Happy Christmas season!

I am no chef. When I married, I could make boxed mac and cheese, frozen pizzas and almost anything instant. But, oh how I tried! I have concocted all manner of meals that I thought would be delicious, burned weeks worth of groceries and misread countless recipes (i.e. adding soda instead of powder, salt rather than sugar).
Though progress has been made...there are many, many things that, quite frankly, intimidate me. Mostly they are the down-home, grandma kind of foods such as roast with potatoes, beef stew and...chicken noodle soup.
Until tonight. My son is feeling ill. Chicken soup, being the all-sickness cure, was needed. With sweaty palms and a firm resolve I boiled some chicken. It worked! So I added some carrots, onion and celery. Beautiful. Minimal spices and some noodles....voila!

I am quite proud. And in case you cannot taste the goodness through the computer screen, it was delightful.

Hey, Mom, do you wanna see my fashion?

Finally I was able to download pictures from my camera!

For Halloween...Eavan was a monkey (eating her very first sucker)...

...Joel was Aaron Rodgers...

...and Cate was a clown (again)...

The weather was perfect this year for trick-or-treating. Even so we did most of ours at the mall, but also went around to a few houses in our neighborhood. And yummy candy was had by all.

My sweet, beautiful 7 year old daughter somehow decided that she'd like a "makeover".

Before

After

Now if only she'd decide she needs a make-under. Silly girl.

They ask me every year. Every year it seems a waste.

This year, after some thought, I concluded that their enjoyment is never waste. And I would get toasted pumpkin seeds. :)

(Joel's, Eavan's, Cate's)

Cate's Book On Dating (for boys)

Chapter 1: Take The Girl On A Date
Chapter 2: Tell The Girl You Love Her
Chapter 3: Take The Girl On Another Date
Chapter 4: Break Up With The Girl
Chapter 5: Go On A Date With Another Girl
Chapter 6: Go To Church With The Girl
Chapter 7: Take The Girl On Another Date
Chapter 8: Marry The Girl
Chapter 9: Love Her
Chapter 10: Let The Girl Do Whatever She Wants


I'd buy that book. :)

Eavan Grace

A seven month old's daily to-do list:

wake up 3 AM - check
eat- check
wake up 5:30 AM- check
eat- check
give mama a sloppy kiss- check
crawl around and get into everything under the sun- CHECK!
work on balance and standing- check
eat-check
nap 9 AM- check
poop- check
eat- check
mess up older sibling's game- check
play
get into everything under the sun
work on balance and standing
eat
nap 2 PM
play
eat
play
don't eat rice cereal mixed with fruits or veggies
read book with mama
eat
fight sleep until I pass out from exhaustion

Here's to...

...a new sister-in-law...

...new discoveries...

...pedicures!...

...and girl time.

What a fabulous week!

I took Cate in to get her eyes checked on Thursday- after months of suspecting that maybe she was having trouble. She is slightly far sighted and will need glasses to read, color and watch television. Her eyes should correct themselves within a couple of years. But she looks so doggone cute!

I give you....my children.

We checked on Eavan after putting her in bed last night. I find no need for further introduction....

Snuggling up!

Enjoying her daily morning chat with Daddy- in which she voices her opinion, tells of her grievances, and praises him immensely.

Sunday found us prettied up for Easter. I was dashing around trying to find the ingredients for the breakfast cake I was making for a potluck brunch that I was, apparently, ill-prepared for. We had yet to unpack since our return from Wisconsin on Thursday (don't judge...you know it takes awhile sometimes!), the house has been mostly unorganized since the arrival of Eavan in late January, and Spring cleaning- which I started over a week ago- is still a goal. It was, in spite of all the madness and clutter, a very happy and fabulous family day.

Monday found us in the basement inspecting the black mold inside two of our walls. The kids and I left for the day and Roger and some wonderful friends started tearing into the walls. Thanks to our awesome friends we had: 20+ hours of free labor, a place to stay that night, a delicious meal, companionship for the kids and I, a truck for hauling the mold away and bringing in new supplies. We are so very blessed by our church family.

And to further pile on the blessings, we found out last night that our insurance will cover above and beyond what we need to fix the problem- and to think we weren't even going to call them!

It's so crazy that Eavan is already two months old! We had her well child checkup yesterday and found out she is 13 pounds, 6 ounces and 23 inches long. And while she's not the size Cate and Joel were at this age, she still seems so big! Eavan is a morning baby and is so happy and smiley right around 6 AM (much to my chagrin)- at night she fights sleep for hours. We decided to try some rice cereal to see if that would help fill her belly and make her sleep better.

Today we celebrated Joel's 5th birthday. He had his first official party and invited 15 of his closest friends and cousins. :) We ran around playing games, meeting the mouse (Joel reassured us all that it was "just a perthon inside"), opening gifts (which were all "Awethome!!!"), and partying like 5 year olds.

Much to my extreme delight we were able to visit a going-out-of-business sale at World Market last week. There are so very many things that I adore at World Market, not the least of which is their great selection of dining room furniture. Being the sucker for a clearance that I am...we came home with a new dining room set (which we did actually need) bought at 50% off! Adore with me, if you will....

We will still need another chair and a bench for when the table is fully extended. And some rearranging is needed in the dining room- as soon as I have time to play around and find the best placement of furniture.

After five years without, we have been trying to adjust to having an infant around again. Naptimes, baby sounds, diaper changes....I don't believe that any meal has been served on time, the house is in a constant state of disarray. The world, for the moment, revolves around this tiny person.

Eavan Grace

I went in early Thursday morning for an induction and came home the next day with this...:)
After 6 and a half hours of labor, Eavan arrived looking, cock-eyed up at me. She was 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 19 inches long. She has a triple chin and big chipmunk cheeks. :)

Eavan rarely cries- though she makes this face all the time. It seems she forgets what she was doing midway.

She (like her sister) sleeps with her arms up by her face and refuses to keep them tucked in her blanket, even when they are purple with cold.

A very rare picture with her eyes actually open. They only are for about five minutes before eating.

And for those of you who are wondering...Eavan means beautiful and is pronounced EE-vuhn.

Joel lost his first tooth today. He is very excited! He has another loose one that will be following soon.

Counting my blessings...

from children who bring me gifts of artwork all throughout my day (even if some of the depictions of me are quite too proportionately realistic for my ego)....


to a healthy pregnancy and being ready for our child and anxiously awaiting her arrival...

to finding good deals and actually being able to take advantage of them...

and yes, I suppose, even blizzards and wind and treacherous weather that remind us that God is God and we are tiny (but significant) pieces to the puzzle.

My days are far from relaxing, my house is never clean and my children are not perfect and though I can feel myself sliding closer and closer to the steps of an institution, there is a peace to my life. And I am quite happy to be right here.