Monday Rambles.

• It always amaze me at how quickly a week(end) can pass. It's already Monday again. Geesh. But, the good news--we had another productive weekend in the house of always fixing up. I would practically call this past weekend monumental because (drumroll please), Andrew and I installed the kitchen floor. (Fine, Andrew pretty much installed the whole thing himself, but I did help a tiny bit). This means I don't have a grungy, paint spotted, always dirty looking, non-existing floor to look at anymore. Wondering what we installed? Nothing fancy. Just laminate. But I LOVE it. And I realize that I haven't hardly shared any pictures of the progress on our house. So photos will be coming soon!
• Also? Our kitchen table has been a black folding table and four chairs for the last six months. But today? I bought a farm table with six chairs (at a super duper good deal).
• In case your wondering. Last Thursday was beautiful. See picture below.

(We call my mom "Mimi" that is what she wanted as her "grandma" name. And in case you didn't know, Audrey's middle name Rose, is after my mom's first name, Rosemary.)
• I made a goal for myself this week to go to the grocery store one time. Last week I went at least three, and if you count Target, you could say four times. Seriously, someone needs to plan better, ahem. Tomorrow we have small group coming over, Wednesday we have friends coming for dinner, and Sunday I am hosting a baby shower. One trip to the grocery store? At least I have a list this time. (And we will just ignore the trip that my husband is taking tonight to pick up juice and milk so we can make it through the morning).
• Two weeks from tomorrow we get to find out the gender. So excited. And right now I'm loving feeling the baby move on the inside. I think God carefully orchestrated this time for a mother to bond with her child in a such a special way because she is the only one that can feel those flutters until the baby gets big enough for the outside to start to rumble.
• We got rid of our cable last week. It's been really nice. The tv hasn't been on at all, except for the couple of movies we have watched. The one show that I will continue to watch online is Parenthood.
• Audrey had her 18 month check up today. Omgosh. I have an 18 month old baby toddler. She is scaling in at 24 lbs and 32.5 inches long. This past week she has managed to perfect the whine, which I am now having to somehow revert. Her obsessions still include babies and dogs. But mostly babies. Naked babies. And my new favorite word that I like her to say over and over- "o-tay, o-tay."

Alright enough rambling. I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a start to a great week. Happy Monday!

I'll fly away.

On the appearance of things, it seems like a pretty normal (beautiful) day. We have been to the recycling center, the grocery store, to visit daddy at work, and the park. I have worked in the yard, unloaded the dishwasher, and did laundry.

But it's not a typical day for me. Everytime I have glanced at Audrey I have thought how much time will I have with my daughter? Because today. For me. I'm remembering the 23 years I had with my mom. And only the 10 years my little sister had with her. Or the 16 my brother had. Or the (almost) 30 years of marriage my dad had with her. All of which, those numbers were too short.

But to God be the Glory, that will we see her again.

Exactly a week before my mom passed she requested that we all go to Texas Roadhouse as a family. At this point we knew her time was short. She didn't have a lot of strength. She was in a wheelchair. It was time, and we knew it (although admitting it, was one of the hardest things I will ever have to do). But she insisted on dinner out together. And the following day, she was determined to go to our softball game. In wheelchair and all. These two memories, I will hold onto forever. She was so present even in her last days.

I can't believe it's been four years today since I had to say goodbye. But I know she is still right here with me. When I drink that cup of tea. Write that hand-written letter. Sit on our back deck. Talk to strangers. Listen to Bob Marley. Buy tons at the grocery store. I remember my mom. These are things that she did, that I catch myself doing. And I like it. I like it that I have her brown eyes. Her German stubbornness (Audrey gets this trait too, lucky her). Her sense to enjoy life and live for the moment. Because the little moments are what life is all about.

I consider myself one lucky gal to have had my mom for 23 years.

{I love this picture because it shows my mom so well. Her love for life. Her zeal. Her awesome dance moves. This was taken in June 2005- on my wedding day, just 10 months before she passed. We partied that day. I'm so thankful to have that day and remember that my mom was able to dance and let go and almost pretend that day she was cancer free. Oh, and check out my dad to the left. He must be zoning in on his next dance move. And then there is me on the far right. I'm totally getting into it. Ha.}

love list.

