Johnathan's First Hair Cut!!!

Today marked the day of Johnathan's first hair cut!!! After 16 months, 1 week and 6 days his hair definitely needed it...BAD!!! I was sort of sad to see his baby curls get cut off, but he looks so adorable with his new do that my sadness was short-lived...plus, I saved the curls, for his baby book of course! Here is a play-by-play of sorts of what went down...

Precious baby curls, gone forever!!!

A mouth full of fruit snacks...something---anything---to keep him distracted!
Another last picture of his long hair.
Good-bye baby hair!
Snipping away!
Eating snacks!
Here goes the bangs!
Gloria, hair cutter extraordinaire!
Wetting it down.
The finished product!!!
Me and my cute big boy!
What a sweetie!
Two happy sisters!
View from the back.
What a precious little forehead...that I can actually see!
Isn't he handsome!?!!!

Food Poisoning = Zero Fun!

Something really got to me yesterday, and although I am NOT going to give the gory details, just know that I have the utmost sympathy for any and all of you who have suffered through food poisoning. It is awful! Thankfully I am back on the mend today, which is good because I have my sweet sister, Gloria, is coming to visit! I am sure that she'll help me perk right up, and just knowing that she is going to be able to spend some time with us is already making me feel better! Love you, Glo!!!

Simple Pleasures

Here are a few pics that I took of Johnathan before taking back my camera...as you can tell, they are a little fuzzy, but you can still enjoy seeing his sweet little face as he enjoys an "ice cream" cone. Also, Johnathan is turning into quite the little helper! See how good he is at washing the dishes?! ENJOY!

Pillow Talk

Okay people, I think that I may be a bit of a sewing/design genius...well maybe not, but last night I made three of the most beautiful pillows I have ever seen! Haha! I drew some sketches up a few days ago of what I wanted them to look like, and after I finished sewing them yesterday evening, I surpassed even my own expectations. And---get this---they only cost about $15 dollars...and that's only because I had to buy the pillow forms and a few pieces of trim. I re-purposed some old robin's egg blue curtain fabric, made use of some sewing supplies I already had on hand, and used some lovely white antique buttons that used to be my great-grandmother's. All of that, combined with the espresso colored lace and rick-rack that I bought, turned into something simply charming! (I would post pics, but my new camera [a Nikon] just wasn't cutting it and we returned it...so I'll be researching what kind of camera to get, and until then I will just leave you in anticipation!).

The first pillow I made is a 14x14 inch pillow. I cut out a silhouette of a cute little bird, sitting on a leafed branch out of dark brown felt and applied that to the front of my pillow fabric. Then after some hemming and such, I sewed all my fabric pieces together using the rick-rack as my trim around the edge of the pillow. This was a bit tricky, as I have never sewn any sort of piping or anything around a pillow...heck, this was my first time to even make a pillow! But, after snipping off the last lingering thread, I turned the pillow right side out, and I was filled with such satisfaction! It was just what I wanted, and more!

The second pillow (my favorite) is a 12"x16". I designed it to where the opening is in the front, two pieces of fabric overlap to create sort of what a button down shirt looks like. And then, I used 4 vintage buttons, along with the brown rick-rack to "close" or button up the pillow. I sewed a single piece of espresso-colored lace down the front opposite the buttons, covering up the ends of the "hooks" made out of rick-rack to wrap around the buttons and keep the pillow closed. The total effect is really beautiful, and it looks very vintage. I like this one because of the added fact that the buttons used to be my great-grandma, Grace's!

The third pillow is much like the second, but without the buttons and with a piece of rick-rack also sewn alongside the lace. It is simple, yet stunning and it compliments the whole set quite beautifully. I can't wait for my new bedding to come in so that I can display my pillows properly! Our new bedding is a lovely white matelasse with matching pillow shams. I am going to buy (or make) two medium sized espresso brown pillows to put in front of the white shams, and then I'll place my 3 (gorgeous!) robin's egg blue pillows in front. The whole package should be as pretty as a picture!

