In the midst of this busy life, I'm not sure writing is even a good idea. My brain feels frazzled, and I don't know if my thoughts can even come out straight. But this is what's been going on...

1.    Sick children.
First the flu, then a nasty cough. We've been quarantined the last little while - not with adults as much, but with little babies and children.

Along with that comes lots of up and down times at night. I think their sleeping patterns are getting better, but for the last little while I've been getting up 5+ times at night. That may not sound like much, but having sleep interrupted like that for many, many nights in a row takes a toll on a normal woman. It sure does on me.

Feeling a little tired because of that, and a little lonely because of being quarantined, but it's not anybody's fault. In time, we'll be up and about again.

2.    A crashed computer. We knew our ten-year old laptop had seen better days, but over a week ago it suddenly died without warning. For a couple of days I lived in great paranoia that some of my pictures were forever gone. I had backed some up, or rather, BEN had backed them up for me, but not since about 6 months ago. I was getting devastated feelings already. I MUST learn to back up regularly!!

Well, $230 dollars poorer, we have our pictures retrieved. One day after painting, I walked into Smiley Technology (seriously, who would call their computer shop by that name??),  and tried not to choke on the wave of cigarette smoke that hit me. I explained the crashed computer situation, and asked if they could look at the computer and try to retrieve any pictures and documents for me.

"You mean you want data recovery?" asked the secretary.

Um, yeah, THAT. Data recovery. Sounds much better. Much "techy-er" - something I'm not.

But we understood each other. And now I really love Smiley Technology, because I got a phone call two days later that my pictures and documents data has been successfully recovered. I still have to pick it up, but hey, they can name themselves anything they like, if they are able to save my pictures!

Just a day before the computer crashed, we had ordered a new computer via amazon. It took a bit for the computer to arrive, and then to install all the necessary programs. All said, we were computer-less and internet-less for over a week. After the initial thing of holding my breath, waiting on the data retrieval, the technology-gone week was actually kind of nice for a change. But only for a week!!

Also on the blink has been my cell phone. I can't talk to anyone except on speakerphone. And the speakerphone has only one volume - LOUD. So loud that the whole phone vibrates when someone is talking to me, and it literally makes my ears hurt. So, hardly any phone conversations these days. I think I need to check into a new cell phone as well...

3.      Most time-consuming thing now has been the new old house.

Ben has been working on it almost full-time since the middle of February, and we've still got a month of work before we move in.

I SO READY to move there.

Well, maybe not quite yet.

"There aren't any beds there." as Zoe says.
Nope, there aren't.

And there are lots of other things that aren't there either.

What IS there right now is lots of
wood
dust
and
work.

It'll be a sweet house when it's completed.

It's just getting to the completed part.

[dreaming about front porches...]

And it's coming.

Slowly.

But it's coming.

This past week I started with the painting. That was SO EXCITING for me. As exciting as it could get with two kids two and under there in the dirt and mess with me. But this is the first that I feel like I can really help and be involved.

[first strokes of paint! I'm excited! And looking as winter-white as the drywall behind me]

We thought we were going to hire out the painting. I just didn't know how I was going to do it with two little kids. But I LOVE to paint, and I told Ben that I would like to attempt the job. Even if I'm not able to do the entire project, and just do 2/3 of the house, that's still going to be saving big-time for us on the money end of things.

So, I started.

Playpen in one hand, paint brush in the other, and walked in the door. Zoe had a little bucket and shovel that she brought to play in a dirt pile outside. The kids really did amazingly well. Some days we only stay a little bit. Other days we stay longer. I try to be sensitive to them, because this is a long process for them too, and a wise friend said to really listen to my kids as far as how much I can do each day. So I've been trying to do that. And trying not to get frustrated when I SO BADLY want to keep

filling nail holes,
scraping,
caulking,
priming,
painting.

