Oh, Hi!

It's a bit chilly up here!

"I got this!"

Sara and her cross country teammates (Sara is on the left).
Maryn: "I am busy, MOM!"
Here she is with her new purse, which looks a lot like my
Vera Bradley purse except it's a dog shape. Maryn knew
just what to do with it and slung it over her shoulder. She became
very busy the moment my mom gave it to her in the toy store,
and was rushing around so much I couldn't get a good photo.
I guess maybe I rush around a little too much, I realized as I watched
my mini-me bustle around without a single moment to stop and rest.



"Seriously, I have to get this stuff fast, Mom. Stop messing around!"

I admit I haven't been very good at taking pictures while here in Ohio because all of this is so familiar to me. I know that some of my Florida friends are especially intrigued by Amish...things...and fall and cold weather and all that. So here are a few pictures. But I didn't get any at The Barn or the Oak Cupboard, two of my favorite things in Smithville (What am I saying? Those are the ONLY things in Smithville!).

The Oak Cupboard is a little country store within walking distance of my grandma's old house (Mary Louise was her name, Maryn's namesake). When I was a little girl, we used to walk there to get some of their homemade ice cream. I think it's homemade. I really have no idea. But the place smells like no other place. I think it smells like maple candy or something. And they sell homemade cheese there. There are a million homemade cheese stores around here. I don't know how many people in Wayne/Holmes County really buy homemade cheese, but somehow these places stay in business. Probably from all the tourists. I never understood why tourists visited here until I spent five years in stucco palm tree land. Now I get it.

ANYWAY...The Oak Cupboard is the place to go for candy making, and I am going to make some chocolates for Maryn's birthday party.

The Barn is a restaurant that used to be a barn. Well, it still is a barn I guess but it's been cleaned up a bit. No animals inside, no poop or hay. And there's a little wooden playground and a gazebo and a gazebo swing thing and geese and a lake...it's all very beautiful. But it's one of those things I never appreciated when I lived here. Near the Barn and the Oak Cupboard is a store called Toyrifix, where I used to go to add to my rubber stamp collection. And I took a few little rubber stamping classes there.

Oh, AND the Barn is owned by the Dravenstott's, who my mom used to work for, and I used to go to their house and I went to church camp and VBS with their daughter. They were the nice Christian family that reached out to us, the single mom with the little girl who wore rollerskates in their restaurant after hours.

And now why did I tell you all that? Just to show that my life was very different up here. That leaving this small northern town for Naples, Florida was huge, though I didn't realize it till now. I think something in many of us wants our own children to grow up with some of the same experiences we had as children. So watching Maryn toddle around in a hoodie trying to eat leaves is meaningful to me, as weird as that may sound to some. :)

Happy Birthday, Sweet Maryn

You nestle close as you fall into dreams
With a sigh of relief and warmth, knowing
You are safe.
I hear you babbling early in the morning,
Waiting for Mommy to come.
Knowing Mommy will come.
I like your smile,
I love when it’s for me.
We pass busy people,
Rush, rush, rush.
I peek at you in the stroller
And wonder.
I wonder if you will play patty-cake with me today,
If you’ll write me poetry when you’re twelve,
If you’ll cry when Daddy gives you away.
We pass store windows,
Money, money, money.
I peek at you in the stroller
And wonder.
I wonder what vegetable you’ll prefer tonight,
What sports you’ll choose in high school,
And what did I do to deserve such a precious baby girl?
I wonder why God chose me to be your Mommy.
I thank Him that He did.
I thank Him that you are ours and we are yours.
That life is different, and you are you
And God is so full of many, many awesome wonders.

Friday Funnies

I can never remember to post these on Friday, so here you go. A Friday Funny on Wednesday night. It was too funny to wait.

The Crazy Lion Facelift

Tigers and Tigers and Tigers, Oh My!

Happenings from Yesterday
Sorry for this huge, long, exhausting and boring post.
I have a lot of updates.

Maryn has learned how to copy and imitate us.
It's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever witnessed in my entire life.
We've been doing these hand rhymes from a book Grandma Donna got for us
(Hand Rhymes by Marc Brown) and Maryn does the cute little motions.
It's so precious. Her favorite hand rhyme is about a jack-o-lantern.

