A Tale of Two Walks

Today marks the second day of what I hope will become a habit of walking every day.  They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so I still have a ways to go to see my faithfulness pay off!  Getting the girls on a walk this morning was reminiscent to me of the scene in Sense and Sensibility when Marianne tries to get her sister, Margaret to walk with her:

Marianne:  Come, I'm taking you on a walk.
Margaret:  No, I've been on a walk.
Marianne:  You need another.
Margaret:  It's going to rain.
Marianne:  It is not going to rain.
Margaret:  You always say that, and then it always does.

In my case, watching "Strawberry Land" was my 2-year-old's debate to going outside and though it looked like it was going to rain, thanks to modern day technology, I was able to confirm that it wasn't going to on weather.com.

So here are some highlights, in pictures, of our walk:

Anyone know what kind of bird this is?  It kept flitting down to the ground and then back up on to the fence. My guess is this little black bird was getting some worms.

These trees were so interesting-looking!  These blooming flowers are so bright!  What kind of tree is this?

Saw lots of lady bugs on this walk!  I cannot believe how well this photo turned out with just a Cannon PowerShot camera!  I've always been afraid of the Manual setting because I thought I had to know what I was doing.  Boy, does it work wonders!  I'm glad I dared to experiment!

What do you think the story is behind this shoe?  It's been laying in the same spot for weeks.  I didn't know it at the time, but I ended up getting a lady bug in the shot.  Do you see it?  Once again, I'm so surprised at how the photo on the left turned out.  I haven't been able to take pictures like this since my Cannon EOS Rebel T3i film camera!

My walking buddy, Leala (her 6-month-old sister, Adella was in the double stroller as well).  Leala has been getting these light streaks in her hair lately and I think the picture on the left captured it so beautifully!  I love natural lighting!

We passed an elderly gentleman on our cement path who stopped to chat and noticed that I was taking pictures as well.  He shared with us some of the animals he had spotted along the way, and this ground squirrel was one of them.

I had to get a picture of this tree!  When I saw it yesterday, I thought to myself (in light of pom poms being the latest wedding and nursery decor craze), "God came up with the pom pom first!"  I had to give Him credit here!

We didn't see the male and female duck pair we saw yesterday, but I walked all the way to the end of the road where the elderly gentleman had said he had seen them.  Right as I was turning back towards home, I saw something come down from the sky and it was the male Mallard making his landing into the creek!  He was out of zoom range, so the picture isn't the best.

May you take the time to enjoy the beauty that's right outside your door!

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." 

- Camille Pissarro 

Thankful [Part 2]

As I mentioned in my post, Thankful [Part 1], I was glad to see that people actually take the time to celebrate Thanksgiving and don't ignore it in light of the Christmas craze.  Just today, when I went to our bank to deposit a check, I was pleasantly surprised to see that each bank teller's counter was decorated with gourds of different colors and sizes.  And as I was leaving, I noticed that strings of orange and purple lights were hanging from the front desk, intertwined with a tinsel fall leaf garland.  Now that's what I'm talkin' about!  And it was so refreshing on Monday night, when I went to the house that hosts our Mom Heart Group (inspired by Sally Clarkson), to see fall leaf decorations up on the kitchen wall and a homemade sewn "Give Thanks" fabric garland hanging from the fireplace mantel.

Check out these great Thanksgiving garland ideas (and a kindred spirit who has found creative ways to not overlook this important holiday)!

I've discovered that this bulletin board has been an inexpensive, interchangeable way to decorate!  I love looking at this Fall collage from the dining room table when I sit down with my family for our meals.  It's made up of old greeting cards that I keep in a box, favorite verses I've jotted down on index cards over the years, and freshly picked Fall leaves from outside.

One of the cards in the collage is actually a new one we received in the mail this month from the sweet Seniors group from our church.  I really liked this quote in it: 

"The most important ingredient for happiness is not fortunate circumstances or great possessions, but a heart that knows how to be grateful.  Gratefulness is the root of contentment and peace."

{Scott Walker}

It reminds me of the "Happiness vs. Joy" sermon our pastor just taught on Sunday from his "Key to Unlocking Joy" series.

