Multitude Monday

I've been considering joining this Gratitude Community for some time. This morning, I'm diving in:

1. Four days alone with my husband...

2. ...in San Francisco!

3. Good friends who love and care well for our children (for free)

4. God's grace that caused our children to eat well and sleep well for our friends

5. travelling mercies

6. happy reunions

7. fresh baked sour dough bread...

8. ...with peach vinegar

9. In-and-out burgers and fries

10. Ghiradelli chocolate ice cream

11. real chao mian in Chinatown

12. delicious food in Haight-Ashbury

13. Helpful bus drivers and native San Franciscans

14. Sausalito

15. biking across the Golden Gate Bridge

16. the sound sea lions make

17. a Boxcar Children book about SF to help 4 year olds understand where we went

18. Giving souvenirs to 4 year olds, who like the airplane peanuts best of all

19. Remembering the anticipation of getting airplane peanuts from my dad when he would go on a trip

20. Joy from the Lord that is bigger than vacations...

21. ...and is available on the Mondays when life gets back to normal

22. A washer and dryer in which to do massive amounts of laundry

23. having plenty to keep me busy and to keep me from the despair of "an empty day"

24. an abundance of clothing (even if it's all dirty)

25. money to replenish our pantry and fridge

26. having just enough food left so I don't have to run to the grocery store right away

27. friends that clean your house in just the right ways

28. a job for my husband to go to on a Monday morning

29. the ability to enjoy joy (Ecclesiastes 2:25, 5:19)

30. a home to take care of

31. a husband who loves me in spite of my many sins and weaknesses

32. children who are very forgiving

33. clean sheets and towels

34. Walter Wangerin books

photo update

Sorry (grandparents) for the blogging drought. We've been too busy living life to record it! Here are some shots though from Susannah's recent visit to Louisville. You can see in the sidebar our best attempt at a family photo. I really, really wanted to get one on Easter, but as soon as we gathered everyone together Caroline started screaming! Of course. I should devote a blog post to all of our failed family photo attempts. A grandma in town can mean only one thing...an excuse to go to the Butterfly Garden Cafe! I promise we had more fun than it looks like we did in the pictures...even despite the fact that I spent most of the meal standing up with Caroline and Katie dumped her entire glass of iced raspberry tea all over herself and the floor. At least Katie looks cute in the pictures!

a holy experience

Just had to share this incredible blog I found through my friend Tara's blog. Go to it, and savor.

More birthday

To celebrate Bean Town's birthday (yes, we call her Bean Town...long evolution on that nickname), we had a joint-party with a family whose youngest son is about a week younger than Caroline. As you can see in the final pictures, we are unabashedly trying to arrange their marriage.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Happy Birthday, Caroline!

Caroline, oh, sweet Caroline, we love you so much. You bring such unique joy and happiness to our family. We love your slimy open mouth kisses (that sometimes involve biting), we love the spider walk you've figured out so you wouldn't get tangled in your dress, we love how you never fail to hear a single airplane that flies overhead (about 45 a day), but most of all we just love YOU! Happy 1st birthday, little Peanut/Bunny/Carebear.

March 20, 2009A few days oldApril 2009June 2009July 2009August 2009October 2009December 2009March 19, 2010

You know it's Spring when...

...the Dairy Kastle opens!

I must admit. Ever since the warm spell we had a few weeks ago, I've been compulsively driving by the Dairy Kastle several times a week to see if it's open. Yesterday when the girls and I were out for a walk, I saw that the boards had been taken off the windows...could it be? We strolled over and the owner told us that it would be open tomorrow...which is today! So, did we go? You betcha!

As if it weren't enough for the Kastle to be open, Katie also had a St. Patrick's Day party at her preschool...and I got the privilege of helping with it! It was so fun to visit her class and see the other kids, although their teachers said they were being unusually quiet. I like to think that they were blown away by the cupcakes and punch I made (which I confess I was a little stressed out about...but that's another blog post).

New tricks

Our littlest sweetie will be one year old on Saturday! She started celebrating early by taking her first steps this past weekend. I've yet to capture her "walking" on camera, but I did manage to get some of her other tricks this past week.

Desperately trying to see what sister's doing

I climbed up all by myself!

And now I'm going to really spook my mom

and try to stand up on it...

Sorry for being a doof and not having the camera turned the right way (and for having an incredibly annoying 'mommy voice'). Any ideas on how I can fix that? The video, I mean, not my voice...although if you have any tips on the voice I'll take them too! And just in case you were wondering, she did NOT fall off the box at the end.