My Birthday Girls!

So, my dear Rosie girl turned four on Sunday!  I still can't get over that fact...FOUR!  How did four years go by so quickly?  I couldn't ask for a sweeter, more thoughtful, kind-hearted little four-year-old.  I'm her mommy, so I'm a little biased, but I think she's pretty precious.  We hadn't gotten a chance to do much for the Keekster's birthday a few weeks ago, because we were in Florida at a funeral, so we decided to celebrate both of the girls' birthdays on Friday evening in a very low key way.  We had a few friends over for dinner and cake, and it was so much fun.  We had waffles, at Rosie's request, as well as, a few other breakfast foods (muffins, hashbrown casserole, cheesy egg casserole (thank you, Nicole!!!!), fruit and veggie stripples and patties.  The girls just loved everything about it, and it made this mama happy to see their sweet smiles.

4 and 2!  Where did the time go?  

Admiring mommy's second attempt at the cake.  My first attempt didn't turn out too well :( 

I can't get enough of Kiki's face in this one.  She was pretty excited about the whole thing.  I gushed about Rosie earlier, but Kiki's so special, too!  She's packed full of enthusiasm and spunk!  I'm so lucky to have these two, very different, little people in my life! 

She LOVED this blanket!

Rosie became a big girl with her very first American Girl Doll!  She's on cloud nine.  We let her choose the name, which in hindsight, might have been a mistake.  Meet Mickey!

Our family! 

Hump Day

I'm pretty sleepy tonight, so I'll keep this brief.  We've had a good week so far, but it feels like it's been busy.  I can't really pinpoint why I feel this way, because we haven't done much.  I guess, it's just that kind of week.  

The girls got a special package in the mail from their Auntie Tasha and inside were the cutest things.    They LOVED everything, but especially loved these little outfits.  They wanted me to take pictures of them to show Auntie Tasha.  I thought they turned out sweet.  Thank you, Tasha!!!  You are the best!

Like I said, I'll keep this short.  I'm so tired!  Have a great night! 

Slow Sunday

So, you'd think I'd get so much accomplished on my Sunday, but I certainly did not.  I should have used that time to do something productive, but I think I've been going and going and going and I just couldn't go any more.  I did run a few errands, but other than that, no projects.

A friend did text me to see if I wanted an old pottery barn rug she was getting rid of.  She is redoing her little girl's playroom and didn't need it anymore.  It's adorable, but it had a few tiny little holes in it.  You know me, I'll take anything, so I headed over to pick it up.  It's perfect in the girls' room and all I had to do was a little mending and it's as good as new.

I love FREE stuff:)  

You barely notice it, right;)  Just humor me! 

I still haven't finished the china cabinet, but I think I'm closer to finding the backing.  I'm leaning toward this fabric.  It's pillowcases and I only have two, so my dilemma is if I have enough.  We will see. 

China Cabinet fabric?

I don't have much more to report.  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  Here are a few pictures from ours...

Kiki experimenting with chopsticks for the first time.  She's a natural...not really. 

I love this little girl that Rosie is talking to.  It's the daughter of the owner of the restaurant and whenever we go in, they "hang out".  She's got an iphone and an ipad and they play games together. Apparently, she's friends with lots of people, though.  This long-haired, sort of scary-looking guy came in and she went and set at the table with him while he ate.  I guess he is a regular and they eat dinner together rather often.  Hilarious! 

We celebrated Kiki's 2nd birthday at Sabbath School this week!  She seemed very pleased:) 

Give me Your eyes

I've mentioned my problem with caffeine on here before....I can't drink it.  At least not past noon and certainly not at dinner.  But Friday, a strange thing happened.  I REALLY wanted a Dr. Pepper with our dinner.  I never get those cravings, so I thought, "hey, you only live once!" and I ordered one.  And I ended up drinking like five.  Mark kept warning me, but I kept drinking and by that night I felt like I was being fueled by a thousand unicorns.  I couldn't sleep.  Around 11pm, Mark and I went for a walk around the neighborhood and I actually sprinted most of the way.  Even after a shower and reading/relaxing for awhile, I was still not the least bit tired, so I pulled out my ipod and earphones and hoped the music would lull me to sleep.

