Category: Uncategorized

L: me and Gabriel with Carrie and Emma
R: Steven and Gabriel with Jon and Emma — yay, daddies!!


L: Gabriel and Emma liked chilling out together on a blanket
R: this is how Gabriel sleeps now — he is totally in love with his soft blankies

L: Gabriel with his sweet auntie
R: here’s my boy playing on the counter while I was making pumpkin bars — mmm!

L & R: my little Punkin Head — isn’t he ADORABLE?!! I loooooove him. And I love this pumpkin hat too, and so does he! TOO cute. 🙂

L: this morning I wore Gabriel backpack-style for the first time — so I could bake biscuits & scrub bathrooms without worrying about burning or splashing him!
R: yesterday Gabriel went shopping with his mommy and grandmama — and he got the pumpkin hat, some sweaters, and some shoes. And yes, my son is decked out in Gymboree, Gap, and Nordstrom. Woot woot! 😉 lol.

L: Gabriel’s first pair of “Pedipeds” — so super handsome
R: and a new pair of Robeez for when his feet grow a little more — yay, puppy shoes!

So here are pictures from the Mediterranean, except for Venice of course which I already posted. 🙂 I hope you enjoy these! Unfortunately, this computer uploaded them in reverse order… so it’s not exactly the way we saw things — in fact, it’s completely the reverse! 🙂

the sky and some pretty buildings in Dubrovnik, Croatia

the coastline of Croatia where our ship dropped anchor

I love European pizza! and this one from Dubrovnik was no exception.

this is supposedly the third oldest pharmacy in Europe that is still functioning — since the 14th century.

my husband Steven standing in Dubrovnik

me, Gabriel, and Ashley sitting on some gorgeous piece of history in Croatia

this is our waiter Mustafa, from our cruise ship — and a yummy Baked Alaska

there was a White Night on the ship, with a party on deck, everyone wearing white, etc. — beautiful!!

in Athens we had some wonderful Greek food — here I am with my genuine gyros!

hehe, my Greek-geek husband loved seeing things like this at the Acropolis

here we are with the Parthenon, at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece

I love this picture of Fira on the island of Santorini in Greece

a view of the sea from the island of Santorini, Greece

Steven in Pompei

I was astounded by the awesome stuff at Pompei! Colin and Ashley are here in Pompei, with Mt. Visuvius

near Sorrento, Italy, we went to a private farm to taste fresh tomatoes and olives, limoncello, wine, and handmade mozzarella — then a very sweet Italian lady showed us how she made the mozzarella!

aw, it’s us in the Colloseum!

the Colloseum in Rome

Steven in the Vatican Museum, in Rome

family picture with the tower!

my very super strong husband

yup, it’s us in Pisa, Italy — see the tower?

our first port was here, in Villefranche, France

me and my Gabriel David in France, with toes in the Mediterranean Sea

the first formal night on the cruise ship

Gabriel came with me and my mom to High Tea on the ship one day

I love cruising! and I love the gorgeous views from the deck, like this one of Barcelona

this is when we had awesome sangria and traditional tapas for dinner in Barcelona

enjoying some quiet sitting on the edge of the sea in Barcelona — Colin, Ashley, me, Gabriel, Steven

our first stop (after almost three days of flying and layovers) was Barcelona, Spain!

We have had some of the best opportunities for photo op’s this week! 🙂 Take a look! And keep looking forward to more pics from Europe… I promise they’ll come soon. Once we figure out our computer situation and get my computer working again, I’ll be more comfy with posting pics. Steven’s computer feels so foreign and unfamiliar to me! 🙂
and Krista–
Yes, Colin and Ashley are expecting twins. Woo hoo!!! We are completely psyched.
And we were gone for three weeks… pics soon, for sure! 🙂

L: my friend Shelby with her little daughter Elise Marie Grace — she’s at home now, about six pounds, and two months old! She’s doing so well, and we praise God for His awesome kindness.
R: my friend Elizabeth who is 32 weeks pregnant with a little girl, and my sweet Gabriel.

L: playing on the counter with his toys while Mama makes dinner
R: smiling in his swing — I love this outfit!

L: dinner on Sunday — crepes! Ooooh sooooooo goooooood.
R: pretty proud of my mmmmm-yummy crepes.

L: Gabriel and his little pal Emma Grace. Don’t they look related? We think they look like twins in this picture.
R: And here they are holding hands! Watching a movie too. Where’s the popcorn? Hm. Maybe a thermos of milk??

L: shopping at the mall, Gabriel tried on this adorable newsboys hat. No, I didn’t buy it for him but I sure thought he looked cute. Look at those cheeks!
R: and here we are!!! Gabriel and me with our sweet friends Carrie and Emma. We’re so excited to have them with us this week!! They’re traveling from Alaska to their new home in New York. We are very thankful they fit a visit with us into their schedule. And now we’re sad they’re moving so far away.

