Lemonade puddles

This week I learned that when your 2 year old spills an entire pitcher of lemonade on your tile floor, it's okay for bare feet to play in lemonade puddles before the clean up begins. Happy weekend!

Surprise!

How about a post that's a little lighter and fun than recent ones? I love surprises. Especially if they require no obligations on my part. We recently bought a new vehicle (yea!!!) after a deer hit our van. Secretly, I think my husband was just waiting for an excuse to put an end to his minivan driving days, but that's another story. After searching everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, we finally found exactly what we were looking for Tulsa, which is not too far from home. We loaded up on a Saturday and headed to the Lexus dealership. That's right...it just so happened that our pre-owned with low miles and 2nd row bucket seats Suburban was sitting at a brand new Lexus dealership. She's a beautiful gas guzzling machine. We've already nicknamed her "the beast". Anyway, back to my surprise. Doing business with an upscale dealership like Lexus has some perks. Personal follow-up phone calls, snacks and drinks while paperwork was being completed, thick plush logo napkins in the bathrooms. These were my husband's favorite and he may or may not have swiped a handful to put in our guest bathroom at home. It doesn't matter to him if it's inappropriate to have Lexus napkins in our bathroom. He thinks they are great. So, last night, we received a few packages, and assuming they were some Christmas or late birthday gifts, it was a fight to see who could open it faster. Well, it seems like Lexus of Tulsa has been doing a little Christmas shopping. They were so kind as to even shop at one of my favorite stores, William-Sonoma. Score! There was thisand this

and this

Thank you Lexus of Tulsa. My house smells like a beautiful Christmas tree thanks to you and your customer service perks. Almost makes me want to check out the 2 seater red convertible you had in your showroom. Almost.

The post I never imagined writing.

4 and 1/2 months ago we were excited. We were about to welcome Lily, our first niece and girl cousin into the world. My girls were ready to share all of their knowledge of bottles and brothers and tea parties. I was looking forward to a sweet girl to nurture, love, and encourage through life, the same way my own aunts have helped nurture and encourage me. July 30th changed a lot of things for our family. Immediately after Lily was born, our visions of love shifted to a complete unconditional nature. We would love Lily even more despite whatever her physical or mental capabilities might be. She had already become the most special member of our family. And then later, we found out that Lily's time with us was going to be incredibly short. Months. It seemed so unfair. It still does. They were a fast and furious 4 months filled with prayer, birthday parties, home visits, and more prayer. And without being able to speak a word or even lift an arm or smile, Lily began to change people. For some it was a call to pray more. For some it was a call to a deeper faith as demonstrated by her parents. For some it was a reminder to hold their loved ones closer and to be content. For some, it was a lesson on how to love others. For me, she did all of those things. Without one word, she has changed us and we are not the same.

Today was Lily's memorial service. It was beautiful and perfect. Her Uncle Luke wrote a beautiful song for her that he sang at the service today. I've put it on the link below, but be warned that you should have some tissue nearby. I am also posting the letter that Lily's grandmother wrote and that was read at the service today. It is the beautiful story of Lily's life told by her own perspective. Today has been a difficult one for our family, but we are still here, still proclaiming God's love, mercy, and kindness. We love you, sweet Lily.

A story called…

The Light of Lily
by Shareen Pruitt

Hi to everyone. My name is Lillian Paige Pruitt. Before I made my whirlwind of a grand entrance on July 30, 2010 at 12:52 PM, God my Father prepared me.

I sat on His lap as HE explained that He was going to send me on a mission to a place called earth. He told me that HE IS LOVE, but HE wanted me to take HIS LOVE with me and spread it all over the place. He explained that I might see it as a roller coaster ride. That actually sounded kind of fun to me!

He said that I would see and experience what was called sadness and sickness, but His Love would always win. My heavenly Father promised me that no matter what happened, He would never ever leave me. He said that I would never have to be afraid. He said some things would happen to me that I might not fully understand, but that all I had to do was TRUST HIM! God never lies you know.

He told me that he was going to give me what was called a Momma and a Daddy and 2 brothers. God told me that they were very full of HIS love, but I would be used to make their love grow even stronger for God and each other. This is where the spread of God’s love through tiny little me all began.

