Blog Highlights

Today I'd like to introduce you to Mockingbird. A ministry in NYC that Alex and I love and support. It's ministry focuses on where the Gospel intersects with life. The good news of Jesus' love can be found in art, music, movies, sports, politics (yes even politics) and most certainly your life and mine.

Mockingbird's blog is wildly popular and entertaining. Posts range from long and theological to short, sweet, and silly. They have a long list of contributors who keep the conversation interesting, abundant, and diverse.

You'll find the link on my blog list. If your intrigued, check it out.


In other news, Highlander Highlights is back after a 3 month hiatus. You can also find this link on the right side bar. It's my mom's blog, and she does a great job highlighting Rocky Mountain National Park. She also has some stunning photos on there. Welcome back, Mom.

I Heart Faces

I Heart Faces is a wonderful photography community. I've decided to no longer lurk but to participate in their photography challenges. This week's theme is "We are Family." I chose this photo mostly for its sentimental meaning. It's a quick snapshot but has priceless value. I love how Granny is looking at the baby. My biggest struggle was working with Granny's white outfit. Suggestions?

Four Generations

Not Me Monday

When it comes to the kitchen, I'm pretty good. I churn out lots of nutritious homemade food. I consistently serve fruit and veggies, whole grains, and dairy. I try to keep sugar to a minimum except of course when Eloise and I make a yummy dessert together. Like Friday night. We made yummy cake balls and decorated them together. It was a fun activity and and the perfect Friday night treat.

First I made a chocolate cake. Put it through the food processor. Made a great cream cheese icing and worked it through the crumbs. (Recipe thanks to MckMama). Then, the fun part started.

We prepared the candy coating.




A little color makes blue.




Eloise helps sprinkle.




Yummy "Snow Pops" as the recipe names them, or "Cake Balls" as I called them, or "Cake Bombs" as Alex calls them.




And only let her eat half of one before bed. Like the good, nutritious-minded Mommy that I am..




And I would NEVER, NEVER EVER finish them for breakfast!




In fact, there are lots of things I'd never do.

When it comes to birthdays, I've vowed I'd listen to my daughter and create a celebration around her wants and needs. I know she's young, easily overwhelmed, and strongly opinionated. I have vowed not to let my preferences get in the way and to keep her feelings my priority. So I'm planning her party as such. It'll be small, cute, and manageable. And, I'd NEVER stress about it nor stress about what other mothers might think. Who me? I'd NEVER let MY ego get in the way of HER party. I'd NEVER assess, reassess, and obsess about a 3 year old birthday party. I'm much to grown-up for that. Sure.

Skills

I'm still spending all my free time working on Lightroom. I missed a contest/link share on a fellow blog for the "best face" photo. I thought I'd use the challenge to practice on some of my favorite faces anyway. Which of the two below do you like better? Can't decide.

Process

I'm still adjusting to being a family of 4. It's a process. New layers of change are slowly emerging. The obvious ones have been dealt with for the most part--Cordelia has a room, a bed, a car seat. We all love her, take care of her, and play with her. We allow extra time to feed her, change her, and clothe her. In that sense, we've transitioned to being a family of 4 quite nicely.

What I'm having difficulty with now is the STUFF another person adds to the house. More mess! More mess that I can't manage. I like a neat house. I hate clutter, and crumbs on the floor, and I hate going to bed when there are toys strewn about downstairs. I like to wake up to a tidy house, much like I like returning to a clean house after a long vacation. Isn't that the best feeling? Anyway, I can't keep up. So my new mantra is, "it's a process, it's a process." And that's okay. I think it'll be like this for a long time. And that's okay. Or at least, that's what I'm coming to accept.

Lightroom

Before




After

Excuse me

Excuse me, Eloise.

Yes?

Is that a Dora sticker still on your cheek?

Yes.

Not Me Monday

MckMama's blog is one of my favorites. She's a great photographer, something I aspire to be, and a faithful mama with 4 cute kiddos, one being a miracle baby. Really--her child should not have survived and yet today, by the grace of God, he is expected to live life to its fullest. Click on the button below to read about it. (Thanks Mom for cluing me in to her blog.)

She also has fun giveaways and activities. One being "Not Me Mondays." It's everything that I would NEVER do. (Get the sarcasm?) They're pretty funny to read because they are true. We all do it. We all do things we'd never admit. So maybe we should start admitting them from time to time. Maybe we should start revealing more of ourselves and stop hiding from judgement. So here's my first "Not Me Monday." This of course is silly, but he principle is not. I know I could use more transparency in my life. For when I'm weak, He is strong.



