"In the spacious love of God, our souls can lie down and rest. This love from him is not something we must struggle for, earn, or fear to lose. It is bestowed. He has bestowed it upon us. He has chosen us. And nothing can separate us from his love. Not even ourselves. We are made for such a love. Our hearts yearn to be loved intimately, personally, and yes, romantically. We are created to be the object of desire and affection of One who is totally and completely in love with us." -John & Stasi Eldredge, Captivating (p. 124)

Harper Grace

I am pleased to announce that I have a new niece! Emily & Ben have been blessed with a gorgeous baby girl. She arrived just yesterday...Happy Valentines Day. We are so excited for their new joy in becoming parents. And we are thrilled with the miracle of God bringing baby Harper into their lives.

a strange tradition

Charlotte has decided it is fun to bring the snowman into the house.

We informed her it would melt, but that sounded especially

brilliant to her. Now, each time we're out in the snow, even

if we don't build a snowman, she requests to bring some in

and put it on a plate. Three cheers for cheap entertainment!

mmmm, more coconut please

Recently learning about the health benefits of eating certain kinds of fat and having decided to take a next step to prove it, today I purchased my very first jar of 100% pure organic coconut oil. The recommendation was to put 1 to 2 tablespoons (I just did 1, since it isn't cheap--ha, ha, I was almost going to say, 'since it doesn't grow on trees') into hot herbal tea and to drink it twenty minutes before each meal. I tried it in my peach green tea & was surprised to find that it was quite tasty.

Off the top of my head, some of the known benefits include:

Increased energy

Better digestion

Weight loss (yes, people, I'm not kidding!)

Healthy skin & hair

After only one day & two servings of my special tea, I am feeling very nice in my tummy. For long term results, time will tell. Cooking with other parts of the coconut will be the next small step to creating a healthier lifestyle.

Coconut oil has not been the only implementation in my Eat Fat Lose Fat experiment, three other notable changes have occurred. One, I have been adding more vegetables to my diet. Two, I am now on a very nice exercise regimen. Finally, three, I have eliminated the words 'low-fat/non-fat' completely from my diet and have been eating fattier cuts of meat & even butter. You would think I'd be gaining weight by the barrelful--not so! I have not gained a pound! On top of which, I am losing inches. The whole endeavor has been actually quite fun. I feel more satisfied after each meal and am finding myself eating smaller amounts without trying! And get this, NO CRAVINGS! In light of such favorable findings, I am excitedly awaiting future results. Meanwhile, I am loving how I feel. Smile.

water the plants please

via flickr

perfectly pressed

...this makes me want to do a little ironing.

via papertissue

I like...

via papertissue

food for thought

"The body can use coconut oil for energy more rapidly and efficiently than any other fat source. Special fats in coconut (called medium-chain fatty acids, MCFAs) are not normally stored in your body as fat. Instead, they're quickly converted to energy, making coconut ideal for weight loss." (EAT FAT LOSE FAT)

photo via julianbakery

assortiment

I love the irregularity of this arrangement. And the colors--so calming. Oh to be a delicate, little egg so I could nestle up in one of the compartments for awhile.

via .m0iseau.

the ben tyler trail

We definitely need to come back and visit this trail Spring, Summer, & Fall as well. It offers gorgeous views on the small portion that we were able to hike with our 2 1/2-year-old! The trail is named after a guy who operated a lumber mill in the area during the gold rush days. Perhaps after hauling all that lumber over the ridge, he deserved it. Here is one serious hiker:

...some of the scenery...

...and two of my favs.

She's still smiling. Good. There is so much to explore out here!

winter 'greenery'

the wonderful thing about friends

Charlotte came out one morning & announced that she was ready and that we could go to Avva's house. Avva, sadly enough, lives nearly a thousand miles away. A few minutes later Charlotte had also added her pink winter boots to the ensemble. They would be needed on a cold day like today of course. Such a practical girl.

