tender head

I've been working on giving Kendall pig-tails. Does she look happy about it????
I don't even know if you can really see the pig-tails in this picture, but her face was just priceless when it was all said and done. Bless her little heart, she's just a tender-head like I used to be! I can remember my mom nearly popping my eyes out of socket trying to tighten up my french braids and buns for years of dance recitals!

Her hair is still pretty short on top and in the front, but I can get the back into some little pig tails. I don't know if fixing her hair is worth the sad little cry I heard, but she sure looks cute with her hair all did! :) Even her daddy thinks so!

a year and a half

Wow, Kendall! It's hard to believe you are a year and a half old! Mommy really wishes she could slow this train down a little bit; it's going too fast! You are precious beyond words. Your daddy and I enjoy you so much. We love watching you discover life and learn new things. It seems like something "new" happens daily.

What can I say about all you can do at 18 months? You know a lot of words, some of them with multiple syllables. Sometimes we still hear a lot of jabber, but I know you are just trying to figure out how to get that jabber into sentences! I love how you have your own names for things--like "beep beep" for cars, "mooch" for milk and "hello" for the phone. When we were in the car today, I handed your sippy cup to you and I heard a "thank you" come out of your mouth! It's so sweet to see you already use your manners!

You love to play and be played with. Besides playing dress up, your favorite "toys" of choice are your books. You LOVE to read and look at books! It's a precious sight. All the words and pictures you recognize is pretty amazing, too. You also love your baby dolls and usually take one to bed with you at night. Recently, I've even seen you bounce them on your knee and wrap them in blankets. So sweet.

As far as food goes, you are a great eater. You love most foods-especially fruit. You do not want anyone to feed you and can use a spoon pretty well. Lately, you have been rebelling against your sippy cups and want to drink out of big people cups instead. If the cup is too full, you usually drench yourself. I guess that is all part of learning!

Making mommy and daddy smile is not too hard of a task for you! We still think you are the funniest when you start dancing. Anytime you hear the faintest of music, you break out your moves--even if you are in the middle of playing with something. It completely cracks us up! I also love when we are in the car and you start bobbing your head and raising your hands in the air. Yesterday, Wes King's very old "I Believe" came on and you were breaking it down in the car. I had tears because all I could think was how much I hope that song becomes truth for you.

You are the friendliest little thing, never meeting a stranger. It's crazy how many conversations can be started while we wait in line at the grocery store because you want to talk and smile to the ones behind us in line. Sometimes I wonder if it's just because people are attracted to babies or if it's really because you are cuter than most. :)

Today at the doctor, you weighed right at 24 pounds and you were 31 inches, which puts you in the 50th percentile. Developmentally, you are right on track! You wear 18 month clothes, size 4 diapers, and I'm pretty sure you are about to outgrow all your size 4 shoes.

Kendall Grace, we love you so much and look forward to watching you grow and grow!

Long, Random, Lots of Pictures

Last week was a busy one for us. Evan is finishing up Chick-Fil-A, AND working his new job, so he and I have barely said "Good Morning" and "Good Night" to each other. I have grades due this coming week, so I'm trying to get that all in order, while at the same time try to create some meaningful lessons that won't suck the life out of me! We ARE on the downhill slope of all this-6 more weeks-and I couldn't be more happy!

I try to be intentional about the time that Kendall and I have together in the evenings, since I don't get to be with her during the day. Some days, this is more easy than others! One night last week, I decided we would play dress up and got out a couple pairs of shoes and some old necklaces I don't wear anymore. Kendall had a fun time clanking around in my shoes and pulling the necklaces off and on. I didn't get any good pictures of her face, but I love this one below!

