I know it's fall in Mobile when. . .

we have cold tap water again! Yea!!!

When I first moved here I thought something was wrong with our plumbing because I couldn't get cold water from the faucet - just tepid water. I even asked a plumber about and I think he thought I was nuts. But apparently the ground temp just keeps the water in the pipes from staying cold.

Anyway, I'm glad it's back. It's the little things that make me happy. :-)

ERs and Popsicles

Maggie has had a fever since Sunday so I finally took her to the doctor. Doc said she has a virus but everything else is fine and the fever should end soon. Later this afternoon, I was on the computer with Maggie on my lap. I heard a crunching sound and looked down to see Maggie chewing something while holding staples in her hand! I said "Maggie! Are you chewing something?" (nodding) "Are you chewing staples?" (nodding and swallowing) "Don't swallow them!" "Maggie - did you eat staples" (yes).

So after calling our doctor we went to the ER and after 2 hours and a set of x-rays discovered Maggie had not in fact swallowed staples. But Maggie has learned that the ER is a fun place to get popsicles. So Mommy had a good talk with Maggie when we got home about lying. I think I'll start keeping popsicles at home.

The good news is that she has not had a fever since this afternoon - yea!

A Wonderful Visit

Eleven years ago I moved in with a host family in Seattle while serving as a campus missionary for the Baptist Campus Ministries. Little did I know that I would end up living with them for 3 years and that they would be such a huge influence on my life. Jim and Nancy Anderson (and their daughter Leanne) became friends, mentors, and family to me. It had been over 5 years since I had seen them and I was so excited when Jim and Nancy came to Alabama for a visit!!! They got to meet Maggie for the first time which was wonderful. Maggie just loved them - she would wake up every morning and ask "where's Andersons?" I would say "they're in the guest room" and she would say "YEA!!!!!" We got to tour Mobile - Bellingrath Gardens, the USS Alabama, our church, the beach and we topped off the visit with a football game at Auburn. We taught them how to do "War Eagle". It was a lot of fun. But what I enjoyed the most was reconnecting with my friends. I felt like I was part of the family again.

Thanks for the visit, and I hope I can return the favor soon! :-)

FLYing

For those of you who know me best, you know that deep down inside me is a very messy person which my outer organized person tries hard to control. (Mom, Dad. . . I know you still have those pictures of my room as a child). Ever since I became a mom, the organized side of me has been losing more of those battles than winning.

So a good friend told me about FlyLady.net. It's a wonderful site for people like me, for those who live in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Flylady is about teaching us how to take babysteps to change our habits, creating daily routines that will keep our houses clean and our lives in more order. It's not about having a perfect home, but learning how to have productive routines so that you don't have to live with all those nagging voices in your head.

I've been Flying now for about a week and a half and I have to say I'm loving it! No, I've not perfected my habits, but there has definately been a change in the state of my house, and Ben has noticed it and is happy about it too. If you've been struggling like I was, you might want to check it out.

Tour de Parents

We just got back from our semi-annual circuit in which we visit both sets of parents (grandparents). It was a wonderful trip with lots of fun things in both locations.

The highlight at Ben's parents was probably celebrating his mom's birthday. Maggie sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her for the first time and we all got a little "verklempt".

While at "grandmoms" house we got to take Maggie to the train. . . It's a small, working desiel train engine that pulls some small cars around a track at the local park. For $1 you get to ride around the park 3 times. Maggie is fascinated by it, but scared too and refuses to ride it. Ok, that's mostly my fault. I pretty much forced her to ride it the first time a couple of months ago because we all just knew she was going to love it. Sure, she was clinging to my shirt for dear life, but we just knew as soon as it started moving she would laugh and smile and relax. . . not so. I think I scarred her for life. Let that be a lesson to you! Never force a two year old to ride a small train. oi.

Despite the traumatic introduction, she still talks about it nearly non-stop. Therefore, while at "grammy's" house in Western NC we decided to show her another train. . . the Great Smoky Mountain Express! This is a disiel train that you can ride through the mountains. Of course we weren't foolish enough to try to get her to ride it, but we did take her to look at the train.

We celebrated the 4th of July in lots of fun ways. . .

Ben, Dad and I took a short hike up to the top of Richland Balsam Mountain (elev. 6410 feet). It was a beautiful hike, even if it was a little hazy out.

That afternoon we played with bubbles and Maggie and I had a blast.

She ended up covered in bubble solution head to toe. We added corn syrup to the solution in order to make the giant bubbles so you can imagine how sticky she was but it was definately worth it.

That night, right before bed, Maggie had her first experience with sparklers! She was definately curious but a little frustrated with me I think when I kept moving her hand away from the pretty bright light. :-)

We always enjoy this time with family and this year was no exception. Hope you had a good 4th of July too!

Clearly Scene

After much encouragement from friends and especially Ben, I've started a little hobby business making cards with some of the photographs I've taken at Bellingrath Gardens and other places. I've set up a blog to display the available designs.

The name of the business is Clearly Scene which is taken from one of my favorite scriptures, Romans 1:20:

“For since the beginning of the world God’s invisible qualities...have been clearly seen,being understood from what has been made..."

When I was in college I took a course called "Drawing from Nature" in which we walked around campus and drew studies of different plants and animals and learned about what we drew. It was a great course which mostly taught me to observe the beauty of everyday things around me. And one of the greatest lessons I learned in that course, which was not on the syllabus, was that creation is screaming "There is a creator!".

As I walked around campus one day, I picked up a petal that had fallen to the ground and looked at it very carefully - the beauty of it, the intricate detail and pattern in one simple petal. I thought to myself "How can anyone say this happened by accident?". Several people have asked me if being a biology major in college didn't conflict with my Christian faith. But I never found that to be true. . . the things I studied in biology and chemistry only testified to me of our Great God who is so concerned with even the smallest details in His creation.

My Little Piccasso

One of Maggie's favorite pasttimes is fingerpainting. She'll point to the closet where I keep the paints and say "Mommy! Pent!" It's been fun to watch the natural progression of a toddler's paintings. This week she made quite the leap in her technique.

First she painted this. . .

Note all the dots.

Then she painted this. . .

She went from just using her fingers to make little dots and lines to getting her whole hand in there and mixing it all together! She had so much fun. . . I wish I had the camera handy to capture the expression on her face.