Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Five.

This morning I said, "Happy Birthday! Do you feel different now that you're not four anymore?"
She replied, "When I have fun, I'll feel like I'm five."
Good thing our day is full of fun over here.
I'd hate for her not to feel her age.

Happy Birthday to my favorite five year old!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Ella the Runner

Ella entered The Great Pumpkin Race again this year. (I posted about her first run here.) She told me she wanted to be a butterfly. She wanted wings, and she even let me put in pigtails as her antennas. Usually, she doesn't want me to come near her hair with a hairbrush.
She ran most of the half mile. And I ran beside her. Like my costume? I'm a butterfly catcher. I put a lot of time into it, so please don't laugh. :)
Thanks, Anna for the picture. :)
We stopped twice for just a few seconds to catch our breath and when Ella was ready to speed up she yelled "Run"!
Crossing the finish line together---photo courtesy of Paulus Photography
Fun fact about Ella: She likes to hold hands when she runs.
Maybe I would like running more if someone held my hand when I did it??? 
I know I like almost anything when her little warm hand is holding mine. 
We are so proud of her. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Who We Are

I never get SOS texts from Bruce when I'm at Whatever Craft Weekend. He totally handles everything while I'm gone, but on Sunday morning when this text came to me, I was pretty sure it was time to get home. "Talia the clown" was all he wrote.

The eyebrows kill me.

It also explained the text that I got earlier that said, "We are not doing church this morning."

I can't believe the clown will be five next week.
--------------------------------------
Months ago we gifted a family portrait to Bruce's mom with my friend Megan, of Megan Hein Photography.  Our goal was to have a classic family picture and have fun. I think Megan did a great job!

Go over to her blog to see our family preview. Tell her how amazing she is. She was able to get the best expressions out of my girls. In the pictures I see who they really are. (Just to clarify, Bruce is in the plaid shirt and Travis is in the orange. I love that picture of Travis and the girls. It shows how much they all love each other!)

In a few weeks we're doing pictures of just Bruce, the girls and me. Taking all those pictures in one night would have been too much for Ella. (And probably all of us, really!)  I can't wait.
I've got a few ideas. As soon as I see them, you will too.

I've gotta run.
I'm taking the clown out for some pre-birthday fun right now, and she's waiting.
Don't worry, I already hid the markers.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Ten on Ten:: October 2012


Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. 
Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments. 
I love a little fog on the prairie.
This wood pile stacked in our garage makes me feel so loved because the one who stacked it knows how much I love a fire going in the fireplace.  This speaks to me as much as flowers.
Grocery shopping.
I made a pumpkin cheesecake for Craft Weekend and it cracked. Nothing an unhealthy dose of whipped cream can't cover. :)
Jesus Calling cuts to the chase nearly every day.
Every time I make these chicken enchiladas, I always want to take a picture of how pretty this step is. Today, I did.

She wanted to have a friend over today. I loved it that they wanted to be artists outside.
Someday we are going to paint our house. I love pouring over this rainbow.
My favorite tree in our yard is getting ready to change colors. The day that it will be all red is coming soon.
It makes me so happy that Ella has the strength to hold herself on a rope. This is no small feat for her, 
and this picture was probably the most beautiful to me today.

What I continue to love about the Ten on Ten days is that when you start out the day on the wrong foot, or one of your kids does, (which in my opinion is the same thing) there are still beautiful things to see. Ten on ten reminds me of it month after month.  After two years of participating in the project, I am still blessed by looking and finding the beauty in the day. 

Happy 10th to you!
ten on ten button

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

PinterTest Kitchen: Crockpot Applesauce

I love it that Jess gives me an excuse every month to actually make something that I saw on Pinterest. I don't always know which thing to make, but when I saw how easy this was, I decided this was the pin that needed to be tested last Saturday. It was freezing out, my fireplace was roaring, and I needed a little project.
The recipe calls for: apples, lemon rind, brown sugar, and a cinnamon stick. I substituted ground cinnamon because I was sure I didn't have cinnamon sticks. Guess who found cinnamon sticks hiding out in her spices today?
I think you can use about any kind of apple you want. I added a few granny smiths to my galas to give my sauce a little zing.
I also left the peels on because I know that all that ruffage is good for me.
It makes me feel like I am being healthy.
And who wanted to peel that many apples? Let's just be honest about that.
When Talia heard I was making applesauce, she wanted to help. I put her to work counting out the teaspoons of brown sugar. (You can use agave if you have it.) I added the lemon peel, lemon juice, and more cinnamon than was necessary. It's good for your heart, ya know.
And my girl stirred it up.
We put the lid on and it cooked on low for six hours.
Six hours is a long time to wait, when you're at home at waiting for it to get done. By about hour four, it started smelling like apple pie in our house. For the next two hours both of my girls were asking when it was going to be done.
At hour six, I took the lid off and this is was she looked like.
YUM.
The recipe states that you can process it further in a blender. I like chunky applesauce, so I just left it in the natural state.
As you can see, natural doesn't necessarily mean pretty.
There's nothing fancy about applesauce, but there's something about warm sauce that really hits the spot.
Everyone at our house loves it, and that doesn't happen very often, I promise you.
I would absolutely make this recipe again.

If you're interested in seeing what other people are testing, head on over to Jess's blog. You just might find something to pin over there. ;)


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Life by Design {Lisa Leonard reality series!!!}


My friend, Lisa Leonard, has been working on a new project... a TV reality series!!!

A few months ago a production team approached her family about creating a faith based reality show, and the Leonard family agreed! I am super excited for them as they step out in faith with this project. Oh and by the way, I am in love with their sons. Check them out.




I know a lot of you already love and are fans of Lisa's jewelry. You can show your support for the show by: praying for them, liking the clip on YouTube, you can Facebook it, Tweet it, or Pin it. Get the word out that you want to see Life by Design on television.

When the show gets picked up, I will be watching.
In the meantime, head over to Lisa's blog and give her a little encouragement in the form of a comment today. I'm guessing it's slightly stressful to know that world will be watching. :)

Monday, October 1, 2012

October.

Until today, I was sort of denying the fact that summer was over, but this morning when I turned the calendar to October, I decided I had to wave goodbye to summer and jump into the fun of fall.

It was chilly, so I threw on the new pair of grey cords I bought last week.

I lit a Mulled Cider candle from Wal-Mart and burned it for six hours straight. I know it'll be the best five bucks I'll spend this week.

I made my mother-in-law's chili for dinner, and listened to the wind whip through the trees in our front yard.

I dreamed of taking the girls to a pumpkin patch and loading up the van full of pumpkins of all sizes and colors.

Tonight I skipped yoga class and made this pear crisp instead. I made the right choice, FYI.

I am throwing an extra blanket on my bed tonight, and I will fall asleep feeling happy that it's October. There are so many things to enjoy and look forward to: soccer games, candy corn and peanuts, Talia's birthday, leaves changing,  finishing the first quarter of school, and trying some of the pumpkiny yumminess that can be found just about everywhere you go.

I love thinking about all things that bring us joy during the fall.
What are some of your favorite things about this season?
Related Posts with Thumbnails