A few things on your Christmas eve to encourage and enlighten.
1. I really enjoyed reading this story about how some coworkers and kids associated with Youth For Christ got a little special pampering.
2. This is a great new Christmas song. Think I need to talk to our worship pastor about adding it to the mix in church next year. (Video is adorable too.)
3. I love year-end roundups, and here's the first one I found this year: 2011 in photos. Be sure to click through all three parts if you're looking. Themes: natural distaster and protest.
4. Another beautiful Christmas song. The video is just lyrics, so close your eyes and take in the meaning of the song. Lovely.
5. And one last video. I plan to curl up with my girls tonight and show them this one. It is just too sweet.
The following blog contains lots of links, with lots of ways to suck your time, steal your dollar, and make your brain hurt. Enter at your own risk.
1) A little back story to this one. Way back in my July roundup I featured this adorable lenspet for my camera. A bit later I was totally surprised to receive one in the mail with a sweet note: "Consider this my investment in a talented photographer". My sweet friend Jen had taken the time to send me this sweet and encouraging gift and it made my day. Heck, it made my week. Actually, I'm kinda still smiling thinking about it.
In September my friend Sasha wrote a great post about us gals (her included) with the love language of gifts, and I had to pass this along to Jen as an extra way to say thanks. So if you have a loved one in your life with this love language, do me a favor and read this great post.
2) I've been looking for a pair of cute, and affordable cowboy boots for a while now. I think I may have finally found a pair that fit the bill.
3) Have a swingset at home and your kids seem to tire of the swings. This skateboard swing looks pretty brilliant to me.
4) We bought the Jesus Storybook Bible for Dani for her birthday and we are all in love with this amazing children's bible. Every story from the Old Testament (I'm assuming the New as well, we just haven't made it that far yet) speaks to God's plan for Jesus. From the beginning God had a plan to rescue his beloved people, and this Bible reminds us of that over and over. The stories are told with delightful words, and although a bit advanced for Dani (sometimes even Daisy too) the girls love cuddling in bed every night after baths and pajamas and teeth and bedtime stories and songs and prayers to hear a special Bible Story we read. And while most evenings by the time we are done with bedtime routine I am ready to crash, I am thankful for these quiet moments with God's Word as well.
5) This "50 Rules for Dads of Daughters" was being passed around Facebook for a while, but in case you missed it, click on over. It is pretty sweet. Although when I shared it with Darin, I kindly let him know he could ignore rule #11.
6) As a mom and a photographer I love having photographs as artwork in my home. And since we recently got some new family portraits done, I'm dreaming up all kinds of creative ways to display them. That's why I find this "decorating with portraits" series from Kristen Duke Photography so inspiring. Maybe you will too? (And I'm seriously considering doing this in my powder room too.)
7) Right now in our home the girls have a few chores. For Dani, she has to put her clothes in the hamper when she takes them off and put her shoes away as well. Daisy has the same chore, as well as clearing the table, and emptying wastebaskets once a week. Both girls, of course, are responsible to help pick up their toys and art supplies. And usually they are pretty good about doing their chores without complaint. But I'm thinking as they grow and as we add more responsibilities, this tool might be pretty awesome.
8) Plastic water bottles that can change some lives? I think this is incredibly inventive.
10) I've been scrapbooking for a long time, but I also haven't made a new page in nearly a year. My dry spell ended a few weeks ago and I was so happy to start creating again. But you know what, even if I haven't been making physical scrapbook pages, I sure have been making memories and getting them recorded. And this blog post here reminded me why I love this hobby and how simple it really can be.
11) My friend Meredith told me about this site, and I have to check it regularly to make sure I don't show up there! Actually, most of the stuff is pretty darn awful. Oh, and these photoshopped Russian Wedding Pictures are especially stunning in their awfulness.
13) Now that it is officially fall, I'm officially in love with scarves again. You? Need some inspiration on how to wear them? Check out this amazing video. Even more amazing when you read what went on behind the scenes! I had to show it to Darin, because although I knew he could care less about how to tie a scarf, I thought he would be impressed with the video itself. And I was right!
14) A friend of mine posted this article on facebook and it really has me thinking. I'm wondering how much I fit into this "in between" generation.
