Little Girl Conversations

Okay so I need to try to recall the past week & some of the phrases or conversations we've had. She's got quite the imagination going & it's so fun to listen to her & join in with her...she can be quite bossy. It's hard to remember much less write every detail, it just comes wave after wave, little things she says. This age is precious, just like all of them, soaking it all in as it comes.

Tonight she was in the bath tub & I've noticed a little black dot on the bottom of her foot, a splinter, I wondered if I could get it. She's a fighter, it took Todd holding her so I could get it, it was right there! She sat there just screaming endlessly after it was all done & out, I've damaged her for sure! haha
"oh, can I give you a hug? I think you need a hug." she reaches up her arms, I pull her out of the tub. "Mommy pulled the splinter out because I love you, splinters are yucky."
She calms down, wants to watch a show. We're in the living room, she is lying on the floor laughing, for a moment I thought she was reliving the experience & crying again but she was saying "it tickles it tickles, the splinter is all gone, mommy, it tickles!" and then giggling. She spots Wall E, "Wall E! My splinter is all gone, I feel much better." Then she looks at me, "mommy I feel MUCH BETTER...THANK YOU!" aaawww, you're welcome! :) She gets it! Our cruelty is appreciated!

This morning while getting ready for our bible class, she tells me she's going to do something with the toilet, I don't remember what, but I said no, and she looks at me with these eyes and says "I'm just kidding, mommy, I wouldn't do that!" I'm catching her a lot the past few days saying something and then says "i'm kidding!" She's playful like her father.

Last night while I'm making dinner, she's taking these square note papers and piling them on the counter top. I tell her she's wasting them and wasting money by ruining all the paper. I've never said that to her before. She'd been playing with 3 pennies earlier, so she said, "it's okay mommy I have money!" All of a sudden she's handing me a folded up piece of paper, with a penny inside and says "here you go, mommy, it's money, it will make you happy!" I was amazed she'd thought to give me a present, wrap a penny in the paper, she was trying to please me. I said "aaaww, thank you Gracie, but money doesn't make me happy, you make me happy." She looked at me amazed, like wow, then says "you make me happy mommy!" oh gush, gush, she's so sweet!

The other day I was making something & had some ribbon out, she put it in a line on the kitchen floor and says, here mommy, I made a finish line!

She likes to help clean up and whenever she does she says, "this will make daddy happy!" She's already figured out he's a clean freak.
Anytime anything breaks, "it's okay, daddy will fix it, he has glue." She knows he's Mr. Fix it! What's so sweet is we place her broken things on his work bench and they return the next day fixed, nothing said, just like we have a little elf. We'll have to leave the little elf a present one day!

One day she says "I'm super Gracie!" "here's my super puppy, and my super kitty!"
She had a stick and said "I have magic, watch!" and waves it around.

Tonight when we were outside she asked over & over, "mommy can I go sit on the clouds?"
"Please, mommy, can I go up to sit on the clouds?"

She pretends animals are everywhere, tonight it was a little bear, and it was jumping in the trees, and said we needed to run. The other day we heard owls and she said they were sad, they needed her to help them, she kept saying "come on, let's go! Let's go get the owls! They need me! Come on, mommy! I gotta go get them!" Sorry honey we're not going back into the forest to fetch some owls who are perfectly happy!
And on the way meet a bear, a gator, or spider, or tick or anything else that may be lurking.

Tonight she painted her whole hand purple. She loves to paint & do crafts.

She keeps luring the neighbor friends to come into her house to play, inside. Outside isn't good enough, she wants them inside her house. She's quite the hospitable one & I don't mind at all. So the other day after having the neighbors over for a few minutes because she kept telling them to come inside, she told me the next day "mommy, I want my friends to come over. Inside my house, in my room." She's so sweet.

Sleepy Time

Gracie lying in bed tonight..."leave me alone? Mommy! OOOOTTTTAAAYY!....leave me alone? Mommy! OOOTTTAAAYYY!" Silence. Then in her little sweet voice, "mommy leave (left) me alone."
Oh I felt so bad. I wanted to go in & cuddle up with her & squish her!

I'm Dr. Gracie

Tonight after a shower, Gracie comes to me with a prong you hold rollers in your hair with and says "I'm Dr. Gracie, mommy, let me check your arm." We play doctor but she's never called herself Dr. Gracie. I perked up & I asked, "oh, you're Dr. Gracie?" "Yes, let me check your eye." So I ask, "are you an animal doctor or a people doctor?" "A people doctor." "Do you love people?" "YES." she says. All while checking my arm & eyes and is very serious. Then she tells me to lay down. So I lay down & she comes back with her pink stethascope & listens to my heart & says "bu bom ba bom ba bom." :)

Chicago!

