It finally happened...

I've been waiting for the day when The Wee One "decides" what she wants to wear. While she does this from time-to-time at home, she hasn't pulled any odd outfits out for public - until today.

For some reason, she decided to wake up at 5 (very unusual - 8:30 or 9 is typically more like it) this morning, fully awake. Lucky for me, I didn't hear her and The Husband got up and kept an eye on her (i.e., napped on the couch while she got to watch morning TV). When I got up, she was bouncing around the house as happy as could be. Precious.

As I got her dressed for Mother's Day Out, she insisted on wearing her "flowers". "Flowers" is a nightgown that I wore when she was an infant - in the nursing stage. She has developed an attachment to it and it serves as her blanket, a snuggly, and occasionally, a dress. Today it was a dress.

I put it on over her outfit and finished getting myself ready. I figured she would lose interest by the time we had to leave. Wrong. We put her in the car and drove to school. Once there, I asked her if she would like to leave her "flowers" in the car. Nope. Again, at the door, I asked her if she wanted me to take it off and put it in her bag. Nope.

So there she went to her classroom. As she walked in, some of the other girls said, "Wow, look at her dress. It's so pretty." I think she liked that because she lifted her head and smiled.

*I don't have a picture from this morning, but you can get an idea of what she looked like from this picture take a couple of weeks ago - minus the heels and flower headband. At least she didn't go that far...yet.

Loving the Relationship

I'll go ahead and jump on board with Valentine's Day and give a simple tribute to The Husband and our relationship together.

This man is everything I could have dreamed of...loving, kind, generous, devoted, Christian, inquisitive, supportive, understanding, and oh so funny. Together, we have built a life that honestly makes us happy.



We met in early 2000, but didn't start dating until that summer. That makes a little over 10 years together - 7+ married. Our life together has been quite busy...never a dull moment around here - The Husband wouldn't know what to do with that. Together, we have moved our stuff 6 times (that's not counting the times we helped each other move before we got married).

We have traveled to 11 different countries, 20 states, 16 National Parks (and various national monuments and lands) and put 7,000 miles on the car in a one week road trip. We get travel so much that it is almost become a joke to our family and friends. This is something I treasure about The Husband. His passion for adventure has pushed me to come out of my shell and I have discovered that travel/adventure is one of my true loves in life. To be able to see the glory of God's creation throughout the world is something that must be experienced.

We laugh together - or at each other - a lot. That is another aspect of our relationship that I adore. Not to say that we don't have our moments...who doesn't, but ultimately, we have fun together. We share a good sense of humor and I feel that is one of the great things about us...even when we get stressed out, we can usually reach a point where we can laugh about it (though that might take a while sometimes).

Lastly, watching The Husband with The Wee One touches my heart in ways that I cannot fully describe. Adding The Wee One to our family definitely changed things, but overwhelmingly in good ways. His love for her builds our relationship because it just makes me love him that much more.

Hodgepodge

It's that time again - a day late...I sware I'm not trying to immitate your world Paula (Simply...La La Land). Hodgepodge is good whenever you get to it, right?

1.What is most important - doing what you love or loving what you do?
I would hope these would be one in the same. Can you really do what you love, if you don't love what you do?

2. Do you like blue cheese?
Nope...I like these simple questions. : )

3. What is the most difficult emotion for you to handle?
Spoke too soon...hard one. When I'm the one expressing the emotion, it is hardest for me to handle anger. When I am the on the receiving end of an emotion, it might be extreme sadness. I never know really what to do. I don't usually want to be bothered when I'm super super sad, but I know others like support so I then get conflicted between how much support to give and how much space to give. Then I end up feeling like I'm making it about me instead of the other person and...well, as you can see...I just get lost in the whole mix.

4. Fresh flowers or a box of chocolate?
If it is for no reason, I love flowers...if you are talking about Valentine's Day, I would rather do something with The Husband than get either of them. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy chocolates, but they are lower on my list.

5. Are you the person you wanted to be when you grew up?
No and thank goodness. I was convienced I wanted to be an international business woman. Married was a possiblity - I knew I didn't want to grow old alone - but kids weren't on the list. Around my junior year of college I started getting into the kid idea (as in it would be cool to have one or two someday) and that's also the year I found my career passion. Big year I guess. Now, I am married and love it. I have a wonderfully sweet little girl. I know what I want to do with my life and I love doing it. Funny how things turn out sometimes.

6. Any special Valentine's Day plans?
Not really. Officially I have choir on that night. Even if we celebrate this weekend, we probably won't do anything too big. Valentine's Day has never been a really big deal to us. Anniversaries and special vacations always take a higher level of importance. That said, we usually do something...maybe a quick ski trip this year?

