Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Ten Smile Tuesday

it's tuesday again...i probably say this a lot, but time sure does fly by! not a real eventful week for us...just trying to keep up with the girls and with the housework. there's always some smiles to be found, however!

1. baby wraps. i think i'm in love...or at least serious like! you probably know i've tried out a few different baby carriers since having nadia (and really, i did try a couple different ones with leila as well). well, i have found my very favorite, and it's a wrap! i've seen them before, but i always thought they looked complicated and wasn't sure how secure baby would be. i recently ordered a wrap and i REALLY like it! once i practiced a few times with it, it wasn't nearly as complicated as it looked. it holds nadia nice and secure. it's very comfortable (it barely feels like i'm carrying her), and nadia is very content snuggled up to to me. anyway...isn't it fun?! i've used it several times in the whole one week i've had it.

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2. scissors. and really, this is a smile and a frown, lol! i picked up some kid scissors recently because liberty has been begging me to use scissors, and i figure it's a good fine motor skills activity and all. she was doing pretty good with them...until i turned my back for 5 seconds and she cut out a small chunk of hair! it was probably a good 6 inch long hunk of hair from the back. it's not too noticeable because some of her hair falls over the area she cut.

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3. these cute bean bag letters (actually, i used rice to fill them). i whipped them up for a friend's daughter's birthday. as you can see, i just did the letters of her name. they are really cute, but a bit time consuming!

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4. my little diaper "helper" (or should i say troublemaker!). she was so proud of herself!

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5. libbs and puny watching cartoons on the hide-a-bed...using the quilt my gram made for me when i graduated from high school. gotta' love it!

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6. knitting. the other day when leila and nadia were napping i sat in my chair and knit while liberty was playing. she wanted to help me knit so bad, so i got her some extra yarn and a pair of needles so she could pretend to knit. she had a lot of fun with that...although eventually she gave up trying and used her needles and drumsticks.

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7. this is two smiles in one, i guess. the first is pockets...is it just me, or is it one of the cutest thing ever when small children walking around with their hands in their pockets?! the second is leila wearing a sweater that was knit for me when i was a little girl (gram, did you knit this? mom thinks it was you). i love passing on that homemade love!

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8. liberty. she says the funniest things every day. and wouldn't you know i can't think of anything right now...but just know she makes us smile and laugh with something she says every day (which is a good thing, since it counteracts the major attitude problem she's had of late!). oh, here's something...

liberty woke up one night when leila woke up...jonathan went in to take care of them.

daddy: go back to sleep libby. i love you.

libbs: thank you for loving me daddy. you can go now.

9. jonathan, my love. i'm so proud of him. he's growing so much in the Lord and it is so evident in the changes i've seen in him. and he's working so hard to take care of our family...i love him and the life we have together (the mountains AND the valleys!).

10. Lamentations 3:22-25 "The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul. 'Therefore I have hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him."


**please keep praying for the pollak family. their precious katelyn passed away...my heart is so heavy for them. landon, brennan and brooklyn still need all the prayers they can get...they have a long road ahead of them. nich & jennie also have a 3-yr-old daughter named hailey. i know they appreciate all the prayers and support.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Please Pray...

...for my friends nich & jennie.  jennie just gave birth to quadruplets today at 23 1/2 weeks.  from what i heard, she went into labor and they were unable to stop it so she had an emergency c-section.  the doctors were surprised at how well the babies were doing so far.  i am sure nich & jennie would appreciate your prayers! 

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ten Smile Tuesday

1.  a trip to the park to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.

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2.  a couple of new recipes i tried recently that were oh so yummy.  spaghetti squash primavera (pictured) and manicotti w/ eggplant sauce (sorry, no picture).  they are both definitely recipes we will use again!

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3.  a snack and movie night for the girls.  i do this once in a while when jonathan has to work closing.  the girls love it and it's a good way to wind down before bed.

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4.  our sweet baby girl who is growing oh so fast!  i had to capture pictures of her sweet little hands and feet.

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5.  nadia and leila playing together...which they do so well!  this picture makes me laugh.

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6.  these three faces.  liberty sleeping.  leila looking more like her daddy.  and nadia how she looks when she is discovering or pondering things.

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7.  leila's crazy sense of fashion.  she's always trying to dress herself and comes up with some crazy combinations.

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8.  a bonfire.  it was fun to enjoy the evening outside and let the kids play while we had a little bonfire.  too bad i forgot to get stuff for s'mores!  we had to put nadia in the exersaucer because she was making a fast beeline for the fire!!

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9.  the $2 michigan cheerleader outfit i got at a yard sale for liberty 2 years ago has now been passed on to leila.  GO BLUE!

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10.  a leg ride and donuts from poppo.  for these girls, this combination is perfect!

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11.  a binky clip.  now hopefully we will not lose nadia's binky's when we are out and about.  i made this one...i think it turned out a tad too long for my liking, but it serves it's purpose well.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

10 Smile Tuesday

1.  finally finding my camera dock/charger (i found it at my dad's house).  hooray!  i can finally take pictures again!  and just for fun i took these pictures of the girls...aren't they beautiful?!

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2.  homemade baby food.  yum.  actually, nadia seems to eat it much better than the store bought stuff.  the food in this particular picture is squash fresh from the garden (a friend's garden). 

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3.  finishing a knitted hat for nadia for the coming winter.  it's a tad big on her, but doesn't she look cute in it?  i love this hat pattern.

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4.  starting a new knitting project.  this one makes me smile because i finally found the courage to try cable knitting, which i always thought would be so complicated.  however, i've been pleasantly surprised with how easy it's been.

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5.  this picture of leila and i sleeping on the couch (definitely not the best picture of me...but leila's cute!).  jonathan snuck this picture the other morning.  leila has been having trouble sleeping lately (teething, i think) and on this particular morning she woke up at 5:30am so i decided to just lay on the couch with her.  gotta' enjoy all the snuggle time i can before they grow up and don't want it anymore!

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6.  nadia is 7 months now.  crazy, eh?!  and she's so so active.  she crawls around everywhere and is into everything.  and she pulls herself up on things.  it just blows my mind how fast she is doing everything.  i keep telling her to slow down, but she just doesn't listen.  she's a mama's girl for sure right now...not going to complain about that :).

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7.  the start of a new football season.  so much fun to watch football with my hubby.  he LOVES football...and now that the new season has started he's like a kid in a candy store.  i love him!  so of course we kicked off the season with some yummy sub sandwiches.

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8.  this cute little knitted outfit.  my gram knit it as a snow suit for my mom's baby doll when she was a little girl.  there's actually a picture of me as a baby wearing the outfit floating around somewhere.  my mom recently found the outfit so of course i had to put it on nadia and take some pictures (and she's sitting in the rocking chair that was mine when i was a little girl!).  isn't it fun?!  and can you imagine knitting (or even sewing) clothes for your kids' dolls?!  i have a hard time finding time to craft at all right now, let alone make things for my girls' dolls!  i love it!

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9.  memaw and nadia

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10.  this is a picture of a beautiful hand-carved lighthouse jonathan's parents had made for us (if you know me, you know i love lighthouses...and we try to decorate our living room area with lighthouses and boats).  we usually turn it on every night so there's a little light to see our way around.  i love this lighthouse.  and the shining light is a reminder to me of the true Light of the world.  "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows ME will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'" John 8:12

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