cam ham...

Hopefully, I'm gonna get back to blogging on a regular basis soon...now that I'm finally willing to admit that Summer break is really over.  I have lots of things to post about our busy and fun time off.  But...tonight I ran across some pictures that I took of Eli right before his birthday in July.  I decided to set up an in-home photo shoot in hopes of getting a good picture for his invitation.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. E was quite a ham during the "shoot" and I just think these are too cute not to share...

 And....the winner for the invite...

take me to the river...

now that Summer's here, I'm thrilled to have more time to spend with E and hanging outdoors.  One of the things that I hope most for E is that he'll always appreciate the beauty of God's creation and be able to just sit back and enjoy it.  We did that this weekend with his first tubing trip down the river.  It had been a long time since I had been and I loved every minute...E enjoyed the calm parts and was a little spooked by some of the rapids.  I have a feeling this was the first of many trips, though.

After our cruise down the river, we hung out at the Blue Ridge BBQ Fest for the rest of the day.  It's always a fun time of good food, music, crafts, and rides for E.

egg'd out...

after a weekend full of buying, dying, deviling, hiding, hunting, and eating them, I've had my fair share of eggs for a while.  It was a really happy Easter this year, though.  We've spent lots of time with good friends and family over the last couple of days which has been really nice.  I really wanted to write more of an update on things tonight, but I'm exhausted.  So exhausted, in fact, that I still haven't packed one thing for our trip to the shore tomorrow.  I'm already on beach time, I guess ;-)  Anyway...I hope all of you are doing well and had a very blessed Easter weekend!

 E was quite a ham before church this morning...

Too bad our only family pic was taken after we had an egg-hunt in the most damp air possible, thus, my terrible hair-do :-)

birthday, anyone?

'cause I'm looking for another excuse to make my new addiction favorite treat.  Eli's teachers do a really cool thing and celebrate the summer birthdays in their class throughout the school year.  Maybe you all are familiar with this, but we're new to the whole preschool scene and I just thought it was such a neat idea.  Anyway....E celebrated his birthday with his class this past Wednesday and we were asked to bring a treat to share.  After browsing Pinterest a bit, I discovered "birthday cake popcorn".  And let me tell you...it is so yummy...and so easy....and cheap...and well-liked by adults and kids alike...and something fun that you and your kids can do together...and....ok...I think I'm getting a little carried away ;-)  Thought I'd pass along my new favorite recipe...enjoy!

what you'll need...

from left to right, top to bottom...

1~  pop popcorn and spread out to get rid of un-popped kernels

2~  melt 8 oz. candy-coating (my recipe called for white chocolate, I used almond bark)

3~  mix in 4 heaping tablespoons of cake batter (recipe called for yellow mix, but I used the funfetti mix) until smooth.  Combine candy-coating and batter mixture with popcorn in a large bowl.

4~  add lots of colorful sprinkles (some recipes I found added mini m&ms, etc.)

5~  separate and form popcorn in desired shapes

The recipes I found showed the final product in clusters or balls for serving.  I wanted to do something a little more fun so I thought of using ice cream cones.  It takes a little bit of patience to get the popcorn piled nicely, but I think the finished product was worth it!  Then, we just used some fun cellophane bags for easy tote and to keep them fresh!

painting fun...

just looked at my last blog post...it's been over a month since then and I can't believe it.  Time is going by too fast...it's simply got to slow down.  Or, maybe I should slow down.  I know that my neck and back are definitely telling me that lately.  Let's see....since my last post, we have celebrated a great, white Christmas in Iowa, shared two other special "Christmases" with family here in NC, and I had lots of fun bringing in the New Year with family in Asheville for a couple of days.  Other than that, we've been working and enjoying the new toys Santa delivered.  Santa was quite a spoiler this year, bringing a sandbox and a full-size trampoline to our house.  I think E has been pleasantly surprised by how much Jesse and I want to jump with him...I forgot how fun it is!  Jesse, on the other hand, enjoys terrifying me by bouncing me too high and then laughing at my squeals.  It's quite a sight for our neighbors, I'm sure.  One of E's Christmas presents from his Aunt Angie was a wooden car kit.  He and I played body shop and enjoyed some painting fun last night...

six sweet somethings...

wow...posting six sweet somethings for each week has turned out to be an even harder task than I thought.  I'm hoping once the Christmas season has passed and we're finally able to keep our household well, it'll be a bit easier.  Since my last post, I was sick for several days and now Eli is sick.  Besides that, though, we have had a lot of good stuff going on.  The lights are on here in McA, we've had fun Christmas parties to attend, and I celebrated a wonderful birthday this week.  I'm still blown away by how much everyone in my path that day made it so special.  It was the best birthday I've had in while.  Here are several "sweets" from the past several weeks...

