Weekend Warriors

Have you ever watched the show on HGTV called "Weekend Warriors"? I haven't watched it in a really long time, but I used to enjoy that show. (We only have the most basic cable now. i.e. - no HGTV.) However, it was kind of a sad show at times because the people on the show almost always budgeted too little time and money on a huge home project. Missions were almost never accomplished.

However, at the Stewart home, when we set out to accomplish a goal, we make sure we have plenty of time and money to get the job done!

Stewart Mission: Make bird feeder.
Mission Status: Completed.

Step 1: Spread Peanut Butter

 Step 2: Add bird seed.

 Step 3: Hang outside for birds to enjoy. Feel free to add fruit...birds like that too.

I love to watch birds come and go from our feeders. I am pretty sure it is due to the influence of my aunt.
Unfortunately, it rained yesterday. And now our paper plate bird feeder is wilted, bent in half and soggy.

Note: If you aspire to accomplish the bird feeder goal for you and your family, use a metal pie plate or something more...durable.

You can do it, Weekend Warriors! Love, Amber

Stranger Danger

A friend of ours had an incident with her kid talking to a stranger this week. Her child was in an enviroment where teacher's were watching her child. And evidently, the child's teacher never noticed that the child was talking to a stranger who was standing by the playground fence. My friend didn't know about it until the next day when the child told her about it in detail. My friend shared this incident with me recently as a prayer request, and I am determined to keep her and her child in my prayers.

But, I'm not gonna lie. Her request FREAKED ME OUT! Not only for her and her child, but also for mine!That same evening in the car, Julia and I had a lengthy conversation about stranger danger while Lydia listened. I told Julia over and over again in several different ways that it is never okay to go anywhere with anyone, or even talk to them unless Mommy, Daddy, or a teacher gives her permission to. Julia agreed and even answered all my questions correctly. So, at the end I asked one more hypothetical question:

"Julia, if someone who Mommy and Daddy doesn't know, who we've never met before, who we didn't give permission for you to talk to, what if someone like that comes up to you and says - 'Hi, I have a cookie in my car, do you want to come with me and get it?"

Julia replied in her perkiest voice, "Sure, I'd love to!"

"NNNNOOOO, no, no, no, no. You NEVER go with someone who Mommy and Daddy don't know or give you permission to go with. Please, always ask Mommy or Daddy first!"

Needless to say, we continued to discuss the topic for sometime, and when I asked Julia the question the next time, she answered it correctly. But still it FREAKS ME OUT. Jesus help us! So, I wanted share all of this for anyone with small kiddos who might read my blog. I'm sorry if it freaks you out. That is not my intention. My intention is to remind you to have a stranger danger type conversation with your own little ones. I know it's hard because we don't want to scare our children, (or ourselves) but, it's important to talk about it with them, just in case. Sorry for the downer.

However, I'll try and end  this blog post with a few uppers!

Julia-ism # 1: Julia and Lydia got to watch Cinderella a few nights ago, and during the part where the prince's horsemen are chasing Cinderella down, Julia looked at me and said in an exuberant, worried tone, "Are they trying to kill Cinderella?"
"No," I replied, "they're not. The prince just wants to marry Cinderella, so he sent men after her to bring her back to the palace." Interesting plot when you think about it, huh?

Julia-ism # 2: Julia has two teachers for her mother's day out program. The main teacher's name is easy: Mrs. Drake. The other teacher's name is a little trickier. I tried to study her name badge without being too noticeable a few times, but could never quite make her name out. I asked Julia what her other teacher's name was, and she told me her name is Mr. Mean. I was sure, that wasn't her real name, so this name perplexed me for two reasons. 1- She's female. 2- Julia said she in nice. I finally figured out her teacher's name this week. It's Ms. Nermine.

Lydia-ism # 1: I've started potty training Lydia. A lot of the time, I sit her on the toilet, and no business actually takes place while she's sitting there. When this happens, I often ask her questions, like, "Where's the potty, Lyddie?" Lydia's most recent go-to response: "The potty is in my belly button."

