Family

For family and friends/Farm Day/(the motherload)/part 1

~ Christie ~ 3 Comments

Hello to all!

First I have to say that it feels like forever since anything has been posted around here! But thanks to all who have been reading the last few days anyways, I really appreciate it!

If you’re wondering what (the motherload) was doing in the title, here is the scoop: this post has a ton of pictures.

If you are a grandmother, aunt, close friend, or angelic babysitter… prepare to be very, very happy. If you cannot claim any of the above-mentioned titles or anything close to any of the above-mentioned titles, prepare to be very, very bored. You will not hurt my feelings at all by clicking away. Just so we’re clear. = )

We happen to live in a really, really cool place with lots of things for families to do. A nearby university hosts a “farm day” every year and we finally made it this time!

You know it’s a good activity when you hear your kids saying frequently and without solicitation, “This is a really fun thing to do.” “I’m having so much fun.” “This is so cool!” “Thanks for bringing us here to do this, Mom.”

It was tiring! But rewarding! A really good, fun day.

So without further ado, I present you with part 1 of our Farm Day pictures.

The first thing the girls did was hold baby chicks. Gracie was not interested.

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IMG_2088Here are all the girls… excited about all the things they’re going to see.

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Next we went outside to see a horse demonstration which was actually just someone on a horse talking. But the girls did have the chance then to stand in line to pet the horse. When I asked them if they wanted to do that, they answered, “Yes!” Gracie was not interested in petting the horse, but the friendly helper picked her up and touched the horse with her hand anyway.

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Back inside we got to see a one month old foal and his mom. Needless to say, the girls loved that. We saw some cows and saw a line to milk a… fake cow? I didn’t think they’d be interested; but apparently my mind doesn’t work like a preschoolers because they definitely were interested! Interested enough to stand happily in line for a long time!

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Mckayla wasn’t quite sure what all the hullaballoo was about.

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Hope made good use of her time by practicing her photography skills.

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And finally, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! I mean, the pail of milk under the white and black painted box! I have to admit, it was worth the wait. The girls thought it was so cool (except for Gracie, who wanted to do it until it was her turn).

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Back outside again, we saw a “REAL BABY DAIRY COW THAT WAS GOING TO GROW UP AND GIVE MILK!” Yes, a baby cow reclining in some bark really was that exciting after the milking experience! (Did you know that a milk cow can produce 80-100 pounds of milk per day? I’m pretty sure I need one.)

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And did you know, that there are such things as “hair” sheep? As opposed to “wool” sheep. Here’s proof. (Gracie again, not interested. {by not interested I mean content to look, but terrified to touch})

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Inside again, they caught sight of another fake cow! Hope made sure to tell me that it wasn’t really real because she could see inside and it was a person. Shocking.

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And then, a breeze began to blow. The clouds began to part. Soft music began to play.

Why?

Because we headed to the bunnies.

And at the bunny cages… Gracie fell in love.

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She’s touching it! She’s touching it!

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I thought my heart was going to melt all over the ground. She was completely taken, transfixed. She would pet them as long as I would let her. Hope and Sophia were so excited for her; it was quite the sweet, sweet, very sweet moment. She told many people afterwards, “The bwack one didn’t let me pet him. He just (sound effect) “ooped” away. But the bwown one and da white one let me pet them. Yeah, I like the bunnies.”

We went back a second time and this time Mckayla got to look, too. She was very excited with it all, but not quite as gentle as Gracie. = )

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And so with this, I close part 1 of our Farm Day picture post.

Hope you enjoyed it! I will try to post the other one either later today or tomorrow.

Love to all,

Christie

The Date I’ve Been Waiting For!! (A very happy anniversary)

~ Christie ~ 1 Comment

Paul and I got to go away the week before our anniversary on a big date!

By ourselves.

Amazing.

Here are the pictures I took!

First of all (by my request, believe it or not), we went and played golf. (which basically means he plays golf and I follow him around and pretend like I’m keeping score. I don’t play golf.) We used to do this when we were first married, but by the time our second child came, it just didn’t work anymore. I dearly love being outside, and it is so pretty on golf courses!

It was so relaxing and beautiful; I wish I could have taken better pictures so you could see all the trees and flowers.
It was so relaxing and beautiful; I wish I could have taken better pictures so you could see all the trees and flowers.

Next, we drove to our hotel.

Hotel Indigo. Very cool.
Hotel Indigo. Very cool.