I really can't wait to show you guys pictures of what I've been creating. I've also made a few other things for around the house, but will talk about those things later...I need to make the most of Johnathan's nap time right now, and go do some stuff around here! I'll be back though, don't you worry! ;)

Just because you have something...

Last night I had a lot of time to myself. Johnathan went down early, and Aaron was up at work until almost 11pm delivering a baby of one of his patients...(side note: Aaron performed his first unassisted C-Section! I'm talking he was the surgeon! How cool is that!!! Can you believe that he is able to do that?!!! It's so cool that he is able to do surgeries, and a major one at that! Mom and baby are doing great, and Aaron is the #1 doctor in the world...or at least in my heart!)...anyways, back to my night.

Since I had some time alone, I continued my decorating quest, and I also had time to reflect on what's in my house. First of all, I was thinking that just because you have something doesn't mean you have to have it out. Certain areas of my house were looking a little too cluttered for me, and I realized that I can put things away, out of eyesight, and be okay with that. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I realized that just because you have something doesn't mean you have to keep it! Therefore, I have an ever-growing garage sale/give-away pile in my sun room. I have been gathering up stuff for months that could be used better by someone else, and I really need to have a sale sometime soon...of course that presents a problem when I have a little toddler running about. Plus, Aaron already said that I need to do the sale on a weekend that he's working...he doesn't like garage sales! ;)

Anywho, just a few thoughts I've had while cleaning/decorating/de-cluttering!

"Grammy Style"

Several months ago, when Johnathan was a wee baby, he got a pretty bad diaper rash while we were up visiting my folks. I remember changing one of his wet diapers, after my mom had changed him previously, and upon opening up the diaper I was shocked (in a good way) at how much of the diaper rash cream was still on his little bum. I guess I started to laugh or something, because my mom came over and said something like "I'm not going to let him have a rash on my watch!" She had put so much desitin on him it looked like his bottom was iced like a cake! Well, it worked, and the rash went away quick!

Anyways, Johnathan has another nappy rash, and every time I change his diaper I think of my mom, and I slather on the ointment "Grammy-Style!" The other day when I told Aaron that I thought that Johnathan's rash was getting better, he even said "the other night when I changed him, I put on the cream Grammy-Style!" So, Grammy, thanks for warming our thoughts with something as simple as putting on diaper rash cream! You're the BEST!!! We love you!

Decorating Do-Over Continued

Since my last post I have been brainstorming on ways to re-create my home to fit what I can now confidently say is my own style. And, in doing so, I have discovered a few things that I already had laying around my house that were just shouting to be used...and now that my ears have been opened to their cries, I have been able to display them properly. Poor things, they were hidden in my hope chest, but now they can grace my home with their loveliness!

My latest "creation" is the center piece for my dining room table. The table itself is fantastic. Our neighbors gave it to us since it was just sitting, unused, under a bed in their home. It is a beautiful dark-stained wood, solid as they come, with lovely carvings on the legs and has a sculpted top. Anyways, I did have a few things on the surface of the table to break up the expanse of shiny wood, but wasn't really happy with what the total package looked like. So, yesterday afternoon, after a brainstorming session, I came up with an idea that is still in the works, but what I have created so far is already making me smile! I was able to use some decorative jars that I had in the garage, some vintage recipes cards from my hope chest, some wine bottle corks, some tea light candles and a package of coffee beans. It might sound like an interesting combo, but I promise it works! I'll try to post pics when it's completed.

It's amazing what you can find around your house that can be totally transformed into something different than its original use. Or, perhaps there are things that you forgot even existed that can be used for their original purpose, and you just need a little reminder to use them. That's what I have been discovering the last couple of days. I went through my hope chest and found several "gems" that I am totally excited to use. The first thing is a set of antique/vintage recipe cards from my great-grandmother, Grace. They are now part of the ensemble that "grace" my dining room table, displayed in a glass jar. I found several recipes in her own hand writing, and one of the recipes that you can read through the jar is dated 11/02/1959...pretty cool!

