9 years ago....

9 years ago, on a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, I said "I do" to my best friend. Throughout the years, as I was praying for the Lord to send the perfect mate to me, I had no idea he had J in mind. What started out as a blind date turned into exactly what I could ever hope for in a marriage. Paul's letter to the Corinthians certainly serves as a wonderful model regarding what it should look like: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."--1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I pray that everyday, I can demonstrate this type of love a little more strongly to J. Happy Anniversary--I love you always!!

Swimming lessons

Tonight was the first night of swimming lessons. Since the Chinese Noodle is in the "shrimps" class, parents are expected to jump in and join the fun. Both of us were able to go and had a lot of fun spashing in the water with her. The temperature was exactly as I remebered it growing up...freezing (and this was in the pool in the high school and so you'd expect it to be a little warmer!). Even at the end of the session, with blue lips, chattering teeth and body shaking shivers, she was still requesting "more?". I think someone will sleep well tonight :)

A "green" project

There's more to this rain barrel than meets the eye.

Funny Friday

Don't worry...it is only water.

Upon waking this morning, the Chinese Noodle requested "bow" and her "coffee" cup. Ahhh...music to these two parents ears (ha ha!!).

Earth Day or April Showers...

Happy Earth Day. Fitting that today we're suppose to have rain, snow (possibility) and perhaps a slim, weak ray of sun thrown in for good measure. Nothin' to do but put on your boots, grab your trusty umbrella and go stomp through the puddles. After all, April showers bring May flowers!




On a different note, I just wanted to wish the following ladies a very happy birthday!

Down the garden path

BANG BANG BANG...hammering is fun!
I'm ready to "measure twice, cut once".
My fun new sandbox.
The day is young, the sun is warm...and there are a ton of bricks to move.A proud accomplishment.

I don't know whether you are like us, but we always have a permenent "honey-do" list going. Since J is so handy, part of the fun for us is coming up with new ways to "take things to the next level" as he often quips. Two of the items on the list were tackled this weekend. First, we had wanted to make a sandbox for the Chinese Noodle. Nothing like a project to bring out all of the fun tools and equipment. The Noodle was right there, involved, helping to measure, hammer and hand Daddy screws. What was I doing while this was going on you ask? Digging up our garden path and hauling bricks (item number two on the list--replace the garden walk). Ugh. Literally back-breaking work. Oh well. By the end of the day we had a new sandbox, a nicely stacked pile of old bricks, and a mountain of soil that needed to be spread (it had been dropped off mid-day).

Parts of our garden are low and so we have trouble with flooding. We also wanted to put in a new flower bed (item number three), since new neighbors moved in last fall, have a dog and built a fence. It just seemed much easier to have a truck load of soil brought and remedy a few of the problems at once. Stay tuned for updates on the completed path and flower bed. Cold, rain and tired bodies prevented us from doing more today, although we did get half of the walk put in before running out of bricks.

Visit to the Farmpark

I'd much rather look at the chicks in the cage, than touch the hen.
Hmmmmm, this farm certainly has a strong odor, doesn't it?!


On Friday, the Chinese Noodle, Grandma and I went to visit a Farmpark that is about 45 minutes away. Since we're always reading about farms and farm animals, I thought the C.N. would love it. She did. We saw all kinds of animals and she petted a couple of pigs, a rabbit, sheep and lambs. When the time came for her to pet the hen, she wanted no part of it (don't blame her really--they can be a bit crazy!). The real highlight of the trip, however, was the opportunity to wear her boots. What a character, prancing all around the farm in her bright boots.

Thankful Thursday

"A bird! A bird!" ***Note: Please do NOT look at the dirty windows :(
Those birds are such a hoot!
Wheeeee! I love the slide!
Mama would much rather me climb here, than on the dining room table, which she caught me doing the other day.
Friends!!
Today I'm thankful that we were able to have a nice, slow-movin' morning where we didn't have to go and do. The Chinese Noodle wanted to sit and watch the birds and squirrels out the window and I was happy to sit and watch her. We did this for about 20 minutes and every time she saw any type of animal movement, she'd get so excited, point and laugh. After we got back from the grocery store, we had an impromptu picnic lunch at a local playground with a best friend from high school and her 2 kiddos. Welcome Spring!

My fabulous husband (I'm soo proud!)

I just had to shout out the good news that J took his LEED test today to become a LEED accredited professional and HE PASSED!!! He has been studying since November--waking up early, early, early (like 4:30 early) and pounding the information whenever he had extra time--those with small children know this is at a premium! Out of 200 possible points, he got 192 correct!! I'm just so proud of him. This has been a personal and professional goal for him and he achieved it. Now, if anyone wants a green building designed, J's got the credentials showing that he has the expertise and qualifications to do it. Way to go Love!!!!!!!!!