Paul had already gone and looked at it that day, just to make sure it was what he wanted. Isn’t that sweet? I had never heard of it before, but it was amazing. The interiors were so beautiful, colorful and thoughtful. I love looking at interiors and design stuff; so this place was a feast for the eyes. Not too stuffy, or ritzy-we’re making you pay a whole lot of money so you can feel cool that you stayed here- just really, really fresh and creative. Again, I wish I could take better pictures so you could see how fun it was.

A lovely modern entryway. The little "window" helped to keep it light and bright.
A lovely modern entryway. The little “window” helped to keep it light and bright.
Super cool accent wall.
Super cool accent wall.
A floor to ceiling white panel made a lovely addition to your normal hotel closet.
A floor to ceiling white panel made a lovely addition to your normal hotel closet.
This chair was covered in a terry-like fabric ~ so comfy!
This chair was covered in a terry-like fabric ~ so comfy!
A fun bedside table
A fun bedside table
Very bright, happy bathroom. I had a lot of fun in there taking my time getting ready. = )
Very bright, happy bathroom. I had a lot of fun in there taking my time getting ready. = )

After cleaning up from golf, we went to dinner: P.F. Chang’s. I had never been before, and it was delicious. I’m determined to recreate their candied ginger for sweet sour and chicken. I’m pretty sure it was the key. = )

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Yum!
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We tried to take a picture of ourselves by this horse, but it turned out pretty bad and got deleted immediately.

Dinner was great, but conversation was even better. I love spending time with Paul.

After that it was sleep. sleep. and more sleep.

And then I woke up, and went back to sleep.

And then I woke up again, and just stayed in bed because I could. ***Wonderful***

Finally, we got up; got ready; realized we had missed breakfast by an hour and half, and headed to a fun mall nearby.

First order of business: have soft pretzels and strawberry lemonade for breakfast. = )

FreshBanner_HandcraftedNext up, Anthropologie!

This store is arranged so beautifully, smells so good, and everything you see is creative and interesting.

This picture totally cracked me up; I couldn’t pass it up.

A big man sitting in a small, chic little chair. He tried to look at some stuff, but eventually just sat down to wait for me.
A big man sitting in a small, chic little chair. He tried to look at some stuff, but eventually just sat down to wait for me.

After we left the mall, we made our way to an amazing barbecue restaurant downtown. Mm-mmm.

We had a lovely drive around downtown after lunch, looking at old houses, shops, and parks.

When we got home, we were greeted by four very excited little girls and two tired, but cheery babysitters. (Let me just say, these girls were like the queens of babysitting! They did laundry, took the girls to the park, played the Big Bad Wolf {a current favorite activity of the girls}, cleaned up a middle-of-the-night accident, made omelettes for breakfast, taught the girls how to make paper snowflakes…) I was impressed! They even made us…

Anniversary date 018an anniversary cake! Complete with two mini cakes for the girls. How fun!

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The missing icing wasn’t because of the decorators; Sophia had been taste-testing.

All in all, it was a lovely getaway. So thankful for time to just hang out with my Bud.

So for all of you who wished us a Happy Anniversary…

… it was. (and thanks!)

Think about yourself for once

~ Christie ~ 7 Comments
photo credit
photo credit

This post was written a few months ago and has been tweaked here and there. I thought I would include it as part of this “anniversary week.”

Confession time here (and it’s painful because of pride), God has been convicting me lately regarding how I think about my husband.

I tend to be one of those “exhorters,” you might call it; very willing to talk about faults; always wanting to spur people on to that next step of sanctification. But the truth of the matter is that lately, it’s just been mean-old criticism.

I think the thought process started when it dawned on me, “Would you want him to be like that about you?” (Immediate NO!!) Why are you thinking about his faults? You want him to dwell on your good points.

Oh yes! Yes, I do!

I want my husband to think about my strengths, to reflect on all the things he loves about me. To be willing to help me and speak the unpleasant truth if I need it, but if I’m honest… I want him to think of me as amazing! And for the most part completely ignore that I’m a complete mess, can’t keep clean laundry in the drawers to save my life, can’t figure out how to make a good meal when people come over, can’t keep my counter cleaned off, and the list goes on.

A gracious light is shining into this dark compartment of my heart.

I’ve actually been thinking about myself more; seeing my selfishness, my laziness, my lack of devotion to Christ. Replacing my criticism of others with the Holy Spirit’s promptings about my sin has opened up the door again for love.

