My life, my love, my reality...

Girl Power

I stole the post title from my friend Bre's husband who has a blog on his College/Young Adult group website.  Tony is a very talented communicator of God's word and he and Bre are friends that we are just completely blessed to have in our circle. 

He wrote a post today that I thought really taught him all that women do in order to "keep the home", but he makes us sound so strong:

I’m kind of interested to hear from the girls along with the guys on this one and excuse the Spice Girls flashback but there’s no better title. The last thing I would ever want to do is place myself in a rigid or prejudicial role that assumes “guys work and girls stay home” but my wife and I had talked for years about her being a “mommy” and thus far it has worked out real well. I’ve always been amazed by the way Paul points out a woman’s sensitivity, encouragement, and love in Titus 2:3-4.

Most days I get home from work and my wife stands “barefoot and in the kitchen” always ready to chase around my two year old son. She has a congenial smile on her face, glows as if prepping for a Cosmo-mag shoot, and smells as if running in a field of daisies. I’d say most days I still catch my breath or get that funny pit of the stomach feeling when I see her. But, there towards the end of her pregnancy with baby Peyton things changed slightly. By the time I got home she was kind of tired and actually wanted me to help with dinner.

My natural tendency on these days was to smile sarcastically and run through the skeptical analysis in my head. How hard can it actually be? You sleep in when you want, feed the kid some Cheerios, throw a dvd in, put him down for a nap, and then sleep some more. I mean come on, the world’s nuclear stockpiling and human injustices aren’t exactly being cured here! Four days ago it all changed… The moment a surgeon hacked into Bre and prescribed her 3 weeks of bedrest my world and sense of sanity collapsed as I became mom.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been there before or not, no baby should ever poop tar and that’s just the beginning. Women have this special gift called “multi-tasking” that God never wired into us guys. Let’s be honest sit us down in front of a football game with a drink and remote and we’re about maxed out but somehow girls manage to change diapers, discipline two year olds, cook food, clean the dishes, put away laundry, vaccuum, grocery shop, and still put up with the dude in their life. This doesn’t even take into account their relationship with God or extra “lovin” for their husband. Even writing it makes me tired!

It’s only been four days but I can truly say that I’m overwhelmed. Our house isn’t clean even though I am constantly picking up, we eat lame food even as I’m forever in the kitchen, and Ethan constantly looks like one of the Alabama kids on a 1987 episode of COPS no matter how much I bathe and dress him. So, I have a new found respect for my wife, mothers, and ladies in general who are called to be multi-taskers and have talents far beyond my comprehension…

Bre and I are both so blessed to have husbands who are willing to step in and do some of the dirty work when their wives are incapacitated.  I remember after giving birth to Madi, I was in such pain from the episiotomy that I could hardly walk, plus I had horribly swollen feet so I was really forbidden to move a whole lot.  My hubby learned to change Madi's diaper before I did, gave her a bath before I did and learned to swaddle Madi in a blanket before I did.  He also made dinner, cleaned the house (as Bre says to a guy's standards lol) and took care of me in my emotional state!  That is quite a feat! 

It is wonderful to hear that we are appreciated, but allow me to let you in on a little secret gentlemen: We aren't all that strong.  I have been known to go without a shower the entire day until the hour before my husband comes home...just so I can look like I actually accomplished something.  My mother taught me the trick of "neat little piles" so that your house actually looks clean and put together.  Make your bed every morning and your bedroom instantly looks cleaner.

I am not a saint, nor am I really that good at multi-tasking. And we NEED you men. There have been days when I see my husband sitting there on the couch after working all day at the church and here I am slaving away, making dinner and trying to keep Madi from putting her fingers on hot stove.....and something snaps!  I yell at him to get off his lazy bum and do something. After all, I worked all day too...why should he be the one to relax for a little bit while I continue to work and clean, etc etc. 

