Vegetable garden, that is. Growing up in WV, I would transplant daffodils and ferns from the nearby creek to decorate our yard. Several friends would gift perennials to add to my collection. But flower gardens became a thing of the past once I married. Working full-time those first three years of marriage meant that I… Read More My First Garden
At the magic hour, we celebrated God’s good gift of family with a photo shoot at Portland’s Laurelhurst Park. The golden light filtering through the stately old trees dappled the park in beauty. Our photographer, Nick Varady-Szabo, helped us relax in front of the camera by asking us to sing silly songs with the kids and… Read More Into the Wild of this Grace
Silas was reading to Brynn this morning, and Brynn decided to read along with him. Cooper, on the other hand, has decided to pursue his doctorate.
That’s right! I’m a “mini-van mom.” I’m well aware that I’m a rolling stereotype, but this new ride is worth it. Our 2004 Buick Rendezvous had been slowly dying for a long while. It wasn’t in great shape when we bought it six years ago, but we certainly got our money’s worth out of it!… Read More My Baby Bought Me a Swagger Wagon
Well, I was hoping for winter, and Portland delivered. It delivered a foot of snow two Wednesdays ago. And the kids loved their first blizzard! When considering moving to Portland, we found that an average Portland winter has about one or two days of snow–and then, it’s usually only about an inch of snow accumulation,… Read More Snowbound
Snow is unusual here in Portland. There’s typically about one day of snow a year here, so this week has been incredible! Monday morning, I was taking Coop to the doctor when it started snowing big, beautiful flakes. We started cheering right there in the car! Once we got back home, the roads were covered… Read More Snow for Christmas
Between two birthdays and Thanksgiving all in the same month, Novembers are busy with celebrations around here. Because we’ve settled into life here in Oregon, our family calendar was a lot fuller this past month. I volunteered in Silas’s classroom twice and hope to do it more. His teacher’s love for her students and love… Read More Around Here
Silas As Dad Moody noted when he and Mom visited a few weeks ago, Silas seems to have forgotten about superheroes the moment we set foot in this house. While superheroes are fun for little boys to be into, and while I do miss seeing him in costume, I’m happy that the outdoors and nature… Read More Growing Up
Cooper: “I saw a daddy mosquito.” Me: “How did you know it was a daddy mosquito?” Cooper: “Because it was bigger than a mommy mosquito, and it wasn’t wearing a necklace.” This was my conversation with Coop as we picked blueberries last Saturday. Stephen (of all people!) saw the signs for the U-Pick blueberry farm… Read More Blueberries and Babies
Today is Coop’s special day. Today he turns three and a half. We tend to make a big deal out of half birthdays around here. Tonight we took the kids to McDonald’s for Happy Meals and some Play Place action. Cooper is our big-hearted teddy bear. Our gentle giant. He loves his close friends and… Read More “Fee an’ a Ha’f”