15) Great essay on parenting. Especially this:
It's also a history lesson. The first four years of your life. Do you remember them? What's your earliest memory? It is fascinating watching your child claw their way up the developmental ladder from baby to toddler to child. All this stuff we take for granted, but your baby will painstakingly work their way through trial and error: eating, moving, walking, talking. Arms and legs, how the hell do they work? Turns out, we human beings are kind of amazing animals. There's no better way to understand just how amazing humans are than the front row seat a child gives you to observe it all unfold from scratch each and every day, from literal square zero. Children give the first four years of your life back to you.
16) Hey look, another roundup returns! Remember the "I Love You Because____" print? Well, someone has gone and made afree downloadable pdf for you!
1. I have been bugging everyone I love to read THIS book. If you like a strong female lead, a great narrative voice, a story full of emotion, history, and a love story as strong as Gone With The Wind, you must read this book. Trust me, you'll thank me.
2. THIS may be our new favorite summertime grill recipe. So easy to make (although I couldn't find ground chicken, so we just used turkey) and so delicious. I served these to my family and had one swooning husband. Then we served these to guests at a cookout and they swooned too. Make these before summer is out. Again, you'll thank me!
3. Read-A-Book, Give-A-Book. Great selection of children's books you can read online. And for every book read online, one is given to a charity partner. We have a huge stack of library books at our house all the time, but if I had a smart phone or a tablet device, I would be sure to bookmark this site to pull up in a crisis. Waiting room? Restaurant? Sibling sport practice? Read a book on your computer!
4. Dani, like most kiddos her age, loves buckles. Man, if only I had spotted THIS bear (they have other animals too) before her birthday!
5. On Learning To Go Away. Just confimed my need for a retreat soon. Not for work, not for 4-H, not a family vacation or a spousal reconnection. Just a retreat for me, nature, and God. Mmmm...sounds soul-feeding for sure.
6. Man, I thought my blog-reading life had changed with the invention of google reader. But I missed reading blogs on their actual nicely-designed blog platforms. Plus, I hated having to click to open and comment. I got really bad about actually commenting. Enter google to change my blog reading world once again. Google next. Takes your blogs you have saved in your reader, and lets you read them on their actual nicely-designed blog platforms. All ready for you to read, enjoy, and comment away. LOVE.
7. There are so many cute moms and their cute blogs showing off their cute lunches on the internets these days (like here and here). It's kinda making me excited to pack lunches for my kiddos one of these days. Not yet, though. Daisy was disappointed to learn that our neighbor girl will be having lunch at school, but Daisy only has morning preschool. Sorry kid. You're stuck eating with us at home one more year! Sorry, all that to say I think these lunchboxes are the best I've seen.
8. THIS project, comparing the rooms of children around the world is beautiful and thought provoking.
9. I am so in love with THESE shoes. Aren't they adorable? Um yeah, and not for me. For the girls!
10. Thinking I will need to frame THIS free print and hang it in the girls room once we get it painted and decorated and furnitured and all that.
12. I can think of so many organizing and scrapbooking projects to cute-up with THESE labels.
13. Have I shared with you guys the magic of the half tee yet? I've been talking up these babies quite a bit lately. I have the black and the white tanks and I love them so much. No longer do I worry when I buy a cute lower-cut top. No bulk in layering, or tugging on the tank top to get things just right. Great for me now, and especially great for pregnancy. I think every pregnant woman needs to go out and get herself quite a few of these ladies. How I hated the way my undershirts would roll up as my belly got bigger. And for some reason maternity designers love to design those darn v-neck shirts that you have to layer.
1. I am in love with these Lens Pets and think I need a few. I can write it off as a business expense, right?
2. I used to think I was an extrovert until I read this blog of a blog (of a blog) by my friend Tori. I especially resonate with numbers 1-6.
3. JonalynFincher spoke at a MOPS conference I attended in the spring and I since started following her personal blog "second year mom" where I often find encouragement in my own journey as a mother. This post really spoke to me, especially the end where she writes:
"Your favorite things, Finn. Use them as training wheels to practice loving far and long. Press your love for furry creatures into love for all souls smaller, weaker and slower than you. Use your love for dancing and toothbrushes to swing wide your heart for all trades and manner of people. Use your love for Aunti Jess and Mama Mina as a starting point to love all those who will extend themselves for your sake. Use your love for Dad and me as an exercise room to practice loving those who will fail you.
Love well, Finn, for no matter how you feel in the midst, love will not betray you, dismay or enslave you / It will set you free / Be more like the man you were made to be.'"
4. I am in love with this shirt and think I need to ask a friend with an embroidery business to design me a couple for the girls!