But really, if I stop for just a moment....we need Dan's income more than we need mine. And he has a lot on his shoulders in regards to providing for his family and making sure that we have food on the table. My hubby often quotes the verse that states "a man who doesn't work is worse than an unbeliever." Ouch!  God has placed the responsibility of leadership on our husbands heads....the least we can do is follow our husbands and if it means having to clean the house even if we have had a long day at our own jobs so our husbands can be replenished for another hard days work....so be it.  Our husbands will be thankful, as Tony's post shows, when we continually serve them with our gifts and take care of our home so they don't have to.  And when you need them, I guarantee they will be there. 

So let me say to my husband, Dan, and to every other man who has a family and feels the burden to provide and care for them.....we appreciate all that you do!  Thank you for your hard work, your dedication to your family and to the Lord.  We NEED YOU! 

Blessings,

Tiff~

Weekend update take 3

This is the last time I am going to try and create this specific post.  I will try to keep it to a minimum. Dang Typepad. It has crashed on me twice. Aarrrggh!

This weekend = nice.  LOL.   I got some scrapping done.  I made this album for my little Madi:

I would attempt to show you the entire album, but Typepad apparently has a problem with the amount of pictures I showcase on this darn blog...hence the crashing.  I used a kit from Keep In Touch shoppe and I am so excited I finally got to rip into it.  The colors are definitely up my alley. Very girly.

Sunday night was the beach bonfire for Illuminate.  A couple of pictures from the evening.

Madi and sand = completely in her element! LOL!

Dan and some of the gang.

Some girlies from the college group. 

It was a blast.  Madi and I only stayed for a little bit due to the fact that her bedtime is at 9pm and she would definitely need a bath after playing in that sand.  I mean she was practically rolling in it and eating it. Gross!  I for one do not really like sand.  It drives me nuts and I can't stand the way it feels on my skin.

Oh....and thank you for all of those who prayed for my friend Bre! They had their precious little girl Peyton.  She weighed 8 lbs and 12 ounces.  They call her their little sumo.  Hopefully I will get to meet Peyton soon and with the parents permission will post pics when I can.

That is all for now.  I don't want Typepad to crash on me again. lol! Blessings!

Tiff~

My friend Bre has her baby tomorrow!

Bre will be delivering their baby girl by C-Section.  Please pray for Tony, Bre and baby Peyton, that God would have His hand on them and guide the doctors.  That they would be able to deliver Peyton with no complications and that they will both be healthy!

Love you guys!

Madi wants to say hello

I am learning my daughter is quite the ham.  And she tries to obtain attention any way she can.  Of course, because she is so cute, I am only happy to oblige. Say hello Madi!

Everyone....say hello to Madi =)

Weekends go by too fast

This weekend flew!  I feel as if I had so much to do and not enough time to do it all. I guess that is just how it is going to be for awhile.  Our family is still trying to get into routine after coming home from vacation last week.  I did manage to get all the laundry done.  Now I just have to focus on cleaning the house.  Speaking of my house, I absolutely hate my vacuum.  I want to throw that thing over the balcony and spend the $500 or so for a Dyson.  Our current vacuum sucks up nothing!  But enough about that.  How about I update ya'll  on my weekend!

Let's start with Friday.  I originally had plans to go to the movies with my friend Michelle.  However; we had to reschedule due to a couple of the gals not feeling well.  Dan wanted to hang out with his friend that evening but that didn't work out either.  Soooo....Dan and I got a date night! Woo Hoo!!!!! We first went to Chili's for dinner and then we headed over to the movie theater to watch The Love Guru.  And seriously, the Love Guru sucked.  I just didn't think it was that funny.  I just don't understand why you have to go completely dirty in your jokes in order to be funny.  Dan wasn't to thrilled with it either.  We kind of expected it to be that way, but I think we really (naively) hoped it would have been less crude.  Oh well.  We did have a good time together.  Everytime we go to the movies together, we ALWAYS have to buy popcorn, coke and some candy.  It is our thing.  We know it costs an arm and a leg, but we don't care.  We are just giddy we are alone and without an adorable 2 year old on our arm asking us for a billion things at once. LOL!

