Buzz buzz

Ok. Seriously? What do you do about that cuteness right there?
I know. I'm biased. But seriously.....
I had zero plans of dressing her up for halloween so a big thanks to Christina for letting me use this costume. I got more giggles lsitening & watching her say "buzz buzz buzz" all afternoon long.
I could eat her up.

Market plannings & goings on...

Whew.
I'm exhausted.
A good kind of exhausted....the kind that comes with so many fun things going on - just not enough hours in the day to do them!
See the little jingle jangle over there?
Right there to your right?
So cute right?
That's been a primary activity that's been keeping me busy.....

The Garden market is in its 7th year!!
Which blows my mind.
What blows my mind even more is that even after all of the work that Wendi & I put in each year, & I will generally pull an all-nighter the night before just for kicks.....even after all of the stress that can come with pulling this thing off.....I have never wanted to bag it.
Even in that enhausting moment just as the last few people leave & we're packing things up & sweeping the place down & carrying heavy things to cars.....I still look forward to the next year.

Now, we'll see if that holds true after this year....

But for now. Right now - I am so excited!

And these wonderful artists - many of them mommas who put their amazing talents to work - some are willingly giving away items or 1/2 off of items just for becoming a fan on the garden market facebook page.

And I hope you will. And I you will encourage us all by passing the word on to your friends.

And we all hope to see you there....there will be a grand surprise which involves a certain Atlanta street vendor & a truck.

More details to come....to stay tuned - find it on facebook - or you can always check the blog, too.
OH & always feel free to grab that little jingle jangle from the garden market blog & post it on your blog.
Always appreciated....Plus, what a great way to get your blog all gussied up for Christmas :)

heart break

Oh man.
I read this woman's words & I 'get it'. http://matthew185.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-broken-heart.html
When my heart first broke this way I became pretty self righteous & judgemental .... wondering what in the world was wrong with everyone else around me! It's like if you drink Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. You get in a camp & have very firm reasons why you drink what you drinkn& in order to defend your territory you state your case for whatever coffee it is.
My heart broke for the orphan & there was a season in my life when I thought everyone should feel the same way I did. Until a friend helped me see that my words carried a lot of guilt for her.......
And a light switch went off.
This heartbreak was specific for my heart.
God was nudging me towards learning a little bit about the plans He has for me.....
And if there was heartbreak for me......
then there was a heart break for her....
and for you.....
And if we all encouraged one another in the plans & the purposes that the Lord has set out for us to do.....even if we are uncomfortable with it.....if we could spur one another to have faith enough to execute these good deeds in faith. ...
Well, what a world it would be.

It excites me to look into the eyes of my friends - even people I am meeting for the first time - totally aware that God has a plan for their life.
That. Is. So. Exciting!

I stare at my kids in wonder at this truth.

What is it?

My big girl looked at me the other day while we were walking through a store & she said, "You & Me should open a store like this. We should sell old things. We should do it together. And help people."

Speechless.

That's from within her.

That was a priviledged moment that I got to be a part of right there.

And I shouldn't be surprised that the sweet Lord is showing little glimpses of her herat to me. I beg Him to please help us know her heart - help us shepherd each of them to be who He made them to be.

Beyond the boundaries of my expectations.

goodbye summer

I am aware that school has been in session for a while now & that summer officially ended in September, but it was only just a few weeks ago that it became cool enough to really need to pack the summer stuff away.
Pools are closed & for some reason I battle with whether or not it's okay to let my toddler wear white......she's 2.
Do those things matter at 2?
I lean towards no......but I feel a little awkward every time I do it.
The bummer about pulling out my fall clothes is that they aren't the fall clothes that I purchased just last fall....they are the clothes that I purchased many a fall ago....so the question is not only will it fit? But how outdated is it? And well, you just need a girlfriend or two to come help you with those kinds of problems.
Anyway....fall is my favorite & as soon as I am able to carve out a little time, I'll get to baking my pumpkin muffins. But for now, I just wanted to say hi.....

working it out

In an effort to work off some of that apple pie, I went to the gym this morning....and couldn't locate the earbuds.
Ah the tragedies that I deal with on a daily basis.
Work out in an air conditioned room with a television attached to this workout contraption......in silence?
Seriously?
So I picked up a magazine....and I found this article.

I overdosed on Francis Chan several months back & haven't been able to listen to him for a while now....but reading this article reminded me of some of the inspiring things he has showed me.
I was just about to go on a rambling about the ways he helped me read the Bible in a new way & then I was going to say....and anyway, I'll spare you the details.

I hope you have a chance to read the article.....and I would love to hear what you think.

10 lbs heavier.....

...and I think it was worth it.

Once upon a time there was this apple pie.

I heard about this apple pie a lot.

