Good Gifts

Matt 7:9-11

9Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10"Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Jeff and I were in Toy's R Us to pick up Lilian's Christmas present. We already knew what we were after. There were parents running around everywhere. Mom's searching frantically and dad's blocking every isle. You know those play centers they have in some dr. offices to keep the kiddos entertained while they wait...they need daddy entertainment centers in stores while the mommy's shop.

That was a side note there...really...

I was walking around the store and was overwhelmed at how I wanted Lilian to have all the best toys! I just would give her the world if it was at all possible. Thankfully, I'm married to a good, common sense, let's keep focused man...thanks Jeff! Who kept me pretty well on track. So I had a revelation of sorts. If we as sinful parents know how to give good things to our children...how must our Heavenly Father feel? How much does He want to give us good things, but it's either not good for us, or we fail to ask, or we behave in an unworthy manner. We should pay attention to our ways, follow HIM, and see if we get some good blessings from God.

Play House

Last night I had a long rehearsal with my orchestra (which went really well)...so I was late getting home. I don't feel good, I'm tired, Lilian was being a crab and crying about EVERYTHING! And then Jeff brought up from the basement something that he (and Lilian) built...It was the most amazing cardboard playhouse made from the box our new bed came in! It was really really good! Complete with windows and skylights! It has 2 rooms even! Lilian really enjoys playing in that thing. Her baby dolls have a room now! :) Really, I'm still just totally in love with the man who built this great thing for his daughter. I'm blessed to have such a terrific family.

Front door and side windows

Side view

Skylights in circle and triangle shapes

She was far too busy playing to even look up! (note the baby sleeping in the back)

Sprinkles!! Sprinkles!! Sprinkles!!

Here is Lilian making cookies with Grandma and Grandpa. She was in charge of the sprinkles. We tried to put her in the living room with daddy and she would have NO part of it! She cried and cried until we sat her down with the cookies! Funny child. Here's the pics...

Making Cookies

I love making roll out sugar cookies. Since my sister and I are having a goodie making day, I thought I'd get a jump on the cookies so that my niece and nephew can start decorating right away. Lilian was very helpful! She liked to eat the dough and was covered in flour. It was terrific! I'm sure many more cookie making times are in our future! Can't wait!


Placing the cookies!

Here she just cut and cut and cut! Yeah, I had to roll it out again


Tearing the dough apart.


And I can't post without a good Lilian face! :)

Christmas pics by Maria

Here's some really cute shots Maria took of Lilian and our family. She did NOT have a cooperative baby to work with. We even tried putting on a movie so she would sit still long enough for a picture...the result...a lot of Lilian looking toward the TV instead of the camera. But she wasn't blurry! Thanks Maria for another terrific round of pics!

Lilian Rae

I love my family!

Queen of faces!

Sweet girl

My favorite picture! There's something about Daddy's and their girls!

C is for Cookie!

I do believe this was Lilian's first fresh Chocolate Chip Cookie. She seemed to enjoy it. I know I could eat the whole batch...that is if it makes it into cookie form. I love eating cookie dough! Really, I shared them with my Team at work. The PE teacher in particular thinks they are yummy! Here's Lilian's opinion:

Camping 2009

We went camping on Columbus Day weekend at Carlyle Lake. It was very cold and rainy the first night. We were supposed to grill out chicken and stuff, but we ended up hanging out in the Petty's camper eating sandwiches. The next days were sunny, but the temps never got warm. Poor Lilian was bundled in tights, socks, pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, hat, and hooded jacket...and mittens! We managed though. Ah, adventurous memories. Thanks again to Maria, my favorite photographer, for shooting some great pics of Lilian and our family.

Visit with cousins

It's been over a week now, but we got to spend some time with my sister and her kids. I always leave feeling like we should do that more often. We only live 30 minutes apart! But we have different friends that take us in different directions. It's always good to hang out though! We dove into Josie's collection of hair pretties! Here are some examples!

We also had a trip to TN this past weekend. Lilian just does not ride well. She's good for 2 hours when she naps, but the rest of the trip she's rather fussy. Will she ever outgrow it? Will her parents break down and buy a DVD player for the car? Who knows. Her latest tricks include throwing whatever is in her hand and hitting herself when she gets mad. (which is happening more often these days) She's getting much better at communicating and can even say "paw-paw". This drive grandma crazy. But it's fun. She's best at the dog's names...molly (babysitter's dog) and tiny (nana's dog) We are up to 10 teeth, I think. I'm not overly brave about sticking my fingers in there. They get bit! I was a bit overwhelmed sitting in Wendy's the other day and here is my baby girl beside me downing her chicken nuggets and french fries! What a big girl!

