ten smile tuesday

God is so gracious...and I have so much to smile about...even in the midst of a quite l-o-n-g week (Mike had to work both Saturday and Sunday on top of his 12 hour plus days). Without further ado...(sorry for the strange formatting in some places...not sure what the deal is!)

1. Friends who speak truth...even hard truth. I had one of "those" conversations Sunday with a dear friend who wasn't afraid to shake me up a bit. Those kind of friends are such a treasure...the Bible even says so..."Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." (Proverbs 26:7)

2. My "100 things I am thankful for" list...a result of the conversation mentioned in smile #1...her challenge to me. What a huge blessing to really dig deep and think about all that I have to be thankful for...the deep things...to really realize the grass is greenest right beneath my own feet, not on the other side...to come to a point of thanking God for exactly who He made me to be, where He chose for me to do in life, and what trials and challenges He would use to refine me and make me more like Christ.

3. Our delightful "visit" from spring...a welcome afternoon of playing in the backyard! (See the pictures from Sunday's post for a better glimpse of this smile!)

4. Whipping up a batch of "spring-y" cookies to go with our spring day on Sunday...butterflies and flowers...of course, the best part of this was having Elizabeth right by my side to help me out! (And sharing them with my hubby when he was finally able to make it home from work!) Have I mentioned that I am on a hunt for the best sugar cookie recipe I can find...this one was among my favorites so far! If you have a good one, do share!

5. Visting daddy's office after church Sunday...I dropped the girls off and then grabbed a big ol' pizza from Costco for us all to enjoy. Elizabeth loved running around the office (and rolling in daddy's office chair)...I was a nice chance to spend some time with daddy, and Elizabeth couldn't stop talking about daddy's office the rest of the day!

6. Spending a fabulous day with my parents on Saturday...check out Saturday's post to hear more about it...too many smiles to recount here...but truly one of those days to remember!

7. More sock monkeys...two more completed...and two more ready to be stuffed and have their "limbs" attached!

8. Kate's bottom teeth are finally popping through! I knew they were on their way...but it is always nice to actually see some progress!

9. Elizabeth "helped" me (I use the term helped loosely here!) give Mugho a bath tonight...then afterwards she really helped Mugho dry off...running in circles with him, loving on him...they had a blast. But the cutest, hearing her invite him up onto her bed to sing with us and then insisting on giving him the biggest hug and kiss ever..."Love you Mow-go" (as she so sweetly pronounces his name...actually, for any who have wondered it is actually pronounced Moo-go)

10. Independence...okay, some of the independence is bittersweet...however, not this independence. She's got it...going to the potty all by herself! Hooray! I think I almost did a cartwheel yesterday when she ran to the potty, and I heard the tell-tale sound of her little seat being placed on the potty, a pause, then a flush, and my precious girl running out (pants still around her ankles, of course--just to make it all the more precious and priceless) shouting, "I did it...go potty BY MYSELF!" Now she is all about doing it on her own. AMEN!

And now some random shots from the past few weeks...pictures from my mom's camera that she sent my way!

libs modeling the dresses g.g. and b.b. gave her

for valentines--kate got too equally cute dresses...

just didn't try them on right away!

my sister and i--before our haircuts (sorry the afters were

blurry!)...and even better, the lovely michelle, sporting the

super fun glasses she bought for elizabeth!

need i comment...kate is simply FULL of these grins

and giggles these days...they just don't stop!