I also found a set of vintage pillow cases that came from my great-grandma Norwood's home. They are simply lovely, with little birdies and flowers stitched on their edges. I totally forgot that I had these, and I can't wait to use them on our new bedding...which is another story...

...I am in love with JC Penney's online Outlet! I found some beautiful bedding...a quilt and 2 shams that totaled less than $60...with free shipping!!! Pretty amazing. They should be getting here later this week, and I have already designed some pillows that will be made out of some curtains that are going to be re-purposed for a new use! Also, I am in the works making a wall hanging to go over our bed that will be made out of an old cabinet door...it might sound a little weird, but the design I have in my head is fool-proof! I can't wait to see it all put together. So far this past weekend has been a decorating success, and I only spent a little over 58 bucks and have gotten way more than that in return. I'm totally stoked!

My Style

For several years now I have been trying to define my decorating style. My trouble is that I have always liked way too many different things that don't necessarily fit into the "same" category. I used to love the New England/Americana theme...red, white and blue, lighthouses and such. That has been out the window for several years now, but I haven't really had the time/money to re-do my house...plus, I was still struggling with what exactly I wanted my home to look like. Well, in the last few weeks I have finally found my style...and it was a style that I was sort of leaning toward all along - I call it Country Cottage, and I am in love with it now! It's not country in the sense of chickens and pigs on dish towel with a cheesy saying, and it definitely doesn't include what you might think of as "traditional" country colors...navys, reds, golds and yellows. Nope, that's NOT my style. Country Cottage, as I define it, is a unique collection of antiques and new items that are soft on the eyes, and that make you feel like you're surrounded with peace and tranquility. Things that define your life, and things that make you feel at home. My new color palette for my home consists (or will consist) of classic whites and creams, my new favorite color-muted turquoise-, robin's egg blue, greens and browns to add a bit of masculine touch...I can't have Aaron living in a doll house! I love having a soft color palette with a few pops of color such as a bright coral or red...just the right amount of contrast to keep everything from becoming too mundane.

Currently I have "re-made" my dining room since it didn't need too much work. I didn't really add much, but the few touches that I was able to make have made me very happy. I have been working on the kitchen, and it is currently my favorite room in the house, but it still needs a little work to get to where I can call it finished. My next quest is our bedroom. I really want to brighten it up, and so I pretty much have to start from scratch...new linens on the bed, and a few new accessories to tie my style together. I am getting really excited about decorating my home in a way that reflects me, and making it a place where others feel welcomed and like they belong. Some of the biggest challenges are 1) money...obviously I can't spend a fortune (actually I can't spend much at all!), so I have to be very wise with my choices and try to make things myself as I go. 2) We rent our home, so I can't really make any cosmetic changes to the actual house, I can just add to what is already here. 3) Baby-friendliness! There is a lot that I would love to do but just can't because, well, we have a toddler who loves to get into everything! So I have to consider that when making my changes.

Anyways, I just thought I would share my discovery! I am always striving toward making a home that Aaron loves to come back to, and a place that encourages and uplifts Johnathan to be the boy and man that he will become some day. Of course, how my home is decorated does not largely play a roll in those things, but if I can make my heart as "homey" as my house, then maybe I will be in a place that allows me to overflow into others' lives. I sure hope so!

Uh, Oh! He's Saying...

..."No, no!" Yep, that dreadful word is finally coming out of my little baby's mouth. And no wonder when he hears..."No, no Johnathan, don't climb on the table...No, no Monkey, you can't play with the outlets...No, no Honey, don't stick food in your ears." And the list of "no's" could go on, and on! I was trying to not say no with him, and I was attempting to get the message across other ways...but "please, do not do that" just wasn't cutting it, and "no" was the only thing that came to mind otherwise. So, he's not even a year and a half, and he's already saying no back to me! What ever am I going to do?!