Maryn has also finally learned how to color.
Well, she gets more crayon on the paper than in her mouth, anyway.
This is a picture she did ALL by herself for Daddy--a picture of
another princess taking care of her daddy,
just like Maryn will someday when John is old. :)

We built a tent yesterday and Maryn was so excited.
She put all her favorite stuffed animals in it.
Her favorite stuffed animals are all tiger striped.
She is obsessed with tigers. Her big tiger (Mr. Tiger), Tigger, and her Tiger fish
from Uncle Mark--those are her favorites.
So, with Maryn's birthday coming on Saturday, if you wanted to get her a present
(not that she needs anything at all!), you just can't go wrong with tigers.

In fact, we have several animal books and have been doing lots of animal sounds. At one point, Maryn was quacking like a duck, howling like a wolf, and barking like a dog. But now for every animal she growls. All she wants to do is growl, growl, growl.

Today

We had a great family morning! I've decided to start getting up at 6:15 since babysitting will start for me next week. John and I had some nice morning time (with coffee, Bibles, and Greek, oh my!) and Maryn woke up at her usual 7:45.

John doesn't work at Target on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so those are the only days Maryn and I can go anywhere in the car. So today and last week, the three of us left the house at 8:45. Maryn and I go to the pool and John goes to chapel. But he does visit us in the pool for a little bit.

I always want to check out the book store afterward, and even the book store is closed during chapel. So instead, Maryn and I go play on the seminary lawn. Today I got her to climb a little but steep hill two times. It was so cute, since she has rarely experienced hills.

She fell asleep in the car on the way home. Swimming wears her out.

I wish I had pictures for you all! Maryn wore a new swimsuit that her auntie Alicia got for her before she was even born. It finally fits. It's ADORABLE. I will post pictures next time. Our camera needs charged. Sorry :)

Happy Birthday, Blog!

My blog will be SEVEN YEARS OLD on the 25th. I am posting this now so as not to steal from Maryn's first birthday.

We have been through a lot, dear old blog. Boyfriends, breakups, college, graduation, my first real job, dating and marrying my love, pregnancy, my first baby, Maryn's milestones so far, times of plenty and times of need, and much, much more.

Maryn's First Happy Meal

Here she is WALKING with her first Happy Meal.
I think we created a monster!

Well, the story goes like this. We were really pressed for time last night.
So we pretty much had to go out for dinner, and though we had
some great Hometown Buffet coupons (which would have been
cheaper than eating at McDonald's), the closest Hometown Buffet
was about 25 minutes away. So we went to Mickey D's instead.

Maryn ate a cheeseburger, which we took off the bun and cut up for her.
She ate a little bit of the bread, and she ate about half of her french fries.
And of course, we didn't give her soda! She drank her water.

They also put cookies in the Happy Meal, so she had some of those.

The big surprise was her Barbie jewelry box with a ring inside.
Her eyes lit up when she saw it. It was precious. I kind of wish
I would have asked for the boy toy though, which was a Hot Wheels car.
She really likes cars. But she likes boxes with trinkets inside, too.

I had two full Cokes and couldn't fall asleep last night.

Maryn was dying of thirst after her McDonald's trip. I believe she's not used to

any sodium at all. So if we do McDonald's again, we probably won't give her fries.
I mean, it was a bad idea anyway--but we were desperate for food! Usually
we have some backup baby food veggies or something, but today's grocery day and our cupboards are bare. So McDonald's it was. :)

Maryn's first birthday is next Saturday! Can you believe it?

I had my Seminary Wives Institute class last night and it was such a blessing.
I am so grateful to be at a seminary where I can learn and grow along with my
husband. Most seminaries don't have anything like SWI. It's great to get out for
a while and come home to my find my hubby and baby girl spending quality time
together, too! What a great family I have. :)

New Toys!

