Happy Grandparent's Day

Emersyn is so so blessed to have amazing grandparents and

great grandparents in her life.

These pictures all make me smile. Enjoy. :)

G.Grandma & G.Grandpa Inglis (my dad's parents)

G.Grandma & G.Grandpa Jensen

Meems & Grandpa

Nana & Papa

MiMi

G.Grandma Gigi

Grandpa

G.Grandma Gigi

G.Grandma & G.Grandpa Jensen

G.Grandma Gigi

Nana & Papa

G.Grandma & G.Grandpa Inglis

Meems & Grandpa

G.Grandma Stanton & Nana

Truce

I am a reformed football hater, it's true.

I used to be one of *those* women who moaned and groaned through every football game, football discussion, and pretty much every football season.

I would consider myself a fun wife. I have cheerfully attended auto shows, walked around Lowe's for (what seemed like) hours while my husband researched various projects, and have even gone to a couple pro sports events. This is all I can come up with off the top of my head, but I assure you, I am fun. Just ask Brett. ;)

However.

I.just.don't.get.football.

One time on a three hour drive from Seattle, I let Brett explain to me in gritty detail the logistics of football. It was my idea. Perhaps if I could just understand it then I could learn to embrace it. I wasn't born to be a hater. Brett explained and I listened. I began to understand off sides, the different fouls, etc. I got excited for the next time I could watch a game and apply my new found knowledge. But alas, as I exited the car after our drive, so did every word that Brett had just spoken into my head. It was just gone. I attempted to watch a football game shortly after that conversation in hopes that some of it might return but it just didn't.

Instead, I saw what I always see when I watch a football game.

A bunch of men in uniforms that attack each other while trying to get a ball from one end of the field and amidst all their wrestling there is a strategy. Certain plays are better then others apparently, though I can't tell you what any of those are. And in between all the falling down, there are like 5 minute delays where they do replays and the commentators just go on and on and on. A 15 minute quarter somehow turns into an hour. I used to fall for the whole "don't worry babe, the game is only on for another 5 minutes". Now I know that 5 minutes = 50.

However.

This year I am officially calling a truce with my hatred towards football. Yes, it was SUPER rude of the NFL to schedule the Superbowl on MY birthday a couple years ago and I am not still fully over that incident but I am willing to move forward.

See, I realized that football isn't all that bad. Yes it takes up hours of my husbands time. But guess what? That's okay......I have learned to pick my battles in marriage and as a result, I find there are less battles overall! (That's a whole other post in the making). I look at my sweet husband with his glazed over eyeballs as he watched a game and am thankful that he is home with me, rather then out doing something else. Football can be a family sport. Emersyn loves to sit with Daddy and yell, "go ball, go ball!!". Football means that I get to sit and read a magazine and not feel guilty about ignoring my husband. Football means that I can clean and do laundry and not feel like I am ditching Brett. Football means that I can be on the laptop, and not worry about *wasting* time. It can be a win win experience. Plus, I like getting together with friends to watch games; it gives the guys something to do and let's the girls chat and enjoy hanging out.

There are far worse things in life for a husband to love then football. I have decided to be okay with that finally this year. I will smile and nod my head enthusiastically when my husband recites meaningless football statistics to me. I will pretend to be interested when he makes me watch replays of things I just don't understand. No more nagging. No more pouting. No more moaning and groaning. And because of it, our home is sure to be a happy one this fall. :)

Go Broncos! (They are my dad's favorite team so I root for them too.)

Thursday Tid Bits

*What's a post without pictures, right? Through out my tid bits, I have uploaded pics from Emersyn's play date with Estella on Sunday afternoon. :)

*This morning Emersyn had her two year old check up! She weighs 26.1 pounds (48th %), 36 inches tall (94th %) and her noggin' is 15 inches around (98th %). I love my tall, slim little bobble headed child!! The dr. was impressed with her vocabulary and ability to form sentences and use them correctly, like "bless you mommy" "I eat dinner first" or my least favorite "no mommy work!". The dr. advised that I keep Emersyn on whole milk for awhile longer, even though we techincally could have transitioned her by now. My mommmy instinct said to keep her on whole milk and it was right. :) My poor baby had to get FOUR shots (one was a make up shot from last time) and I am praying that she isn't under the weather as a result. She was not pleased with four pokes but quickly got over it with the help of three stickers. :)

*One of Emersyn's new bestie's was born this afternoon!!!! (Obviously I am assuming they will be besties but odds are good) Welcome Sophia Rose, we can't wait to meet you!!!

*We are going to the zoo tomorrow morning for a picnic with Estella and her parents and I am so excited!! There is a new monkey exhibit that I have been wanting to check out. After the zoo, we are going to take a meal to my friend/hair dresser who just had a baby last week. I can't wait to hold baby Tyler. Then tomorrow afternoon, we have a birthday party for our neighbor's three year old. Fun fun family Friday planned!!

