The Salon Experience!

A few weeks ago, Sophie told me that she was ready to get her hair cut.  She has had it trimmed before at home by me or her Aunt Allie, but this time... she wanted the "salon experience".  So, her Aunt Allie (who is a hair stylist) set it all up for her.  Allie works at this fabulous salon in Chapel Hill called Caju.  The salon owner (thank you Patricia) let Allie open the salon yesterday (they are usually closed on Mondays) so Sophie could have her very own "salon experience".   Thank you so much Aunt Allie for loving Sophie so much and for using your day off of work to make Sophie feel so special!!  We love you! 

Waiting her turn (hee, hee) ...

Caju Salon

Before 

"This is so cool!"

Look at that long hair!

The first cut

She was smiling just about the entire time!

Evidence that my little baby is a big girl now ... little tear :)

After - Wow... she looks so grown up!

"I love my Aunt Allie!"

Cute place called Lickety Splits where we ate lunch and had some ice cream

Vanilla ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles - 

the perfect ending for her perfect "salon experience" day

The Hunt for Easter

Have you ever wondered where the tradition of hunting for colorful little plastic eggs filled with candy came from?  Sophie's preschool had an "Easter" egg hunt a couple of weeks ago and it really got me thinking this year.  Here are some pics from the event...

Sophie had fun collecting eggs, but something was bothering me.  I began to feel uneasy as images of the "Easter" bunny, the baskets, the candy, those little plastic eggs, the home decor, and aisles of pastel overloaded my brain when I went to the grocery store.  When and why did Easter turn into such a huge commercial distraction from the real reason we celebrate? Isn't Easter supposed to be about Jesus?  Easter is a Christian holiday to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.  What was I teaching my children?  Clint and I started having some discussions about it and doing some research and I learned some very eye-opening things.  

The "Easter Bunny" can be traced back to the German fertility goddess, Eostre.  Hares (or rabbits) were given to Eostre as a form of worship and were considered a sacred animal due to their ability to reproduce multiple litters each year.  The spring, fertility goddess and the hares share a strong connection that dates back to the 1600s.  In the practice of paganism, eggs were an obvious symbol of fertility.  It was believed that during springtime (around March) the "Easter rabbit" who was a legendary producer of "Easter eggs" was also a symbol of fertility and new life.  Children used to make little nests for the "Easter bunny" to come lay eggs in and this brought good luck.  This folklore and mythology has been passed down from generation to generation taking shape as different traditions within each culture and area of the world.  But in the end, they are just silly stories about some bunny that lays eggs and the worship of a goddess that brings forth new life.  I only know of one God that brings new life.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" -2 Corinthians 5:17.

While intended to be harmless fun for the kids, I think next year we will have to pass on all the "colorful" traditions of eggs and bunnies so we can just focus on the reason we truly celebrate Easter - the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"He is not here; He has risen!" - Matthew 28:6, Luke 24:6  

Easter Sunday

I love Easter Sunday!  I love the excitement and overwhelming joy and happiness that I feel!  I could not wait to get to church this morning to sing and shout out praise to God!  Jesus rose and conquered the grave on that first Easter Sunday and He lives today!  That is definitely something to get excited about when you know you are saved from death and will live with Him in heaven someday.  God is good!  

This Dark Day

Father, my heart always aches on this day for the suffering your son endured on the cross.  I know why he had to die.  You love us so much that you sent him to die on that cross so we can be forgiven and saved from death.  I believe that Jesus sacrificed his life for mine and today, although I am sad, I am also very grateful.  Lord, thank you for saving me.  Please take my life which has been purchased with the blood of your precious son and use it to honor his name.      

A Dream About a Nursery

Once upon a time, when mommy was pregnant, she dreamed of a beautiful nursery for her little girl (part of the "nesting" instinct I suppose).  Well, the nursery she had envisioned got pushed to one wall in the guest bedroom and consisted of big sister's old changing table.  A crib was squeezed in the room just before baby was born.  Mommy was soon holding her precious little girl and her dream about the beautiful nursery faded in comparison to her beautiful new baby.  

When baby turned 6 months old, mommy began to feel the need to create a room just for her baby again where she could play, sleep, grow, and dream.  Mommy and daddy worked together a little bit at a time to make it happen.  They donated the big guest bed in the room and nana and papa donated a rocking chair to them.  With a few accessories, the beautiful nursery began to emerge and the dream of long, long ago was realized.  The End. 

Well,  almost the end.  The room has come a long way in the last couple of months, but I would like to add a few more things and paint it someday.  The original color is still on the walls and something softer would definitely finish the room better.  I guess I have more dreaming to do...

This is the view as you enter the room

I love this bedding with the vintage rose print.  I thought it was perfect for our Elizabeth Rose and Clint told me that it couldn't be all pink...notice the small fabric strip of robin egg blue :). 

Ella's favorite place to play and have floor time

This used to be the "junk" closet.  

It was packed with random stuff and very messy.  

Now it is just for Ella.  I love getting organized!!  

This was Sophie's old changing table/dresser.  I added the decorative wood designs and switched the knobs to these glass ones for the more "shabby chic" look I was going for :).

And this is "sweet peace", the swing we can not live without.  This is where Ella still sleeps today.  She can not lay flat on her back in the crib because of her reflux.  She could choke and that wouldn't be good.  We don't run the swing all night, but we do let the soothing sounds play while she sleeps.  This swing has really lived up to its name!