conversations with a 5yo

on saturday night i babysat my 2 oldest nieces kyra and kylie for a few hours. i took them to a local gymnastics showcase where a friend's daughter was performing. on the car ride there i had a very interesting conversation with kyra who is 5 years old, just lost her first tooth and is wise beyond her years. the conversation was too precious not to share...

kyra: "aunt susie, you need a boy."

me: "oh, really?"

kyra: "well i mean a grown up boy."

me: "what do i need a grown up boy for?"

kyra: "for you to marry!"

me: trying not to laugh too much... "oh i see."

kyra: "he's gonna be perfect!"

me: "wow! so are you praying for me to find this perfect grown up boy?"

kyra: pause... "well... sometimes i forget."

me: definitely chuckling at this point... "try to remember, ok?"

kyra: "ok, i will."


oh, out of the mouth of babes. i think it's sweet that she wants to see me get married. heck, i wanna see it, too but all in due time i suppose. and i have heard that girl pray. let me tell you, she knows how to pour her little heart out to God and it's the most precious thing. i'll take all the prayers i can get kyra. especially yours.  :)

 grace and peace,

recap and swap reveal

today's been a tough day for me... not sure why... just having a down day i suppose. so in an effort to lift my spirit i'm gonna reflect back on my busy, but enjoyable weekend.

friday night i got to chill with my niece emeline so her mommy and daddy could enjoy a much needed date night. i took her to my parents where she played on the trampoline, enjoyed the swings and pointed at every bird and bug and tree. it's so fun watching her discover new things all the time.

saturday i got to join lyryn and celebrate her son ian's 1st birthday. it was so nice catching up with old friends and just being social again. i've kind of cocooned myself for the last few months within my little community so it was nice to get out and engage with different people.

after the party my sister and i got some much needed pampering (a la mani & pedi) and then we went to a kids festival that my dad's fire company puts on every year. my aunt and uncle were in town from out of state so they came and we got to catch up with them which was so nice!

then it was dinner with some of the family and ice cream at a new local place. it was delicious. emekay enjoyed sampling everyone's ice cream. it was adorable. yay for summer!

then i headed off with my parents to watch fireworks at the park. my other 2 nieces were there with my brother and sil so we found them just as the show was about to start. poor kylie didn't like the noise. she kept her ears covered the whole time and just kept saying, "it's too yowd." haha. i love her.

kyra didn't mind the noise at all and in fact she was very disappointed when the show was over. good thing the 4th of july is right around the corner where she can hopefully see more fireworks. can't wait to get that kid to disney to see a real fireworks show! when my family went to disney in 2006, kate and i went back to magic kingdom almost every night just to watch the fireworks. we love them. :)


kyra was adorable and was rubbing pop pop's head during the fireworks show. such a precious kid. love making memories with my family and i am so looking forward to our family vacation at the end of the month. it will be lovely to spend time with them and i am so excited because my little brother will be coming in from san diego to go with us and i miss him so much!

lastly, i got my flip flops from my swap partner melanee this weekend. she got me these super comfy black nike's which is perfect because i didn't have a pair of casual black flip flops. the last pair i had got ruined when i was in africa and i hadn't replaced them yet. thanks melanee and thanks to lyryn for hosting this fun swap! go to her blog to see what everyone else got!

hope the rest of you all had an enjoyable weekend!

 

happy birthday emeline!

yup, it's another birthday post. yesterday was my mom, today it's emeline!

it's hard to believe that this little munchkin is a year old already! i know i'm only her aunt but my lord, this child has stolen my heart. i hoped her and i would have a special bond because of how close her mommy and i are but you never really know. i might be biased but i think we're pretty tight. ;)

i was so privileged to witness her incredible entrance into this world and i hope i always get to be there for her special moments. seriously, this child is a pure joy to be around. she is one of the happiest, silliest and lovable kids you'll ever meet. she has this ability to make people feel so special and loved. she can connect with strangers in an instant. it's a gift and one that i pray she always holds onto!

since kate and i spend a lot of time together i get to see emeline a lot, too and it's awesome. watching her little personality come to life over the last year has been such a joy. she's a treasure to be around and truly a blessing from the lord. and watching my sister be a mom? wow. one of the most amazing things ever. seriously. if you know kate, you know she loves hard and emeline is no exception. that little girl is so blessed. and her daddy is pretty cool, too.  :)

oh eme kay! you are so loved! i'm so happy that i get to be your aunt susie! i hope you have a very happy birthday today and that God will continue to grant health and peace to you in this next year. love love love you dear one!

