Updates and Getting back on track

This is my attempt to get this blog rolling again.  I have NO idea how it's going to look this time around, but figure that this is just my outlet for anything that might be on my mind for the day/week.  I have been gone from this for a long time because, well, I just really didn't feel like organizing my thoughts this summer.  But, I do enjoy the times that I am productive enough to get something jotted down, so I am going to give it a try again!

Time is especially limited for me, these days, because Vienne is down to just one nap a day - a short 1 hour and 15 minute nap, at that.  Naps are basically the only time I have to get a lot done - ie:  make and eat lunch, tidy up, maybe get a workout in (yeah right), read my Bible and journal (ahem), check and respond to emails, get some cooking done/started....and, yeah, blog.  haha.  I have a friend (ahem, Lacey) who, in my opinion, seems like a super woman to me with two kids (one being a newborn this summer) who has already started a regimented workout routine, knits amazing projects, makes skincare products and sells them on etsy, cooks for her family and roommates, does housewifey things, and manages a blog a few times a week!!!  I am utterly perplexed and humbled by what she gets done.  How does she do it...well, I'm planning to ask  when I can get her out here for a visit.  I am a pretty organized person but there is NO WAY that I could get done half of what she gets done.  I feel like such a lazy ass.

Ok, anyway, enough of that.  :D

Updates.  How about some updates about this family of mine.  Well, this week Vienne will be 17 months old!  That is crazy to me.  She is quite the fun little lady with loads of personality - aren't they all?  She is completely buzzing all about the house now, full of creative insights each day.  We have discovered that this girl loves to organize, loves to clean (I'm serious...hand her a rag and she will wipe any surface), loves to play dress up, loves to dance, loves loves water and the outdoors, loves her soccer ball and is learning to kick it...especially on the beach...and much more, of course.  She is still pretty shy and hesitant out in public, but is opening up a bit more each time.  She is not really talking or doing many of the "normal" things kids do at her age, like pointing to her nose or body parts when you ask, trying new words, running, or eating lots of foods, for example.  Of course, we are not concerned about these things, we have come to learn that Vienne does things in her own time...she is a watcher.  She soaks it all up and then one day she just lets it all out, at once.  I know she is listening and watching and learning a ton and she responds very well...but she doesn't seem to feel the need to prove anything to us yet.  She is still very petite, as well which just tells us that she will be a small girl.  At 16 months, she was only 18 lbs. but, as the doctor said, she is developing just fine.

Anyway, so that's Vienne.

As for our family, we have a vision of some big changes ahead.  Mark is making some huge career changes which will give us the opportunity to move to Portland when things really take off.  Right now, the job is kind of slow-going but we are hopeful and prayerful.  We have listed our house and if we don't find buyers at the time that we want to move, then we will look for renters.  All of this is in God's hands and we are striving to remain faithful to His provisions and His will for us.  It has been a stressful summer to say the least, but we know we are well taken care of.

As a housewife, during all of this change and stress on our finances, I have been doing all that I can to manage our food and household expenditures in a frugal and wise manner.  I have been brainstorming for frugal meals and ways to keep the household going in an affordable and health-conscious way.  Not just because of finances, but more out of the heart to keep our household safe and healthy as well as lessen our carbon footprint, I have been making further adjustments along with the rest.  For example, I finally purchased my first 50lb. bag of bulk wheat berries to mill our own flour for baked goods, I have finally started making all of my cleaning products (save dishwasher and laundry detergents...which totally bombed for us...such a bummer....will try new recipes soon), shopping mainly at our local Farmer's Market throughout the summer, using whatever scraps that the critters left behind of our sad little garden...etc.  

These past few weeks I have finally really been getting into sprouting and I think I will write more on that later.  Fun stuff!

I've also been dealing a lot with my health lately and I think I will write a post on that sometime soon for anyone who can relate to hormonal imbalances as well as digestive issues.  Woohoo.

For now, I will bring this update to a close and insert a few recent pictures.

starting to love her books

soccer on the beach!

playing dress-up in one of mom's shirts (what a distressed look, huh?!)

going out for our 4 year anniversary!

anything can be a phone

picked up a rag and literally started cleaning the car!  that's my girl!

more cleaning....start 'em early!

dress up in dad's shoes

BIG weekend for Vienne!