This picture was before church on Wednesday night. I think this outfit is super cute. It was a hand-me-down from my friend Carey's daughter, Karis. Kendall was so cute sporting it! I think it's hard to see in this picture, but it's white denim with a blue shirt underneath. Kendall also grabbed the blue bracelets on her own out of the closet. That's my girl--matching accessories already! :)

Thursday, while I was cooking dinner, I put Kendall in the high chair with a crayon and some paper. I made a mental note to keep a close eye on her, but I guess I got engrossed in whatever I was doing. When I finally remembered to turn around, she looked like a Smurf! She had eaten the crayon! Thank goodness Crayola is non-toxic!

Evan's mom made Kendall some PRECIOUS dresses and sent them to us last week. I tried the dresses on her when we got the box last Saturday, but failed to take pictures. I put the dresses on her again today to get some pictures, but Kendall was not cooperating very well. (She's got a runny nose and is getting in some teeth.) She even ran away from me at one point when she saw me with one of the dresses saying, "No, No." I think that meant she was not wanting to play dress-up in her own clothes! HA!

The one above is a cute little peasant style dress. It's really cute on her and will be great for the summer. The one below is a pillowcase dress with a purple gingham underneath, then a sheer fabric overlay. This picture is blurry, but it's a really cute little dress, too.

The last one is my favorite! It's a turquoise and brown halter dress with a flower pinned a the neck. I need to make a big brown bow to go with this one! SOOO adorable! Thank you, Nana, for all my pretty dresses! We LOVE them!

We finally spent Kendall's gift card and opted for a wagon. (Thanks for all your outside toy suggestions, by the way. I'm holding off on the swing set for a bit. My dad and I are discussing some different options of things we might make work--he's thinking he might be able to attach something to our garage to hang a swing and mount a slide. We'll see. He's pretty crafty like that, so I'm sure he'll come up with something fabulous.)

Funny thing--when we finally decided to get the wagon, Target ran them on sale the next week. We actually hadn't purchased the wagon yet, so when I saw the ad, I thought that was the perfect time to get it. I went to two different Target stores and ended up having to get a rain check.  When I went back two weeks ago, they were still out of stock, but FINALLY this week I got it! YAY!!!

Evan put it together this afternoon and Kendall was loving it, along with our neighbor's daughter, Erica. (She loves to come over and play with Kendall. I'm glad Kendall has someone to help keep herself entertained!) Evan pulled the girls up and down the street a couple of times and I followed behind them with the camera! I know we will have loads of fun with this little red wagon! I'm so glad we got it!

Last--I painted Kendall's toenails tonight. If you only knew how many memories I have of my mother (and sister) doing this for me...I look forward to the years of doing it for Kendall!

Won't she look sassy in her sandals???

Apple Pie, Anyone?

I mentioned on here before how I've really taken to cooking and baking since we've been in Louisville. For a couple of months now, I've had an apple pie on my list of things to bake. I've NEVER made a pie before, unless you count the ones I helped my grandmothers make when I was a little girl. We even received this really nice Pampered Chef pie plate as a wedding gift of which I sold in a garage sale right before we moved here because I don't think I ever took it out of the box!

So one day, I make my thoughts known to Evan about making a pie from scratch, crust and all, and say, "Since you like apple pie so much, I think I'll try that." Evan is very encouraging and says, "I think that's great, but maybe for your first one you should start out with some sort of pudding-based filling instead of apple." Thanks a lot for the confidence, honey. :)

I spent some time looking through cookbooks for recipes and even online, but I still wasn't sure what would be the best way to make the crust since I'd never done it before. So, I email my Mimi to ask her about making a crust. Her reply was, "I understand your desire to do something you've never done before, but Pillsbury makes a great refrigerated one that tastes just like homemade. Why waste the time?" Let me just add, that my Mimi and my Mammaw are the ones I've ALWAYS called for cooking advice, because they are the ones I measure good food against.) Needless to say, after Evan's comment AND Mimi's advice, I was more than determined to do this myself. :) (Mimi, I know you are reading this. I love you very much and still think you are one of the best cooks on the planet.) :)

I did some more asking around about crusts/pies, looking at recipes and finally my sweet friend Carolyn Muse laughed at my story, gave me some pointers, then brought two recipe books for me to check out.

