The Hibb Crib

Officially Retiring this Blog

2010-11-12T18:51:00.001-08:00

Well, No guilt attached, I'm officially retiring this blog. I can't get excited about posting these days and I'm secretly afraid "Blogger" will cancel this thing and I'll have wasted time and energy, losing my precious memories to cyberspace. Call it paranoia.

Anyway, thanks for my few faithful followers. Maybe in a few years I'll try this blog thing again.

Love from Jessica

2010-09-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Pic 1: My little purple "welcome home"! It sits right inside my front door!
Pic 2: Bless This Home plates made with letter transfers and a couple of white plates from Goodwill. Total Cost: $5.00
Pic 3: A fall version of my "H" wreath hanging on the front door. I stole the twine idea from my girlfriend, Monica.
Pic 4 and 5: Blair and London on Blair's first day of preschool

A few new pics!

2010-09-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

Just a few pics to keep this blog updated!

OMGosh...I'm a horrible blogger

2010-09-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been nearly 3 months since I last posted. Not good. Especially not good when I left my last post with a cliffhanger, claiming to make a spiritual connection with my early summer reading obsession, Twilight. Well, fast forward to fall and I can't for the life of me remember the spiritual significance I drew from the series.

Such is life of Jessica Hibbing. Great ideas. Horrible Follow-thru!

So, let's move forward from here, forget about Twilight (until November 2011 when Breaking Dawn debuts!), and give a brief synoposis of our Summer 2010!

Traveled a good amount:
-Went to the Omaha Zoo with my mom and the girls!
-Had a great time in Kansas City with just my mom on a girls mini-vacation. Love that city!
-Took a 5 year anniversary trip with my hubby to Minneapolis, Minnesota! Go Twins! Ikea!
-Multiple trips to the Quad Cities to see my mom and Decorah, IA to see Tim's family

Growing Girls:
-Enrolled Blair in preschool! Woah...she's getting so big. So far, she LOVES it!
-London's hair grew long enough to ponytail!
-Bought clothes for the girls to share. Can't believe their nearly the same size
-Blair learned to write her first and last name without help

The House:
-Finished a number of fun craft projects, including a purple vanity inside my front door... (what?!) I post them all later.
-Tim bought me my deeply desired cowhide rug! Yes!!!
-Bought a new washer and dryer. High efficiency, front load, Samsung. Enuf said.
-Mulched our kiddos swingset and added a sandbox. Yes, I love hearing the crackle of my vacuum as I suck up gazillions of sand granules in my carpet.

Us:
-Made a baby! Yep, I'm officially 19 weeks along now and awaiting our favorite milestone...the ultrasound...in less than a week and a half! In fact, we get to find out on Tim's birthday.
-Enjoying marriage more today then the day we wed!
-Embarked on a completely new adventure of international ministry. Realistically, that looks like feeding 5 chinese boys and driving them to places like Goodwill and the grocery store once a week!

That kinda sums it up. There has been many laughs this summer, with the growing 3 year old logic of our first born, as well as the the new "words" verbalized by my nearly 2 year old!

No promises, but I do hope to be more consistent at posting! Until next time, whenever that may be!

Jessica

Twilight Saga

2010-07-04T15:03:00.001-07:00

Okay, I swore I'd never watch the movies. I mean, c'mon, I'm a 27 year old mother of two...Isn't the movie about a teenage love triangle? I'm so beyond that.

Then I swore I'd never read the books. No time to free read...especially fiction.

And I certainly never be caught dead in one of those black shirts with the giant face of Rob Pattinson on it.

Oh gosh...Punish me now...

It started with a lazy night, girls in bed and nothing to watch on TV. Tim and I found Twilight was playing on a free movie channel and decided to give it a go...I mean, I was a little intrigued about all the hoop-la revolving around this saga.

I unfortunatly, like the movie. And unfortunatly, my like grew the next day as I thought about the movie and it's plot line/love story. My girlfriend lent me the next movie and Tim and I watched it 3 days later. It was official, I was hooked.

It didn't help that I joined two other girlfriends two weeks later for the Twilight Triliogy the night of the Eclipse premere. Twilight at 7:00pm, New Moon at 9:30pm and Eclipse at 12:30am! What was I doing?!?! This was so unlike me!

Anyway, fastforward a week and I'm 150 pages into the first book, anxious to pick it up whenever I have a free moment. I figure the books will get me through the next year and a half (til Nov 2011) until the first part of the final movie, Breaking Dawn, comes out.

You're probably wondering if I bought the shirt....thankfully, I just can't go there...not that I blame any one who has (love your passion, Mandy!)...I can actually relate to your desire to keep Edward Cullen close to your heart!

Okay, there is a spiritual lesson/disclaimer to my experience getting wrapped up in these movies but I have to go now, so I'll leave that for my next post!

Until then....

Prayful Crotch Shot

2010-06-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

Okay so the title of this post is rather crude, but it's exactly what happened to my poor husband at the wedding we attended over the weekend. Allow me to set the stage:

We're at the Gateway hotel attending a lavish wedding reception for which Tim was an usher and asked to also give the pre-dinner prayer.

I've finally captured London and am holding her in my arms for what will respectfully be a brief 60 second prayer as Tim takes the mic and begins to ask the crowded reception of people to bow their heads.

At just that moment I see Blair at the edge of the dance floor about 50 feet away from Tim, her back to me, with her arms outstretched before her like a Zombie. She's just out of reach of me and I realize I didn't get the opportunity to remind her "we're going to pray now and she needs to stand quietly and listen to daddy talk".

To my horror, I watch her walk like tin man, arms still locked strait in front of her, briskly across the dance floor towards Tim, whom I know is utterly unaware of her approaching as he's got his eyes closed, head bowed and is concentrating on his prayer.

Most people didn't see what happened next because Tim covered really well but because Blair had to walk in front of the head table to reach her father, the wedding party erupted with laughter as they watched Blair's locked arms gore Tim directly in the crotch.

It went something like this: "...and Lord we just remember your bounty at thiUUUUUFFF...ahem, at this time of celebration..."

If only the videographer wasn't praying, we mighta been millionaires with that clip on AFV. The only thing I saw Tim mouthe as he walked back to his seat after he concluded the prayer was..."Un-Be-Lieveable."

HAHA...Isn't parenting like that sometimes? Unbelievable.

Swagger Wagon

2010-05-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. No Chevy Suburban for Miss Jessica Hibbing, at least not for a year or so. That's ok. In honor of our Toyota Sienna membership in our family, I'm posting this video.

"Where ma kidz at?!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4

An intimate moment I didn't want to forget...

