a good visit.

it's {embrace} the camera day!



you know you've had a good couple of days
when you have 659 new photos to download.
we have been busy, busy, busy
and loving every second of it.

my sweet college roomie, Auntie L,
and her two little munchkins, J and E came for a visit.


E and K are four months apart.
this means that when E came to our door, she was cradling her babydoll
which looks nearly identical to K's babydoll.


J and D are six months apart.
J brought his woody and buzz.
which are nearly identical to D's woody and buzz.

this means that the kids played together like a dream.

and, L slept through the night last night.
which means that i slept through the night last night.
woo hoo.
a great time was had by all.


once the kids were all tucked into every corner of the house,
we talked about the troubles of life
over cookies straight from the oven and cold milk.
the perfect accompaniment to tough times.

this woman gets tough times.
(i'm not linking to this just because she links to me
but because her words ring so completely true.)

the crew.


and the traditional silly photo.

and one of my favorites:
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

181. warm cookies and cold milk
182. windy beach days
183. uninterrupted conversations
184. the children laughing
185. sleep

simply delighted.

it feels like summer here.
not so much the weather,
but more-so the activities.


i mean seriously,
does that hair not simply delight you?


D showing off how many post-its he drew on
and then stuck together.
(half fell to the ground before i snapped the photo)


note to self: before assuming this lovely animal is a giraffe,
read the words on the bottom "draw your favorite zoo animal"
and take note of which child painted it.
this is in fact a tiger.
not a giraffe.
obviously.


our coffee table has been turned into an unofficial train table for a week now.
i'm thinking it might stay this way for a while.


my two conductors.


the little engine that could.


apparently, i was interrupting something.


and here, L looks
exactly
like my Poppy did when he was in his sixties.
and i mean, exactly.


other than that,
we've just been going through some mail.

And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

176. D starting preschool today
177. running errands with just two children
178. coming home to a spotless kitchen (thanks mom and dad!)
179. wearing the children out
180. peace

back cacks.

we've had a bit of issues with obedience lately.
so, when i was at a complete loss as to what to do,
B prayed and the Holy Spirit revealed to him the new plan that we are following.
and you know what?
it's been working
beautifully.
of course.
God is so good, isn't He?

one element of our new plan is that each week,
the kids make a new sticker chart
(preferably during one of L's therapy sessions -
so that they are occupied for at least five minutes of the session).

we are now making a weekly trek to the party store nearby.


here they are with their "back cacks" as K calls them,
all filled up and ready for our two-and-a-half minute car ride.
remember, they are my children so they come prepared.

and each big kid gets to pick out a little treat.
that is,
if and only if
their sticker chart is filled up.
(our CBS teacher always reminds us that motivation
is not only good for our little ones but for us as well).


the first week, D picked out this shiny sheriff badge.
see, when there is obedience, everybody wins.
even woody.

the second week, D and K both wanted more stickers for their charts.
so they were rewarded with stickers to be rewarded with.
sounds like a good plan to me.
when we are obedient, blessings abound.

...and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
1 Corinthians 3:8b

171. progress, progress, progress for L
172. live classical music
173. L in bed by 6pm
174. obedience (both for our children and us)
175. the coffee table being used as a train table

evening time.

it's {embrace} the camera day!



how do these thursdays arrive so soon?


after a nice and heavy sleep,
L, bewildered by his most entertaining brother
enjoyed teething on my camera strap.

speaking of time going by so darn quickly,
doesn't it just seem that no matter how dull or speedily the days seem to go,
we are met so abruptly by the end of each day?


the evenings are always here before we know it.


even if the day seemed to drag
on and
on and
on.


with the lovely light that seeps through our windows
onto our freshly bathed babes (my favorite),


to the cool breeze that tickles our necks
as we sit next to the open windows,


i think that
evening time
is one of the
best
times of the day.

be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12

166. how when the children pray,
they thank God for answering the prayer
they are about to pray
167. painting adventures
168. laughter
169. the breeze
170. blooming flowers

pasta, pasta, pasta pie.

K decided to stick a rather large piece of pasta up her nose.
i did not realize this until she showed me what came out of her nose.
so gross.
so so gross.
my grandfather was an ear, nose and throat doc
so he always told my sibs and me many stories of all of the
coins, marbles, peas and the like that he had to fish out of kids' noses.
i wish he were still around to share stories like those with my kids
so that they would be terrified ever doing anything like that.
again.


she can breathe more easily now.

D's reading has taken off.
but B and i are mourning a teensy bit because
we have had to say goodbye to spelling quick short words to one another.
well, that was a fun phase.


besides thinking he's pretty much the best thing in the entire world already,
L is soaking up the fact that all of his books can be read to him by D.

in other news, our housekeeper didn't show up today.
the breakfast dishes were cleared at lunch and the lunch dishes at dinner.
i don't think we pay her enough.
that's why she just refuses to work some days.
(the housekeeper is me)
and yes, i did enjoy my day off.

161. the fact that i feel as though pandora can read my mind
162. 5:30pm (when B comes in to rescue me)
163. playing in the front yard
164. how stickers never fail to entertain
165. sweet little girls

she + him.

we had a visit from Grammy.
it was wonderful.
and yes, all of my laundry is done,
folded and is now put away.
hooray!

she always brings fun books that B read when he was a child.

if that were a love language, it would be D's.

thanks to her, B and i got to go on a date last night.

a very fun date.

a surprise very fun date.

a surprise very fun double date.

or triple date.

or quadruple date.

whatever.

it was awesome.

we went to the hollywood bowl.
B didn't know who we were seeing until we got there.
and when he read it on the sign, he still didn't know who we were seeing.
but then, i reminded him that she + him had
the fabulous zooey deschanel
in it.
and yes, she was pretty fabulous.


we went with my sis and 28 of her closest friends.


it was so completely wonderful.
the bowl is a must-do in the summertime.


here are B, Auntie B, Uncle J and me.
and don't worry... i wasn't drinking out of the champagne bottle.
and don't worry... Auntie B wasn't drinking two glasses.
we were in the middle of making pimosas (patent pending).
pimosas are the very best drink.
ever.
Auntie B's momma invented them.
pomegranate juice + champagne.
yum.

and to top the night off, i even got to meet a blog stalker.
hi alicia!