 

ps- fun fact: emeline is the official link that makes me and my bestie, lyryn related. haha... ok maybe not officially but we like to think so. we're both her aunties which is awesome since kate is my sister and declan is her brother. pretty sweet huh? :)

lessons from kyra and kylie

last friday i got to spend the day at longwood gardens with kesh and my 2 nieces, kyra and kylie. i brought my camera with me because my nieces are my favorite subjects to photograph and as i was looking through the photos i realized that they taught me several things that day.

be thankful.

kylie, who is 2, makes me smile every time we walk through the conservatory at longwood. she knows the value in stopping to smell the flowers. i'm not sure where she picked this up but she always does it. she sticks her cute little nose right in there and takes in a deep whiff of it's fragrance. it's the cutest thing.

i realize it's a lesson God has been trying to teach me over the last couple of weeks. gratitude. being thankful for the little things- the joys we tend to overlook, especially in the midst of our pain. i'm doing my best to remind myself daily to be thankful despite my circumstances. it's in those places of gratitude that i find hope.

laugh as much as possible.
this might seem like an obvious thing, but laughter really is good for the soul. children constantly remind me of this. there's a section at longwood called the children's water garden and it's full of fountains and waterfalls. this particular one is a "jumping fountain" and it always makes the girls laugh as they try to "catch" the water.

last night i found myself laughing several times with a friend of mine and it really did brighten my spirits. it might be a momentary distraction but it's a start to opening my heart to joy again and for that i am grateful.

it's ok to cry.

while in the water garden kylie slipped and bumped her head. she was fine, but it scared her a bit. her mom was there to pick her up and hold her while she cried. i think even as adults we need to be reminded that tears are ok. if it's part of your process then embrace it. it doesn't make you weak- it makes you vulnerable... something we can probably all learn to be better at. we all need those safe places where we can go and be 100% real and express where we're at without fear of shame or condemnation. i am so grateful for those in my life who have been that outlet for me.

here's a couple more of my favorite pictures from that day. this first one was taken 2 seconds before kylie sprayed me with water from that fountain. look at her face! you can just tell she's up to no good! haha! 

 

this one of kyra is probably one of my favorite shots of her ever... she's growing up so fast and has such a beautiful heart. i think this photo really captures that.

 

thank you girls for a fun day! and for teaching me so much... even at your young age. aunt susie loves you!

fighting the winter blues

last week i got to spend my day off with my lovely sister-in-law and my 2 adorable nieces. it was a cold, but sunny day and we decided to head off to longwood gardens where we could dream about springtime amongst all the beautiful flowers. after a long walk outside and an interaction with some wildlife we decided it was time to head into the conservatory where it was warm and flowers abounded (especially orchids). here's our furry friend we made who wasn't too sure what to make of my camera in his face.

 

once we walked into the conservatory we were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of flowers. it was AMAZING! within 30 seconds kesh and i were smiling and laughing and feeling uber excited about the promise of spring. we joked that we felt like we were on happy drugs. it was just that good. they have an orchid extravaganza going on right now and orchids were everywhere. the excitement wasn't lost on us- kyra & kylie felt it, too. they were twirling around and having a grand old time running around and breathing in all the yummy flower smells, too. 

we all know how easily the "winter blues" can set in and affect our attitude so i'm grateful for a day like that where you get to escape the snow and cold. thank you kesh for inviting me along on your fun adventure! if you're ever in southeastern, pa make sure longwood gardens is on your list of things to see.

happy wednesday everyone!

gardens and little girls

can i just say that i love being an aunt? i think i always knew how much i would love that role but i never realized how easily i would slip into it. granted, it's easy to love it when you have the 3 most adorable nieces known to mankind... but i digress.

