I Would Marry Him All Over Again!

Today we celebrate 8 years.  

I am so grateful that God placed this special, gentle, kind, loving man into my life.  He is everything I am not yet together we complement one another so beautifully.  I am loud and outgoing.  He is quiet and introverted.  I like to be in front of the crowd and he likes to serve behind the scenes. He is logical and analytical.  I am a dreamer and quite emotional. But we both make each other laugh.  We both love the same things like being outdoors, all about family, being home bodies, addicted to roller coasters, coffee, and playing UNO.  We are both competitive, fiercely protective of our family and friends and in love with Jesus Christ.  

Over the years there has been an ebb and flow to our relationship that has made us stronger.  And he is still the man I fell in love with from our very first date.

And I have watched this man grow from being a wonderful husband to a wonderful foster father to these precious babies...

To being a loving and wonderful father to his own...

  

Cati and Daddy

 Christmas in North Carolina...2006

5th Year Anniversary (at a friend's wedding)

 4th of July 2007

 Christmas 2007

January 2008

 6th Year Anniversary June 2008

Ella and Daddy (Ella is a few days old)

Ella and Daddy (Ella is 17 weeks)

Mother's Day 2009:  Baby Dedication at Church

 Touch a Truck (so fun) 2009

Christmas 2009

April 2010

 May 2010

I love you, Brandon.  

You amaze me at the wonderful husband, father, and man of God that you are.

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life.

Two Tips Tuesday: Temporary Break but here's a little Somethin'

I actually have some wonderful tips planned that will take me through the summer...I think.  I am just so busy!  I started this blog last July and of course, summer is always busy.  But with a house you are trying to fix up and completely move into seems more time consuming!  Plus, so much of my personal stuff is still in boxes.

And now there are swim lessons and bible studies and planning birthday parties ( I went a little nuts planning the girls party last year...they have birthdays 2 weeks apart) so my days have been full!

So will you still stick with me while I iron out the details of my life?  I truly am NOT tipless.  Just timeless.  I was attempting to be cute there but it fell flat. But you get me. 

I hope to be back next week with more tips and more stuff to to blog about.  I have all these ideas running around in my head. One is to let my Hummingbird Lane blog go. I just can't do two.  And so many things I want to do for this house would make a great two tips and then it just would not make sense.  So I think I may have a tab here on my blog strictly for Hummingbird Lane so you can peek in on my new digs.  What do you think of that idea?

I am also planning some giveaways...my first ones!  I have never done them before but I can explain why later.

Do you like how I am telling you all my plans with absolutely nothing to offer you today? What can I give you.  Hmmmm...how bout...

My recipe for this amazing cake from last years birthday party for the girls?  It is a great summer treat and sooooooo easy.  Here goes....

What you need:

8 ice cream sandwiches (regular size)
A gallon of your favorite ice cream flavor
Hot fudge
Whipped Cream
Toppings of choice if you wish

Place a springform baking pan and plate in the freezer (maybe an hour) I did it for less because I am so impatient.

Cut the ice cream sandwiches.  Cut them lengthwise first, then across.  This process will cause a lot of melting so put them on the cold plat and put them back int he freezer again until firm.

After the melting fiasco is over then it is easy.  Take your cut ice cream sandwiches and line the springform pan with them around the edge.  If you are working fast, you will have time to put the ice cream in the center.  Just scoop it all in there and smooth the top.  You are done!

Just before serving, remove the springform pan. Put toppings on.  I did this the night before and it worked best. 

A great summer treat (and right before Father's Day too!)

Lost In My Hood

I had no way of knowing that early this morning I would attempt to take an innocent walk with my girls around our hood and enter our neighborhood Bermuda Triangle.

It was lovely at first. We walked along and found pretty flowers.  A teeny frog.  Then I got adventurous. I decided to take them down streets I have not been on before.  What could happen?

I got us lost.  In my own neighborhood? 

Yep.

The total kicker?  My friend Jen had to google map me to my own street.  From her house.


