Bubbles

I haven't much to say this afternoon. All is quiet and peaceful at the moment, and I relish it.

I've been slowly working my way through One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I find her writing style challenging, but profound. I was awed in chapter 4 as she described a ray of sunlight hitting a bubble:

"In the light, the sheerness of bubble shimmers. Bands of garnet, cobalt, flowing luminous...

I tilt my hand more to the light and the wave frequencies reinforce on bubble's dome and color bands deepen, fire-blue swirling flame into lurid scarlet. A kaleidoscope planet."

I wonder at the last time I stopped to watch a bubble.  To see its spectrum ever-changing as it rotates under sunlight.

A beautiful miracle so easily overlooked.

"I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment."

~One Thousand Gifts~

For the Love of Reading

pin

We began reading to Kendry at an early age.  Over time this made it easy to establish a bedtime reading routine – some of our most cherished, quiet moments with our little man.

We still read at least one story before tucking Kendry in for the night, and lately he has started reading some to us. Fortunately, he has moved on from the Dr. Seuss obsession he had at age 2. In fact, he prefers a nice variety these days - from chapter books like Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing to his early reader Bible, and pretty much anything by Mo Willems. Last month he demanded we check out a geography book about Yemen.

Like I said, variety.  And variety means our couch isn't "eating" many books these days.

I would love to tell you I read to the littles in their first 6-8 months of life, but honestly…and it pains me to admit this…I really don’t know where the time went those 6-8 months. 

Or where my memory went, for that matter.  Although I very clearly remember this stage:

By the way, if you called me during that 6-8 month stretch and I still haven't returned your call, please don't be offended. Rest assured you are not the only one.

Much to my chagrin, up until their 16 month mark the twins' only interest in books was yanking them off the shelf - a very sore point for this OCD mama. After too many times stacking the books back up on the shelf nicely (spines out, of course), I finally threw in the towel. Totally not worth the stress.

FYI: any mommy blogger who displays pictures of her 5 and under kiddo's bookshelves looking all neat and tidy is lying.  Lying!

Ideal:

Reality:

Before punishing myself too much over the littles' lack of love for the written word, I came to two realizations.

Point #1:  In order to effectively read a book to a toddler one must first get the toddler to sit still. As in, stay in one place for more than two seconds.

Bwaa ha haa haaa!

Point #2:  In a situation with two toddlers, one must hold the book with a vice-like grip to keep Toddler A from turning pages whilst Toddler B tries to yank the book away.  Although technically, in keeping with proper multiples referencing, it would be actually be Toddler A (aka Jack) yanking the book away from Toddler B (aka Cohen).

On a side note, whoever thought up board books?  GENIUS!  Just try to rip pages out of those suckers.  It cannot be done!  Well, except the time a two-year-old Kendry was left unchaperoned in his bed with an open-the-flap board book.

Oh the massacre…  

Anyhow, after months of pondering this difference in our children, and praying that Jack and Cohen would soon appreciate books as Mommy and Daddy (and big brother) do, God has answered our prayers, in excess. 

The personality on this biting, climbing, shrieking little fella' is deserving of its own post - and its own parenting book.  For now, just know that if the house goes quiet with Cohen around you should investigate immediately.  He either has his nose in a book or his hand in a toilet.

While still early in his speech development, Cohen prides himself on stating "The End" at every last page. His current favorite is Hand Hand Finger Thumb by, you guessed it, Dr. Seuss. Each time he finds this book on the shelf he comes pleading for story time.

Then again, and again.

"Millions of fingers, millions of thumbs, millions of monkeys drumming on drums..."

I'm not ashamed to admit another Dr. Seuss book has found itself eaten by our couch in recent months.  A parent can only take so much.

Jack's favorite book?  Whatever Cohen is currently reading.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

{2}

We were in bed by 9:30 last night.

{3}

I fell short on my reading goal for 2012, but for good reason. Sleep has ranked a little higher than reading these last three months.

I am, however, kicking off 2013 with a bang and reading some Dr. Dobson:
The New Strong-Willed Child.

Please don't ask why I've waited until my own strong-willed child reached the age of three and a half years before finally reading this book.