This is Maryn's old swing, turned into a rocking chair. I had almost forgotten about it also being a rocking chair since it was stored for so long. I came across it as I was doing the last of our unpacking today, and knew Maryn would love it. She sat and stood in it while I swept and mopped the entire house. No ADHD here!

life and seminary

I had a decidedly introverted day today. We have three neighbor kids who are extremely extroverted and EVERY time I walk out our door I am bombarded with at least 6 questions. They are sweet, sweet kids and I love them. But you know. For real. Every time I walk out the door?

Today I was taking laundry down for example. It was so hot and I was in a hurry. The Little Guy downstairs asked,

LG: "Where are you going?"
A: I'm going to go do laundry.
LG: Are you going to do it in the office?
A: Yep.
LG: Are those the baby's clothes?
A: Some of them. All our clothes are mixed up.
LG: What's that one there with the pink bow?
A: Um....I don't know. I think that's Maryn's dress.
LG: Is Maryn going with you?
A: Yes.
LG: Can I see her?
A: She's upstairs.
LG: Can I see her when she comes back down?
A: Yeah, of course you can.
LG: You have a lot of laundry (looking closely at our laundry baskets)!
A: Yes, we do (I quickly glance down to make sure none of our underwear is sticking out).
--2 minutes pass--
LG: Is she hungry?
A: I don't think so.
LG: Is she wearing a dress?
A: Yes, this is a dress.
LG: Do you always put a dress on her?
A: No. She has pants and shorts, too. Okay. We're all strapped in and ready to go. See you later!

So yeah. Sometimes I just don't feel like being in a college dorm type of situation again. And other times I do. It's a hard thing, when you are an introverted type, to balance between locking yourself up and being depressed or putting yourself out there and getting bogged down in too many things.

In college though I had Kari and Kendra and Lindsay and Veronica and Crystal...and here I have the Muslim family, with the boy I just started "tutoring," and the Sudanese neighbors whose apartment always smells like good things to eat. And the sweet seminary family next door, with the winsome, cheerful, friendly and beautiful mom who makes homemade bread just about every other day. Oy. It's an experience. To say the least.

In other news, I'm feeling like I should get a job. Like a real job. But we only have one car. I really, really hope something--something---anything---happens soon. I need kids to babysit or John needs a much better job.

Maryn. In Maryn news, she fell straight back off the couch today and smacked the back of her head right on the wood floor. It was the most awful sound I have ever heard. I was horrified. Maryn cried for two minutes and was FINE. I was trembling for a good 20 minutes. Shortly after, she was doing her headbanging thing that she likes to do, and busted her lip right open. My goodness!

She is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I just love her. She "helped" fold laundry today for an hour. She LOVES to "fold laundry." It is so precious. I tried to take a picture of her doing it but she DOES NOT stay still while "folding laundry." She is busy, busy, busy and won't give me a second. I hope she's not mimicking me :)

Family Fun Night and New Discoveries

Family Fun Night was last night on the lawn at the seminary. If you are a Muskie Alum, it was so much like Muskiepalooza. They had about 6 blow up things, including an obstacle course, a jousting pit, a mechanical bull, a slide, and some other things. They had a carousel for the littles, and a few other carnival type rides. They had stands set up with FREE food, just like they always had at Muskiepalooza. AND I had an ice cold can of Coca Cola that was NOT off brand. Hallelujah!

John and I stuffed ourselves with all the food we could handle. When dinner was over, the president of Boyce College (that's the undergrad school here) told us to take what was left. All the seminary students were stuffing their kids' diaper bags with cheeseburgers (everyone has a baby here, it seems...and all seminary students are pretty much poor!).

Here's Maryn on her second ever carousel ride! She loved it.
She was smiling, but it's so difficult to get pictures on carousels.

Here's something to try with a baby! Take a thin strip of wax paper
and wrap his/her favorite treat up in little sections, twisting between
each piece or gathering a few in each section like I did here with Cheerios.
It's a good snack that can keep them busy a while.

Where are the rest of those Cheerios?

Maryn's first Play Doh experience was the other day.
She did all right at first, but right after I took this picture
she took a huge bite out of that ball of Play Doh you see there,
just as if it were an apple. She liked the taste so much,
we had to put the Play Doh away. I guess we'll be making
some of our own edible Play Doh soon!

