Monday, February 28, 2011

Dressing Blessing

Oh my!!! Nanny went a little crazy yesterday. Finally having even a few minutes to browse a baby store turned into a wardrobe-palooza for the little girl we are expecting - in just 13 weeks!!!
As the days tick off the 40 week calendar, this grandmother is getting giddy about everything infant. I just can hardly wait. And my friends who are grandmothers are fueling the fire. On and on they go about how absolutely wonderful it is to hold a tiny treasure of legacy in your arms. I'm just not sure I can make it 13 more weeks!!

Dave was so sweet to drop me at an outlet mall for a few minutes yesterday. My radar zeroed in on a baby store. I was immediately mesmerized by pink and tiny....and then I saw it! The 75% off sign on nearly every shelf and rack. I was so undone. I took me exactly 20 minutes to pick up a substantial armful of goodies for her and check out with enormous satisfaction with my purchases. SCORE!!!!

I hopped back in the car with Dave, who was ready for me to head to several other stores, when I surprised him and said, "okay, I'm done". I was spent...both budget and baby had gotten all of me for 20 minutes. I was ready to get home and show Lori - NOW!

Well, actually, I just couldn't wait and pulled the frocks from the bag, snapped pics with my phone and texted them to her.

This is just the beginning of the fun yet to come. I knew you'd want to see pictures and I'm happy to oblige. To complete the view for you, you need to know some things that I'm pretty sure of.
1. Our little girl will almost surely have dark hair - lots of it.
2. She will have big eyes that capture your gaze.
3. Beautiful and adorable will be just two words that can't even come close to describing her.

Could you just die at how she'll look in these outfits? My imagination runs wild!

I'm showing you just a sampling. :):)

It was a
DRESSING BLESSING!!


Monday, February 21, 2011

Bite Size Brain Snack

It takes courage to reinvent joys, to reinvent opportunities, to reinvent dreams, to reinvent connections, to reinvent hopes that you have set aside."

~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Valentine Thoughts

I wish I had written this but instead found it on the card I gave my husband yesterday.

When our marriage began, we couldn't have known that after all this time it would be so wonderful....
that our love would feel even more special than it did when we first discovered it...
or that the changes and trials we faced would be among the most powerful tools God would use to make us one.

Back then, we were just two people with a single dream that we could have everything God promised, and now our love is a beautiful picture of His faithfulness.

You are and always will be the one
I dream with,
my very best friend,
and the one I love for all of my life.

Love ya, mean it !!!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Celebrating Sisters

My sister is a beautiful person on many levels. Her looks, sense of humor, energy for life, creativity and persona make her one of those people that gets the attention and affection of others. She and I have quite a history, as you can imagine? We're just 16 months apart in our family birth order of four. We're stuck together like peanut butter and jelly in the middle of two wonderful brothers.

We were great playmates as young girls, followed our separate interests and friends as teens, and reunited as young brides and mommies in our early 20's. We've never had the privilege of living in the same city as sisters, in fact we were for many years on opposite ends of north and south - yet we've been thoroughly entwined in each other's lives.

We've been through some pretty rough stuff. No need for details here but I should probably say some REALLY rough stuff. Life isn't pretty but it is real. Hurts, pain, desperation come to us all at one point or another. Me and sis have gutted out our share of that together. Supporting in prayer and practicality with everything available to us to give.

I have four girls and that makes a lot of sister connections in one family. I could only pray that they would each be as loyal, loving and resourceful in each of those relationships. I'm glad they've seen my sis and I work through differences along the way and remain loving to one another. Its a legacy to pass on that would make my heart so happy.

Today is my sister's birthday. We got to celebrate together yesterday for the first time in many, many years. It's a gift to me. As the years go by, simple treasures like a special occasion spent together grab a certain new significance.

We made some fun memories yesterday. A girlie lunch with her friends, shopping, and dinner with the family at a fancy restaurant. It was fun to see her laugh and enjoy and receive the accolades she deserves for being a great mom, a great sister and a just great person! When her face turned red as they sang a public happy birthday to her, it made me smile inside. She was loving every minute.

As I was writing her birthday card, a silly little poem popped in my head. Not sure what's up with that but it's not unusual for us girls so share a little poetic thought now and then :)

Sisters we have been,
Through thick and a little thin;
Walking hand in hand,
Though spread across the land.

Together we'll always be.
In our hearts for eternity;
Walk a few more miles, we will,
Friends - Sisters remaining still.

I love ya, sis!!!