God looked at me at that moment, hugged me tight with a great big smile and kiss and said, “You go getum Little Lily!”

July 30th, I entered the world! Oh my! What a fuss they made! I could tell that this might not be such an easy task after all!

I was what they call, BORN! I remember when my Momma and Daddy that God told me about, held me for the very first time. Talk about cool! I felt the very same love as I felt on my Father’s lap in heaven. God’s peace and contentment came all over me. I knew I was where God wanted me to be. I felt safe.

I was in what was called a hospital for a long time and I finally got to meet my big brothers, Denver and Hudson. Boy, were they ever wild and fun! I couldn’t have asked for better big brothers than those two. God certainly knew what He was doing! They were very special and when they held me, I once again, felt the very same love that I felt the day I sat on the lap of God.

My Momma and Daddy, Denver and Hudson always saw that I did as many fun things as I could since God had already decided I would only be on earth for a short time. Not every little girl gets to have four birthday parties, lunch dates, go fishing, horse back riding, have their fingernails and toenails painted, all topped off with a trip to Disney World in just four months!

I met all of my family and so many friends. My cousins McKenzie, Avery, Nathan, Jackson and Jace were always kind and gentle. I loved them so much and oh how special they are in God’s eyes.

One thing I’ve learned is when God decides something, HE GETS IT DONE! HE ALWAYS WINS!

Hudson couldn’t have said it better to momma, “Momma, Jesus is coming to see Lily soon,” and that is exactly what he did. Jesus said to me, “Miss Lily, your mission is accomplished, and I am well pleased! It’s time for you to come home with me where your momma, daddy, Denver, and Hudson can all be together someday with us. Those who ask Me in their hearts will live with Me forever in heaven. I am their Godly Father and they are my children.”

He told me that where he was taking me, there would be no sickness or sadness. He told me that I would see, hear, sing, talk, walk, run, and dance. HE told me that I would be perfect and totally healed. I’m excited!!!

As Jace, my cousin always says, “That’s the Best!!!

Welcome Home Lily!

“The End”
or
“The Beginning”

He has overcome

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of a childhood friend who died 2 days after giving birth to twin boys last year. Sunday, my husband took his father to the emergency room because he was overcome with pain from cancer. Sunday, I watched my sister-in-law host a birthday party for her son as she was holding my niece who was having a seizure. The diagnosis of her short life span is becoming reality as she faces more health issues. There are so many reasons for us to be sad, but yet we have more reasons to rejoice. Sadness comes from a place of love. If we did not love the people in our lives so deeply, there would be no reason to be sad. We also know that every circumstance is by God's design. Even when we do not understand the will or the reasoning of God, there is comfort to know that God's peace is never ending. I know that we are not the only family to be touched by sadness. Many families are facing difficult circumstances. But not every family faces difficult times surrounded by God's peace. If for some reason you are reading this and you do not personally know God's love or the comfort of knowing that this life does not end with death, I would love to talk with you about my experiences. There is no circumstance that God's love and peace cannot overcome.

A friend posted this video to facebook the other day and I just love it. Not only is the message amazing, but the stop motion use of Lite Bright is just too cool.

Because I like a challenge, we added a new puppy to our family dynamics. It was always so easy to take a great picture of 3 young children. (insert sarcastic tone please.) Now that we have 8 week old Lexi, I feel I can finally stretch myself and capture a great, casual, family photo. Or not. Evidence of 3 pictures taken in quick succession:

decent...

I'm losing them fast...

and they're done.

I need someone to give me a tutorial on how to swap heads in photoshop a.s.a.p. However, individually, I can hold my own. It's easy when your subjects look like this:

Love these beautiful girls!

By the way, just for fun, compare the kids in these pictures to the children in the pictures on my blog header taken almost exactly one year apart. What in the world happened? (Dab eyes with kleenex, pretend it's allergies making my nose run, keep it together, man!) Time is stealing my babies. If you have any ideas about how to make it stop, please let me know.

3 things I learned today....

1. If you ever must take a drug test, do not bring your toddler son to the appointment with you. They will not allow him into the bathroom with you for fear that you would take his urine and pass it off as your own clean sample.

