Rain, rain, go away

The rain is officially here. "Good-bye" Summer, "hello" Fall. I know I'm supposed to be thankful for the rain and really, I am, deep, deep down inside (I do thank God for the clean air, green grass, trees and natural irrigation for the harvest season). Superficially though, I am not a fan of rain. Hubby always makes a point of thanking God when it rains and I do agree, yet I confess I often have more of a "grumbling" spirit about it.

It's not that I don't like precipitation. I LOVE snow and all that comes with it (snow-covered mountains and trees, skiing, snowmobiling, snow-shoeing, etc.). Cold, rainy, and windy weather is a different story. Unless I'm inside looking out, snuggled up in a blanket next to a fireplace, I much prefer when it's dry. Hard to believe that I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life eh?

Instead of giving way to my grumbling spirit, I'm going to focus on the beauty that God brings through rain. Like these flowers (speaking of flowers, remember my "not-so-green-thumb"? Well, we now have marigolds in our window-box and yes, half are almost dead. I'm hoping the rain revives them). Oh sorry, I digress, back to my more "positive" outlook.

I will be thankful for the mud puddles that our Little Miss will get to stomp through and the extra laundry that will bring. Oh, again, I digress. Rain, I will be thankful for the streams that are filled and the yellow jackets that are killed (sorry little guys!).

Rain, I will be thankful for football season (I'd like to be thankful for our alma mater's team but so far they are not making us proud). Humpf!!! Being thankful for these large, wet, drops is sure hard today. Guess it's a good thing that I'll have about 5 months of rain to work on that?!

Shopping, Eating and Celebrating

Is anyone else looking forward to the upcoming weekend? I sure am! We don't have a lot planned other than a much-needed trip to...

I do enjoy Costco (who doesn't love getting to try all the food samples?!) and appreciate the money that we theoretically save there (as long as we don't give into the temptation to buy a lot of the "not-on-our-list-completely frivolous-but-sure-looks-good!" items). We'll manage to avoid the artery-clogging foods at the snack stands when we walk out the door. Of course, we'll get them elsewhere because I think I've talked Hubby into dinner out at...

Chicken Terriyaki Burgers, here we come! Yummy!!!! After dinner we need to stop by...

What better place to find a birthday gift for our friend, Sophie, who is turning the big "3" this weekend? We also need to get a card for the newest addition to the Booth family who was born this morning (Welcome Baby Logan!).

Yep, I'm looking forward to the weekend. Shopping, eating, and celebrating with friends, that just about makes for a perfect plan. For now, I'd best be signing off to workout so I don't feel TOO guilty about the huge burger to come!

A Grandma & Granddaughter's Special Day

Two of our favorite gals share their special day today. Happy birthday to Hubby's mom, Aggie, and her granddaughter (our eldest niece) Elliana!

Aggie is an incredible example of what it means to be a godly woman. She has the most amazing gentle and quiet spirit. She is a living example of a Proverbs 31 woman. Praise the Lord that our Little Miss seems to have inherited her Grandma’s sweet spirit. I know it’s too early to be positive but we’re sure praying that way!

I never had the chance to meet Hubby's Grandma, Lola. From what I’ve heard, she too was an amazing woman and Aggie is a lot like her. I can only pray that God somehow shapes me in a way similar to these women, both of whom have had such a positive impact on their family.

The other sweet birthday girl will always hold such a special place in our hearts. “Elli” is turning 4 today and we so wish we could be there to see her enjoying her day. Elli was born shortly before Hubby and I first started dating. I’ll never forget how her uncle glowed when he talked about his new little niece. The “Manly Man” turned to mush!

Last year we got to spend a lot of time with Elli when her family was living out here (They graciously “hosted” us when our baby girl was in the hospital). We loved getting to spend time with Elli and her little sis, Jess. They were both bundles of blessings, helping to keep smiles on our faces even when we were worried about our Little Miss. Elli was just too cute when she turned three…she thought it was her birthday for a full month. She was excited every time she saw a cake or presents and often sang “Happy Birthday” to herself. It was the BEST. Oh, I so miss our precious niece who calls me “Joey”!

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma Wagner & Elliana! We love and miss you both!

Family night out

We had a fun family outing this evening, riding our bikes downtown, people-watching and eating Italian gelato.

Little Miss rode happily along in her Chariot and was pulled by her favorite knight (a.k.a., "Daddy"). BTW, if anyone is looking for a jogging stroller and/or bike trailer for kiddos, we highly recommend this one. It's pricey but well worth it.

I know that I promised a future blog about my "healthy eating obsession" and let me just say up front, this is not it. Tonight was splurge time and I enjoyed every minute of it. I figure we burned a few calories on the approx. 6 ml bike ride. Of course, I added those back plus some with the gelato. It was worth it though because Little Miss enjoyed a few bites of the tasty treat too. She has now had gelato before she's ever tried American-style ice cream (if you've never had gelato yourself, you've got to try it. Think really yummy, homemade ice cream in a variety of great flavors). What a cultured little girl! ha. ha.