Sometimes I think God uses these quiet moments to talk to us and that's what happened Friday night.    In the quiet of our bedroom, as the minutes and then hours were ticking away, I really got a chance to listen to the words of the music.  Each song brought a different lesson and each word found a way into my heart.  I decided to listen to an old favorite, Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath and I'm so glad I did.  The words were just what I needed...

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion
And chaos

All those people goin' somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, he's buyin' time

All those people goin' somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way You've seen the people all along

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

From hearing the songs, I was convicted yet again, that my priorities are so off.  I easily forget why I was put on this earth and find myself getting sucked into worrying about things that absolutely don't matter.  Why do I spend my time concerned with how I look, holding onto hurt feelings, worried about planning birthday parties and other unimportant things, when there are people in this world that don't know about Jesus?  Not only are there people in this world that don't know, but people in my town, probably in my own neighborhood.  Lord, please give me your eyes to recognize hurting people.  I get nervous in situations, but I know I can always share what You have done for me and how You've worked in my life.  Help me to be willing to tell about the miracles You have done for me.  Help me to make a difference and not get so caught up in myself that I don't see the need right around me!

A full one...

Ever have one of those days that seem like they will NEVER end?  That was my yesterday.  It was a really good day, but for an introvert like myself, it was incredibly draining!  I was exhausted by the end of it, but for the life of me, I couldn't sleep.

It started out early, when a friend of mine, Natalie, who recently had a new little girl, stopped in for a quick visit.  It was so nice to hold a newborn again.  I totally forgot how tiny they are!  Did it give me the baby bug?  Yes, it did.  Then I was quickly brought down to earth by a Kiki-sized temper tantrum.  I was miraculously cured!

The girls had a blast playing with her older little girl, Sara, and continued to play outside after they left.  Somehow the sprinkler got brought into the play and, although it was a bit chilly, I let that happen for quite awhile.  They love themselves a sprinkler.  I remember loving them as a kiddo, as well.

I forgot to get my camera out yesterday, but this is a favorite from awhile back.  

I've started occasionally singing with a group called Carolina Heart Song.  They are a small group of the sweetest ladies.  One sings, one plays the harp or piano, and the other plays the keyboard.  When I am with them I like to add my talent of interpretive dance...just kidding.  I sing harmony, mostly:)  They are very Godly women, and I appreciate their insight.  They are also very passionate about music, and sometimes I find that a bit intimidating, but I'm trying to just be confident, something I clearly struggle with in many aspects of my life!  Anyway, the girl that sings came over in the afternoon to work on a new song.  She's such an energetic person and so full of life.  I love being around her, but I'm pretty worn out by the end:)

When Mark got home, I ran a few errands and then headed to pick Anca and Maria up for book club.  It was at Clarissa's house and was completely lovely.  We had good discussion and great snacks (the best biscuits and jam ever).  I also had a very uplifting talk with a friend that helped put some things into perspective for me, which I needed!  I struggle with putting my priorities in the right place.

When I got home, Mark and Logan were engaged in deep conversation, so I joined in on that one, and by midnight, I was spent.  The bed never felt so good, although, like I mentioned, sleep didn't come.

Today, we've hit Pilates and after that, I had a hardcore talk session with Andrea while I watched the girls play outside.  They are obsessed with spray bottles right now.  Mom Murrill sent some to the girls to help with watering the plants and they could literally do that for hours.

I hope to finish painting the china cabinet today.  I've done one coat, and it definitely could use another.  I'm so excited about it.  My vision has been to put vintage-y floral wallpaper, wrapping paper or fabric in the back, but I'm struggling with finding the right thing.  I've already gotten two different things that don't work and I don't want to settle, so I'm still on the quest for the right thing.  Wish me luck!

