Fun Visit

One of the best things about living in ATL is that a LOT of folks come through here. It seems to be a great stopping point for folks as they head to the beach. This past weekend my good friends, Brian and Elaine fam stopped by for a couple days. They were on their way to visit family in FL and took a couple days to rest with us. It is always fun to see old friends, and to see all our kids playing together.

Todd and Hadleigh are exactly 2 years apart (Todd being 5 and Hadleigh being 3). Asher and Annelise are 6 weeks apart in age. It was a super fun visit. We have decided that Asher and Annelise will have to be roommates in college, or at least next door neighbors (which is what Elaine and I were). Now we just have to decide which college they will attend! And of course everyone would be happy if Todd and Hadleigh got married...although he might have to become a "scary" Calvinist before Dave gives his blessing...=)

Insulate...

I am so behind in posting...I am not sure why, but this month has just been a crazy one. Actually I do know why, but too much drama for me to write about here.

This was our most recent home improvement project. Technically I was not planning to be so intimately involved in this project. Ah well. Last Thursday we had 120 bags of insulation delivered to our home. We managed to finish 30 bags on Thursday night (Dave was in the attic and I was outside cutting the bags open and feeding them into the machine). And then on Friday (when it was 90 outside at 9 in the morning) we finished 60 more bags. THe remaining 30 will have to wait until the fall when it is a little coller outside. I will say that already we have noticed a 5 degree temperature difference in our home. Amazing. Not only that, but we apparently get to participate in the stimulus package (get a 30% write off on "green" updates on your home). Yea...Uncle Sam, you can give me money back, thanks!

The Garden

I thought that I should give an update on the garden. It is coming along which is pretty amazing. We have been enjoying the basil and cilantro. Oh yum! We love bruscetta and guacamole, and it is super fun to just walk a couple yards and snip off a few sprigs.

My poor peppers are being eaten by something, so I picked up a little spray at the store the other day...after all organic doesn't mean no pesticides! And this one said it was safe to use up to the day of harvest. Nonetheless the peppers are coming along. And the tomatoes...we have so many of them it is crazy. Only one has turned red, but it looks like we will soon have more tomatoes than we will know what to do with!

I had a little drama with the tomato cages. Well, I wasn't convinced that I needed a cage because I had these stakes that I bought in Germany...yea. So, I have been on the hunt for cages for the past 3 weeks. Pikes is out...Home Depot is out...Walmart is out...Lowes is out...did I mention I tried multiple stores of each. I finally found the only stakes left in Atlanta and bought 3. Now, try to stuff huge, overgrown tomato "bushes" into the cages...ugh. It was not pretty, but I did it without maiming the plants too much.

I also have either butternut squash or zucchini growing. I am not sure which it is. I planted both in this row and only one has popped up. At first I thought it was butternut squash because of the shape, and then I thought maybe it isn't because it has stripes like zucchini. Whatever it is we will be VERY happy. I am jsut glad taht something has decided to grow.

The South Will Rise Again...er...Trip to Stone Mountain

I am a little behind on my family fun days. Two weeks ago we went to Stone Mountain and had a fab time. We drove around the park to look at the "horses on the big rock" and then straight to the playground. The playground is great and the girls had a great time running around on the equipment and then playing in the big sandbox.

After that we drove to the grassy knoll in front of the rock and walked all the way down the lawn. It is always interesting learning more history about the War of Northern Aggression, and Stone Mountain has many plaques that list when each state seceded and then was reinstated, etc. I know this is all serious stuff to Georgians...and it is important to know and understand, but sometimes it all just makes this "Yankee" (or whatever I am) chuckle.

We watched some fish jumping in the pond, some big trucks unloading a musical stage and sound equipment, and then slowly walked back up the lawn. We ended the morning with lunch at Checkers. Fun day with the fam!

