Wordle - Love it

I should be cleaning my messy house (results of being snowed in for 2 days), but I found this website and made this:

Like I needed something else to waste time on! Oh well, this was so fun!

Enjoy!

...Mrs. G

Happy Birthday HD

It's hard to believe, but my cousin's little baby is almost one! One of my most cherished memories was visiting with him and his family when he was only 3 months old. It was a bittersweet time for my whole family, as we excitedly welcomed Hudson into the world and very sadly said goodbye to my sweet Grandma Clara. It was a blessing for us that she was able to meet her newest great-grandbaby before she left this world and I believe meeting him was what gave her peace and the ability to say goodbye to the life and family she loved so much.

On our trip down for the memorial service, Ben was able to bond with the whole family on my Dad's side (there's only about 15 of us!) for the first time (other than at the wedding) and he also held a baby for the first time. My husband is completely, absolutely, 100% not interested in babies. He has no desire to hold then, kiss them or cuddle them. None. Zilch. Nada. However, not surprisingly, after a few days with perfect baby Hudson and his big sister Riley, he was in love.

How could you not fall in love with those baby dimples?!? (I like both sets!)

(Sorry this is sideways) They did this until Ben was totally out of breath!

We left California with bittersweet memories, and a car full of my grandma's card making stuff. My grandma would make cards for EVERYONE she loved for EVERY holiday. Most days you could find her buried somewhere in the back card room lovingly creating a special card for someone. She took such joy in using her free time to make something for her friends and family. I cherish every card I received from her. I have a few tucked away in a special place and they always serve to remind me how loved and blessed I am. They also help me to remember to count my blessings for the wonderful family I have.

I'm definitely not as diligent or organized enough to make cards for every holiday, but I do manage a few special ones every now and again, and it makes me really happy to sit down and create a little something for someone I love.

I'll send Hudson's card out tomorrow, with a $1 bill folded inside, just like grandma always did.

...Mrs. G

Happy Birthday HD

It's hard to believe, but my cousin's little baby is almost one! One of my most cherished memories was visiting with him and his family when he was only 3 months old. It was a bittersweet time for my whole family, as we excitedly welcomed Hudson into the world and very sadly said goodbye to my sweet Grandma Clara. It was a blessing for us that she was able to meet her newest great-grandbaby before she left this world and I believe meeting him was what gave her peace and the ability to say goodbye to the life and family she loved so much.

On our trip down for the memorial service, Ben was able to bond with the whole family on my Dad's side (there's only about 15 of us!) for the first time (other than at the wedding) and he also held a baby for the first time. My husband is completely, absolutely, 100% not interested in babies. He has no desire to hold then, kiss them or cuddle them. None. Zilch. Nada. However, not surprisingly, after a few days with perfect baby Hudson and his big sister Riley, he was in love.

How could you not fall in love with those baby dimples?!? (I like both sets!)

(Sorry this is sideways) They did this until Ben was totally out of breath!

We left California with bittersweet memories, and a car full of my grandma's card making stuff. My grandma would make cards for EVERYONE she loved for EVERY holiday. Most days you could find her buried somewhere in the back card room lovingly creating a special card for someone. She took such joy in using her free time to make something for her friends and family. I cherish every card I received from her. I have a few tucked away in a special place and they always serve to remind me how loved and blessed I am. They also help me to remember to count my blessings for the wonderful family I have.

I'm definitely not as diligent or organized enough to make cards for every holiday, but I do manage a few special ones every now and again, and it makes me really happy to sit down and create a little something for someone I love.

I'll send Hudson's card out tomorrow, with a $1 bill folded inside, just like grandma always did.

...Mrs. G

Kitchen Challenge Complete!

I did it! I still need to tackle the fridge and freezer, but otherwise my kitchen is sparkling. I love when everything is organized and clean. Now, if only the rest of my house was in such good shape...I guess that's all part of the challenge, huh?

Anyways, here's my accomplishment for today:

I was too embarrassed to take before pictures, but let's just say my kitchen hasn't been this thoroughly clean in a long time.

Now I'm off to pick up my hubby from school and then to go see Twilight with the girls from work!

Ciao! Mrs. G

Taking a break

I'm working on the kitchen, really, I am...I just need a little break! I found this cute Christmasy survey and it seemed to be a perfect way to spend a few minutes while the dishwasher is doing it's thing.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? 

Paper. Wrapping presents is my favorite part about giving gifts.

2. Real tree or Artificial? 

Real. They're messy, but oh so worth it. My house smells like Christmas!

3. When do you put up the tree?

Anytime after Thanksgiving. It was Nov. 30th this year.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Probably after new years, if it lasts that long

5. Do you like eggnog?

I do! Eggnog lattes from Starbucks are my favorite.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

This is hard. I was spoiled rotten. Maybe my American Girl dolls or my birthstone heart pendant.

7. Hardest person to buy for?

My husband

8. Easiest person to buy for?

My mom

9. Do you have a nativity scene? 

No, but I really want the Willow Tree set

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Mail, and talk about domestic diva, I'm making ours this year!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? 

