friends

“As I look back on all that’s happened…growing up, growing together, changing you, changing me — there were times when we dreamed together, when we laughed and cried together. As I look back on those days, I realize how much I truly miss you and how much I truly love you. The past may be gone forever…and whatever the future holds, our todays make the memories of tomorrow. So, my lifetime friends, it is with all my heart that I send you my love, hoping that you’ll always carry my smile with you, for all we have meant to each other and for whatever the future may hold.” --unknown

We met in college.  She was a friend of an acquaintance.  Eventually, we ended up teaching 8th graders together at church.  She was one of those people who managed to be incredibly cool and incredibly genuine all at once.  After our weddings, she invited me to be a part of a small group with her...
Jamie

Our first night in a new small group, she and her husband walked in, collapsed on the couch and started talking immediately about her yelling at him to "Get the spices" when he tried to wake her up from a nap.  She was quirky, funky and real- nothing fake about that girl.  After a couple of months in this group, I worked up the nerve to ask her to lunch.  She almost jumped on top of me yelling "YES!"
Natalie

Six years of friendship and that's how it started.  The three of us, going to lunch every Wednesday- (the Indian family that owned the Quizno's knew us by name).  It was during those lunches that I met my best friends, the kindred spirits of my heart, my very best friends.

They've been there for me through all the ups and downs of my adult life.  The night I showed up on Jamie's front porch, bawling my eyes out... Jumping up and down in the street rejoicing over pregnancies... Nights spent studying the Word and confessing our needs to one another.  Road trips, musicals, running... laughing, crying, times when we just didn't know... births, deaths... Sunday night dinners and Tuesday nights... slap sticky and two susies... These are memories I will cherish forever.

These girls have taught me the meaning of true friendship.  I am so blessed and I thank God everyday that Jamie was brave enough to ask me to that small group.  I know that I wouldn't be the believer, wife, mommy I am today without the presence of these beautiful women in my life.

"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason
bringing something we must learn and we are led
to those who help us most to grow if we let them
and we help them in return.
Well I don't know if I believe that's true but I know I'm who I am today
because I knew you...
I do believe I have been changed for the better
Because I knew you-
I have been changed for good" 
--For Good, Wicked

I love you girls, so much.
And I had a fabulous weekend with you two.
Counting down the days to April!

a tall girl's lament

I'm tall.  Always have been, always will be-
(unless that whole shrinking as you age thing is true... but that's besides the point)

Growing up, I was tall.  But not only was I tall...
I was skinny and not just skinny... SKEEEENY...
like didn't weigh 100 pounds until I was in high school- even though I was like 5 foot 6 or something.

Needless to say, shopping for pants was a wee bit difficult. 
(actually- more like the most impossible task known to all mankind.)

While everyone else got to be cool and wear their pants cuffed  cutely over their multi-colored scrunchy socks, I was doing good just to get pants that covered said scrunchy socks WITHOUT the cuff.

Everyone else got to wear the matchy-matchy sweatsuits.  Do those pants come long enough?  Nope.

And don't even get me started on dress pants and khakis...

All this has created a very real phobia in my life.  I am so afraid of high-waters...  pants NOT on the ground, if you will...  My pants have to practically DRAG the ground for me to feel they are acceptable.

I refused to wear capri pants for the first 5 years they were popular, claiming "I've spent my entire childhood trying NOT to wear pants that look like this... why would I ever do this on purpose?"

And the cute "ankle" pants short girls get to wear?  Forget about it!

I've always dreamed of walking into a store, breezily grabbing a pair of pants and wisking them home to fit my inseam perfectly.  Unfortunately, it goes more like this:

Locate my size... then find them in length LONG... then pull out every pair of long to find the LONGEST one... Only to have my hopes and dreams dashed in the dressing room when they're STILL not long enough.  (you think i'm kidding, but I so am not!)

Anyway, all this to say- I now have a boy.  A boy who, at age three, is 45 inches tall- and weighs 45 pounds.  You do the math- that's one TALL, SKEEEEENY boy.  So you can only imagine my horror when Micah dressed him the other day and his socks were peeking out of the top of his shoes.  I almost hyperventilated... pulled his pants way saggy down and felt a little better. 

Immediately I told Micah that we HAVE to get him new pants.  These are entirely unacceptable.  He told me to chill out- John Mark's 3... he doesn't even know the difference in long and short pants.

But little does he know- I have plans to use our clothing money to hit up the old navy jeans sale this weekend and buy my boy some new jeans- size 5 slim.

Because heaven forbid he have to go through life wearing pants that are too short like his mom.

sick, sick, sickies

We've been a little under the weather at our house.
It started the Tuesday before Valentine's day.

Aly, our beloved baby-sitter who is leaving us to get married (WAH!!) had just picked JM up from preschool.  She had to run back to the office to talk to wedding details with a lady.  JM walked into my office, crawled in my lap and just laid there.  Clue #1 something wasn't quite right with my baby.

