a trip to the mall was worth it!

i received a coupon in the mail for $10 off a $30 purchase at the children's place. it expires tomorrow.

i am so pleased with what i found for baby bear that i am going to show it off on here:

you can't have 2 many t-shirts with a toddler who likes to eat, color with chalk and paint. besides, when all the following items were rung up, they were (barely) less than the $30 min needed to use my $10 off coupon. gotta love the spend more/save more requirements!

we got this shirt with brown velvet trim, not red

bear wanted to wear this hat in the store, and protested when she had to take it off.
until i told her that she would not get to go to the play area if she did not settle down. It is sooo soft.

this adorable sweater coat...
it might even fit her next year. it's long, and i bought it in 3T. it is fleece lined.

All this cost me less than $22.

more insomnia

actually, i was sleeping quite well and dreaming strange thoughts when i dreamed that as i went to pick baby bear up from the nursery, i could hear her crying from down the hall. then i realized she erally was crying. that was at 2:38 a.m. she had kicked off her covers, and i think she was a little chilly. i changed her diaper, and sat in the rocking chair with her. oh, i am so grateful for the rocking chair we were able to take off tech mom's hands! i draped a blanket over both of us, and for a few minutes, savored the silence, the depth of her breathing, and the fact that though she woke me up, she was able to rest in my arms. a few minutes later, i tried to put her back in her bed. "rock," she asked. i couldn't resist. we rocked some more. "daddy?" she asked. "he's sleeping." "would you like to go to mommy and daddy's room to try to sleep?" "yeah."

so i carried her down the hall. she actually settled in pretty nicely, but after a few minutes of cuddling, became restless. "do you want to go back to your bed?" i asked. "yeah."

so i laid her gently in her toddler bed, tucked her under the covers with her doll and kitties, and wound her musical giraffe.

on one hand, i am annoyed by my insomnia, as 45 minutes have passed since i laid my little one back down to rest. yet i cherish moments like these. moments which remind me that she is still a baby, and there are times she just needs to know her mommy and daddy are there, no matter what. as she grows up, her ways of expressing that need will change. hopefully, we won't be awakened very frequently. but if we are, and insomnia follows after she has been comforted, so be it. for a few blessed minutes, my baby remained my baby, not the little girl she is so quickly becoming before my eyes.

Wordless Wednesday

hugs & kisses:

my baby, my 2 favorite college roommates, & their babies

more kisses- and Caroline getting brave near the steps

We had a great time. My friends are the best. I am still feeling under the weather, and they stepped right in, made themselves at home, and took care of pretty much all the meal prep, too.
Baby Bear loved having a Lhasa Apso AND a not-quite toddler too chase, hug, and attempt to feed snacks which they should not eat. She didn't realize her own strength on several occasions, and became quiet proficient at saying "Caroline". (sounds more like keh-oh-wine in toddlerese). I was pleased by how sweet she was toward her young friend, even if she did knock her down a couple of times. Thankfully, we trimmed Bear's claws, I mean finger nails, last night, so they were not dangerous.

Our (gas) grill has issues and the flame wouldn't work properly, in spite of having plenty of propane in the tank. Good thing Spunky Redhead actually knows how to broil burgers. I confess, I have lived here 4 years and NEVER used the broiling pan until today. I have broiled fish, but not burgers. She also brought the best fruit dip I've ever had- it has amaretto in it. Mmmmm...

hubby's gonna be way outnumbered...

3 of my friends from college (one i actually met in high school) will be here in a few minutes. One of them is in town from out of state, with her 10-month-old daughter, and belly-bean. (Can't wait to see her bump!) The two who live in-state are bringing all the side dishes, we are grilling some chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. Oh, and World's Best Teacher took the afternoon off from her students to come, and her white curly-haired puppy is coming, too. Ian is house-broken, and she felt bad about leaving him all alone because she's been gone so much lately. Ian (the dog) and hubby will be the only males present, as Army Chaplain (one hubby) is away for training (thus his wife's return home for a few weeks), and Spunky Red Head's hubby has to work.

Baby Bear is supposed to be napping, but I think I hear sounds of her playing echoing down the hallway. Figures.

Anyway, I have come to realize that I will never be Martha Stewart. The thought of guests, even old friends who are practically family, almost sends me into an anxiety attack. I realize that if I would discipline myself in home management, I would not get stressed. Anyway, thankfully, I have friends who don't mind my saying, "let's meet here, but you guys bring some of the food!"

A couple of my tackles:

(Compliments of Baby Bear)I forgot to take an "after" pick, but I did get the blue crayon off my white cabinets with disinfectant cleaning wipes from the Dollar Tree.


(My own doing)

cran-grape juice, spilled as i was carrying 3 glasses down from the bonus room... 1 half full.

