Ellie And The Ritz

This afternoon I gave Elle's a Ritz Cracker for the first time- At first I was feeding it to her (looking to keep the area around her clean because she was not in her high chair)- About 1/2 way through the first one she kept grabbing for it- wanting to feed her self.........Go for it Elle's!!!
P.S. Heading to grab the vacuum right after posting this :)

Datin' at Home Depot and Nawiliwili Harbor

One Year ago (Actually almost 1 year ago- Feb 22 will be a year) Matt and I were hanging out at the Home Depot in Lihue (Kauai) and killing time at the Nawiliwili Harbor (Lihue).......I had convinced Matt to take me with him into town so we could have a 'date afternoon'- Our exciting date consisted of going to the dump, Home Depot, and then sitting in the Nawiliwili Harbor to kill time as we waited for the boys to get out of school- While living in Hawaii we did not have air conditioning.......no I'm not whining but I am saying that going to Home Depot was completely appealing to me- THEY HAD AIR CONDITIONING!  I also will add to the air conditioning comment that I would frequent Costco in Lihue (Kauai) so that I could go stand back in the refrigerator section and circle the fruit and veggies until I was near freezing  :)

Home Depot on our date

Nawiliwili Harbor

Ellie 7 Months

On The Other Side

'What's the key?' was my question to a friend I was talking with today- A friend that is several years on the other side of parenting kids at home- A friend that found such joy in expressing to me how proud she was of each of her 3 grown children- Children that she has a genuine relationship with- Children that have a genuine relationship with God......
I have had the privilege of knowing this particular family since their kids were in early elementary school- They have left an impression on me not only for their open hearts but also because they live such a 'real' life- a life that was not filled with perfectness and unrealistic expectations but instead filled with a Godly realisticness.....
As a parent, I am going to mess up- my kids are going to mess up- Pride wants me to expect perfection from not only myself but also those that mean the most to me (or those that are a reflection of me)- Pride wants to cover the unpleasant and only reveal the things that seem 'perfect' and to make sure that my family is only portraying our 'we've got it all togetherness'-Pride is what was lacking in my friend today- In it's place was the wisdom of humility.....an acceptance of reality filled with a love for where each one of her kids were at.....
When she answered my question it was not some profound answer- it was simple:
'Pick and Choose your battles'.......in that sentence she was communicating to let your kids be who God called them to be not who we as parents set up in our mind we want them to be- Build our kids up when they fail (yes, let them experience consequences but don't shame them into believing they are worthless etc..)
The stories she told of her children's 'learning lessons' to get to where they are today are not ones filled with over achieving abundance- they are stories filled with learning from hard times- They were also filled with hope that God can take EVERYTHING in our life, the good bad and ugly, and use it for His Glory-
My prayer is that I can be a mother who has the wisdom to allow my children to be who God made them- Even if it does not fit into my 'perfect mold' for the way I saw my child's life going-

Thank you so much for the example in your family Laura- hugs to you guys!

The bucket list of dreams and unreality FOR VAL :)

