small things

christmas crafty

2012-01-20T20:20:00.004-08:00

i've been meaning to post about the couple new advent/christmas decorations i made this year. i know it's a bit belated, but here are a few pictures.

i couldn't get this carol out of my head all during advent, so i was inspired to make this banner. i enjoyed doing a little bit of embroidery again, which i hadn't done for a long time. i used regular stamp ink on white fabric for the letters, and it worked pretty well.

the kids and i had a go with salt dough ornaments, which i'd been reading about all over the blogosphere. it was fairly easy and fun for everyone. i enjoyed the stamping on them, but maybe next year we'll try painting, sticking beads in them or something else. it was fun to do words and names with the tiny letter stamps, but i think it looks cool with really big stamps too, which we didn't really have.

i found this awesome (to me!) nativity matryoshka fabric at joann's, and i knew it would be perfect for a tree skirt. aren't the little people so cute??!?! but it was definitely a bit of a challenge working in a circle, and with so much fabric. i was so proud of myself that i figured out how to do the slit with ribbon ties... until everything was right-side-in and i realized the slit was right in the front of the tree instead of the back. and since the people are oriented one way, it's pretty noticeable. oh well!

lastly, here is a not-great photo of the star atop our christmas tree. it's a star-shaped piece of foam onto which i needle-felted some blue and white wool. very easy--and pretty!

quiet christmastide

2012-01-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

we had such a nice calm and quiet christmastide. aaron took off the week after christmas, and we had lots of good relaxing family time. we were all sick off and on for most of the vacation, but in a way that was a blessing. there was no pressure to schedule play-dates or other activities, or to accomplish much around the house. there was lots of lying around, eating, reading, enjoying new christmas gifts, etc. what a life!

we did enjoy a fun few days at grandma and grandpa's house, celebrating christmas with the ever-growing bandstra clan. aaron got away for two days to do an overnight snowshoe adventure near whistler with his friend mike. we went ice skating with the bates's on new year's eve, and we went to mount baker on new year's day to play in the snow!

now we're back to normal, which isn't really all that crazy but feels crazy in contrast to the last few weeks. i'm trying to maintain a feeling of calm even in the midst of a schedule and responsibilities. deep breaths. just sitting doing nothing. hugging the kids. hugging my husband. keeping the house tidy. saying no to things that add stress. not spending too much time on the computer. not shopping...
any more ideas?

i guess these are all really new year's resolutions too. if i had to sum up what i'm striving for in one word it would be calm.

and with more chaos coming soon: lord, have mercy.

merry christmas!

2011-12-24T23:11:00.003-08:00

a quote for you tonight:

Part of being human and being an adult means we have the ability to strive, to rise up, to not let our circumstances define us but to allow us to define our circumstances.As we come also to a close of another year, I can only leave you with this parting thought: do not be the reaction to circumstances this coming year; be the visionary and shape your world. What you cannot shape, call on your faith, remain strong, do the right things even when no one else is, and be someone who is proactive. Be the goodness, and carry that Christmas mood in your heart for your children.

--From The Parenting Passageway

simple advent

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

i can't believe there are only a few days left of advent. it's such a nice quiet and calm time of year. such a wonderful excuse to say no to things, to stay inside the cozy warm house, to drink tea and read piles and piles of books snuggled on the couch.

but with only a few days left until christmas, i suddenly feel like this advent has been so simple that we haven't done anything at all! our seasonal table is a bit spare--partly due to mary's absence. we can't find her at all! the poor donkey has been journeying all alone this season. the kids don't seem to mind, though, and noah faithfully moves the donkey forward one star every day. he moves the previous day's star up to the wall and has had a lot of fun designing constellations.

we have really enjoyed our new advent calendar, a lovely gift from grandma. you can see it in the above picture. each day has a little booklet that pops out, with a tiny excerpt of a very well-written account of the nativity story. the kids both love reading the little books (especially isla, for whom tiny-ness has great appeal). we made our own advent candles this year from rolled beeswax, and i really enjoy them more than the church-issued set. they smell great.

the lovely luminary in the middle of the wreath was made by isla with help from christina, inspired by an idea in this magazine. it was very simple and easy and is so pretty lit up with a tealight!

back where i started

2011-12-20T23:20:00.016-08:00

this is where isla spends most of her day.

i'm coming back to this blogger blog, and the plan is to stay here for the long term. i really liked iweb, but apple is changing things and it will no longer host my lovely iweb-designed blog. sigh. i try not to think about all the hours i have spent fiddling with blog design on the computer. hopefully it can count toward overall learning experience and not just mindless screen time. right?

anyway. i'm still trying to reconnect with this old blog and make it the way i want it. i'm getting there. (anyone have tips on how to make the my header fill the space? and how to get my "pages" list to show?) i'm also trying to slowly re-post all my iweb posts over here, so someday it will be a complete record of my blogging history over the past few years. but i haven't finished that yet, so if you scroll down we'll skip back in time a bit. just don't mind that.

apple is also doing away with the gallery where our pictures have been so artfully hosted. sigh again. so i'm trying out picasa for posting our photos. should be fairly straightforward as well. let me know if it doesn't work right!

thanks for following me around the web, everyone!

favorite autumn books

2011-10-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

there are so many good books for autumn! i’ve been remembering a bunch of our favorites from past years, and we’ve found a few new ones too. (if you click on the pictures, you’ll go to our bookshop, where you can read more about the books. most of these are in our library, so we haven’t had to buy them. we just check them out over and over!)

what are your favorite autumn books? we’d love some new recommendations!

our four-year-old boy

2010-04-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

uncle kevin!

2010-04-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

my brother kevin has moved to bellingham! he’s been here for a few weeks now, and already it’s hard to imagine life without him.

he lives half a block away from us and eats dinner with us every night. he works with aaron at seaview, he does yard work in our yard, he makes fancy pizza, he watches war movies with aaron, he is teaching me about texting and facebook, he plays with the kids, he does dishes... what more can i say? it’s awesome.

and now my kids say, “word.”

babies movie

2010-04-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

watch this amazing trailer! i am really excited to see this movie. it is so interesting to see how different these babies’ environments are, and yet they all seem so similar. i think that isla might do really well in namibia. she loves getting dirty, she loves being barefoot, she loves banging rocks and she loves animals. noah, on the other hand... not so much!

one more

2010-04-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

i just remembered this book--another wordless children’s book, not a graphic novel, but similar idea. it is a really beautiful story of giving and of saying goodbye.

graphic novels

2010-04-12T21:30:00.001-07:00

i stayed up late last night reading this book. it was a really powerful story of one family’s experience of the dust bowl. mostly, it was about an eleven-year-old boy dealing with fear, rejection and purposelessness. it’s a little bit scary (though i did let noah flip through it) but the resolution is really wonderful.

i love graphic novels. particularly at this stage in my life, where i don’t get a lot of time to read and don’t have a ton of focus when i do, graphic novels are a perfect middle ground. often they are a way to learn a lot about something, quite vividly, in a short time. here are some of my other favorites.

aaron and i both love this one by craig thompson. it’s sort of a coming of age story of a boy growing up in a conservative christian home. it’s really honest and beautiful.

i also love this one by raymond briggs about his parents. it’s a fairly straightforward story about their lives together, and how much the world changes as they age.

i suppose this is a children’s book more than a graphic novel, but it’s also a really great story of friendship. the author also has a longer graphic novel that is about loss--very sad! but also really lovely.

this guy has written a few graphic novels about his international travel experiences, but this is the most interesting. i learned a lot about burma, but i also really enjoyed this guy’s daily struggles being the caretaker for his little son while his wife works for doctors without borders.

does anyone out there have recommendations of other great graphic novels?

our church

2010-04-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

on sunday a photographer from the bellingham herald was taking pictures during the easter service at our church. it’s neat to see the service from this perspective. above is our dear friend bonnie, lighting the candles on the altar.

you can see more pictures here if you’re interested.

easter

2010-04-04T21:24:00.001-07:00

today we rejoice in new life!

last night, our little godson julian was baptized. he bears the name of st. julian, patron saint of hospitality, whose name graces the community into which he was born. even though we couldn’t be present for his baptism, we will, with god’s help, “by our prayers and witness, help this child to grow into the full stature of christ.”

also last night, our dear friends the wassells were received into the catholic church. what another big celebration! if we had been able to be present there, when the congregation was asked, “will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in christ?” we would have said, with gusto, “we will!”

easter is a mystery. how exactly we can help others grow in christ is also sometimes a mystery, and a big responsibility. but i think i know a few small ways i can do this, and i will. with god’s help.

why i love bellingham

2010-03-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

bellingham is one of many, many cities applying to get google to test their ultra-high speed broadband network here. the community is overwhelmingly in support of this effort; check out this blog to see some of the creative attempts folks have come up with in the effort to woo google.

my very favorite is the above video. the little girl is the daughter of a local musician, and they live in our neighborhood. it’s neat because i recognize almost all the landscapes in the video, and i actually really believe the cheesy message is true. i love this town!

