Mud and Sunshine

Stuck in time

2012-01-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

Since I gave birth to Jack in 2009, I've been pretty delinquent about scrapbooking (as friends who are moms themselves warned me might happen). I've spent some substantial time on it during days and weekends with friends but overall haven't been consistent enough to stay even remotely up to date. Jack's scrapbook, in desperate need of more attention, has him at just a couple months old. That's not to mention the "regular" family albums, stuck in time at Christmas 2007.

Since my goal is to make one baby book for each child (equal rights!), I decided to finish his scrapbook before our new little one arrives in early June (at which point I think I will be thankful just to shower and survive each day—and make sure my children do the same). In the process, I hope to also get at least a little bit caught up on my family albums.

I plan to do six page layouts a week to chronicle Jack's earliest days. For some of you, this might seem silly, but since I am an extraordinarily slow scrapbooker, this is a good (but not too lofty) goal for me.

So here's to finishing Jack's baby book and getting ready to open a cute new book for a brand-new little boy!

It's a...

2012-01-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

We were thrilled today to see the youngest member of our family kicking playfully on the ultrasound monitor. It was beyond a delight to watch our second son's heart beat, see small arms move up to his precious face, glimpse his sweet little profile, watch tiny fingers and toes wiggle—and to discover he is a boy (all 8 ounces of him—not surprisingly, a little bigger than the average baby at this stage).

I can't help but imagine what he'll be like (I do hope for a good sleeper like Jack!), and if he'll look like our eldest or totally different. It's such a special mystery and privilege of parenthood, to dream and wonder about the baby who's carefully nestled inside you—closer than he'll ever be again—but whom you haven't truly met. I'm confident and so grateful that God is shaping the life inside me and preparing our family for our new little boy.

Jack wasn't that enthusiastic about having to sit relatively still in a dark room with no toys (despite our prior attempted explanations that we would get to see our baby on the screen) but was later thrilled to look through the ultrasound photos with us. He's pretty excited (as he can be with his limited understanding) about having "baby brother." We're excited, too, to continue to love and parent the boys as they grow up together. We can't wait to see them race their Hot Wheels, run outside, ride their bikes, play catch, and make lots of special brother memories.

Thank you, God, for blessing us with another sweet little guy!

Merry and bright!

2011-12-30T22:51:00.000-08:00

Our wonderful Christmas was spread out over three weeks, first with my husband's family, then with just our little family the following week, and finally with my side of the family Christmas week itself. In between, we decorated sugar cookies, counted down to Advent, played with the Little People nativity set, and went on Christmas outings including a parade, train, and rides, spending lots of quality time with family members. Afterward there was more fun with a mini-vacation my mom traditionally and kindly hosts for the 10 of us; this year it was in the beautiful coastal city of Victoria where we visited museums and castles, swam and shopped and laughed together, and ate lots of delicious food.

This year, the delight was even richer than previous years with Jack being old enough to greater understand visiting family, sharing and giving, and the nativity story—and get extremely excited about the presents under various family trees. The fact that he opened Christmas presents over a period of time was perfect; he had time to play with each and truly enjoy them. The thrill on his little face as he ripped open paper and discovered new toys is already a treasured memory. Another precious memory is helping Jack pick and package gifts for a boy his age who has fewer resources than our family. After we arranged the items in the box, he walked around our home selecting various toys "for Daniel" (although I had to explain we were limited in what we could send). And thereafter, he frequently says during prayer time, "Pray for Daniel." I'm so honored that I can be Jack's mom and help instill kindness, giving, love, and other important lessons (which I pray are life-long) in his little heart.

Like in 2008, Christmas was also extra-special because of the incredible joy of our new little one on the way. Being pregnant at this time of the year makes me feel a little closer to the biblical account of Jesus' birth, as I imagine Mary being visited by the angel who announced the Messiah's conception; her growing belly; the dusty, rough ride to Bethlehem; the agony of labor; and the fresh cries of a tiny boy.

Here's hoping you enjoyed a joy-filled Christmas—and have a rich and full 2012!

Jack's new book

2011-11-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

I just got a new story book,

And a new shirt for a brand-new look.

Why? Because I'm happy to say

My little sibling is on the way!

All three of us are looking forward to welcoming a precious little one next June (although Jack tends to think the baby is in his tummy from time to time). We are beyond thankful to God for this tiny, beautiful miracle; we couldn't feel more blessed! It's been a bit of a journey to get to this point (in which I've learned more about God's incredible timing and about the essential virtue of patience) and that makes us all the more grateful, with more of a sense of amazement and a perhaps even a deeper joy.

Last week, we saw our little guy or gal (the extreme fuzzy version) on ultrasound and heard his or her wonderfully rhythmic heartbeat for the first time. What a phenomenal God we have to create the wonder of new life!

Now begins the guessing game...boy or girl? My husband thinks girl. I have no clue. We shall see!

Really? Two years?

2011-06-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long? It seems Jack has been in our hearts and lives forever.

Family photos just before Jack's second birthday were certainly, um, interesting. Lots of running around, pulling on the backdrop fabric, running behind the backdrop, and generally very little sitting still and actually smiling. It was just not the best day on earth for obedience. The photographer was sweet and patient and bribed him with cookies. So we have various photos in which he is obviously chewing, but at least he looked at the camera from time to time.

The company likes to print extras and try to convince you to buy them (which we never do) when you go pick up your order. It says something that the photographer said, "Oh, you can have just have these." Yikes.

Anyway, we are happy with them because we have something by which to remember our 2-year-old family of three (authentically, for sure) forever. And what fun would life be without a rambunctious little boy?

Caution: Fun Zone!

2011-06-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

Jack loves trucks (and cars). He races big ones around the house at high speed and plays for a long time with little ones, driving them over tabletops and furniture and Mommy and Daddy and himself. He calls each a "ruck." So this year his party was all about trucks and other construction vehicles—and dirt, of course.

We had various snacks, including Muddy Buddies (not shown), served with a toy shovel. Yum! I had never made them before, but I may make them again :-). The tablecloth was the "road" (thanks to a creative mom for this and other party inspiration). And I was excited to find truck balloons at the dollar store.

It was a super fun party to plan. (I have to admit that I adore planning parties. It's just got a whole lot more fun since I've had a little guy. My husband teases that I start planning one party before the current one is even over. He's exaggerating—but just a bit.) While I love to spend plenty of time collecting ideas online and finding thematic products to make the party extra splendid, I still have a ton to do the week before the actual party. Ha! (I'll probably never quite kick my super-ingrained procrastination habits.)

Of course, a party's not a party without people to join in and celebrate, and we're really grateful for everyone who made it fun.

Some of the loads of fun we had:

Eating dirt (crushed Oreos, pudding, cake, gummy worms) cake!

We had games, a craft, a pinata and trucks for play. A wonderful friend let us borrow her stoplight for extra fun.

We decorated with caution tape and "road signs" (and balloons and streamers of course). (I found some signs at Mardel and printed some off that I found online or adapted.) All of the kids got a construction hat and a party horn.

Favor bags—I love having fun with candy molds; these ones were dump trucks. And candy rocks, as it turns out, are delish!

Now, off to third birthday party planning! Just kidding (sort of). I do already have a possible theme in mind...

Life's a changin'

2011-06-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

In the last several weeks, we've experienced two major changes in our little family. First, our baby boy became officially not a baby any more (sniff, sniff). He turned the big 2!

It's been great fun to see him develop physically, mentally and emotionally of late. He has learned how to save "Love you," and loves to give hugs and kisses. He'll come running at me and my husband full-speed, saying "[h]ug! [h]ug!" He's got his foibles for sure, but he's a sweet little boy. He says "Thank you" most of the time when he's given something, and he says "Hi" and offers a big grin to nearly anyone—especially to characters who look like they might be criminals in their free time. His vocabulary seems to expand daily; it's always fun to hear him say a new word he picked up on his own.

Celebrating with dirt cake. Shortly thereafter, he attempted to eat the candle.
That is, he took a huge bite of it before I had him spit it out.

Second, we moved. It was just a few blocks away, in the same town, but it was quite the experience! It was the first time we had moved as a family (when we married, I simply moved into my husband's home), and so we had plenty of stuff to sort through and toss. We ended up taking a very long time to move everything since we were under no pressure, and that made for some extra stress. But all in all, we're fairly settled now (except for a few last pesky boxes). And we are enjoying the perks of our new home.

The move came with a move to Jack's big-boy bed. He loved it—and we loved that he loved it. Next up, potty training...

Moving time! I told him we were moving his toys so he picked these up and headed out the door.

We are keeping busy celebrating others' life changes, too—graduations, a good friend's wedding, baby showers, birthdays. It's that season of the year when I'm reminded to be so thankful that life's a grand adventure!

The year of 2

2011-02-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

It may be two whole months into 2011, but here I am (umm, better late than never?). I haven't posted in a while for no particular reason—just life in general gets busy and blogging hits the very bottom rung of the priority ladder.

This year, Jack will turn 2. Wow. It really seems like yesterday that I was pregnant and imagining what his tiny self would look like. Now, I'm happy to say that he has my husband's good looks and is giggling his way through life (even when he's sick, and this winter has been rough on him). He's learning more and more words every day.

Being 2 means making the leap from the church nursery to Sunday school. Also crazy. We were pretty concerned about this because 1) he doesn't talk in sentences yet, and 2) he liked to eat crayons. But recently he learned the word Bible and discovered coloring is in fact more fun than biting the tops off of crayons. So I feel a bit better about that one. Now to complete potty training (in which we are making slooooow progress).

The sweetest part of this 20-something-month-old stage for me is the new ability to express love. He knows the sign for love, says "hug" when he reaches for one, gives his daddy and me kisses, and has recently started loving his stuffed animals—saying "Night, night" and covering them with a blanket, hugging and kissing them, and handing them to me for more hugs and kisses. Adorable.

I recently pulled back significantly on the (already small) amount of work I do from home (thanks to my hard-working, wonderful husband), so that has given me even more time to spend with him and watch him explore his world.

Did I mention I love being his mom?

Celebrate September

2010-09-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

September might as well be called Celebratember in our family (except that would be a mouthful). It is filled with birthdays and all of the fun that comes with them. It kicks off with our oldest nephew's birthday, followed by our oldest niece. Another nephew, me, and my husband follow.

The month of celebration is especially nice after a summer during which two close family members left us to go to heaven. Lots of balloons and party hats and candles and smiling children can't help but bring a little joy.

The only slight wrinkle in the September bliss was my birthday. The celebration itself (over the weekend since I had a Sunday birthday) was lovely—a family trip to the zoo, eating out (for free!) at several favorite restaurants, dessert fondue with great girlfriends, cheesecake with family members, opening presents and cards—but it struck me as that birthday when I had to be grown up for good. Yep, I'm now 30.

I mentioned this to my husband. His response? I am pretty much already grown up if I am married and have a child. No turning back on this grown-up thing now, I guess. Still, it seems my 20s were still sort of "young." And it is when so many big, exciting things happened in my life—college graduation, the launching of my career, engagement, marriage, my son's birth, new friends. It feels to me as if that particular "young" chapter in my life is closed (which it is) and I am officially old (please don't snicker, people who are much older than me :-).

A few days after I turned 30, life seemed a whole lot less grim. I didn't feel really that old (although I do have plenty of gray hair). I felt like life was fresh with possibilities.

Exciting new things continue to happen in my life, regardless of my big birthday. My family is healthy and happy and wonderful. God is good and gracious and faithful, no matter how old I am. And that fills me with all the joy a 30-year-old heart can hold.

One small step...

2010-08-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Jack made his big move. We had been waiting for it for some time. We expected it to happen around 12 months, because he was on time with crawling, and early with teeth and some other developmental markers. So we figured walking would be right on "schedule" (wherever the schedule comes from).

He had a little walker wagon that he loved. We encouraged him a great deal to take a step. But he was too busy climbing—on everything—to care very much. At the same time, he was getting heavy to carry everywhere that we didn't want him crawling. (We have a big boy. He is consistently at or above the 95th percentile for his height and weight. This means some people probably thought it odd that our "2-year-old" wasn't walking yet. [Yes, people have actually told me they think he's two.])

On the eve of his turning 14 months, I moved a toy, not thinking much of it. But he wanted that toy. He took a couple steps toward it. Well, it was more like a shuffle because he was in a sleep sack at that point, headed to bed, but it counted of course.

