This Comes Naturally For Her, But "That" Does NOT!

Such a silly girl!  She really is a clown at home!  However, my outgoing, silly, clown gave her first talk at church yesterday and there were to be no such funny faces on display there.  The poor thing is absolutely, positively shy, upset, and nervous when in a setting she does not prefer.  Giving a talk was not something she preferred AT ALL.  We gave her some pep talks all through the week to get her ready (she seems to do better and feels more secure when given warning and time to mentally prepare for the event).   She actually did it, with daddy's help (I was already in the room subbing for her 4 year old class)!  If you could have seen her face, you would have thought she was going to run away crying in the first few sentences. No, really, it's true.  Her lips were trembling and you could see the tears starting to form in her eyes, but she pushed through somehow  and actually grew a bit more confident as she got closer to the end.  Of course, you could hear her best when she said "AMEN" at the end!   If you know my daughter, you know this was a monumental achievement for her little 4 year old self.   Now, it's back to faces like this one above!   :-)

Getting Crafty For One Hour

I actually made it!  I followed through and made the Easter wreath I mentioned in my last posting.  It was easy!  This photo was at about 1am, after I had finished (I started it at about 12am - dumb, I know, but I am a night owl) and gotten it hung on the front door.  The lighting is odd because it is in the middle of the night, with the porch light on.  Between the eggs and the Easter "grass",  I spent no more than $6 on this.  (I already had cardboard, glue sticks, etc.)  Maybe it looks like a $6 wreath, though.  Hope it doesn't look bad enough for someone to think that!  :-)

I also started on getting Sarah's room to look like a little girl's room.  It has been a blank canvas since we moved in in November.  I didn't want to put everything up from our last house, since it was still in Nursery decor.  Noah's Ark had to be retired.  I knew that once we moved into a house in Utah, that I would start over on hanging a few things and such that would be more appropriate for a growing little girl.   So, Sarah decided she wanted to have butterflies (lady bugs, dragon flies, etc).  I actually found these Vinyl Clings at Dollar Tree, if you can believe that!  For the entire wall of butterflies/and little flowers, I spent $3.  I am so proud of myself for finding those.  I wasn't looking for them at the Dollar Tree, either.  I happened upon them and thought I should give them a try.  Even if I hated them, they were still only $1 each - not a big loss to worry about!  So, here are a couple of photos showing off the finished wall.  I will be putting a few more things on the other big wall next to this.  We'll see what happens.  I am going to make or buy cute pillows to spice up her bed - pink comforter with purple on reverse are cute but plain, which I had intended.  Also, I am going to do a small grouping of homemade wall art on the other big wall.  I think so, at least! 

 

How to Make an Easter Wreath from Plastic Easter Eggs | eHow.com

Here is an eHow link for an idea that has struck my fancy! 
How to Make an Easter Wreath from Plastic Easter Eggs eHow.com
I may just have to try this.  I'm not one to do Easter decorations, but this caught my eye.  Since we live in a condo, where everyones' condo looks the same, I have been thinking more about wreaths and other decor for my front door to add some uniqueness to all the sameness on the street!  Also, we will eventually get seating of some kind for the decent sized porch, since its really got to help make up for the fact that we don't have our own yard.  I'd also like to have something to sit on, comfortably, when I need or want to be outside watching Sarah play (since we don't have a fenced in yard, she can easily play anywhere in our little condo community, which, thankfully, is very safe). Anyway, let me know if you like the wreath idea and or you decide to make it!  The Internet is full of creative and fun ideas!    Here's a photo of the finished product:

My New Niece!

