It's happened

Ava has found my make-up case. I was on the phone with a friend and thought Ava was in the very next room watching a movie but it turns out she was messing around in the bathroom. She walked up to me and said "Mama, I got lips and cheeks." She had brown lip gloss on one cheek and black eyeliner on the other. There were some smudges on the toilet but other than that she kept it on her face. Isn't it funny how us sweet moms have the first reaction of:

"Oh my gosh what did you do!" Then the very next phrase is

"Just stay there, I'm going to get the camera."

Looks like I need to put up a shelf and keep my make-up out of reach. Love you Ava.

A little bit of elbow grease

With a little elbow grease you can turn this

(technically my neighbors front yard but ours looked almost exactly the same)

**********************Into this!*********************

I know it's nothing too special, I really just pulled out a lot of crappy weeds and molding roots but it's so much nicer. We are only renting but dare I say we have the nicest tiny patch of mulch and primrose planted front yard? It makes me happy to walk in front of my house and see colour ! (yes I spell colour the way I was taught to and the way "English" people spell it) We still don't have the best weather, these babies have had a few frosty mornings but they are tiny green troopers bringing in Spring.

We also have this piece of work:

There is a long embarrassing story behind this armoire. Starting with purchasing it from Lakenheath yardsales.com bringing it home in the dark and hating that we had bought a piece of crap and ending with the previous owner saying she had been called swear words and calling the cops saying it was us. Totally not us! So now we have a project to complete. In the end I hope it will be in the kitchen holding our food storage, but it might never make it there. Dave and I tried to paint it the other day when it was about 37F and the paint started to freeze. What we wanted to be cranberry red was drying a bubble gum pink. We decided to leave it in the garage until a warmer day. Finished pictures will hopefully come soon.

Some People

Have you ever accepted a second calling at church and not just a small second calling, lets say "Compassionate Service Leader" And had the Relief Society Pres set up an appointment to "go over the logistics" then while she is on the phone with you cancelling the appointment that is supposed to happen in 20 minutes she flat out says "I have huge expectations for you which I'm not sure you can live up to." Yeah I did, just today. It's a good thing I don't have to live up to her expectations, the Lord only requires my personal best! What the heck is wrong with some people?

Valentines Weekend

Dave bought a stunt Kite when we were back in Germany in January. There is a huge open field a couple of blocks from our house that is just perfect for kite flying. It sure is a lot more fun flying a kite that actually stays up in the air, not like the kind we tried to fly as kids.

Ava loves to wear these sunglasses, even at night!

She pulls them down her nose and looks at me and says

"Ava's glasses Mama."

It was a chilly morning so I tried to dress her up warm

she is so sweet.

This is the park just outside our front door. It's not really for Ava's age but she still likes to jump off the ledge, slide down the slide, hide in the house and ride the duck.

This is Ava Valentine Sunday morning.

She looks like she is ready for her first day of school.

Banana Bread

Ava absolutely loves to cook in the kitchen! She always wants to be right in the middle of whatever I am cooking. Sometimes I get nervous because she insists on being so close and "helping" me. One thing that we can't mess up is Banana Bread, and I always have 3 or more old bananas hanging around. She says "Mama I help cook na na bread?" She is just so much fun right now. It's great when your kidos can start talking and listening.

I've bought a ticket and I'm flying to CANADA! I need a break. I know this isn't the best time to come and visit, after all I'll have just missed college "reading week" and the weather will be deep freeze cold, but this trip is for me. I want to eat my parents food, and use their hot water. I want to do my laundry in their basement and have talks at the dinner table while eating cereal from Safeway. I want to visit with friends and family and remember that I have many people in my life (although they live far away) that care a lot about me and what I think. I just need a change for a while.

Dave just got word today that he can join me for my 4th week, and I'm so excited! Dave does everything for me and Ava. He loves us and cares for us, he supports us and tries to make everything wonderful. He is truly the best husband and I am glad that he gets to have a short holiday with us. Plus he will be flying home with me so that means I only have to single parent one 10 hour plane ride.

After living in Germany for 4 years it was hard to leave. We had awesome memories and life milestones made there. We had great friends and highly involved church callings. We both had high expectations for England and although it hasn't been a fair fight, the UK life hasn't fulfilled my dreams yet. I know it can never be the same but theres no reason why life at Mildenhall can't be as good as Ramstein, it just needs more time and sunshine! Things aren't as bad as I'm making them sound it's just they aren't as good as I'd like them to be. When I return, England will hopefully be in spring and site seeing can start! I'm excited to see everyone and I'll try my best to come to you so you don't have to rearrange your life but remember I am lugging around a 2 year old so days start late and end early.