Today, while Kendall was napping...I did it. I made an apple pie completely from scratch.

Mixing up the crust

crust rolled out and in pie pan (it's not very pretty, so don't click up close!)
8 cups of apples, peeled and sliced

Instead of a double crust, I went with a French crumble variation. Brown sugar, butter, and flour mixture on top. It got ALL over the cookie sheet, and I didn' t really think anything about it, until after about 10 minutes I smelled something burning. At that point, I took the pie out of the oven and transferred it to a clean cookie sheet. Much better. :)

Fresh out of the oven!

Finished product!

We put Kendall to bed and enjoyed an "at home" date of dessert and coffee! Evan said that the pie tasted great, especially for my very first one ever, and that I could make it anytime!

As far as the crust goes, I'm not going to say that I'll never buy Pillsbury, but I really didn't think making the crust was that much trouble, especially since I had all the ingredients in my cabinet. I thought peeling and cutting all those apples was the most time consuming.

Now, who wants to come over and finish it for me?!?!?!

Say Spaghetti!

She's looking a little like a ragamuffin here, but this video is waaayyyy too cute not to share.

A minute and 40 seconds of pure precious-ness from last night's dinner.

Enjoy!

Pivotal Moment

Today at lunch, I casually asked a co-worker of mine if he had a good Easter. He answered with, "Yeah, for a non-religious sort of person, it was a good day. You know, the food, candy, and family." My reply was, "So, Easter is all about the Easter bunny for you, huh?" He then goes on to say, "Yeah, you could say that. You know, I've just never been much on religion. How can we really say that one person's ways/and beliefs are right or wrong? I believe there's something out there, I'm just not going to say that there is only one way."

I'd like to tell you that I shared the gospel with him right then and there, but I didn't. I was so taken a-back with his statement (you know you're from the south when you think everyone believes in Jesus), that I sat there silently, then walked to the water fountain and filled my cup, knowing that I'd just missed an opportunity to share Christ. I was just thinking to myself, "What could I have said in the five minutes that I have left that will show him truth?"

I can't get this whole scenario off my mind. I've been praying, praying, praying that my eyes would be opened to lost people, and buddy, you can't get more open than that! In this moment, though, I realized that I'm not ready to share, because I spend too much time filling my life with other things, instead spending time with God.

If we REALLY believe that Easter changes everything, then why aren't we showing it??? People, Heaven is real place with no more tears and sadness, but there is another place that is just as real and it's called HELL. It's more than "lifestyle evangelism" and hoping people see it in our actions. We've got to have the words to back it up.

I'm praying for another opportunity to share with my friend. Don't know when or how, but I know that God can open those doors. Until then, maybe he will see a difference in me by the way I live my life, so when the door opens again, he can more easily accept truth.

In John 14 (great chapter, by the way), Jesus is talking to his disciples and in the course of their conversation says to them, "I am THE way and THE truth and THE life. No one comes to the Father EXCEPT through me."



Do you believe it????

Easter

Happy Resurrection Sunday! For Evan, I don't think a weekend could be any better--celebrating Easter and watching the Master's. :)

We've had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of our Savior! Evan and I attended the worship service the first hour this morning, helped out in children's SS and nursery the second hour, then had this family (Emily and I teach SS together. She's become a sweet, sweet friend to me and she and Ryan just welcomed PRECIOUS baby Perry into their lives three weeks ago!) and part of this family (Abby is a nurse and this was her weekend to work) over for lunch today. We were very excited to open up our home and have some fellowship!

Evan cooked a YUMMY beef brisket and I made sides of green bean bundles, loaded-overnight mashed potatoes, baked mac-n-cheese, rolls, and banana pudding for dessert. Emily made a yummy spinach dip and some sausage balls for us to munch on while all the sides were heating AND Abby sent a second dessert of Oreo brownies, so we were all pretty stuffed by the time it was all said and done!

