These are a few of my favorite things

So Oprah has her favorite things and today I was thinking of a list of mine.  Here are a few...

• Simple Human Paper Towel Wall Mount - I know sounds crazy, but I love this paper towel holder.

• Simple Human Pull out trash can- Another crazy favorite thing, but it keeps the kitchen clear of a bulky trash can.

• Nespresso Citiz Espresso Maker with Aeroccino Plus Automatic Milk Frother - Okay this probably should have gone on the top of the list.  I traded in some gold jewelry and bought this amazing machine.  I think I have at least 5 lattes a week.

• Lenovo Ideapad- Another thing that I traded some gold jewelry in for.  Brian picked out this great laptop for me.  I was debating getting a Ipad, but decided it was just a big toy and we already have an I touch.  I love, love, love my Ideapad.  It is brand new so I get to organize everything really well.  I have been setting up all sorts of cleaning schedules, calendars, and weekly meal plans.   This is the perfect small laptop and great for all my needs.

Okay that is all for now, but I know I have more so I will add those later.

Brian got his trumpet back

A blog revival

We haven't blogged in a really long time. Life has taken over and I rarely have time to actually reflect while sitting at a computer. But, things are changing.

After a year of agonizing over where Hannah will go to kindergarten (actually probably more like 5 years), she has started at Forest View Elementary School. I didn't cry at all though I do feel her absence during the day. She has a great teacher and I am grateful that she is in such a diverse environment. There is really no majority or minority of race/culture in her class. There are kids from Asia, India, Denmark, France, Vietnam (I think) and some Hispanic and African American, and Caucasian children as well. She truly is color blind. What a blessing.

Charis will also start pre-school this week which will lead to even more time. She is so excited and full of life. She will have no problem adjusting and I know she will love her class. I am trying to sign her up for a gymnastics class. She loves hanging and has the biggest quad muscles of any 2 year old I have seen. We go next Thursday for her to try it out. Hannah will continue taking ballet and adjusting to her big time school schedule.

Another reason I am optimistic about our blog is that I traded in my gold jewelry and used some of the profit to buy a new laptop. I now have more flexibility in writing. A big thank you to Brian who picked out the perfect computer for my needs. I love it!

I also have more time to reflect because I will be in the car a lot more doing carpool. I spent an evening downloading listening materials and also picked some stuff up at the library.

Providentially, I found a neat CD at the library compiled by Julie Andrews of lots of different songs and poems. It was great listening to it these past few days. http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Andrews-Collection-Poems-Lullabies/dp/160024758X Here is a great poem that is on it by Charles Dickens. I love Dickens and I totally agree with him about Autumn!

‘Tis pleasant on a fine spring morn
To see the buds expand,.
‘Tis pleasant in the summer time
To see the fruitful land;
‘Tis pleasant on a winter’s night
To sit around the blaze,
But what are joys like these, my boys,
To merry autumn days!

We hail the merry Autumn days,
When leaves are turning red;
Because they’re far more beautiful
Than anyone has said,
We hail the merry harvest time,
The gayest of the year;
The time of rich and bounteous crops,
Rejoicing and good cheer.

Be on the look out for more posts!

November

So I haven't posted since May, and I have only posted twice this whole year. Wow! I have to admit- all of my attempts at being thankful this month have been overcome by crying kids, failed projects, sickness, and work. I have yet to learn to have a constant thankful heart in all circumstances despite the fact that I have had multiple Bible Studies on the subject. I suspect it is because I have a false view of life and God, and I think everything should go my way at all times... sounds like a good News Years resolution to me. Our Thankful Tree we created had four leaves on it all created by Hannah. She was very dear and was thankful for God, her Bible, Charis and food. She could teach me a few things! Hopefully the project will be more successful next year. On a brighter note, we cleared the entire backyard and bought a playset off craigslist. This will hopefully lead to many happy times this coming year. I would like to end the month by truly being thankful for a few things.