2010-05-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

This morning I went for a jog around Ada Haden park. About 10 minutes in I thought to myself..."oh Snap! I shoulda read the Word a little before I left so I had a verse to meditate on. That really would have made this run go faster!" I prayed that the Lord would just give me a verse to think about while I circled the lake and He tenderly answered with Psalm 23.

Here were a few of my thoughts. It was a precious time I pray I don't forget.

The Lord is my shepherd= Jesus, thank you for watching over me, as a tender shepherd watches over his lambs. Thank you for knowing me by name and calling me. Thank you, Jesus, for keeping me safe inside the herd, my friends and church. Thank you, Father, for being personal with me; being mine.

I shall not want= Jesus, you are my supply. How could this be; I shall not want? Even on the darkest of days you have promised me… fulfillment. This is such a special comfort to me, Lord. I am growing in trust that even if all were stripped away, you would be all I needed.

He makes me lie down in green pastures= This is peace, Lord. You are peace. Jesus, I can just envision a lush green pasture-one I don’t have to water, I don’t have to mow, I don’t have to maintain. You beckon me in, cradle my head and lay me down. You ask me to close my eyes, breath in pure fresh air and simply rest.

He leads me beside quiet waters= Lord, you are such a friend to me. Beside our quiet waters, you walk with me. I look in the stillness of the lake and see the reflection of you walking in stride with me. You will always be the source of my refreshment, Jesus. You are the quiet water. When I thirst, you promise to make my cup overflow.

He restores my soul= What a promise, Lord, that you could mend a broken heart. Not only mend it…restore it fully. FULLY! Father, this is all I could ask for. You don’t promise a life without sorrow or tragedy, but you do promise healing. What a gift I have in you, Jesus.

Juice Plus

2010-04-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple of opportunities throughout the past few years to start an at-home franchise... Mary Kay, Silpada, etc. I have never considered myself a sales-type and just couldn't imagine myself trying convince someone to buy something I wasn't totally convinced they needed!

(Disclaimer: For all those out there that have an at-home business, I totally commend you and don't think there is any sin in sales or making money. I just think in order to be good at selling your item, you have to be fully convinced a persons life will be benefited by your product!)

A year ago I decided, after many years of fighting numerous colds and infections during the winter months and averaging stomach flu 3 times a year, I needed to find some sort of immune system booster. My cousin told me about Juice Plus.

The long-short of it is this: Juice Plus starts with fresh, high quality fruits and vegetables that are carefully tested to ensure that no pesticides or other contaminants affect the natural purity of the product. The fruits and vegetables are juiced, then concentrated into powders using a low-temperature process so that none of the nutritional value is distroyed. Then the powder is put into capsules that you take with a glass of water! I take 2 vegetable capsules and 2 fruit capsules everyday and have consumed my entire days worth of fruit and vegetable servings.

With cancer and heart disease on the rise, the FDA just upped the food recommendations to 7-13 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. I find this standard impossible to meet without Juice Plus. Additionally, the high costs of fresh produce would make it expensive.

Anyway, I guess this is a sales pitch of some sort, because I am a distributer of these products, but I truly truly have seen a great improvement in my overall health and immune support throughout the past year and am passionate about the benefits of Juice Plus. For less than $1.50 a day (much less then it would cost you to buy your recommended whole fruit and veggie requirement) you can meet your nutritional requirement in it's entirity.

I have tons of information on the benefits of Juice Plus, but what I like the most is that there is no added chemicals or man-made vitemins...it's simply whole fruits and vegetables.

If you'd like more information on Juice Plus, please comment or let me know. I'd love to share with you how it's improved my life and give you a sample!

Last thing: Juice Plus even makes "gummies" for kids! It's like fruit snakes. Blair and London eat their 6 gummies everyday and they've fully consumed their fruit and vegetable requirements for the day! How easy!!

Yum Yum African Peanut Stew!

2010-04-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'm posting my first recipe. I'm didn't take a picture, so you'll have to just trust me that this stew is amazing!!!

African Peanut Stew

-Serve as a soup or over rice for a hearty main dish-

1Tbs olive oil

1 med. red onion, finely chopped (about 1 ½ cups)

1 med. green bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 ¼ cups)

½ cup chopped carrot (2 small)

½ cup chopped celery (1 rib)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs minced, peeled fresh ginger

1 Tbs curry powder

1 bay leaf

4 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth

1 (12 oz) sweet potato peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces

1 ½ cups shelled edamame (I found mine in the frozen vegetable section- I microwaved it just enough to get the shells off)

¼ cup creamy or crunchy natural peanut butter

1 (5 oz) bag baby spinach leaves, torn into bite-size pieces

½ tsp salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, carrot and celery; sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 min.
Add garlic, ginger and curry powder and sauté until fragrant, about 1 min, do not brown garlic. Add tomatoes and bay leaf; cook, uncovered, until tomatoes are slightly reduced, about 3 min.
Add broth and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 8 min. Stir in edamame and peanut butter until combined. Cook until thoroughly heated, about 2 min. Stir in cilantro and spinach until spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 8

Enjoy!!

Your message defines you!

2010-04-16T06:08:00.001-07:00

A blog I really enjoy reading is Sally Clarkson's "I Take Joy" found at: http://wholeheart.typepad.com/itakejoy/

Today she blogged about the messages we hear in our heads and how our life will reflect the messages we're listening to. An amazing truth!

The last few days I've felt so frustrated inside-upset with my own inadequacies, the business of my schedule, the toil of mothering, and how nothing ever seems to just "be easy." I find my instinctual reaction to my frustrations is blame-usually directed at God or my husband- for my frustrations. "God, You just HAD to make that dish fall to the floor and shatter glass everywhere, didn't ya?!"

Sally explains that living your life in bitterness and anger may mean you're listening to voices that life is unfair and that God has not heard your prayers; that God doesn't really love me and is really not a good God or he wouldn't have let this happen to me. While Sally seemed to be referring to a general life approach, I think her wisdom applies to our daily thoughts and reactions to our circumstances as well.

In looking at my reactions when something goes wrong in my day, I really do think it boils down to my perception of God and the message I hear in my head. Is this true for you as well? Psalm 85:8 "I will listen to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people." This is just the type of scripture that helps us discern God's voice from others in our lives. I must remember that any message that isn't peaceful but filled with blame or anger, or doesn't yield a peaceful response in my heart is not from the Lord!

Sally says that if you are living in hope and peace of mind, the message in your heart that you're believing is "All things work together for good of those who are called in Christ Jesus" and "I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I committed to Him." She concludes that we are what we believe--and our actions tell the world what we believe.

Lord, Help me to hear your voice in those moments where life isn't easy. Help me to live my life daily with a message that gives life, not steals it from myself or others! And let my reactions to my circumstances be those that glorify you; truthful, patient and peacegiving.