Easter Re-cap

We've had a busy weekend visiting with family. Saturday, we went out to Grandma and Grandpa's. Uncle E and Aunt C were there with their brood of five boys, so there was lots and lots of activity. The Chinese Noodle loved every minute of it :) On Easter morning the Noodle was delighted to find that the Easter Bunny had hopped by and left her with a basket full of fun goodies. This was in addition to the wagon and sand toys Grandma and Grandpa got her. After church, Lollie, Papa, Grandma and Grandpa came back to our house for brunch (ham, egg and broccoli casserole, asparagus, Kugelhoff coffeecake, fruit salad, trifle, mimosas and coffee). We staggered outside for the Easter egg hunt and instantly felt refreshed (?) by the nippy breeze--thank goodness the sun was so bright and shiny! Lollie and Papa had gotten the Noodle some fun rain boots (she is currently infatuated with boots and gets sooo excited whenever she sees any in books or when we're out and about) and some gardening tools, so she is truly ready for Spring. Now if only the temperature would warm up a bit.

Happy Easter!!!

Hallelujah!! The Lord has risen. He has risen indeed. God keeps his promises!!!

***More highlights from the Easter weekend to come

Good Friday

"Father, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take away this cup from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." --Mark 14:36

Such a simple thing to pray, and yet so deep and full of meaning. This prayer is obviously the true act of bending to the Lord's will, even when it goes against your own personal wishes and plans. I am humbled and so very thankful that Jesus was willing to forgo his own desires so that God's plan could be fulfilled.

Blessings to you all as we enter into this holy weekend.

Dresses, dresses, dresses

Just try and catch me to take my picture Mama!
I'll pose if Daddy poses with me.
I told her to "smile big for Auntie C".
I'm just about done with this.
The completed "front" side of the C.N.'s Bai Jai Bei quilt
The completed "back" side of the quilt.
As you know, I have been working on improving my sewing skills. I took a few classes in high school, but hadn't done anything until last year. My first big undertaking was the Chinese Noodle's Bai Jai Bei (100 good wishes) quilt. As I've also said in earlier posts, I love classic children's clothes, but am not so fond of the prices, hence my motivation to improve my sewing! Here are a few of the dresses that have been completed. The first 2 are made out of cotton and the other 2 out of corduroy. Of course hairbows had to be made to match :) I'd have posted sooner, since they've been done for a while, but you know how fickle and temperamental two-year old models can be. Next up will be some adorable pinny-syle tops for summer, that I saw here. I've already got one finished for the 4th of July.

Can she fix it? Yes she can!

Ohhh, so that's how it works.
It takes a steady hand to use a screwdriver.
Surveying the fixed seat.
Our toilet seat needed to be tightened up, so after our walk this afternoon, J went down to the basement to get a screwdriver. Hot on his heels was the Chinese Noodle, wielding her own tool belt. She wanted to make sure she was able to help fix it with Daddy.

Dying Easter Eggs

Will it be pastel pink or shocking pink?
The hard part is choosing the next color.
Thanks Papa for the help.
Our church sponsored an Egg Dying party this morning. It was BYOE (Bring Your Own Eggs)--the church supplied everything else. J and Papa were already up there for a "Spring Cleaning", so they stayed after they were finished and dyed eggs with the Chinese Noodle, Lollie and myself. With the sun shining through the sparkly clean windows, the bright blue sky outside and the vibrant hues of the eggs, it certainly made for a cheery morning.

The Limp Noodle

Well we knew it would be just a matter of time before it happened, but are you ever really ready? I was talking to one of my best friends from high school yesterday, when she and her daughter were over for a playdate, about how fortunate we've been that the Chinese Noodle has been so healthy. I mean a runny nose here and there, but nothing beyond that. Of course as I'm talking, the poor Noodle's eyes are watering, her nose is running and she is feeling warmer and warmer. By the end of the playdate, all 4 of us had gone upstairs to get the thermometer (break it out of its brand-new packaging) and attempted to take the Chinese Noodle's temperature (she was SOOO not into that). Sure enough she had a full blown fever, poor limp Noodle.

The rest of the day was spent taking it easy in Mama's arms and attempting to get fluids into her. Thankfully the fever seemed to ease up around midnight and while she woke up quite frequently, she quickly went back to sleep. After she went down last night, I ran out to the library/drugstore to pick up some Elmo DVDs and some more Motrin. We spent the morning hangin' on the sofa with the little red guy and by lunch she seemed to be back to normal. I had harbored secret thoughts of getting some cleaning done while she vegged, but she was adamant about wanting me right there with her. Hopefully when she wakes from her nap, she'll still be feeling o.k. We've got a busy day planned tomorrow!!

Happy weekend :)


Hmmmmm, maybe this being sick thing isn't so bad. At least I get to watch TV and DVDs.
Feeling much better