I'm So Blessed

Today I have been thinking about how blessed I am. So many times I feel down and forget to be thankful, but today, I recognize how blessed I am and how awesome my life is.

My Blessings:

1) My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

2) My incredible husband. He works so hard to take care of our family. And when I am tired and overworked, he washes dishes, does laundry, and vacuums. Now THAT is my kind of man. :)

3) My beautiful daughter, Madi. She is the light of our lives and brings us joy every day. There is nothing better than an unprompted I love you.

4) My awesome family and my incredible friends. Life wouldn't be nearly as full and joyful without them.

5) A fantastic church home and church family. It is a beautiful thing to know that I can fellowship with other believers every week.

6) A wonderful home to call our own. With our life the past couple of years, this has become such as special thing. I won't take it for granted ever.


There are so many more things I could list, but these are definitely my tops. I just wanted to take a few minutes and share how awesome my life is. Regardless of how little money we might have, how busy life gets, or how my husband/child may drive me crazy (haha), my life is so full and God is so good.

I hope you can say the same!
Much love,
bc

October.

So, since I am so far behind in posting about 2010, I will just do a quick photo journal to end the year, one month at a time. October was fairly busy, as you can see from previous posts, we went on vacation, Madi started preschool, and I started working. Whew, it was a life changing month.

Where shall we pick up?

Oh yes, we picked out a pumpkin for halloween (or shall I say several pumpkins):


Then we took pictures of Madi to enter her into the Gap photo contest (she didn't win). I just had to share this one:


We had a fall costume party for all of Madison's little friends. How cute are they!?


Made a culinary masterpiece (ha!) with the help of my sister:


And Josh and I dressed up for the first time ever as Jessie and Woody from Toy Story (Madi picked the costumes):


For Halloween Madi was Cinderella. She was going to be Belle, but shame on me for not looking at the costume until the day of, and it was not pretty. So, luckily we had Cinderella on hand, glass slippers and alll.


And, because of making bad choices all day, Madi wasn't allowed to go trick or treating. But, it doesn't look like she minded passing out candy to whoever came to our door.



Well, October was definitely busy, but hang on to your hats, November and December were even crazier. But hey, I wouldn't have it any other way.

-bc

Vacation - Part 2

So, to continue on our vacation photo journal, the next day we went apple picking. It was a ton of fun. The weather was perfect and we had a great day as a family.

We lucked out on the day we went to the apple orchard. There was a preschool field trip going on at the same time, so Madi got a few perks. For one, she got to milk a cow!


And they also had a petting zoo open, so she could see a calf, goats, sheep, and even a baby chick up close.

(SO PRECIOUS!)

The first orchard didn't have "you pick" open during the week so we had to drive down the road to the next one so we could pick our own. It was great. Madi loved to "twist and turn" the apples off the tree. And Daddy enjoyed helping her get the ones off of the top.




We came home with quite the haul of apples and this new gadget, which has become my new best apple friend. It makes preparing anything with apples a million times easier. And it also fun for Madi (and me!) to use.



And it was incredibly helpful when it came to making an apple pie and apple sauce. It is an apple peeler, corer, and slicer. And you can interchange them. So it can core and peel, core only, peel only, core and slice, or core, peel, and slice. Its pretty awesome. And I will show you the apple pie I made in the next post. And lets just say that this baby made peeling and slicing the 14 apples needed a WHOLE lot easier than the last time when I had to do all that with just a knife.

If you are interested, you can find one here. :)

Happy Halloween!

A Glimpse of Vacation

Now that its been forever since I've posted, I am going to be catching up... so watch out! I will try not to post too many at a time, but posts will be pouring out like rain... ok, maybe not that frequently, but they are coming.

I will start with a few glimpses from our vacation. We took a lovely trip to the North Georgia mountains and ended up at St Pete Beach. It was awesome - the best of both worlds. No, I will not break out in the Hannah Montana song... but I'll bet its stuck in your head now. :)

Anyway... let the photo journal begin...


This is the husband and little girl. I need to preface this photo by saying the husband its mildly (ok, compulsively) obsessed with deer. When we lived in GA a few years ago, we would feed the deer all the time and usually had about 5-6 that ate regularly in our backyard. So, while we were here, he wanted Madi to see the deer eating in their "spot" and he bought just about every thing you could possibly find to encourage them to feed. It was like the ultimate deer buffet. Corn, apples, syrups, salt licks, and many other things were bountiful. Let me end by saying not one single deer came and ate during the daylight for Madi could see. She did not see any deer by the cabin. Luckily, while driving down the many rural roads, we saw some in the grass beside the road. (ALIVE, people!) Needless to say, the husband was incredibly disappointed.




The next day, we went to the brand new Babyland (Cabbage Patch Hospital). And Madi had a blast. The new facility is beautiful and of course, we didn't walk away empty handed. Madi got to watch a doll be "born," got to give it a first name (of course she picked Madison), and then thanks to a very generous Peepaw, got to take her baby home. A good time was had by all.