Volleyball Girlzzz!!

2010-04-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

Just a little shout out to all the girls on the Serve-ivers city league volleyball team! Last Monday night we took home 2nd place in the B+ league! The agony of defeat in the championship game left us all yearning for more, but I've never had more fun playing any sport on any team...ever! There were games where my gut ached from laughing (who knows why...) and other games were the desire to win was so fierce, it hurt!

Anyway, thanks, girls, for the super fun season and if it weren't for certain people...ahem Jill... moving away I'd say "See you all next year...for the championship!!"
Until then, Bump-Set-Spike!

A little pizzaz with scrapbook paper!

2010-04-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

This has been a little project I've had my mind on for a couple of weeks. I just lOOOve wreaths and I think there is no good reason they should be reserved for Christmas time. I found this little summery looking wreath at Goodwill a few weeks ago and spruced it up with a wooden "H" from Hobby Lobby. I decoupaged this cute scrapbook paper on it and tied it to the wreath with twine.

I also used this same print on scrapbook paper to make little sleeves for the white candle sticks/tubes on my chandelier in the dining room. Those little white candle sticks were so bland and dingy looking, but now they totally coordinate with my wreath! Now all this chandelier needs is some light eggshell blue mini shades! Anyone know where I can find them cheap??

And finally, this little helper was watching me hang my wreath!

Remorse and Repentance

2010-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today in a bible study I attend we were discussing John 18. That is the part in the Bible right before Jesus's trial and crucifixion where Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss to the Roman soldiers and Peter denies Jesus three times to the temple guards. We were discussing the difference between "remorse" and "repentance". Even though both men betrayed Jesus in his time of need, the scriptures say Judas feels remorse and Peter demonstrated repentance.
Judas' remorse for his wrongdoing led him to hang himself but Peter's repentance for his wrongdoing led him to go on and have an amazing ministry for Christ.

So, how did these two men have such different reactions to their sinful actions?

Well, yourdictionary.com defines "Remorse" as: a deep, torturing sense of guilt felt over a wrong that one has done. "Repentance" is defined as: to feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it.

The difference between Judas and Peter is that Judas never humbled himself and asked for forgiveness. His guilt, therefore, followed him-torturing him, until he couldn't take it any longer and ended his life. The scriptures say, Peter, on the other hand, "wept deeply" over his actions and we learn that he sought forgiveness from the Lord. Peter humbled himself and repented of his sins-allowing God to free him of his guilt. This freedom fueled a ministry for Peter that was one of true devotion to God and passion to do Christ's work for the remainder of his life.

Praise God for the freedom He so mercifully gives when we repent!

Discipline and Trust

2010-04-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

How true this is.

Isn't is amazing how accepting discipline and trust go hand in hand. I see this most clearly in moments when I'm leading my child who has just misbehaved into the bathroom. Her hand in mine, we go. Often times she is crying as we walk, but she keeps ahold of me, walking right by my side. While she knows what awaits her may sting a bit, she trusts her momma to hold and comfort her after, and not to cause her pain for any reason she can't understand.

Can we view our Loving Father this way? Can we trust God to discipline us for our good? Do we truly trust God to produce righteousness and peace in our lives?

Like my little girl, I don't look forward to being disciplined. I like to cry or pity myself for awhile. One such situation happened a few months ago. I, after two margaritas (and a whole lot of chips and salsa) made a flippant and casual comment to a group of young women in my church's college ministry about "what to expect from your man once married." I was challenged by an older godly women at the table, that my comment wasn't biblical and untrue for couples submitting to each other and the Lord. I, pridefully tried to defend my comment for the next 10 minutes until falling awkwardly silent and anxious to go home.

The next day, God weighed heavily on my heart. I read through my prayer journal and realized that I had prayed for an opportunity to grow in humility the week before. Obviously this was my answer to prayer. God told me I was not right and that I needed to apologize to all the women I had mislead, the specific woman who had challenged me and even to my own husband- who wasn't even there, but whom I had inadvertently disrespected. I cried much that day. I tried to make my comment sound more right. I tried to convince myself I didn't really explain it well enough or that all the women had misunderstood me.

But by the end of the day, God had convinced me of my sin and the ugliness of my pride in refusing to admit it. I followed God's leading-wrote an email and made some phone calls of apology to these women. After repairing these tender hearts and asking for my husband's forgiveness, I felt a hearty weight lifted off my shoulders. It felt good to obey but I still sat discouraged that I had so messed up.

I read back through my journal and realized that I had also asked God to allow me to be joyful in this humility training. No sooner had I thought, "now that's impossible" did God give me 5 reasons that I could be JOYful in His discipline!

1. God hears me! He answered my prayer so swiftly!
2. God is interested in my spiritual growth! He desires to produce a HARVEST of righteousness and peace in my life.
3. I got to demonstrate humility-a quality of Jesus Christ's- to other women who look up to me!
4. I got to be comforted by my husband as I apologized and cried in his arms.
5. God got a victory!

Eating my pride that day was hard, but choosing to trust God and allowing Him to train me produced an immediate peace and even great joy!

Even though my little 3 year old may not recognize it, her smile and freed spirit after a correction reminds me that discipline is good when we trust God (or momma) to be trained by it.

G'night!
Jessica

What color are you?

2010-04-08T21:02:00.001-07:00

I love my girlfriend Ashley's blog. She always seems to weed through the ideas and post about the best of the best. Research is her gift! You can check her out here: http://rahouck.blogspot.com/

Anyway, recently she posted a cute little quiz that determines what "color" you are and what your color means about you. I took the quiz. At 11p.m. Can't sleep.

I'm a purple and I'd say I'm pretty happy with the results!
Purple people:

Spontaneity is the key to your existence. Quick-witted with a flair for originality, you enjoy situations that allow you to explore your creativity. Comparatively conservative, you appreciate beautiful surroundings, especially if they’re found in nature. Your relaxed and self-assured personality allows you to work well with others. Surprisingly enough, your unique and unusual tastes don’t prevent you from being comfortable among your more conservative peers.

Ashley is definitely a Red.
What are you?!

Subtle reminders of Spring

2010-03-21T12:09:00.001-07:00

So, warmer weather struck Iowa on Thursday-62 degrees! Friday morning we woke up to 2 inches of snow. Thankfully, it only stuck around but a few hours and we were basking in the glow of Spring skies and soggy yellow yards once again! In fact, the only thing snow white around here anymore are my pasty legs that haven't seen the light of day in 6 months. Looking forward to breaking out the spring wardrobe any day now!

With sweet Spring in the air, I've been inspired to add a few Eastery/Springy things around the house for fun!

