New set of wheels

J takes after his father in that they are always "salvaging" things from various places i.e. the treelawn, the junkyard, warehouses, tag sales, etc. They'll see something and think "a-ha!" and it will end up in the trunk and then either down in the basement or in the garage. Most of the stuff they pick up, I find of ZERO value...and then I'm proved wrong. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I should know not to doubt J!

About a year ago, he came across this old boys bike. It had a link missing in the chain and needed some love, but other than that, was in great shape. Without a second thought, he picked it up for the Noodle for a later date. Fast-forward to this weekend. He decided to do a little DIY on the bike. A "pimp-my-ride" if you like. Unfortunately, he didn't take any before pictures. While we still need to "girl-afy" it a bit more, it looks 100% better than it did.

The Noodle's comment, over and over again was that "It is hard to wait". As in: hard to wait for the paint to dry, hard to wait for the bike to go together, hard to wait...to ride it!! She was right there, handing him wrenches, the screwdriver, dropping washers onto the patio (oops!) and just in general, being his #1 assistant.


Many priceless memories were made this weekend. For all 3 of us.

Use the force, young Jedi knight.



Take a quick break to jump in a puddle, because "It is hard to wait" ya know.

Look up at Daddy, with huge, puppy-dog eyes in hopes that things will speed up, because "It is hard to wait."

Tighten the pedals up.

Get the gear together for the first maiden voyage.

The last, few finishing touches.

And...away she goes!!!!!!!!

Mr. Fix-it and his sidekick.

Date night to celebrate the big 1-0

So happy together!!

10 years ago, today J and I tied the knot. I CANNOT believe how fast the time has flown by or how great the past 10 years have been. We certainly have had our ups and downs, but thankfully we've only grown stronger from them, without a doubt due, to our faith and wonderful family support. I could have never imagined that a blind date would blossom into marriage (that's a whole 'nother post in and of itself!). I guess that's why I'm not in control--God is!

Thanks for the wonderful memories and for many, many more to come!!

Wordless Wednesday

"Happy"

While the Noodle can certainly be silly, loud, goofy, boisterous, talkative and (at times) down-right obnoxious, her more "natural" state is a bit more sedate and quiet. New situations and people that she's not that familiar with cause her to withdraw a bit and observe her surroundings. She can be very serious and will look at you with those deep, dark, brown eyes and you just wonder what is going on in that little mind.



Often, when we are driving, she'll be talking away (either to me or just to herself) or will be nodding her head to the music playing. Other times, though, she'll just be sitting there quietly, looking out the window and taking it all in. It is during these quiet times, that she'll often comment "I'm happy" from out of the blue. The conversation usually goes something like this...Me: "How are you doing back there? Everything okay?" C.N.:"I'm fine, I'm just quiet..." (a few minutes pass by and then) C.N.: "I'm happy." in which my heart bursts and I reply: "Me too!!".



It is then that I'm reminded, once again, how the Lord indeed answered our prayer above and beyond what we could have ever imagined, by blessing us with the perfect child for us, at the perfect time. I'm happy too, Chinese Noodle, I'm happy too.

Breakfast with Bear

This morning in preschool, it was breakfast with bear day. The kiddos got to bring in their favorite bear and then ate breakfast at nursery school. The Noodle was quite excited about it. When J got her up this morning, she asked him if I was going to go to school to be part of the fun. Then, when I got home from the gym, she asked me the same question. Quite honestly I hadn't planned on it (I didn't think the teachers were expecting the parents to come in), but since she specifically requested more than once, I asked if it would be o.k. when I dropped her off. When I arrived, she didn't see me and then when she finally looked my way, it took a few seconds for it to register that I had come in. And then a huge smile broke over her face...priceless!

Quiet round these parts

It has been pretty quiet round these parts the last few days. Just normal, every day life. Following the routine and all that. Not that I mind in the least. It is all too easy to take "typical" days for granted...until something happens that makes you yearn for the time when your life followed a common rhythm. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Don't be fooled into thinking that routine is boring. Be thankful.





**Do you think her jacket is a tad to small?!