"The Sunshine is Trying to Get Me!"

      Well, this morning started off with a bang.  A bang on Lily's door letting me know she was awake, about 30 minutes earlier than usual.  I think she must have needed that extra 30 minutes, because she was particularly whiny while we tried to get ready for Mother's Day Out, which I was very thankful to be dropping her off at.  On our way to the church, she kept wailing, "The sunshine is trying to get me!"  And I felt like telling the sunshine that it did not have a chance at getting to her today - she was determined to be overcast-Lily no matter what.
      After her behavior this past weekend, it feels as if we are taking steps backwards with her, which is challenging.  I know that isn't true - there must be an ebb and flow with this sort of drama, but it sure makes for less pleasant days.  We are managing.  Actually, most of the time, we really are thriving.



The weather is so gorgeous that we actually took a walk in the afternoon outside, with very little sweat involved.  Amazing!  Then, we played out on our Play Deck, and Bella climbed the slide.  By herself - with no help.  I did spot her towards the top, but I never intervened at all.  I was amazed, and she was delighted.



The other thing that I have been busying myself with is going through clothing and realizing that we need to purchase warm items in the right sizes for fall.  Oh, the joys of sorting - though it does feel nice to get it done.  Motherhood never ceases to amaze and challenge me with both the monotony and the surprises.  I feel a little scattered right now as I listen to the sounds of Lily singing through her nap, the laundry machine whirring away and the noise machines on in both girls' rooms.  Thank you, Lord, for nap time.   He knew what I would need, when I would need it.

Weekend: Labor Day in Nashville

      We spent this past weekend in Nashvegas - home of lots of cool things, but most relevant to this weekend, home of Becka and Jessee, John's sister and bro-in-law.  She is close to having baby Shane, and Lily and Bella are very much looking forward to meeting their first ever cousin!  We spent the weekend lounging and eating out - by and large a relaxing way to spend it.



There was book reading and breaking in cousin's new toys.




There was bubble blowing - enjoying the cooling temperatures.





And, what weekend would be complete without rock collecting.  Seems to be a favorite pastime of ours.




All of that rock collecting makes a girl quite tired.



The restaurants we ate at were delicious - I would have taken more pictures and chronicled them better but for a certain 2.5 yr old that was convinced our time should be spent listening to her cry and tell us "no" to anything we suggested.  You never know when these moments will strike, and apparently, instead of letting me enjoy the best ice-cream I have ever had, Lily needed to cry, whine and moan.  Quite unfortunate, because I may always feel like that Goat Cheese Cherry and Brambleberry cone will be the one that didn't get savored nearly as well as it should have.  Both flavors were so delicious.  Ice cream perfection.
      Thanks, Becs and Jessee for hosting a great weekend full of great food and company!  Now, back to life, though thankfully with much cooler weather.  What a difference it makes - though it did hit me that I need to find slightly warmer clothes for the girls.  I spent the morning sorting closets - such fun, and still a long way to go.

Joplin Chick-fil-A Re-Opens: Awesome

      Well, I can't even believe that it is already September.  Anyways, yesterday, we headed up to Joplin to celebrate the grand re-opening.  It was in the part of town that was destroyed by a tornado in May (I wrote about it here), and it was rebuilt from the ground up in 8 weeks.  Amazing.

It was so wonderful to celebrate with the Starkweathers, who have been through so much in the past months since their home also is being rebuilt.





The reception from the city of Joplin was overwhelming to witness.  People were so thrilled to have their CFA back, and so happy about the restoration that it represented.  As John and I were helping to direct traffic into the restaurant, people kept rolling down their windows and telling us how glad they were that we were back.  I was about it tears half the time - it is always amazing to me to see the way that people form real relationships with our brand and business.  And, it was packed - seriously, everyone in Joplin seemed to be there to welcome CFA back.

I know I say it a lot, but Chick-fil-A truly is the most wonderful company to work with.  It is a family, and I was so happy from the very bottom of my heart to see this part of our family back in action.  And, it was so wonderful to see the way that everyone was working together to make it a great day - especially the city of Joplin by showing up in droves.
      On our way out of town, we drove through the path of the tornado, which was very sobering.  To see the damage that one storm can cause - truly, it was unbelievable.  I snapped just a few pictures, and this is months after it happened, which still blows my mind.







There is clearly still so much work to be done in Joplin.  The pile of toys in the field made me choke up, because I am in the "toy" stage of life, and I can't imagine what it would be like to start all over.  I wondered what happened to the family that lived there.  Did they all make it through the storm?  Where do they live now?  It was an excellent reminder to not put my hope or security in the stuff I have or the house that I live in.  Those things do not matter, all things considered.  That last picture is of the hospital that was devastated - so much damage.  I was glad that we had the opportunity to witness a small bit of restoration through chicken selling - I wish them all the best and hope and pray that God continues His work in Joplin, MO.

Driveway Moments

      Well, today we are actually headed to Joplin, MO for the Grand Re-Opening of the Chick-fil-A there that was destroyed by the tornado in May.  I am so thrilled to see it rebuilt and to celebrate with the Starkweathers!  It is only the 2nd or 3rd business to reopen in the part of the city that was decimated, so it should be a lot of fun and excitement.
      But, today, I will show you pictures of our little evening outside a couple of nights ago.  The weather is getting slightly less face-meltingly hot, so it is somewhat pleasant to be outdoors after 7:00 p.m.  I had told Lily that we could go outside and write with chalk on the drive way, and it had been too hot earlier, so we headed out after John was home after dinner.




Bella enjoyed trying to eat rocks and reclining in John's lap.  Crawling on concrete was not her favorite.  Getting a picture with a smiling Lily is such a rarity - I love this one.  I will just have to remind future Carol that rompers were really comfortable to wear when I look back at this someday and wonder "why."




And Lily loved writing all over anything.  You can see on the photo to the left, that her little bottom quickly became rainbow-tastic and that she sticks out her tongue when she writes just like I do.  So funny to see yourself mirrored in a miniature version.  I also enjoyed showing how good I am at coloring with chalk, something every mom should prove to their children.




Often, when we are outside, Lily will sneak over to our neighbor's yard to sit on their bench.  By herself.  It is sort of cute, so we let her.




She is getting so big.  She can say, "Uh-Oh" now, which just about does me in every time she says it.  ♥



So much love.