The Birthday Girl

Yes, I know her birthday was last week, but when it's your baby you enjoy celebrating all week long. Friday began with birthday gifts for the sleepy girl seen in this first picture. Then onto a fun lunch with grandma at our favorite place; Nordstrom's cafe. It's the ultimate in a girly luncheon. The birthday girls favorites here are Blue Cheese, Pear and Walnut salad, She-Crab soup, and iced tea. We always split one of their enormous chocolate dipped macaroons topped off with a cup of tea or coffee. One of these split three ways is enough sweet stuff to last all week.

Then of course there were other celebrations including the men in our lives; Dad, Grandpa, and brother Blake, but those pics. are on grandma's camera. Next weekend she'll celebrate with her friends by spending the evening in Annapolis.

This last picture is from last night right before our cotton-pickin', birthday girl headed out the door for an evening of fun with friends which included "watching the stupidist horror movie ever," eating pumpkin pie, and just hangin' out. Oh, and they did trick or treat one of their friends homes just for kicks.


I'll close out this post with the good-night blessing we say to her every night. It's from Numbers 6:23b-26 when God gave Moses instructions to give to Aaron and his sons regarding blessing the people of Israel:
....you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

We never say the word "peace" but instead replace it with giving one another the universal peace sign.

Eighteen years ago today.....

I was holding my baby girl who was just a few hours old. I was still marveling at the thought of having a girl, convinced God had made me a boy mommy since I'd been enjoying seven years of mothering sticks and snails and puppy-dog tails. Now I had some sugar and spice and everything nice. Our family welcomed her into our arms and she's been a blessing in many ways. Happy birthday to my favorite daugther!

Bloggie Giveaway

http://muckbootsnaprons.blogspot.com/2008/10/bloggy-giveaways.html

Here's a fun blog to read, and if you love homemade soaps and lotion bars you just might win one in her giveaway. Hurry she'll draw a name on October 30th.

Playlist

My friend Renna mentioned she liked my playlist and was planning on keeping it open to enjoy. I do this same thing throughout the day, and have some favorites.

Here's one of my favorites: Nature Notes from Above I love listening to the sounds of nature while looking through all the creative ways to share nature study with your kids, or just while I'm reading through my e-mails. I no longer have young kids, but when I was homeschooling we did lots of field studies, and schooled outside whenever we could.

I still keep a nature notebook and enjoy sketching, and making notes of birds, trees and flowers. This blog's playlist is inspiring.

Share some of your favorite playlist sites.

Edit: I just had both Nature Notes from Above and my playlists going at the same time, and it was pleasant, an outdoor concert if you will. Louis Armstrong with bird sounds in the background was interesting.

Beauty

This past Friday night several hundred women gathered at my church to listen to Carolyn Mahaney give us some biblical tips on beauty. If you'd like to listen to the message, check it out here: Beauty.

Carolyn is the wife of our former senior pastor, C.J. Mahaney. C.J. is now leading Soverign Grace Ministries in supporting and planting local churches. Four years ago he handed over the reigns to Josh Harris. Our family has benefited from his teaching and leadership, and are grateful to be in this church.

I recommend Carolyn's books some of which were co-written with her married daughters. If you have a daughter I'd recommend this one:
Girl Talk. Read it first to yourself and then along with your daughter aged pre-teen through young adult. I recommend you read it first, so you can judge what's appropriate or helpful for your mother/daugther relationship.

Many free resources of downloads, PDFs and MP3s from Carolyn's talks directed toward womanhood are here: Womanhood resources.

Things in my House Thursday

A homeschooling friend of mine has three kids who raise chickens and sell their eggs. The chickens are providing beautiful nutrition and eye candy for my family. I'm amazed each week when I open the carton to see the gorgeous colors and shapes. What a creative God we serve!
By the way, the pencil marks on the egg in the lower right hand corner is the date the egg was laid; Laura's kids mark each one.

If you'd like to see what others are sharing from their homes on Thursdays, go check out this blog at MommySweetMom

Flowers for the Fallen

This floral arrangement was made today in the shop where I work to be sent to the family of Victor. Victor served our nation in two tours in Iraq, came home two weeks ago and was struck by a car and killed. Please pray for his family and all those who knew and loved him.