This is one of my fav photos from our trip...in our winter outfits, I kinda miss bundling up in cute scarves, but not THAT much! We got our fill! We had just walked 10 blocks in the freezing, windy cold & are waiting at Geno's East for Chicago Pizza!!

Silly pants trying on everything as I try to pack.

Little Stowaway!

Here we are about to leave! As I was getting ready I hear Gracie ask "you going to work, daddy?" (after I'd told her we're going on a plane but hadn't sunk in yet) And he says, "no, daddy's going on an airplane." She says very seriously "mommy not going on airplane." I hear her come in. "Mommy, YOU not going bye bye on an airplane?!" Like a demand/question. Me, "yes, remember I told you mommy & daddy are going on an airplane to Chicago, mommy's going bye bye, too! You're gonna stay home & play with gramma & papa." Gracie looks up at me, "bye mommy!" (this actually made me feel good.)


Oh my sweet girl! This was SO hard for me to leave in so many ways, I was truly living out fears I didn't know I had, having faith in God!

I love airplane photos, I take them everywhere we go, it's snow! What a change of scenery!

Here we are, touch down in Chicago. On our way to walk along the shore of Lake Michigan. I remember stepping into the airport thinking, "I just know I'm missing something." My little rugrat in tow! This trip on our own was definitely needed!


The beams of light coming through the buildings were amazing. I don't think I would've liked it if it wasn't sunny! The sun got me through the cold.

On top of John Hancock building. Gorgeous day!


Washing windows? Scrub a dub! He'd be fired! Todd was SO nervous walking around. As we reached the top in the elevator, he asked me to step out first & check to see if we'd be right next to any windows, I was like, are you for real? What I should've done is step out, turn around & take a picture of his face expression! Poor guy.

This was really relaxing. We had just had lunch downstairs at this quaint little Chicago style sandwich place, the best roast beef sandwich we've ever had.

The Navy Pier



Hershey's on the left...Ghirardelli on the right! I took this for my mom, we call her the "chocolate snob." I know she'd take Ghirardelli in a heart beat! And she'd say, I don't even know WHY they put in that Hershey's store. haha

The Happy Couple

Millenium Park - an outdoor iceskating rink downtown with music, it was so cute! Too bad I was stunned by the cold, literally shaking profusely, I am such a wimp!

This is a really cool sculpture made of metal, the reflection of the city day or night is really awesome.

Us the next morning at breakfast, I was so relaxed, I got to sleep in until 10am!! WHAT?!!


Okay, so now we're getting to meeting everybody at the conference, this was a whirlwind of a day! I didn't put all the photos, just some key people. Here on the left is my teacher Kim, who lives in Florida. I met her in January 2008, with Joey, who is below in red, at this cute crepe & wine restaurant in downtown Orlando. They are true gifts from God, sweet Angels who have really been such an example to me this past year, of what it looks like to live free from food, self & full of joy! Kim I believe lost around 80 pounds, Joey has lost around 80 as well, and then there is Jayne, the bubbly blonde on the right. You think I'm bubbly? You ain't seen bubbly until you meet Jayne! She's awesome, very hip chick. She's lost over 100 pounds & has been in some magazines.

Here is Maggie Sorrells, her & her husband Andy have lost a combined total of 560 pounds. They've been on the cover of People magazine, Good Housekeeping & on the Goodmorning America show interviewed by Matt Lauer. She's a sweetie.

This was the beginning of Rebuilding the Wall conference. This picture doesn't really show much. The music was amazing! The whole thing from beginning to end was incredible.

This is Gwen Shamblin (the founder of Weigh Down who spoke this weekend) and my teacher Kim. I got to meet & talk with Gwen but didn't get a photo with her.

Embracing the cold...on our way to get pizza, which btw, I wasn't overly impressed with the Chicago pizza.

Kim & Joey

The beginning of Route 66 & the Sears Tower - our last day we went to an awesome old pancake house for breakfast & went to the art museum, we walked all over, covered lots!



What a beautiful sunset on our way home in the airplane. What a weekend, words can't express how full I felt, and I was so excited to come home to my baby doll! God is good!

Photos soon to follow of what Gracie did with Gramma & Papa back at home!

"Everybody's Popping!"

At breakfast yesterday she spread her cheerios out on the table, then a big gasp & says, "everybody's popping!" And looks at me, then at the cheerios & says "you hear that? Everybody's popping!" Her cheerios were making small noises like Rice Krispies, I was laughing so hard at her. I grabbed the camera & captured a few expressions!