Alright, so here are more things I'm thankful for for each day of November from the last list I posted on the 11th.

12. 75 FREE prints from Shutterfly!

13. This Advent calender idea.  I seriously was just thinking yesterday about what I could do with old toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  I want to implement this idea for making a Thanksgiving Advent calendar for next year.  I think it would be cool for my family to write down what we're each thankful for every day, put those scraps of paper in the numbered pocket for that day, and then on Thanksgiving, take all the pieces of paper out and read them.  Maybe to make it more fun, we could put quotes we find about being thankful in the pockets too!

14. FINALLY getting to check out this book!  A lady from my Bible study group earlier this year mentioned it and said the pastor from the church my family used to go to, highly recommended it.  The subject of Heaven has always made me curious.  And I figure since I'm going to spend an infinite amount of my existence there compared to Earth, why wouldn't I learn as much as I could about it?  So anyway, I've tried checking this book out from the library since the summer, but apparently it's a hot item!  Well, my patience paid off (and particularly since I made myself not buy a copy and waited until it was available to borrow)!  By the way, this video about Colton Burpo brought tears to my eyes (the good kind). 

15. Getting a Ribbon gift card from Gregg's work!  We get to pick a gift from the Ribbon gift catalog and this Safety 1st Sounds 'n' Lights Activity Walker is what I think Gregg and I agreed upon.  Adella seems like she is going to be quite an active one when she's able to start walking, so we think this will be a great way for her to get around and yet contain her enough so that I'll be free to get things done around the house.

16. Getting the idea to make a "Sleepy Sounds" CD.  So one of my top picks from the Ribbon gift catalog was a First Years Sounds for Silence machine.  What I liked about this Premium one was that it included a MP3 player connection cable.  Talking it over with Gregg, he suggested that I just find some white noise audio I could download online and make my own CD to play in Leala's room on our CD player.  So I went on iTunes and was surprised that there are whole CD's of just white noise and nature sounds.  So I purchased one of rain and then got some cool lullaby renditions of some of my favorite songs from artists like Johnny Cash, Third Day, Jars of Clay, and Chris Tomlin! 

17. Finding a couple recipes online so I can start making my own blended frappes (I'll tell you how that goes in a future post with links to the recipes if I end up liking them).

18. My dad being available and willing to watch Leala for me the past few weeks so it was easier to go to each of the girl's doctor's appointments and mine.

Cultivating Our Children

Rainy days make me want to ONE, bake and TWO, read.  I haven't really done either on this rainy day, but I guess you could count sifting through the email in my Gmail Inbox and checking out a few blog entries as reading.  Some pleasure reading through a novel was more what I had in mind though.

See Cookie Recipe Below

Anyway, one of my emails was one of Sally Clarkson's recent blog posts and it captured my attention.  [laughs] Just check out the title:  If you really love your children, turn off your computer, cell phone and tv and read!  I've read the articles in Parents magazine about the consequences of children watching TV at a young age.  I've even read Sally's thoughts in older posts about not having the TV babysit your kids and being intentional about reading more with them.  I've read it, I know it, and I agree.  But the reality is Leala has been tech savvy since probably about the time she turned 1.  I don't know whether to be embarrassed or proud of her ability to turn on a TV, turn on a DVD player and insert a DVD.  It wasn't until one day that she couldn't turn on the TV when she pressed the Power button that I discovered somewhat of a solution.  My husband must have recently installed our surround sound system and forgot to plug the power cord to the TV back into the outlet.  So now if we don't want her to watch anymore TV, we unplug it.  I would much rather have the TV and media players hidden behind the doors of an armoire, but that's not currently in our budget.  So we can only really limit her TV watching time by unplugging.  The other thing is I'm on the couch about 8 times a day nursing Adella and I don't have the freedom or ability to sit down with Leala during those times and encourage her to use her free time in more creative, interactive ways.  I would love to sit down with her and inspire her to play with her toys or to open a book, but when I'm stuck on the couch with her baby sister, having the TV on is the best way I've found to keep her in one place.  Left on her own, she usually ends up wandering somewhere in the house where I can't keep her from getting into trouble.  And "blanket time," as shared in the Duggar's book 20 and Counting!, only really works at least once a day (but is still an awesome training tool!).