{4}
This morning we made a two cupcake recipe (courtesy of Pinterest) and delivered one to a special gal on her 92nd birthday. {Kendry ate the other one.}

Happy Birthday, Grandma Ellen!



{5}

Can you really blame a kiddo for refusing to go potty on a public toilet that auto-flushes no less than six times while he is still sitting on it?

Seriously, McDonalds, use some of your millions to design a more kiddo-friendly bathroom... with non-intimidating toilets.

{6}

Crazy hat night at Awana:

As the parent helper that night I figured I should be an active participant. My viking hat was the envy of many a 3-4 year old, including Kendry who swapped me hats midway through the evening.

{Can you see the baby bump?}

{7}

Speaking of the bump, the wonderful down jacket Justin bought me last winter just ain't gonna cut it for my Alaska trip in two weeks...

unless I want to bust apart the zipper.

 

{8}

We recently introduced Kendry to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie {circa 1990}.

Kendry has subsequently added the word "bodacious" to his vocabulary.

{9}

January always inspires the organizational side of me. With our family growing in 2013, there is no time like the present to do a little purging while organizing.

Inspired by my friend Cassie who did this last year, I'm taking on a 31 Bags in 31 Days challenge this month, with a goal of purging one bag per day of unnecesssary clutter and/or garbage from our home.

I'm already ahead of the game, with three garbage bags destined for Goodwill in the back of my car.


 

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

90% certain I have felt baby flutters the last two evenings.

Sixteen weeks tomorrow!

Book Review: Mark of the Lion Trilogy (Books I and II)

After taking several weeks off I am linking up again with my girl Stephanie over at How Sweet This Is for a book review.

Mark of the Lion Trilogy

by Francine Rivers

Description from Francine Rivers' website:

A Voice in the Wind transports readers back to Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War, some seventy years after the death of Christ. Following the prides and passions of a group of Jews, Romans and Barbarians living at the time of the siege, the narrative is centered on an ill-fated romance between a steadfast slave girl, Hadassah, and Marcus, the brother of her owner and a handsome aristocrat. After surviving the massacre of her family and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, Hadassah is captured and sold to a well-to-do merchant’s family. Brought to Rome, she is pressed into service as a personal slave to hedonistic Julia Valerian.  Hadassah struggles to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to treat her masters in a manner in keeping with His teachings, but she is forced to keep her religious identity a secret in order to survive.  Confused and alone, she has only her faith to cling to as she tries to subtly bring God into the lives of her captors.  Reckless, impulsive, and villainous, Julia tries to undermine Hadassah at every turn.  But Julia’s brother, Marcus, is a different sort altogether.  Is it possible for a love between Hadassah and Marcus to flourish considering not only their differing stations in life, but also the gap between Hadassah’s unrelenting faith and Marcus’ lack of belief in anything?  Simultaneously, Atretes, a captured soldier from Germania, is forced to become a gladiator. This is the time of Rome's decline and the decadence of a civilization on the verge of self-destruction serves as a powerful backdrop to the Barbarian’s struggle for survival in the arena.

My Review:

I cannot say enough about this trilogy! I first read through the series about five years ago and was immediately impressed with author Francine Rivers - enough that I have now read all but three or four of her novels. I have wanted to read this series again for some time and am so glad I did. The ladies in my book club are reading it with me (for their first time) and are thoroughly enjoying it as well.

Francine Rivers' impeccable descriptions of Jerusalem, Rome and Ephesus will have you wanting to visit these destinations in person - regardless of the fact that the Roman Empire is long gone. As she paints the portrait of Roman culture you will find yourself comparing many of Rome's immoral compromises to our own faltering value system of today. (If that doesn't trigger an in-depth conversation at your book club, I don't know what will.)

Rivers has amazing character development, not just in this series but in her other novels as well. The character of Hadassah will challenge any reader to take a closer look at their heart and their faith. Do I have the heart of a servant? Is my faith strong enough to uphold me when I'm surrounded by temptation?

Regardless of whether you're a believer or not, this series will leave an impression on you.

My only complaint: they haven't made a movie of this yet!  This story has it all - love, faith, gladiators, history, betrayal, politics and adventure.

Note: Although there are three books in this series and the individual stories are connected throughout, Books 1 and 2 center around Hadassah and the Valerian family, while Book 3 is about Atretes the gladiator.