on saturday my sisters and i decided to head to longwood gardens for the day. thankfully kesh has a members pass so it was free, too! kesh's 2 daughters, kyra and kylie, love going to longwood gardens and know all their favorite things to see and do there so they were happy to point everything out to me. at one point we had a stroller dilemna because both girls were tired but there was only 1 umbrella stroller. i told kyra she could take a ride on my back which thrilled her to no end. as we were bouncing along she said in a sweet way only kyra can, "i love you susie!" melts my heart! how does an almost-4-year-old know what to say exactly when you need to hear it? not too long into the ride kylie got a little jealous so i had to give her a turn (see photo) and then tears ensued from kyra. such is life with a 2 and 3 year old!

we really did have a great time enjoying the beautiful (but hot) weather and doing lots and lots of walking! it was the perfect way to spend a saturday! i feel so blessed to have 2 amazing sisters to spend time with and "fill my cup." and i'm equally as blessed to have 3 little rays of sunshine in my life to keep me on my toes and remind me just how precious life really is- especially when viewed through the eyes of child.

life's little blessings

i've been on a bit of an unintentional blogging hiatus but in my defense i have been very busy. you see literally the day after my last post i had one of the most memorable conversations of my life where i was told by a boy, that i very much admired, how amazing i was and how he wanted to pursue a relationship with me. yeah, i know. pretty good news. it was shocking to me as i've never had a guy be so up front with me about his feelings before, but it was so unbelievably refreshing! so the last 6 1/2 weeks have involved lots of long phone conversations and late night chats by the car as we probably set the record for the longest goodbye ever. oh new love... it makes us do funny things.

so here's a little photo for you of my boyfriend gerald and i (yup i love that i can say boyfriend now... haha). he's smart and funny and sweet and loving and gentle and the list goes on and on. i'm sure i'll expand on all that another time. there's more exciting news to share!

i bought a house! almost 2 weeks ago i settled on an adorable townhome in the city that i've grown to love. i knew last summer that God was calling me to move to this community but i had no idea the amazing plans that He had set for me. under normal circumstances i would never be able to be in this place, but He worked out all the details in a way that all credit can only be given to Him!

my life has been consumed with painting, lifting heavy furniture, lots of shopping and way too much check writing. the feeling i have at the end of each day when i get to just rest and soak it all in is so wonderful. this is MY home! God has entrusted me with this place and i am so happy. i'm surrounded with such great people (including my pastors and several of my church family) which made this feel like home so much quicker!

i will update with before & after pictures soon. i'm still in the middle of getting everything how i want it, which i'm sure will be a forever process, but i like how it's all coming together. so hopefully i'll have more to show you soon!

i also had the privilege of witnessing my beautiful niece emeline kay enter the world on may 10th. she has already added so much joy to our family and i love watching my sister in her new role of "mommy." she's doing an amazing job and with such grace. i'm blown away with how calm she has handled this crazy transition in her life. makes me think i'll actually be able to do it someday, too. haha!

so as you can tell life has been busy, busy, busy but so very good! thanks for sticking with me on this crazy ride. :)

bundled up

i thought i'd enter the i heart faces contest this week just for fun. the theme is "bundled up" and i took this picture of my adorable niece kylie during one of the february blizzards. her snowsuit kept her hands trapped so she sat down and just started eating the snow. she is too cute!

playful pillows

those of us in the northeast have gotten slammed with snow this winter and this week was no exception! despite watching way too much on bravo i still managed to get some crafting done. and when i say done that means i actually completed the project i set out to do. might not sound like a big deal but for some reason i have trouble finishing projects. did i just admit that? yikes. it's true though. i'm great on the initial start but then i tend to get bored or tired and put it away. but not this!

last weekend i took a trip to ikea with some of my siblings and my nieces. my sister-in-law kesh is in the process of turning her dining room into a playroom for her 2 little girls. so we went to ikea to pick up some storage. along the way she grabbed some pillows. as we were browsing the pillow covers, nothing caught our eye. i daringly offered to make the covers if she bought the fabric. so on wednesday we headed to joann's (with coupon in hand) and she got all the fabric for about $23. we were covering 5 pillows so $23 split 5 ways... well i'm no mathematician but i know that's cheap.

yesterday i started and sewed the covers for the 2 small pillows and the 1 medium sized one. i did a cute flower applique that mimics the rug she picked up at ikea. they turned out super cute! i did the flap style pillows which make it ideal for her with 2 little ones. if they get dirty she can just pop them off and spot-clean or throw it in the wash. and if she ever decides to change up the look of the playroom we can make new ones.


