Christmas Morning 2014

Sorry to keep the grandparents waiting for these! 

 Ezra is not very demonstrative, so this big grin = a winning gift.  Grandma gave him a huge box of additional tracks.  He has played for hours every day, all week with the trains and tracks. 

 Maren received a Little People Noah's Ark with a dozen different animals (in pairs).  She was pleased!

 Ezra received a shopping cart, with a place for Bear to ride.  Maren received a baby doll stroller, which they opened together.  It was love at first sight for both kids.

 "Baby!": Maren was very excited to find this little doll in her stocking.

Ezra found a cool car in his Christmas stocking.

My favorite part of Christmas morning is captured in this little video.  The entire family is sharing cinnamon toast, and listening to Dallin's new Piano Guys CD, which includes a fun mix of "Let it Go" (from Frozen) and some intense Vivaldi strings.  Ezra really enjoys this particular song, as seen in the video.

Blessing in Disguise

Somewhere amidst teaching preschool twice in December, watching my nephew Gabriel for a weekend, making 25+ snowman centerpieces for the ward Christmas breakfast, going to the mountain lodge in Breckenridge for a few days, and Christmas shopping, Ezra, Maren, and Dallin all got stomach flu.

Maren got it first.  She threw up three different times, soiled three different sets of sheets and pajamas, and needed three baths, all between the hours of two and four in the morning.  The next morning she threw up again, and then spent the rest of the day wanting to be held.  Ezra was a perfect big brother.  He gave her loves every half hour for most of the day, rubbed her back, brought her some of his favorite cuddly things (including Bear), and said many times, "Big brother is here.  I can comfort you."  It was a sweet thing to witness.

Two nights later, the scenario was repeated; Ezra threw up all night long.  He is old enough to recognize the urge to throw up, but also old enough to try and fight the urge.  Every time his body tried to get the junk out, he tried to swallow it back.  So, what could have been over and done in an hour or two was instead prolonged through the entire night.  But, the next morning, Maren extended to Ezra the same kindnesses that she had received.  She was the ever attentive, compassionate, concerned little sister to her queasy brother.  She is a great hugger, and if Ezra ever offered up even a small whimper, she was at his side to give him a hug.

Just prior to the entire family getting sick, I had been praying for more service opportunities.  Christmas wasn't feeling quite like Christmas yet, and I was looking for inspiration to that end.  In the midst of Maren's second throw-up session, I got the message.  "Ahh, right, I get it," I thought to myself, "service opportunity."  And, although cleaning up throw-up is one of the last things I would ever sign up to do, with the service bit in mind, it felt different.  I recognized my opportunity to fulfill a need, and offer help.  I was thinking of service to strangers, or service to friends, and Heavenly Father had other ideas.  Home feels so much more like a holy place when service is involved

One of the best gifts I received this Christmas was seeing my children emulate the love of Jesus Christ, without any external motivation.  "Teach them to love one another, and to serve one another" (Mosiah 4:15) has been, and continues to be our family focus.  The kindness and comfort that they both offered to one another is evidence that our efforts are starting to sink in.  Nothing could be more precious or important to me as a parent.

Three Kernels

So, despite the fact that I love to write, I am not a blog-everyday-of-November blogger like my dedicated sister-in-laws.  (Kudos to them!)  But, I do want to close November with thanksgiving; I feel so richly blessed.   Here are my "three kernels" for 2014:

• I am thankful for personal revelation.  Raising children in light and truth is a challenge in a confusing world, and I need help.  I believe in a loving Heavenly Father who cares deeply, intimately, and completely for each of His children.  I know He wants to inspire me to do my best so I and my children can all be happier.  What a blessing--the heavens are not closed.

• I am thankful for the Atonement.  I am thankful for repentance and forgiveness.  When my patience wears thin, when I say something I wish I hadn't, when I get selfish, moody, and prideful, I am so grateful that I am not permanently stained.  I can try again!  The Atonement helps bad become good and good become better.  What a precious gift.

• I am thankful for my family.  I was single for a longer time than most, and spent a lot of that time far from family too.  I know what loneliness feels like, and I know what it means to really ache for righteous desires that are not always forthcoming.  My beautiful family fills all those empty voids with happiness, energy, and purpose.  Dallin, Ezra, and Maren mean everything to me.  I love their company, I love their conversations.  My favorite moments are spending quality time with my sweetheart, or reading books with Ezra, or jabbering with Maren.  My best memories are made on family outings.  Being together at home is time well spent.