(while i’m sure having google’s super fast service would be useful to many of bellingham’s industries, my experience of this video and the whole campaign is more basic. it’s just really cool to see everyone come together to tell the world why we all love this town!)

also, for those of you who really are interested in a little video peek into some of the places we visit regularly, check out this episode of inside bellingham to see our new and improved franklin park and our new whatcom museum!

we've moved!

2010-03-26T21:33:00.002-07:00

check over here.

happy spring, everyone!

spring

2010-03-26T16:37:00.001-07:00

spring fever is hitting hard around here. new computer, new blog, new garden beds, new organizational methodologies... new perspective!

i am really trying to abide by the william morris quote above. i have been ruthlessly parting with things that i find neither useful nor beautiful. i am selectively adding things that are one or the other of the above. (or both!) i feel like i’m on the way to feeling at home in our home, which has been a long time coming. and oddly, doesn’t involve normal amenities like window trim or kitchen drawers!

what i am most excited about is my lovely new craft space. after many frustrations at having to hunt around for craft supplies, set everything up, and then have no energy left to actually create anything before it was necessary to put it all away again.... we have come up with a new semi-permanent crafting corner for me (and a little bit for the kids too) in our home.

(i would complain to aaron, “but you have a whole shop in the back. i don’t have any space!” and he would reply, “you can build a shop in the front yard...” sure.)

so we came to a compromise that involved some found cabinets and doors, a new laminate countertop, some old bookshelves and lots of paint. now i just have to figure out how to organize things the best way!

(aaron teases me that he’s going to call it my mini-storage, given its current state of disarray.)

i’ll post more pictures as things get organized around here.

and good luck to you all with your spring cleaning too!

recently

2010-02-25T19:05:00.011-08:00

it's been a while since my last post. here are some things that are happening around here:

spring is here! forsythia and cherry trees are in full bloom. daffodils, tulips and crocuses are beginning to unfurl. the smell of compost is in the air. people are walking around in tshirts, students are playing football in the streets. i had a sunburn the other day!

isla is no longer a baby. i just realized this. she repeats nearly everything i say. she has very strong ideas about what she does and doesn't want. she LOVES babies (real and not). she has temper tantrums. she climbs up everything. she is very particular about her clothing. she can walk for blocks and blocks. she can eat and eat and eat. she rarely drinks mama's milk. (so sad!)

lent has arrived. we have been talking about how to use this time to learn how to love one another better. noah is going to work on not yelling at people. (he has become very bossy lately.) i am trying to work on spending more time with aaron, particularly waking up early to have coffee with him before he leaves for work. we are all thinking about sacrifice. (thanks to christina for spurring some really meaningful thought and discussion around here!)

the seasonal table is now an official table, and has a beautifully simple lenten garden. christina also made some easter animals for us (who will appear later), and sort of tried to show me how to needle felt. i made a circle.

aaron's been working on the doors of the shop. they're going to be cool: double-long sliders. and he just had his final inspection with the city, and passed! so it should be smooth sailing from here on out.

noah has a new big-boy bunk bed. he is still very excited about puzzles, mazes, writing letters and drawing trucks. he can pretty much ride his big boy bike. he digs and hoes a lot in the dirt under the holly tree. he narrates the funniest stories involving trains and trucks while he's playing by himself. all his vehicles have names and personalities, and at times have been know to need snacks. he aspires to be a bandstra mover.

christina came to visit!! it was way too brief but very good for my soul. her visit was aaron's gift to me for christmas. such a great idea! and christina was so brave to leave all five of her boys behind and venture so far from new england. it was so much fun.

and lastly, we got a new computer! it is SO SO much faster and cooler and overall better than our nearly six-year old clunky ibook. we got it the day before christina came, so she was here to show me how to do all the secret awesome mac tricks. i feel like a whole new world has opened up to me now...

which leads to my last point, which is that i'm in the process of making a new blog/website for our family. iweb is SO SO much easier to use than blogspot! and we can have a few pages in addition to the main page, so i'm planning to make a portfolio page for aaron too. stay tuned for the great unveiling!

happy spring to you all! (or mid-winter, if you live in a normal part of the country.)

rumble rumble (a movie)

2010-02-02T22:53:00.002-08:00

Click to Play

overheard: a funny conversation between noah and kate. (thanks to irene for the movie!)

candlemas

2010-02-02T22:21:00.004-08:00

today is candlemas, the last day of the season of epiphany, and the day we remember the presentation of jesus at the temple forty days after his birth. here he meets simeon, whose beautiful song we repeat in compline. simeon prophesies that jesus will be "a light to enlighten the nations," so on this night it is custom to celebrate light.

some friends came over tonight and we made simple candles together. we added bits of leftover candles to the mix of new wax, including the stubs from our advent wreath. we experimented with drops of essential oils: orange and lemon in some, and lavender in others.

God our Father,
Source of all light,
today you revealed to Simeon
Your light of revelation to the nations.
Bless + these candles and make them holy.
May we who use them to praise your glory
walk in the path of goodness
and come to the light that shines forever
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

biking boy (a movie)

2010-02-02T21:19:00.002-08:00

Click to Play

in which noah rides a big boy bike!!! (for a very short time.)

christmas favorites

2010-01-20T16:14:00.003-08:00

before we get too far into the new year, i want to share a few things that really helped make our advent and christmas special this year.

i made this bulletin board (just by covering some foam board with pretty white paper) and used it to display favorite christmas cards and images from years past. thanks to all of you for sharing your lovely images with us!

it was nice to have a special spot just for christmas pictures, in addition to hanging cards from a string across the living room. in fact, it was too hard to take this down after epiphany, so it's still up!

this was our advent calendar this year, which is a six-sided tissue-paper-lined light-filled scene. it begins on the first sunday of advent and continues through to epiphany. the pictures are gorgeous block-print style images of saints, martyrs, the holy family, etc. each window has a prayer and a meditation (in an accompanying book) for that day, activity ideas for special days like st. nicholas day, and sundays have an extra "feast day" window too.

there is so much great about this calendar: the aesthetics, the theology (focused on justice and honoring those who worked for justice), the longevity of the cycle (that it goes all the way through the twelve days of christmas) and the fun of opening all the windows and peeking at the secrets inside. we used an electric candle in the middle to light it, but a real candle would work as well. both noah and i really enjoyed this daily practice, and he really payed attention during the prayers and meditations.

this calendar was a gift from grandma. you can check it out here (though i think the version we had might not be available anymore). we will definitely be looking for this same type again next year!

and lastly, i love this nativity icon. i want to slowly build up our icon collection, trying to have one at least for each season. this is my favorite for christmastide.

twelfth night and epiphany

2010-01-12T21:52:00.002-08:00

we had a festive twelfth night celebration last tuesday with some friends. i made felt crowns for all the kids. not very ornate, but they worked just fine. i found the pattern in this book.

our friend josh led the kids (carrying kings and gifts) in a procession over to the creche in their house, as we all sang "we three kings." then he lit the frankincense, which was a very exciting event. here are jessa, noah and rosa checking out the scene.

i made an apple spice cake for the event, in which i was supposed to hide a bean. traditionally, whomever finds the bean in their piece is the king (or queen) for the evening. i thought it might be a little hard for three year olds to feel okay about only one person being crowned, so in my cake noah and i hid lots and lots of almonds (which i thought might taste better than a bean). everyone got one, and everyone was a king. how very inclusive, eh?

