Making mountains out of throw pillows

 In an effort to answer a baby's desperate need to climb on and over whatever she can, especially her ever-patient mother, a mountain of pillows was created on the living room floor. 

  

  The challenge was assessed... 

  

...the summit was in sight...

  

...the mountain was conquered...

 

...the decent was made...

 ...and the alpinist moved on to slaying dragons.

Mommy Christmas

Being a mommy changes your priorities so much. Don't get me wrong, there are some things that I still get a kick out of that'll never change. Cute shoes, good coffee, funny movies, laughing till I can't breathe, holding hands with Peter. But there are some new things that I never would have imagined I would enjoy as much as I do. Examples:

1) I like that I can be green-ish in my diapering choice but the only place that sells the inserts for the diapers is Babies R Us and so that means a regular trip over there and shelling out a little more than I'd like to each time. There wasn't even a bulk-buying choice... until now! I'm now subscribed to get my gDiaper inserts sent to me on a regular basis. It's so cheap and I don't have to go out to get them. It'll be like Christmas every 2 months! Yes, that means I'm now equating packages of diapers to Christmas.

2) An example with an example: I'm excited something else diaper related. GDiapers come in 3 sizes and Abby's about to outgrow the ones she has. BUT I got such a screaming good deal today on the next size of gDiapers it just makes my day. And maybe a couple more days to follow.

3) And if two diaper stories don't prove it, this should. Yesterday I took a little extra time and actually did my hair the way I did PB (pre-baby) instead of the "halfhearted blast of the blow dryer into the ponytail" look that I've been rocking. When Peter and I got home that evening, I said, "I actually got to blow dry my hair today!"
          He replies, "Awesome!" a little too enthusiastically.

          "You can't tell, can you." I say
         "Not really, sorry." he says sweetly.
          "That's great!" I say, "That means I don't have to do it again!"

No hurt feelings, no pouting. He wasn't saying I didn't look good. I was genuinely glad that I can look good for my hubby with a little less effort on my part.

Who are you, and what have you done with Hannah?

Honestly though, I'm glad for the focus change. I can get joy from the little things, from the seemingly insignificant things, because I can see the significance in them. And in these examples especially, what I'm so excited about is that they mean I can spend less time and money on the "necessities" and turn to what is really enjoyable in my life, my God, my family, and my friends.

Plus, how stinkin' cool is it that I got a little purple plush dog that sings my baby to sleep?!

Face time

Praying for Cade

My friend, Cade, and his family is in need of some prayer, some love, and lots of God's grace right now. After a long time working with patches and eye glasses, it was discovered that all of his vision problems are being caused by a tumor at the base of his brain.

Four days after Christmas, three days after his little sister was born, and less than a month before his 5th birthday, Cade had brain surgery. The prognosis is good, and he's such a sweet, tough kid, but my heart is aching for him.

I've known Cade since he was 2 years old. Cade and his mom and dad ate lunch with us the month we moved to the Orange County. And then I got to help his mom out by hanging with Cade twice a week. Now-a-days, whenever he and hang out at Kids Klub or Church, I look forward to hearing his newest knock-knock jokes and having long conversations about superheros, Cade's own super-powers, Beatles trivia, or baseball.

I love Cade and so I letting all my friends know about him and what he's going through so they can stand behind him and his family and lift them up.

Here's a link to the CaringBridge page that his dad made for Cade to keep everyone updated: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cader

Here's a great pic of Cade at two years old already showing off his awesome personality.

 

Here's another pic of Caders from the Lil' Jingles Christmas Party: I'm pretty sure he's telling me and Abby something I didn't know about the Beatles.