Miss Hadleigh Claire is 3.3

My little miss is now 3 years and 3 months old. We are having a lot of fun together. She is very enthusiastic about everything, although sometimes she can be terribly slow. She loves to go to the grocery and get a cookie with sprinkles! She loves to help me pick weeds in the garden and check on her tomatoes. She loves to go on walks and wave at everyone who passes. She loves to play with her friends, and she asks constantly when school is going to begin again.

This morning as we walked the girls waved at every car that passed by us. Some folks waved back or gave a little beep, which thrilled the girls to no end, and some folks just never even saw us. If someone waved, HC would exclaim, "Oh Mama, she waved! She is SO nice!" And if they did not wave, she would say, "Oh they didn't wave, they are just too busy Mama!"

Every time we drive by her school she begs to go. I finally told her yesterday that school is on a break, and it will begin again in September. She seemed to understand generally, that the summer is a special time when we get to spend more time together as a family. We are enjoying the pool as often as possible. I started HC in swim lessons in May at a club pool to get her ready for this summer. She did reasonably well. I was actually hoping that she would be good enough that I could build on what they did. However she is not completely keen on the idea of me teaching her, so I signed her up for another gorup lesson at our pool. It actually has been a bit tumultuous. We have had 3 lessons and 3 different teachers. I think we are finally into a schedule now, but it has been a bit painful. AND, may I say, I think it is ridiculously expensive. I am willing to pay when I taking her to the club pool because I am also paying for the use of the pool...but all I am paying for here is the instructor...and well...I just think, in general, it is good for a high schooler to make minimum wage. But I guess I am WAY off. OK, enough about that rant. With all the drama with the lesson I think that HC is more willing to let me work with her, so I will continue to teach her once June is over.

HC loves to sing and is constantly making up songs. She just sings songs all day long. It is fun to listen to her play and sing. She also is back into reading, and she and I always read a special book together before her nap. I actually broke out Winnie the Pooh again. I read it to her when she was really little, but I think she might enjoy it now. She might be a little young, but we will see how it goes with chapter books.

Her memorization is going really well. The past couple of weeks we have been working on Philippians 2.14-16, do all things without grumbling or arguing... And we have been talking about speaking respectfully and what that means. This has been a big area that Dave began teaching her about, and I have found that it applies to so many things. Whining, complaining, arguing, etc. So, Dave began to instruct her in things she could be thankful for. For example, HC might (maybe I should say she does say this all the time) say, "I don't want to got home!" and then we will correct her with, "Dada, thank you SO much for taking me to the grocery. I had so much fun seeing Miss Mary (the cookie lady) and getting a cookie with sprinkles." So far he has had decent success...but it is interesting to listen to her speak and see how often she does speak disrespectfully to me. It also makes me think about the words that come out of my mouth. Ouch!

Hadleigh has become a little mama. She is always mothering Annelise, for better or worse. It is funny, and sometimes terrifying to listen to the ways she speaks to Annelise...just like I speak to her...hmmm... But she is very helpful in so many ways. She loves to help me around the house, which I am thankful for. It is good for her to play, but also good for her to learn to work and to help, and to be a blessing to her family.

Yea, we are still working on the poop thing. We have starts and stops...don't know...still an issue. Anyway, that is my big girl. She is all 3! And I am enjoying it.

Ah...the Beach!

I must admit that I am not a huge fan of the beach. I know that is crazy to admit since I grew up in Cali, a few miles from the beach...but somehow maybe I just got too much of a good thing. Around here, everyone LOVES the beach and they pack up their families to head to the beach for a week. That is what folks do for vaca. I don't know...again maybe because I grew up going so much during the summer it seems weird to go on a special vacation there. I know, I am weird. Whatev.

