Before Church; Literally.

Today we had the most cool, clear, crisp and lovely fall weather! 

Which, apparently for me, meant 

THE WORLD'S WORST ALLERGY ATTACK.

Soooo....I took a Zyrtec and a long nap. =)

The girls had a fun grand-girl day with their grandparents and when they came back we put on warm, fuzzy, pj's and had a living-room picnic. 

Warm Fuzzy Kiddos:

And that's all I have energy for. =) Goodnight!

Rainy Day Pictures

It was kind of a dreary day--we were going to go to the park--but were scared off by the clouds

and then the SUN came out

and then it went away

and then it rained

rinse. repeat.  =)

So we built trains:

Ezra's favorite! =)

Watched Tangled and had a Chick Fil A picnic. 

Had a in-our-pjs-Dance Party!

And now--we're ready for bed! Or at least, Mama is! =)

Last night I treated myself to a movie (at home =)--the new Jane Eyre.

I *loved* it!! It is such a romantic story and thoroughly enjoyable. My only complaint is that the actors in this didn't have nearly the chemistry (or the acting ability?) as in the previous version I watched (out in 2006, Masterpiece Theater).  Definitely a must see for any lover of literature, period pieces and romance. 

And to give you an idea of the range of my movie preferences, tonight I plan on watching Thor. HA! =)

Did you watch Up All Night (new comedy with Christina Applegate, Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett)? I was a little disappointed by the first episode but hopefully it improves with time. Also, there have been three tv shows in the last few years by the same exact name. I wonder how they get away with that? =)

Well, that's it for now--hoping for a peaceful day and drama-free children. Happy Thursday!

TuesdayWords

*i finally figured out how to pin things on pintrest! YAY! can you say, *new addiction?* =)

*the cute little/affordable/orange ipod shuffle i ordered is here! i WILL be able to run again!

*my least favorite four letter word (and you would understand if your husband was a teacher at my husband's school) C*A*M*P

*the leaves on the tree out front are starting to look crunchy and fall-ish

*1 Samuel 16:7b

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

*yes, this is underlined, bolded and italicized for a reason. 

Legalism is hogwash. 

It makes me ill. 

*we had a lovely playdate with friends today and excellent naps--these days are so sweet--i wish they would last forever!

Goodnight!

It's strange adjusting again to having 2 littles around instead of 3! Amelie acted as our activities director so I find myself adrift a little bit. Today I decided to start finding *projects* we can work on and it was a huge success!

We used beads!

Maeve started out popping them together and making necklaces but had just as much fun sorting and mixing them on a large sheet pan!

Ezra LOVED taking his large bead blocks and placing them in a new container and back and forth and back and forth. This kept him happy and busy for over an hour! So fun!

Isn't it funny that sometimes the simplest ideas have the biggest pay off? =)

Why do the weekends fly by so quickly!?

We had a lovely one, at least! =)

I felt so refreshed after church today--it was a great message and some wonderful hymns/praise choruses that really lifted my spirits.

I'm so thankful for our church!

Today was promotion Sunday and Amelie moved up to the next grade level/Sunday School Class! She was so excited--she's such a big girl!

Some pictures of the kiddos before church 

(Ezra wasn't into it! =)

In other news, usually I take Sundays off from exercise but it was so lovely and cool this afternoon I went out and 1 mile into my 2 mile run my ipod died. 

Again. 

It's been dying and coming back to life for two weeks now and it always quits right when I'm desperate for music to lift my spirits and my feet! Ha!

R.I.P. 2008-2011

I'm no running purist--I can not go further than a mile without my boyfriend Adam Levine and gal pal Adele along. 

It simply can't be done.

Le sigh 

and

C'est Le Vie!  

Happy Sunday night!

My husband and I went to a wedding today-

-the bride and groom were so lovely and young and excited-

-I couldn't help but think back to my wedding and the fact that wedding vows are wasted on the young. 

All the things you pledge and promise sound so romantic but don't really mean a thing until you go through 

the sickness 

and the health 

and the good times 

and the bad times 

and the really bad times 

and the great times. 

I said all of those things but I can remember thinking the entire time, 

"I can't wait until we are just married and away from it all."

And here we are--10 years later, and I finally understand why people would renew their vows--because after a while--you really understand them and you totally mean it.

I'm so thankful for my husband and for God's provision of marriage and that HE put us together.

It's pretty much my favorite thing that's ever happened to me. =)

Mark 10

6“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’^a 7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^b 8and the two will become one flesh.’^c So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

disCOURAGEd

 We had a lovely day with friends (and my favorite kind of peaceful rainy day naptime) but I have a lot on my mind.

Doesn't it seem like upsetting situations always pop up in 2s or 3s or 4s?

All of them beyond my control, all of them discouraging in different ways but none of them beyond the encouragement of Scripture.

The verses I'm thinking about right now:

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 26:3-4

 3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

 

************************************************************

And in unrelated items--pictures of two of my darlings because they always make me smile!

FirstDayFirstGrade

My sweet baby girl went back to school today!!

I can't believe my little darling is a 1st grader! She was nervous about going back--I think it's hard to adjust from the schedule of summer (and always being home with Mommy) to getting back into the swing of things--but at the end of the day she was already very excited about her little friends and the year ahead!

I'm so proud of her--love that Amelie-Girl!

She wanted to pose with her backpack! =)

So grown up! *tear!

The traditional Daddy/Amelie pose:

LOVE =)

Maeve and Ezra beside themselves at seeing Amelie go! Ack! I almost didn't want to go back inside! We recovered nicely though and laid low today.

It'll take us some time to adjust--but we'll get there!
Eventually =)

Boden Love

I love Boden's adult clothes too--they would be perfect if I were

A) employed

B) rich

=) HA!!