Friday Funnies

Maryn, while we were praying before dinner last night, with our heads down and eyes closed, shouted, "Hey! Heyyyyy!!!"

The Breakdown of Baby Snacks

I have been writing this post in my head for the last couple days. I am going to try to find some coupon deals and sales, too. Please comment and let everyone here know what you think of these snacks or suggest others.

We haven't tried a lot of the Gerber snacks because they're a little pricey and Maryn is really happy with graham crackers and Cheerios right now. But if you've tried some of the Gerber Graduates stuff (yogurt melts, those fruit roll up things) please let me know what you thought of them! That way I know if they'll be worth the money or not. Cuz as you will see here, some of these snacks really aren't worth it. I hope this post might save some people some money and from some messes....

Graham Crackers *****5 Mommy Stars***** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness Factor: These are super easy to travel with, keep a baby busy for a while, and the crumbs can’t really hurt anyone. They don’t usually make a mushy mess like some baby snacks. They can be easily broken in a diaper bag but not so much that it’ll ruin your day…plus, if any crackers get absolutely crushed, at least they were cheap.

Cost: CHEAP! Loving it! These often go BOGO at Publix (don’t know about Kroger yet), and Kroger has a super cheap version, so stock up on coupons if you can and go at it.

American Cheese or Shredded Cheese ***3 Mommy Stars*** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness Factor: Obviously, cheese just isn’t something I would take on a trip. Anywhere. This is the only reason I’m giving it three stars. And it can be a little pricey.

Cost: Eh. When you’re child is a human garbage disposal like mine, it can be costly.

I like cheese because Maryn loves it and it keeps her busy while I finish making the pizza or whatever else I’m making with shredded cheese. Most stores have a store brand that is significantly cheaper than Kraft, even with coupons. Plus it’s a good snack all kids of all ages love (including me).

Cheerios *****5 Mommy Stars***** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness Factor: What mess? These are my life saver lately. And I’m pretty sure this is how the nursery workers at church entertain Maryn. High chair + Cheerios=Happy Baby

Cost: Awesome. Especially with coupons and sales. These things are always on sale and a box lasts forever.

These are healthier than a lot of other snacks, and can keep a kid busy for a while. They take longer to chew or dissolve than “Puffs” and are basically the best thing ever invented.

Gerber Graduates Puffs ****4 Mommy Stars**** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness: Puffs were a lifesaver for me on car and plane trips before Maryn was able to eat Cheerios, but now that she’s almost one, they just melt so quickly in her mouth that she can’t shove them in her mouth fast enough. They don’t make a big mess in the car. We always kept a container of Puffs in the car, in her diaper bag, in the house…everywhere! But now she and I both love Cheerios more.

Cost: Yikes. Target has an off brand and you may be better off trying some puffed cereal. Check your organic cereal section for a puffed rice type of thing. It’ll still be cheaper than buying Puffs, and is probably healthier. Target also has coupons for Puffs all the time, as well as the Publix Baby Club (make sure you join the Publix baby club if you live anywhere near a Publix. You can join online and it’s free. If you’re adopting/have adopted, too!).

Beech Nut Let’s Grow Yogurt Nibbles ***3 Mommy Stars*** JJJ3 Maryn SmilesJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness: These are about as easy as Cheerios or Puffs but the packages are small and expensive, so as I feed these things to Maryn I constantly think about how much they cost. Not something I want to worry about on trips.

Cost: Yikes again. But these OFTEN go on sale in stores and we ALWAYS find BOGO coupons. So it does work out to be a pretty sweet deal (we paid about $2.00 for 2 bags last week). This was our first time buying them, and I don’t think we’ll be shelling out even $2 for them because Maryn liked them, but she’d pretty much rather have anything else. They are worth a shot to change things up a bit, I think.

Beech Nut Let’s Grow Cookies Banana Flavor *1 Mommy Star* J1 Maryn SmilesJ

Travel Ease and Messiness: Ugh. These make a huge mess. They turn to mush in babies’ mouths, and the mush gets all over their hands and all over everything else. Clothes, carpet, walls…everything gets mushy. Unless you enjoy throwing your car seat cover in the washer, do not travel with these things.

