parting is such sweet sorrow

we said goodbye to an old friend recently...

since we found the book paci's are not forever at the library many months ago, bill launched a secret campaign to "put the paci in the trashy." and it finally came to fruition. lulu loved her paci. and mommy loved anything that helped lulu have a happy nappy. but bill loves anything that helps lower our orthodontic bills.

so the time had come to say goodbye. there were some tears shed. and some thrown off schedules. and some strategic moves by the two year to find a lost lost paci somewhere under the bed. it was a rough couple of weeks, but we said our goodbyes and are now living a paci-free existence. what a big three year old we have!

Lulu's Tutu Party

I am not a person who does a lot of things well. I don't sound remotely like Adele when I sing. I used to be a decent dancer back in the day, but now I have a little too much booty in my booty-shakin'. I am too impatient to DIY. I am too lazy to bake. I play no instruments. And I for sure can't do math. Before you feel like you have to comment to help my wounded ego, let me say that this is not a pity party. Because there is one thing that I do pretty well and that is PARTY.

I love to celebrate. Occasions. Rites of passage. Different kinds of cheese. And especially people. I know I am not the most elaborate party-thrower in the world. That would take too much money, too much time and too much effort for me. But I LOVE to find the happy in life and crank up the volume.

So that's what we did for our Three Year Old Wonder. Not being opposed to excess, we had a family party on her birthday and also a party for her besties. The family party was "All Tangled. All the time." You will hear more about Lulu's obsession with the movie Tangled at another time. But we had fun letting our girl soak in the magic of being born...

The fun of getting presents...

The joy of being with the ones you love...

And the sheer delight of having "Happy Birthday to Lu" sung to you all day long...

But, wait, there's more! We also had a party for her besties...

Lulu's Tutu party was a super fun theme to play with...

(found on etsy)

My oh-so creative sister Georgie gave me the idea to put cotton candy on the little cupcakes to look like tutu's which looked adorable. Except it was the only thing I had done early, so by the time of the party, they were a little crusty. But try it, you'll like it. She also gave me the idea from pinterest for the art project...

They were supposed to make tutu's, but that project didn't quite get finished. Timing is just not my thing. Oh well, wedding veil headbands are fun too...

I envisioned it looking like this...

Source: pisforparty.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

But instead it looked like this...

(the wilted cotton candy cupcakes are above)

(No, I absolutely did not make those cupcakes myself)

But I loved it. And more importantly, Lulu loved it. It wasn't Pinterest-worthy nor was it perfectly executed, but it was a perfect celebration of life. Of this precious little life...

Happy Birthday, Lulu! You are tu-tu precious!

chalkboard valentine's

just like this post, valentine's day was rather anti-climactic. emmie went to a skating party at school with another family. jack had basketball practice. i planned the games for the kids parties at school, but i am losing my edge. they were just okay. it was better than doing math though, right?

i made a dinner that sounded good on the menu:

gouda stuffed chicken

asparagus

cheesy potatoes

salad

chocolate covered strawberries

but it tasted pretty mediocre. except the chocolate covered strawberries. they are always a hit.

then i fell asleep at 9pm while putting jack to bed. with my clothes on and contacts in, no less. low on the romance chart, but high on the real life chart. i didn't have a lot of energy for gifts and cards, so my valentine's were on our chalkboard placemats this year...

someone made one for mommy too...

the valentine's are long gone now just like valentine's day, but love can't be erased...

i love love.

this is how i first knew about love...

along with these dear ones...

they pointed me to Love...

Who led me to true love...

out of which came lovelies...

happy valentine's day.

i can't spell.

her name is luci. l-u-c-i. we spelled it "wrong". i think because we liked the way it looked with her middle name (may) and i wanted her to be able to make a heart to dot the "i" in her name when she was in middle school. but it has it's challenges. such as:

• no cups or little flashlights with her name on it
• having to constantly spell her name as soon as i say it
• her own mother misspelling her name on the last line of her birthday post.

learn from me, people. just spell your kids' names the normal way. or give them a nickname that's ridiculously easy to spell...

this blessed day.

it's happened four times. four times a child has been born into this world. four times a child has been placed into my arms. three times that has happened in a hospital, and once in an orphanage. regardless of who physically placed that child in my arms, i knew that he or she was being placed there by God. and four times i have been overwhelmed with gratitude and wonder. each moment uniquely different and yet each moment foundationally the same..."you belong with me".

lulu was 51/2 months when placed in my arms while the others were minutes (or hours) old.the events of her birth and being placed in our arms happened on two different blessed days. today we celebrate the first of those days. the blessed day of her birth. the day we missed, but her first mommy did not. and her Father was there then just as He is now.

and now we have a 3 year old in the house...

she is sweet...

she is sassy...

but the best way to describe this 3 year old is with the 5 love languages of lulu:

PHYSICAL AFFECTION: every day i am showered with kisses, hugs, caresses on the cheek, pats on the back, and gentle strokes of my hair.

TIME: lulu can play just fine on her own, but she prefers to play alongside someone. anytime i am leaving to go somewhere i know i will get the question "and me? i go with you?"

ACTS OF SERVICE: if we ask one of the older kids to do something often you hear a little voice say "i can do it." sometimes she will just run and do it before we even realize it. this little thing has a heart to serve others.

GIFTS: she likes them, that's for sure. she is grateful for even the smallest of gifts. for example, we just sang "happy birthday" to her with her cinnamon roll at breakfast and she said to each one of us at least once, "thank you for singing happy birthday to me." she also gives gifts. her very existence is a gift. and her joy infects every environment she is in like a gift. just like her given name meaning "blessings".

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: every day, i will hear spontaneous expressions of love such as

"mom, you are amazing."

"i love you SO bad."

"you're so cute."

and "you're a good mommy!"

(to be fair, i have to say that when she receives an answer she doesn't like, i also hear "you're a bad mommy". she definitely says what she feels.) her EQ (emotional quotient) seems exceptionally high. for example, when we were in the grocery store she asked about my dad, granddaddy. i told her "well, granddaddy died." to which she responded so tenderly, "Ohh, i am so sorry." she ministered to me in that moment with her compassionate words. and she does that in so many other moments each and every day.

lulu IS a love language. and we are so glad for the blessings of her presence in this world and in our family. happy birthday, lucy may rediet kollar!

'stache-ing through the snow...

we went from nebraska to narnia overnight...

all the snow made for a very fun weekend.

and gave us grateful hearts to have a warm house

and hot chocolate in weather such as this...