Lydia-ism # 2: Julia got some sea monkeys as a gift for Stewart Christmas. They actually hatched from their eggs and are living in an "aquarium" on our kitchen countertop. Dave and I were discussing them one evening, and afterwards, Lydia asked Dave if she could see them. Dave said, "Sure, they're in the kitchen, go look." Lydia ran in to the kitchen and looked around. She then replied in a sing-song voice, "Nope, no monkeys in the kitchen!"

Hopefully these stories translate. :) They may be some of those "you had to be there" types of stories, but I am glad I have them recorded here all the same. I hope that you have a blessed, safe and wonderful week! -Amber

Stewart Christmas

Good Grief! I am so behind. Life has been whizzing by me like a fly on a horse's tail. I just can't keep up! Since I promised in my last post to share some pics from Stewart Christmas, I will go ahead a share a few, but....goodness knows I needed to post them about a week ago.

Cousin Terri, Fairy Princess Julia and the puppy dog.

 Dog: loved by Julia, feared by Lydia.
 
Julia was a little confused by how we were related to everyone, so we started just calling almost everyone cousin ______. She's used to referring to adults as Miss ________ or Mr._______. But, it felt a little too formal to call family members Miss or Mr. so, we stuck with Cousin (unless they were an Aunt or Uncle.) It worked.

Fairy Princess Julia and Pink Powder Puff Lydia. (Don't ask me what Dave is doing in the background.)

Sweet Cousin Anna Carmen, Cousin Lydia and Cousin Julia all still in their pj's. I love these girls.

 Everytime we see A.C., I want to bring her home with us. She's such a sweet little helper.

Cousin Tracy and Lyddie Lou

Cousin Terri, Cousin Tracy and Aunt Diane

Kendi, Zuri Beth, Anna Carmen, Sarah and Callen

Anna Carmen was a total dear....always up for pushing my little ones on the swing set. I love her.

Cousin Terri, Cousin Andy and the back of Julia's head.

Terri and Andy were gracious enough to host us, and very kind in providing yummy breakfasts, comfortable beds and ice cream after the girls went to bed. It felt like home. :) I think Andy looks like Glenn Beck, but don't tell him that. He's not a fan.

Stewart Christmas was great. I'm glad we don't have to wait as long to go back this year. We will get to see everyone again after Thanksgiving in Branson. How fun! -Amber

Stewart Weekly/De-lurking Day

Some of our Household Happenings:

Lydia gave up her pacifier this week. It's not entirely un-missed, but it's been almost a week. Yay!

Lydia told Julia that she is "her favorite Julia" after school the other day.

Julia amazes me with her ability to retain information. She can "read" Bible stories to us now.

Julia woke up this morning, and I said, "Good morning, Julia." She said, "Can I go to dance class?"

Dave and I are still tired from going out of town for our last Christmas last weekend. (A post about Stewart Christmas is coming soon.)

Our Christmas decorations are down, but not boxed. --And I am already tempted to buy in the Valentine's Day aisle. In fact, I've already purchased valentines day cards for J and L...pathetic.

We had mini bagels with cream cheese this morning, and Lydia was wanting more information about what cream cheese really is. While Dave was explaining it to Lydia, Julia said, "Mmmm, I love cream cheese. I also like goat cheese and lamb cheese." The girl has never met a cheese she didn't love.

I want an iPhone. But our T-Mobile contract doesn't expire until August. My birthday is in August. I've known what I was getting myself for awhile now.

FYI, it's de-lurking day in the blogosphere. If you don't know what that is, please click here! I run stats, so I know there aren't a ton of people reading my blog, but I would appreciate it if you let me know you're out there--especially if you never have commented  before. (I write for family and friends to read, and for a sort of digital scrapbook, so it's not a big deal that my blog hasn't become as popular as the pioneer woman's...but I'd love to here you all any way.)

