Blessing #2: plastic combs

So a few days ago, this past Sunday to be exact, Emily had been in our bathroom for an unusual amount of time...which is a bad sign.

While we were making breakfast, she finally wanders out and asks Brian for some "help".

Now, normally, asking for help with something like, oh, buttoning up pants...or tying shoes...is not much of a problem. However, we discovered that the "help" Emily needed at this particular time was going to require a skill set that neither of us possessed.

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it.

Emily had decided to "comb" her hair with one of my small plastic combs with the really tiny teeth, but instead of combing it, she had twirled it into a very impressive and massive rat's nest right on the top of her head...and the comb was literally... stuck to her head.

After getting over the initial shock, we sat Emily down at the kitchen table and we tried everything we could think of...slowly pulling tiny strands of thin blond hair out of the comb, rubbing conditioner all over the mass to loosen it. Anything to try and figure out the intricately tangled puzzle of hair that sat on top of Emily's head.

There was crying and screaming from the pain, we felt SO terrible! And across the table from Emily sat Addison, eyes wide, mouth open... quiet for the longest time that I've ever seen her be quiet.

After what seemed like forever, I was getting ready to tell Emily that we were going to have to cut it out of her hair, because this sucker was going nowhere. THEN...I had a moment of brilliance.

...it doesn't happen very often, so I have to brag about it now.

Cut one end of the comb off, close to the massive tangle, and then slowly push the ends of the hair off of the broken end. Makes sense, right? Brian said it would never work :)

Thank God for plastic combs, because it broke in half quite easily, and I was able to save (just about) every last hair without having to send her to school the next day looking a mini member of Flock of Seagulls.

Lesson here: rid your house of combs made of anything but PLASTIC!!

Blessing #3: Addison...I should add that these blessings are in no particular order!!!

Addison, my sweet baby girl, my absolute "girlie-girl", my cuddle bug, the Middle one. She loves anything frilly, glittery, fancy and pink. On a daily basis, she insists on wearing "fancy" dresses or skirts only...my little lady. She is fiercely loyal to Tiger, who she claims to be her "best friend".

She is strong and stubborn...yet can be so very sensitive and fragile at the same time. Sometimes she melts down like a pat of butter if I even look at her the wrong way. I love her sweet little heart, especially when she looks at me and for no particular reason says, "Mommy? I love you." She tells me her heart is made of "glittery sparkles"...I absolutely have to agree.

She is 3 years old, hoping to go on to 20 as quickly as possible, and just wants to be a big girl SO badly! She loves her preschool teachers and friends, and her precious little heart shines so brightly to everyone she meets. Her face is so expressive, it is hard for her to hide anything that she is feeling.

She loves playing with make-up, playing dress up, putting together puzzles (difficult ones, too!), reading books with mommy and daddy, cuddling, talking about "happy things" at bedtime, making up stories, listening to Mary Poppins, The Biscuit Brothers, and her VBS songs.

My prayer for her is that she remembers that God and mommy and daddy love her just the way she is, with or without the fancy dresses, because her heart is the fanciest and most wonderful part of her!

Blessings

Hello. My name is Anne...and I am a control freak.

...(I think this is where you all say: Hello, Anne)

Ok. There, I have said it. For those of you who know me...even if only for a short while, I'm sure this comes as a complete shock. If I could give you some insight into my crazy mental world for just a few minutes:

1. I spent several hours trying to decide whether or not to create my most recent blog background using my own digital scrapbooking software, or to scrap my pride and choose one from some of the very talented blog sites online. Obviously, the online people won...(but only because it was after midnight and I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to hit the Photoshop icon)...but I did do my own header :)

2. I get my panties in a bunch and fret like a mother hen over just about anything that requires me to give up control in a given situation...how do you like that mental image?

3. It has taken me almost 45 minutes just to START typing this blog entry because it HAS TO BE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!!! :)

4. Please, don't help me...I promise I can do it ALL myself.

...tell me, am I the only one who is like this?

But I am desperately trying to learn to let go...it's going VERY slow...I have been this way for an extremely long time, after all.

It's funny, because I pray for the ability to give up control to The One who controls it all, and have the faith to know that His plan is in place. Unfortunately what I've learned is that God does not send faith down from heaven in a lightning bolt to our brains...I know because I've prayed for this too.

Instead, He gives us "opportunities" to have faith..."opportunities" to throw our hands up in the air and say, Ok, Lord, this one is all yours! And recently, God has been giving me LOTS and LOTS of "opportunities". Or rather, beating me over the head in the hopes that I will take advantage of these "opportunities".

Clearly, it has taken me a while to figure this out....like I said, I'm learning!

I thank the Lord everyday for a husband who helps to keep me grounded in the reality that I cannot be in charge all the time, and that I was never REALLY the one in charge in the first place. I also have three sweet and precious little kiddos that remind me of the very same thing with their crazy antics, tantrums, silliness, and wonderment, EVERYDAY.

So, instead of worrying about all the things I could worry about, I am stealing an idea from a bloggy friend of mine (thank you K!), and will be listing all the amazing, wonderful blessings that God has given to me....one blog post at a time.

Blessing #1: Emily

Emily, my monkey moo, the big sister, lover of frogs, centipedes, roly-poly's, lizards, and just about anything else that crawls around in the grass. She loves singing, swimming, gymnastics, eating crab legs (yes, it's true), playing outside, and anything that might involve ice cream.

She is very independent and self-confident, which I LOVE about her, and is such a champion for God at the ripe old age of five it is awe-inspiring. She is absolutely not afraid to tell you exactly what she believes in. She is hilarious, cracks me up with the brutally honest things that tend to come out of her mouth. Her heart is so sweet and loving, she wants nothing more than for us to be proud of her...which we are more than she will ever know!

She has just embarked on that new and scary journey (for mom and dad as well!) called school, and is doing so great. Kindergarten has been a blast for her so far, and although she comes home everyday and claims to have had amnesia for the entire 7 hours she was there...I know better.

My prayer is that she always remembers who she is and what she believes in, and what a blessing she is in our lives. We love you so much, baby girl!!