Bedtime...or is it?

7:10 - Bath time
7:25 - Dry off; jammies on
7:32 - Find the leftover mac 'n cheese Mom forgot to clear off the table and eat it
7:40 - Blow dry the hair
7:46 - Brush teeth; final potty break; trim bangs..."No, Honey, you don't get a turn at this. I'm sorry."
7:54 - The Child hands out reading assignments for Dad, Mom, and Self.
7:59 - Prayers, hugs, kisses
8:05 - Daughter learns how to turn on the light in her room. Lots of excitement.
8:08 - Light is now off. For good.
8:15 - Ah, peace. Quiet. Is our Girl asleep?
8:20 - Mad rush from her room to the bathroom. Something about pottying is muttered. Mom goes in to monitor. Cinderella Barbie has stripped down to her tiara and is sitting over the bowl. Daughter is quite proud of this one. "Love has to go potty." Oh, no she doesn't.
8:30 - Sheepish Girl reemerges from room. "Can I have a hug?" Very sweet puppy dog face. Quick hug. NOW BACK TO BED. Looking at t.v., "OH, I wanna watch game!?" Mom says no; Dad caves in to pressure. She's good. Really good. Livy commentates: "Circle!...Uh, oh...Yea!...Go Sooners!"
8:40 - Back to bed. (Mom is scowling at Dad, though she does regret not capturing the moment with camera.)
8:44 - Kid runs out of room with pjs mostly off, dragging behind one foot. "I'm WET." Jammies and wet diaper quickly handed to Mom before nakedly running to bathroom. Successful potty break.
8:48 - New diaper, jam-jams back on, back to bed, back rub with a very firm hand so Child can not escape.
8:55 - Mom heads back to computer to record events from a hairy but fun night.
9:08 - Mischievous child comes into living room with outstretched hands for a hug. Denied. Returned to bed with door now shut. Tears. Mom sighs. Sooners make a touchdown (on the DVR).
9:09 - Quiet. Longer sigh from Mom.

*Update*
9:20 - Mom checks on Child to find her sneaking around her room. Mom considers tethering said Child to dollhouse toddler bed. Mom settles on a bit of hair-tousling and hopes she's not setting family up for crazy bed times for the next two weeks.
9:25 - Child locates heartbeat. More excitement. Mom is proud but seriously hopes blog post is nearing an end.
9:30 - Mom awakens to Little Girl stroking her cheek. She's touched and has no fight left in her. Goes back to sleep in hopes of setting a good example.
9:55 - Mom wakes up but can not move due to countless cricks in body. Mom wiggles herself into upright position to see Sweet Daughter FINALLY sleeping. Like an angel.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Most of Livy's favorite songs are from The Sound of Music. Every time we're in the car, she sings, "So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re. You can sing most any thing." Sometimes she gets stuck on this line, or maybe it's just her favorite, but she sings it over and over and over and...(you get the idea): "Me, a name I call my sewf." Like a broken record she sings it. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. So, since we're always singing these songs and the song about our favorite things, I thought I'd make a Favorite Things list.

Olivia's Favorite Things
1. MILK
2. Hugs, kisses, and snuggles - but only if she's in the mood
3. Independence - "I got it. I got it."
4. Babies - She LOVES her 3-month-old cousin and two-month-old friend. She also loves her baby dolls and takes great care of them.
5. Singing and dancing. I'm sure she carries a tune better than I can. I'm also surprised at how well she knows lyrics to so many songs.
6. Fwens. (Friends) She often tells us she wants to go play with friends.
7. Animals - feeding ducks, riding elephants, zoo visits, catching frogs, etc. Seeing and interacting with animals really makes her happy.
8. Milk. Yes, I already mentioned that one, but she loves it so much it should be written twice.
9. Playing pretend. She dresses up, pretends to go shopping and "bye-bye," and carries a purse while making important phone calls.
10. Chicken (asks for it for breakfast), chips, oatmeal, rice, cheese, yogurt, bananas, apples, mandarin oranges, but she's not especially interested in too many sweets.
11. Chocolate, the exception to #10.
12. Playing with Daddy. He can get smiles, giggles, and laughter out of her than I ever could. Tickle Monster, Airplane, and "I'm gonna get you!" are some of her favorites. She

Go Team!

Our date night on Friday took place at the AA Center where we watched the Mavs beat the Grizzlies. I haven't watched much basketball in the past several years (by not much I mean none), but I really enjoyed them when Dirk, Finley, and Nash were on our team. At least we still have Dirk to watch. I knew I'd enjoy the experience of being at the game, but I was surprised at just how much fun I had actually watching the game. I think when Aaron and I have more money than we know what to do with, I'll buy him season tickets in the section we sat in. That way, we can share some of them, so other people can have a blast like we did. Thanks for thinking of us, Abe. What a neat early Christmas gift. Aaron took 1.2 million pictures, which is actually far less than he takes when Livy is the subject, but I will only post a handful.