Alright, so enough rambling about what I can't do (partially with the intent of getting good advice from other mothers or caretakers of children out there).  How about what I was inspired to do?  This blog entry from Sally coupled with the chapter I just read and studied, Gardener of Souls, from her book, The Mission of Motherhood, inspired me to ONE, start making it a daily routine to read a book with Leala, like the 2 times a day that she runs to her special spot on the couch to drink her warm milk, and TWO, to purchase Baby Colors by the photographer Rachael Hale.  In her book, Sally shared how she, "was always on the lookout for beautifully written and illustrated children's books that reflected moral excellence, family values, and a reverence for nature or God and that delighted the mind and heart," and when I was browsing online, trying to decide how to spend the last $8 of some birthday money I was given, the beautiful board book from Rachael Hale came to mind.  I remember seeing it in the book section of a store once and hadn't seen it again when I looked for it.  This book I think will be a great way to share my love for photography with my daughters and will maybe spark in them their own sense of creativity when they're older.  And hopefully it'll be the first one in a collection of picture books I'll be able to get from Rachael Hale for Leala and Adella in the future because browsing through her other books online, I've decided she's one of my favorite photographers.

I love this whole concept of "cultivating" things in our children from Sally's writings.  Looking up the definition to "cultivation" added more to the idea:

"cultivation, n 2. development, especially through education, training, etc.  3. culture or sophistication, especially social refinement."

And introducing our children to good books is just one of the ways we can cultivate them!  In closing, I really like this analogy from Sally:

"As a garden cannot flourish without a gardener, neither can a child reach his or her potential without someone committed to careful cultivation.  Just as a garden without a gardener will eventually go to seed and be covered over with weeds and debris, a child whose growth is unsupervised or left to chance will likely grow wild and undisciplined or stunted and unfruitful." 

{Sally Clarkson, The Mission of Motherhood, 142}

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Maple Syrup Cookies

Amish Friends Cookbook

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon milk

1 egg

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup maple syrup

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (8 oz.) package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In small cup, dissolve baking soda in milk and set aside.  Cream egg, shortening, and syrup.  Add flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and baking soda mixture; blend well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. 

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Thankful [Part 1]

Okay, I thought doing a Thanksgiving Advent was an original idea until I just Googled it!  However, I am glad to see that there are people out there who actually celebrate Thanksgiving and don't go from Halloween straight to Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but this year, more than ever before, it's really bugged me how overlooked Thanksgiving really is.  As I walked toward a store the other day, it actually made me sad to see a big Christmas tree set up in it's entrance.  To me it said, "'Tis the season to start coveting and consuming!" Where are the reminders that it's really the season to focus on being thankful for what we already have?

Well, I came across one the other day when I found this quote I highlighted in a book I'm reading:

"A thankful heart galvanizes the connection between my God and me."
{Sally Clarkson, Dancing With My Father, 92}

You know, back in May I was feeling bad about how easy it was to be thankful when all was going well in my life - for the blessings I felt God was giving me - in my post, Project Thankful.  And though it was good to evaluate whether or not I was loving the gifts more than the Giver who was giving them, I was reminded recently of the Scripture that says:

"Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17).

I don't need to feel guilty for enjoying the things God has given.  In fact, I think it glorifies God when I'm giving Him the credit for the blessings in my life.  I do need to be careful that I'm not trusting in possessions to make me happy.  God is the one I need to put my trust in because everything else is temporary.  Putting my trust in Him will give me that strong foundation to stand on whether life gives or takes.

With that being said, I would like to start my Thanksgiving Advent and list at least 11 things I'm thankful for:

1. Though my neighbors can get loud past curfew, disrupting our sleep, yell at and verbally abuse their children throughout the week, make periodic mysterious screaming noises like the strange sounds heard in Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre, or right as I'm typing this, boom their bass so loud it can be felt through our walls while both my children are napping, I am thankful for a roof over our head and a home I have the privilege of making our haven.

