2013 Book List

A few books I've managed to finish, I've just started, or am hoping to read yet this year:







Mamarazzi: I love, love, love this book! So many fabulous pictures, ideas, and tips. When talking about camera settings, everything is explained so clearly. Not only does it give excellent tips for photographing children's professional portraits, but it also has many fun ideas about capturing the little details in their life, too. You don't have to be a mom to learn from this book and improve your photography skills!! {grin}  

What have been some of your favorite recent reads? 

4:17pm

"When You give it to them, they gather it up;

when You open Your hand, they are filled with GOOD things."

Psalms 104:28

her cute little toes sticking out of the highchair

{just one of the little things that made me smile today

and praise the Lord for the many, many other good things He has given me!}

A seriously neglected aspect of the art of appreciation is the habit of noticing...

delusions keep us looking ahead or abroad for happiness, instead of ENJOYING the SMALL pleasures right around us -- HERE and NOW.

--David Dunn 

Try Giving Yourself Away

one year old

Arianna; my precious little one year old. 

I love the way you wrinkle your nose when you smile. 

I love the way you wrap your arms around my neck when you want to snuggle.

I love the way your little fingers move and grasp things.

I love the way you begin crawling more quickly towards me when I call your name.

(I like it when you sleep in on Saturday mornings, too). 

I love your little 'serious' face when you are intently studying something new. 

I love when you fold your fingers when Daddy says its time to pray. 

I love the way you wave at everyone at the grocery store. 

I love the way you make Daddy laugh. 

I love when you begin singing along as Daddy plays the guitar. 

I love watching you get all excited when you see a strawberry.

I love the way you greet me with a smile.

I love the way you find delight in little things.  

Most of all -- 

I love YOU

and am so thankful to be your mommy. 

Insta-life

Once again -- its been a full month.
Days filled with rain, teething, snow, new recipes, laundry, more rain, scrap booking, exercising, snow again;
we are more than ready for spring!

I wish I could write and let y'all know that I'm going to resume to consistent posting this summer, but honestly -- I really have no clue how frequently I'll be posting in the coming days. I can tell you that I'm excited to be pulling my camera out more frequently and aim to challenge myself to a 'photo-a-day' for thirty days sometime this summer. (Anyone interested in doing the challenge with me?)

{first visit to the pet store}

To catch you up on the newest, cutest pictures from my phone and a few notable events :

On April 1 we found out that Dan passed the WI bar exam!!! Such a diligent, studious, amazing man that I married. {SMILE}

{green beans win over carrots}

And now later this week, Arianna has her first birthday. Where did the year go? Milestones tend to make me pause and reflect. I have learned so much since Arianna was born -- and considering how much more I have yet to learn, I am humbled to realize I have been entrusted with this little life!

She is becoming quite the copy-cat and daily tries to say new words. Animal sounds are her new favorite (you should see her little 'fish-face!') She's quite the social butterfly and loves grocery shopping with mommy so she can wave at everyone she sees. 

{new teeth are hard work}

{fresh donuts}

{daily bread}

{little fish}

{overnight bread in my cast-iron skillet; ridiculously easy!}

{scrapbooking precious memories...only a year behind!}

And now I'm off to get my little girl up from her nap and get chicken fajitas started for supper. Happy Monday, everyone!

"Be exalted, O Lord, in your STRENGTH! 

We will sing and praise YOUR power."

Psalms 21:13

It's still looking a lot like...

Christmas -- but its the middle of March, folks!

Over the weekend I saw pictures of Rachel & Alan mulching their garden plot in Kansas. I saw pictures of Anna, who is currently on a missions trip to Honduras (palm trees in the background? short sleeves, anyone?)

And this morning I wake up to see even more snow falling from the sky, adding to the piles and mounds still covering the ground.

So to celebrate cold weather this bright, Monday morning, I bring a you a few pictures and a quote from a famous children's author that made me chuckle:

"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.

"AND freezing. 