Can you see the giddiness? LOL!

Then Saturday, we didn't really do a whole lot.  We just hung out at home because quite frankly it was really too hot to be outside.  And Dan had to clear out some of the boxes in our bedroom so that I could start decorating it.  We have lived there for almost a year and it is still isn't finished! Ay!  I have a lot of work to do.  I did however sneak a picture of Madi napping.

She is no longer sleeping in her crib, but I think I might buy her very own toddler bed and some new bedding.  That way she can feel like her bed is her very own and she will enjoy sleeping in it. 

Then on Sunday Madi and I headed to the pool!

Her new crocs that Daddy bought her. She loves them. Personally, those shoes are ugly, but kids seem to love them!

She is a ham!

Later that afternoon while Madi was taking a nap, I thought I would steal Stephanie Howell's idea and make Madi her own hair clips. 

I was pretty proud of myself.  It was a lot of fun!  I had so many flowers and buttons and jewels that I just needed to use them.  They are quite girly and Madi loved them!

I also made a card using the Studio Calico June kit although I am having trouble uploading it on here.  I can't even upload it into photobucket, so the file may be corrupted.  I hate that!

Anyway, that is all for now.  Hope to write later!

Tiff~

This will be a sort of rambling post

So many different things going on in my head and my heart. But first, can I just start off by saying that last night's game with the Lakers and the Celtics had to be the most depressing thing I have ever witnessed in sports history.  Of course if I were a Laker fan, which I am not, I am not even a basketball fan.....I would be really upset for my team.  However, how cool was it for  Kevin Garnett!  I mean I was feeling really emotional for the guy. Finally his dreams of winning a championship have come true.  I am happy for him.  My hubs called me a traitor, but he had to agree that even he felt happy and emotional for the team.

Anyway, so after the game was over and I got Madi down without a fuss for her bedtime and we said our prayers together, I was off scrapping!  This is the first time I have been able to do any layouts since coming home from vacation, so it was a nice treat for me.  Plus Dan was sitting really close by studying for his message on Sunday so it was nice I didn't have to scrap without my buddy next to me. Here is what I managed to get done:

A card using those fabulous Inkadado cupcake  stamps I picked up at Scrapbooking Oasis last week.  Love them!

A birthday card for my sister Sheena, whom I mentioned in yesterday's post.

A quick 8 1/2 x 11 layout (a size I rarely do, but I had lost my mojo for awhile and it helped jump start some creativity.) Just to play with products and put them on paper, even if it doesn't look stellar totally helps me!

Another 8 1/2 x 11 layout of things I love.  Such a fun layout to put together.

This morning, I actually woke up on time and was able to get into work a little after 8am.  It was nice to have a few moments to myself, to sip on some coffee, read my email and pray.  I work at a Christian University, so one of the perks is that often our Dean has us come into the conference room to pray together as a group.  I have been a little overwhelmed to say the least this past week, so I definitely needed a refresh of Him.  And speaking of emotional, our Dean spoke in regards to Luke 10:21-27: the most pivotal part of the passage that we are first to Love the Lord with all of our heart and we are then to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

The passage also talked about how God has revealed his mysteries not to those of status, of wealth and stature....but to those who are pure in heart.  With a humble spirit...who realize that their "holiness" so to speak is nothing but filthy rags.....but by the grace of God we can be pure in His sight.....by accepting the gift of His son Jesus Christ. 

I don't know why, but the image of my daughter popped up when she spoke about those who were humble and pure in heart.  My daughter last night as I got her a cup of milk before bed folded her little hands and began praying for her family.  I could distinctly make out Uncle Ken and Cassie and her cousin Jenna.  Dan and I looked at each other and we smiled.  God has revealed Himself to our daughter, and  we hope we have honored God by showing her to seek Him in everything, even if it is just saying a small prayer before getting a cup of milk.  A little child will lead them as the bible says.  I am learning more about the love of  Christ through my daughter than anywhere else, aside from God's word.

