.Sugar & Spice.

One of my greatest joys in life is to be the mommy to my amazing little girl. She is girly and beautiful and sunshine in our home.

She made a grand entrance into this world. And she lives everyday so fully, as if she knows she was given a second chance on life.




I have heard it said that she is my miniature, but she is so much better at it. I was never as uninhibited as she. She is compassionate and grace-filled, but yet marches to the beat of her own drum and she doesn't think twice what others think of her. I would do well to learn a thing or two from my five year old beauty.

She is everything that I imagined a daughter to be and so much more.

She is sugar and spice.

.I've Been Bitten.

By the sewing bug!

I made Cadi another dress today.






I like the flower in the back, but Cadi likes it in the front. She wins. She is the one wearing it. {grin}



This dress was made from Jim's old dress shirt. The lace was off of old sheets of ours. (The sheets I used to paint our yard sale adoption sign here.)



Re-purposing is really fun, and sewing is not sooo bad. {wink}

(This idea came from the tutorial here. I am loving this site!)

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.Our Kitchen Dance.

There is something so sweet about working side-by-side in my kitchen with my daughter. What started out, admittedly, as more damage-control than anything, has developed into this beautiful harmonious "kitchen dance" between the two of us. I seldom bake by myself anymore, and I really do prefer to have her little body next to mine

mimicking

learning

growing. . . .

doing our "kitchen dance". She is the true Cadence in my kitchen.

The steps keep evolving as she grows, but for this moment they look something like this:

I measure the flour.

She dumps it in the bowl.

I set out the ingredients.

She counts the measurements.

I give her an egg.

She cracks it. (She is seriously an expert at cracking eggs.)

I pour.

She stirs.



I love the rhythm we have fallen into. I love the memories we are making. I love the sweet treats that I am teaching her to bake for the ones she loves.

Like this one.



Banana Bunt Cake.

I love feeding my family healthy, nutritious foods, but I also enjoy balancing that with a few sweet baked goods. This is one of them. To get my recipe click here.

When we first started our "kitchen dance" it was clumsy, messy, and we were both unsure. Back then my two year old partner was just as eager to please as she is now, but the eagerness displayed itself more in ways like flour spilled on the floor, the chocolate chip bag dumped on the counter, or egg shells stirred into our batter. I wasn't a good teacher at first. I had to grow into my patience and my graciousness with this sweet little wannabe sous chef. But looking back, it was so worth it, to take the time, to allow her to learn the basic steps of our "kitchen dance". Not even a clean kitchen floor can replace those first sloppy moments working side- by- side together.



She is already practicing the steps on her own - just waiting for the day when she will lead and be the Cadence in her kitchen.

But for now I will cling to her apron strings a bit longer. Neither of us have mastered the steps to our final "kitchen dance", and thankfully we have time ahead of us.

(These photos are a few weeks old. There is no baking going on in our home today, as we all have the stomach bug. Praying we are at the end of it!)

.Longing for Home.

With only a week to go in our camping season, I am really longing for home. I want my privacy, my santity, my "normal" family, my bed, my kitchen, my food, etc., etc. I can really feel every bit of the four months that we have resided in two teeny, tiny cramped rooms. I've had about all I can take. I am emotional, I am exhausted, I am way over having to discipline and train up my children in front of oodles of people day in and day out. I am beyond ready to have Jim's help with bedtime, bathtime, play time, discipline, etc. (Not that he does not help at all during the summer, but this is how I feel at the moment.)I'm just plain tired, but I know that His grace has not changed. His grace is still sufficient, even for this, and I tentatively pick myself up from moping like my three year old, perverbally pop my thumb in my mouth and cling to the security blanket of His grace. I can't do this one more day, except for His mercy and grace.

And onto something a little more upbeat. Here are a few shots that I pulled to show you of my Cadi swimming. She is a little fish, and has picked up on the basics of swimming really well this summer.


She even learned to dive this summer!





PS If someone could teach me how to size photos for blogger, that would be great!

.This Girl.

This girl of mine first made me a mommy.



She taught me what it truly meant to trust God when she was born with her umbilical cord tightly wrapped around her neck, which resulted in a pneumothorax and NICU stay.



This girl of mine helped me to understand the depth of God's love for me.



She has taught me patience and compassion.



This girl of mine has made me hungry for the Word of God like never before.



This girl of mine has made me look at myself differently. . . .




as well as the world around me.

I love this girl.

Today I set aside some time to work on Cadi's scrapbook. I typed out the story of her birth for one of the pages. As I was reminiscing, I was again reminded of God's soveriegn care during the time of uncertainty when Cadi was in the intensive care. I know that it is only because of his protection and care that Cadi is here with us. I thank God for His little reminder today, and I pray that I never take the life of my precious little girl for granted. May each time she cries be a sweet reminder of the breath God gave her. I am blessed and couldn't help but share.