I know this is turning into a blog mostly about Vienne lately....but, that's what mostly dominates my mind anyway!

So, this weekend we had quite a few big firsts from her.

1.  I laid her down for her usual afternoon nap on Saturday before we were to head over to a 4th of July bbq.  Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of those random fluke days that Vienne decided to skip her afternoon nap (she does this from time to time).  The days she chooses to do this, she typically lays in there, in the dark, and "chit chats" to herself for a half hour and then cries and whimpers for the next 30 minutes.  I usually make her stay in there for an hour.  Well, this day she was in there for the entire hour giggling, singing, and chattering LOUDLY the entire time.  I mean giggling so hard I could have sworn that someone was in there tickling her!  Finally, after the hour was up, I went in there (in frustration at her) and found her standing up and bouncing on her mattress!  This is a first, people!  This is the first time she has sat up from the laying position and then continued to pull herself to standing!  No wonder she was laughing with glee the entire time.  She was so proud!  All I could do was laugh right along.

2.  My girl is walking!  Well, not entirely confidently all around the house.  But, she is solidly 'island-hopping' - like from the table to the chair to the cabinets to the wall and so forth!  No more needing mom or dad to steady herself and hold her hand!  Check out the video of her walking between us but just using us as stopping points.  Pretty exciting!  We finally started baby-proofing the house this weekend.

3.  Vienne might be proving to be an artist!  Maybe like her mommy?  So, during one of her naps this weekend, I pulled out some paper and pencil to sketch a bit.  I left it laying on the couch that afternoon.  Once she was up, I left her playing in the living room while I cooked (living space and kitchen are one huge open connected space where I can watch over her....love it!).  Anyway, I look over and find that she has picked up my pencil and brought it over to the paper and started drawing on it!  First off, let me clarify that we have never taught Vienne how to use a pencil yet.  We've never played with crayons or anything.  So, as you can imagine, I am just overwhelmingly shocked that she has succeeded to not only pick up the pencil and hold it the right way, but to also put the writing end onto the paper and then continue to draw with it!  She covered the paper w/mostly scribbles....and not once did she touch the couch or cushions with that pencil.  Well, after she was finished and I picked that paper up.....look below at what I discovered on it!!!
NOT KIDDING!  Do you see the two stars???  Two!!  Crazy, huh?!  Now, I must admit that I have been pretty reserved in boasting any exceptional behavior from her until this point.  I even admit that I used to think that she might just be behind most of the 'typical' kids her age.  She has never exhibited the need to rush forth with anything, prove anything, or acquire new skills quickly.  But, now I'm starting to rethink things about her.  I am wondering if she is just that quiet smart little one who sits back and really watches everything.  I've always known that she is extremely watchful and observant, I guess I just never put it together that she was actually learning so much from that watchful behavior!  I am excited to see what else she pulls out in the months and years to come!

First Steps

Vienne Juliet is 14 mo. old today.

My little baby girl is pretty much walking now!  Very exciting times in our home.  She's been walking, holding onto our hands for a few months now - but now she is walking back and forth between me and Mark!  And, last night for the first time, she let go of the edge of the table to walk towards my open arms!  That was huge!  Any day now I know she is just going to let go and walk towards something that she wants instead of towards my arms of security.

She has also been sleeping on her tummy every night and naptime and now I find her on her hands and knees once she is awake.  Perhaps she will finally start crawling after she is walking!?  That would be funny!  Or at least this position is teaching her to sit up on her own....finally!

As far as first words, Vienne has been saying "Mama" and Dada" for quite some time and also says "num num" on occasion and just added "Bob" to the vocabulary.  "Bob"?  You ask?  Oh yes, Bob is one of Grammy's puppies.  