After lunch, Kendall passed out Easter goodies for all the kids--books for baby Perry and a basket with a ball, sidewalk chalk, Peeps, and M&Ms for Christian. Kendall got some dress up things along with the same things Christian received. She's had a lot of fun already dressing up in her new hat and putting things in her purse--all of which I found in the dollar slot at Target. :)

Happy Easter, everyone! We often sing the Resurrection Hymn at church and I love the last line of the song that says, "And we are raised with Him, death is dead, love has one, Christ has conquered. And we shall reign with Him, For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead." Isn't that a glorious thing???!?!?!

Praying that you know HIM today! Easter changes everything!

one of those days-edited

**EDIT**
Thanks to everyone for your sweet words of encouragement. I appreciate every bit of it!

Like I said...God knows what we need and when we need it, more than we can ever imagine, because TODAY we heard a HUGE answer to prayer.

Last year, when I went back to work full time, I did it because we thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I still believe that going back was the right thing for me to do, because I think I would have always wondered what it would be like to teach and be a mommy, since I'd always just been a teacher. Well, I've learned a lot. The biggest thing that I've learned is that I cannot do both jobs well. If I do school the way it needs to be done, then home suffers (like I have to take a day off work just to get laundry finished!) and if I do home well, then school suffers. It's not fair to either place and I get worn out in the process.

Since probably January, Evan and I have been praying about the possibility of me being able to do something more part-time. We knew the only way we could do this was if Evan found a job that was more full time. In our minds, the whole scenario still just wasn't working. It just seemed like we were wanting too much--not having to take out loans to pay for school, me to be at home more, Evan a full time job--especially being that Evan's skill is not very marketable right now, with the economy in such turmoil. But all we knew to do was to lay out our requests to the Lord, delight ourselves in Him in the process, and see what happened. We knew that God would either work it all out for us, or change our hearts. One afternoon, Evan was looking for a used lawn mower on Craigslist, and decided to just click on the Louisville jobs to see what was out there in his area of expertise. No kidding...he found an ad for a job basically doing the exact same thing he had been doing for the last 7 years. Long story short, Evan went back for the second interview today and was offered the job.

We are beyond thrilled! He can get on here at some point and post more about it if he wants, but it's just one of things that we know without a shadow of a doubt is the right job. And not even just the job, but Evan is checking into the diploma program for people over 30 offered by Southern, that will possibly allow him to finish school faster and end up with his Master's in the process. AND we can apply for federal funding, which quite possibly could be our answer to not taking on massive debt for school. Praise the Lord!!!

As far as what I'm doing is concerned, we aren't really sure at this point. My principal and I have spoken about my desire to be part-time. He is very accommodating and willing to work with anyone for just about anything, so there is a great possibility that I could stay at my school in more of a part-time role. I'm definitely going to talk to him and see what he can offer, if anything. If it doesn't work out for me to stay at Conway, I'm sure that I will be able to find something that will meet our needs above and beyond.

Soooo...I say all that just to say that I think I'm going to make it until June 3!!! I will still appreciate your prayers in the meantime. We will certainly keep you posted!



Does everyone have one of "those" days occasionally? Well, I've had a lot of them lately. I mean A LOT. Without going into a lot of detail or being a real Negative Nancy, sometimes I really think I'm not going to survive until the end of the school year! I have honestly questioned everything in me and wondered if I'm really supposed to be a teacher, if I'm really any good at it, and then just get stuck because I don't know what I would do if I didn't teach. I know that teaching is what I was supposed to do this year. I am so glad that I went back to the classroom and have the experience of teaching in a very urban school, but IT IS SOOOO HARD!!!!! (Yes, I am screaming here!) I mean, I literally have the life sucked out of me every single day by 95 little darlings. Today, no lie...before 8:00 this morning, I had a student that I was trying to redirect/get with us in the classroom because she was completely off task look at me and say, "Why don't you just go ahead and do your thing, and I'll do my thing over here, okay?" And that's not even the half of it. I could fill up endless pages of the ridiculousness that I put up with on a daily basis.