For a couple weeks after that, it was just a few steps here and there. He's a fast crawler and wasn't interested in making the switch to being shakily upright. But now that we've passed the 15-month mark, walking has moved up on his priority list. He walks at least 50 percent of the time, if not more—and a little more every day. His steps are still slightly wobbly but he's much more confident and walking greater distances than he was just a few days ago.

So now I think I can officially say that I have a walker. And a toddler. Welcome to the world of walking, little Jack!

Doing a bit of walking today

A downtown adventure

2010-08-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

July and August are always great times to celebrate the love that my husband and I share. It was five years ago that we met and went on our first date, and four years ago that we were married.

This year, we had the luxury of an overnight stay downtown while Grandpa and Grandma kindly spent some quality time with Jack (and apparently, he didn't scream the whole time—screaming just for the joy of hearing the noise is an interesting habit he's adopted of late). To make it more of an adventure, we turned down the offer of my parent's car (let me interject that I really wanted to accept the offer, but it was more adventurous to ride public transportation I suppose).

We got kicked out of our first hotel (So sorry, a group came in last night and we overbooked) and stuck in another one a few blocks away. This is fine, because the first hotel footed the bill for the difference, which was about $140 (since we had originally booked on Priceline). Then we wandered around Granville Island, and ate dinner at a very fabulous steak place. The next day, we ate doughnuts for breakfast, had a pre-lunch at a Chipotle-type place called Steamroller (we split a burrito), strolled through Gastown and got a couple souvenir shirts for Jack, and then made our way through some very sordid streets to Chinatown in hopes of finding dim sum.

Although it was broad daylight (well, cloudy and raining and my husband got soaked because he was very chivalrous—and didn't want to get poked in the head—and let me have the umbrella all to myself) it was a little creepy and very sad to observe the lives of people who have nothing but destructive addictions. We walked right next to a rescue mission where, in an alcove on the other side of the street, a few people were huddled with big umbrellas doing drugs and shaking. Another woman on the corner was obviously very troubled and talked randomly to herself. Heartbreaking.

Arriving at Chinatown was no better, except for a soggy stroll through Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden. Standing on the not-so-desirable streets, we suddenly felt uncertain about which restaurant to choose for our lunch, part II. Then we stumbled upon some graffiti with these kind words: "Kill Whitey." Um, no lunch for us. We found the Sky Train, made our way back to my hometown, and visited a local mall in search of dim sum. We found Triple O's instead. Yum. By that time, we were all out of adventure and a good, old fashioned BC burger tasted just about perfect.

This may be the most adventurous date we've had. We laughed, we ate, we got wet, we ate some more, we walked miles, and we were so happy we married each other. And that's what really matters.

Me and the Gastown steam clock

One of our favorite wedding-day photos. I love my husband!

A wonderful Grandpa

2010-06-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

I lay down to sleep last night
All cozy in my bed
And as my mobile danced
I snuggled down my head.

Across town Grandpa sat down
To close his eyes a while
But instead of waking up like me
He woke up to Jesus’ smile.

To our wonderful father, father-in-law, and grandpa: We love you and we will miss you terribly.

Tall shoulders

2010-06-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

We had fun celebrating Dad yesterday. Since Jack can't talk yet, I made a sign for him to give Daddy when he woke up: "Happy Father's Day, Daddy!" Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up Dad's favorite breakfast: doughnuts. Before we left for church, he and Jack opened his gifts and cards.

We had a couple family dinners to go to yesterday, so we were pretty busy, but even then my husband found time to demonstrate his good dad skills, changing some diapers (even though I told him he didn't have to on Father's Day). We also sneaked in a lovely all-family nap.

Thank you for being a wonderful Daddy and giving us your big heart and strong, tall shoulders! We love you!

And a big hug to our dads, who took such a great deal of time and energy and love to shape us into the people we are today—and still give much. We're grateful for and love you!

Money-Saving Monday: Family fun

2010-06-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

Saving money doesn't have to be painful. Consider these suggestions (and please share yours!) for free or cheap ways to enjoy meaningful family time this summer. Actually, I've discovered that some of the cheaper activities are sometimes the most fun and memorable.

Get outdoors: Pack a picnic and play in a nearby stream afterward, go for a walk in the woods or on the beach, go for a night hike with flashlights, play at a park you don't usually go to, fly a kite, throw a ball or Frisbee, play tennis, camp in the backyard, splash in a neighborhood pool (usually cheap), go berry picking, or invite a few friends over to run through the backyard sprinkler or play on a slip and slide. If it's raining, don rain boots and coats and let the kids splash away through the neighborhood. Even if you're not a child or don't have children, some of these activities can be very refreshing and fun.
Cook together: Make a homemade pizza—or another dish that everyone can have a part in—adding sauce, cheese, and creative toppings. Then, make sundaes for dessert. Provide as many toppings as you can think of—nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream, fudge, bananas, candy pieces—and admire and sample each other's creations. Or make cookies (or one giant cookie) and decorate them together. If the weather's nice, enjoy a cookout in your backyard that everyone helps to prepare, and play outdoor games together.
Find free fun: You may have free (or cheap) attractions, festivals, concerts, or other family friendly fun within driving distance that you've never before experienced. Take in an evening of music in the park or browse a hometown museum. Also, several stores—including Home Depot and Micheal's—offer free crafts and activities for kids on certain days.
Stay home: Pop some popcorn or make some indoor s'mores (in the microwave) and rent a movie for cheap or free (free Redbox codes are available constantly online). Have a family board game tournament, or just play a variety of games and enjoy the friendly competition. Get out old home videos and photo albums and reminisce and laugh. If you're musical, have everyone pick up their instruments and play (or sing) a few tunes in your inpromptu band. If you're artsy, set up a project you can all do and enjoy together. Or one family member can share a talent; maybe dad can teach the kids how to do a simple woodworking project. If you're ambitious, throw a thematic mini-party just for your family, such as a luau, using simple items you have around your home (or ones that are inexpensive to purchase). Do the limbo, don your Hawaiian shirts, eat a pineapple, and play luau music.

Money-Saving Monday: The mighty coupon

2010-06-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

The coupon is a wonderful thing. But I didn't realize this until a couple of years ago. I had used coupons very rarely when they happened to land on my doorstep for something I happened to need right then, saving maybe a few dollars a year. And I took an occasional coupon on trips out to eat. But that was about it.

Since then, I've learned a lot about how coupons can come in handy for all sorts of purchases, and save all sorts of money.

Going out of my way to get coupons made a huge difference. Lots of coupons are on the Internet (such as product coupons on company websites); you'll find links to them on frugal blogs. Coupons.com and other sites devoted to coupons are great resources for loads of good coupons (see other sites on the right). Some people subscribe to a major metro paper just to get the weekend coupons (you can get a weekend-only subscription), and they say it's more than worth it. Other sources, among many, include in-store coupon booklets, coupons that come with free samples, and coupons in magazine ads.

Many people say that coupons can only be used for things that aren't important, or that they don't buy. They claim that coupons can actually make you spend more because you'll purchase things you wouldn't ordinarily. And that can be true. But if you use them wisely, you can often get stuff you use all the time (eggs, milk, toothpaste, cereal, diapers, and more) for free or pennies on the dollar. Yes, it might be most economical to bake your own biscuits—unless you can get the Pillsbury pop-'em-in-your-oven style for free (which I have). I used to purchase the generic brand to save money. Now, my coupons often get me name-brand (and in my opinion often higher quality) products at much cheaper prices than generic ones.

One caution: Being brand-picky is typically not helpful. You might not get to buy your favorite brand of shampoo—but washing your hair at no cost ever again is too good to pass up (at least for me). Most people have some brand loyalties. Limiting those brands that are super important to you can help you save even more.

Couponing is work. Frugal bloggers make it easier by spelling out specific deals for you at specific grocery stores and other retailers. But since the savings can be so significant, it is like getting paid a decent salary for your work.

For more detailed information on couponing, check out these excellent resources:

Bargain Blessings' Couponing 101: Lots of tips about organizing, coupon ethics, saving with coupons, using coupons at specific stores, and more.
The Frugal Muse's Coupon Boot Camp: Look on the right side for articles about accumulating and organizing coupons, coupon ethics, stockpiling, and more.

Say "Awww"

2010-06-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law had her tiny little boy yesterday. He is simply perfect. And he has perfect, soft, black hair. Her and her husband have a beautiful family.

As we took turns holding him, my husband remarked that he couldn't quite remember Jack being that small. It was strange to think that just a year ago we had embarked on the world of parenting with a teeny bundle of our own. Now, he looks like a giant next to his newborn cousin.

It was also odd to peek into the very same hospital room where I had held my son for the first time and remember all the emotions and well wishes and, despite reading gobs and watching videos and attending childbirth classes, how extremely clueless I was about parenthood.

I think Jack seemed big at the time because he seemed like such a big deal. A big responsibility. A huge representation of change in our lives. He was placed in our arms for the next 18 years at least. We loved him more than we could express, but it was a bit overwhelming.

Now we're enjoying parenthood immensely and learning to take it one day at a time, and to enjoy little Jack's journey and our own.

And I have to admit holding the precious little guy made me think about making Jack a big brother someday.

Say "Ahhh"

2010-06-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

While a kid with eight teeth hardly needs a dental cleaning, the staff at our dentist's office suggested bringing Jack in during my appointment for a quick peek at his pearly whites so he would be more familiar with the concept when he reappears for a real visit in a couple years.

He loves to say "ahhh" at home. Of course, he wouldn't do it for the dental hygienist. But she still managed to look inside his mouth with a little mirror and pronounce that everything looked good.

The best part for Jack was a new whale bath squirter from the treat box.

The worst part for me was that I let him play with a (clean) wipe in the waiting room (yes, I know, that wouldn't be among the criteria for the Mother of the Year award, but I didn't let him put it in his mouth and I knew it would keep him happy—for a few seconds at least). I saw the dental hygienist, flat on my back, and chatted with her as much as one can while propping one's mouth open, brought Jack in for his little visit, saw the dentist, and went out to the front desk to pay. Only then did I notice the large piece of wipe dangling from my shirt.

Lovely.

Money-Saving Monday: A bit too thrifty

2010-05-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

This is not an inspirational account about how to save money. This is a simple tale of woe.

Since I had heard several people say they get really good deals by printing Internet coupons on more than one printer (you're limited to a certain number of coupons per printer, typically two), I thought it would be worth it to revive my printer. (Plus, I wouldn't have to bug my husband every time I wanted to print something at his computer.) I purchased a black ink cartridge for my eight-year-old machine, thinking I would try to spend minimal money to get it up and running. No go—the printer required a black and a color cartridge to work.

Begrudgingly, I purchased the color cartridge and took it home, where I printed a few signs for my little guy's recent birthday party. Other than a few hiccups I'd expect from older technology, everything worked beautifully.

Later, I tried to print just an ordinary black-and-white document. Um, no. Spaces in the wording made it pretty ugly. Oh well, I thought. At least I can use the color cartridge.

I printed a couple practice documents as I was preparing to print some wording for invitations I'm currently making. Great! It was good to go.

Until I tried to print the actual thing. A little red light went on, and it was very stubborn. It supposedly meant there was a paper jam but there was not even a shred of paper in it. I unplugged it and turned off my computer. When I turned the printer on, that lovely little light just stared at me. I looked up Epson's trouble-shooting site and tried all the tricks it recommended. At the end, it gave me a standardized message saying I needed to take it to get it repaired, but it probably wouldn't be worth the expense.

Thank you so much.

When I told my husband, exasperated, he inspired me with these words: "You know, you can probably get a new printer for $30." Excuse me. I paid far more than that for the ink cartridges, which I now have to throw out because they are for such an archaic machine.

I'm sure I'll get over it, but just wasting money totally annoys me.

So the moral of this story? Sometimes I can be too thrifty. And being too thrifty, ironically, can cost a great deal. I should have tossed the old printer instead of trying to resurrect it after four years of latency.

I haven't completely given up, though. And if I get it to work, I suppose thriftyness will triumph after all.

A little look back

2010-05-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

A year ago, we took Jack's first photo with his big bear. Our little guy was just three days old.

Since then, the bear seems to have shrunk substantially. And he is now sporting a fine little party hat.

Money-Saving Monday: Party planning

2010-05-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's Tuesday, and yep, there was no money-saving post last Monday. A little family vacation and then Jack's party ate up much of my time.