And, because three is a small number, a few other kernels of thanks:

• I am thankful for cameras to help me preserve the faces of my favorite people.

• I am thankful for my ancestors.  I have been studying their faces and stories these past few weeks, and I am impressed by their faith, fortitude, and courage.  I feel more motivated to stay true when I think of them.

• I am thankful for the temple.  Now that Maren is a little older, Dallin and I have started attending the temple together again.  I crave the peace and truth that I feel in the temple.  It keeps me grounded to go often.

• I am thankful for warm days in winter.  I put up our outdoor Christmas lights yesterday in bare feet and a short sleeve shirt.  I'll take it!

• I am thankful for music.  I love singing Primary songs with my kids.  I love impromptu dance parties chasing, running, and giggling to peppy pop songs.  I love hearing Dallin do an Irish jig on his fiddle.  Good music gives me a happy heart.   

First Snow

We had our first snow of the season last week, and when it warmed up a little, Ezra wanted to go out and play.  As far as he was concerned, nothing had changed from the summer--except that I made him wear a coat.  (It took a good ten minutes to convince him that it was very cold and his body needed extra layers).  He went out, happy as a clam, and pulled out all his diggers and dump truck, and continued work on his construction site, like he had done every day when it was warm.  This time, though, they were scooping snow instead of dirt.  The change in weather hardly phased him.  "I have jobs to do, mommy," he said resolutely.

Maren, however, was mostly seriously displeased by the entire ordeal.  Her Aunt Sarah gifted her the most beautiful, snuggly, poofy pink coat ever, but it didn't improve her opinion of the snow and cold.  If this girl could talk, she probably would have given me a lecture about the ridiculousness of doing anything in such cold weather.  I am not much of a cold weather person either, so I can understand.  Needless to say, my adorable pink marshmallow girl didn't stay outside very long.  We'll try again another day.  

   Maren may not be keen on snow, but she has become a genius climber.  She is up and on and in everything.  Her mission in life is to get elevated as quickly as possible.  Her new favorite trick is pushing chairs to other taller things so she can then climb on them, like tables or counters.  She delights in playing in the toilet bowl, then climbing on the toilet, and frolicking in the empty bathtub.  In other developments, she has her two front teeth.  Also, she has followed her big brother's good example at prayer time, and she will now fold her arms for prayers, and sometimes keep them folded for the entire prayer without touching her food.  Dallin and I have been impressed with her self-control in that area.  She loves to pray!

Do you see her two top teeth?

Ezra has his first (real) best friend.  Aside from Bear, Ezra has formed quite an attachment for a darling girl from church, who is also in his preschool class.  Cadhla (pronounced Kyla) and Ezra play together perfectly for hours, which is a rather miraculous social development!  Just think, my sweet boy doesn't have to be constantly supervised; I don't have to help settle play disputes every ten minutes.  What an astounding concept!  The bad news is this cute girl is moving away next week (sigh).  Ezra seems to do better with girl playmates, so here's hoping someone new moves in!

Cadhla and Ezra

Curl up with a good [children's] book

As a horticulturist, this time of year is always a little rough for me.  My vegetable garden is naked--except for a few brave kale and chard plants, the hoses have been drained and coiled up, and the gardening tools will hang in the garage untouched until spring.  Today the high was around 16 degrees, and it was painful to be outdoors.  But, my little troupe and I kept cheery around the house; we made a pumpkin pie, we did art projects, we read a stack of lovely children's books.  

One of my back-burner dreams is to write and/or illustrate a children's book. I have tried twice and been rejected twice.  It seems to be one of those harder to reach dreams, but not so hard that I don't keep it on my list.  I am continually amazed by those exceptionally talented, creative, determined authors and illustrators who do have their work published.  Reading children's books is one of my personal delights; I think sometimes I get more excited about trips to the library then my kids do.  So, to bring a little cheer on a nasty, cold November night, I will share some recent finds in the world of children's literature:

The Story Blanket, written by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz and illustrated by Elena Odriozola is one of my new favorites.  It has gorgeous pictures that are full of character and vibrant color.  The illustrator has such a unique style that the first time I opened the book, I studied every illustration in detail before I even considered the text.  The story is one that needs to be read again and again.  It is a sweet, simple tale of kindness, service, and love.  This book teaches wonderful virtues through the secret acts of a beloved villlage woman.  The main character, Babba Zarrah, is a perfect heroine for children--and adults.    I love this book.


