Catching Up, W-A-Y Up :)

Suitcases unpacked, laundry done, bills paid, commitments fulfilled...

Nah.

Yet here I am to blog anyway. Because one thing I did do was unload pictures off our chocked full memory card!

As you saw, somehow I restrained myself from eating the cheeks right off Maddie's face in the tax day pictures (thanks, by the way, to Mr. Zapanta for the fun onesie!) But I can't promise you might not need to practice the same restraint when you see these girls on Easter. Consider you and your computer screen warned. :) I may also need to issue a warning for picture overload, but hopefully you won't mind my rambling mood.

Before we get into Sunday bests, though, I think I'll show you around the place where I grew up. The sights and sounds, emotions and memories are so much a part of me. Now comes the fun in watching them become a part of our girls.

Fiddles, guitars, banjos and the dancing too... you should have seen Maddie's head rock and Hope's feet fly! Really cool was watching Hope intently soak it up; during a "take five" she actually sought out the mandolin player and gently rubbed his arm. "More moo-sic, pease?!"

Homegrown goodness... this Amish store is just a stone's throw through the woods behind my parent's house. Every time we visit I load up on good stuff like spelt flour, granola, oats, and spices. Mom always makes sure I have time to linger, just like she always makes sure we don't go hungry during our visit. And go hungry, we do not; I've got the belt loosened to prove it!

Inspiration... Among the rust, the chips, and the character lie little treasures in wait at our favorite spots. Back home Dad's workshop, with its sawdust from projects gone by, casts the same kind of spell on me. Before I know it, my mind is overflowing with ideas!

Best of all are the familiar faces of family that we miss...



(Don't kill me Dad, but this face kept Maddie in stiches... she is quite a PopPop's girl!)
And speaking of such faces... Maddie got to experience some Proverbs 27:9 "sweet friendships" as we ventured off to her first Girls' Weekend! This is the third year in a row I've RSVP'd with an extra little girlfriend in tow, and the first time I've ever been away from Hope for more than a night. (Come to think of it, last year I actually had two girlfriends in tow-- huh?) Thanks to her grandparents all went well on the Hope-front as Maddie and I enjoyed our time with "the people." I couldn't tell Hope just who because these lifelong, college girlfriends of mine also happen to be some of her favorites!

Where does the time go?

Sigh.

That's right, no time to dwell on that, because I was going to show you Easter pictures too! Have you fallen off the long winded train yet? Okay, so I'll cut to the chase then! :)
We dyed our eggs, savored our baskets, dressed in our finest, sang at church, ate until we popped, hunted our hearts out (Hope even won the grand prize golden egg!), declared the day to be about "Jesus getting all better," and went back for dessert... with five of my Mom's siblings (and some of their kids and some of their kids' kids!) A good, old fashioned Easter-- we missed you Jeremy, Tonia, and your families!

Now that makes up for some long lost weeks of blogging for sure!

How Could Uncle Sam Resist?

We're back and just in time for tax day! :)

When we can see past stacks of mail and suitcases, we'll be back with more. Until then, enjoy some freebies to celebrate surviving another April 15th. (And if you love i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m as much as we do-- thus, why we spell it before letting Hope know we're considering getting any-- Maggie Moo's is offering a free single scoop all day long!)

"See" you soon!

Still Folded

Back when there were only two of us, back when Joe and I were at the mere tip of really getting to know each other, we sat up on a rooftop overlooking the University of Tennessee's campus. He told me, in not so many words, that he knew I was the one.

If I'd have him, of course.

I told him, "Whoa, buddy!" while my heart told me, "Yep, he's right."

The time between that night and a cool, February one about a year later needed one thing to get us through.

Our napkin.

Let me explain by sharing something I just love.

*Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes! In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table.

For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because... The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'

Once upon a time, I shared through a favorite song, this message with Joe. That's why he later handed me our napkin, folded, and we waited for God to complete some of the works He had begun in us in preparation for marriage. In preparation to spend, through His strength, nothing short of our lifetimes with one another-- no matter the ups, the downs, or the in-betweens.

