Note to Self

Always remove a princess' tiara before naptime car rides...

Baa Baa Black Sheep - Stella Style.

Enjoy Stella's ever-changing rendition of the good old classic, "Baa-Baa Black Sheep"

First Picnic of 2013!

As a native New Englander, I hesitate to claim that spring has officially arrived until about, oh, June; however, today it felt like spring has finally arrived!  Stella and I enjoyed the warm weather by having a picnic downtown.  We love Newmarket and enjoy spending time together near the river, watching the ducks, eating ice cream, and just lounging around.  Here are some pictures of our time together:

Can't believe we live in such a pretty place!

Looking at the ducks.

Stopping donwtown for a break while running errands.



No socks (pasty white legs) and baby crocs = spring!

Stella turns 3!

Our little girl is three.  It's amazing, fun, unbelievable, crazy...it's, simply put, the best.  I often share with people how I cried while sitting on the floor of her nursery, folding up her 3 month old clothing for storage.  I honestly thought it would never be as much fun or as wonderful as it was back then...but every stage has brought with it new heights of joy.  I am so grateful for this girl and how much love, patience, grace and faith she has brought into my life.  She is nothing short of a gift from God.

 

Here are some of the favorite things Stella is up to these days:

• She often says, "No I ant."  Which is her funny way of saying she is NOT going to do something.  We don't use the word "ain't" in our house, so I really don't know where she picked this one up...
• She occasionally speaks in a British accent because some of her favorite cartoons or cartoon characters (Alfred/Archibald from Veggie Tales or Angelina Ballerina) are British.
• She is fully potty trained - HALLELUJAH!
• She loves the clay-mation show "Pingu" and runs around the house saying "Mook, MOOK!" (for those of you who haven't seen it, Pingu speaks in gibberish and this is one of his favorite sayings...)
• She enjoys spending time at home and often doesn't want to leave our house, but whenever we go out she rarely wants to return to home.
• She got her first bike for her third birthday and is excited to ride it with training wheels; she and Tim have been practicing in the aisles at Walmart for months.
• On Easter Sunday this year she enthusiastically shared with a couple of nine-year-old boy neighbors, "Jesus is RISEN!  He is ALIVE today...Happy Easter!"
• She has very specific taste in clothing and wants to wear dresses every day.
• She starts each morning by selecting which dress up clothing she would like to wear outside of her normal clothes...and this is how we leave the house on a daily basis (think: tutus, tiaras, ballet slippers, Cinderella costumes, etc.).

Long story short, I am in love.  So grateful for the privilege of being her mom!

Unpacking the Move.

 

The past several days I have been riding an absolute rollercoaster of emotions.  While I am incredibly thankful and excited to move, I am reminded of why this particular transition ranks among the top stressors in life!  For an organized person just the idea of living amongst boxes is maddening; it's a constant visual in front of me of surrender - letting go; a reminder of the fact that things don't have to be perfect or done immediately.  And that's only one piece of the puzzle when it has come to this move.

 

Shortly after we moved in to the new apartment we realized our hot water heater was broken.  A major hint was the complete lack of hot water [insert sarcastic tone here].  For anyone who hasn't tried doing dirty dishes with cold water:  picture in your mind's eye how quickly butter melts while washing a dirty butter knife using only a sponge and freezing cold tap water - and picture how easily it spreads around to the rest of your sink full of dishes...not a pretty situation.  Thanks to the generosity of our new neighbors (and good friends), the Olivers, we had hot showers the past couple days.  And thanks to people from church, like Kevin Knight (plumber extraordinaire...truly), we now have a brand new hot water heater and are able to re-wash all those buttery dishes, in addition to cleaning and bathing in our own house.  As I drove to church this morning Tim called me with the news that Kevin was going to come to our home on a Sunday to install a new water heater.  The only thing that made it even better was that we believe another friend from church was prepared to pay for the entire ordeal if our landlord took issue with the replacement (thankfully, the landlord was amenable, although not too quick to find a plumber on their own...).  The very idea that someone we know would be ready and willing to pay for a water heater that's not even ours, just to ensure we had what we needed in the midst of an already stressful move...it leaves me struggling for words.  What can only be described as a WAVE of gratitude washed over me; I started to cry and thank God for how the body of Christ works together to bring us comfort and help when we need it. 

 

The sermon today was on 1 Corinthians 13 and I was so blessed to hear the words with a fresh understanding in my heart.  My newfound appreciation for the common passage (often shared at weddings) comes from the fact that I've experienced this kind of love in the past week throughout the course of our move.  I will continue to experience it tomorrow as other friends prepare us a dinner so we don't have to cook.  And the best part is that this kind of outpouring of love is something that exemplifies true Christian community...as much as I don't take it for granted, this is what being a part of the body of Christ SHOULD look like when it's functioning properly.  I have been a Christian since high school and I remain amazed at God's grace that I was ever invited into this family of believers.

 

"Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast.  It is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails...And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a, 13

 

 

We are MOVING tomorrow and Friday!

Over the next two days we are moving to our new apartment!

Thanks to Stella, who provided this recent picture to encapsulate my feelings:

 

It's only two streets away, but it's still a move, especially when you factor in an almost-three-year-old and two rambunctious dogs!  We are looking forward to the following things about our new apartment:

• a fenced in backyard
• brand new windows
• a third bedroom...ahem...guests!!!
• lots more living space
• a dining area
• a sunporch
• a dishwasher (hallelujah!)
• a dry basement
• a two car garage
• staying in the same neighborhood
• living across the street from great friends, The Oliver Family!
• however God chooses to use this house for ministry to others

Things we will miss about our current place:

• being right next door to one of Stella's best buddies, Emery, and his family, The Hermans
• seeing our neighbors, Jenna and Tim, and catching up via impromptu conversations
• lots of great memories and "firsts" for Stella experienced here
• a wonderful landlord, Norm, who took really good care of us over the past two years

Our last move was on the heels of a foreclosure and was MUCH more emotionally draining than this current move.  We are grateful for how far God has brought us in just two years and for what a wonderful place we are at as a family.  Here's to the next phase of live in our little New Village Neighborhood!

Best Day Ever.

Here are a few of the highlights of my life:

Growing up by the ocean as a kid.

Learning about Jesus for the first time when I was 15 years old.

Meeting Tim and knowing I had found the person I wanted to marry.

My wedding day.

Finding out I was pregnant and having a little GIRL!

Giving birth to Stella.

And please add to the top of the list: 2.19.13 - the day I first painted my daughter's toenails.  Anyone who knows me understands how very much I love having a little girl and this is one small reason why...hopefully for years to come we can enjoy little things like this together:

Stella actually said, "CHEESE!" when I was taking this picture of her foot.

Look at those funny, little feet!!

We decided on "seashell pink" for her first color.