I love ya'll! -Amber

Firsts...

 First Day of School:

The girls now attend Cornerstone Christian Academy. It's a great school, and the girls love it.

January 4th wasn't Julia's first day of school ever, but it was her first school day in Houston (actually in Sugar Land). She was so excited.

 It was, however, Lydia's first day of school ever.

First Day of Snow this year:

We got to see this snow in southern Oklahoma and Northern Texas. I miss snow.

 The girls do too.

First Dance Class:

Julia got to go to dance for the first time today, and she LOVED it! Can you see her in the middle with the flower in her hair?

 And here she is on the front row; middle right.

 And here she is showing me one of her new moves. So cute!!!

 First Homework Assignment:

Look at what Julia, Lydia, Dave and I worked on last night! It was Julia's homework, but it was a family project. Doesn't are snowman look great? It was designed by Julia herself.

The first of 2011 has been lovely for the Stewart's. It has also been busy, crazy and stressful. How has yours been? -Amber

Christmas Catch-up and a New Year's Snap shot

Happy New Year, everyone!!! I can't believe I've been blogging for over a year now. I am so grateful to have a spot to store all my memories. I would be sad if I didn't have our families memories recorded, and this is just the perfect way to do it. I also love blogging because it is a way to share with all of you what our family is up to. It's so nice. So, New Year resolution # 1- Keep blogging!

Now, to finish up some 2010 stuff! I didn't get a chance to tell all we did the month of December but I am going to attempt to get a few more glimpses of last month down before I forget completely. So:

1. We made cookies!!!

 Lydia threw/poured flour every where while I was at the sink rinsing something off. (I only had my back turned for a second.....) She was not happy to get scolded, or to have flour all over her face after she was done throwing herself a "flour celebration".

These are some of the Christmas treats we enjoyed and enjoyed sharing.

2. We partied!

We went to a small group Christmas party, a Sunday School class Christmas party, work Christmas parties, and our neighbor's Christmas party. They were all so fun!! Our neighbor stole the girls hearts though, when she invited Santa to come and play at the party. Santa read all the kiddos a story, had them do some elf training, asked them what they wanted for Christmas, and passed out candy canes. Only problem? Julia and Lydia were dissapointed on Christmas eve when they didn't get to play with Santa again. Julia wanted to hand deliver the cookies to Santa. They consider him a friend, now.

3. We decorated!

 I also took a few pics of our home to share. I'm sorry the one below is on it's side. My husband cleaned up our computer so that it would run a lot faster, and in doing so, he took off some of my photo software. I should be getting it back sometime, but for now, please enjoy this lop-sided Christmas tree.

 and, this dark picture of our mantle/fireplace.

The pic below is of Julia dancing in front of our small tree that we had upstairs this year. Last year, this tree was our only Christmas tree and held only two ornaments and some candy canes. This year, it was a much fuller, happier tree. I am so thankful that last year taught me to be so much more thankful for this year!! If you want to see our tree last year. Click here.

4. We celebrated!

We had such a great Christmas season!! The Lord has truly blessed us, and we loved every minute of celebrating his birth, and the fact that he came to redeem us.

Below is one pic of the girls on Christmas eve. I couldn't get the girls to sit still for a moment to get a great shot, but you get the idea. We had just come back from a wonderful Christmas eve service at chruch with Granny Ruth, Papa Don, Uncle Daniel and Aunt Xiaolan, and we were just about to enjoy dinner with homemade cookies for dessert. Distractions were galore!

So, now I've documented a little more from our 2010! It was a great year. And now, we are looking forward to 2011. It has already started off so much better than last year! :) (If you want to see what we were doing in the wee hours of the first day of 2010, click here.)