2. The dashboard may be cracking, tires needing replacing, cosmetic damage increasing, and with a family of four, space now limiting, I'm thankful for our 2-door, 10-year-old Chevy Cavalier that gets us to the places that would be very inconvenient and time-consuming to get to if we didn't have a car that still works.

3. She may wake me up a couple times at night, have had two explosive diapers that soiled her clothes the past couple days (probably related to the broccoli that I gave in to and ate) and sometimes hysterically cry when we've tried everything we know to do to try and console her, but I'm reminded that Adella really is a precious gift from God (Psalm 127:3) and I'm thankful that He chose for her to exist (plus He made her really cute and adorable).

4. She can throw her fits, but they're really few and far between compared to all the sweet, snuggly, entertaining, proud moments I get to share with my first gift from God, Leala, who I am truly thankful for.

5. When I realize how like-minded we are, how patient he is, how hard and faithful he works, how devoted to God he is, how Christ-like he loves... I am really thankful for the husband God picked out for me!

6. It may be limiting our family time and wearing my poor husband out (and me when I don't have the extra help in taking care of the kids), but I'm thankful for the grants he's gotten to pay for enrollment at CSUSM and aid him in finishing his BA in English Literature which then may take him on to a Ph.D program.

7. I am very thankful for Gregg's employer, RCP Block and Brick, with how flexible they've been with his school schedule, how supportive they've been to our family and the awesome medical coverage they provide!

8. There is not a day that goes by that I don't genuinely thank God in prayer for the meals He provides for our family, especially after reading through one of Gregg's school books, Women's Indian Captivity Narratives, and learning how some people have had to survive (and being reminded that some people currently have to live) days without food.

9. I am very thankful for another cool, rainy fall season that has protected us southern Californians from wildfire-causing Santa Anas.

10. I am truly blessed and thankful for our church, Calvary Chapel of Escondido, where we enjoy fellowship, have opportunities to serve, and that provides good Bible teaching that refreshes and encourages us.

11. As said in a worship song that's one of the dearest to my heart (which I just learned by Googling, is actually the refrain from a hymn), "I thank You, Lord, for saving my soul.  I thank You, Lord, for making me whole.  I thank You, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free."

Speaking of songs, wouldn't that be great if you could do a word search, like "thankful" in iTunes that would provide a list of songs that contained that word?  It would make it easier to put together playlists, I think.  I want to put together a "Thankful" one, but I'm afraid it would be too time-consuming.  The only songs that come to mind are "Thank You" by Rebecca St. James and "Thank You" by Dido.  Hey look - someone else had the same idea too!

Q.  Which songs would be in your "Thankful" playlist?

Oh, the Sweetest Thing

I got the U2 song playing in your head now, don't I?  Well, it's playing in mine.  

It was a clever title, what can I say?

I've had quite a few good titles piling up and things to write about, but not the time or our computers' cooperation in the past few weeks.  And too bad I got inspired to blog about my girls towards the end of my 2-year-old's nap and at about the time I'll need to nurse my 3-week-old again!  Oh well, hopefully this will make it up before my husband gets home and has to use the laptop to work on one of his essays for school.

Click on Image for Full-Size View

So, I was browsing Facebook and noticed that my mother-in-law had created an album on her profile titled "Adella Hope" filled with pictures she took of Adella and Leala during her visit here at the beginning of the month.  I was so surprised when I saw the picture she took of Gregg kissing Adella in the hospital.  I remember him doing that and not having my camera within reach to capture the special moment.  I only vaguely remember my mother-in-law snapping the picture. But she did, she captured it (thank goodness)!  Then excitedly I remembered the picture I took of Gregg kissing Leala when she was a newborn in the hospital!  Since several of you have told me that you really liked the other pair of twinsey photos I posted of Leala and Adella, I decided to post another set.  It's amazing to me that both of these sets of pictures were taken by coincidence.

