from the road

we successfully completed all of our tasks over this last week. i don't know how we did it, but we did!  i will write more about that soon, but...

we are currently in nebraska where there is a massive storm headed our way and a tornado warning. supposedly, there are 90 mph winds headed our way with this storm. yikes. we fought with strong winds all day and got horrible gas mileage because of that, and now we are waiting for the storm to hit. i always find storms a bit scary, but it is worse to be in an unknown place.

we have had an eventful trip so far...the little one has roseola (diagnosed by the doctor over the phone yesterday after giving a rundown of her symptoms including the rash that had suddenly appeared when we stopped at a rest stop). one of the symptoms of the illness is irritability and she is definitely experiencing that! our little sunny girl has been quite temperamental and not herself. i feel so sorry for her.

yesterday we left home around 11 am. we made a lot of stops to help appease our poor little girl. we hoped to stop for a picnic lunch, but were met with a huge thunderstorm with torrential downpours, so we waited it out in the car and snacked on some of the food we brought along instead. last night we stayed in a hotel with a waterpark so we enjoyed that for a bit in the evening and had a picnic dinner in our hotel room. it worked out quite well.

this morning we had a picnic breakfast in our hotel room and were on the road just before nine. we took a little scenic detour from our hotel, which was rather disappointing, and then hit the interstate. our little love fell asleep and we looked forward to a couple of solid hours of driving before our next stop. about five minutes later, we thought our bike rack seemed to be a little loose, so we stopped to adjust it. baby woke up. it was an ordeal to take both of our bikes off the rack in the strong winds, but we got everything readjusted and were ready to get back in the car. i went to close our little one's door and found that she was covered from head to toe in poop! it was the biggest blowout yet. forty-five minutes after we stopped, we were on the road again.

not everything is going as planned, but we are enjoying our time as a family (aside from this tornado warning of course). we've been trying to go with the flow and are looking forward to more scenery, slower days, and stops at some national landmarks. i will try to update with photos if possible.

i think i will sign off for now as the storm is about to hit.

check

i'm still here. still getting ready for our summer move. i am actually feeling quite accomplished and on top of the to-do list. this is mostly thanks to my wonderful mom who came for four days and tackled the to-do list with us and also watched the little one so we could get more difficult tasks completed. we even completed several things that weren't on the to-do list, but we wrote them on after they were done just so we could cross them off. mom said that she read that crossing things off a to-do list releases endorphins and we decided we needed as many as we could get. (who knows, i just might start making a to-do list for getting dressed, brushing my teeth, and walking downstairs in the morning just to get a morning endorphin boost). 

take a load to goodwill? check.

bring a load of random things from our garage to the city dump? check.

touch up paint all over the house? check.

replace toilet? check (with the help of our plumber!). 

mow, weed, and rake the yard?

trim bushes and put down mulch?

go to post office to mail package? check, check, check.

drop off library books? check.

get excited about walking on the glass bridge that sticks out over the grand canyon and then realize that it costs $70 to do so? check. 

wipe down kitchen cupboards? check.

forward our address? check.

cancel our internet service for the summer? check.

get car fixed? check.

double check hotel reservations and print off confirmations? check.

go easy on myself for dinner last night and buy a package of annie's macaroni and cheese? check. (at least we had turnips with it.)

the list could go on and on. we've been so productive.

i am eager to get packing and on the road. our kitchen appliances are currently in a contest to see which ones are the most essential and will therefore get to spend a summer in california. so far, the ice cream maker, blender, french press, mixer, and yogurt maker have made the cut. the griddle is definitely up for joining the crew, but it all depends on space. we have a hatchback car, so there's only so much we can (and want) to bring. it will be interesting to spend the summer without several things we are used to having at our house.

there are still several things on the to-do list, like getting the oil changed, making one last trip to the grocery store, getting the tires rotated, and replacing a doorknob. i think everything is actually going to get done by the time we leave. amazing.

beautiful day

today was very full, as all these days are. the day was full of beauty and i tried to soak it all in. 

this morning, our little love walked into the living room with my [clean] underwear on her head. she had stolen them out of a basket of freshly-laundered clothes. she is so funny. 

our carpet was cleaned this afternoon, and while we were waiting for the cleaners to come, we all went outside and picked some lilacs off a nearby bush. lilacs are my favorite flower. i love the purple ones the best, and they all smell so lovely. i think what i love most about them is that their beauty only lasts for a short time and they are not sold in stores year round, so we must soak them up when they are blooming. i try my best to do just that. i wanted to have lilacs as the flowers at our wedding, but it was too late in the season. i was disappointed, but then we went to mackinac island for our honeymoon and they were still blooming there! it was a nice surprise. 

here are some photos of the lilacs from today.

and the little one needed her own bunch.