Have you read anything good lately?
If so, please share!
I am always looking for books to add to my reading list.



Linking up here:

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

It will probably be another home improvement weekend for us - although we won't be tackling anything as big as painting the house.

Maybe we'll squeeze in our first picnic of the year, weather permitting.

{2}

This week we added cantaloupe, bell peppers, watermelon, pumpkins and squash to our gardens.

I love summer!

{3}

Kendry gave me his first "You're not the boss of me, Mom" last week.

Yeeaahh...

For the first time in my life I got to say "Oh yes I AM the boss of you."

I said it with a very loving mommy tone of voice.... and an evil grin.

It was a mommy power trip moment.

{4}

I'm re-reading A Voice in the Wind (1 of 3 in the Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers) for my women's Bible study this month. We have adopted a more relaxed book club approach for the summer months.

Oh. my. goodness.

If you haven't read this series, do it.

{5}

I am currently in denial of the fact that I turn 32 {32!} two months from today.
How did this happen?!

{6}

You have gotta try this move.

source

Looks simple enough, right?

Thats what I thought too.


 

{7}

Years from now, when Kendry is a teenager, I will remind him of the Home Depot trip in which he spontaneously burst out into "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Your love makes me sing! " in the middle of a crowded aisle...and then again while waiting in the long line to check out.

No inhibitions, that one.

{8}

In less than two months Justin and I will be participating in the Warrior Dash. This year they are teaming up to support St. Jude's Children's Hospital. If you are interested in donating please visit my fundraising page.

I am really looking forward to running another race with the hubs.

 

{9}

I love you, Dr. Suess, so please accept my apologies for burying you deep in the couch where the kiddo will never find you.

I just can't take it anymore!!!

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

My big brother got home from Afghanistan today!

We love you, Justin!

Praise be to God for keeping him safe.

Book Review: Boys Will Be Joys

Boys Will Be Joys

by Dave Meurer

GoodReads description:

Parenting is not for wimps. When it comes down to it, sometimes parents just have to wing it, says Dave Meurer, father of two rambunctious boys. In this delightful read, Meurer waxes humorously on the miraculous feat of raising boys and staying sane at the same time.

My Review:

I snatched up this funny read while it was a Kindle freebie last month. I am always on the lookout for great Christian parenting books - and parenting boys books are even better. I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard reading a book, particularly in the first few chapters. While the author doesn't dive into any new and deep parenting concepts, I really enjoyed his insights. This quote really stood out to me:

"The Bible speaks of believers as "living stones" that are being built into a temple for God. I think that is an apt metaphor for parenting. Our kids are not widgits or robots or computer programs that predictably react to our "input". They are living stones. Of course, the comparison breaks down, because God is all-powerful, which is an extremely helpful attribute when you are dealing with living stones. Fortunately, God does not require you to make an entire temple out of these squirming, scampering, bouncing, and, eventually, driving stones. He is asking that you do your level best to set them on a solid foundation. Then He will do the heavy lifting. "

 

I only gave this book 3 stars because it contained more anecdotes than parenting principles. However, I loved the author's down-to-earth writing style and it is obvious he has a heart for God and his family. I would love to read more of his work.

 

 

Linking up here:

 

 

Book Review: Choosing to SEE

One of my goals for 2012 is to read 30 books. This goal stems from my realization that since becoming a mom three years ago I haven't been reading nearly as much as I used to. And I LOVE to read. So I decided to make it more of a priority this year. Having my Kindle Fire and the Amazon lending library is a big help.

My friend Stephanie over at How Sweet it is! has set a similar goal for herself in 2012 and has started a weekly linky party called Good Reads Thursday for book reviews. While I may not have a new book read every week - that would obviously be well over my goal of 30 for the year - I am trying to link up over there as often as I can. I love getting book recommendations from friends; I have already put Stephanie's latest read, Bloom by Kelly Hampton, on my reading list.



  
{By the way, if you check out Stephanie's blog you might notice her last name is also Gimlin. Crazy, right? One of these days we should really check out ancestry.com to see if our husbands are related - its not like its a common name. It would just be one more reason to eventually meet Stephanie and her fam in real life which, by the way, I am totally going to do whenever we take our family road trip to CA.}


Okay...back to books...