I found this white rod-iron tree at Goodwill. It originally was a tacky gold color and held little votive candles. What 15 minutes and a can of Heirloom White spray paint from Hobby Lobby can do!

I had extra eggs laying around, so I gathered some sticks from our back yard (And their is plenty more where they came from!), planted them in a vase and let Blair decorate our very own outdoor Easter tree.

It's hard to see, but I love this little nest displayed in the mini cake plate I splurged on from Hobby Lobby yesterday ($15!). The little robins eggs are actually chocolate malt eggs. Who doesn't love edible home decor?!

Blair is very much into doing crafts these days (a girl after her mom's own heart) and we found this paper plate flower idea from one of her "High Five" Highlights magazines. It's hard to see, but we taped different strips of scrapbook paper to a paperplate that we cut into a flower shape and hung with twine! It was an easy craft that held her attention well!

I hope everyone enjoys their beautiful, blue-sky Sunday today! Even the skittery ground squirrels that run in and out of the nest they've made in my front step remind me of God's beautiful creation and his faithfulness in bringing about new life each March.

Love,
Jessica

Cutesy Clipboard!

2010-03-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so there has been a craze of "dollar store crafts" in blog-world these days, and I've jumped on the bandwagon. Well, sorta. I really just had this idea in my head and found a clipboard at The Dollar Tree last week! I needed a new clipboard to keep me organized while coordinating weddings at my church. I thought it would be kinda fun to decoupage some lovely little decals on it-to use while working with the young mushy love birds on their wedding day! To help me...get in the mood, so to speak. :)

Supplies
Mod Podge...a girls best friend. Also, what I call my post-pregnancy belly.

Finished product. It's still drying, that's why it's so glossy.

Decorative back

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

I wanted to hurry through this little project because it's already 11:15pm and I suspecting another "bad" night with London and Blair's room-sharing endeavor. (London's already woken up 3 times since we put her to bed at 8pm. I pray that I'm able to "Delight myself in the Lord..." even in the wee hours of the morning while trying to rock her back to sleep.) But this project could really lend itself to some creative genius...think, ribbon, calligraphy, buttons!

Goodnight!

Oh yeah...here's those pictures of Blair and London's bedroom

2010-03-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

Looking from the door view

My first attempt at sewing curtains didn't turn out too bad. Never mind the safety pins behind the frilly pink bunches holding them together...

Butterfly collage I made by punching out pretty designs in magazine pages with my butterfly hole punch.

Another view!

Ahhh...more Pink...More PINK!

Pretzel Tub Drum

2010-03-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, this pretzel tub was filled with pretzels at one time...I ate my way through the entire tub in 4 months.

Nonetheless, it's empty and begging to be repurposed! I came up with the idea of turning this pretzel container into a drum after watching one too many episodes of Blair's favorite cartoon show, "Caillou".

I used left over felt to wrap the container and make a carrying strap. I find that felt is the easiest "fabric" to work with for kids projects or costumes because it doesn't require sewing, comes in every solid color of the rainbow and is cheap!

I'm always looking for little craft projects to do with Blair and this one was a success. Even though we didn't get around to it initially, I had her pick out different colors of buttons and embellishments to glue onto her drum. She also got to pick out the different colors of felt. When we were finished, we paraded around the house--Blair on drums, London carrying a mini piano that belted out it's demo music, and me humming into a paper towel roll. Our very own marching band welcomed daddy when he came in the door from work!

Refashion a chipped mirror

2010-03-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I started and finished a project in 1 hour. Victory! I picked up this chipped mirror at Goodwill a few years ago and had this idea in mind...3 years later, I've finally finished it.

See the chipped top left corner?

This fake flowered girly mirror is now hanging about one foot off the ground so Blair can check out how she looks in her dress up clothes. I hope I'm not creating a monster!

There isn't any special tricks in creating it, but here are a few tips:
1. Buy your flowers at the dollar store. I got 7 bunches of various pink roses for $1 a bunch.
2. Add some variation in size and shade of color. I tend to like going monochromatic when creating with fake flowers. I think an array of rainbow colors might be a little much for the eye!
3. After popping the heads off each stem, snip the ends of the stem off of each flower so that it's nearly flush with the petals. You'll find that you'll need to add a dab of hot glue on the end of what's left of the stem so that you can avoid this. (see photo)
4. Same some smaller flowers for the end. You can fill exposed gaps in between the larger flowers.

You can see my progress with the following pictures. I will also post some pictures of Blair and London's bedroom. We just moved London into Blair's room yesterday to make room for Uncle Paul (he's moving in with us in 3 weeks). It's turned out pretty cute. Much of my crafting energy was put into this room. Somehow setting up a pretty little girl's room was a top priority when we moved into our house-- Tim says there is no way our girls will be tomboys sleeping and playing in a room like theirs....What can I say? I love pink!

Enjoy!

Dollar Store Roses

Secure stem base so flower doesn't fall apart!

Rows of Roses!

Finished Project!

New focus?

2010-03-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I last posted! In fact a few weeks ago, I pondered abandoning this blog thing all together. That would be just like me. I tend to love the hunt of a new hobby, enthuastically jump in head first and then burn out after a month or so. It's one reason i have a "craft room" full of unfinished projects. I was talking with one of my girlfriends about how she seems to have time to pursue all her interests and stay motivated to continue them. In complaining to her about my lack of follow-through on just about everything, she asked me a thought-provoking question..."What motivates me?" In general, I would say I'm not a "goal-orientated" person. I just don't really giggle under the satisfaction of reaching a self set goal. I was kind of discouraged realizing this-- being that "setting and reaching goals" seems to be the #1 reason for success among highly published self-help authors! I also don't seem to thrive under pressure--not that I don't feel comfortable under pressure...it just doesn't toot my horn to imagine that I'm gonna get axed to death if I don't complete "this one task"--plus, what pressure do I really have as a stay-at-home mom with a loving, laid back, completely accomodating husband. In thinking through the question, I think I determined that I'm a "deadline" person that thrives under accountability--meaning, if I set an end date for my task to be completed, preferably short-term, I'm much more motivated to stick with my project and even complete it, especially when someone is counting on me to see it through! This has definately proven true in my fitness regime, among other things. I have found that if I sign up for a road race a few months away and ask a friend to train with me, I force myself into continuing a running regime up until that race. Usually the week after the race, I won't make it in the gym once, being that there is no race looming in the near future.

