Hello again, Blog

Well, after a seriously crazy 18 months, I'm doing a short stint back at the blog. Not so much for anyone else, just for a little project I'm trying. I've been exploring my closet in the last few years, and I have fallen in love with a couple of great blogs and especially with Pinterest. I love the challenge of finding ways to use what is IN my closet, and being strategic about what's on my "to buy" list.

Freckles in April is doing the 10 day Winter challenge, and I decided to at least try part of it. I love how she plays with her closet, and I'm eager to try it. And no buying clothes. Use what you have in your closet. I love it. Essentially you play off of a prompt each day, and let the creativity fly.

I'm no fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that everyone can have their own style. I'm 35, and I love being 35. I know myself so much better than ever, and I'm so much more confident in who I am. I want my style to reflect a couple of important things. I think God made us to enjoy beauty and to celebrate each other. I think it is fabulous to feel great in what you are wearing. So I want to look like I enjoy life and I'm thankful for my life without looking spoiled or obsessed. I want to reflect my femininity with modesty (both sexual modesty and ostentation). I want people to feel at home around me. I want people to know that I am fun and creative. I think all of this reflects God's glory. It's a fine line with clothing, but this is where I am to be.

So.

Day one challenge is "Layers." I loved this inspiration photo (don't know original source), and kind of went with something of the same thought.

What exactly am I looking at on the floor? Maybe my shoes. Forgot to smooth out the bunched up fabric with this one, but with little ones around, you shoot and go. =) Hair is inspired by Pinterest as well.

Sweater: New York and Company, eons old

Dress: Old Navy, last year

Layering tank: Loft

Purple patterned shirt: Target

Tights: Target

Belt: Target

Shoes: Amazon

Autumn!

Welcome autumn!


Okay, is it just me or can you hardly contain yourself? I know, I totally want to smooch him too.

Don't you love the look on this guy's face? Steve made me a THREE LAYER chocolate kahlua cake with caramel frosting. Oh MERCY! It was awesome.
My sweet, pretty girl. She LOVES birthdays. By the way, she insisted that every birthday candle in the house go on my cake. I was cool with it because we only had 27. =)
"Mommy, I look just like Daddy when he goes to work! I have on black shoes, a backpack, sunglasses and a bike helmet."

"Now run along and don't get into mischeif"

First -- just a little update and praise, our women's group went far better than I'd even hoped yesterday. God clearly went ahead, and is blessing this group. I'm really praying that people find support and relationship in this group, as well as spiritual growth. The large group discussion was really, really good--about Adoration of God. It's been awhile since listening to something like that really caused some action for me. I'm reading through the EFCA statement of faith and just thinking about one attribute of God at a time. Yesterday was "one God." Today is "creator of all things." This is a really cool exercise, and I think I'm going to try to do it regularly until our next meeting.
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Okay, so I majored in all the wrong things for my current job. I definitely should've taken child development classes. Duh. Also debate. And health/nutrition. But I didn't really realize I should've taken field hockey as preparation for parenthood. I'm getting really good now at sweeping up messes and getting them dust-busted before someone walks through them.

I love finding my kiddo in places he knows he's not supposed to be. He's so charming when I find him there. =)

Okay, here's the story on this one. My brother was invited to an 80's party, and went as Mario (brilliant!!). It makes a lot of sense for him, because I think he spent more time with Mario and Luigi than anyone else in the 80's. ;) (Love ya, Bud.) Well, Lucy was in her princess dress, and we joked that he needed a picture of the rescued princess. The crown, however, could not be located, tears ensued and all was sliding down a treacherous cliff. But I am SO proud of my emotional child for finding a way out of her funk by inventing a "hand crown" on the spot. So that is a happy smile through her wet eyes, and a hand crown on her head.

Shamu in a princess dress, Søren with chocolate muffin smeared all across his head.

And, yes, I now have a climber. My very favorite thing he climbs is the oven door. That's fun.
10 points for the person who gets the origin of the title first. I'm putting my money on Susan.

P.S. Hi Beca!!

How I keep from, or maybe contribute to, losing my mind

This was a fun little lunch outing at the Fullerton Train Station with the kids. They were so excited about french fries and watching trains that I actually got to enjoy a lovely conversation with an old friend.


Yes, that's shaving cream on my sliding glass door. It needed to be washed anyway, so I figured, what the heck.
The Boy was more excited about our washing-off station.
It doubled as a long-distance birthday card for our sweet Mimi. =)

How old are you again?

This was from my girl's last first day of pre-school. She'll be a big Kindergartener next year! She didn't notice the difference, because we did playgroup through the summer, same bat-time, same bat-channel. But we did say goodbye to one of our little guys and then hello to two new little guys. We've been very thankful for our group and our kids, but especially our Miss Blair.

A whole lotta money down the drain

So wanna know what we did with a nice chunk of Steve's hard-earned cash?