2. If you are having problems with your DVR and the cable serviceman comes to your home to work on said DVR unit, it's a good idea to watch the 43 shows you have recorded BEFORE he walks out the door with your entire recorded seasons of Lost, the Real Housewives of D.C., and the Big Bang Theory. Goodbye best episode ever of Crossroads featuring John Mayer/Keith Urban that I've had recorded since May. I miss you already.

3. If you spend a large portion of your day playing Legos with your little boy, talking with your bff for almost 2 hours, and rubbing your new puppy's belly, you will feel like a failure for getting no tangible, visible, work accomplished, but your heart will overflow with joy and your burdens will be instantly lighter.

Can't wait to see what I learn tomorrow!

A new fall tradition

The other day the realization struck me that I have created a new fall tradition. You see, I love to cook and puree my own pumpkin. A few years ago, I never really knew that one could actually cook a pumpkin. I guess I thought the only way to use pumpkin was from a can of Libby's. Then one day, a friend at work talked about baking her pumpkins to get ready for the holidays. What? You bake your own pumpkins? She told me how easy and tasty it was and sent me home with some scratched out directions to make my own pumpkin puree. And guess what? It is easy breezy. Simply clean, cut, scrape, bake, puree, freeze, use. For your enjoyment I'm linking to PW's instructions, but once you try it, there are really no instructions needed. Don't get me wrong. It is not cheaper and there is really nothing unhealthy about those cans of Libby's pumpkin. However, there is something about smelling the fresh pumpkin baking and seeing the bright orange bags in my freezer that speaks fall to me now. I love using a pumpkin for something practical and now I have plenty of pumpkin on hand for pumpkin pies, bread, muffins, pancakes, and all of those other wonderfully unhealthy things to cook in the fall. So grab a pumpkin or two and get baking!

New England Escape, Day 1

We are home from our ah-mazing trip to New England. I loved every minute of this trip! We had the best time and it ranks right up top with our honeymoon to Maui as one of our favorite vacations. We were so fortunate to have great weather; this week they are getting hammered with rain! Yuck! If you're a fan of looking at other people's boring vacation photos, then this is your lucky day. If not, feel free to move along with no hurt feelings.

After a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call, crack of dawn flight, layover in the Admiral's club in Dallas, and an almost 4 hour 2nd flight, we had the skyline of Boston in our sights.

It was early afternoon when we arrived, so it was definitely time for some New England tasty food! We walked from our hotel to Quincy Market and picked the closest restaurant with no wait. I can't even remember the name, but it definitely hit the spot! Lobster for Marty (the first of many) and fish and chips for me. The fish was so yummy and very different from fried seafood of New Orleans and definitely different from the fried catfish delicacy of my hometown.

After lunch, it was time for some serious sightseeing. Since we ate lunch outside, we took in some views of Quincy Market from our table. It was a busy place filled with awesome food and tons of touristy vendors and shops.

We did some walking and headed over to the North End, the Italian district of Boston. Eating at one of these Italian restaurants was the one thing I didn't get accomplished on this trip. I guess that's a good reason to go back, right? This was my favorite area of Boston. I loved the authentic Italian feel to it.

Close to this area, we were able to see the statue of Paul Revere, his house, and the North End Church. The most interesting of the 3 to me was the church. It was fascinating to see how churches were constructed and how differently people worshipped during those times. Every family had a box with their pews on the inside. Some were decorated with fabrics and cushions, but most were plain. The preacher would deliver his sermon from up high on a pedestal. The pew boxes up front were more expensive and for the more prominent families. And the pew boxes in the back? Those were the cheap seats baby!

Paul Revere's home was underwhelming to me. Turns out he only lived there for a few months and it's been redone several times, so it doesn't strike me as historic as what it should be for the price of admission. Maybe it had something to do with the attached gift shop? Anyway, the most interesting thing about it was how small everyone was in Revolutionary times. We are giants compared to these people. Now I know that God created the earth and everything in it, but you can't deny that we are an evolving species. We are a LOT bigger than we were 200 years ago.

I'm going to stop there for today because I don't want these posts to be off-the-chart long. But mostly because I'm tired and I have to be on the soccer fields at 8:30 in the morning. If October wasn't my favorite month and I wasn't in love with the beautiful weather we're having, I would almost wish it was November just to be finished with soccer. It will be fun and I can't wait to cheer Avery on to make some goals tomorrow!

