All wet

Hooooo, boy. Our son.

He decided to try this the other night while I was brushing my teeth. We were about to give him a bath, anyway, so I just let him have at it, figuring he'd hate it. Ah, no. He looooved it.



He thought it was GREAT getting wet.



And he got absolutely soaked. Then he was cold and cried. Then we put him into a warm bath. All in a day's fun.



In unrelated Andrew news, it rained here the other day (we live in the desert, remember? It's a rarity) and he looked outside and said, "Look, Mommy, it's raining!" and he started singing the song "It's raining, it pouring, the old man is snoring..." WHAT!?! I never taught him that! I said, "Good job, Buddy! Where did you hear that song??" and he referenced a Little Bear episode. Something like, "Little Bear, he went to the lake," or whatever. He learned that song from the show and saw the rain and remembered it!! Amazing.

Then today, I stayed home from church and when he returned, I asked him, "Well, how was church? Did you see Micah?" "No, Micah is not here." Oh. "Well, did you see Ella?" "No, Mommy, Ella is not here." Hmm. "Did you see Evan?" "Yeah, Mommy, Evan. And we had pretzels." This was the first time he reported on something he'd experienced, y'know? I was blown away.

In other news, I just got a new craft table and have been working like a crazy woman to get my supplies relocated and reorganized. I am exhausted. I posted about it

HERE

Beyond that, we're thoroughly enjoying our weekend!! Friday night, Mom came over and we had a blast just laying low, crafting and relaxing. She made some super-cute cards, too! I was so proud! This one even matched her shirt. Weeeeird.



And there's a small chance I could be pregnant. Time will tell, of course, but we ought to know this week. Pray for us regardless, for health and patience with either outcome!

Hope you enjoy your long weekend, too!

Worldess Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

cardboard testimonies

Need a pick-me-up and a reminder of God's grace and goodness? Grab a tissue and enjoy.

In my shoes

How cute is he?? Doesn't it look like he's posing??



Other recent sayings:

Looking at his diaper, "What's going on here??"

Not seeing the receptionist at her desk at "work" when we entered, he asked, "Where's Good Morning?" Because we greet her with "Good morning" every day, he thought that was her name!!

When he's hugging me, he says, "Mommy, I miss you." I think he means "I love you." I'll take it!

Sleepy head

This was him while I cleaned up our master bedroom closet today. Check out
that post

on my public blog.

Thank the Lord for naps--otherwise, I don't think I'd ever get anything done!! Well, unless you count putting train tracks together, playing Mr. Potato Head, coloring, watching Noggin...

Happy Anniversary

...to US!!!

Yes, Drew and I are celebrating 6 years of marriage today!!
If you didn't know, here's the short version:
I met Sarah (his sister who now lives with us, and has for five years) in college back in January of 2001. We hit it off and both became RAs that fall. As we got to know each other better, she said, "I think you and my brother would get along." I liked her and their family a lot so I remember thinking, "Even if he's not perfect, it'd be worth it to get into this family."

So, I accompanied her to Thanksgiving at their aunt and uncle's house in Globe, AZ. First impressions? He thought I was younger than I was and I thought he was OK. My "type" was taller, with dark hair. Heehee. We figured it'd be a weekend gig and that would be that.

We did enjoy our weekend together but upon returning home, began IM-ing and e-mailing, then talking on the phone every day. We became a couple the next time we saw each other, which was mid-December. We were engaged Fed. 23, exactly three months after meeting.

We were long-distance until he moved to Phoenix in June. Then we got married in August and lived together in an apartment while I finished school and did my student teaching.

In August of '03, we found our new home and moved there. Sarah joined us in October.

Six years has flown by!! Now we have Andrew, of course, which has added tremendously to our joy. We've seen a lot of job changes, financial ups and downs, church-related drama and family growth (I now have three nephews and a niece!). We have taken bazillions of pictures and made hundreds of amazing memories.

Drew still surprises me. Thinking about him still makes me tingle. Our life together is amazing and I feel so incredibly blessed.

Here we are on our wedding day...



...and on date night in May.



