Happy Birthday, Ellie Grace!

Her actual birthday isn't for a couple of weeks, but we celebrated Ellie's 3rd birthday this weekend, and it was so much fun! 

Jennifer definitely channeled her inner craftiness for the whole party!  She did a fantastic job, and everything was just precious!  Lots of Ellie's friends from church and the neighborhood came, and they had plenty to play with!

Along with a bouncy house, plenty of riding toys, a wagon and side walk chalk, there was the Ring Toss Game....

and a Beanbag Toss Game...

But I think it's safe to say the best toy of all was Ellie's gift from her parents, Abby. 

Abby is a 12 week old shih tzu, and she is the most patient dog ever.  Ellie puts this poor dog in her baby doll stroller, in the high chair, wherever she can!  The kids definitely loved playing with Abby, and the big kids loved one her, too!

Ellie's friends gave her some great gifts, and Ellie had tons of fun opening them!  I'm not so such, though, she really appreciated the help of her friend!  Ellie's face makes me laugh!

Molly had a great time, too! I told y'all she's a Daddy's girl these days....

And everyone left with these fun favors to enjoy later!  What a great way to keep the party going!!



What a fun party!  Happy Birthday, Eleanor Grace!



Molly ~ 17 Months Old

Molly is 17 months old!  Time seems to be just flying by!  Again, this month was so much fun!  It seems day by day Molly learns new things.  She talks up a storm, and oftentimes we have no idea what she's saying.  But she definitely knows what she's saying! 

Molly loves loves loves to play with Ellie Grace!  She also plays really well by herself.  She loves animals, calling the "duck ducks" everytime we walk outside. 

A daddy's girl through and through, Molly has really learned to turn her Daddy's heart to mush!  Just this morning she realized he was heading to work, and she lifted her arms asking him to hold her, laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her other hand around his neck.  She absolutely loves him and is convinced he's the best man on the planet!  I must say I agree!

Life continues to be a complete dream, and we are so very thankful to be Molly's parents!

Running with a Crew

There was just enough of a chill in the air to make my teeth chatter, had I not been running.  The wind was blowing pretty hard, too.  We were around mile 9 when I passed a couple of girls.  I heard one say to the other, "I could never run alone."  I'm not sure she was talking about me, but I did appear to be alone. 

"I'm not running alone, girl.  I've got a pack of folks running with me." 

See, while it may have appeared I was running 13.1 miles alone, that could not have been farther from the truth. 

• I had my friends at home who'd sent me texts and facebook messages and posts encouraging me, telling me they were praying for me and would be looking for me to text them when I crossed the finish line.
• My family had encouraged me all along, kept Molly when Tim and I ran our long runs together, kept Molly over the weekend while we ran this race.
• I had this star in my shoe that was a total God-send a few weeks before that reminded me my Daddy knows.

• I knew Tim was a mile or two ahead of me, and his words of encouragement and coaching all along the way echoed in my head over and over and over again. 
• I had my worship music blaring in my ears as I ran.  I'd prayed and prayed and prayed while I ran, and I knew my God was with me, too.  That was never more evident than when I crossed the finish line and the words, "oh no, you never let go" were singing in my ears. 

I crossed the finish line at 2:21, and I was pumped!  My goal was 2:30.  My pace was steady, and I felt great!  I was so esctatic!

Tim had crossed the finish line before me, with a time of 2:12.  Rockin' it!

I'm so very thankful for my family and friends who are my biggest cheerleaders and encouragers.  Y'all ran this half, too.  And I thank you!

I need you, too, 'cause this girl?  Is totally addicted!

Linky Loo

Several posts I've read recently have touched me to the core.  I want to share them with you!

• One of my favorite things about Facebook is reuniting with friends you'd otherwise likely never hear from again.  Brad's one of those friends.  I first met him and his twin brother 16 years ago when I worked at a Hallmark store and Chad worked next door at the golf store.  Fastforward to today, and Brad's an amazing father to a special little girl, Claire.  Brad's wife, Amy, writes a blog about their journey with Fetal Hydrocephalus.  Brad took over earlier this week and wrote a post that absolutely blessed my socks off.  It's a must read.  Our God is truly a God of details, y'all. 

• Not to be outdone, Claire followed her Daddy's lead and wrote this precious post that made me smile and Also?  Please pray for this precious family. They amaze me with their fight and faith.

• Life to Her Years is another blog that I've recently stumbled across (I think someone else linked to is somewhere in blogland recently).  And it's just amazing.  I love the short, poignant posts that resonate and make you think.   

