Monday's gifts

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falling in love with my precious Khaira

loving my Jared even more as I watch him hold Khaira

delighting in my Kilmeny's energy and excitement

resting and knowing that it is the best thing for me, right now

learning, again, to live in the moment

snuggling Khaira on my chest and watching her breathe

 seeing Kilmeny loving on her little sister

having family and friends delight in Khaira

and bringing Starbucks and meals 

having family so willing to help out 

tiny toes and fingers

little baby noises

 weepy moments 

feeling very overwhelmed yet so very content

my Jared speaking words of truth to me

the way he cleans house, does laundry, and serves me

  beautiful pink-tinged roses

texts, emails, facebook notifications, phone calls

being a Mom to two precious little girls

Announcing....

Khaira Tatiana Monique 

 

 Our little princess was born at 10:04 am on Tuesday, August 9th!!! She weighed 7 lb 8oz and was 19.5 inches long.

We are thrilled that she is here and are loving these first few days of getting to know her. Everything went well through the whole labor and delivery, we had an awesome pair of midwives and I had the best support person and cheerleader in my Jared.  

Another little girl is a dream come true, we're so excited about our two little princesses.

And now it's back to snuggling and resting and drinking in that sweet baby smell.

1000 words and the gifts that keep coming

  

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 quiet and cool in the evening

my little girl's countless hugs throughout the day

her delight in the little things

story time on the couch 

the way she 'helps' with dishes and laundry 

the sound of her laughter

remembering to stop and live in the moment

picnic suppers

walks through rose gardens

knowing that God's timing is perfect

being able to relax with family

the refreshment of worship

texts from my Jared

jam jars all filled

clean sheets

scones with jam and tea

new books 

rest

beauty in the everyday moments

anticipation of our newest little one arriving

The best of days

Sometimes you're prepared for everything and sometimes you're not. Sometimes the best days happen when they're not planned and you just go with the flow.


It was a bit of a rough night. Two year old molars and hot summer nights. The morning was rushed.


I drove Jared to work, both of us feeling a little drowsy. It was a gorgeous sunny day with blue sky, a rarity this summer. On a whim and a suggestion from Jared, I didn't go home. I let my to-do list and plans go for the day.
We put Kilmeny in the stroller and off we went. 

I sipped a caramel macchiato and watched people in the morning rush at Starbucks. 
I smiled at the other moms with their babies.
I made my way to the parade route and found an empty piece of curb for Kilmeny and I.

We sat. We watched. We laughed. We clapped. 

I tied a balloon onto the stroller and it made us both happy.

Kilmeny fell asleep in the stroller as I walked to the store. 

I bought the items I needed plus a little something for lunch.

I soaked up the warmth and the quiet and knew that this was what I needed. 

I will always have plans, there will always be a list of things to do, there will always be goals to achieve.

But there won't ever be another day like this one. 

Kilmeny's face at the parade captured with the camera on my phone

CSA: take 3

 Each week I am more and more delighted with our CSA experience. The amount of vegetables is incredible and I love being challenged by the variety. I haven't done a lot of cooking with different greens and they have been plentiful. I did wonder at the start of the season when it seemed like forever before the deliveries started if it was worth the investment but now it definitely seems worth it. Each week we feast on fresh garden produce and I freeze the excess to enjoy during the winter months. 

Tonight's supper featured a garden salad made with swiss chard, beet greens, leaf lettuce and the radishes, carrots and cucumber. 

 My plans for the rest of the week include this kale confetti, kale and potato soup, stir fry with the different greens and veggies, and frittata with steamed swiss chard. And lots of salad to fill in any gaps. 

My biggest challenge this week is the radishes. There's surely got to be something more you can do with them then just serving them raw or carving them up into roses for a garnish. But I have no idea what else to do with them. I could practice my radish roses, something else I've never done.

 

 

What new food experiences are you enjoying?