The result after dousing with carpet cleaner, scrubbing really good,
drying overnight, and vacuuming,

Those are the highlights. Nothing major, but let me tell you, I was NOT happy about my juice spill because I was about to scrub the bathrooms and had yet to wash the kitchen floor. The crayon? Well, it was our first of what will probably be many crayon-on-cabinet offenses, those things happen with toddlers. It did look pretty in her defense. No worse than spaghetti sauce or anything else.

two steps forward, one step back

both bathrooms have been scrubbed. i spilled cranberry-grape juice on the carpet as i carried 3 glasses down to the kitchen. thank the Lord i did not run out of my carpet cleaner until i had already doused the stains. i may just have to post pics for tackle it tuesday tomorrow. i want to vacuum the area after it dries to get a complete view, but i am not about to do that at this hour. baby bear is asleep, which is a very good thing.

hubby's going to go jogging. he poked his head back inside to say it's sprinkling outside, so it will be a short run. i'm impressed that he's going out at all. i wouldn't go out running in the stuff. puddle jumping with my daughter, perhaps. jogging, no way.

i'm lost.
i've gone to look for myself.
if you should find me before i return,
please tell me to wait right here until i come back.

or something like that. i think that's how the t-shirt saying goes. anyway, what i do know is that my role of homemaker has been woefully neglected. the procrastinaholic in me blames it on the sinus issues i've fought for almost a week. the honest person in me knows it's more like 80% laziness and 20% other factors.

so, i am grounding myself from posting on my blog until further notice. and after i check my e-mail and facebook, i will be grounded from initiating any new wall posts, pokes, sending mystery seeds, (fluff) friend petting or feeding.

i've decided that posting my to-do list on the blog will only give me reason to get back on here and procrastinate some more, therefore i will not post it this time.

see you when i've found myself, my bathroom counter, my kitchen cabinet, etc....

Haley just made my day!

She nominated me for an award. I'm not sure what the nomination requirements are, but it sounds like a chance for me to spread the love. I met Haley through one of the memes I participate in a while back, and have enjoyed reading her accounts of becoming a new Mommy.
She also inspires me to get back to working on my scrapbooks. She is indeed a


Now, who to nominate... hmm... this is really hard. Really, really hard. All of my blogging family is awesome. But I can't just choose one. And I am not going to take the time to verify to see if you've already got this award or not, so if you do, just pass it on to someone else and consider yourself well loved, 'k??? And if I did not nominate you, please do not be hurt.

My nominees for Rockin' Girl Blogger are:

Inkling- She's the only rock-climbing girl I know, thus making her a true "rocking" girl blogger. :) More importantly, her blog seems to be a true expression of who she is, what she is wrestling with as she adapts to life in another country and marriage at the same time. MOST importantly, her love for Jesus is abundantly clear, even in the trials. She reminds me a bit of one of my favorite literary heroines, Anne Shirley. Perhaps it's the red hair. She is also the cousin of a girl I was in the youth group with in high school, so I feel like I sort of know her in real life.

crt- My sis in law is the one who introduced me to blogger. (Can I blame her for my addiction, or at least enabling it?) She is an awesome Mom two two very Spirited girls, and the way she comes up with creative science projects and crafts to do with them at home amazes me. She is homeschooling both girls this year, in 1st grade and K-4, and observing the decision-making process she and computer guy have gone through to choose what's best for their girls makes me wish Baby Bear would stay little. She is also a terrific sister-in-law (I am blessed with 2 terrific sisters by marriage and 1 by birth).

Steph@Olive Tree- A Mom of 3 girls under 5, Steph is creative, passionate about her love of her Saviour and her family, and an all-around inspiration to me to try to be a better wife and Mom. She introduced me to another of my online addictions, the Women @ Home forum.

Zann- Zann was the first "old friend" I discovered online, or who discovered me. She tends to be a bit more private on her blog, but when she posts, it's always a good read.

Now, I've got to go make dinner so my daughter and hubby don't starve. Thankfully I have some fresh watermelon cut up which should hold Baby Bear over until the pasta is ready.

reasons i hate insomnia

1) i'd rather be sleeping.
2) thoughts of all the unfinished tasks around my house haunt me, but actually doing them would cause my daughter to wake up.
3) when daylight comes, i am too tired to do anything
4) increased awareness of my sore throat and stuffy nose, which are irritating enough to keep me awake, but do not necessarily warrant a visit to the doctor.

I've been thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know)...

Unfortunately, I will not be able to articulate all my ponderings, perhaps because I'm still trying to figure them out for myself.

I've become reacquainted with several people thanks to this thing called the internet. I have thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship, and feel blessed that many friendships have been rekindled over the past year. Thanks to our blogs or message boards, I have the honor of getting glimpses into their (your) lives.

At one point in my life, I was quick to debate differences in faith with anyone, and in college there were many people with whom I agreed to disagree. Now I find myself wondering what conversations are appropriate to initiate when I have seen glimpses which show me my beliefs and another person's are so very different.

I've always been pretty good at keeping people at an arm's length. I struggle to remember if an old friend was one who I just always kept at arm's length because of my shyness (or fear), or if we did actually engaged in debates so many years ago. I wonder which is more tiring... to engage in conversation when there will most likely be no resolution to the debate, or to just keep the arm out straight indefinitely?

