Happy Second Birthday Henry!

Today our little baby turns 2! Can that really be right?? Maybe it is always like this with the baby of the family but I feel like he should still be an infant...of course he is not. He runs (actually he bounces) around the house at full speed all day long and talks up a storm every waking moment - he is most certainly not an infant anymore.

Ten reasons why Henry is the most lovable little boy ever (and not just because I am his mother, I swear!):

1. The way he says "kisses" to get one last peck before he lays down in bed.

2. The way his eyes sparkle with excitement and happiness over every little thing.

3. The way he dramatically pouts and hangs his head when he has been told no.

4. The way he takes your face between his little hands to make sure you are listening to him.

5. The way he tries so hard to do everything Emma is able to do.

6. The way he runs, falls on his face, gets back up and starts running again, without a peep of a complaint (he's a tough kid).

7. The way he tells you a whole story that takes forever and you only understand three words of what he said. Then he is very adamant that you repeat what he said.

8. The way he talks on the phone with a big smile on his face, nodding his head in agreement to what the other person is saying, expecting them to see his nodding.

9. The way he says he wants oatmeal and cinnamon, eggs, bagels, waffles and pancakes for breakfast every day. Then he is perfectly happy to eat whatever is put in front of him.

10. The way he says "uppie", gives my neck a big squeeze and puts his head on my shoulder when he is sleepy.

I LOVE YOU HENRY!

Thoughts...

2008 has been a difficult year. It started off just fine but by spring it was already a lousy one.

My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in May and went from being extremely active with so much going on to not being able to stay up for more than a few minutes at a time. This was such hard news to hear, and harder to see when we went to visit her in Sweden over the summer. I have such wonderful memories of playing with Farmor and Farfar from the time I was very little. We played store and dress-up, made button houses (didn't you?) and played "hide-the-key". We drove to Askersund for soft ice cream after swimming in the lake and ate LOT'S of Farmor's wonderful cookies (at least 7 kinds plus a cinnamon roll and cake - she was always the proper hostess). She has been one of those people that likes to keep busy all the time. Rarely did she sit down to rest, at least when I was watching. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for her, now that she can't do any of the things she has always enjoyed so much. Of course we all get older and one generation passes the torch to the next, but this does not make it any easier to watch your loved ones in pain, knowing that the end is nearing. I just wish I could be with Farmor now. Life is tricky.

The end of October brought the next blow, and this was a big one, as I mentioned previously. Our precious little Emma was diagnosed with leukemia. Imagine the shock! This can't happen to our baby! But it did. And of course we dealt with it. There are a few positive points to make here. If you have to have leukemia, having ALL (the type Emma has) is the one you want. Being 3 1/2 years old is the right age to get it. Also, treating leukemia in a girl takes about 2 1/2 years, while it takes 3 1/2 for a boy. These are all things I cling to. Emma will be just fine. I know she will. We just have to get through the next couple of years. Emma is already doing much better. She is responding to treatment the way she should and she is feeling better every day.

This post is not meant to be a depressing one. What I want to ultimately get across are two things. One, that we are lucky in so many ways and two, that I look to the new year and beyond with hope and quite a bit of excitement.

Let me start with the lucky part. I have a wonderful husband - I can't imagine going through this with anyone else. I think it has made us stronger and for that I am very lucky. We have a wonderful family that supports us - I don't know what we would do without them. We also have incredible friends and neighbors. I have been completely amazed at the kindness and generosity of everyone in my life. Emma has received so many sweet gifts to keep her occupied while she is recuperating. We have received meals when cooking dinner was the last thing I could even think about doing. I have received phone calls, letters and e-mails offering positive thoughts and prayers. I am blessed and I am humbled. The only problem is, how can I every say thank you enough? This must be the perfect opportunity for paying it forward. I am determined to look harder for ways to help and support those around me.

Then there is the hope and excitement I feel. I am so happy that we will be starting a brand new year in two days. I have never been more excited about starting fresh. 2009 will be a good year. Emma will continue on her path to recovery and move closer to being completely cured with every day that passes. We will all do what we can for Farmor and hope and pray that she does not have a lot of pain. We will value family like never before. We will nurture friendships like never before. We will be grateful for the little things like never before. I am hopeful and excited.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008 Holiday Season

Welcome!

Lucia

Looking for Santa?

Christmas morning

Lot's of fun was had by all!