I think I was most disappointed with the ill-fitting, not quite matching pajama set my husband gave me our first christmas together. He wanted to buy me something that I would be cozy in, and he had good intentions, but those are my least favorite pjs! 

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? 

I was just talking with some girlfriends of mine at how shameful it is that I've never seen any of the classics.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

In December usually

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

I don't think I have.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? 

Appetizers on Christmas Eve and Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning 

16. Lights on the tree? 

LED's 

17. Favorite Christmas song?

I can't choose, but Martina McBride has some beautiful ones 

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? 

I like staying home, I wish all of our family could travel to us!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Donner, Dancer, Comet, Vixen, Prancer, Ruldolph...idk how many there actually are

20. Angel on the treetop, star or…?

Right now we have a bow, but only because I haven't found an angel that I like. I want my mom's.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? 

Christmas morning, but it will be Christmas Eve this year.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? 

The overwhelming pressure to shop, shop, shop

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

Classic red and white

24. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Bare Essentuals makeup and a new camera 

25. Most favorite Christmas Tradition?

Making a bunch of appetizers on Christmas Eve, toasting Martinellis and opening one present. We did it as a family growing up, and Ben and I have adapted it as one of our own traditions too.

Lazy Housewife

I love the nest.com. One of my favorite things to do to when I'm enjoying some quiet time around the house is to explore different postings and peek into the lives of fellow "nesters" through their blogs. One that I came across yesterday was the "Hyper Homemaker" who has a outlined a "Fall Cleaning Challenge" for her blog readers. Oh man, I am so behind! I'm embarrassed to think how much I've let housework slip! Individually Ben and I are very clean, tidy people. However, as a couple, we are terrible at keeping our house clean. We constantly have dishes on our ridiculously tiny counters, and even though I have a wonderful little laundry room (one of the reasons why we moved), I am awful at keeping up with our dirty clothes...actually, it's the clean ones that get me. I hate putting laundry away! Anyways, seeing the Hyper Homemaker's beautiful, spotless home got me motivated. Though I don't have 7 days to dedicate to cleaning, I am going to get my butt in gear and get to work! My goal for today is to get my kitchen reorganized and tomorrow I'm going to tackle my bedroom and bathroom. Please don't think that Ben and I are total slobs, our house really is CLEAN, it's just really messy. 

On the topic of cleaning, I should mention one of my new favorite books, Gorgeously Green. After I finished the Twilight series (www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries) I had no desire to read another book because I knew it would let me down. I knew nothing would satisfy me like a little Edward and Bella. I felt like I had just gone through a bittersweet breakup! In a desperate search to satisfy my craving to curl up and read, I found Gorgeously Green. It's totally unlike Twilight, which was just what I needed. This book is awesome! After reading the first chapter I felt motivated to make our home a cleaner, greener place. I feel really inspired to make a difference in my life and I feel like the little changes I am starting to make really can help change our world. Now, I'm not totally on the "green" bandwagon, but I'm definitely up for any easy, cost-efficient, eco-friendly changes I can make. My favorite green product so far - vinegar. You can clean just about everything with this stuff! I've never seen toilet gunk wash away so easily, and my kitchen counters are just as clean (if not more so) after using my homemade vinegar/water/castile soap cleaner than they ever were with Clorox. Plus, it feels really good to know that I can get my kitchen and bathroom sparkly without any toxic chemicals.

One of these days I'll post a link to the benefits of green living, but for now, I'm gonna get to that kitchen of mine and put my inspiration to good use!

On a side note...

...I miss my mom.

Crabby Days and New Adventures

Two weekends ago Ben and I loaded our "pickup" (aka VW Golf) with camping supplies and headed to the coast with our good friends Ben and Jessica Brower (Jess is a fellow nurse at DCH) and their sister Rebecca. We stayed in an awesome Yurt in Umpqua, a tiny fishing town just south of Reedsport. Our yurt was so cute and peaceful. It was at the end of the path of campsites and had a small path leading to a peaceful lake just outside our porch. We felt like we were really camping, yet had the luxury of a heater, fridge, shower and toilet. We had so much fun relaxing and visiting together, but undoubtedly, the best part of the weekend was spent on the pier. We went crabbing! When Jessica told me they were planning on going crabbing I had no idea what to expect. I half-imagined we'd have to wade around in the ocean with fishing boots trying to grab the little things, but, I quickly realized it's much easier than that...no wading required (though Jess and I did venture into the freezing water in hopes of persuading a crab to get in our pot!). 

While us girls prepared breakfast at "home" the boys went to drop our pots in the water to try and catch the tide. We ate our french toast quickly as we were excited to see if our salmon-cuts had lured a meal for us. The secret to crabbing is to pull your pots (which are really net/ring things, I have no idea why they're called pots) up out of the water as quickly as you can so the crabs don't have a chance to crawl out on the way up. However, despite the fastest of pulls, first few pots produced this

Our luck quickly improved, but only slightly

We pulled up more females and more little males (you may only keep large enough males...Jess is measuring one above) than we could keep track of.   

