A great, busy weekend!

This weekend was so great! It started off a little rocky, because we were going to be so busy and I was more than a little stressed out. We got a new roof this weekend (YAY!), and Mark spent Saturday morning and early afternoon helping the construction guys take off the old roof. Apparently Mark fell through the roof at one point (only into the attic, not into the house below!) and has a huge scrape on one of his arms. The new roof looks amazing and it was done in two days. Although, I think they are coming back to do some more work tonight.

The roof was only a small part of our weekend. On Friday morning, this is the schedule we thought we had for the weekend:

Friday Night: Meeting with Morgan and Eric (ended up being rescheduled)
Getting some junk out of our storage area

Saturday: Mark helping with the roof
My sister and brother in law coming into town
Birthday party at chuck e cheese (We didn't go because Maggie was still sick)
Dinner with the family

Sunday: Going to Sacramento to see my Dad's family, we left at 10:00 am and got home around 4:00 pm

It was super busy, but really fun. At because two things were cancelled, it ended up being really manageable. Saturday was great, Sarah and Russ and my mom went with us to Woodstock's for pizza and it was super yummy and fun! After dinner, we hung out with Sarah and Russ and then Alan came over with his friend, Ericka. We actually lit a fire in my Mom's raised fire pit and sat outside for a long time, talking and enjoying the fire. It was really great hanging out with my family.

Sunday was fun because Maggie got to meet my Dad's whole family. They LOVED her. She was the only child there, so she got lots and lots of attention. I mean, LOTS AND LOTS of attention!! She was the star of the show, the belle of the ball, etc. And people actually used those phrases. She was just being so perfectly Maggie. She was running everywhere, and her balance was really, really good. Everyone commented on it. And then, when we all sang happy birthday, Maggie joined in and started clapping and trying to sing. It was so incredibly adorable. And then, she started dancing and that was it. Every single person was in love. She is really good at dancing. I think I need to record it and send it to America's funniest home videos or something. She is so expressive and rhythmic, it is just hilarious. I was so proud to be her Mom. So many people told me how wonderful she was and everyone was just so positive. It made me feel like I had to be doing something right, which is a very good feeling.

Mark was such a proud daddy that day, too. He stayed with her and made sure she didn't trip or hurt herself. My aunt kept saying how much she looks like both of us, which I love. Basically, it was just really fun because of Maggie, and like I suspected, they did have really good food. :)

What else is happening? Maggie is doing some really funny and amazing things. She jumped off the bottom stair onto the floor and did it perfectly! She didn't even wobble! it was amazing. She is also suddenly convinced that all food is hot, and will repeat "hot, hot" over and over and not want to eat it. She always gets over it, but it takes a few minutes.

My mom has Maggie today, which gives me some free time to clean. I'm going to go on a walk with two of my favorite girls, Morgan and Brooke, in a few minutes, which is great. I love walks!

What's been going on...

We call this move "riding her segway". You know, those crazy upright scooter things that were supposed to revolutionize the world a couple of years of ago? Well, Maggie seems to like to pretend that her walker is one. And, the look on her face is what we call "cheesing". She scrunches up her face, snorts through her nose and expects everyone to laugh at her, which we do. It is so cute!

Poor Maggie has a bad cold, so the past few days have been a little rough. But, she is usually her happy self and I think she's getting better. At least, no more green snot. She is changing everyday and I can't believe how fast she learns. She can drink out of a straw now, which is so cute!

Everything is going so well around here! I can't believe how much better I feel than I felt over the summer. God has been changing me so much the last month. By pursuing God again, all the circumstances and all my worries and anxieties had begun to fade away. It's just not important anymore, I guess. I'm concentrating on the good things in my life; God's love and provision, my husband and daughter, my ministry, fellowship with my church family, all the love and support we have from our families...just the good stuff.

I am so looking forward to this weekend! My sister and her husband are coming to Chico for the day on Saturday, and I haven't see them in months! They are going on a Mission Trip to Mexico with their church (I'm so proud of them!) and are dropping off their beloved Yorkie, Jack, at my Mom's house. By the way, one name for my mom's house is "Doggie Disneyland" because the house and the yard are huge and just awesome. Also, there always seems to be a ton of dogs (my mom has three, we have Gidget, Sarah has Jack, etc...) and my mom is always the doggie babysitter whenever anyone goes out of town.

