My little motor-man

Kind of scary that my little almost-7-month-old is such a natural behind the wheel? 

Party success!

Both Michael's beach party and the baby shower were fantastic this weekend! No sunburns (on me and Gabriel, at least :-), no food poisoning, no food shortages. (Well, there was one incident with an exploding blender of tomato-basil soup...see below).

Michael and I worked like crazy people getting things hung up on the walls, furniture arranged, and everything clean for the parties. Not to mention I did some serious planning to get everything purchased, cooked, cooled and arranged on time. Even with all of our hard work, I am positive that I had some Heavenly help last weekend for everything to have come out so beautifully.

Some pictures from the weekend:

I should have shown Shannon how to use the blender before I asked her to puree the tomato-basil soup for me. Sorry Shannon!

I made fruit pizza (the three-tired plates), bacon and spinach mini quiches, curry chicken salad with toasted pecans, served on fresh croissants, and a to-die-for-spot-on-La-Madeleine-tomato-basil-soup. Everything was DELICIOUS!

I made homemade strawberry lemonade for the shower, but I can't say it turned out to be a winner. I found the recipe on Emeril Lagasse's Website, and it had tons of good reviews. I must have done something really wrong, though....it had nice flavor, but you know it won't be a crowd-pleaser when you realize you have to chew it because there's so much lemon and strawberry pulp.

I threw the shower with the momma-to-be's sister, Nicole. Nicole arrived that morning with an ENORMOUS diaper cake, which is basically a clever "cake" made out of rolled up diapers and ribbons. You pin all kinds of little baby items around the cake: pacifiers, bibs, onesies, toys, rattles, etc. 

On this table, I had a fruit tray with a yummy yogurt dip, toasted pecans, and pasta salad. 

Gabriel is going through some kind of Extra-Cuddles-Required phase, which Gabriel's daddy is more than happy to indulge in our ancient old brown armchair. (Seriously, that wonderful old chair is so old that I think there must be a picture of my dad holding me like that somewhere). 

"Africa's Mother Teresa" and a thought for today

Yesterday, I came across this article about Abebech Gobena, an Ethiopian woman also known as "Africa's Mother Teresa." She started the first orphanage in Ethiopia 30 years ago and now runs an orphanage that houses and educates more than 700 children. It's worth a read to remind us that there are good people in the world, doing amazing things.

God doesn't call all of us to start an orphanage for hundreds of children, and sometimes I have to remind myself that doesn't mean the "rest of us" aren't called to be saints. Some of the most amazing people I know live humble lives as working mommies and daddies. They have no idea how powerfully God uses them to love and inspire others.

St. Therese (Mother Teresa's chosen namesake) reminded us that "God doesn't call all of us to do great things, but he calls all of us to do small things with great love." So what are my opportunities for "small things with great love"?

A few ideas: Cooking dinners for friends in need; having extra play time with my little boy; giving up a seat or place in line; sending a sweet note to a sick grandparent; getting off my cell phone in the checkout line; sending an encouraging note to a struggling friend; even giving Michael the best of the leftovers for his lunch the next day.

I think that God--and "great love"--are often in the minutiae. A lot of saints never started orphanages or traveled the world. A lot of them were people who lived ordinary lives doing ordinary things: cooking, raising children, cleaning and working. So why are they saints? It must have been because they were extraordinary in the small things.

I'm still working on pouring out "great love" on Gabriel when I'm cleaning up one of his Nuclear Bomb poopy diapers, but I'm hoping that I'm a step in the right direction if I start with maintaining a good sense of humor :)

Mambo Jambos and cookie cake is all that it is gonna take...

My dear husband turned 28 years old on Tuesday, and I'm trying to celebrate him in style this year with a real birthday party at the beach this weekend! Michael hasn't had a birthday party since I've known him. It's just that June 22 is usually sort of a tough time of year for getting people together. That's why I'm enticing them this year with a vacation-style, kid-friendly beach party and an enormous cookie cake.

Cookie cake is Michael's favorite. I use the very same recipe his momma uses (the one on the back of the Tollhouse chocolate chips bag), but, invariably, Michael's verdict is "good, but not like my momma's."  Go figure.

I am also bringing some Mambo Jambos, a big sandwich the Francos make every Mardi Gras for parades. Michael isn't big on sandwiches, but he likes these. Among other things, I am also making tomato-basil pasta salad and bought way too many bags of chips (darn my short memory and Kroger having all my favorite chips on super-sale yesterday).

A slightly-dorky picture taken by a friend a couple of years ago :) Don't we look like we know what we're doing? At least my guitar is pretty.

Triathlons, Baby Eating and Old Friends, A photo post :)

He really DOES love his Mommy. I'd like to think he's trying to "point" that out here :) And, yes, that is baby food on my carpet. 