I’ve begun to see Paul differently. Admiring his strengths, thankful for his leadership, loving his company… does this guy even have any faults?

All along, it wasn’t really him I was seeing and criticizing… it was myself. But it’s so much more enjoyable to blame other people for our inadequacies!

Have I praised my husband yet on this blog for being patient with me? Oh yeah… several times. I’m so thankful for him. If I was him, I would have kicked me and my attitude to the curb a long time ago.

So here’s my word of experiential wisdom for all the oppressed, neglected housewives of America… just think about yourself for once! = )

The awkward blue belt for the cute maternity dress story

~ Christie ~ 5 Comments
photo credit
photo credit

Do you like surprises? I LOVE surprises. Always have.

One of the coolest surprises I’ve experienced in my adult life are the things that make you feel loved. You know, like really loved. Like how you imagine that girl feels in the movies when the guy takes her hand, or meets her in the middle of a field and professes his undying love, or brings her flowers when she’s stuffy and sick.

When I imagined being married and experiencing things that really made me feel loved… I probably thought of candlelight dinners, snuggling, dancing to soft music in the living room, holding hands while we drove down some random road. But after being married for even only a year or so, I realized that it was totally different things that really made me feel loved.

We became pregnant very soon after we were married. There were a lot of reasons that this was exciting, but one of them for me was the chance to finally wear maternity clothes! I had been waiting my whole life! Seriously, I was the girl that would always look at the maternity section first in catalogs and daydream about browsing through maternity stores when I passed them in the mall. A little weird maybe, but that was me. Little by little, I began to pick up pieces; but one day, I found IT. The cutest blue maternity dress ever. At Target. Ridiculously priced. But that was okay because my sweet brother had given me a gift card. Happy sigh.

Okay, I can tell you’re needing some help picturing how cute this dress was. It was a solid blue; smoky, pearly, grayish, very wonderful medium blue. Knee-length with a pretty collar and buttons all the way down. Classy, but cute. (No elastic anywhere!) And… it had this awesome blue belt for right above the belly. I love belts! I love bows! I love knots! I couldn’t wait to get home and try it on for Paul.

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And that’s the end of happy Act 1. Let’s just say, the dress looked great; the belt looked horrid. But maybe I was just doing it wrong. It had to work, it was so cute! I tried everything I could think of and it all looked awful.

So I went to Paul with downcast heart and mopey face. I explained my frustration and how I just couldn’t get it right.

Then he started trying. Yes, him.

He tied it in the front. He tied in the back. He tied it on the side. And for good measure on the other side, too.

He tied it in a bow. He tied it in a knot.

He tied it above, below, and across my belly.

And somewhere in the middle of all that… I began to feel really loved.

At first, embarrassed. Then worried that I was taking too much of his time. But then I looked at his face, all concentrated. And I knew that he cared.

Something that was so small, so ridiculous, so impossibly removed from the important matters of the world, mattered to him in that moment. He gave me his time and creativity and didn’t make me feel even slightly silly.

photo credit
photo credit

We never did figure it out.

I ended up wearing the dress without the belt and it was just as cute. Paul doesn’t remember this happening; even though I’ve told him about it three or four times since then. But I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

What a surprise, that you’re husband fooling with getting your belt to look right for fifteen minutes could make you feel so loved.

But it did. And I love him.

My favorite person ever

~ Christie ~ 6 Comments
I think this is my favorite picture from our wedding.
I think this is my favorite picture from our wedding.

Ready for a riddle?

Who is 6 foot 2, going bald, easy to please, loves people, hates coleslaw, cheers for Duke and the Yankees, incredibly handsome, enviably smart, and gives the absolute best hugs and horseyback rides?

If you guessed my favorite person ever, you’re right!

Six years ago today, I got to marry him. It was pretty cool that he even asked me.

Since then, life has not been a bed of roses, or a bowl of cherries, or a walk in the park, or whatever you might call it. But it’s been amazing.

I have learned an incredible amount from him and been shown more love than I could ever deserve in one hundred lifetimes.

It all started out with us making milkshakes together on Wednesday nights at a camp in Arizona. Now we have four little girls and an amazing assortment of memories.

Paul, aka Bubby, I am so thankful for you. Your love has taught me more than I could tell. Marriage to you has been one of the greatest gifts God ever gave me.

I remain the Founder and President of your official fan club.

All my love,

Christie

It’s a bracket party! (and what the fly on the wall heard)

~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

Well, March Madness is big stuff around here. According to Paul, “It’s Christmas for me!”