Last month I finished reading Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman.

Mary Beth is the wife of Steven Curtis Chapman, the Christian singer. Their family was in the news a few years ago when their 5 year old daughter was accidently run over and killed in the the driveway of the family home.

Amazon says:  "Mary Beth's story is our story--wondering where God is when the worst happens. In Choosing to SEE, readers will hear firsthand about the loss of her daughter, the struggle to heal, and the unexpected path God has placed her on."

My review:

This book was so much more than the story of loss and how God has brought them through it. Mary Beth shares about meeting Steven and the tough early years of their marriage, the joys of having their first three children and the depression she found herself dealing with afterwards, and the miraculous stories of adopting three more children from China.

From an infertility perspective, I was moved by Mary Beth's emotions over their first adoption - her hesitations and fears. While we are not actively pursuing adoption ourselves, I found myself identifying with Mary Beth's fears over whether she could really love a non-biological child as much as her biological children. It was also incredible to read about the advocacy the Chapman family has taken on behalf of foreign adoption in the wake of adopting three children themselves.

The story of little Maria and her short but precious life in this family had me in tears. What God has revealed to and through this family since Maria was taken to heaven is astounding.

I did have a hard time reading the last bit of this book as it was merely posts taken from Mary Beth's family blog inserted into the book. While I realize this accurately portrays how the family was surviving day to day in their grief, I felt like the book simply tapered off as an ending, rather than effectively drawing it to a close.

That being said, I highly recommend this book. Mary Beth is very real and transparent - even as the wife of a popular music artist. The story and testimony of this family is encouraging.

Becoming a Money Saving Mom

As a Money Saving Mom reader, I was delighted to be selected to review Crystal Paine's new book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget, on audiobook.



The first thing I loved is that the book is read aloud by Crystal herself. I think this allows the listener to get a better glimpse of Crystal's personality. Honestly, its what I have seen of Crystal's personality on her blog that drew me to this book in the first place. The 'budget' theme of the book wasn't a huge pull for me because the hubs and I have figured out our budget pretty well. That being said, I didn't doubt that Crystal would have some great advice that I could still apply in my own life and home.

Crystal covers topics like constructing a budget spreadsheet, beginning couponing, menu planning, simplistic living, organizing, and executing a successful yard sale. While she doesn't dive super deep into each of these topics, I feel like she provided sufficient information to spark my motivation and pursue some of these money-saving options on my own.  And I feel like that was truly Crystal's intent in writing this book - to help readers identify some of the day to day ways they can save money, in addition to following a budget.

I was excited to find that some of Crystal's money-saving tips were things our family is already putting into practice; but listening to her book also inspired me to tackle a few more arenas, like making our own homemade bread, constructing a time budget for myself (for the first time in 10 years I just bought a day planner), and making a habit of regularly purging each room of our house to minimize clutter.

I particularly love Crystal's attitude toward simple living and being content. This is a theme that resonates throughout her entire book. If you have clutter in your house that you aren't using, give it to someone who can use it. Check out movies and books from your local library instead of buying them. If you find yourself stressing at 4pm each day what you're going to make for dinner, plan ahead! Set aside time each week to plan your menu and buy the necessary groceries. These are just a few of the simple tips Crystal highlights.

I think everyone can glean something from this book.

If you have never visited Crystal's blog, you can check it out HERE.

------------------

Are you looking for ways to be more frugal in your day to day life?

Here are some actions our family has taken to cut unnecessary costs:

1. We ditched our DirecTV subscription a few months ago when our contract expired. We get only a few basic channels now, but can watch most of our favorite shows online. Not only is this saving us cash but we also have the TV on less. This does mean that the hubs misses a few of his favorite sports aired primarily on the 'luxury' channels, but we make do. For instance, he paid $4 to watch March Madness online.

2. We haven't had a cell phone plan for years. We ditched our individual cell phones and overpriced plan back in 2007 and replaced them with a single pay-as-you-go phone. We pay about $26 every 2-3 months to recharge it and try to only use it for emergencies or on trips. We use our landline through Vonage for the majority of our calls.