The Third Sunday of Advent

...and the third candle is lit.

I am collage-happy!

We had such a nice weekend. Emma was her old happy self and we had som fun, though still very low-key, family activities while also getting some things crossed off my holiday to-do list!

First off, we took family pictures out in the snow with the hopes of getting holiday cards sent out this year. I am usually much further along when it comes to holiday planning by this time but the past few weeks have been anything but ordinary so I will be happy to get cards out in time for New Year's Eve! The kids cooperated pretty well, especially considering the cold weather. We just started snapping away really fast and didn't stop to look at the pictures at all. We figured we would get what we could and work with it. Nancy helped out and we were done in no time. By the way, don't you absolutely love Emma's and Henry's gorgeous coats? They are the ones we got in New York in October. (which seems like a lifetime ago now!)

When our photo session was completed, Dan and I left the kids with the grandparents and went to watch Virginia Tech beat Boston College, thereby making it to the Orange Bowl. This has not been a stellar season for the Hokies so winning the ACC and going to a BCS bowl is very unexpected, and of course so exciting! Doesn't going to Miami on New Year's Day to watch Virginia Tech play sound like fun? Just not this year...

Our last activity for the day was going to Candy Cane Lane to see all the Christmas lights there. It is amazing how ambitious this little neighborhood is. They go all out! I wonder if you have to sign something when you move there saying you have commit to putting up X number of lights and Y number of santas and snowmen in your yard each December :)

The kids absolutely loved all there was to look at - they were pointing this way and that - telling us what they were seeing. It was so cute - I am sure going to see the lights will become a tradition at this time of year.

On our way home we stopped at Kopp's for some wholesome burgers and fries. We also bought frozen custard but none of us could manage to eat any after those enormous hamburgers!

We all slept very well that night - what a busy day we had.

Sunday was gingerbread-cookie-baking-day. Emma and I attacked that dough and made tons of cookies. (Even though I only made half the recipe!) I was really impressed with how patient Emma was. It is not easy for 3 year old to make cut out cookies but she kept working at it. After a bit she decided she wanted to color instead so I finished up the rest. It feels so good to have the baking done. It is just not Christmas without gingerbread cookies!

How was your weekend?

Second Sunday of Advent

Two candles are lit.

Our weekend has been lovely. I will tell all tomorrow, though here is a sneak peak:

Henry loves watching the workers with their trucks and other heavy equipment as they build a house behind ours.

December 1st

Emma is back! My happy, funny, chatty and sweet little girl is back! Not that she didn't have moments of sweetness during the last month, but today Emma had a really good day.
This morning she and Henry opened their first advent gifts and they had such a good time trying to hang their new ornaments on the tree. When Henry went down for his morning nap, Emma and I decorated the rest of the Christmas tree. She was so cute about it, taking her time and carefully placing the ornaments just so. We had a really nice time together.

When Henry woke up I explained to him that he was not to touch the Christmas tree. Of course this was too tempting for an almost-two-year-old so as soon as I turned around he tore down a few decorations. We have recently started to try time outs with Henry so I told him to go to time out because he had touched the tree when I had said not to. Henry ran straight to the hall closet (this is where Dan put him for a time out yesterday) and sat down with a pouty look on his face. I think he secretly likes to sit in there for a minute or two...

First of Advent

This is such a special time of year. I love all the traditions I grew up with and have always tried to keep them going with my little family. I think that this year it is especially important to me that we keep these family traditions alive. We have had such a tough month with so many uncertainties. Emma is now starting to feel much better and I want to do everything I can to keep this time of year special for all of us.
As today is the first of Advent, we lit the first candle at the end of the day while eating saffron rolls. I used my mother's recipe and if I do say so myself they turned out pretty tasty...though maybe not very pretty... The house smells wonderfully of the Christmas tree we picked up today mixed with the aroma of freshly baked bread. The mood has been helped further by the fact that it snowed most of the day - everything is white and fresh!
Tonight I will finish wrapping the little gifts for Emma and Henry's Advent calendars so they can open the first ones tomorrow. Emma and I are going to decorate the tree in the morning while Henry naps - I hope she has as much fun as I plan to!

Who needs toys...

...when a plain old box is so much fun!?