Unlike previous parties we've hosted, my husband and I decided to set a firm budget for Jack's barnyard birthday. It would have been easy to get really carried away because celebrating his first year seemed like a big deal to me, and there were so many fun possibilities with the farm theme. So we set the budget at $100 (not including his birthday gift and his party outfit) for invitations, food, paper goods, games, prizes, favors, and decor. I think we may have gone a few dollars over when we had to run to the grocery store for some last-minute ingredients, but basically we stuck to it. Here's how:

Reuse: I found various craft supplies around the house that I was able to use or repurpose for the party, including cardstock, markers, and foam shapes for paper-bag puppets we made at the party. In addition, I was able to use a candle screen and some blue fabric I had left over from my wedding to create the "fish pond" (children "fished" for candy treats), and various baskets and boxes I had to hide plastic eggs in the "chicken coop."
Make it: Except for a $1 stick-the-tail-on-the-donkey game, I made simple games and activities rather than purchasing them. And while I usually order a grocery-store bakery cake, my husband and I baked and decorated the cake ourselves, which was actually quite fun.
Shop carefully: I found several items at a local dollar store (including a straw hat for Jack) that worked perfectly, plus I used coupons and found sales on several of the items.
Get free money: I wrote some reviews on a mommy website that was offering a $5 Target card for contributing 10 reviews, and earned another $5 gift card with a Target purchase. Plus, I got at $21 check from Ebates after doing some online shopping that I would have done ordinarily. This made my budget $131.
Splurge a little: There were some elements to the party I couldn't save much on, such as watermelon and hay bales (although the feed store staff suggested I purchase straw instead of hay for a bit less, and I did). I didn't mind spending the money because I felt those were important elements and I was able to save in so many other areas.

How do you save on kids' or other parties while still making them fun?

A Barnyard of First Birthday Fun

2010-05-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

Jack is one today.

That means one whole year has passed since those 12 hours of labor and ensuing C-section and waking up from the anesthesia to a brand new baby—and a whole new beautiful life with him. I remember coming to and thinking, in my morphine-engulfed state, "I just had a baby. I had a baby. Somewhere in this hospital is my baby." I asked the kind nurse all about him—how much he weighed, how he looked—and after what seemed like forever my husband stood at the door of the room with a little hospital-blanket-wrapped bundle.

I didn't look like those mommies who are made up and ready for photo ops. I looked completely awful—sweat-soaked hair, glasses, and all. I felt more than out of it from all the medication the surgery necessitated and the surprise C-section and the previous hours of labor. My husband placed him in my arms; I held baby Jack and just stared and him. I had waited to see what no ultrasound could reveal for so long. He was mine.

Fast-forward a year. So much has changed. He's grown tall (as in more than the 95th percentile tall) and has a cute little personality. He giggles and crawls and loves to be tickled. He's all boy, exploring, climbing, and reaching for everything. He splashes in his bath and intently watches Daddy work on home improvement projects. He does other not-so-adorable things, like throwing food off of his high chair tray, and letting out angry little shrieks when he doesn't get that thing he so desperately wants.

To celebrate his big first birthday, we turned our backyard into a little "farm" with a fish pond, hay field, petting zoo, chicken coop, and craft barn (all pretend of course), and invited some folks to join in on the fun. We decked out a farm-and-animal cake (see the instructions), played games, gave out barnyard-themed prizes (everyone wins when you're that small), and served up "cow pies" and "hay stacks" (cookies). The party culminated with the big cake-tasting by Jack himself. Once he figured out the cupcake animal was indeed edible, he ate it. And ate it. He only got a few crumbs on his shirt (we dressed him in it with the thought it would be nearly destroyed) because he was so excited about eating it. He also loved his first taste of ice cream.

One little baby and one short year has changed my world in the biggest—and happiest—ways imaginable.

The food table, with a wheelbarrow holding drinks

The cake

A banner of monthly photos

Jack loved his party guests pulling him around in his new wagon.

Playing games: fishing, finding eggs, and sticking the tail on the donkey (or on its stomach, actually)

Discovering how much he loves cake

Our birthday boy, ready for his nap after the big bash

Money-Saving Monday: Sharing

2010-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saving money (and getting things free) is a wonderful way to share with others. Here are some examples:

Give away free stuff: If you notice a product that is free at a drugstore or grocery store, and you can't use it yourself (or you get too many of the thing to use yourself), consider giving it to a friend who could use it, or donate it a local shelter or other charity that provides services for people in need. My church assists a church in Mexico, partly by sending Christmas gifts to the children and adults. I was able to tuck a few extra things in the gift we sent this past year because of freebies from Walgreen's.
Donate expired coupons: Perhaps you're an avid coupon clipper, but, like me, don't always use each one before it has expired. At least two charities organize programs designed to help you get your expired coupons to military families, who are able to use them at commissaries. Check out the Military Family Coupon Project and/or the Overseas Coupon Program if you are interested.
Use your savings to give: Saving money on unremarkable things such as toothpaste and pasta enables us to give in a way that might make a remarkable difference to someone else.

What are your ideas for saving to share?

A year together

2010-05-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

The family photos we took for Jack's first year were a bit of an adventure. First, we were a tad rushed because I was disorganized and late. Then, Jack didn't follow my little plan and take a nap in the car, so he was not in the mood for smiling. The photographer, who graciously accommodated my not-so-gracious lateness, jumped up and down, tickled Jack, and made every silly noise I'm sure he could think up, but still Jack just stared him down. Quite the opposite from his six-month photos; Jack could hardly stop smiling then.

He did get a smile out of him every once in a while. Here are some of the results:

So blessed

2010-04-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in the midst of life, I forget. Three poopy diapers and a crazy day of deadlines and worrying about family photos turning out and cleaning my house frantically kind of rolled in a like a fog today.

It's days like these at a frenetic pace that I feel trapped, as if I need to take a step back and really see life. And then life comes into focus again when, for example, my little munchkin falls asleep on my lap, and I take a bit of time to reflect.

And I think: Really, what am I doing? How did I get here? All of a sudden, here I am, all grown up. I've had my dream wedding, complete with poofy white dress and antique car. I've spent years with the man who God designed to be my mate—laughing, talking, traveling down the journey of life. Now I have a little boy just shy of a year old. I have a flexible job with a gracious employer that lets me be a mom and still keep my brain in gear and my skills polished. My husband has a flexible job with an outstanding employer (himself), allowing him to be an even more wonderful daddy to Jack. We take family walks or go to the park in the afternoon sometimes, just because we can.

Really, my life is bursting with blessings. And that is what I want to keep in the forefront of my mind, especially when the days seem overwhelming.

Thank you, God!

Money-Saving Monday: The little stuff

2010-04-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

My husband and I signed up for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church about a year ago. We were doing fine financially so we originally weren't planning to join the video-based course. But when a family member asked if we'd sign up to go with her, we said sure. We figured it would probably benefit us. And it did more than we imagined!

I highly recommend the course. It is a common-sense, plain-English approach to smart money management. It's helpful whether your finances are in line or you're completely disorganized and lost in an ocean of debt. Dave is funny, engaging, and has a lot of practical tips (and paid me to say none of this, I promise).

With a baby on the way, we might have been extra motivated to save, but the course was a little extra push to get us to save the amount Dave suggests. And maybe the biggest benefit was learning the importance of budgeting.

We've never been crazy with our money, but we hadn't kept track of every dollar either. So when we started a more disciplined process of budgeting (which still isn't in any danger of perfection), it really opened our eyes to ways we could save. Just cutting out little things here and there can make a huge difference.

Some people, for example, don't realize how much they spend at Starbucks. Those little cups of fancy-schmancy coffee are super expensive! We don't have this particular issue because we both hate coffee. However, we found that we could cut some other things.

We ate out way too much, and some of that had to go. We still enjoy eating out plenty, but now we have a limit that we try to stick to, instead of just going out whenever we feel like it.
We also decided to cut cable (and not just for financial reasons). It's not much a month, but after 12 months, we could use our savings to purchase a plane ticket.
We limited what Dave likes to call "blow money." A trip to the craft store here, and a book on Amazon.com there adds up, so now we just try to stick to some stricter limits. (OK, I admit that my trips to the craft store were probably more frequent than my husband's book purchases.)

How do you save on the little stuff?

Money-Saving Monday: Good gifts

2010-04-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love giving gifts. It's quite fun to pick out presents for bridal showers and baby showers (really, what better excuse to look through teeny tiny clothes and find the cutest ones and ooh and ahh), discovering stuff for birthday gifts, and thinking about what I should get the person I randomly chose in the family Christmas gift exchange.

But let's face it: Gifts can add up.

As usual, I'd love to hear your ideas for saving on meaningful gifts. Here are some of mine:

Shop all year. As I find quality clearance items in online and brick-and-mortar stores, I purchase them. For example, I take advantage of Black Friday sales. In 2009, I only made it to a couple stores' sales, but I scooped up Christmas gifts for my son and gift exchange person, a birthday gift for my father-in-law, and a Father's Day gift for my dad—all great deals. My husband chuckles that I purchase gifts so early, but why not? It saves not only money but also later time and the stress of finding a suitable present.
Some items that I purchase are more generic, which I use for prizes at parties or hostess gifts or something similar. Some are just perfect for a particular person, and I tuck them away for that individual's birthday or other special occasion, even if it's months away. If online, I purchase several gifts at once so I have the minimum purchase amount for free shipping (for stores that offer such deals).
Ship in a suitcase: I only visit my far-away family a couple of times a year, but when I do, I try to bring with me gifts for the next several months' birthdays and celebrations. This saves me shipping costs and no doubt the gifts are a little prettier since I bring wrapping supplies with me and put the presents together there.
Offer your talent: It's true that the most meaningful gifts come from the heart. Use your talent to offer a loving gift or a thoughtful act of service.
I'm not too crafty, but it's fun to make my own greeting cards on occasion, which save a little and seem more personal. I've also made people small photo albums of memories and written and framed poems.
A few years ago, I purchased a frame with three photo openings to give my dad for Father's Day. On one side, I inserted a picture of my little-girl self with my dad; on the opposite was a picture of the two of us walking down the aisle on my wedding day. The center photo opening held a poem of gratitude that described our close relationship through the years.
Recycle: You might think this is terribly tacky, but I know I am not alone: I re-use gift bags and tissue paper that are in good condition. I think I'm set for life for baby gift bags after many generous people gave me beautifully wrapped presents in anticipation of Jack's birth.
I admit I have on occasion also recycled gift cards. If I receive a gift card I am not particularly excited about using for myself, I use it to purchase a gift for someone else.

Almost one!

2010-04-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Before I had my little boy, I was astounded at how sentimental moms seemed when their daughters and sons were approaching their first birthdays. Now I am standing in their cute mommy shoes and I know exactly what they mean.

The other night Jack fell asleep in my arms and I just sat and stared at him for a long time, watching his tiny eyelashes and perfectly round cheeks and listening to his soft breathing. I want to hold on to moments like that and tuck them away forever. I never want to forget Jack's first-year baby months as he goes through potty training and preschool plays and spelling words and school sports and (gasp!) college. It's hard to believe that here they are, drawing to a close.

Jack, however, is not waxing sentimental. He's giggly and fun and crawling and cruising like crazy. He still loves to put most things in his mouth but he's learning more and more how to actually play with toys and keep himself amused for a time. It would be his dream come true to crawl into the dishwasher, but we don't let him.

He likes to eat still, but some days he's pickier than others. However, he has rarely turned down cheese, applesauce, apple juice, or yogurt. Veggies are a whole different matter.

So here's to one more month of official babyhood before the barnyard birthday and a dive into his own piece of cake signal that toddlerhood has officially arrived.

Snip, snip, snip

2010-04-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

The sentimental mommy within me procrastinated this haircut forever, but Jack's hair was growing over his ears and collar and getting rather unruly on top, and his first-year photo shoot is fast approaching.

I worried that he would wiggle like crazy or maybe even cry, but he kept reasonably still and took it all in for a time, and then got a little squirmy near the end. And my patient hairdresser took it all in stride.

Before

After

Money-Saving Monday: Indoor Dates

2010-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Since Jack was born, it has become more of an ordeal to go on a date with my husband. No more hopping in the car and heading out to do something fun and romantic at the last minute. And less planned-ahead, more-elaborate dates. We have entered the world of babysitters, working around a baby's schedule, and making our little guy a priority as we do things as a family.

We waited two years before becoming pregnant so we could enjoy just the two of us for a time, and then fully enjoy our children together, never needing to wish we could go back in time. Devoting time to diapers and cooing and crawling races full of giggles is truly a joy (except maybe a few particularly potent diapers!).

But at the same time, keeping our marriage relationship strong is important. So we have found time for indoor dates instead.