You may have noticed a lack of substantial information over the last couple of weeks...I think my last post was on my birthday, and that was a little over a week ago. Well, we have been busy here...just not the good kind of busy. About 2 weeks ago Aaron landed in the hospital with a rather stubborn kidney stone that decided it wanted to put up quite a fight before being forced out! Aaron was pretty sick, and I felt sort of sick too...but only because my over-dramatized imagination had convinced me he was dying! After several, (several!), talks with one of Aaron's doctor friends, I was reassured that he was going to be okay, but I wasn't fully convinced until Aaron's lab work came back showing that he was indeed getting better. Phew! Also, just as Aaron started to recoup, Johnathan came down with a double ear infection and a throat infection! Poor thing! He still has a nasty cough, but his little ears seem to be on the mend. Thank goodness for modern meds that really kick those infections where it counts! :)

Also in the past couple of weeks we've had some more company! Grant was able to join us down here in CC for about 3 days, and was here for my birthday...3 years in a row he has trekked down here to celebrate with me! Aaron's mom and aunt also spent a couple days with us, and spent some time out in our yard "taming" the growth that has been allowed to take over pretty much everything since (and before) we moved in. It looks so much better now, and we're very appreciative of their efforts!

In other news, I did receive a camera for my birthday, so be looking soon for some new updated pictures. I know that it has been too long since you last saw our beautiful little boy! He has sure grown in the last month, and is becoming quite a feisty little guy...just like his mama! Haha! Love you all!

Ain't it Great, I'm 28!!!

Today marks my 28th Birthday, and with the passing of another year I have been reflecting on all that I have to be thankful for...a precious family who loves me, a wonderful husband who adores me, and a sweet baby boy who calls me mama! Lots to be grateful for, that's for sure! So happy birthday to me! Thank you Jesus for watching over me these past 28 years, and for loving me enough to give me the chance to live (with YOU!) for eternity!

Cleaning & Candles

I like to clean...let me rephrase that, I love to clean. Yeah, I'm a weirdo, but I find amazing satisfaction in maintaining and having a clean home! I guess that's a good thing since I'm a homemaker - it would sort of stink if I hated my job! I love it though, and I have a little ritual that I perform when a room is clean. I love yummy scents...and I adore candles...especially the TYLER Candle Co. candles, they are the best! So, whenever I finished cleaning a particular room, I light a candle in it. I guess it is sort of my reward for a job well done. Occasionally I will light a candle in a "dirty" room, but then I feel like I'm cheating, so I get motivated to tidy it up and then enjoy the wonderful scents that fill the clean room.

Anyways, it may be a little odd, but that's what I do! Oh, and I love coordinating the scents with the room...for example, I enjoy fresh fruity or citrusy scents in the kitchen, but prefer warmer more mellow scents in the living room. The bathroom usually has a more floral/citrus scented candle, and the bedrooms almost always have a more perfumey smelling candle lit in them. I have also taken to creating some of my own scents using essential oils and aromatherapy. Most of the blends that I have come up with contain two or more of the following oils...Bergamot (love it!), Peppermint (so nice and fresh!), Clove (mmm, yummy!), Orange, Lime, Tangerine, Lemon (citrus heaven), Rose Absolute (okay, can we say delicious?!), Lavender (lovely!) and Cinnamon (delish!). It has been a lot of fun to play around with different oils and to see what happens when they blend together. My favorite mix so far has been a bergamot/rose absolute/orange blend. It smells quite heavenly, and fills the room very quickly with its aroma! Yum!

So now you know a little quirk of mine. Feel free to share some of your own! :)

Welcome to the World...

...precious Levi Samuel Sutphin!!! Yes, Gwen and Matt have another healthy, beautiful baby boy. He arrived earlier today, and I hear that he's just the cutest thing, and that he resembles his big brother, Miles! I couldn't be prouder, and I can't wait to see pictures of my precious new little nephew. You are already loved so much, little one, and you have a whole big family just waiting to see you in person!!!