A Little Retro and Rainbows

Armed with a little bit of free time and a mini-me who is learning to be a great chef, we tackled a creative project that has been on the back burner for a while. Ladies and gentlemen....I give you....the rainbow cake. I first saw this cake on a blog a few years ago. A certain young lady in the family will be celebrating her 7th birthday soon and we are thinking of tackling this cake for the big celebration. There were definitely some things that went very wrong, but hopefully the future creations will be a little more (ahem) stable. I have to admit though, it's pretty impressive to display such beautiful colors!

And, since we are talking about rainbows, want to know one of my all time favorite songs?

Love, love the Muppets and I love Kermit singing that song. Anyone remember watching those Muppets shows that came one during prime time t.v.? I loved watching that show. Kids nowadays just don't know good t.v. They can watch 5 episodes of Spongbob without moving an eye muscle. But that Muppet show? It was ROFL kind of t.v. You had to get involved and actually listen. No zoning out and drooling when the Muppets were on. I'm not sure how a cake can get somebody thinking about the good ole days in 1982, but dang, that's just what happened. Tomorrow I'm going on an airplane. Maybe we'll have a post about Top Gun? Oh, why wait. Here's the best scene of the 80's anyway:

I always felt sorry for poor Goose who was obviously the only one not following the latest insane fitness regimen and wasn't allowed to take his shirt off. And who on earth is the guy doing all the yelling? I've seen this movie about 100 times and yet I still do not remember his name. Maverick, Iceman, Goose, and ..... somebody help me out. Who remembers this guy's name? Do your IMDB research and I'll be waiting patiently over here helping myself to one more slice of rainbow, I mean, cake.

East Coast Girls are Hip

I am as excited as a kid 2 weeks before Christmas. Waiting. Anticipating. It's the best thing sometimes. My husband and I are finally taking a little getaway with no kids. To the best we can remember, it's been 5 years since this has happened. 5 YEARS people! It will probably be 5 years before it happens again. It takes so much coordination to leave 3 kids behind. So many things to plan and prepare. So much guilt in taking off without them. So much worry about being so far away. But then there is my wonderful husband. My husband who so patiently (most of the time) waits while they tell me very important things like every person in their class that got in trouble with the teacher that day and which new silly bands were acquired. He deserves much more than 5 days of my undivided attention, but such is the state of life right now. Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law and the WBBE (world's best baby sitter EVER), it looks like this trip is actually going to happen.

So where are we going, you ask? We're headed to the East Coast! California girls can keep all their daisy dukes and bikinis on top. And their popsicles too. I've been to L.A., and frankly, just wasn't impressed at all. New York? It's my 2nd love, just right under Disney World. I fell in love with the East Coast when my parents took my cousin and I when we were 12 and 9. One of my most fun trips. Do you remember collecting all those shopping bags as souvenirs, Ashley? Great memories. Made a trip there again for New Year's Eve with a college roomie and then ♥ THE MOST ROMANTIC WEEKEND EVER ♥ there with my husband several years ago. It took one carriage ride through Central Park, snuggled under blankets and drinking hot chocolate on a beautiful fall October Saturday morning for me to be a forever NYC girl. A few years ago, I took a last minute girls shopping trip there with my mother, my second mothers two aunts, and my cousin. Just lots of shopping and eating great food and so much fun. This time we're going to branch away from NYC but staying true to my east coast love, we're going here:

and here:

and hopefully eat lots of this:

On the agenda: a beautiful hotel room on the Boston harbor waterfront, a dinner cruise on Boston Harbor, a day trip to Kennebunkport, a quick trip to Newport, RI, and lots of great food and conversation. We truly cannot wait. Christmas is almost here!

