Spring Fashion Show

My mom spoiled Chloe by sending her some adorable new spring outfits. The outfits are so incredibly cute, we just had to put on a fashion show. And I got to learn how to make an online slide show with music (check out slideroll.com to make your own - I'm warning you, it's addicting!).

Which outfit do you think is the cutest on Chloe? I think they're all lovely but I have a definite favorite. I'll withhold my opinion until I hear from you. (How's that for bribery and motivation?) :)

Enjoy our spring fashion show!

Make a Free Flash Slideshow

Nana has to go home

We've had a wonderful visit with Chloe's nana (my grandma) and the time has flown by at an alarmingly fast rate! I can't believe we have to take her back to the airport tomorrow afternoon already. We've spent an eventful 5 days together and Chloe's had loads of fun with nana.

We love you, nana!

My latest project

It feels like I've not blogged in months! I don't know if anyone even noticed, but I haven't been blogging as much lately since I've been wrapped up in my latest project. I just finished a cross-stitch wedding record for my friends' 10 year wedding anniversary. Whew! This project has given me a new appreciation for cross-stitchery. It turned out beautifully and I thank God for the time and energy to complete such a monstrous thing.

Melinda was so touched by the gift that she started crying! Yay! It feels so wonderful to know that I surprised her that much and that she appreciates all the effort I put into this.

In other news, my vivacious grandma flies in tomorrow morning for a visit so I anticipate a lack of blogging for the next week. Chloe is so pumped about seeing her "nana".

Here are a few pictures of my darling girl to keep you occupied while we're enjoying nana's company. Blog ya later!





Chloe's new favorite seat is the bookshelf even though it's rather crowded.



















A close-up of the project. You would not believe how many shades of purple went into this.














Chloe and her beloved Elmo.

My attempt at rag curls

Tracy Hall inspired me to try rag curling Chloe's hair Saturday night. I'd love for her to be a curly head for Easter Sunday and I thought I'd do a trial run this weekend. Boy, am I glad I did! Because I didn't do a very precise job with the ragging, by Sunday morning half of Chloe's rags had fallen out or come untied. The result was strange looking. The top of her head came out very curly and the entire left side was straight. Kind of a different look. :) So, I salvaged her hair with pigtails and it ended up looking pretty cute.

The jury's still out on whether or not we attempt this for Easter Sunday. What's your vote? Curly or normal?
























This was the best shot I could get of Chloe in her Sunday morning grab. She's looking goony because she's trying to run over to me and see the camera display on the back.

Recipe blog?

Ok, I admit it. I've been lazy about the recipe swappers blog lately. I took January off and then didn't do a thing in February.

Now that it's March, I thought I'd start the recipe swapping up again. I've still got some winter excess to shed so let's do "Healthy Dishes" for our theme for March. Send your healthy recipes to me at aliciahorn@hotmail.com.

I count on your participation to make this recipe swappers blog fly so take a few moments and email me your favorite healthy recipes!

My little girl is growing up!

It has been incredibly difficult to capture Chloe on camera! As soon as she hears the camera's turn-on-noise, she bolts for it so she can see the photos on the back display. I've had to be sneaky and quick-on-the-draw to get any pictures of my not-so-little girl.

Chloe will be 19 months old tomorrow but she looks more like a 2 year old! In fact, today we had some friends over and Chloe was just millimeters shorter than Sue's 2 1/2 year old girl.

At 19 months, Chloe is vvvvvvvery interested in letters, colors and books. She can identify the capital letters of A, B, and C and sometimes D and E. She loves to find the letters she knows on packages or book covers. Because Chloe knows her colors so well now, I've started playing an easy version of "I Spy" with her. She gets so excited when she finds an object of a particular color! I have a feeling books, reading, and letters are her aptitude because she enjoys them so much - I'm not doing any pushing to learn these things. In fact, it's been incredibly easy to do since she's got so much natural interest. Is this weird for her age?

Though Chloe is tall for her age, I wouldn't say she's advanced in motor skills or verbal skills. She's trying to talk more and more but most words are still gobble-dee-gook. She's a huge Elmo fan and aims to point him out whenever she can (on other children's diapers or shoes; on diaper packages in the store). She's also a fan of Curious George (whom she calls "Georgie"), Carl from the Alexandra Day books (of which I highly recommend!), and Curduroy from the Don Freeman book (another classic). Chloe's never really liked Dr. Seuss books but lately she's wanted to hear the Foot book and the ABC book.