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:2

156. the most patient Grammy who was up with (a non-crying but awake)
L for an hour and a half before we got home
157. the giant hunk of german chocolate cake that Grammy left
158. warm summer nights
159. being out of the house past dark
160. being out of the house and outside past dark

lemony-lime.

weird things like this happen to me a lot.
and i mean, a lot.
things that are hard to explain.
things that are hard to get an answer to.
complicated things.
you see, we have this tree in our backyard off which i would pick limes and use quite often.
every once in a while, i would see a lemon underneath the tree.
i assumed that some of the little squirrels that frequent our yard
had been dropping them under there.
or, that our neighbor had a lemon tree that was intermingling with our lime tree.
but then i started seeing lemons grow on our lime tree.
i would cut into the limes and they definitely tasted like limes and then i would cut into the lemons and they would taste like lemons.
and both were growing on our tree.
what?
i know.
so confusing.
i didn't know where to go for the answer.
and then the most amazing thing happened.
i spotted a tag on the trunk of the tree that i hadn't ever seen before.
and on that tag was the kind of tree.
so, i googled it (of course).
and here's what i found.


yes, that's right. our limes turn yellow when they are fully ripe.
what?
i know.
so confusing.
have you ever heard of such a thing?
neither have i.
but now i know.
and now you know.
no more mystery.
and they sort of taste like a lemony-lime.
they're great.

and my mother-in-law just gave me the most incredible lemonade recipe.
seriously.
it is awesome.
you must try it.
you must, you must.

i've always wanted to be a farmer.
seriously.
how wonderful to grow something and then get to enjoy it.
the mere thought makes my heart go all aflutter.
the kids and i ventured into the backyard
where we found the 10 lemons/limes that are needed for this recipe.
it really calls for lemons but i thought i'd try our lemony-limes since we had them.
in our backyard.
i know.
how cool.

directions:
boil 4 cups of water with 4 cups of granulated sugar


cut the yellow skins from 10 lemons
(not the white rinds which tend to be bitter)


after the sugar water has boiled, put the skins into the pot
and let the mixture cool for about an hour


until the skins become rather translucent.
remove the skins (whose oil has now been soaked into the sugar water)
with a slotted spoon.




squeeze the juice of the 10 lemons
and add to the sugar water.
stir.




always have your handy assistant at the ready.


put into a tupperware,
freeze.
scoop out a couple scoops, add water
to make enough for just a glass or an entire pitcher.


it is utterly fabulous with a fresh sprig of mint.


enjoy it with your sweet sister and everyone else who comes to visit.


this photo is taken by K
is utterly fabulous as well.


see, the lemonade just makes everyone smile!

I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
John 10:10b

151. counting blessings
152. delicious drinks
153. feeling so full in your heart
154. napless children (means early to bed!)
155. puppy chow

it felt like Christmas.

it's {embrace} the camera day!

i don't know why i thought we could easily
get a photo of the three children and me this morning.


it was beginning to feel like we were attempting the dreaded Christmas card picture.


luckily, L always seems to pose nicely.
maybe it's just because he doesn't know how wildly fun it is
to go bonkers while someone's trying to snap a photo of him
not going bonkers.
he'll learn soon enough.


you know what ended up working?
underwear on B's head.
yep.
works like a charm.
every time.
well, except for L who thought that was just weird.

in other news, while i was cleaning up the house yesterday,
i put this little ducky back in L's room.
but then i noticed that he was adorning something shiny.


alas, my most cherished necklace.
it's a four-opening locket that my parents gave me right before i was married.
so, instead of having all of my initials engraved, they had just my first initial engraved.
all i wanted for Christmas this year were new photos of B, D, K and L in it.
and that's what B gave me.
i'm just glad i hadn't realized that it was missing.
i hope that the ducky enjoyed wearing it because now when i'm not wearing it, it's going
really,
really
high
up.

146. a quick chance to see Aunt CC and Uncle N last night
147. impromptu picnics
148. always keeping our picnic blanket in our car in case of times like #147
149. answered sleep prayers
150. finding things you didn't even know were lost

yum. yum. yum.

oh, how we love ice cream.

well, except for K, but hopefully that will change one of these days.
my guess is that it's just too darn cold for her.
but, she doesn't enjoy whipped cream either.
weird, i know... right?

we found ourselves at this adorable little ice cream parlor.
it was such a fabulous place that the only cones they had were waffle cones.
scrumptious.


since they only had the fancy cones, that meant that everything was crazy expensive.
thanks for forking over the bill, dad!
but nobody would disagree that it was
so
incredibly
delicious.
i'm craving my chocolate hazelnut praline as i type this.


i'm just glad that D can enjoy a good scoop with me.
it's probably because i had one bowl of ice cream
every
single
day
of my third trimester when i was pregnant with him.
thata boy.

141. ice cream
142. ice cream in a waffle cone
143. beautiful, beautiful weather
144. finding (thanks to Auntie B) the most quiet post office
where the worker helps bring your packages to her window
145. eating take-out