So, in my 8 or so yeard of living in GA I have never been to a GA beach...or a SC beach or a NC beach...and actually I have only been to a FL beach once. Actually years ago I went to Cocoa Beach in FL, but other than that the only FL beach I have been to is Clearwater Beach. That is actually a crazy story in itself. You see, my bud Micah was getting married in Clearwater. And I did not know one single soul besides Micah (and his bride, Kelly), so I asked my bud Brea to go with me. And because we were poor social workers at the time, we ended up sleeping with our friend, Katie's parents...kinda random. Anyway, so the plan was the go to the wedding, which is a whole crazy story...they ended up lighting the unity candle with two lighters because the air conditioning kept blowing out the candles...and then after the reception to hit the beach. As we left the reception, which was NOT in the ghetto of Clearwater, but at a nice hotel, we noticed that one of my tires was slashed. Seriously! What? We got towed...I got a new tire...we hit Clearwater Beach...and then this random drunk dude came and harassed us...yea it was all odd. And then we ate at a Greek restaurant for dinner. OK, random, yea that was 10 years ago.

All that to say, I have never been to the beach, really, since living in GA. Last summer Dave's parents went to Tybee Island, which is just outside Savannah and talked about how great it was, perfect for the fam, etc, so we began thinking it might be fun to head down there at some point.

Last Monday I booked a place on Tybee for this weekend. I am not that much of a last minute girl, but I got a great deal, and Dave LOVES when we do things without planning. Although he did agree that we could find a place to sleep. =) We left Atl Thursday night and got off to a rocky start. It seems that everyone thought it would be a good idea to get into an accident that night, so traffic was a nightmare. And it was raining cats and dogs... And of course, both girls wanted to stay up as long as possible, so finally at 10 we shut off the video to try to encourage sleep. And then somewhere around 1030 Annelise vomitted...foul! So...yea, good times. Dave goes, "if this is any indication of how the weekend is going to go, we are in trouble!"

But, once we actually arrived, and got the girls down again (because once we arrived at the condo they thought it was morning or something). We had a great time. I have nothing to compare it to...at least nothing in the south to compare it to. As far as beach in Cali, it reminded me of Pt. Hueneme, only because of the pier and the jetty...and then also a bit like Silver Strand as far as housing goes. We had a great place and were able to park the car and walk everywhere. It was SO nice. The girls LOVED the beach, although HC kept calling it the "big river". The girls loved playing in the sand and loved jumping in the big waves with Dave.

We also took a little trip out to Fort Pulaski, which if you haven't ever been to...you should. It is super cool. It actually reminded me of the fortress in Bitche, France. And while at the fort we got to see/hear a cannon firing.

I think we will go back, though I still cannot imagine spending a week there. A weekend is just the right amount of time for me. We like to explore too many places to spend a lot of time in the same place, but again who knows, it might grow on me.

The Elf is 19 Months

My little elf is 19 months old. I will tell you that I learned something new about Annelise this month, or maybe I already thought this, but it is now completely confirmed. Annelise is a daredevil. She knows NO fear. She likes to ride fast on her big wheel. She likes to climb up steps and go down slides. She LOVES the pool. She likes to jump into the pool and has no problem going under the water when she jumps in. Annelise also loves to float on her back, blow bubbles and kick. She is a water baby. I thought HC was my water baby, but I was wrong, it is Annelise. Not only does she love the water, but she is also great at floating on her back, and generally can do it on her own with me holding her head. Impressive.

Annelise has never been a great sleeper, like Hadleigh, however Annelise can fall asleep lots of places. This is a new concept to the McNay household. Annelise will fall asleep on your shoulder, in the stroller, in the car seat. Amazing. I did not know these children existed. Poor thing, I try not to take advantage of this trick, but sometimes she gets too worn out for me to make it home in time. This morning she fell asleep in the stroller on the walk home from the pool, and it was only 1215. You can see her above, she is trying to sleep on the floor on the CNN center.

Annelise LOVES to give high-5's. It is SO cute. She will help buckle her carseat and then ask, "five?" How can you resist this little face? She is still my cuddle bug and gives me hugs and kisses all day long. I do not know what I would do without my little elf!

Mem Day Happenings

We had a fab Mem Day. The whole weekend was filled with fun activities.