5. These are some of the coolest art prints I have seen in a long time. So creative and I love how the designs are kinda like inside jokes to the movies! I have a hard time picking favorites, but especially enjoy the musicals: Annie, Singing in the Rain, and Mary Poppins.
6. I can't believe I haven't told y'all how much we LOVE the uncooked tortillas they sell at Costco, but this blog post reminded me I should share the love. Seriously, they are delicious and so much better for you than the pre-cooked ones! We buy in bulk and freeze in packs of 8-10, then defrost in the fridge as needed. Get some yourself. Trust me, you'll thank me.
7. This article about talking to girls was brilliant. I think about it all the time now when I'm talking to girls. Please read and put its advice into practice.
8. Another beautiful blog post about mothering and girls that touched my heart.
9. Darin sent me this blog post about the restaurant Canlis and a little piece of the magic that occurs there. Made us both thankful once again to have been able to work there for the time we did.
10. Dear Photograph is just about the most beautiful project I can think of. "Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present." Isn't the internet just lovely sometimes?
11. I am really blessed to have an amazing man as a partner in parenting and was so thankful when reading this article that I felt no need to pass it along to him. But if you need to use this...feel free.
12. I would love to use this list journaling book to capture some slices of life.
13. We are a very happy Sienna owning family and have taken to calling it our Swagger Wagon after this video.
14. I so needed this tutorial last winter on how to tuck non-skinny jeans into boots. I love this trend and am hoping it continues into next year! Long enough so I can find and purchase and wear some cute low-heeled boots!
15. Speaking of style, this blog really resonated with me and my mommy-style. Big staples in my wardrobe: comfy jeans, cute shirts, and fun jewelery. Most days I do try to get dressed and not just lounge in sweat pants or pajamas. In college, I never felt prepared for the day of classes and study wearing pajamas, and I feel that way as a mom too.
Well...I've got a few more tidbits for you but think 15 is enough for one post. I'll tuck them away for my next roundup!
It's been a while folks, sorry. But here are some things that have caught my eye lately.
1. I'm not sure if this will appeal to anyone other than me, but I adore this grouping of simple cross-stitch. Thinking once I finish my current project, I may just have to try my hand at something like this...
2. When I saw this project on Facebook I knew I had to share it with you guys here. We love Fircreek Day Camp, and recognized many of the worn-out costumes in the video from our days spent on staff there. Please consider hunting through your closet or local thrift store and gathering up donations. I'll take any or you can send them directly on to Fircreek camp.
3. On the way back to the car after our walking tour of Scottsdale, Amy and I ducked into a gallery (Jen wouldn't go in with us) to check out some of the coolest pieces I've ever seen. The art was beautiful, the 3D effects amazing. Click here to see the entire awesome collection.
5. This video is beautiful and powerful and has me thinking I should make an appointment with a dermotologist about a random freckle on my palm. Please watch. Please share.
6. These customizable paper dolls (you can order to match your kiddos and their interests!) are brilliant. I just can't wait until my daughters are old enough to not tear them to shreds.
8. Saw this in church a few years ago and got chills. Still gives 'em to me.
9. I didn't watch the royal wedding (I certainly would have recorded it if we had cable or satelitte) but I loved reading the text of the sermon given at the ceremony. Click here to read it, but here's a snipped I loved.
A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.
That's all I've got for today. But trust me, I'll keep on bookmarking!
1. What a lovely way to keep and display what could otherwise be just be tacky clutter! The only vacation in my near future is my 30th birthday trip to Arizona next month. Thinking my suitcase will be full of new outfits and my camera card full of great shots, but not sure I'll be bringing home many trinkets from this trip. But maybe our next one?
2. I am in love with this basket and dreaming of all the ways I could use it. Top of my list? On the ledge behind my kitchen sink with some dish soap, a bowl for my rings when I wash dishes, hand soap, and something pretty.
3. This video was making the rounds on facebook, and you should really check it out if you haven't already. Then click on over here and check out the effort that inspired the creators. I think this is just brilliant and we should do more things like this in our world!
4. Daisy and Dani had the chance to play with these toys at the Marysville library a while back and I thought they were just brilliant. Kept their age group entertained for quite a while, and the librarian told me the 5th grade group that had used them earlier in the week were engaged as well. Sounds like the perfect kind of toy investment to me!
5. I love, love, love this idea for saving ideas and memorabilia. Can't wait until I can get my hands on one of these journals.
