Today's bad news: Tracey didn't have any work. Today's good news: Tracey didn't have to work! The weather was nice, so after nap time we went to the playground down the road. It's so nice to do these kinds of things without having to juggle both kids myself, and the kids love having him home too! It was a nice day all around!

Remy's kind of a blur in these. He was jumping like a wild man! It's such a good way to get the wiggles out.

Project

Today I finished  a bit of sewing. I used a pattern handed down from my mom. It was McCall's from 1974, I think, so I may very well have had this same dress. I love the idea of that! The pockets on the front didn't show up very well, but they have little gathers on the tops. The fabric is a cotton by Mary Engelbreit with cherries. I plan on making a diaper cover once it gets a little warmer, but for now it works well with leggings. I didn't have a pattern for the headband. It was hard to get a good picture of my little model because of her rigorous inspection process. She thought the fabric was just too interesting. This was probably about a three hour project from start to finish, but in toddler time it translates to about 3 1/2 nap times with interruptions and coffee breaks.

Quiet

It's pretty quiet around here. Remy is busy creating all sorts of things, and I've been creating too. (I'll post more on that soon.) We've been doing well keeping the tv off, and here are some shots of what we've been up to.

I just thought this picture of Halle this morning was sweet. I just wanted to pick her up and kiss her a million more times than I already do, but I didn't dare. Remy calls her 'Sleeping Grouchy' when she doesn't get enough sleep. (It's a Sleeping Beauty parody from Sesame Street...) Don't wake Sleeping Grouchy!

Holiness. Hmmm. I have a long way to go. I must admit here that I let busyness get in my way this week. I'm nowhere near ready with the verse, so I'm taking another week. (I'm the boss here, so I can do that, right?) Though I'm memorizing 1 Peter 1:14-16, I was studying 1:13-2:3. There were several places in that chapter that I really got hung up this week. God has been revealing many of the ways I fall short in the holiness arena.

I was reading 2:1-3 and nursing Halle yesterday morning. I was examining all the things that I crave. Have you ever seen a baby nurse? Even at nearly seven months (!) old, when Halle wants to eat that is all she wants, and nothing will change her mind.  Distractions do no good to a hungry baby. My desire for God and holy things is to be like that- and man, I am way off sometimes. I am so easily distracted sometimes. My plan for this week is to turn the t.v. off and focus on the things God wants me to see in His word.

1 Peter 1:14-16

As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy".

I'll have more thoughts later, I'm sure, but for now Halle just woke up from her morning nap, and a hungry baby calls... Have a great Monday!

Perspective

These are the pictures of Remy's party taken by him with his new 'cramera'. He tends to move around a lot, so some are a bit of a blur. These are just 9 of the 200+ he took yesterday.

3

Today was finally party day at our house! From the moment he woke up, Remy was saying 'It's my birthday!'.  It amazes me that he's three years old. He is such a wonderful little guy, and we are so blessed to be his parents. 

Remy was excited to blow out the candles and make a wish. He told me that he was wishing for a new red car.

Halle's ready for the party!

Though I did make a cake, I can't take credit for this one. I had a small disaster with mine and wasn't happy how it turned out. Yesterday at 3pm I ran into the bakery and begged them for a Thomas cake that would be ready for today at 9am. They usually require 24 hours but were very sweet and made this one. We supplied the trains, and Remy was delighted! By the time it was time to sing and blow out the candles there were several dips in the back where he had tasted the frosting.
Grandpa and Grandma Pfeiffer got Remy his very own camera. He had been asking for one for months. By the time nap time rolled around he had already taken over 100 pictures. I will post some of them soon; it's so interesting to see things from his perspective.

Stuck

Just some new pics of our sweet babies!

Birthday party preparations are underway, and I have an always willing little helper who is more than ready to test out the frosting... Actually I have two helpers, but I didn't get a picture of Trace with his beater.