Love to all!!!

I am already in love with his little face!

Making "Mema Plants"

Several years ago my grandma, Mema, gave me a Pothos plant that she had rooted and potted herself from one of her own plants. It was beautiful and the perfect plant for me since I was somewhat neglectful in watering it on a regular basis---Pothos are very forgiving though, and perk right up again once remembered!

Mema is a pro at "making" these lovely plants...and had at one point over 50 in her house - I counted! Her plants always look so beautiful, the leaves shiny and full. So, since Mema has such a green thumb when it comes to these, I lovingly refer to them as "Mema Plants." They remind me of her whenever I see them...which is quite often...and here's why...

...okay, back to my original plant from Mema...One day I decided to try out what Mema had told me, and so I snipped a few leaves and stems off and put them into a glass of water. And you know what?! Several days later I saw tiny little roots growing, reaching toward the bottom of the glass. After that first experience I was hooked, and now growing my "Mema Plants" has become almost an obsession. I love it. I love to watch them grow from little rootlings to being potted in a proper plant home. I love it so much that at last count (which was yesterday!) I have over 50 pothos in my own home now! 28 in permanent "homes" and 23 in glass jars, growing until they're ready to settle down for good too.

So, thank you Mema for starting me out on my own green thumb journey. You have helped to cultivate in me a love of growing things, and maybe someday my own grand-kids will fondly think of me whenever they see a "Mema Plant." I love you!

Mama's Boy

Today I enjoyed a lot of time with my little Mama's boy. Although, when Johnathan is older, I hope that he doesn't turn out to be a Mama's boy...at least in the sense that he is still living at home when he's thirty, depending on me to do his laundry, cook his food, etc. For now though, I am cherishing the time I have with my little man. Some days Johnathan is little Mr. Independent, but not this morning. He sat on the couch with me and we had a lovely conversation about what we could see around the room---the soccer ball, the football, the bouncy balls, the basket ball (you can tell we have a lot of balls!)...and we also talked about what we could see outside through the window...today is trash-day, so we watched the garbage men come and pick up our trash...Johnathan perked up as soon as he heard the rumble of the truck, and we waited on the couch until we saw it outside.

Johnathan is pointing at everything these days, and as we sat together on the couch he would point at things, say what they were and then say some other words that I haven't quite figured out yet. It was so cute to just be able to talk to him without him running around, especially since I got a lot of snuggle time in between chatting! And then, when he finally did want to get down off the couch, he still wanted me to be close by, and grabbed my hand to hold as he walked around...PRECIOUS!!!

We have a couple new words to add to Johnathan's vocabulary list: bug (sounds like buh), and boo-boo (that's our word for nursing! haha!). His verbal skills are really starting to shine, and I am enjoying getting to communicate with him more now through talking. In other news, Johnathan has all of his 12M molars now too. He just got the top and bottom molars on the right side within the last week or so, and I'm hoping that this translates into some better sleep at night, both for him and for me!

We aren't doing too much these days aside from "normal life." It is getting really hot here, yet thankfully it isn't too humid like usual since we are having a serious drought here. So even though we need the rain, I am glad that the heat is relatively dry and also that the mosquitos haven't caused their normal pestiness like they do when we get some good rain. Hope that you all are doing well, enjoying summer and keeping cool!

Wearing Off

When Aaron first started his residency over a year ago he was given a pager. The first time that he got paged while at home I sort of thought it was cool...I got to hear him speak his "doctor talk" to the nurse who paged him, telling her what needed to be done with the patient in question. Well, now that we're a year down the road, the "cool factor" is definitely wearing off. Whenever I hear that pager buzzing I just want to chuck it out the window sometimes. It almost always goes off when Aaron and I are trying to catch up after he's just returned from another long days work. Mid-sentence that thing will go off, *buzz, buzz, buzz*, and I don't wait around to hear the doctor talk, because I know what it sounds like by now. Our conversation, which a lot of times has barely started usually gets forgotten, and my growing annoyance with that dang pager keeps being fueled. I think that patience is a virtue that I definitely need to work on since I'm pretty sure that Aaron will have a pager attached to his hip, or at least in the vicinity, for years to come. Cool, huh? Not so much!

