Monday, Monday!

Well we had another wonderful weekend! It was the weekend before Rich's birthday. So, we did some celebrating. He has wanted a aquarium with angelfish for a long time. He has had them in the past before we met and really loved them. The fish get about 6 inches in size and have the most beautiful flowing fins. So, I gave him an aquarium to open and then we made a trip down to PetSmart to fill it up. We got the plants, rocks and water put in first to get it ready for the fish. I went down this morning and bought 2 angelfish and one catfish. They are all fresh water tropicals, so we have a heater for the water too. On Sunday, I gave him a T-shirt that I made that said, "The Best Daddy in the World" and a small picture of Mary on the pocket. I made Mary a shirt that said, "I love my Daddy!" They wore them to church that morning. Mary is doing so good in class. Even though she has been using the potty for several months now we have always put her in pull-ups when we went out. This was the first Sunday she was is regular underwear and she did great. The teacher said she asked twice to use the potty! Yay! We have taken her to town several times with no accidents and Rich's folks took us out to Outback on Sunday and she used the bathroom there! My little girl is just growing up so fast. It has been a long road on the potty training but I see the end of the tunnel on it and she has 2 more months before she is 3. I just thank the Lord for all his love and insight when I pray on how to train Mary. The Lord is so good! Here are a few pics of the t-shirts and fish. Oh, Mary named the 2 angel fish. One is Bolo and the other is Goodie. I have no idea what was the inspiration but that is what she picked. I named the catfish, Spot, because it is a peppered catfish with black spots! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Goodie and Bolo

Spot

I love my Daddy!

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Braids

I was able to braid Mary's hair yesterday! Her hair is finally long enough and she is old enough to hold still while I do it quickly! lol My little girl is growing up.

Sunday Afternoon

We had a lot of fun last weekend when we had our family pictures taken by a young and talented photographer. She has had her business for about a year now and I'm sure she would love for you to take a look at her website. It is rachaelelizabethphotography.com Here is a slide show of the shots she took.

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Warm and Fuzzy

Isn't this just the most warm and fuzzy picture! My husband gave me a card with this picture on it for a "just because" the other day. He said it reminded him of us! Oh, he is so sweet! It is a painting by a man named Charles Wysocki. It just makes me think of cool fall evenings all snuggled up by the fire. That sounds so inviting as we are have triple digit weather again. I can't wait for the fall. We have such lovely fall weather here!

Have a wonderful day dear friends!

Fun Times

We had a fun weekend. A little girl in Mary's Sunday School class had a birthday party in the park on Saturday. We had so much fun. The kids played on the slides and swings, had party games, cake and then played in the water feature to cool off. With all the sun and fun Mary went to sleep early for her nap and slept like a rock for several hours. It was such a fun time for the kids and the parents. We got to know some people at our church a little bit better. We were able to share our story how Rich and I met and how God blessed us with Mary. It is always so wonderful to make connections with people and feel a little bit closer to them. We also had an adventure on Sunday. In the afternoon, after Mary's nap we met a photographer in the little gold rush town near us and had some family pictures taken. We did a cowboy theme. Mary wore a pair of red cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat and Rich wore his cowboy hat. I didn't have a hat but I wore a red shirt and denim vest. The young gal, Rachael, is just starting out in her business and gave us a great deal for 2 hours of outdoor photos in different locations. It will be fun to see how they turned out in a few weeks. Mary really liked being outside and was so good at having so many pictures taken! Here is a short slide show that I put together of the birthday party on Saturday.

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Friends are Friends Forever, If the Lord is the Lord of Them!

I had such a lovely surprise yesterday morning. I was on the computer in the morning and I received an e-mail from a friend that I have kept in contact with on facebook. She was going to be meeting another friend for breakfast and invited Mary and I to come too. I called her and found out where they were going. I was still in my pjs and Mary was just finishing up her cereal. I quickly got Mary and I ready and headed out the door. I met them at this lovely little outdoor cafe in a small historic town not far from where I live. I have not sat down and visited with these ladies for 20 years. One lives in Arizona and is only here for a few months in the summer. We had the best time. Mary warmed right up to them and sat on their laps and gave them lots of hugs. After breakfast we went to a near by park where Mary could play. She just had a blast! We had such a great visit. It was so fun to tell them things that the Lord had done in my life and they had wonderful stories to tell too. It is such a blessing to have friends in the Lord and ones you can be friends no matter how much time has passed!