Hooray for Hat, created by Brian Won, is an all-together different kind of book.  It's light and lovely approach has a straightforward message: friends are wonderful!  This is a such a great read-aloud book, too, with opportunity to use different voices for the various characters.  And, of course, the illustrations are engaging.  I'll be honest, I usually do judge a book by its cover, and this one caught my eye.  Ezra was especially fond of this one too; we read it again and again.


This board book series for baby-2 years is hilarious.  Leslie Patricelli is a genius at communicating a concept with minimal words (usually just one or two words a page) and the antics of a happy bald baby.  This is one of those books that makes the entire family giggle.  Her books are happy, frank, and great fun.  Some of her other book titles include: Quiet Loud, Yummy Yucky, No No Yes Yes, Toot, and Huggy Kissy.  If you need a little comic relief,--baby style--check these out.  I think they are delightful.


This book is, without a doubt, Ezra's all-time favorite.  We have checked it out from the library on at least four different occasions.  He requests it as a read-aloud every night we have it on loan.  He has parts of the text memorized, and uses the story line in his imaginative play.  If you have a little boy, chances are, he will adore this story.  I love it too.  In fact, I am a huge fan of anything that Tom Lichtenheld does.  In this book he is just the illustrator, but he has written and illustrated many others for children.  His style of writing and illustrating, is, in my humble opinion, a winning combination of wit, creativity, and passion.  I think this man loves his job.  Some of my other favorite Tom Lichtenheld books are: Cloudette, Duck! Rabbit!, Yes Day, and Bridget's Beret (...to name a few....he has an impressive collection...his creativity runneth over).

Made with Love

Sometime early on in our first year of marriage, Dallin expressed an interest in helping with the cooking.  I thought it was a great idea, and we decided that Sunday night was the best time for him to do it.  Almost without exception, every Sunday night since then, he wears the chef hat.  His meals are always simple, but tasty, and though I enjoy cooking, it is wonderful to have a little break every week.  I appreciate his efforts, and feel so grateful that he has both the interest and the desire to make that contribution.

Last night, as usual, Dallin prepared the Sunday dinner.  Apparently, he was feeling rather zealous in his efforts, because we had perfectly delectable salmon quesadillas on homemade flour tortillas.  Wow!  I make most of our dinners from scratch, and like to experiment with a lot of flavors and a variety of recipes, but I have yet to even consider the idea of making my own tortillas.  It seems like so much work.  So, hats off to a sweet husband who didn't have to make the tortillas from scratch, but did anyway.  They were melt-in-your-mouth good--and made with love.      

Preschool Friends & Halloween

 I recently hosted my first two weeks of preschool.  Ezra and four of his friends (two girls and two boys) are in a group that meet once a week for two hours every Tuesday.  Each mom takes two weeks in a row in the rotation talking about a specific letter of the alphabet.  In Primary, I teach the four-turning-five-year-old children, so I felt acquainted with the required number of fun activities, wiggle songs, and simple lesson material this age group can handle.  But, I quickly discovered that there is a big difference between children who are four turning five and children who are three turning four.  My first week was crazy; there was an excessive amount of (happy) screaming, running, jumping, hugging, talking and a small amount of defined learning moments.  My second week I added twice as many songs, activities, and more outside play, and it was still chaotic, but mostly controlled chaos.  I think Ezra enjoys preschool.  He is always so shy when I drop him off, and it takes him a bit to warm up, but he always comes home with interesting art projects, stories to share, and a smile. 

Ezra is learning to dress himself now, and his wardrobe choices are becoming somewhat predictable.  If the laundry allows it, Ezra wears one of his four race car shirts, swim trunks, and snow boots.  Bear in hand, he is ready for the day.  Adorable. 

Preschool friends working in the vegetable garden.  Muddy, but fun for all.

Letter G: goo-goo goggles and ghosts (dress-up/Halloween theme)

    The photo posted above reflects what I hope is a new leaf in the Ezra-Maren relationship.  This kind of sit and smile next to each other stuff has been a long time coming.  We talk about loving each other every day, and it would appear that some of our talk is sinking in for Ezra.  He is trying harder to trade not take toys.  He kindly gifted one of his lesser stuffed animals to Maren, and has yet to take it back.  He will sometimes spontaneously hug Maren, or hold her hand, or say resolutely, "Maren, I love you."  Ezra seems to think that little sister is actually an interesting playmate, especially now that she can walk.  Here is a little hooray for sibling love.    

