fluffy the wonder pet

daisy could not have been more excited at her surprise birthday party when she received a hamster from our neighbors. it is the gift she wanted most of all and one that a parent just can't (in their right mind) pull the trigger on. daisy is actually at the perfect age for a pet like this. for the little attention that it requires she is happy to deliver it.

for a couple of weeks now daisy has been bugging us to create a maze that fluffy can find her way through. we've been putting it off and putting it off and finally yesterday we found the perfect box. actually, it landed on our doorstep (complete with my hot rollers i had ordered.) we went down to the basement and searched through our load of craft supplies and found just what we needed. with a little tape and some imagination we made a maze for this little creature.

i had the best time spending time with daisy imagining and creating together. what surprised me the most? how excited i was when fluffy made it to the end of the maze!!

and then they were blue

i've shared this story with a few people but thought i should blog about it so i can remember how gracious our God is.
moving to PA was one of the hardest things i've had to do in my life. i'm always looking for a new adventure but this was a big one. i moved away from my entire family and didn't know anybody besides joe when i got married. his family was nice but still not the same. when we moved into our home now i planted a bunch of hydrangeas. i wanted our home to feel like MY home so i bought the blue ones from the store. great, i thought, now i can feel like i am at home. as soon as those plants were planted in the ground the blooms that were a beautiful pale blue turned pink. i was so mad i could spit. everyone told me to put coffee grounds in the soil, or buy the special store made stuff to turn them blue. but to me, it just wasn't the same. i had crappy pink PA hydrangeas.
after my big summer trip to east hampton last year i noticed how truly special my pink flowers were because they are very rare around where i grew up. i started to appreciate the colors that my flowers had to offer and for the first time driving back to PA i felt such a contentment. i was going home...to MY home...pennsylvania. i was excited to be home and felt so good about being there. i couldn't stop thanking God for this contentment...i always felt guilty for feeling the way i did before and didn't want my kids to think i wasn't happy. i was happy...i am happy.
as the days wore on little things began to happen around me. i started noticing friendly faces in the grocery store. people that i knew would pop up in walmart and we could chat for five minutes. i would even notice cars on route 1 that i recognized...i would speed up and wave to my friend or family that happened to be there. i never once took these little things for granted because for a few years i hadn't had them.
this summer we've been doing lots of outside yardwork like planting trees and adding some mulch beds. in one of my weeding frenzies i happened to be right in front of my hydrangeas that was filled with buds. out of the corner of my eye i noticed something....my buds were blooming in BLUE! i ran around the yard like a crazy woman screaming everytime i got to a new one with another BLUE bloom!!! everyone that was blue when i planted it was now blue again after two or three years being pink!
people can think what they want to think...a change in soil...too much rain...whatever. i know my heart needed to be in the right place for me to get those blue hydrangeas. i know God taught me a lesson and every summer when those flowers bloom again (pink OR blue) i will be thankful for what i have.

Phillipians 4:6-7

i'm so glad i'm not the type of person that gets annoyed with a kid coming to me in the middle of the night. i figure if they are waking me up there must be a reason and i'm happy to be patient with them while they are scared, or frustrated, or just sad from a bad dream. i had the opportunity last night to hear a thunderstorm coming before any of my kids woke from it. as i was closing the windows in their bedrooms i noticed each one of them was a little nervous from the noises outside and the huge flashes of light. i quickly ushered them into my bed and cuddled them tightly to calm them down.

i love when i can be patient in God's timing and feel calmed down from my own anxious heart. it's so reassuring to know that He has a plan for us and we are in control of nothing. whatever happens is part of His masterplan and we can rest assured that He loves us and wants the best for us.

i'm sure God has the same feeling about His children as i do about mine. what a joy to be able to comfort them when they allow me to pour my love on them. when they come to me, i am here for them. what an honor to have these little blessings in my life...that God would even think i am worthy of having them and teaching them and training them up to be the amazing people they are meant to be. i sure don't feel worthy but i know that it's all part of the plan and that i don't have to worry a bit! such peace....

i heard it through the grapevine

funny sayings heard around the house:

lucy to mommy while hanging on the table leg: "look mommy, i am dancing on a pole" yikes!

daisy to mommy while i rehearse a song: "it doesn't sound like you are getting any better at that"

tucker to anyone who will listen: "first the chicken eats nala and then nala eats the king...chicken nala king!"

lucy to mommy "i just screamed like a boy!"

tucker to joe while discussing death and heaven...tucker never wanting anyone to be upset: "okay dad...you can die if you want to"

lucy to mommy: "i didn't toot...my bottom took a breath!"

there are many more but i just had to share a few....

and then she was three....

today my youngest is turning three! i just can't believe it. i hope in twenty years i am saying the same thing "where has the time gone?"

i remember gearing up for her arrival not really knowing what to expect. my older two kids were somewhat easy arrivals but lucy's i was nervous about. i had an almost three year old at home and a 15 month old. unless you've ever had that combo you have no idea how hard it is.

the first year was rocky. lucy was collicky but so sweet. i loved her...i hated her. i loved my life...i hated my life. i couldn't imagine my life any different.

lucy is amazing. she is hysterical, beautiful, independant, caring, nudgy and wonderful!

lucy-i love you so much...more than you will ever know. i can't believe you are three today and i can't wait to see what the years bring to us through you! you are a joy to have around and i love you with all of my heart. happy birthday lucy lovey!

put on your easter bonnet

i happen to love easter. it's one of my favorite holidays. not because of the bunnies or the eggs...they seem to be more trouble than they are worth. i love it because of Jesus rising from the dead...how amazing is our God?? i love teaching my kids about Christ dying on the cross and being buried in the tomb. i love getting everyone dressed up and going to church to hear what i know will be an amazing sermon even though i've heard the story a million times before. i love that family gathers on such a special day...and i love how exhausted i am at the end of the day because it means it must have been extra special.

i have a lot of memories of easters past but my favorite ones are the ones we make for ourselves each new year. i love blending traditions from joe's family and traditions from mine...and of course coming up with new ones just for our family.

He is risen. He is risen indeed! happy easter!

mothering

lately i'm wondering if i should've been a mother of four. perhaps we made a hasty decision to be done having kids and perhaps not. sometimes i'm just so content with my three and they are just enough (sometimes more) for me to handle. then there are times that i feel like something is missing...a little craziness. i like a little chaos here and there and i think that's why i've taken on new pets so quickly. a rabbit last summer and now our newest addition...ducklings!

we have had so much fun in the last week with these little ducks. i love hearing my kids laugh at seeing them dive through the bath water and explore things in the yard. today i was brave enough to let them out of their fence just to see what would happen. we played for hours outside and they stayed with us. they would move where we moved and eventually fell asleep in the grass near the sandbox where the kids were playing. how cute!!

we will give the ducks a better home in the near future but for now i am enjoying mothering some babies again!