adding up our day!

elizabeth+chocolate pudding=mess


kate+spaghetti pie=mess


and kate was totally hamming it up for the camera (and loving rubbing pasta ALL over herself...seriously mike had to hose down the high chair!)


kate+dog bed=FUN (and no, she didn't hit her head during the flipping action...somehow she managed to push her legs out and steady herself before landing). really, what is it with one year olds...mugho's bed was elizabeth's favorite place when she was a one year old as well!


here's the proof...the first pic is elizabeth (at almost exactly the same age as kate!) in the bed...and then i had to post the second one as well, elizabeth and miranda taking turns in the bed...these pictures blow my mind. my "baby" is SOOOO big....it is hard for me to believe she was once this little. oh my!


here she is today.
elizabeth=beauty

ten smile tuesday

i feel like i've taken an unintentional break from blogging...and while i miss being around to share our life and catch up on all my bloggity friends's lives...i also must admit that it is the "right" thing for me to be absent. there is simply so much going on in life...so many moments to take in and savor. there are rough moments to work through...the need to stay focused on what i am supposed to be doing, to cling to my Savior and His Word. i am realizing more and more each day that these little moments of sitting on the floor playing peek-a-boo and reading stories won't last forever...so i want to simply soak them in and enjoy them, and that simply cannot happen while i'm on the computer. on top of that i've been busy sewing (with the help of my sweet friend jill) dresses for the girls, savoring the unofficial end of summer at the lake, and finalizing last minute details for MOPS...and all of that adds up to fill my days. however, here i am to share my smiles! you'll notice that most of the smiles and pictures are from our weekend at the lake...you might call this the "fourth annual lake extravaganza"...if you've been around my blog long enough for the prior installments. though our trip was pared down to just two couples, the addition of little ones made it just one person shy of the size of our first trip! and we had TONS of fun (as you will see!).

1. introducing "friendly dinosaur"...i pulled out some fabric scraps, printed clipart of a dinosaur off the internet, and elizabeth and i set off to create her own special stuffed dinosaur for "d" week. he's super soft and smooshy, and to elizabeth it was absolute love at first sight...in fact, he is snuggly tucked into bed with her as a type!


2. sewing, sewing, and more sewing...my friend jill and i are making a flower girl dress for elizabeth (for my friend lora's wedding in october). jill is working on elizabeth's while i make a matching dress for kate...kate isn't in the wedding, but i still love the idea of matching dresses...especially since they should be able to wear them again for christmas, etc. i have pictures, but i won't reveal them until after the wedding...BUT they are adorable...and jill and i had LOTS of fun spending a couple days together working on them! (funny how what might have happened in an afternoon before kiddos (well, not for me since i didn't learn to sew until my mommy days) is taking SO much longer with three little ones underfoot!).

3. dates. my parents were kind enough to watch the girls friday evening after we arrived at the lake so that mike and i could go on a date. nothing fancy...just grinders at a hole-in-the wall lake place and milkshakes for dessert...but nonetheless, it was fabulous to spend some time together talking, laughing, planning, organizing, and catching up. not only that, but elizabeth also got some date time with daddy on friday...they went on a doughnut date (remember, its "d" week!) friday morning while kate napped...meaning mommy was left to pack bags for the lake without any distraction...lovely!

4. swimming with my two favorite girlies!


5. boat rides. (kate was thrilled to discover the volume button on the boat radio...while elizabeth just loved driving...and learning about "water hills" from uncle nathan)




6. baby love. we had our share of loving on brennan (jill and nathan's little guy who is just over 2 months old). elizabeth and kate are already vying for his affection!


7. my dad's big catch...he snagged this one while chatting with nathan on the pier...a nice catch for some casual casting from the dock! gotta love using the baby as a size gauge!


8. games...and lots of them. i am a game junkie (my husband...not so much)...so i definitely enjoyed getting a "game fix"...jill and nathan introduced us to "farkel" and "five crowns"...LOTS of fun...and, of course, my mom and i taught jill how to play canasta.

9. tree swings. both of the girls had LOADS of fun on the swing poppy hung for them last time we were there. how fortunate are these two little sweethearts to have a tree swing that glides out over the lake!


10. the picture says it all...i mean seriously...what's not to smile about!?


i could go on and on...the tasty strawberry rhubarb pie jill brought...watching brennan take his first swim...tasty eats...but truly, it was just an all around blessing and smile to spend a long weekend with people we love....to enjoy the sun, water, and one another...togetherness is great! but i do leave you with one extra smile...

SISTERS! (i'm a wee bit biased, but i think they're pretty darned precious!)




and here we are....

ten smile tuesday

can it really be true that an entire week has passed us by....a week packed full of those ordinary moments i would simply like to savor....to gather up and store away for those "rainy" days. (mind you, this week has had its share of rainy moments--tantrums, broken plates, piles (errr....mounds) of housework--and on and on...but truly, we are blessed here in the "yak family".