Maggie was still crawling the last time they visited. We have so much fun with them and they love Maggie. Most of the time they are here, we all stay the night at my Mom's house and just hang out their all day. Sarah and I often cook a huge meal or make some crazy dessert. If we don't cook, we always order pizza from Woodstock's, since Sarah and Russ miss it. Then we rent a movie or play board games all night. It's so fun and I love spending time with my sister!

On Sunday, we are driving to Sacramento with my Mom to go to my grandpa's 86th birthday party. It's funny because no one in my dad's family has ever met Maggie. Probably never even seen a picture of her. No one in my mom's family, either, besides my Grandparents. What can I say? My relationship with my extended family has always been...weird. We used to see them all at least three or four times a year growing up, but it was just a weird dynamic. I think it's because my parents never seemed like they wanted to be there. So, us children never wanted to be there, either. But, I am excited to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins and introduce them to Maggie. And there's usually really good food.

Here's a funny story that absolutely needed to be told in a blog:

On Monday, Morgan and I were walking in Bidwell park with our kids (one for me, three for her!) and we in the middle of a pretty in depth conversation when this old (er) man appeared out of nowhere right next to Morgan. He was smiling and said hello with a very strong accent. He saw all of Morgan's kids (two in a double stroller, and one in a front carrier) and you could tell he was impressed. He had really broken English, but he was saying something like "Very happy! Good for you, mother! Wonderful." When Morgan told him she they were all boys he said "Three boys!" and promptly kissed her on the cheek. And then he gave her one more kiss and then noticed that I, too, had a baby and ran over to kiss me. He said he was from Syria and basically, he was very happy to see us. And then he left. Morgan and walked for about 30 seconds, huge grins on our faces, but trying to keep from bursting out laughing. When we were far enough away, we laughed so hard! It was hilarious. He was totally harmless, and we were together, so there was no fear. It was just so funny. Ahhh..you gotta love Chico!

Pictures!!

The Birthday Party, etc....

Maggie's birthday party was on August 30, and it turned out so well!!! I forgot my camera and had to use my Mom's, so I don't have pictures yet, but they will be coming soon!

The party went perfectly, with lots of swimming and playing first. There was seven other kids there, from 4 months to almost 5 years old, and they all did a great job and seemed to have a lot of fun. Maggie had a great time, although I wouldn't really know it since Mark had her the whole time while I got dinner ready and played the hostess. That was the one bummer. I spent so much time running the party that I barely got to enjoy it. But, it was for Maggie and she had a blast! We had a really yummy BBQ, and then an awesome pinata that you pull strings on instead of hitting to release all the goodies. The party theme was "Our little cupcake is turning one" and I made a cake that was just one giant cupcake. Can I just say THE CAKE WAS AWESOME! I'm totally going to keep making this as her birthday cake until she begs me not to. After that, it was present time and she mainy got lots of really cute winter clothes, including THREE seriously cute jackets!! Her grandpa also bought her an amazing deluxe radio flyer wagon that I know she will love. And she got a few awesome toys and a Toys-R-US giftcard from her Grandma Jo (Mark's mom), so she was all good in the toy area. It was a day filled with fun, laughter and lots and lots of love for our little girl. It was a great day!

Maggie has completely mastered walking. She took her first steps a week before her 11 month birthday, and by a year she is starting to run. She has amazing balance, and can go over all sorts of terrain. She is climbing and so active and exploring everything. I think now that she has mastered walking, she is concentrating on talking. Her talking has exploded lately. Here's what she is saying now:
Mama
Dada
Ball
Jake (her second cousin)
Ellie (her other second cousin)
No
Yeah
Hey (what's with yeah and hey? I guess that's the way we talk)
Dog
Cat
Gidget (she says it perfectly!)
Book

She also said "I love you" once or twice, and once when I was telling Mark that we need to teach her to do jazz hands on command, she just looked up and said "Jazz hands!" It was hilarious!

Everything is going so well for us right now. I have really been pursuing God, and have already grown so much. It's amazing how freeing it is to really be honest and deal with whatever you are going through. I feel so loved by God, and am so excited about my future. It has been an amazing experience to return to Zion, and really return to living a life that I truly love.