From left to right, top to bottom...

1...E's visit with Santa last week

2...First Christmas program at school...don't know that I've ever been more proud :-)

3...Mrs. Karen and I partied hard with the Cubbies for our birthday

4...The Nester Sale with Julie

5...PWC basketball jerseys make great capes for Daddy fans

6...E met the dentist...maybe I was just as proud then ;-) 

the bucket list...

I don't have an official written bucket list, but I have several things in mind that I really hope to do before I die.  I've realized over the last couple of days that a few of the smaller things on my list revolve around this season of the year.  For one...I want to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in person, and two...I want to do an all-night Black Friday shopping trip just once.  I don't want to go with something in mind that I have to get.  I'd just like to go grab a corner bench somewhere, sip on some hot coffee and watch the madness.  I've decided that I'll check this one off of the list when I won't stay busy playing with E the next day.  I might be a bit too tired for that.  Anyway....I happily checked one thing off of my bucket list this weekend.  On Friday, Jesse, E and I headed to Boone for a night in the hills and a fresh cut tree.  Yep...I've always wanted to pick and cut a Christmas tree from a tree farm.  And... it was just as fun as I always thought it would be.  There's just something special about picking out trees with red noses and frozen hands...this girl's really hoping it becomes a tradition ;-)

                         






  

six sweet somethings...

there are a few blogs that I like to keep up with daily if I can.  I've always wished that I could post at least a brief something everyday, but I've found it's completely unrealistic for me....one thing that absolutely shouldn't be added to my daily to-do list.  Some of the bloggers that I follow do a "High Five for Friday" post each week.  Have you seen them?  I think it's such a neat idea and have wanted to do it for a while myself.  I'm now going to attempt and I'm going to pretend that I'm not being an all-out, full-blown copycat by choosing a different name and number :-)  These posts will be called "Six Sweet Somethings".  Often, during the week, there are so many "sweet" things that happen and I don't document them anywhere.  In this context, I've decided that "sweet" can mean many different things...sweet as in an act of kindness...sweet as in the way that Eli's cheeks look on a particular day...sweet as in a "sweet" deal that I run across during the week...or sweet as in something really yummy to eat.  So, here it is, folks...my first six sweet somethings for the week...we'll see how this goes ;-)

From left to right, top to bottom...

1~ my phone was acting up but it wasn't time for an upgrade...my Daddy gave me his iPhone 4 that is still in mint condition

2~ learned to make a new scarf this week and I love it!

3~ $5 bubble earrings that I picked up on my annual trip to the Christmas show with Maw-maw, the great-aunts and Ken

4~ my little sister is engaged...and this is their engagement picture.  How sweet is that?  

5~ new devotional book that I'm really liking...Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

6~ the perfect view from our tent last Friday night....a cross my Daddy made 

Ok...can I sneak one more sweet thing in just this once?  I can't resist posting this video from the week. It's kind of awkward because I had to record it from my phone, but it's full of sweetness...

I love the last part where he acts like he's forgotten the words...I think he's seen someone do this and it's his new thing.  It didn't take him long to realize that he gets lots of laughs out of it ;-)

what a hoot...

E spent this Halloween (his 4th one!) as a wise lil' hoot owl.  Yesterday evening, we trick-or-treated around Jesse's office and tonight we spent some time at our church and around our neighborhood.  We had tons of spooky visitors again this year!  E really seems to enjoy hanging around home and handing out candy best of all.  And...I think all of the trick-or-treaters really liked that he took over the job this year.  He would grab handfuls of candy for them and ask them what kind they liked.  It was too cute!  Hope you all had a fun and happy Halloween...this girl's tired and headed for bed...night!

  

the creeper....

after about 10 years of hearing great things about the Virginia Creeper trail, I was finally able to experience it yesterday.  My Dad, Jesse, E and I headed up with our bikes and spent some much needed time outdoors.  Although a lot of the leaves had already fallen in the area, it was still nice to see them all covering the path as we rode along and it was nice that it wasn't crowded.  We rode only a portion of the trail stretching between Abingdon and Damascus which was about 15 1/2 miles.  I hadn't ridden my bike in a long time and boy could I tell.  The ride was a pretty easy one and I was still sore and panting by the time we reached our destination.
Our plan was to have lunch and ride the same portion of the trail back to our car.  But, shortly after we started back, my Dad ended up with a flat tire so Jesse rode back solo and picked us up.  I'm thinking maybe that flat was the Lord's way of saving me and E from the trip back.  After hearing about it from Jesse, I know I would have really struggled and E was already getting restless in his little trailer.  Despite my achy body, I can say that it's definitely a trip we'll take again.  If you haven't visited and you're looking for a good day-trip option from our area, it's a great pick!