today i tackled the 2 big pillows. they're 26"x26" but they'll be perfect for cozying up with a good book. i decided to do a little stripe action on the big pillows... you know for visual interest. haha! i'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, too. and again, it's the flap style so they're really easy to get on/off.

i can't wait to see the playroom when it gets painted and all the finishing touches get put in. i'm so glad i got to add a little flare to the room and contribute something. sewing is a new outlet for me, but i'm really enjoying the freedom to create and especially seeing others get joy from the things i make for them!

i can't believe i managed to get this project done so quick. i tend to procrastinate so knowing this is complete makes me so happy!

oh and ps- i won an awesome giveaway today! i am so excited! i'll post about it soon! all i have to say is that the recipient of the goodies hasn't been born yet, but i know she'll love them when she makes her appearance into this world. :)




ps- sorry for the bad photos... they were taken with my iphone.

the winter blues

i know i'm not the only one who suffers the winter blues. it always hits me bad this time of year. the time when the final snowstorms are trying to squeeze their way in. when the thought of spring is just taunting you and it feels like it will never arrive. it also always seems to be the time that you get sick, etc etc.

well in the last week we've been hit with several major snowstorms, dumping well over 3 feet of snow. that left me stuck in my house for days. needless to say, i was really looking forward to getting back to my office yesterday and then i woke up with the worst sinus headache ever. no amount of medicine helped. it was awful. and then today i wake up and i can hardly move! somehow during my sleep i messed up my back. so frustrating!

so here's hoping that i feel good tomorrow. i have so much work to get done.

i'll leave you with a couple photos of my nieces that i took when they were snowed in with us a week ago. love these girls.

miss kylie joy (19 months)


kyra jean (3 1/2)

hope the winter blues aren't hitting you! here's to wishing for spring!

happy birthday to a special girl

dear kyra,

you are 3 years old today. even as i type that i almost can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. you were the one who finally made me an aunt- the job i'd been dreaming about for years. i pretty much missed your first year of life cause God had me all over the world so thanks for not holding that against me. i hope i've more than made up for it though with all the time we spend together now. this is the first time i've been with you on your birthday and i couldn't be more excited!

you are such a spunky, energetic little girl. you make me laugh and smile and shake my head all at the same time. i love that every time i see you i get to hear you say "it's susie!" most of the time you're excited to see me and it makes my heart happy. you see kyra, i'm not sure i could love you any more if i'd birthed you myself. on friday night you cuddled with me for a few minutes (which is a rare feat) and i asked you if you loved me. you replied with an enthusiastic "YES" and i told you how much i loved you. thanks for letting me have that moment kid. i know you don't understand all the mushy-gushy stuff just yet but i'll hold that memory in my heart forever.

i love that sometimes mommy lets you and i have time together, just the 2 of us. those are my favorite times cause it's just you and me and i get to listen to you jabber away about anything and everything. you are such a smart little girl. i'm amazed by how much information you already have in that toddler brain of yours! i'd like to say that you take after me in that sense, but your mom is brilliant so i guess she gets the credit. :)

kyra, i hope you have very special birthday today. i'm so glad i get to spend it with you! you bring me such joy and i'm so glad God entrusted you to be a part of our family. you are so loved by all your grandparents, aunts, uncles, counsins and even soon-to-be cousins! i pray that as you grow you will understand the depth of love that your heavenly father has for you and that He will show you the best ways to express it to the people around you. God has special plans for you. i think you're destined to be an adventurous world-traveler like me and i hope someday we'll have an opportunity to spread God's love together. mom and dad already said you can go to africa with me when you're 13... or was it 15? i'm gonna push for 13. 10 more years kiddo. can't wait.

love you so very much!

aunt susie

the good news is so good

wow.

that's all i can say.