Party Time!

We had a fun time celebrating our Little Miss' 1st birthday with family and friends. In the days leading up to the party we weren’t certain that the weather would hold out but God answered our prayers and it was fine. We had a lunchtime party at the park just down from our home.

The older kiddos got to play on the playground and we even had a surprise petting zoo (my dad and step mom brought their new puppies).

My mom was a big help staying up late Friday night to prepare food with me and then she was over at the park early Saturday morning to decorate. Thanks Mom!

Little Miss did exactly as we expected, she devoured her cake! (it was actually made from a semi-healthy banana muffin recipe that Hubby's mom provided. Thanks Grandma Wagner, it was perfect!). It was real frosting though and the most sugar Little Miss has ever had. My friend Jen good-naturedly teased me saying that she thought I’d make Little Miss' cake with tofu. I admit, if I had a recipe, I probably would have (stay tuned for a future blog about my “healthy eating” obsession).

Little Miss had a good time "opening" gifts (with the help of her daddy and mommy!). She looked cute in her birthday crown (Thanks Shannon!).

We only wish we lived closer to the Wagner side of our family so we could have celebrated with them in person. Hopefully we'll get to visit again soon. Little Miss did get serenaded over the phone with a Happy Birthday song from two of our nieces and that was priceless! We sure miss you guys!

Happy 1st Birthday Miracle Girl!

All children are God’s precious miracles and today, our own little “Miracle Girl” officially turns one year old.

Regardless of the advances in modern medicine, we recognize that our Little Miss and I almost didn’t make it one year ago. Hubby and I still can’t entirely grasp how God literally worked miracle after miracle during that time. Some may believe in just “coincidences” but that can’t come close to explaining our experience last Fall.

It’s hard to imagine that our “little” girl weighed only 2 lbs 8 oz when she was born. Now she’s over 20 lbs! They say most babies triple their birth weight in the first year. Obviously Little Miss doesn’t like to merely meet a milestone, she has to excel.
While we recognize that there may still be small bridges to cross as a result of our little girl's prematurity, Jesus has proven beyond a doubt that He has us in His hands. No matter what, as Pastor Chuck Smith says, “God’s past faithfulness demands that we put our trust in Him”. How true that is. The trials we went through a year ago have been more than worth the blessing of our daughter.

“The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” (Psalm 34:7)

(For those of you wanting to give a birthday gift, how about considering a small donation to the March of Dimes instead? They are key to research related to premature babies. We would be so blessed by a donation in her honor).

Note: The picture of our Little Miss shortly after she was born was taken by our friend Jessica Harris.

One Special Lady

September is sure the month of birthdays and today is a very special lady’s big day. It's Cara Lynn's 60th birthday!



Cara Lynn has been a mom, mentor, best friend, counselor and Truth speaker to many college-aged women (and young men seeking advice about those same young women!). One thing that I so appreciate about Cara Lynn is that she is a faithful friend. She doesn’t just invest in young people for a short time and then leave them to go their way. Instead, she is a friend who invests for a lifetime.

For me personally, Cara Lynn has been like both a second mom and a best friend. She’s also spent time with Hubby sharing about the "ins and outs" of a woman’s psyche. Now she's another "grandma" for our Little Miss which has been such a blessing.

Cara Lynn and I have a standing tradition for celebrating each of our birthdays; we take the other out to dinner. We try to go to a restaurant that neither of us has been to. We have shared our first bowls of miso soup (faux pas: we asked the waitress if she forgot to bring us spoons when actually, yes, you were supposed to just slurp it), have tried ostrich (Cara Lynn was the brave one to order that. It was actually quite good and tasted nothing like chicken). We’ve gone to an “all organic” restaurant, a French restaurant (no escargot for us), the list goes on. Hmmm, I’m already hungry for this year.

Last year we missed getting to celebrate Cara Lynn’s birthday. I did call and she said that all she wanted was for me NOT to have a baby that day. Little Miss and I came through and gave Cara Lynn her wish…by a day.

One of my favorite things

Hubby will tell you, I have a lot of “favorites”. I tend to overuse the word but can’t seem to help myself. I have several favorite restaurants, favorite activities, favorite foods, favorite books…the list goes on and on.

A favorite of mine lately has been the bike path that is close to our house. I think it's my “favorite” thing about living where we do. The path goes right along the river, past a beautiful park, and with the exception of a very short detour, all the way into downtown.

Most evenings you can find us taking our Little Miss for a stroll down this path. Other times I’ll take her for a run and usually by the end she’s fast asleep (don't let her fool you by the picture below, she was completely out right before I took this!).

It’s fun to watch people walking their dogs (except for the occasional “off leash” pit bull. What are their owners thinking??). There are yummy blackberries to eat and enough trees to give you the sense of being out in the woods. Yep, this path is my favorite.