leavin'.on.a.jet.plane

Guess who's going on vacation!!!!!! Me. Just me. Til Wednesday. All by myself.

Seriously.

I'm so excited!!!!

My friend Julie and I are flying to Boston, Mass bright and early tomorrow morning...seriously my flight leaves at 6am. We are visiting our other friend, Rachel!

These girls are my 2 BFFs from high school, and I'm so glad that we've stayed in touch since we've been out of high school!

We're going to the Red Sox game on Sunday, hitting the Boston marathon at some point (I think Monday), getting some pedicures (love it), and I'm guessing there will be a chick flick or two in there somewhere.

So, needless to say...I'm (still) doing laundry and packing today. Josh is going to play Daddy dearest for the next 5 days (with a little help from family)!

I'll be back at the end of next week with some fun pictures and lots of great stories, I'm sure! Yay!

doing.well.overall

Meredith was pretty groggy when we arrived at the dentist's office. Even though that was the case, she still screamed her head off while they were taking her back to the room.

Thankfully, she calmed down very quickly once she put on her sunglasses and they started her video. The dentist said that once she calmed down she did (and I quote) "pefectly". Yay!

The had a huge chunk of cotten in her mouth so that she wouldn't bite her lip. They told her she could take it out when she got home. She did, but her numbness hadn't worn off yet. Then, she started biting her lower lip (which they warned us might happen).

So, I rolled up some paper towel for her to chew on instead...this isn't making her happy AT ALL. She's actually sitting right next to me crying her little eyes out about it....hopefully she'll thank me tomorrow when her entire lip isn't chewed up. Probably not.

Anyway, thanks so much for the prayers! I think we're going to survive (at least until we have to do it again in two weeks).

prayers.please

Meredith goes in tomorrow morning (Wednesday morning) at 10:50 for her dentist appointment. She has to get a cavity filled and a pulpotomy (I think I'm spelling that right) which I guess is kind of equivalent to an adult root canal in baby teeth.

She's going to be on some pretty strong meds in the morning before we go, and they'll give her the laughing gas once we get there.

I'm just praying that she'll be cooperative (which is what the drugs are for), that all will go smoothly, and she'll have a speedy recovery. We'll have to do this again in the near future for the other side of her mouth, so I'm hoping it is a good experience for her overall.

I'll post an update soon.

prayers.by.meredith

Meredith makes my day every time she prays. It warms my heart. Claire volunteers often to pray at dinner, but it has been just recently that Meredith has been volunteering as well.

We have been offering to let Meredith pray for quite some time, but she just always seemed intimidated by the idea. Then, about a month or so ago, she wanted to pray but just repeat whatever Josh or I would say.

Then, she decided to start praying. She always says "thank you" for pretty much everything even if she really wants to ask for help/assistance. This is what she prayed for tonight at dinner:

Dear Lord,
Thank you for today.
Thank you for this food, sickness, Easter, sickness (yes, twice), the President, and my ouchies.
Amen.

She always ends with her ouchies. :)
(photo by Claire)

 

trying.not.to.worry

We have family, friends, and friends of friends that have been affected by the current state of our economy. We've been praying for the economy, our friends and family, and President Obama.

Our pastor addressed this in his sermon a couple of weeks ago. We read out of Matthew 6, and every time I read the passage, I can't help but feel like Matthew is speaking directly to me when he says, "...O you of little faith." Why do I worry so much?!! Hello....if God is taking care of the birds and the flowers and the grass...of course he's going to take care of us!

"Are you not much more valuable than they?" The answer is a resounding YES! We're worth way more to him than birds, flowers, and grass!

And this one....Tomorrow will worry about itself and each day has enough trouble of its own. I love that part.

I read something once that said, "If you worry about something and it doesn't happen, then you've worried for nothing. If you worry about something and it does happen, well...now you've worried twice." So true....I need to remember this more often.

I'm going to try to worry less, and I hope you will too. :)

MATTHEW 6:25-34
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

party.time

Cake:

Complete fascination with the candle (she stuck her finger right into the flame):

On the verge of tears from being told "no" because of touching the flame:

A little (or a lot) of sugar can cure just about anything that ails you:

Amelia did a great job of eating the back side of her cake! She was very lady-like and picked small bites off her cake as she ate. She did have plenty of frosting on her face at the end, though!

 

a.little.decor

For Amelia's birthday, I thought I'd try a little sewing project that I found online. The above picture is what the kitchen looked like from afar.

Here is a closer look at the party garland:

And here's an even closer look:

It was pretty easy to make, and I think it only took me 2-3 hours from start to finish. Honestly, I never know exactly how long because I always have to stop in the middle of my projects to wipe a bottom or kiss an ouchie. You know how it goes.

Here is the tutorial for the party garland.

This is what I found easiest after reading her tutorial:

1. Make the shapes' templates out of a heavier paper (instead of a brown paper bag like she suggests)...I always use old file folders since I have them around. (Oh, and I made the shapes a little bigger than her sizes, which I would definitely recommend).
2. Quadruple your fabric so that you make twice as many shapes at once. (She had mentioned that cutting the shapes was kind of a daunting task.)
3. Use a pizza cutter sewing tool (there's probably a technical term for this tool, but I don't know it) to cut out the triangles and rectangles.

I really liked the way that this turned out. However, if I must admit it, I would probably just do triangles the next time I make it (if I do another one). And I would probably make all of the triangles the same size. It would make the project easier, faster, and I am kind of a sucker for a uniform look. Clean lines.

All in all, I was very pleased with the way this turned out, and we'll be saving it to use again for the other girls' birthdays. I'm excited that we can use it year after year!