This type of dating comes with a perk: It's a money-saver. As it turns out, we can cook up a fancy dinner with appetizers and a quality cut of steak and a tasty dessert and still save over dining out. I tried a few tips from this The Motherload post and found them helpful and delectable.

We also do simpler indoor dates, such as renting a movie and making brownies together to munch during the film, or playing Scrabble and eating favorite snacks (have you noticed we love eating?).

I think this concept can apply whether you're single or married; before tying the knot I had fabulous times with my friends having potluck dinners and playing board games (and still do!).

What are your fun indoor/cheap date or entertainment ideas?

Money-Saving Monday: Stockpiling

2010-04-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Stockpiling is the art of finding free (or practically free) stuff and acquiring lots of it so that by the time you need more of that particular thing, you can find an excellent deal on it again. This works especially well for toiletries and for food items, such as cereal or pasta, that have a long shelf-life.

Recently, I've been stockpiling more things. Last week, for example, dental floss and shampoo were free at Walgreen's, so I got several of each. Cake mixes were on a great sale at my local grocery store, so I stocked up on those, too. I'm looking forward to using this strategy to really cut down on our grocery spending. (I've done this for a while with toiletries such as toothpaste and shaving cream.)

The one little wrinkle in the stockpiling plan is storage. My husband cleaned out some cupboards in his office so we could keep some of our extras there. We also use cupboards in the laundry room and the linen closet for some items. It's amazing how motivating it is to create room for free stuff!

Do you have any stock-piling tips or creative storage solutions? Please share them!

A very happy little Easter

2010-04-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Everything—especially Easter—becomes a bit more delightful with a little one in tow. Something about the beauty of the Resurrection and of new beginnings and of spring winds and blooming flowers makes the heart a little lighter.

Conveniently, Jack recently learned how to put items into a container, so that will be helpful when we have our own little Easter egg hunt tomorrow. He got some practice (below) at a playgroup Easter party.

Oh, the wonder of spring!

Money-Saving Monday: Shopping Around

2010-03-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am not a money-saving expert by any means but I have tried in the last year or two to follow frugal blogs, clip coupons, and watch for deals.

However, I think I could do a lot better when it comes to groceries. Typically, I grocery shop at one store (Wal-Mart) and use the coupons I have for the things I need (or can stock up on). I save $10 or $15 doing this. Lately, however, I've realized I can save a great deal more on our food budget.

Yesterday, we were having dinner guests so I ran to a nearby grocery store (City Market, a Kroger store) to pick up some last-minute items. While there, I noticed that there was a very good sale that included items we reguarly use: pasta, pasta sauce, and salad dressing. I ended up with 16 extra items, but the sale meant I saved about $30 on those items. I also noticed that that the price on Betty Crocker cake mix (for which I have a coupon) was cut to $1, and that Pantene shampoo, for which I have a $2 coupon, was $2.97. I will be headed back there, coupons in hand.

This inspired me to read fliers and visit other stores at least once in a while, instead of just assuming Wal-Mart has the lowest prices (it obviously doesn't). While it's a bit of a hassle, the savings might well be worth it!

Do you shop at various grocery stores or just one? What has worked best for you?

Ten terrific months!

2010-03-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I look at little Jack I am a little excited and a little saddened to see that my baby is growing into a little boy. We have many adventures ahead of us, I am sure!

At month 10, he has eight teeth and no doubt more will pop up soon since he's been teething of late. He crawls everywhere, loves to explore, and has a nifty little talent of high-powered crawling when he is headed for some mischief. He still delights us with his happy noises and precious little giggles; he's added some new and creative sounds to his repertoire of late. And he loves music; he often bops or sways to tunes, enjoys clapping, and occasionally we hear him with singing along to a CD we have playing (with his own words, of course).

He's making progress toward walking (he walks behind his walker toy and around furniture) but can't seem to see the point when crawling works so splendidly.

Hard to believe we are heading so soon toward birthday number one!

A teddy bear to love

2010-03-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

This teddy bear is adorable; I found it as a link from one of my friend's blogs, who is a talented teddy bear designer (I'm sure that's not her official title).

The good news is that this particular beautiful hand-crafted bear is being given away by the its creator, Ginger, on her Bearbits blog. The contest is open until March 31.

Money-Saving Monday: Baby Bargains

2010-03-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

It's actually Tuesday, but since Money-Saving Tuesday doesn't have the same nifty alliteration, I'll stick with the title even though I'm a day late.

Since I have had my baby boy (and several months prior), I have been engrossed in the world of strollers, diapers, and toys. This has challenged me to make my little one's world sparkle, saving money all the while.

My husband and I had fun doing our inexpensive nursery. We found bargains and reused some things from other parts of our home. But not so long after the nursery was complete, our little Jack came along, which meant reasons to find even more bargains. Here are some great ways I've found to save money:

Read Baby Bargains. I am forever grateful to the person who recommended this book to me. It's especially helpful for major purchases when you're preparing for baby. It includes reviews and ratings based on cost and quality for many different baby products, including car seats, strollers, diapers, cribs, toys, and more. As a first-time parent, I was overwhelmed with all the brands and choices and safety claims and gadgets. I wondered if I didn't have this or that if I would be a terrible mother or perhaps my baby would implode. This book is really helpful in that department plus it identifies as the best deals (for price and quality). Then you can watch for sales on the best-deal products you select.
Watch for diaper deals. Frugal bloggers (see right side) are a wonderful find in this area. They are constantly posting deals or coupons. Friend Pampers and Huggies on Facebook for more deals. Subscribe to the Babies R Us (which, outside of wearhouse clubs, have the best prices on large boxes of diapers in my area—even better than Walmart) flier and wait for sales. They often offer gift cards or discounts. Some people would rather use no-name diapers to save; this can work, too, but if you are willing to spend time clipping coupons, major brands can be the same price or cheaper (and perhaps better quality, depending on your opinion).
Join diaper clubs. This is mostly just for fun, but both Pampers and Huggies have reward programs. They are free to join; members enter codes found on diapers and wipes (and on frugal blogs) and collect points to win prizes. Just the other day, I got my first reward—a free toy—from the Huggies Enjoy the Ride rewards program. It was about a $10 retail value and provided some extra entertainment for Jack.
Buy consignment or use friends' gently used equipment and clothing. I am pretty picky about used clothing that I purchase, but I have found some quality (and even new) clothing at yard sales. And friends who have given us clothes are wonderful (thank you!). I still have fun buying my little guy cute new clothes, but we sure have to buy a lot less. Since most babies are in and out of sizes in a flash, it seems crazy to spend gobs on little clothes. One caution in this area: Beware of purchasing/getting used car seats (could be damaged if they have been in an accident) and other major equipment, such as cribs, that are older and may not be up to current safety standards.
Save on toys. Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Amazon, Target, and other stores often have toys on clearance. Combined with coupons, toys can be nearly free. If you are looking to get a few more toys for your little one, watch for these types of sales and take advantage of them. For example, Babies R Us had a sale recently: buy one Fisher Price toy, get one free. I had a gift card that I received from a diaper deal, plus 2 $5 coupons. We walked away with four new toys that would normally have totaled $110 for about $35.
Get free stuff. See my previous post for ideas, but I have received free diapers, a board book (one of my son's favorite books), a sippy cup, and more baby-related items.

Please share your ideas for saving on baby stuff, too!

Money-Saving Monday: Free Stuff

2010-03-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Recently I asked my Facebook friends about their best money-saving strategies. A couple of them said the obvious: Don't spend it. That's a pretty good idea.

While there are lots of ways to avoid spending money, one of the most fun is getting free products. We haven't, for example, paid for toothpaste in at least a year, and we have seven free tubes sitting in the cupboard, so we're not going to run out any time soon. Here are some easy ways to get free stuff:

Follow frugal and freebie blogs. There are dozens and dozens of these types of blogs; a few are listed on the right side. Find the ones you like and check them regularly, follow them on Facebook, or sign up to get daily emails that highlight their posts. This is a fabulous way to find giveaways from companies. Some give small samples; others mail you coupons for free products or send you a full-size version of the product itself. Thanks to these amazing bloggers, I've received free diapers, a sippy cup, a ABC board book, baby food, coffee, and many other products.
Combine coupons and sales at drugstores, grocery stores, and discount stores. Again, the frugal blogs are an excellent help. The bloggers take the time to figure out the best deals based on fliers and current coupons. Print or clip coupons (again, look to the right for some sources) that come along if you might possibly use the product. Unless you need the product right away, wait for a sale to come along (often highlighted by a blogger). You'll often be able to get things for free—and even make money on the deal. For example, this week at Walgreen's Colgate Total toothpaste, priced at $3.99, comes with a $4 Register Rewards coupon that you can use on a future purchase. Combine it with a $1 off coupon, and you'll make $1.01 off the purchase.
Join online money-making programs. Two I've joined are Swagbucks and Ebates. Swagbucks is a program that gives you points for doing various simple tasks, such as searching the Internet using its search engine and shopping at various online stores. It's simple and fun. You can redeem the points for prizes, such as Amazon.com and Target.com gift cards. Ebates is a program that gives you certain percentages of cash back for shopping through its site at various Internet stores that you'd shop at anyway. Every once in a while, a check arrives in the mail—free money.

I'd love to hear your tips for getting free stuff. Happy saving!

Money-Saving Monday

2010-03-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

Don't worry—it's still Friday. But since Monday is right around the corner, here's a small preview.

Becoming a stay-at-home mom is most rewarding, but it's also reason to be a bit more careful with the family budget. I've been extremely inspired by reading frugal blogs and other resources and discovered that I love getting free and cheap stuff! It's fabulous to not have to spend money on things like toothpaste and cereal and be able to free up room in the budget for vacations or toys for my little guy or giving or paying down the mortgage or any number of other things.

To keep me disciplined and perhaps help others (and maybe make your Mondays a tad less foreboding), I thought I would weekly share some of the dollar-stretching tips I've learned from excellent frugal blogs, books, friends, and experience.

In the meantime, be inspired by this super coupon queen. Watch this ABC newscast about a woman who is so determined that she literally feeds her family for $4 a week.

Life after cable

2010-02-24T21:54:00.000-08:00

Before I married my husband, I had never had cable TV. My parents weren't that into TV; we didn't even have a television until I was almost a teen, and even then we used it mostly for watching movies. So when I lived on my own I didn't feel any need to fork over the fees for cable shows.

My husband has never not had cable, and so when we married he just kept his subscription and I enjoyed the luxury of watching TLC shows, NCIS reruns, and movies on demand.

Being parents had made us rethink some things—and I'm sure it will change our lives much more dramatically in the future. We opted to cancel cable TV. It's saving us a little bit, but mostly we cared about the character development of our little guy.

I'm not by any means saying you can't have hundreds of channels and raise kind, godly children. But for us, it was the best choice. We found ourselves watching shows with language and action that could be a detriment to Jack's little life—while he was in the room—and probably did nothing for us, either. Even commercials are pretty tasteless sometimes.

Anyway, this cutting off of cable came as a bit of a shock to the system when we were used to watching TV at night when we felt like doing nothing else, or in the morning to catch the news. The other day I came to the realization that the living room is pretty underutilized these days. It was an eye-opener to recognize that most of the time we spent there was consumed with TV.

In the past few days, we've rediscovered another item in the living room—our piano—and enjoyed making music as Jack pounds away at a few keys he's figured out how to reach. We didn't spend excessive time in front of the tube before, but we've been doing more reading, playing games, and talking. (Admittedly, we still watch a few favorite shows online—but that's also time we spend together since we make a point to do so rather than aimlessly channel surfing.)

We may head back to the land of cable someday. But for now, we like it here.

Nine months already?

2010-02-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's hard sometimes to believe that little Jack has been growing, changing, and making us smile for nine months. On the move (crawling and pulling himself up to stand), he likes to get into everything. Despite the fact that we bought more toys for him, he still loves to grab onto the hot water heater, rip paper, pull CDs of the shelf, and get into other little bits of mischief. But he charms his way through it all (most of it, anyway) with a seven-toothed grin.

I love this little guy and am so blessed to be his mom.

Yes, I still scrapbook

2010-01-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that my scrapbooking goal (get caught up on my albums) did not so much get accomplished before Jack was born. My intentions were glorious, but all the moms who warned me that it was highly unlikely to happen were absolutely spot on. (Feel free to say, "Told you so!")

After Jack popped his little head into the world, I spent entirely too long making baby announcements (they weren't super fancy, but it just took a while); in fact, the last ones were sent when he was three months old. Then I made two mini albums for each set of Jack's grandparents that feature pictures of his grandparents holding him when he was fresh and new, and his one-month portraits.

