Pm 139:13-14

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.



These were just too cute not to share. I won the shoes from Shannon Meredith's blog: http://shannonsknits.wordpress.com. She does some monthly giveaways and has lots of great posts. While checking out her other stuff I couldn't resist ordering baby boy some neckties and diaper covers. His Daddy is a necktie fan so he needed some to match. I can't wait to see him in all his knitted goods! If you haven't checked out Shannon's stuff you definitely need to go to her blog or etsy shop!

eleventeen

all i can say is we're working on it

elle's shopping list

When I take Elle to the store she's usually pretty good, but sometimes I know she's bored. I've been wanting to make her a shopping list of her own for a while and finally got around to doing it. I made my own list and then did a quick google images search for whatever I thought she could recognize. I put the images in a word doc and then printed it. With the list, a clipboard, and pencil in hand we headed to the store this morning. Everything went much smoother and she had a good time telling me what we needed to find. Next time I'm hoping to think more in advance about how the store is laid out so we're not skipping all over the page.

mlm: family movie night

We've recently had a couple of Friday nights to have a family movie night. Elle's attention span has lengthened and I thought this would be something fun to go ahead and start. I wasn't hoping to get her to watch the whole thing, but at least to get familiar with it and have something fun to look forward to.


Sunday nights at church we've been doing a "family night at the movies", which means we watch clips from a movie and then discuss how it relates to being a Christian or the Bible. One of the movies was the new Charlotte's Web. Not the old cartoon that we've all watched in elementary school, but the one with live animals. Chris was gone when we did this one at church and it seemed pretty cute so we started with it. Elle loved watching the animals and made it through about half the movie Friday night and wanted to watch the rest Saturday. It's clean and has some humor adults will like. One of my favorite things about this movie is the setting and clothing, which is inspired by the 50's or early 60's.



Some of Elle's big girl panties have some of the Disney princesses on them, one of which is Tiana from this movie. Elle didn't know who she was and Chris hadn't seen the movie either so this was our second choice. Elle wasn't as into it as Cinderella, but Chris said he liked it because it was "finally a movie where she listened to her dad." It also has a good theme that being rich won't get you the most important things. Some other pluses are the music, scenery, and it has some cute humor. The only thing I would give a caution about is the scenes about the voodoo. I thought they could be a little scary for kids and should definitely be discussed before, during, or after the movie so they know what it is and where you stand on it. Thankfully, this time Elle wasn't too interested and had started playing when these scenes were on.

I don't think we'll definitely be doing this every Friday night because other things come up, but maybe we can do it from time to time. I have fun memories of pizza and blockbuster nights with my mom and dad and I'm hoping Elle will too. Any suggestions of what to watch next?

change my diaper change

Sorry it's been so quiet around here the last couple of weeks. Elle's been out of school, she decided to start using the big potty, the students moved in, baby boy is growing like a weed and therefore using a lot more energy, and I went through all of Elle's old clothes and have been prepping for the Just Between Friends sale. Needless to say it's been busy!

If you wondered where I was, I was in the bathroom. A LOT. Baby boy's on my bladder all the time anyway, and two weeks ago today Elle decided peanut M'&'M's were a great motivator for using the toilet. She's done fantastic! I couldn't have asked for an easier transition. And I'm so happy it's before baby brother gets here. I was getting nervous! She doesn't even want to use the little potty except as a stool to sit on the big one. We've visited many of the toilets in the building to keep her interested, but I don't care as long as we're moving away from diapers. She's even been out on errands in her big girl panties and done great! The little tin of M'&'M's in purse helps. She's still in a diaper for sleeping, but it's a major improvement. The only negative is I'm becoming a germaphobe and will be investing in some hand sanitizer. It's also been a little bittersweet as the bear bag contents are changing again. First, you're lugging a suitcase with everything imaginable, then you can downsize to a few things. Now we're adding fewer diapers and more pull-ups.

Sunday the kids moved back into OSSM and started the new school year. Chris had already worked 52 hours by yesterday morning, but we've had a good week. Most of the kids seem tired, but excited. Elle has really opened up a lot more and is excited to have the girls around. Mops is doing okay. Elle and I made these cards to welcome our old girls back and the new girls to 1st floor.



I've also decided to volunteer (and 20 hrs at that!) at JBF this year for a couple of reasons. I wanted to get the most for my money from the clothes I consigned, I may not get to next time with a new baby, and I'll have two to shop for this time. It's been very bittersweet to get rid of Elle's clothes. I recently read the book "It All Goes Back in the Box" by John Ortberg for a class at church and it's helped me to focus on the fact that it's just stuff. Chris commented he couldn't even remember Elle wearing half of it. We did save a tub for her special things, but the closet is looking a lot better. And I got on the perfect inspection list this time so I'm hoping to stay on it and save a bunch of time dropping off next sale.

We've also been trying to avoid the heat. Here's a pic of what Elle's been up to.

please pray for abygail

The three-year-old daughter of a friend who I went to middle school with was hit by a car a couple of days ago. She's still in critical condition and fighting. Here's the blog link so that you can follow what's happening: http://prayingforabygail.wordpress.com

My prayers and many others around the states and world have been going up. It's been amazing to see how many people have responded with prayers, and to see how those prayers are being answered, but she could definitely keep using them. When I look at Elle I know Abygail is only a year older, but they may not be that much different in size. It's incredibly scary to think what her poor body has been through and will go through. Please add her, Aby's parents, and big sister to your prayers. Thanks!

momma & me: the adventure ends?

Elle and I enjoyed many mini-adventures while Chris was gone. Such as...
a playdate,

mani/pedis,

shopping for and attending baby showers,

as well as, Target trips with a special popcorn treat, playing in the sprinklers at home, dinner and a trip to the lego store with family from far away, library trips and accomplishing the summer reading program, and a sleepover in momma's bed the last night (Even though I didn't sleep a wink, it was still special.)

But, we only did about half of the things on our initial list. It was difficult for Chris to be gone for so long, but it really was rewarding and now that I look back the time really flew by. I learned more about Elle's personality and fell in love with her even more if that's possible. I'm hoping to try and continue these adventures and maybe get to some of the ones we didn't get to. I'm hoping to start a "Fun Friday" day so we can explore more and have a special time for us girls.