sometimes at church...

sometimes at church when things get a little long or slightly blurry I find myself in the oddest of places...
i think about what i would do if i were stuck clinging to the long dangly light fixture or the steeple maybe... then I think it would probably be ok if i had some mad indiana jones skills or maybe those peewee herman suction shoes.

then i find myself thinking about my little family and how wonderful they are and what a lucky girl i am. and i wonder about what kind of women my girls will come to be.

and sometimes i think of all the tiny things that are amazing that we overlook all the time.... like how an orange is made up of a bazillion itsy bitsy little juice pockets that hold such lovely nectar inside. and i wonder if i could ever guess just how many there are in one orange...

inevitably i reach the conclusion that 'really seriuos chistians' never find themselves in these wierd mental spaces and am pretty sure that this kind of pondering is supposed to end somewhere around 12.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Eggies

Who knew how fun hunting down plastic eggs could be??? Here are a few charming little shots of Lavender and her best bu, Matthew. I know, I know... it is kinda late for Easter pics, but hey, late is how I roll these days... eh eh






It was so incredibly fun to watch these tiny ones running around with baskets that were just as big as their little bodies! So funny and cute too.









These two were hilarious... Matthew was just tring to find as many eggies as possible while Lavender was waaay more interested in shaking the eggs. Come to find out... Matthew only had eyes for eggs filled with little cookies, while Lavender was in hot pursuit of ones with change klinking around inside.

Anyways... this was such a fun day and it was all possible because of our sweet friends... thanks T crew.... you made our Easter so lovely!!!

Check out this big girl!!!

Yep, that's right this big 2 year old is a fully potty trained kiddo!!! I know, I know... posting about potty training - soo not the funest thing in the world, but hey, this is my world and let me tell ya, saving 20 bucks a week on diapers was well worth the 5 intensive days of potty potty potty time.

Lavender is pretty proud of herself, rightly so... so if ya see her be sure to tell her how proud you are too!!

hope all is well out in blogger land... it will be nice to start adventuring out like we normally do now that we have gotten associated with "public potties"

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

Miss Autumn has officially learned to roll over!

Yes, it's true... this tiny girl can go from laying on her back to face down on the bed... who woulda thought it! I must say it is rather funny to watch. She is so intent on going somewhere and then that somewhere ends up being face down in the blankets... eh eh... I somehow don't think the destination is quite what she thought it would be.

I love this pic... such sweetness. What beauties!

3 Little Pirates

Today Mimi was good enough to bring my sweet niece and nephew over to play with the girls... such a treat for us since we have been absorbed in the land of potty training since Saturday.

We all (and I do mean ALL of us) played many rounds of piratey adventures... hiding a special "treasure chest" (a pier one catch all sitting on my bookshelf) and searching the "high seas" (our neighbors yards out my window) for any islands or traitors. And of course, we simply had to "make the scurvy pirate walk the plank!"

so much fun to be had with some simple napkins tape and brown paper! Remember when that is all it really took to have fun??!!


Oh, and these are their best "AAARGGGH faces"......eh eh eh

A faceplant & a Revelation

Yesterday at the Nature Center Lavender was running and KAsPLAT! did a faceplant right in the middle of the path. She's ok, but ended up with one of the worst busted lips I have seen in awhile... Poor kiddo.
At the time, I seemed to manage to stop the bleeding and handle it ok, thanks to my good friend Erin (you're a life saver, by the way!)... but hours later... after all the cold packs and ice, my Sweet husband returned home from work.... thank goodness. I was so relieved just to have him there - such a constant support and encouragement.
The poor guy was rewarded with his wife turning into a weepy mess over dinner... geez... Every time I looked at little Laufher's fat lip I just felt so bad, so guilty... like I should have been able to catch her or should have watched her more closely. I'm sure all you moms out there know what this is like, right...

Anyway, I just have become so aware of how precious and fragile these little people are and how many times they fly around and could probably knock themselves into a blivion. I am amazed at how much you can love someone and feel so strongly the tremendous weight of being entrusted with such a special job of caring for them.

All this to say, I have been overwhelmed by the force of love in our little family and find myself wondering about the awesome ways in which God loves each of us.

So thankful for every person in this little family and for a heavenly father who has limitless grace.

Phase #????

I couldn't begin to guess just what phase this piece is in now... there have been soo many layers. smile

I am pretty pleased with the progress so far, but seem to have forgotten how labor and time intensive designing and cutting out all those tiny little bird wings and things are. But, if you know me, you know how often I fall prey to "rosy colored remembering"!!! I guess that's an ok problem to have, right.... i hope.

I will post the final product very soon... i gotsta.... deadlines, dealines... erh!!! so fun though. nice to be working hard again.

phase 1

while rockin' out to The Blow and CSS I got the first phase of a new work completed. I love my stripey sunrise if I do say so...
I was so pleased to have decently recreated the look of my watercolor horizon with paper and wax.

i proclaim to the world.... I looove beeswax!

The Purplepie Baby

I was just finishing up that last post and turned around to find this!


Looks a bit like the Purple Pie Man, right???!!

