Happy happy, joy joy!

Today's post is just the weekly challenge.
This has been a jam packed week with me pulling extra hours at the gym &
helping my momma get things ready for my baby sister's graduation.

So, this week Ashley challenged us
to define what beauty is.
Beauty is subjective.
What is beautiful to one, may not be to another.

When I think of beauty I instantly think of happiness.
And, the funny thing about that is, this week I haven't had
a chance to really scour my favorite blogs as I usually do.
And, last night I saw that Ashley herself had posted that
happiness = beautiful.

When I saw that, I started trying to think of a number two.
But, on second thought, I decided not to change my answer.
I am doing these weekly challenges as honestly as I can.
And since that was honestly my first thought, I've decided to go with it.

I think the most beautiful girls are the one who are plain ol' happy.
Those girls who seem to have an over all contentedness with life.
The ones with with an ever-present, totally genuine smile on their face.

I know that nobody is happy all the time.
But, there are those who just have a
generally sunny disposition that is completely infectious.
I am not always like this, but I strive to be.

This last year & a half of my life has had many hard points.
Adjusting to life as a wife and a mother
in such a short amount of time hasn't always been smooth sailing.
The cancer that ails my dad has caused a lot of pain & fear.
Juggling work and and motherhood, whilst trying to get a grip on
the guilt that comes with that, is a constant source of frustration.

Yet, this past year & half has also been, without question,
one of my HAPPIEST.
And, there is One to thank for that.
I have only come to truly know Jesus as my Lord and Savior
less than a year ago.
And, it has been an incredible ride since then.

His love for me is now my first reason to be be happy.
I've learned happiness comes with being obedient,
and willfully so, to Him.

Every blessing in life is a gift from Him.
And, I am especially thankful for this blessing right here:




They make me so happy.
And that is beautiful

There is sunshine in my soul today!

Scarlett and I were a little sneaky this morning. Matthew was off doing dangerous things in Yosemite with my father in law, so as payback for the anxiety he gives me when he goes there I took Scarlett to look at her daddy's blackberries he's growing all along our fence.

The little plants have produced a few fruit, most are still green, and he is very protective over them. We sneaked over this morning to take a peek and Scar was in awe of them. We narrowly averted near disaster, as you can see in the picture; she almost plucked one right off. Even if she had, that is what you get, Matthew Ens, for leaving at 3 am and me not being able to fall back asleep until 5:30! Hahaha!

Just kidding!
I am proud of his little babies, of course!

Today we went to Super Target- a truly super place- and picked up one of these inflatable pools to play in when I don't feel like driving to my parents to use their pool.
She loved it and it was relaxing to just sit outside and watch her. I could sit and watch her do anything, though. It is amazing to watch a child learn and discover.

Isn't her hair so cute?
When she sweats the curls really come out.
Matt is crazy about her hair!

So, today is Friday which means I get to post the results of my weekly Shine Project challenge. This week Ashley challenged us to take a picture of something that shines; a person, place, or thing that shines or inspires us to.

I took a picture of the TOMS I bought for Scarlett. Because they are sparkly and therefore, they literally shine, but also because the company itself shines. For every pair you buy, TOMS will give a pair to a child in need. How can that not inspire someone to shine?

Click below if I've inspired you to start the weekly challenges!

Let your little light shine!

Hi, friends! I have made it my goal to finally start posting consistently on here, and seeing as this is my second one this week, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. Pretty darn well considering my first post was in October and it took me a whole, uh, SIX MONTHS to blog again!

Anyhow, the reason I have neglected to blog for so long is because A. My life is crazy, insanely busy and I don't have time/am too tired to write anything more than a quick FB status update. And, B. I am always unsure what to write about. Of course, the majority of anything on here will be about Scarlett because she is pretty much the center of our universe right now (anyone with a baby understands this all too well). Still, I have always felt like I needed something else to add a little, ahem, sheen to my blog.

Well, the other day I was blog-stalking and came across a new one that totally caught my eye. It's called The Shine Project and is written by this adorable, teeny tiny girl named Ashley. She has come up with this awesome plan to get other ladies to, in her words, SHINE. Meaning, actually go after our dreams, seek out new goals, step out of our comfort zones, serve others, and make a change in the world (even if it's just a small one). She posts a weekly challenge every Monday and we're supposed to work on it throughout the week then post about it on Friday. Past challenges have been things like meet your neighbor and make someone feel loved.

I felt myself getting so excited while browsing around her blog and knew I just had to jump on board! This week's challenge was a fun one to start with. We were challenged to choose a subject we have been wanting to learn about and study it. It took me all of five minutes to figure out what I have been wanting to learn a little about.

I have been seriously slacking in photographically documenting Scarlett's first year and half of existence, mainly because I have no clue how to take a pretty picture. If I ever have taken one, it's been sheer dumb luck. I've been wanting to know how to take some quality pictures so that I can someday (in the very distant future) make some fancy scrapbooks and albums to pull out when Scar's first boyfriend comes-a-calling. Also, my parents have this really nice Nikon DSLR camera but nobody in my family knows how to use it except on the AUTO setting. Of course, it takes good pictures on AUTO, but I just feel like this camera's potential is being wasted.

So, I decided to do a little research online. I even went so far as to order the book, How To Photograph Your Life , which I discovered is sort of known as the "go-to book" for someone who has no professional photography aspirations but wants to take nice family photographs. Lastly, I picked the fabulous brain of my friend Mary who in a year's time has become quite the established photographer around these parts (If you haven't seen her work already, you have to check out her blog. She is ah-mazing. And, yes, that is my little cutie up there!).