3. We monitor our thermostat. The hubs has our programmable thermostat set to drop a few degrees during the day while we're at work; it heats up again around the time we get home. He also has it set to drop a few degrees at night. Those few degrees can add up to a big difference on your utility bill.

4. I make my own liquid laundry detergent. In the last six months we have spent a mere $10 on the necessary ingredients to make liquid detergent. Each batch makes two gallons of detergent. I anticipate that $10 worth of ingredients will produce 8-10 gallons of detergent before I need to restock. (This isn't for everyone - I have a friend who tried it recently but her sensitive skin didn't like the detergent. For us, however, it has been a fun and easy way to save a few bucks.)

5. We cut the boys' hair at home. To be fair, Justin has pointed out this savings for a few years now, and I admit that it wasn't until a few months ago it finally occurred to me we were saving at least $20 each month by doing home haircuts. Thats over a quarter tank of gas in savings each month!

6. We menu plan and take our lunch to work. We usually plan a monthly menu and do one primary shopping trip, with a small trip two weeks later to replenish our perishables like dairy products and produce. Since both Justin and I work full-time, it relieves a lot of stress knowing ahead of time what we're eating and when. I have found that we eat much healthier when we menu plan; not only do we have vegetables planned with each meal, but if dinner is already in the crockpot at home we are less apt to go out to eat or pick up a pizza. Then we take the leftovers for lunch.

Put these all together and they add up to some great savings! 

What fun ways have you found to save some cash?

Linking up here:

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Etsy

{2}

I love that my kiddo's teachers have nicknamed him "Smiley".

{3}

Home ownership has its highs and lows.

Buying and installing wax toilet rings is a definite low:

Bing

{4}

In 2012 I will be keeping track of books read and miles ran.

My reading log can be found in the column on the right side of our blog. I am still working on my running log widgit.

So far this year I've read almost as many books as my total miles ran.

Dang, I'm gettin' lazy.

{5}

We made these for dinner tonight.

Red Velvet Pancakes

How's that for festive?

Don't worry, we made it a healthier meal by throwing some protein-rich bacon on the side.

{6}

Confession: purchasing plastic storage totes makes my heart go pitter-patter.

{7}

The kiddo came home today with a Dip-It candy valentine. You know I have no qualms with candy, but giving a two year old a packet of sugar to eat with a stick?

Its like giving noisy toys as a gift; someday that gesture will come back around to bite ya.

I would know.

{8}

Googly eyes are one of the greatest inventions of all time.

{9}

I MY VALENTINE FOREVER!

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

Family, family, family!

This week we had my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, our niece and Justin's Uncle Erik in town.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}
For those of you still waiting to receive our Christmas card...
you will be waiting a long time...
as in next December.

What can I say?
December got busy and my super cool Christmas card idea was thwarted at the last minute.
THIS was as close as I got.

Sometimes you just have to know when to throw in the towel.

I'll do better next year, I promise.

 

{2}

I have this thing about reading the book before I see the movie.

Chalk it up to my Type A personality.

More often than not I am then disappointed by the movie ("The Notebook" anyone?), but thats fine.

Its a good thing "The Help" is already out on DVD because I finished the book this week and can't wait to see how the movie plays out.

Very, very good read.

{3}

And speaking of books...
I got myself a Kindle Fire!

I feel so hip.

This weekend I made a simple cover for it. It didn't turn out quite as I would have liked - I screwed up the elastic a bit - but it is still cute and will work for the time being. Plus, I already had all the supplies so it was free. Yeah, baby!

Did you notice the cute little pocket on the left side?

I followed this tutorial.

{4}

Picnik will be no more come April.
I am so bummed.


 

{5} and {6}

The cutest baking partner ever,

and my super-cute (albeit ancient) KitchenAid beautified by the decal my sister bought me.

Love you, Jaim!

 

{7}
Buttermilk is my new best friend.
 Not only does it rock my Red Velvet Cake recipe, but it makes the yummiest coffee cake and incredible homemade pancakes. I can't believe I am 31 and only now realizing one should always have buttermilk in their fridge.

{8}

I attended a baby shower this week and had so much fun trying out a new gift idea I found on Pinterest.

My inspiration:

(source)

Those are baby wash cloths rolled up like lollipops and stuck onto a baby spoon.