1) Our church- I have said this multiple times, but I am so thankful for our church. I can't imagine what condition my soul would be in if we did not go to church every week. I don't go out of obligation, but I go because I LOVE church. I always have. I need to be reminded of how amazing God is and of His eternal truth on a regular basis. I love my church family and they are all so dear to me. I can't wait to go to the "Behold the Lamb" concert that will be held there later in the week.

2) My family- I am so thankful for Brian, Hannah, Charis, my mom, dad and brother, all of Brian's family, etc. I am thankful my parents moved here this year and we will have lots of special moments together in the future. Brian is so gifted and so many ways and such a wonderful father. My girls are so special to me. I can't imagine better in-laws! Cheers to a great family!

3) Durham- sounds weird, but I love Durham. I love living here. I love our neighborhood and home. I love the fall and spring. I love my gym, Hannah's pre-school, the people here, the restaurants, etc.

4) Brian's job- Brian has traveled a lot this year which has certainly been hard. But, I am thankful he does have a great job that he likes and he is able to provide for our family through it. He gets to be creative and meet people from all over the world. This year we both traveled to London twice and he went to Germany and Poland and many other places in the US. I am very proud that he has done an excellent job at work this year.

Let the Christmas season begin!

It's been a while

I hope all of my posts are not going to be titled "It's been a while"! I am not going to try and catch up this time.

April was crazy, but thankfully May looks like it will be a relaxing month and a time to catch up. Honestly, it is so hard to get things done with two small children. I had dreams of starting our garden this year, but we would have to clear out our yard, and we just didn't have time to work on it. I really hope we get it going next year. In January, we watched a documentary called Food, Inc, and since then we have been trying to make better decisions about what we eat. I am happy to say, we are doing really well on this goal. We joined a CSA where we get a box of produce from a local organic farm once a week- last week we ate all sorts of new things. We have also been buying milk from our local dairy. I have been making all of our bread and other baked goods from scratch as well. I think this is about the only thing I am succeeding in at the moment. This week we are also taking a break from web surfing and TV. I am totally addicted to both. In my spare time all I want to do is be entertained or do some sort of mindless activity. The first night was pathetic. I didn't even know what to do with my time. Then, I made a list of goals for the week, and I am actually accomplishing a lot of them. Last night I read a book and then just hung out with Brian for a while.


And the greatest thing going on at the moment is that my parents are moving to Raleigh. We are so excited to be closer to them. We already have them scheduled to babysit, so we can go see Wicked this week. We have not been out since February!

Here are a few pictures of the girls. Hannah is finishing up her second year of pre-school. She loves her class and all of her friends there. She loves singing and being silly with her daddy. Charis is just so much fun. The only word she says is "Hi", but she babbles and pretends to talk all the time. She also likes to just spin in circles and fall down. It is hillarious.

That's it for now.

It's been a while

Wow, I just looked at our blog and it has been a long time since I posted something. What has happened since November 10th... Hmmm.

Thanksgiving in Durham with Gramzy, Popsy, and Carla... maybe Franklin can come next time! Thanks to Boston Market, we did not cook. We got up early and went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. It was totally worth it and Gramzy saved our place in line more than once.

December was CRAZY

Hannah had her Christmas program where she lipsynched for at least part of it. This was better than last year where she just stood there the whole time. Here she is not singing.


We had our Christmas really early so the kids could play with their presents before we went to Florida. Hannah was so upset because apparently they told her what Christmas day was suppose to be like at pre-school and we were doing it different. She cried "I can't wear my Christmas pajamas because it is not Christmas yet!" She got over it though. She loves her new bike and has gotten really good. Poor Charis only got a hat for Christmas.


We pretty much finished the playroom. We have yet to get our final inspections. Also, Brian bought the best fire alarms, but they are really sensitive and we have about two false alarms a day. We still haven't figured out the problem. Thankfully Charis and Hannah just sleep through them. We also took a trip to the emergency room because Brian cut his finger on the saw. It is all better now.

We went to Amelia Island, Tallahassee, and Deerfield Beach/Ft. Lauderdale.