Olivia Grace Griffiths is the newest niece and cousin in our family.  She is beautiful, with a full head of red hair.  She was born Feb 15, 2011, to my sister, Lindsay, and her husband, Gary.  I was so excited to go see her in the hospital just a day later.  I have never met any of my 9 nieces or nephews until they were at least a year old.  This was novel for me!  So, Grandma Wright, Sarah, and I visited the hospital to take a peek at this cutie pie!  Sarah admired her from afar, but wouldn't get too close.  I believe she thought she might break her if she was too close, since I talked to her beforehand about how we need to wash our hands, be gentle, don't touch unless Aunt Lindsay says so, etc.  In the photos, with Sarah in them, Sarah didn't know I was taking the photo.  She wouldn't pose in any, so I cleverly asked her if she'd like to "show" her toy to Olivia (she brought a toy with her in my bag).  She loved this idea, so she crept pretty close to the side of the bed to show off HER toy!

          

A Little Late, But Still Great!

You are going back in time now.  How about to December, when I took some photos at Christmastime?  I never did post any from the holidays and would like to put a few up to share.  This was our first Christmas in Utah since 1993; also, our first Christmas with all of my siblings and parents, since 1999, at my parents' house in Missouri.  I am grateful we can be with my family for special occasions and holidays on a regular basis, after being away from everyone for 18 years.  The closest we have lived to my parents, in all of this time, was a 10 hour drive between Texas and Missouri!  So, being with everyone this year was quite a happy time and almost surreal, come to think of it.  I still have days where I think I will have to say goodbye to parents and siblings soon, so that we can catch our flight back "home".  Staying put and having the chance to be with family often is a blessing.

Aunt Melissa (Matt's sister) sent this Barbie Jeep!  We were just as surprised as Sarah was!  The Barbie Jeep was quite the bonus, considering that all that Sarah asked for was a Lady Bug Pillow Pet and a plush Lightning McQueen toy.  That's it.  That is literally all she asked for!  Phew!  No computers or i-Phones asked for!  Give it a few years, I know.  She is a stuffed animal/plush toy kind of girl right now, at her innocent age of 4.

This was our Christmas morning on Christmas Eve.  IM-Flash, in Lehi, UT, never shuts down.  They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with holidays included.  So, Matt was one of the lucky ones that had his regular work day on Christmas Day (12 hour shifts, 4 days a week, then 12 hour shifts and 3 days a week the next.  Repeat.)  So, we accommodated Daddy and asked Santa to arrive early at our house the night before!  I conveniently had Sarah and I located at Grandma's house when Matt got home from work at 6:30pm, so that he could quickly "help" Santa out before coming over to get us.  It worked well.  Sarah was very surprised when we opened that front door to the living room!  Santa even put a few of Sarah's presents in the Jeep. Thanks, Santa!  You are amazing, putting that Barbie Jeep together before Sarah and I walked back to the house with Matt!  ;-)

Grandma Turnbaugh made an adorable doll for Sarah.  She made a few outfits for the doll, too.  Grandma really does love Sarah!  Making gifts like this is definitely a labor of love.  She also made ornaments for all 3 of us for the tree.  She has been making ornaments for us each year for about 7 years now. 

Sarah loves her Aunt Lisa.  They surely can be silly at times! 

Everyone together Christmas Night at Grandpa and Grandma Wright's house.  A lot of chaos, fun, eating, playing, laughing, going on! 

Cousins Rachel and Emily are so much fun to play with!

Sarah leaped into Grandpa's arms just seconds before this photo was taken!

Having fun rough housing!  Daddy even arrived a bit later to join in on the fun after a long Christmas Day at work.  (He does love his job, by the way!)

  Best one of Grandma, Lisa, and Lindsay together!

Sledding in Utah!  Haven't done this since I was a kid!

About a week after Christmas, we all got together to go sledding at a nearby park.  Sarah refused and pouted that she WOULD NOT go down.  After "forcing" her to go down, guess who had so much fun that she cried when we had to leave?! 

During this same Christmas break, My mom and Lindsay's sister-in-law put on a baby shower for Lindsay, as she would be having her first girl after 2 boys!  The baby shower was held at our residents' clubhouse.  Oh, and Lindsay did have her baby Olivia Grace Griffiths on February 15, 2011.  She has a full head of red hair!  She is adorable!  (I can't find the photos I took, but I will and I will post a couple with Sarah and I with the sweet baby.)