Farming Tribute, courtesy of Ram

A couple of my facebook friends shared this ad and then I just had to share it.
Yes, it brought tears to my eyes, thinking about my dad and how hard he worked. About how lucky I am to have him in my lineage.
I am proud of him. I always thought it was so cool that he loved what he did for a living. I was dying to find something that I loved just as much. (Parenting?...Sometimes!)
And now just think, Al, what you get to pass along to your kids. :)
Enjoy.

Finding Balance

She hasn't taken off yet but she's trying.
Has anyone else done the one little word thing for a new year? I decided my word for the year is balance. Just like Mad is working at finding her balance, I'm going to find my balance this year too. I'm going to find the balance in my life - spiritual, marriage, parenthood, social, personal.
It sounds like a lot of work - it sometimes feels like I can't do it all. At least not like I want to.
Maybe my expectations are too high...but I don't think so.
River is working on going consistently in the toilet. It works best if he doesn't have a pull up or underwear on. Such fun!

We enjoyed a little getaway the other weekend with the Eisenmann family to the Old School Center in Farmington, IL. I kinda wanted to steal these sweet stools in our suite.

I'm in the process of some minor redecorating in Madeira's new room. Jeremy will be thrilled to hear my repainting plans. :) I hate painting and am no good at it, but it's a fast and cheap way to make a huge change.
This thrilling update is for you, Jen!

little things

It feels like time to reevaluate.
I've canceled 2 play dates in the last week because of sick kids. I sent Jeremy off Sunday night and stayed home with the kids because of suspected sickness...groan.
Last week I was feeling pretty mean, what with cleaning up too much puke, too much laundry and scrubbing and unhappy children and not enough sleep.
So I was feeling the need to pause and find something to not whine about.

Thank you Method and Target and Orla Kiely for finding a way to make a boring and everyday activity (mostly dish washing and a little hand washing) more thrilling. Pretty bottles and prettier smells - pear ginger and vanilla chai.
Sometimes it really is the little things.

What are little girls made of?

In a casual conversation with someone without little girls the other day, she mentioned that the thing she missed about having no girls was the cute clothes. I agreed slowly.
I've been guilty of saying the same thing about clothes, reducing my children to nothing more than mannequins to dress up and show off and perhaps make a statement about myself.
Now that I have a little girl, I confess, the clothes are fun.
But Madeira is obviously so much more than what she wears.
She is sweet. She is clever.
She can be a princess. She can be tough. She can be funny or whiny or longsuffering.
She is a little mongoose, eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity.
She will have what you're having at the table, thankyouverymuch.
She is not a great napper, an OK sleeper. She is a decent napper, a great sleeper.
She has a trademark expression. (Yes, I would like a dollar for every time someone has commented that "she looks so concerned...")

She is a one toothed wonder.
She is a miracle, a blessing, a gift.

But one thing is certain: she has her mama right where she wants her. I would do anything for this little lady.

Let's Give Thanks & a Giveaway

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It can turn a meal into a feast,

A house into a home,

A stranger into a friend.

Melody Beattie

Last year, my family made a thankful tree where we all wrote down our thanks on paper leaves and tied them to the tree. (Sorry for the terrible picture - Lisa's house, while quite charming, doesn't have ideal lighting and I'm not a skilled photographer.)

Today, I'm thankful for so many things: God's love and my redemption, my family, my friends, my health, my home, coffee with cream, naptime, the opportunity to create, and on and on. 

Reflecting on what I give thanks for makes me humbled. What did I do to deserve any of these things? Nothing. And so my thanks begins all over again.

What are you thanking God for today?

Leave a comment by November 21st for a chance to win an Heirloom Recipe Cookbook!

*And the winner is Erin! Randomly selected by random.org. I'll mail that out to you next week.
As always, if any of you are still interested in a cookbook, I have a few. :) Thanks for participating; it was fun to read the comments!*

In Memory

December 2010

I miss Grandma. She died a year ago and I was thinking about her, remembering her this week.
Probably the thing that sticks out most in my mind about her from youth is that I thought she had the most beautiful eye color I'd ever seen - sea foam green. As I got older, she just seemed more lovely. She was just like her name, Kathryn - classy and elegant.
She had Wendy and I go over to the neighbor's house once when we came out to visit, and I'm still charmed by the memories I have of being with Martha Huber and her cool collection of salt and pepper shakers. Thank you, Grandma, for teaching us to visit the elderly.
One year, she and Grandpa took me, Lisa, and Wendy Christmas shopping for our parents and bought the toaster that we "gave" them. Thank you for teaching us how joyful it is to give.
Scores of handmade dresses for Easter, a wedding, Christmas gifts, just because... Thank you for helping Mom with her young family.
I learned my first knitting project from her - washcloths. Thank you for being willing to share your knowledge with the young and curious.
She always seemed to show up at our house when there was work to be done - after babies were born, when windows needed washed, the house spring cleaned, corn to be frozen, and on and on. Thank you for always being available to help whenever you were needed.
She was just that way.
I knew Grandma was a special woman but I didn't realize just how special until two things happened.
The first was that she wrote the sweetest memories of my mom in a book that we made for what would have been my parents 25th anniversary. She said (paraphrasing here) that it was no wonder that she caught my dad's eye because she was so lovely. It was a life changing event, reading that. Not only did it make me love my grandma because she was so kind to her children, but it made me look at my own mother differently. Yes, my mother was a lovely woman. It was easy to forget that as a teenager.
Secondly, mom and I took some china painting lessons for a while and one year, mom painted some salt and pepper shakers to put on the Fairview Haven Benefit Auction. Grandma bought them. I thought that was so awesome. I'm not sure if that was because Grandma thought it would be great to have some of her daughter's artwork or if it was because I realized that you never stop needing to show your children that you care about and are interested in the things they do.
She never seemed to be in a hurry. Her house was always clean and calm. She was the best maker of mint tea. She was gracious, thoughtful, full of good works, selfless.
She was the woman I want to be.
I wish I could have told her all this myself before she died but I'm no good at that. All I could do is cry when I went to see her when she was sick. But I hope she knew how much I truly loved her.
Thank you, God, for putting such a wonderful person in my life.

Alex & Carmen

Rehearsal supper set up @ Brenda's

The glittered gourds/pumpkins were inspired by Martha Stewart Living

Menu, place cards, and napkins married, courtesy of Jen's imagination

More views of the table - the arrangements were made with mostly "found" flowery things

Trio of Mexican dips - YUM!

Finally found a great opportunity to use this extra large bell jar!

The infinity love quote on a chalkboard platter - Wendy's cool idea!

 Now that Al and Carmen have been married for 2 whole weeks :), I thought I could put some pictures up from the wedding weekend. Mostly of the rehearsal supper since that was our responsibility this time around. We had fun
putting the evening together - seemed to go off without a hitch! Let me tell you, it was kinda nice being the waited on at the rehearsal instead of the serving for once!

I'll say it - adorable.