Thankful

My coffee-loving friend Amy challenged us to make a list of 20 things we are thankful for. So here goes:

1. I get to be a wife - I am so thankful for a Godly husband.
2. I get to be a mom - to a beautiful little girl.
3. Good friends.
4. Awesome teaching at church.
5. My mom.
6. Making cards for others.
7. Water skiing on glassy water.
8. The smell of pine trees in the forest.
9. A comfortable bed to lay my head at night.
10. Tomato soup. My fave!
11. My health.
12. Being able to bless others in need.
13. Great worship music.
14. Paul Potts - check him out on youtube.
15. A Bible verse that speaks to me at just the right time.
16. Phone calls from friends far away.
17. Dancing with my husband and daughter to old school rap.
18. Walks at the zoo.
19. New friends.
20. Laughter!

That was fun! You should do it, too. It's a real mood lifter.

Here is a picture of this week's project - I made a diaper wreath for my cousin-in-law who is having a baby in August.

No rest till summer is over!

We had a whirlwind weekend - jam packed with lots of fun water skiing, stamping cards, playing with cousins, saying good-bye to some friends, church, BBQs, etc. Tim and I decided we would catch up on rest when summer is over. With the awesome warm days we have been having, we can't make ourselves slow down. Colorado summers seem so short, so we are trying to make the most of it. This week I am helping with VBS in the mornings. There are over 1,000 kids and leaders involved. It was a little overwhelming but I had fun leading crafts for the first graders. I showed the card in the my last post to the groom-to-be and he gushed all over it, which made me very happy. I'm simply posting some of these boring details so you know I am still alive. It could be awhile before I have time to come up with something witty to post - my mind is on all the activities we have planned. Vacation is next week!

Where does time go?

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post. Well we went camping over the weekend, and it was a wonderful get away. Tim and I experienced the best water skiing ever - through the early morning fog on water you could see your reflection in. It was heaven! I love to water ski because I love the way it feels to glide over the water. Our Fathers Day was fun and adventurous - from lunch at the in-laws, to motorcycle rides, to a bike ride and picnic at the park. Not exactly relaxing but fun nonetheless. I've been running 100 mph for so long that I long for the next camping trip as soon as we return home. I need to take a lesson from my friend Amy who posted about "saying no" to many activities. BUT summer seems so short and I love to pack in as many fun activities as possible. Maybe I'll say no in the fall. :)

On another front, I can't wait to post about my latest project - a card making frenzy. Stay tuned. Maybe I will have time tomorrow between our play date at the park and afternoon errands and an evening birthday party for Emma's cousin.

Pride

Today was Emma's last swim lesson at Donna's Dolphins. I am proud to say she can now swim on her own! It's really amazing! This technique is so cool because they teach water survival and safety. I have never seen so many little kids swimming on their own.

The instructor had Emma jumping in the pool at the deep end and swimming all the way to the shallow end - all on her own! I was so proud. At one point she demonstrated the technique for the littler swimmers. Did I mention I was proud?

Here is a link to Donna's web site and another that shows the technique. www.donnasdolphins.com and www.infantaquatics.com.

A Glimpse of Solitude.

Since Tim has Fridays off, we decided to go for a drive in the mountains. It was great to get out of the house after being sick all week. Emma really wanted to go for a hike, so we found a trail in national forest and climbed to the top of this rock formation where you could see almost forever in every direction. It was heavenly!

What I realized on our hike is that I have not gotten away in a LONG time. And I didn't know how much I missed the solitude until I found it again. All the things I love about being in the mountains came back to me - the smell of pine trees and wild flowers, the sound of the wind dancing through the trees and the trail crunching beneath our feet. Even more, I loved not hearing the busyness of life that usually surround us - cars, people, lawn mowers, dogs. Did I tell you it was heaven?

Right then we made plans to return. So in a couple of weeks the three of us will do something we don't normally do in the summer. We will give up a weekend of water skiing to camp in the mountains. I can't wait!

And because I am anticipating our return to the mountains so much, Emma and I went on a hike this morning to the mountain near our house. It wasn't quite the experience I was hoping for. Emma complained of being tired before we reached the end of our street, the heat had us sweating in no time, we couldn't find the perfect shady rock for our picnic lunch, and the sound of cars racing down the road was all too familiar. BUT, it was a special time for the two of us. Emma loved picking wild flowers, we had talks about bees and how God made them and how fun it is to skip. And we enjoyed a popcicle together once we got home.

Emma said it was a great idea to go for a hike. I agreed. It was just a glimpse....

Creating Memories

Several of you have asked about Emma's doll cake that I made for her 4th birthday. My mom used to make those cakes for me when I was a little girl, so I decided to make one for Emma. It was lots of fun ~ she even named her! I instantly wanted to make another one just to try my hand at different decorating ideas. I look forward to doing it again.

She rode a pony

Emma woke up this morning with a fever, and I had stomach cramps. So like any good mother, I drove us to the zoo to meet some friends. It turned out to be a pretty good day, that is until the wind picked up to 50 mph. The big news though is that Emma rode a pony! You have to understand what a big deal this is. She has been terribly afraid of all animals since about a year old. We have been working with her on getting past this fear, and she has come a long way in the past few weeks. She has pet several dogs, fed a giraffe and today she rode a pony. It was the best $3 I ever spent! I was so proud of her. She didn't seem nervous at all. I think she was proud of herself, too. When she was done, she pet the pony and said next time she would ride the big one. Not long ago she would have been in hysterics at the sight of a dog or horse, but today Emma conquered that fear! Oh, that I had the same kind of courage to not only face my giants but turn and say "bring on the big one." Do you think in her childlike state of mind she felt empowered? Like she could face anything or do anything? Or maybe her only thought was "that pony was softer than I thought he would be." Either way, I am proud of Emma for facing her fears. I hope she doesn't start asking for a pet.