Trunk-or-Treating

Emma's preschool did the cutest thing for Halloween, they had a "trunk-or-treat". At first I didn't get the concept and had to read the handout a couple of times but the basic idea was that parents park in the preschool parking lot and then the kids trick-or-treat out of the parents' trunks. The teachers led a line of adorable little pre-schoolers, all dressed up, around the rows of cars. Parents had decorated their trunks and it was very festive. Grandma and Grandpa came to join the fun and of course Henry was there too. Emma was so sweet when she first saw Henry - she gave him a nice, gentle pat on the cheek. She was really happy to see her little brother! Emma collected a lot of loot and when we got home she immediately wanted to count and sort all the things she had collected. She even shared a few pieces with Henry. The next day Emma was admitted to Children's Hospital so she didn't get to go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood this year. That was ok, at least she had already had the experience at preschool. Emma also went trick-or-treating around the HOT unit, dressed in her hospital gown and ballet slippers, dragging the IV pole with her. I am happy that Henry is too young to realize that he missed out on Halloween. We'll make up for it next year. Can he be a golfer again? That costume was just so darn cute!

Emma

Since Wednesday of last week, we have been at Children's Hospital. It all came about very suddenly but Emma has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). I took her to the Pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon and by that night we were admitted to the hospital. The diagnosis was confirmed on Thursday and treatment begun on Friday. This is such a shock. Noone thinks something like this can happen to them and I was no different. Under the circumstances Emma is doing as well as can be expected and she is responding normally to treatment. We are honestly extremely optimistic and hopeful for a full recovery though we know the road will be long and tough.

I have decided that this is all I want to say on this blog about Emma's condition and treatment for now. Here I am choosing to focus on the positive aspects of our everyday life. I am convinced there will be plenty of things to be happy about in the coming months as we fight this battle. Emma is a strong little girl and has the love and support of so many people. She will beat this!

If you are interested in following Emma's treatment, we have created a site at caringbridge.org

United Nations

The following morning Nancy and I had a leisurely breakfast - I love the bagels in New York - before we walked over to the United Nations. Our luncheon didn't start until 12:30 so we decided to take a tour of the UN before our event. Of course there was a long line to get tour tickets and by the time we got ours, the only tour available to us started at 11:55 and was supposed to last 45 minutes. This meant we would be about 10 minutes late to the reception before our lunch. We decided this would be ok, or that perhaps we could sneak away from the tour a few minutes early...yeah, right!
First of all, our tour was a few minutes late getting started and as we went through security with our group, we knew we had made a mistake. The tour guide showed us a model of the UN, a few fabulous pieces of art donated to the UN by various countries and on we went...slowly. We quickly realized that this tour would take much longer than the 45 minutes we had been told, so we thought we would go back the way we came and make our way to our luncheon. We took 10 steps toward the exit and were stopped by another tour guide. We were scolded and told to go back to our group. Nancy and I tried to explain our situation and were sternly told we had to wait until someone could be found to escort us out. So we had no choice but to follow our tour into the General Assembly Hall. It was pretty neat to see this room that I've seen on TV so many times but we were distracted by the fact that we had to get out of there! At this point we found a security guard and asked for his help. He tried to escort us to an elevator but again we were stopped, by our tour guide this time. We were told to wait a the back of the hall and someone would come along to escort us out. So we waited...finally a woman did turn up to assist us the 6 steps to the elevator, where she made sure we got on, and sent us on our way. We took the elevator down, went through security yet again, and found the United Nations Delegates Dining Room where our luncheon for the Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund for Journalists was being held.

It was exciting being a part of something at the UN - I'm not sure I felt that I completely belonged but at least I could pretend for the few hours I was there. At the reception prior to the lunch we met the director of UNICEF, though I don't think she was in the mood to chit-chat (at least not with us). I would have loved to talk to her. How do you get to be director of UNICEF? It is such a wonderful organization that does so much good around the world. There were plenty of other interesting people to talk to - we spoke to a lovely woman from the Mission of Greece.
When we sat down to eat I was happy to see that I had been seated between two Swedish gentleman. However, I was suprised to hear that I apparently have an American accent when I speak Swedish?! I don't think anyone has said that to me before. We had a nice lunch and listened to the speakers while we ate. The first speaker was the Sectretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. His most memorable line went something like this: "This is the second time this month that I am attending three lunches without eating lunch and last week I attended four dinners without eating dinner, this has got to stop!" I thought that was pretty funny and I am sure that is what his life is like...making speech after speech. I would get confused about what event I was speaking at and use the wrong notes or something. Good thing he is a professional.
Next we heard from the four journalists who were awarded fellowships from the Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund for Journalists this year. The journalists are all from developing countries, in this case Peru, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia and Zambia, and have spent 10 weeks at the UN, covering the General Assembly while being mentored by veterans in their field. It is a wonderful opportunity for these young journalists and they gave inspiring speeches. How strange it must be for the woman from Saudi Arabia to go back home after 10 weeks of complete freedom in New York. But of course Saudi Arabia is her home and it is probably presumptuous of me to even say that.

