Wednesday

Okay, file this under "nobody's going to care about this but Danna" (and maybe Nana and Grammy), but since this blog doubles as a baby book/scrapbook there are a few things I want to get down on cyber-paper.

Firstly, I want to remember feeding time with Eliza. She got to eat pears today, which I've been holding off on because they were like baby crack for my other two. Once you have pears ... you know what they say. Anyhoots, I give her the first bite of pears and she looks confused (like she always does). THEN, she makes eye contact and gives me the biggest grin of all time. Like I had just given her edible gold. Pure baby joy! It was, quite possibly, one of the cutest things ever. Hard to describe in words, but when I read this, I will remember what it looked like.

Second, the girls asked me to come outside to see their "show" they had worked up. I was so excited! I've heard about kids who put on shows and then grow up to be famous celebrities and what-not. Well, their "show" consisted of Sophie hula-hooping and Maddie bouncing on the ball. At the same time, mind you. I said, "Oh, you are playing circus!" "No, I'm hula-hooping." says Sophie. Okay, what-evs. So they won't become celebrities.This last picture is just because it made us laugh. She's the Michael Jordan of bouncy balls.Oh, congrats to Angelia and Jeff Herren! God is so so so good. And His timing ...

10 Things Tuesday

Hip, hip, hooray!

Today, I am thankful for:

1. I have a new favorite song! I love new favorite songs.


2. Mrs. Kelly has a stash of Dora band-aids. My usually super-coordinated child must be going through a growth spurt or something, because she is just one boo-boo after another. Fortunately, Dora was there for her three separate accidents at school today. (three!)


3. I got to see my mom today. :-)


4. After my running class yesterday, I realized that I might not be changing my outsides as much or as fast as I want, but my insides are getting a lot healthier. We ran for 12 consecutive minutes! It may not sound like a lot, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done that before.


5. My girls taught me some new dance moves. It looks a lot like bunny hopping in a circle.


6. We ate home-made pizza for supper!


7. The older two helped. (Well, Maddie bailed pretty soon after we started. But Sophie helped a lot.)


8. Amy brought me something today and she has no idea how much it is going to help me!


9. The stimulous is coming! (some have already gotten theirs!)


10. My husband is enthusiastic about my latest scheme. You've got to love him. :-)

God bless you , my friends!

My addiction

Hello, my name is Danna, and I am a fabric-holic. I am addicted to fabric. It's taking over our home.
Here are the reasons I think it's an addiction:
I hide my stash.

This is our china hutch in the dining room. (pretty ingenious, right?)

I get defensive.
Jeff cleaned out the hall closet and found all of this. He said, "hey, you think you can find some place to put this?" My inner voice said, "I did find a place to put it. The hall closet."

I justify my behavior.
But who could resist this fabric! Lime green and hot pink gingham! Gorgeous pale pink and pale yellow batiste. Yummy! The poopy camera doesn't to it justice.

I have enablers.
See all this fabric? All I paid for was the lollipops.

I need help.


Quote for the day:
When I get big, I'm going to get a different face and join the circus. - Sophie Jane

Ahhh ... Sunday

What makes a day a great day?

Obviously, I can't describe it. There have been days that I have looked forward to for months that have been enormous let-downs and there have been days full of nothing that have been just perfect. Today was the latter.

A day full of one laugh after another. We busted out the sprinkler and the girls got to play in their clothes and not only that, but Daddy got in on the action.

Then I came through the kitchen to find Eliza dressed up like a princess. (This is a rite of passage in our home. I'm sure even Jeff has worn that crown a time or two.) There were two giggly girls but neither would admit to dressing up their baby sister.

It made me think, what has been my favorite day? (I'd like to say the days my girls were born, but favorite is not the word I'd use. More like painful.) My wedding day was pretty great. I wasn't stressed at all, and nobody around me was stressed that I recall. Just a nice, low-key sunshiny day.

Hmmm.... my favorite day ever .... I'm going to give this some thought.

Ladies' Breakfast

Something really cool this morning - our Sunday school class had a ladies' breakfast. It was decided by someone higher up (maybe Polly? she's a minister's spouse, that trumps deacon's wife) that we should get together the first Saturday of the month. My dad has been going to a "men's breakfast" at Couch's since I was a little kid and loves it. He almost never misses it. I'm starting to get it.
What I thought was great about it was that the only things we all had in common were that we were female and we loved the Lord. Some had kids, some didn't. Some worked, some didn't. Some were well-off, some were paycheck to paycheck. Some were dieting, some were eating poppy-seed muffins (with way too many poppy-seeds, one might say).
But whether we work or not, whether we're introverts or extroverts, we need that fellowship time. I may be way off here, but I believe that is why God called us to come together in worship. We can praise Him when we are all alone (and we should!) but until we are up there in His presence, it is a physical comfort in this world to praise with others. And to talk with others. And to laugh with others!
May God bless you, my friends, just like I was blessed today!

Ramsey Renovations

Thirteen Thursday on Friday (as usual)

Here are 13 home improvement projects for us Ramseys. That's right, 13!

1. Finish the deck. (front steps, stain or treat)
2. Paint laundry room
3. Put up wainscoting in bathroom
4. Decide on shower curtain for bathroom
5. Redo closet shelving
6. Bunk the girls beds
7. Decide on something for the walls in their room
8. Paint Eliza's room (I have no idea what...)
9. Get cork board panels for the playroom
10. Figure out a labeling system for playroom storage (canvas buckets)
11. Finish painting the kitchen
12. Make drapes for the living room and dining room
13. Stain all furniture to match (or at least coordinate, for pete's sake)

These are just the things I would like to accomplish by the end of summer. I could have come up with 13 for each room! Does anyone ever have a house that is totally finished? Well, besides Chrissie Wright?

Oh, and the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog came this week and I'm completely re-motivated to do something with my children's rooms! Plus, I am in love with those little personalized Adirondack chairs in all the bright colors.

Anyone living in the J'boro area are welcome to come over and pitch in. (especially with any decorating decision) Um, you won't get paid. But, think of how good it will feel to help out a neighbor. hee!

The Circus Rocks!

Just got back from the old Greatest Show on Earth. (Well, phase one of the Ramseys came home. Jeff and the older two stayed for the whole she-bang. (she-bang) ) I guess I am officially Super-Dork, because I loved it!

I remember going to see it in Memphis when I was a kid. You know, back in the day when they actually had 3 rings in a "3 ring circus". My favorite thing then was still my favorite thing tonight - the rope acrobats. Sorry, I have no pictures but you know what I am talking about. The ladies that do flips and twirls up in the air with nothing but a rope. When I was a child, I loved it because I thought I could probably do it. (?!?) Obviously ... I was delusional. Still, now that I have an appreciation for what they are actually doing, I think I enjoyed it even more. (see? Super-dork.)

There were some slow times. They had this dude with a bad french accent (Sandi, it was probably your Sonic guy :) ) and it was kind of boring. The jugglers were fantastic, I thought. And elephants! And white tigers! The tight-rope walkers were cool, too. They did some trick where the girl did a hand stand that looked very difficult. They really should have had a trapeze artist or two, in my opinion. Oh, have I not introduced myself? Danna Ramsey, Circus Critic.

I'm so glad we went. The girls alternately were asking for every little souvenir that passed by and glued to the action. They did think the weeny dogs were pretty entertaining. Eliza liked all the music. :-)

And that concludes my essay on the circus.

A story for Auntie:

On the way there, we were talking about what we would see.

There will be elephants! I say

Yay! say the girls

Tigers!

Yay!

Acrobats!

silence. Then, Oh, you mean razorbats. Yay!