WayfaringStrangers

Does anyone else have this problem? You cook all the time, but when it's time to schedule a new round of meals, you can't think of what to plan? Happened to me all the time! I would get so frustrated trying to remember what dishes and recipes we liked in the past. Finally I started writing down all the meals we enjoy in this little book:  It's not a fancy or organized system, but it works for me! If we love a recipe, or even just a simple meal like sandwiches, I write it in here with the page number of the cookbook the recipe is in for future brainstorming reference. I try to categorize it a little bit (i.e. "cheap and easy," "crock pot meals") but it's pretty random. It's just a simple little notebook. I realize that some people do this on the computer and there are websites for this stuff, but it's easiest for me to just grab my book. And I can write whole recipes on the extra pages too. I try to write notes on some of the recipes, like ...

I didn't take too many pictures of the weekend, but here are a few. We had lunch at this awesome pub, Natty Green's in downtown. We were celebrating my 28th (!) birthday. Thank you Emily and Seth, for the great lunch!   Sorry I used this picture, Emily. But in the other one, you looked like Mary Kate and /or Ashley Olson and we just can't have that ;-)  Graham was so, so good! I really glad we decided to do lunch out and not dinner, as he can't handle being sweet in the evenings. The food took a long time, but he amused himself by: 1. eating an entire clementine that I brought. 2. Playing with a straw (see above). 3. Taking a walk around an empty pool table. 4. Looking out a window and declaring all moving things a 'gog' (dog). When the food came, he was rewarded by being allowed to eat his weight in fries, which he proceeded to do. .  Not a great pic of the hike we did, but it's the only one I got before the camera battery died.  So, ...

I have only a few minutes- Graham is being needy right now- but wanted to recap our fun weekend last weekend. I need to find the camera to include a few pictures, but we had lots of good times with Emily and Seth in their new town. They had fun showing us around; I'm seriously jealous of all the awesome trails and parks they have right outside their front door! Greensboro also has tons of shopping ;-) Tempting! Saturday it was rainy, so we pretty much roamed the mall and some other stores, but we had lunch at a pub downtown- Natty Green's. Loved that! That evening we had a cozy fire and watched a movie. Sunday the weather cleared up a bit, so we were able to go on a hike. It was cold, but refreshing to be outside. Of course, Graham loved playing with Aunt Em and Uncle Seth and Shane the dog. It's wonderful to be less than 3 hours from these people we love so much! Thanks again for everything, Em! P.S. Emily made me some awesome chocolate peanut butter cupcakes for my bi...

Graham LOVES his blanket. He has for a long time, but his attachment to it has grown lately, which is a relief to me since I'm trying to ween him and let him cry more during the night when he wakes up. I'm hoping the blanket can be a source of comfort. As of now, he won't go to sleep without it. He lights up when I give it to him. The blanket is just a Wal-Mart blanket (I recently saw some more there, so that's how I figured that out). I think I got it from my baby shower, but I'm not sure from who. I wish I did know, so I could thank that person. Graham got a lot of blankets as gifts, and some of them are a little nicer...one even has his name embroidered on it and I thought maybe he'd attach himself to that one, but he picked this one. It's the one I used to lay him on when he was a little baby, so they have a long history together. I think a baby loving his blankie is really cute :) Graham's doing a lot of this these days:  He's qui...

My best friend Kiri came to visit for several days this past week. What a JOY she is! It's lovely to have company as well as extra help with chores and childcare. Kiri and I have been best friends for a long time...like 18 or 19 years. We were childhood best friends and never drifted. Our friendship has covered distance as well- she in New Zealand or other countries, me going away to college and then moving to Virginia. We always just pick up where we left off whenever we get together. We raised hamsters together when we were kids (YES, we were very weird), spent countless hours riding horses together, have traveled abroad together, hiked mountains, lived together for a while in college, attended each other's wedding, cooked for each other, and had lots of other adventures. Kiri inspires me to LIVE LIFE FULLY. To explore, see things in a new way, and care for the earth more. We always seem to be going through similar struggles (probably since we have very similar personalities)...

...Clap your hands! *Sigh* If you're constantly bombarded by children's songs, shake your head. Still exhausted. Terrible night with the baby last night.  Behn is currently trying to put him to bed, which he is usually successful at, but I'm hearing a lot of crying... The good news is, Kiri is on the way. She is bringing Merlot and her homemade happy self. I made baked ziti and roasted asparagus and am about to dig into that. IF we can stay awake, Behn and I will continue our tradition of watching Lord of the Rings, which we do every January- 4 years running! Last January I had a newborn and honestly hardly remember watching it. I think I was just so distracted and tired. This year is a little better, but tonight, I feel like I do have a newborn again. Praying for sleep...