1. the finale of "c" week...baking cookies (incidentally i experimented with the recipe and created something new and delish!--chocolate chip cookies with banana and peanut butter--moist, chewy, and yummy!--i used the toll house recipe+an extra 1/2 cup of flour, then i tossed in my two ripe bananas that needed to be used...and finally, i thought...hmm...what good are bananas and chocolate without a wee bit of peanut butter, so i threw in 1/4-1/2 cup of PB). however, keeping cookies in the house is never a good idea, so we made some cards, read one of our favorite books, "you can do it, sam" (about a bear who delivers cakes (a tasty surprise) to his friends....SOOO cute!), loaded into the van and headed off to drop our own little tasty surprises off to friends. elizabeth was absolutely enthralled by this adventure....toting her homemade card and plate of cookies up to the door, ringing the doorbell and saying, "here's a tasty 'prise!" kate was quite thrilled by the adventure, as she just loved seeing all the friends! we'll most definitely be doing this smile again! (oh how i wish we could pack up a plateful and drop them off to all of you bloggity friends!)


2. playing....especially watching daddy and his daughters play. one of elizabeth's favorite parts of the week was reading the comics with daddy on sunday afternoon. and kate...well, she loves just about anything involving daddy....as the grin reveals!


3. COOTIES! (and not the kind fourth grade boys have....) i picked the cootie game up at a garage sale for a buck. so worth it. as i opened the box and looked at the gameboard i have to admit i was a bit stumped. i don't know that i honestly remembered cooties being a game....i just remember sitting with my sister (or by myself) putting the cooties together in different ways and then playing "house" and pretending with them. i mean, really, cooties were just another verious of dolls and barbies around our house! this, however, was mike's first ever run-in with cooties (can you believe it!?)...he bashfully admitted this fact when i laughed as i recounted the story of a lady at the garage sale seeing me with the box and saying, "cooties...whats that?" (please, please tell me you all remember cooties!)


4. piggy pancakes...well, atleast that's what i was going for. in reality, elizabeth took one look at it and called it a cat, which actually fit well with our "c" theme...so i guess you could say we had "cat cakes" for breakfast saturday. (and yes...she did scarf down the chocolate chip eyes and nostrils first)


5. doll-making. you all have to know just how much i am loving elizabeth's newfound fondness for all things crafty. i must admit that i often have to step back though...i can get way too obsessive about the pieces being glued just right OR the big messes that come with the projects. this particular project was a wee bit above lib's independent ability though, so she happily requested "help mama!"...and i didn't even mind the glue EVERYWHERE when we were finished (and it was that SUPER sticky craft glue...that stuff could hold a house together!)....or the glitter (if you look closely the sashes are covered in glitter...as is the table...and the people in this house (still...even though the project was yesterday). gotta love glitter...


6. goggles. need i say more...


7. paint, paint, paint....i suppose this could go with smile #5, but i'll give it a smile all its own. so elizabeth loves painting. finger painting. brush painting. she. loves. painting. todays d project were daisies, which involved painting the middle of a muffin cup yellow (or a rainbow of colors if you're elizabeth) (by the way...i got this idea from moziesme), but i knew that simply wouldn't be enough in the painting realm. SO...i invented "daddy dollars" (which elizabeth will present to daddy this evening....and daddy can redeem for hugs and kisses and dates and other special moments) and let elizabeth have at it with the paint to decorate them. you know what i discovered...i like finger-painting almost as much as elizabeth does. the other thing i discovered is that i really need to make paint smocks for the girls!


8. dessert. ooey gooey and delicious rice krispie treats...made with the help of one eager (almost) three year old while kate napped. (which is also when we bust out the paint and glue...) this treat will be accompanying a dinner (chicken enchiladas) we are delivering to some friends who just got home after a year overseas doing missions. (and yes...you guessed it...elizabeth picked the colored, fruity flavored marshmallows...and they do give the rice krispie treats a bit of flavor). while we stirred and melted the marshmallows elizabeth danced around the kitchen twirling and singing (at the top of her lungs), "marshmallows...marshmallows. oh i love marshmallows! marshmallows...marshmallows. you taste so good!" hilarious!


9. faces. elizabeth has this new face. she calls it a daddy face...though we have NO idea why. it is too funny (and she knows it...and tries to milk it for all its worth). even funnier....the realization that apparently kate is picking up a similar facial expression. i truly believe the best pictures aren't always the smiley ones...these might be among my recent favs!