Coat #1 

Another project I've been working on is lighting for the playroom.  I don't know if I've shown you pictures of the playroom, but this was it a few weeks ago.  Right now, I can't walk in it because it's completely covered in toys and I can't muster the strength I need to conquer it right now.  Excuse the quality and lighting, they were taken on my phone in the evening.

What I have purposely left out of the picture, is the light fixture in there.  This is why...

It would be absolutely precious in a little guy's room, but a feminine girls' playroom?  Not so much!  I found a great alternative, but I just have to figure out how to wire and hang it.  This may surprise you, but I'm not very good with electrical work. :) In fact, I'm probably the last person you want messing with live wires, so the project is on hold until I can figure that part out.  But here's what will be taking it's place...eventually.

I found this beauty for $5.00 at Goodwill.  Yes, it's very green.  It pictures greener than it really is.  I'm hoping the color won't overwhelm the space when it's hung.  

Well, I have some painting to finish up.  Thanks for the comment and texts I got yesterday.  A few people mentioned that they've had problems commenting.  I'm sorry about that!  You are very sweet people for reading this blog of mine, even though I haven't been a very dependable updater!  I promise to be better!   

  

 

No Brainer

Our Monday started rather early.  We think that Kiki has been teething and her naps and sleeping in general has been rather spotty.  She wakes up at the break of dawn and comes into lay with us.  That would be fine, if she went back to sleep like Rosie did when she was about that age.  No, this kid lays sideways with her head on Mark and she uses her feet to try and push me out of the bed.  Ugh.  I'm not loving this stage.  Hopefully, it's a quick one.

I went to Pilates this morning and I'm sad to report that it hasn't gotten any easier.  My core had completely gone to pot over the last few weeks of inactivity, making the moves almost impossible.  Maria was next to me and seemed in as much agony as I was, so that made me feel a little better:)  Apparently, I can never stop going to that class.  Hopefully, I've learned my lesson.

After I left Pilates, I ran over to the hospital to drop something off for Mark, and he reminded me that I had to go to a meeting with him, so we ran home quickly and I fed the girls a little something, so it wouldn't be a horrible situation.  Hungry little girls is something I try to avoid at all cost.  After the meeting, we ate at Strawberry Hill.  I still love it, in case you were wondering:)   

The girls and I napped this afternoon, and then worked on a few little projects around the house.  This evening, after Mark got home, we ran to Edneyville to pick up a piece of furniture that I found on Craigslist.  I've wanted a china cabinet with glass forever, and I found one for only $50!  It seemed like a no-brainer to me.  It was a brainer for Mark, but he came around.  I can't wait to paint it.  I'm still deciding the color, but I'm leaning toward just white.  I'm excited that it has lighting inside.  I'll be sure to post some after pictures, when I get it all finished up. 

Can't wait to get started!

Little Handsome Boy

You may or may not be familiar with the Gigi, God's Little Princess books and videos.  Rosie has fallen for her and loves all things Gigi.  I found her a little Gigi devotional Bible the other day and today we started reading it in addition to our other worship.  She started talking about how we are all God's little princess, but stopped herself and said, "Daddy's not God's little princess.  He's...God's little handsome boy."

I think I have to agree:)

Skeletons in the Closet

Two days in a row, friends!  Hopefully, I'm back on the blogging train now.  Since I have the memory of a pencil, I really need this blog.  I use it as a scrapbook of our lives.  I love being able to look back and read about our family happenings, especially milestones of the girls.  When I don't blog for awhile, I completely forget things that have happened and I really want to document them.

