Miss Talkative

Sweet Pea has been very "talkative" lately. I think she gets it from her father. :) She will get on a roll with non-stop vocalizations and it is so cute. . .except sometimes it's in church or other quiet settings. I got some of it on video. This was less than what she sometimes does but she gets distracted by the camera. I have to pretend I'm not using the camera (thus, the excellent filming). Please pay no attention to the oatmeal and juice on her face and the not-yet-combed hair. :)

Fun times

Our sweet girl has been very busy this month. During a trip to see Grandpa and Grandma and friends she got to go to the Brookfield Zoo and swing at the park. She loves to be outside. You can see by the smile on her face how she enjoys swings! How far we've come from the tears a couple years ago when we first tried a swing! She also got to ride a carousel at a friend's birthday party. She has mixed feelings about carousels but overall she seemed to enjoy it. We'll keep you posted on more summer fun!

All I Need Is. . .

I just started reading a book called All I Need Is Jesus and A Good Pair of Jeans. I've just read the intro and the first chapter but wanted to share a couple of bits from it. It seemed a good fit for how I was feeling and thought it might relate to some of you also. . .
"We need a whole lot of Jesus. Because there is this woman that we long to be and then there is the woman that we actually are. Right here. Right now. The woman who struggles but longs to be more. The woman who is empty who longs to be full. The dissatisfied woman who longs to be content. The woman who longs to be overflowing with goodness and peace and have her impulse spending under control. And the only thing that can bridge the gap between these two women is buckets of grace. Unending grace. And the only person who embodies this grace is Jesus."

I know many times it is tiring to try to be a supergirl(like the author talks about). My prayer today is to let go of who I am not and be thankful for being God's child, saved by grace.

I'll try to update as I read more of the book but if you want to check it out yourself the author is Susanna Foth Aughtmon.

Pay It Forward, Pass It On

I was running errands and saw Starbucks. I've been trying not to spend money on extras but that $1.43 remaining on my gift card was just burning a hole in my pocket. The excitement of getting a special coffee treat already had me cheery but then (even though I was fully capable of getting the door on my own) the lady walking in held it open for me. Generally people are very kind and hold the door when I am pushing our Sweet Girl but to just hold it for me was nice. So I in return held it open for the next girl (younger and fully capable of holding the door also). I just feel like the little gestures or kind thoughts can mean so much and make some one's bad day better or good day even better. On my way to the van I saw an older women looking very stylish in a navy, red and white sundress. I told her I liked her dress and could tell it brightened her day to receive this compliment (even though I wasn't looking so stylish myself). I felt like skipping the rest of the way to the van(no, I didn't actually skip - this time) with the sun shining down on me and a big smile on my face like I was in a Disney movie or on the Truman Show. This sequence of events was well worth the $2 I spent in addition to my gift card on that iced mocha latte.

Somewhere along the way I felt like I had lost what I call my "Iowa Friendliness". Slowly but surely I feel like I'm learning to be friendlier to cashiers or just random people and not be weirded out by strangers that start up conversations with me.

Pass on some friendliness today!

Wiggly Daisy

My mom is a very talented woman and her latest creations are purses and bags. I was tired of carrying a diaper bag or big backpack but couldn't fit diapers and enough things into my purse. Thankfully, my mom made me a bag like this and it works great. There's even a matching diaper caddy for it. I have gotten so many compliments on mine!
If you would like a smaller bag there is a purse style one too. She uses a little cosmetic bag in hers to keep some of her smaller items. The cosmetic bags look so cute with your initial monogrammed on it. I am going to post more information about the Wiggly Daisy bags soon but if you are interested email us at wigglydaisy@gmail.com

First Pony Ride

How cool is this? I know I was holding her the whole time but I love that my sweet girl got to ride a pony. After talking to others and now seeing how comfortable she was doing it, I really need to look into horse therapy! Thanks Scout (the pony) for being so nice.

Mealtime Blues

I like to be a positive person but mealtime has been an ongoing frustrating thing for me. Maybe if I just have my negative moment I can let it go and focus on the positive. I found out yesterday that our sweet girl has lost weight again for the second month in a row. It takes a lot of time to feed her typically six times a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, bedtime snack with medicine). I try to find the right balance of healthy foods that don't contain foods she's allergic to but also have enough calories. It also takes time to make her something separate and blend it up. Most "calorie boosters" are really sugary and I feel like I'm giving her lots of processed drinks or food to up the calories. Now to focus on the positive to regain my energy and patience at mealtime. . .

The positive: 1. Her nutritionist helps us with new ideas to help keep her as healthy as can be. 2. I don't do every meal. I do get "breaks" and am very thankful for my husband and other's help. 3. Overall, she eats pretty well and is healthy. 4. I do enjoy the quality time together when feeding her. She likes to "talk" and play games at mealtime.

Thank you Lord for my girl's health!