Girl Time & Thankful Cries

Tonight, Abby announced that we needed to have some "girl time". She gave Stewart a look, and he obliged and took Ellie Kate upstairs. She had evidently been planning it because she knew she wanted to play Candy Land and had even picked out pajamas that matched the board. (See earlier post about divas - I wasn't kidding!) We played, she won, and she was happy as a lark. How simple was that? I have been known to overdo things - too much planning, too many presents, looking to WOW things to make Abby have a great childhood. All she wanted was 15 minutes of girl time and a simple game of Candyland! I need to remember that! Being a big sister has had some ups and downs for Abby, but all in all I think she's handling it great!

I got to thinking about that later - maybe all the Lord would like from us is simple "girl time". I am guilty of thinking I need a lot of time to say the perfect prayer, or I need to accomplish GREAT things in order to be in His favor. I bet He would appreciate just a few minutes of uninterrupted time. It seems like I have had such enormous circumstances to pray for recently that it has escaped me that a prayer doesn't have to be anything earth shattering! A simple "thank you" for our many blessings and request to keep us in His will would conquer many of my daily struggles with the "stuff" we encounter in our lives. I'm preaching to the choir here - thanks for letting me straighten myself out!!

Here are some recent pics - Ellie Kate is a great smiler these days! She laughed out loud at her Baby Tad in her crib as I was laying her down for a nap over the weekend. She is struggling with reflux now, but nothing to get too excited about. Just pretty normal baby stuff from what I hear! She has her two month checkup Thursday, so I will be sure to post updates! There is also a shot of Abby at a skating party from this weekend.



We have just about finished her nursery. A girl we go to church with did the painting. She is AMAZING!! Let me know if you need her name and number - she can do anything you can dream up! It just gives me warm fuzzies to walk in there and look around. Not because it is so pretty (which I think it is), but mainly because it means I have a baby who needs a nursery. Seems like a simple thought, but when you've walked our road, these things mean more than words can say :) The other night on the way to church, Ellie Kate was crying and fussing, and I was a little edgy from getting everyone ready, running late, hoping she wasn't going to be like this through the whole service, worried about her reflux, etc. Stewart looked at me and said, "It doesn't bother me a bit when she cries. I kind of like it." After I gave him the "HUH?" look, he said "It means she CAN cry. We never got to hear that from Olivia." Wow - what a stopper! It never bothered me, but he has always regretted that we never heard Olivia cry. Sometimes it's just good to step back and take perspective on things. Today, I just sat and listened to her breathe, grunt, cry..........I never thought I'd be so thankful for cries!

One last thing (I know - I shouldn't make my posts SO long!!) - I just saw an interview with Ms. Meg on the 10:00 news! (In case you've forgotten, look back at the posts from last week.) I have always thought she was a great teacher. This makes me know she's also a great person :)

http://www.waaytv.com/global/category.asp?C=102965