Ok, that was probably more information than you ever wanted to know about Chloe . . . . Sorry for the overload. Below are a few recent pictures of Chloe. Does she look older and taller to you? Or is it just me? When will this kid stop growing?!?






















So, then I said to Kayla, "Which do you like better, string cheese or grapes?"























Chloe and daddy out for a real walk (sans stroller) to drug mart.






















Chloe in her spring/summer sun hat. It looks a bit goony here, but it's really cute with some embroidered flowers on the side.

















Chloe on her tricycle! I naively hope she can master tryke riding this summer.

The lifter of my head

Lately I've been struck with the beauty of God's Word in specific phrases from Scripture. Certain phrases paint such colorful visual pictures of our Lord's character. Friday God reminded me that He is the lifter of my head. Isn't it funny how God lifts a phrase out of His Word and then just bombards you with it in various ways? After listening to a sermon online, I heard the following song (this is only a portion of it) . . .

And I will praise the name of Jesus,
Praise the Lord, the Rock,
The Lifter of my head
Praise the God of my salvation,
All my days are in His faithful hands

During an evening game of Scrabble with Matt, God brought the thought to my heart again. I asked Matt where that phrase was found in Scripture, and he immediately replied, "Psalm 3" (I love being married to a fountain of knowledge!). Here's the first part of Psalm 3:

O LORD, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
Many are saying of my soul,
"There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah.
But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the LORD with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

Then God reminded me of one of my all-time favorite hymns, O Love that wilt not let me go. The last verse reads as follows . . .

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Tonight my heart is burdened for a dear sister in Christ, Janelle Johnson and her family's situation. Pray with me that God will lift up her head and draw her close during these hard weeks!

We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave . . .

Yesterday our porch thermometer reached the astounding height of 60 degrees!!!! I couldn't believe my spring-craving eyes. This called for a walk to a nearby park with Chloe. Though the park isn't quite play-ready (mounds of snow blocked most of the slides and mud was everywhere) Chloe and I still had a ball - especially on the swings. It was so delightful to get ready for a walk and to NOT have to bundle my daughter in her various winter trappings. [As a side note: I can't convey to you how excited I am that Chloe is finally of an age to enjoy a playground! Our city has a phenomenal park system (some with kid-friendly wading pools). Hours of entertainment and exercise!]

Ahh. Spring, you're welcome to arrive for good any time now!



















My giggling swinging girl.






















Even though you can't see her smile, I really like the composition of this photo and her laughing eyes. Check out her stylish pink converse hightops. Jealous, aren't you?

Date night for the three of us

It feels like forever since I've blogged! Being sick really takes a toll on a family.

Anyways, now that we're all back to normal (except for Chloe who keeps trying to be queen of the universe) we're celebrating our health with a date night for our whole family. We never did use our Red Lobster gift card when my mom was here last month (the place had an hour long wait!) so we're going to try it tonight. We're planning to leave at 4 p.m. so there's no waiting. Who knew Red Lobster was such a popular place?!? I've heard lots of wonderful things about their cheesy biscuits. Can't wait to try them for myself!

Do you and your family have any special outings planned for this weekend?

Mostly healthy and back online!

Well, it happened. Chloe's flu bug passed to me on Friday. WAH! I hate throwing up (like anyone out there likes it?!) and yesterday I pretty much slept all day or laid on the couch like a limp dishrag. Thankfully, Matt was superstar daddy/hubby of the year and cooked all the meals, fed Chloe, changed all of her diapers, took her for a walk, and watched her all day long. Thank you, Matt!

After 13 more hours of sleep last night, I'm feeling much better this morning. Not sure if we'll brave church or not - probably not. We'll most likely lay low again today.

Chloe is really into blogging lately! She LOVES watching videos of little ones displaying their antics. Lately she's been climbing up on the computer chair and saying "Babies! Babies!". So, because I have no recent sick photos or videos, I thought I'd post a video I took a few weeks ago but never got around to posting. I call it, "The Inspiration of Folk Music". :) Chloe just cracked me up with her elbow-in-the-air dance moves. Enjoy!




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