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Let me explain...

OK, I'm shooting for 30 posts in 30 days, but maybe not once a day. :o) I did post twice in one day (although I removed it later). So I'm still on track, right?

Well, today will be short - my home is a wreck, my giant leaf piles are patiently waiting to be bagged, I'm going on a mouse hunt (though going on a 'bear hunt' is so much more fun) and Livy and I need to dance to some of our favorite songs while we watch The Sound of Music. I couldn't ask for a better day!

If you're reading, I'd love to hear what your day looks like. :-)

Shock and Awww

(The Mavs game/date night with hubby was a blast! Thanks Abe, sitters, and sitter offerees. More on that later.)

My oldest bro-in-law Adam is one blessed and lucky guy! He has met the woman of his dreams and even managed to sweep her off her feet. Melinda is quite lucky, as well; Adam is a pretty neat guy. These two Torah-studying, multi-language-speaking, neice-entertaining, steady-going, zoo-visiting, Israel-touring, soon-to-be-Fort-Worth-residing (I hope!) love birds are now engaged to be married, and the Big Day is May 17th.

I was extatic about Melinda from the start, so I continually pestered Adam with an endless stream of questions about her and their relationship. (I play the role of the annoying little sister effortlessly, even w/o prior experience.) After their relationship took a turn for the serious, I began asking about the big question, the ring, etc, and Big Bro eventually made known his plans of proposing. I was more than honored one day while visiting my father-in-law when Adam asked me if I wanted to go with him to look at bicycles. Well, we began our journey and somehow ended up at a jewelry store. Livy slept on my shoulder while I watched Adam select this special ring. He chose a simple but elegant diamond solitaire and started trying to get in touch with Melinda's father to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. Once he got in touch with him, Adam made a trip to meet him for lunch in San Angelo and received his blessing to marry his daughter. After lunch, Adam hopped on over to Midland to surprise Melinda as she was getting off work.

**Aside - When we were asking Adam about his proposal plans, he told us he would surprise her at work. I said, "Oh, Shock and Awe!"
He said, "Well, I can't afford 'Awe,' but I can 'shock' her!" We decided he was utilizing the 'Shock and Awww' technique.**

Melinda got off work and walked to her car as she would any day, only to be scared half to death by some strange man jumping out of nowhere. Shocked, she certainly was, and it took her several moments to even process that her boyfriend who lives several hours away and who she had no plans to see that week was there at her car. Once that thought started to settle in, he got down on his knee and asked her to marry him. She was so stunned that he had to ask her again to get an answer. She responded with a resounding YES!

Us Penrods are thrilled to have a new addition to the family, and we couldn't have asked for someone more perfect and wonderful for Adam.

Yippee!

I'm smiling, giggling, and even jumping for joy today! Here are a few reasons why:

1. My nice bro-in-law bought the hubby and me tickets to tonight's Mav's game - really good seats, too!
2. The mechanic called - he can't get the car to act up. Seems our original problem is mysteriously fixed!
3. Livy went to sleep stroking my cheeks and hair, gently tucking loose strands behind my ear.
4. I had no baby sitter today and couldn't work. I just HAD to stay home with my girl, and boy, did we have fun.
5. I'm super excited about welcoming a new member to the family in May. I can't wait to have a new sis-in-law!

YEA, IT'S DATE NIGHT!!!

Dear Family

Dear Husband and Daughter,

I have not been keeping track of the memorable and wonderful things going on in our lives. Blogger's Block, exhaustion, and fear of the near impossible task of choosing my favorite photos from the 1,000s we take keep me from logging some wonderful stuff. To make up for this and catch up, I am going to try to post once a day for 30 days. This is Day 1. I wonder how far I'll make it. I will begin this journey by posting pictures from a few days ago. It was when Livy dressed as Cinderella and people gave her candy. Really, it was only a few days ago.

And here we are...

Come What May

God speaks and moves in us through so many avenues. I've felt His presence in the beauty of His creation, the power of the Scriptures, interactions with strangers, through prayer and meditation, when holding a sleeping child. Here lately, I've been completely moved by the lyrics to this song. It was written by the worship leader at my church, Matt Boswell, and is based on Psalm 42:11.

Come What May


Verse 1:

this blessed assurance is rest for the weary
and strength for the weakness of man
prone to chase folly yet hungry for mercy
by grace you restore us again

Chorus:
come what may my heart will follow
come what may my song will be
i will sing of the cross where my dear saviour died
and trust in his wonderful name
come what may

Verse 2:
safely you lead me through shadows of danger
into cathedrals of love
Spirit imparting such peace everlasting
peace that is more than enough

Verse 3:
though i have questions that go without answers
my hope in you is secure
sorrow and pain fill my soul like an ocean
but Christ be my strength to endure