6. I think this is just a beautiful way to preserve and honor the memory of your child's favorite toy. Although both my girls love their blankies best, and I'm quite sure how they'd translate into drawings!
7. My friend Sasha blogged about this company, and I am so in. This jewelery is pretty and supports a worthy cause. Can someone put these earrings in my Christmas stocking next year? Wait, that's a long time to wait. Ummm...mother's day?
8. This is one of my most favorite books we have checked out recently. Fun rhyme, sweet story, great pictures. You should get a copy to your favorite little person today!
9. Kids telling family tales, then acted out by the dads that probably lived them in the first place. Stinkin' hilarious! Here's the first episode, but you really should watch all three.
10. Pop this sweet print behind a glass frame, add a white-erase marker, and you have a sweet shower or baby gift.
11. Another great wedding gift. You can thank me later.
12. More cool people doing really cool things. If I were to be at camp next summer I'd definitely be challenging staff to come up with a hand jive skit for skit night!
Time for a few things that have caught my eye lately.
1. How about this amazing video? Combine 50s throwback, musicals, and scrapbooking? Yes please!
2. This mason jar meal is beautiful and inspiring.
3. Some great ideas for date nights. I especially like the one where you hit up a local thrift store and spend $5 on each other.
4. From our Zambia Missionary friends I read about this great organization that believes every little girl around the world deserves to have a beautiful dress. As a mother of girls, especially a three-year-old who wants to wear a dress every day, this mission spoke to my heart. They turn fabric remnants and pillow cases into the sweetest dresses. When we get settled I'm definitely gonna explore this a bit futher...maybe garage sale hunting, or maybe learning how to make the sweet little dresses myself. Wouldn't it be fun to join a sewing group to do this?
5. This is the sweetest little bathtub toy my Dani would love. Her favorite part of bathtime is when the tub is filling up and she can fill her hands or her cups from the flowing faucet.
6. Have you read this article? I have no words but WOW.
7. I think about 20 of the blogs on my google reader are Mormon mommies so I totally understood this article.
8. Lastly, Darin showed me this video and I was very impressed. Give it a couple minutes. You'll be impressed too.
What have you found of interest on the WWW lately?
Once again I am so impressed with Krakauer. I have learned so much reading this book as he moves seamlessly through the narrative of the life and death of Pat Tillman. Krakauer covers the Afghanistan conflict, the Iraq War, 9/11, the Bush/Gore election debacle, Jessica Lynch, and so much more. I couldn't finish it in the 3 weeks I had it from the library, so am now waiting my turn to get it again.
This is an adorable story of a little girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink herself. There aren't too many children's books written in first person and this little narrator has the most clever voice. Daisy and I laugh our way through this one and I love hearing her say "pinkalicious"!
Darin and I saw these guys on Sunday night at a local Young Life event. When the keyboard player busted out the harmonica I was hooked. Great lyrics and lovely harmonies. And they're a local Gig Harbor band!
I heard about this film a few years ago at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit and finally got around to watching it recently. Beautiful film. Positive message. Wonderful portrayal of a Latino family. Not at all cheesy. Watch it if you want to feel good about life.
If you follow me on facebook you may have seen a recent post where I shared a frustration in not reading the directions for a meal which required me to "freeze at least four hours" before cooking. Yup, these babies "need" to freeze for a few hours but they are so so worth it. (Some of the reviews stated they didn't do the freezing step, but I wasn't sure I should chance it on my first go-around.)
These egg-rolls were so easy and so yummy. I left out the jalapeno pepper and cayenne pepper because we are not fans of spice in this family. I also used the yummy uncooked tortillas that we buy in bulk from Costco. (I cooked them before filling, although there is a question as to if that step would be necessary.) Lastly, I followed the advice of several reviewers who said to bake the rolls instead of frying. It took about 25 minutes in a 425 degree oven to get them good and warm and crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream and watch your family drool.
I think I'm gonna make another batch to leave in the freezer for when we need a quick meal. They're that good.
Darin received this game at Christmas in his stocking and everyone we have introduced it to has become a fan. An easy game that works those brain muscles. And better than scrabble! (I'm not a scrabble fan.)
Anyone have an extra 4.9 million? And want to live in Provo, UT?
Isn't this house GORGEOUS? The outside isn't necessarily my taste, but the inside is amazing. That banister! That fireplace! That kitchen! That window seat. Drool...
That's it for my first roundup. Let me know what you think and if you think I should do another one anytime soon!
