Thursday, June 11, 2009

pinkalicious!



hey you'll! my kids (yes even my son!) have really been enjoying the books pinkalicious and purplicious by elizabeth kann and victoria kann. we are just ecstatic that they have a new title out: goldilicious, about a unicorn. rhys asked if we could make cupcakes today after school. so we did (after i got the boys to go down for naps). this was the second attempt - the first time making them i added way way too much vegetable oil, having read the directions wrong. imagine that!! so here are our pinkalicious cupcakes. we used the cherries but as soon as they were captured on film, we threw them out. they are just so pretty - but not very yummy. and yes swimming in red dye #49 and high fructose corn syrup (then again so is the red food coloring i used for the pink frosting - oh well:)


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

what do i want to do when the kids grow up?

last night i met a few girl friends for a book club meeting - at a swanky little place down the street from my home. it was WONDERFUL. we are all moms and all military wives. we had decided that there was need for an excuse to escape for an evening (on a regular basis) and have mom-time-only! after discussing our book of choice and deciding on what we would be reading for our next, we got in to the topic of "what we will do after the kids grow up." we all went around the circle and shared. one friend, who is a woman truly walking in step with the spirit, shared that she wants to be like her mom. she said her mom volunteered her time but was always free to drop everything if any of her children needed her.

she said you'll never stop being a mother. that idea really resonated with my heart. this is something that i have desired from my own mother but because of real life reasons, has not been able to materialize - accept for one amazing time - when i gave birth to my first child, six weeks early, all the way in hawaii, my dear mom, dropped it all and flew from the east coast the same day, to be with me. she was amazing. that is motherhood. serving and in turn fulfilling a god-given calling that continues throughout a lifetime. i hope that i can do this for my own daughters and sons. thank you mama for giving up your life, once again, to serve me.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

From 'CatalystofJoy.blogspot.com'

Paul's 'St. Crispin's Day' Speech

2 Timothy 3-4 (click on reference to read passage)

In this passage, Paul exhorts a weary band of brothers and sisters to fight the good fight and finish strong. I was thinking of this yesterday and remembered the images of the Iron Man race where runners pushed themselves so hard that they literally had to crawl across the finish line. As they cross they are greeted by their friends, family, doctors and media. There is at once the knowledge that 'it is finished' and also, I have done well. And that is what we desire, on the deepest level to know, that God sees us crawling across the finish line and grasps us under the arms saying, you are my son/daughter and I am deeply pleased with you. That is a wonderful vision and a destiny to pursue wholeheartedly, but an even better analogy might be these guys, Rick and Dick Hoyt. As it turns out, our role in the race of life is sometimes less about running and more about being carried along by the grace of God. Anyway, the dichotomy between these two images, where one represents us as the runner, and the other with God as the runner, really is dealt with in James. We must run with all of our might, and God will take care of the rest.

Friday, June 5, 2009

the national crayon recycling program

here is another great resource at blissfully domestic on what to do with old crayons. i love this!

what to do with your yoga mat?

after donating a perfectly good yoga mat to the goodwill the other day and wondering what else i could have done with it, i found this article at blissfully domestic. enjoy!

march 2009

lovies
the sleeping beauties

texting with emily

the ukelele man

kisses




updates ... making baby food from scratch (thank you to nurture-baby) ... blaise is 8 months + eating more solids (yeah!) and rolling over + teething ... easter at the plasters - we had friends from our time back in 2002 at surface warfare officer's school here in newport + lots of fun with the kids + celebrating our new life in christ, allelulia! ... spring was slow to come to newport but the crocuses and the daffoldils bloomed, the forsynthia came out and there were hints of the green foliage peeking from its winter cover!

february 2009

zonked rhysie
we love to read!

ransom outside with his sippie
we braved the wet on a "warmer" afternoon here

blaise eating more solids! 7 mo.

kyrie walking in my boots

a few days after the surgery

snuggling with brother - still not feeling so good
before the surgery - candyland at hasbro!

kyrie's surgery to correct her urinary reflux was a success!! praise the lord for dr. caldamone and hasbro children's hospital over in providence. we knew she would be getting this surgery since she was 15 months old, but it didn't get on the books until our checkup in november. we scheduled it for feb. 19th and that was the day that kyrie talked about multiple times a day, for months. dear little thing, she agonized over it & had many nightmares and trouble sleeping. i wish that we had known not to share with her the details until a few days before. however, the Lord made himself near and close to us and he was present at every turn. we were at the hospital for 3 nights. he worked all the details out for us, right down to rebecca (graham's mom) coming up to help with staying over night in the hospital and caring for the children when i or graham were with kyrie. we also have wonderful babysitters from salve regina who volunteered help at all hours!!! our church was also amazing, sending meals over for a few days. thank you so much to all who gave in every way. mahalo!

updates ...

since i haven't been around the blog in a few weeks i thought i would just post a few pictures of our busy activities ... i have been trying to get in to shape for whitney's wedding (hubby's baby sister!) in september -- so early morning walks, portion control, calorie counting, trying to drink more water, and getting exercise whenever i can. now that summer is here (although it feels more like a wet spring) my goal is to take the kids to the park at least once a day and/or the beach (even on cooler, overcast days). we have been spending time with some new friends who go to church with us and happen to live just a few streets over in our 'hood!! these special families are really excited to have found eachother and we all consider it a blessing from the Lord! so the next few posts will be updates of our spring. enjoy

this morning i woke up extra early and walked to starbucks, got a coffee and then walked all over downtown. it was nice to 'have the time'. the flowers i came across were heavenly. i hope to get a few pictures next time i am out. truly the beauty that my Father made for me today was exquisite. i was so aware of the presence of his love for me. it was sometimes sublte and sometimes vibrant. he was romancing all of my senses.

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