Cost: Yikes. But these are the same type of deal as the Yogurt Nibbles—always on sale, always have BOGO coupons.

Maryn doesn’t like these at all. Today she threw them on the floor in protest and ate peas instead. I suppose they were made to be sucked on, but Maryn wants to bite, so she bites it and ends up with this huge cookie in her mouth. They are really thick! I do not recommend these.

Hot Kid Baby Mum Mum Rice Rusks****4 Mommy Stars**** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

These are amazing, right up there with Cheerios. The only reason I gave them four stars is because they are very expensive and the packages don’t come with many in them…and the packaging is really strange…and they get crushed easily. Also, they dissolve pretty quickly in babies’ mouths, so they go too quickly for Maryn now at 12 months. Graham crackers are a better option for her right now. One thing I liked is that they’re rice rusks and not too filling. So she could eat four of them and not ruin her lunch when our flight got canceled and I had to stand in line for an hour. But anyway…

Traveling Ease and Messiness: These were a huge lifesaver, and a must for all moms traveling far with a baby over 6 months. Mum Mums take a 6-8 month old a while to eat, and they love them, and they make virtually zero mess. The only problem is that they crush and can be completely destroyed quite easily, so if they’re in a diaper bag or carry on, I suggest storing them in a plastic container.

Cost: Whew! Pricey! Never on sale and never a coupon, that I can find. And they’re usually only in stores like Whole Foods or stores with really good organic sections. So while they’re great for travel, if your baby drops one on the airport floor, YOU WILL pick it up and give it right back to her! Not that I speak from experience or anything…

Missionaries, Our Country, The Lost, and Unreached People Groups

In our SWI class, Mary Mohler shared with us her prayer routine. Of course she said that we all have to do what works for us, but I really liked her suggestions. First, get a three subject notebook. A cheap one! In the first section, write your Bible study/quiet time notes and reflections. In the second section, make a list of prayer requests. Just start with number one and number them all through the whole section. Cross prayers off as they are answered. This section should be for those people we tell, so casually sometimes, "I'll pray for you!" It should be all the urgent prayer requests about illnesses, injuries, etc. Mary said she was in the 8,000's in her list. I'm already on #30. In the third section do the same thing but with praise reports.

On the back panel of the notebook write out the days of the week and pray for a different thing each day. For example: Sundays could be prayer for your church, missionaries you know, ministries you're involved with or that have been put on your heart. Monday could be prayers for your extended family. Tuesday could be prayers for your immediate family (of course, you should pray for your immediate family every day, but it's good to have a time of real, concentrated prayer, too). Anyway, you get the picture. Today, for me, is the day I pray for missionaries, our country, the lost in general, and unreached people groups.

And what do you know, the Big Life newsletter came to me this morning. Check out this excerpt from John Piper.

Before we can begin to discuss the subject of prayer, we first must recognize that we are engaged in a war.

John Piper writes... "Most people show by their priorities and their casual approach to spiritual things that they believe we are in peacetime, not wartime.

In wartime, the newspapers carry headlines about how the troops are doing. In wartime, families talk about the sons and daughters on the front lines, and write to them, and pray for them with heart-wrenching concern for their safety. In wartime, we are on the alert. We are armed. We are vigilant. In wartime, we spend money differently - there is austerity, not for its own sake, but because there are more strategic ways to spend money than on new tires at home. The war effort touches everybody. We all cut back. The luxury liner becomes the troop carrier.

Very few people think that we are now in a war greater than World War II, and greater than any imaginable nuclear World War III. Or that Satan is a much worse enemy than Communism or militant Islam. Or that the conflict is not restricted to any one global theater, but is in every town and city in the world. Or that the casualties do not merely lose an arm or an eye or an earthly life, but lose everything, even their own soul and enter a hell of everlasting torment (Revelation 14:9-11).

Until people believe this, they will not pray as they ought. They will not even know what prayer is.

In Ephesians 6:17-18 Paul-makes the connection for us:
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, with all prayer and supplication, Praying on every occasion in the Spirit, and keeping awake for this with all perseverance.

Prayer is the communication by which the weapons of warfare are deployed according to the will of God. Prayer is for war."