Last night, we went to a little get together in the Sugar Land town center. They had music and little street shows and it was so fun. One of the shows had two guys who did occasional stunts, but mostly they were dancing and acting goofy. From time to time, they invited audience members to come out and dance with them, and Julia decided she really wanted to go out and do a forward roll. She didn't stamp her feet and act put out when they didn't notice her, but she just waited, and waited. I was so proud to see her working through this adversity in a more mature fashion. Then, the guys decided to take a break, and Julia didn't get the chance to do her forward roll for everyone. She didn't cry or throw a fit though, we just went on, and saw a few more things and then shared a frozen yogurt.

Afterwards, we realized the goofy guys were back. The girls were still very interested, so we pulled up our strollers and watched their act again. At the very end, I got the opportunity to tell one of the guys that my girls wanted to dance with them. Both girls went out and Lydia shook her stuff while Julia did a forward roll. Everyone applauded my sweet girls and then Lydia also did a forward/side roll. They were so proud of themselves, and of course Dave and I were so proud of them too!! It was all so much more exciting than it sounds.

After that, we watched a small fireworks show and headed home. Dave and I were invited to a party at a friend's house, but we ran out of time and didn't have a babysitter, so we decided to just come home, put the girls to bed, and ring in the new year--just the two of us. It was so nice and relaxing.

Below is a (hard-to-see) picture of the goofy guys.

And here is a (hard-to-see) picture of the girls dancing with the goofy guys.

Today has been such a blessing as well. We ate a nice breakfast, piddled around the house, played soccer together and are now all relaxing. It's been such a great family day! Thank you Lord today!  And, thank you all for reading my blog! (I am honestly amazed if any of you made it to the end of this long post.)-Amber

Awww.....Christmas

I love my family. I love Christmas. Today is great. Daniel, Xiaolan, Ruth and Don are here spending Christmas with us this year. I miss my family, but I am enjoying time with Dave's family just as much. Last night we read the Christmas story, left cookies and milk for Santa, had the girls write letters to Santa, let the girls open one present, attended an awesome Christmas Eve service, had meatball soup and biscuits with family and shared previous Christmas memories with one another. After the girls went to bed, the adults watched "A Christmas Story". What a blessing Christmas Eve was.

This morning, we slowly and leisurely unveiled the items in our stockings, ate breakfast casserole, opened presents, listened to Christmas music, ate candy and enjoyed each other's company. I've already snoozed, and the girls are now snoozing. Since it cooled off last night, I hope that Dave will light a fire soon. We plan to eat steak and shrimp scampi among other things this evening. It's been a nice Christmas. I love all my gifts!! Thanks, family. Thank you, Lord!!!

I hope to get the girls to write a letter to Jesus today, continue to celebrate the fact that we are commemorating His birth, and maybe go for a walk. It might also be nice to shower sometime too.....

But for now, even though it's long, I'd like to share Julia's letter to Santa with you:

Dear Santa, How have you been? Have you had a nice summer? How has it been? I've been extra good this week. Did you make sure Jesus' lives in your heart? I'd like you to tell your mommy that you have your milk..--Your mommy, Mrs. Claus. Ever so quick, hurry there's a monster! I want you to please sing songs. I want you to sing songs and play. I love you so much, that I wanted you to come here and have cookies. Love, Julia


Dear Mrs.Claus, I hope you be so kind to Santa Claus. I hope that you can bring presents. I really want a baby with blonde hair. I wanted you to do something that is so kind. Say "Dear Santa Claus, how have you been?" I want you to bring lots of presents for my mom and Aunt Xiaolan, and Uncle Daniel and to my daddy and Granny and Papa Don and every one in the whole land who talks. But not everyone that doesn't talk. I love you. Goodbye, Julia.

And Lydia's letter:

Dear Santa, Do you talk to God? Oooh! Eeee! Love, Lydia

(I don't know where they get this stuff!!!!)

We have been blessed to attend a lot of Christmas parties this year, and have enjoyed this wonderful, busy December. I need to get a lot of pictures on here soon from this month, but I'm not sure it will be today. I would love to hear how your December went. Merry, merry, merry Christmas!!! Love, Amber

Why?

