a splendid little day...

some days are just better than others...just a wee bit more splendid. that's been today...at least so far. :) wanna see what we've been up to?! (i thought you did...)

it started with the delightful aroma of cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven...my contribution to my hubby's turn at "donut day" at the office. i rose from bed a wee bit earlier than usual to preheat the oven, slide in the pans of newly risen cinnamon rolls (i just LOVE that you go to bed the night before with teeny tiny rolls of bread dough and awaken to big ol' rolls bursting from the pan!), and mix up a batch of icing. it was definitely worth it though...see that empty space in the picture...yep, that was my breakfast...yum! here is the recipe...which i posted almost exactly a year ago on my old blog.

after a bit of quiet time i woke the girls up and got them ready for a lovely morning at the zoo. and it was lovely indeed...sunny, a slight breeze, eighty degrees. we met some friends there who we hadn't seen in a bit...so fun to catch up and, of course, see the animals! we went to the dolphin show (for the first time ever...it just hasn't worked for us on previous trips), and elizabeth thought that was incredibly fun. she also got to pet a shark, feed the giraffe, and see the zookeepers bathe an elephant.

"a zooin' we will go!"

miss anne helps libbers reach the giraffe

checkin' out the sharks

after a picnic lunch at the zoo, we headed for home...stopping for a quick jaunt into wal-mart to take advantage of their awesome deal on crayons ($.22 for a 24 pack of crayola crayons and $.05 notebooks!)...and might i mention that elizabeth stood there and not only handed the crayons to the cashier but also handed her the one dollar bill and received the change...oh what a proud little girl she was as she carried the bag out of the store. but now the girls are napping...and i am enjoying an afternoon snack (the yummy hummus elizabeth and i whipped up yesterday afternoon...SO GOOD....recipe to come, just have to make sure my friend doesn't mind if i share it!).

and finally...how are we going to end this delightful summer afternoon...by grillin' up some hot-dogs. have i mentioned that we really enjoy kosher beef hotdogs...well, we do. and, as you already know, i love a bargain. well, tuesday night i hit the bargain jackpot when it comes to bringin' home the bacon. yep...all you vegetarians out there can cringe now (and mind you....most of this went straight in the freezer and will last us a long while)...i bought 5 packages of hebrew national kosher beef hotdogs, 4 packages of bacon, and 3 rolls of breakfast sausage for the grand total of $10. thank you wal-mart and coupons (and mom, who passed on some of those coupons!). my initial total was over $26. the cashier was a bit stunned as she reported the after coupon price. anyway...as the hubs headed out this door for work this morning he suggested we bust out a pack o' dogs for dinner tonight...and i will happily oblige. after all, what better way to end a splendid summer day that a hotdog fresh off the grill!?

and just a little blast from the past...this is my blog post from this exact day one year ago. amazing to read through these and think about how much has changed (and yet, also, how much remains the same). a year ago today elizabeth had her first success on the potty...here we are 12 months later...big girl undies, clean and dry...something i could hardly comprehend being a reality a year ago! a year ago today we were referring to "the new baby"...we didn't know she would be a girl...didn't know we would be blessed with our spunky and feisty, smilin', happy little kater gater. a year ago today i was frantically sewing away on baby blankets for MOPS gifts...this year i've gotten smart and recruited a team to help with the baby gift sewing (definitely happy for that!). a year ago i was smiling about the exact same cinnamon rolls i smiled about this morning. isn't it so amazing to look back on the past year....it makes me recognize anew the faithfulness of God...the goodness of God...all that i have to be grateful for in my life.

i know this post is getting a bit "windy"...but allow me to share some of my recent thoughts. i find myself so often struggling to be intentional...as a wife, as a mother, as a follower of Jesus. some days i struggle with the reality that life is hard...its hard even without major crises...its hard to wage war against the flesh and not give in to selfishness, to have patience, to love as God calls us to love. well, in reading through colossians yesterday my heart was encouraged by these words, "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works in me." (Colossians 1:28-29). i've heard and read those verses before, but as i read them yesterday my heart was pricked anew with the reality that God didn't promise my walk in this life to be one of ease. rather, He says we are to toil and struggle...keeping in mind others...the goal of drawing others toward Christ, toward maturity, toward sanctification. God didn't promise that motherhood or marriage or friendship or being His child would be easy...that discipling and training up my children would be without frustration. no, He called me to be intentional....to toil...to struggle...not in my own strength, but rather by relying on His strength in me. whoa! this changes so much...it doesn't take away the frustrating circumstances or the trying moments...rather it sheds a new light on them...the reminder that His grace and strength is mine in ALL things...and that in ANY situation i can draw myself and those around me closer and closer to Jesus...oh how i pray i can live with this in mind that i might grow in being the intentional mama and wife and woman God has called me to be!