the next night was epiphany. i told the epiphany godly play story at church (to grown-ups), which was a nice experience. telling these stories has been such a great way for me to focus on entering into the mystery of christmas myself. it really works!

i rushed home after church and got the house ready for aaron and the kids. they arrived to a cozy scene: candles, christmas music, cake, tea, the full nativity set, and presents under the tree. it was a calm, happy night, and a really lovely way to say goodbye to the mystery of christmas.

here's noah in his crown with one of his epiphany gifts: tales of trotter street by shirley hughes. if i haven't already mentioned it, we LOVE this author!

planes (a movie)

2010-01-08T22:07:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

in which isla demonstrates her love of airplanes and enthusiam for reading books.

blessed epiphany

2010-01-06T15:57:00.003-08:00

god of epiphanies,
we give you thanks for jesus,
who reveals your glory.
open our eyes to the surprises
that are your gifts to us each day.
in jesus' name we pray. amen.

new year, new special things

2010-01-04T10:39:00.006-08:00

waldorf dolls made by grandma, one for each grandchild. isla's is on the left, and noah's is next to her. names are still being debated. aren't they so cute?

new doll gets ready for a ride in the new stroller. isla loves this little thing!

new handmade reversible jumper from sister-in-law jessica. apparently aaron has a hard time navigating the complexities of dressing little girls.

new painting to christen aaron's shop. i found the quote (from john calvin) and commissioned my friend christina to paint it. she did such a lovely job.

new teapot, new teacup (from irene) and new dining room table (for my birthday, from aaron). somehow having a round table makes such a difference! we all love sitting here for crafting, reading, eating, drinking tea, writing christmas cards...

new t-shirts from eugene and bellingham craft fairs.

new tiny tin of teabags (in not-new teacup from the wassells).

new custom-made puzzle from uncle colin and aunt nicole (with a picture of noah and aaron driving the excavator in the backyard). very cool!

on the first day of christmas...

2009-12-25T16:21:00.004-08:00

isla with the nativity of our lord, at church on christmas eve.

mary and joseph have finally reached bethlehem! and a sleeping baby lies in the manger.

all the stars from mary's journey now light the sky.

new christmas jammies and a new flowery tea set (per request).

and a cold christmas outing to the park.

merry christmas, everyone!

into the woods...

2009-12-24T07:20:00.003-08:00

in an effort to celebrate a more traditional "twelve days of christmas," we have waited until now to get our christmas tree. we were the very last customers at the tree stand we chose!

i had this idea that it would be fun to pretend we were hiking into the snowy woods, chopping down a tree and pulling it home on our sleigh. so last night we "hiked" down a busy street to the closest tree stand, chose a tree and towed it home in the wagon. it was pretty fun, and noah really enjoyed pulling the wagon. he towed the tree almost the whole way home!

recently

2009-12-19T23:03:00.003-08:00

beeswax candle crafting

gingerbread cookie baking

snow! and the never-ending saga of lost mittens.

hard work. in overalls. which must be worn "over all."

chalkin'

advent candle lighting celebration with friends

advent candle walk pre-nightfall

birthday snow, again!!

2009-12-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

i am a very lucky thirty-two.

dominoes

2009-12-07T22:20:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

"do it again, daddy, do it again!"

the blue chair

2009-12-07T22:18:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

in which i try to get isla to cutely read her book perched in her little blue chair, but she sticks to her goal of reading while sitting in my lap.

happy sinterklaas!

2009-12-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

the chair finds its home (a movie)

2009-11-16T19:52:00.002-08:00

Click to Play

our new museum is so awesome!!!

we checked out our brand new museum this weekend, and we are so so excited! we will definitely be spending tons of time there this winter. in one of the exhibits, aaron made this stop-motion movie of a chair traveling through a dollhouse. as he's playing his movie on the screen, you can see noah, who is playing with the dollhouse in front of the camera. pretty cool!

lights and music (a movie)

2009-11-16T19:47:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

noah and isla try out the ribbons, lights and music booth at the new museum.

articulated bike (a movie)

2009-11-16T15:06:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

in which noah tries out his new ride-behind bike!

why walk? (a movie)

2009-11-02T13:50:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

in which isla decides scooting is easier.

little walker (a movie)

2009-11-02T13:48:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

in which isla lou walks!

found

2009-10-17T09:09:00.002-07:00

after i returned home from a neighborhood meeting on a recent evening.

biker girl

2009-10-13T14:07:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

in which isla speeds around the slab in the backyard, and also makes funny lips.

rainy day

2009-10-12T18:28:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

this one has a surprise ending!

on belay

2009-10-12T16:58:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

in which noah enjoys swinging around in his harness during his rock climbing class at the ymca.

mah jong

2009-10-12T16:56:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

in which noah and isla go crazy with aunt irene's mah jong tiles.

foundation pour

2009-10-12T16:30:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

aaron, his dad and two friends work on smoothing out the cement for the shop foundation.

more noah-isms

2009-09-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

******************************
"thank you. than-kyou. you said, 'Q'!"

******************************
"in. in. 'in' starts with 'N!'"

*********************************
upon checking out a dead snake in the street.
me: what did the snake feel like?
noah: what?
me: how did it feel? slimy? rough?
noah: it felt...sad.
me: it felt sad? (trying not to laugh.)
noah: sad like, 'waaa-waaa-waaa!' (pretend cry.)

**********************************
for some reason we are sitting on the kitchen floor, and i am feeding noah and isla bites of applesauce.
me: you guys are like baby birds! or like owl babies.
noah: you are the mama owl.
me: who will you be?
noah: i'll be the biggest one.
me: which one was that? sarah, or percy, or bill?
noah: sarah.
me: which one will isla be?
noah: bill.
me: then we need someone else to be percy. how about isla's dolly stella?
noah: okay! (runs to get stella. brings her back triumphantly. sets her down next to us.)
me: here, babies, eat your applesauce! (i feed them bites of applesauce. they eat.)
me: noah, would you like to have another sister or brother someday? do you want to have more than two kids in our house?
noah: yeah! i want to have three little sisters!
me: wow, really? would you be a good big brother to all of those little sisters? would you help them?
noah: i would give them each a car. isla could have a car, another baby could have a car, and the last little baby could have a truck.

*******************************
planning isla's birthday celebration.
noah: isla should have a clean party, because i already had a messy party.

*********************************
at 8:30am saturday.
noah: is it tomorrow yet?

*********************************
we are walking down our street.
noah: what does that sign say?
me: no parking.
noah: it doesn't say 'no parking.' it says 'no parking this side.'

**********************************
at the kitchen table, after noah asked for some food and was served.
noah: no, i don't want it.
noah: 'honey, you asked for it!'

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listening to a piano concerto on NPR.
me: what's this fancy music?
noah: it's not fancy music, it's old-fashioned music.

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on fiddling with the underside of the vacuum and finding a roller part that flips up.
noah: look--it's dolly wheels for a vacuum!

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after putting the board book "baby faces" on his new tractor trailer truck.
noah: look--i made a book truck. a library truck. a bookmobile!

and you shall teach them

2009-09-14T16:15:00.005-07:00

last sunday st. paul's began our godly play program--to a room FULL of children! i am really happy to be part of this program. i can't imagine a better way for noah to begin learning about our faith. i wasn't sure how he'd do in the 45-minute class, where quiet listening is a big part of what needs to happen. but it looked like he was interested in the story and then in the craft he chose to work on afterwards. he also seemed intrigued by all the other kids, and happy be part of something with the bigger boys.

there's a pretty informative video about godly play here. and this is from the godly play website: "Godly Play teaches children the art of using religious language - parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action - helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives." it is not about learning the answers; it's about wondering.

on sunday those of us who will "teach" in godly play and other programs were commissioned by our congregation. this is from that service:

the words which i command you this day shall be upon your hearts; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

v. we will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the lord:

r. and the wonderful works he has done.

skuut skuut skuut

2009-09-14T15:57:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

in which noah skuuts along the interurban trail on the way to woodstock farm.

silverware crash (a movie)

2009-09-10T15:55:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

in which isla helps unload the dishwasher.

breakfast conversation

2009-09-08T10:42:00.003-07:00

me: daddy might drop you off at school today. would you like that?

noah: i will show him the tractor-trailer dump truck.

