Things I Want to Remember 2

The girls entertained themselves the other day and did about 20 puzzles together.

Maisie decided she wanted to draw a picture for Jesus. The next day she wondered how Jesus was going to get His picture. :)  I thought  it was really sweet.

Analise wrote this on the whiteboard this week.  I made sure that she showed her dad. :)

Each girl chose her outfit for the day, and since they are so different, I wanted to capture it. Analise got this sweatshirt and pants from my parents for Christmas, and she would wear it everyday if I let her. I thought maybe she liked it because a friend at school sometimes wears sweatshirts, or I thought maybe she wanted to look a little like her cousins. Imagine my surprise when she told Brandon she liked it so much because she is dressed like me. It only confirms that I frequently wear sweatshirts. (Though with jeans.)

And then Maisie is my pink sparkly girl! I admit  I had to convince her to wear these skinny jeans, but once they were on she didn't mind. She chose this outfit two nights before her Aunt S. picked her up from preschool to take her for a couple of hours. 



Sadie has enjoyed cutting with scissors for quite some time. She usually just cuts a piece of paper up into little scraps. This week she came home with a Bible page that needed cut on the lines. So I let her try this new challenge, and I was pleased with her efforts. I thought she did a nice job of cutting pretty straight lines. 

I don't have a picture, but I surprised Sadie this week and changed out her car seat. She was too tall for the convertible seat, and it was really hard to buckle her when she was layered in her winter coat. Since she met the weight requirement to move to a booster, I went ahead and made the switch. (BTW, I didn't cry, though I did ponder the moment that my baby is growing, and I will no longer have a baby in a 5 point harness.)

Sadie opened the van door Weds. morning, saw her seat and gave an excited, "YEAH!" She then said, "I'm so excited!" She was just beaming with pride.

And how do I show Maisie I love her? I surprise her and buy her blueberries.

One more sweet memory. After lunch yesterday I went and joined the girls in the living room to do a magnetic moasic with them. I said, "Boy it's kind of cold  in here isn't it?"

Next thing I know, Sadie gets up, gets the blanket off the couch and wraps it around me to warm me up. And it worked; my heart melted.



I will close with a couple of funnies.

Ever since Sadie knows Jesus is living in her heart, she likes to feel it beat. However, she will say, "I feel my heart beeping!"

The girls know I don't let them eat anything with raw eggs in it, but I overheard Maisie tell Sadie today we couldn't eat it because it had rotten eggs in it.

Maisie says to me to get my attention, "Mama?"
Analise pipes in, "Old Mama."

Things I Want to Remember

For quite some time, Analise will find a certain "state" with her food. She'll be eating, and I will hear her say something like, "This chip looks like Indiana." "This piece of pancake looks like Minnesota." Some days she'll come home from school and tell me she ate MI, IL, AR, etc.

I think it's so cute.

And then there is Sadie. She was eating a chip last week, held it up and said, "This chip looks like my panties." Hah!

 Last Thursday we stopped at a local cookie store to use some free coupons we'd been given from friends. I thought their choices were so cute; I had to take a picture to remember their reasoning behind their choices. In fact, I sent this picture to my parents and sister to see if they could guess which daughter picked which cookie. They were all wrong, though they all guessed exactly the same. And honestly, their guesses were wise.

So here it is:

Maisie chose the flower because it had pink on it.

Analise chose the solid pink because it was bigger.

Sadie chose the basketball because it was orange.

Sometimes it's the little things in life I want to remember.

Daughter of the King

While I go to Bible study each week, Sadie is in a class for her age - Bible Club. And I have always loved and appreciated the teachers in those classes and what they do with the kids. This fall Sadie came home with these hearts. They are to remind her of the gospel story:

Gold - streets of gold in heaven

Black - for our sin

Red - the blood of Jesus

White - Jesus making our sins white as snow

Green - growing in Christ

Sadie has treasured these hearts, and we talk about them frequently. Even during our pastor's sermon over Christmas, he mentioned our sins being washed white as snow, and Sadie looked at me and said, "Like my hearts!" She was listening and made the connection.