Vienne has been mimicking me more and more, which has been totally cute.  She now picks up her comb and tries to rub it on her head.  She has picked up my makeup brushes and shoved them at her face.  Last week she started using her spoon quite accurately.  And, of course the organizational skills of hers continue to grow and grow.  Have I mentioned these?  This girl loves to organize - to put things away, in their place or at least some new place she has assigned them.  Rarely does she make a catastrophic mess because she is always putting things in containers and back up on shelves and in little holes.  Yes, of course we have covers on the outlets!  Her favorite toys are tupperware containers and boxes along with tiny little objects to sort in the boxes and then shut them away with the lids.  The other week we were in a little health food store and I set her down on the ground to walk along a shelf that was at her level.  The shelf was filled with display boxes of granola bars and such.  A normal baby would probably pull everything out of those boxes and strew them all over the floor.  Nope.  Not my Vienne.  She re-organized those boxes in her own terms - removing bars from one box to put them in the next.  Not one granola bar was on the floor, nor even on the actual shelf....each of them were in different boxes from their original spot.  It was so funny.  Of course, I had to put everything back where it belonged before we left - but I was quite impressed.

Growth-wise, Vienne is still so very small.  I'm not really concerned because she still has a decent amount of chunk on her thighs, belly, and cheeks.  I just wonder when she will have a growth spurt!  She is 14 months now and can still fit into 9 mo. size clothing!  And  last night I just happened to check the tag on one of the jammies she regularly wears...it is size 6 mo.!  I put it away for principle's sake!  And, man oh man, her feet have never grown!!  She still wears a size 2 shoes!  That is the same size she was wearing a year ago!  Surely saves on the pocketbook!  But it's kinda weird, isn't it?  At her 12 mo. checkup (which was actually at 11mo.) they said she was "perfect" so I'm not going to think twice, I guess.  

And I think that about sums up June for us!  And, here's a video of those first steps last week along with a few cute pictures!

Summer finally arrived here on the Oregon coast!

Getting my girl out to enjoy the beach she lives at

Organizing garlic into the jars while she eats lunch on the counter

Took a morning walk to check out the low tide and the tide pools around Haystack Rock

Being coy

When Mark Dresses Vienne...

It always gives me a fun chuckle when I emerge in the morning to discover that I forgot to lay out clothes for Vienne, which left my color blind husband in charge of dressing her for the day!  Today, we have a darling little peachy-pink dress with brown trim, layered over a strawberry pink undershirt with darker pink polka dots and finished off with plum purple fleece pants with striped cuffs.  Doesn't actually look that bad in the picture...he has managed to pull of worse...but it was just silly enough for me to share.  He literally thought the colors here were brown, green, and blue.  Not really sure how that would've worked together, anyway...but man oh man this color-blindness of his keeps me on my toes!  Isn't it great?!

How Does My Garden Grow...

We did it!  We finally got our garden veggies planted last night!  Mark built this beautiful raised bed over a month ago and we have just been waiting to find the best and most affordable way to fill it with good soil.  We finally got a truckload in it yesterday.  We planted mostly cool weather veggies, since we live here on the coast.  We have a mesclun blend of greens in those first few rows, then some rainbow chard, a winter squash, a summer squash, a row of carrots, a row of beets, some broccoli, and sugar snap peas growing up the lattice against the far end of the wall!  Fingers crossed that everything grows well.  We had a very very small little garden in our last home....but this is my first real vegetable garden and I am so excited to see how it turns out.  Man oh man, if we can get away with eating veggies only from here and not have to buy produce for a while, I will be so ecstatic!  Lord willing, I am diligent to tend to it regularly with loving care!

And, now we are just waiting for an opportunity for more soil to fill the area to the right of the garden bed in which we can plant grass seed!  Then, Vienne and I will have a little side yard to play in during the summer!  Oh I do hope that this works out and that we can grow the grass quickly.  Soil is so gosh darn expensive!  

And, finally, we will finish this area off with a compost bin that Mark will build from scrap wood.  Then I won't feel so guilty about throwing food scraps into the garbage and we will have compost for our garden!

This is how my garden is growing!

8 things

Just another one of those silly little questionnaires to pass the time...