Friday we had fun cleaning around the house and out in the yard. Dave played some golf in the rain...good times.

Saturday we had cleaned some more and bought massive amounts of food for our par-tay. Saturday afternoon we hung out in Clarkston and participated in a huge end-of-school party for the refugee kids. It was quite an adventure. HC and Annelise enjoyed playing duck-duck-goose with the kids. Dave grilled almost 200 hot dogs, and I spilled about 50 popcycles (that were not quite frozen) on myself.

Sunday was a big day. Our old bud Mike and his new wife Lisa flew into town on Sunday afternoon. Mike and I met on my first Sunday at Intown over 10 years ago. We were both single, and both had a lot of things in common...both being ridiculously intense and very passionate about working overseas. Several years ago Mike moved to Australia to get his masters degree, and then was off to Tajikistan, Uganda, Sri Lanka, and Papua New Guinea to work with some different NGOs doing humanitarian work. In between his assignments in Tajikistan and Uganda Mike stayed with us in Baumholder for a couple weeks, so Dave got the full Mike Experience. We also met up on his way from Uganda to Sri Lanka, and then he came and stayed with us again for a weekend shortly after HC was born. He is now married to Lisa and we decided we need to have a big party in Atlanta so we could all meet her and see Mike. It was like a Horizons reunion (Horizons was the name of our fellowship 10 years ago).

So, Sunday afternoon we had a bunch of adults and kids over for a BBQ. It was quite fun to see folks, some of whom I myself have not seen in several years. Mike and Lisa stayed with us Sunday night and then Monday morning we headed to Centennial Park for a little play and a little Chick-fil-a, which Lisa is now addicted to. Too bad they do not have Chick-fil-a's in LA, which is now where they are residing, for the moment.

Dave finished off the day by fishing, which is always a good way for him to recover from people overload.

Podcasts?

Would you be surprised if I mentioned I have NO idea what a podcast is? I do not know if it has something to do with itunes or an ipod. I have never used either, though I think Dave might know what these are, but I know he hasn't used these things either. I do have an MP3 player, but at the moment I have no idea where it is...maybe it is with my cell phone...somewhere...totally out of batteries...

Anyway, I mentioned that I would post a link to the White Horse Inn and their latest broadcast "Law and Gospel". When I went to the link I noticed it said podcast, and that is when I started thinking...no idea what that means. I guess you can listen to it online, or if you have something like itunes or an ipod or an MP3 player it might be of use.

For now I just order CDs...or occasionally listen to something online (like when I miss a sermon).

Tennessee

A couple weekends ago we drove up to visit Dave's parents. We decided to try something a little new and leave in the afternoon/early evening. Neither of our girls are good car sleepers, so we weren't exactly sure how it was going to go, but we thought it worth a try. Of course we ended up leaving later than we had hoped, and then drove through/followed a major storm. All in all the trip a bit longer than we hoped, but the girls did sleep a little bit. Annelise fell asleep around 8.30 and HC fell asleep around 9.30. Well, at least they fell asleep!

We all had a great visit. We enjoyed a couple walks, and a trip to the flea market. At the flea market the girls had their first pony ride. They both did a great job, and even Annelise rode without much assistance. The girls had a good time playing with Grandma and Grandpa and Great-Grandma too.

Dave and I had a chance to go out alone which is always a special treat. He wanted to take me to a fish farm where we could catch our own fish and have it cooked any way we wanted. However after driving around the mountains for over an hour we determined that the place was closed. We ate somewhere else and then...here's a throw back...went to the drive-in. We watched Fast and Furious 4?5? It was fun. Before the movie started Dave had to figure out how to turn off the headlights in the car. We drove his mom's car and she has a sensor. He tried really hard, but to no avail, we ended up putting a rug over the hood of the car, so it all worked out.

Thanks, John!

