Cutest. Model. Ever.

Emma didn't have school today because the MSD of Martinsville was on a two-hour delay due to overnight ice and snow. Again. So we had plenty of time to play today. And this time we decided that I would be a photographer and Emma would be my model.

Emma picked out a pretty dress to wear (she had actually planned to wear it to school today), and we had the photo shoot in the living room. I guess I need to get a white sheet or something for the back of the couch to make it a little more like a studio, but I still got some cute pictures.

You can see all the photos I took here.

And here's what Norbert thought of the whole thing...

After the photo shoot, Emma chose to wear a different dress, just to be more comfortable. My little girly girl.

Blessings

Sometimes I get so preoccupied with the few not-so-good things happening in my life that I forget to notice the overwhelming amount of blessings God has given me. I wanted to take this opportunity to list a few of them and to thank God for them.

1. Chris. He is a wonderful husband. He's kind, thoughtful, intelligent, and hilarious. And he is such a great daddy.

2. Emma. She is, I think, the closest thing you can get to a perfect daughter. She's fun, smart, well-behaved, and beautiful.

3. Family. We have such fun together, Chris, Emma and I. And not only do I have a great immediate family, I have great parents and great in-laws. I know several people who can't say that, and I'm so glad I can.

4. Close friends. I am blessed with some really great friendships. I have a few friends who I talk to as close to every day as I can. They make me happy. I want to thank them for loving me, and I want to let them know that I love them very much.

5. My Lord. I don't think I need to explain myself on this one. Jesus is the best gift anyone could ever receive. If you're reading this and don't know what I mean by that, please talk to me.

There are tons more blessings in my life for which I'm so grateful but don't have time to enumerate right now. But I'm glad I took the time to dwell on the good things. You should do it, too. You'll be glad you did.

Wow.

God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.

If you read my last post (which was posted late last night/SUPER early this morning), you remember that I closed with the lyrics to my favorite hymn. Well, it just so happened that we sang "It is Well with My Soul" at church this morning. Twice. The first time we sang it all the way through, and I was sitting up in front with the choir. I was so overwhelmed with how great God is and how much He loves me that tears spilled down my cheeks as I sang [read: tried to sing] the last verse. It was such a wonderful experience.

God knew just what I needed today, and He provided in a big way.

Difficult things

As I get older, I find myself more and more in situations where I must do things that are difficult. They may be unpleasant, unwanted, yucky (a highly technical term), or just plain hard. There are myriad more adjectives that I could use here, but I think I've made my point.

Yesterday's difficult thing was both difficult and wonderful at the same time. Emma and I went with my mom to see my grandma and grandpa, who are both currently in residence at a senior citizens' rehab facility. Grandpa, age 91, is recovering from hip replacement surgery; and Grandma, age 89, is recovering from double pneumonia and the flu. Thankfully, they are both doing remarkably well.

The difficult parts:

1. Not a big fan of nursing homes. I'm not quite sure why. But I remember in high school when I sang with the Madrigals that we had to do some performances at the local nursing home, and it always gave me the creeps.
2. Grandma and Grandpa's room was hotter than Hades. For real. It was like standing-on-the-face-of-the-sun hot in there. Mom was sweating, I had to roll up my sleeves, and Emma was about to die (she is very hot-natured, so she had little pink cheeks). *Note to self: next time we go back there to visit, wear short sleeves.*
3. I got stopped by a couple different older people who wanted to talk to me.
   A)   One woman asked me if I drove, to which I answered yes. She said "they" left her there and won't let her leave, to which I replied at least she has nice people there to take care of her (one of those nice, scrubs-clad people happened to be walking with her down the hallway). She said that "they" don't take care of her at all. Thankfully Emma had zoomed past me at some point during that exchange and had gone into my grandparents' room, so I said I was sure that wasn't true and excused myself to go "catch my daughter," even though I knew she was fine. My heart broke for that woman.
   B)   This man chatted with me as we were on our way out the door to leave. He mumbled something, then he said he was thirsty and needed water. I wanted to stop and get him a drink of water. The fact that he was just wandering around the entryway alone, asking a complete stranger for a drink of water, broke my heart too.
4. I was sitting next to Grandma on the little couch while Mom was across the room showing Grandpa the DVD of photos of their recent bathroom remodel, which G and G have been unable to see in person yet. She asked me what they were watching, and I told her. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes and she said that she felt like they were missing everything. Heart torn in two.
5. Grandpa has become a very quiet person. He used to talk to anyone and everyone about anything and everything. Now it's hard to get more than a few words out of him at a time. And he has a hard time hearing me because my voice timbre is so high. It's practically impossible for him to hear Emma say anything. So I don't talk to Grandpa very much anymore. And that makes me sad.