5 Fascinating bucket list things (the bucket list that is only for dreaming but not realistic to accomplish or act out)

1. Making a quilt completely hand stitched with a ton of beautifully colored fabric for a bed covering- (I believe passionately in using my sewing machine when doing any sort of sewing and have absolutely no desire to learn the art of hand stitching- I greatly admire when someone takes the time to hand stitch- it seems like such a rare thing these days) 
2. Live down town Manhattan...........sky rise, honking horns, Century 21 (For some, relaxing means getting away from 'it all' and having a quiet place to think.......for me, the more high rises, city lights, and shopping :) the more relaxed I feel.........
3. Go Mushing- We took a cruise to Alaska several years ago- one of the excursions the ship offered was to go visit a dog sled camp- You would watch the dogs get fed and then take a ride on a sled behind the dogs (Pansy Mushing- I don't consider this really mushing)- The type of mushing I am talking about in the first 2 words of #3 is the mushing they do during the Iditarod-  I had never heard of the Iditarod until my sister Jod brought it up as a place we could take my mom for her 60th birthday (Jodi and I wanted to take her someplace special as a birthday gift- we ended up going to Scottsdale, Az. and sitting under palm and lemon trees)- oh to be a musher...........ok back to reality......maybe someday I will go watch the Iditarod with my mom and sis!! 
4. Baja 1000 baby.....'three clicks to the right- now a click to the left'.....sharing the car would be my friend Bonnie (oh Bonnie...you've got that quiet determined competitive spirit that it would take to finish), my sis in law Liz (you've got that twinkle liz a beth that has me convinced you would drive like a mad woman),  One of my facebook friends, Sherry B. (moto mama's got some getty up and go plus a whole lotta fashion sense in the racing world- would it be wrong to paint a baja buggy pink??), myself cause I earned my right of passage over the 2 years driving close to twice a day over the pass into Kipu Kai- Those Baja Boy's don't got nothing on me. AND LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST MY FRIEND (AND REAL LIFE RACE CAR DRIVER) VAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Can't believe I forgot to put you on my original post.............AAAAAAAAAAAA...........totally my bad- It would be my pleasure to sit in the passenger seat and be your 'eyes' as you used your expertise to get us where we needed to go-you don't got that checkered flag hugging your ankle for nothin' :)  Pit crew would be all of our husbands and older kids
5. Adopt 1 more daughter..........no we are not even thinking about it nor do I believe we will be blessed by such an experience (when I say blessed by I mean by the actual adoption part not the legal part of adoption- the legal part was a nightmare in our adoption and still traumatizes me to think about)- This dream of mine is simply in my heart because I grew up with a sister 18 months older than me- I know what a blessing, as a child, a sister close to you can be......our Ellie will be blessed to grow up with older brothers and close cousins- 

picture compliments of This site

To: Sissy- Love: Auntie and Elle's

Dear Sissy,

Thank you for coming over and hanging out with Elle's and I for the day-

It is so fun to have you around- Dressing up Ellie, helping me cook, and just hanging out!

We both love you so much-

Auntie and Ellie

P.S. Wed.?

Marriage and Submission part 2

I was going to wait to post part 2 of Marriage and Submission until tomorrow but my day is jammed packed and I know I will forget- I finished it tonight so I thought I would post it :)

Today's Blog Post ended with:

How was Abigail being submissive to her husband?  How was Abigail being submissive to God if she was not yielding to the authority of her husbands decision?

I personally believe that Abigail submitted to God first and her husband second and that she was right on in doing so (Matt 22:37)- Had she been submitted to her husband first she would have never gone above him and made the judgment call to talk to David.  Abigail was being submissive to God by following His commandments first- What her husband Nabal did was wicked (1 Sam 25:17).  God, in His infinite wisdom, set up His relationship with us so that it was individualized- meaning that my relationship with God is separate from Matt's relationship with God- just because I am a Christian does not mean that Matt is a Christian- He has to have his own personal relationship with God (which I am so thankful to say that he does).  I am accountable to God for my actions and Matt is accountable to God for His actions.  Abigail did not have a relationship with God because Nabal had one- Abigail had her own personal relationship with God- She was not accountable for Nabal making a wicked decision- That was between Nabal and God- But she was accountable for how she responded to Nabal's decision once she learned about it.  I believe had she sat back and done nothing she would be committing the sin of omission (James 4:17).....I believe that Abigail yielded to God's Authority and covered her husbands decision with actions that were Godly.

As I have been praying through where God wants my attitude to be when it comes to submission in my marriage I believe He is laying on my heart to learn more about submission to Him first- I feel Him nudging on my heart to dig deeper- Ask for wisdom (James 1:5)...........If I work on my submission to God and focus on what He is calling me to do I have a feeling everything else will fall into place........ :) I'll keep you posted!
p.s. thank you so much for the comments- enjoyed reading them!!

Matt and I walking along the foggy beach