ecco

So, I love food. I love to cook food - but i mostly love to eat food. Fun food. Food that would be a real challenge for me to recreate in my own kitchen is usually what I am drawn to. And Atlanta, GA is home to many o yummy places to dine! I have eaten at one restaurant in particular a few times before, but I ate there with a good friend the other night & I tried something that I cannot for the life of me get off my mind. Ecco has olive oil ice cream. Now, apparently it's catching on in other parts of the country, but I had not heard of it yet - and to be quite honest, I was nervous about trying it. Curious, but nervous. Olive oil ice cream with chocolate & sea salt....and the waiter completely recommended it. I am a lover of all things ice cream & this one could be topping the list. A-mazing.

They also have a fried goat cheese appetizer that'll knock your socks off....and the chili braised pork pasta is to die for. SUCH an awesome meal. All things that I wouldn't order all by myself because, I gotta tell you, those things just don't totally appeal to my taste buds......braised pork pasta??? Olive oil ice cream??? But they are AWESOME! Great restaurant.....gotta try it.


Ecco is offering a buy one entree get one free deal right now - but only for like the next week.

I've wanted to do reviews of restaurants for a while now....in a very amateur just let me give you my opinion on some food type of way.....I mean, I'm always looking for good places to eat around here. Maybe you'll swipe an idea or 2 from here! I have another blog friend that has a list of some of her favorites....I'll hopefull try some & let you know what we think. Does that sound good? In the meantime, PLEASE let me your faves in the area...

sandbox

My big ol 2 year old got a sand & water table for his birthday from his Gram & Papa. Both of the kids are crazy about this thing!!! We were hanging outside the other day & I caught some pictures of them playing.

If you look closely you'll see that the little brother was not as excited about this closeness brought on byhis big sister as she was. Or maybe I see it in the picture because I was there. Just trust me, he wasn't loving it.

mmmmmmmmmm sand. yummy.

and the madness begins

Oh, I had great intentions of posting this picture after State beat UT to win the SEC Championship....but time has, yet again, gotten away from me. And I figured I'd better go ahead & get it up here before this afternoon b/c there's a chance that we could lose & then this picture just looks silly. So while we're still on a high after Sunday's win - let my daughter represent the glee that I feel for my alma mater.

Now, having said all of that - setting my team up for a loss.....

it is March.....and anything can happen in March......and I am hoping for a win!!!!

Go State! Go State!

those smiles

Man, I could eat her up. We were all hanging outside this afternoon & she was thrilled to just be a part of the action. Look at that face!!!!!

Not even complaining that she can't play like the big kids play. She just wants to be a part. So so happy. Not that I blame her - i mean, what would you give for someone to sit you in a comfy bouncy chair in the shade on a Spring-like day & ask you to just hang out. Just relax. Don't lift a finger......just sit there & look pretty. I think you could get that smile outta me.

baby

I snapped this picture of the baby at the boy's birthday party. Just sitting tight - soaking it all in. I couldn't get a smile out of her.....but I wanted to remember that face on that day.

my boy is 2!!!

We started the day by getting the kid's mullet cut off. He was in desperate need of a hair cut. Then we headed to meet some family & friends at Krispy Kreme donuts.

The kids had a great time watching them make the donuts, eating the donuts & running through the store yelling, "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" as they ran to anyone they may possibly run into along the way.

I don't think he has ever actually had a donut but he seems to like them. It was such a great day. I hope he remembers it & I'm sure he won't......but we had so much fun.

6 months

Wow. I cannot believe that she is 6 months old. So big! And so much fun. She is real smiley. Her favorite things are
1. for me to just look at her
2. for daddy to just look at her
3. for either of the bigger kids to just look at her
4. for complete strangers to just look at her
She just really wants you to pay attention to her.
She's noticed that there are 2 ahead of her & she refuses to get lost in the mix.
I was at Bible study the other day & she was in the nursery. I ran up there to get a bottle to her & the nursery worker was holding a crying baby & my baby was on the floor. The sweet lady just kept saying "I'm right here. I see you." She laughed when she saw me & said, "That baby just wants to know that you're looking at her!"
She rolls all over the place & almost holds her bottle by herself....I think she can do it, in fact I KNOW she can. I think she knows it means that I can walk away & therefore take my eyes off of her for just a moment if she does it. She's smart. And I think she still looks mostly like her big sister...but she's changing......
the jury is still out on that one.
Happy 6 months sweet girl.

water

So, there are these 2 people I know. They are people I admire from the sidelines. You look at their lives from the outside & you just have a hunch that the plan God has mapped out through them will be amazing. And I received this video recently from them. And their faces are in the video because God is on the move in a mighty way & they are following.....



5MULTIPLIED* from PDA Video on Vimeo.

one girl's journey

So, I've been going to this book/Bible study & it's been great & challenging for me.

It started out with a deep look at the 23rd Psalm. Those infamous words that many of us know by heart simply because it is often spoken at funerals. The shepherd & his flock & how He promises to care for us. We like to translate "care for us" on our terms....like so many other promises in the Bible....making God fit into our version of the story rather than the other way around. The last lesson was about wisdom & discerning wisdom & the books of the Bible where you find much insight here.....Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon & Ecclesiates. Good....I wrote it all down. Because I do desire to walk with wisdom....I want my eyes to see clearer & my words to be those of, well, wisdom. And then one thing she said has stuck with me....suffer well....and teach your kids to suffer well.....