I can be so project-oriented that I can miss people. And I so badly don't want to miss my kids through all this. They are far more important than banging stuff out at the house, and I want to remember that. Remember that in my heart, to where I don't get frustrated when they're done after only 2 hours of working at the house. To where I kiss them anyway and still laugh with them, instead of becoming impatient and frustrated that my goals aren't being accomplished at the house.

[A little Leah that's at the end of her day]

Saturday, my mother in law gave me a very happy surprise by dropping by the house, picking up the girls, and taking them home with her for the afternoon and evening. Did Ben and I ever tear around that day. So fun. More filling nail holes, sanding, priming, and - yay- first REAL coat of paint on two bathroom walls! Exciting!

[lunchtime]

And Monday, a VERY sweet lady surprised the socks of me by coming in to the mess and dirt with a vente Starbucks white mocha with caramel in her hand for me! For those of you that don't know this area, the closest Starbucks is an HOUR away. Yes, that lady is VERY sweet. That cup of coffee was oh-so-treasured!

And old house just has so. much. work. I used to think that old construction was easier than new, but now I'm not so sure. There is an unending amount of sanding to do. And scraping. I detest scraping.

But the end result will be so fun. I know it. And that keeps me going.

[THIS is what one of the fireplace mantels looks like.]

[THIS is sort of what I'm wanting it to look like. But it will literally take me a whole day to sand it like that]

Even if I fall into bed each night completely exhausted.
Even if I feel like I hardly have a life because my cell phone hardly works and I can't talk to my friends right now.
Even if it feels like we hardly have a life besides working on the house (I don't like that part).

[kitchen. this is probably what needs the most amount of work yet]

I'm glad for a Sunday. Where we can rest before plunging into another busy week...

[the old-fashioned door bell ringer thing that you turn]

This is exhausting work. Sheer exhaustion. And somehow exhilarating. Strange how it can be both.

[Beams Ben installed in the living room and dining room.]

[one of the cool old doors]

[fireplace in the living room dilemna: do we cover up the asymmetrical brick? Is it going to drive me crazy if we leave it?]

[the bottom of the same fireplace: WHAT TO DO with the blue brick against the gorgeous antique brick in the back? It's not the same kind of brick. Paint it? Different mantel?]

Meanwhile, I score hundreds of magazines to try to pull together all my favorites...

And then try to arrange them into about 20 different files to keep them organized. I feel like I'm bursting with ideas at this point. The only difficulty will be implementing them in a two-bedroom cottage!

Sometime I'll have time to explain a bit more about the house that we are now calling ours, with its high ceiling and hundred years of history.

And about how this is the 3rd house that we're going to live in since we're married, and how I didn't see any of the 3 before we bought/rented them...

That'll be another time. This will give you a little glimpse until then!

Wish me lots of energy, please!!!

~clarita

Welcome, O Spring!

How I love thee, in all thy vibrant beauty!

I'm thinking...

YELLOW

These are the daffodils I was mad about in February. Now it's Spring, so I like.

I'm thinking

PINK

Exchanging pinecones for pink flowering quince. Love love love.

And,

I'm thinking

GREEN!

My new shoes make my heart go pitter-patter.

And Zoe's comment upon seeing them?

"That's cuuuute!"

[never mind the chipped, peeling toenails.
they weren't expecting to be in a picture anytime soon.]

I'm thinking

Happy
Spring!

 clarita

It hits me every February.

They are  the long, dreary days of winter, and I know, I know, that is the perfect opportunity to sleep when the kids sleep. To take long, restful naps every afternoon. Or at least sit on the couch with a cup of coffee and a book while the kids sleep. That was my dilemna this afternoon, and it's not even February anymore.

But oh no. Every February I'm hit with the desire to create. Not sure why it's then. Maybe wanting to bring a little bit of beauty into a bleak winter. Maybe partly because I like to have a little "Clarita-the-woman" time in the midst of all the "Clarita-the-wife" and "Clarita-the-mommy" roles. Don't get me wrong- I love my roles, but I am also a woman along with being a wife and a mother, and I think I do better at both when I make time to bless my soul. Hear that - make time, because it sure doesn't just happen!