Currently I'm working on one more project (a surprise for someone so I can't say). I hope to finish it this weekend.

And then, at long last, I will try to get caught up (currently, I'm on December of 2007) so I can get on top of Jack's baby book. My goal is to at least start on it by the time he is a year old—and I hope sooner (even if I'm not totally caught up on my other albums). I'll try again to use this blog as a form of accountability for myself so I won't sidestep my goal this time.

We shall see...

Eight great months!

2010-01-16T18:33:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Jack's eight months by going to a local park and seeing the animals there: deer, bighorn sheep, and bison. It was great fun and the park (a big tourist attraction) was very quiet since most of the attractions had closed down for the day. Even though it was rides-shutting-down time, the older man running the carousel said there was one more ride of the day and let Jack ride on it with Mommy.

Jack's big accomplishments this month were crawling (and he gets a little braver about exploring the house every day), standing (while holding onto something), and the pincer grasp (picking up finger food and getting it into his mouth). It's so much fun to see him grow and grow and grow...

Seven sweet months

2009-12-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Jack is enjoying all the holiday festivities during his seventh month. He's got five feisty little teeth (and one on the way), is steady sitting up, and pushing himself up on his hands and knees (but so far has only mastered going backward).

During an every-five-year photo shoot with my side of the family, the photographer took a few of him so we have even more precious pictures to treasure.

Happy December!

2009-12-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some Christmas smiles from our home this year. Enjoy the lights and delights of the season!

A little festive fun

2009-11-29T20:55:00.001-08:00

What we would look like as elves, apparently...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

All I want for Christmas...

2009-11-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

Really, kids are the fun of Christmas. All those toys and smiles and that just-can't-wait excitement are some of the best parts of the holiday season.

Yesterday, I proved this with a phone conversation my 5-year-old nephew and I had:

Him: Can I get a hamster for Christmas?
Me: I'm not sure. You'll have to ask your mom and dad.
Him: Yeah (sigh). I asked my mom, and she said no. I asked my dad, and he said no.
Me: Maybe when you're a bit older you can get a hamster.
Him: Yeah! If the dogs and the kitty die, maybe I can get a hamster.
Me: We really shouldn't hurt our pets.
Him: Maybe if my little brother lets the plug out of the fish tank so the fish are in the air and can't breathe?
Me: There is no plug in the fish tank, and remember, we shouldn't hurt our pets.
Him: My little brother doesn't know any better.
Me: Is the hamster on your Christmas list?
Him: That's a good idea! I'll add it to my list. I put a check mark beside the things I really want, and a star by the things I really want. I'll put a star by it.

Traditions of gratitude

2009-11-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been contemplating how to make Christmas meaningful and I sort of skipped over Thanksgiving. Hard to believe, since I generally celebrate it twice (once for Canada and once for the States).

Gratitude is a certainly a character quality I want to instill in my son (and myself). Thanksgiving traditions should help me be purposeful about doing so. Here are a couple ideas I've run across in the last little while:

Decorate a small box, jar, or similar container (or just purchase a pretty one). Throughout the year, when God's blessings are especially evident, write notes of thankfulness on slips of paper and drop them in the container. On Thanksgiving Day, open the container and read all of the blessings, big and small, that you might have otherwise forgotten: recovery from an illness, a conflict resolved, an extra-special treat, a lovely spring day.
Use a countdown calendar to generate excitement about the special day and learn more about gratitude. Every day leading up to Thanksgiving, write down one thing about which to be grateful, and stick it in the calendar. Gather the notes of appreciation and save them in a scrapbook or box for future years, or simply read them all on Thanksgiving Day.

You can purchase such a calendar, or decorate your own using a pre-designed one. Here's a downloadable one for kids that you could adapt for such a project.You could even make your own. Ideas include making it from a placemat or in the shape of a tree with leaves. Or, you could simply use sticky notes to affix tidbits of appreciation to the square representing each day on a regular calendar.

I'd love to hear your Thanksgiving traditions, too—both the meaningful and the just-for-fun ones.

A whole half year

2009-11-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

Really? Already?! It's hard to believe some days that this little guy has been in our lives for a whole six months. At other times, it feels like he's been part of our family forever.

He's sitting up (mostly) on his own and busy, busy, busy. I feel that when he crawls he will take off like a little rocket ship. Even though he hasn't mastered that skill, he is getting pretty good at transporting himself by wiggling to and fro in his ever-urgent quest to grab and put that pretty piece of [fill in the blank with the closest object] in his mouth. The accompanying grunts of effort are priceless.

He also loves to talk in varying pitches, tones, and vowel-consonant combinations. Every so often, we imagine that he's said words. Of course he has no idea what he's saying, but we did catch, "Brrr," "Mom-mom," and "Oh, boy" (the latter was the cutest yet).

His final adventure is eating. Perhaps it's more of an adventure for me as I play: "Let's figure out what you like to eat." So far, he just says no to rice and oatmeal cereals (although he does eat some of it begrudgingly). He loves sweet potatoes but sadly he might be allergic.

He's still completely lovable, and his smiles and big eyes melt my heart. Maybe they will forever.

Christmas without craziness

2009-11-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. Part of the reason it's so special to me is that we didn't celebrate it in my family when I was a child. I think it's fun and I'm looking forward to my child (and future children) enjoying holiday traditions.

I'm not a fan of the Christmas craziness, though; in my family and my husband's we have done some things to eliminate a bit of the stress. In his family, we give gifts only to children and to his parents (it's the most fun to watch them anyway) and in my family we do a gift exchange so we only have to purchase one meaningful (but inexpensive) gift for one relative.

I also love to do Christmas shopping very early when I find coupons or deals to cut the cost on gifts, and before the malls are madhouses. And shopping online reduces the hassle further. I love free shipping sales (!), or buying all my gifts at once on certain sites that offer free shipping for spending a certain amount.

With Christmas stress out of the way (well, mostly at least!), I am in search of meaningful holiday traditions. I bought an advent calendar to use with our son, but I'd love more ideas to make the season extra special.

Would you share yours? Please leave a comment about your traditions and ideas. Thanks so much!

Bringing us sunshine

2009-11-06T17:52:00.001-08:00

I couldn't resist the sunglasses, which were a steal at just 15 cents. It's not summer yet...but there's plenty of sunshine in our home.

Oh boy! Five months!

2009-10-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

I apparently need to post more often, because Jack is already five months old. He's got two little teeth and a very splendid smile. He likes to play with rattles and toys, giggles during games of peek-a-boo, and loves people-watching.

I constantly marvel that God created this miracle of life within me and that he's ours for life. I love him a bit more every day.

Four months of fun

2009-09-29T21:31:00.001-07:00

Jack recently celebrated four months of life. He is a very happy little boy—always smiling and laughing. Teething is putting a bit of a damper on his happiness, but for the most part, he'd say life is good!

Growin' and growin'

2009-09-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Just before Jack turns four months old, I'm doing a catch-up post to show his growth. It's amazing to me how much he's already changed!

One month old

Two months old

Three months old

Pre-Dedication Disaster

2009-09-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

We were nervous about Jack's baby dedication this past Sunday. My husband and I are not the type of people who relish standing on stage in front of the entire church, for one thing. And 3-1/2-month-olds don't exactly have predictable behavior.

My plan was to feed Jack right before church so he would be as happy as possible. This, however, also means he was as full as possible.

Unfortunately, he emptied himself a little right before we sauntered on stage—from both ends.

The dedication was to be after a set of worship songs. I purposely put a blanket between the baby and me so that my clothes would not be soaked if Jack had a bit of a blowout.

During one of the worship songs, I looked down and saw a large, brownish wet spot on one of Jack's legs. Oh, dear. I looked at my husband in a total panic. I could envision the pastor announcing the baby dedication and baby and mommy being nowhere to be found. I told him I had a spare pair of pants in the car, so I ran out of the church to get them. Fortunately, I ran into the pastor at that point and explained the emergency. He said I had time to change the diaper, so I went back into the church, got the baby, and headed for the bathroom. I nervously changed the diaper as fast as I could and put the clean jeans on him. Then I rushed back out into the sanctuary, relieved that the pastor was still in the middle of pre-dedication announcements.

My husband looked at me. "He threw up all over your shoulder and hair." Oh, dear, part two.

Frantically, we grabbed wipes and he mopped me up as best and as quickly as he could. I was wearing a black shirt so at least the wet spot didn't show too much.

Then we got on stage. The beautiful dedication message seemed far longer than it was as I glanced nervously about 101 times at the baby in the pastor's arms. He squirmed a couple times but never cried.

After church, it hit me. I should be thankful for the little pre-dedication disaster. After all, if Jack had waited just a few minutes longer for his performance, it would have been a public fiasco—on stage, in front of the entire congregation, in the pastor's arms.

Good thing God has a plan, even for the little things!

Summer of joy

2009-09-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

This summer has been full of new adventures as we've become parents and enjoyed watching our little boy grow. I haven't blogged in a long time, so I thought I'd do a little catch-up post with some photos of what we've been up to.

Jack's baby dedication

A trip to the zoo to feed the giraffes

A visit from an uncle and a cousin

Jack is now almost four months old. It's hard to believe! His favorite hobbies are smiling, rolling over, and eating milk. He's also started to recently be more interested in watching and grabbing toys.

Our little Canadian

2009-07-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day! Jack hasn't been a Canuck for long, but he's already proudly displaying the flag, and, clearly, singing O Canada!

Super Dad

2009-06-21T13:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband! His five weeks of fatherhood have proven him to be a great dad—cuddling, bouncing, changing, and playing with little Jack.

We love you!

Fun with our son

2009-06-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some things little Jack has been up to lately:

Hanging out with Daddy

First carousel ride

Fun with facial expressions

First (very cold) picnic (Memorial Day)

Hanging out with a big cousin

First trip to the park and ride on a park swing

Playing with toys during tummy time

A mommy moment

2009-06-01T19:28:00.001-07:00

For the first few days after we had Jack, I felt sort of like a long-term babysitter. In the back of my mind, I wasn't really a parent. Someone was going to show up any minute to take him home.

But last Wednesday, mommyhood couldn't have been more real.

We were on the way back from taking my parents—who stayed with us for a while and helped us so much—to the airport. We stopped at a store so my husband could get himself some shirts and I could feed the baby in the car. I spread out in the backseat and started changing Jack's diaper. I was just about done when a fountain—and I am not exaggerating—of baby, er, waste spurted all over, paying little heed to the cute little changing pad and landing on the seat and on my shirt and jeans. Another quickly followed.

Being the inexperienced mom that I am, I gasped in horror and called my husband to come out of the store and help.

Baby Jack, of course, took it all in stride. He just looked at me innocently, as if to say, "Hey, it's not my fault you took my diaper off."

Our wee miracle

2009-05-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

He's here!

John "Jack" Stephen Phillips was born Saturday, May 16 at 7:14 p.m. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20.25 inches long. He has an adorable little bit of brown hair and loves to make very expressive faces. So far, his favorite hobbies are eating and sleeping.

The birth—an emergency c-section—went quite a bit different than we had imagined, but little Jack is healthy and happy, and that is infinitely more important than any plans we may have had.

We are so blessed to be his parents and to share his little life!

Grandma holding baby Jack in the hospital

Worth the wait

2009-05-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

It's my first Mother's Day—sort of. Many people were very sweet and gave me warm wishes for the day. It's a bit of an odd feeling to be a mom, but not exactly.

Our baby, Jack, was technically due on Friday, but he's decided to wait a little while before making an appearance. So I halfway expected I would be a mom by today.

I suppose I am a mom, as I have a fully grown baby within me. But somehow it will all feel far more real when I can caress his tiny hands and feet, give him a little kiss, and study all of his features. I'm having a hard time being patient as I wait to meet him—to hold him, see what he looks like, and watch him grow.

Until then, a warm and loving Happy Mother's Day to my own precious mom and to all the other moms I know!

Life's tough when you're pregnant

2009-05-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

Of all the symptoms of pregnancy for a preschooler to notice, I wouldn't think frequent potty breaks would be one of them. But apparently, I was wrong.

Our four-year-old nephew asked me if I have to go potty before I head to bed at night. Thinking it was a general question, I responded that going to the bathroom before bed is a wise idea for everyone. But he insisted: "No, do you have to go potty at night, because the baby is pushing on your bladder?" A little surprised, I answered yes.

He thought for a moment. "Do I have a bladder?"

Perhaps he'd assumed it's something you grow only when pregnant.

