Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson

I had the opportunity several weeks ago to fly out to Colorado Springs to speak with Dr. James Dobson of Family Talk ministries. It was such a privilege! I have grown up listening to Dr. Dobson, reading his books, and hearing about his stand for issues related to the family, so I was so honored to be able to go myself and speak with him about Poppy. I was given the chance to share our story of God's faithfulness to us through the diagnosis of trisomy 18. I shared about the incredible blessing in disguise that Poppy embodied, and our gratefulness to God for walking the journey with us. I'm praying that as it airs today, women who find themselves in the same spot that I did over four years ago will find hope and encouragement in our story! If you would like to listen to our interview, you can go to www.drjamesdobson.org and stream our conversation. Also, here is a link to Poppy's Video.

will I ever blog again?

The neglect around these parts it astounding. Has a little blog ever been so discarded by it's proprietor? Yes, I'm sure it is probably a very common fate for many the unfortunate blog, and I'm sad to have to put myself in the bad blogger column, maybe forever.

I would love to keep a chronicle of our life, the ups and downs and everyday-ness of it, but evidently I don't want to as much as I want to pick up a book, or watch basketball, or work on a project, etc., ect, because those are the things I inevitably do.

Ah well. If I am taking the time, I want to say in fast forward what has been going on. Graham is almost ONE. He is amazing. Funny, sweet, playful, hungry and adventurous. Adrienne and Marianna are busy bees, loving their brother, gymnastics, school, church, and playing. Nathan and are daily throwing around ideas for our upcoming (still 6 months away, but yes, upcoming) 10th anniversary. Today's look: Costa Rica. Seems risky though. If we don't like it, we are pretty much stuck. On the other hand, what's not to like?

There we are in a nutshell. I can't wait for Thanksgiving. I'm already excited about Christmas. Life is busy, full, and very, very filled with amazing and undeserved blessings from Jesus.

And of course, a quick picture collage of the kids:

Christmas in the Valley 2011

That's right... it's that time again! For all my Memphis area friends, I really hope you're able to make it out to my mom's annual Christmas craft fair extravaganza... Christmas in the Valley! It will be on November 19 from 10-3, and it is completely open to the public! So, brings you friends and family and come out for a fun-filled day of shopping! There will be about 20 vendors, and they'll all be offering incredible one day only discounts! Check out the website for more details, and don't forget to go enter the giveaway!

c in the v flyer 2011

Twins?

Graham at 5.5 months

Marianna at 5.5 months

What do you think? I think it's wild. My two identical twins 5 years apart.

Happiness

this boy serves it up every day!

What's for dinner?

Lately, my answer to this very often asked question usually comes from my gold mine of a recipe go to place: allrecipes.com.

I know there are a bunch of different recipe websites out there, but this one has been the perfect fit for me. For starters, it has a recipe for just about whatever I can think of, so if I want to get a recipe for something specific, it's easy. I also love the reviews. I rarely ever make a dish just as it is written, since I find so many great suggestions from the people who have already forged that new territory before me. I've also been impressed by how many great meal ideas I've found by searching around on the website.

Since I started using allrecipes.com frequently, it has become my goal to try at least one new recipe a week. That doesn't sound impressive at all, and it's not, but it is definitely breaking ground for me. I have had a set of staple recipes that I have run into the ground over the past nine years, and since I'm nothing like my creative, food wizard of a sister-in-law, it was a rarity to try something new. But this makes it easy for me, and since it has been easy, I've done it. And after doing it, I've found that it is really fun to try something new on a weekly basis! For a non culinary expert like myself, it has made meals something exciting and worth the wait. If you have been in the same boat as me, try it out! I don't think you will be disappointed.

odds and ends

Last night I found that Marianna had taped a piece of paper around a cross I have on the kitchen counter. I went for a closer look and found she had written "King of the Jews".

Today I went to went to the movie theatre with all three kids. There were moments when I felt like I had bitten off a little more than I could chew, but really overall, it was fine. I can't tell you the entire plot of Kung Fu Panda 2, but I got enough to think it was a pretty cute sequel.

Tonight I'm running in my first race in almost two years. Yikes! I don't know how much "zoom" there will be in my "zoom through the zoo" but I think it should be fun.

Today this is what Nathan discovered when he got out of his car at work.

I really got a kick out of that.