This February was a little different. I think I only had one day that I didn't go anywhere in the course of a month,   and for a few weeks I was hardly at home during the day at all. 

But the ideas kept coming, and I made time for a little bit of creating. Nothing huge and glamorous. Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A few cutesy things for the girls' room, mostly. And though it was a very busy season, it does my heart good to be inspired and "create."

Project #1: Faux Fleece Blankets

I'm thinking ahead to the new old house we're hoping to move into by May. I will probably do the same basic color scheme in the girls' new room, neutral with whites and creams and  browns, because we aren't rich enough to change our entire house, furniture and all! Ha! No, I really like their room as it is right now.

These are used at the foot of their beds, but I use them at night for extra warmth for Zoe, and for a big cuddle blanket for Olivia. Inspired by a similar blanket I saw at BabyGap for $40.

JoAnn Fabric sells fabric almost identical to BabyGap, but make sure you have a good coupon if you go because it's $25 a yard. I used two yards for both blankets. JoAnn has two colors, this dark chocolate and a really pretty camel color.

I made these by cutting it into large squares then overlapping the squares on top of each other to get the fleece to stick out on top.

Project #2: Faux Fur Pillows

In a neutral room, I'm finding that I need texture, texture, texture! Unless it has lots of texture, it feels very lifeless and boring. But with texture, it makes it come alive, I think. Just with Zoe's bed, there are these different textures:

wood (the bed),
cotton (pillowcase and down comforter),
faux fur (accent pillow),
faux fleece (throw blanket)
faux silk (accent pillow).

And I keep adding as I get more cheap inspirations.

So - easy-peasy, basic rectangle shape. The faux fur is all you need. That and a little sewing machine to sew your straight lines on.

Zoe's little dolly got a blanket too from the leftover fleece.

Project #3: Hair Pretties

My friend, Ruth, has a little girl just a few weeks older than Zoe. Her little Esther was born with a headful of beautiful black hair, so unlike my bald Zoe who hardly had hair until she was a year old [and even then you really had to check to make sure it *was* hair ], and could wear all kind of darling little barrettes almost a birth! Ruth always called these barrettes and bows  "hair pretties" and so I've adopted that term too. That's all we call them now - anything for the head and hair  is now a "hair pretty". Or, as Zoe says, a "hair fretty." 

My sister-in-law, Mary Jo, is a super creative woman, and I learned so much from her when we lived in the same area! One of the last trips she made down south she brought along a little project to work on one free evening - making corkscrew and ribbon hair bows. So cute! What I did just a few weeks ago was not the same thing, but I learned the basic how-do from here - so thanks, Mary Jo!

Sweeties needed:

Hair clasps of assorted sizes
Ribbon
Flowers
Hot glue gun
Scissors

I just used the ribbon I had on hand, which wasn't a big selection, but Michael's or somewhere like that has unlimited darling choices.

This one: ribbon glued on clasp, then three petite roses from Wally World glued on top of that.

Glitter Headband: package of 2 for $1 from the dollar bins at Target, then I hot-glued three felt flowers (they were a ribbon strand and I cut them apart) on the band.

This was an existing flower pin that I had - which I LOVE - and the only thing I did was add a hair clasp to it to make it more versatile.

Due to the large selection of stores in our area (cough, that is a JOKE, people), Walmart is pretty much my only craft store option within an hour. In the baby section, however, I found a package of two flower headbands for $3. Hot pink and light pink. Perfect.

 Only problem: the headbands were huge, wide stretchy bands that  A) made it look like my child had a serious head wound, or B) made it look like they were wearing a kid's sized sweat band to work out. Not cool. So I cut the flowers off of the band, and glued them to my little clasps. MUCH better.

Now I can use the flowers alone, or clip them on to a ribbon-made-headband.

