Still here

Summer is clearly gone based on our weather. Life has continued on much the same! Lyddie is 10 months old and is still just as much fun as always. Our life is mostly happening here at home, with a lot of evening TV... recently we're addicted to Veronica Mars after Lyddie goes to bed, which unfortunately only ran three seasons, so we'll soon have to find another show... or I suppose we could do something other than watch television... ha.

Poor baby is sick with a cold so I'm staying home with her from church today, since the nursery's not an option, and I'm not bringing a sick baby into the cry room, either.

I'm re-reading the Harry Potter books, as well as reading "My Life with the Great Pianists" by Franz Mohr, a great book a friend from church lent me. Jesse and I have always loved reading aloud, so in the car we're reading the Hunger Games trilogy, and halfway through the final book which just came out. These books are amazing and awesome and intense, considering they're geared toward teens. I'm also reading classics like "Jamberry," "Goodnight Moon," and "Baby Night-Night," to keep my tastes very broad.

I've been working hard on knitting a jumper for my Lyddie girl, and accidentally made a small version of it before realizing how small it really was, so now I'm making another, larger one. I'm also planning to make her a stuffed hippo or lambie for her birthday, which is fast approaching! The money's not there to get the yarn, but once I can get the yarn, that baby is my big project for fall!

I have yet to decorate my house for fall, which is sad, since that usually happens early in September. I've been trying to "purge" our house a little at a time which is mostly reorganizing older stuff, since we really haven't accumulated all that much beyond baby stuff, which we plan to save most of for future offspring. The reorganization will help us when we finally get to move to Yakima, so we can pack and load faster if everything is pretty put together. There'll still be the big packing required of every move, but here's to hoping it makes it go smoother.

I've been desperately missing my piano, especially with the cold weather approaching and indoors time taking over. I miss playing so much, and now that I'm not working and have the time to sit and play, my piano's being stored at a friend's until we move. We didn't figure two flights of stairs with a narrow landing would make much sense with the last move. But now I'm regretting it and saddened by its absence.

My birthday was yesterday, and was complete with a trip to urgent care to make sure Lyddie wasn't getting an ear or sinus infection. We went out to breakfast at my favorite bakery, Wild Wheat, afterward, and then had a quiet day at home. A long afternoon nap is never a bad thing, and Jesse made a chocolate cheesecake for me in the evening! I opened his gift to me, which is a new trilogy that I just discovered, Tales of the Kingdom - but he loved in childhood. They're basically children's stories (but not at all children's stories) that are allegories for our Christian life. They are beautiful and moving stories with gorgeous illustrations, and I'm so excited to read the rest! I've only just about finished the first book, which we borrowed from Jesse's family, and now we have our own set. It was such a beautiful and special gift that will get so much use as we read them to our children and are enabled to explain faith concepts more simply with the help of the books.

Lastly, of course, are some pictures of our playground when the weather was nicer a few weeks ago. She loved swinging and playing in the woodchips! It's so fun to watch her explore and discover new things in the world - like pinecones.

Our family at Riverfront Park in Spokane, enjoying the sun together... and Lyddie enjoying the ducks nearby!