we reached our target of raising $1,330 to purchase mattress for 38 very deserving deaf kids in zambia, africa... and in less than 10 days! that's why i can't stop saying wow. a big THANK YOU to all who donated, spread the word and said a prayer for these precious children. God has certainly done an incredible thing and He used YOU to do it! i was able to get in touch with my friend joyce, who will be purchasing the mattresses, and she is so excited that we were able to raise the money so fast. she's going to try to get a picture of the kids so i can share it with all of you so stay tuned! (just remember, it's africa though and everything runs a lot slower). :)

today i got to visit linvilla orchards with my sister, brother, sis-in-love, nieces and my friend and her daughter. it was a cold, cloudy day but we had a fabulous time. plus, it allowed me to cross pumpin-picking with my nieces off the to-do list. although, technically there wasn't really any pumpkin-picking going on. there was apple-picking though which was awesome! there is nothing like a fresh granny smith pulled right off the tree. yum! kylie's photo is evidence of that. :)

i did take a road trip to pittsburgh last week, but i wasn't alone. the drive across PA was beautiful. the leaves out in western PA were turning and it was gorgeous! didn't get any pictures sadly, but the memory is still fresh in my mind. man, i just LOVE fall.

and 1 week from today i will be lounging in beautiful topsail beach, nc with a whole bunch of fantastic ladies. this vacation could not come at a better time. i'm really just praying for a refreshing time to rejuvenate and get some fresh vision for next year. africa is of course in the back of my mind and i need some clear direction on how long i'm supposed to go for next year and for how long. so i'm hoping to get some good walks on the beach with jesus. :)

oh yeah! joyce also told me that she got her bible today. i wrote about that here. so it took about a month to get from here to zambia. not too bad! she was so excited which made me really excited! giving gifts makes me so happy. haha. can you tell that's my love language?

hope everyone else is having a lovely fall so far!



ps- my mom, dad and brother are flying home tomorrow from their 10-day mission's trip to romania. keep them in your prayers for safe travels. :)

Silent Sunday: i love being an aunt

dear kylie joy joy

it's hard to believe that 1 year ago today i was racing to paoli hospital with my bff behind the wheel to meet you little one. i remember exactly where we were on the 30 bypass when i got the text message from your daddy that you had arrived. boy, were we excited to meet you! lyryn was particularly anxious to get her camera on your beautiful face and we are all so grateful that she did. i'll never forget how beautiful your momma looked that night. she was literally glowing and didn't look like she'd just delivered you. she was so calm and peaceful which is probably why you came out that way, too.

unfortunately only 6 weeks after you were born i left the country for 3 months. while i was in zambia your mommy would call me and tell me all the latest things you were doing. she always remarked about what a good baby you were and how much you were growing. the day i came home from africa i literally couldn't wait to see you. i came with aunt katie to visit you that same day (after not sleeping for over 24 hours). thankfully your mom was ready with camera in hand to document the special moment.


the last 7 months or so have passed in a blur as i've watched you learn to grab things, babble in your adorable little baby voice and crawl at lightening speed when something catches your eye. it's been a joy to watch you change every week as you discover new things that you can do. it's obvious you adore your big sissy and i know you 2 will grow to be best friends just like me and aunt katie. it's hard to explain a sisterbond to people who've never experienced it and i'm glad i won't have to with you. you'll just know. :)

kylie joy, you truly have brought so much joy into my life. every time i see you i'm greeted with the biggest smile and you have no idea how much my heart leaps every time. you are so full of love and i pray that always stays with you. i know God has wonderful plans for you little one. i feel honored to be your aunt and to get to watch you grow up.

so happy 1st birthday ky-ky. i love you sooooooooooo much!!!!


aunt

go.seek.love

i love how easy it is to turn your friends and family into african billboards. so awesome.

my niece kylie does it quite well, dontcha think?


if you'd like to sport one of these awesome shirts and support an amazing cause then just click on over here. this family is making shirts and cards to raise money for their adoption of a child from ethiopia. how cool is that?

wednesday lunch

over the last couple months kesh and i have started an unspoken tradition... wednesday lunch. wednesday mornings are quite busy in her household as she has to get herself, her hubby and her 2 kiddos ready and out of the house first thing since she teaches a pre-school class at church that morning. wednesday mornings are usually some much needed downtime for me cause i work all afternoon and night on those days.

so i started getting calls around noon on wednesday's from kesh asking me where i was and did i want to meet her and the girls for lunch. naturally i made it happen and it's been occuring ever since. where we go always changes... panera... max 'n erma's... chik-fil-a... subway... signature... but no matter where it is a good time is always to be had. kesh and i get to catch up on the past week (especially if we haven't seen each other) and i get to giggle at my adorable little nieces and melt when kyra says "susie" in her irresistibly cute little voice.