8 Things I Am Looking Forward to:

1. Sunny weather

2. Planting my vegetable garden and getting a grassy yard area growing

3. Anyone to come and visit us!

4. Getting my hair trimmed soon

5. My grape kombucha to finish brewing

6. What the coming year may hold for us

7. Throwing Lacey's baby shower

8. Meeting my little niece that is brewing inside her belly!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Cleaned up the house

2. Threw a mini temper tantrum over Vienne's 30 minute (WAY too short) nap

3. Visited Mark at work

4. Had a friend come to visit and chat about homebirths

5. Rejoiced over Vienne's 2 1/2 hour afternoon nap to make up for the morning one.

6. Realized that she's in the depths of painful teething still

7. Made a lame dinner

8. Watched 'Dancing with the Stars'

8 Things That Bring Me Peace and Comfort

1. Reading

2. Quiet morning time, on the porch, in the sun with an iced coffee

3. Staring at our ocean and breathing in the salty breeze

4. Spending time with my mom

5. Good worship

6. Prayer 

7. Knowing that I've been productive

8. A date with my husband

Back from my hiatus...

Took a bit of a break from writing, in the last month.  Here's a catch up of things in a nutshell...

Celebrated my 31st birthday.  Celebrated our Risen Savior on a stormy day.  Seth and Lacey came to visit.  Tried to finish a crochet project.  Gave up on said crochet project.  Tried a new naturopathic doctor.  Found inspiration for my yard.....finally.  Started planting flowers and herbs and preparing for a vegetable garden.  Planned for a compost bin...waiting for wood to build it.  I started making kefir.  Finally and officially switched from using paper towels/napkins to cloth.  Finished my collection of cast iron pans to replace my old yucky ones.  Vienne started cruising around the house, holding onto walls and furniture...but not yet walking on her own.  Vienne claps to music and excitement.  Vienne started 'dancing' in place when we say "let's dance!".  Vienne celebrated her first birthday! My baby is ONE!  Threw a huge birthday party for her...and she got spoiled rotten.  Made lotsa yummy foods for the party.  Grandma Lynn came to visit...Aunt Kate and Uncle J came to visit...it was a big weekend.  Vienne broke out with small weird blisters on her cheek, eyelid, and finger. Thought it was chicken pox.  It was not.  Vienne also experienced her first bout of a runny nose and a fever...still not sure if it was a bug or teething.  Mark found an opportunity for a new job, in addition to real estate.  Mark took his online classes.  Mark passed his final exam.  Mark is now a certified (licensed?) mortgage loan officer...on the side.  I found hope for actually being able to move out of here some day sooner than I thought.  We sold our new car and bought an old one.  We are looking into listing our house. Simplifying.  Honored my mother on Mother's Day.  Vienne started sleeping longer...til 8:30 a.m.!  Found Vienne sleeping on her tummy for the first time in her life.  Discovered that Vienne likes puzzles and putting things away.  Continuing to attend my Bible Study even when I feel things are awkward.  Started hanging out with a new friend and her 2 kids.  Read a few books.  Got challenged to be thankful for my illnesses.  Here's some pics of things I mentioned:

Scaling the walls...

Getting caught playing with the filling...

Her new squatting position...

my front walkway finally getting spruced up...

potted flowers...

our garden bed and potential side yard...soon to be filled with grass and veggies!

playin' with my sis in a hat shop...

Aunt Kate and Uncle J's visit...

walking around in her birthday party dress...

singin' "Happy Birthday"...

other yummy treats - a rhubarb and lemon mousse tart...

considering eating her yummy organic, naturally sweetened 'Birth'-day cake...

playing with a new wooden toy...putting the balls away...

my beautiful, precious, wonderful gem of a baby

31

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and even though I was recovering from the flu, I think we made the best of it.  It was a quiet family day...with some of my most favorite people.  Mom was here visiting which made for an extra treat (and helping hand while I was sick!).  Mark bought me a beautiful bouquet of my favorite flowers - tulips, of course, along with a sweet card offering himself as my personal slave for the day (like he isn't already!).  He managed to surprise me with a new mattress topper for our bed, which has been getting a bit sunken in and old.  He convinced me and mom to take a short walk with Vienne while he pulled out the mattress topper and covered it with lovely rose petals.  So sweet.  Then we all went to a favorite restaurant in Gearhart that I haven't been to in a long time - Pacific Way Cafe.  Homemade tomato basil soup and a hot pesto chicken sandwich on their fresh baked french bread...mmmm....delish!  The sun even came out to kiss us on our cheeks for a bit.