I am certain of this. My daughter is not wearing a Dora sticker on her cheek from over a week ago. Yuck! There's no way I'd let her keep a sticker on her cheek because I'm too wussy to tear it off of her. I don't give in to her constant appeals to keep the sticker on, I would never do that. Not me!

And no, I don't bribe my daughter with candy to get out of the car. I don't bribe her just because it cold outside. Who me? No.

And no, I'm not writing this post and surfing the web when I still haven't done the laundry from our Florida vacation. I would never do that. Or done the dishes from breakfast, or the dishes from lunch, or finish clearing the Christmas boxes that have been sitting there for days. And no, I'm certainly not thinking about which Law and Order episode is on now while I'm not waisting all this precious time. I'd never procrastinate.

Not me.

All Fun and Games

It was all fun and games in Florida until we had to come home. (Sad.) Eloise is upstairs asleep (it's 11:30am now) fighting a mild fever. I think it's taking her some time to recover from all the holiday cheer. And, boy, I do I mean cheer.

This holiday season really all started on November 7 when little sweet Cordelia Fae made her triumphant entry in to this fine world. From that point on, we've had an open door to visitors who came with helping hands, lots of energy, food, and well wishes. We really are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to support us in this crazy child-rearing business.

We decorated and cooked. And cooked a lot. The pralines were a hit amongst our neighbors and friends, and our Christmas Eve dinner, although simple and easy, was a big hit. We called it a "working orphans supper" for our church staff. Christmas morning was a delight, off to B-more, then home again for another Sunday. The cab picked us up for the airport and off we went to Florida where more fun and games awaited.

The aunts and uncles played and played with our sweet little girls, and we all had a ball. Gifts kept emerging from under the tree, and the kitchen put out some amazing food. We ate and drank and played to our hearts content. And when we were done, away we flew, back in the cab and now home again. I know. We've been home for a few days now but we're still settling in. The tree is down, the decorations almost cleared. And now we're sleeping. And recovering from all the fun and games.

Here's to a fantastic 2010 and ordinary life.

A Dinosaur Safari

Eloise has never met a dino that she didn't like!

One plus to cold weather...

Eloise and I saw the manatees for the first time and were not disappointed. They are massive and fun to watch. The unusually cold weather was actually a plus for us this day because it was the first time in 2 years that Vero Beach turned on this particular power plant. So the manatees came up to enjoy the warm water of the plant, and bingo, we got to watch the cute big manatees swim around. Save the Manatees!

Sunset

Teaser

Cheer up, we're back and we've got photos to prove it. (Stay tuned!)

Redemption

Didn't think I'd hear this on TV. What a true and amazing message to us all. Thank you, Jesus.

Top 10 Best Buys

I commented to Alex the other day, "I can't imagine living without our portable DVD player." And that birthed the following: the top 10 best buys for baby rearing. (in rough order)

1. Pacifiers
2. Pacifier clips
3. Formula
4. Bottles, of course
5. Portable DVD player
6. A nebulizer
7. Umbrella stroller
8. Hooter hider
9. Halloween costumes
10. A baby carrier/an exersaucer/undecided

Notes:

Pacifiers (and later came the much needed pacifier clips--the decorative clip that attaches the pacifier to the child's clothes so that you don't have to tear your house apart when your babe is having a fit or break a sweat in a public place when it's at the bottom of your oversized diaper bag) and bottles are two items I thought I would not use for our children. Well, upon meeting our first babe and enduring difficult feeding troubles, we gave that up within a day of her life. Praise God for the nurse who gave them to us and for these life saving (literally) items.

Sane travel has been made possible with our portable DVD player. And to think we labored over that decision. Sheesh.

Best value category: The nebulizer and the umbrella stroller.
The nebulizer: a misting machine that gives your child the antibiotic abuderol (spelling?) (and probably others as well.) It's given to increase lung capacity in the instance of pneumonia, RSV, the croup, etc. Cost to us (with insurance) = $10 Don't rent, just buy. You will use it again.
The Walmart umbrella stroller = about $15. Although the breaks are stripped and the shade broken, we still use it with Eloise.

The Hooter Hider: Where was that 3 years ago?

Halloween Costumes: We wear those almost every day. They have provided endless entertainment.

And finally, can't decide on a 10th. Ideas?