i tried to capture kyra on my iphone today but she's always too quick for me and never wants to pose. i did in fact catch this silly little face she was making at me today. i think she got tired of me shoving my iphone in her face. she started off a little shy with me but then warmed up and was jabbering away... i didn't understand most of it but every once in a while i heard my name in there so i knew she was referring to me in some way. :)

then there's my little kylie joy (or ky-ky) as i so lovingly refer to her. she is always so happy... just sitting so contently in her little seat all snuggled up. today she had on the most adorable cherry covered pajama's. precious. she too was jabbering away in her baby talk and throwing her hands in the air as if to exaggerate the very important things she was trying to say. she kept looking at me with those big blue eyes.... ahhh! i can't take her cuteness!!!

so all in all it was a nice time as always. our lunches out give me a good reason to look forward to the middle of the week as opposed to dreading it. thanks girls!

rest? what's that?

this past week has been a whirlwind. it's hard to believe that a week ago i was stepping off a plane into a new season of my life. with 3 months in zambia behind me i've been processing how i move on from this and i think i've realized that i don't move "on." the worst thing i could do would be to move on and put it all behind me. those people and those experiences are part of me now and part of who i am. it's hard to really put it all into words right now. i'm still processing and probably will be for a while to come. since i'm still trying to wrap my head around all of it, i'll move on to a 'safer' subject: my nieces.

yesterday kate and i went over to kesh's to help her get some pictures of the girls in their christmas dresses. originally we were going to fight the masses at the mall, but decided against it and instead grabbed dad's canon rebel and figured we could do it ourselves. i'm glad we did it that way because we got so many more laughs out of it. kesh figured out that she could get kyra to smile if she bribed her with candy and pretended to hurt herself. kyra just found it hilarious as her mom flung herself all over the living room trying to inflict pain on herself... or at least make it look that way. kyra was laughing so hard that i started laughing so hard i couldn't even take pictures. i kept telling her, "you're not supposed to make the photographer laugh!" 

here's one of my favorite photos that we took. this one didn't end up on the christmas card so i hope it's ok that i'm posting it kesh! kyra's face is priceless. you can totally tell that she's laughing and you can even see the sweet tart in her mouth that her mom bribed her with. her eyes are all squinty from laughing so hard and her face is red. then you have kylie with her big blue eyes just looking at you as if everything is totally normal and her mom isn't hitting herself on the head. love it

i just love those little girls and i'm happy i get to be their aunt susie!

last night kesh and i got to be sneaky little elves as we went to thefirestore and decorated the offices for christmas. we hung up snowflakes and garland and even left a cup of candy on everyone's desk complete with a pencil and candy cane inside! we had a good time and i know it was nice for kesh to get out of the house and do something different for a change.  ;)

my dad even got in on the action... filling the cups with candy and sneaking some to eat as well! i'm sure that would surprise many people to know that... haha. they just don't get to see that side of him very often, but i'm glad i do!

now it's off to lunch with my good friend faith and hopefully an afternoon to rest since i haven't been doing any of that lately!

a heart of thankfulness

i arrived back in the states safe and sound on tuesday morning. it was lovely to see my family again.

i'm so glad it was thanksgiving this week as well. it made coming home even more exciting. i had such a great day yesterday eating lots of yummy food, jumping on the trampoline with my 2-year old niece and playing fun games with my awesome siblings. it really was a very peaceful day with everyone getting along and just loving each other. i love days like that!

here is one of my favorite photos from the day:

isn't she just beautiful? i'm so thankful to be an aunt to such 2 amazing little girls. watching their little personalities develop is so much fun and they bring such joy to my heart.

i truly have so much to be thankful for this year. God has brought me through a lot in 2008 and it has had its share of ups and downs, but through it all God has been faithful. i asked Him to heal my heart and He has. i asked Him to show me Himself and He has in ways i never would have thought. i asked Him to stretch me and He took me places i couldn't have imagined.

life with jesus is an adventure, but i wouldn't trade it for the world. i can't wait to see what's next!