After that we came home and Mark began to dig out an area of our yard for our upcoming garden while I read a book and V took her nap.  

After she woke up, Mark made me a lovely meal of seared salmon that had been marinated in thai spices and then drizzled with a ginger cilantro dressing, atop coconut brown rice with a fresh salad.  He's so good.

After dinner, we enjoyed some sweet time with our beautiful babe.  Once she went to bed, we pulled the mattress topper out to the living room and made up a makeshift bed and watched a movie by the firelight...while Mark gave me a back rub.  (btw, Slumdog Millionaire really is a good movie!!).

It was a sweet and quiet birthday.  Thank you dear husband.

Vienne gifted me with precious cuddle time for a solid 20 minutes...the best stuff ever!

it's raining...

it's not pouring, but sometimes it sure feels like it when your heart is hurting.  

Lately I've really been wanting to write...to ramble my current slam of thoughts.  I'm still so new to this whole blogging thing.  Sometimes, I write with abandon...laying my vulnerability out there for all to see.  Though, recently I've found myself to be reserved, actually caring what others might think when they read this.  I once had a friend accuse me of always being negative (I had been having some rough times....ya know:  a miscarriage, lost my job, my best friend, at the time, went crazy...just simple things really) and it has instilled in me the fear of ever expressing too deep of feelings/thoughts that might relay an attitude of being 'negative', too often.  I don't want this blog to be my 'Woe is Me Session' (yuck) but I have to be honest and admit that this winter has been a hard one for me.  Actually, let me rephrase that....this period of my life since moving out to the beach, away from any close family or friends, has been the hardest season of my life. Each year here presents new trials, usually with relationships, that I must forge through...always leaving myself to ask the question: "what is wrong with me?"  Before moving here to get married and live with my husband, I never had such relational challenges.  One of my closest girlfriends pointed out to me, today, that it is most likely due to the fact that this is the first time I have lived away from my family and any close dear friends.  I have had to survive on my own, I suppose.  So, maybe I stink at discerning who would be a good new friend!?  haha.  I am such a relational person.  I truly cherish my friendships.  I have a quality about me that works for and against me, at the same time:  I don't guard myself and I invest quickly.  I give my trust very quickly and am not afraid to be vulnerable.  As you can see, this can typically be a good quality to have in a friend, but it has also led to much pain.  You'd think I'd have trust issues by now....Lord knows I wish I did!  Sometimes I actually wish that I would guard my trust and heart a bit more protectively...I get hurt and often vow that I will not entrust myself to someone so quickly the next time.  But, I always fail.  I get excited, like a little girl, to meet someone new (geesh, sounds kinda desperate, don't it?).  Anyway, now this sounds like I keep allowing myself to get my feelers hurt...that I must be some overly-sensitive girl who can't hold a friendship...and maybe that is the case...??  But, deep down I don't feel like that is what it is.  I have just met some disappointing people on my journey of living out here.  Mark has continually warned me that coastal people are a different/challenging breed.  But, I acknowledge in the same breath that I, of course, have my own hang-ups and these relational trials have served to teach me a new revelation about myself that I must submit to the Lord and grow from.

So, yeah.  I have been feeling a bit blue lately.  My health has become a big challenge again and that is a daily struggle that I try not to let get me down.  Mark and I are currently wading through an issue that I struggle with and everyday I look at him and sometimes feel myself thinking that he deserves so much better.  Financial struggles are finally hitting us and we find ourselves asking what is next? ...should Mark find a new career?  ...could we/should we move away from here (fingers crossed!)?  My spiritual walk is the driest it's ever been - I want to feel Jesus so badly right now, but I struggle through the muck to even believe that I am capable of feeling Him. And, this place is stinkin' lonely.  I am a stay at home mom.  I love my job but I need companionship in the baddest way.  But, this week I found myself stunned from another let-down friendship.  My heart is aching and bewildered.  Boohoo. Woe is me.