me: it's not a regular dump truck?

noah: it's a tractor trailer dump truck. the dumper is hooked to the trailer.

me: oh. is there a hitch?

noah: no. there's a rope. the hitch is lost.

me: oh. i wonder where it could be?

noah: maybe it is with lucy.

me: lucy? what's that?

noah: the doggie kate used to have.

me: ooohh. and where did lucy go?

noah: where?

me: did she go to heaven?

noah: yeah, lucy went to heaven.

me: and you think the tractor-trailer dump truck hitch might be in heaven too?

noah: yeah, it is in heaven.

me: how do you get to heaven?

noah: on an airplane.

me: can you go on a boat?

noah: no. just an airplane.

first first day

2009-09-01T15:15:00.005-07:00

today was noah's first day of preschool! i can't believe what a big boy he is becoming. he was very excited for school today--packed up his backpack and hopped in the bike trailer, saying, "mama, ride!" when i dropped him off he checked out a few rooms and settled on... you guessed it, the cars and trucks area. he kept asking if certain toys were the preschool's, meaning, am i really allowed to play with all this stuff? he is in awe of how often they say yes at loving space.

check it out here. the website is lovely and does a nice job of explaining their educational philosophy, which they've taken from a variety of sources. basically, it's this: Together we celebrate what childhood should be: a time to explore the world unhurried, surrounded by friends and encouraging grown ups in an environment filled with endless supplies and opportunities for creative play. it's much more play than school, but i do not doubt that lots of learning will happen there as well. and another plus: it's in our neighborhood! i'm looking forward to the walks there and back as times to process what noah has been busy with at school.

when we signed noah up, we were asked what our hopes and fears are for noah as he begins school.

i fear that he will be hurt, or that he will hurt others. i fear that he will learn things that he's not ready to learn (or that i'm not ready for him to learn). i fear that he will lose his gentleness, that he will become a rough, wild boy, a member of a pack. i fear that he will no longer need me.

i hope that he will laugh heartily. i hope he will make friends, and feel welcomed, and feel ownership, and feel safe. i hope he will be challenged--to get messy, to play in ways outside his comfort, to express his feelings, to protect his needs, to share. i hope he will learn positive ways to resolve conflicts and to work cooperatively. i hope he will grow confident, strong and capable. i hope that he will have lots and lots of fun.

happy birthday, little girl!

2009-08-31T23:01:00.006-07:00

happy one to my lovely little girl!

noah and i took isla on a birthday adventure to fairhaven, where we hit up the bookstore, the toy store and the pastry shop. then we had a leisurely playtime at boulevard park and a nice walk home. it was a beautiful day to turn one!

the birthday princess waits for the bus

on the bus

much fun at the park

noah tried out the pirate's life

new birthday ball

crab crawl along the boardwalk

an attempt at candle-blowing-out

noah took over candle-blowing; this is hilarious

she's a fan of the cream cheese frosting, not so much the cupcake

new birthday artwork
(see http://www.idapearle.com/)

oh happy one!

2009-08-30T21:43:00.002-07:00

hello?

2009-07-27T20:57:00.002-07:00

isla right now

2009-07-23T21:41:00.006-07:00

* says "uh-oh," "ma-mum," and "up." "uh-oh" usually accompanies the throwing down of her pacifier or a snack she's done with.
* signs "milk" and "more," but only when she feels like it.
* scoots all over the place, on her bum with one leg in front. is beginning to pull herself up on furniture.
* follows me and/0r noah around the house. is literally underfoot most of the time. (i have to be careful not to step on her!)

* mastered the "snack trap" in a matter of seconds. munches thousands of veggie booty puffs via said snack trap.
* goes through about five outfits a day.
* is very interested in books. turns pages and says, "oh!" (the cutest thing ever.)
* loves the coffee grinder. bops and claps when we grind coffee.

* loves the beach, and water of all kinds. crawls right up to the sprayers at the spray park.
* loves beach sand, sandbox sand, and dirt of all kinds. also leaves, sticks, grass, rocks.
* loves the bath and focuses on trying to drink bath water.

* has seven teeth, one of which still looks a bit like a fang.
* eats everything she can get her tiny hands on. except shredded spoonfuls cereal. these she does not like.
* loves her new sippy cup, and drinks with gusto. then coughs.
* has probably eaten about a thousand blueberries this week alone.

* loves to unpack the diaper bag, the laundry basket, noah's shoe box, the book shelf, etc.
* does not want to sleep anymore. especially if noah is not in the room.
* loves balls. taps them together, rolls them to noah.
* loves her daddy and claps and waves when he comes home.

lately

2009-07-23T14:44:00.007-07:00

spray parks:

berry picking:
munching:

and digging:

mid-july

2009-07-14T15:03:00.004-07:00

means:

the freezer is full of strawberries.
raspberries are on the counter in bowls, ready to be processed.
blueberries are ripening.
we have peas on our vines, finally.
the cilantro has gone to seed.
the green tomatoes are heavy.
the lawn needs to be mowed.
we are jet-lagged.
our dear friend steve got married.
we had lots of fun in new england.
our suitcases are still packed.
clean laundry is piled up on the living room rug.
isla says "uh-oh."
she scoots everywhere.
she wrecks noah's train set-ups.
she sits up in bed.
she eats tons of food.
noah does not wear diapers anymore.
he spends hours every day reading quietly.
he loves the beach.
he can't wait for preschool this fall.
trees have been chopped down in the backyard.
plans have been approved for the garage.
this weekend we'll dig.
the sailboat has been sold.
now we kayak.
and walk in a stroller with lovely seat covers.
i dream of many creative projects...
and fall asleep at 8:30pm.
i am slowly uploading pictures to flickr.
and trying to blog less, write letters more.

happy summer to you all!

lummi island

2009-06-02T14:21:00.007-07:00

we spent a perfect day last weekend biking around lummi island, a little island that's a 20 minute drive and 5 minute ferry ride from our house. isla loved the green seat and noah relaxed in the trailer. we spent a good chunk of time lounging and exploring the beach, noah had his first popsicle, and we scored tons of great kids' books at a yard sale. what could be better?

isla was pretty excited about being at the beach (read: eating sand).

noah's beach bum, still pretty tiny.

but even tinier last year!

this is how isla waves--like she's raising the roof. it's so funny!

noah made a "k" from sticks. it's sort of already falling apart here.

little girl on the ferry.

what cheeks!

projects

2009-06-01T14:33:00.013-07:00

since the warmer weather has arrived, we've been busy again with lots of home improvement projects. here's a quick rundown of recent changes.

perhaps you remember that this is what our house looked like when we bought it a year ago:

now it looks like this:
the biggest difference is the finished porch. aaron and his dad worked on this project, which included a new deck, new front pieces with cedar shingles and new railings.

here's grandpa working on the bones.

and getting some help from noah.

we also landscaped the bed to the left of the porch, with lots of help from colin and nicole. it used to be a weed-bed set off by an old railroad tie. now it's a fancy planter with a fancy border.

so much dirt to shovel!

aaron handled the measuring.

nic and i picked out all these plants, which are all still alive! hooray! i don't necessarily love where i put things, but i think in the fall i'll move some things around.

i love the lupine, which is just beginning to bloom.

we also made a planting bed under the holly tree, which is full of squash and beans. and holly leaves.

and a little bed by the north fence for blueberries and strawberries.

and a long bed along the south side of the house, where i'm growing sunflowers, peas, beans...

tomatoes, basil and marigolds.

and one strawberry is nearing ripeness!

the past two weekends have been busy with raising a tall cedar fence on the south side of our yard. we shared the cost and labor with our neighbor, who was eager for the privacy as well. good fences make good neighbors! (although noah is saddened by the new barrier. he loves to hang over the porch wall and grill our neighbor about her every activity. aaron has joked about making him a peephole.)

the nearly-finished fence.

and lastly, but mostly, we are occupied with thoughts and plans for raising a garage/shop in the backyard. here is kevin biggs chopping down a cherry tree where the garage will go.

and here is the garage, before aaron and his dad helped dismantle it and trucked it to our backyard in pieces. we found out about this garage through the restore, a great used building materials store in bellingham. it cost much, much less than a new garage would, and we like the idea of resurrecting old materials. aaron is working on drafting plans and applying for permits with the city. we're thinking that we'll begin working on the foundation in the next month or so.

