My parents would tell you that I wasn't the most graceful child....Hmmm, I guess this is proof that the Little Miss really is my daughter. You should have seen the poor table.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Like Mother, Like Daughter
My parents would tell you that I wasn't the most graceful child....Hmmm, I guess this is proof that the Little Miss really is my daughter. You should have seen the poor table.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Birthday Letter 2008
Dear Little Miss,
Today you turn 2 years-old, happy birthday beautiful girl! No matter what they say about the “terrible twos”, you are an absolute joy to both your Daddy and I. You still have the same sweet, gentle spirit that’s been evident since you were born. In many ways, I'd like to bottle you up and keep you at this age!
My Child, every day is a blessing with you. I love to wake up to your smiling face. I love that you are a “Daddy’s girl” through and through. I love your sweet smile, dimple and dark curly hair. I love watching your social and "girly" personality develop. I love the sound of your voice and am so excited by the new words you are speaking every day. Most of all, I love that you are a reminder about how much Jesus loves us. You are beyond our wildest dreams and are better than any gift we could have imagined.
You will always be our “Miracle Girl”. Satan may have wanted to take you the day you were born but Jesus intervened. He has an incredible plan for your life. I don’t know exactly what that looks like but I know without a doubt that God's created you for something very, very, special.
I pray regularly for you and believe that's my calling as your mom. I'm asking Him to make you into a woman who seeks Jesus first. I pray that He'll give you much love and joy in your life. I'm also praying that He will give you spiritual gifts of:
- Faithfulness (“For we walk by faith, not by sight,” 2 Corn 5:7; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths,” Prov 3:5-6),
- Compassion (“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world,” James 1:27),
- Kindness (“..Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those to spitefully use you...Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” (Luke 6:27-31).
Finally, the verse God laid on my heart for you this year is: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying “This is the way, walk in it,”” (Isaiah 30:21). May your ears always be attuned to the voice of Jesus and your feet ready to walk the path He has prepared for you.
I love you my Little Miss!
Mom
P.S. I’m hoping to start a tradition with this letter. The goal is to write each year on your birthday to share a glimpse of why you are so special and to let you know what God has been laying on my heart specifically for you.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Birthday Blessings, Buddies & Boots
Our Little Miss is turning 2 years-old, unbelievable! In many ways it seems like just yesterday that she was a tiny preemie. When we reflect on those days, we are still amazed by the blessings we have been given. Our girl's birthday marks a major day for our family and this year, we invited friends to a pool party to join us in celebrating a few days early.
We were honored by the turnout and hope everyone had a good time. The Little Miss was sure elated to have so many of her favorite buddies around! As you can see, our "shoe princess" was also overjoyed by the new pink ostrich cowboy boots she got from the Peltiers. She had fun modeling them the rest of the evening along with her new baby dolls. I know I'm biased but it was pretty darn a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.
We were honored by the turnout and hope everyone had a good time. The Little Miss was sure elated to have so many of her favorite buddies around! As you can see, our "shoe princess" was also overjoyed by the new pink ostrich cowboy boots she got from the Peltiers. She had fun modeling them the rest of the evening along with her new baby dolls. I know I'm biased but it was pretty darn a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Camping with Style
This past weekend we skipped the Closing Ceremonies and headed to the central part of the state for our "annual" camping trip, the Little Miss' second official outdoor excursion. It was well worth the (significant amount of) time spent packing, loading, unloading, cleaning and putting away. I have many fond memories of camping with my parents and brother when I was growing up so I was especially excited to share that experience with our Little Miss. My dad (a.k.a., "Papa") was proud to take our girl on her first official boat ride (He really wanted to teach her to fish but agreed to hold off one more year).
How do parents of a young toddler survive in the wilderness you ask? First, make sure you have plenty of family and/or good friends around to help watch your little explorer. For housing, you'll want to have an extra large tent (forget the light-weight backpacking tents, ours is an 8-person). Since you'll be worn out and sore from following your energetic child around, you'll want to have a gigantic, comfy bed to climb into at night (a raised, queen sized air mattress works quite nicely). You'll also want a large vehicle with extra space for luggage to accommodate these "needs".
To avoid the cold, sleepless night of last year's camping trip, borrow a heater from your dear, sweet dad. "Papa" won't refuse of course because he certainly wouldn't want his own granddaughter to suffer. Instead, he and his wife will spend the night in their own tent snuggled up under extra blankets (Thanks for the sacrifice! Can I tell you how nice it was to not freeze after climbing out of bed in the morning? Toasty warm. Sooooo nice).
Finally, to truly enjoy your camping experience, we recommend bringing a personal chef so you can focus on spending time with your loved ones. If you don't have your own chef, enroll your older brother (a.k.a., Uncle Todd). Truth be told, this is the one time he cooked but those eggs were sure good. Cooking does seem to suit him, eh?
There you have it, the keys to camping with style. Proof that it can be done, even with young kiddos. Just be warned: while the West Coast Wagners really do hope to make more than an "annual" camping trip in the future, for now we decided we are thankful to even get one in. We had a lot of fun and it was well worth the hard work to prepare but we do have a new understanding of what our own parents had to do to take us camping when we were younger. Let's just say we will be spending the next few days recovering. Until next year...
Unlike her mom, the Little Miss decided that she loves to play in the dirt and she had a blast feeding bread to the baby ducks. Her new word of the weekend was "walk!" as she frequently made requests of anyone who would listen to take her on a stroll around the grounds.
