Thanksgiving Feast with Pretty Princess

The feast: turkey sandwiches, carrots, grapes and cheese skewers, Rice Krispy treat

My little turkey and me

Her biggest hero, her daddy

Both 4-year-old classrooms feasted together. One class dressed up as pilgrims, the other as Native Americans.

Each child in Reagan's dress got to choose their Native American name. She chose Pretty Princess. Shocking.

The class used their footprints to make feathers for the thankful turkey.

"I am thankful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins." -Reagan, age 4

She knows her very well!

On Wednesday, Nathan and I attended Reagan's parent/teacher conference. Here are just a few quotes from her teacher, Mrs. Jenn. She sure does know our daughter well!

"She is very independent."

"She is a great helper. I can always count on her to help the kids who can't put on their jackets or zip their coats. I call her the loft helper because she always knows how to clean it."

"She's always happy. Always bubbly."

"She has a vivid imagination."

"She is everyone's friend. Everybody always wants to play with Reagan."

"She's very chatty."

"If I had one wish, it would be that when I call her over to work with me, she wouldn't rush through her work just so she can go back to playing. I want her to take her time."

"She's not really interested in the details. She is more about the big picture."

"She loves books."

"She's a natural leader. It might be more effective if I sat on the floor and she taught the class."

After the conference, Reagan couldn't wait to hear what Mrs. Jenn said. I told her everything and then said, "The one wish Mrs. Jenn had for you was that you take your time when you are working with her. Don't rush." Reagan said she would tell Mrs. Jenn, "I'm not going to rush to go play."

I saw Mrs. Jenn on Thursday and told her what Reagan said. Mrs. Jenn then proceeded to laugh and said, "Well, today I was working with two students on a turkey project. They were gluing feathers to the turkey. Wynn said, 'Wow! How did Reagan finish so fast?' I looked over and, instead of gluing the feathers down one at a time like most children had done, she squirted glue on the paper and tossed all the feathers in the air, letting them fall where they may on the paper. And off she went to play.'"

And that sums up our little girl.

Awesome.

What's grosser than gross?

When your two-year-old walks in your room with a diaper in one hand and a huge doo-doo ball in the other.

Awesome.

Craftilicious Girls Night Out!

On Tuesday night, I invited the women from my Sunday School class over for a girly-crafty-let's-make-a-Christmas-wreath night. "Crafty" and "Christy" are kind of antonyms. I have majorly low self-esteem when it comes to arts and crafts. But my friend Ellen keeps blogging about how God created us so we should create. And at first I rolled my eyes and kind of thought easy for you to say little miss handmade recess lady complete with a sewing machine and an etsy shop and all that jazz. But then I reminded myself that creating doesn't just mean sewing stuff. It can also mean creating a peaceful home, creating a purposeful daily schedule, creating a family mission statement, creating a painting that covers the lipstick mural created by the two-year-old.

So then I started seeing myself as creative.

And then I found Pinterest. And that made me start to consider the tiny possibility that somewhere in my logical, non-crafty, non-girly self, I could find a cell that could make a craft. So I started pinning. And pinning. And pinning. And never crafting. But majorly pinning.

Then Heather started a craft club and bragged about how much fun it was. She doesn't live in my town so I couldn't join it but I thought to myself I may not love to craft but I sure do love people so maybe I'll give this a shot! And that's how crafty-girly-night was birthed!

We had the best time! And my wreath turned out really cute considering about 5 minutes before the evening started, I had no idea what I was going to make. Amazing what some yarn and balls can turn into.

Biggest Wreath award went to Angie.

Smallest Wreath award went to Stacia.

My wreath

Thankful.

Today I am thankful for God's faithfulness. No matter the circumstances, He is there. But especially today I am thankful for the year He has brought our family through. And even in the midst of so many unknowns, He has shown unfailing love, redemption, and kindness.

Connor Update

This post will probably bore you to tears. I'm not offended. I just want to document Connor's progress.

Connor has been in speech therapy for 3 weeks. He's 26 months old. Expressively, he's like an 11-month-old. Receptively, he's like an 18-month-old.

Although he is only independently speaking about 3 words, he is beginning to imitate. Yesterday, November 9, 2011, he imitated 24 sounds/words! The therapist was blown away and I was absolutely thrilled! Because of his ability to now imitate sounds and some signs, his frustration at not being able to communicate has lessened tremendously. He is also starting to babble slightly during play.