noah was very excited about the big flatbed/dump truck aaron rented to move the garage.

maneuvering under electric wires was tricky with the tall trusses on the back of the truck, but grandpa is a professional.

aaron and our friend jesse working on unloading all the pieces, which are now piled under tarps in our backyard (aka "no-man's-land"). i'll do another post soon with plan pictures. aaron is of course very excited to have another big project to work on, and especially one that will yield a place for him to work on many more projects!

spring showers

2009-05-18T15:09:00.011-07:00

the rhododendrons are blooming! and it's rainy, rainy, rainy, with a few intermittent sunny days. i'm not sure about that whole "april showers" rhyme. maybe in our case may showers will bring june flowers... and strawberries, and lettuce and sunshine.

what have we been up to lately?

noah and isla are getting into yard-kayaking. it's a very exciting sport. (aaron traded his coworker a custom cabinet for this kayak. we tried it out last weekend and it's lots of fun!)

aaron hung a swing for isla in the holly tree, and she loves it. (please note our tiny squashes growing in the bed under the tree.)

naked baby cozy in mama's bed!

isla munching a teething biscuit. she is very much enjoying eating food these days. she especially loves to feed herself, and is getting pretty good at the pincer grasp.

isla is trying to figure out how to crawl. she often gets herself into this or a similar position, and can't quite get out of it.

noah got this cool barn for his birthday. thanks, grandma louise, great grandma katie and grandma helen! he loves the pulley thing on the side that takes hay up to the loft. also, vehicles sometimes end up in the loft. (and here i thought i'd snuck in a toy that didn't have to do with cars or trucks...)
two kids in a box. we finally said goodbye to the dishwasher box, but it did provide hours of fun.

noah is a hard worker in the yard. he'll spend a long time digging, loading, dumping and starting over again. he has his sandbox and a designated dirt digging area, and thankfully he is pretty respectful of the plants. let's hope we can say the same for isla!

avocados. i love her eyebrows in this picture!

more swinging!
riding the bus to fairhaven. we've done this a lot lately. noah loves the bus.

silly girl with many toys at grandma's house.

couch crazy

2009-05-12T20:59:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

an earthquake rocks the futon, and is apparently hilarious. also please note how noah has not one, not two but THREE pacifiers. ahem.

we're goin' to the zoo...

2009-05-01T15:44:00.005-07:00

a few weeks ago the kids and i went to the greater vancouver zoo with grandpa, uncle colin, aunt nicole, aunt jess, kate and john spencer. it's a really fun place--lots of space for the kids to run around and climb, a train ride around the zoo, a great playground, a big garden, etc. i almost felt like the animals were secondary, though they were fun to see too.

noah and kate climbed, ran, climbed, hopped in and out of strollers, checked out animals and climbed some more. i'm pretty sure they had a great time.

standing on one foot like flamingos.

waiting for the train to come--good thing grandpa was there to keep noah safe!

family visit

2009-05-01T15:11:00.006-07:00

some of my east coast family was here recently for a visit. we had lots of good old fashioned bellingham fun, and we had AMAZING weather! it was really ideal. i'm sure it rained as soon as they drove away.
we spent a lovely leisurely afternoon at boulevard park. here's isla lou with grandma louise.

and here she is with great grandma katie.

aunt tiff and i did some biking with the kids...

and hiked up sehome hill.

and of course we had a chaotic family breakfast at nelson's!

followed by a glare-y family photo shoot outside. here are some cousins (chris, molly, danielle and me) and four generations of meyer women: me, oma, isla and my mom.

messy party fun

2009-04-29T22:42:00.007-07:00

noah's birthday party on saturday was lots of fun. it was a "messy party," an idea which we got from an old issue of mothering magazine. (the sub-heading for the article was, "in a world of no, the messy party says yes.) actually, the party wasn't really all that messy, though there were lots of opportunities for mess and general disorder.

aaron set up a few stations around the yard for digging in dirt, sandbox play, water play and slime play. the water station was definitely the biggest hit; it involved pulleys (boat hardware), buckets, pipes and pools. the whole thing is still set up, which is fun for noah but a bit of a hassle for the mailman.

aaron and i got noah a little wheelbarrow and some garden tools for his birthday, and on that note we asked people to bring plants as presents. we've been working on planting starts and seeds this week, and noah has really been enjoying digging, raking, watering, dumping wheelbarrow loads, etc. also finding worms. i'll post more garden pictures soon.

a big crew at the sandbox worksite

maryka and isla, not messy at all

nessa doing some chalkin'

jessa and evan at the digging station

grayson sliming it up

elliott and pearl and the water station

jessica, noah and grayson in a cardboard box/house

happy three, noah barnes!

2009-04-25T13:33:00.002-07:00

still here...

2009-04-19T20:49:00.002-07:00

april has been jam-packed with busyness so far, not leaving a lot of time for blogging. which in some ways is good. not sitting in front of the computer means (usually) that i'm outside enjoying the sun! i'm having lots of fun working in the yard and the garden. noah is very excited about turning three and having a birthday party on saturday. aaron just built us a lovely porch. isla got another tooth, which looks like a fang. we are all well!

today some of my family comes to visit from new england. wish us sunshine and tulips!

ball game (a movie)

2009-04-03T08:11:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

wherein isla tracks the balls as they go down and noah points out the colors of the levels. i think it's so funny how her little head goes back and forth.

also please note how she bop-bop-bops as she sits. it's so cute!

similarities

2009-04-02T15:53:00.005-07:00

i was perusing pictures of whistler weekends of yore, and found these comparisons. here's noah the kid on the blackcomb gondola this year...

and last year. what a little guy!

and here's little isla (at around six months)...

looking a lot like little noah! (he was about ten months here.) the cheeks must be a dominant gene!

whistler weekend 2009

2009-04-01T21:07:00.006-07:00

we had another lovely weekend in whistler with all of aaron's family. this was the first year john, jess and kids were able to come join us, and it was great to have them along. noah had tons of fun with kate. here they are riding the blackcomb gondola, in awe at the view.

("we're going up, up, up!" said kate. "now we're going down, down, down!" said noah. "how does it go up?" kate asked. "electricity," noah said. "how the electricity work?" kate asked. "it goes... it's too hard to tell," said noah. it is so funny listening to these two converse!)

isla and john spencer munched some toys together.

we checked out a few olympic sites. here are a few bandstras at the base of the ski jump. we also saw the luge/bobsled track in town. it'll be fun to watch the olympics next year and be able to imagine these places!

noah focused on the severe-weather snowplows.

aaron focused on firearms.

just kidding--but he, irene, colin, nicole and kevan did try their skills at the biathalon range. i think the consensus was that the girls were the sharpest shooters. meanwhile isla and i checked out the tiny whistler anglican/united/lutheran church with aaron's dad. we were the only guests, and stood out amongst the eight or so parishioners. it was a simple layservice, and nice to be part of. isla stole the show, of course.

and the highlight: cross-country skiing! we skied on the very last day the trails were open. the snow was a bit mushy, but it was still a lovely afternoon.

noah and isla snoozed in their little trailers for most of the ski. kate chatted the whole way!

hooray for whistler and family connections! i'm already looking forward to next year. (mostly so i can try yet again to finish knitting the hat for aaron i've worked on every year for the past three years... i'm not kidding!)

we're off!

2009-03-26T14:40:00.001-07:00

...to whistler for our fourth annual bandstra-vaganza of cross-country skiing, hot-tubbing and tube-cookie eating. check back next week for snowy photos!

spring break

2009-03-26T14:15:00.005-07:00

it's spring break for our friends the walshes, and they made the long drive from boise to spend the week with us. unfortunately spring in bellingham means a lot of rain, but we've also had a few nice days.
highlights have included: listening to very cute conversations between jasper and noah ("you bonked your head, jasper?" "yeah, i bonked." "you bonked?" "yeah." etc.); peeing outside (not the grown-ups); going for a few walks/runs/explorations; eating really good food; drinking beer and laughing a lot; reminiscing about the north shore and all the folks we love there; soothing fussy babies and refereeing grabby boys; not sleeping much; and drinking lots and lots of coffee.

we also got to visit briefly with the scott-fishburns, who are on whidbey island this week for the presentation of josh's master's thesis. it was lovely to meet little pascal and see josh and rose again. the last time we saw them rose was very pregnant with pascal and i didn't realize, but i was very newly pregnant with isla. and now these two little ones are not so big!

here are some whidbey island pictures:

hooray for seeing old friends! if only the rest of you long-lost folk would show up on our doorstep...

happy saint patrick's day!