It's raining...but I know it's not pouring.  It's not pouring because these are mild trials in the grand scheme of it all. I know that.  It doesn't make it all hurt any less.  But, when I hear about another friend's current trials I am put in my place and shown how challenging it really could be.  But, right now, I am still aching.  I am in my muck.  Am I over-reacting...am I over-dramatizing?  Perhaps.  But that is how I feel.  I wear my emotions on my sleeve, in plain sight for all to see.  If I were to sit here and write out some emotion-less post about food or health, I would not be true to myself and my current frame of mind.  So this is 

where I'm at.

I started re-reading Captivating by John and Stasi Elderidge the other week.  Yes, it is a very trendy Christian book, but it is still worth the read and I highly recommend it.  It points out how, too often, women struggle with feeling like they are not enough yet, at the same time, that they are far too much.  Holy cow, I soooooo relate to that, don't you?  I catch my thoughts wandering to places, thinking:  "I'm not enough of a serving wife"..."I'm not a patient enough mother"..."I'm not a thoughtful enough friend"...to..."I have too many opinions"..."I react with too much emotion"..."I over-think too much".  Can anyone else relate to this?  Anyway, so this book is great because it delves into those struggling thoughts and begins to reveal to you, as a woman, that you are neither too much nor lacking but that you are just right, for that is how God designed you.  This is the briefest summary of just 

a portion of this book...but all that to say, it is pretty darn encouraging especially for the struggles I am currently facing.

I have to keep re-realizing that while I do the best I can to learn and grow to be a better, loving person, I am still me just as Jesus created me and some people will embrace that while others will reject it.  I thought/expected friendships to be opportunities to embrace each other's differences, quirks and all - a striving for unconditional love and acceptance. And, I still believe that's how it should be.  It is a sad world for those who do not view or treat friendships in the same light for their relationships will be lacking.

I am left dwelling upon one of my most favoritest quotes that I relate to in a very intimate way:

Then the time came when the risk it took

To remain tight in a bud was more painful

Than the risk it took to blossom.

~Anias Nin

To my true dear friends:  May we continue to blossom into the beauties that God designed us to be...quirks and all...and love each other, unconditionally, for them.

My dear husband and best friend for life

Mi Madre, who has loved me unconditionally since I was in her womb

Lacey Jean, my bosom buddy - though, I'm more bosom and she's more booty...maybe we should be 'bosom booties'?

Katy, my beautiful dear sister and one of my closest friends

Becky, my adopted sister in Christ and friend who tells it like it is (we're at a costume party in this pic)

Brooke, my lifelong friend since childhood - we shared Barbies and played chipmunk

...just to name a few.

I'm here...

I realized that when I am uber super busy and have soooo much on my mind, I have less to write about.  Even when I have the occasional moment to write something.  I sit and stare at the computer and try to filter through what sounds most interesting.  I procrastinate.  And, then I neglect to write on here, altogether.  I need to just sit down and pour out my thoughts...this is my journal, right?  I need to keep reminding myself that I don't have to have anything eloquent to say in order to post a blog.  Who cares anyway, right?

So, instead of focusing on one topic, I thought I'd just recap what's been going on over here...just to organize my thoughts, if anything.

Well, there was the Bachelorette party weekend for my sister in Lincoln City.  The Baby shower for my dear friend in Vancouver.  The pondering of ideas for a career move for my husband.  The stressful dealing with a recurring ear infection that turned into a rash pouring out of my ear....that revealed that I have frickin' candida after visiting the naturopath 2x and going to urgent care.  The stress over a new diet that I have to adopt and new recipes to find without sugar, dairy, wheat, and most fermented foods.....ugh.  Trying to remain faithful to my commitment to the season of Lent.  Working through some emotional stress in our marriage.  A very intense weekend of wedding festivities, from a Rehearsal dinner to venue setup to arranging floral bouquets to calming the bride to walking down the aisle and choking up over the fact that my dear sister finally found her Prince Charming in the most wonderful man, named Jeremy.  Visiting our best friends who have moved into a community house with another family in Portland, see here for their new blog.  

