comparison shopping

I regularly walk around a store to find ideas for gifts, then come home to my trusty internet to try to find a better deal on the things that I saw. Lucky for me, RealSimple evaluated all sorts of price comparison websites to find the best ones... Check them out here!

suggestions?

Burke's "shades of white" nursery has been finished for many months... except for this final project (sorry I haven't posted pictures yet... perhaps when I get these done I'll actually take some pictures). His name letters (made out of a cardboard-y material) are sitting on his shelf, still unfinished. Any ideas for how to make these into lovely works of art that go with the "all white" theme???

thankful

Real Simple (the magazine) had a challenge this month to write down five things you are thankful for and post your list in a place you commonly see... Here is my list:

-the sanctification process- that the Lord is making me more like Him

-little "extravagances" like friends taking us out to a nice dinner, my dad filling our car up, jord buying clothes for burke that I can't afford, adam's parents blessing us with food

-Saturday date mornings at Startbucks with my hubbie and the conversations that we've had lately

-having the opportunity be home to see the little changes in burke each day or week... how he wrinkles his nose and snorts this week (he didn't do that last week) and loves to play with paper while I cut out coupons... I am so blessed to spend my days with him

-playgroup! I love our new church and the people we've met there, and I love having a chance to spend tuesday mornings with other moms... what an encouragement!

There are so many other things I'm grateful for, but that's a short list of things I'm thanking the Lord for today. Happy Thanksgiving!

fox in socks

As predicted, Burke's favorite toy is the biggest, brightest toy we own. He loves loves loves Fox in Socks... loves to chew on his mittens, loves to pat his back, loves to toss him over the side of wherever he's am sitting or laying (dad calls those 'cage fighting moves'... mom mostly doesn't want to retrieve said cage fighting opponent from the location he's been tossed to).

i heart black friday

photo from Real Simple

Many of my friends hate the commercialization of Christmas (I'm right there with them!) and in protest have chosen to boycott Black Friday shopping. While I totally agree with the premise that Christmas has become way too much "Santa" and crazy gift giving and far too little worship and meaningful celebration of the birth of our Savior, I confess that I LOVE Black Friday!

In fact, Adam and I usually scour the ads on Thanskgiving day, get up superearly on Friday morning and scoop up the deals we've found to sell on ebay. We use the profits of this little adventure in deal shopping to pay for Christmas presents- a fun contribution to the family budget! :)

Here are a few resources for those of you who will be joining in the Black Friday festivities (or the internet shopping on cybermonday):

real simple's black friday holiday shopping guide

a sneak peek at ads, etc. at bfads.net

blackfriday.info

more ads and deals at blackfriday.gottadeal.com

blackfriday info at dealsofamerica.com

cyber monday sales

cybermonday.com

hats!

We're loving hats around here lately... well mostly I am loving how cute Burke is in hats, so we rarely leave home without one! :)

study buddy

Burke is a superhelpful study partner as Adam prepares for yet another big anatomy exam.

half a year!

I know I'll keep thinking this each time Burke gets to a new age milestone, but I absolutely cannot believe that Burke is 6 months old! I kind of can't imagine our life without him... What a tremendous blessing he is to our family!

A few funny Burke-quirks:

-he loves to sing

-when you hold him, he pats your back

-he loves showers

-it takes him a while to wake up... and if you force the issue or get him up too quickly, he is one grouchy bear

-he keeps the hours of a college kid- to bed at a 11:00 and up at 9:00

-he sucks on his own tongue... and his mama's shoulder...

-he loves watching tv and will twist around and contort into all sorts of crazy positions to catch a glimpse

-his mellow personality comes straight from dad

Happy half birthday burke-y baby!

snow bear

It was only a dusting, but we had our first snow last week... Before it all melted, we took Burke outside to see what he'd make of the fluffy freezing-ness (not that interested, turns out). Good thing he has the attire for such occasions (the hat is from Lita and the sweater is from Aunt Jojo). Now all he needs are some mittens from mama (they're on my to-do list!).

what a day to sub!

Yesterday was supposed to be a pretty laidback day... Most of the fifth graders from Crawford are in the mountains camping and I was going to sub for the ones who were still at school so that another fifth grade teacher could join them for the afternoon. It was super laid back... initially. We did Math, made Project Wild journals and generally had a good time. The school was in lockdown for most of the afternoon, but just level 2 lockdown which means that something dangerous is going on in the community, not in the school itself.

And then at 3:00ish, the principal announced that the dangerous situation had not yet resolved itself (turns out a code officer was shot and killed a few blocks from the school and the suspect was still at large in the neighborhood) and that we wouldn't be releasing students. Three and a half hours (and a few shark movies and lots of coloring) later, I finally got in my car to come home! My 'laid-back' afternoon was not to be...

You can read more about the craziness here (they still haven't caught the suspect).

christmas crafting

When I looked at my planner and today's to-do list only included a Target trip (for free Ziplocs) and cleaning the house (which is already in pretty good shape), I happily wrote "Christmas Crafting" across the day and began gathering supplies.