I was a little nervous to actually pick up the crabs, but Jessica didn't seem to mind...

We pulled our pots all day without catching a single crab, but once night fell, the tides changed, and our luck did as well. We successfully caught 6 large males and secured our lunch for the next day. I thought catching the crab was better than actually eating it, but everyone else seemed to have the opposite opinion. 

We had such a great weekend, we were reluctant to leave. We finally loaded our car back up and with full bellies, refreshed minds and heavy feet Ben and I headed home. We had a relatively quiet week. Ben worked while I got a little crafty.

 

The quiet week was in preparation for another exciting weekend. We celebrated David Long's birthday at an awesome little cafe in SE (Aqui Mexican Cafe), where I had really good mexican salad and an even better Mojito...my favorite!

Sunday brought a new and exciting opportunity for Ben and I. Ben of course, is very musically talented and for the last 3 years he has been serving at East Hill Church playing the bass. The band he plays with has become our extended family and some of our closest friends. After a long run at East Hill, the band decided to break away from the church and pursue music independently. "Pearl Bridge" hopes to play at various events (retreats, conferences, worship nights, etc.) and also serve as a relief band for churches across the nation. Their hope is not to have music become a full-time career (though I'm sure no one would object to touring together), but as an opportunity to serve Christ with their gifts and bless people whenever possible. 

So, back to this Sunday, Pearl Bridge played at Portland Foursquare as a relief band for their current music director. Portland Foursquare (or PDX4) is going through a transition period right now, and Ben and I feel called to be a part of their fellowship. We have loved East Hill and were very blessed by that church, but it is very far from our house, and it is difficult for us to fellowship with other members because frankly, it is impractical for us to drive to Gresham all the time. Pastor Dennis Easter has recently come to PDX4 with the purpose to serve Portland as a church. His teachings are real, deep and challenging, which is just what Ben and I need. We're really excited to see what God has in store for Pearl Bridge, and for us. 

Here's a little Pearl Bridge for 'ya. Enjoy!

I hope your week is blessed...Mrs. G

There's nothing like a good worship song. One that reaches into your chest and pulls at your soul. One that refreshes your spirit and helps to renew your faith. Throughout my life there have been a few songs that are responsible for much of my spiritual growth (and many have been by Hillsong), and "Desert Song" is my song for this season. 

Not only is this song beautiful (as are the voices of the women singing), but hearing the story behind the song makes it so much more powerful. Knowing that this woman is not just reading words, but proclaiming her faith despite a broken heart. Choosing to worship instead of whither in pain, doubt, anger or fear is an ultimate decision of faith. I am so encouraged by this young woman, I honestly don't know if I would be able to do the same thing if I was in her shoes, but I guess that's why songs impact me so powerfully. I need to grow. I need to learn how to have faith despite my circumstances and praise Him for nothing other than who He is. I am humbled and full of praise.

Please listen...but I recommend grabbing a tissue or two first.

- Mrs. G

Pics

Here's a brief photo recap of our reality as newlyweds...I'll post more when I get this whole thing figured out. Until then, enjoy!

Beautiful Mornings Like This

I love mornings like the one we're having today. Ben and I slept in until 10 (which is perfect because we get the luxury of sleeping in and still having time to enjoy a real morning) then took our time making our way upstairs where we had a wonderful breakfast and then cozied up on the couch for some Olypmics and the last half of a movie. The best part however, is that now, as I'm typing, Ben is playing the piano.

When we got married, Ben's parents graciously hauled his beautiful (and extremely heavy!) piano out from Montana and gave it to us to have it in our home (much to his sister's dismay--sorry Hannah!). Unlike me, Ben has the gift of music. He can play several different instruments, but, being the rock star he is, he has spent the last few years focusing on the bass, putting his piano on hold. Ben is amazing with the bass, but I LOVE when he plays piano. When he sits down to play, it's a time where his creativity take over and his heart plays through the music. I especially love it because it's a private part of him and listening to him play is an intimate time where I get a glimpse into a beautiful piece of his heart.

Mornings like this remind me how wonderfully blessed I am, and how thankful I am to the God who has given me all this and more.

Peace, blessings and thanks

Ben and I are so blessed. We really are. We have a loving marriage, a wonderful, supportive family, friends whom we love like family, great jobs, a fridge full of good food, and a promise for tomorrow. Despite knowing that we are very lucky people, we've by no means be perfect stewards of the gifts the Lord has given us, but He continues to bless us anyway. The more I'm becoming a "grown up" and diving deeper into this "real life" thing the more I realize how unworthy I am of my Father's love, yet I also realize how utterly dependent I am on His love, provision and grace. I would be no where without Jesus's grace. As I think back to all the major moments that helped shape me into the woman I am today, I can strongly feel His touch on every one, and this moment now is no exception. We have our struggles just like every other family. We doubt and worry on a daily basis, but at the end of the day, we know we're not in this alone. We are being carried by a strong, loving Father who will catch us no matter how far we fall. Because of this, we have peace in this the midst of the chaos and clutter of real life. 

Thank you Father for every single gift, we are blessed beyond measure.