The Perfect Fall Day

Visiting Aunt Chani at her "department" which I think means apartment which is really her dorm room at SPU. It was a great day with my little ladies and my favorite line of the day was,
Pea: "Can I move to college when I'm 5 and a half?"
Also,
Pea: "When I'm older I want to live in the city alone."
(p.s. she thanks Jesus for the city every night).
Momi: "Won't you be lonely?"
Pea: You and Daddy can live with me too forever, and maybe Harper too."
It warmed my little black heart.
After we walked Aunt Chani to her class, we went out to lunch with every one's favorite redhead: little Henry Hoff! I am beginning to become obsessed with his hair and his super cuteness. My favorite part about this picture is Kat and I in the window trying to get their attention saying, "Smile! Future wedding slide show!"
I haven't loaded all the pictures from this day yet, but here are a few good ones...

1 and 1/2 years. Harper.

Today you are exactly one and a half years old. Can it be? You are so interesting and entertaining and sweet. You try to put on whosever clothes you can find on the floor. You bring everyone their shoes when it's time to leave the house. You arrange shoes by color and can walk surprisingly well in my shoes. You love shoes. You are an enthusiastic dancer. You also happen to have rhythm. You can say some words working on more, but can literally understand whatever is spoken to you and you can follow intricate instructions. I think you are frustrated that you can't speak more yet, but all in good time! You have two chipped teeth and are completely fearless. You like to roughhouse with your sister. You are having a hard time separating from Momi right now. This is a new experience for me since Pea didn't ever go through this. I'm secretly enjoying this...
You are obsessed with cars and airplanes. When you hear the garbage truck Thursday mornings you make the face above. You don't take a nap that is ever longer than 45 min. I've learned to accept this, but I don't have to like it;) You are so sweet and love babies. This is also so different from your sister. You carry a baby around with you most places. I love how God made you. I love how He made Pea. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. My prayer is that you will grow fully into this person. I love you, babe H!

Up, Up, and Away

I just love pictures of my girls with balloons...remember this? Memory lane is nostalgic this morning...

Raising Arizona

I've returned from my girl's trip to Arizona and just now catching up on my blog. My mom is here playing Barbies with Pea and Babe H so I have a span of time in which to capture your attention and purge my tumultuous thoughts. This past weekend was filled with laughter, drinks, girl talk, and yummy food! A godsend, really. But in more ways than one. In some ways it has been one of the most spiritually reflective weekends in years for me. Spending time with girls who have seen you fall, pick yourself back up, go in different directions, and choose to love each other through our differences. I've come to respect the fact that as you grow older your own worldview deepens, solidifies, and does not necessarily remain the same as those you consider "cut from the same cloth." Truly, that is the term I'd use to describe our friendships. Whereas I used to see that cloth as all one color, I can now discern patterns and textures that I didn't see before. That does not mean they weren't always there, it just means the cloth is stronger than I expected in some points, still weaker in others; beautiful in an imperfect way.
Despite my serious tone, I haven't laughed that hard since some seriously funny events during our Bell Monopoly Wars in Hawaii. Some random things I loved about seeing my girls were:
-Ashley and Dan's dog Billie. Who was the sweetest bitch in the world...she gets to go to work with Dan every day.
-Seeing firsthand my first "husband's" life, love, and job.
-Meeting A & D's good friend Harry; a Jewish man who chemically straightens his hair, owns a pet rabbit named Domino (who has eaten the majority of his apartment carpet), and claimed there were 7 books in the Torah. When I very politely corrected him the conversation really took a downward turn thereafter...that's him with the horribly dressed gal in the most awesome picture of Ash ever.
-Naomi's hoped for, deserved, and delivered marriage proposal (Congrats Nay and Peder!)
-Nay's humor; we are so in sync.
-The cotton candy.
-The sun.
-Dynamic conversations.
-Quality time with Kat on the airplane; I love talking to you more than you know. Your manner is so peaceful, on target, and you are so funny.
-The matted mullet.
And finally, to life lived in separate togetherness. I love you, my animals.

Mad World

You Scream, I scream, We all scream for ice cream! I love to eat frozen yogurt on a cold day. This may stem from my childhood adoration of wearing my swim suit in the middle of winter indoors at all times. I like to go with the unexpected; my little form of rebellion in a world gone mad...

Driving Miss Harper

This girl is with me and my camera 24-7 at Fred Meyer these days so she's getting a lot of pictures taken of her.
Plus, she's pretty dang cute. Oh, and she LOVES the car cart; more on that to come...

Dancing in September

This September has been an adjustment to say the least! I feel as if these four weeks have been a blur of travel, car pools, school, hospital visits (my MIL had major neck surgery), grocery shopping, soccer, and making dinner.
Repeat.
To break it up I've added in a glass or two of wine, dance parties with my girls, and maybe a pinch of painting. OK a lot of painting; more on that later.
I make for Arizona tonight for a girl's trip that I planned about 6 months back. Before I could foresee the busyness of my current life. I am not packed, there's no laundry done, and I look like fright night BUT despite this I couldn't be more excited to see my friends and some sun. I'll post pictures and stories upon my return, but to tide you over since I've been a poor blogger as of late; here are some random pictures I've taken throughout this week: