How does your garden grow?

Peter and I got bit by a bug... a gardening bug. Doesn't the idea of warm fresh tomatoes and fresh picked strawberries and snipping off green herbs spark something in everyone?

And we weren't going to let the fact that we live in a two bedroom condo with only the only outside area the patio outside our front door (though of above average size) stop us. Sure, we dream of our huge house with surrounding acreage, it's lush soil producing a bountiful harvest, but we have to start somewhere.

So, in March, we planted some seeds.

We won't be going that route again, because, as cute and hopeful looking as they are, they never got much bigger than that.

But Peter built some beautiful planter boxes and we got a good deal on some hanging baskets and we planted them anyway.

We also purchased some strawberry plants and planted some garlic plants that some friends of ours had started.

 

So far, our strawberry plants are the only ones that have given any fruit, but aren't they beautiful fruit? And if that isn't enough inspiration enough for you, here are some ideas about how anyone can grow anything anywhere.\

My Man

"He's not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold on to him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you."

Bob Marley

Gettin My Swagger On

Ok, SwagBucks.com is one of the coolest things I've stumbled upon. At first I was skeptical because so many of those "earn while you browse" sites are bogus, but this one is real and it works!

I just made little changes to my surfing routine. I search for my regular sites through SwagBucks and do a little SwagBucks routine every morning and that's added up to $65 in Amazon gift cards since I started at the first of the year.

That little money has been so great for me. On our set budget I have "free money" I can spend on what I want. Kindle books, paper books, gifts, music, baby stuff. Right now I'm saving my gift cards for Summer Book Club books and gDiapers.

Here's the link if you're interested. I know this sounds like an promotion and if you use me as a referral I do get rewarded, but it really is just a cool thing I found and wanted to share with my friends. Good luck!

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Hannah2016

Who needs toys?

Paper towels are so much more fun...

 

... at least for a little while.

Party Pooper to Party Planner

I love to go to parties. To celebrate and laugh, to see people I don't get to see very often or see people I get to see all the time but love to spend more time with!

Throwing parties, on the other hand, terrifies me. The pressure, the expectation, the possible disappointment and feelings of failure and rejection... there may be lots of other issues behind that, BUT my hope for throwing parties was renewed this weekend when we celebrated my beautiful baby's first birthday!

So what made the difference? I want to remember what made the party a success!

1) I asked for help! My family was visiting from Texas and Peter's family drove down from LA. Without them, it would not have happened! Especially since the only one who could hang decorations from the pavilion roof was my 6'2" brother, sometimes even lifting Peter up! I was able to relax and do what I do well instead of worrying about what I wasn't able to do. And, a big thing for me, I actually did that! I asked for help and then let those who wanted to help do it the way they wanted to. It turned out great. And and it made the prep process just as fun as the party.

2) I set a budget but used it creatively! The 99cent store was my friend! I was able to make 5 dozen cupcakes for about $12! I didn't use the sketchy brands there. They had Duncan Hines, otherwise I probably would have had to spend more. But then I took what I had bought for cheap and put some extra work into it to make them special. I slathered on the icing and layered on the sprinkles. I treated my low-budget cupcakes special and that made them special to me. And they were tasty!

3) I was inspired by the reason for the party! One of the big reasons this party was great for me is because I was really excited about celebrating my baby's birthday. I took these pictures every month throughout the year and the process of printing them off really meant a lot to me. She changed so much and is changing every minute and I want to celebrate how beautiful she is each and every one of those minutes. So, we had to change park locations last minute? We still celebrated. So she had a runny nose and didn't have a single nap that day? We still celebrated. And if it had rained and no one came and Abby had screamed the whole time? We still would have tried to celebrate! (Though I know prayer works because none of those things happened!) And I think my focus on the wonderful reason to party rubbed off on her because I really think she enjoyed her party!

 

4) Lastly, the most important part of a party is the people that are there! I was so touched by how much our friends love Abby. She's got a few admirers already!

They came to party! They came to help! (Thanks Johanna, Lorrie, Erica, and Jeanne!) And they came to celebrate. It was a beautiful day for my beautiful baby and I might just throw another party sometime.

Green Leaves

My thumb is turning green as we speak. While I have not been known to have a particular talent at keeping plants alive, I feel like this time it must be different. I got Peter a starter kit for his birthday... and look!