• This post is a few months old now, and it's been a while since I read it.  But it's stuck with me.  Thankfully, many times throughout the day to day chores of being a mommy ~ more juice, wiping that runny nose, kissing the boo boo, wiping a dirty bottom, kissing away tears ~ the words of this post come back to me.  This is my mission field today.  My home, my daughter, my husband.  Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this amazing opportunity!

What posts have you recently read that have echoed in your heart?  I'd love to check them out, too!

Life Goes On

Seventeen years ago today, a hard truth about life hit me square in the face.

Life goes on.

We'd buried my Daddy the day before.  On a cool, fall morning, we celebrated his life, mourned his untimely death and held onto each other like never before.

I remember waking that Thursday morning knowing my friends were going to school like normal, watching the county school bus make its way past our house like it always did, yet looking around at my mom, my sister and myself and wondering, "how in the world?"

Goodness.  We didn't know what had hit us. But what I did know was life as I'd always known it was no longer. And as cruel as it seemed, life was going on all around us.

The hours seemed to pass as slowly as molasses.  Days later, we mustered up everything inside of ourselves to celebrate my sister's 12th birthday.  Weeks later, I turned 15.  I remember my best friends sitting in the living room with me the night of my birthday.  I think it was the first time I'd laughed since my Daddy died.  And I felt so guilty for laughing.  For smiling.  For enjoying life.

And I realized, life goes on.

Months passed and we moved.  I remember pulling out of the driveway of our home, the home we lived in with my Daddy, and sobbing.  Crying my eyes out, knowing this move was necessary for our family.  Things would be different, new, hopefully easier for all of us in a new home. 

Yes, life goes on.

Years went by, and as we learned to live a new normal again as a family of three, we found happiness and love even in the midst of the unbearable grief and heartache.  Jenn and I had proms, Homecomings, Sweet 16 Birthdays.  Life went on.

And, I know today, 17 years later, that life goes on. And, better than that?  It becomes beautiful again.  Yes, truly "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  That is what I've celebrated this week.  God's provision is remarkable.  His love is unconditional.  His attention to detail is unbelieavable.  And He does make ALL things beautiful.

I see it in this precious little girl's face....

And while I would give so much to have my Daddy here, for him to see his grandchildren, to meet his sons-in-law, to see my sister and I today, I am so very thankful for the lessons I've learned since my Daddy's death as life has gone on. 

Most of all, I'm praising my Heavenly Father now for making ALL things beautiful, in His time.



Cooking with Ellie

Ellie and I had a little fun in the kitchen this morning.  We made some fun Halloween treats, and Ellie loved every second of being the cook!

She watched as each ingredient was poured into the big mixing bowl....

And she was super serious about watching the mixer do it's thing....

Aunt B may or may not have shown her the best part of cooking. I think her chocolate batter mustache gives it away...

Sweet Ellie was so proud of her work set out on the cookie sheet...

Yep, she definitely learned the best part of cooking is enjoying a little batter....

And then, we got to roll the cookies in sprinkles!  "Fun, Hay-o-ween Spinkles" according to the chef!

There was one little turkey who was Not. At. All. excited about our cooking fun....

Poor Molly pouted and cried the entire time we cooked!?!

Ellie, being the determined, dedicated, experienced chef that she is, was not deterred by little Molly's cries. She powered through, enjoying the fruits of her labor....

And here's the proud chef with her treats!

So, as Chef Ellie would say, "Happy Hay-o-ween, Y'all!"

Molly Miller ~ 16 Months Old

Oh what fun this age is!  Molly is 16 months old now, and she just seems to grow and learn every single day!  She is in constant motion and chatters all the time.  Her vocabulary grows by the minute, it seems.  And it's so much fun!

Lately Molly's favorite thing to do it jump onto our bellies and try to leap off.  Thankfully the first time she did it, Tim could see in her eyes she was about to jump and caught her.  She laughed and laughed, and she's tried to do it over and over again.  She loves our family play time each night, and she will just play her little heart out until it's bed time.

Molly is absolutely crazy about Ellie, too.  They squeal with delight when they see each other and bear hug as if it's been ages since they last saw each other!  I'm so thankful they get to grow up together and are so close.  What a blessing!

One quick story that's the epitome of our life right now.  The other night, Tim and I were headed up the stairs, and I said, "Watch out for the letter R."  It was as normal a statement as "please pick up those shoes."  One of Molly's magnets, the letter R, was on the step.  And I didn't want him to trip on it!  :)  Yep, you know you have a toddler in the house when you have to watch out for such things as the letter R!

Lovin' life, that's what we are doing!