The wonderful parts:

1. Grandma's huge smile and happy greeting when Emma and I walked into their room for our surprise visit.
2. Pushing Grandma's wheelchair ~ not running her into anything, thank you very much ~ and having the opportunity to help give her a reminder of her "normal" life and why she's working so hard in rehab to get better.
3. The smiles on people's faces when Emma walked through the lobby. She made some hearts very happy just by her presence there.
4. Being able to help my mom take care of Grandma and Grandpa, even if only for a little while. She has so much on her heart and on her plate right now, and being able to help take even a tiny bit of that away was great.

I'm sitting here trying to figure out a concise, clever way to wrap up this blog post, but nothing is coming to mind. So I think I'll leave you with the words of my favorite hymn, for no other reason than I love to sing the song and it always gives me comfort...

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Chorus

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Chorus

And, Lord, haste the day, when my faith shall be sight.

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll.

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend.

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Chorus

Feels like spring

As I type, the temperature outside is 67.5 degrees. The sun is out, and there is no ice in sight. I didn't have to wear a coat when I went out. I could wear flip flops if I wanted to (if I painted my toenails, that is). It's glorious.

Emma still has a bit of a cold, but it's on its way out. She can't feel too bad to look like this:

Her {entire} preschool had a field trip today to the local gymnastics academy. The kids had a great time, even if it was super chaotic. (We're talking mass hysteria, folks.) And now we're watching "The Little Mermaid", and I'm enjoying listening to Emma's sweet little giggles. Makes the unseasonably warm, sunny weather that much better to hear her laugh.

Before I forget, I wanted to share another photo with you. Emma and I went to Goodwill yesterday. I have a gift card to spend there that I got from my awesome sister-in-law for my birthday (thanks, Cayla!). I wanted to show you what Emma picked out for herself while we were there:

Good choice, huh? Is that NOT the cutest thing you've ever seen?! She was working on finding things to fill her new purse today. So far she has her mini LaLaLoopsy, Strawberry Shortcake, Raspberry Torte, Lemon Meringue, and Orange Blossom dolls in there; and she's currently looking for the missing Blueberry Muffin doll to complete the set. I can't think of anything better to go in a 5-year-old's purse than that.

Well, there you go. That's all I have for today. Just wanted to share some smiles with you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm not a huge proponent of Valentine's Day. I don't have a problem with it or anything; I just don't make a big deal out of it. I like telling the people I love how much I love them on V-Day, but I try to do that all the time. It's important to let people know you love them. It makes them feel good, and it makes you feel good too.

Emma has a bit of a cold, so she and I stayed home from church today (so as not to infect all the other kiddos). Plus she was a sneezy, snotty mess this morning. And it gave me a chance to [start and] finish Valentines for some special people.

Emma's Valentines for her classmates were already finished. She and I made them a week or two ago, using Perler beads (a great rainy day, sick day, artsy day, ANY day craft):

I had Emma write the Valentine greeting once on a piece of paper. Then I scanned it and printed it on colored paper (her fave color, orange), so she only had to write it the one time.

Pretty good, right? She has very nice handwriting, considering she is just learning how to do it. I will say that I wrote what she was supposed to say on another piece of paper, and she copied it onto her own paper. But she still did a great job.

Onto the Valentines I did today... We still hadn't made a card for Emma's wonderful preschool teacher, Mrs. Schnaiter; so I printed out two identical coloring pictures (in case the first one got messed up somehow... it happens) and Emma colored them. She didn't make a mistake on either of them, so she had to choose one for the card. I did not get a photo of the one she picked, but here is the other one (that she gave to me):

I follow this really great blog of a super crafty lady. The blog is A Little Hut by Patricia Zapata. I have attempted to make a few of the items she has posted, and they have each turned out really well. The one I made for the front of Mrs. Schnaiter's card, the wrapped heart, is found here. I printed the template on white cardstock and wrapped it with dark pink yarn. I thought it turned out really cute.

The picture Emma colored and signed her name on is on the inside.

And finally, here is the card I made for the grandparents. (Made two just like this for my parents and Chris's parents, then I made a smaller one on a white folded card for Chris's sister and her fiance.)

I got this idea from another blog that my friend Amy told me about the other day. I would link to it if I could find it again, but sadly I am at a loss at the moment. How flipping adorable is that?! The original one was an actual photo with a Tootsie Pop in the child's fist. I took the idea and tweaked it a little. That's my sick child in her jammies in the front room of our house (notice our dog on top of the sofa in the window). I printed it on cardstock on my laser printer in black and white and cut slits at the top and bottom of her fist for the red pipe cleaner. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

I hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day!
XOXO

Birthday fun

It was brought to my attention that I haven't blogged in a few days, so I found some photos that were taken on my birthday (Feb. 5) of Emma playing in the snow while Chris tried to break up and clear the ice off our driveway.  I used our good camera (Nikon D40x) and got some pretty good shots.  Enjoy!