Technical Issues

About a month ago, we made a splurge purchase. My laptop had been soooo slow and the hard drive on it was almost full to the point that I had to keep deleting things to make room for new stuff. My husband gave me the ok to upgrade, and on a tax-free, back-to-school shopping event, I finally made the jump to a Mac. Oh my. This machine is beautiful. Everything is lightning fast speed. It's hard to explain, but everything is just easier. And easier + faster =more time in my day! My setup is exactly like the pic above with the wireless keyboard and mouse. Also, notice the almost hidden optical drive on the side of the monitor and the port for an SD card. Awesome, right? Wrong. Yesterday, after taking a few pics, I was going to upload to the computer and reached up to insert my SD card into the port. Instead I put the card into the optical drive. Whoops. Dang. Now I have a brand new computer with an optical drive that doesn't work because my card is floating around somewhere on the inside of lala computer land. AND I have lost my all time favorite, 4g camera card. AND we are getting thisclose to taking a trip in which I NEED that card. DANG. I lost an hour of my life yesterday to trying to shake it out, tweezer it out, paper clip it out, and nothing. Grrr. Apple, your iMac machines can do so much, can't you make one that is 100% human error proof?

Speaking of Apple, I have a serious complaint. I get that they are always changing their products to move things forward and all, but sometimes things that work well don't need to be changed. Last Christmas, my oldest daughter received this ipod Nano.

It's been a great gift for her. It has a radio, takes pictures AND video, and has large enough storage to meet her needs for a long time. And it's durable. It's survived many cheeto stained hands, a 2 year old's mistreatment and a night spent outside in a torrential downpour. She loves it so much, that it has caught the eye of her little sister. Now guess who wants a Nano for Christmas? She want one exactly the same (different color, of course). And guess who just changed their Nano lineup? Stinkin' Apple. Always trying to move forward. This is the new Nano Do you see how small that thing is in relation to the ear buds? My girl would lose that thing in a heartbeat. Also, same price as earlier model, but no camera, no video camera. Boo. So yesterday I hightailed it over to my local big box store and purchased my first Christmas gift of the season before they are off the shelves for good. A purple 5th generation Nano. No touch screen for us. It's old school click wheel all the way for this family. We're cool like that. And we put SD cards into optical drives. Now where's that tech support phone number....

Circumstances and Joy

Ok, so I've been gone from blogging for a while. It mostly had to do with some circumstances in our family that got me a little down. For me, blogging is something to do for fun, as a creative outlet, and a way to share some pics and thoughts with family. When the circumstances of your life are not as fun, the desire to blog kind of goes out the window. However. The past few months, and especially the last 6 weeks have taught me that God truly wants our joy in life to not be derived from our circumstances, but rather from the love that He give us. The circumstances have not been pretty. My father-in-law has a cancer diagnosis that is slowly taking its toll. The circumstances are terrible, but we find joy in the fact that there are more good days than bad days for him. We find joy in a family united by prayer and petition. We find joy for each day and opportunity God gives us to share with him. My sister-in-law (his daughter) was expecting a baby girl in July and we looked forward to the joy she would bring our family. Then the circumstances of life took a turn that no one expected. Baby Lily was born with Zellweger's disease. A truly devastating diagnosis for such a sweet innocent baby. I won't go into all of the details of the disease other than to say that she has a life expectancy of 6 months. Circumstances stink. But joy still abounds. We are joyful that she was able to be released from NICU after 1 month and come home to live her life with her family. We are joyful for a sweet niece to love. We are joyful for the awesome testimony of her parents as they walk this journey. We are joyful for girly bows and dresses and for sweet baby cries. It is always Satan's plan to rob us of the joy of our salvation. When we are in difficult circumstances such as these, it has to be a conscious effort to allow your joy to abound. So we carry on and celebrate each moment and day that God has given to each of us.

"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Cor. 2:7-9

Ok, now something unbelievably funny. Well, maybe not that funny, but we can't help but laugh. Last Sunday morning, we got up to go to church and this was the sight in our driveway.

Seriously. Someone, (or some-bodys) stole my husband's tires and wheels and left his truck on blocks. While we are so thankful that more damage was not done and that no attempt into our house was made (can you imagine!), we have laughed so hard at this all week. We can't help but chuckle every time we pull in and out of our driveway. It's just so ghetto. I hope that you are familiar with this hilarious YouTube post.

For real. Well, have you heard the remix version someone took the time to craft?

Even more hilarious. It's been the theme of the week around here. Even the smallest member of the family is singing....we gonna find you, homeboy.