So we have had a blast educating the girls about this tradition. Here are some of the funnier things they’ve said, or (mis)said. = )

Gracie pointing to the cheerleaders, “There’s the cher-ries!”

Sophia, who’s picked Florida Gulf Coast to go quite far, “I’m going for Florida Ghost Town!”

Mckayla, while watching the computer screen, “Go! Go! Go!” (not sure where she learned this one) = )

Gracie, when she thought Duke should be doing better, “Duke you have to be better! I want you to Come On!”

Hope, upon finding out that both of her championship teams had already lost, “It’s okay, it’s just a game.”

Gracie, “I wh-eally love popcorn! Boo-ha!”

(The key to keeping four little girls interested in basketball games is POPCORN!) = )

Actually, they barely see a whole game a day. With Paul at work, they maybe catch a few minutes before bath time; but man, can they put down the popcorn!

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We had such fun helping the girls fill out their brackets. It was a big deal, complete with popcorn (Boo-ha!) and fruit punch (a very rare treat).

Paul would ask the girls match by match and I would write down their choices. Hope understands now about higher seeds and lower seeds, so it was pretty cute to see her ask Paul, “Who is the lower number?” Sophia and Gracie pretty much pick whatever team you say second. Except for Duke; they always chose Duke. = )

After the first day, Gracie was close to the top of our extended family’s bracket contest. Yay! We won’t talk about where the rest of us were.

Here are the pictures of our bracket party:

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Serious business
Serious business
Remember, she wh-eally loves popcorn. Boo-ha!
Remember, she wh-eally loves popcorn. Boo-ha!
Mckayla's favorite place to be
Mckayla’s favorite place to be

A lovely weekend to all.

For family and friends

~ Christie ~ 4 Comments

Hello all! I have a bunch of pictures for you this week. The girls are currently building a fort in the middle of the living room while I am sitting on the couch working on this. We’ll see how it goes. = )

To start with, I know you’ve seen pictures like this before, but I just love them so much, that I had to share again.

IMG_2041Another one of Mckayla’s sweet smiles. She likes having her picture taken.

IMG_1986Gracie once again expanded her style this week, experimenting with mixing stripes and polka dots. Has she been looking at Pinterest?

IMG_2004IMG_2006This is the same outfit from before, just with a blue jacket added. = ) And is she trying to be Patch the Pirate?

IMG_2008Caught stealing my black beans while I put Mckayla down for a nap. The jacket was gross; definitely made a visit to the washing machine!

IMG_2038There is no better playground than Daddy laying on the floor. I love Paul; sometimes when he comes in the door, I think he can tell that the girls just need to play; so he lays down and they just crawl, climb, jump, and walk all over him. He huffs in protest, but the girls and I know he loves it. = )

IMG_1976And it’s been all about the brackets around here! (More on this tomorrow)

IMG_1983And two more fun pics from my phone: Sophia showing me that she could lift this giant branch,

imageand Mommy and Mckayla having some fun after bath time.

0315131946Love to all! (and it worked ~ hooray = )

Can you say “hermeneutics”?

~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

Hope is intelligent, articulate and exact. Sophia is funny, crazy and mischievous.

They were sitting at the table, coloring. I was in the living room folding clothes. Which seminary class their father would attend that night was the topic of their conversation.

Sophia asks, “What class does Daddy have tonight?”

“Hermeneutics,” Hope replies.

“Oh…” and Sophia repeats hermeneutics. Except…she didn’t say it quite right. Almost, but not quite.

“No,” Hope corrects her, “her-me-noooo-tics.”

“Hermejetics.”

“Hermeneutics.”

“Herbejuckus?”

“Say ‘herm-”

“Herm-”

“-men-”

“-men-”

“-noo-”

“-noo-”

“-tics.”

“-tics.”

Hope is very happy with this. “That’s it! Now say hermeneutics.”

“Hermalexa.”

This went on and on. Sophia never cracked a smile, never changed her voice at all. Honestly, I didn’t know she had such creative, verbal-convoluting abilities in her.

Hope never caught on. Okay, she caught on when Sophia digressed into using bathroom word endings. Ay-yay-yay. That’s when I stepped in between peals of laughter, “Okay, okay.”

Was that really my three and four year old? Yep. Thanks for the reminder that my husband’s stellar sense of humor …has definitely been passed down.

Can you say “hermeneutics”?