I know I have blogged about this hymn before, but really I think I need to sing this song everyday. Or maybe I need someone else to sing it TO me. I was listening to this week's topic on the White Horse Inn which is entitled "Rightly Dividing the Word: Law and Gospel". It was fab. I cannot do it justice by summarizing, you must just listen to it, or ask me to borrow the cd. But here are a couple thoughts:
There are 3 uses of the law:
1. To point us to our need for Christ (we cannot live up to the law)
2. To some degree the law is written on all humanity's hearts, common grace, why we all agree that murdering is wrong, etc.
3. To show us how we should behave as believers.

The problem is that the basis for our faith is not law, but gospel. Law shows us what God demands and Gospel gives us what we need to meet what God demands. I often get bogged down in the law...I am not doing what I should be doing. I do not love God or my neighbor as I should. The solution is not to try harder...to give all of myself to God...to read more scripture...to pray harder. The solution is the announcement of the Gospel. My failures, my "mistakes", my sin, past, present and future was paid for one afternoon two thousand years ago. I need to hear that announcement everyday because I am always trying to pay for my sin. "When through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more."

This week we have been teaching HC this hymn. Thank you John Newton!
Let us love and sing and wonder
Let us praise the Savior’s name
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame
He has washed us with His blood
He has brought us nigh to God

Let us love the Lord Who bought us
Pitied us when enemies
Called us by His grace and taught us
Gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood
He presents our souls to God

Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqu’ror’s crown
He, Who washed us with His blood,
Soon will bring us home to God

Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
He Who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God

Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high
Here they trusted Him before us
Now their praises fill the sky
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou art worthy Lamb of God

New Site

I found this new website that I think is pretty cool. Actually I saw something about it on my friend's fridge yesterday and it looked SO cool I had to check it out myself.

I love sites like this. I also thought I would like to a specific article that I enjoyed. It is called The Daily Balance of Parenting and Housework. I found it useful, and I will say HC and I have a good time when she helps me fold the laundry. =)

One more thing. I have the sweetest daughter in the whole world. Last night I went to be with a friend. When I was leaving I told HC that I was going to be with Sadie's mama which seemed to make my leaving better for her.

This morning I went in to wake her up and here was the convo.
HC: Oh Mama, did you see Sadie's Mama last night?
A: Yes, I did, HC.
HC: with head a little cocked to the side, "and did you have a good time"
A: Yes, I did have a good time, thanks for asking me about it.
HC: Oh Mama, I am so glad, so glad Mama.

I love my little Hadleigh Claire!

Girls Weekend

A couple weeks ago I was able to take a much deserved weekend away. I actually decided it was my first "Girls Weekend" in 5 years. I don't count going on a women's retreat as a girls weekend away...it is just not the same thing. So, anyway, the last time I went away with women for no other reason than to be together was over 5 years ago, right before we moved to Germany.

So a couple weeks ago I flew up to Rochester, NY to be with my college buddies, Elaine and Jen. Elaine and Jen were my next door neighbors my freshman year in college. My last girls weekend was actually with these two girls, so it was fun to be together again. We chose Rochester because Jen is still nursing her youngest, Levi. Everyone has been asking me, why Rochester? Anyway, that is why Rochester.

This idea was actually hatched last fall. Elaine called me and said, let's do something the first weekend in May...I don't care what, where, etc. I put it on my calendar and then in January we began making plans.

Elaine and I flew in on Friday and went straight to lunch and then to get a mani/pedi. This has been a theme of our weekends away! It was fab! I actually got a french manicure because I knew that it would last at least 3 days (since I knew I was not going to have to wash my hands after changing diapers multiple times over the weekend).

We had a great time crashing at Jen's and her husband Dan took great care of her kids, so we could enjoy every waking moment possible. Elaine and I, in true extrovert fashion stayed up until 3am both nights. Oh the conversations we had were SO wonderful!