A few more. So fun to do, and only takes a few minutes!

Project  #4: Hair Pretty Holder

This was something I saw in a Pottery Barn kids book I picked up a few years ago. Thought it was a darling idea, and then kind of forgot about until a good friend of mine was here and was looking through the same book. Thanks, Shelly, for reminding me!

If anyone has little girls, you know the PROBLEM it can be to keep everything straight and organized. Or not just little girls, for that matter, I have a time of it keeping my own pretties straight! Maybe I'll need to make another one for myself! So this is a GREAT solution to that problem, and ever so practical.

Actors needed:

Old frame
Cardboard to fit inside frame
Fabric of your choice to cover cardboard
Ribbon of your choice
Stapler
Scissors
Hair pretties!

This was all stuff I pulled out of closets here and under-bed storage there. Man, I dream of having an art room one day, where all my creative juices can flow uninterrupted! It bugs me that I have things in probably five locations around the house, just because of lack of space in one area.

So those are a few of my little projects of late. Balm for my soul, I call them.

-clarita

Well, I'm back.

And quite frankly, it's a little scary to be back - over two months later. I wasn't intending to drop off the planet like I seemed to, but a month of children-and-mommy-and-daddy sickness, and the next month of sister-in-law-brain-tumor-sickness takes quite a toll on any blogging desires. Not to mention that when I had a little bit of time at home it was spent in basic housekeeping to try to keep things sane, not on the computer.

And to be even more frank, life has felt pretty rough lately. No, I'm not the one with the brain tumor. I'm just the sister-in-law, and yes, I do have so much to be grateful for. And I am. Or at least, try to be.

//snow pictures were all taken in December. I'm THAT far on behind in blogging!//

// Zoe didn't know what to think with snow so deep she couldn't walk!//

//LOVE this pictures. Childhood wonder. She had hardly ever seen snow *flurries* before, much less a 16'' snow storm. Beautiful did not even begin to describe the winter wonderland.//

// love this picture! little girl learning to be a lady. little chubby fingers tightly gripping the handle.//

Life has come to a screeching halt this past week and a half, when we first heard that my dear sister-in-law, Laurie, was going to have MRI's done to look for a brain tumor. This past Thursday we heard the news that it was, indeed, a tumor. That Thursday, 3 days ago, feels like weeks. It's been a busy past few days, and Laurie is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning, February 8. Laurie is 18.

God is real, and has been meeting us with great peace. It is truly amazing. An extremely painful and difficult time for the family, but God is real.

You can follow Laurie' journey here: www.caringbridge.org/visit/laurieyoder and click on the 'Journal' tab.

Please keep Laurie, as well as the Yoder family, in your prayers...

I love Christmas. I repeat, I just LOVE Christmastime!

Even though it means coming out of a few very busy weeks, wherein I often felt I was not the mother and wife I wanted to be, just because of being so overwhelmed...

Even if it means caroling in flip-flops and short-sleeves, which we did on Sunday night. Even if the doors and windows in my house have been open because it's so warm, as I did a couple days this week. It does feel really really funny to have my house all decorated up and be able to go outside barefooted at the same time. Coming from the north, that is just not how it works!

But I am VERY excited about going north today and HOPING for a huge snowstorm to come while I'm there! After I'm there, not while we're driving! So excited about a road trip with a dear friend, all our three kids in the backseat! Wish us luck!

There have been a few happy happening around this joint lately, and I wanted to document those before heading into the Christmas season... So this is backtracking a few weeks, but it's as happy now in remembering it as it was then while it was happening!

My sister Jana and I share birthdays. She was born on my 2nd birthday, and even though we didn't like the whole sharing-a-cake-and-one-party-for-two-people deal while we were little, we just love sharing a special day together now! In fact, it feels like we can't even have a birthday if we're not together!

