We are enjoying lots of off and on flurries and that big snow at Thanksgiving. Seth is getting the snow tires put on today so I am feeling much better about all of this white stuff!
Wow, 2 months later I am finally sitting down to catch up a bit!!
Spring is here and we are loving it. The Farmer’s markets are back and the flowers (and allergies unfortunately) are in bloom. For Mother’s Day the boys got me The Southern Living Farmer’s Market Cookbook. Everything in it looks delicious! I can’t wait to get to the market on Wed! I love the book, especially because it goes season by season so you can make what it actually available..asparagus and strawberries are the current produce that seem to be everywhere. I already have my eye on a few recipes to try.
For the past 2 months we have been busier than ever with playdates, going to the park, swimming lessons (to be highlighted in the next post with some fun pictures) and enjoying lots of long walks. We have had some hot days and some chilly days.The changing of seasons is so refreshing. I am amazed I survived in Bogota with the constant climate. That must be why I moved our furniture so much.
Seth is still polishing off his German. He is really enjoying it and studying hard. He was just given an extension along with his classmates to be able to stay until the first week of July. We were originally going in June, that got bumped up until May 10th and now it is officially July 7th. I really prefer to refer to it as “tentatively official” because with each year in the Foreign service we are increasingly more aware of the unpredictability of our lives! It remains Seth’s dream job, hence the continuation of the chaos!
A few weeks ago we planted our first mini-garden. Ruthie, my niece, came over to help Jackson and I work. Amazingly enough things are sprouting! I’ll post in a separate post about the garden so you can see how it’s grown! This was day 1! The watering pails were too slow for toddler standards so the first garden watering was more like a flood! They decided to turn the watering cans over and dump!
I just started the Couch to 5k running program. One week down. It looks so easy, peasy on paper but after having 2 babies and spending every waking moment caring for those babies I am finding it to be really challenging. I am appreciating the time to get some fresh air and think a little more clearly without my 2 loyal sidekicks! In addition to taking on running again I have been on a cooking high. Not that everything turns out good kind of high just that I am really enjoying it and hunting through blogs and my recent magazines for anything that might be fun and delicious. Pioneer Woman is one of my new best friends! And Stephanie, my sister-in-law, just lent me her Artisan Bread in 5 mins a day cookbook so that will be my next baking adventure. I will let you know how I do! Notice that none of my recent endeavors include German. It is one of those constant stressors but one that I am having a hard time focusing on with the boys.
this was a chicken I made using as recipe from The Pioneer Woman blog…I took it to a friend a few weeks ago! Don’t ask why I took a picture I just thought it looked pretty yummy.
Stay tuned for posts on Swimming lessons, Easter and all of those other important things that have passed me by!
this was only the beginning!
when it was all over we were left with this!
Here is what Snowmageddon 2010 looked like at our house…
this TX boy had never seen snow like this! Much less shoveled it! He loved the manual labor…the Washington Post had an article about all of the men having shovel envy and loving the manly task of shoveling..this was true for Seth!
Owen mostly stayed cozy and focused on growing his cute brown hair back
endless hours were spent watching “John Henry” and “Jim Bob” our backyard squirrels. It was a squirrels paradise when the bird feeder was at their nose level because the show platform kept rising!
snow babies
snowcones
my mom’s beef stew…before the 6 hours of stewing!
either John Henry or Jim Bob…Jackson could tell you 😉
making pancakes with daddy
Seth said he thought the jokes about icicles being so long in movies like The Christmas Story were just jokes…poor kid. I had no idea how deprived he was as a child. He can now say he has seen a real icicle!
Making Southern Living’s Lemon Butter Sugar cookies with mommy! Yum.
As the storm approached and people began hoarding I tried to stop myself and relax knowing that we would be okay and that we would not go hungry, we had blankets for warmth and that we should make the most of it. So we did. It was ironically a time of rest and refreshment for us. I was at a point of exhaustion before the storm so having Seth home for me to get a little extra rest was a huge blessing. We had lots of fun just playing and eating comfort foods!
This is what Jackson said to Owen as he screamed on our way to church on Christmas Eve! I have to say this was the best Christmas we have had. Not just because Owen joined us only days before..although that had a lot to do with it. It was that we were with family and friends, we made snowmen, snow angels, baked cookies, read Christmas books, decorated our tree together, made a gingerbread house, gave and received gifts, sang our favorite songs and just enjoyed being together. It was the first year that Jackson began to understand Jesus. we spent many hours singing carols of Jesus’ birth and we listened to him ask question after question about all things Christmas.
My parents were here to celebrate with us for Christmas. We ate yummy food, exchanged gifts and had a fun time watching Jackson open gifts with great enthusiasm. One of my favorite gifts this year is the recipe book that my mom recreated for me. The original was my wedding gift from her and it was lost in our box when we moved back a few months ago. So, she spent so much time handwriting all of our favorites again. We had Christmas dinner at my brother Ryan’s home with his family. A couple of days after Christmas our extended family from my dad’s side made the trek over from Maryland for a fun evening of visiting and …you guessed it, more eating. Here are a zillion pictures from Christmas.
Christmas Eve service…Jackson was slightly disappointed when he realized that there was no baby swaddled in a manger. After looking in for Jesus he said “mom, it’s just a pretend blanket”
the cutest stocking stuffer!
Advent calender
Jackson wanted to make a Jackson snowman and an Owen snowman
It was the year of the shortbread cookie! My mom made Jackson his own huge container….and he ate and ate and ate.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNPnqhB36b4]
We hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas!