This past week I got together with friends to pray for our children and schools. We usually pray for our kid's salvation, but I specifically prayed for Sadie. Sunday night at small group, Brandon prayed for our kid's salvation.

Monday night I am tucking the girls into bed, when Maisie asks me if everyone dies. We've had this discussion before, and it usually makes everyone sad. So I wasn't surprised when Sadie got the "I'm sad and don't ever want to be away from mommy" look. So I again talked about heaven and how great it will be, and that we shouldn't fear death if we have Jesus in our hearts. I felt prompted to ask Sadie if she wanted Jesus in her heart. When I have asked her in the past, she has always said no. I think she was afraid that if she did ask Him into her heart she was going to die right then.

I explained to her again that was not going to  happen. I asked her then, "Do you want to ask Jesus into your heart?" And she said yes!

I asked her questions about why we needed Jesus and why he died on the cross. We even used her precious hearts to help explain again. Once I felt comfortable that she understood, we prayed together! And the angels rejoiced in heaven!

Now time for my confession. With the other two girls I had no doubt they knew what they were doing. For some reason I wasn't so convinced this time, and I really wished Brandon had been around to confirm this for me. The next morning I asked the Lord for a confirmation, and I believe He gave me a couple. I asked Sadie if she remembered what she had done with Jesus the night before, and she did. And the second confirmation - the snow on the ground. When I pointed it out to her, she went and got her hearts to show me the white heart. Jesus had made her sins white as snow.

Oh me of little faith. 

The Queen

Since we've been home from our trip, life has gone along pretty normal. Brandon was home for a whole week! He even went to Awana with us to help with games. The other leaders gave him a hard time for being gone so much. :) It was definitely nice for him to be back in the office to catch up on some things, and we loved having him home for meals and other life things.

The other day Maisie came down the hall announcing she was a queen. I think this was the first time she was a queen and not a princess.

Saturday

Saturday was my last day in CA. Brandon was supposed to stay until the following Thursday, but thankfully that changed and he was able to come home Sunday. We got up Saturday morning with the hopes of getting to the beach before I had to be at the airport.

We first stopped to see the machine Brandon's been working on for months. We weren't there too long, and it was nice to see the machine and meet more people that he's been working with. From there we drove over the bridge again and headed to the beach.

We got the beach at 10:00, and I joked to Brandon that we were the only ones there without a dog. Turns out we probably were. Here is a glimpse of all the people and little dogs there. (Probably close to 100) We talked with a local and found out this "puppy parade" meets weekly.

This was my first time on the Pacific Ocean; I've seen the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. I was amazed at the big waves. They were unreal! Though I haven't been to a beach in years, but I was quickly reminded how awesome and God inspiring it was!

We finally got our picture taken together on this trip!

Back in the day when I was at a beach, I always took a picture of my feet in the sand. I took this one because of tradition, but I also wanted to remember one of our jokes on the trip. One of my AAA San Francisco travel guides had a couple of tips...one of which was to wear comfortable shoes, but not tennis shoes because that was a sign you were a tourist. So I wondered, "Do Privos count?" :)

After spending time at the beach, we drove along the coast some more and came to a really pretty scenic overlook.

From there Brandon dropped me off at the airport. Even knowing he would be home the next day, I sobbed as I hugged him goodbye. Though he worked more than we liked, it was still a special time together. After so many weeks of him traveling, it was nice to connect again. It just made the goodbye that much harder.

By 9:00 that night I was wrapped up in hugs again - by my sweet daughters! They had had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, but it's nice to know they missed me and were glad I was home again.

Thursday and Friday

Thursday was somewhat of a long day. Brandon left around 7:00, and I had rest of the day in the hotel by myself. I had really enjoyed my hours yesterday, so I tried to do the same today. However, I will admit it got a little long. I think part of me was getting a little discouraged that I wouldn't get to do the things I wanted. Sounds selfish doesn't it? I felt so close to San Francisco, yet so far.