Speaking of candid, unrehearsed moments captured on camera, I caught Leala holding Adella's hand from the other room while she was eating her snack and watching Jelly Telly online earlier today.  I was only able to sneak this one shot before Leala realized I had entered the room and was taking her picture.  It's moments like these that encourage me to keep seeing the best in my daughter, especially since lately my husband and I have been seeing what people must mean by "the terrible twos."  I've been tempted to take my daughter's fits personally and start seeing her as an irritation.  I've lost my patience and have gotten frustrated.  But sweet moments like these remind me of Leala's potential for good and I want to keep being the one who believes in her as opposed to becoming one who would make a habit of disapproving of her.  It reminds me of the things I read from Sally Clarkson recently about building strong relationships with your children:

"... as we accept and encourage our children, we will teach them to be encouraging in their own relationships.  Children who are constantly criticized will tend to be negative and critical in their relationships with others.  When children feel appreciated and encouraged, they become encouragers themselves, sources of life and hope in an often discouraging world."  {The Mission of Motherhood, p. 133}  

What do you know, I actually finished this post in one sitting!  Time to nurse Adella now, for Leala to wake up from her nap and my husband to come home from work soon. 

What a Week!

With my parents moving back from Oregon, Gregg and I celebrating 4 years of marriage, my mother-in-law coming to visit from Texas, my nephew turning 8, and everything in between, I don't know where this week went!  On one hand, with Gregg being off for Memorial Day and getting to work fewer hours throughout the week for his mom's visit, and getting to spend lots of time with family, it felt like a long week.  But while on a walk Sunday evening, hours after dropping my mother-in-law off at the airport, thinking about how much we missed her company, Gregg and I talked about how the week seemed to fly by!
 
Short and Sweet!

I originally had planned to write a day by day account of all the highlights of the week, especially the visit we got to have with my mother-in-law, but due to the slow performance of our computer lately, just getting a blog post up is going to be an accomplishment!  So I'm picking our wedding anniversary and finding out the sex of our baby as the events of the week to highlight.

Four Years Later

With Gregg at work and me busily doing last minute cleaning and preparation for my mother-in-law's stay with us, which ended up being an evening earlier than expected, Gregg and I found moments to wish each other a happy 4 year wedding anniversary on Thursday, in the midst of what otherwise would have seemed like a normal day.

I would have liked to have set something romantic up in our room or found more ways to put up more little memorials around the house celebrating 4 years of marriage, but this refrigerator display is all I had time for.

 

"A lasting love is made up of sharing,

both hours that are joyous and also despairing.
It's made up of patience and deep understanding
and never of stubborn or selfish demanding.
It's made up of climbing the steep hills together
and facing with courage life's stormiest weather."

- Helen Steiner Rice

"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven."

- Karen Sunde

Anniversary Blessings

to

Two Special

Lovebirds

[inside]

When God chose you for each other,

He knew your love would be sweeter still

with each new day and anniversary!

Happy Celebrating! ♥

Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:8

Enjoy the sparkling cider.  =)

Love Mom & Dad

I loved the card and think it's so sweet that every year my parents remember our anniversary.  I discovered that my dad was actually the one who picked this card out for us.  He said he felt it was important to remember his kids' wedding anniversaries when they got married and be supportive of marriage.  I was really touched by that.  Hopefully we'll get to enjoy a glass of Martinelli's tonight.

We got to spend a fun evening with my mother-in-law eating out at Phil's BBQ.  A group of young adults at three tables next to us made the evening even more exciting with their enthusiasm for the Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks game that was playing on the flat screens in the restaurant.  Leala made friends with one of the girls at the table next to us when she screamed coincidentally at the same time one of the players on the Dallas Mavericks scored.  We scored even more points with Leala's new friend when she found out that my mother-in-law was from Dallas, Texas.  We stayed to see how the game would turn out and I have to say that the Mavericks made an amazing last minute comeback!

Saturday evening my mother-in-law babysat so Gregg and I could go on a date to celebrate our anniversary.  Thank God Soul Surfer was still out in theaters!  I love inspirational movies and this one is now one of my favorites!  We were in such a rush to make it to the theater in time and to get back home for the yummy Mexican food my mother-in-law was cooking for us, that I forgot to take our annual anniversary picture!