That is, as we've learned, what promises are all about.

And so during this Easter season, I am reminded of how grateful I am that Joe held his promise. Even more so, I am reminded at how grateful I am that Jesus holds all of His.

Because of them both we can hardly wait to share two little baskets with two little miracles, in Sunday bests, one weekend real soon.

May your Easter Sunday be a day of renewed promises and joy unspeakable!

Blessings,

*I recently received this in story form as an e-mail, so I know not who to give full credit.*

Not Me! Monday

Update: I wrote this post at the end of last week hoping to join in the party. Now I've decided to go ahead and post it with the hopes that we can all remember to pray like crazy for their precious little boy! To have this kind of faith in a situation this hard is an inspiration; may God heal their miracle child yet another time!

****

Now, this looked like some fun. Let the free therapy begin!

I'm pretty sure I would never attempt to hurriedly vacuum our stairs with one baby on my hip, while the other not-so-baby had the kitchen counter and a step stool to herself. It's a good thing I didn't do that, too, because if I had I just might have walked in to discover this.

A little Parmesan cheese for her pa-sketti, in case you couldn't tell.

Boy would I have learned my lesson. So, of course, later on I would never ever knowingly let my same toddler pry graham crackers and tortilla chips out of the pantry just so I could finish a telephone conversation. If I did, I would certainly make her mind her c's and c's, by not leaving Gretel-like crumbs everywhere.
Afterwards I would not secretly be glad, as one who doesn't like to waste food, that my nasty cardboard attempt at healthy graham crackers were finally (finally!) gone. I mean those delicious (choke... gag!) treats were not a splurge at over three bucks a box! Are you kidding me? Not at all!

Please, I am definitely not pointing to such a mess with a red finger. If I were, that might mean I was using nap time to furiously spray paint a thrifted tricycle for one eager rider. Said thrifted tricycle, with such cute potential in my mind I might add, could not now scar even a two year-old should she decide to take it for a spin.

I would never exaggerate on something so serious.

I would surely also never be so ashamed that I would show only the back end of such a salvaging nightmare, especially since spray paint is usually such a faithful crafting companion! What next, my glue gun???? But I digress because... no way, people! Not me!
And lastly, on my way to not scrub the dickens out of my hypothetically red hands, I simply would not die of embarrassment for you to know I spotted two pregnant laundry hampers at our house. That would mean our children were like a step or two away from being naked! Yet, we still didn't go out to play instead of inducing labor on those babies.
Sheesh. This is getting crazy!

Just what kind of mother would you think I am then?!
**********

I cannot officially end this post without for real thanking a wonderful neighbor who came to my thrift-store-gone-bad rescue by giving us her kids' outgrown trike! Hope won't need some therapy of her own, after all, especially after I made up with my spray paint. The basket on the front wouldn't have been the same without you, old friend. :)

and a 'lil something extra for my uncles...

that's right, boys...

BRING IT ON!

--xoxo, of course--

Hope

Moments with Maddie- Month Eight

I used to whisper to a tiny Hope that she was my favorite doll ever. Little did I know, God would let me borrow two of His dolls. Eight months of rocking, dressing, feeding, and loving on Miss Maddie Cakes... it's been one beautiful blur.

Joe often says he doesn't know what God was thinking giving him two little girls. Images of little boys coming to call for them, sending them out into this big world one day (he's already trying some brainwashing, I mean encouraging, about going to a local university), and perhaps giving those hands in marriage are just a few that can send him over the edge. I remind him that forty is just a bit on the strict side for some things.

But secretly I just can't comprehend that so much time could escape us, could actually come to pass. This is cause for celebrating the little things, a cause for celebrating the here and now. (With that, have you ever seen My Best Friend's Wedding? If so, all you gotta do is sing along; I'm in one of those moods...)

Just thinkin'...

And gigglin'...

And dreamin', a hopin'...

And playin'...

And?

You guessed it... Crawlin'!

(Are you thinking how great true lo- ove is?) :)