I had such a wonderful time in New York with Nancy, even if it was just over 24 hours. I did miss Dan, Emma and Henry though and was very happy to see them after another easy flight.

New York, New York

View out the apartment window

This week, I got a chance to go to New York City. I went all by myself - no husband, no kids -and met my mother-in-law there for a couple of days in the big apple. This is only the second time I have gone anywhere all be myself since Emma was born so it was a very big deal! The kids were home with a babysitter the first day and Dan stayed home from work the second day (they had a blast!)
Traveling alone feels light years away from traveling with two small children, as anyone who has done it can attest to.
For this trip, I brought one carry-on bag and my purse. If the kids were with me, I would have checked two bags, had a huge carry-on with Henry's carseat attached to it in addition to my ever-present diaper bag.
For this trip, I walked calmly to security, took off my shoes, took my little ziplock bag of toiletries (what a glamorous way to pack by the way!) out of my purse, sent everything through the machine, put my shoes back on and was done. If the kids were with me, I would have made my way to security while trying to carry everything, hang on to Henry, and make sure Emma was close by. Then I would have taken off three pairs of shoes and everyone's jacket, put them through the machine with all our other belongings, tried to keep Henry within arms reach - not an easy thing to do - forgotten to take out my little ziplock bag so everything would have to go throught the machine a second time and I would be sweating by the time everyone's shoes were back on as we would be walking to the gate.
For this trip, I sat quietly at the gate waiting to board the plane. If the kids were with me, I would have chased them around the terminal, trying to tire them out before we got on the plane, while also trying to cause the least amount of disturbance to other travelers. I would have taken Emma to the restroom one last time, while carrying all our stuff and trying to keep Henry from laying down on the public restroom floor - why does he do that!?
For this trip, I read my book during the entire flight, pausing only to eat my freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (I love Midwest Airlines) If the kids were with me - I think you are starting to get the picture - I would be trying to entertain a 3-year old and an almost 2-year old with anything I could think of: DVD player, snacks, stickers, snacks, books, snacks and of course the chocolate chip cookies that would end up everywhere!
Not that I blame the kids at all...they are so young and I think we subject them to a lot of things that are hard from them to handle. At least this time they got to stay at home!

So I got to New York well rested and excited to spend the next two days doing fun things with Nancy.
First we headed to 5th Avenue for some shopping. It was fun!
Next we took the subway to 86th and Madison to look at all the beautiful childrens' boutiques they have in that area. Emma and Henry got some fabulous things. We'll have to do a fashion show when their clothes arrive.
Dinner that evening was at Aquavit. The chef there is Swedish so of course this restaurant is a favorite of mine. The food is devine. I thought it was funny that most of the patrons were men, I suppose it is a restaurant for business dinners and expense accounts. Anyway, I loved my meal!
Nancy and I called it a night pretty early, especially for New Work standards, I'm sure. We had a big day ahead of us. More on that later.

Pizza Night

Notice how the kid portion has many fewer ingredients than the adult portion...

Friday night has become pizza night at our house. Everyone loves pizza, even our extremely picky eater Emma (depending on the toppings of course), so this is a very popular meal. Having tons of vegetables in the house because of our CSA deliveries, pizza is the ideal food - you can put anything you want on it, throw some cheese on top, and you are all set. We love using basil pesto instead of tomato sauce on ours.

Here is my recipe for whole wheat pizza crust:

1 envelope Dry Yeast
1 cup Warm Water
2 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Add yeast to the warm water and let sit. In a stand mixer, combine dry ingredients and then add the olive oil. Add water and yeast mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. Let rise, covered, for 30 minutes. Roll out dough (makes two smaller pizzas or one very big one), add desired ingredients and bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until crust is fully baked and cheese has melted nicely.