I have been thinking too about my own spiritual journey, especially this year.  I feel as if my faith has been hit hard.  Today in our weekly meeting, the Dean challenged us with this question: "What is in the hidden places of our heart?"

*gulp* I mean, I have to search deep to see what is hidden so deep in there, that sometimes keeps me from seeking God with all of my heart, for wanting to keep Him at a safe distance.  If He gets too close, I fear that I will be unpresentable in His sight and the vision will be ugly.  I do realize He loves me and will continue to pursue me....for I am His daughter....but it can be scary to stop serving yourself, and start serving God.  The bible says you cannot serve two masters.  And I know it has not been God who I have been loyal to.

Well, I think that is enough rambling for now.  Tonight, I hope to really dig deep and answer this question.  I will share the results with all of you as soon as God reveals what He needs to reveal.  May you all have a wonderful evening.

Tiff~

A little Father's Day update

So on Sunday June 15th it was Father's day.  I was lucky enough to get to spend it with both my parents and my husband's parents.  And they are both remarkable men.  First, I stopped by my parent's house with Madi in tow to spend some time with my family.  Madison was really happy to see her Grandma and Grandpa, and they were excited to see her.  My mom has been sick the last few weeks so it has been harder to go visit them.  But all in all we got to hang out and share a laugh as Madi went on a 10 minute presentation showing us all how loud she can be.  :) Gotta love it!

Then we headed over to my InLaws house for lunch.  As usual, great food and fun hanging out with the nieces and nephew and the rest of the family.  Madi is so lucky to have her grandparents.  And I am so lucky to still have my family close by.  I can't imagine what it would be like if/when we have to move and perhaps even far away. I didn't take any pictures on Sunday, but I took a mental picture.  I am truly blessed.

And today is a special day because it is my sister Sheena's 26 Birthday! She and I are 10 1/2 months apart and so for a month and a half we are the same age.  =)  Kind of cool eh?  Here is a picture of my gorgeous sister:

The brunette is Sheena.  Happy Birthday Sheena!

Back from Vacay!

Our little family is back from vacation. We had such a good time!  Here is a little run-down of what we did all last week:

June 9th: We arrived at Newport Dunes around 1pm.  We unloaded our car first and then headed out for lunch.  We stopped at Joe's Crab Shack and had some delicious crab cakes and for Madi Chicken fingers.  I love that place.  Probably quickly becoming one of my fave places to eat.

After lunch we took Madi home to take a little nap.  Well, we attempted to get her down for a nap, but it seriously wasn't happening. Sooo we headed out to Fashion Island. 

We stopped by the man made lagoon and checked out the fish swimming around.  Madi had pure joy on her face....and man were those fish big!

After we were done looking at fish, Madi spotted a carousel and just HAD to go on it! 

How happy does she look!  Her poor daddy had to go on it because I get a little too sick on rides that go around and around.  hehe!

We stopped into Barnes and Noble and I bought a couple of magazines and a book to read.  Btw, I finished said book in a day and a half.  I am a fast reader.  And I can totally tell you what the book was about too, only it would take a really long time because that book is part of a series of other books and there is a lot of history.  I can't just tell you the story and not give you the history. You would be sorely confused.

June 10th: Dan's parents picked up Madison so DH and I could have some alone time.  Seriously amazing.

First had lunch at Sharky's

Took a stroll around the beach

Had some coffee and shared a kiss.  Awesome

Later that evening, Dan HAD to watch the Laker game.  So we headed out to the Yard House at 4pm (2 hours before the game was supposed to start).  By the time it was 6, the place was packed and in constant activity.  It was a lot of fun! Good food and drinks, great company.  I completely enjoyed myself while hanging out with my hubby.  I think he really liked it too. He told me I was more my old self, which kind of disappeared after Madi was born.  I am going to have to figure out a way to change that.  Anyway, great night...Lakers won!

Then we headed home.......