So, why do I waste 30 minutes of time explaining all this in a blog I haven't touched in 4 months?? Because in an effort to be more productive and faithful in my follow through, I'm going to be changing the focus of this blog a little to more of a track sheet of completed crafty and home projects with lots of before and after pictures that'll hopefully inspire you, my accountability readers! I do still hope to post about funny one-lines of my girls, updates on our family and little "favorite things" or ideas I've found or discovered here and there. So, hopefully, it'll be worth your time reading--if not, hopefully I'll get something completed for once! Either way, I'm going to try and live by with one main rule of thumb....I can't post about a project until I've completed it and I'm going to try and post once a week. There--I have a deadline and some accountability. Ready...Set...Go!

Changing subjects again...here are the latest two one-liners from my 3 year old:

1. Tim has made Blair grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast (yes...for breakfast)and after finishing his, he takes a bite of Blairs.

Blair: "No Daddy, you can't eat mine. These are not "boy cheese", these are "girl cheese" sandwiches.

2. Blair saw a commercial for Chuck-E-Cheese's, a local kids restuarant. After being mezmorised by the commercial of kids playing and laughing, she quickly turned around and said, "Dad, I wanna go to Chick-en Jesus" too!"

Until my next completed project,
Jessica

I got Walgreens figured out, baby!

2009-11-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, So my latest obsession has been clipping coupons. That sounded a little too much like something my Great-Aunt Irene would say (R.I.P. Auntie), but it's true. I've been at this so-called hobby for about a month and a half now and the payoff has been well worth the daunting task of scissoring through the Sunday newspaper. Since starting this little money-saving venture, I've found many "super saving sistah's" come out of their dark corners and expose their own nasty little secrets in the world of couponing. For example, let me hear a shout out if you go to Kum-N-Go three times every Sunday and fill your car up with only $10 worth of gas each time, in order to grab 3 copies of the "free Des Moines Register with gas". Maawahahaha!

While this make no sense to some of you who haven't yet dived in to this sub-culture, let me spark your interest with a picture of my latest shopping spree to Walgreen's. In the picture above you'll see the following items and their sale prices:
Olay Body Wash: $2.99
Olay Body Lotion $6.29
BioInfusion Conditioner $9.99
2 Glade Fragrance Collection candles $5.00 total
2 Toberlone Candy Bars $3.00 total
Schick Women's razor $4.00
Dulcolax $7.00
2 Russle Stover Santa ..58 total
2 Oral B Sesame Street kids toothbrushes $5.00
2 Crest kids High school Musical toothpastes $5.00
Complete Multipurpose Contact Solution $7.99
2 Oral B Satin Floss $5.00
Gilet Fusion Men's Razor $8.99

The total for these items was $70.83 (**tax not included)

But what did I pay, you ask?

$6.44!!!
Yep, that's it.

Oh, the beauty of coupons!
Anyway, I don't post this to brag (well...maybe just a little), my true intention to inspire all you readers to start finding ways to save your hard-earned money! And, if you're local and would like a beginners lesson on using coupons and Register Rewards at Walgreens, please contact me, I'd love to take you with and show you how it's done!

That's it for now!
Jessica

2009-10-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

An end to summer...bummer.

2009-10-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially ended. And I could make a pretty good case that Fall is long gone as well. Winter began in my mind the day the high didn't get above 40 degrees in late September. We've been chilled around our house because we don't have a furnace! Yet another thing that needs replacement since we moved to our new house. We love our house so much, though, that we're willing to put up with a little teeth-chattering until our new one gets put in next week.

These days we're enjoying going to Paul's final season of cross-country meets. Blair is in love with her uncle Paul so you can imagine how exciting it is to see him run by her at an unspeakable speed. London is enjoying her first season of cross-country too as she's learned how to clap her hands when we cheer!

Life group has started again so we're excited to be back amongst our best friends for one night a week of uninterrupted fellowship and discussion! I use the word "uninterrupted" liberally, however, because usually I hear the echo of London's wails from the other side of the church and need to rescue the babysitters. It's all worth it, though, to bounce ideas about the Word off our friends and learn about God's grace in each of our lives. It's my dose of encouragement each week!

My little London is much different than Blair was at her age. London likes to cuddle in our arms, while Blair has always been Miss Independent (cue Ne-Yo). London devours her food, while Blair still eats like a bird. Blair is a girly-girl to the extreme enjoying anything dress-up, Barbie related or make believe, while London is showing early affection for playing "catch" with anything round.

My girls are healthy and happy though and I'm excited to watch them grow in relationship with each other. I've been surprised so often to see how they "play" together already. Most often, though, London makes Blair get the unstoppable giggles as she makes funny faces at her, blows spitty bubbles, splashes her in the bath and steals Blair's paci any chance she can. It joys my heart to see them love each other so naturally.

Blair is obsessed with anything purple these days. She has a purple mermaid Barbie creatively named "Purp", she only colors with purple markers, she has refused drinking any juice that's not purple and points out any character in her storybooks wearing purple, stating "that's me, mommy." She's very verbally advanced and often tells me how to drive, how to hold my pen, how to eat my food, how to change her own diaper. (Hmmm...I think it's time we got her potty trained.) Her latest funny involved her tire swing. I couldn't figure out why every time I pushed her in her swing she would close her eyes and pretend to be asleep. I figured it was because the swinging motion was so relaxing she couldn't help it. But I realized the real reason a week ago when Blair told me she wanted to go in her "tired swing". Ahhhh.... so cute.

Well I better wrap up this post, but should have more to come in the near future with London's first birthday in a few weeks, my 27th birthday and trick-or-treating pictures.

I'm enjoying a new short haircut and feel good about where God has brought me this year. I'm feeling more at peace in my body than I've ever felt and even starting to get an itch to think about baby #3. ;) Don't get too excited though, we're committed to making it through a single summer where we're not pregnant or moving.

God's grace until I write again!

The Thrill of Road Kill

2009-08-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Wowsers! It's been awhile since I last blogged and a heck of a lot has happened since then! We've officially moved in to our new house after a long 3 months of a knock-down, drag out plight (literally) to get this home in good working order! We literally gutted it. New floors, New ceiling, Entirely new kitchen, Every room painted, New mainfloor bathroom, New roof, 3 new toilets, 2 new sinks, New electrical, New sliding glass door, etc... It's been really hard work, but we're totally blessed and enjoying the fruits of our labor (and all the labor of our hardworking friends)!! I will, hopefully, remember to post some pictures soon (as soon as I unpack my camera)! Our Roosevelt house is sale pending with a closing date sometime before September...we'll keep our hands folded in expectation that God will allow our buyer to come through.