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!

Well, we’re officially home after trotting the globe. Or at least the Mediterranean portion of it. 🙂 What a fabulous time with my family. We enjoyed being able to see my grandparents, parents, and brother/sis-in-law every day too. That was special. And I haven’t mentioned it on here yet, but I’m an auntie to TWINS now!! We’re expecting them probably in late March. I’m so excited to be a double-auntie in one stroke. 🙂 Anyway… Gabriel did really well traveling around. He is now completely addicted to being worn, and hates when I put him down. I’m trying to break him of the idea now that he must be held 18 hours a day. But I love to use wraps and carriers, and include him in everything and nurture him so closely. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing either. I only have a few pictures on my computer so far; I’ll get the rest next week. But here are a few to show you. I’m glad to be home and hope to be over the jetlag soon. But the trip was definitely a highlight of our lives. And my baby boy has as many stamps in his passport as his mama! 😉

A very cool lion outside a military building in Venice. I just liked it. I don’t know why. 🙂

A real Italian cappuccino, in Murano, Italy.

Gelato (mmm) in Burano, Italy.

I think Burano was cuter, but this is Murano.

Have you ever seen these sleep-cots for babies on planes? So cool. Too bad Gabriel only slept in it for thirty minutes. 😉

And here’s my handsome Gabriel at home, learning that there are fun things to keep him busy when Mama isn’t wearing him. Two days ago he turned FOUR MONTHS old!! And today he ROLLED OVER!! Babyhood is going by too fast for this mama. 🙂

Okay… if you’ve never heard of Jamie Soles, you need to become introduced. So here, allow me.
http://www.solmusic.ca/
There. Go to that site and you will find the best place to get your new favorite music. 🙂
This is what we want for Christmas, people!!
So many of our friends have these cds, and we are currently borrowing “The Way My Story Goes” and we love it. Steven and I have had the songs stuck in our heads all day. Biblical stories put to music by a great dad who simply wants to teach his kids about the Bible, good theology, and singing for the glory of God. Woo hoo! I totally love it.
I can’t wait to get the whole collection! You should too. 🙂

p.s. I was laughing with a friend yesterday about how our kids (well, hers so far; and Gabriel will join them in another year or so, hehe) sing unashamedly about everything in the Bible. Instead of dumbing down the Word for our kids into a vegetable-patch, our children proclaim Truth to the world singing about everything from Jael’s tent peg to the Old Covenant sign of circumcision to keeping our bodies pure from sexual immorality to praying our enemies will perish. Praise the Lord!

Happy Things:
an incredibly joyful boy
a new haircut for Mommy
beautiful burnt-red roses from Husby

While I worked on making 6 batches of jam (after we’d gone on a family outing to our favorite orchards) at my mom’s house….

…Gabriel enjoyed learning to grab his rattle and cuddling with Grandmama.

Okay, ladies… I need help again with diapers.
This time, disposables.

We’re going away for a few weeks, and I won’t be able to take my cloth diapers along for the ride.
So I am needing to come up with a decision about which disposable diapers to buy.
What do you use??
What leaks least??
What holds the most??
What have you found to be most economical??

I’d hate to buy the cheapest thing out there just to find they don’t hold anything or leak all the time.
So I need to survey y’all to find out what you’ve discovered.
Please help! 🙂

As Gabriel hit the twelve week mark just a few moments ago (yes, I was actually watching the clock as 9:53 came and went), he was cooing & smiling & wiggling on his Aunt Beth’s lap. His aunt & uncle from the East Coast are visiting right now. We’ve been having oodles of fun all week, with still more to come over the next few days. It is fun to have outings and events. And it is fun to take pictures and make memories together. Gabriel loves to be social, is almost always cuddly, and is endlessly stealing his mommy’s heart (and everybody else’s).
It’s funny how 12 weeks of pregnancy would feel like an eternity, and now these first 12 weeks of Gabriel’s life have flown by like the wind.
Also, just so y’all know… I am fully aware that interrupted nights are coming just around the bend: teething, flu, nightmares, etc will not be far away. And I get that. 🙂 I have just been gaining some perspective and trying to come to grips with the fact that my son’s tiny-newborn days are gone. I am trying to enjoy each stage as it hurries by. Those nights of multiple feedings due to rapidly packing on some chunk on a skinny boy are already gone. Now he is big enough to comfort himself with his little left thumb. And this perspective has given me new joy (and erased the grumbling) when my son does wake me up at night. Like last night. When I heard his cries, I smiled knowing that my arms, my milk, my voice — it would all be fulfilling and comforting to him. It is good to be joyful in service. And it is good to gain new perspectives on service. It is good to serve my son. It is especially good to joyfully serve my son.
And God is incredibly good.