There is more to this vacation, but I will save it for tomorrow.

A preview you ask?

Picking apples, Madi milking a cow, apple pie, and views of white sandy beaches...

Stay tuned!

Much love,
Brittany

She's at Preschool.

Wow. Those are such simple words, but encompassed in them is an incredible life change for our family. Madi is almost 3 now and we have decided to enroll her in preschool not only for her benefit and enjoyment, but also, so I can work part time as a substitute teacher and make a little more income for our family.

I have been through the gamut of emotions and am still struggling with not having my little girl at home. I won't start subbing until next week so I've been home alone. Its been almost 3 days now and I am still struggling to adjust. I have been a stay at home mom since she was born and I don't think you truly understand how much of your identity and life is wrapped up in that until its not. The house is too quiet, my hands are too still, and having no one to talk to but Luke (our dog) is just not fun. I have cried and then I have done a jig because I can clean the playroom without having every toy flung out again in two seconds and then I cry again because no one is there to mess it up. I know in the long run this will be a wonderful change for our family, but right now I still tear up when I make my lunch for one, and no one asks for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

As moms we get wrapped up in everything that we do: wife, mother, housekeeper, taxi, teacher, babysitter, doctor, gardener, cook... and often forget that there is more to our life than doing all of those things. These few days have been nice in helping me rediscover who I am outside of all my "jobs". Its interesting to say the least. Kind of scary and vulnerable feeling. But its a growing experience.

Anyway, its not like she's gone forever, its just a few hours every day, but there is a big hole in my life now, and I am working on sewing it up. It might seem silly, and in fact, I had no idea this would be so hard. But it is.

There are a few things I have learned in this short process though:

1) Madi and I have a relationship that is beyond mom and daughter. She is my little buddy. The person I have done everything with for the last 3 years. And it will take time for me to readjust to doing a lot of things by myself again.

2) No matter how much time you have to get things done, some things just won't get done.

3) Having kids changes everything. Going to lunch with your husband minus a kiddo just feels weird. Kind of like you're dating again, but with something missing.

4) Even though I sometimes long for the days I could drop everything and just do whatever I wanted with no thought to anyone else, I really wouldn't change a thing.

5) Nothing sounds better to this mommy's ears than hearing, "I missed you so much mommy. I love you!" at the end of the day. :)


the end.

Ballerina Beauty

Madi started ballet lessons last week. She loves it. She really had no idea what it would entail, but when I told her a couple weeks ago she was going to be starting classes, she promptly informed everyone she came in contact with, "Im going to be a ballerina!" And I mean everyone - the furniture delivery men, the cashier at publix, a little girl at the playground, etc. Madi was really excited.

When it came to the day of classes, she couldn't contain her excitement. It was all I could do to get her to take a nap. However, precisely upon wakening, it was time to get dressed. Now, I was the one who purchased all the necessities - a "ballet pink" leotard, pink tights, and pink ballet shoes. But I was completely unprepared for how she would look when dressed. Where did my baby girl go? Who is this grown up pre-preschooler that stood before me?

See what I mean?


I am not usually a crier, but the sight of her dressed in her ballet outfit, brought tears to my eyes.
It seems like just yesterday she looked like this, still wearing footie pajamas and needing a paci:


Its just hard to process that your children do grow up and before you know it they won't need you like they did before. Anyway, lets not get all sentimental.

Madi LOVED her ballet class. I wasn't allowed to stay in the studio with her for very long. Just long enough to get her settled, and then the moms were kicked out. But I got a few pictures of her class. THEY ARE SOOO CUTE! Something about little girls dressed in pink running around the room. PRECIOUS.

She didn't want to sit next to me. She wanted to sit by the teacher. (By the way, I blurred out the faces of her classmates and teachers to maintain their privacy.)



Aren't they adorable?


She was really into it.



After class, she was worn out. She asked for water immediately. Haha. But she had a blast. As far as I can tell, they practiced walking in a line around the perimeter of the room and worked on their bows. She is so cute when she does it. Over-exaggerating every movement.

I just can't wait until its time for her recital. But that is all the way in June of next year. So hopefully I will get a preview before then! :)

I will keep you updated on the explorations of ballet.

Never a dull moment in the Cranor household.

Toy Story 3 On Ice! :)

We were blessed to have some dear friends give us tickets to go see Toy Story 3 on ice. Madi and I went for the afternoon show.... and to say Madi had a blast would be the biggest understatement in the history of mankind. From the second we arrived, she was captivated. Of course, mommy bought her an official Jessie hat, binoculars from the movie (Lennie), and a slushy in a Jessie mug. Call me a pushover, I couldn't help it. The excitement just drew out my debit card.