*Okay, done with my venting, I'm good to go!*

"Hi"

Lately I've noticed that Johnathan really likes to "talk" on the phone. Whenever my cell phone is within reach, or whenever he sees his little telephone, he will pick it up (flip it open if it's my phone) and say "Hi!" He then proceeds to have a little conversation and then ends with "Bye-bye." It is absolutely adorable, and some more proof that he is indeed watching what I do and copying it! I guess I need to stay on top of my game so that he has a good example! Haha!

On a not-so-happy note, Johnathan currently has an ear-infection...his 4th...in his left ear. We caught it pretty early on though, so he seems to be doing okay after a few days on his antibiotics. I hate to have him sick, for whatever reason, and I will be glad once he is feeling all better again.

Today is the graduation ceremony for the doctors at Aaron's hospital who have completed their 3 years of residency. In only 2 short years Aaron will join them in the ranks of "real doctors!" For now though, he is a second year resident...or an upper-level as they are sometimes called! Woohoo!!!

Enjoying Summer

The last several weeks have been very busy here. First off, a couple of weeks ago we had some visitors...Auntie Gaily and Uncle Gaffin paid us a visit! Yay! We had a good couple of days with them, did a few uniquely "Corpus" outings...the Aquarium, the beach and Gatherings (the cutest little gift shop ever!). It was wonderful, and as always we totally loved spending time with some of our dear family! We love you, Gail and Matthew!

Then, during Gail and Matt's visit I got the news that we were going to have some more visitors!!! Yay! Gwen (and baby in tummy), Matt and Miles headed down south to enjoy some of the Corpus Christi charm...and to see us, of course! We did another round of CC, saw the Aquarium, went to the beach, and although we didn't hit Gatherings again, we did manage to visit a park or two...boys and parks, they go hand in hand! Gwen captured a lot of our 4+ days together on camera...ours is still broken, thus the absent pics from Gail and Matt's visit...and I think that you'll be able to see just what a wonderful time we all had. We love you guys!!!

Me, Gwen and the Boys at the Aquarium!
Johnathan staring at the dolphins swimming.
Miles and Johnathan...that orange ball was a favorite toy to play with and share!
Playing in the sand!
Building a sand castle with Mommy!
Miles eating his "snack"...a cookie! Must be nice to be on vacation!
Johnathan also enjoying his snack!
The men, grilling up some dogs!
Miles, racing to catch a wave!
Johnathan was NOT afraid of the ocean...at all!
Feet in Sand!
Cute little guy!
Sweet cousins!
I love his teeth in this one! CUTE!!!

Mrs. Fix-it!

We all know that moms wear many hats---mommy, wife, cook, maid, personal finance manager, and the list could go on...and on...and on...and on! Okay, you get the point, we do a lot! Well today I played the role of plumber! Let me explain...

...as I was feeding Johnathan his lunch, I heard what sounded like an explosion---coming from his you-know-where. Aah, just another day in the life of me! Haha! After he finished eating I prepared to get him out and change his dirty diaper...and that's when I saw it...brown ooze dripping down the front of his high-chair, and upon further investigation I could see it oozing all the way up the back of his shirt! YUCK! I ran to the bathroom and got the water going, and then carefully carried my dirty little Monkey into the tub...I plopped him in, clothes and all. Little bits of yuck started floating in the water, and as I un-clothed Johnathan and tried to rinse off the nastiness and wash it down the drain I discovered we had a problem...a slow, very slow drain. I had noticed this in the past day or so, but didn't really think about it until it was too late! After several attempts to clean out the tub I was somewhat successful. And, after drying off Baby J. and sticking him in his Pack'n'Play to play for a while, I put on my "plumber's hat" (no crack involved) and got to work.