Shave and a Haircut

Okay, so maybe we're not quite ready for the shave, but I had that tune in my head... On Saturday we took Remy to get his haircut. As you can tell by the pictures, he was thrilled. We ended up spending $30 because we had to bribe him with lunch at Chick-fil-A in order to get him to sit in the chair without all the drama from last time. But all ended well, and he will tell anyone who will listen that he 'was very brave'. 

Here is Halle playing with her favorite entertainer. Remy plays peek-a-boo around her little music mirror, and she loves it.

Doesn't she look like a little rockstar here? She's got the lungs, for sure!

Handmade

I only have about 2 seconds before getting lunch ready, but I was thinking about my last post. Isn't it exciting to know that God is a knitter!? I think I knew he must be, but I love knowing that we serve an artsy-crafty kind of God who made us each by hand. I know the time and effort that goes into making each stitch of a blanket, so it amazes me to think of the heart that goes into creating each part of us. Awesome!

Here I am

After reading this post and this post last week from some other bloggers, I felt like maybe I could address an issue in my own life head on, and where better than on the web where the whole world can see it? (Not that I'm conceited enough to believe they are reading this... but they could.) If you have known me for any amount of time, you know that self-image is a constant struggle in my life, and now is no different. But having a daughter has rocked me, in that I really don't want to pass these issues on to her or to Remy. There are constant voices in my head telling me that I'm not thin enough, pretty enough, strong enough... not enough. But God sees me differently. I love Molly's list in her post about what her body can do. As hard as it is to acknowledge, each scar and stretch mark on this body means something, stands for something. Some days playing trains and rolling around on the floor just take precedence to doing killer cardio, and today I am realizing that I'm okay with that.

So my baby step is that I have come out from behind the camera, if just for a moment, and added a picture to my profile and this post. (No, Becky, this is not permission to take pictures of me whenever you choose! I said baby step...) I would hate for my little ones to think that I was missing during all these days.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14

Memory Monday

I have had a good week working on these verses. I was thinking a lot about legacy and what we are passing on to our children. I decided to work with Remy to learn verse 5 this week, and I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner. He is such a little sponge, and it pains me to think of the opportunities I've already let slip by. This morning I heard him telling Emily the engine to 'Love God with all your heart, your soul, and your strange because that makes Jesus happy.' I decided that I'm sure Jesus is indeed happy if we love Him with all of our strange- He knows we have a tremendous supply of that around here! Here goes:

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Verse 7 is the one that really got to me this week. I am trying to be more intentional with the kids, because they see everything! Remy told me this week that I was 'tressing' him out, and I can only assume that he's heard that from me a time or two. God keeps reminding me that He has called me to be holy in all that I do. My verse for next week is 1 Peter 1:14-16:

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

I have about three more posts rattling around in this brain of mine, and I hope to do some more blogging this afternoon during nap time. Right now I really need to get this house cleaned up for Trace's parents who are coming to visit today.  I'll be back!

In my quiet time this morning (or maybe I should say 'Bible Study' time because it's never really quiet around here...), I was reminded of God's awesome blessings in my life.  I stopped to look around as I was reading and was reminded that these days are so good. Remy was contentedly playing with trains and singing the Thomas theme song, and Halle was playing with her new ladybug toy and laughing as she shook it above her head. He continues to take care of us in uncertain times, and it's good for me to remember that. I don't want to miss a minute of this!  So in that spirit, we blew bubbles in the living room and played Chutes & Ladders by Rem's rules, which means that every turn ends with a trip down the big slide. And it was all fun and games until someone threw a random tantrum... and this time it wasn't me.

Along with Halle's new mobility comes a long list of things to keep me on my toes. Although she's been able to roll around for a while, she has just discovered that she can do the same thing in her bed. I was dreading the day this happened! Yesterday as I looked down the hall to see if she was asleep for her morning nap this is what I saw: a smiling, wide-eyed baby girl with no thoughts of sleeping.  Oh, and for those of you who are horrified at the huge blankets in her bed, those are courtesy of Mr. Remy who 'thought she just needed to stay warmer'. 

Here she's inspecting her new Valentine toy from Grammy. She offers a full-service inspection, including taste!