Okay, so I said I wasn't going into a lot of detail, and I'm not, but if you are a praying person--I would be so thankful for your daily prayers for my attitude and heart over the next 37 days. Yes, that is how many we have left. 37. I will be eagerly counting to the end!

I think God just knows when we've really had enough and need our spirits lifted. When I got home, Kendall had a big box on the table from "Nana Ann" with a filled Easter Basket! Kendall racked up with two new swimsuits, bracelets, candy, a BEAUTIFUL Peter Rabbit pop-up book, and more! So sweet! What a joy to spend time this afternoon unwrapping a big box of goodies!

Kendall was most excited about the carton of Goldfish. After playing with the carton for a little while, she said "eat" so I put Kendall in the high chair for a snack. I tried to give her the already opened goldfish, but she would have none of that! She wanted that new box opened!

As I sit and write this post, I'm thinking about how encouragement comes just when I need it the most. I got just enough today, in so many different forms, this gift only being one. I'm so thankful. Maybe tomorrow will be better than today! :)

weekend wrap-up

Well, Spring Break has come and gone and I will be the first to admit that I've had the blues all day today. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my week at home and am counting the weeks until we are out for summer. Nine more to go....


Evan finished the cabinets (see below posts) and I am really pleased with the way they turned out. I'm excited about getting the new counter-top soon and am trying to decide what to do about the back splash. I've had fabric since Christmas for the dining room and kitchen windows, and have plans to get with my friend Carey about sewing, but we just haven't made it happen yet. Hopefully, we will get on that in the near future. :)


We didn't do much of anything else over spring break, just a lot of hanging out and running errands here and there. I did make some homemade spaghetti sauce to freeze and also managed to bake my Mammaw's recipe for icebox cookies. I had a plan to package the cookies up and surprise mail them to all my cousins and my sister, but apparently I can't bake them as well as my Mammaw could. Surprise. They just seemed really greasy and soggy. I've been eating on them, but I'm getting ready to ditch the rest.. Sorry Kara and cousins...I'll try to come up with something else.


Saturday was a very special day for me. One of my mom's best friends, Cherri, and her daughter-in-law, Vanessa, were in Louisville for the Women of Joy conference. Mrs. Cherri is one of those that is like a mother to me. Her two boys, Wes (Vanessa's hubby) and Eric, were about as close as brothers as I could have. Eric and I were the same age and were pretty close all our growing up years. He was actually my elementary school boyfriend, and I think somewhere I still have love notes that he passed to me when we were in the 4th or 5th grade. Isn't that funny?!?!?!

They came over around 1:00 on Saturday, and we went out gallivanting around Louisville. Vanessa read online about all the great consignment and antique stores on Frankfort Avenue, so we had pizza at Fat Jimmys then did some walking around, visiting different little shops. I love going flea-marketing and visiting out-of-the-ordinary stores, but with Kendall, that's a little hard to do sometimes. When Evan got off work, he graciously met up with us and took Kendall home for a nap and I got some child-free time! The weather on Saturday was absolutely gorgeous and couldn't have been more perfect for an afternoon outside! The special entertainment for the conference was Casting Crowns, and Mrs. Cherri just happened to have an extra ticket, so not only did I enjoy an afternoon out shopping with them, I got to go to the concert as well!

I'm not a huge concert junkie-there are only a select few on my list of people I would LOVE to see perform, but I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. Casting Crowns really has great music and such servant's hearts. I honestly felt like I was in a worship service more than just being an audience to a group. We did as much praying as singing! Cassie, I couldn't help but think of you with tears streaming my face as they sang "Praise You in the Storm." Such powerful, powerful words!