Luckily, many of my friends are like elephants when it comes to remembering.  If I have any questions about my childhood, I call Kaylee.  She has the best memory of anyone I have ever known, hands down.  I love hearing her tell stories.  They are so full of detail!  I may remember that I had a 10th birthday party as a child, but she can tell me what presents I got, what kind of cake we had and numerous hilarious anecdotes from the event.  Andrea is my high school rememberer and she, Nicole and Tasha keep me in the know when it comes to my college years.  I really hate having a poor memory, but at the same time, it is pretty nice being able to legitimately forget the bad things.

In other news, I went back to pilates today.  It's been tooooooooooo long.  It was so hard!  My body is really out of shape.  It's like all my muscles atrophied in my month off.  It didn't help that I spent the last month in vacation mode.  Ice cream was on the menu too many times to count!  So yes, I'm really ready to be back.  I don't plan on moving again, ever:) and I don't have any trips planned in the near future, so hopefully I'm good to go with making it a regular part of my schedule.  

The weather here has been so wacky lately.  It rains almost every day and has for the last month+.  I need to get the girls out, so we've taken to playing in the rain.  It's pretty fun and they have been having the time of their lives. I need to get some pictures of their excitement.  It's raining as I type, so hopefully after nap, I can get a few shots.

So, while Andrea was here, something funny happened that I feel deserves sharing.  She told me about this navy dress she had gotten and she really wanted to find some shoes to match it.  She mentioned that it had a lace back and I pictured something very feminine.  I was excited to see it.  She was bathing Avie one night and I was in her room, just chatting with her and I asked her to see the dress.  She directed me to her bag and as I pulled it out I noticed right away that the lace was a skeleton.  Knowing Andrea, I was completely shocked that she bought something with a skeleton on it.  She's very girly and doesn't like anything scary.  Part of me guessed that she didn't realize it, but I wasn't completely sure.  I mentioned something like, "Oh, a skeleton," just to feel her out.  She looked at me like I was nuts and I knew she hadn't realized.  I lifted the dress to show her and we both started dying laughing.  She had no idea!  Apparently lace skeletons are a big trend nowadays, because we've seen them all over since.  Needless to say, the dress went back to the store.
   

The Skeleton Dress

Well, I hear one of the ladies rousing.  Hope your afternoon is a great one! 

I laughed until I...

Blogging isn't my forte, huh?  I really thought I would be better, but life has really gotten in the way lately.  Not in a bad way, though.  We've just been so busy with wonderful visits from friends and a little traveling.  We've had a truly great few weeks, but I have to say, I'm really craving some normalcy.

Our fun started with visits from the Baughmans...aka the Murmans.  I said visits because we were treated to two different weekend visits.  Each time we had so much fun.

The two littlest really like each other.  

Our little musicians.  

The leader of the Murman children.  She's such a beautiful big girl.  

Auntie Kay loving on Kiki

Can you tell they like each other?

Our brood 

There are a lot of them, huh?! 

What a great looking family!  

We were so sad to see the Baughman's leave, but it wasn't as bad as usual because we've all been doing a pretty commendable job of seeing each other rather often.  We've just got to keep it up!  Who am I kidding...I hated seeing them leave.  It's always hard.  

The day after they left, another one of my besties, Andrea, arrived along with her cutie-pie, Avie.  Our visit was so special.  They stayed two weeks, so we were able to do all kinds of fun things.  The best part was just hanging out with her.  She is such a creative person and was so helpful in decorating my craft room.  I'll post pictures of the finished product soon.  By the time they left, it felt like losing members of the family.  The girls still ask where Avie went.  We haven't been quite as good at seeing each other, although we talk everyday, usually multiple times.  We've vowed to do better at the visiting part.      

They loved Auntie Andrea!

This girl has been there for me through thick and thin.  Lucky to have her.  

I love this kid!

Holding hands.  

We had one day after Andrea left before we were off on a trip to Orlando.  We headed there for a sad reason.  My sweet uncle passed away, and we wanted to be there for his memorial .  While we were there, we wanted to make sure to see all of our Florida buddies.  We stayed with our good friends, the Putts, and were able to spend time with them and their precious boys, Mateo and Cruz.  They were ADORABLE!!!  I could kick myself for not getting my camera out.  I took this one of them all playing together one morning on my phone.  