Anyway, I think I was just as excited as Madi. I love shows on ice and remember many fond memories from my childhood watching the various performances. At first she wasn't quite sure what we were going to see, I think she thought it was going to be in a movie theatre, but the second the little army men (well, they were actually adult-size) came out, she was enraptured. She said, "momma, they are skating!" The show was very well done and brought back scenes from the first two movies as well.

I only embarrassed myself a couple of times, which isn't anything unusual. Well, I kind of have to blame Madi for one incident... she knocked her slushy over and it fell on top of the shoe belonging to the lady behind us. It wouldn't have been too bad except her poor tennis shoe was white and the slushy (by that time) was a nice purple color. She wasn't too happy, but when I turned around to start mopping it off of her with Madi's jacket (I didn't have any more napkins) she said, "Its ok, I can just wash it." I am pretty sure that translated to, "Get up off my shoe, woman!"

The other incident was purely my fault. And of course it involved the family mentioned above. When we were getting ready to leave, I was trying to gather up all our paraphernalia and knocked my purse into the path of a lady trying to exit her row carrying a small child. Needless to say, after almost tripping her and her baby, she didn't give me the kindest look. It was an accident!!

Oh well, the show was awesome in spite of the mishaps. :) And here are some pictures to share with you.

Madi is ready to watch the show!

The slushy we do not speak of.

Gotta love Rex and Madi's favorite, Jessie.

My favorite. She tells me, "I wanna be Jessie for trick or treat!"

We had a great time and definitely made many memories (some I would rather pretend didn't happen). :)

Madi and Cinderella - Then and Now

We have been blessed to have season passes to Disney World for the last year, but unfortunately they end tomorrow. I am sad to see them go, but I won't be any worse for the wear. However, it will be pretty difficult to explain to Madi why we can't just pop on over to Disney whenever we want anymore. She doesn't quite understand its a theme park, she kind of thinks its her second home. In fact, she refers to the castle as "hers" and the princesses as "her friends." I thought it would be fun to compare the times we first started coming to Disney to now, a year later.

Not only is Madi a whole year older, but she is almost an entirely different person. This is last November:



Character greeting was pretty interesting. She would beg and beg to go meet the characters and be laughing and jumping up and down and smiling while waiting in line, then, the second she stood next to the character it was a serious face. She wouldn't crack a smile for anything and was very serious. It was like a switch was flipped. Then, after we were done taking pictures with the characters, she would laugh and talk about it like it was the highlight of her day. Completely hilarious.

NOW - my little bundle of energy can't wait to meet the characters, but instead of becoming a silent fan, she practically mobs these characters. She gets a running start and then almost jumps into their arms. When you ask her what she is doing she says, "Im with my friend, Cinderella." (or insert appropriate character name) Its adorable.




My little baby is turning into a rambunctious, yet adorable preschooler and I just can't believe it. Our journey through the past year can be bookmarked with our photos and memories of Disney and it has really been a special time. Children really do grow up so quickly and its so easy to take for granted the time that we have with them. So, I try to not let the little things bug me and get so aggravated when she is acting like the little girl she is - when she won't fall asleep for her nap or spills her cereal all over the dining room - because I know that before I know it she will be in school and then grown up before my very eyes.

And I really don't want to miss a moment.

Madi helps wash the car.

So, because I prefer to keep my outdoor chores to a minimum (yeah, that must be why I planted a garden this year), I ALWAYS take my van to the car wash when it needs a good scrub. In fact, for all the cars I have owned over the last 10 years, I can probably count on two hands the number of times that I have actually washed it myself. It helps that there is a mom special at the local car wash and they will was it for $3 on Wednesdays.

Needless to say, Madi has never washed the car before. This past weekend Josh decided he wanted to wash it, in between all the rain clouds, and he volunteered to have Madi help! Of course I didn't say no. When daddy offers to help on his own with no prompting, you NEVER say no. But of course, since this was her first time helping, I had to go out with the camera. I couldn't spend those precious minutes by myself.

The fruit of her labor resulting in a soapy mommy (thankfully not camera), soaked daddy, and a Madi both soaked and soapy. But a fun and memorable time was had by all.


Its very exciting to throw the sponge in the bucket to create a bubble volcano.



She was having a great time, but refused to look at the camera when smiling. I don't know where that stubborness comes from.



She was doing a pretty good job too, but really just wanted to wash in one spot the whole time.



Showing me all her bubbles.



I love this kid.

The Many Faces of Madison

I picked up the camera today and Madi wanted her picture taken.
So we did a portraiture of her many faces.
Some we see more frequently than others. Haha.

Commentary by Madison herself:

"That's Happy"



"That's a mad one."



"That's siwwy (silly)"



"That's open mouth"



"That's this" (proceeds to make the face again.)


Anyway,
I have the most adorable girl in the world. And moments like this make everything else worth it.


the end.