while driving home, something hit me

sometimes it's easy to get too focused on what's going wrong or what you don't have in life and forget everything god has provided you with. i admit i'm guilty of it. why is it so much easier to complain than it is to rejoice?

so for all the negative things i tend to obsess on, here are all the things of the top of my head (in no particular order) that god has blessed me with:

1. my life
2. a supportive, loving, selfless, hard-working husband (who also is great at being a dad!)
3. a beautiful, sweet, helpful, chatterbox of a daughter :)
4.a helpful, giving, soon to be teenager of a son
5. his grace
6. transportation
7. food
8. warm, sunny days
9. cold, rainy days
10. coffee
11. his word
12. communication devices (e.g. mobiles, skype, e-mail, facebook, the world wide web, and even snail mail)
13. water (in more ways than one)
14. clothing
15. cross point
16. living in lakewood
17. friday night dinners
18. having a home where we can share our hospitality with others
19. being able to cook for others
20. our neighbors (on both sides)
21. aaron's job
22. my employer
23. my flexible work hours and their openness to bringing my kids to work.
24. blogging
25. the computer
26. electricity
27. family near and far
28. a warm bed to go to at night
29. heat and a/c
30. being able to provide for all of our children's basic needs
31. cold, snowy days
32. unending and everlasting love

more play-doh fun

sister and brother get creative with play-doh.





















































choo...choo!

picnic at the park

we had the very last picninc at the park for 2008 today. sad. no more outdoor bbq, chilling on the grass, volleyball, or watching the kids run around outside. summer is coming to a close. the end is near for my flip flops. i'm never ready for fall. or winter for that matter.

anyway, we had a great time today. there was even a TV so that we wouldn't miss any of the cleveland browns game...even though they lost (and i didn't pay attention to the game at all). i was slacking on the photos, so i only managed to grab a few snapshots.

hanging out with my aunt corrie

a saturday afternoon with aunt corrie involved LOTS of book reading (mostly for emma), showing off the catchy mercenaries 2 jingle on youtube, playing hang on sloopy on the cornet for her, and sharing some delicious einstein bagels.













thanks aunt corrie!

rainy zoo day

this wet and dreary morning was spent at the zoon with gram, pap, and benjamin.

as we waited for them to arrive, emma happily stood in the rain stomping puddles, catching raindrops with her hands, and letting the little droplets drizzle down her raincoat.



























we stayed inside the rainforest area to keep ourselves dry, and emma enjoyed a special seat at the top of ben's stroller. the double-decker as we call it.

















the mammals seemed fairly active, especially the orangutans (indonesian for forest person: orang=person, utan=forest). there was a sweet little baby rolling around and playing with what seemed like an older sibling. then the mama came up very close to the window to say hello to the gentleman who manages the animals at the zoo. it was a bit surreal watching them communicate without any sound at all. there's always something new to experience at the zoo.

choo...choo!

a case of mistaken identity

yesterday, tyler and emma came with me to the Y since i had a class to teach. the two of them hung out in the hall outside of the dance studio (a.k.a. the dungeon), for the most part, as they waited for me to finish up.

being the sweet big brother he is, tyler did an excellent job making sure emma didn't wander off too far.

a lot of the times, when emma plays she often neglects her blankie and the rest of us are responsible for taking care of it. according to tyler, as they were playing he had ended up being blankie's caretaker. apparently a young boy (around 6 years old) mistook him for a bully who had taken a little girl's most cherished possession. he came right up to ty (who is obviously taller and older than him), grabbed the blankie and returned it to emma. all the while saying, "you just don't take people's stuff like that!"

there is hope for the young men in this world. chivalry, courage and honor is not lost among them after all!

thursday play group

location for september: cahoon park's play n' bay.

it was very hot today, but i think the kids had a good time. the whole playground is gated so there is no escape for the little ones unless they try to jump the fence. it was nice to pretty much let emma roam free.

tactile learning

emma having some fun with play-doh.















later on in the day we went for a long walk where she found plenty of things to touch (sorry no photos since i left the camera at home): almost paper-like tree bark (which she broke up into tiny little pieces), crunchy leaves, sticks, carved letters in stone (which she sang to), brick, a baby's feet (with whom she was quite friendly with).

labor day feast

we had some friends and family over yesterday for a delicious labor day feast of grilled brisket with bbq sauce, veggie kabobs and baked beans. thanks to melissa and gram for providing us a wonderful selection of chocolate brownie cake and chocolate chip cookie bars for dessert. yum! we had a great time sharing a meal and a few laughs together.

embroidery

now that little layla has received her birthday gift, here is part of what we gave her.























i found this cute top @ target. i had wanted to do the wing with a patterned fabric for contrast, but i didn't have time to find something that would complement the outfit. maybe once i learn to sew i can make my own tops to make coordinating the applique much easier. anyway, as you can see, i added her special nickname that her mama and daddy call her on the back of her shirt. i can't wait to see it on her!

i am in the process of making a couple more of these embroidery and applique projects to put up for sale. updates coming soon on that.


choo...choo!