* I got an exciting phone call from my mama this afternoon....I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say more yet but I'll keep you posted. ;)

* I got some champagne grapes at Costco today. Have you ever had them? They are tiny sweet grapes that are DELISH. I am using them in a fruit salad for my friend's meal and plan on enjoying some myself. I imagine Emersyn will dig them too. :)

*Emersyn is going to start having weekly playdates with one of her little buddies, Rowen and his baby sister Charlotte. I am so so excited for her to hang out at their house while mama works! :)

*Brett and I have determined what Emersyn is going to dress up as at her buddy's harvest themed birthday party and it is so stinkin' cute (but also a surprise). :)

*I'm thinking that tomorrow is going to be the date that we have our first pumpkin spice latte of the season. Brett and I always have the first one together; it's tradition.

Wordless Wednesday

"That's up to YOU!"

Emersyn with her doll from the Ukraine that her Great Grandparents sent her for her birthday. So special!

Thanks SO much everyone for your well wishes and concern over my sick little household. We're all doing much better. I am pretty much over my cold and so is Emersyn. Brett's feeling better and is back at work too!

Emersyn's little bestie Stella is here this afternoon while her parents go to the beach with our Young Adult's ministry (they are the pastors) and we will be driving down after nap time and after Brett gets off work to meet up with them. Should be a fun evening and I figured it's probably the last chance I'll get to see the beach while the weather is still nice(ish).

I have been reading Stormie Omartian's book, "The Power of a Praying Wife". I actually won this book on another blog and it's located within a 3 in 1 type book that has "The Power" of a praying wife, parent, and woman. I like the ideas of having prayers to kind of jump off of and to pray more intentionally. I know God doesn't care if we're eloquent in our prayers and sometimes we can just be silent before Him and He knows our hearts. However, I believe there is power in prayer and power in praying specifics.

I was reading the introduction to the praying wife section and almost skipped it. It kind of focused on praying for you husband, even when you don't want, even if he is being awful, etc. I felt urged to keep reading and didn't really understand why, I feel like my marriage and relationship is better then ever. However, as I was reading I came to a part that made me understand why I had needed to keep reading. The Lord is funny like that. He used a totally different subject to convey a message about another subject.

Stormie talks about a dialogue that a frustrated wife might have with the Lord regarding her husband. In the dialogue, she is basically complaining to the Lord about her husband and ultimately says, "help me have a good attitude about this Lord" to which the Lord bluntly says "that's up to you".

That's up to you.

This part really hit me like a ton of bricks. See, I have this thorn in my life. Remember my thorn post last year? We all have thorns of some kind in our lives, whether it be a relationship, person, situation, etc. The Lord gives us thorns to keep reminding of how much we need Him. I have been praying, "Lord, HELP me have a good attitude about this thorn" and I felt him gently slap me upside the head while reading and say, "that's up to YOU!".

I think too often we rely on the Lord to "help us" with our attitudes. But the problem with that is that attitude is part of our God given free will. He can't help us have a good attitude, that is our decision. When we spend time in prayer, our hearts are softened naturally and THAT can help change our attitude but again, that's because we CHOOSE to pray.

Last night I went out for a fun girls night. Often time girls nights become a place to chat and then chatting leads to venting. I vented about my thorn. And I shouldn't have. On my way home last night, I heard the Lord shaking His head disapprovingly, even making that little "tsk tsk" sound. I know better. I believe there is a time and a place to vent and seek guidance from our friends. But I wasn't venting about my thorn for any other reason then to vent, not seek guidance or counsel. Shame on me.

I am asking the Lord to change me this week in regards to my attitude about my attitude, ha! I am committed to spending time in prayer, not just for my thorn (which isn't NEARLY as prickly as it has been) but for my life in general. I want to abide in Him so that He can abide in me. And I CHOOSE to have a good attitude, I CHOOSE to let His light shine in me and that doesn't include complaining or thinking negatively.

I don't want to be one of those women who is always complaining about something. My life is far too blessed for such behavior. I want the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in my life and those include patience and love.

Ha ha, speaking of patience, Brett and I started "The Love Dare", have you heard of that book?? I got it for our anniversary and we just started day one on Tuesday night. We haven't read any more because of being sick but Tuesday night was all about patience and treating each other with respect and in a loving way. The Lord has a sense of humor. Shortly after reading about patience, I am stuck inside my house with a sick husband and baby for THREE days. There were many opportunities for patience, let me tell you. I am excited about this book, if you haven't heard of it you should check it out. I'll let you know how it's going. I really found myself stopping myself when I was getting frustrated and thinking, "am I being patient and kind?".