• It has been absolutely gorgeous weather here. Mid 70's-80's. It makes even the tough days go so much easier.
• Today I received my order in the mail from Diapers.com. I purchased these See Kai Run shoes for Audrey for the fall. (Scored them for only $15). The order also came with itty-bitty diapers for the next baby and I was like babies don't really come this small, do they? And then, I remembered, yes they most certainly do. Audrey entered the world at 6lbs 13oz.
• Audrey had a heart check-up today with an EKG to make sure her Pulmonary Stenosis was in check. And everything looked sounded great. Praise God! Not to mention Audrey was a rockstar with the nurse and doctor. Every time they did something she said "more, more." She wanted them to check her blood pressure and put all the sticky cords on her again.
• We had our house appraised and just received word that it appraised for even more than we thought it would- this is very exciting news to see fruits from our labor. (We bought this house for dirt cheap and have put hours days weeks months of work into fixing it up). We plan on living here for only a couple of years and then selling it- we bought as an investment opportunity.
• I'm 15 weeks along (as of yesterday)! That means I'm definitely past my first trimester. My energy is coming back. And I am starting to feel better (sort of- I tried to go two days without my medicine, but I found out the hard way, I better stay on it for a bit longer). Oh, did I mention in just three weeks we get to find out the gender? I grant you permission to mark your calendar for May 4.

And here is proof of the little human growing inside me. (Finally a picture by request).

my {outdoors} girly girl.

She doesn't like being dirty. If her hands touch the ground and dirt is on them, she immediately wants them wiped [ironically she hates having her hands and face washed after meals]. She requests for her slide to be swept if there are twigs on it. If you hand her a rag she will wipe everything down for you. She takes cautionary steps over rocks. If she finds a hairclip on the floor she will say "pretty" and try to put it in. She still likes to wear necklaces, and points out when she sees someone with one on- even if that means in the middle of church when the pastor is praying. While I get ready in the morning she goes through my makeup. She thinks every person that carries some type of bag is actually carrying a purse. She loves wearing dresses. Oh wait, that would be me. I love her wearing dresses.

She's my girly girl.

But today. She played outside for a good two hours in just a diaper. Romped around the ground without shoes on. Rode her cousin's mini-4-wheeler. Splashed in a pool that was mixed with grass. Ate a push-pop that ended up more on her than in her mouth. Sat in a sandbox and explored (had her dressed for this part- didn't want too much sand getting in her, well, you know.]

She's my girly girl that loves being outside and can occasionally pull off the diaper-only look and not care how dirty she gets.

Audrey with her cousin, Jonathan.

She kind of has the best facial expressions. Ever.

Another one of her most favorite activities- swinging. We just hung this one up last weekend and she wants in it at least three times a day. (P.S. Audrey is getting like 45 teeth in right now. So finding her with her hands in mouth is very normal).

A girly-girl who loves babies [this is an understatement].

She is going to be an awesome older sister. I can't wait to see what type of personality our next one will have...

playing around.

It's almost midnight and I have spent the last hour and a half trying to change up my blog. [And before that I spent way too much time looking at things on Etsy, trying to find inspiration for a farmhouse table, and looking for a dining room light.] I'm not really sure what I think about it. Not totally in love, but hey it's different, and that's what I need right now. I'm sure it will change again by the end of the week. But now, I'm tired. And my brain hurts because I am definitely not tech savvy, so everything takes so long for me to do.

Oh, well. It's Sunday night. We have had a super nice weekend filled with birthday parties, bridal showers, bonfires, and lots of productivity outside.

So, I'm happy. And I'm ready to sleep.

a reminder.

The cheerios at the bottom of my purse.

The tiny sock found under the dryer.

The seven sippy cups sitting in the dishwasher.

The raisins stuck in the cupholder of the car.

The Hello Kitty toothbrush sitting next to mine.

The letter magnets I step on daily.

The crayon marking on the coffee table.

The shoe with the barn animal found inside.

The dried play dough under the couch.

The smudges on the window.

These are my reminders that I play a very important role. I'm a mama.

(**picture taken at the Indianapolis Zoo last Thursday**)

it's easter. i can't choose just one.

Or just five pictures to share. There are too many. But being that I took over seventy shots today, and sharing only seven, that's not bad, right?

It was such a beautiful day. We celebrated His resurrection. Spent so much time outside. Swinging. Picking flowers. Going down the slide. Having an Easter egg hunt. Blowing bubbles. Visiting my dad's neighbor's and all their wonderful farm animals. Oh, and of course, eating. Duh, my favorite part once again.

Family shot. Gotta have one of these, right? (Next year, there will be another little one with us- yay!)

I think she would pick flowers all day if I let her.

Leaning in to give her cousin, Jonathan, a kiss. They are so stinking cute together.

A little on Audrey's outfit. Her coat that she is wearing in the first picture is vintage, I got it at a garage sale last year. Her dress came from TJ Maxx. It was $17, not bad, considering she will be wearing it again in August for her uncle's wedding. Her hat she borrowed, I made the flower clip for it. And her silver shoes came from Old Navy. Total cost of outfit $27. I think I scored, yes?