Rise and Shine!!

Tallie and I go in to wake up Grant every morning, and this is always how it goes... Tallie lays on Grant's pillow, reaches over and grabs and ear or nose.  The smile on Grant's face when he sees her just is the best thing in the world...  He loves her so much and she thinks the sun rises and sets on him!!

Tallie's first Easter!

And she was as cute as a button!  The crazy part is... when I consider the ridiculous cost of her dress, sweater and sandals, I should be posting pictures of how beautiful she looked all clothed!  But, alas... these could be the sweetest thing I've ever seen- just a beautiful little girl having a fun afternoon with her family!!  Love...

Though I plan to NEVER need her services...

The best doula in the world, Sarah, is offering a giveaway on her blog at Woven and Spun for Sweatybands!  They're designed for running (so sure won't need them for that!), but they're also just darned cute.  I'm thinking maybe for housecleaning... I always seem to break a sweat doing that.  Sad, I know.  Check her out!

Under the sea...

I found the cutest picture online of a no-sew mermaid tail.  Obviously, this isn't something Grant would be interested in for a million dollars, and Tallie is too little to care.  Thank goodness for Addy, a friend's daughter!  She *loves* Ariel and I just needed to get some craftiness out of my system.

Unfortunately for Grant, I still needed someone to try it on, just to be sure I was getting it right!  My poor child will probably need therapy one of these days...

The RIGHT way to have milk with your cookies!

Grant loves to make things.  I love to make things.  We're a great combo!  :)  So, we decided to bring treats to his class last Friday and made teddy bear cookies.  The best part of the snack was the glasses we sent with it!  How cute are they?

We melted Wilton's candy chips and dipped the tops of plastic glasses in them and then covered them with sprinkles.  Think a G-rated Margarita glass!!  Seriously, how fun to lick the candy off while having milk and a cookie?  And really, they're impossible to mess up!  Grant said "it was the best day!"  Of course, he says that about a lot of days, but still made my heart warm and fuzzy!

Lord, if you had been there...

Wow... what a topic for yesterday's sermon.  Admittedly, something that goes through my mind once a day-  Lord, if you'd been there, I would have two baby girls instead of one.  Lord, if you'd been there, I could have seen Olivia grow up to be a sweet and sassy toddler.  Lord, if you'd been there...  I could go on forever. 

The story is of Mary and Martha and their interactions with Jesus when they send Jesus a message about the illness of their brother, Lazarus and the conversation between them after he has passed away.  At different times, both Mary and Martha say- Lord, if you'd been there, my brother wouldn't have died.  I can so imagine the depth of emotion in that sentence- the wishing and wishing and lack of understanding about why these things have to happen.

But,  perhaps like the Israelites leaving Egypt, maybe I wouldn't have been content with just one miracle, and would have continued to expect the Lord to intervene in every rocky circumstance.  Maybe I would have expected a "perfect" life.  And like the speaker said, Jesus didn't come to give us a nice life.  He came to give us a new life... and when that day comes I'll get to snuggle right up with my baby girl. 

A girl after my own heart!!

SO, I will freely admit that my children are pretty spoiled.  They get a lot of attention from us, from our family and are certainly not hurting for "things".  It became ever so apparent when I was sorting through Natalie's clothes and got out her shoes in the next size and lined them up on the windowsill so that I wouldn't miss any.  15 pair of shoes this little 5 month old girl has!!! 15!!!  Her aunties sure love her- I'm pretty sure there is something to match each outfit in her closet!  But seriously, look at this face... wouldn't you want to spoil her too??