Bought a piece of civilization. While you hate to spend that kind of money on something like poop, knowing that I will NOT in fact have to hold my breath every time someone flushes the toilet is worth a pretty penny. We've had the plumber out 3 times this year, and would've likely had someone within a few weeks from what we were told about the state of our pipes when they got started. I've gotten very, very good at damming water with towels, and our wet-vac skills are pretty impressive.

But now I am considering flushing that bucket of golf balls that our toilet advertised it could do. You know you'd want to try it too!

One of two big holes that were dug in our yard before 8 a.m. They did a techique called pipe bursting. They take an instrument from point A to point B and shatter the old clay pipe, so they don't have to dig up your whole yard. Then they feed the new pipe through and seal it.




One long pipe means no tree roots growing into the connections!

Had we forgotten the temporary flushing ban, this hole would've looked a lot different... =)

And that's enough crap for one day. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ice Breaker Questions

So I want some ideas from you. I'm looking for some good ice-breaker questions for GWF (Grace Women's Fellowship -- not Gophers Wearing Fedors, as my brother posited). I'm looking for something not silly, not stupid, something that won't put people too much on the spot. I liked this one:

*Who makes you laugh the most and why?

I'd love some that help us get to know people well, that are interesting, and are potentially meaningful without being too serious. Tall order, eh? Any great ideas?

Stuff You Missed In History Class

I LOVE this podcast. It's now up there with Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and This American Life. Oh, how I wish I'd discovered these things in college. (And also ipods, but hey, I got to wear flannels then, and you just can't have everything.) This is what my mind was craving during that time. Information, fun, smart, witty. I love "Stuff You Missed In History Class" because it tackles some fabulous historical niches and answers the kinds of questions you always wondered about when reading dry history books, all while making you feel that the editors just invited you to grab a cup of joe with them at Peet's. I think we're entering an era of a new kind of education, which makes me a tiny bit worried for maintaining a high standard of academic integrity, and makes me a little concerned about whether we should expect our educators to be entertainers. However, if done well, it can satisfy those cravings for interesting learning, and I want that so badly for my kids!

To give you a quick morsel: Did you know that in the early 1900's North Boston was flooded by millions of gallons of molasses? And funny as that is, that it was the catalyst to many safety codes and to litigation precedents for negligent corporations? And how exactly do you clean up millions of gallons of molasses from an entire portion of a major city? And why the heck would you have millions of gallons of molasses stored in any kind of massive vessel like that anyway? Stay tuned!

Pretty!

I hardly feel like we've earned this... but I'm not complaining! Isn't it just beautiful??
I was able to go on a run this morning without dying of dehydration or sun stroke. Did I mention I've started running again? Oh, it feels grand! Very thankful that I enjoy running and don't hate it. I spent many years hating running because a.) I'm an asthmatic, and b.) I spent enough time in high school volleyball practice doing hell runs to condition myself to classify running as evil. But God bless Associate Dean Geringer at Talbot for teaching me how to run without hating it. Start slow, increase, make just going your goal. I do feel a tad smug pushing my 70 pounds worth of children when I see college kids out on their runs.

And then some other stuff happened.

I learned a long time ago never to say I would never do something. Because I now wear my hair without bangs, drink black coffee, and I married a seminary student. I wish fervently that I could go back 5 years and tell myself that I would not only be attending my church's moms' group, I'd be loving it, and oh, by the way, I'd also be leading it. I would laugh hysterically or else weep in fear! And yet, that's what happened. I said no twice. And then some great stuff happened and I said yes. Long story, but let's just say I am rarely that aware of the Holy Spirit leading in a particular direction.

Some really cool stuff has happened since I accepted. I was worried about feeling like I didn't have time. But I have seen God multiply my time. Right at the time I accepted, I weaned The Boy, so I started drinking coffee again (insert Handel here). And then he started sleeping all night consistently. And my girl hasn't had a night terror in over 3 months. So coffee + sleep = crazy things like a clean house, extra energy, lots of really weird, awesome things.

Second, I was worried I would feel obligated and dragged down. I have been super excited about doing this, all to my amazement. I'm excited about the team, I'm excited about the possibilities, I'm enjoying all the work. It's crazy.

I have rarely had such a clear sense of the Holy Spirit leading me, and I have rarely been able to enjoy watching him work in such minute ways. People praying for specific items, then watching them just... happen. I'm just so incredibly aware that God has plans, and I feel like it's a wild privilege to just ride along.

So that's the other fun thing that happened. And the other reason I've not been blogging much.

Okay, you deserve pictures now. I don't even read blogs that don't have lots of pictures now.

A little gift for a new mom... I don't think she reads my blog, so I can post it, but I can't wait to give this to her! There are so many new babies right now!
Snack bags for the nieces.

Poor baby had an ear infection for his birthday. Look at those sad eyes!
A little trip to Pretend City in Irvine. Seriously, AWESOME. Also, look at Miss Blair's CUTE skirt to the left of Lucy. I need to take her shopping with me.

Some stuff that happened

Hello, friends!
Okay, remember that whole, "I'm blogging again" thing? Sorry about all that. But thought you should know what happened in the last 2 months. Good stuff. First there was a week off/staycation for Steve. (Kiddos at a park in Garden Grove.)