 Maren is 14.5 months, and she is on the fast track in personality development.  She is a confident walker now, and is supremely happy about that accomplishment.  When she is pleased she purses her lips and makes whistling noises or babbles to herself.  When she is displeased she has an impressive operatic tongue trill cry.  She loves hugs and kisses.  If she wants a kiss, she seals her lips, leans in, and makes a little "mmmmm" sound.  I love it!  She has several stuffed animal friends that she prefers to snuggle with when she sleeps; "the friends" (a kangaroo, a bunny, and a monkey) are always in the queue for kisses at bedtime too.  I have discovered that if she is mildly irritated or on the verge of a tantrum, if I offer her a hug, she will often forget her troubles and give me snuggles instead.  She has figured out the word "more", which she pronounces with elongated effort (mmmmoooorrrrr...."), and uses it appropriately at mealtimes.  Her favorite word right now is "D!", which is used often and loudly when she needs a drink.  She can say doggy, and barks like a dog, and knows that a cow says "moooooo!"  We, unfortunately, have a number of spiders in our house, and she LOVES to point at them and try to touch them, calling out "Buddy!  Buddy!" (buggy.)  Maren loves to carry purses and little balls, and Matchbox cars.  She has been highly influenced by her big brothers love of moving vehicles, and, if Ezra is willing, she will play cars with him--with her own "vroom-ing" sounds and all.  Her teeth are a matter of particular interest.  She has had just two teeth on the bottom since May.  Earlier this month, her first set of molars came in, and this week her first top tooth finally came in.  (As a basis for comparison, at this same age, Ezra probably had eight teeth and his first molar set.) 

Halloween is still a low-key holiday at our house.  Ezra and Maren don't have a lot of expectations, and twelve houses is more than enough to make the treat bag heavy for little people.  The weather has been amazing this October, and Halloween night was no exception.  Ezra, who wanted nothing more than to a be shark, was a little shy for the first few houses, but was boldly declaring "Trick or treat!" by the end of our rounds.  Maren seemed to sense the pattern of things too, and anticipated every new door that opened--not for candy--but for dogs.  As luck would have it, the portion of the street we chose to visit was full of dogs of all sorts, including a large German shepherd in ballerina tu-tu.  Dallin dressed up as a soggy bottom boy complete with long gray beard, straw hat, suspenders, bare feet, and mandolin.  He passed out candy and strummed little folksy tunes on the front porch while Ezra, Maren, and I went trick-or-treating.
 

Miss Pumpkin and Shark boy, the Halloween candy helped them sit!

Happy Halloween from Mommy Owl and kids!

Cousins!

Last week my brother Jared graduated from his chiropractic program!  Hooray!  In a few months when all his boards are complete, he will officially be a Doctor (!) of Chiropractic.  It has been a busy time for their family as Jared finished school, and job searched, and Sarah sold or packed everything they owned, while being mom to two busy little people.  The day after graduation, they loaded a moving pod with all of their belongings, got in their car, and left Iowa.  Before reaching their final destination of Salt Lake City, Jared, Sarah, Camryn, and Judd stayed with us for a few days.  

We have not had many opportunities to see the Iowa cousins, so this was a much anticipated visit.  Camryn is six months old than Ezra, and Maren is six months older than Judd, so the four cousins are great playmates.  Ezra was so content and pleased to have the cousins at our house.  We have a fourth bedroom and bathroom in our basement that, though small, is a nice spot for visitors.   I think Ezra would have gladly invited Camryn to stay forever; he was tickled every morning when he got to eat breakfast with Camryn. 

One of our bigger outings was a visit to a nearby farm with animals (goats, rabbits, sheep, cows, miniature horses, chickens, kittens, and a donkey), old fashioned tractors, a straw bale maze, and a pumpkin patch.  Ezra loved the little red wagons that were available for pulling pumpkins and/or children.  He gladly volunteered to pull Camryn all around the farm.  The straw bale maze was perfect for little kids.  The bales were stacked two high, and encompassed an area about 25' by 25'.  It was large enough to be fascinating, but small enough not to be overwhelming.  I don't think the cousins ever figured out the way out, but they did have a fun time circling back and through the center portion about four times.  The adults could easily monitor their children's progress from two small towers.  At the end of our visit, we had snacks under a shade tent, and the kids were all highly entertained by a wandering farm dog/part-pig who ate anything and everything it found on the ground (like half an onion bagel).   

     

Ezra and a machine: perfect photo opportunity!