I think I've mentioned on here before that I help teach in a First Grade class at church. Well, yesterday was my turn to teach. As we sat down for the bible story, I told the kids that part of the story would be really familiar to them and I was sure they would be able to help me tell the story. I then say, "The story is found in John 11..." and before I could finish my next thought, one of the girls says, "It's the story of Lazarus!" Talk about hiding God's word in your heart!! Isn't that impressive!?!?!?!

One more thing...Tomorrow is my Mammaw and Pappaw's anniversary. They've been married 63 years. It's so odd to think that last year when I wished them Happy Anniversary, my Mammaw was sick and in the hospital, and my family was wondering if it would be their last anniversary celebrated with both of them alive. I would have never dreamed that my Mammaw would outlive my own mother. Just goes to show us again how uncertain life can be! Again, I will be celebrating for them tomorrow and the example they have been to me and so many others.

Okay, I've written enough to last a few days. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

she's a talker

Kendall has become quite the talker lately. We aren't sure where she gets it from......

We still hear a lot of jabber, but it seems as though the jabbering is becoming words more often than not. I am still amazed at her word association and what she understands. Today, we were reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and when I got to the goldfish, Kendall went running to the pantry, because she knows that goldfish means snack.

In the first video, "hummus" and "water" is what you will hear her saying. (Kendall loves to eat hummus and crackers.) The second video is of Kendall "reading" one of her favorite books. While re-watching this video, it also occurred to me at the end, you see her point/say shoes on the page with the man holding the bread. She is a girl after my own heart with her love for shoes. :)

I just can't get enough of her precious little voice! I've said this before, but it's so difficult to pick a favorite (or dreaded) phase of parenting thus far. Each stage has such great joys and challenges! I wouldn't trade it for the world!

design on a dime, smith style

Slowly but surely, our house is coming along.

Finishing the kitchen is really the last major project to complete other than possibly remodeling the basement. The kitchen has sort of been on the back burner though because 1) I knew what a major project it would be; and 2) a new counter top and sink aren't cheap. Anyway, I started removing and sanding the doors from the upper kitchen cabinets about a month or so ago. I couldn't start on the bottom cabinets because without doors it would be impossible to keep Kendall out of everything. So, while Kendall and Leah were gone to Nashville this weekend I decided to go ahead and try to get this project knocked out.

Here's the process I followed for anyone else who wants to attempt this:

1. Remove doors and remove all hardware.
2. Clean everything with TSP solution to remove all grease/wax buildup.
3. Sand everything to dull the laquer finish so primer will stick. (This is where I wasted a lot of time and sweat. I took me a long time to figure out what "dulling the finish" looked like, so I ended up sanding most of the doors and part of the frame down the wood. If you do this, it doesn't hurt anything, just wastes a lot of time and engery.)
4. First coat of primer on everything.
5. Lightly sand everything.
6. Second coat of primer on everything.
7. Lightly sand
8. First coat of paint on everything.
9. Lightly sand
10. Second coat of paint.
11. Clean all hardware to remove built-up grime and grease. (I soaked all of it in an acidic mixture of vinegar and lemon juice, the soaked overnight in TSP solution, then leah and I scrubbed every handle and hinge with a toothbrush to get them clean.)
13. Primer hardware (Spray Krylon)
14. Spraypaint hardware (Krylon Satin Nickle then Krylon Clear Satin)
15. Re-attach hardware to doors/frames
16. Re-hang doors

I finished re-hanging all of the doors at around 11:30 last night. I don't know how much time I put in sanding doors before this weekend, but since Saturday I have put in about 45-50 hours on this project. On the bright side though, I've only got about $55 in them and Leah says she really likes them.

Next on the agenda is a new countertop and sink. Hopefully, we are hoping to install these in the next few weeks. We'll keep you posted.