HA!!!!!

Chef Laughfer

Yes, yes...Chef Laughfer is in the houssse! Here is the girl sporting her brand spankin new apron (thanks, Lulu!!) cooking up a special treat! I think the end product was flour, nutmeg and cinnamon mixed up nice!!!

Just thought it was too cute NOT to post!

laughfer said...

last night i was reading some nursery rhymes to Lavender and she pointed to this funny little man and said "dadda here!"

Steve

This is my favorite picture of my Uncle Steve. It was taken at my wedding. I didn't know then that that would be the last time I would see him... in this world anyway.

Steve past away today at 5:35. He was a remarkable man of God who showed me so much of what a Husband and Father should be. There are so many things to love about Steve... he was one of those people that was just so easy to love.

I once heard some one say that when remarkable people or events happen in your life you can say many things or not much at all... in this case words just seem to fall short.

I am thankful for mercy.
And even more, I am thankful to know that such an extraordinary man is now home in an extraordinary place.

some days

some days don't you just feel like you're coming apart at the seams???

thank god for grace, forgiveness and compassion.

Lavender's Big 2 Party

So we had a last minute impromptu party for Miss Lavender last night. The evening was complete with friends and fam, birthday cake, presents and ten bazillion balloons. The kiddos loved all the balloon madness and had a blast running all over chasing, kicking and throwing them.
Here are a few snippets of the evening.

tiny shoes

Check out these adorable little shoes!!!

One of Josher's sweet co-workers made them for our little Autumn.

Her tiny feet are too little for them right now, but she's growing like a weed. I think they are going to be just perfect for Spring.

Yet another reason to be excited about Spring!

Sweet times with Mimi

Here are a few moments from our past few days with Mimi... my salvation during much sickness.

V Day

Here is a snippet of the tiniest Valentine's celebration...

The great thing about my girls is that it only takes a tiny little something to make the day all bright and shiny and fun. I love the look on Lavender's face when she opens her little v-day gift - a little family of beavers (or maybe otters) complete with clothes that come on and off and on and off again and again and again.

Nevertheless, I am thankful that it only takes pipe cleaners, and shortbread heart cookies to make this silly red and pink filled day special.

the saga continues...

i woke up this morning with a little gift... called conjunctivitis


yes, yes... what a nice present, huh?!

i am posting this pic of a lovely healthy eye to inspire me to good health... (btw... don't ever search conjunctivitis on google images... you will want to throw up!)

hopefully with antibotics & eye drops, I will start getting better.


being sick with a multitude of illnesses make me think of Job & what a man of faith he must have been. If only I had a little sliver of that.... not just b.c. I don't want to be sick anymore, but to be able to possess such a fervent trust in God. i could say a lot more about such things, but sometimes silence is more appropriate than words.

prognosis

so i broke down and went to a doc in box on sunday after a very very long night of head slamming throbbing, fever and pain.

It turns out that my stupid mega cough/cold goo morphed into a full blown ear infection that spread to both ears. eerrrh

And all I have to say about that is I understand why Van Gogh cut off his ear.

Laughfer's big 2nd Birthday

Thursday was Lavender's big 2 year mark... I can't believe she is already two years old!
The poor kiddo's party had to be postponed due to "the sickness" (which made me feel incredibly sad - being the cause of the cancel and all), so we had a mini party at home. Mimi totally saved my bootie and picked up a ready made cake and a giant Tweety bird balloon... Laughfer thought it was the cooolest thing.. she was jumpin' and chasin' that thing all over the house like a crazy woman!

But, she loved having the pre-made cake and some of her b-day presents... which is another thing - Joshers & I were somehow crazy enough to get her this little pink plastic guitar that plays the most annoying tunes that haunt us in our sleep - i guess that is a rookie parent move, huh! - I did make a vow to never give music making presents to any kid who's parents we wish to remain friends with!!
anyways, it feels like the big 2 year mark for Laughfer has come and gone without much mental or emotional awareness on my part, since I have been in this weird, warpy, timeless sicky land of zombie. I just keep reminding myself that there will be a celebration for Laughfer and little Naya soon and that I didn't drop the ball. erh...

sicky sicky

yep... sickness hits again.
now that we have weathered the croup and countless coughs and colds, I have somehow picked up the flu. it's been a long time since I had the flu and it is just no fun at all... I feel like the little sick kid in this painting. Being sick makes you just want your mom no matter how old you are, right?

anyways... i just wanted to share this work of art b.c. it makes me get out of my head and remember that people have been getting sick and making thru to good health for a very long time. And no matter how dreadful and isolating it makes you feel, it WILL end!!

And one more thing... I just wanted to say that I have the most incredible mom ever... she has braved entering my cootie filled house and helped me with the kiddos for the past 2 days. Thanks, Mom... so much thankfulness fils my heart for you... i love you so!

the low down on the painting, for you art buffs out there...

Mother and Sick Child, Holland, 1600s. This painting was done by the Flemish painter, Gabriel Metsu, and is commonly known as "The Sick Child". The painting is located in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.