The Secret's Out 

Or is it?  Well, we had my long anticipated anatomical ultrasound appointment this morning and according to the tech our baby is... a girl.  We got a little sneak preview at the end and Gregg was in agreement with the tech.  Still getting used to the idea since my heart was pretty set on the baby being a boy.  I told Gregg that maybe I should go watch Pride and Prejudice to help me recondition my mind.  Growing up, surrounded by females, seems to be Gregg's lot in life.  Joking aside, whatever the sex of our baby, I do believe it is what it is by God's divine providence.  Though I know what hopes I had in having a boy, God knows the plans He has for little Ruth Anne Hope (Jeremiah 29:11), if the baby is indeed a girl.

 

Our baby's smile.

 

I think the baby was saying "hi" to us.

Counting Down the Days

... until my parents are moved back to town.

 ... until our 4 year wedding anniversary.

 ... until my mother-in-law's visit.

 ... until we find out if we're having a boy or girl in October.

{Q. What do you think we're going to have?}

 ... until Father's Day.

{Q. What are you looking forward to?}

Little Treasures [First Edition]

Yesterday I felt like the character, Lauren, in Robin Jones Gunn's book Echoes, excited about the little treasures I found at a rummage sale.  Unfortunately I didn't get to take home a little kitten (chapter 12).  How-ev-er, I did score 2 books plus a cool toy camera for Leala and 1 book for me!

I'm always on the look out for story books containing moral lessons to help me creatively teach Leala character building truths as she grows.  Though she's not reading yet, I see building her book collection little by little now as a wise investment into her future.

The Carrot Seed was the first book I loved!  The illustrations and story are very simple, but I think the lesson is so big!  I think this book teaches a valuable lesson about having faith like a child, especially when faced with those who are critical.  It also reminded me of this story Amber Hutchins shared recently on her blog about her own daughter's experience with planting seeds.

I think most of us are familiar with the Beatrix Potter's classic Peter Rabbit story.  I am more fond of the classic illustrations I remember from my childhood that Beatrix Potter created herself, but the story is still the same.  I liked that the book description on the back cover said the story was a lesson on obedience [wink].

I found a book for myself as well titled Wild at Heart.  It was a recommendation actually by a guy from the Young Adult's Group Gregg and I are a part of at church after sharing with him that I felt it would be a good idea to read some books on raising boys if that's what I ended up having in October.  He said Wild at Heart would be a great book to read to help me in my goal to raise a boy to be a man.  I shared my find with someone else at the rummage sale and after explaining why I was getting the book they replied, "Oh, so you're having a boy?"  [laughs] My mind has been so set on our baby being a boy that I forgot that I hadn't actually found out for sure what we're having!  We find that out June 7th.  [smile]

Before leaving, I thought visiting the children's books one more time would be a good idea since I noticed one of the volunteers still putting them out on the table.  On my way over, a toy camera caught my eye.  Now investing in my daughter's moral character through story books is one thing.  But if I brought a toy camera home too, would my husband agree that it was a necessary purchase?  Well, I came to the conclusion that investing in my daughter's creativity was important too.  Besides, Leala loves getting her hands on my digital camera.  Maybe she'd grow up to enjoy taking pictures too.  Not only that, but awhile ago I saw an ad for a toy digital camera and I made a mental note that that would be a cool toy to get Leala when she was older.  There wasn't a price tag on the camera, but my total purchase came to $3.50, so yeah, I scored a deal there!  The only thing was, I was buying the camera on faith, not knowing if it actually worked.  I sure hoped it did!

When I got home, I scrounged for the couple of AAA batteries I saw the camera took.  I tried turning it on, but it didn't work.  I checked out the camera a bit more to figure out how it functioned and discovered that it actually took a total of 4 batteries.  So I went scrounging around the house for 2 more.  I tried turning the camera on again, but nothing.  But I couldn't give up quite yet... and sure enough, it turned on!  There were about 200 "free" photos already on there from the previous owner, but the camera could take up to 1,000 and there was a handy dandy delete button.  Once Leala noticed what I had, she took interest in it and loved it!  It was so cute I had to take pictures!

Q.  What are some of your favorite children's books? 

Q.  Do you have any parenting books that really helped you out?