 

She threw a few snowballs at me while I was holding the camera.  Then Chris decided to join the snowball fun.

He didn't throw that at either of us.  He just tossed it in the air, and we watched it split apart when it hit the driveway.

And Norbert even joined us.  Emma threw a few snowballs at him.  He wasn't too pleased.

Then it was time for a photo shoot with Emma.

Later that evening my parents took us to Cheeseburger in Paradise in Bloomington for my birthday.  It was delicious.  I had a medium well burger with avocado slices on it.  {I am a huge avocado fan.  If you have never tried it on a burger, think about it.  It will change your life.}  The wait staff even came out and sang to me for my birthday: "This is a birthday song.  It isn't very long.  See ya."  Cute.  And I got chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.  Happy birthday to me!

There's nothing better than spending your birthday with the people you love.

Bowl-o-rama

Chris, Emma, and I went bowling last night, and I finally got to use my newly-drilled bowling ball.

Pretty, right?  Because that's what's important on the lanes: a pretty bowling ball.  Well, maybe not, but it is a fun bonus to have a pretty ball, especially when I'm not doing as well as I'd like.

Chris used his new ball, as well, and he had fun really winging it down the lane a few times.  He said it's a good way to let off a little steam, to really haul off and launch that ball down the lane.

Emma had SO much fun.

Cutest little bowler you've ever seen, right?  She did so great.  And she did it all by herself.  She even got a couple legitimate (read: not using the bumpers) strikes.

She ended up with a score of 95.  Crazy.  It took me until I was at least in my late 20s to be able to score more than 100.  Overachieving 5 year olds.  Sheesh.

Chris and I both got some legit strikes too, but I will admit that I was glad to have the bumpers up several times because I was bowling fairly poorly.

It happens to everyone.  It just KEPT happening to me.  I have to teach myself to s-l-o-w down and pay attention to what I'm doing. Concentration is key for me.

At least I have great bowling shoes.

Birthday Eve time capsule

I thought I would take this opportunity on the eve of my birthday to talk about myself and the things I enjoy at this moment in time.  My list would have looked different even just five years ago, as I'm sure it will look different in another five years.  Let's just call this my own little bloggy time capsule.

STUFF I'M INTO RIGHT NOW


Grown-up TV shows: The Office (I love Steve Carell and John Krasinski), The Big Bang Theory (bazinga!), Modern Family (Cam is my FAVE), Parks and Recreation (Amy Poehler is so hilarious), Community (Joel McHale is hilarious, and Troy and Abed crack me up), Chuck (really like Zachary Levi), One Life to Live (yes, it's a soap), General Hospital (yes, I watch 2 soaps), Wipeout (I love Jill and the Johns), Whose Line is it Anyway? (Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie are my faves), Man v. Food (LOVE Adam Richman!!)

Kid TV shows: iCarly (Spencer is so funny), SpongeBob SquarePants (this show always makes me LOL), Imagination Movers, Jungle Junction (SUCH a great theme song), Bubble Guppies

Grown-up movies: Twilight saga, Harry Potter series, The Proposal (I've liked Ryan Reynolds since "Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place"), Leap Year, Star Wars (IV, V, VI)

Kid movies (animated and otherwise): Despicable Me, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the ORIGINAL w/ Gene Wilder), Tangled, Alice in Wonderland (animated and Johnny Depp version)

Books: Twilight series, Harry Potter series, Corduroy, The Sneetches and Other Stories, Pinkalicious

Activities: Spending time with Emma, church, making cards, singing at church, dancing (I even take tap!), cross stitch, word puzzles, playing Wii with Chris and Emma, laughing with Chris, chatting with my friends who live far away, Facebook, Twitter, lunch dates with Emma and my mom, blogging, after-church lunch with friends, taking photos of Emma

I'm sure I've forgotten many, many items that could go on this list, but I think you get the picture.  This is me.  And if you're reading my blog, you must like me because of (or maybe despite) these things.

Looking forward to a great 32nd year of life!  Starting tomorrow, of course. :)

My Funny Valentine - Cutest couple photo contest

"70 Years = True Love"

When I read about this photo contest, I immediately thought of this photo.  It wasn't posed or planned, it was just taken at the exact right time.  My grandparents have been married for over 70 years.  Such a testament to true love.