My friend Caroline would stare off from time to time & say, "do you remember that apple pie...."
And I would remind her that I WASN'T THERE FOR THE APPLE PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was envious of the people who had tasted this particular apple pie.

So when my little girl & her classmates returned from a field trip to an apple orchard with a bag full o apples....I thought it high time I tried this apple pie recipe.

And I must say......
It was worth the wait.

I saw that our little family had finished 1/2 of it soon after it came out of the oven & I thought to myself...."apple pie will make a perfect breakfast for tomorrow morning!" Healthier than other things I make for breakfast on a regular basis....pancakes with syrup??? How is that a good way to start the day? I've never understood it...and yet i feel good about myself when I put forth the effort to feed it to my family.
Weird.

But instead we decided to finish it off before the sun went down.
It. was. amazing.
And we had bagels & cream cheese for breakfast.


So there it is.....my very first apple pie.

2s

A friend commented on how much 2 of my kids looked alike at this age & I got nostalgic....so these are some pictures of my babies on/around their 2nd birthdays.

she's 2. Part 1.

Well.

In spite of my best efforts to prevent it from happening...

my baby turned two.

She is growing up & I can barely handle it!

How is this happening so quickly?

She's so tiny that it really did sneak up on me. I would laugh & say, "can you believe that little thing is almost 2?!"

Not fully understanding that that meant I would no longer have a 1 year old.

This little girl is precious in so many ways.

I adore her! Yes, she is confused about her role in this family. She is certain that she is in charge. And believes with her whole heart that she should get what she wants when she wants it & she has been this way from the get-go. I remember sitting with her in the hospital - just the day after she was born.

Just me and her. Or is it her and me? If my dad is reading this he will call & let me know....& I would actually really appreciate that.

Anyway, we were sitting there when our pediatrician came in to check on us. We chatted & she was just about to leave when I mentioned that my baby didn't like to be wet or dirty....even for a moment. She would yell to be cleaned off immediately.

This hadn't happened with the 2 that came before her & I thought Dr. F could offer some insight.

"Your third isn't supposed to be like that."

And that, my friends, really is who my kid is. She really likes to let us know how she would like things and she hasn't taken the hint that we aren't following her lead....maybe because we are following her lead. Maybe there in lies the problem.

And these are just a few pictures of day 1 of celebrating this baby girl's first 2 years on this planet.

I love being her mom.

I think we're going to have tons of fun together ;).

Happy birthday little girl.

first days

All 3 had their first days of something these past few weeks & we don't need much reason for celebrating around here.
First days of anything warrant cake in our house -
so that's what we did.

We sat on the floor & ate too much cake.

This school year has kicked my tail so far & in all honesty, I don't have to get too many people to too many places. I think it's this new early wake time.
I don't understand why people insist on starting the day before the sun is fully risen. And as I type this, I feel like I am repeating myself. Like I have typed these same words on this here blog in the very recent past.

Well....I'm not adjusting.
And I'm not sure what to do about that.
But this is one of the reasons that you haven't heard from us in a while.

mre later

I'm too tired from all the fun from this weekend. But I thought I would at least leave with a photo.
Will update when I am actually awake
Good night.
And Happy Labor Day!

lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have I mentioned that my big girl has been riding her bike without training wheels for a few months now? Or that she has lost THREE teeth!?
I told you.....we've had a lot of things going on around here. And there is life that I feel like I am missing & yet i am with them every day!! I'm thankful that most of their days are still with me. I'm thankful that I understand most of what they are talking about becuase, well, I was probably there. I love these kids more than I ever thought I could.
And this love I feel for them has had me meditating on this Love that the Father has for me.
My love for these children pales in comparison.
I know that.

I am overwhelmed by that.

But I am learning that there really is nothing they could do to make me stop loving them.
Nothing.
I am thankful for a Father who stands at the door and knocks.
Not waiting for me to get it right.
Not waiting until I clean up my act.

And I am grateful that I can convey that love to my children.
Not that I always do.
But it is my daily prayer.

That I would not get in the way.
That I would not misrepresent who He is.
Knowing that His love covered it all on the Cross.

a picture

I will be back to this thing....soon....i promise!
We had a great summer - one that ended with a whole lot of activity. Fun - super fun activity. And getting back into the groove of the real world has been harder than I thought. As if I have moved to a new country & learning my way around .... and it even feels as though there's a new time zone here in the real world.

I'm adjusting.
With the aid of strong coffee.
This isn't the best picture of the summer......obviously. But it is one of the ones that makes me smile.

being good stewards

As most people these days, the family budget has been under intense scrutiny.

Which isn't a bad thing.

And in the middle of all of this scrutinizing, we are gaining a greater understanding of the choices we make with the money we spend.
Learning, for instance, that the money I spend on the luxury of a cup of coffee for me could benefit a person who has no food to eat.