We attended Jon Whitney's wedding where we got to catch up with a lot of old friends. We had a blast staying with Don and Danielle, and I was really encouraged to start eating healthy. I have been doing pretty good so far this year. We were having so much fun that I didn't have time to take any pictures.

January flew by-- I don't even remember what we did this month. Brian went to Chicago and New York. Charis started walking. I did another once a month freezer cooking day. We booked tickets to go to London in Feb. Brian turned 31. It snowed and we were stuck inside for days! Both Hannah and I went sledding for the first time. I entered Hannah in the lottery for the public Montessori school. And I just finished a really good book by one of my favorite preachers, Tim Keller. It is called Counterfeit Gods. We are looking forward to spending some time in London together. Nana and Papa are coming to spend a week with the kids and we are so thankful. I will get to visit a good friend who is currently living in Cambridge.

Hopefully, I will be better about posting!

While I was cooking....

While I was cooking all day (see below post), Brian and Papa hung the drywall to the playroom.

Once a Month Cooking

My friend Ashley and I just did a marathon 11 hour day cooking... it feels like a marathon when 4 kids are in the house! Here is the fruit of our labor. We followed this website's menu plan. Now you know what we will be eating this month. http://onceamonthmom.com/cooking/menus/

Halloween

Thoughts

As a stay at home mom, it is tempting to think my life is only a bunch of mundane, seemingly meaningless tasks. Some of these tasks include things like: wiping bottoms, cleaning spit up, trying to make a nutritious meal no one will eat, etc. Some days I feel like I move from task to task just surviving- that I am in a constant battle to bring order to chaos. In past two weeks two warriors lost their battles with cancer. Brian and I hired a babysitter to go to one of these memorial services. We feel it is really important to reflect and celebrate those who have past on before us as well as deal with the painful reality of death. Because of these deaths, I have thought about the reality of my every day life. Yes, it is indeed true that I am in a constant battle with chaos and too often I lose that battle. But, there is a truth that is greater than my little struggle. I have two souls I interact with on a daily basis. God has given me the instruments of prayer and the guide of His Word to raise these souls. He has a plan for us and He can accomplish more than I ever could by worrying. Too often I turn to methods and worry instead of this truth. I am afraid of pain and death as well. I worry about what would happen to Hannah and Charis is something happened to us. I was reminded at the memorial service that all of our days are ordained by the Lord. He has ordained every single one of my days and I can trust in Him. Today I remember Cliff Bernard and Beth Rettig for their faith and endurance. They fought as hard as they could and although we are pained-- Death ultimately does not have the victory. We are assured in Christ who was raised from the dead.

Some other pics

Charleston

This is on an old Navy ship.

View from Ft. Sumter.

This is Bob the horse. He was our guide through Charleston.

Picnic on the way there.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Hannah is Three!

New Pictures

So our camera broke. After 5 and a half years of loyal pictures I am searching for another one. These are the last pictures I was able to salvage off it. Notice the decrease in quality.

Excerpt from Henri J.M. Nouwen

I really like this quote. I have been trying to steal back some time for reflection and prayer. This really hit home for me!

"Once we have committed ourselves to spending time in solitude, we develop an attentiveness to God's voice in us. In the beginning, during the first days, weeks, or even months, we may have the feeling that we are simply wasting our time. Time in solitude may at first seem little more than a time in which we are bombarded by thousands of thoughts and feelings that emerge from hidden areas of our minds. One of the early Christian writers describes the first stage of solitary prayer as the experience of a man who, after years of living with open doors, suddenly decides to shut them. The visitors who used to come and enter his home start pounding on his doors, wondering why they are not allowed to enter. Only when they realize that they are not welcome do they gradually stop coming. This is the experience of anyone who decides to enter into solitude after a life without much spiritual discipline. At first, the many distractions keep presenting themselves. Later, as they receive less and less attention, they slowly withdraw."

The Playroom Project

New door in Hannah's room.

View of the door from the attic.

Getting ready to install the window. The wood is there so they don't fall out.

Framing the walls and ceiling.

Hannah already loves her new playroom.

Some pictures of sweet Charis.