SHE GOOGLED ME DIRECTIONS.  ON FOOT!

Oh, the shame.

The girls were dehydrated (ok, just thirsty) and passing out taking seated rests under tree covered parts of the sidewalk. As shown above taken from my cell phone.  

It was really quite alarming that I was lost about 20 feet from the intersection to my own street.  But this is par for the course in my life.  This is just what I do.

After I hydrated and fed them we had naps.  And the girls woke up a tad grumpy.  It must have been the arduous and tortuous trek I dragged them on. Soon, Cati and I are having another one of our "Mother/Daughter" spats.  As in, "Cati please come inside the house."And Cati responding with a glass shattering equivalent shrill scream of "NO!" and threw her croc flip flop at the window. And the girl has game cuz that sucker hit it HARD!

I was NOT happy.

So in order to teach her about how we need to be respectful of property, and because she could have broken a window, she will need to understand how we take care of property.  So her punishment was issued...

 I gave her this great stuff called Baby Girl Cleaning Products that would be safe for her to use.

Got it from the same friend who navigated us out of my own neighborhood.

 But it streaks on windows when the cleaner is a 3 year old.  I so created more work for myself.

And I began to get nervous because she was really excited at first.  So I kept making her clean.  

And clean. And clean some more.  Suddenly, this chore was not so fun.

My poor Cinder-cati.

Oh, but wait...where was my Cinder-ella?

Lounging on her chair, feet up with a cinnamon roll. 

This role reversal so did not work for the real Cinderella with her sisters. 

But I guess the ball, glass slipper and prince thing made up for it.  

For now, the cinnamon roll and watching Cati clean is all MY Ella needs.

Sorry Folks...No Tips. But I Do Have a Before/After Lamp Makeover

Well, not new. Just updated.This old lamp has traveled many places.  It has seen many things. It was my sisters for who knows how long and then I inherited it when I had my first apartment after college. I bought that lampshade when I first got married and I am really not sure why.  I must have loved it then.  And it has stayed with me because you always need a lamp. But it has begged for some updating. Some oomph.  A lampy light face lift.

And here it is....

 

 

So fun, right? Don't you just heart spray paint?  I love the paint color. Avocado.  And the lampshade is from IKEA.  

This lamp is still hanging in there with a fresh coat of paint and a new shade. I am full of complete glee when I shop my house and find new life for old things.

Glimpse

Do you ever have a snapshot moment that if you had blinked, looked down, or the sun was in your eyes, you would have missed it? A glimpse of something pure and true that imprints a forever picture in your mind?

 I had a glimpse like that yesterday.  It was not anything I would have thought significant.  My husband was chasing my daughters around the house and the sounds of giggles, sock covered feet hitting the floor, and pure delight surrounded me as I was just putting laundry away and other chores. As I stepped out of Cati's room, I saw Cati look up into the face of her beloved Daddy and this moment that lasted 2 seconds seemed to make time stand still and what I saw there was something bigger than the smile on her face.

I saw a child made by the hand of God. I saw a childhood memory in the making.  I saw a future yet untold.  I saw a life just beginning. I saw the gift of innocence.  I saw a trust and devotion for her Daddy.  I saw joy.

And my heart swelled and beat harder at the magnificent responsibility given to me as a mother. The love I felt was overpowering and almost more than I could handle.  I wanted to weep and dance as conflicting emotions clashed within my heart; as if it was more emotion than a person should be able to handle.

I even feel silly writing all of this here because those of you reading are unable to know my heart, the emotions that flowed through me as I stared at the face of my child for a mere moment while exiting a room. It would have been missed but for some reason God did not want me to miss it.  He wanted me to drink in the face of my child and see her in a way I believe...HE sees her.

I am so guilty of getting caught up in what ultimately does not matter.  My house.  Vanity.  What others think of me. Pride.  Busyness. Being a Martha when I desperately want to be a Mary.