This year I was talking to her a few days before our birthdays, just lamenting the fact that we couldn't be together this year. Moaning and groaning to be sure, and she was pretending to moan and groan along with me. Pretending all right, because she had the most wonderful scheme up her sleeve!

And  so it happened, that on the morning of my birthday, I had a lovely surprise - Ben stayed home from work that day just to be with me! Going out early in the morning to get donuts from Sugar & Spice (a local bakery, absolutely divine donuts), some chocolates, a sweet card, sparkling cider... all ready for me when I got up! And I thought my day was beyond happy just with that!

A little while later he had a mysterious errand to run in town. Again. "Wasn't ready until today," he said. Okay, fine! I love birthdays! And a surprise sounded like fun!

Well, what do you know, but my sister JANA walks in my bedroom a little while later - surprising the very socks off my feet!!! She had caught a ride down with some of Ben's family, who were coming for Thanksgiving the next day! And they so graciously brought her down and let her spend the holiday with our family here!

So a day that started out just wonderful ended up even better than I dreamed of!

After a few warm greeting (hugs, "I-can't-believe-you're-here!!!" a hundred times, smiles that were from ear to ear) we toasted our birthday with some coffee (both of us were or are baristas, and a third sister is as well), we decided it would be a grand day to decorate the house for Christmas! So we gathered armloads of greens and set to work. What normally takes me all day, or several days, took only a fun afternoon!

A few pictures of our Christmas-y house. I love it. Feels ever so cozy and warm. I think I might keep it up through the winter.

the living room

This is one of my favorite things from the whole house: taper-candle-holders turned upside down to hold a pillar candle.

Grand piano.

I went very simple with decor this year - just mostly greens and candles.

Zoe's stocking. Don't laugh, but what we gave her for Christmas was a pair of fluffy bunny slippers and a battery-operated toothbrush. Simple is good, folks! We had our little family Christmas last night, and she was just tickled to death.

Parts of the Navitity, as well as some carolers. Zoe' joins them all together in a long, straight row, pulling them from their respective places and joining them on the coffee table/trunk.  She's obsessed with long, straight rows.

The front entrance.

Kitchen table. Simple simple, but I liked that this year. Spray-painted large pine cones silver, very lightly.

Zoe and me on my birthday. I'm now 27. Scared me to death before, but by George, it's not that old!Now I think it's a great age!

A week later, Ben and I spent a Saturday today - going to Jacksonville and watching the Nutcracker! I had never seen it live, and was so delighted to attend! Ben wasn't too sure about all the "spandex" (his words, not mine!!), but other than that, it was a lovely time! Fun to dress all up, go out on a "real" date!

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory afterward - a very particular favorite of mine.

Browsing through Barnes & Noble afterward. Ben gets stuck in the real estate aisle. Note the bag of cheesecake clutched very tightly against him. That is precious, precious cargo there!

Some biscotti-making the past little while. Made them as thank-you's for some people.

And a last picture - my babe and I!

A merry merry Christmas to one and all!

-clarita

So we were host family at church last Sunday. Probably were scheduled that way for a long time, but I didn't realize/remember it until Friday. At that point it felt so last-minute to me (I'm not a good last-minute person...) because we were going to be away from home all day Saturday (date with my husband - went to see the Nutcracker! Yay!), which meant I'd only have Saturday night (late) and Sunday morning (early) to prepare (how do ya like all the parenthesis? ). And I didn't have groceries on hand...  I was stressed!

Saturday evening after we returned from Jacksonville, we were picking up the girls and talking a bit... We still needed to get groceries, which meant it would be after 10pm by the time we got home. Someone very wise suggested, "Why don't you just keep it simple and do pancakes or something?"

You know, I liked that. But it had never crossed my mind. It was a freeing thought, as far as prep goes. I would still have to stop for groceries at 9:45pm, but wouldn't be up until Sunday morning preparing meatloaf and mashed potatoes. But could I really do that?? I mean, is that even proper for a Sunday LUNCH, when I'm hosting, of all things??

