Rachel's Baby Shower....

...was amazing fun! So many of her friends and family came to celebrate little baby Jillian and give such beautiful and cool gifts. It was a really fun day and Debbie, Rachel's Mom, did an fantastic job planning this event. The food was so good, the cake was beautiful and so yummy....she is truly a wonderful event planner and organizer.

Here are just a few photos....i probably took too many, but it was hard not to. The first photo is Emily, Rachel and Hannah. Aren't they beautiful? As sisters, they are so much alike, yet so very different. I love watching them together as you can just see and feel the love between them.

Baby Jillian, i think, will show up earlier than the date she is planned for. Everyone is excited to meet this new little girl! She will be much loved by everyone and she will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family. I really can't wait to meet this little one. :)

Thank you, Debbie, for including me. I had so much fun and you're a wonderful hostess!

A Special Gift....

The past three years that i've been involved with MOPS, i've participated in the MOPS Secret Sis program. It's such a fun thing to do...i know that i act like a high school kid with who-ever i pick; i think that it's great fun to pick up some kind of small gift to let her know that i'm thinking about her.

This year, i picked Jill. While i had the questionnaire that she answered, i still tried to get things that i thought that she would like that she didn't put down. Lucky for her, i've never baked with macadamia nuts, which are her favorite. But i did try to be a good secret sis!

We had our MOPS Secret Sister Reveal meeting early this year, so she found out who i was. This week, a few of us were lucky enough to get together for lunch, and Jill was among this group. It was a fun lunch!

And, this is the amazing gift that she gave me:





Is she not talented or what?!?!

I so love this gift...Jill, you are awesome and it's been my pleasure getting to know you better!

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Isn't this beautiful?

sigh....i love this plant.

Emma Photos....

 

 

 

 

These photos were taken a few days ago at snack time. It's pretty much the only time that Emma will sit still. It is so hard to get photos of her sometimes; child photographers really earn their pay.

I have stuff to post, but of course, it's late and i'm ready for bed. I've been watching the Olympics and time just seems to get away from me...

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At first glance, i really liked this photo, but the more i look at it, the more i find fault in the sharpness and fuzziness of it. I tried looking at it in black and white, but the color of the bloom is so pretty in color.

I can't believe that this plant is blooming again, but it is.

It's a sunny Sunday here...so off to play outside!

Emma's Cupcakes!

 

 

 

 

mmmm....baked from scratch cupcakes! These cupcakes turned out very nice and fluffy. And you truly can't go wrong with yellow cake and lots of milk chocolate icing! It's the first time i've tried this recipe for these cupcakes.

I think that these cupcakes made Emma's favorite list, don't you? :)

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...and yet another house plant! This is also a favorite of mine....i call it a "Christmas Cactus". I'm sure that "Christmas Cactus" isn't it's technical name, but my Mom called it that because it would first bloom around late November....reminding her that Christmas was well on it's way.

It is a beautiful plant in bloom...but i really like the new leaves in this photo!

Dear Emma....

Dear Emma,

Tomorrow you will be three years old. It's going to be a big day for both of us...i can't believe that it is here already. You have grown so very quickly; almost in the blink of an eye, it seems. You've learned so much this past year, and have grown into a very adventurous toddler. Here are some of the things that you can now do:

~Count to 12 in Spanish and 15 in English.
~Say 'hello', 'how are you', 'i'm fine', 'what's your name?' in Spanish.
~You know quite a few animals in Spanish like 'butterfly', 'cat', 'dog'...
~Have become quite the chatterbox in English!
~Can sing all kinds of songs! Some of your favorite are: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E song, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Jingle Bells, the Taxi Song, and Happy Birthday to Me.
~You love to watch football, Dora the Explorer, and Lazy Town
~You have very little patience, lol...and a bit of a temper goes with that
~In the tub with bubbles is one of your favorite places to be. You LOVE water!
~I'm thrilled to say that you give kisses and hugs...
~I've lost count at all of your 'favawote' stuffed animals you sleep with
~School is a favorite place
~Ketchup is a favorite 'food'
~You love seeing Cooper and Ms. Melinda
~Pachi is still your favorite buddy
~Playing "Weeee" with Dada is also a big deal
~You love, love to "read" and color
~You are a VERY late morning sleeper
~I giggle thinking about how much you loved to be tickled!
~And sometimes, you love to snuggle with me!

I can't put into words how much i love being your Mommy. Watching you grow and learn things has been amazing. Tomorrow will go by in a blur, i'm sure...there is snow on the ground as i write this so you will probably stay home with me tomorrow. And i'm secretly happy about that! You have taught me so very much about love and being a mother...

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

I love you to the moon and back....

~Mommy

Happy Heart Day!

 

I've had the chance to read on other's blogs this past week of what they think the meaning of love is. The answers have gone from the romantic (couple love) to loving one's self.

That's the beauty of love, i suppose, that it does mean many different things to so many different people.

Being a Mother, well, love to me is when your little one climbs on your lap, lays on you and snuggles. Or when your little one says "Wuff you, Mama" for no reason whatsoever.

But really, isn't this "quote" below a even more amazing love:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
~John 3:16-17

Now that is an amazing love.

Happy Valentine's Day...

A Lazy Saturday....