The Littlest Daisy - SALE

Check out my shop as I am participating in the Yart Sale on Etsy! (Art + Yard Sale = Yart Sale)

life is good.

new mercies streaming from heaven. gorgeous summer weather. a bouquet of sunny yellow daisies on my counter. a gracious & loving husband. anticipation of visiting family. quiet morning with "Sunshiney Day Blend" coffee. a deliciously fresh grapefruit. a so far untouched budget for June. soundly sleeping daughter. the finishing touch on my updated living room ordered & in the mail. promise of a call from my mom. the beginnings of a summer tan. a healthy family. one remaining year of Heath's seminary. the happy prospect of Ainsley's "good morning" smiles. good friends. a "new" car with working air conditioning. money enough for our expenses. the love of the Father.

life is good.

My Love/Hate Relationship With Change

When it comes to change in my life, my usual instinct is to duck and cover, stick my head in the sand...you get the idea. But, I love to mix things up in our home - new decor, a little touch of color here, a new picture there. I've been dreaming and planning and searching for awhile now for new fabric to liven up our living room. I found some gorgeous fabric at Hobby Lobby (quickly becoming my favorite craft store - they have GREAT sales!) for curtains and some coordinating fabric for pillows. AND I found lovely curtain rods at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for less than half their original price! I finished the curtains recently, and Heath helped me hang them last night. I wasn't too sure about them when I went to bed, but this morning I keep looking at them and smiling. This is a good change!

Here's a peak at the results:

the curtains

the pillows
and the pillows-to-be

Mark's Brothers Big World Coffee Roasters

My dear friends have started a coffee roasting business in the Dallas area. When my parents & brother were here visiting, we made a trip up to their location and bought some coffee beans. I was excited to try it because the descriptions on their website just sound amazing. The two I most wanted to try are the Ethiopia Sidamo, which is said to taste like blueberries, and the Sulawesi Torajaland, a bold coffee. So far, I have really enjoyed the Sulawesi Torajaland. This is a great coffee - bold & dark & great in the morning!
Greg also gave me a sample of the Tanzania Peaberry Songea; before I even read the description, I thought it tasted fruity. Yum!!

Seriously, if you like coffee, even a little, you should really try these coffees! Not only are they fabulously tasty, but the beans have been purchased at a fair price and roasted right. I love the "Big World" philosophy behind this business! Check out Mark's Brothers Big World Coffee Roasters website for all their info!!

Officially...

I am now 25 years old! This is, despite popular emotion, a very exciting thing for me. I love birthdays, and I love being one year older. Seriously. I have no qualms about being "one year closer to 30." Birthdays are my New Year's, when I reflect and pray about the last year and look forward to the next one. I am a diligent goal setter, so I always take time to write out a list of things to work on.

Yesterday was a splendid day of fun, and I was ridiculously spoiled! My wonderful parents and littlest-almost 6 foot brother came to visit this week, so I decided to take 2 half days off from work. It was a blast for me to see them play with Ainsley. We went swimming in the indoor pool at their hotel and tried to teach Ainsley to blow bubbles in the water. She enjoyed the water just as much as ever! After swimming, we rested and stopped at Starbucks for a little treat.
They took us out for dinner last night to the restaurant of my choice - that means no cooking for me! I chose Applebee's because I wanted the Maple Butter Blondie for dessert. And it was so good - all of it! Plus, my sweet husband showed up with a bouquet of brilliant sunflowers for me! I adore getting flowers!

Last, but not least, I was in bed and quickly sound asleep at 10:30pm and didn't even wake up until 6 when the alarm went off! (And if my excitement over that doesn't make me sound one year older, I don't know what does!!)

What a great birthday! Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!!!!

St. Patrick & a New Tradition

While browsing for new recipes last week on my favorite recipe website (AllRecipes.com), my attention was arrested by the link for St. Patrick's Day recipes. I decided then and there to start a new tradition in our home - to make new & different foods on holidays. And why not begin with St. Patrick's Day? I began to look through the main dish options and quickly realized that a typical Irish dinner consists of Corned Beef and Cabbage. Having never had such a dish, I opted for the recipe that had the best reviews and added it's ingredients to my grocery list. Soda bread also seems to be an Irish staple, so I grabbed the "Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread" recipe.

After getting home from work yesterday morning, I pulled out my crock pot and gathered the potatoes, meat, carrots, and spices that the recipe called for. Less than 30 minutes later, our main dish was cooking it's way to perfection - hopefully! About an hour and a half before Heath arrived home, I mixed up the easiest batch of bread I've ever made Seriously, there was hardly any kneading required and no rising time since you use baking soda instead of yeast. (Hence the name "Soda Bread". Cool, right?) It was all ready only minutes after Heath got home, and we were pleasantly surprised at the result. The corned beef had yummy flavor and the suggested dijon mustard dipping sauce added just the right touch of tang. I think we decided that the soda bread tastes most like corn bread, so that was an instant success in this home.

All in all, I enjoyed finding a couple Irish dishes to make, and I can hardly wait for the next holiday to do this again. Plus, all day I was thinking about St. Patrick and the way God used him to turn the hearts of the Irish many centuries ago.

"Please help me!"

Now that Ainsley is able to sign "help", it seems that she does so very often. I haven't taken the time to count how many times in a day, but I would venture to guess at least 10 times just during one playtime. It is one of the sweetest things to see her struggling to open the Lego box, then look up at me, and pat her tummy (that's her sign for "help"). Oh and now she signs "thank you" after you help her, too! Oh the joys!!

I was contemplating these things this morning - how quick she is to ask for help, no matter what situation she is facing. Not only does she know how to ask, but she knows that I will respond favorably to her request. Most of the time my attitude is only as it should be - that I would LOVE to help her. But late in day, as my body slows down and my gracious attitude fades, I find that I am less eager to help her; though this does not prevent my helping her, my response time is significantly slower. While confessing this sin of selfishness this morning, a glorious thought appeared. The Lord, of who I ask many things, does not grow weary of my requests; no, He delights always to come to my aid. What a wonder!! This is a whole different view of His kindness than I have imagined before. He is infinitely kind, even to me, bumbling, selfish woman that I am. All praises and thanks to Him, the Father to whom I should run with every care or whim - for He cares for me.

How I desire to exemplify this kind of love to Ainsley, so that when she looks at me, she'll see the kindness of God instead.