June 11th: Dan and I got up and went to the beach!  I mean the actual beach, with waves and sand. Gorgeous weather and oh so much fun!

Gotta love the ocean!

And the sand.  Only to be completely honest, I don't really like sand.  I hate the feeling on my skin.  I know I am probably the only California girl who hates sand, but it is true. But my shoes look cute huh?

Oh and don't forget this hot guy...my date.  He actually hates it when I take random pictures of me.  And he hates it when I try to post them on myspace. But he doesn't read my blog....so he can't stop me! Bwahahahaha!

We totally acted like teenagers and ran into the waves and were pushing each other and picking on people who wiped out on their surfboards. Ha!  No I can't surf, but you know, its funny!

For lunch we ate at the Crab Cooker.  So yummy! 

Saw this sign and loved it.  Loved the message behind it.

Take 1

Take 2

And take 3! Good enough!

And how cool is this...Dan allowed me to check out Scrapbooking Oasis and I bought a whole bunch of goodies from there. Nice store.  If I am ever in the need for a little trip to the LSS, I will try to stop there once in awhile.  Found some great stuff I don't normally do at my LSS. 

Later that night, my in-laws brought Madi home and we had a little barbeque. Here is my happy little girl:

She is so gorgeous!

She wanted to take a pic with her mommy.  I was only happy to oblige.

Family photo with the view of the harbor behind us. Gorgeous.

June 12th: Disneyland! Enough said.  We don't get to use our passes enough so we had to take advantage of it!

Pirates Arrrgh!

Had lunch at this awesome place across from where they make the bread bowls and clam chowder. *I can't remember the name of the restaurant* Anyway, Dan and I had these awesome Monte Cristo Sandwiches. Awesome!

Ham and cheese, powdered sugar, fruit and a berry sauce to dip your sandwich in.  Delish! I had to share it with you all! 

After lunch we went on a few rides such as the carousel, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toads Wild Ride.  After Pinocchio, Madi said that the ride was scary.  So we didn't go on anymore after that.  We headed out towards Downtown Disney, and we stopped by the Disney store to pick up the movie "The Little Mermaid" for Madi.  I wanted to get it before it went into the vault.  All you Disney lovers know what I mean by the Vault.  Dan didn't believe me that it really existed, but oh is it true.

Oh and Madi did some dancing for us at Disneyland!

Happy girl! She loves to dance. Oh and don't mind the macaroni and cheese stains she has on her shirt from lunch.  Of course, you can't even imagine the number of parents who gave me dirty looks....as if I dressed her in dirty clothes. Please people!

Since it was Thursday night and that means, yes, another Laker game. We stayed indoors and had pizza.  Only it wasn't such a great night because the dang Lakers lost even though they had a stinking 20+ point lead over the Celtics in the first half! But I always told Dan they sucked so.......bwahahaha! just kidding.  I like to harass him because he gets so intense in his games.  Love it!

June 13th: Our last full day at Newport Dunes and we decided to take Madi down to the dunes to play in the sand.  It was kind of chilly so we didn't stay long.  But she loves being outside and playing with sand.

Isn't she the cutest thing alive? We had so much fun outside and hanging out together.  We decided to grab some lunch and hang out together.  Madi took a nap this time exactly at 12, which was a miracle because the whole dang trip she refused to take a nap! Then we had our final dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.

The view from our table

Joe's Crab Shack team dancing it up

Photo with me and Madi

Yummy. 

I mean the bucket load of crab people. Gosh...get your minds out of the gutter! ;-)

Madi and Daddy checking out the view. 

All in all, it was a fabulous vacation.  We would definitely do it again.  It is good to be back home though.  Only maybe if I didn't have to do all that laundry! Arrgh! 

Have a great day guys. 

Goodbye for a whole week blog world!

The Harper family is going on vacation.  I am super duper excited.  Finally, some real time away from the office and the stresses of life.  All DH and I have to do is lay out, play with Madi and eat.  My in-laws have offered to take Madi for one night so Dan and I can have a date night.  Some alone time is definitely needed for me and Dan. 