Many hours later, the to-make list only has a small dent in it, but it was so fun to sip on Berry Blossom white tea, listen to Christmas music and create things for the people I love! Glorious!

up close

Look at those big blue eyes- just like his dad's.

stillness

Our "Indian Summer" in Denver has officially come to an end- there is snow in the forecast, the piles of leaves in my yard point toward bare tree branches and my drink cravings have made the shift from diet vanilla coke at Sonic to chai tea with a pump of mocha at Starbucks. Usually, I meet the change of seasons with a sense of mourning to leave behind my beloved summer and head into the colder, harsher, stiller months of winter. But more than any year before it, this fall has been a symbolic one for me.

I wrote a little while back about how it has been a sort of tumultuous time for us... and that continues, actually. There seems to be less time (darn dental school) and more tough stuff than usual right now. Yet instead of my usual anxiousness for activity and warmth, I feel the Lord calling us to make room for stillness and quietness and resting in Him. I don't know exactly what that looks like in a life abuzz with constant motion... perhaps we pare down our commitments? Maybe we get up earlier? Or maybe it is an issue of intentionality- putting up a guard against the flood of busyness and conflict that currently seems to encompass my thoughts and conversations. Whatever the answer, just the thought of rest is a welcome respite from the storm that life has been lately...

I can't say that I am giddy at the thought of winter the way my heart is delighted with the first warm-enough-to-go-to-the-pool days in May (not sure that emotion will ever accompany this season). But the serenity and quiet that accompany the fall and coming winter resonante with me right now and I am looking forward to the stillness to come.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. PSALM 46:10-11

g-o to the z-o-o

Considering my tumultuous relationship with the Denver Zoo (there was a point in time where I genuinely just didn't like that place... I think it was Jord's fault for choosing to celebrate her birthday there just to spite me- haha!), it's kind of funny that I now have a zoo membership and spend a decent amount of my free time wandering around looking at animals. And when the remke's come to town, I spend even more time there! During Jord's last three visits, we've visited the zoo four times (yep, that's twice during one trip). Keadryn LOVES the animals and it's a great way to enjoy the glorious Denver weather. Since I take pics every time we go, but haven't posted any of them, here's a chronicle of our last four zoo visits. :)

bake off

When we drove by a pumpkin patch on the way to my parents house last Saturday morning and saw a huge "FREE PUMPKINS" sign, I knew that we'd be back. You see, my entire family love love LOVES pumpkin seeds... and free stuff... and with both Jord and Kiji in town, I knew an evening of separating pumpkin seeds from pumpkin junk was in our immediate future.

A couple hours later, Keje and I hauled eight (yes eight) pumpkins toward the open trunk of Jord's car (mom already had four pumpkins on her porch ready to be commandeered for seeds). I think the original plan was to actually carve these pumpkins, but carving twelve pumpkins when there are only five of you is too overwhelming. So instead of creating jack o' lantern faces and spooky scenes, at 9:30 at night (after we'd emptied the first twelve pumpkins), Kedron and I drove back to the now-dark pumpkin field to collect seven more pumpkins. Yep, if you're keeping track, we're up to nineteen pumpkins now. A mere hour later, the seeds of all aforementioned pumpkins were rinsed and spread out onto cookie sheets to air out over night.

The real fun began Sunday afternoon when we decided to use the 20+ cups of pumpkin seeds in a bake off... not sister vs. sister (we all make pumpkin seeds the same way, learned from mom, of course), but recipe vs. recipe. We scoured recipezaar for three worthy recipes and began mixing and spicing and baking.

The results? The recipe for pumpkin pie pumpkin seeds was the far and away winner. We halved the sugar (not on purpose, we didn't quadruple correctly) and it turned out great- the perfect salty/sweet treat. The spicy garlic seeds also were amazing... And the worchestershire seeds were pretty good (they're probably great, just in comparison to the other two recipes not as fabulous). We also made some the good ol' fashioned way with salt. What fun! I think this should become our day-after-Halloween family tradition!

aunt kiji!

Keje doesn't get to visit as often as Jordi and her girls, but boy is she fun! Burke is going through attention withdrawl after all of her doting... I'm sure Keadryn and Sayla are too! Adam and I were already campaigning for her and Patrick to move here, but after having her in town for a long weekend, I'm convinced that it is absolutely necessary to have them here long term... If you have any selling points to help me convince them to move to Denver, please let me know asap. :)

littlest wolverine

All decked out in his GCC gear! :)

tricks, treats and a glorious surprise

Love-hate relationship with Halloween fully accounted for, we decided to have a non-scary, non-gory Halloween party this year. The highlights? Burke as a tooth... Keadryn as a dancing, growling lion... Jack as a hot dog... Joanie as the most precious little skunk you've ever met... Evette as an 80s skier (she knew those bright pink jumpsuits would one day come in handy)... lots of "group costumes" (lions, tigers and bears, two peas in a pod, our toothfest getup)... yummy fall treats.

Far and away, the best part of the party was that my sisters were both in town for it! Even better, Jord and my nieces drove up from Lubbock to surprise Kiji (who tragically hadn't met Sayla until last night!). What a perfect party!