Pioneer Days

Every year our town hosts its annual Pioneer Day festivities on August long weekend. Some consider our attempts at a parade to be pathetic (a good third of the parade is antique tractors driving by), but I still enjoy it as much as I did as a kid! I'm one of those super nostalgic, family-oriented people...so there's just something about my whole town gathering on one street that makes me feel...happy. :)

We managed to find our friends Ruth, Simeon, Chloe and Ezra in the crowds. Good times are always better when shared with friends!

My mom and dad got back from their vacation the day before and came to hang out. My dad, of course, immediately stole Josh and they went to relax in the shade. (I realized after this picture that I had my camera on the wrong setting. Hence the lightness of the photo.)

The highlights for Ellie were definitely the horses...

...and the princesses!

But when the big trucks began honking their horns, she began to bawl!

Good thing Nana was there to save the day. I find it super amusing that already, Ellie gawks at princesses and cries at trucks, and Josh ignores the princesses entirely, and BEAMS from ear to ear when the trucks blast their horns. We are most definitely raising two different genders. I love it.

Regan and Uncle Nathan had also joined up with us, and left early due to scary trucks.

Mom and Dad pushed Ellie and Josh on the swings while we waited for traffic to clear. The perfect ending to a wonderful morning!

The rest of the weekend was typical for August long -RAINY. But we did get to the mall for a horse-drawn wagon ride and a chance to see the animals at the petting zoo. It felt downright silly taking pictures in our dinky mall, so there aren't many. :)

Ellie and a peacock.

Josh was pretty fascinated with the chicks. He would have ripped all the hair out had we let him.

Ellie and her long-awaited sucker. The one she caught at the parade was all cracked and broken, so we decided to buy her one at the dollar store. Like all candy, she got really excited about it, had a few licks and then was finished. This mom ain't complaining!

Thankful

These last few weeks have been pretty tough in the circumstances department. First I got strep throat. Then I went to the dentist and found out that I needed not one, not two, but FOUR fillings! The first fillings of my life! So I've been getting those done and am definitely becoming a tougher patient on the dentist chair. But one of the fillings is giving me a lot of grief, and there's a chance they'll have to redo it or (please no!) do a root canal!! I live on Tylenol and can only chew on one side. Joshua is heavily teething and prefers to be within one foot of his mother (that's me) at all times. This has caused my tendonitis to flare up. Ellie is very sweet and wonderful but she's also 2. And very energetic. I don't ever feel like I've accomplished much in a day. And those things, though not nearly as bad as they could be, make a person like me feel like a little...self-pity...is in order. But I've been down that road way too many times and it does very little, if any, good at all.

So I've been fighting my blues with thankfulness and prayer and when I look back on these last few weeks, yeah, they've been a battle, but boy, they've also been really good. I know I've had posts like this before, but I'll risk doing it again. Here's some of the things that make my heart overflow with thankfulness:

1. My husband, Rob. By God's grace we're experiencing some sort of revival in our marriage and we are having way too much fun! Yesterday I came home to 5 page love note! How amazing is that!?!
2. Tylenol.
3. Children's Tylenol. :)
4. Ellie's new passion for 'squish' hugs and jumping high in the air, which always make me smile. She has a soft and obedient heart.
5. Good nights.
6. All our debt is almost paid off.
7. Anticipation for what God might have up his sleeve next!
8. God hears my prayers, every one! Folks, He is LISTENING! (This simple fact is so encouraging to me lately.)
9. He enables me to do so much more in a day than I could on my own. I often give him my 'hope' list for the day - three or four things I'm hoping to be able to get done. And He amazes me over and over with his faithfulness!
10. Joshua. Just knowing he exists.
11. Picnics. Loads of them.
12. Great friends. Awesome family!
13. All hard times are accomplishing something. Every time I go through a season such as this, I am learning to trust God more and myself less. Thank you Jesus!

Sibling Lovin'

I will be sure to inform you if and/or when things take a turn for the worse (the whole sharing thing could become an issue once Joshua is mobile), but until those days come I am still sucking the marrow out of my kids' adoration for one another. It warms my heart! Ellie has turned into quite a nurturing little thing, singing Josh into a peaceful calm when he's upset, stroking his hair lovingly during our walks in the double stroller or shopping cart, and continuously scooting up beside him to play or snuggle or read together. Joshua milks it for all it's worth. His gigantic smile is reward enough for anyone to keep pouring on the love!

(They sit like this on their own initiative. It's not my doing.)

Girls Night!