"MOOOOOO"

Not that I'm biased, but Lilian is the smartest girl in the world. She knows several animal sounds including: dog, sheep, monkey, cow, and pig. Here's a picture of her saying "moooo". I love it!

Blessed Beyond Belief

It's been a long time since I've posted. I really don't intend to fall that far behind, but who does?

The start to the school year has been a little overwhelming. Here we are 1 month into it and I'm just now feeling under control and planned. So, I'm certainly glad for that.

This week has been a long one, but we've been able to stay home most nights this week. We really like that! Aunt Stacy has given Lilian some books and toys that she has enjoyed.

I've been following the birth of Madeleine and Emilie in France. They are doing great but their mom gave everyone more than a little scare. All's well though, thanks only to the One true God and his grace and blessings. It's really a faith booster to see prayers answered the way you want. Not that God is obligated to give us our way but it sure is nice when He does. :)

Well, I'll end here with a cute Lilian story and some pics... We were out at the garden to pick whatever was left out there. There was a tomato that needed just another day or so, but Lilian felt otherwise. (She loves tomatoes) She couldn't pick it off the vine so she just bent down and took a huge bite out of it right where it was! Funny stuff! She took a few more bites before she managed to get it pulled off the vine. It was a happy little walk back to the house munching on her tomato. :)

Mean face
one cool girl

Back to School

Very mixed feelings today with a good bit of tired thrown in! Ever since I was allowed to start an orchestra in my school district, I've had a new passion and zeal for my work. It has been a long time dream come true. It's also been the most work I've ever done! Now on the flip side, Lilian has changed my life completely! She's the most beautiful, sweetest little girl I've ever known. And I can hardly believe she's my daughter! We've had a good summer playing together. Often I feel like I've failed at keeping her home as much as I'd like, but we've had a good time. I'm a little nervous to be dropping her off with someone else for 8+ hours a day, but I do feel like we have high quality people watching her. 2 days each week she gets to hang out with Ms. Sara and Emma, 3. She loves them and cries when I don't let her stay with Sara at church! The other 3 days each week, we are going to someone new, Ms. Laura just had a baby this summer and isn't returning to work. I hope Lilian likes her too! We'll see soon enough. I just comfort myself with the fact that LOTS of people do this and the kids turn out just fine. Lilian is a terrific girl and I'm sure I'm the one having the hardest time. Here's some pics...
These first 3 are by Maria for Lilian's 1st year pics! Gorgeous! Great job and many thanks Maria!

Playing with cousin Josie!

This was just too funny, daddy likes to play with Lilian during bath time!

5 Wonderful Years

I can hardly believe it's been 5 years! It sure doesn't feel like it. It's been a terrific ride. This summer reminds me of that summer 5 years ago when it was way cooler than normal for July. Our lives were fairly boring for the first 2 years, in hindsight. During year 3 we built our house, during year 4 we had our sweet baby girl. What will year 5 hold? Who knows. One thing is certain, that God has blessed us above and beyond our wildest expectations! Looking forward to the next 45+years! I love you Jeffrey!

First Trip to the Zoo!

It was a gorgeous day in St. Louis last Friday. And since Jeff's off every Friday in the summer, we decided to take a trip to the Zoo. We packed a picnic lunch and headed out. We were planning on paying to park, but even that lot was full...all's well, we ended up parking on the street for free only a short distance from the entrance. :) Like I said, it was a nice day for a stroll. Lilian noticed the animals, but not as much as the people. She kinda pulls the shy act when she's in a new surrounding, but it doesn't take long for her to come out of it. She soon was making noises and pounding on the glass at the monkeys. I didn't get too many good pics, but it was a fun family day. Life is good, we are blessed beyond measure, thanks God!

How does my garden grow? yup, still growing

I'm already WAY behind on posting garden pics. It felt like it was moving along very slowly but now it seems to be exploding. The corn is tasseling and the ears are starting. The beans that did come up are in full bloom, I might get one good mess out of them. The tomatoes are coming along. I have a few tomatoes started and lots of blooms. Same for the peppers. I have a couple good sized peppers now and several blooms. My favorite part is the watermelon. There are 7-10 blooms and now 1 little watermelon about the size of a milk dud. I sure hope it grows! :) Here's a couple pics.

Some grape tomatoes coming on!
Growing garden

Snow Cones

While our family was here from TN, we went to the Mt. Vernon City Park for some refreshing snow cones. Wonderful stuff! Great faces!