A Date With Daddy

Anna Clare went on a date with her daddy to a father/daughter banquet. They had a great time. She was so excited that she had him practice dancing with her for 2 nights prior. I filmed them dancing around the kitchen and it was the cutest thing. I decided at the last minute to roll her hair but dummy me rolled it wet in sponge rollers and tried to blow it dry in rollers. Needless to say this did not work. But it turned out pretty anyway. Then I get out the dress she's supposed to wear and it had one of those tags on it that must be taken off in the store or else it will tear up the dress. So, they are supposed to be leaving in like 30 minutes and we are down to two other options. Her Easter dress for this year, which I REALLY did not want her to wear...I could just see her getting ketchup on it. Or the dress she wore for her portrait, which is sleveless and bordering on too short. After trying to cram her little foot into her ecru church shoes, I realized she had outgown them. Despite all this, I was determined she was not wearing her Easter dress. So I run to the neighbors to borrow her little girls shoes and decide if her dress is a little short, it's all daddys there anyway and are they really going to notice? After all that drama, they had a ball. Steve told me after we got married that we would probably have a whole "cheerleading squad" one day, and with 2 girls, we are on our way. But he is such a great father for little girls. He fixes hair better than I do (and he actually fixed it for the banquet). He is crazy about his little girls and we are so blessed to have him! By the way, the last picture is the picky eater fixing herself a peanut butter and honey sandwich when they got home because she wouldn't eat anything at the banquet! Notice the "kiara" that she is sporting from their date (I thought that was so cute that I didn't have the heart to tell her it is a "tiara")!

Where does the time go?

I can't believe our little one is 9 months old today! The time has flown by. She is all over the place and I can hardly keep up with her. Why is it that you can put a pile of toys in front of a baby and when you turn your head they are going for the lamp cords? She is also attracted to fireplaces and stairs. And we had to install those annoying little cabinet locks. But her big sister makes a great babysitter. We enjoyed the weekend (especially getting to visit with my sister who was home from college). Thanks for the help with the ipod, E. We are also trying to avoid the flu and recovering from croup. Her mouth is better, too. (If you click on the picture of the girls with my sister, you can see her pitiful red mouth). Thanks for my Valentines date, ST. You always know the best places for dinner and good entertainment! Have a great week everyone, and Happy Birthday, baby girl! We love you!

Not your typical Valentine's Day

Was yesterday Valentine's Day? I almost missed it. Things were a little crazy around here. Thankfully God prepared me for what would be kind of a rough night Wednesday night. For some odd reason, all four of us were asleep by 9:00, which is very unusual. I was sleeping great until a little 8 month old popped up in her crib at 2:00am. We have a video monitor in our room and I watched to see if she would go back to sleep. She always sleeps through the night but has had a cold so I was keeping an eye on her. After changing her diaper and putting her back down, I was wide awake. I tried to go back to sleep but she continued to fuss so I did something I never do. Anna Clare had long since found her way into our bed so I got Owen up and we got in AC's bed. Then I noticed that she had a big red circle "burn" around her mouth from where the pacifier had rubbed her little skin raw. I woke Steve up (4am) and asked him if he wanted to come look at her mouth b/c I was afraid it was a reaction of some sort. What was I thinking? He rolled over and mumbled, "I'm sure she's fine." She slept on and off for the next few hours, but needless to say, I did not. I even saw the reflection of the newspaper delivery man's hazard lights as he delivered our paper at 3:47 am. Anyway, about 6:30, she starts coughing, which actually sounded more like a dog barking. So I'm thinking croupe, pneumonia, what? I throw on some clothes and head out the door with her at 7:15 in the freezing cold to the doctor's office. Diagnosis: The sweet little thing has bronchitis/croup and a pacifier burn to go with it. She looked so pitiful! Steve meets me in the parking lot with AC (still in her p.j.s ) so he can get to work. So we spent the day trying to get well. Steve came home for lunch so I could run to Walmart (still no shower) and get a few things...I was there and back in 30 minutes which is a record! AC went to the neighbors for a while after lunch so I was able to nap for an hour, which was a life saver (nap took priority over shower). I tried to exercise on the elliptical but only got 20 minutes in before Owen was screaming again. Oh well, I tried. So Steve comes home from work and I still have had no shower and no thoughts about supper. Happy Valentine's Day, honey! (not that it mattered to my Valentine - he would've been happy with a pb&j). I passed off the sick one and finally got a shower and threw some leftovers together for supper. We exchanged cards, promises for a date night SOON, and laughed about how having children makes Valentine's Day a little different. But we love each other more each year and wouldn't have it any other way!