Well, as it turns out, a week was not enough to learn as much as one probably needs to know to be able to take the beautiful pictures I imagined I'd be taking by Friday. But, I did learn a lot and the best part is, I am driven to learn even more now that I have a slight understanding of what terms like 'ISO' and 'aperture' mean. And, although I only got one photo that I am actually really proud of, that was enough for me. Take a look for yourself, is she not a beautiful little girl?


To wrap things up, I want to encourage my friends to jump on The Shine Project bandwagon. It really was a lot of fun, and I find myself very anxious to see what this Monday's challenge will be. Click the link below if you're interested. Thanks to any of my friends and family who took the time to read this. Enjoy your Friday and have a blessed weekend!



P.S. The title of this post is very dear to me as the Addison Road version of "This Little Light of Mine" is the class song of the preschool that I work at. They sing it so sweetly! They performed it in church last Sunday, and I can't wait to hear it again at graduation this Monday! Here it is if you'd like to listen to it:

Sugar Cookie Bars.

Everyone has their own personal form of "therapy;" something that we enjoy and helps us to relax. For some this is shopping, see: retail therapy. For others, it is a glass of wine at the end of a long day. For me, it is flour on my counters, sugar crunching under my feet on the floor, and my oven turning our little house into a sauna. Any guesses? Yes, baking of course! Unfortunately, our lives are so busy that I typically only get to bake now when I have an occasion to go to where I am supposed to bring along something edible. This usually means holidays, a party, or our snack day for Sunday School.

This weekend our SS class had a picnic at Moraga park (which is definitely the most awesome park in Merced) and we were supposed to bring a dessert to share. Be still my heart! I decided to make these yummy & simple sugar cookie bars that were a big deal on my favorite baking blogs last summer. I'm a sucker for anything that I can dye a pretty color and I knew there would be kids there so this was a clear choice. I made them that summer when my whole family took our annual trip to Great America and my uncles were fighting over them. So, I thought I'd share the recipe with my friends! They may not be quite as good as the traditional sugar cookie but they're definitely a lot easier to make! Enjoy!

Sugar Cookie Bars

Source: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/06/sugar-cookie-bars.html1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda [Note: I didn't have baking soda so I used 1 tsp baking powder]

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda and stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean (they won't look done so do the toothpick test). Cool completely and frost.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz block) softened
1 tsp vanilla (I used almond extract for half of the frosting)
¼ tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
food coloring

For frosting combine butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk a little at a time and mix until smooth and spreading consistency. You may not need all the milk! Spread over cooled cookie bars.

By the way, we had an awesome time at the park with our Living Faith family. They played a big game of kickball (they, not I, because physical education sports that I was required to play in middle school are my worst nightmare) and one of my favorite moments was when Matt when up to bat (technically, kick) while holding Scarlett. He got a home run, so he ran the bases with her still in his arms. They all cheered for her and yelled her name and she had the biggest grin on her face! It was darling. She loved it so much she wanted to be out there with Daddy the whole time and thought Mommy was a big old meany for not letting her. Anyway, here are some pics from the day!

This is Jeffry. He is one of our little sweeties at SonShine Christian Preschool.
His mom and dad are also in our class.

Hiya blog world! A little insight into where we are right now.

I have wanted to get a blog up and going for what seems like forever now. I've put it off because I had no idea what to blog about, and I still haven't really figured that out. Mostly you'll come here, if anyone chooses to at all, and discover things about my little family. And, from time to time I'll get posts up about my baking ventures (which aren't always so successful).

Anyway, here we go! As of now, Matthew and I are rushing to find a home (or a pod hee hee) for our family. Moving date is no later than November 16th so I'm starting to feel the heat! We think we've gotten our search narrowed down to two cute little houses, and we'd be so blessed to be in either. We find comfort in knowing we'll end up wherever God wants us; and, really, what more could we ask for?

Our not-so-little-anymore bundle, Scarlett, is just growing and growing. She's a joyful, hilarious little thing. She's delighting in standing on her own now, and we know walking is right around the corner. How exciting AND terrifying! She's hit most milestones way before what is average, but lagged far behind in one area- teeth! We've waited and waited for those little buggers to show up, and it seems they finally have. Her nose has been running like a faucet all week and my mother's intuition (this is a real thing, I swear) told me, this is it. And yesterday- that intuition was finally satisfied. I rubbed my finger along her bottom gum, which is always a battle in itself, and felt a sharp little point in there. Yay! So, okay, she doesn't have a whole tooth yet, but I'll take it. I love that little piece of tooth just as much as I would a whole one. Am I the most quintessential, sappy mother you've ever met or what?

As for Matt and myself, things are pretty much the same as always. As a couple, we've discovered the most personal relationship with Jesus that either of us have ever had before. Big miracles haven't happened as a result of this, yet anyway, but life is a whole new ballgame now that we have a larger grasp of Christ's love for us.

So, that's it for now. I'll post some pictures I found on my camera that I've neglected to post on my FB (bad momma! bad!), because I've been too darn busy. Hope you'll check back in with us here and there. And, we'll update you on those miracles as they come!

PS. THANK YOU to my lovely in every way friend, Mary, for helping me make such a cute blog! She truly is a "Jane of all trades" as I like to call her!

Giving my darling a bath at FBC Family Camp.

Scarlett at Family Camp with her cousin, Kylah. They did this a lot.
Love these girls!

Scarlett's first time getting sick. We felt so bad
because we kept laughing at our little
"old fashioned baby!"