2009-03-19T15:05:00.003-07:00

1, 2, 3, tip!

2009-03-15T15:55:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

wherein a learning-to-sit isla tips over and noah cracks up

big and little boy

2009-03-13T15:09:00.008-07:00

i wrote his name and maryka drew the giraffe. but he did the rest of the chalkin'.

yesterday while isla was sleeping, i heard fake-crying sounds from the kids playing in the yard next door. noah must have heard them too, as he came into the kitchen and asked me, "mama, is isla freakin' out?"
***********************
noah loves our new chalkboard door in the kitchen. he pulls up a chair, gets the bowl of chalk and tells me he's going to do some chalkin'. "mama, i'm chalkin'!" it's interesting how much he has taken to this medium. he has not been much into drawing or coloring, and his efforts on the page have pretty much been scribbles. but things are different on the chalkboard. as soon as he got up there with a piece of chalk, he began drawing boxes, circles and long person-like images. it seems like he was just waiting for a comfortable medium! it's very cool.
***********************
we've been identifying numbers a bit lately, as we've talked about thomas the tank engine and his friends, and what numbers they have on their engines. thomas is number one, of course, and now noah is very good at identifying ones. yesterday we were in the front yard looking at our house, and noah noticed the house numbers on the porch. "mama, there are two ones!" he told me. which is true, in our 1716 address.
***********************
noah is very precise with language. recently he corrected his little friend not to say "breaked" but "broke." he also uses the funniest adult-sounding words, like "actually," "rather," "option," "cooperating," etc. he really likes rules and will recite our family rules when prompted. though he will also change the rules on a whim. "no, we are allowed to eat in the living room!" or, "i may have two chocolate chips. that's the option!" he will tell guests, "no boots or shoes on the rug!" which isn't really the most hospitable.
**********************
he has the funniest ways of identifying his cars and trucks. he is very specific about what they're called and what they do. our friend and mailman, mike, recently gave noah a mail truck. he already had one, but he clearly loves the new one more. he calls it his "side-door-open mail truck," and the other one is his "back-open mail truck." he also has a "fancy car," a "tow car," a "side-door-open bug," a "john deere tractor duallie," etc. he also pays attention to how other kids label things, and often adopts their lingo. when jasper was here in the fall, he referred to one of noah's trains as a "honkie choo-choo," since it made a little steam noise. since then we have called it that. jasper also loved to eat "yogurt and granolie," so now we eat that too.
**********************
the past few days he has chosen "regular" cups instead of sippie cups to drink his juice in. today when i asked him if he's done with sippie cups he said yes, he'd use regular cups now and isla could have his sippie cups. "i'm a big boy," he told me. but later when he was feeling tired and needing a hold, he told me he's a little boy. (he is also a little boy when he needs a pacifier.)
**********************
noah is such a good big brother. he is very on top of keeping "chokables" away from isla, and is good at helping her find toys and her pacifier. in the night when she wakes and i go to nurse her, he often says, "it's okay, isla," sleepily from his crib. he doesn't like it if he wakes up and she's gone (to my bed, where she comes if she wakes super early). he has enjoyed trying to feed isla little bits of food, and cracks up when she makes funny faces. he also loves it when she tips over on my bed after sitting on her own for a few seconds. they both laugh hysterically then. he calls it "1, 2. 3, tip!"
**********************
i am so very thankful for my sweet and tricky, little and big boy.

"what the experts say"

2009-03-11T21:46:00.003-07:00

wow! this was my five minutes of fame: a commercial for the muppet babies book club that aired on USA and Nickelodeon back in 1989 and 1990. i'd lost my only VHS copy, so i'm very excited to have found this youtube link! it's sort of grainy, but you can identify the nerdy redhead, can't you?

crazy girl

2009-03-09T22:09:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

noah's coughing got isla going too. she's crazy!

thankful

2009-03-09T15:26:00.006-07:00

for isla and noah's very lovely bunny shirts, made by jess thistle. also for the train whistle from sarah and andrew. we are missing you all very much.watch out, noah--isla is a toy stealer now!

amtrak, amtrak, goin' so fast...

2009-03-09T14:52:00.004-07:00

noah, isla and i had a great adventure this weekend taking the train to grandma and grandpa's house. aaron stayed home and worked on some house projects with a few helpers. (thanks grandpa, kevin and alan!) i'll post house pictures soon.

noah was a little nervous about how loud the train would be...
so he took some precautions at fairhaven station before the train arrived. after the train pulled in to the station, though, he got really excited and hopped right aboard. he said, "i have my own seat! i'm riding on the train!" it was really cute. he was a little upset, though, that the conductor didn't say, "all aboard!" he also really appreciated that the train was a double-decker. we spent most of the nearly two-hour ride to vancouver upstairs in the observation car, sitting at a little table where we ate some snacks, read the train magazine and looked out the window. it was a really fun, reasonable adventure. i enjoyed traveling the same route we've driven a thousand times, but seeing the scenery from a different perspective. we talked about how we often look for trains along highway 99 in delta on our way to grandma and grandpa's house, and now we were ON a train! crazy.

here's the tiny passenger with all his supplies.

and in other adventures, we spent sunday morning at UBC cheering irene on in her second annual traithalon. here she is swimming in the outdoor pool. she's in the farthest lane, with her head peeking up. she also biked and ran. she did great!

here are noah, aunt nicole, uncle colin and grandpa cheering for irene at the finish line.

and here's little isla lou, who spent a good chunk of the race snoozing in the stroller.

little isla two

2009-03-01T21:50:00.002-08:00

Click to Play

in the spirit of marking isla's half birthday, here's a walk down memory lane. irene took these videos in the hospital when isla was hours old. she's so tiny! (well, relatively tiny at ten pounds.) and noah seems so small too, and his voice is so childlike! these videos really mark his growth these past six months as well. he is such a big boy now.

in this video noah identifies his new little sister's body parts.

little isla one

2009-03-01T21:49:00.002-08:00

Click to Play

in this video noah counts his new little sister's toes.

happy half year

2009-03-01T20:11:00.005-08:00

isla has been on the outside now for half of a year. what a happy half year! it's impossible to remember what life was like without her. she is a happy, easygoing little girl with the brightest blue eyes, the faintest red hair and great big squishy cheeks, belly and thighs. really, she is a little person all of a sudden. she listens, she jokes, she steals, she yelps, she licks, she laughs, she snuggles, she toots... she is big and strong, still topping the growth charts and doing all the things a person of her size is meant to do. how lucky we are!

this weekend she began to sleep with her brother instead of her parents. what a big change! so far the transition has gone fairly well. she still wakes plenty in the night to nurse, but i just go to her and nurse her in her room, and lay her back down. she and noah don't seem to wake one another very easily, which is a relief. and noah loves having sleepovers every night! he is so sweet to her, and says, "good night, isla," or "it's okay, baby isla" if she cries. it's fun to imagine them giggling together in the dark as they get older.

happy half birthday, little girl!

epiphanies

2009-02-25T21:47:00.011-08:00

today the season of epiphany ends and lent begins. the feast of epiphany celebrates the revelation of god becoming incarnate through the baby jesus, and this fact being made known to the world. but we also think of epiphanies as those lightbulb ideas when we realize something that maybe we should have known all along. i've been thinking about what those lightbulbs are for me, and how to take those epiphanies with me through this year's lenten journey.

epiphany #1: i love my family. why don't i always act like i do? why am i often impatient with my children or critical of my husband? why do i want them to be other than they are? this lent i want my love for them to be clear to them every day, and to greatly overshadow my frustrations.

epiphany #2: i have so so much. so much stuff. so much money. so much food. so many people who love and support me. why do i always want more? why do i read catalogs? browse craigslist? compare myself and my life to others? this lent i want to minimize the input that makes me feel lustful, and minimize my role in a consumerist society. i want to buy less and want less. i want to share. i want to surround myself with words, images and people who affirm my real beliefs--that i have an abundance.