Of course, I am ready for him to initiate speaking on his own. However, the therapist has reassured me imitating is a necessary first step and it's a big deal he is doing this so quickly. She is also thrilled that there is so much inflection in his voice and that he shows lots of emotion.

ooooo (blue)

uh

oh (no)

uh-oh

ball

Daddy

Momma

roll

two

puh

ess (yes)

eese (please)

whoo whoo (choo choo)

mmmm (more)

eee

puh (pull)

ck (yuck)

ssss

tttt

ah du (all done)

eee uh (clean up)

wow

whoa

The Mitchells

Nathan and I have been leading a Bible Study for engaged couples and newlyweds for about six months. 3 weeks ago, one of the couples and two of our dearest friends, Bethany and Benji, got married. I got the huge honor of being one of the bridesmaids.

Bethany was absolutely stunning. The wedding was gorgeous. And I did my best to not stick out as the only bridesmaid in her thirties. None of the girls said "yes ma'am" so I considered that a success. I also made sure to not mention Crock Pots or vacuuming or WMHK. I said things like "Yo, the Cupid Shuffle rocks" and "So, how many hours are you taking this semester?"

The Great Wolf Lodge

A few weeks ago, Nathan and I took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte, NC for the weekend. Now, I say "weekend" because we were there for almost 2 full days but only spent one night. In my opinion, the rooms per night seemed quite pricey but after seeking advice from some friends, we learned that you can use the indoor waterpark almost all day the day you check in and until it closes on the day you check out. So spending only one evening still gave us 2 full days in the waterpark. And that's my little tidbit of wisdom for the day. You're welcome.

Using our gifts.

Today my mind is on gifts.

As women, it's easy to compare ourselves to others. To what others have. To what others can do. To how others look.

I wish I could sew like her.

I wish I could sing like her.

I wish I were as smart as she.

I wish my house looked like hers.

I wish I was funny like her.

I wish my body looked more like hers.

I wish the inside of my car looked like hers and didn't have dried french fries and socks and paperwork falling out of it (oh, is it just me?)

It's a dangerous place to live. Comparing ourselves to others. Especially when God says we are remarkably and wonderfully made. And we should know that full well! God has gifted us all in different ways. And during different seasons of life, we may experience different gifts. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, let's cling to His promises and steward well what we've been gifted.

Here are a few tangible examples.

Heather is crafty. And so full of peace. She can sew. She can smock. She can take a $2 find from a yard sale and turn it into a gem. So she started a craft club. Once a month she is inviting several friends over for a peace-filled craft night and is using her gifts to bless others.

Sally's gift is listening. And facilitating discussion. So she does that as a literacy coach in her full-time job but she also blesses others with her geniune, sincere listening personality in her all interactions. Every time I have dinner with her, I leave with a new nugget of wisdom on how to be a stronger, more intentional listener.

What are your gifts? You have them. And they aren't the same as your friends or your neighbors. How can you use your gifts to bless others?

Maybe your gift is baking. Bake stuff and bless others with it.

Maybe you have a big house. Invite people over and love them to pieces.

Maybe you have a bunch of money. Invest well and give generously.

Maybe you have a great voice. Sing.

Maybe you have cable. Invite me over to watch the game this weekend.

You're blessed. Stop looking at others talents and blessings and gifts and, instead, look at your own. And use them.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

Happy Halloween!

Catch Up

1. The following blogposts are coming soon: "The Great Wolf Lodge Extravaganza", "Halloween 2011", and "Boo at the Zoo". Just hold your little horses, Mom!

2. Less than 10 weeks until Christmas. I shopped all morning and had the best time with Connor Man. The cool thing about shopping with a two-year-old is he's still oblivious enough to not even notice when I buy a huge 3-wheeler for him.

3. Connor has been in speech therapy for two weeks now and I'm blown away by his improvements! He is imitating sounds that I make and has learned about 3 signs. He is consistently saying, "Momma", "Daddy", "ball", "mmmm" (more), "doggie", "whoo-whoo" (train), "hey", "bye", "esss" (yes), "k" (milk or yuck), and "wafa" (waffle). He's also doing some babbling on his own while he plays with his toys. Gooooooo Connor Man!

4. Our HOUSE IS FOR SALE! If you send us someone who will buy our house, we'll give you some commission...like definitely at least a five dollar bill.