Choices are important & they effect people.

And when Lee & I do a great job at cutting back where we spend we high five and feel proud & that's good, right?

But there's this other side....I have watched business I love go under.
And those are people.
Those are families.

I don't want to make excuses for living extravagantly by any means. But I don't want to forget some people simply by remembering others.

A good friend a while back was frustrated because her dryer was broken & she didn't want to spend the money to have it fixed. That's never fun. When you're trying so hard to stay in the black. To maintain life as we know it sometimes.
But then we began to think of the person fixing the dryer. A person who has probably been really hurting in this economy. A person who may have a family praying for work.

I hope I don't forget that by not spending money I can hurt people too.
I hope I remember that it's so much about people. And putting dollar signs in place of those faces, those stories, can be hurtful.

I don't think this is even a complete thought written in this post. But it's been on my heart for some time now....and I wonder if anyone else has felt this way. I wonder if anyone has some wisdom to share for keeping the balance.

Because we want to be good stewards.
But we want to encourage others in their work, too.

happy

Some more pics of all the happy. It was a great trip....and that big girl said more times than I can even count, "I just love you, Mom & Dad. I just love you."

Filled up.

That's what we are.

And I've got more thoughts than I know what to do with rolling around in my head so stay tuned....

I may just let them all out on here. They've got to get out somehow.....

relaxing

We've been relaxing & enjoying each other for the past few days - somewhere where there is less laundry and more time to play. It was great. Many more pictures to come....

swim a thon

Our swim team had a great event. A swim-a-thon to raise money for the United Methodist Children's Home. The kids swam laps from the beginning of swim practice to the end.

An hour.

I had seen my girl at a swim meet and I was confident that she would do her best - but that her best would be about 5 laps....tops. I didn't know that they would let them use kick boards or flippers to help and that one lap would be considered 1 length of the pool.....but even so......10 laps.

Maybe 12.

Tops.

She's young. She LOVES to swim, but she's learning to swim.
Someone didn't tell her that because...
....that little firecracker swam FORTY laps.
FORTY!
I was so proud of her. She swam for the entire hour and thanks to some kind family members she was able to raise a substantial amount of money for this organization.

Check this place out - it's always encouraging for me to see the creative and compassionate things that are happening around us.

the 4th & birthdays

Just some pictures from the 4th weekend. We also celebrated a couple of birthdays that weekend. And those shirts.....I just love those shirts....and I love the gal who made them. She helped some orphans through Takes A Whole VIllage and also helped a family in the middle of an adoption by making these. And be on the lookout because you will see her again....she's so incredibly talented.....

This picture just makes me laugh....are they afraid of the cake? Discussing buttercream? Fascinated nonetheless.

Sixty Feet

You may remember a great big ol cupcake sale happening several months ago. It was a loaves & fishes kind of situation. Over $10,ooo was raised for Sixty Feet - the kids of Mukisa. The boys + a few buddies are headed back over to Mukisa in just a matter of days.

Here's the latest video .......

Nathalie from Sixty Feet on Vimeo.

gardens

Some friends met us at the gardens today - so much fun. When it's a thousand degrees outside it's nice to run around in a fountain of water. At least that's what it looked like - I didn't have my bathing suit on. But I sort of regretting not having it.

My boy made his stop to see his frog friend....this time he wanted his buddy in the picture. It's fun to watch him grow up with those frogs....

Twins. I love those bathing suits. And I adore these girls. That Sarah is a leader and she's gentle and so friendly. It's been awesome to see God working in her life. And her momma is so dear to me. When I realized that Lee & I would be getting married & that we would be living in Atlanta, I began to feel a little lonely. I knew I didn't have history with anyone and I wondered if I could have a real friendship with someone without that. I'm so thankful for so many of the women that have been brought along side me in my time here. Amy is one of those friends - instant connection. Easy to talk about the big stuff with. She's someone who can call me on the carpet. Helps me to be better. I listen to a guy from Stonebridge Church in Marietta who talks about the 'lettuce in your teeth' theory. The idea that you are going to have lettuce in your teeth one day. In the same way, you are going to mess up at some point and it's a good idea to have people who love you walking beside you that can be honest with you. She is one of those people for me.

baby girl

My bug had her first trip to the wter garden at the Botanical Gardens today.
I really & truly didn't think I caught any good shots.....but these really crack me up. This is her. Spicy. Very funny. Confident. And in love with her big brother. I look at each of my chidren and am always amazed at the very different people that they are. I am never confused to believe that I understand them completely. They teach me something different about themselves every day. And I know that they would be different without one another. Each one makes the other a little more of who they are supposed to be. I love love love these kids. But here's a little entry just for that baby.
The baby that never got the memo that she was a baby.