Uncle Jared pulling Camryn and Ezra in the wagon.  Maren rode in the stroller.

Sarah and snuggly Judd.

Maren in the straw bale maze.

Ezra, the willing driver, and Camryn, the ready rider.

Maren and mommy in the pumpkin patch.

Snack time. 

For family home evening, Ezra and Camryn painted a pumpkin, which was much more kid-friendly then the knives and scooping slimy innards required for a carved pumpkin.  On Tuesday, I taught preschool at my house, and Camryn joined our little group.  We talked about letter F, feelings, faces, friends, farms, and foil.  We watered the garden and played in the dirt (and then mud), we made puppets, and sangs songs, and had snacks.  It was a little crazy, but it was all the better with any extra friend to play with.
  

Cousins painting a pumpkin

Walking, Talking & Pumpkins

Maren is starting to walk!  She has been on the verge for the last two weeks, but her attempts are short-lived because she giggles, flails her arms, and run/walks faster than her balance can hold her.  She is finally managing her excitement, and has slowed down a little to balance her head with her feet.  She can walk across rooms now, and is building her confidence all the time.  Her vocabulary is growing as well.  She says "hi" and "bye", and "bobby", which I think means baby and/or bunny and/or bird.  Last week we were in the car driving someplace a little distance away.  Ezra was asleep (as usual), and Maren was wide awake and chatty (as usual).  Maren was attempting to communicate with Ezra, to no avail.  For a good minute she said, "hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi.hi." while frantically waving her arm at a comatose big brother.  Her determination made me chuckle; that is my little Miss!

Ezra and I have been working on a lot of projects together.  We make some kind of homemade baked good at least once of week.  Our agreement is that I scoop (flour, sugar, baking powder), and he dumps.  We almost always give at least half the treats away to friends, but as long as he gets to lick the bowl, he is appeased.  We also do a "letter of the week" art project to reinforce what he learns in preschool.   We continue to work in the garden, and do various "little jobs" to clean up the house.

Potty training is going awesome, except that he loves to wait to the very last possible second to use the toilet.  It usually goes something like this:
            Ezra is extremely wiggly, tapping his foot, shaking his bum.
            So I kindly ask, "Ezra, do you need to use to toilet."
            To which he replies, "No Mom, I'm just happy.  I wiggle when I'm happy."

A rare Ezra-Maren cuddle moment--relaxed and mellow waiting for General Conference to start.

Ezra and I made homemade brownies for a General Conference treat.

Last Tuesday Ezra, Maren, and I visited this family farm and pumpkin patch near Dallin's work.  The pumpkin patch was filled with various friendly and not-so-friendly Halloween characters.  Ezra was most adamant that we say hello to every one.  After exploring the entire field, he came back around to his favorite, a smiling scarecrow boy.  Ezra and "the cute boy" had their picture taken together.  Maren was less enthusiastic about the situation.  Ezra was in hog heaven; Maren was freaked out by almost all the Halloween characters--with the exception of the cute boy.  She curled up her toys and refused to even try to walk over the weedy, grasshopper-laden field, and she didn't want to touch the pumpkins.  Ezra, on the other hand, could have stayed all day.  He arranged and rearranged several piles of gourds, loaded and unloaded a wagon full of pie pumpkins, and pulled every pumpkin cart he could find.  When we finished our exploring, we surprised Daddy by showing up at his work.  We offered him a ride home.  Apparently, our timing was excellent; he gladly closed up shop and left work an hour early. 

Ezra and "the cute boy" scarecrow.

A kind visitor took a picture of us outside the pumpkin patch.

 

Ezra happily loading a wagon with pumpkins.

Pout-pout face Maren.

Family Focus

General Conference is such a perfect way to welcome October.  I had been craving the wealth of prophetic instruction since early September.  I think I included some form of "And I am so excited/anxious/looking forward to Conference"...and "I love the Prophet" in every personal and family prayer for at least three weeks.  After all my talk, excitement, and prepping, Ezra was ready, and well acquainted with the concept of watching the Prophet on the television.  The dynamic is different when watching Conference with little people; I have learned not to expect too much.  Saturday afternoon Ezra was so done with being indoors, and we took a 45-minute bike ride/walk to a park and back during the latter half of the afternoon session.

For me, the tone of conference seemed to be one of establishing and maintaining a solid commitment to the doctrines of the gospel, the Prophet, and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Sunday afternoon was an incredible session for me; so many of the messages felt very personal and meaningful.  I know what I need to do!  I love personal revelation!