Let me just say, I really liked this idea. I would have been thrilled going over to someone's house and having this for lunch. But for me to serve it was a different story.

On the way to the grocery store, the next morning, and even part of this week, I was trying to sort through why it was so hard for me.

Probably the biggest thing was expectations I have placed on myself. Whether they are real (as in, what other people really do expect) or imagined (what I think other people expect), I have believed them nonetheless, and have been held captive to some very silly expectations. They are as follows.

There seems to be a "when-a-woman-has-company-for-Sunday-lunch-it-better-be-amazing" stigma. Like, Mrs. Smith had three sides to her lunch last week, so I probably should too. Like, a normal meat and potatoes meal feels too common and should be something a little more "spiffy." Like, all this Sunday lunch stereotype scares me to death and makes me hardly have company on that day!! Anybody else out there like that??

I think I'm a little paranoid too, because I was already feeling a bit of guilt from a previous discussion among some older women, wherein I was merely a listener. It was a very well intentioned talk, intended to motivate and inspire. Instead, I felt utterly discouraged and depressed. They were saying that if you don't have everyone from your church over to your home at least once a year for a meal, then your church is either too big or you're not hospitable enough. Well, our church isn't huge, but I sure haven't had everyone over in the 3.5 years that I've lived here! Whew, the very thought overwhelms me!

For one thing, it's rather expensive to have a lot of people over. At least, if it's according to my "expectations." I'm also breast-feeding (not for the past 3.5 years, but right now! Ha!) which puts an interesting twist on entertaining.

So, is all this even valid? Is this pressure something real or do I just imagine it and put it on myself?? Anyone else out there that feels the same way?? Where does this all come from anyway? And whether it's real or imagined, how do I find God in it, and what does He think of it all?

My next thing was to go on a guilt trip. Guilty that I hadn't adequately prepared by being aware of it earlier - it was oversight on my part not to plan better. Normally everything gets written in my planner, but somehow this was completely overlooked. Guilty that I didn't stay up till crazy hours of the night on Saturday to make up for my lack of planning (the whole "pennence" idea), and therefore at least have meat and potatoes, even if it wasn't filet mignon, pasta in a white wine sauce, and fifteen side dishes.

But, you guessed it - we had the pancake breakfast for lunch. 

And despite my nervous feelings of serving this kind of lunch, I felt such a freedom. Pancakes, eggs, and sausage is a meal that feels very do-able to me, even if the eggs did end up sticking to a non-stick frying pan that had issues.

As I was preparing the lunch after church, before anyone arrived at our house, thinking of how encouraging Ben had been of the whole breakfast idea vs. the "traditional Sunday lunch," thinking and wondering what our guests would think of this (would they be disappointed? wonder what kind of cook I was? think I should start planning earlier/better?), I thought of the story of the widow and the tiny amount of money she gave to the Lord in the Bible. What she had to give wasn't much, but she gave what she could, and she gave it with her heart.

She could have saved her "pancakes" - after all, it wasn't as good as the "shrimp dinner" that the people just ahead of her gave, so why even bother? But the point is not in what she gave, but in that she gave.

And so the Lord impressed upon my heart that He was pleased with my pancake breakfast-lunch. He liked it! It made Him smile with delight! Not because it was a grand feast, but because we were giving what we could and offering ourselves along with it. And perhaps the Lord even purposely had me overlook the the timing of us being host family that Sunday, just to teach me a thing or two.

I admit, I did apologize for our humble lunch, although now I wish I wouldn't have. I think God is still teaching me things after the fact! And we - at least Ben and I - enjoyed our time with our friends so very much! After they left I found myself thinking, "That was fun! We should have people over next Sunday too!"

As a side note, I do enjoy cooking and presenting food. And there definitely IS a time for adequate preparation. The hard part for me is that I struggle with being a perfectionist in some things, and in food presentation especially, and think it has to be a very certain way in order to be pleasing. And those thoughts are not of the Lord!

