absolutely

the dental school (in case you haven't been over there)

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

A year ago today (can it already be that long?), we found out that Adam got in to dental school. I know that it may seem like a funny thing to commemerate, but it was one of the greatest days I can remember! It marked the beginning of a whole new season for us... it confirmed that we weren't actually crazy for continuing to pursue this dream, that sometimes obedience means walking through things that just don't seem to make sense, and that the 'perfect' way that we can work things out in our head isn't actually always the best way.

It delights my heart to watch Adam do so well in dental school... Thank you Lord that this pursuit is no longer a hope deferred but a longing fulfilled!

tagged

I was tagged by jordi...

Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

here is the picture:
I love this picture on so many levels. I love the face that jord is making. I love seeing how little joanie was once upon a time. I love that there are both sonic and chick fil a cups sitting on the desk. I love it that two of my very favorite people in the whole world are both in this picture.

I think this may be cheating, but all of our pictures of "baby peace" are in the same folder (as I looked through them, I wondered how on earth she could be so darn cute in every single picture) so I'll put a few others on here as well.

reading with mama

the pre-lola fam

joanie with my dad

look at how teeny she is!

joanie and jojo

oh how she loves her nana (that's what she calls adam)

at the zoo

After all that cuteness, I'd like to tag:
renee (use this as your entry back into the world of blogging!)
jess mcgurn
beth
evette

for kiji and trish

Every year around this time, when the trees are still bare and the air is still just too darn cold (the high in denver today is 15... 15!?!), I have this overwhelming urge to move to (not just visit) some tropical, beachy, WARM locale. Only a precious few people understand this need for the glorious dethawing properties of laying in the sun... luckily, my sister and sister-in-law are two of those people. So Kiji and Trish, start pestering those husbands of yours... perhaps with enough perseverence, a home in Costa Rica is on the horizon for us. :)

man of leisure

Lounging on the boppy... reading some literature dad picked up from the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention... Relaxing yet intellectually stimulating...

january gardening

burke mostly 'supervises' while we work in the garden

Since it's been in the 60s and 70s all week (read that trish and kiji? denver is the place for you!), we have been spending as much time outside as possible. The park by our house has a long walking trail, perfect for it's-gorgeous-in-January walks and runs (Adam even went running with us twice in the last week... that's a record I think). And, to my sweet dad's delight, we've been working in the garden this week! Cheers to many more days in 2009 spent outside...

having it all together

I have friends who have entirely written off the idea of having it all together. They scoff at Martha Stewart place settings as being too perfect, use their clothing to express their independent, artsy vibe and generally scorn anything that would appear in a pottery barn catalog.

Not so for me. I actually spend a lot of time wishing that I had it all together. My perfectionistic, overachieving, people pleasing, detail-oriented tendencies make a lethal combination in this regard.

I wish:
-that my house was always clean... not clean like tidy, clean like container store closets, gleaming refridgerator, bleached grout, and no dust bunnies under the couch
-that my outfits looked like J Crew catalogs- perfectly compiled to look like I'm not trying, but fabulously accessorized and complete with gorgeous kelly green heels and an italian wool/cashmere blend jacket
-that Burke had little indie organic onesies under cashmere cardigans and that my baby bag and burp rags and high chair had fancy euro mod names like oi-oi and zutano
-that my purse was always organized and not stuffed with receipts (for the budget), baby socks (for the teensy), and a pom pom maker (I've got to take that out of there) and that my car was always clean as well
-that I had the 'perfect thing' for each occasion... nike running tights for my jogs around the park, a gorgeous little cocktail dress for the dental school christmas party

But mostly I wish that the value I place on living simply would trump all these crazy wishes and that I wouldn't put so much stock in having it all together. It's not working so far.

urban tribes

Have I mentioned lately that I love my brother-in-law Drew? I love the role he plays in our extended family... I love that he shares my passion for great deals... I love it that he makes Jordi better... and I love it that he takes his job at Redeemer so seriously, often working way more hours a week than he's contracted for just so that things are done well. Occasionally he writes articles for the Redeemer website- you should check out his latest one about urban tribes.

delight

I don't know if there is a better sound in the world than baby laughter... It's a frequent occurance in my life right now and it absolutely delights my heart.

running shape

In the world of Kirstin, there are essentially three levels of physical condition.

Level 1 is out-of-shape, which is me right now. This state of affairs occurs when I choose not to work out for more than a month... so every January (have any of you figured out how to overcome the chaos of December?).

Level 2 is in-shape. This label is reserved for those times when I am working out a few times a week... Or remodeling... Or traveling and walking 5-10 miles a day interspersed with treks up and down thousands of steps a couple times a week (as a side note, every single up-and-down-thousands-of-steps occasion I can remember involved us either climbing down to a beach or up to a castle... apparently I am highly motivated by these two things).

