shiny shoes and the best card ever

How was your Mother's Day? Mine was pretty good. 

It started off with me giving Jacob grief about not saying Happy Mother's Day. (I can be a jerk in the morning!) Then, I helped keep the nursery during worship service. Chloe loved clinging to me almost the entire time. It didn't really bother me that much though. An absolutely thought-provoking Bible class followed. 

After church Jacob surprised me with some new shiney shoes. They are my first pair and I like 'em. So comfortable. 

We ate lunch with Jacob's family and enjoyed spending the afternoon with them. His mother and grandmother are among the sweetest souls on earth! 

After Chloe woke up from her nap, Jacob surprised me with his very own homemade Mother's Day card. He even hand wrote the poem on the inside. 

In case you can't read it, it says:

"What a great mom you are Candace.

Chloe and I are lost without you to bond us.

Such a beautiful girl with a sweet spirit.

Chloe told me that, I know she means it. 

Sometimes overwhelmed and a little crazy

Normally my fault when I get a little lazy.

Cleaning, teaching and cooking on the oven

All these action show how much you loven.

Chloe and I love you, we know you are the best

Maybe this summer you can get some rest.

Happy Mother's Day, we are stuck to you like glue.

We're ok with that because we love you. "

 

Isn't that so stinkin' cute and hilarious? I think it is the best Mother's Day card ever made! I am so blessed to have both Jacob and Chloe and cannot imagine my life without them. I think that is what Mother's day is all about - remembering why being a mother is so important. It's because you are loved and get to give love in return! 

These two make me so happy and make me want to love more!

Happy Mother's Day to you!

dirt

this is my new favorite picture.

my girl loves dirt. as we planted our garden about a month ago, she was right there with us each step of the way. we let her stay busy putting loose dirt in a small pot and then dumping it back in the large pot. little did we know, we were creating a bad habit. now, we cannot walk by a patch of dirt without Chloe lunging for the soil with both hands ready to be filled. 

case in point, we went to the doctor a week or so ago. Chloe was doing really well in the waiting room but soon got restless, so we walked outside. She did great walking up and down the sidewalk chasing me until she saw what lined the flowerbed - mulch. She was a goner after I wouldn't let her dig into her treasured dirt and take a sample to her doctor. 

oh, and when we pick her up from "school" - which i call school because it makes me feel better - she has a diaper full of pea gravel that came from the playground. it pours out of her pants when we pick her up and she screams as we rid her of the tiny rocks she has been hoarding. 

dirt. it makes her happy. 

silly little girl. she makes me happy.

snot and blueberries

This image is straight out of the camera. Apparently, all editing software completely wigs out the computer. 
No pretty rooster picture and scripture tonight. 

So, I leave you with this. It makes me smile. Poor baby. These molars could be the death of us both. Ha!

do you watch it?

this, of course. 



i'm completely hooked.  

i watched the first season on netflix and now the second is on pbs.org.

fabulous television. the brits get it right again.

it was a good one

the weekend went by quickly. it was definitely a good one though. it was one of those weekends that was relaxed and unscheduled. we did not have to be anywhere at any special time - that was nice after the week we were wrapping up. i am kind of selfish with those "down" times and this weekend certainly catered to our homebody natures. to me, those are the best kind of weekends.


it started with happy mail for chloe. if you haven't seen or heard of Books from Birth go check it out. it is a teacher-mama's dream come true.
plus, this book is one of my favorites. back in the fall our school participated in Read for the Record and this was the book to read this year. it is such a cute, animated story and sparks so much conversation and teachable moments. i think it will certainly be one of chloe's favorites!


saturday morning was all about cleaning and clearing out the house. this is where one of our two vintage chairs sat in our living room. we decided it was time for a change. we sold them on craigslist and they went within an hour! can't wait for our new chairs to get here.

chloe spent most of her day pushing her new stroller around. consignment sales rock - nuff said.


made a Goodwill run and found the number one item on my wish list. how often does that happen? scored this cute dress for a v-day date with my love. it was only $5! woot-woot!

