Unbridled JOY!!

Here's a video of Maddie's first circus!
We went Thursday night.  

It's a little long, but she was so excited the entire time it was too hard to cut anything out : )
If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, go to minute 17 !!

Experiencing God in the Midst of Pain

While I was reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love, I ran across one of my favorite life verses:

 

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7

I encountered this verse during a time of immense pain in my life.  

I was recovering from a 4 hour emergency surgery that involved scraping infection out of my abdominal cavity.  An outpatient surgery gone bad...very bad!  

I went in for a quick laproscopic procedure to take care of endometriosis.  

A week later I found myself, having turned 21 in the hospital, beginning an 8 week road to recovery.

I was in the midst of planning my wedding, a Junior in college tackling 16 hours that semester while working 30 hours a week as a bank teller.  

My crazy, busy life came to a screaching halt.  

All I had on my to-do list was heal.  

I love how God loves us.  

One day in the midst of searing pain, I cried out to God for mercy.  

He gave me Psalm 28:7

I thought about God being my shield. 

 I realized there was no amount of pain I could experience that He hadn't experienced first. 

In fact, the pain went through him as my shield before he ever allowed it to touch me.

After that epiphany, I knew God and I were in this thing together and together we would walk through it.

Although it was a long 8 weeks, I look back on that time with tenderness and gratitude.

Pain is such a peculiar thing.  

I have feared pain.  

I have endured pain.

Now, I'm trying to learn to embrace it.  

 

Some lessons in life can only be learned in the midst of pain.  

 

And these are the lifelong lessons we remember forever. 

 

Pictures that Tell Stories

I love this picture!  

I love that you can tell from the environment that she is in a church setting.  

I love that she brought along Kanga and set her in the seat next to her.

I love that it seems like she's praising God...but in reality we were at a VBS-like Day Camp and the question was asked,  "How many of you can read?"

Ha Ha! 

I love it.  

Growing Old Gracefully

Gracie's wrinkles have swallowed up her eyes!!

Our sweet little pug has now entered the Senior category at 9 yrs. old.  

Tonight she patiently allowed Maddie to adorn her head with a headband, a hat, and a blanket.

It's not always stuff though...Gracie also get lots of kisses and pats while Maddie says, "good dog"  

I'm a Sucker for Vintage!

Last week, I gloriously stumbled upon the most fabulous estate sale!!

I couldn't pass up the vintage toys!!!

This is Maddie's FAV-OR-RITE!!!  She spotted it and immediately sat it down on the floor and began playing with it.  It kept her busy for at least 15 minutes while I browsed around.  And the best part... I paid $1 for it! : ) 

I got these for $5

This was an overflowing shoe box of these wooden blocks and I paid $3!

This was the most expensive toy...at $5! : ) 

This little guy was in with a big box of other stuff...

This is the first time I've seen an actual wooden top

I also picked up a few other great finds too.  

Like this great bag.  What I love most about this bag is this...

The key!

The other thing I can't resist is vintage sheets

BUT....I saved the best for last!!

This little chair is the perfect size for Maddie...I can't wait to use it for photo shoots!!

A Very Important Question...

Kyle's been picking up the camera on the few occasions it hasn't been attached to me like a third arm. 

He's been getting some really good shots and what's even better is now there's actually a few pics of Mommy!! 

Here's one of my favorites he's taken lately...

So here's my oh-so-important question I've been wondering about for a while.
I really need to get my hair trimmed...should I get side-swept bangs or not? 
Tell me what you think!!

Palette Art Camp is Awesome!!

We had our first day at Palette Art Camp yesterday!

Maddie had so much fun!!

It's a great little camp put on by my friend Denise.  

She does an amazing job!  

Maddie learned about the primary colors and how to get the secondary colors.  

So much was packed into 2 hours!

Oil pastels!

 A butterfly project!

Sand art!

and best of all...finger paints!

Maddie gave Denise a big high five with her messy hands!  

Clean up was almost as fun as getting messy!

There was snack time.

But the biggest charm of this art camp is everything that happens in between projects too!!

Maddie got to pet the bunny!!

She fell in love with Clyde!

There was swinging...

and stick collecting!!

She had a blast and we still have two more days to go!!

Yay for art camp! : )