My good friend Kira emailed this to me today, and I just had to share it with all of you (I like to say that, it makes me feel like there is actually enough people reading this to account for the phrase “all of you” to be used).
Sometimes when life throws you a big ugly curveball, you could really use a good belly shaking laugh. So here’s just that…
xoxo
Our darling dog, Rudy Fernandez, turns one today! So here is a little loving tribute to the cutie patootie…
The girls with Rudy, 8 weeks old
Rudy Fernandez, 8 weeks old
Rudy, just hanging out with the remote control...you know...
This had Mark and I laughing until we had tears when we found this on my phone. I am guessing Claire made this using a background app, that's what she thinks about that, apparently...
Claire made him a hat, doesn't he look thrilled?!
What a lucky dog! Happy Birthday Rudy, we love your little furry face!
xoxo
Our girls started school this week, and both are very excited about the coming year!
Veda is a fourth grader, and wasn’t exactly thrilled about her teacher assignment when she found out. But she is a very optimistic young lady and has completely gotten over any misgivings. She is taking Choir at school with other fourth and fifth graders and she can’t wait to do Christmas caroling downtown this December! She is also taking Ballet again and will be taking an extended course schedule this year so she will be learning so much more! She’s such a talented little thing!
Veda, mis-matched socks are totally hot right now (they even sell them mis-matched ON PURPOSE at stores in the mall - I firmly believe this is just to drive us Mom's who do all the laundry, completely NUTS!)
Claire is a seventh grader (still shaking my head in disbelief) and is really excited about playing volleyball this year! She has tryouts tomorrow and Monday and I will let you know how she does. I am feeling very confident that she will make the team because she attended several camps this summer and has really improved since playing CYO last year. But I am bias, because I am her mother, and I think she is awesome. She also informed me this afternoon (while she was talking non-stop about her day) that she is filling out an application to run for student council. I couldn’t be more proud!
Claire = Awesome
Claire: "Wait, now take a picture of my better side!" what a nerd...an awesome nerd, hey, it's possible.
And our baby in my belly is now 17 weeks and growing… and so am I. I have some pictures from my birthday that was a couple weeks ago and I do not want to put them on the blog, because I’m vain and I look like a fatty in them. Probably not, but I don’t like them, and since I post on this blog, well then they will not be seen on here! But here is a picture from this morning… I can’t believe how big my first baby has gotten, *sniff sniff*…
...
xoxo
Yesterday, on account of it being the first real rainy day we’ve had for awhile (thankfully, summer pretended to be really happening for a few weeks), I decided it was a perfect evening for some yummy chili for dinner. And since I am not very good at planning ahead (seriously the world’s best procrasintator), I just made it in the big saucepan on the stovetop. However, there’s nothing more wonderful than starting something in the crock pot in the morning, and when you get home from a hard day’s work, walking into your house to the aroma of a very delicious smelling dinner!
I heart the crock pot.
So this morning I was super excited to come across this blog that is dedicated solely to providing recipes for things to make using a slow cooker! Jackpot! She has recipes for anything you could imagine, and even things you couldn’t (hello, can you say pumpkin spice lattes?). My mind is spinning with all the possibilities and I can’t wait to sit down and bookmark my favorites for the fall days to come! And it will also come in handy for the parties we like to host each year, especially the pumpkin lattes! Yum! Look forward to those at our Halloween party for sure!
Happy Wednesday!
xoxo
Isn't this a great Fall family photo of my husband (on the right) and his siblings? Adorable! I am guessing he's about 8 or 9 here maybe?
Waking up early after a three day holiday weekend is always difficult… especially when it is raining outside and I’d like nothing more than to stay in my warm bed, snuggled up to my hubby, and sleep all day.
Today reminds me that the seasons are changing and pretty soon it will be time to take the family out to the pumpkin patch for some kettle corn and hot cocoa. The girls will search out the perfect pumpkins for carving and I will try to capture their huge grins on film!
Fall is my favorite time of year. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I am still trying to figure out what to be this year. I am trying to resist the urge to break out the Halloween decorations because as much as I’d like to decorate, I feel it’s still a little early for that. Um, maybe in a couple weeks….
Here is an adorable photo my brother sent me last week of my darling nephews. The crazy weather this year didn’t dampen my brother’s gardening skills (he was given the hereditary green thumb, unlike myself). He’s got some prize-winning pumpkins this year, and I’m sure his boys are super excited to start carving!
Hunter and Wyatt with a giant pumpkin (but there's also one twice that size my brother brags!)
Hope you had a lovely holiday weekend! Happy first week of school to all the kiddos! Veda started today and Claire starts on Thursday. Yay!
xoxo
I realize that summer is nearing it’s end, although for us in the Northwest it really never felt like it got it’s beginning. But a shoe is a shoe. And this is not just an ordinary shoe, it’s one that comes with a huge mission of love and encouragement and compassion. The company is called Sseko Designs and their mission is straight from the heart. Here is their story:
If you happen to find yourself in Kampala, Uganda, make your way to the Old Taxi Park. From there, grab a taxi van to Matuga. Jump off at the end of the line, and hop on a boda boda to the Cornerstone Leadership Academy. After a (bumpy) ride along a dirt road, you will find yourself in the company of some of the most intelligent and committed young women in Uganda. These women are graduates of the Cornerst one Leadership Academy and employees of Sseko Designs.
Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.
Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.
Sseko Designs is a not-just-for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country’s educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.
Although consumerism makes many empty promises, responsible and proactive consumerism has the ability to change lives. Like the lives of Mercy, Mary and Rebbecca.
Every sandal has a story. This story has only just begun, but with your help, it will be a story of hope, success and change.
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I couldn’t help reading that without a lump in my throat. And I know what you’re thinking, “you’re pregnant, hormones are working double time, you probably cry about everything”. That’s partially true, but I am pretty sure that had I not been in my delicate state, I still would have been moved by their story.
The bonus to all of this is, the sandals are freaking adorable! You can buy a pair here. It’s definitely for a wonderful cause, one you can be proud of, as they say above just call it “responsible consumerism”.
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Isn't that sewing machine divine? *swooon*
Super adorable sandals, with ties that you can lace up in many different ways, and change them out for other ties! Brilliant!
