New shoes...

Laurelei could not be more excited about EVERYTHING right now. Her new catch phrase is "Oh Mommy, I LOVE it." She says this regularly with such sweet gumption about anything and everything. The snack I give her in the car every afternoon, the pajamas we pick out together for her to wear at night, taking a bath, etc. So you can imagine that when we bought her new shoes last weekend she welcomed them with no less excitement. In fact, this week we have been unable to fall asleep without them on our feet. I am hoping to break this habit soon!

In other news, L is regularly saying prayers too. She used to just repeat what we coached her through, but is taking great ownership now. She talks to Jesus and tells him she loves him, and even thanks him for everyone she can think of. It is such a sweet blessing to Matt and I to hear her recognizing Jesus name every night before she falls to sleep. A few night ago I over heard her talking herself to sleep in bed. She was thanking Jesus for her friends and family, Mickey Mouse, mommy and daddy, etc. However, she was quick to let Jesus know, "No thank you for time-out." I guess she is a little to familiar with time-out these days and wanted him to know she was a little unhappy. What a sweet little life she is!

Stay tuned for more new happenings around the Burlew house. I can't wait to fill everyone in on the changes we've been making around here, inside and out! :)

Cataloging Moments

It has been heavy on my mind lately that I need to be more purposeful about cataloging the precious moments of our family. I love to share little stories of L with friends and family, but seldom write them down. When I think of this, the progression of my thoughts spirals quickly out of control (which I am sure Matt would suggest is not really a big deal, for me at least.)

Anyway, my chain of thoughts the other day went something like this...

"I never write down sweet things L does..."
"After a few days, I kind of start to forget the sweet things L did..."
"Oh no, what was that really cute thing she said the other day?"
"What if always forget all the cute things she ever did?"
"Oh no, I WILL NEVER be able to remember the most important moments of her life!"
"What about when I have more children? I will forget all the sweet things they did too!"
"Oh no, I am the worst mother ever, I will NEVER have a single story to tell L about her childhood because I won't EVER remember ANYTHING!"

It only took a minute for me to scale my paranoia down. (It was starting to become like my fear of pumping gas when I was pregnant with L, I was sure someone was going to throw a cigarette in my gas tank and blow us all up, real reasonable, right?) There have been billions of women for endless generations that have done just fine without journaling or blogging. However, it made me decide that since I have this tool at my disposal now, maybe I should attempt to use it. Plus, one of the sweetest things my mother did for me was keep a calendar of my first year, complete with little notes about sweet things I did. When I was pregnant with L I cherished it and re-read it a million times over. I want to have memories like that for my children someday to peruse too.

All that to say, if you begin to see an influx in my blog posts, this new desire to 'keep a record' is probably to blame.

So, one quick sweet moment to share...

Tonight Matt sat down with L to read her a story from one of my FAVORITE books from when I was a child, Minnie 'n Me. I hadn't snapped a picture of them in awhile and I knew I just wanted to remember this sweet moment. Sometimes L can be so gentle when she wants to get your attention...and this little picture just says it all! Couldn't be more blessed by them both.

I wonder what goes through their minds?

Lately L has grown up so much in so many ways. I am sure every time I actually get around to blogging about it I say that, but this time its really true. She talks non stop, (which I every adult I knew growing up likes to joke "I wonder where she gets that..."), and this leads to many any interesting statement or confession. I have decided I am going to try to be better about writing these things down, seeing as how they are SO darn cute!

One night recently she allowed me to put her to bet. I choose the word allowed very appropriately since she has a strong preference for 'daddy' at bedtimes, and meal times, and play times, and... Anyway, as I was putting her to bed I noticed a stale graham cracker on her pillow next to her head. I obviously asked what it was there for and tried to remove it to throw it away. L quickly informed me that it was for her baby doll (who sleeps on the pillow next to her) because the baby is always 'hougie' aka hungry at night. Then, she promptly asked for Daddy. As if, "Mommy, you clearly don't get it. Go ahead and get daddy to finish up here."

I love to think that she believes she is constantly being bothered by the baby doll in the middle of the night, therefore it is so much more convenient to just have the food ready. No need to get out of bed this way. Makes perfect since to...er..me?

Our 'L'

To say we have our hands full would be an understatement.
L literally ran screaming into the terrible two's. I appreciate that she is completely full of personality and spunk. However, that personality and spunk has given her a return trip ticket to time out over the past couple of months!
Despite her affinity for breaking all the rules, Laurelei has being budding into an adorable little girl. She loves to play hide and seek, sing along to her favorite movies, give us a continual play by play, and take very good care of her babies.Anyone else enjoying the terrible two's along with us?

"the blues"

Due to some recent, unexpected, circumstances I have had the 'luxury' of laying around the house for the past few days. In this time, I have realized a few things.

1) It is nearly impossible to sit still and relax in your own home. When I lay on the couch all I can think is, "look how messy that coat closet is!" or, "wouldn't some bolder drapes look better there?" or, "wow, I really should mop!." Does this mean I have a problem?

2) I will NEVER be done decorating and re-decorating my house. Is it impossible to be satisfied, or do my interests just change that quickly? Hmm...

3) I do not like to be alone. The more time I spend alone, the more my mind wanders to things like, "wouldn't some bolder drapes look better there?" Clearly not a healthy thought for me, given my pension for spending way to much on 'bargain' drapes that end up being replaced next month.

4) My house has "the blues." That's right. We are almost entirely blue, floor to ceiling, side to side, front to back. I believe whole heartily that blues are extremely soothing, but there is the potential that I have gone overboard....

Would you care to be the judge?

Even the kitchen and bathroom have caught the fever!



Any suggestions??

let me count the ways...

How many times and or different ways can I say...I REALLY cannot keep up with life these days. And mind you, its not only this blog that is suffering. Lately I have begun to resonate with the saying "stretched thin." After school, Lemon Tree, my friends, my family, and real life stuff there just seems to be no time left in the day. Without making any hasty changes, I have to say that sometimes I think my priorities need a little investigating, and maybe just a little more than a "talking to..." Does that make sense?

Ok, ok... this is is serious danger of turning into a place where I do a little too much thinking out loud. Tomorrow (and at this rate by tomorrow I mean, like, a month from now) I will move on to much lighter subjects. Subjects such as how cute L has gotten these days, or how terribly much I love my husband. You know, the good stuff.

What's New?

I blame my terrible, terrible blogging record here at Little Burlew on Lemon Tree Creations. While a major love of mine, it had me completely overwhelmed for awhile. But, I have decided to turn over a new leaf. Starting today, I am going to slow down just a little. I have noticed recently that if nothing else, I just really need the time to sit and indulge with thought all of the great things about life.

So, that being said, here is an update on life as we know it.

Laurelei is 22 months old now, can you believe it? She is growing like a weed. Never been healthier (relatively speaking), funnier, or more outgoing. She entertains us daily with new phrases, "where are you going?," "where's daddy?," "why mommy?," "No, I do it!," "Do it again!," "love you..." Well, you get the picture. She is in a great stage of life.
Matt was recently ordained. Talk about being proud of your husband. My history has been full of churches and various church families. Full of wonderful examples of godly men and women. Oddly enough though, I have never felt as blessed as I did sitting in the service when Matt was ordained. In that moment I pretty much new I was the luckiest girl in the world, having such a wonderful godly man as my husband, someone who I am lucky enough to raise a family with. Can't believe I get to hold his hand forever!
Not much has been going on with me. Just the usual... school, summer school, and the blog. If you haven't checked out much of Lemon Tree Creations you should! I am lucky enough to share this wonderful site with some very creative girls. We are just having a blast!