-Another post from Behn- "Up men to your posts! Do not forget today that you are from Old Virginia!" -G.E. Pickett Looking back on Graham's first year, it is really quite simple to see that this boy is a True Virginian.  Think about it:  for starters, he was born in the Old Dominion State and can call Historic Lexington his home town.  This is the very town whose streets Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee walked.  Graham has enjoyed strolls through town as well as hikes in various parks and trails in this Blue Ridge community. When Graham was six months old, he enjoyed his first trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.  This was when Megan and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed touring the historic markers in this area:  the architecture, cobblestone streets, horses, ships, reenactors, James River, and everything else there was to see.  Back in November, we decided to check out Charlottesville and Monticello-...

...which is good because I am one, praise the Lord! Have been for over a year (actually almost 2 years if you count pregnancy, which I do). Today Graham and I got another day alone together. Poor Frankie caught G's cold and was home sick. It was good for us to be alone though, because G's still not 100% and I'm under the weather too, with his cold. Plus, he still hasn't slept soundly in several nights, so I'm tired. This afternoon as I was hanging out with G, I felt a nostalgic feeling from my childhood. Today felt like one of those cold winter days I'd come home from school and Mom would have hot chocolate waiting for us for a snack. The smell of dinner in the crockpot reminded me of smelling dinner as I walked through the door as a kid. Even the sound of the furnace reminded me of the one in our old house. It's so funny that now I'm the Mom. I'm the one making hot chocolate (for myself), I put dinner in the crockpot. When did I grow up? Of c...

 Even though it was wonderful to be away for Christmas, it was also great to be home to celebrate New Year's. This year Emily and Seth and their dog Shane came to visit us. On New Year's Eve, we took a hike:  I think it's such a good way to spend time as a family. All 6 of us love being outside too!  For dinner, we went to Don Tequila's, our local Mexican restaurant. We went there 2 years ago on New Year's Eve with Luke and Jess. It must be the place to go for these things!  When we came home, we enjoyed watching movies and eating more junk food. It was a perfect  New Year's! In other news, Graham learned a new word. After seeing Shane all during the holidays, Graham has really taken to him. He started trying to say 'dog.' At first it sounded like 'og.'  But with some practice, he got the 'd' down and now he says 'd-d-dog!' It is so cute. Little smartie :)

Don't have the energy for desire to write up a fun post today. Graham has been sick with a fever/cold, so the past 2 nights he's only slept a few hours. 'Funny' thing is, you'd think he'd be exhausted and nap during the day- not my boy. He was awake almost the whole day yesterday and has already refused his nap this morning. How does he do it? He's actually just playing like normal. I guess the Tylenol makes him feel ok. Of course, Frankie's here too and the two of them took turns waking the other up during naps yesterday. The house is so small, they can hear each other so easily.  I'm so tired and thankful tomorrow Behn will be home. I can't do this on my own for another day. The good news is, it's going to be nice outside today, so at least we can be out there for part of the day.

I'm realizing I like to blog more during the week because it's a fun excuse to avoid actual work and my ongoing list of to-do's. I have several ideas for posts to write, and Behn's been talking about writing something up on here too, so stay tuned for that! There's a new kind of crazy up in here, ya'll. For real, this job of mommy/babysitter has gotten so much harder lately. I just had several days off from babysitting and really enjoyed spending lots of quality, one-on-one time with my son. It was so special to give all my attention to him and truly enjoy all his little antics. Moms who have the privilege of staying home with your firstborn: enjoy it! Once there's another one around, it's chaos. I'm not complaining about keeping Frankie. He's a joy- he's hilarious- he loves me and I him- he and Graham are best buds- God has provided for our needs through this extra job. But it is harder. So, back to the crazy: Graham is now walking indep...

This was a Christmas to be together. Last Christmas we didn't have Seth with us, Graham was only 10 days old, and there a couple of pretty pregnant ladies in the family, so no one was able to travel much. This year both sides of the family needed a good Christmas- one where everyone could be there. Do you know how hard that is when you come from a family of 16 or 14? Getting everyone together from multiple states and military branches is a little crazy- and totally worth it!   First stop: Delaware T family pic: Cousins and their mamas:  Celebrating their 1st birthdays- we loved the crowns, but they didn't so much haha:  Family pic...Love it:  Graham was very happy to have Elliot around :)  Lots of playing took place: Next stop: Maryland C Family pic:  Graham enjoying Nana and PopPop  Devotions before family lunch: Every day was wonderful. Being with family is really important to us, and we are blesse...