 I'm so proud of our little babies!

Don't they look so hopeful?

I can almost taste those fresh tomatoes, right of the vine, warm from the sun. Maybe I'll throw them in a spinach salad?

Another plant that's making me happy: Our condo complex has purple rose bushes growing in front of the gate! Yes, that's right. Purple roses. Anyone who knows me knows I had to snip a couple buds.

Thank You, Lord, for blessing me with hopeful sprouts and purple roses.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit" 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Caught

"Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave, when they think their children are naive." Odgen Nash

At least she seems to love yarn as much as I do.

Making mountains out of throw pillows

 In an effort to answer a baby's desperate need to climb on and over whatever she can, especially her ever-patient mother, a mountain of pillows was created on the living room floor. 

  

  The challenge was assessed... 

  

...the summit was in sight...

  

...the mountain was conquered...

 

...the decent was made...

 ...and the alpinist moved on to slaying dragons.

Mommy Christmas

Being a mommy changes your priorities so much. Don't get me wrong, there are some things that I still get a kick out of that'll never change. Cute shoes, good coffee, funny movies, laughing till I can't breathe, holding hands with Peter. But there are some new things that I never would have imagined I would enjoy as much as I do. Examples:

1) I like that I can be green-ish in my diapering choice but the only place that sells the inserts for the diapers is Babies R Us and so that means a regular trip over there and shelling out a little more than I'd like to each time. There wasn't even a bulk-buying choice... until now! I'm now subscribed to get my gDiaper inserts sent to me on a regular basis. It's so cheap and I don't have to go out to get them. It'll be like Christmas every 2 months! Yes, that means I'm now equating packages of diapers to Christmas.

2) An example with an example: I'm excited something else diaper related. GDiapers come in 3 sizes and Abby's about to outgrow the ones she has. BUT I got such a screaming good deal today on the next size of gDiapers it just makes my day. And maybe a couple more days to follow.

3) And if two diaper stories don't prove it, this should. Yesterday I took a little extra time and actually did my hair the way I did PB (pre-baby) instead of the "halfhearted blast of the blow dryer into the ponytail" look that I've been rocking. When Peter and I got home that evening, I said, "I actually got to blow dry my hair today!"
          He replies, "Awesome!" a little too enthusiastically.

          "You can't tell, can you." I say
         "Not really, sorry." he says sweetly.
          "That's great!" I say, "That means I don't have to do it again!"

No hurt feelings, no pouting. He wasn't saying I didn't look good. I was genuinely glad that I can look good for my hubby with a little less effort on my part.

Who are you, and what have you done with Hannah?

Honestly though, I'm glad for the focus change. I can get joy from the little things, from the seemingly insignificant things, because I can see the significance in them. And in these examples especially, what I'm so excited about is that they mean I can spend less time and money on the "necessities" and turn to what is really enjoyable in my life, my God, my family, and my friends.

Plus, how stinkin' cool is it that I got a little purple plush dog that sings my baby to sleep?!

Face time

Praying for Cade

My friend, Cade, and his family is in need of some prayer, some love, and lots of God's grace right now. After a long time working with patches and eye glasses, it was discovered that all of his vision problems are being caused by a tumor at the base of his brain.

Four days after Christmas, three days after his little sister was born, and less than a month before his 5th birthday, Cade had brain surgery. The prognosis is good, and he's such a sweet, tough kid, but my heart is aching for him.

I've known Cade since he was 2 years old. Cade and his mom and dad ate lunch with us the month we moved to the Orange County. And then I got to help his mom out by hanging with Cade twice a week. Now-a-days, whenever he and hang out at Kids Klub or Church, I look forward to hearing his newest knock-knock jokes and having long conversations about superheros, Cade's own super-powers, Beatles trivia, or baseball.

I love Cade and so I letting all my friends know about him and what he's going through so they can stand behind him and his family and lift them up.

Here's a link to the CaringBridge page that his dad made for Cade to keep everyone updated: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cader

Here's a great pic of Cade at two years old already showing off his awesome personality.

 

Here's another pic of Caders from the Lil' Jingles Christmas Party: I'm pretty sure he's telling me and Abby something I didn't know about the Beatles.