Was reading today in Women of Dominion, and came across this excerpt on hospitality:

"... [Hospitality] also requires a homemaker of confident realism who's not paralyzed by the pride of perfectionism. A few hot dogs may have to be put on and served alongside a roast and mashed potatoes to feed unanticipated mouths. Such a mature perspective and performance requires a confident and realistic woman (of dominion).

... It's chiefly the woman of the house, not the man, who creates... sweet and hospitable environments..."

I need to be challenged by thoughts such as those, True thoughts, not paralyzing thoughts of self -preservation("This isn't a typical meal! We can't do this!" etc. etc. etc.). We can all fill in the blank! I'd love to hear feedback about this whole area, and any others you think of as you're reading!

All because of a pancake breakfast lunch. Thanks, Mama Yoder! And thank you, Lord!

Anyone up for a pancake breakfast this Sunday?

-clarita

Here's to the Yoders - the other family of mine!

Seems that I often post pictures of our  families in Pennsylvania - probably because it's "vacation" to us when we're there and so I take my camera with me everywhere! But this family in the south is very dear to me as well, and I want to say "I love you!" to them too!

These were taken at Thanksgiving, and it's taken me a while to get them up here because I've been learning a new photo editing program. Yup. Taking lessons. From a master, for sure. Marylou has been teaching me. I'm a little hestitant to even say who it is, lest I make her look bad because I'm just learning and don't know how to do everything yet! But she has been such a huge help to me that it would be a great injustice not to say so! So that said - any editing bloopers are my fault, not hers. Thanks, Marylou!!

This was the year to be together for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and it was a beautiful southern weekend! The day we took these pictures on St. Simons Island was a little chilly - I can see some of the kids' red noses! But we were able to catch some glorious backlighting for some of the pictures with less people. It was absolutely magical there when the sun was setting!

For some of you that care, we were at Christ Church for these pictures. This is the same church and area that Eugenia Price wrote about in her many books of the islands of Georgia. A lot of history going on here!

Without much farther comment, here's to my Yoder family!

The five lovely sisters.

Four handsome brothers.

And once again, just because one of them is my husband.

Laurie and Beth.

Beth.

Where it all started... LOVE this picture!!

Parents with the nine children. And if you think that looks like a lot of people, wait till you see the entire family. And we're just getting started with grandkids!

The entire family. This picture took about 3 hours to edit. In part, because I was new to the editing program, and in part because we had to replace seven heads!! With this many people, you just don't have one picture that is good - so you combine heads from many different pictures to get one where everyone is looking!

[uploading trouble...]


The married children...

Sonya and Marcus. LOVE this picture of them. They look like newly weds.

Rod and Jena.

Mary Jo and Wendall.

Ben and his wife.

Zoe.

And Mariana.

Those two played together so sweetly all weekend! It did my mother heart good to see that, because Zoe rarely has an opportunity to play with another little girl her age! Plus, they're cousins, so that made it extra-sweet!

I didn't get the picture of the grandkids edited yet, so here is the unfinished product. Yeah, not sure how to replace the heads of the wailing children because they were howling on every picture here. Perhaps we'll just let them wail??

Such a fun weekend together! Lots of games, laughter, a campfire, enjoying being together...

I think this was my favorite family weekend together with them! Just really good times!

-clarita

My baby girl is halfway to a year. The more children I have, the faster time goes! What's it going to be like when we add a few more to the mix?!

I snapped some pictures of Olivia when we were in Savannah a couple weeks ago. Dora was my right-hand woman, keeping Olivia propped up, making sure she didn't get any head injuries in the process! Olivia is sitting partially on her own, but not for long periods of time. And that day was not one of the best days for sitting.

