On the Verge...

So my mom is here!!!  I haven't blogged in forever.  Things just get busy or we are tired.  But I wanted to share some of the pictures we have gotten of her visit so far. Al Qasba - first night.  What a trooper she was! Forgot the sippy.    Nando's. A fave. Eye of the Emirates. Visiting our friends at the house in Fujairah that will be ours in one month!! The girls. The swing set.  I think this kid will be out here a lot. Around the house: "You're so cool, Nana!" Y bike for Selah with birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma Ward.  She likes it!  And since we've gotten it, she's started standing on her own more and trying to take steps on her own. Maybe it was perfect timing and maybe it is because of the bike. Whatever it was, I think we are getting closer to having a toddler on our hands! On the move. Also got some new Clark's first steps shoes and they are great! Watching a movie. ...

I've seen that a few of my friends around the world have the lovely little Latt children's table and chair set from Ikea.  Maybe it's just my kid that stands on the flimsy little seats, which has slowly created cracks in them.  And maybe we are the only ones who then used them for a kid gathering and they returned to our house not with crack, but holes.  But I'm cheap  on a budget, so I didn't want to buy new chairs, I wanted to be able to fix the old ones, gosh darnit!   Unfortunately wood is sort of hard to come by (read: expensive) in this country, so I couldn't just go and buy some wood and cut more seats.  But I did have some thick cardboard.  And some fabric.  So I took some pictures of what I did, just in case any of my friends have or will have the same problem and might like a quick little solution.  You could also do it to spice up the set even if they are holding up better for you than they have for me.  The one wi...

This weekend was a special one for our family.  On Saturday, Quinn and I celebrated five years of marriage.  On Sunday we celebrated two and a half years of him being a dad.  So I wanted to take a moment to forever record my gratitude for Quinn Ryan Smith. Quinn, We met almost seven years ago.  I was dramatic and indecisive.  You were steadfast and assured.  You were adorable, handsome, kind, talented, inventive, and gentle. The Lord told me I could trust your leadership and your assurance in Him for the rest of my life.  So I did.  And we got married. You gave me a home.  You led me humbly and gently through years of busyness and memories.   I thought we were thinking about thinking about talking about having kids.  But, apparently, you were praying for one already.  And the Lord answered your prayer in His timing (not mine).  You loved me through nine months of whining and complaining.  You pr...

Here I was, thinking that I only had iffy iphone photos to share with you last time, and then I looked in our photo archive to find that Quinn had copied over some pictures that we had apparently taken during the last few weeks of May!  So here I am with said pictures.  I'll let them do most of the talking... Birthday dress from some friends. Pink Eyed Bug. Breakfast sandwich on homemade rolls?  No one complained. Finally getting to open her birthday present from Gigi and Boppa I am going to write a little preface to the following pictures: Selah got a leotard and tutu for her birthday.  I was anxious to try it on her and see how she looked/what happened.  I have purposefully avoided tutu like skirts throughout Selah's life because they didn't seem like her or me.  But this was an actual ballet outfit and I did ballet when I was little, so I thought maybe Selah would like it and we would have a little ballerina on our hands. ...