        

big jack......little jack.......jack, jack, jack...

I can’t remember a stage of Eli’s life where he hasn’t loved lights.  From very early on, I noticed that this little boy just couldn’t get enough of them.  I’ve always thought it was extremely cool, too, how the Lord placed this little boy with such a love of lights in the middle of Christmas Town…what better place could there be, right?  Anyway…now that it’s the spooky time of year again, we’re taking walks around our neighborhood to see all of the lit jack-o-lanterns and cute string lights hanging around.  And…we’ve got several “jacks” sitting around in our house.  We’ve got a “Jack”, a “Big Jack”, a “Little Jack”…about any “Jack” you can imagine.  Two of them hang around and glow in E’s bedroom at night which just thrills him.  On Sunday, we spent some time working on a couple of other jacks to add to the collection.  It was E’s first time pumpkin-carving and he seemed to have a ball…

I spent this past weekend with some great friends at the Women of Faith conference.  If you’re a woman and you haven’t been to one of these, I say you should strongly consider it.  If you’re a man and you haven’t been, take my word for it and don’t go…it would be extremely weird ;-)  I’m laughing at myself right now, but I feel sure that you’re not and that you're probably thinking I'm pretty cheesy....  sooooo…let’s move on…;-)  The weekend included lots of great worship tunes and super great speaking.  Christine Caine, from Australia, was one of the speakers and was easily my most favorite part of the conference.  Ladies…if you have not heard her before, look her up online and check her out!  The story of her life and how she’s used things in her past to provide a future for others is incredible.  I’m convinced that the hour of listening to her speak was one of the most quickly passing hours of my life.  I really could listen to her all day!  I picked up her latest book "Undaunted" while we were there and it's a great read so far.

While I was busy getting blown away by Christine’s message, Jesse and E were busy playing at the apple orchard and talking with Johnny Appleseed.  When I got home, E was sound asleep and dirty which told me that it had been a really good day in his book :-)  I was so glad that Jesse remembered to take the camera with them…AND, that he even remembered to take pictures ;-)  

hermanus...

I was just editing some pictures from the last few days of our trip this summer and realized I never posted about our final little get-away while we were there. Before leaving, we spent a couple of days in Hermanus, a quaint little coastal town that's famous for whale-watching. We stayed in a super cozy hotel named the Harbour House, where we were able to spot a few whales while eating breakfast in our room. I mean, I'm used to occasionally spotting a dolphin from the beach hotels at home, but whales? That was pretty crazy. We took a whale-watching cruise while we were there and at one point were surrounded by 9 huge Southern Right whales. We also saw lots of seals and penguins, a few great whites, and watched a group of shark divers in action. Out of all of the things to be excited about in Hermanus, E was most thrilled by the John Deere pulling our boat ;-)

goin' swimmin' ?

nope.... just weed-eatin' :-)

Jesse brought home a toy weed-eater on Wednesday and it literally took E's breath away. He gasped and then said "Oh, wow!" several times as he ran around the room with it. It was definitely love at first sight ;-)

well hello, leaver...

unusual name, huh? When we asked him what he wanted to name his new pet caterpillar, Eli had no problem landing on this one...Leaver. Of course, it's because he likes to eat leaves :-) Our neighbor, Mrs. Paula, finds these caterpillars in her flower gardens a lot and saved this one for E. We fixed him a nice new home and he's now hanging out in the kitchen window sill, praying that he'll survive the loud, sticky-fingered little boy, I'm sure ;-)

Check out E's faces...can you tell he was just a tish excited?

see ya later...

After about four hours of straightening and packing, I'm finally kicking up my feet and taking a second to type. It's after midnight here. We're getting ready to sleep our last night in Cape Town and I'm really sad about it. And, it's strange...if you'd asked me three months ago how I'd feel on the last night...I feel sure I wouldn't have described it this way. I considered a few different titles for this post..."the end", "the last days", etc...just didn't work. I think most of us that have been here together agree that this just can't be it...the end. So, for now, it's a "see ya later". In face, I've already got a couple of future trips in mind ;-) So...to you, my Cape Town friends, it's been a pleasure to share in this journey with you. I'm taking home so many priceless memories that I have you to thank for. I'm praying for safe travels for each of you and that the days between now and the time that I'll see you again will be few
:-) Much love to you all!