On Friday morning, we stopped by my old job to see all of my work friends.  I especially wanted to see my boss/friend, Susie.  I've missed that girl and seeing her again, reminded me why.  She's a real sweetie.  On Friday evening, we were invited to the Ellis' for dinner.  I hadn't gotten the chance to meet their littlest, Jack, so that was a treat.  Rosie absolutely loved their little girl, Mei Li!  It was so nice catching up with Mellie and Dave, as well.  They are such good people!  

I haven't mentioned that my family was in town, as well!  My mom, dad, little brother, sister-in-law and nephew all came for the memorial, so that made this trip extra wonderful.  Saturday was packed full of quality family time.  We also got to see my honorary brother, Pierre.  My mom and dad like to say we adopted him when he was our pastor in Tulsa.  We love him and our whole family was so happy to get to spend time with him.  The memorial was that afternoon and was so lovely.  It was so nice to be reminded of what a great man my uncle was.  I was blessed to know him.  

I didn't mention that Saturday was Kiki's 2nd birthday.  The poor kid didn't get much birthday love because of the full day, but that evening we went out to ice cream and sang to her.  Now that we are home, I need to do a little something to make her feel extra special.  

Uncle Pierre

Aunt Judy and my mom at the memorial.  

Siblings! 

Rosie loves her some Uncle Stephen

Pierre and his beautiful girlfriend, Tiffany.

Brothers from another mother.  They were pretty excited to be reunited.  

Even though he is no longer a pastor and now is the HR Director of a hospital, he will always be Pastor Pierre to me.  

He's also one of our closest friends.  

On Sunday, we just weren't ready for my family to leave, so they changed their tickets to stay longer.  We all headed to Sea World together.  The Putts joined us, as well, and we had so much fun.  The girls absolutely loved it.  They were both mesmerized by the shows.  Kiki thought the Sea Lion show was a hoot and kept clapping and saying, "What a silly guy!"  Rosie fell deeply in love with Shamu and thanks to Nana and Papa, sleeps nightly with her new stuffed version.  It was so sad to say goodbye to everyone after such a great day. 

Rosie and a sea turtle

Kiki loved all the sea life!  

It was so good to see Papa after his ankle replacement surgery.  He was still in a boot, but is doing so much better!  Thank you for the prayers.  

Love these dudes.  The girls couldn't get enough of Greyson.  They wanted to be around him constantly.  He was bombarded by Kiki kisses.  

That evening we headed down to Tampa to see our wonderful friends, the Heinrichs.  We've missed them so much.  We always have such a blast with them, and this trip didn't disappoint.  We were having so much fun that we decided to extend our time with them an extra day.  Our kiddos had so much fun playing together, and Tasha and I couldn't stop chatting.  Mark was able to spend some time at one of the hospitals and talk to people doing the same thing he is doing here.  It's always good to get different perspectives. 

Friends 

Miss Khloe!  I was so glad to finally meet Tasha's version of Kiki:)  They are like the same person.  Ha!  She's was a doll!

I stole this picture from Tasha.  It's not my best picture, but I'm blaming it on the early hour and no make-up.  It was so therapeutic to spend time with this girl!

On Tuesday morning, we got up and hit the road.  We had plans to get home pretty early, but stopping at every mall and outlet mall doesn't do great things to your time.  We ended up rolling into our house pretty late.  The trip was so worth it, though.

The last few weeks have reminded me how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends and family!  They are each so special and mean so much to me.  They also are all super funny.  Seriously, I did so much laughing and that just makes the heart happy.  I'm reminded of a quote that Andrea found while she was here, "I laughed so hard I had tears running down my leg."  In my old age, that pretty much sums it up.