Ten things I love about my hubby (I'm limiting myself here--the list could go on):
1. He gives me the freedom to be myself--the best and the worst.
2. He's the perfect mix of intelligence, wit and sensitivity.
3. He still surprises me. He sneaks up on me, yes, but he also surprises me with his insight and caring.
4. He's an excellent father, far beyond my expectations.
5. He treats everyone with kindness.
6. He thinks I'm beautiful. Like, even first thing in the morning. And no matter my weight. And even when I'm hugely pregnant! Amazing.
7. He's snuggly.
8. He loves the Lord.
9. He's so handsome and manly :)
10. He's perfect for me (and, frankly, I'm perfect for him, too).

I love you, Drew!!!

(For more "Ode to Drew," check out the Father's Day post.
http://findingmyselfingraceville.blogspot.com/2008/06/happy-fathers-day.html

Evolution of a Blog

It's my one year anniversary with Blogger!!

July marked a year since I set up my Blogger account.
My profile has been viewed 1,450 times!! I find that amazing. My mom'll ask, "Who are all those people??" Who knows??

I started very simply with a blog called "Finding Myself in Graceville." Graceville is a little town in the Florida panhandle where I spent the four best years of my childhood, living on a farm while my dad attended seminary. When I named it, the title was more about trying to live a life that fully embraces God's grace.

Once I started blogging, I started visiting blogs and found that there's this whole blogging community out there!! I found Etsy at about the same time and also stumbled onto amazing blogs about home caring, decorating, thrift-store shopping, cooking, etc. I decided I didn't want my main blog to be about motherhood, plus I was a little uncomfortable having private family details and photos so...public. So! I made my "Finding Myself..." blog private and renamed it "This Day," from the Goethe quote, "Nothing is worth more than this day."

Then I created a brand new blog called "Roots & Wings" with the proudgrits address. Some of you may not know that GRITS stands for "Girl Raised In the South." Yes, it's an actual club! :)

I love the idea of roots and wings. I truly do have my roots in the South but it wasn't until I moved away to Arizona that I began to truly find myself, and find the courage to fly. I also found a graphic designer to design my blog header and I adore it.

After the first two were up and running, starting more was cake!

Now I have seven blogs:

1. "Roots & Wings" which is public and mostly about crafting, shopping and home caring. I love "meeting" fellow crafters and thrift-store shoppers and have learned a lot from their blogs! My hit counter is creeping up toward 1,000!!

Roots & Wings

2. "This Day" which is the only private one and is almost exclusively about my family. That's where I post family updates and pictures. I don't get many comments there so I never quite know who is still checking in.

3. "My Story, His Glory" is meant to chronicle my spiritual journey with the Lord. I wish I could write more there.

My Story, His Glory

4. "Polka Dot Tots" is for the moms' group I coordinate for our church. I mostly post event details and updates.

Polka Dot Tots

5. E.t.c. is for my "Encouragement Through Cards" ministry, where I give people an unsigned card to brighten their day and ask them to pass it on to someone else. I need to post about that soon to let you all know what I'm doing!! I'll get to it eventually!

E.t.c.

6. "Serendipity Tea Room" is where I write about tea. My tea parties, tea rooms, etc. It doesn't see much action but when I do go somewhere or buy something tea-related, that's where it goes!!

Serendipity Tea Room

7. "Leap of Faith" is about trying to have a second baby. It's really my electronic journal, and I haven't told anyone the address but I hope someday when I meet women who are going through similar circumstances, I can share it with them so they know someone else has been there.

PHEW!! Yeah, it's a lot but, hey, I love to write and it's kind of nice to compartmentalize my life a little, when it so often feels like everything just runs together! It's a fun hobby and I really have "met" some lovely and talented women in the blog world, plus I've been able to keep up with many of my old friends as well!

Happy anniversary to ME!

For the love

...of trains!! He often does this: lines them up next to each other and just gazes at them adoringly. Sometimes he gives them a pep-talk, too.



Here he is, singing the intro. song to "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!" yesterday.



And being "tick-ooed."

Pool fun

Hi!! TGIF!
Here's some pictures a couple weeks old of us in Mom and Dad's pool. Mom got a new float and Andrew got so relaxed, he almost dozed off!! He is so precious.
Hope your week ends well and that you have a fun and relaxing weekend ahead!!