one word wednesday

light.

ten on tuesday...

i'm not sure i've done one of these yet...this list of ten things that are running through my brain on this tuesday. if i have...it's been a LONG time...

1. i was so blessed today by the arrival of lynne and her farm fresh eggs. i have been searching for a reliable source for fresh eggs and finally found lynne through localharvest.org. she agreed to bring them to my door for no extra charge as she drives through our little town frequently. not only are her eggs amazing (i had one for snack today!) but she is an amazingly vibrant believer, weaving Christ into her every breath. she was such an encouragement to me today!!

2. today was the first day i was actually able to smell the almond blossoms from my front door. amazing, amazing scent. i can tell my allergies are about to kick into high gear but i don't really mind, breathing in that intoxicating aroma...

3. we're getting ready to say goodbye to john/daddy for several days. i've spent the afternoon mentally preparing myself for the single parent load. i'm so thankful he has a good job and brings home a steady paycheck especially considering his pay is commission based...but still...it's hard when he has to be gone.

4. naomi has been rolling herself over onto her tummy now for about a week...she's getting really good at it. she has become so much more of an infant and less of a newborn in seemingly the last few weeks. it was especially evident when i took her with me to a newborn shoot last sunday. mr. ashton was SOSO tiny; naomi looked like a giant next to him. it amazes me what four months can do.

5. lucy has been cracking me up lately. not that she didn't already but man...the girl is funny! i love her pronunciations...she tries so hard to say words correctly! and most of the time, she does a fantastic job. there are occasions however, when i have absolutely no idea what she's trying to say.

6. i was so proud of elijah today when lynne came over. instead of hiding his face when she asked him how old he was...or mumbling the answer so quietly no one could hear him, he pronounced loudly and clearly that he was four years old and also offered up that lucy was one, almost two. so proud of that little man...

7. i just finished up three photo shoots in two days. that was a bit crazy. my creative eye is a bit worn out. i was going to take the kids out to the orchards today to grab some pictures of them with the blossoms but really had zero motivation! hopefully it'll work out to do it tomorrow since another winter storm is headed this way on thursday. here's a peek from each in chronological order:

8. i am completely bummed that i'm missing out on the first few weeks of my newest niece's life! little joanna was born on the fifth and i so wanted to go up there to meet her. this long distance thing is the pits.

9. i'm really working hard on getting up at least an hour before the kids do. i kinda fell off the band wagon when my mom was here...it's always a bit like vacation when she comes to visit. definitely going to have to be better about it when john's gone. i'm such a better mommy if i have those few minutes to myself in the morning...to read my bible, have a cup of coffee (while it's still hot!), get breakfast started and just generally mentally prepare for the day. sometimes, i even get a shower in! i so wish i was a morning person...but alas...i am not. after i've been up for about fifteen minutes, i never regret doing so...but man! those first fifteen minutes are so.very.hard...every single time. it's helpful if i have the coffee set to brew the night before...that's a huge motivator...but not always. i'm hoping it'll get easier the more i do it...

10. confession : ever since going to the michael w. smith/amy grant concert a few weeks ago, i have been listening to their playlist on my ipod. i'm addicted! (as an aside, i hope to do a blog post about that experience soon. i have a couple audio clips that i want to get off my phone first...) major guilty pleasure!! my favorite shot from the night:

one word wednesday

spring.

in the orchards...

spring is springing here in the valley! seems like the blossoms are late this year...but ah well...they're showing their  beautiful faces now!
back in december, john and i promised his family (parents and sister) pictures of the entire extended family (his parents, his sister and her kids and us) for their walls. unfortunately, we didn't have any pictures to print out. hence the trip to the orchards this past sunday. we covered the gamut of groupings: whole family, just grandkids, grandkids and grandparents, etc. of course, my children didn't want to cooperate and smile...of course.

there are many more of these to come...i've only had a chance to edit this one...but it's probably my favorite!

one word wednesday

thankful.

flashback friday : summertime!!

 it must be that it's february.
it's winter.
still winter.
winter in california, yes...where sunny and sixty degrees is not unusual...but still, winter.

i actually love the winter season...but there are days when even a winter-lover like me can miss the abundance of summertime.
i am SO glad i took the time (it was minimal, really) to freeze four gallon sized bags of blueberries last summer because now, in the doldrums of february, my family and i can enjoy these bright, tasty morsels.
yum.

here's some pictures of our adventures blueberry picking.
(all photographs were taken during may and june of 2010)
 

one word wednesday

twirl.

(instead of "wordless wednesday", i've changed it to "one word wednesday"...works better this way, i think)

 oh my sweet lucy kate...

i've been thinking about you lately.
how big you are...
but still so little.
you will be two in may...and most days i can see the prelude of the "terrible" twos...
but there are so many other moments when your sweet spirit shines through...

you are so curious.
you want to do everything your older brother does.
you LOVE your baby sister...sometimes too hard.
you add at least two new words to your vocabulary daily.
my favorites include the way you say, "wait!" when you're trying to catch up with me...the way everything/everybody is "hiding" if you can't see them ("lucy, where's daddy?"..."hiding!"..."isn't he at work?"..."no, hiding!")...the way you ask to pray at least a dozen times at every meal: "ayemem? uh huh? ayemem?"...the way you say thank you, "nakey, mama, nakey!"...and how you always say "'scuse me!" after a burp or a toot...stinkin' cute.

 your facial expressions crack. me. up.

 you can be so independent...
but at other times, so insecure.
like yesterday, we were outside, in the front, when the garbage man came down the street. you ran to me and hid your face in my legs while crying, "no tuck! no tuck!". one might think you were scared of the noise since the trash man (as elijah calls him) is rather loud but other loud noises (like the vacuum or the coffee grinder) don't bother you in the least...

you are my helper girl.
you love to help me unload the dishwasher (i give you the plastics to put away) and put the wet clothes in the dryer. i'm hoping this trend will continue!!

 you are always singing...the alphabet, twinkle twinkle, the counting song, "moon, moon, moon"...it doesn't matter. and such a sweet little voice you have...
you won't go to sleep unless i sing "moon, moon, moon" to you...it's our special tradition. sometimes you sing it with me...but most nights (or naptimes), you simply hold my hand and suck away on your paci.
yes...you still have the paci. and though i thoroughly dislike it, i almost don't mind you having it at bed time...if only to keep you little for just a bit longer.

i love you sweet girl...

all pictures taken during our trip to san diego, january 2011...