Anyways, just wanted to share my thoughts and encourage us all to CHOOSE to have joy, CHOOSE to have a good attitude. Life is just too darn short to live any other way I think!

Happy Sunday!!

Saturday Ramblings

Well, this is NOT the Saturday I envisioned, nor the Labor Day weekend in general! Poor Brett came down with a stomach bug on Wednesday night. It was kind of ironic actually. I was sick and decided to stay up a little later then usual because I knew Brett would happily get up with Emersyn on Thursday morning so that I could sleep in. Well, Wednesday night we went to check on Emersyn and her room reeked of sour milk. I thought there must be a cup of milk in her room that I hadn't taken out or something and then Brett noticed throw up all over in Emersyn's crib. Poor poor baby. It was our first middle of the night crib change due to throw up as parents which I'd say is pretty good considering Emersyn is two now. Ems wasn't crying or anything, in fact when Brett got her up while I got the bath ready she was VERY excited to see me, like we had woken her up for some late night fun. I gave her a bath while Brett cleaned everything up (bless his heart) and then we put Ems down in her pack'n'play in our guest room so she could get to bed and we could finish cleaning up. I am 99% sure that the reason she threw up was because of this allergy related cough that she has that gets especially worse when she is sleeping, probably because of drainage down the back of her throat. She coughs so hard that it makes her gag, which can lead to throwing up.

Ironically a couple hours later, I woke up and Brett had thrown up. He continued to throw up every 20 minutes or so and in between barfing he was moaning about how much pain he was in. Poor baby. All day Thursday he was in bed or on the couch, couldn't hardly move. Needless to say, I didn't get to sleep in.

Friday we were supposed to hang out with one of Emersyn's best buds, Emery. However, since we were all under the weather I had to cancel. I was so bummed; Emery is such a sweet girl and I had a fun day planned for her and Ems. I didn't want Emery to get a stomach bug though. Yesterday we laid pretty low and then felt a little better, enough to go to my brother's birthday dinner anyways. We went to dinner at Famous Daves and split a meal, nothing too heavy and felt fine.

Then Brett got sick again last night a couple times. :( I am so frustrated on his behalf....I can't think of how to help him or make him feel better, other then to let him sleep and keep Ems away from him so she doesn't get sick. Poor baby. He had to call in sick which I know stresses him out but I assured him that it is not his fault.

Geez. Hopefully he is feeling better by tonight. I am going out with some girls to have one last hurrah before my friend has her baby girl sometime this week (hopefully). Say a prayer for her if you don't mind, her baby is breech right now and the dr. tried to turn her with no success. God is good though and we are praying for Sophia to turn on her own now. Anyways, I am excited to hang out with the girls. Last weekend we were talking about how you go out for a bachelorette party before you get married as one last girls night out before you get married, you should get to do something similar when you are prego, don't you think?

I have been going a little crazy being inside so much. I haven't been uber productive because I haven't felt great either with my cold. I am feeling a little better today. Emersyn is still congested though but not too bad. I can tell she has cabin fever too, she keeps running over to me saying "go get mail, go get mail" or "go bye bye, go in car, go bye bye". I think I'll take her to run some errands this afternoon. I miss my Saturday market buddy, she is in New York living it up!!! I can't wait for my "I <3 NY" coffee mug lol. (Just kidding Caitlin).

Well, thanks for letting me get all that off my chest. Please pray that Brett feels better soon; I am lost without him. I am wishing my parents lived her today too, they would totally go run errands with me and I'm sure that would include a Starbucks run. :)


Have a great Saturday everyone!!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. If I didn't have to work anymore I would hang out with my baby girl and savor each moment. I would visit my family in MN and CA more often. I would be able to get more involved in ministry and spend time volunteering.I would be better about making dinner each night and I would FEEL like I had more time to do what I wanted to in life, although I know that having a toddler keeps you on your toes.

2. My favorite thing about a vacation is getting to be with Brett and Emersyn 24/7. I love exploring new places and seeing different parts of our beautiful world.

3. When packing for a trip I have the best intentions to NOT overpack but it never happens. I usually lay everything out on my guest bed so I can see what I am packing and then Brett usually packs it all up so it fits. He is amazing like that.

4. If I could go on a road trip with anyone (dead OR alive) I would choose my BFF Tiffany, because, we love going on drives and singing at the top of our lungs to country music and we would go to the beach because that sounds fun and relaxing.

5. My top 3 absolute travel essentials are 1) magazines (although since traveling with a child I have yet to get a chance to read) 2) gum 3) my camera

6. Vacations are essential. I want a life full of incredible memories rather than lots of stuff.

7. On vacation you must always take a bazillion pictures and savor each and every moment.