In other news, I've titled this post the thrill of road kill for a most important reason. Lately, our little fiesty Blair has been challenging us in multiple ways, namely not obeying our directions. So, Tim took her for a drive the other day and showed her a racoon that got hit by a car laying in the road 1/4 mile from our house. It was a fresh one because it's tail was still rythmically flopping up and down the first time they looked at it. In that instant, however, Blair's world once again became bigger than she and for the next 4 days that's all we've talked about--the raccoon that didn't listen to it's mommy and crossed the street without looking and is now squashed, guts spuewing out all over Eisenhower Ave. Blair has made us walk past this disgusting thing every day since. Last night, she asked if she could pet it. I'm not quite sure what the long term affects of this little lesson will be, but let's hope it doesn't involve counseling.

Finally, our London is crawling! Hooray and Yikes at the same time! She's got 2 bumnps on her forehead and I'm anticipating many more. She's outta control--trying to climb on everything and away from me, outta sight within seconds of setting her down. Life just entered a new demension for me but none too soon as we've got a fully carpeted room with lots of safe space to roam in this new house.

Not much else going on. Blessed and Thankful my family is in good health and spirits. Looking forward to our August 20th anniversary trip and a mini-vacation to Chicago with my mom in September!

More later!

Housal Abuse and other stuff

2009-06-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

Life has been crazy around here for us these days. We're one month into a double mortgage, as we purchased a foreclosed home the first of May. We got a heck of a deal but the home had been vacant for two years. Which everyone knows leads to a whole lot of "issues". The house had been built in 1978 and not updated a single time...so yeah, we walk in and are staring down orange vinyl flooring, wallpaper with wheat pictures on it and yucky wooden cabinetry with black hardware that looks seriously phallic. We have our work cut out for us but have already done an exhaustive amount of updating in the last month, including tearing out the kitchen and putting in new cabinetry and countertop, new laminate flooring throughout and had all our ceilings re-textured and painted. (it had popcorn texture ceilings) We fell in love with the house for the layout and space. It's 4 bedroom upstairs and a really open, spacious floor-plan on the main level. Twice the space for less money.

On the other hand, we've finally made the decision to list our current home with a realtor. We've had it fsbo for 2 months now. I've been close to a nervous breakdown a few times as getting the house spotless for now 30 showings with two mess-makers. And then there's the kids! :) There has been times where I've gotten the place clean, ran out and strapped the girls in their car seats and then run back into the house 3 minutes before the showing to pick up and put away all the stuff Blair got out on our way to the car!

I should quit complaining though. We're excited and think the new house will be a real "pad" by the end of the summer.

Blair is the ever-independent, vivacious, ball of energy she's always been. It's evident she's a perfectionist with a wild imagination. Two months ago, when we were getting our house ready for our first showing, I overconfidently packed up 90% of her toys and moved them to the new house thinking we'd have ours sold in a few weeks. So far, I've refused to go back and unpack them, but really considered it a few weeks ago when I saw her playing "house" with a screwdriver and a ballpoint pen, making them talk to each other.
Speaking of pens, she's entering the stage where I've always got to keep one handy as she says the funniest things. A few days ago at Lowes a man passed us with scraggly brown hair down to his shoulders with a mustash and beard and wearing a baggy white t-shirt. She excitedly pointed to man and said, "Mommy! That's Jesus!"

London has made a 180 degree turn from where she started 7 months ago. I remember noting that it took a solid 4 months until we could put her in her carseat and drive somewhere without her screaming the entire time. I really thought I had the touchiest baby on the planet as I struggled through our first 16 weeks. But you'd never know it now. She is so easy-going and happy, smiling and laughing all day, rarely crying and soothing herself to sleep at nap and bed time. She watches Blair like a hawk and is always most comfortable in my arms. She is already over 20 lbs and wearing clothes that Blair wore just last summer! She's definately more affectionate than Blair, loves being kissed and held. Her hemanginomia is big, obtrusive and hard to cover up with skimpy summer dresses so we often find ourselves on the recieving ends of stares from people in public or being questioned about whats on the back of her neck. It's humbling, but could definately be worse...some kids get these things on their face!

Everything else going well. It's just starting to get hot in Iowa, so I'm looking forward to days in the sunshine, sitting on the edge of our city wading pool watching the girls splash around.

What's new?!

2009-05-02T18:43:00.001-07:00

Where to start?!

London: We made it to the glorious 6-month mark! Praise the Lord! London is become a wonderfully content, smiley and easily entertained baby girl! 3 weeks into my life with two kids, the 6 month mark seemed like decades away and now it feels like the time just flew.

London is just about rolling over, but not quite. And teething a lot but we don't see any toothers yet. So we're just at that point where new milestones are just around the corner. She loves her baby cereal and is weighing in at 18 lbs! Only two more to go until her new carseat!

Her appointment in Iowa City went great. We're taking no action and will just monotor the hemangenomia and wait for it to some day disappear. They say 90% of the cases are completely gone by the time the child is 10 years old. And if not, many people choose to get them removed. While it looks obtrusive and downright ugly, we feel blessed that the lump didn't develop on her face.

Blair: This girl has us laughing non-stop. I remember saying that I couldn't wait until she started saying those halarious one-liners that only come from the mouths of kids. Well, I think it's safe to say we're there. Here are her latest:

I was in the bathroom and holding on to a box of tampons. I pulled one out but tried to hide it from Blair knowing that she would be very curious as to what it was. Sure enough, she noticed. I watched her try to examine what was behind my closed fist. After a long contemplation and some confusion, she questioned, "Cheese stick?" :)

That same day, while outside, Blair noticed a man doing construction work on a house. He was wearing a toolbelt with a hammer hanging off the back. She said matter-of-factly, "That man has a tail." :)

These are going in the baby book, people.

Other than her halariousness, she's growing like a weed and very clearly the boss of our house. Well, at least she thinks she is. She loves her baby sister and often helps me "babysit" London while I run in the other room to get a diaper. Her favorite foods are Gummies, Apple Sauce and Olives (which she calls "oreos") and she can often be found singing, playing Barbies (already?!?) or having "parties" with her teddy bears in her room!

Tim and Jessica: A number of times in the last few months I've heard Tim say "We're busier than we've ever been". While we hate using that term, it does seem to ring true lately. We close on our new house this coming Friday (May 8th) but we'll hopefully take a few weeks to make some much-needed improvements before we move in. So far we've replaced the roof and shaved off all the pop-corn ceiling throughout the entire home! What a job! Next on the list is replacing the kitchen cabinets, countertop, flooring and aplliances. We're also replacing the carpet throughout the home. And of couse, painting. Once we have those big projects completed we'll be ready to move in and do the rest over the months. The bathrooms will all have to be remodeled as their isn't one white toilet, sink or bathtub in the entire house. Very 1970's! We're excited and aiming for October when we'll sink into our couch, look around and some major finished projects and get to take the rest of the projects as slow as we want.