P.S. I managed to remain fairly joyful despite the circumstances, and we will definitely be having take out tonight!!! (I would have posted pictures, but they would not have been pretty)

Joy! Joy! Joy!

Anna Clare had to dress up like a shepherd for school the other day, and as I took this picture, I was reminded of a verse we recently discussed in Bible study. Isaiah 40:11 says, " He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." For a group full of young moms,the part about guiding those that have young really hit home in a mighty way! It was so refreshing to know that God is actually guiding us as mothers!

Now, on to the joy part. Steve and I have always given something up for Lent, but this year I kept putting off thinking about what I wanted to (actually needed to ) sacrifice. I've done chocolate, carbonated drinks, secular music, but had not really had a "feeling" about anything this year. Well, a friend of mine recently challenged the readers of her blog to be the "most positive, joyful person you know." I don't think of myself as a negative person, but that really struck a chord with me. As I thought about this while trying to fall asleep on the night of Ash Wed., I thought, "I want to be the most positive, joyful person I know!" So, I am attempting to give up negativity for Lent (and hopefully beyond Lent to the best of my ability). Due to human nature, I know I will falter, but to my family and friends, please keep me accountable! I am a very impatient person, and I think that often steals my joy. So I am definitely going to be working on being more positive and more patient. Be Joyful!!!

By the way, see the little one in the corner of the picture who didn't want to miss out on the photo op?

Pictures from our weekend

What a weekend!

We had a super weekend! My sister came home from Alabama (she is a senior and will graduate in May...yay!) So my parents and Erin came over for a late night visit Friday. Then G.G. (Steve's mom) came into town Sat. morning and stayed the rest of the weekend with us. The pics are of G.G. with the girls Sat. night, G.G and Anna Clare with the Bitty Twins that G.G. gave her for Christmas, and also Owen by herself (poor 2nd child gets NO pictures by herself!) We enjoyed having no plans on Sat. (except I did take advantage of a grandmother and jetted off to the mall to get lipstick and B&B soap...warning...the mall is EXTREMELY CROWDED on Sat. evenings. But I did run into a couple of friends so that was nice. They asked how I got away and I simply said "G.G's in town." We had a great dinner compliments of Steve's grill that night. Sunday was so beautiful that we had to get out after church. We ended up at my parents (that's my dad with Wozer...long story about the nickname but our precious cousin Eb couldn't say Owen so he called her Woe Woe which turned into Little Miss Woes and then Wozer) and they said "stay for an hour and we'll have supper ready! Of course we stayed! More pics to post later. But overall, it was a great, family-filled weekend (sorry I didn't get pics of Erin and K.K....next time)!!!

O.K., so here goes...

After some late night reading of blogs of my friends (and even some people I have never met), I have decided to jump in. Many of these blogs have been such an inspiration to me spiritually and some have just made me laugh out loud! I look at this as a personal journal that will allow me to capture some of what's going on in our lives. Also, with 2 very active girls, it allows for some great "me" time after they are in bed and the house is quiet. It also gives me an excuse NOT to scrapbook, which my friends know I do not enjoy. One day I will get it done, just not today. I will tell my myself that this is my online scrapbook and wow, am I making some progress! I'm sure my sweet husband will think (and possibly say) "you could be cleaning the house but instead, you're what do you call it...blogging?" He may not understand but he loves me anyway! So, for all of our wonderful family and friends, I hope you enjoy some Thompson family highlights!