Apparently, he understood this whole bladder business to be a rather serious health issue. Because a few minutes later, when he asked the blessing on our dinner, he most sincerely prayed, "Please help the baby to come out. And please help the baby to stop pushing on Alison's bladder."

I love kids.

Just a few days!

2009-04-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

It's so difficult to believe that in just a few days my husband and I will be parents. (The official due date is May 8.) I suppose technically we've been parents for almost nine months, but as my husband puts it, "I'm sure he's a lot easier to take care of in there than he will be out here."

The excitement of meeting our little boy—combined with the anticipation of labor—is almost overwhelming. I'm not sure whether to be overjoyed (I can't wait to hold baby Jack and kiss his little cheeks! Won't it be wonderful to see my husband be a dad!) or just completely panic (Our house is not quite organized for the baby! Will I be a good mom? What if we've forgotten to read up on some critical aspect of childcare?! And labor—yikes!).

Thankfully, the baby is coming soon, no matter how ready I do or do not feel. I am grateful that God is in control of our little family. Last night, some songs on the radio reminded me of how much I needed Him—at this time in my life, and always.

It's a comfort to know God picked us to be parents to Jack, and him to be our son. How honored we are to be blessed with such a beautiful miracle.

Showered with joy

2009-04-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

To help welcome our little boy, my sister-in-law and three other thoughtful friends hosted a baby shower for me. A couple weeks ago, 27 people gathered to share my joy at a local restaurant. We enjoyed a delicious brunch (thanks to my brother-in-law for cooking up a wonderful meal) played a baby bingo game, and munched on a cake almost too cute to cut. And I unwrapped a mountain of delightful little clothes, tiny toys, and baby essentials.

The decor was adorable; baby blue tablecloths were accented with rubber duckies floating in little fishbowls lined with blue glass beads. Artfully displayed shimmering iridescent Easter grass gave the tables and cake table an extra bit of elegance, and a few balloons added to the festive atmosphere.

I can't completely express my gratitude for all the friends and family members who came to so kindly and generously celebrate the upcoming birth of our little Jack. I came home with gifts galore—and lots of love.

And the name is...

2009-03-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

We beat our self-set deadline of picking a name for our little boy by April 1, and finally decided this past weekend. We have tossed around so many names it's dizzying, but we've finally settled on a name we both like: Jack.

On his birth certificate, our little guy's official name will be John Stephen Phillips. My husband wants him to have a "proper" name on his birth certificate (as Jack is a nickname for John), and an option to go by John later on in life if he likes.

Jack/John means "God is gracious"—and He certainly is, in the gift of His Son, and the gift of our little boy. It's a beautiful reminder to us as parents, and we hope it will be to Jack, too, as he grows and learns about his Lord. Stephen (pronounced Stephan) is my husband's middle name and his dad's first name.

In just about six weeks, we'll have the honor of holding Jack. It's hard to wait!

At the savings starting block

2009-03-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been learning a lot from The Frugal Muse and other sites about creative ways to save on products—and even get things for free. My husband and I have been inspired to put some effort into this and start stacking up savings. While it's always beneficial to be careful with money, the economic conditions and our growing family have motivated us even more.

Last night, we braved the spring snow storm (OK, drove just a few blocks) and went to Walgreens. Right before, we spent a few minutes looking at store fliers and coupons we'd collected and tried to find some good deals by combining sales and coupons. Then, we marched into the drug store with a fistful of coupons and a plan.

When we got to the store, we hit a few bumps in the road. We realized that some of those "deals" were not deals at all. For example, we had a rebate offer for a certain type of shampoo, but since it was a super expensive variety, even with the savings it would be more than we usually spend on shampoo. And a few of the products were out of stock. In addition, we forgot to clip a $2 off coupon and give it to the cashier for one of our items. Oops.

On the whole, though, it was worth the small amount of effort. We saved more than $40 (including a few free items: shampoo, Pepsi, and Excedrin) on a variety of items we use all the time, such as toothpaste, laundry soap, garbage bags, and batteries.

With a bit more practice, I think we'll be on the road to saving big.

Still growing

2009-03-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

If I felt like my belly was big before, now it is enormous. Our little boy is about 4.5 pounds and growing rapidly in preparation for his grand entrance into our family. I feel him rolling, moving, and stretching every day. And that is an incomparable joy.

The baby belly, as of today. And I thought I was big two months ago!

This past weekend, family kindly helped us paint his little room. We ended up with one blue wall, two yellow walls, and one wall with both colors (thanks for the great suggestion, Grandpa!), with white trim.

My husband is in the process of installing a ceiling fan and new carpet today. Then, we can collect all the baby furniture and accessories scattered helter-skelter around our house and complete the room. I also ordered a Bible verse to put on the wall above his crib that ties into the nautical theme and teaches him a bit about his Creator: "I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land" (Jonah 1:9).

Gotta love growing!

Wrapping up the painting in the nursery. Thanks to family for their hard work!

A new plan

2009-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

It's time for a confession.

I was gung-ho about completing my outstanding scrapbook projects before my little boy's birth. Armed with a plan (and then, later, an accelerated plan), I was determined to snip and tape until my book was up to date.

Now, however, I am hopelessly behind. While I've worked on my album a bit here and there, I remain in November 2007. A busy work schedule, made worse by pregnancy-induced tiredness, has not been helpful. And my priorities have shifted away from stickers and ribbons to blankets and bears as my husband and I have shopped and prepared for our baby.

I'm a bit frustrated, because I want to be caught up on older photos so I can make a book of memories about my baby as he grows.

Enter: new plan.

I am resigning from my full-time job (although I hear motherhood can keep one quite busy, too!) about two weeks before the little one pokes his head into the world. If all goes well and I have the baby close to his due date, I will have several days of peace to focus on catch-up. If I'm not done when the baby is born (imagine that!), I'll work on his album alongside my photos of pre-child life with my husband.

Here's hoping my new plan works. Either way, I can't wait to take lots of photos of the little guy to treasure.

Savings supreme

2009-03-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

If you're at all interested in saving money (and who isn't these days), you'll be interested in The Frugal Muse. A friend of mine from college recently launched this blog, bulging with practical ways to save money.

She is no mere coupon clipper. This girl is the coupon queen. She has uncovered all sorts of complex strategies that most of us have no time or desire to figure out, and then fills us in on them. She figures out how to combine coupons, rebates, and the like to get items you actually need for extraordinarily cheap prices—and many times for free. (Sometimes, she even makes money with these strategies!)

One thing I found amazing is that she has two little kids and hasn't paid for diapers since last June. That's a very substantial savings right there—maybe even enough money for a little vacation.

Further, even if you aren't into stashing coupons or taking a lot of time on savings strategies, she constantly posts links to deals you can take advantage of with online coupons, such as a free movie or free fast food.

Go get yourself some awesome savings!

A little room for a little one

2009-03-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

In the past several weeks, we've been accumulating lots of baby items for the nursery and beyond. We even got a new (to us) car, as our two-door car wouldn't be suitable for a baby. It's amazing how much our lives have changed already—and our little boy hasn't yet even poked his head into the world.

Now, we're getting down to the final details, which means we are decorating the nursery. Last weekend, I painted one wall blue; family members are coming over on Saturday to help us paint the rest of it cream. Before they arrive, we'll need to get some furniture out of the room that is moving to other parts of the house. I have some nautical decorations to put up on the walls, and my husband plans to install a ceiling fan and new carpet. Then, we'll bring in the furniture (crib, dresser, rocking chair, and bookcase) and window coverings.

The baby is due to arrive in just eight weeks. I can't wait to have his little room ready for his appearance in the big, wide world.

And the votes are in...

2009-02-11T06:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all 43 of you who participated in the baby name poll!

Caleb holds the number-one slot with 16 votes (or 37 percent). That's one of my favorite names, but it's not flying with my husband. (Also, I've sadly since discovered that it doesn't have the most flattering meaning: dog.) Other top names were:

Hudson (10 votes)
Matthew and Oliver (6 votes each)
Luke (5 votes)
Charles (4 votes)

Less popular were Isaac, Russell, and Thomas, with three votes each. Carl and Henry each got two (odd, since Carl Henry was a famous theologian), and Clark, James, and Walter just one. Poor Theodore and Ivan got left out in the cold with not a single vote, probably a nice, clear indicator that we should stay away from those.

My husband also ran a poll on his blog. Interestingly, James got the top vote, followed by Caleb and Luke. Oliver, Henry (Hank), Russell (Rush), Clark, Matthew, and Charles also got the thumbs up from a few people.

More recently, we've discussed Jonathan and Jack.

Regarding the later, I'd like to name him Jack, but my husband thinks we should put John on the birth certificate and call him Jack because it is odd to give a child a nickname as his full name. He has a great point, but I believe many people consider Jack a name in its own right (your opinions on this are welcome). And it seems slightly strange to name him one thing and have no intention whatsoever of calling him that (though he could chose John when he's older, of course).

Don't worry, baby, you'll have a name before you're born—I hope! :-)

Gearing up

2009-02-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

Lately, we've been accumulating gobs of baby gear for our little one who is due to enter the world in about three months. The nursery (which still contains a double bed we've used for guests) is jam-packed. Having these items makes the whole idea of parenting a little more real.

I was especially grateful for all the good deals God provided for us, including:

A wooden rocking chair in a furniture store's clearance section
A dresser my husband's parents gave us (cute childhood furniture of my husband's that happens to match the rocking chair and crib splendidly)
A coupon we used to save on the high chair
The exact stroller, playpen, and car seat we wanted at a discount baby store
A fabulous deal on crib bedding online

Plus, very generous people have given us assorted gear and toys and plenty of adorable little pants, shirts, pajamas, hats, and booties (I especially love a tiny Hawaiian shirt). My sweet sister-in-law and a few kind friends are planning a shower for mid-March, so I'm sure I have a lot more ooohing and aaahing to do.

Now that we've accumulated most of the essentials, there's the hard work of carpeting and painting (OK—my husband's hard work on the carpet) before the real fun of decorating the room begins. The bedding and decor will be in a nautical theme, a thrifty move since I'm transferring many of the decorations from another room.

I can't wait to welcome our baby into his little world!

I envisioned having a traditional, wooden rocking chair.
The blanket on the back is part of the nautical bedding set.

Some of the baby gear: high chair, stroller, car seat
The book "Baby Bargains" was a lifesaver! I highly recommend it.

My husband assembling the high chair

A smile for just completing the car seat assembly

One-word fun

2009-01-30T15:59:00.000-08:00

Becky tagged me to share this info about myself. The idea is to respond with one word that comes to mind (or a few more, depending on the question). Here are my efforts at being concise. Check at the bottom to see if you've been tagged. :-)

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Your significant other? Adorable
3. Your hair? Shorter
4. Your mother? Generous
5. Your father? Warm
6. Your favorite thing(s)? Hugs, sunshine, little surprises, cozy blankets, days off
7. Your dream last night? Weird
8. Your favorite drink? Five Alive
9. Your dream/goal? Motherhood
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your fear? Heartbreak
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Content
13. Where were you last night? Taste of India
14. What are you not? Extroverted
15. Muffins/donuts? Muffins
16. One of your wish-list items? Seeing England
17. Where you grew up? Canada
18. The last thing you did? Work
19. What are you wearing? Maternity clothes
20. Your TV? NCIS
22. Your computer? Lifeline
23. Your life? Full
24. Your mood? Mellow
25. Missing someone? Family
26. Favorite pastime? Scrapbooking
27. Something you’re not wearing? Necklace
28. Favorite Store? Archiver's
29. Your summer? Unforgettable
30. Your favorite color? Blue
31. When is the last time you laughed? Today
32. Last time you cried? Wednesday
33. Four places you go over and over? Church, Chipotle, work, Subway
34. Four people who e-mail me? Bill, Dad, Gina, Natalee
35. Four of my favorite foods? Avocados, cheese, chocolate, eggs
36. Four places I would like to be right now? Vancouver, PEI, England, here
37. Four people I tag? Cherissa, Shawn, Tracy, Marianne

Join us for the name hunt!

2009-01-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

My husband and I have had quite a time naming our little boy. We haven't truly, wholeheartedly agreed on a single name yet.

We've thrown several on the table, and they've all been more or less vetoed: Too common. Bad meaning. Not manly enough. Might get teased with that one. Simply horrible. Too old-fashioned.

So I'm posting a poll with some of the names we've discussed. Please vote, and share your comments about your favorites and your not-so-favorites. In fact, feel free to rank them if you have time. We'd love to hear your opinion! And our little boy will be ever-so-grateful to have a name!