And, now...now, we have absolutely nothing on our plate for the next few weeks.  And, that feels great.  Because, now I need to focus on my family.  I need to focus more intently on my health.  This nasty rash on my ear (gross, weird, I KNOW!) still needs to clear up.  I need to figure out some appealing foods that I can eat that are safe while trying to wade through the ridiculously hard battle against candida (yeast overgrowth in your body, for those who are unfamiliar with it).  I have been diagnosed with candida before and I just despise it...I despise that it is supposedly sooo prevalent and sooo easy to fall prey to and sooo hard to kill.  I question the diagnosis at times...but I guess I have nothing else to go off of.  I suppose I should write a more complete post on what exactly this crazy thing called candida really is.

But, I realize that after listing the stresses of my pa

st few weeks I should close this with something positive.  Some things to be thankful for amidst the hardships.  So, here goes...

Today I am thankful for:

~ The time change, for now Vienne is sleeping in 'til 7:30 by the new clock and the rest of our days are working out much more smoothly.

~ On that note, she has also been a great sleeper lately and if you are a mother you know how crucial that is.

~ My new time in the Word that I have discovered each morning.

~ A loving and amazing husband who took complete care of our daughter while I hopped around fulfilling wedding duties all weekend 

long...who loves to help me in the kitchen...who vacuums on his own whim...who rises with Vienne in the morning to spend precious daddy/daughter time while I sleep...who counsels me in wisdom when I over-react with selfish emotion to outside circumstances...who sets an example of selflessness to me...

~ That my sister is happily married to a most amazing young man whom I am proud to call Brother.

~ That we can buy the foods we need to eat healthy.

~ And, I am always always thankful for this beautiful place we are privileged to live in and this most precious daughter I have been blessed with...check out that face!

Lovely Day

Despite the surprise of a 5:30am wake up call from our daughter ... I have determined that it is going to be a lovely Valentine's Day.

A scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs with parmesan and fresh basil, 

homemade cinnamon raisin bread, and luscious red grapefruit with a hot cup of coffee...

A lovely homemade Valentine from my daughter (with daddy's help)...

A beautiful bouquet of my favorite tulips waiting for me, in a vase...

A sweet Valentine from a friend, hanging in my window...

The bright happy sun shining down on us this morning...

A weekend with my husband home...

More fabulous bread baking in the oven...

A cute new red shirt to wear on this day of hearts...

A wine tour through our little town and dinner following, to look forward to...

Happy loud giggles from the most beautiful daughter ever...

Yes.

It is going to be a lovely day.

I pray your Valentine's Day is just as lovely.

a few things 'bout me...

ok...you got me.  i'll give in and take part in these little 'get to know each other' games.  in response to a few other lists i've already read, here is mine.  a list of 20 random things about me.

1.  i am an artist at heart.  i can paint and sketch fairly well...though i rarely do.

2.  i cannot stand mushrooms.  yuck!  i know that they are slugs that have crawled up on my plate!

3.  if i could go back to school i would either get my masters in teaching or become a doula (a birthing assistant)

4.  i dream of having a full garden of my own...to have immediate access to organic produce...though, I have absolutely no interest in tending it.

5.  i prefer to drive a stickshift...but had to finally give that up for a mommy-mobile.

6.  i love talking about the topics that most people are uncomfortable talking about. (poop, sex... to name a few)

7.  i have modeled nude for a professional painter friend.  (shhh...don't tell.  nobody reads this thing anyway).

8.  i am shy in large crowds and outgoing in small ones.

9.  i am deathly afraid of snakes and deep dark waters.

10. i love every season - sunshine, falling leaves, snow, and blooming buds.

11. i enjoy questioning the norm and researching for my own answers in how to live.

12. i love the star wars and jaws movies...the inner geek.

13. i won 1st place in a gymnastics competition when i was 12.  and it ended there.

14. i like to do daredevil things and shock people who think i'm so demure.

15. i am completely ignorant about politics.

16. i love sushi.

17. i want to someday live in a small intentional community that shares a sustainable farm...gardening together, eating together, working together, worshiping together, and growing our families together.

18. quality time with friends is far more important to me than gifts or other languages of love.

19. i hate to be late and pride myself in sticking to commitments.

20. i am too honest for my own good.  can you tell?

In retrospect

I have not been very good, lately, about keeping up on this blog.  I probably have lost the 3 readers that I had collected...but, oh well, I realize that this is more of an outpouring of my thoughts for no one in particular.