How do parents of a young toddler survive in the wilderness you ask? First, make sure you have plenty of family and/or good friends around to help watch your little explorer. For housing, you'll want to have an extra large tent (forget the light-weight backpacking tents, ours is an 8-person). Since you'll be worn out and sore from following your energetic child around, you'll want to have a gigantic, comfy bed to climb into at night (a raised, queen sized air mattress works quite nicely). You'll also want a large vehicle with extra space for luggage to accommodate these "needs". To avoid the cold, sleepless night of last year's camping trip, borrow a heater from your dear, sweet dad. "Papa" won't refuse of course because he certainly wouldn't want his own granddaughter to suffer. Instead, he and his wife will spend the night in their own tent snuggled up under extra blankets (Thanks for the sacrifice! Can I tell you how nice it was to not freeze after climbing out of bed in the morning? Toasty warm. Sooooo nice).Finally, to truly enjoy your camping experience, we recommend bringing a personal chef so you can focus on spending time with your loved ones. If you don't have your own chef, enroll your older brother (a.k.a., Uncle Todd). Truth be told, this is the one time he cooked but those eggs were sure good. Cooking does seem to suit him, eh? There you have it, the keys to camping with style. Proof that it can be done, even with young kiddos. Just be warned: while the West Coast Wagners really do hope to make more than an "annual" camping trip in the future, for now we decided we are thankful to even get one in. We had a lot of fun and it was well worth the hard work to prepare but we do have a new understanding of what our own parents had to do to take us camping when we were younger. Let's just say we will be spending the next few days recovering. Until next year...Friday, August 15, 2008
A Little Sleep Deprived
Are any of the rest of you feeling a little sleep deprived this week? With Phelps and his amazing record-breaking moments, how could we not be missing a few zzzzz's as we stay up to watch the Olympics? To help recuperate from the week, and mostly to celebrate a friend's belated birthday, I'm heading north to the big city for a "girls day out" with Joani and Janelle. It will be the perfect time to relax and catch-up. Plus, it will be good to re-energize just in time for Track & Field to start!
Dear Hubby? Won't you puleeez text me with the latest Phelps results while I'm gone? Yes, an Olympics addict I am.
Dear Hubby? Won't you puleeez text me with the latest Phelps results while I'm gone? Yes, an Olympics addict I am.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Pushing Daisies
I have a confession to make. I've given into two things recently for which I am normally diametrically opposed: 1) Theme Rooms and 2) Craft Projects.
While I am all for having a few "like" items in a room, decorating with a single, obvious theme is not my style (For those of you who like that sort of thing, I mean no offense. I've seen a number of very cute and tasteful theme-oriented rooms. My bias is focused on my own home). This phobia may stem from the fact that as I was growing up, ceramic frogs were everywhere in our house (was that really popular in the 70s/80s?). My view has also been influenced by the strawberry items that adorned the clothing store my mom owned. Whatever the cause, themes are something I've always avoided. Until now.
We recently converted our guestroom into a guest/playroom. Along with this change came the need to redecorate. I wanted something fun for our Little Miss and yet not too over-the-top so as to annoy our guests when they are visiting.
Mistake #1: As I was pondering the plan, I had the atypical urge to complete a craft project. I'm going to blame my friend Joani for this one. She's often doing amazing crafts. Since I can't sew beautiful quilts like her (I'm lucky to sew on a button), I decided I'd try a collage of sorts.
Mistake #2: I made the trip to a local craft store. After I recovered from the culture shock of entering into that abyss, I found just what I was looking for: colorful paper with a variety of complementary designs ("fabric"), a glue stick ("thread"), and a daisy-shaped paper punch ("pattern"). While it was simple to construct, my own husband and mother didn't believe me when I told them I'd made it (not too surprising considering they both know me well).
I think our Little Miss is going to enjoy this new room. To all our future house guests, please accept my apologies in advance if the decor leaves you dreaming of pushing daisies.
While I am all for having a few "like" items in a room, decorating with a single, obvious theme is not my style (For those of you who like that sort of thing, I mean no offense. I've seen a number of very cute and tasteful theme-oriented rooms. My bias is focused on my own home). This phobia may stem from the fact that as I was growing up, ceramic frogs were everywhere in our house (was that really popular in the 70s/80s?). My view has also been influenced by the strawberry items that adorned the clothing store my mom owned. Whatever the cause, themes are something I've always avoided. Until now.
We recently converted our guestroom into a guest/playroom. Along with this change came the need to redecorate. I wanted something fun for our Little Miss and yet not too over-the-top so as to annoy our guests when they are visiting.
Mistake #1: As I was pondering the plan, I had the atypical urge to complete a craft project. I'm going to blame my friend Joani for this one. She's often doing amazing crafts. Since I can't sew beautiful quilts like her (I'm lucky to sew on a button), I decided I'd try a collage of sorts.
Mistake #2: I made the trip to a local craft store. After I recovered from the culture shock of entering into that abyss, I found just what I was looking for: colorful paper with a variety of complementary designs ("fabric"), a glue stick ("thread"), and a daisy-shaped paper punch ("pattern"). While it was simple to construct, my own husband and mother didn't believe me when I told them I'd made it (not too surprising considering they both know me well).
This picture alone didn't constitute the theme room. I fear I may have crossed the boundary when I ordered this from Potterybarn Kids (Mistake #3). It was in the same colors of the room AND had a daisy to boot so I couldn't resist (For those of you who look closely, yes, I could have made this too. As I told you however, the craftiness was fleeting).
I think our Little Miss is going to enjoy this new room. To all our future house guests, please accept my apologies in advance if the decor leaves you dreaming of pushing daisies.
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