I know that I could write more, but I just do not have time. So, to sum up, it was wonderful. It was so fun to be with friends I have known for almost 15 years. It was fabulous to just pick up right where we left off, and to have the opportunity to speak into each others lives. And it is just comforting to know that there are women out there that really love me and get me, and have loved me for a long time, even when I was a freak in college (and I was a freak). I look forward to the day we can introduce all the kiddos to one another, oh what fun that day will be!

A New Era

The girls are napping. I just finished mixing up a new batch of granola bars (which we love and make often, thanks Jeanie), which are now in the oven. And now it is time to catch up on blogging.

I got a call from an Army friend over the weekend. Sara and her kiddos are coming through Atl in July and planning a stop here. Since her call I have been thinking back. We have now been back in the states for 2 years and 7 months, which is officially longer than we actually lived in Germany. The last 2.5 years have been filled/brimming over with transitions. Dave found a job, didn't find a job, found a job, didn't find a job (etc) for 6 painful months until he finally found THE job. We found out I was expecting Annelise. We started plugging back into Intown and getting involved in a Community Group and a fellowship. Annelise was born. She was crazy. We bought a house and moved. We started working on the house...but really for the last year things have been stable. No major transitions in the last year, what a relief!

We are beginning to sink our roots here in Atlanta deep (although we still talk about moving to New Zealand one day). There are wonderful things about that, and then for us (who thrive on change) there are hard things.

In the last six months we have both been feeling some need for change. We do not ever want to play life safe, but always want to be trying new things and taking risks. Although it is hard to know what that may/may not look like when we have two small children. So, we have just been praying that the Lord will lead and show us.

At this point I think we have decided more about what we are not going to be doing than what we are going to be doing. So, our community group, which we have been part of for the last 2 years has ended. It was bittersweet. Overall I had a great sense that Dave and I needed to do something different, but at same time it has been difficult to think of not being with those folks on a weekly basis. They walked with us through our major transitions of baby and house and job. I think it will be good for us to get a little break from leading/hosting, though I honestly have a hard time imagining my life and our home without people here regularly. We like a lot of people in our home all the time.

We have also been on the leadership team of a Sunday morning fellowship for the last 2 years. The fellowship is comprised of mostly singles and a few young marrieds. In the spring we also decided that it was time for us to take a break from the leadership team.

I think these are good moves for us, and will give us some much needed time to reevaluate our priorities/listen to what God would have us do. At the same time I keep wondering if there is a place for us out there in the big, wide world, and what that place might be. To be honest, I do not like to wait for anything! Sometimes I ask Hadleigh to be patient, and she often exclaims, "NO! God is patient!" Yes, I remind her, God is patient, but sometimes is HC patient too? And then she always thinks on this for a while, and usually answer that YES, sometimes she is patient. Sometimes she evens says something about me being patient. To that I always respond, "actually, Mama is not patient, but God is making me more patient." There is nothing about me that screams patient. In any case here I am forced to be patient, the very thing I hate to be. I want to know what is ahead and make plans and prepare...but for now I am trying to enjoy the waiting. The anticipation of what might be...it is a struggle for me, but a fun journey too.

OK, I think I smell the granola bars burning.

And Because I Apparently Forgot about Easter Pics

because what good is Easter if you don't get good pics...ok, so Dave played in the sunrise service, so I got the girls ready and was trying to get a shot before we left...

Gotta love the hands around the neck...

just the girls...
now dave tries to get a couple after service...

and the token self-portrait...

Miss Hadleigh Claire is 3.2

This past month has been very eventful for the little miss. She has been consistently dressing from head to toe in the morning. This is such a fun activity and I am so happy about this achievement! She loves to have a say about what she is going to wear which can occassionally become painful, but we are trying our best to minimize this. She seems to know which shirts are for school and which socks are for church. This can be helpful but also painful as you can imagine.