Anyway, I thought it would be good for my soul to look back on 2008 and acknowledge my favorite memories.  I struggled through the last month of December which tainted my view of the entire past year.  This December was pretty much hell, let me tell you....but as for the rest of the prior year, I must embrace that which was good.

~Dude, I had a baby!!!  Duh that is, by far, the MOST amazing prize-winning treasure of 2008.  She is beautiful and healthy and just fabulous....her strong particular personality and all!

~I have wonderful memories of spending a good majority of last year pregnant.  Oddly enough, I LOVED being pregnant...never felt better, healthier, and more beautiful in my life!

~We bought our lovely home....what a true blessing it is to own a home in the quaint little town of Cannon Beach.

~My lovely sister got engaged!!!  

~I developed my love and passion for homemaking and started my quest for simplicity and natural living, to the extreme.

~Started building a dream for an independent community with one of my best friends...praying that the Lord might open a door for that in a few years.

~Celebrated my 30th birthday!

~Celebrated my 3rd year of marriage to the MOST amazing man I could find on this earth!

~Made a new friend, here on the coast, who has turned out to be such a true blessing and answer to prayer!

~And, I got a beautiful cherry red KitchenAid mixer to make bread with for Christmas!

Those are just a few highlights that I can remember at the moment.  I hope everyone is able to sit back and glance at the good memories of the last year, forgetting the ones that brought you down.  Let's look ahead at this coming year with hope and ambition to make it great!

Inspired

I've been inspired this week. And not just by one thing. What a rare treasure it is to find inspiration...and to find it in more places than one, I am feeling uber blessed.

Inspiration # 1: Finding Joy in Trials -
As noted in my previous post...the other day was a rough one. BUT in the end I found that, for the first time in a long time, the Lord led me to handle it with grace. In my new Bible Study I am doing with other moms, we just started studying James. The first few verses of the book talk about finding joy through trials. I have always struggled over that idea. 'But, Lord, how do I find joy from a colicky baby??...or an angry friend...or ??' It's hard. And all I can say is that I can finally see how the Lord has answered some prayer (things have been dry lately). To ask for trials in order to be sharpened and refined is a difficult request, to say the least. But, I can confidently attest to the rewards. I cannot promise that I will always respond to trials with grace...but oh what a beautiful testimony it is to see the potential I have in Christ. I am inspired.

Inspiration #2: Finding Joy in the Kitchen -
I finally feel like I am coming into my own. This week was my first week of fully diving into the art of true homemaking...at least in the kitchen. As encouraged by my dear friend, Lacey, I have determined to start making everything that we eat from scratch. Reading blogs of other homemakers has strongly contributed to my ambition for this. I have made it a goal to stop buying all/most packaged/processed foods and make them myself. I figure that if I am allowed to stay home with our baby, then I should be doing all that I can to provide the best 'home' for my loved ones. I am not contributing financially anymore and this is one small way that I can lovingly help my husband by saving grocery costs (no more $4 bottles of kombucha, Jenny!). And, on top of all this, I am providing the absolute best health for my family by cooking everything...knowing every ingredient that goes into it all and making it with love and care. So, for now, I have started to make crackers, tortilla chips, granola, cookies, muffins, kombucha...and bread is next (I will soon be posting recipes). And...it's been a blast for me!! I am loving it! I have stopped watching TV during the days or just piddly-dinkin' around on the internet. I am playing my favorite fall tunes from Nat King Cole or Billy Holiday and dancing around my kitchen creating wonderful snacks for my husband and myself! What better way is there to spend a blustery fall day?! I have been inspired.

Inspiration #3: Finding Joy as a Homemaker -
I was recently discussing the art of 'homemaking' with aforementioned dear friend of mine and we were talking about the well-sought after Proverbs 31 woman. Oh, how all of us ladies long to be a wife and mother like that. 'Amen?' I used to read about her and shrug my shoulders and say "well that was then and this is now....and good luck with that!". But, hey, why not find modern ways to incorporate her way of homemaking into our present-day lives? I feel called to this and want to strive to make it a personal mission. God put her in the Bible to serve as an example for us. He knows what I am capable of...what you are capable of...when I put my heart and mind to it. She is my new inspiration.

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

Wow. Let's be inspired.