After a couple minutes there, he got up and walked to Aly.  She picked him up and he just laid his head on her shoulder- clue #2.  She sat him down and he walked over to me.  His face was really pale and he was sweaty but shivering- clue #3.  He looked at me and said "mommy, I ate bad candy... I frowed up..." I knew that look and those words, so I grabbed the trash can.  Poor baby left his entire chick-fil-a lunch in my trashcan.

*Time-out to brag on my friend Mallory.  She's not a mom yet, in fact, she's basically a baby herself and she was at my desk during this lovely moment.  I told her she could leave if she needed to, but she stuck it out and then went to get paper towels and sprite for the poor baby.  She later told me she didn't even gag.  Mal, when you become a grown-up, you will make a fabulous mommy!*

So we went home.  We laid on the couch, alternating between watching movies, napping, playing and needing "the bowl." 

When Micah got home from work, he was running a fever and seemed to have contracted a lovely cold.  This would be an ideal time to mention this was the week before student ministry's (his job) biggest event of the year.  Oh, and his buddy that works with him was also sick.  And their assistant.  Great timing!

We all stayed home on Wednesday.  JM was fine on Thursday and went to school.  Micah stayed home, still not feeling well.  Friday we went on our valentine's date and Saturday was normal...

Sunday at 4:00 AM, I woke up with a bad tummy-ache.  I thought it was just something I ate, so I tried to lay there and get comfortable... Nothing worked.  Then about 6, I got sick.  Apparently I got JM's 12-hour stomach bug on steroids.  My valentine's day was nothing but miserable.

Tuesday, JM woke up with Micah's nasty, nasty cough.  By that night, he was running a little bit of a fever, but seemed okay.  I left him with Aly the next morning, but went home at 3 because his fever was 101.  Fortunately, that went away pretty quickly.

We went to the doctor on Friday just to make sure everything was okay.  He had a bit of a virus.  He was so sweet and brave when the nurse poked his finger.  He just looked at me and said "mommy, why'd you let her use that purple stapler to take my blood away?"  Sweetheart!  He cried a little, but felt tough with his transformer band-aid not too long after.

This past weekend was Big Weekend and he got to stay with BB and Poppy.  The house has been cleaned and sterilized and all the laundry is done (thanks, Mom!) so HOPEFULLY (fingers crossed) the sickness has left our house.

So that's where we've been for the past two weeks.  How about YOU?

love, love, love

In honor of valentine's day and the sun shining today,
here is a list of things I love, in no particular order.

*caramel lattes

*snuggles from Narty

*cupcakes

*cherry coke zero

*reading

*ipod touch

*cooking

*running outside

*taking pictures

*blogs

*buying groceries

*taking naps

*You've Got Mail

*dates with Micah

*salsa

*words

*my job

*facebook

*candy

*my niece, Elliana

*candles

*dryer sheets

*spider solitaire

*coffee with wheeler

*fro-yo

*calling it fro-yo

*middle schoolers

*mentoring

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Love the ones you're with!

a potato-y valentine

Today I went shopping with John Mark for a valentine gift for Micah.  We have plans to go out and I was running a little behind on his gift.  So we set out to Target to find the perfect gift for the mister.

As we walked around the store, we ran into this:

 

A mix and match, 35 piece, Mr. Potato Head set.  Every man's dream gift, right.  I tried to talk John Mark out of this gift.  I told him that daddy would probably much rather have something else.  But no... he was convinced.  Daddy NEEDED Mr. Potato Head.  He gave some very convincing arguments-

"Mommy, we can all SHARE this present."
"There's a boy for me, a boy for dad and even a girl for you."
"It's PERFECT."

It even ended up in the basket.  So... guess what we walked out of target with.

 

Officer Potato Head and the rest of the 35 piece, Mr. Potato Head set.

We came home and went right to work putting them together.  Using the bodies of  several potatoes we already had, we created these beautiful masterpieces.

 

Mrs. Potato Head

  

 Dr. Potato Head

 Fryer Fighter Spud

John Mark was thrilled.  Micah was happy to see John Mark so excited.  I thought the whole deal was hilarious.  Just don't tell John Mark that daddy is getting a different gift on our date tonight...

be mine

I love valentine's day.
It's quite possibly one of my favorite days of the year.

I love all the red and the pink...
the hearts and candy and flowers...
I love an excuse to make heart shaped treats.

Speaking of... I made these cuties the other day.

They're really quite simple...
Rice Krispie Treats, cut in hearts with chocolate.

You start by melting butter and marshmallows:
I decided to use the pink marshmallows to make things more festive...

Then you dump in the rice krispies and put them in a pan.
I didn't document this because, well, it requires more than one hand.
(and it's not complicated... then again, neither is pink marshmallows...)

After they set in the fridge for a few minutes,
Cut them with a heart cookie cutter.

Then melt some chocolate chips.

Here's where you can get funky...

you can dunk the treat in the chocolate

OR drizzle it all over the tops.

For my first set, I used the dipping method.

It was a little much on the chocolate.

So I drizzled my second batch.

Then bagged them up, with a pretty red bow-

instant valentine treats for JM's teachers!

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a pic of them drizzled and in the bags...

But I'm sure you can imagine.

Fun and simple.

My kind of treat!