WE ARE ZUZU! Photo Contest ... vote for my princess! :)

My sweet friend, Angie, just entered a picture of her adorable little girl in this photo contest. I was intrigued as it is not a normal "Who has the prettiest girl?" sort of thing. It is to help prompt this wonderful artist's , John Albert Thomas, new piano CD (which is beautiful) "Zuzu's Petals". I love his music, but more his heart and motivation in creating music.

I went to vote on Bella's picture (as the "winner" will receive a free CD & a gift certificate and Angie would SO love that) but EVERY photo entered will be in the mosaic in the CD's album cover. I thought that was super special ... and as I looked at all the other pictures of sweet little girls I was struck by how beautiful they all were ... how they were all princesses to their family and friends. I pray that all of them will be princesses in the truest sense ... princesses of the Most High!

And so I entered Naomi Joy's picture too ...




You can vote for Angie's,Bella, or Naomi Joy or both or more ... but I would just love for you to take a look and listen too. And if you have a little girl ... I would enter her picture too and then buy the CD "Zuzu's Petals" so that it can be her special music to dance by or go to sleep by with her sweet face in among the other princesses. :)

Sunshine...

We've had sickness in our house since Wednesday and I've been so focused on taking care of my sick hubby and little girl that I've opted to take naps when ever there has been a quiet moment ... praying I don't catch what they've had. So the posts I intended to do have been put on hold. But I wanted to jump on here for a minute and share about the sunshine in that has popped through the dreary cloud of illness/quarantine.

I don't handle sickness well. I tend to get very anxious, even if I'm not the sick one, especially since I've become a mother. It's HUGE fear of mine to become sick, having to stay in bed (or in the bathroom) and have the responsibility of my children at the same time. It's similar to being a teacher when sick ... you know you're still responsible for your students and what they're learning that day so you have to make sure you have work for them and the substitute knows all the in's & out's of your day, etc, etc. When I was teaching, I dreaded getting sick ... it was so much MORE work to prepare for that than to just go in and tough it out. Anyway, I digress ... onto the sunshine!

My sunshine has been JUDE!

These last couple of days he's been so dear. Happy, content, full of giggles and laughter, chatty. It has been SO good for my heart, especially since Jude & I have just come through a rough patch of toddlerhood/parenting.

Let me share some of his sunshine ...

Yesterday was a beautiful day and Jude and I were hanging out in our little back yard. He has a little rock climbing/slide play set. I was sitting on our patio just enjoying the sun and cool breeze while Jude tinkered around the yard, stopping by my chair to tell me a few things (in his own language) and then off to find more to discover. That in itself is sweet. But the part that just sent a burst of sunshine to my heart was this ... he wandered over to his play set to climb up and go down the slide. As he began to go up he noticed a spider sitting where he would climb. He paused, bent down and looked at it and then waved and said, "HI!" and continued to talk to it and point up as if he were saying, "Go on. You climb up there. There's a slide on the other side." It moved and and disappeared around the side and Jude looked at me and did his classic "Where'd it go?" pose. And then he waved in the general direction the spider went and yelled, "BYE!"


I LOVE that in Jude's discovery of insects, animals, anything that moves ... his first thought is to acknowledge them and say "HI!" and wave. We went to the zoo in July for the first time ... Jude would walk up to the cages, spot the animal, watch it for moment and then wave and yell "HI!" ... pure sunshine for me.

(Imagine his little boy voice yelling out "Hi!" as he looks through the fence here at the deer and the zebra)


Another bit of sunshine ... in the last few days he's begun to say "Yeah" This may seem .... umm ... trivial. Not to me. It has changed our world.

Before in answer to questions his response was always "No" even if he meant "yes". If he meant "yes" he would usually say his no with a positive tone of voice. We would always say ... "Do you mean yes?" and then he would smile and use the sign for yes. For some reason, this got to be very trying ... to both Josh and I and even Jude. BUT ... finally ... out of the blue he started saying "Yeah" and he is like a different kid. Or maybe I'm a different mother. The lines of communication have opened even more. I'm loving it!! Sunshine galore! :)

I love my little boy and his sunshine giving ways.

The truth is ...

Okay, people, the truth is ...

when I get behind on things and they begin to pile up, I start to freeze up and become super overwhelmed. And that's what happened with this blog.

The days piled up and my little bit of creativity got squished under them and I became overwhelmed at all that I wanted to share with you and where to begin and so I became an ice cube, a popsicle, a snowball ... or maybe more like a river in the middle of January ...

frozen but with life underneath.

But enough of you have taken a fire to me and I'm beginning to thaw as you plead for me to post a blog or else. So I'm trying to pull out of this frozen lake ...

I just uploaded 847 photos from our camera!
I organized them into events in iPhoto!

But the other truth is ...

that I'm inclined to be a perfectionist ... or maybe a lover of being loved ... and I want you, readers, to LOVE my blog and so I put all this assumed pressure on myself ...

I think I read way too many amazing blogs.

But the final truth is ...

I am loved by those of you who read and care about me and my family.
I am loved by my Creator who gave me all that I care about and write about and use. And He loves me just the way I am ... yesterday, today & tomorrow.

So I will remind myself that I am not an author with deadlines to meet or a photographer with a gallery to fill.

I'm just me ...

and I'll just share ...

myself.



*** More posts coming VERY soon! ***

Conversation with a monkey ...

Home ... sweet ... home

We have moved into a home ... our home that we've owned for 2 years and finally are enjoying it again! I love it!!



We have so much more room ... probably double the size of our last apartment. We have a front porch that looks out on farm land & some green rolling hills (and some apartments but they are pretty and new and a little bit away). We bought two beautiful white rockers to give us a way to enjoy our front porch even more.


We also a have a great view of fields, trees and "mountains" out back which should never be obstructed because the interstate is just beyond/below us. We'll be putting in a little white picket fence to give Jude some playing boundaries. It will be a tiny little yard but oh so much fun!

I also am LOVING have my own non-coin operated washer and dryer! Praise the Lord!!



I've enjoyed planting flowers in window boxes that we attached to the front porch railings. I also planted some bright fun flowers/plants in teracotta pots for the front and the back patio.

There's something about having a home that you can call your own. I love it! :)

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I saw this on a friend's blog and I LOVE this dress! This dress company is really unique and I really appreciate their desire to make really feminine dresses with modesty in mind. Check out Shabby Apple and enjoy the beauty of the feminine side! :)

Loving it ...

I have been loving this Spring.

I have loved having a baby during this time of year. I'm not sure if it's the weather or just having a sweet little girl who has been a really good baby, but I have not had ANY baby blues this time around. Praise the Lord! I have woken up every morning with more energy than I've expected and most of the days are just filled with a positive mood.

I have really enjoyed having a toddler AND a newborn.

Who says things like that?! (especially after the last picture!)

But it's true!!

I was not expecting the peace and enjoyment I've had as I've moved through my days taking care of two. God has been SO good to give me much grace. I was VERY much dreading this life change and now I almost like it better!

It's been sweet to have Jude who understands most of what I tell him... (as you can see by the picture above)...

and makes life interesting with all his discoveries and wonderment...

AND

... to have little Naomi who needs me in a different sort of way and is already showering me with smiles and coos. I am just so blessed!