So. Very. Cute.

Mine:

{9}
I love my evening craft time but boy does it make for lousy lighting in my pictures.
Sorry, folks.

{10}

This Week's Blessing:
Our local library has gone digital!
This means they do ebooks.
Yippee!
{A little shout out to Cassie for notifying me of this development. Thanks, Cassie!}

The Art of Running Late

I have to give credit where credit is due. I hijacked the title of this post from the novel I read just before Thanksgiving, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Its a touching and funny story about a family written from the family dog's perspective.

 

It was a fitting theft since my time spent reading this book contributes to the very topic of this post: TARDINESS.

I confess, I am one of those people who is late less than prompt to almost everything. I would blame it on having a kiddo if I could, but the truth is I was late perpetually tardy long before parenthood, and marriage for that matter.

Dang! There goes my excuse for blaming Justin too.

 

Is it just me or does the very word 'late' sound rude?

 

Doctor's appointments, parties (for which I call it 'fashionably late') and yes, even work and church.

Its bad.

And it needs to change.

Parenting finally showed me the light.

As of late, I have had one two many mornings that by the time I get Kendry into the car I have already gotten horribly impatient with him. Granted, his independent streak that demands he put on his own shoes and climb into his car seat by himself requires superhuman patience in itself. But when we're I'm already running late these little hold-ups nearly put me over the edge.

And thats not the mom I want to be.

 

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

~Galations 5:22~

Case in point:
I started reading The Art of Racing in the Rain on a Wednesday night and simply could not put it down, which means I didn't fall asleep until 11:30pm. Kendry is usually up around 6:30am.

lack of sleep + toddler 'slower than a snail' eating behaviors + poor time management + toddler independence =  unnecessary stress

unnecessary stress in the morning = tardiness = a grumpy and snippity momma

And as we all know:
When momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy!

The irony is that every time I am on time or {gasp!} early, I think to myself:

"This is nice. I don't feel rushed or stressed."



"I think I'm even a nicer person to be around when I'm on time."



Apparently the trend for 2012 is to come up with a 'word of the year' for yourself - a more specific New Year's resolution, if you will, all summed up in a single word.


My word for 2012 is:
Time Management


Okay, thats technically two words, but I don't care.
It fits.

God has been challenging me to re-think my priorities and identify where I am spending my time.

Am I a good steward of the time He is giving me?

Are my priorities centered around the things this world demands from me as a wife and mother?

Or are my priorities centered around things with eternal significance?

Are my priorities centered around God and the calling He has placed in my life?



I know its going to take some serious discipline and prayer,
but I am so excited to see what God will reveal to me as I honor Him with my time.



What is your word for 2012?

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are hosting dinner this year and I am just itchin' to set my beautiful table.

Its going to be fab-u-lous!

{2}
Our houseguests arrive tomorrow, and if you think my guest room is spotless and ready for them...well...you would be wrong.
I was up until 1am this morning getting it ready and I am still not done.
I hate it when I procrastinate.

{3}

There is a strange correlation between me staying up too late and Kendry waking way too early.

I am functioning dragging along on 4.5 hours of sleep today.

{4}

Kendry asked to take his baby doll in the car with us this morning.

(Yes, my little boy has a doll. You got a problem with that?) 

It seemed like a harmless idea until I glanced in my rearview mirror on my lunch break and found two baby doll eyes staring back at me.

Freak. Me. Out.

Sleep might be hard to come by tonight too, thanks to the creepy baby doll dreams I am bound to have.

{5}
We had our first snow day last weekend.

In true LC Valley fashion, the snow melted away the same day.

{6}

This week I allowed myself some literary time (a rare thing these days) and read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

I highly recommend it!

 

{7}

Do you have any idea how cold it has been in Fairbanks over the last two weeks?

Our little family could be in for some serious temperature shock come Christmas.

 

{8}

I can't tell you how it happened but our kiddo has picked up a slight British accent on some words.

This video is aptly named "Bowt".

 

{9}

New tires.
A pratical purchase.
A boring purchase.

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

Getting to run another race with my kiddo.

All too soon he will be too big to push in the BOB.

And not too long after that he will refuse to let me put cute (albeit somewhat dorky) turkey hats on him anymore.