Tim's been busy at both jobs, getting lots of business but ready to take on an intern to help with the load. He just finished up his church-league basketball league and we're starting up sand volleyball in a few weeks. Until then, he's busy at work updating an American Idol pool he created and watching the NBA playoffs.

I'm picking up on the running regimine. Getting serious about losing these last of the baby pounds! Man, it really is different the second time around! Not quite as easy this time...or it could be the chocolate. Either way, getting back into running has been good for me. I'm enjoying the design elements I get to incorporate into the new house and looking forward to garage sale season beginning!

We just got some new family pictures taken by the best photographer ever, Dan McClanahan and his lovely assistant, Alex. If you would like to view them, go here:

http://www.mcclanahanstudio.com/Hibbing_Family/

More later!

What's new?1

2009-05-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

2009-05-02T18:38:00.001-07:00

Blog Design by Bling on the Blog

A couple funny "Blair's" and our upcoming London trip

2009-04-13T19:35:00.001-07:00

Short and sweet. Blair has said two funny things that have not only made me laugh but also made me realize how tuned in she is to all that goes on and is said around her.

We're in the McDonald's drive-thru the other night getting ice cream cones and from the backseat, out of nowhere, pipes Blair, "This is the best food in town!" Tim and I turn around with our jaws hung open having never said that before and unsure where she got it! (T.V.)

Then, on Easter we had dinner at a friend's house. On their back porch they had new deck furniture with a lounge. Blair ventured outside and sprawled herself out on the lounge and put her hands behind her head. She called me out to see her. When I went to meet her she said nonchalantly with a big smile on her face, "This is the life."

Believe me I'm bias, but when these things come out of a little 2 year olds mouth, I do stand amazed.

This Wednesday is our London's doctor appointment in Iowa City. We'll be meeting with a doc in the Hematology/Oncology department. It should just be a routine physical and maybe some lab work. I have had a real peace about this appointment, not scared or even anxious. I really think the doctor is going to look at her hemangenomia and say it just needs some time to heal. No steriods, no shots, no experimental therapy.

Thanks for all of you that have been praying or thinking of us in regards to the appointment!

Semi-Recent Pictures of my girls!

2009-04-04T19:57:00.001-07:00

2009-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've last written and a lot has happened!

First news first, we bought a new house! Closing May 8th. We're really excited! The house was a foreclosure that hadn't been updated since it was built in 1968 so it needs to be practically gutted, but I'm ready to strap on my tool belt. I may be begging for help from all of my closest friends these next few months as we take on project after project! Be warned!

In other news, we have an appointment with a pediatric oncologist in Iowa City for little London on April 15th. That sounds a lot worse than it really is. London was born with a 2-inch hemangioma on the back of her neck. A hemangioma is a cluster of enlarged or abnormal blood vessels present at birth. They usually aren't serious and have no symptoms and cause no need for intervention. My pediatrician said that London's looked like it was trying to grow and heal at the same time and might be causing her some discomfort. We're just going to Iowa City to get a specialized opinion. There is a possibility that she'll need a steroid shot to make it shrink, but I'm praying that it'll go away on its own!

So, funny Blair story of the day: The other day Blair kept trying to get me to understand what she was saying...she chanted, "mommy...shake shake, shake. Shake your boo-nen!" I had no idea what she was saying, much less had any idea what a "boo-nen" was until she started wiggling her little hips back and forth really fast. I realized she was singing the” Shake, Shake, Shake...Shake your booty song" by KC and the Sunshine Band. Unfortunately, I think this new development is another result of her Shrek obsession (it's a song on the soundtrack). I'm not sure if her repertoire of Single Ladies and Shake your booty interspersed with Jesus Loves Me and This Little Light of Mine is exactly what Jesus meant when he said "Let your speech be graceful, seasoned with salt..." :) At least she keeps us laughing!

2009-02-22T17:13:00.001-08:00

Hey! Check out the newest, latest and greatest photos of Blair and London! Go here to see the photo slide show!

http://animoto.com/play/CtJcgCFh7t1onGfdCzDVFw?from=share

Blair's 2 year Birthday! And more!

2009-02-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.
It's been awhile since I found a little extra time to playfully narrate life in the Hibbing homestead. We've had a whirlwind of a February! So far February has teased us with some beautiful 50 and 60 degree days and I've taken advantage of them with a few runs outside and even some playtime outside with Blair. It'd been a solid couple of months since we'd seen the grass here in Ames, but I'm thankful to say there is hardly a pile of white left lying around. Ahhhh....Spring truly must be around the corner. Praise God for His faithfulness to bring around each season in it's due time.

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Blair's 2 year birthday. You'd think Blair would be like most 2 year old girls and want a Elmo or Princess-themed birthday party, but when I asked Blair what she wanted, she told me "A Shrek Cake". So Shrek-themed it was. I have to admit, throwing parties is one of my favorite things to do, especially decorating for them. So, even though I had Shrek to work with, I prettied up the party by color-coordinating my napkins, plates and table cloth in light pink and moss-green polka dots and stripes. Shrek made an appearance on the cake only. :) Blair had 3 of her closest friends over, including a little boy named Jacob who was Blair's one and only friend at her party last year. Blair began by opening presents surrounded by a relatively large number of family members and parents. I suppose it coulda been a little overwhelming for a tiny 2 year old to be the center of attention amidst a lot of excitement and noise, but Blair handled it like a champ (Have I mentioned how much she likes being the center of attention?!) After presents, she and her three friends donned oversized tshirts and took to fingerpainting on large pieces of foamboard. I heard a few parents say I was a brave woman for attempting the fingerpainting fiasco, but what's a party without a mess, right?! That lasted all of 15 minutes but was quite fun watching the little ones splatter and squish the paint over every inch of their board. At one point, Blair lost her balance and rolled, however gracefully, onto her entire work of wet art. That was about the time we decided to wash up and have the kids name their paintings. Blair named her's "Kmart". Not exactly sure where she got that one as Kmart isn't a place we shop, but in some strange way the disarray of sloppy red and green reminded me of the after-Christmas clearance shelves at that dreaded store. Anyway, we moved onto cake and ice cream and watched two homemade movies Tim and Grace created encompassing a few great moments from Blair's second year of life. I was glad to see Blair's hip-jiving "Single Ladies" dance made an appearance. She would have made Beyonce so proud! Thankfully the day was completed without a single shed tear. This ultra-amazed me considering we were going napless. While I wish I had a bunch of pictures to post, I was too busy manning the celebration to snap any. I know my mom took a few, but she's still using the ancient click-and-develop camera, so those wont be posted. That said, if you happen to read this post and took any pictures while at the party, please send them to me! I'd love to include a few!