And look what I purchased yesterday:

The Scor-Pal that I purchased at my LSS.  For anyone who makes cards.....it is a must.  I used it yesterday to make a card for someone and I am in love. My scoreline came out perfectly.  And no weird creases on my paper.  I love that.  Completely worth the money!  *smile*  Now I love making cards. Probably going to make some more tonight! 

Oh and speaking of creating.....I cleared out my scrap area.  Did I take pictures....no, because it was like 12 in the morning.  But I used the organizational pieces that I ordered from Target (this and this and this) and off I went to organize my space.  After I was done....I had to start scrappin!  I love having a clean and organized space.  It makes me oh so happy.  Hence the reason why I am itching to play with my goodies tonight.  I think I will need another cart so I can put my Studio Calico kits in there separate from the stash that I buy at my LSS.  It was only $30 which is a plus.  I fit a lot of goodies in there! 

Now onto a serious note, if I could ask for prayer for a friend.  She found out some news the other day and is really upset by it.  I don't blame her.  I won't go into details on this blog but please, if you come across and read this.....pray for my friend Kelly! 

Pray that God would continue to show He is sovereign, regardless of the outcome or of the circumstances

*That He would continue to show that He will never leave her or abandon her in her pain.  That He is gracious, good, loving and the one who seeks our hearts.  That He absolutely loves her.

*For her to lean on Him during this time, as hard as it might be and to not be afraid to voice her frustration or disappointment to God.  He can handle it! 

*That there will be others who will love her and help her carry this burden.

Thanks Bloggy friends!  Have a great weekend and I will see you in a couple of weeks!

Tiff~

Happy Hump Day!

I am sooo glad it is finally Wednesday.  That means only a couple more days until Friday, a day I am so looking forward to. 

Last night I told you all that I was going to try and get some scrapping done.  Mission accomplished. I finished a card for a certain person.  *Pam, if you read this....you say NOTHING! =)*

Here is the card:

The prego stamp is called Pregabella from the oh so fabulous Stamping Bella.  I had bought a few of the Bellas from her awhile ago and I finally got to play around with it.  I colored her in with my copic markers that I purchased from Eclectic Paperie and I used Crate Paper's Blue Hill collection.  And as you can see I used my Threading Water border punch....fabulous!

Next layout is of me and Madi in our shades:

I had a sketch, but I didn't follow it at all.  Used some Heidi Swapp flowers and the paper and other embellishments are fromStudio Calico's May Kit.  I love their kits.  They are always gorgeous and I always get tons out of them.

It is a good thing that I was able to get some time alone, because today started off really crappy! Pardon my french people, but seriously.  I woke up at 7:30am. Had to get dressed, get Madi ready for her babysitter's and then I had to stop for gas.  Only when I stopped for gas and grabbed my purse, I realized that my wallet was not in there! WHAT!  I am seriously trying to rack my brain to figure out what the heck I did with my wallet.  I have a feeling I left it at Madi's daycare.  Please Lord let it be there! Otherwise, I am screwed!

Dan and I plan on having a nice dinner at home tonight.  I told him I was craving steak.  Nope, not prego.....just really want some steak.  Because it sounds delicious.  We also discussed the Philippines on the phone today.  I was feeling really sad that I wasn't going to go with him when he leaves in July (for two weeks mind you!)  I really want to be with him.  He suggested that Madi and I go with him.  He leaves in  July....how the heck am I going to request time off to go to the Philippines for two weeks?  He suggested we talk about it and pray really hard!  I would hate to be without him for two weeks.  And I think it would be a great experience for Madi to see a different country (she would get her own passport and have a stamp that said she visited the Philippines and any other country we would have to stop in due to layover!)  What do you all think?  We are planning on having another baby by next year, so this may be the only time that we will be able to do this together until they are older.  Prayers and input are much appreciative (as long as you are not mean.

Well, that is all I got for right now.  Will post tomorrow!

Tiff~