One thing I'm learning with little babies - shoot, shoot, shoot!! In the end, after taking about 50 pictures or so, I might have a few worth saving. Especially when she likes to stick her tongue out a lot. And especially when we lay her on her tummy and all she wants to do is "swim." And especially when it's at mid-day (I know, I know, not the best time for picturs...) Whew. It's hard work taking a baby's pictures.

We were at some historic landmark, and I was a little embaressed to be *in* the landmark when a carriage-ride full of tourists came to have a little history lesson about that particular place. Oh well, cute baby for your viewing pleasure, folks!

Olivia's personality seems to be emerging more and more. I love that. For the first several months they're just so much "baby" that even though babies have differences from each other, you don't really know what one particular child is going to be like.

She's creeping, although not crawling. Seems to be rather aggressive in personality, while very tender. If Zoe or another child is rough with her, she'll cry as if her heart will break! Yet has a strong will already, we can tell. Like my mom used to say, "The strong-willed child will go places if they're trained!" So Lord, teach us so we may teach this precious daughter!

She's still a little baby. I think she's filling out a bit since she's eating cereal and other baby foods, but she is definitely not on the upper part of the baby percentage! At 6 months, she's weighing in at 15.5 pounds.

She is a model child at night. Been sleeping about 12 hours solid. Amazing, I know. I think the same thing. And I'm very ready for it, because she does not want to sleep during the day. Seriously, not sure why a 6-month old would have a problem with taking naps, but she does. If I can get her to take two naps a day, I think life is going really well. Sometimes it's just one nap. All day. Seriously!! Anybody have tips??!

But, as her name speaks, she is a Messenger of Peace and of Joy. She is a very happy baby, despite her very little amount of day-time sleep.

Dear baby mine, what a treasure you are!

And as we all say to each other in this house, and Zoe says to Olivia,  
"You're my BEST Leah!"

I just came out of the loveliest weekend!

Next to spending time with family is spending time with dear friends - and these two that flew all the way from Ohio to visit me are some of the very dearest!

Janelle and Dora and I met at a Bible School back in 2002. The three of us have kept up through the years since then. Sometimes long spaces go inbetween the times we see each other, but we have always been able to pick up where we left off as if it were yesterday. I just love friends like that!

They flew in Thursday, we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (be still, my beating heart, how I love that restaurant), and headed home...

Friday we spent the day in Savannah. Lovely old city. I hadn't been there for a little while, and it was just so fun to be there together!

In front of one of the many little parks along Abercorn - Dora, Janelle, Zoe, and Jackson.

There are SO MANY amazing places in Savannah. Imagine my deep agony when my camera battery died only a short time into the day! I was heartbroken!

Beautiful Janelle and her handsome little son.

Zoe, one of the few times she was in the stroller.

This was a more typical scene of her that day.

Well, I guess, what do you expect when you give them these photo-shoot lollipops?? Dora bought one for Zoe and Janelle one for Jackson.

I thought Zoe's little skirt/shoes/outfit matched perfectly with the lollipop picture, even though it was not planned!

Wow, was she one *happy* little girl with this in her hands. :)

They got so messy, but oh, were they happy!

Saturday: we spent a little bit - not nearly long enough - of time at an antique shop in town, then quickly ran home for a Mary Kay party! Janelle is a consultant, and did a great job of making some of my friends from the area and myself feel so pampered! And it was so fun for me to have my friends meet each other - something that's rare with how far south we live!And  I have been a fan of Mary Kay ever since my Aunt June introduced me to it when I turned 16 - she gave me some products for my birthday and I've been on them ever since! Love it!

Early morning airport run on Sunday, and I was left with the happiest of memories! I totally felt like a teenager again over the weekend - in a good sense of the word! Talking into the late hours of the night (something rare for me these days!) about life, about God, laughing until we could hardly breathe, being real and honest with each other, learning from each other, feeling carefree and young! Friendships are just good for the soul!

This is us! What a beautiful friendship we share. I love these beautiful ladies so much!

"Make new friends
And keep the old;
One is silver
And the other gold."
-unknown