epiphany #3: blogs aren't always what they seem. i love having this blog as a medium to process and chronicle our lives, and as a way to share our little world with you, our dear friends and family. but it's also a strange thing to write honestly and with humility for a sort-of faceless readership. it's easy for me to share the best parts of my family, of my words and images. but how does that make you feel? i know that we all have this general understanding of how blogs work, that they are just a window and not the whole story, that it's okay to share beauty and inspiration, to toot our own horns a bit... but still, how does that make you feel?

i'm realizing that i often come away from the computer feeling pretty down, after i've spent some time scanning blogs belonging to people whose lives seem so much better than mine. in these blogs the women are supermamas, nurturing to their many children, creating gorgeous art and craft and food, living in lovely, well-organized, clean homes, reading challenging literature... and while this may not be the whole story, it doesn't really matter. because i come away feeling inadequate, jealous, frustrated, lustful. i do not come away feeling energized and inspired. likely this is more a critique of me than of the blogosphere in general--which means that i have some important work to do within myself in dealing with those bad feelings and nurturing some positive ones. which i don't think i can do very well with a computer on my lap. which is a roundabout way of saying that for this epiphany, my resolution is to keep my computer in a hard-to-reach place, and use it only minimally. i think our whole family will benefit from this.

epiphany #4: i am happy when i am creative. i feel frustrated when i don't have the time or space to be so. this lent i want to begin working on some projects i've thought about for a while, including posting some things on etsy, putting together another zine, documenting my babies in their journals and baby books, making my yard pretty, writing lots of letters and breaking in my new sewing machine. for a long time i've felt like i can't begin being creative until my space is perfectly organized, but if i wait for that, i'll never do anything!

epiphany #5: meditation. i'm not good at extended prayer or meditation. my mind wanders so easily. but i appreciate having a short phrase or prayer to repeat when i find myself with a few minutes of quiet--falling asleep at night, nursing isla, drinking coffee. so i was very excited to receive a postcard this week from my friend dale, who left me with these wise words:

fear not! pray always!

an invitation to a holy lent.

these days

2009-02-14T21:54:00.008-08:00

isla spends a lot of her time munching her feet.

aaron recently made this bathroom stool for noah. noah loves it. he spends a lot of time "washing" in the sink now.

aaron installed a pull-down attic ladder a few weeks ago, which got noah very excited about the attic. he says he's going to build a fort up there. i'm not very supportive of this idea.

a fun new activity: eskimo kisses.

two in the tub is pretty fun. isla kick-kick-kicks and splashes noah, and he cracks her up.

her cheeks are something else, aren't they?

noah is no longer afraid of masks. he embraced his animal side with this one recently and actually wore it around town!

more interest in animals: here's my old teddy norman cozy in the wrap. please also note the hawaiian shorts layered over his pants. high fashion.

isla is nearing sitting up on her own. she has two teeth. she has licked avocado, pear and banana (but not swallowed, i don't think). she steals noah's toys when she can reach them. she laughs heartily at her brother.

we caved and acquired another big plastic yard toy. noah loves this car. he named it arthur. and he will spend big chunks of time driving it around the yard or just hanging out in it, parked. he especially loves to tow things with it. and he likes the cargo space for his water bottle.

found

2009-02-14T20:45:00.004-08:00

isla in noah's clothes. found when i got up this morning.

a carrot sandwich, found in the kitchen.

a mess. found after i came home from a meeting the other night.

a pie-plate lineup.

cars in a mason jar, found on the tupperware shelf.

cars at lunch.

how not to wear your baby

2009-02-07T20:42:00.002-08:00

aaron was so proud of the new wrapping method he invented with the moby. "it doubles as a touque!"

note: do not try this at home.

set-ups

2009-02-04T15:23:00.002-08:00

found around the house. i love how the "workers" keep showing up in different ways.

my girl

2009-02-03T20:38:00.010-08:00

when isla smiles, all is right with the world. she is (almost always) a very sweet, very calm, bright and happy little girl. she loves her brother a lot, and laughs at him when he's silly. she also tries to munch his nose when he gets close enough.
actually, these days she tries to munch everything: my finger, my shoulder, my cheek, her finger, her toes, her socks, her booties, the straps on the ergo carrier, the straps on her hat, any toy or toy-like item within reach, spoons, paper, books... you name it, she munches it. which i'm pretty sure means she's teething. which i'm pretty sure is the reason we've had a rough little while.since the weekend, isla has not been herself. she's been extra needy and fussy, not nursing well, wanting to be held constantly, sleeping a lot less, and crying a lot. the crying is the hardest thing. i'm just not used to it! we've been spoiled with how sweet and mild she's been so far, and i feel totally undone by her vigorous little cry. i pray that this issue really is a very sensitive girl getting teeth...and not a total and permanent personality change. i know that there are a billion phases we'll go through and that surely this is just one of them, but it's hard to remember that in the moment. i always think, "oh lord, this is how it's going to be now. how will i manage this forever?" this time around, though, it's definitely helpful to be able to look at noah and see a very real example of the fact that nothing lasts forever. and that someday instead of clinging to me, isla will be running off away from me, and i will be calling to her to return.

isla is on the verge of so many things: teeth, eating real food, sitting up, scooting around, going after and getting what she wants...

noah sometimes asks me, "is isla big yet?" he is pretty eager to have a playmate. (though i don't think he's thought this through enough to see the potential threat she'll pose to his train set-ups!)isla started out big and strong, and continues that way. often on her changing table she will maintain a stomach crunch at a 45 degree angle for a minute or more! she doesn't love being on her belly but is able to lift her head really high and even lift her legs off the ground at the same time. (this is boat pose in yoga, i think. noah tried to imitate her and failed.) she arches in attempts to escape the confines of the bumbo seat and prefers to stand up in the exersaucer.

nursing isla has not been a cinch. we have periods of ease and then periods of fits and starts, and i still don't really know why. noah often fell asleep nursing, and isla rarely does. maybe she just has more important things to do. but she is still topping the growth charts, so she must be getting what she needs.

my little redhead is still pretty much bald, but i have high hopes for giving her cute ponytails and braids sometime in the future. as it is, i'm definitely enjoying dressing her. i'm really not making any attempts to tone down the feminine in her clothing. i think she looks lovely in pink and i'm having fun with layered dresses and leg warmers. i can't wait for summertime sundresses and sandals!
isla is my teammate now. she is a very fun little friend. and a great big rosy-cheeked blessing.

funny boy

2009-01-28T22:00:00.004-08:00

yesterday as noah and i walked to his room for a diaper change, he hustled in front of me and led the way. "i am not a coach," he said. "i am the engine." and today as he walked in front of me again, he said, "i am thomas and you are clarabelle."
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at naptime today noah was talking to himself for a long time before he fell asleep. when he woke up, i asked him what he'd been talking about for so long. "blah, blah, blah," he said, and we both cracked up.
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tonight at bedtime i sang noah a song we learned at library storytime a long time ago, but i'd forgotten the words a little. the words should be, "rain is falling all around/on the rooftops, on the ground/rain is falling on my nose/on my head, hands, knees and toes." but i said "toes" two times, forgetting "nose." "no, you already said toes!" noah pointed out. and who says he doesn't pay attention?

father and son

2009-01-28T21:49:00.001-08:00

a few sundays ago at lake padden. isn't this picture nice?

visitors from the east

2009-01-21T15:36:00.006-08:00

nope, not the magi. my sister and our friends andrew and jess were both recently here for visits.

hillary was here for a little under a week, before her spring semester began again at gordon. it was really nice to see her. noah developed a very big crush on aunt hillary, following her around the house and even into the bathroom. (privacy is not a concept he understands.) they read many many books together, sang many songs, played lots with trains and trucks, made vegan cookies, watched a john deere tractor movie, checked out facebook, sent text-messages, primped, etc. noah was very sad to see her go, and also sad that he couldn't ride with her on the cool white bus to the airport. poor boy.