Enjoy and let me know how it turns out!

Quiet Weekend

We had a pretty quiet weekend, and boy did we need it! It seems like we are always running from one thing to the next, exhausting ourselves and more importantly the kids. Emma and Henry, while obviously having fun on outings, seem to be especially happy when we are just at home.
We did finally pick up a couple of pumpkins for the front porch - we are saving the carving of them until Halloween, that's become a tradition at our house. Henry worked so hard trying to pick up those big pumpkins - what a little man! He wants so badly to help.

Emma and I went to a family yoga class on Sunday. I have been looking forward to this for a long time! Since I go to yoga 2 or 3 times a week, I thought it would something fun we could do together. Emma was by far the youngest child there but she did so well. She tried really hard to do all the poses - it was the cutest thing. It was hard for me not to laugh when Emma was being all serious about her down dog! I can't wait to go back next Sunday.

I am so bummed the Hokies lost to BC!

Happy Monday!

A happy fall day

Today was such a beautiful fall day - seems like we have had a lot of those lately and it's been wonderful - so the kids and I walked to the park. Henry followed Emma around wherever she went as he always does but when they got to the top of the highest slide, Henry was the one who went down first. Eventually Emma decided that she didn't want to do it at all so she went back down the ladder. She is in a phase right now where she is scared of so many things that she never was before. I suppose that when children are really young they don't understand what could go wrong in a situation but as they get a little older they know they can get hurt so they get scared. Nothing wrong with that as far as I'm concerned. I have to watch Henry like a hawk because he has no fear of anything! Hopefully he will get more cautious as he gets older - but then again, he is a boy so maybe not?
While at the park Emma and I picked a ton of leaves to take back home with us. I strung them all up and hung the garland on the fireplace. I think it looks pretty good - and the best part is - it was completely free!

Emma and Henry each have their own way down...

First Prize!

Halloween started early for us this year. We already went to our first Halloween party and guess who won first prize in the costume contest? The picture probably gave it away - yes, it was Henry! He was dressed as a little golfer, complete with knickers, sweater vest and golf shoes. He also had a cute hat and a golf bag but they weren't so popular with Mr. Henry. Hopefully I can get a picture of the whole ensemble when we go trick-or-treating. Dan found this costume in a catalogue last year but since Henry couldn't walk yet, we thought he would make a better golfer this year. I think it was worth the wait! Here is his prize:

Emma was dressed as a ballerina in a white leotard and tutu. She was adorable! Unfortunately the only picture I got of Emma was while she was in deep concentration doing an art project:

Looks like we are in need of a photo session prior to trick-or-treating to properly document all their dressed-up cuteness. Hopefully the kids will cooperate better then...

It's the little things...

 

I got these little beauties in the mail a couple of days ago and I just love them! Aren't they cute? Next time you see me I will probably be wearing little plastic flowers in my ears.

I ordered them here

Emma's First Field Trip

 

Emma had her turn in the apple orchard too. For her first ever field trip, her preschool class went to the same apple orchard and pumpkin farm that Henry and I visited last week. This time, Dan was home from work so Emma had Mamma and Daddy with her. It was the cutest thing, seeing all those three-year-olds running around, so excited about everything. Almost every child had a parent there so it was just about an equal number of adults and children. First we took a little tour through the orchard and learned about bees and what an apple looks like inside. Then we went into an old barn and saw a "movie" about Johnny Appleseed. This was a little strange...a projector was set up very close to a mannequin's face. When the movie started, it was just a man's face, projected on the mannequin, who then became Johnny Appleseed. I suppose it was pretty clever but I am not sure three is the ideal age for that show... Next we went to pick some apples. It was a gorgeous fall day so the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Everyone filled their bags with apples and then got to pick out a pumpkin. Emma found a beauty that we plan to make into a pumpkin pie together. I've never made one from scratch before so I am looking forward to it! With all the fall activities that we have been doing, you would think that we would have gotten some pumpkins for our front porch...but no...we still don't have any pumpkins that we can carve into Jack-O-Lanterns on Halloween. Hopefully we can get that accomplished this weekend. Happy Friday!