But as I saw my child's face I saw that all of those things are not on her radar. Neither of my daughters are worried about paying a mortgage, tithing faithfully, or keeping a schedule. They are still children where their parents are bigger than life.  God is not questioned.  He just IS.  Swinging on a swing or jumping through a sprinkler is a memory that will be recalled decades from now and evoke feelings of home and nostalgia.

And I so appreciated this precious moment where I could stop and suddenly become keenly aware that I am daily witnessing a future in the making.  And my role within it is radically significant.  My walk with God will affect the walk of my children as the grow up. My actions will be watched and mirrored.  Even in adulthood.   It was like I suddenly realized I was seeing the very history they will live with for all of their days.

Of course, memories fade.  But I am still astounded by which ones remain firmly embedded in my long term memory.  The ones that have significance to me but would not to someone else. And you never know which ones they will hold onto. For all I know, I glimpsed the moment Cati realized that her big, strong, safe daddy was so much fun and she would always remember squealing and running as he rounded the corner to catch her and tickle her. What I do know is that these moments are precious and I need to attempt to handle each one with care.  So often I am careless with my words or even downplay something that would mean everything to my little Cati.  Like a picture she has drawn or a stick she has found and talked to like a friend on the sidewalk.  I need to stop and see life through her little eyes.

So I desperately needed to write this all down today.  Not so much for all of you precious friends of mine who take the time to read my little blog.  But today was for you, girls.

My Cati-Bear and my Ella-Roo,
One day you will read these words.  And you will know how I felt the first weekend in June, on a Saturday evening in 2010.  Because if I never wrote this, you may have never known it.  Life would go on and my glimpse would fade from memory. But I have wrote it here to remember that even the every day things are extraordinary.  They are part of our past that will shape our future.  And you girls, are extraordinary.  You are my daughters but most of all you are Daughters of the King.  And every moment matters. To God and to your mom who loves you with every beat of her heart. And as I type, the words become blurry through tears of gratitude for a God who loves us with an everlasting love. Whose will for our lives is so precious and we are to treasure life's simple moments because they are gifts. I just wanted you girls to one day be able to read my words  and have your own glimpse from your past as I glimpsed your future in the making.

 Girls, you are my heart.

Two Tips Tuesday

Tip#1:  Update Your Kitchen Cabinets...On the Inside

When we first looked at our house, I was kinda bummed about the kitchen cabinets.  They were not the best quality but I honestly like that they are white. But the inside of them were showing some yellowing and grime.  Totally grossed me out.  I thoroughly cleaned every inch of them but they still looked like this...

Look closer...

Ick, Ick, Ick!  

So I decided to paint them and I loved how they turned out!

So fresh and fun!  I am really loving the contrast between the wall color and the inside of the cabinets and the way all my white dishes pop.  It is so fun to open my cabinets!  It was a great way to update the kitchen and make things feel newer and more "me."

Tip #2:  An Old Window that Holds Memories

My dear friend Nicole has this amazing, old window at her house where she decided to commemorate her precious engagement and wedding moments with flowers!  The top left panel are the 3 flowers that were sitting on the alter where her husband proposed to her at our church.  They got married on that same altar exactly one year later!  The other 3 panels are petals she pulled apart from her dried wedding bouquet.

All she did was buy the window from an antique store, and got heavy, cardboard poster board that she was assured would not yellows with age, and went at it with a hot glue gun. That was it and so brilliant!

There are so many idea you could use with this old window idea...wedding photos of all your children or siblings, seashells from your favorite beaches, baby booties of all your children, etc, etc.  The list is endless and the look is just beautiful!

Happy Tuesday Friends!

I Am Finally Home

Ahhhhh...ahhhrrrgghhhhhh!

(Translation:  Contented sigh turned into cry of frustration).

See, it all started out great. Woke up Saturday morning and my first thought?

MOVING DAY! 

Our friends came to help us move and things went smoothly. I forgot Ella's diaper bag 602 times and finally gave up trying to make my memory function. I dropped off the girls with a friend (where Cati learned to pump on the swing for the first time!  I was SOOOOO EXCITED FOR HER!) and I went ahead to the house to start unpacking and moving stuff around that was already there.  We had everything piled in the living room because we had new carpet installed.  See?