Not too long ago, I posted about my friend who found out she was having triplets. In October, she had three preemie babies who were eventually very healthy. But, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. One of the babies went to be with Jesus today. How does this happen? Why does this happen? It's so hard to understand. I know that God is Sovereign and he works all things together for his good. But somehow, sometimes, in the midst of that, our hearts get broken. And sometimes life just sucks. I'm sure the crevice of brokeness in my heart is nothing compared to the vast abyss of ache that Sabrina feels. That just makes me ache all the more. Please join me in prayer for the Hay family, and their other 4 children. Only the Father, who was there when his own son died, can understand how the Hay's feel right now. I love them dearly. -Amber.

In Love with Jesus

Dave and I took Julia to see our church Christmas production on Sunday. Julia loved it and did a pretty good job paying attention the whole time. (Little Lyddie isn't quite old enough to come, so she had to go to child care.) The musical started out with an act featuring toy characters, and Santa--who came flying in from the balcony at one point in the show. It was very exciting. Next, the choir sang some wonderful Christmas songs with beautiful solos and the kids choir accompanying at one time. The last act of the show portrayed Jesus' life from infant hood to death on the cross, and then resurrection from the grave. There were angels on cables hanging from the sky, and a lot of other neat effects involved. The message was intentional and powerful.

The funny thing is that after the show, Julia was dead-set and determined on meeting Jesus as soon as possible. I thought it was interesting that she wasn't caught up on meeting Santa, the toy princess, the angels or the much-loved ballerina. She really wanted to meet Jesus. I tried to explain to her that the man playing Jesus was an actor, but I'm pretty sure my explanations fell on deaf ears.

We went out of the sanctuary doors, looking forward to meeting some characters. We met some of the angels, and other characters, including the toy princess. But, Julia was still most excited to meet Jesus. Finally, we found where Jesus was located. When Julia saw him she shouted his name in excitement and ran up to him to hug his legs. When he picked her up for a hug around the neck and a picture, Julia gave him a peck right on the cheek. "Jesus" was overjoyed at her enthusiasm for him. It was super sweet.

Here's to hoping all of us are as excited as Julia to meet Jesus this Christmas season!! Love, Amber

The hustle and the bustle

With Christmas quickly approaching, things have definitely been busy around here!! Julia had a princess party for her fourth birthday, we've opened presents from relatives, been to Christmas parties, decorated for Christmas, dropped my sister and her infant son off at the airport to return to their home in Cheyenne Wyoming, baked cookies and enjoyed other festive eateries. I am exhausted and already sick of rich foods. But, don't let me lead you astray. My Christmas spirit is still in full swing and looking forward to all that the month of December has in store. We have church functions, worship of our Lord, more parties, more presents, family time and fun to look forward to. I just love this time of year!

Here is a picture of our princess before her party:

Here she is with her Cinderella dress on:

 Below is a picture of a cute and very pouty Snow White:

 I tried to tell her it's not her party, and she can't cry...even if she wants to....but she didn't listen.

Princess party cake:

 I love the picture below. On the right, we have our neighbor girl, in the middle Julia, and on the left, we have Lydia. It's looks like she's saying, "Whatch'u looking at, fool?"

 The next day, we decided it would be best to go ahead and rip into the presents that Grandma Christie and Grandpa Dan sent for us and the girls.

 Cute pink coat!!!

 Here is Julia showing off one of the adorable outfits her grandparents sent. She actually really loved all the clothes despite her unhappy look in this photo.

Thanks Grandma Christie and Grandpa Dan!!! We all loved our presents!! Merry Christmas to you!

 Happy Baby Josiah!

Julia got to hold Josiah a lot while he was here. Julia loved it....Josiah, not so much.

Lydia also got some time with her little cousin.

 

Another cute cousin shot.