Apple picking with Henry

While Emma was in preschool, Henry and I went apple picking with Mom's Club. We had so much fun! Henry was very excited about all the apples and kept yelling "apple!", "uje one!" (another one!). The apples were low enough to the ground that Henry could pick some himself. He was very proud every time he put one in the bag. Of course he thought they were very tasty, too! When we got home I washed the apples and left them on the counter in the colander. Henry soon figured out that he could climb up on the stool and get one for himself so now he has been doing that all day long. The funniest thing is that he washes the apple before he eats it. I think he just loves running the water in the sink! (I hope he doesn't get a tummy ache from all those apples...I did put a stop to it after about 3...ok maybe 4...)

What a waste!

I read somewhere that we wear 25% of our clothes 80% of the time. I believe it! I feel like I wear the same few things over and over again even though I have a closet-full of clothes. What a waste to keep buying more and more clothes and then never wear them. I saw a tip that you should turn all your hangers backwards and them turn them around as you wear each item. Then after a year, purge all the pieces you haven't worn. I am trying it. Hopefully it will make me wear more of my stuff so I can turn a hanger around and keep the item. Either way, it should help. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wordle

Seems like these are popping up everywhere right now and who am I to not jump on the bandwagon? I love that Emma and Henry are the main focal points!
Get your own here

Harvest Festival

Every fall, our little town has a harvest festival that is always so much fun! We were very excited to take the kids and figured they would have a great time. Despite all our good intentions, this was just not our day...

We put Emma and Henry in the double stroller and set off. Emma's knee has been bothering her so we thought riding in the stroller would make it so much easier for her. Well, Emma wanted to walk. Since Emma wanted to walk, Henry wanted to walk. So Emma limped along, Henry ran for two seconds and then said, "uppie, uppie" and wanted to be carried, then wanted to got down, then wanted to have "uppie, uppie", and so on, and so on... Emma got in and out of the stroller, Henry got carried, then walked...it took us a looong time to get downtown. As it was lunch time when we finally got the the festival, we decided the first thing to do was to get something to eat. After being asked what they wanted to eat, Henry decided on pizza (with a little helpful suggesting from me) and Emma "didn't know" (surprise, surprise). We quickly found a little spot of grass to sit on and Dan went to get food. Dan and I are both trying very hard to eat as healthy as possible but I have to say that at a festival like this, it is completely impossible to have a healthy meal. We ended up with gyros (hey - at least there was some lettuce and a few tomoto pieces on there!) The kids got pizza, which Henry inhaled, and Emma ate none of. Whenever Henry is not strapped down at mealtimes, he just runs around. He'll get a bite of food, run around while he is chewing, and come back for another bite. This is pretty funny but in a crowded place like we were in, it is very difficult to keep track of little Henry! After eating nothing, Emma wanted a cookie. When Emma wants something and she is tired, hungry or just in a bad mood, she gets very loud and very whiny. This was the situation here. As the tough disciplining parents we are, we of course got Henry and Emma a cookie each. Then it was time to look around at the festival. Well, this was not easy! Again, neither child wanted to ride in the stroller (so glad we brought it to the extremely crowded downtown streets). Both wanted to be carried by Dan...we were quite a sight...me pushing an empty (huge) double stroller, Dan carrying one child with the other at his legs, begging to be picked up. We decided to go home! On our way out, Emma spotted a balloon salesman and politely (hehe) asked to have a balloon. Dan bought her a beautiful pink balloon and was in the process of tying to Emma's wrist when somehow it got loose and blew away. Oh, the horror! Emma was inconsolable! We walked as fast as we could toward home, weaving in and out among the crowds with one or two kids crying/whining/yelling the whole time. The last stall of the Harvet Festival was selling produce so we stopped and bought some yummy fruits and berries. I even got a picture where everything looks just idyllic! Dan and I were completely exhausted by the time we got home (as were Emma and Henry). Being parents can be so stressful.

Of course we wouldn't have it any other way!

Friday's Bounty

Fridays are farm pick-up days. I love to unpack the produce and put it all away - sound strange? It's sort of like Christmas to me, wondering what is in the box this week. It is definitely a challenge to use it all up before it goes bad but the benefits of trying to live up to that challenge are endless! First and foremost, we eat more vegetables than we ever would without our CSA (community supported agriculture) produce. The vegetables are all organic - love that! We are also supporting a local farm that doesn't have to ship their produce hundreds (or thousands) of miles. I feel so good about my weekly box of vegetables (and the occasional fruit). It is good for my family and good for our planet!

I love close-ups!