My sweet Ezra boy has needed extra love lately, and seems to be struggling with his confidence.  I am learning all the time how to nurture and strengthen my children, and I have never felt more keenly the need of heavenly help and enabling grace.  During the Sunday afternoon session of conference, the sweet children's song, "I Am A Child of God" was sung.  As the choir sang, I had a beautiful reminder and mental image from the Spirit that I am as much a child as Ezra, and that my plea is for my Heavenly Father to "lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way", so I can in turn lead, guide, and walk beside, and help my children.

Thanks to the counsel of some most excellent friends and little promptings from the Spirit, I have set up a board in our kitchen with our family focus, songs, scriptures to memorize, family rules, chores, and quotes from the Prophets.  Establishing a strong family, grounded on the gospel of Jesus Christ has felt so important lately.  I have ramped up my efforts in family gospel study.  Whenever possible Ezra, Maren and I have "lunch and learn", eating our lunch while we discuss simple doctrines from the Gospel ABC book I created a few years ago.  These are precious days!  "No other success can compensate for failure in the home."

I went to a Primary training meeting recently, and we discussed how the church is moving toward incorporating certain aspects of the youth "Come Follow Me" curriculum for the Primary children.  This coming January, when I start a new teaching year, I will have a brand new Primary lesson manual with lessons written in that manner.  The Lord truly is hastening his work.  What a wonderful time to be on the earth.

Chihuly in the Garden

I didn't have a lot of requests for my birthday, but I did specifically request a botanical garden outing.  A garden visit is always lovely for me, but this season, there is a special outdoor glass exhibition by the famous American artist Dale Chihuly.  (Apparently, this is the first time his work has ever come to the Rocky Mountain region).  I saw his genius in the garden several years ago when I lived in Atlanta.

Roslyn and John joined us, and Ezra was nearly attached at the hip to grandma for the greater part of the day.  They were soaking it all in together; Grandma made every new piece of art feel like love-at-first-sight.  Ezra was entranced.

Ezra and Grandma on an art adventure

Isn't this beautiful?! 

Circle gate family photo update

A contemplative moment...

Miss Maren hanging out in the stroller

John & Roslyn

Ezra chasing Mommy, or a fun way to get some wiggles out

Welcome Autumn!

The latter half of September was busier than normal.  I was also sick for most of it, so somehow the days passed and I wasn't as aware.  In addition to normal life, there were a number of extra curricular activities/opportunities (classes, baby showers, Primary training, Annual Women's meeting, kid sitting, appointments, projects, etc.)  Here is a little picture summary of some of our activities:

Ezra and Maren enjoying How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? (Jane Yolen & Mark Teague).   

Birthday Brio train set is an Ezra favorite. 

These cute kids were at my house at least four times in September.  On this particular occasion, they were staying the day after their mom delivered baby # 3 at the hospital.  (Four children under three for eight hours was a new experience for me...) Yes, I did knowingly allow them to completely empty a bookcase, but it was worth it!  Previous to this activity, they needed new entertainment every seven minutes.  This activity entertained them all happily for at least 25 minutes.  

This is the new seating arrangement.  Ezra insists on sitting as close as possible to Maren. 

Autumn is here, but it is still warmish, and nice enough for a day at the park.

My children prefer not to wear clothing.  Here is Miss Maren with just a diaper and super pleased.

Pint jars of applesauce and quart jars of juice.  The apple rings were gone within hours, sorry no pictures.

About the time I started to feel better, a lady at my church invited anyone who was interested to pick apples from her neighbor's overloaded trees.  I filled two laundry baskets full of beautiful mostly worm-free apples, and have been having fun/hard at work canning applesauce, juicing apples for cider, and dehydrating apples for spiced apple rings.  My hands haven't necessarily loved all the chopping, peeling, and mixing, but the finished product is perfectly delightful.  So far, I have ten pint jars of applesauce, and two quarts of juice.  They are both a pretty pink color.

 

More than a year ago, I started a quilt for Ezra.  And, with some expert help from my mom in August, I finished it before Ezra's birthday.  (The lighting is kind of funny; the colors are chocolate brown, baby blue, and lime green.)  Ezra was ridiculously excited about his new quilt, and it has been difficult to steal it away to take a picture.  About three seconds after I nabbed the quilt, laid it out, and snapped a picture, he came sliding into the quilt and curled up inside of it like a cocoon.