 Ahhh...love new things.

And we grunted, inflicted bodily harm, tore off a glass door on one of our book shelves, and nicked the tar out of every piece of furniture I prayed would come out unscathed. 

Dang.

But all in all...a good day.

But then came when I picked the girls up and ran to the grocery store. That is when things began to go awry.  To the point where I began having superstitious thoughts (I am soooo not superstitious...I mean, hello? That would be weird if I claim Jesus and then panic if I step on a crack and start calling Mom to see if her back is OK).  Like, what if this house is cursed or jinxed?  Nonsense type thoughts that I would scoff at someone else if they said them out loud.  Because I am compassionate like that. Here is how it went down.

On the way home, I encounter rain that made it impossible to see.  I am thinking it was a monsoon that had been held off for my move.  Thank You Lord for this kind mercy. Later, I come home from the grocery store and as I am turning into my development, the light starts blinking and the telephone pole pops and a transformer blows right before my eyes. All the neighbors on my street are coming out to find out why we have lost power and conveniently we meet the next door neighbors. They have 3 dogs, one that is a beautiful Great Dane.  This sweet horse of a dog is excited to say hi and wants to say hello to my girls.  Thankfully, they are not afraid of dogs.  Well sadly, in this dogs excitement, it wraps around his owner, then around Cati and spun her around with him.  My Cati was dragged around the sidewalk and the leash was caught under her arm.

This was probably one of the most frightening things I have seen in a long time and it took 5 full minutes for my heart to beat normally. She is pretty bruised up. My poor Cati was terrified and my neighbors were so upset. They even visited later to check on her which was so kind. Fortunately, I was a dog trainer a lifetime ago and I have had a dog or two take me out.  I just pray Cati is not fearful of dogs now. But I would understand COMPLETELY. She was certainly brave.

Then, we come inside and it starts getting dark.  The whole point of the grocery store was to make dinner.  And dinner took the form of PB & J, crackers, and grapes.  YUMMY! But peril lies in wait around the corner.  As I step into the kitchen looking through boxes and trying to find candles, I run smack into Ella sending her sailing face first into the base of the fridge.

Was this really happening?  Are we without power our first night in the house with a promising possibility of visiting our nearest Urgent Care?

Oh wait.  I am so not done.

So the power comes back on (CHEER!) and now it is time to take baths.  It now dawns on me that we have nothing on our windows and are in essence, a family in a fish bowl.  So I make my poor tired husband put up curtain rods and curtains at 9:30 at night.  But Ella has this funky corner window and our hardware won't work.  So what do I do?  To the complete horror of my husband?

Oh yeah, baby.  I made sure our neighbors knew the Family from Hicksville moved in.  Because I put wrapping paper on the windows.  Christmas wrapping paper.  No wait, it says HAPPY HOLIDAYS.  I put POLITICALLY CORRECT wrapping paper on the windows!  And you read it right.  We taped it up there with blue painters tape, right on the window. And I ripped it. Not even nicely. It looks like I tore it off with my teeth.  Hubster is completely horrified and believes we have now been "labeled" within our new hood.

I am going to go in her bedroom now and take a quick pic so you can see my ghetto fix on the windows.  She won't wake up...I promise...

HAHAHA!  I just stuck my arm in there and hoped for the best! And I totally forgot I used packaging paper too.  That is so awesome.

So you all know it is a temporary fix, right? But I believe hubby thinks I am leaving it up there for awhile.  I should really feel bad about the immense joy this brings me.  I think I will change out the wrapping paper to different ones just to mess with him.

Anyway.  The night closed with my poor daughters utterly baffled about why they are getting into their familiar beds in a very unfamiliar place.  I wish I could hold them close all night but sadly, those two chatty things would be trying to tickle me and stick things up my nostrils. I know this from experience.

But guys.  Guess what?

I'm finally home.  Praise God and say it with me...Hallelujah.