 

and a dandelion. it's amazing how beautiful they are even though they are weeds.

 

and a true sign of spring.

tonight we cheated and went out for ice cream. my love took his greek final today and was antsy to get out and celebrate the end of a year of taking greek class! it wasn't too hard to convince me that ice cream would be a good way to celebrate.

i shared my ice cream with the little one. she took her role as ice cream eater very seriously.

and she wasn't very happy when the ice cream was gone.

tonight i spent three hours doing yard work. i found a cute little friend along the way (i was thankful i didn't run him over with the lawn mower. that definitely would have made my cry). i called jeremy out to see and he picked the little guy right up. the toad (frog?) was perfectly content in his hands, even closing his eyes when jeremy was rubbing his head. it was very cute.

while i was doing yard work, my love was inside replacing our old, leaky toilet with a new water efficient one. i didn't know that seeing my husband working on our toilet would make me fall more in love with him, but that is definitely what happened. i would never want to or be able to do that task, and i am so thankful that he was willing to do that for us. unfortunately, the task is more complicated than we initially thought (isn't that so often the way with house projects?), so we will be calling a plumber on monday. thank goodness we have two bathrooms, so this one is fine to be out of commission for a few days. 

my mom is coming tomorrow to help us out with stuff, and it will be fun to see her. 

if you will excuse me, i have a stay-at-home date with my love, a beer, and hulu. a good way to end a very busy day.

to-do

we got home last night. 

the to-do list is long.

today there was a first-thing-in-the-morning doctor's appointment. then bills, budgeting, and catching up. phone calls and emails. sorting through two-weeks worth of mail. unclogging the sink. we purchased some groceries, and a new toilet. a kind friend brought a delicious dinner, and the evening has been full of crossing things off the list. 

two delights came in the mail today. 

one was the next issue of mary jane's farm magazine. perfect reading for welcoming me home.

the other delight will have to wait until i can take a photo of it. stay tuned.

i'm tired, and it's time for bed. goodnight!

orange

last night we had breakfast for dinner at the home of some friends-who-are-like-family. their backyard is very much like one i dream about...fruit trees, flowers, a garden, a playground, sandbox, and a strawberry patch. the little ones could walk right over to it, pick strawberries, and eat them right there. love it.

i was thrilled when we picked oranges off of their tree and they made juice. that's as fresh as it gets. being a midwestern girl, it was quite a novelty to me. it was the best orange juice i have ever had.

this is our last day in california. tomorrow we fly home. after ten days at home, we will be hopping in the car for our great roadtrip of 2011. we will be driving 2300 miles across the country over the span of seven days. we have plans to stop at several major landmarks and a few small ones too, taking our time and enjoying being together as a family. our final destination is a city in the state of california, where my husband will be serving in a church for the summer. we are very excited about this summer adventure, and i plan to share it on this blog. 

i am currently in the process of figuring out what to pack for a seven-day roadtrip, as well as for a summer away from home. starting on wednesday, i will be busy preparing to put our house on the market before we head out for the summer, as well as getting things ready for our trip. i am trying to put together a menu of real food to eat along the way, and i have a few other projects to complete before we leave for the summer.

i'm trying to enjoy our last day here before all the busyness begins once we get home. our little one helps me slow down. she is full of joy.

checking in

we are still in california for a few more days. amidst our grief, we've been taking walks to the pond to see the ducks. baby loves it. last night my love and i got out for a little date. i don't have any photos for today...haven't felt much like taking pictures.

the house smells like a flower shop with all the beautiful bouquets.

our moms

my mom.

the one who gave birth to me

and loves me unconditionally.

she taught me about Jesus 

and modeled her words with the way she lives.

she is a friend and an encourager,

she loves my husband and is

a wonderful grandma who our daughter loves.

my mom is so strong

and i love her.

my mother-in-law.

one who understood how much i love her son,

and who always affirmed me in my role as his wife

my role model and a mentor for my future as a pastor's wife

a dear friend who shared my love for tea, and for laughing.

my second mom who fully embraced me into the family and into her life.

i always said that i couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law. 

it's true. i love her.

two moms.

two different women, each impacting our lives in different and wonderful ways.

on monday, we will bury my mother-in-law. 

my heart is heavy with grief. 

oh, how we miss her. we miss her so.

more than words could ever express.

blogging break

i am taking a break from blogging for a bit as my mother-in-law passed away on monday. we miss her so.