I enjoyed reading on my new e-reader, I caught up on blogging, ate my leftovers for lunch, took a walk, and did some talking on the phone.
Brandon ended up getting back to the hotel around 7:30, and then we went to a local seafood place for dinner. Though it smelled like fish, the food was good!

Here is the hotel:

On Friday Brandon promised he would try and get off early so we could go sightseeing. He was hoping for lunch time, but it was after 1:30 when he got the hotel. We quickly packed the things we needed and ran out the door. We had a few hours of daylight. We took the BART transportation, and we didn't get lost. Since I was the one who had done all the research on what to do, I was in charge. Brandon was a dear and let me do what I wanted. It helped that he had no idea what was down there. :)

We got off the Bart and walked a couple of blocks to catch a trolley. This little station was next to palm trees - my favorite. It has been several years since I've seen one.

We rode the trolley (which was like an old bus) down to Pier 39. I needed to walk the shops to get souvenirs for the girls. And I had no idea what to get them...but I went into a shop and was quickly inspired. While I shopped, Brandon was on the boardwalk talking on the phone doing work things...Anyway, I got the girls their gifts and a shirt for myself. I was finished in the first stop!

 

We ended up walking to the end of the pier, and I am so glad we did. This is probably what I wanted to see the most (and Analise had told me to take a picture) - the sea lions! We stood and watched them awhile, and I loved it. They were quite noisy.

 We left Pier 39 and walked along the other touristy road. And this is just one of the several random things we saw...

I told Brandon I really wanted to see the road everyone talks about in SF. Instead of taking the trolley like 99% of the people, we walked uphill the whole way there. I knew SF was known for hills, but until I saw them I had no idea how steep they were. It was tiring but actually fun walking off the beaten path a little.

And wouldn't you know it, we got to the street and discovered we were at the bottom...Again we walked UP the many steps...(and we were the only ones going that direction. :))

Flowers in January? Yes please.

I took this for my bro-in-law who likes to pull a long camper.

Thankfully we walked down this hill.

I had a friend tell me to walk around here, so we did.

We found a little beach on the bay. There was someone swimming in the cold water. Brr.

Brandon remembered as a kid he would see how close he could get to the water before it would come back up the shore. He wasn't quite fast enough this time.

We found these along the shore and assume they are baby jellyfish...

After the beach we walked back towards the restaurants and decided on a place where I could get clam chowder in a fresh sourdough bread bowl. We were on the second floor looking out over the bay; it was nice and cozy. The food was yummy, and I was glad I got this SF food experience many had told me about.
After dinner Brandon asked if I wanted to walk around downtown some more, but I was ready to be finished. I enjoyed being down there and would do it again. However, by that time I was done being around lots of people. To be honest, I found myself missing Mackinac Island. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle for a while, but I was ready for some solitude after those few hours.

We rode the busy Bart back to Berkeley and relaxed in our room. Actually, Brandon worked and I read a book on my nook.

Thanks, babe, for taking the afternoon off for some fun in San Francisco!

Weds in Berkeley

We slept in a little bit on Weds. morning and then had some time before Brandon reported to work. We ate breakfast at the hotel, and then we headed out. We stayed in Berkeley, right on the marina and bay. We first drove along the bay and saw some pretty sights. Again, it was a little foggy...or smoggy. Not sure which.

We have a quirky thing for seagulls...

  From the bay I asked him to drive up in Berkely to see the campus. It was a nice, hilly drive. We found a road on the map we thought it would be fun, and it was great! There were many signs along the road that indicated what was ahead. (Sorry it's blurry)

 Our twisty, narrow road didn't let us down. Towards the top we found a great viewing area.

 Looking up from our viewing spot...

 Looking down...we could see further than the pictures let on.

 We came back to the hotel around 11:30 for him to head to work. I hung out in the hotel room, relaxing. I read my first book on my Nook and fell in love with it.

Here was my view from my room as the sun went down. It was beautiful!

 Brandon and his boss got back to the hotel around 7:45, and we went to dinner at H's Lordship. I had some yummy salmon and a great view of the skyline. Here is an attempt of a picture of the skyline.