future nurse?

if you need band-aids, just come to me! I'm the band-aid girl!

can I get an amen?

Emma was sitting with me during the prayer meeting on Sunday night.  Pastor was explaining to the congregation about a large payment the church would soon be making toward the remaining mortgage.  After going over it a couple of times, he said "I hope that makes sense.  Does anybody have any questions on that?

In the silence, Emma chimed in... "NOPE! I don't have any questions!"

princess date

While on our princess date to dinner and a show (Disney on Ice--Princesses)

At dinner...
Mama: Emma, you are getting so grown up...
Emma: No, I'm just smarter than you!

From our parking spot to the arena, after I explained to her that our seats might be way up high...
Emma:  That's okay, Mama.  Even if I have to walk a lot, a lot of stairs and even if I get tired, I'll suck it in.
Mama:  [after taking a minute trying to figure out what she means]  oh,  you mean you'll suck it up?
Emma:  Yeah, I'll suck it up and keep climbing!

Before the show, while waiting in our seats...
Emma: [talking about rapunzel]  Oh! Maybe she will look and see me and think 'Hmm... Cute! I should cut my hair too!'

The show followed the stories of Tiana, then Cinderella, and then Rapunzel. During intermission (halfway through Cinderella)...
Emma:  I'm waiting for my favorite part.
Mama:  What's that?
Emma:  When they get married and we get to see Rapunzel!

After the show, while walking down a stairwell to our exit (well, actually it was the wrong exit, but still)...
I had explained to her how we couldn't really get any of the souvenirs because we spent all our money on the tickets to see the show.
Emma:  Oh. Yeah.  That's right.  Maybe we can just have Daddy go make more money for us.

(we had a great night, even though it was FREEZING outside.  The girl could not stop talking to her daddy about all that she saw.  Seeing her so full of joy made me so joyful that I really wasn't bothered by the fact that my incorrect exit caused me an extra 3 blocks of walking in the frigid temps!)

oh, the weather outside is frightful.

Mom, it's cold outside today.  We need coats for our legs.

(Yes, sweetie, I think they are called pants.)

miss ar-teest

I set Emma up in our tub with her easel and some paint to do some painting with potentially easy cleanup.  I told her to use lots of paint, and smear it all around with her brush and scribble it!

"No mama, I don't want to scribble.  Scribbling is not fun!"

he can't actually hear you

emma was standing by me as i opened up an email from daddy... i said "emma, daddy says he misses you." she leaned in toward the screen and said softly "thanks, daddy!"

Fierce Beauty {Book Review}

Fierce Beauty
by Kim Meeder


“You were not created to be a princess of entitlement, but a warrior, fighting to bring love and hope to the world.”

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

True beauty is not about how you look…but how you live.

Women are constantly bombarded with the lie that how we look is far more important than who we are. It’s time for a clarion call back to the truth.

Journey with gifted storyteller Kim Meeder as she encourages women to see that true value is defined by our Creator and that our worth has a purpose of eternal proportions.

Real beauty isn’t a look, it’s an action. It can be found by making one crucial, life-defining choice—to lay down personal ambitions and selfish desires, pick up your sword of encouragement, and fight for those who are losing their battle for hope. As you do, fierce beauty is revealed—along with lasting value, fulfillment, and joy.   

In Fierce Beauty, Kim shares inspiring true stories from her own life of adventure, love, and loss—including her parents’ shocking death when she was nine years old and her struggles with self acceptance, knowing God, and standing for Him. Through it all, you’ll discover life lessons about trust, transformation, surrender, forgiveness, and genuine purpose.

Ultimately, life comes down to one question: Will you serve yourself or your King?

MY THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed the format of this book: personal accounts of different moments in the author's life followed by practical application of biblical truth.  Fierce Beauty is an easy, thought-provoking read for the new Christian as well as the biblical scholar.   I love seeing how God clearly works in the lives of His people and this book was a great demonstration of just that.  Using real-life accounts of God's work in her life through adventure, tragedy, personal friends, and just the everyday tasks of life Kim Meeder has put together a wonderful compilation to inspire the reader to live for God and to display His glory to a fallen creation.

Read an excerpt here.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review