our new favorite toy

dear alpha-bot mastermind,

thank you so much for having an awesome imagination. i recently got your alpha-bot toys from our local lakeshore, one of our favorite places, and have yet to find time to do anything else! this was seriously genius...

i wonder who you are and how you came to be so creative? did you just have great people around you who encouraged, or did you forge a path against much resistance?

all i know is that my mom hopes that i can grow up someday to do something equally great...because using my imagination and never losing it is something she hopes i hold on to forever.

thank you again for making all of the letters of the alphabet into robots.

sincerely,
S

p.s...my mom loves them because she thinks they are cool, but she also likes that it helps my attention span increase and that i am creating new paths of brain wrinkles by figuring out how each robot works all by myself! she appreciates that i get to have fun and practice patience, problem solving, and sitting still...but i have to admit, i just think they are super fun!!

who doesn't like a good adventure...?

so i'm new to this whole blogger/blogging world...and i have to say that i've jumped into the deep end with a blindfold! i would love for you to join my family of two on this amazing journey called life...because i guess part of having a blog is so that people will join you in your adventures, right?

so you can follow us on the left, yes, right there, uh huh. yes, just click "join this site"...also, we are on pinterest...a lot *wink wink*...and yes, even my three year old loves it. he has his own board where he collects things he likes. you can find our boards by clicking here.

uuumm, so this is awkward. it's like asking a stranger to be my bestest friend in the whole world....

...so...do you want to be our bff...?

boots in the rain

admittedly, many things have been weighing on my brain all at once lately. the ebbs and flows of life recently have felt more like a storm...and without realizing it, i have been sea sick. have you ever been so overwhelmed with, just, stuff, that all of a sudden you can't breathe? 

sometimes, Jesus has a way of cheering us up when we need it most...even when we don't know we need it.

so last sunday, it rained! and S has been waiting and waiting to use the pirate boots he got for his birthday in march...and oh, puddles, you had no idea what was coming your way! he woke up, got dressed and ran downstairs, ready for splashing!

off we went to sunday school...and on the way we stopped to splash in puddles. S has been told that he can only splash in puddles if he has his boots on...so he jumped in every. single. puddle. he. found. most were duds, but we did find one good one.

why did this cheer me up so much?

because we giggled our butts off, that's why!

"to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance..." (ecc. 3:1, 4)

sometimes i need to just stop and giggle with my son. i need to remember to pause and enjoy the little things way more often than i do.

S really is the best thing to happen to me. ever. seriously. i can't even believe how much love fills my heart because of that little guy...

may you find something today that makes you giggle and fills your heart with love!

xoxo

oh man, how exciting and humbling is it to learn

oh man. so i'm learning to pipe icing. and it is not easy.

it's very similar to what i do when i'm painting or using puff paint at the studio, but different because i'm holding a piping bag. (i'm pretty sure that is what it is called!) holding the bag puts my hand and wrist at a much different angle that, of course, feels totally awkward...and will feel awkward until i practice enough. thank God it's my best friend teaching me! she is patient with me, i mean, hello? she's still my friend after 18 years!

all this being said...

it had been a while since i was confronted with something completely new. i guess the last newest thing was figuring out how to use my computer, but that was almost a year ago. i have practiced, put in the hours, and have slowly become comfortable with my good ol' macbook. (though mostly thanks to the creatives at the apple store!)

i had forgotten how exciting and humbling it can be when learning something new. i was so excited at the thought of learning how to do the piping because of all of the cute things i would be able to decorate. cooking, let alone baking, is not one of my strengths. but my bff thought i might be able to get it. i am far from mastery, but i know one thing is certain...i will keep at it, even if she decides she doesn't need my help! ha :) oh my goodness, seriously, i had to focus on this new thing and really try my best...and keep trying after my best was just darn ugly! 

of course, my crazy brain started wandering. my thoughts wandered to a place where S is an adult. a good one. he obviously has a ways to go, seeing as he is only 3 years old now, but it is always in the back of my mind that he will need to be a responsible, respectable adult someday. and how can i, his mommy, not do my best to prepare him for all that will delight, challenge, hurt, and matter? 

so...some things that i hope S understands early on...

learning is easy sometimes, but not all the time

learning is usually fun, but sometimes it will make you cry

practice requires lots of character

(and doesn't always make perfect)

our best is always better than good enough

our best is always better than perfect

learn from your mistakes

learn from the mistakes of others, no matter who they are

don't give up, Jesus didn't

it will all be worth it in the end

(even if you don't succeed in the eyes of others)

i know i jumped off the deep end and wandered far from icing. i apologize, kind of. this is just how my brain works! let us look for the meaningful in all that we do and humble ourselves often to take on something new! (ha, that even rhymed :)

oh, and by the way, don't be jealous of my first cookie right there in the top right corner!