look who's all smiles

five weeks old


six weeks old

31 to a better woman

Chris attended Mayfair's men's retreat last March. Sounds like he had a good time bonding with the males, and he came home with some homework. One of the guys discussed "The Art of Manliness", which is a website devoted to reviving the lost art of manliness. The website did a series of posts titled "30 Days to a Better Man", which is a list of tasks. John took the list and adapted it some, reported about his experiences, and challenged the guys to do the tasks. Chris worked on his list and I found it intriguing.

I found myself wondering if there was something like this for us gals. I did some internet searching and came up with little to nothing about improving yourself as a woman. Mostly it's geared toward women trying to get a man, and they don't have very detailed tasks. So I made my own list and started working on it. Then morning sickness took over and I let my list fall by the wayside. i thought since it's a new year and time for setting goals, now would be a good time to start on my list again.

I came up with 31 things because of Proverbs 31, which seems to be a good model of a woman, but the list isn't based on this passage. A few of the tasks are borrowed from the guys list, some are things I want to be better at, some are things inspired by my love of Little House of the Prairie and Jane Austin books, and some are focused on what I consider to be feminine. After I started making my list I discovered the book called Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be: A 90-day Guide to Living the Proverbs 31 Life by Donna Partow. Sometime I might try it, but for now I like my list. I tried to make it so that you could be at any station in life (single or married, children or none). When I first attempted this list I found it easier to not try and set myself up to sticking to a particular order or time frame. I am hoping to blog about my experience completing each task. It may not be your cup of tea, but if you want I'd love to have you join me on this journey!

Here's the list:

1: pick a virtue
2: groom
3: find a mentor
4: snail mail
5: planning
6: get something girly
7: sew/craft something
8: be an early bird
9: mind your manners
10: get your apron on
11: read the bible
12: organize/clean
13: make it from scratch
14: healthy habits
15: preserve something
16: pray everyday
17: use a handkerchief
18: finances
19: plan a girls night
20: no electronics for entertainment
21: respect/support a guy
22: go green
23: host someone
24: plant something
25: charity
26: change a tire
27: be a better friend
28: education
29: self-defense
30: take care of someone
31: reflect

shearing the sheep

I didn't get a chance to post about Elle's first Christmas program because it was right before Todd was born. I thought it would be a good post to mention it along with her first haircut! Elle was a sheep in the pen next to the stable with all her toddler friends. She wasn't real sure about what was going on and if she wanted to participate, but she made it through. They were all so cute!



Elle's hair was so long it was getting difficult to get the tangles out. Friday, we took her to Jennifer at Duncan Bro. who Chris and I go to. She was pretty freaked out, but eventually she found pinching Daddy's nose to take her mind off of what was going on. Now she's tangle free!

1+1=2

We're now saying "the kids". It seems so funny. We've made it a month with two and I finally feel like we're getting back on track. I think the holidays kept us from getting back into a regular schedule before now. So far I've learned that it makes things easier if we keep Elle on her schedule and I've got to plan ahead if I want to do anything. I've also set me up what I call the nursing nest. I have my laptop and a TV tray set up as my desk near the chair where I nurse Todd and it's help me stay on top of some things. Here's some more pics from our life with two:


Mops is already his buddy.

Todd at 3 and 4 weeks with his Christmas presents.


Don't worry I was supervising!

our christmas 2011

Elle's gift from Santa! This trampoline folds up and fits perfectly under her bed. No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Seems like everyone was making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. Here's our version that wasn't from scratch, but still yummy and quick for a momma who's not getting much sleep. Two cans of pillsbury cinnamon rolls arranged on a cookie sheet to make a christmas tree then sprinkled with Christmas sprinkles.

We went to Tulsa for two nights and decided to spare family of a night with a newborn and stay at embassy suites. They have really good deals on christmas, i guess because not many people stay at a hotel. Here's Elle jumping on our king sized bed. She did awesome sleeping in the adjacent room and was really excited to sleep on the pull-out couch.

Did I mention the indoor pool?

Todd sitting poolside

Elle and her cousin Ruby. Aren't they cute in their matching swimsuits?