Two days after the party, Blair was hit hard with the flu. A bad bug's going around Ames, taking kids out for 3 and 4 days at a time. She, being ever-so-obedient, shared her flu with mommy and then mommy shared with daddy. A week and half later, we all have our appetite's back and a ready to move onto the next virus to come our way!

Amidst that week, however, little London had her first ever photo shoot with our extremely talented neighbor Dan McClanahan (www.danmcclanahan.com). What was supposed to be 1 hour turned into 2 1/2 of making googly-eyes and gurgling sounds at London. She was a good sport and donned a smile for us pretty willingly! Blair even got to put on her Christmas dress and have her photo taken as well! You can view Dan's photos by going to this link (http://danmcclanahan.zenfolio.com/p807926374) and typing in the password: bridges

We were so excited to see the results and are especially thankful to have such a talented photographer live next door! Woot-woot Dan! One of the pictures of London even made it on the wall of Cafe Diem (a local coffee shop in Ames, showcasing Dan's work)! Go check it out! (London's available for autographs, but please schedule appointments with her agent-mom)

Well that's it for now. Happy February everyone!

Youtube video

2009-02-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

My wonderful sister-in-law Gracie posted a video she made when London was born on YouTube. If you would like to view it, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbUZGyDPn2Y

Hopefully there will be more to come!
Thanks Grace!

"Hola Mommy"

2009-01-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

Blair amazes me everyday. I guess I still consider her my little baby and not the curious, precocious and showy toddler she's proving to be! Her favorite movie, Shrek, is getting a run for it's money these days as her newest movie obsession is Madeline (not the cartoon version). So the other day, she runs into the kitchen while I'm preparing dinner and says, "Hola Mommy...hey mommy, Hola!" Apparently the Spanish ambassador on Madeline says this in one short second on the movie and Blair picked it up and wanted to impress me! Watch Out Dora! There's a new senorita in town!

In another sense, Blair is becoming quite the little helper. It's becoming a regular occurrence for me to say, "Blair, where is mommy's cell phone...do you know?" She says, "Right Dhere..." and most always runs right to it. Today she found it under her bed. It musta fell down while I was changing her diaper! How she sees these things, I'll never know. I almost asked Tim for one of those beepers for lost car keys this Christmas, but with how handy Blair is becoming, it looks like I might not need one after all.

London, on the other hand, has a nasty cold and hasn't slept more than 20 minutes in a row for the last 4 days...its getting tiresome, but probably more for her. I can't wait until this winter season is over (Windchill in Ames was -35 yesterday!) and we're able to get outside and burn off some stink! I am in desperate need of some motivation to get back in shape so I asked a girlfriend of mine if she would be interested in running the Orlando Marathon with me next Jan. (2010). She's considering it and will let me know soon, but I'm pretty sure I'll sign myself up for some race even if she declines. The great thing about training for a long race, like a 1/2 marathon or full, is that no matter how hard you try not to diet or get back in shape, it's somewhat inevitable. That's what I need, the miles to do the work for me! I'm awful at passing on dessert or keeping a food diary, so exercise is the only way I'm able to recover from the extra baby poundage. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

I'm posting an adorable old video of Blair. I think she might be 18 months or so in it, but I could never find the venue to show it off, so this blog is perfect. She's shaking her tail-feather to Elmo on YouTube.

Also are a few new pictures of the girls!

A few new pictures of London

2009-01-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

London is now almost 9 weeks old and I think it's safe to say she's a low-key baby. While I think the first 6 weeks were comparably harder than the first 6 weeks with Blair, I'm not sure I can chalk it up to differences in babies...more like a difference in the number of babies. Having two kids under the age of 2 has tested my patience, sanity, cheerfulness, energy...even thankfulness, but it's getting better every day! London is quite content to sit in her bouncy chair while Blair and I interact, sometimes for even 30 or 40 minutes at a time. She's sleeping well at night. Most nights will include a good 5 hour chunk without waking and she's even made it from 10pm to 7am without eating once before!

Blair likes being a big sister and gets a huge kick out of London smiling at her. She asks to hold her about once every other day and soon I think she'll be ready to give her a bottle, with mommy standing nearby.

Here are a few new pictures of London.

2009-01-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

While at Faithwalkers, a christian conference I attended over Christmas break, a video clip of Penn Jillette was shown. Penn is a devout atheist/magician, famous for both. The clip has been rolling around in my head ever since. As a sometimes scared, sometimes lazy, and sometimes respectful christian, I've adopted a low-key stance of lifestyle evangelism instead of more active proselytizing. I guess the theory would be that people will respect what they see one live instead of what one says.
But Penn has a different stance on it. Is it possible that what I intended as respect for another's personal space can be correctly construed as hatred for them by inaction?

Watch this short clip.
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=245243

2009-01-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those people who seem to be plagued by nightmares for no apparant reason. When I was pregnant, they were weekly. Sometimes even waking up sweating or screaming. So I decided that I probably should start having a quiet time in the Word before I go to bed to still my mind. I tried that last night and I'm proud report I was nightmare-less!

However, I did have a dream that I was raising a squirrel-child. It was born a squirrel and then as it got older it turned into a child with rodent-like features (i.e. small, pointy nose, big nut-shaped eyes and hairy).

I know where I got the squirrel thing--Tim called me yesterday and told me about one of the clients he was insuring had a squirrel stuck in their wall and wondered if they had coverage for it. LoL!

Anyway, I'll happily adopt a squirrel-child in my dreams over waking up in a panic anyday.

2009-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, so periodically I run across a hilarious video. Often they include the SNL actress, Kristin Wiig. Here's the one I'm currently stuck on, sent to me by my sister-in-law, Neva. If you've ever been forced to snore through the Lawrence Welk show at your grandmother's, you'll find this video eerily entertaining.

Go here:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/37752/saturday-night-live-the-lawrence-welk-show

2009-01-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

In case anyone wanted to see some pictures from London's birth, I've posted them below!

2009-01-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

2009-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

London in her candy cane pants. 5 weeks.

2009-01-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

Most recent picture of Blair. 22 months old.

2009-01-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

And so the story begins...Unfortunately not at the beginning, but 3 years and 2 kids into wedded bliss with my hero and husband, Tim! Life around our house is never dull! Tim is an insurance agent and I'm a stay-at-home momma. We both "clean up" after accidents, if you will. Blair, our oldest, will officially turn 2 in one month and has more spunk and energy than Tim and I combined. London, our 8 week old, is pretty content to sit and watch the world go by. We're anticipating she and Blair will be best friends in a year or two! Feel free to stop in and catch up as I post pictures and thoughts as time goes by.