By the way, you can select more than one name when you vote if you can't decide! :-)

The big belly

2009-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

Lately, I feel like my belly skin has stretched about as far as it will possibly go. People around me are so encouraging on that note.

My husband, smiling and indicating with his hand several inches in front of me: "You have this far to go!" Splendid.

Ladies at church, knowingly, who have birthed several kids each: "Ahh, this is where the stretch marks come in." Lovely.

But of course, it's all for the most delightful cause, so I can't complain. I'll just watch it grow and grin at the evidence that every day our little boy is getting bigger, stronger, and more ready to be born into the world—and to hold in our arms.

Me and my baby bump

The last of the 00s

2009-01-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

It's difficult to believe that we are now in the last year of the first decade of this millennium. It seems strange that "Party like it's 1999" is antiquated, along with fears of Y2K and musings about entering the 2000s (what will we call them—the Os?). Even my college graduation in 2002 seems so far away. At the time, it was exciting to start my official adult life just as the millennium dawned.

I think of how our little boy will never remember this decade, or the last century. He's starting out afresh as a person of this millennium, who didn't see the entrance of personal computers into society and can't remember cell phones larger than land-line sets. The only absence of the Internet he'll ever know will be when our cable is down. The Gulf War and the Y2K scare and the horror of 9-11 will be history lessons.

But there's a bright future ahead—for him, for all of us. It's exciting to imagine what adventures life will take us on as we add him to our family in 2009. In addition to the gobs of baby gear that we have yet to entirely accumulate, the changes will be dramatic. As I feel him jostle and kick inside me, I imagine tickling his toes, rocking him to sleep (no matter what the experts may say), and kissing his tiny cheeks. Then I dream of watching him grow: sharing uproarious laughter, hearing "Are we there yet?!" on road trips, watching his dad play catch with him, and seeing delight dance in his eyes during holidays.

I just can't wait to see what life beyond the first decade of the Os will bring us. The adventure has barely begun.

Delights of the season

2008-12-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

My husband and I just returned from a lovely time with my family.

We were treated royally by my parents, who hospitably hosted us and generously treated us to all sorts of wonderful things. My mother made delicious meals, helped me sew a baby quilt (far from perfect, but I like it and I doubt our tiny son will notice my imperfections), and shopped with me. My dad took me to lunch at our favorite Japanese restaurant and gave me great big dad hugs. The whole family (parents, two brothers, sister-in-law, and two nieces) was together much of the time, eating, laughing, opening presents, playing games, visiting museums, taking a ferry ride, staying in a hotel, soaking in a hot tub (just feet for me), and laughing some more.

Highlights included a night out for my parents' 39th anniversary, a scrumptious Christmas dinner, an overnight trip to Victoria, seeing the 2010 Olympic Oval, watching our 10-year-old niece sing with her choir, and having great chats.

Thank you, Dad and Mom, for making our time there so extra special! Indeed, it was a very merry Christmas.

Boy oh boy!

2008-12-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

We waited in suspense this morning as the ultrasound technician pointed out all different aspects of our little one's body. It was truly amazing to see little fists clench, tiny legs kick, wee feet squirm, and a small head turn. She measured the waist and the head, and showed us the baby's heart up close, and turned on sound so we could hear it beat.

Finally, she began to type, "Little..." That got my attention. My eyes glued even a little more firmly to the screen.

It's a little boy!

We are both delighted, my husband maybe a little more so, because he's really wanted a boy from the beginning, and has been next to positive in the past months that our little one is male.

Our little boy may be quite a handful. This could be a shocker because both my husband and I tend to be on the quieter side (as children and adults). He was squirming and wiggling all over, as if he were playing one of his first games of hide and seek with us. It was actually quite humorous, as he would pop up on the ultrasound screen for a few seconds and then sink back away into my uterus, with his hands in front of him. He was probably getting a bit disgusted with all the poking from the ultrasound wand.

I've already purchased his crib bedding; I had my eye on a great deal on a cute nautical set at Overstock.com. Most likely, it will still be online tomorrow, and for days after that, but I wanted to be sure. Poor kid doesn't have a name yet, but his nursery will be fully outfitted :-).

Oh, the joy of a boy! I can't wait to meet him.

Baby Phillips doing a little headstand for us. His head is on the bottom right.

A Comment Conundrum

2008-12-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Little S recently told me that she hasn't been able to leave comments on my blog in a few months. (Thank you for the head's up!)

I'm wondering if anyone else has tried to comment and run into the same issue. If you have, and you could let me know by sending a short e-mail to alison@ilacommunications.com, I would really appreciate it!

Have a conundrum-free day!

Just a week!

2008-12-10T21:53:00.001-08:00

In just a week, I will have an ultrasound that should tell my husband and me the baby's gender. This is one of the most unique and exciting moments in all my life.

I love how God brings us excitement, but of all different shades so that we can enjoy life a little more fully. For example, the thrill of my wedding day and the beautiful wonder of a little one within me have evoked such different feelings in me—but both are utterly splendid.

Now, to wait a whole week...

Precious little life

2008-12-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been feeling tiny flickers of life from our precious baby. It's thrilling to have some real proof that the little one is stretching, growing, and learning how to be a person who can live on his or her own someday. It seems these sensations are a tad more frequent each day—or perhaps I am recognizing the feeling just a bit more.

I read that feeling an unborn baby move is like popcorn popping or a gold fish swimming. I don't know about you, but I've never swallowed kernels and hopped in the microwave, or downed a pet fish and experienced an opposite Jonah effect. I'm not sure that these descriptions were exactly helpful. But what I do feel are little flicks, as if someone is lightly flicking me with an index finger—except from the inside. That may be just as vague and hard to imagine, but I think it makes a bit more sense.

The whole concept of having a child who will live with us and be ours is getting a little more real and a little more exciting as the pregnancy progresses. It is still somewhat odd to think about—us changing our lives to be parents. I've heard many a person say since I announced the baby's May arrival that it will transform our lives more than we know. I imagine it will—and I can't wait.

A day for thanks

2008-11-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is a big day. For the first time, my husband and I are hosting Thanksgiving dinner. (I've hosted many a Canadian Thanksgiving, but they were potlucks—I only had to provide the turkey, fixings, and beverages.)

It will be a small affair, with six adults and two little children. And others are bringing bread and dessert. Nonetheless, it's been fun to plan and prepare for a traditional dinner this year (although it may get less fun Thursday when I am fighting with the not-completely-thawed turkey and worrying over a new recipe for sweet potato casserole and dusting at the last minute).

It also brings to mind plenty of blessings:

Salvation and grace through Jesus Christ
My family, including my fabulous husband and our precious little one, due next May
Extended family (including a wondrous, recent transformation of one family member)
Friends
Plentiful food and warm home
Hugs
Music
Smiles
Oh, and did I mention the baby?

Have a splendid Thanksgiving Day, whether you're feasting or hosting or both!

A beautiful heart

2008-11-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my husband and I were again delighted to hear the tiny heart of our little one beat: swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. It is a phenomenal feeling to recognize that a small person is growing inside of me. Some days, it's even hard to believe. But the heartbeat leaves no room for denial.

The doctor said the baby was squirming around quite a bit, which made it tricky to find the heartbeat for a few seconds. I couldn't feel him or her move, but it was fun to think about the wee one wiggling and imagine how it must look.

The next doctor's appointment in about a month brings more excitement: Finding out the baby's gender.

I hear over and over again that I should enjoy these moments since the child will soon arrive and our lives will be fuller than ever before. So we're trying to be patient, but we're also overflowing with anticipation. A boy? A girl? My husband is convinced our little one is a boy, but only time will tell :-).

Hello, second trimester

2008-11-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

My first trimester of pregnancy took me a bit by surprise. Compared to some horror stories I've heard, it was nothing. Still, I underestimated the toll that the excitement/nervousness about being a parent combined with the hormonal-driven emotional roller coaster (my husband will attest to the fact that I haven't exactly hopped off), a little queasiness here and there, and lots of that very drained feeling would take on me. It put a damper on my motivation to work, to clean, to scrapbook, or to socialize. Obviously, I did those things during that time but I didn't do them as well—and I felt pretty blah the whole time. It didn't help that during that time I'd taken on extra commitments (before I knew I would become pregnant).

So here's to the second trimester, which I've just begun. For the past couple of weeks, I've been sleeping better, and feeling queasy only very occasionally. In general I have much more (read: normal) energy. For example: To get caught up with various work projects, one day last week I worked from 7:30 a.m. to midnight, and I was completely motivated and fairly energetic (at least before about 11 p.m.) the vast majority of the time.

Another positive on the way is maternity clothes, for two reasons: 1) While I'm not exactly thrilled to be spherical—as my husband kindly puts it—(although I am excited to be able to sort of see the baby is there), I really to want to wear those shirts and jeans I excitedly purchased at about the two-month mark. As the days slip by, I think, And I spent all that money for just six months—or less? I just own some basics so far, but I'd certainly like to get some wear out of them. 2) I have a very limited number of pants I can fit into at this point, and it's getting slightly old and slightly uncomfortable. But maternity pants sag a little still.

And the biggest bonus of the second trimester? That bundle of joy is a little closer to being in our arms.

The 100-page mark

2008-10-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

I must admit I am quite behind on my catch-up-on-memories scrapbooking goal.

However, I have made some progress. Since my last update in early July (thanks to the retreat!), I've made 46 pages, landing me within two layouts of completing September 2007. If I were in line with my goal, I would have made at least 60 pages and/or be wrapping up pages that featured photos taken in April 2008.

Still, I try to comfort myself with the overall good news: Since I set my goal this past April, I've scrapped through about 13 months of memories in 100 pages (or 50 layouts).

There's also renewed incentive: I want to be caught up before our little one is born at the beginning of May so I don't fall behind on some of the most precious memories in our lives. (Plus I imagine nurturing my tiny bundle—and sleep for me—will be more of a priority than hours of catch-up scrapbooking at that point. :-) In order to do this, I'll need to complete September and scrap October this weekend, and then create three months worth of pages per month through April 2009.

So, getting caught up is a little muddy, but being caught up will be pure sunshine!

A summer 2007 trip my husband and I took to visit some friends
in Washington State, including the Little Nuggets.

A tale of crazy women

2008-10-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I innocently attended a scrapbooking retreat with two friends, thinking there would be a couple dozen mothers lovingly pasting down photos of their children and adding precious little embellishments.

I was so wrong.

About 50 people filled the log chapel, cutting, arranging, and gluing. These were no cute little mothers. These were die-hard women (and even one man). A few seemed desperate. Now, I can't say that everyone fit into the crazy-for-scrapbooking category. But several did, clad in pajamas and greasy hair protruding from under baseball caps, obviously forgetting personal hygiene and common courtesy for the sake of their beloved books of memories. Others stayed up until the middle of the night, reluctantly put aside their adhesive and paper cutters for a few winks, and were back to work in the morning. One older lady told us that she laid on the couch in the chapel (not sure why she bothered to pay for accommodations) for just an hour each night, determined not to miss a moment of opportunity.

The most classic example was a woman who followed me into the restroom when I woke up to use it in the accommodations area at about 6:45 a.m. For some reason, her desperation led her to believe that 1)It was OK to harass a complete stranger while she was using the bathroom, and 2)I was the fount of retreat knowledge. Keep in mind that I was in the stall the whole time, so I never even saw her face. Our conversation:

Her: "Do you know how I can get into the scrapbooking room?"

Me (sleepily): "No, I'm sorry, I don't."

Her (slightly wailing): "I can't get in and all my stuff is in there!"

Me (thinking she's had a family emergency): "Oh, dear. Do you need to go home?"

Her (higher pitched wailing): "No! I want to scrapbook!"

Me: "Well, you could try walking around the camp and see if any staff members are up."

Her: "I did! I've been walking around for an hour. Do you know how I can reach the director?"

Me (thinking: Let the poor man sleep!): "Hmmm...maybe there's a sign posted on the office with a number you could call."

Her: "I tried that already; I couldn't get any answer. Do you know what time the room opens?"

Me: "I think at 7."

Her (reluctantly): "Well, OK."

An entertaining weekend to say the least. And I got 20 pages done and spent some great time with my friends.

Sometimes sunshine comes to life in, er, rather unexpected ways.

And then there were three...

2008-10-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to announce that our family is growing to three. Our little new little miracle, straight from God, will arrive in the beginning of May.

What inexpressible joy! I can't wait to hold our baby in my arms, caress little fingers, touch a precious nose, and softly tickle tiny toes. I can hardly believe the precious bundle will be ours.

