Sister and Brother Love

Yesterday Grace and Glen were spending some time on the couch and we decided to get a few shots of both of them being fairly still (which is a miracle).

 This one is Matt's favorite.

 This one is my favorite.

 I love this one too.

 It looks like they are sharing secrets already!

 Here is one of just Grace.  I thought it was beautiful and she looked very much like a model in it.

We got snow today and Grace spent the better part of the afternoon running around in it.  I am glad that even though we have mild winters here, we have snowsuits and boots that help Grace play and play and play in the snow.

Presents and more

Last weekend we went to Harrisonburg to make plans for Glen's dedication that will happen in the next few months.  When we arrived we were welcomed by a gift bag from a very kind lady in my mom's Sunday School class.  I have met this woman and have talked to her a bit, but I would not say that I know her well.  So the fact that she took time out to do gifts like this for Glen (and also Grace when she was born) mean so much to me.

Shirley is a very talented woman with a very giving heart, and here is evidence of both.

 Grace found the hat and decided that she needed to put it on, and it fit.

 So we tried on the sweater, and it also fit.  Glen will partake of these items in a year or two.

 So we have the sweater, and the hat, and finally the blanket that they are sitting/laying on which all three are a duck theme.  There is a duck button on the sweater and on the blanket there is a large yellow duck.  I am looking forward to when Glen can put these items to use.

 Yesterday Grace was playing in a dirt pile in the front yard.  And the sun was shining on her and the colors (especially of her hair) was just stunning, so I decided to try to capture it with a camera.

 It did not quite work, but I got some good pictures of Grace.

 Here I had fun taking colors out of the picture.  I kind of like the effect.

Glen now has a name for his hairline.  The boy has a hairline which goes from ear to ear and is a ring around the back with a bunch of light fuzz on top.  At church this past Sunday his uncle Mike dubbed this hair style as "the Picard."  I laughed so hard!  I love it...My son is sporting the Picard :)

Valentine's Meal 2012 (When Lana Learns What Valentine's Is Really All About)

Matt and I have a tradition.  We do not really do gifts on Valentine's Day.  Our celebration is to make a meal together that we would not attempt on a normal day, and certainly not attempt alone.  So we spend a few days in January planning the menu.  On the morning of Valentine's Day we go grocery shopping.  Then spend the rest of the day in the kitchen together cooking, dancing, singing, etc.  It is wonderful and has brought to light many wonderful recipes that I have used many times since.  

Until this year it has pretty much been just Matt and I.  For the first two years, it was just Matt and I.  Then the third year we had a two month old who was pretty content in her bouncy seat and so it was still kind of just Matt and I.  Last year we had a one year old who tried to help but for most of the preparation she played or slept.  So once again it seemed as if it was mainly just Matt and I.

This year was a wildly different experience.  With a newborn and a very active two year old we had to re-look at our menu and also what Valentine's is all about.  In the past it has always been about being a couple and lavishing our love on the individual that we married.

This year I learned that Valentine's is not just about the individual that you share rings with, it is love for those in your family.  Sharing the celebration with Grace and Glen did not make the meal prep tedious or a challenge.  It was a joy to experience it with our little ones for we are celebrating our love for them also.

Valentine's also looked very different than it did in past years.  To start off it was not as "glamorous" as it was before (however glamorous as you can be when cooking all day).  I got a shower in the morning (a rare event) but Grace hid my comb so I never got to comb my hair all day.  Glen decided to spit up on Matt's pants and my shirt throughout the day.  Grace had a very disastrous blow-out of a diaper which led to an immediate bath for her.  And there was an abundance of water, brownie mix, pudding powder, and other items on the floor from Grace helping.  But there was also a lot of playing, singing and dancing not only with Matt but also with Grace.  Joy abounded.

 In making the menu for the meal we made sure to add at least one item that Grace could help make.

 We made a chocolate trifle for dessert.  Grace helped make the brownies, and the pudding.  She also checked each of the items for quality :)  Her face shows that each part was good!

 Glen had a very important job this year.  He was the supervisor.  He sat back and watched to make sure that everything got done as it should.

 He did such a good job that Grace just HAD to give him a hug.

 Our meal this year was simply following the ABC's...Alton Brown's Cooking.  Each of our new recipes came from Good Eats.  First we had Broiled Salmon with a Beurre Blanc sauce (Beurre Blanc is a spicy butter cream sauce...VERY GOOD!).  We also had home grown green beans, homemade bread, and a ceasar salad where the dressing was made from scratch.  Finally we finished off the meal with the chocolate trifle which is brownie, pudding, cool whip, and heath candy bars layered over and over and over.  Very rich, very good, and a dish that Grace could help the entire way through.

By the looks of it, Grace approves of the meal.

What a wonderful Valentine's Day it was.  And to celebrate with  my three Valentine's rather than just one...oh, how special that was!

Around The House

We have a baby swing out for Glen.  He has been put in it a few times.  He tolerates it but I do not think that he really likes it, so we have not used it often.  This morning Grace decided to put it to good use.  I believe that she thought that her truck needed a good swing.  She placed the truck in there, then stood there for a few minutes pushing the truck.  I do not understand how their mind works, but I have a feeling it will keep me on my toes.

 The nursery was kept pretty much the same from when Grace was in there to when Glen took over the room.  Minor items were changed (such as Glen has a name plate made out of legos by his uncle that is in the location where Grace's used to be).  When this was Grace's room above the crib there was a wall hanging that had bears, flowers, and butterflies.  It was not extremely girly and it went with the nursery so I was going to keep it there.

A week or two ago a friend of mine gave me some clothes for Glen.  In the bag was not only clothes but also blankets and wall hangings.  This wall hanging of trains was in there and it went with the colors of the room so well that I decided to switch it out and give each of the children their own special wall hanging.

 Isn't it nice?  I think it looks wonderful in the room.

My Daughter and The Chore I Hate The Most

I hate to do dishes!

I will do almost any chore before I decide to stand in front of a soapy sink full of dirty dishes.  I do not know where my aversion to this chore came from, but it is there.  Yes, I will do dishes, but I will not like it...and I will try my hardest not to do it often (the dishwasher is my friend).

But in steps my daughter.  She loves to "do dishes" a joy that she learned from my mother.  She pulls a chair up to the sink and plays in the water and soap suds and is happy as a lark for quite a while.  All of this as she is soaking her clothes, the sink (and surrounding area) and the floor.  But that is minor since all of those areas can be cleaned and wiped up easily.

So recently if I walk past the sink, stand near the sink to do something in regards to cooking, or if I run water to wash my hands I start to hear a chair scrape across our tile floor while a little voice is saying in the most pleading tone "dish, dish, dish."  How can I deny her.

So I do dishes...and the kitchen is looking a bit better.

Thank you mom for teaching Grace this (yes there is a bit of sarcasm there).

But thank you Grace for helping me do a chore while I see your joy of doing dishes.