Bev, Peggy and Mary

Bev, Mary and I

I look like my daddy!

"Uh, Oh!"

“Uh, Oh” were the words spoken by 2 year old daughter that ushered in a very unusual set of circumstances the other morning. I was with her out in our garden. She was standing next to our cherry tomato plant surveying the branches to find the bright red ones to pluck and pop in her mouth. I was standing next to her picking a few blackberries that were hanging over our fence from the neighbors next door. Between tomatoes, I was giving her a few ripe juicy berries. A branch of the tomato plant brushed up against her and poked her head. She said, “Uh, Oh”. At first I thought she was talking about the branch touching her head and then I quickly realized that she might need to go to the bathroom, because those were her code words to me that she needed to use the potty. I said, “O.K. Baby let’s go!” I took her hand and we hurried into the house. She gave me a puzzled look and hopped up on the potty. She tinkled a little bit and then got down and I washed her hands. As soon as I dried them off she clamped her hand on her left ear. I didn’t think much of it. I went out to the kitchen and did up the breakfast dishes. As I went into the living room I noticed she was watching T.V. and still had her hand clamped on her ear. I pulled her hand away and her ear was all red. I had her lay down and I looked in her ear. She got very upset and as quick as she could clamped her hand back on her ear. I thought, “Oh my goodness, she must have an ear infection.” She has not had one before, but I was just getting over a cold and I thought she might of caught something from me. So I called the doctor’s office and asked them what they thought. They said it sounded like it could be and I could bring her in at 1:30 pm. I took the appointment. We had to wait several hours and the whole time she would not let go of her ear. I asked her if her ear hurt and she gave me a funny look. She has told me that her knee hurt or her elbow hurt before so I figured she knew what I meant. Finally 1:00 rolled around and I headed out the door to the doctor’s office. The nurse saw her first and said that it looked like she had an ear infection because of the way she was holding her ear. In a few minutes the doctor came in. He was really nice. He looked in her good ear first and then exclaimed, “Oh I think I saw Cinderella in that ear!” She laughed. “Now let me see who I see in your other ear.” I thought that was really clever as she let loose of her ear and very hesitantly let him look in it. He said, “Oh, I see the problem...” looking up he said, “She has a bug in her ear.” I was so caught off guard and I said, “Really!” “Yeah,” he said, “It has been crawling around and around in there and has been driving her crazy.” I felt so bad! My poor baby girl! The nurse and I had to hold her down and the doctor flushed it out with some water. It was a tiny little black ant! Evidently it was on the tomato plant and had crawled in her ear when the branch had brushed up against her this morning. She let out a few yelps, when he was washing out her ear. She had not had that done before and it felt really weird. She had had enough weird sensations for the day! But thank goodness the bug was out and she was free of that. The nurses were so nice. They gave her a Wonder Pets sticker and a beautiful little stuffed dog with a pink heart in her mouth. She named him Biscuit! Now every time she is outside and she walks by that tomato plant she clamps her hand over her left ear! No bug is going to get in there again!

Her dog, Biscuit.

My Folk's Anniversary

Today marks what would of been my parents 59th Wedding Anniversary. I put this slide show together in honor of them. My mom passed away in 1988 due to liver failure. We all miss her very much. She was a wonderful mother and her and Dad were so happy all the years that the Lord gave them.

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Time

Time is passing through my fingers very quickly. I took this picture of Mary yesterday and it seems like I have just blinked and now she is almost 3 years old. Today marks the 4th year we moved here to Oregon from Southern California and came to live in my home town. After I put Mary down for her nap, I sat outside for a little while and contemplated the major milestones in my life. I realized we are coming to an end of a decade and I began to think of the decades in my life. In the 80's I graduated from college, my mom died and I moved to Southern California. Another huge decade in my life was this one, I met my husband, we both married for the first time, we moved here and I gave birth to my baby girl, our fist and only child. This has been the most impacting decade of my life and one of the happiest! I just sat there and wondered what this next decade will bring.... schooling for Mary, the start of our lamp business and I know things will happen that I have not dreamed of yet! God is so good and such a wonderful Father. I am so thankful how he has taken care of me and I look forward to what he has for me in the future!

" He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so man will not find out the work which God had done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime." Ecclesiastes 3: 11 & 12