The third and most difficult to attain level is running-shape. This only happens when I am running frequently enough that my body turns off the, "I will make you stop torturing me" campaign and I actually enjoy running.

I already told you my current state of affairs, so I won't make you guess. But if you see me huffing around Expo Park (seriously, you could walk faster than my jog these days), just know that I am steadily gaining ground on Level 2. And maybe by May (when mom and I are purportedly running the Colfax half marathon) I will be at level 3. Maybe.

livin' the dream

Usually I am running so fast toward the next stage of life that I miss the abundance of today... but right now, there is no where I'd rather be than here. I got to cuddle Burke for awhile today... he was singing sweet baby songs and I was wondering if I could have ever imagined loving a baby this much. My house is clean. I went for a run this morning (ok, run/walk to be fair). I got to read the old testament for awhile this afternoon. Dinner is planned for the rest of the week. Jordi and I are working on our 2009 line for kojo (my absolute favorite part of the creative process is the dreaming at the beginning). My needs and so many of my wants are provided for in extravagant abundance. My husband is a dreamboat (yep, I just used the word dreamboat). I am living the dream, y'all.

the ludwig bunch 2.0

25ish years ago, Jordi, Aj and I (but not Kiji because she wasn't born yet) got these awesome shirts from some family friends that said, "The Ludwig Bunch," for Christmas. The tradition continues with our little ones (non of whom are Ludwigs- haha!).

5, 5, and 3

Loved this on Jordi's and Trish's blogs and thought I'd do it too!

5 things I hope to accomplish in 2009:
-read the entire old testament (haven't done that since college!)... should you care to join me, I found a website that has all sorts of bible reading plans
-run the Colfax half marathon with my mama
-get better at menu planning
-get my letterpress up and running
-practice hospitality by having people over for dinner a couple times a month

5 things I am proud of accomplishing in 2008:
-having burke!
-starting kojo
-living on our crazy-below-the-poverty-line budget
-selling the flip house
-improving communication with my husband (though, actually, the biggest changes I've seen are in adam... but I feel like communicating more effectively has cut out a huge chunk of our silly fights which is glorious!)

3 things I am not so proud of in 2008
-not maintaining friendships as well as I could have
-not ever figuring out a way for adam and I to spend time with the Lord every day in the new dental school schedule
-allowing what people think to effect me more than it should

ludwig family christmas

The glorious tree is down, our presents have been hung up (and by that, I mean Burke's new wardrobe is now safely in his closet), and the pom-pom-making-gift-wrapping frenzy has come to a halt. Some highlights of Ludwig family Christmas 2008?

-darling cousins in matching outfits for church


-the Av's hockey game


-a tasty (and I mean tasty) Christmas dinner involving crab stuffed filet mignon


-place settings a la Martha Stewart for said delicious dinner


-27 people at mom and dad's house for post-Christmas festivities


-dance dance revolution (my little brother is a CHAMP... me, not so much) until 2:00 am


-game night... several game nights really


-hanging out with my 4 month old niece sayla... what a sweetheart!


-zoolights on Christmas Eve


-fondue- yum!



-PRESENTS (including my new Phil and Ted stroller- woohoo!)


-aji and trish's victory at the first annual Ludwig family drink competition... the entries included the winning peppermint eggnog, Christmastime chai, wassail, hot buttered rum and grandma's brandy slush

-laughing because of my spunky niece keadryn (she learned the phrase "what happened?" which usually accompanied her unplugging or disabling some device in the house)


-the general merriment and gloriousness of spending time with family at Christmas

a year ago this week

If you've ever walked by a display of New Year's paraphenalia at Target and wondered, "Who buys 2009 eyeglasses, hats, noiseblowers and confetti," meet their target market (well, except for the confetti). I love everything about New Year's- staying up with people you love, reflecting on the last year, a chance to get organized, a fresh start.

In celebration of this glorious holiday, Adam and I make predictions for the coming year each New Year's Eve. On December 31st, we read our 2008 predictions. I can't believe (can't believe!) how much change there has been in this past year!

One year ago this week:
-we didn't know whether Adam would get into dental school
-we didn't know that Burke was a boy
-we didn't know that Jord would have a baby this year!?!
-we didn't know that mom and dad would be moving to Denver
-we didn't know that we'd change churches this year
-several people that we call good friends we hadn't even met yet at this time last year
-we didn't know the adventure that labor would be (adam predicted that my labor would last six hours... :)
-we didn't know whether I'd be teaching this year

If you don't have a New Year's Eve tradition, I'd highly recommend this one. The payoff takes a little while, but is totally worth it. :)

ps- The fam is all gone... pictures of Christmas to come...