7. Insert your own random thought here....
Really, typing the above is all I've got left. I am two-thirds of the way through Chapter 4 of my dissertation (thank you new coffee shop!), but I think I might have caught something and after putting the groceries away and typing this, I am heading to bed. It's been a busy day.

Happy Valentine's Day to all those in love!

Prayer for Egypt

I decided to head a call to pray for Egypt today. Interceded for Egypt: 24 Hours of Prayer and Fasting was an inviation that was sent out over Facebook and I felt called to join in. I will be honest, I am not completely fasting. Ultimately, it is because I am that weak, but in reality, I get a little sick if I go super long stretches without eating something, so I have made a dedication to very light eating and lots of prayer.

Here are the points suggested to pray over throughout the day.

*That the love and peace of Christ would be upon Egypt in tangible ways.

*That those in positions of power would do all they can to protect the people of Egypt instead of seeking after their own personal gain.

*That governments with influence (such as the USA) would be given wisdom and discerment as how to best assist in this situation.

*That the physical needs of the Egyptian people (food, water, shelter, etc.) would continue to be met by our provional God.

*That the indigenous Egyptian Christian would not only be protected physically, but emboldened spiritually to show the love of Christ during this crucial time.

*That the foreign missionaries who have chosen to stay in Egypt would be protected and emboldened in their wintess.

*That the global church would rise up in prayer and action on behalf of peace in Egypt and the entire middle east.

*That this situation would be brought to a peaceful end/resolution soon.

I encourage any of you who believe in God to pray over these points throughout the day and until the people/country of Egypt has calmed and found a resolution to thier problems.

Hodgepodge Wednesday Follower

Okay, so I don't actually "follow" the original Hodgepodger (From This Side of the Pond), but one of the wonderful blogs I do follow does. Check out Tales of a Proverbs 31 Wannabe - she has some really awesome insights.

Anyway, she participates in Hodgepodge Wednesday - where you post and respond to some random questions. This could be fun...

1. Would you rather be seen as a person who did their duty or forged their own path?

As in the typical Prairie form, I have to say I like a middle ground here. I have always forged my own path to some degree - even when it hasn't been on purpose - and I like that. I try to stand up for things that I feel are right, even if it isn't the popular thing. I have my own style and that definitely isn't always popular.

At the same time, I was raised to believe that duty and responsibility is very important. That said, I strive hard to do my duty, in whatever form that may take. Ultimately, I think you can find the balance between forging your own way and doing your duty - maybe it's your duty to forge your own way?

2. This week's Wednesday Hodgepodge happens to fall on Groundhog's Day. In keeping with that theme, if you could have a do-over of any one day out of the last seve, which day would it be and why? (If you haven't seen the movie Groundhog Day this might not make sense to you - go watch it).

Hum...tough one. The day my brother was in town would be pretty awesome to repeat, The Husband wasn't able to be with us and repeating a day over and over without him would be sad. However, the rest of the days have been pretty mundane. Not bad, just nothing much going on and having to repeat one of those over and over would get old quickly I'm afraid. I guess if I had to choose, I would say Sunday...we had a nice service at church, a wonderful lunch with some new friends, and a relaxing afternoon and evening at home. Not a bad day to repeat.

3. Hot cocoa...yay or nay on the marshmallows?
Easy one! Nay on the marshmallows!

4. Do you wear makeup every day? What are the two must haves to your makeup routine?
Um, that would be a negative. I didn't even wear it everyday when I worked out of the home. However, I do try to put it on when I leave the house now - most of the time. I can be pretty quick - less than 5 minutes to get the makeup on, but sometimes I just don't care. When I am going to put makeup on, I absolutely have to have mascara and blush...lip gloss or lip stick is preferable, but I seem to lose it a lot. : )

5. Is it more important to you to be loved or understood in a relationship?
Can I say both again? I have a good reason for this...if you are truly loved, the other person will try their hardest to understand you and that attempt is everything. I feel truly blessed to say that The Husband honestly loves me and understands me. He gets me and that is an accomplishment for sure.

6. Parsley, sage, rosemary, or thyme...your favorite?
Hum...I probably use parsley more than the others, but I do love sage and rosemary. I hardly ever use thyme - no reason, just don't.

7. What do you do when you feel angry?
That depends on the reason and/or the circumstance. Ultimately, it is probably best if I am just by myself for a bit.

8. Insert your own random thought here....
It amazes me how the house can feel so cold when it is really about 68 degrees (where we usually keep it in the winter). Makes me wonder how much our minds can be influenced. I know it is about 8 degrees outside so it just makes it feel that much colder in here. The mind is a pretty interesting thing, isn't it?