Several weeks ago I played this same role. Only that time it was a whole lot easier to play. I went out to Home Depot and bought a drain auger...a nice little instrument that is very handy in cleaning out some of the gunk that accumulates in old drains and pipes and slows them down. It was a nice, quick job---20 minutes, drain all cleaned and parts put back in place. I thought that today's job would be easy too...and it would have been if an old piece of pipe hadn't fallen off of the back-side of the tub and down into the abyss otherwise known as the space between our house and the ground underneath! What to do???!!! Well, as any smart-thinking-quick-on-her-feet woman would do I went fishing...hanger duct-taped to an old curtain rod fishing! I peeked through the opening from Johnathan's closet to the space beneath the tub, and I fished! And it worked, first time too!

After I "fished" the needed pipe off of the ground I went about screwing back together the pieces that I had taken apart. It was a frustrating time, but I sort of felt good knowing that I had accomplished a "manly" task all by myself. I'm not quite sure if I have totally fixed the slow-drain for good or not, but for now the tub is clean and I'm feeling quite smug about being a Mrs. Fix-it!

Window to the Soul

I'm sure I'm not the first one to say this, nor the last that will feel it, but I truly believe that music is the window to the soul. It evokes so many emotions and feelings, brings back long-forgotten memories, and can provide a perk to pick you up when you're feeling down. It allows us to communicate our feelings with each other, and to give praise to the ONE who created us to enjoy one of life's biggest joys---music!

It is somewhat mysterious how one medium can cause so many differing emotions. Lately I have been listening to the Anna and the King Soundtrack. I purchased it via Amazon.com, and as soon as I hit that "Place Order" button I started to actually crave listening to the music...I almost went to the store to purchase the CD before the one I ordered got here, that's how much I wanted to listen to it. I got it on Monday, and have listened to the whole CD multiple times since. It has provided something that I think that I have been needing for a while. Time to reflect on how I'm doing emotionally. And, upon reflection, I guess I'm doing okay...at least I'm doing "normal" for me. There are bits of happiness, love and even a little bit of sadness that I've found in myself, yet overall there is an extreme sense of thankfulness that I feel for all that God has blessed me with. Anyways, I love music, love what it does to me when I'm surrounded by it, and I love enjoying one of life's simple pleasures!

Here are some of my music favorites right now:
-Anna and the King Soundtrack, especially the "Execution" song, track 15 I think
-Grace, a song that I'm learning to play on the piano right now, it is simply beautiful
-East to West, from Casting Crowns' album The Altar and the Door, I pretty much love anything by Casting Crowns, their music really makes me think about how I'm living the Christian life

Well, those were just my thoughts today about music. Now it's time to go work on some of that thankfulness that I'm feeling, and go enjoy taking care of the precious baby that God has blessed me with!

'Ant'ics

The past several weeks I have noticed a sparse little trail of ants crawling on my kitchen counter close to the sink area. While I pride myself on having a fairly clean kitchen, those little ants seem to be able to find even the smallest little speck of a crumb. When I first saw those little critters, I thought I'd try to do something to get rid of them, but here it is a few weeks later and they are still here. I haven't gotten rid of them, and in fact I've even started to enjoy their appearance as they run to and fro getting food for their ant hill friends.

One day I noticed that whenever I'd come into the kitchen they would all scurry back into the small crack in the window where they had come from. I just thought that they were scared of the "big giant" that I am to them, and found it curious that each time I showed up they would all run away. Yesterday morning I walked into the kitchen, saw the typical little trail of ants and waited around for them to go running...but they didn't, they stayed. Hmm, I started to wonder why they chose this time to be brave, and then I figured it out. I hadn't washed my hands yet, so the water hadn't been turned on---time to test a theory. I turned on the water and sprayed it close to where the ants were walking down into the sink, and you know what, they all turned around and ran for the hills! It was so funny! Also, whenever an ant was walking toward the sink the ones running for dear life would stop right in front of them, and, as if they were having a little conversation, both ants would touch antennas and then they would head back to the hill together. Amazing! This happened with each set of ants passing each other...except for one really stubborn ant who had to see the water for himself, and then he turned around and headed back home.