 

Dave and Josiah

This is one of the last times I got to kiss Josiah before his mom made him go home with her. So not fair!

I like this pic of me and my sis. We don't think to take a lot of them, so I am glad to have this one. (I'm glad Josiah was there too.)

Bye Aubrey and Josiah, we miss you! We also miss Mimi and Papa, Uncle Andy and Uncle Alex!!! Come back and visit soon!

For Christmas, we get to have more family in town. We look forward to seeing Dave's mom and step-dad, and Dave's brother, Daniel, and our sister-in-law, Xiaolan. We'll have one more Christmas get-together in January in Norman, Ok before the season is totally wrapped up for us. Have I ever mentioned on this blog that I love the holidays? 

Before I sign off, I'll add a few Julia-isms and a Lydia-ism.

Julia to Aubrey: So, you got to pick out your baby at the hospital? Josiah was the baby you picked?

Lydia: Dear God, thank you for Santa Claus coming to town.

Me: Julia, when we stop at the gas station, I'll buy you milk or juice-one or the other.
Julia: Mom, I want one, but not the other.

Aren't they the cutest? Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!!!!! -Amber



Stop the Clock!!!

AAAHH! How did this happen? My oldest baby girl is turning four tomorrow!! Stop the clock. Say it ain't so. REWIND!

It's not that I don't want Julia to grow up. It's just that I don't want it to happen so quickly!!!! I just need like a year and a half longer to get used to her being 3. Then we can move on to her being four. --Then we can start thinking about how she's going to go to school someday. --Then we can start the transition from babyhood to childhood. I know Julia hasn't really been a baby for about 3 years now, but she still has that sweet little baby face with the chubbyish cheeks. I don't want that to go away. I don't want her to grow so fast!!

Dear Julia,

You'll always be my baby.

Love, Mom.

Gobble, Gobble.

I'm sad that I haven't gotten a chance to get on here sooner. Thanksgiving has long come and gone. It feels like this blog is out of date already, but I have two really good excuses. 1st excuse: Dave had our computer out of commission for several days. 2nd excuse: I am still enjoying family, and haven't had a lot of time to sit down lately. Andy, Aubrey and Josiah got to fly in the Monday before Thanksgiving. Andy flew out last Monday, but Aubrey and Josiah are still here!! Isn't that fun? I'm so glad they got to stay.

In addition to my sister and her family being here for Thanksgiving, my parents and brother got to come as well. I am so glad that they all got to be here. We have done Christmas with my family on Thanksgiving for the last few years, and this year was no exception. Thursday, Thanksgiving Day: eat a lot of wonderful food. Friday after Thanksgiving: open presents and decorate for Christmas. It's great.

I have a few pictures of the cute cousins:

Bath time.

 Time for a walk.

 Time to cook.

We deemed Wednesday as baking day. This is how it started.

This was one of the results of baking day.

 This is what our turkey soaked in Wednesday night.

 

 Here is what the turkey looked like after it had been soaked all night and baked for 4.5 hours.

 Hors de oeuvres

Basically this could have been our lunch.

Family Time!

Starting on the right, you can see Aunt Aubrey's head, then Julia's, Baby Josiah, then Lydie Lou, and Uncle Andy. Isn't pre-bed time one of the best times?

Baby Jo.

For some reason, I didn't get a lot of pictures of us opening presents, but I did get this one of Julia with her new Cinderella play set. She looks like she is underwhelmed by her present. But, in acuality, she was just underwhelmed by me telling her to take a picture before I opened it for her. She kept saying, "I love it, I love my Cinderella." Her discolored lips are thanks to the m&m's she got to eat during the entire gift giving extravaganza.

Also during the last week, we went black Friday shopping, went to church, visited a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, and got pictures taken by my friend, Sarah Craig. Her business is called Fish Lips Photography, and she's awesome. Click on her name for a sneek peek. 

I hope to update more later! Thanks for reading ya'll. Love ya! -Amber