One of these days....

my in-laws' coffee addiction will rub off on me. Tech Dad's here tonight, passing through on business. I had the coffee ground and ready to brew so when we returned from eating dinner, all I had to do was flip the switch. I must admit that good, fresh-ground coffee with milk and a couple of splenda and fresh-baked brownies are not a bad way to wind down.

Baby Bear grew ecstatic when she heard Papa was coming to visit. "And Gamma?" she asked. Papa will have to give Gamma a big hug from Baby Bear when he gets home. She also wanted to go outside to wait for him to arrive. She wanted to go outside, anyway... Papa was a good excuse to get her way.

"seh-wee wabbit"

Or deer, or beaver, or squirrels... whatever it is sure likes the taste of cantaloupe vine.

What a family...

Bear's nose is running, my throat hurts, and hubby feels a bit under the weather, too.

I am grateful because Bear has been letting me sleep in until 7:30 this week.

Learning to crochet is going to take time (sigh). I have to keep telling myself the end result will be worth it. I love the handmade blankets we were given for Hannah (2 of them are crocheted), and sometimes when we use them I think about the person who gave it to us and say a quick prayer for them. There are so many skills which technology can't truly replace; something handmade has that extra personal touch that cannot be duplicated by a machine. Thanks, Ang & Nan, for your encouraging words.

there's no excuse


i have a crochet hook
i have a skein of yarn
and now, thanks to my brother and sister-in-law, i have this:

plus, i have a neighbor who had offered to teach me. it appears as though i will have to wait til bear is sleeping to practice, though. she is currently tapping her leg with my hook and clutching the skein of yarn.

Who wants to learn with me? (Or help teach me, for that matter...)

garden update


we had 2 blossoms in full bloom on the cantaloupe, with more on the way. bear picked 1, and i had to hold her down to keep her from picking the other. is it wrong that i am so protective of my plant?

i did trim a bunch of dead leaves yesterday. here's the once-pretty calla lily bed:


the front bed... can you find the sad hostas and black-eyed susans?
day lily and gladiola bed:

here's the miniature rose bush which was in my metal decorative pot. it has been sad for quite some time. since some leaves sprouted again, i planted it in the ground to see if there is any hope of revival:

sedum- 3 stages of blooms:

chinese lantern plant (the only plant that has bloomed the whole summer):


hope everyone is having a good week. baby bear's nose is running, gotta go catch it.

poll results

Thanks to those of you who participated. 11 of you have greater faith than I, and I hope you are right! Yes, I voted "no". I really have no idea how long it takes to grow cantaloupe from seed, so we'll see. We returned home from a weekend away to find a few of the leaves nibbled off (to the stem), but there also appear to be a couple of blossoms forming already. If this suffocating hot weather keeps up, then we will probably taste home-grown cantaloupe.

Final results:
11- YES, there will be edible fruit before the first freeze
4- NO, there won't. (There might be fruit, but it probably won't be ripe.)

Bear awoke from her afternoon nap asking for her cousins. And their pool. Apparently she forgot it took 6 hours to get there and 6 hours to come home.

what if?
(nichole nordeman)

What if you're right?
And he was just another nice guy
What if you're right?
What if it's true?
They say the cross will only make a fool of you
And what if it's true?

What if he takes his place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?

But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?

What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig?
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions down inside
That's all you find?

What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold?

You've been running as fast as you can
You've been looking for a place you can land for so long
But what if you're wrong?

I was once told by my first "boyfriend" that I take things too seriously. Actually, I believe at that point he was my first ex-boyfriend, but since we went to the same church we saw eachother every Sunday. The church had 80 people on a good Sunday, so there was no way to do that 9th grade let's-avoid-eachother completely thing.

Anyway, if my last post seemed rather cryptic, well, it's not, really. It's just a list of things I've been thinking about lately. I do tend to take things seriously, and that's not a bad thing. Most of the time. I admit that sometimes it can be a fault, but I would rather be one of processes thoughts, feelings and beliefs than one who simply goes on her merry (or melancholy) way without drawing conclusions or making connections. I may not elaborate at the moment, but I was growing tired of posting memes and photos of cantaloupe, and that list came to mind. It actually came to mind with "versus" in various places of the original draft... that might make more sense to some of you.

Anyway, we've had a great weekend here at crt's & computer guy's. Tech Mom and Dad drove over on Thursday night, then we put Baby Bear' car seat into their almost brand spanking new Santa Fe and all rode 6 hours north together. Bear has had fun playing with her cousins' cool toys (and them). We went swimming this afternoon, and the water was actually cool, unlike the bath-tub warm water we had in AL, the air has been crisp and warm, with a hint of fall coming in the evenings and early mornings.

Tonight I got to ride on the back of the motorcycle. Hubby's got the bike itch, and I've got to admit it would be something fun. Except for the fact that people generally drive like morons where we live, so I would be concerned for our safety. Anyway, he got to ride his brother's bike, and now the itch is even stronger. He's gonna be a "Wild Hog" yet. (We saw that movie last night- it's cute.)

legalism
doctrinal integrity

ego-centric
Christ centered
covenant
choice
freedom
law
grace

past
present
future

faith
truth
life