Another milestone is that she can climb into her carseat and buckle herself in. Yea! This is such a fabulous skill to possess. Both the dressing and the buckling came with a lot of practice. One of her favorite phrases the past couple months is "I can't", and I have heard this is a common 3 year old phrase. We have been able to switch out "I can't do it" with "I can do it!" After each accomplishment we exclaim (with great joy and excitement) "I CAN DO IT." She loves to say this now...and I love to hear it!Miss HC has begun memorizing scripture verses. This is super fun, although sometimes I have to get REALLY creative about how I explain them to her. She has memorized Colossians 3.20, Psalms 34.15-16, and Psalms 115.1. I love hearing her say the little verses. While searching the web for some resources on Family Worship I stumbled onto John Piper's website. He has a verse for every week that his congregation memorizes, and we thought that was a decent place to start. I had the Bible verses ABC book, but it just seems silly to have HC memorize things like "Jesus wept" when I know she can do a more complete thought. Anyway, we are going to work on Psalm 34 for a while and see what we can come up with. It might be too hard, but so far we are all enjoying it.

I have also been working hard at trying to know and understand HC. I am reading the book "Nurture by Nature" and I think it has been helpful in helping me identify HC's little personality (the book walks through the Myers Briggs Types...ENFP, etc). It has been a fun book to read and tool to help me think through how HC responds in different situations and how that comes from who she is. I love using the Myers Briggs, so it is helpful for me to think in those terms.

OK, that is about all I have to say re the little miss. You can see from some of the pictures that she has a new unique way of smiling for the camera. It usually involves looking off into the distance and smiling. You can see in the picture above that she is showing off the panda stamps she got at the zoo.

Berlin is My City

Here is a link that you must watch when you have 15 minutes to spare. We have written before about our dear friends David and Eowyn, who have been working in Berlin for almost 10 years. David was the bestman in our wedding, and also baptized Hadleigh Claire while we were living in Germany. They are dear friends, and we care deeply for their work.

The Elf is 18 Months

Can it truly be May already? On Saturday our little elf turned 18 months old. It continues to be a treat to be around Annelise. She is always full of hugs and kisses and cuddles.

Sometimes I think I treat Annelise like a puppy as I show off her little tricks, but for the most part Annelise shows off her tricks on her own. She loves giving waves and blowing kisses to all who pass. Last week applied for her passport and she completely charmed the man who took her passport picture.

If you ask Annelise a question requiring a yes or no answer she will always answer. She gives one big nod for yes and will shake her head for no. This definitely helps with communication, but also leads to some tantrums. For example it will be obvious that she wants something so I will begin to ask her about the different things, "Annelise do you want your sunglasses?" I receive a big shake no..."do you want your cup of milk?"...a big shake no..."do you want Dada's hammer?"...a big nod yes..."I am so sorry sweet girl, you cannot have Dada's hammer", and then she will throw herself on the floor. I actually took a video of one of her tantrums the other day since I know that folks like Christy just cannot even fathom that my sweet little Annelise could throw a tantrum. But the video is over a minute and kinda painful. After watching it again I thought it might seem a little heartless that instead of comforting my obviously distressed daughter I was taking a video of her. It is somewhat impossible to comfort Annelise when she is in a mood like that, but in any case I decided not to post and let your imagination take you away with the idea. We usually have at least one day which is kind of annoying, but I hope will pass with time.

She is becoming much more independent. I have noticed when we are at a playground she will climb up the steps and come down the slide all by herself. We went to one of those places that have a lot of bouncy inflatables and Annelise absolutely LOVED every second. She would crawl into one of the enclosed inflatables and lie down on her back while everyone was jumping around her. I think she like being bounced by someone else. There was also a big inflatable slide, and she loved that I would sling her up and sit her on the top of it (the top was way above my head, I could barely reach it with my hands extended above me) and then she would slide down by herself.

Annelise is quite a destroyer. She is rough and tumble and sometimes I feel like she is dangerous! The other day she completely tore a board book apart. How does that happen? I am glad that she is so different from Hadleigh because it is fun to see her becoming her own little person with her own big personality. It makes life fun and interesting and never dull. She is still my little mischevious elf.