Oh, the idea of true suffering for me is more than I can write down. It's those haunting fears that creep up when I can't sleep at night...my greatest fears of suffering - I truly don't think I can talk about. And to do that well? Honestly, I don't really want to suffer - much less to do it well. And I trick myself into believing that if I just avoid the whole topic of learning to suffer well all together that I will never have to really put it into practice. Like that's my call.

And then there's this girl that I knew back in college. A truly remarkable girl. One not too different from this girl. And she was on a road that required much suffering.

And she did it well.

She had a place like many of us do - online where we share our thoughts & stories - and I'm so glad she did so that so many can be a part of her journey. Her amazing amazing journey.

This is just a part of it.

and......he's home :)

Now, these are the pictures from when daddy came home....actually the morning after because the night he actually flew in all the power was out in our neighborhood & it was late so the kids were tucked in bed pretty quickly by candle light & the homecoming festivities were delayed a few hours. I am completely aware that my boy's hair is entirely too rock-star long, that his smile isn't perfect in this picture & that my baby has a little spittle on the side of her mouth & if you look closely in the last picture you'll notice my boy is playing with a pink doll. This is how it really was people. And I like to keep it real. They were so excited for the "China-bear" t shirts that they put them on immediately & if I remember correctly, I believe they slept in them that night.

The baby was ECSTATIC over the panda bear daddy brought her.

And you may recognize this guy if you have followed the blog for a while.....but don't let your eyes play tricks on you - they are not the same. We lost former china bear & this is his "brother." Also known as "china bear." Apparently these stuffed animals that these kids grow to be so fond of CAN, in fact, be replaced.

It was an AWESOME homecoming & we are so happy to have him home.

childhood

One of the things we did while dad was in China was pull out the blankets & sheets to build a fort. This is one of my fondest memories as a kid. I remember using every piece of furniture I could & every clean sheet in the house to build gi-normous forts. And somehow, reading a book or drinking a glass of water all seemed like so much more fun ... in a fort! It is one time I wish we had some carpeting because hardwood forts just aren't as much fun. But the kids gathered all of my pillows for cushioning - I don't have a picture of that. So in the midst of the craziness.....we did have some laughs. I hope that's what they remember. I hope those are the stories I remember to tell. Not the week dad went to china & everyone threw up all over me & the furniture. I hope they remember that we baked cookies, built forts & stayed in our pajamas a LOT. My big girl asks me often, "Mom, do you remember when...." & she will retell these stories from a couple of YEARS ago. HALF of her life ago & she remembers it. These are the memories of their lives. Of their childhood. I hope they remember them as happy memories.
I do.

I really really do.
I was driving down the road the other day & a song by the Cranberries came on. I was immediately back in college. And then I thought about who I am today. I'm so different that I barely recognize that girl of 22. Isn't that crazy? and I wouldn't go back. It's like without Lee & these kids I wasn't who I really am yet......and I finally feel like I'm on the right road. Life before these miracles....these four miracles......is just blurry.

And I'm so so glad for the now.

I want DADDY!

Well, it's been too long since I posted. I know this. I am sorry. But it's been a wild ride over here. Lee headed to China for 8 days & though I was a little weary as to how we would make it - I was confident that not only could we handle it, but that we would make the best of it & have fun in the process.....popping popcorn, staying up a little too late, snuggling up in bed to read stories for way too long & just throwing the schedules out the window & eating hot dogs every night because WHY NOT!??

Well, that's not how it went. He left on Thursday & something, I can't even remember, but something happened on Saturday. I lost it. Crying & hearing my voice be a tad louder than the neighbors appreciate - so I called for reinforcement. My AMAZING mother in law came to the rescue.

I woke up Sunday with back & neck pain - I'm moving around like a robot. Monday AM around 230 - my big girl cries out in a strange way so I rushed upstairs. I can't lean down or pick her up b/c of the neck/back issue & she's crying.

"Get up. Don't wake your brother. Walk downstairs." Tender moment.

She follows me, I hold her hand & she snuggles in bed with me - all seems fine until she throws up all over the bed. "I'm never eating candy again!" she cries. We get to the bathroom, she takes a quick bath while I put sheets in the wash & new sheets on the bed. She's chipper as I've ever seen her. We're in the clear. We snuggle back up in bed. Clean, fresh sheets...all is good & giggly. She sits up.

"I need to cough"

"Well, cough then." And she pukes all over the bed ..... again.

Well, we only have 2 sets of sheets for this bed. So i lay a beach towel down with her blanket & put a bucket next to her.

"Where are you sleeping, Mommy?"

"I have no idea. But make sure you throw up in the bucket. Nighty-night. I love you." Meanwhile, my neck is KILLING me. I can't remember too much more happening that week. I know that someone was awake each night - which meant that I, the mommy-robot, was also awake. Yay.

Friday morning comes. Still dark. About 3 AM. The baby cries out. I get up to get her. Can barely lean over the crib to pick her up. But I manage. I lay down in bed with her. She pukes all over my sheets.

Now, why can't they spread this thing out. Like give me a week or two when I'm actually needing to change my sheets. She rested & then woke up throwing up again. And again. And finally settles down. The whole crew curls up on the sofa for some major TV time so mommy can get s little rest. The baby is on my chest snoozing & my boy was doing this......

He took one of my oil based paint pens & wrote all over himself. This picture actually does NOT do it justice. It's all over his stomach & both thighs.

You have GOT to be kidding me????

I wish I could say that it all ended there. Daddy flew home & all was right with the world. I got the bug in addition to this neck condition & got to go to the ER.

So that, my friends, is why I haven't updated my blog.

It's good to be back.