Then a Boy to Celebrate.


Twice.
Actually 3 times.


Which brings me to our awesome vacation up at Shaver Lake. The Earle Clan was all there for the week to celebrate the Senior Earles' 45th anniversary, so we decided to celebrate Søren's birthday there, too.


It just so happened that my sister & her peeps were going to be in Fresno that very same time, so we did a little magic, and voilá, every single aunt, uncle and grandparent was assembled to birthday that Boy. Here's the invitation. I bought these on our honeymoon and had been hoarding them for a special occasion. This seemed pretty special.

I told the family to look around carefully... the next time this group was assembled could very well be one of these kids' weddings!

We had a great party, and a great week with the fam. Lots of lake fun and some hiking/bouldering for the So. Cal Earles. Søren preferred microbouldering.


Two notes for this post:
1.) I don't have the pictures on my computer at the moment, but I have discovered that the best cupcake on the face of the earth is a Kahlua cupcake with caramel penuche frosting. Best cupcake Ev-ER!

2.) How about that amazing cake my sis-in-law made! Actually two cakes! And cupcakes!

3.) Read Post Two. Cause some other stuff happened, too. Good stuff. (No, I'm not pregnant! Goodness, people!)

Kingdom Quest

Happy 4th, everyone!

Lucy says today: "Mom, I don't fink today is America's Birfday. It's just on another day."
Me: "What, are you changing history as we speak?"
Lucy: "Not changing it, just having another idea."

Uh-oh. I have a Revisionist on my hands. =)

I am juuuust coming up for air from last week. Well, from JUNE really. I had in-laws here for 12 days, then started in on getting Adventure Week planning done. I ran the Parent Cafe this year, and had no idea what I was doing. So of course, the week before, Lucy got sick. It was a very strange sickness, in that she would have a very high temp and be miserable, and then be fine for a period of time. Her symptoms were presenting strangely, and for a few days we thought she might have an appendicitis. Thankfully she didn't, and recovered just in the nick of time for Adventure Week. God was so gracious in providing where I was deficient. It was so cool to see him using others to bless the parents at the Parent Cafe.

A very sick Bear.

And a very contented Søren. Thankful for that! He was a real trooper.

Sari gave me these jammies for Lucy from their trip to England last year. She just now fits into them--PERFECT for the Castle theme of Adventure Week!

I began to panic when three times as many parents came this year as were here last year. But, in true Grace fashion, people stepped up to the plate cheerfully and brought all this awesomeness. It dawned on me the other day that THOUSANDS of calories passed through my hands this week. You'd think I'd be tired of sweets at the end of the week. You'd think.

Søren was elated that Adventure Week for him meant climbing between chairs all week. He was a champ!

Just looking at this makes me a little teary--it was an incredible joy to see Lucy singing the songs and really beginning to make some connections about who Christ is and who she is. I thank God constantly for a church that is helping me raise my kids to know Jesus.
A couple of friars grabbing a tasty brew.
Time to go write thank you notes to my wonderful volunteers!

Yumminess

I started with this...


And ended up with this!
Home-made wheat boulle from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes A Day, scooped out the inside bread and stuffed in thinly sliced ham, provalone, pesto and ribboned zucchini. Stuck the whole thing on the George Foreman Grill (since I don't have a sandwich press), and voilá! Crunchy, oozy yumminess.

Oh no you dih-int!

Oh, but I did.

Western. Bacon. Cheeseburger.

Getting ready...

Onion rings! Arent' they cute?

Sizzle, sizzle!
Many did not survive to grace the burger.

And there it is. Home-made bbq sauce and all.

My walk

I've been walking a lot. I was dreading it at first because I live in a 1950's track housing neighborhood. However, when I committed to some slightly longer walks, I realized I live in a gold mine of walks for Affordable(ish) Suburban Southern California. Come, take a walk with me!

It's May, so the amazing Jacaranda trees are blooming. There's just something amazing about a big purple tree.

Hey, look! What's behind all that shrubbery? Oh, it's my house! (Sorry for the overexposure there.)

Hello, there, little ducks! Seriously, like two weeks ago you guys were still little tiny ducklings!

This is a part of the creek/rain run-off canal that runs behind my house. I love it when we get a good So Cal Dump in February and it fills up like a raging river.
This is the new Olive Grove park on the East side of Biola's campus. It's a favorite for Lucy, as it's basically just a looped path that she can run around and around.
Look familiar anyone?
Missed this shot by a few seconds, but we see a surprising amount of animals on our walk. Here's Mr. Rooster. Mmmmm.... tastes like chicken...
The Hill of Doom. Pushing 70+ pounds up this hill causes me to almost go completely vertical. It looks tame, but I have big kids.
We often see horses come down this trail. And lots of skinny Biola Cross-Country Runners with shorts that are too short. Ew.
I love the curves of this park. I also love how quiet it is.
Bridges are a fascination for my girl. We like to play Pooh Sticks here.
This guy was flippin' awesome. We saw him this morning.
And some lovely trees waiting for us at home.