Working

I know, I need to post some pictures of our new and improved living room. But until then, here is a pic of Annelise helping Dave put together a fab piece of Ikea furniture. It was PAINFUL to put together, and they actually gave him some wrong hardware, so he had to go back and get the right stuff...but it looks awesome up! Below is a video of the girls...which I think is super funny. Annelise just LOVES when HC wakes up from her nap!

Yummy Recipes

You do not know me well if you do not know that I LOVE to cook. I just love it. I would cook all day if someone was there to eat, and if someone would clean up after me (I tend to be a really messy chef). Dave loves to cook too, and he is actually a much better cook than I am. We enjoy trying new recipes and new foods and new combinations, so there is always some funky food nights at our home.

I usually make at least one new recipe a week, which is super fun, but recently we have been trying a lot of new recipes, and I was thinking I would be happy to share. For the last three weeks we have been eating mostly vegetarian which has been a blast. We are working on Dave's cholesterol, and I am anxious to see what kind of result it will have, but we are also trying to loose some extra pounds and just be more healthy in general.

I also hosted my neighborhood's Bunco night last night. This is SO super fun, and my neighborhood is awesome. I am SO thankful that the Lord directed us to this house and this neighborhood. It is not at all what we thought we wanted, but it is everything that we needed and had no idea. Our neighborhood is very active and fun and loves to be together. We have several organized parties a year, cook outs, egg hunts, Christmas parties, etc. There is a great wide range of age groups, so we have some older retirees, we have some mid-lifers, and we have some young families with lots of kids. At least 6 families have children under 6, and I love getting to know these other families and children. Anyway, once a month some of the women get together for food, drinks and a little Bunco (really it is more about hanging out, but Bunco is a fun game/activity). We rotate and every month someone else hosts, which is fun because everyone has their own unique personality and style which comes out, of course, in their home, but also in the food they choose to prepare.

For my Bunco night I brought a little European flare with some yummy crepes! We had Chicken, Mushroom and Asparagas Crepes, Mushroom Crepes with Poblano Chile Sauce, Jam-Filled Crepes, and Caramel, Pecan Crepes. Oh there is nothing healthy about any of these crepes, but they are super yummy and a fun splurge. I used the basic crepe recipe from "Joy of Cooking". What a fab basic cookbook, a must have for every kitchen. The nice thing about crepes is although folks tend to think of them as a lot of work (and they can be), they can be done in stages. Fab! So I made all the crepes (a stack of sweet and a stack of savory) on Thursday night. I have two crepe pans which makes it super easy. I also cut up all my veggies on Thursday night. Then on Friday morning I made the filling for the CMA crepes and the MPC crepes. I could also assemble the MPC crepes, which I did. So, 30 minutes before everyone arrived, I filled the CMA crepes and threw them in the oven. I grated cheese over the MPC crepes and threw them in the oven and I was basically set. AWESOME!

I also wanted to link to a couple fun vegetarian recipes. I will say, it is a little frustrating to eat healthy because it is more expensive. I hate that I can feed my family for less when I buy processed foods as opposed to whole foods. Irritating! I do clip coupons and it is helpful for some things (detergents, toilte paper...I got tooth paste the other week for $.75 a tube), but what about coupons for chicken, 7% fat ground beef, vegetables and fruits. I do a lot to keep costs down, I make my own chicken broth and use dried beans, I buy block cheese, but...it is hard! Anyway, that was an aside...here are some fun recipes.

Roast Chicken Breast with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes and Paprika I know, you are thinking, wait I thought she said vegetarian. I love this recipe with the chicken, but it is equally as good without the chicken (also a note, I do not use as much evoo as they call for in the recipe, and I use non-fat plain yogurt for the sauce). Serve this over rice...AMAZING!

Shepherd's Pie This was super yummy too, although Dave was extremely bummed that I did not include lamb. Next time!

OK, happy, healthy cooking!