Another cute thing that I have never seen ants to is give themselves a bath. Last night after I had "scared" another little group of ants back home, I noticed that on the way back almost every one of them stopped by tiny, minute little droplets of water. They all got on their back legs, and as they were standing straight up they would dip their front legs into the water and then wash off their face and antennae. Isn't that amazing?! They even had tiny little ant shadows! Haha! Anyways, I've been enjoying some of God's smallest creation, and have marveled at how wonderful He made them, and much more so how wonderful He has made me. So, the next time you see a little trail of ants, take a moment and watch how they live. I promise you will marvel at God's handiwork too!

What a Weekend!

We had a fantastic weekend! It was one of those rare occasions where Aaron actually had Saturday off...I know, amazing, right?! Right now he is on a rotation that gives him only 2 days off out of 28! Dang! It's not too bad during the week since he usually gets home around 5:30 or so, but the weekends have been a little tough. Anyways, this past Saturday was the first day Aaron has had off in 2 weeks, so we wanted to really enjoy it...and we did!

Saturday afternoon STARS hosted a family movie day, and we went to go see the new Night at the Museum movie. The movie was great, Johnathan did totally wonderful and sat in his booster through the whole thing, and Aaron and I were able to have a good time too. If you're wondering what STARS is, it stands for South Texas Association of Resident Spouses, and it is a program designed to bring the residents and families of the residents together through different events/parties/get-togethers. I have been helping out with it this past year, and have been able to meet a lot of really nice people. This year I'm taking over STARS since my sweet friend, Blanca, who has been running it is moving. I'm excited about this opportunity, and thankful that I'll have a new friend, Tiffany, who will be helping me! Yay!

Okay, moving on with our fun weekend...

...Saturday evening we went to a bonfire on the beach, and if you've never been to one of those, let me tell you they are a blast! We went along with several other residents and their families, and we all had a great time. The moon was gorgeous shining over the water, the fire was awesome and provided some warmth from the chilly ocean breeze. Once again, Johnathan was a champ and did great during our evening out. He really enjoyed playing in the sand, and was able to hang out with some of his little buddies building sand castles. After playing for quite a while, Johnathan got a little sleepy and following a moonlit walk on the beach in his stroller, he fell asleep for an hour or so. We left the beach around 1:15 in the morning! On the way back home our friend's car died, so we stopped on the side of the road to wait for another friend to come tow them back home. It was fun, although I do feel bad on my friend's behalf since her car has to be fixed, but we used the extra time together to continue our wonderful evening. Someone got a bag of Doritos out and some dip, and we passed the bag around and laughed and had a grand ol' time on the side of the road! Haha! We got home Saturday night (Sunday morning) at 3:00! Aaron had to be at work at 7:00 so we all hit the hay asap. It was a fun evening, and one that I'm sure we'll remember for a long time.

Sunday wasn't too noteworthy, except that Johnathan did take a 4 hour long nap!!! I guess all the partying from the day before had him really worn out! Haha! I did go check on him a couple times during his nap just to make sure he was okay. He woke up really hungry since he had slept straight through lunch and snack-time. After I filled his little belly up he was good to go and just had fun playing and hanging out with me. Aaron returned home from work around 3 in the afternoon, and he was exhausted! After a quick cat nap he was ready to go too, and we all enjoyed the rest of the day together.

Well, that was our weekend more or less. It was so nice to have Aaron home all Saturday, and I'm already looking forward to the next Saturday that he has off---in two weeks!