After her mother had dashed all of her hopes and dreams for the day she decided to play in her room for awhile, still asking frequently if we could go to Avva's--just in case. She was incredibly proud of the outfit she had picked for just such an occasion as visiting a well-loved, mutually admiring friend. Isn't that the wonderful thing about friends.

eat fat, lose weight

My latest endeavor is to research the concept of eating healthy fats...or fat in general and thinking of my food as fuel. To begin, I've applied my own meager knowledge to my grocery list, and have accumulated an array of fresh veggies, some fruits, & a variety of meats. No bread or pasta, as I've got plenty of that on hand, and should be eating far less of it anyhow.

I have also been trying to get over this media-induced fear of eating fat! So far, it's been quite interesting. I've noticed that eating foods with naturally occurring fat, actually keeps me satisfied longer, & provides sustained energy. As opposed to when I was eating what I thought was healthier, but would end up pulling out my hair after a week because of hating being hungry all the time! I feel and am starting to look better, energy, glowy skin, etc...and it has only been a matter of a few days. The fear is subsiding.

I have found a couple of books on the subject to check out the concept more in depth: Eat Fat Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig & Sally Fallon Morell and Eat Fat, Lose Weight: The Right Fats Can Make You Thin for Life by Ann Louise Gittleman. The concept is very intriguing, albeit a little scary. Balance, people, balance. Right? Well, my curiosity is definitely piqued, and my battle of the bulge could use some sign of victory! If nothing else, I'll spend all my time reading instead of eating, ha! I'm psyched.

a few things I miss

I was just thinking about missing our beautiful 1917 house in Hawley, MN. Here are a few of my favorites:

I miss our gorgeous dining room. We took off an old wallpaper border when we first moved in. And little by little we made more improvements. With the window seat and the built-in buffet on the left, this was always my favorite room in the whole house!

The front porch may have trumped it, however, after we put a whole new ceiling in--complete with crown moulding, and painted the trim, walls, & floor! Such a lot of work. (Thanks, Ben.) The blue wall color turned out amazingly well.

There are definitely other rooms I miss (perhaps even our fabulous--or not-so-fabulous--orange kitchen countertops). But definitely a favorite memory was unloading a truck-full of fire wood into the garage for our wood-burning boiler & fireplace! We had so much fun doing this. At this point we'd only owned the house for about a month, and we were giddy about it.

Sigh. Some days I would give anything to be tearing up linoleum, or scraping paint off the old garage, or painting cabinets, or taking a wall out! Now I guess I'm supposed to be praying that this old house will sell. But...I do miss it, all of it.

blocks

Bets, this one's for YOU! Charlotte had so much fun with her blocks the other day, especially when I named each one of the letters as she pulled them out individually, since we are learning some of those lately. I am realizing what a really cool gift this was--so many games rolled into one! And every time I look at it I CAN'T BELIEVE you MADE it. How'd you get so darn smart & artistic all at the same time?

~special thanks to Auntie Betsy for her clever creativity & generosity...

hot mess

I just walked by these one day & enjoyed the tangled, colorful mess. I have a beautiful jewelry box from anthropology that is nearly empty, because all the necklaces, earrings, & rings never get put away properly. Oh, well, an organizational task for a rainy day. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy the hot mess. *smile*

old vine

I just love this old grape vine, which has an earthy yet sculptural appeal. ZGallerie.com

making christmas cookies

The greatest challenge was keeping the frosting from going into Charlotte's mouth before it made its way onto the cookies! And I learned the recipe for making brown frosting--which totally psyched me out because it looks just like chocolate! We both had a blast.

the tree hunt

We had the exciting new family adventure this year of hiking up into Pickle Gulch to find our own Griswold Christmas tree! Funny I don't have a picture of the actual tree we got! Once we carried it down to the car, we noticed how scraggly and thin it really was. (Realizing that it was more of a Charlie Brown tree than a Griswold tree, I think we were too embarrassed to snap a photo.) Yet now as it stands sparse and beautiful in our living room, we gaze at it with affection and pride, for we worked/played so hard to get it. We LOVE it!

little lady

How can she be such a little lady already? Well, her name does mean, 'little & ladylike'--how fitting!