Yesterday, I heard his or her heartbeat, which made the whole pregnancy seem a great deal more real. It made a gentle swooshing sound; I caught my husband's eye as we both grinned widely.

Now that's real delight.

One of our baby's first portraits, taken September 18

A day for thanksgiving

2008-10-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

On days such as Canadian Thanksgiving, it's easy to miss my far-away family: parents, two brothers, a sister-in-law, and two nieces. But there is no shortage of friends, and they make celebrating the holiday a great deal more enjoyable.

Each Saturday before Thanksgiving, my husband and I welcome numerous guests (mostly Americans :-) for a big, potluck dinner. This year, 36 people warmed our home, including some children and a couple adorable babies. They brought sweet potatoes, fresh-baked bread, scrumptious pumpkin pie, and many more delectable dishes. They also brought laughter, cheer, and friendly conversation—so much for which to be thankful to God!

My favorite moment: One little girl, upon taking a bite of her dinner, exclaimed, "I love this place!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

So much joy

2008-09-24T12:05:00.001-07:00

October may seem dull next to September, which is filled with birthday fun. A nephew wrapped up his first year; another turned four. Their adorable Western party was complete with cowboy hats and horseback rides. A neice celebrated her fifteenth birthday, and my husband and I turned 31 and 28, respectively. It was priceless when our four-year-old nephew called to sing my husband his rendition of "Happy Birthday." My in-laws celebrated 32 years of marriage, as well.

There will be at least one chance to celebrate in October—Canadian Thanksgiving. Even though I'm half American and have lived in the United States for more than a decade, I love to have a big dinner party, potluck-style, a tradition I began in college. Every year, the cool, crisp weather and changing leaves make me breathe a little more deeply and make me a little more grateful to be alive.

The glory of green

2008-09-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

My husband and I enjoyed a splendid vacation to the Northeastern U.S. and the Canadian Maritime provinces in early September. We saw historic places and buildings on the Freedom Trail in Boston and little towns in Maine, and had the pleasure of spending time with two cousins and an aunt and uncle in New Brunswick.

The ultimate goal of the trip (from my perspective) was Prince Edward Island, where acres and acres of perfectly manicured, lush lawns were accompanied by red, storybook barns. Even though rain fell frequently, the trip was full of sunshine. We visited breezy, beautiful beaches, encountered friendly people, and spent time traipsing through Anne of Green Gables attractions (admittedly the reason we were there—I admired all the stuff of little girl dreams and imagined Anne herself, while my husband patiently accompanied me).

Even if I had never loved Anne or her playful, pretend world, I would still have deeply admired PEI. It is truly a beautiful part of God's beautiful world. As Anne once said, "The world looks like something God had just imagined for His own pleasure, doesn't it?"

Green Gables, a Canadian National Historic Site, sits on a perky green lawn on a very rainy day.
The building nearly became a clubhouse for a nearby golf course.

Anne Shirley's bedroom, in the Green Gables house around which the author created the story.

A day to celebrate

2008-09-12T12:08:00.001-07:00

While I no longer celebrate with party hats, goody bags, and an animal-shaped cake, I do enjoy having a little fun on my birthday and just cherishing the day. It reminds me how much God has loved and cared for me the past year, and signals to me that He will continue to provide during the year ahead. When I think of His blessings, I am easily overwhelmed.

I also love family traditions: my husband sings "Happy Birthday" to me immediately when I wake up, my long-distance family members call and do the same, and my in-laws often kindly take me out to eat. And I get together with good friends (including one who shares my birthday) for some sort of party.

This year, my husband sent me flowers at work—very romantic! I was thrilled to receive them.

I love that God gives us little moments to celebrate, little moments of joy and family and hugs that remind us how good He is.

A little bit of happiness

2008-08-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

My job is not a very upfront position. I like it that way. It is fulfilling to feel I'm having a significant impact through my work without dealing with any form of a spotlight (I get sweaty-palms nervous even when I have to make a little presentation).

At the same time, it's fun when someone makes a kind comment that makes me realize some people out there are benefiting from the work I do. So thanks, Kanakuk marketers, for passing on a little bit of happiness.

Book of love

2008-08-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

For romantic occasions, I usually attempt to think of something creative to give my husband. There are two reasons for this: 1) I want it to be more meaningful than something I can pick up in five minutes at the mall, and 2) my husband is very non-materialistic (a wonderful quality) and doesn't always have a long list of gift ideas for me.

So, this year for our anniversary, I covered a little chipboard book that I found in one of my favorite stores, Archivers. Inside, I stuck down little pieces of paper, stickers, and other embellishments, as well as one of our wedding photos, all designed to tell Bill 100 things I love about him. (Thanks, Marianne, for sharing this idea at Pickled Pear Lane!)

It was quite a bit of work, but I'd wanted to try this type of thing of a while, so I'm glad I did it, and—most importantly—my husband is pleased with the result.

Two beautiful years

2008-08-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

How happy it is to celebrate today two years of marriage with my wonderful husband! It was only about three years ago that I was convinced that I would never float down the aisle in a white gown and pledge my love to the man of my dreams.

Joyously, I did meet the man of my dreams—although I'm sure as a little girl I would have imagined him riding along on a white horse rather than decisively clicking through my profile on eHarmony.com.

And I'm sure as a little girl I would have never imagined the deep, lasting joy that true love and committed marriage brings.

Happy Anniversary, Bill! I love you with all my heart.

The day it all began ~ August 5, 2006

Ten crazy years

2008-08-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend at my 10-year high school reunion. In the day to day, I rarely pause to reflect on the past year, let alone the past decade. So it was an enlightening time to reflect on the people, places, and happenings of the high school years.

Certainly, 10 years makes a big difference in people's lives. Marriage and four kids, for some people. Exotic travel and new businesses for others. The most pleasant difference was the general absence of high-school behavior and divisions. Never remotely popular in high school, I discovered that the popular types—good looking, confident, friend- and opposite-gender-magnets—were actually very similar to me, both then and now. Most of us seemed to really struggle through high school for one reason or another, whether we put on a brave face or were more shy and under-confident like I was. Now, it seems, those high-school barriers have been removed and we can discover how much alike we truly are. In our more mature state, we're actually more similar than different in some ways—with a bond that comes from spending years of our lives together in a boarding school in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota.

Another pleasant surprise was that most of my classmates seemed to have retained their core personalities. None had changed so dramatically that I had trouble believing I had attended high school with them. God had dusted off the immaturities and teenage awkwardness, revealing beautiful, adult souls.

I must admit that the negative memories that were a part of the high school muddle were not completely absent from the weekend. But more of it was about spending time together talking, laughing, traipsing through tourist traps, and praying together.

Certainly, my last two years of high school was not among the most pleasant times in my life. Moving in grade 11 to a different country—let alone to a boarding school where the kids were super close—was the source of many tears and a little bitterness at the time.

But seeing members of my class again makes me thankful I was part of the 19 of us that graduated from that small school, that I had such a unique secondary experience—and that I am here, 10 years later, to reflect on and be grateful for it.

Life's a picnic

2008-07-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

I had not paused till recently to contemplate that phrase. Really, what is a picnic? It's fun and fresh air and pushing kids on swings, but it's also bees and flapping tablecloths and sand dancing on your face.

My husband's sister called up and wanted to have an outdoor meal Sunday, so we picked up KFC, packed a few necessities, and walked over to a nearby park to meet her and her adorable little boys. After we ate, I chatted with a lady in the park (she was there with a separate group from my church to celebrate a couple kids' birthdays) about the downfalls of picnics. There's the getting all your stuff together—and, in her case, getting her kids together—and leaving behind the comforts and, to some degree, safety of home.

There are little (and big) inconveniences, but there's that underlying joy of being outside and hearing children giggle and treasuring family time. Sometimes it's more fun than others, depending on the weather and the company.

Yep, life is a picnic.

Still scrapbooking

2008-07-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Amidst celebrating the Fourth with a family BBQ and fireworks, joining in the joy of some friends' first anniversary party (and losing at a newlywed game my husband and I were solicited to participate in—quite fun, but slightly embarrassing), teaching kids the essence of Romans chapter 9, and sleeping in, I worked on my scrapbook.

I had looked forward to this weekend (I even took a half day off today, just for fun) because I've recently managed to sidestep my scrapbooking goals completely. This weekend, I glued, cut, and created my way through 14 pages.

Since my last update in the beginning of May, I've made 34 pages, landing me within two layouts of completing April 2007. This is somewhat short of my 20-page-or-three-months-of-photos-per-month goal (I should have 40 pages done or be working on May memories), but I'm still pleased that I've made some significant progress.

Here's a layout I made this weekend about the fun my husband and our little nephew have together:

P.S. I must confess that my very first card (see previous post) had a spelling error. I discovered quite accidentally that yippee is spelled with two p's, and not one. My husband, being the sweet guy that he is, was content with his card, foibles and all.

Handmade Yipee

2008-07-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today my husband had an exceptional work accomplishment, and I wanted to congratulate him in a special way.

But since I was supposed to be working, I had very little time. I thought of giving him a little card, but there was nothing appropriate in my greeting-card stash. I stared at my scrapbook supplies, still helter-skelter from my work last night on a Christmas 2006 page. And I thought, "Hey, I can make a card!" This may be logical to some, but I've never made a card from scratch and never thought I would. (I've always had the excuses that it was easier to buy one, and I needed to use all my craft time to get caught up on my scrapbook.)

So, here is my very first (and very quick) attempt at making a greeting card. I stuck it on top of his monitor with a few chocolate kisses and changed his screen saver to a marquee with a little congratulations message.

Yipee for Bill!

A Praying Day

2008-06-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

The power and importance of prayer was just a little bit more real to me today. My niece and a friend's mom—who live thousands of miles apart—had surgeries in the early afternoon.

It was a coincidence that they were on the same day, but their being about the same time ensured I did not forget to lift both of them before God's throne. For different reasons, both were nervous about the surgeries and needed a healthy dose of heavenly peace. And of course both wanted their procedures to be safe and effective.

Thanks to God and the gifts He has given to the medical staff, they came through beautifully and are recovering. Thank you, God, for answered prayer today—when Your power seems close and Your light vivid—and every day.

My beautiful niece recovering in the hospital.

What I haven't done

2008-06-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, and in that while I've been procrastinating blogging because I've felt I haven't accomplished much. I have had little time to scrapbook, and I haven't motivated myself to clean up the garden as I intended to do in May.

But as I reflected on life since I last blogged, I realized that life brings you little joys, even if you're not looking for them, and are swamped with work from two jobs, and are feeling stressed about certain aspects of your future. Here are some joys God has given me the privilege of experiencing recently:

A good friend of my sister-in-law's, who has become a fun scrapbooking friend, had a precious little boy with a head full of dark, soft hair. He's adorable indeed.
I visited my family and joined in on important celebrations—Mother's Day and my eldest brother's birthday—as well as the everyday delights of a picnic, stops at tourist attractions, and warm hugs.
A conference I attended left me inspired to write more—perhaps even a book someday.
I celebrated a friend's birthday with delicious food, deep conversation, and delightful smiles. And a party to celebrate more is planned for Sunday.
I cleaned out part of my closet and various areas of my house and piles of paper that ordinarily don't get as much attention as they deserve—a great feeling.
I taught Sunday school to second- and third-grade kids; the childlike prayers and innocent (but often humorous) questions and responses warmed my heart.
I laughed and cooked and prayed and cleaned and lived with my wonderful husband.

Accomplishments are important to me. I like to have checked off a list and made progress in projects I've assigned myself. But sometimes it's important to set aside organization and calendars and perfect plans and be surprised by joy.

Welcome, warm!

2008-05-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm loving the warm weather. What a pleasant ending to a terribly chilly Colorado winter!

This weekend, I hope to tackle the yard/garden with my husband. The garden is a pitiful little mess, and the lawn has some need of fertilizer and even grass seed in spots. I've been convicted lately because acquaintances of mine have been talking about the hours they spend on landscaping-type tasks, and our poor yard stands neglected without even a glance in its direction (except to cringe now and then). I have a difficult time caring about the outside of our house sometimes, which deserves at least some love.

Now with the splendid weather, coupled with the holiday weekend, I have no excuse. It will be more of a delight than a hardship to be outside, digging in the dirt and making things look a bit more attractive.

Thank you, God, for warm and lovely sunshine!

By the way, if you're a green thumb type and have any tips (or words of motivation) whatsoever, I would be most gratified to hear them.