All Good Things Must Come To An End

We had so much fun this summer!

I am soooo sad to see it go!

We

swam

played

ran

biked

travelled

beach-ed

the days away!

We enjoyed vacations in NY and Ocean City

and

spent lots of time as a family going for long walks, playing at the park and getting icy drinks from Wawa. =)

There were many wonderful playdates with our friends

and many afternoon naps that Amelie skipped to clean my house. =)

Maeve learned how to use the potty and 

Ezra started saying many more words!

Amelie was a great help and takes care of the littles with me like a second Mama--and even calls herself "Mini-Mama" =)

I love them so much--what a privilege to have children and a luxury to be able to spend so much time with them.

I'm so thankful for God's many blessings!

My Parents were here this weekend!!

Yay!

It is always wonderful to see them and the kids are always in Granny & Pop heaven when they (and their other grandparents!!) are around! =)

We did a lot of projects around the house and my wonderful father installed a new sink faucet for me so I can FINALLY use my dishwasher again!!!!! And my wonderful mother bought the faucet so it was doubly wonderful!!

I LOVE MY DISHWASHER!!

So. Much. Happy. !!!

My kiddos and my parents!:

Our time with them always goes too quickly. 

It makes me sad!

 I never envisioned living so far away from them for such a long time!

14 years and counting =(  

Anyways, I'm thankful for the times we have and for their constant encouragement and love!!

There is nothing more wonderful than having parents that love you extravagantly and treat you and your siblings equally!

It's the last night of summer--Le.Sigh.

Mr. Wonderful heads back to work tomorrow and Amelie heads to 1st grade the day after--time to go emotionally prepare for it all!!

A Handsome Guy Named Ezra

Whatta busy day!

I went on a Fall-Cleaning tear through the house and took down all of the curtains and beat the dust off them outside and then I beat the rugs too--you know, just to show them who's in charge! =)

That took the better part of the morning and then our family took a quick trip to Ikea!

I got some curtains I've had my eye on (and that I sold a ton of stuff on ebay to purchase!!) and then we had a lovely kids-eat-free-family-lunch! 

I heart Ikea--so stinkin' fun!! (Even if the Saturday morning crowd was a bit scary/questionable/weird).

When we got home I started revamping the kitchen! 

I made new shades (using this tutorial here) and I LOVE them!! 

I also recovered my dining chairs (the fabric got sooooooo gross over the last two years since I covered them the first time. Ick.) Lucky for me--all of the fabric that I needed for my projects was 75% off at Joann's!!

This handsome guy kept running into the kitchen and checking on my work--Love him!!!

Here are some pictures from my new kitchen set up! Still a work in progress--but making progress is always a good thing! 

Ikea Curtains!!

 New Shade Down!

 And Up!

 Favorite plates from Granny of the East!

 Blue & White & Yellow = Happy

 More Blue Stuff (It's everywhere!)

That's it for now! My parents are here for a visit so I'm sure we'll be busy these next few days! Yay!

Good night! =)

It's labor day weekend and the end of summer has officially arrived.

SOB

It's so hard to see summer end!! 

I LOVE...

having Amelie home with us 

and

that my husband has 0 extra weekend commitments

and

the warm weather

and

the park dates

and 

the pool days

and

the vacations

and 

pretty much everything.

Although....I would be remiss if I failed to mention the happy fall-ish things I'm looking forward to-- 

cardigan weather
apples & cider & pumpkins oh my!

cool air and crispy leaves

going to the coffee shop with friends

not to mention the fact that this week's Entertainment Weekly got me pretty stoked about the upcoming Fall TV schedule...

So....I guess I'll survive.  =)

MovieReviews

So--I'm livin' it up during my last netflixy month (before I boycott them and their great big new prices...ick!). Anywho--here's what I've watched lately =)

Whip It

Love. Love. Loved. this movie. Seriously--funny & off-beat, starring a lot of cool people (Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Kristin Wig, Juliette Lewis etc)--this roller-derby romp was good fun and I would definitely watch it again. Beware--just a touch of cursing and roller-skating violence. Ha. 

Upstairs/Downstairs

This is a BBC mini-series featuring the lives of the Holland family and their servants. Much more interesting and engaging than I thought it would be--it takes place in England during the rise of Hitler. Not as dramatic as it sounds, but certainly full of drama. Very enjoyable for anyone who likes BBC period-pieces. 

Date Night:

I put off watching this movie--even though I really like Tina Fey, because I figured it would be annoying.

I. Was. Wrong.

It was laugh-out-loud funny and I really enjoyed it! The premise was a bit outlandish (over tired parents go out on the town and get mistaken for some bad guys, get chased by some bad guys and save the day etc) but was funny, well paced, enjoyable and relate-able on the parenting bent. Super silly fun!

Nine:

Now, I really love off-beat musicals. Really. Love them. But this? It wasn't just off-beat it was weird. I knew the story was about a man and his nine muses--I just didn't realize that he was involved with most of them. It was mostly just a really sad story about sad people in between some flashy song and dance routines. The songs weren't memorable, the lead actor wasn't very engaging, the story-line was dumb and even the repertoire of amazingly beautiful actresses couldn't save it. 

Country Strong:

Boring. Bad Singing. Bad Acting. Stupid Ending. Boring.

I think that about sums it up. =)

Lark Rise to Candleford:

I'm not sure if I shared this one before--but I just finished watching all three seasons of this and LOVED it more than anything I've watched in a long time. This is a BBC weekly show (cancelled half way through it's season earlier this year) and I loved the characters, the story, the everything. I wish there were 10 more seasons to watch!! It basically follows the story of a girl named Laura, as she moves from the poor farming community of Lark Rise and goes to work in the post office of Candleford with her Aunt. The characters and writing are so lovable and engaging--absolutely enjoyable!