Bible class Sunday, we were in Acts 8. simon the sorcerer has always been made out to be the bad guy. but this time i found him simply ignorant and quickly changed by the spirit once he was shown the truth. and someone made an amazing point about Philip and the eunuch. i'm gonna paraphrase here > Philip was told to go near and wait for the carriage, then the eunuch invited him in to read. Are we at a point in our lives that we can listen when we are called and then be invited into "someone's carriage"? some good meat to chew on. 


the rest of the day was spent immersed in laundry and shopping the house to springerize our bedroom. hmmm, wishing i could spend a little more time in this pretty bed.  

have a happy week!

just another

don't pretend like you don't know the lyrics. if you are a child of the 80's - you should know the bang-les well. 

today was certainly a monday. discombobulated and insane no matter what amount of planning and work was done beforehand. one step forward and two steps back. 

it wasn't a BAD day - just one of those crazy, hectic, can I get a second to breath? or will I ever stop dropping things? kind of days.

and before you go there - no I am not with child. it's just a monday.

i am glad my God knows how to calm me and tell me to listen to Him in all of this earthly chaos. i keep reciting to myself the fruit of the spirit song. "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-contro-o-o-ol."

i keep asking God, what do you want me to learn from this craziness? to find you? to see you? to show you? in all of this?

and then i get a little Junie B. kind of exasperated and find peace in the role God has prepared for me, even on this maniacal monday.


chloe was having a monday too. :)

inner debate

i've been going back and forth between returning to this here ole blog. and the truth of the matter is, i really want to. i do. i miss it. 

it once served as a release, an outlet for my thoughts. sometimes i would allow the deep thoughts to seep onto the screen you are reading now. and other times, i would fill it with posts on frivolous matters such as my house and cooking - maybe in a effort to allow something out of my head so that i would not burden any readers with the "heavy" stuff! and not to mention, i am a sharer by nature. possibly even an over-sharer in some instances.

so, here i am - having not blog for almost the first full year of my child's life. let's face it. i can barely manage being a wife, mom, and teacher. it's no wonder that a silly little blog feel by the wayside. i feel like i've missed so much already. maybe i will recap the end of 2011 soon. maybe i won't. part of my debating my return has hinged on if i should go back and update what has been happening around here or just pick up where we are now.

who knows?

all i know is i have lots of thoughts and things i want to share. some serious and some silly.

so, dear blog - our friendship may be somewhat strained right now but we are old friends. and everyone knows old friends can just pick up and carry on like no time has passed. i am looking forward to what time we may spend together soon.

and just so you can agree on how cute my kid is now - here is a picture of the little sweetie! surely can't get enough of her!

ten on ten

i thought maybe the best way to get back in the swing of blogging would be to participate in 10 on 10 today. even as busy as i have been, it was nice to stop real quick and snap a picture. it was a pretty typical day - probably boring to most other people. but this is how life looks right now.


running late already

riding to work with my honey

the pledge

planning time - lesson plans and homework for next week

how to cook a turkey writing via whattheteacherwants

end of the day - there's strange peace in a classroom after an eventful day

picking up the hubs from work

snack time for the baby (and the dog)

freezer meal lasagna - interesting

play time with daddy

life is honestly good right now. things are busy and exhausting but oh so wonderful. school is kicking my rear and i am drowning in paperwork. i am just trying to remember what it is I am there to do and to enjoy my kids. chloe is at such a fun age right now and i am trying to soak it all in. it is all flying by. i will truly be thankful for our break in a few weeks so i can spend days playing with my family!

can someone please make her stop growing?

i don't know if i can handle the pace of her growth. i am trying my best to soak up every minute of it. this whole process of watching a child, your own child, grow and develop is absolutely amazing. seriously, i am constantly amazed. jacob and i were talking the other night about being obnoxious parents who thing their child is the best. we hope we aren't too annoying. it is just so hard not to be when you see all of the awesome new things your child is doing. it's just crazy to witness. it truly is testimony to God's greatness.  i stand in wonder and awe of His works. especially this little one named Chloe.

city chickens

Several months ago, Jacob found out we could own up to six chickens where we live in the city limits. It didn't take long for him to begin construction on a hen house to be tucked away in our backyard. Once Jacob's dad got involved, we had a grandiose poultry paradise.


It was originally supposed to be about half this size. But we like to spoil our chickens. :)


They have a nice little window with a pretty plant ledge.


A little door for easy egg collection.


A pretty, shady white crepe myrtle to keep them from cooking in the backyard.



FRESH eggs are so much better! So fluffy and much more taste.


And Chloe loves her new little friends - I think we have an animal lover on our hands.

Yes, I know her pacifier is dragging the ground - gross. We do clean it. 
My favorite hen is the white one with the feathers on her legs - see her there on the left?