However," he said, brightening up a little,

"we haven't had an earthquake lately!"

-AA Milne

 Arianna's first snowmen
{Fact: snowmen are not good at keeping themselves together while doing handstands}

Cranberry Apple Crisp

What do I do with a surplus of cranberries sitting in my freezer?

Experiment and try something new, of course. 

(Maybe this is an old recipe and I just never saw it.)

But now it's a favorite.

Simple and yummy. Make this. 

Your tummy will thank you!

Peel and slice 6-8 apples, set aside.

Mix 1 tsp cornstarch and 1/4 C sugar in bowl, add 3/4 cup cranberries and toss to cover berries.

Add the apples and gently mix. Place fruit in a 8x8 square pan.

Mix up the crumble topping:
-3/4 cup brown sugar (or cut it to 1/2. Or increase it to 1 cup. Or use natural sweeteners. Or use a mixture of both.)
-3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
-3/4 cup flour
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 cup butter, softened

Sprinkle topping over fruit and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve while still slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Okay, the ice cream is optional -- but highly recommended!)

The cranberries taste like tart little cherries and go perfectly with apples. {Hopefully you like tart little cherries?!}

Enjoy!

DIY: my 'new' bookshelf

My bookshelf is now sporting chevron! And I love the lil' personality and pop of color it brings to the room. 

Supplies I used:

cardboard, scissors, heavy-duty tape (duck tape works great!), non-glossy wrapping paper, and a measuring tape.

(I've seen tutorials also recommending fabric. Which I'm sure works great, just plan on it being a little more pricey. But that is why I recommend a non-glossy wrapping paper. Glossy wrapping paper will definitely give you the paper look and show every little bend and crease whereas non-gloss will leave people guessing...maybe. Hopefully.)  

I remembered to snap a before picture! Never mind the clutter. {grin}

Instead of cutting cardboard the size of each individual shelf and then wrapping it, I tried saving time by removing all the shelves that I could -- which left two big sections of bookshelf to back. (I was attempting to do this all while Arianna was napping. A big roll of paper on the floor that can't get crinkled really doesn't mix with a toddler crawling all over!) 

After measuring the two big sections, I cut the cardboard to size (I still had some big cardboard pieces from moving... if you don't have big enough pieces, I do recommend doing each shelf individually.) After attempting to cut straight lines, I laid the thin cardboard pieces on the wrapping paper and folded the edges over and taped them down. 

Pick up. Insert in bookshelf. Slide shelves back in. Put books back on and there you have it! 

The completed look.

It was so quick and easy. And makes me happy. 

And did I mention it only cost me $3.99?!

(I had everything on hand except the wrapping paper, which I found on clearance.)

What a fun, simple way to add freshness to an old bookshelf!

And chevron is cool, too. {smile}

And while were talking about DIY projects, you should go check out my cousin Nicole's DIY blog. Instead of using paper and tape, she and her husband are using primer and paint and nails and wood and tools and all sorts of cool stuff to fix up an old house.

What new projects have you been inspired to tried lately?  

Book addict problem #172:

 a trip to the library results in returning one book and checking out five more...

even though there are still four library books sitting on my shelf at home, waiting to be read.

photocredit: 

my instagram 

which mostly consists of pics of a cute baby and yummy food 

{smile}

baby expressions

I CAN still call her my baby, can't I? Even though she is getting so big and developing her own personality and becoming such a sweet and spunky little girl? {grin}

Arianna has been a quick learner in picking up the little bit of sign language I have been doing with her.  

Occasionally she'll be sitting in her high chair with sweet potatoes and yogurt smeared all over her face and those big blue eyes will look up at me and she'll sign "thank you" without any prompting. Talk about a little heart-melting-moment!

She was enjoying a snack of cheerios the other day after her nap and I couldn't help but smile at her antics.

She very carefully picks up a cheerio and bites it in two before eating it. 

  (I don't think she likes the fact that her bowl is empty!)

"Maybe if I take my bowl to Mommy she'll give me more!"