Vacation

So, after spending 18 minutes trying to remember my blogger password, I am back-at least until my next hiatus. So far summer has been hot and, well, not a whole lot else. We have been pretty low-key around here and I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts. We got back from Louisianna last weekend and, while it was nice to spend the time with Ryan's family, we are so glad to be home! As hot as it has been around here this week it's still not as hot and sticky as it was down there!Eww.It's a leezard. Again, eww.Love this. Paw-paw.Seriously, eww. We really had to watch where we walked.

The best $0.50 ever spent:

Next year I have a date with a beach house and a book.

Eat dessert first!

Yesterday at church our pastor gave a sermon on Psalms 90. The message was essentially about how short our lives are and how we need to make them count. He also mentioned that we should treat ourselves more often-by having dessert first! Emma and I were already planning on going to lunch after church while Ryan went to a hockey game so it was fun to surprise her with dessert as our appetizer. We rarely get dessert at all so this was a double bonus!

The dessert was great and so was our lunch but what was really amazing was the time Emma and I spent just talking and hanging out. Panera was packed, of course, so Emma and I ended up sitting in the armchairs by the fireplace. It was such a change of pace to sit back and chat and instead of focusing on the food, we focused on each other. In these precious moments when I see Emma acting and talking like a big girl I really do realize just how fast time goes. Don't get me wrong--I am not a perfect mom and Emma is not a perfect kid, but on this day, at this lunch, I felt like we were doing a pretty good job.

Good Stuff

Is anyone there?

Here is a recap of the past few months!

Emma spends lots of time being crafty lately. Tons of cards, pictures, projects, and experiments. She needs gallery space.

Family game night made a come-back.Umm, no. Not gonna happen. Maybe next year...Definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions. Emma was thrilled to be able to set up the nativity all by herself. I am happy to report that I didn't make a single adjustment. I can't say the same for Phil-cat. Keeping him away from the decorations was a full time job.
Another favorite tradition. Krispy kreme doughnuts at Emma's school party. The snowman didn't have a chance.We had 7 Christmas celebrations to attend this year. Quite a lot and made me work to remember that time spent with family is something to be cherished, and not managed. We really tried to slow down this year and enjoy the moment. Very cold trip to Chigaco to see Alli and visit Shedd Aquarium. Oh, look at that family with the matching outfits. How cute. Umm, not. Let's try to make sure that doesn't happen again, k?The obsession begins. One of the favorite gifts of '09 for sure. Can't wait to share this passion with you, my dear.And this is what happens if you refuse to give me a normal smile when I try to take your picture. Dear Dad, next time just say cheese. Love, your daughter-you know, the one with the camera attached to her hip. And this is what happens when you do smile for the camera! Alli and Alex. Thanks for the fun day and the warm place to hang out. Oh, so cozy! Love it!
2009 was a good year. Thank you for all the prayers. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends supporting us.

Rather than one new year's resolution that I would give up by February, here are my goals for 2010:

-Care less about what other people think and more about what my husband and child think of me.

-Pray more, want less.

-Exercise more, eat less.

-Nurture friendships, new and old. Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. ;)

-Spend more time being creative and less time on the computer, Ipod, Blackberry, tv, etc...

-Find ways to spend time as a family without spending a lot of $$$$.

-Blog more. Or at least scrapbook/journal more since blogging kinda goes against goal #5. I look back at the pictures of when Emma was a baby and the stories I have for each of them. These days the photos just end up in a box waiting to be sorted.

-Focus on capturing the memory, not the picture.

Weekend Update

We had a great time with friends in Galena a couple weekends ago. It was totally relaxing and we definitely had/caused lots of laughs!

How not to watch a baseball game

We've been going to a ton of my brothers baseball games lately (he is on his school's 8th grade team). Emma gives up watching the games after the first few innings so she comes up with ways to entertain herself. The game was pretty distracting and she needed to concentrate, hence the sweater over her head. At least she watches when Matt is up to bat!

Emma was pretty bored at this game so we pretended her barbies were at a game and you can't go to a baseball game without taking pictures, right? Barbie may just need her own scrapbook...

7 year pics

Emma wasn't really feeling the photo shoot this time. She got bored really quickly and was way too interested in posing and the fake smile thing. These are a few of the more natural shots. Maybe we will try again in a more seasonal setting to get her in the mood!

Happy Birthday Emma!

I know it's been a while but I'm back. I hope people are still reading! Emma started school a few weeks ago so I am glad to be back to my normal routine.

Today is Emma's birthday so she woke up early (not holding my breath for that to happen again). I made her pancakes with sprinkles and she opened one of her presents. It was a webkinz that looks like Kiki. We had to put our cat, Kiki, to sleep a few months ago and Em is really missing her. The webkinz' tail has a little orange tip just like Kiki did. We both had tears in our eyes when Emma opened it. The Birthday Fairy dropped by a present too (another webkinz that Emma has been wanting) and Emma was so excited. I think Nana had to go to work too early to see Emma this morning! Emma got calls from everyone (even uncle Matt on his way to school!) which made her feel so special.

Emma at 7

~ You have learned to tie your shoes-just in time for school to start. It took a little longer for you since you hardly ever wear shoes with laces. We are all about flip flops and slip ons around here!

~You are reading a lot more these days. It's so funny to hear you in the car reading signs as we go by or reading the words on your CD's and DS games all by yourself.

~Most nights I wake up with you squeezed into bed with us. Funny how you always end up on my side of the bed.

~You are quite a sassy pants lately. I am trying to remember to be a good example and stay patient with you. I know my attitude isn't always perfecy so I can't expect yours to be. We will work on this one together little girl.

~You love music and singing. You don't go anywhere without your "Ipod" and you want to be a rock star when you grow up. You are quite the little songwriter and love strumming on your guitar.

~You are very creative. You love to do any kind of art project and are bummed that you haven't gotten to do much at school yet this year. You love to scrapbook with me and you just discovered a love for photography. I wonder where you got that from?

My sweet girl, I love you so much more than I can even say. I am so proud to be your mom and I can't wait to see how you grow and change this year. Loves!

We have lots of birthday celebrations coming up this weekend. I have always loved that her birthday falls on Labor Day weekend so we can celebrate with everyone and still have some down time. I will be taking Emma's 7 year pictures at Ewing Manor tomorrow. I hope I can do justice to the amazing setting. Emma is excited to be going to "the castle" so hopefully she will be in a good mood! I will post pictures soon!