10. grace, grace, God's grace. grace for dinner time...which is definitely in one of those "not so happy" phases. kate, who just weeks ago would eat anything...is getting picky. ugh! and elizabeth, who had been on a positive streak when it come to dinner...is back to those stubborn, wants to take six hours to eat ways. ugh! in case i haven't mentioned it...parenting is hard. and yet, God is gracious...gracious to give patience when all around the dinner table is going haywire...gracious to remind me that just as i wish my children would just listen and realize what i want them to do is best for them, so this is how He sees me....gracious to forgive in those moments when i don't respond as i should....gracious.

ten (okay...sixteen) smile tuesday...

i didn't intend to disappear from blog-land...we've had plenty of blog-worthy stuff going on. rather, i ended up taking a last minute (as in making the decision on saturday and leaving sunday after church) trip to the lake. the girls and i packed up the car and headed North...leaving mike to hold down the homestead (and get some much needed project and relaxation time!). we were able to coordinate with my mom and completely surprise my grandma when we showed up at my parent's house, and i'm so thankful for each and every hour we get to spend with her. what a privilege that my girls can know their great-grandma...how it fills my heart with joy to hear elizabeth talk about her GG (and, of course, so special that elizabeth so vividly remembers her Big Bapa as well!). i remember fondly the times i spent with my GG...visiting her in florida, anticipating her visits to indiana. squeezing orange juice from fresh oranges, riding her big three wheeler bike with my sister, learning to shuffle a deck of cards...such special memories. oh how i pray my girls are able to have these same memories of their GG!

but without further ado...here's what we're smiling about!

1. the chance to visit with mike's fam on saturday. aunt kim, uncle dave, grandma, and grandpa came to our house to hang out, and then we all went to a wedding together. though they don't get to see aunt kim and uncle dave very often, the girls warmed up quickly and had a wonderful time.

2. a "home date" with my hubby. mike picked up some dinner and a gorgeous, bright bouquet of flowers (sorry don't have a pic with me here at the lake!) at trader joe's, grabbed a redbox ("bella"...which was phenomenal!), we tucked the girls in an hour early...and voila...a cheap date and some great together time!

3. popsicles.

4. bubbles.

5. boat rides.

6. swimming...when we arrived on sunday elizabeth was so excited to play with her "tools" (her rake, shovel, and bucket) in the shallow water that she ended up with quite wet drawers. as for kate...well, she wanted to join her big sister...so she did some "skinny dipping"...while elizabeth swam in her undies. too cute!

7. canasta. those who have read for awhile saw this one coming and know that my mom and i have an intense rivalry going...the past couple lake trips have been quite hectic, so its been nice to have a chance to sit down, relax, and a play a few hands!

8. this is a bit belated...but a few thursdays ago my hubby came home with a wii fit (which we'd been trying to find in stock for over a month). can i tell you how great this has been. i've been able to get up early and "workout" (and yes, it is actually a great workout!) without leaving the house, paying for the gym, or paying for someone to watch the girls. i'm definitely seeing results...losing a few pounds so far, but definitely feeling a HUGE increase in energy and strength.

9. elizabeth's choo-choo. this week we are focusing on the letter "c"...yesterday we made a cat...today my mom and i put our heads together (and the random toilet paper rollers, tissue box, and paper towel roll that had recently been emptied) and came up with a craft elizabeth LOVED! i think tomorrow we'll make a clock. i also will have to post elizabeth's crafting pictures from last week when we made a boat and busted out the blue paint (i think elizabeth was definitely more thrilled by the paint than the boat!).

10. a wonderful hubby who was okay with "lending" his girls to my parents for the week. seriously..i'm sure the house is quiet and a bit lonely at times, and i'm thankful for a husband who is willing to let us go at times! and, i'm smiling at the thought of getting to see my hubby tomorrow. being away is a nice change of pace, but being away just makes coming home sweeter.

11. a bonus..because i can smell the sausage my mom just cooked...and i'm already imagining the tasty homemade pizza we'll be eating for dinner in a couple hours! yum!

12. a double bonus. a pedicure of sorts (i'll spare you the pic of my foot!) with my mom's foot spa while we canasta-ed...seriously...playing cards with my mom while soaking my feet. definitely nice!

13. kate's "teepee crawl"...this is mode of transport when she is wearing a dress or on a surface she doesn't like. hilarious...she gets her little behind way up in the air and goes like crazy. who needs to walk when you've got moves like this!

14. elizabeth is totally smiling about her "c" snack....a capri sun and crackers!

15. swinging. poppy (with the help of grandmommy) got the swing hung in the big tree (a two-in-one...as it can switch between kate's baby swing and lib's big girl swing). the girls were loving it...although elizabeth had to warm up to the big girl swing, as i think she was a bit overwhelmed by swinging over the lake. kate was all smiles and laughter...strawberry hair blowing in the wind.

16. hot rod kater. kate loved sitting on libs hot wheel...and later she was even standing on it like evil knievil. (can you see libs "riding" it in the background of the pic with kate swinging...her legs are just a wee bit too short!)