Yesterday was my good friend Allison's 25th birthday. Another friend, Elleah and myself decided to surprise her with a night out. So we showed up at her door crossing our fingers that she'd 1. be in the mood to go out (some days just ain't goin' out sort of days at this stage in the motherhood game!) and 2. that she'd have had time to shower that day so she'd feel...you know...going out-able. And both these things she was! So we headed off to a great little place out of town called Cherry Hill Estate for DESSERT, laughter and of course, self-portraits. :)

Happy Birthday, Allison! Here's to many more fattening dessert nights to come - yeehaw!

A little heaven on earth...

Today I experienced one of those rare moments as a young mom when life is just absolutely peaceful...and the kids weren't even asleep! No, they decided to play together happily on the couch for a loooong time, and I just ate up every moment of it. And then took a picture or two. Because that's just what I do. (p.s. silicone basting brushes make a great baby toy :)

Ellie-isms Part II

The lines from Ellie just keep-a coming!

(beware: potty language ahead. if you're eating, put the food down.)
The other day after having a poop in the potty, Ellie decided to look in and see what she'd done. "WOAH!" She exclaimed, "Looks like BEEF!"
On another occasion, Ellie walked upstairs without her shirt on, looking down at her torso. "Look at my nipples, Mommy!" she says, "They're so cute and bright!"

Yesterday was one of Joshua's worst days ever. I've long since stopped trying to figure out WHAT exactly ails him on days like yesterday, pray for loads of patience, and do lots of cuddling. Well, I must say, my patience was wearing rather thin as he continued to fuss, and then Ellie began to fuss too. So in desperation I said to Ellie, "Ellie, I think you need to pray for me. I think I'm going to lose it!"
Ellie didn't miss a beat. She folded her hands, sang a loud rendition of "Jesus loves me" and then prayed, "Lord Jesus, please bless my mommy. And Doshua. And please give her peace."
AMEN! I couldn't have asked for more myself.

The other morning I told Ellie she could dress herself:

And this is what she came up with!

Everything lately is, "do it myself", which is actually kind of nice...especially because we're having to help Ellie less and less on the potty. This is Ellie's pants put on by herself...inside out. Nice plumbers crack, too.

I absolutely love this age.

Little Monkey

Joshua is also at my favorite age yet! He's in one of those spurts where he seems a little bit different every day, and we are totally loving this little dude we're discovering!Josh loves to sit on the couch in the morning and 'read books' while he waits for his bottle.

Trying out the scooter. As you can see, his cranium is too large for a lot of hats. Large heads kind of run in our family.

Sitting at the table like a big boy is a new favorite.

As is mowing down on baby mum mum crackers! He has a bit of trouble with his fine motor movements, but eventually manages to get some into his mouth.

Yumma! He broke tooth number three last week and seems to be working on four. I often ask God why he created the first year of life to be so painful. So far I haven't gotten an answer! :)

Chilling with Daddy on the patio.

Joshua is definitely more of an observer than Ellie was...he loves to watch the world go by. He still adores huge hugs and wet slobbery kisses, can be ABSOLUTELY miserable some days (like yesterday), and then a complete angel the next (like today). And he's just...my little monkey.

Summersaults

Ellie seems to have a little gymnast inside just itching to get out. She is often discovered in the following position:Wrong way!

That's better.

And she's over!

"I did a fwip, Mommy!"

A Wedding Day

Saturday was a pretty sweet day for Rob and myself. Not only did we get to witness our long-time friend, Phil, get married to the woman of his dreams (Jhoanna), but we got to spend the whole day together - alone!! My mom and dad watched Ellie and Josh while Rob and I trekked off to the city for our day long 'date'. An additional bonus was getting to spend time with our good friends Andrew and Ruth and their kids who were also a part of the wedding party.

Simeon and Chloe, the two friends that Ellie always includes in our 'Little Girl Ellie' bed-time adventure stories, made one CUTE bible-bearer and flower girl couple!

This is their little brother, Ezra, on his Grandpa's shoulder, flirting with the old ladies in the row behind him.

The bride and groom with all the little ones. (Phil is in the Navy, by the way.)

After the ceremony I attempted to take some family photos of the Micklefields...

...and then kidnapped Chloe for a ride to McDonalds. It's funny how fast you end up missing your kids when they're gone!The McHappy toy was probably one of the most memorable moments of the day for Simeon. :)

Eat up, Chloe!

After bumming around the mall for a couple hours, we went to the reception where Rob and I were happy to find out we were seated beside our other long-time friend Tyler and his girlfriend Doris, who I just really like.

We were pretty tired by this time...not used to having so much time to ourselves!

Doris and I had way too much fun sharing our dessert. I skipped the graphic photos. :)

Here's Rob and I before we headed home, taking a moment to contemplate the graveness of our own wedding vows.

And then the moment passed.

Rob is doing that to my hair.
Which I cut, by the way, because Joshua kept yanking out fistfuls.
It was time for a change, anyways.