=====
Matthew pulled out his first tooth this past week. He was proud of that! Even got a dollar from under his pillow the next morning!!! (Isn't being a mom fun?!!!)
=====
Yesterday was another morning of trying to find deals by yard sailing. The kids and I and Marlene went out for the morning. We went to some local developments. My favorite find was Ashlyn's little chair. She loves to climb up on things and this little chair will be a great friend to her! I washed the cover and sprayed the cushions and now it's ready for a playmate!!!
$3.00!!!
When we came home, Ashlyn was so tired and took a 3 hour nap! She is still on the schedule of two naps a day. She is doing great with sleeping long too. She's an early riser (6:30 most mornings). I don't mind at all though because she wakes up so happy and loves to hang out with Hadassah and Matthew before they head off to school. She gets a bath every morning and eats her breakfast ... which right now is usually a scrambled egg with a banana or her fave is grapes on the side. Then she plays a little before going down for her first nap around 8:30. Usually this is her long nap of about 3 hours. She wakes up happy again and has the afternoon to play and hang out with me. We pick up the kids at school at 2:50 PM and sometimes she falls asleep again on the way or when we get back home, she's down for nap #2. This nap is usually only an hour or so, but it's enough to energize her and ready for the evening hours. Most bedtimes for her are 8:00 PM!
Believe me, it has taken awhile to get to this schedule but I love it!!! I try to plan my day chores around her naps. It seems to help her too!
She is such a blast right now and she is trying to say more and more words each week! When she sees a finger nail clippers, she puts it to her fingers. When you tell her that you want to put on her shoes, she looks down at her feet. She says "baaaa - sheep", "lips pressed together and blows a funny sound - horse", "kitty - cat", "mooooo - cow", "MOM - for mom", "Matt - Matthew", "Nana - Lena" ... plus more. It's just way too cute!!!
This is the stage that I would just love to freeze! Not really ... but I do enjoy all her adventures and new learning stages! I know I must enjoy each day because she will not stay in this exact stage for very long. Time goes fast and watching her grow is a real blessing!!! She walks all around the house acting like she owns every inch. She's got her whole family wrapped around her little finger!!! We love it that way!
=====
This morning, Matthew and Ashlyn were up early and so that was my alarm clock! That gave me a chance to serve Mike a hot coffee with whipped cream & a swirl of Carmel syrup on top with four little homemade donut holes on the side! He doesn't get to sleep in very often and so it was fun for me to deliver his treat right to bed and say "Rise and Shine"!!! I was in the mood to make a cooked breakfast too. We have an easy quiche recipe that I love to make Sunday mornings, but this morning I wanted something different! So I choose to make "Italian Breakfast Torte". I am delighted when I find a recipe that looks good to me and then have all the ingredients on hand! I mixed fast, assembled the torte and baked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes. It smelled wonderful and it tasted just as yummy as I anticipated. We were then all off to church.
"Italian Breakfast Torte" right out of the oven and ready for eating!!! Yum!
(eggs, spinach, sausage, cheese, peppers, mushrooms, and crescent rolls!!!)
Some of the sermon was preached about how the disciples died that followed Jesus. Most of them were martyred because of their faith. Some were stoned to death. Some were crucified and hung upside down. Others were burned. These times were not easy for believers and it is a challenge for me today to not give up when the 'christian walk' gets tough.
Two verses that were shared were: "am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." And "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." 1 Tim. 1 & Hebrews 10:22
We had lunch and now are relaxing. Mike and I are wanting to get a run in together later this afternoon! It's our day of rest and enjoy each other!
You too take time to rest today. We need it!!! Our fast paced lives, our jobs, our families and all the other activities we get ourselves involved in get tiring. Let's rest our minds, bodies, and refresh our souls!!!
Loving the sunshine today too!!!
Be a blessing today to someone that needs a hug, a smile or maybe even a short story read to! It's in the 'real life' experiences that love is shown the most!!!