Now...to those of you back home...we're coming whether you like it or not. And, the fact that I'm sad about leaving absolutely does not mean that I haven't missed you like crazy, because I absolutely have. And, you know what this means, don't you? The fact that I haven't seen you in three months means that we've got a lot of making up to do ;-) Please pray for us as we travel so far again...Love to you all, too!

oh dear...

I've fallen a bit behind on my blogging and am completely overwhelmed with the thought of squeezing the events of the last two weeks into one meezly little blog post. I feel sure that most of you reading this are not so broken-hearted that I'll have to spare some details, but it stresses me. My goal is to have the posts from our trip bound so that I can save them...and I have simply stunk at making sure I document everything lately. Oh well...life will go on, I guess :-)
So...life in Cape Town lately...hmmm...full of emotion. Anxiety, excitement, sadness, and so much more. Last week was an incredibly stressful week for Jesse and his colleagues as they finished up their projects...and when they're stressed...we're stressed. It meant lots of long hours and them being away from us for one last weekend. But, guess what? We survived and we packed as much fun as we possibly could into those couple of days! Excitement [as mentioned above]...I'm feeling because we're coming home in only a week and will have tons of special people to see and catch up with! And, sadness...because we're leaving behind lots of people who have become very special to us here.
The last two weeks, with the exception of the four days that Eli was sick with a yucky cold, have been really nice. In a nutshell...we've visited the West Coast, where we saw tons of animals and beautiful flowers...we've visited some beautiful gardens, a new park, and a new farm...spent more time at the market and on the beach with friends...enjoyed a slumber party with my friend Neha and her daughter V...took Eli and V ice skating for the first time...spent some time at the Cape Town science center...enjoyed a date with E on Tommy the Tugboat...ate at some more really yummy restaurants...and I just enjoyed another great ladies' night out last night. Whew...no wonder I'm typing from bed tonight at only 9:00!
I mentioned before that Jesse had his last retreat this weekend. It was held in Stellenbosch at the Spier Hotel and Conference Center. The hotel is part of the Spier wine farm so you can imagine it's surroundings are just beautiful. On Sunday, several of us headed up to have lunch with the guys and enjoy the afternoon in the area. Jesse had also made a reservation for us to stay with him there on Sunday night so I was really excited about that. It was a chilly and rainy afternoon/night so it was perfect for sitting by the fire and having a fun dinner at Moyo with my friend Jessica and her family. We had already eaten at two different Moyos during our trip, but it's hard to pass up. The decor and set up of the restaurants is amazing. You'll notice lots of details from the restaurant in my collages. My favorite is the big tree with the colorful couches and lanterns underneath. We ate in a huge tent and there were little what I called "tree houses" all around with tables for guests. So...you can eat in the trees if you want...how cool is that? I could go on and on about the place...really, on and on and on...it was incredible. Anyways...after dinner came the best part... drifting off to sleep by the fire in our room...it was such a nice break from our apartment!
The next several days before we leave are already filled with plans for a few more new adventures and many returns to our favorite spots one last time. They will be bittersweet ones, that's for sure :-)
Hope all of you at home are still doing well...can't wait to see you!

nine days with nanny nancy...

one thing's for sure...I said a while back that I thought the rest of the weeks here would fly...and they are doing just that. The past nine days have been some of the fastest but were packed with lots of fun with Nanny. My mama came into town last Sunday and left today. We had so much fun with her and are praying for her safe travels back to GA now.
Our week with Nanny was the most beautiful one yet. We had lots of sunny days which made for more good times on the beach and touring around. Lots of the places that we visited were places that E and I had already been but are must-sees here. On Saturday, we started out at one of my favorite spots, the Old Biscuit Mill and Neighborhood Goods Mkt, where we got our bellies full of yummy breakfast quiches and omelets. Then, we headed to Stellenbosch, a mountain town about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town. It's also wine country so it's full of beautiful vineyards. We spent some time at the Treasury Market there, where the sidewalks are lined with amazing foods, flowers and handmade goods. We found ourselves loitering around the cheese and olive tables...oh, and the bread and fudge tables (and maybe a few more :-) The markets have definitely been one of my most favorite things about this place and I was glad that Mama really enjoyed it too.
Another new destination for us this week was Charly's Bakery in town. Apparently, the bakery has been spotlighted in lots of well-known magazines and enjoyed by lots of famous peeps. We stopped by late this morning to enjoy some coffee and sweet treats before Mama left...Mama and I had the most massive blueberry muffins ever and E had a chocolate cupcake with cherries on top in honor of the ole' hometown, Cville. It was the perfect ending to a special week. Thanks, Nanny, for coming all this way to spend time with us...we had a lot of fun and miss you already. XOXO