aunt irene was here the day hillary left, and to allay the sadness of hillary's departure, we all took a bus trip of our own to fairhaven and back (about 5 minutes each way). it was a simple but very fun adventure. in fairhaven we hit up the bookstore, the toy store, the bakery and the train station, then took the bus back to downtown and hit up a coffee shop. noah was thrilled. he was especially excited about watching a freight train go by at the station, and playing with the cars, trucks and trains at the toy store. (we were in there for over an hour, and his cheeks were rosy and his forehead sweaty from the intensity with which he was playing. it was very cute!)

here's aunt irene and isla lou at the train station:
then a few days later, we spent some time in vancouver and down here with our dear friends (and noah's godparents) jess and andrew. we went to jess's art show on granville island, (thankfully sans noah in the tiny craft shop).

here's jess with some of her tiny dresses

andrew and noah had tea together and munched puffins

and maryka, jess and i enjoyed some educational reading: entertainment weekly. so much to learn about the world!
now all our visitors are back home in the east, shoveling themselves out of snowstorm after snowstorm. we miss you, hillary, jess and andrew!

my little boy

2009-01-19T22:36:00.006-08:00

lately noah asks what things are "about." for example, driving home from grandma and grandpa's house the weekend of the waldorf fair, he said, "what's waldorf school about, mama?" good question.
today i said "hmm..." as i walked around the house looking for something. "what's 'hmm' about, mama?" noah asked.
***********************
recently while noah wasn't napping in his crib at naptime, i was talking on the phone in the kitchen. i hung up, and then heard noah ask from his room, "what was it, mama?" which means, who was on the phone? he said it a few times and i finally went in to set him free and fill him in on all my telephone business. he is so involved! it's hilarious. every time i hang up the phone: "what was it?" "what he/she said?"
***********************
he recently made a train from kitchen chairs, with a laundry basket caboose. he sat up front to drive, and i rode in the caboose. "are you the engineer?" i asked. "yes," he said. "and you are the caboose-neer."
**********************
noah is such a big boy all of a sudden. i can't believe his third birthday is nearly upon us. often aaron and i refer to him as a little boy, and he always corrects us by saying, "not a little boy; only a big boy!" (except in the case of him hiding, in which he says, "mama, mama, say, 'where is my little boy?'")

he suddenly knows how to dress and undress himself (thanks, aunt irene!); he is semi-interested in the potty; he is very excited about the prospect of having a big-boy bed (particularly a bunk bed); he is anxious for isla to grow big so he can play with her; he loves swings and slides; he is very adept with small things and loves to "hitch" cars and trucks to one another; he sings lovely songs; he eats a ton of food; he has officially had his first temper tantrum (over a plastic firetruck at a consignment shop); he understands and upholds deals; he sleeps 11 or 12 hours a night; he loves sending and receiving mail (like his mama); he likes to say prayers (though he varies who he prays to); he loves to read and choose new books at the library; he gets very excited about the new practice of "friday night movie night"...
and is overall a very sweet, very fun and wonderful boy. we are so lucky to be his parents!

learning how to drive a train with daddy at the railway museum

driving a train at the railway museum

excited about the cool scenery and steam train

the homemade train, with laundry basket caboose

aaron and noah made a zocalo (a town square)

the zocalo, up close

at the train station in fairhaven

a basket-hat and two gift bag-shoes

an apple and cheese sailboat snack

noah's banjo medley

2009-01-15T14:57:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

in which noah plays lily's banjo. he begins with "the wheels on the bus" and smoothly morphs into "down by the bay." impressive musicianship. then lily takes over and noah gets distracted.

epiphany

2009-01-05T16:20:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

aaron, noah and i (crudely) represented the holy family in our church's epiphany celebration on sunday. grandpa captured this bit on film. please note how interested big boy jesus is in the frankincense. good thing he didn't spill it!

the roller

2009-01-05T16:18:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

isla rolls! (with a little help from aunt i, on the other end of a chain of toys)

tall tower

2009-01-05T16:09:00.001-08:00

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in which grandpa helps noah build a very tall tower with his tiny blocks, and noah knocks it down. (and promptly says, "build it again, grandpa!"

cough cough

2009-01-05T16:03:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

isla was laughing before i began videotaping her. here, she cough coughs. silly girl.

christmas cards of yore

2009-01-05T14:58:00.004-08:00

as we've been slowly packing up our few christmas decorations, i've been thinking of a way to save and display my favorites of the cards we've received. i think maybe next year we'll make a bulletin board (from foam board covered with pretty paper) especially for the purpose of displaying our favorite christmas-related images. this way they will last longer than the few weeks between when they're received and when it seems silly to still keep christmasy things hanging around.

with that in mind, i've been digging up the christmas cards we've made in years past, and with fond remembrance share them now with you!

this card was from two years ago. (we didn't make one last year while we were in new england.) the quote is from tennyson's poem of the same name, about ringing out the old and the negative, and ringing in the new and the positive. you can read the whole poem here. here's a taste:

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

i loved the ideas in the poem and the sound of "wild bells." as usual, i supplied the idea and aaron did the work to make it happen. he really likes carving fancy lettering.

(and actually we never finished mailing all these cards--i think i stopped about halfway through the alphabet, too exhausted to finish the project. so sad! but please, if you never received one and would like one, let me know. we have lots left.)

this card was from 2005, and remains my very favorite. i like the combination of lettering and a simple image. the font is grasshopper, in the arts and craft style, and the floral decoration is meant to go with that style.

the quote is from the magnificat, mary's song from the gospel of luke. it is an incredibly beautiful song of acceptance and joy, and a great prophesy for what jesus will bring to the world. i appreciate the different meanings the above text can hold: that jesus literally fed the hungry with food, but also that he has given a hungry world many reasons to be full of joy. (and now as we begin a new political season in our country, i also appreciate the line, "he has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly." may it be a season of things turning topsy-turvy!)

this was our very first christmas card as a couple. it doesn't have any hidden meanings--just a simple scene of light and warmth inside a household on a snowy night. the dutch word gezellig might be a good title for this one.

from wikipedia: Its closest equivalent is the word "coziness"; however, rather than merely describing a place that is compact, well-heated and nicely furnished (a cozy room, a cozy flat), Gemütlichkeit connotes the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the opportunity to spend quality time.

what better could we wish for than a gezellig new year?

color!

2008-12-31T23:12:00.005-08:00

i no longer live in a white-walled house! a few nights ago aaron painted with his brother john and brother-in-law kevan. hooray for color!

living room: winter lake. (warm and lovely)

dining room and kitchen: terrarium. (beige-ish green)

bathroom: wildflower honey. (crazy but fun)

now i look forward to finally hanging up our artwork and pictures, which have sadly been sitting in a box in our closet since we moved in months ago. the big question is, what to put on the living room wall? it's a weighty decision for such a vast space with such high ceilings. maybe we need to commission a very large piece of art. suggestions?

christmas crafting

2008-12-31T16:18:00.013-08:00

here's a sampling of the fun handmade parts of our christmas this year.

the felt star ornaments we helped noah make for friends and family (with thanks to heather for the idea)

noah in his new neckwarmer from heather

noah's stocking, made by grandma, filled with a new red hat and mittens, made by oma

N is for Noah, a book i made for noah on snapfish

his favorite page in the book, with a picture of a very sad noah on the carousel

isla in her awesome oma booties, which go halfway up her legs

here's noah playing with his very cool neighborhood map, made by uncle colin, aunt nic, aunt irene and uncle kevan. it includes the police station, the library, trader joe's, and our local market, nelson's, among other stops. (and parking spots for noah's prius and his mail truck.) he loves it!

a beautiful mobile from maryka for isla, with needle felted flowers, leaves and stems and lovely old-fashioned bells
our christmas stockings, which i made! not perfect at all, but functional.

gift baskets for our neighbors, with gingerbread and spritz cookies and chocolate fudge

christmas!

2008-12-26T10:56:00.008-08:00

a christmas parking garage

building a christmas snowman with grandpa

complete with a bandstra transportation hat!

our friends heather and pearl (and joey, hidden behind) joined us for dinner

noah and pearl in their fancy christmas clothes

christmas treats

we had a lovely day.
hope you did too!
merriest of christmases to all of you dear friends and family.

christmas eve

2008-12-25T13:23:00.004-08:00

today

2008-12-21T13:29:00.003-08:00