and the order should get placed this week, leaving me plenty of time to get them back, stuffed, addressed, and in the mail by early December. If you haven't ordered your cards yet, check out Push Papers. The prices are very reasonable and comparable to Tiny Prints or any other big retailer. I don't think Natasha has gotten her website up and running yet, but check out her blog and if you like what you see, contact her and she will totally set you up!

Did You Know...

That Home Depot has Kids Workshops the first Saturday of every month? I didn't learn that until two months ago from a friend's blog. I asked Jay about it and he said, "Oh, yeah. We should do that sometime." Indeed we should.

So Jay took Lilla on Saturday and they had a blast. I was going to go, but stayed home since I have a cold to rest. Not only did they built a trivit, but she got an apron with her name on it which was so cute. Since it also happened to be customer appreciation day, she got to play on a fire truck, feast on hotdogs, and take a picture with Jay on a motorcycle. They had a big time, and all for free! Go Home Depot!