Starting to feed him baby food while packing and moving into our house was a bit of a challenge sometimes. But we've grown into a flexible little family if I do say so myself.

I just had to post this little nekkid baby picture :) I'm so proud of that sitting up!

We took my old college roommate, Lacey, out to eat on Saturday night. It was such a pleasure to catch up with Lacey, especially since she is headed back home to California soon, where she is joining the wonderful Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. 

We also met up with our friend Neil, who is a seminarian from Maryland working at a parish in Louisiana for the summer. We spent five entire minutes trying to get Gabriel to look at the camera, but nearby traffic enthralled him. 

Here we are, posing after Michael finished the race. All three of us smell awful and are hot, sweaty and tired, but in amazingly good spirits. Michael because of all the endorphins from finishing the most challenging physical activity of his life (in his words), and Gabriel and I because we are so proud of him (and maybe excited to leave the race and get out of that horrific South Louisiana heat!). 

Michael said that the swim really kicked his butt in this race. To his credit, though (and as his dad so eloquently put it later) he may have looked and felt like hell, but he had a smile on his face the whole time!

Finishing the 13-mile bike ride and heading into the 2-mile run phase...go Michael!

Going through the finish line--amazing! I am so, so proud of Michael. What a brutal race and what great attitude, strength of character and perseverance that got him through. 

Me holding an exhausted, sleeping baby G. 

We really hauled our little angel around this weekend and he was such a trooper! 

House pictures (pre-move)

We are almost all moved-in! Here are some picture of the house pre-move though. Enjoy!

Walking in the front door...

The dining room area to your left after you walk in the front door

A view of the living room. The door in the corner leads to our bedroom.

Another view of the living room showing an entrance to the kitchen

Gabriel's room, with the tree mural we left up from the house's previous owners :) Also, the random extra outlet and light switch on the wall by the window. 

The guest bedroom or "green room" as we call it

The study, with a view into our master bedroom

Our master bedroom, with a view into the study (read: future nursery :) in the room next door

I miss you!

I don't know if I'm talking to the wonderful creative outlet that is my blog, or to my sweet and faithful readers :)

I miss you! 

It's been too long since I last posted, but here are my excuses: I packed all week before moving and then moved into our house and then didn't have Internet (still don't, I'm at a friend's house) and am going out of town again this weekend and have Father's Day and Michael's birthday next week and also two parties to plan (one a baby shower at my house!!) for next weekend. Not to mention a 6 month old baby boy and a job, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping and (somewhere in there) sleeping.

I'll write again soon--and post pictures of our beautiful new abode :)

Almost there

My parents-in-law are coming today and we're all sleeping at the house tonight! Move-in day is tomorrow! I think I'm supposed to start feeling all grown up right about now...

I had this song stuck in my head this morning and just had to look it up on YouTube...enjoy :) http://ping.fm/0Mftp

Booger head

I always thought I'd be the one mom to have kids who would always be clean, happy and healthy. 

My darling Gabriel is definitely happy and healthy, but he's usually a bit of a mess these days. I've been feeling a little down on myself lately because I feel like I just can't keep him clean. 

On Saturday, as we were heading out to work on the house, I took a long, hard, guilty look at my bouncing, smiley baby boy. Drool and baby throwup had already soaked most of the front of his little teeshirt. There was some dried green bean caked in the crease on the side of his nose. He had five or six big mosquito bites all over him, including one that looked like a huge zit on his forehead.

And the best part? 

A booger had fallen out of his nose during the night, and it was stuck in a sweaty little clump on the side of his head.

For some reason, the booger stuck in his hair kind of tipped me over the edge. All of the sudden, I started laughing at myself for worrying so much about Gabriel being a mess most of the time, and I felt a supernatural sense of relief and peace wash over me like warm baby spitup. 

God sends little inspired moments like this every once in a while to remind me not to gauge my success at parenthood by what my child looks like. It's what my child is like that matters--and as long as he's a happy little booger head, I'm a happy mommy. 

 

"Let the waters rise, if You want them to..."

For some reason, many of the friends and family I hold most dear are going through very difficult times right now--most of it involving poor health.


I've struggled somewhat during these last few months with the age-old question: Why do bad things happen to good people? 


And some other questions: Why would God allow something terrible to happen to us? If He's got such a wonderful, perfect plan for each of our lives, how can tragedy and sickness be a part of that plan? How can we serve Him and let Him work through us for others if we are so sick or afflicted with a trial that it's all we can do to make it through another day?


One thought that gives me peace is that God is big. So big that none of us can possibly comprehend his power--or His love. He is the Lord and Master(mind) of history, of nature, of even our health. Jesus proved all of that when He came to Earth. When he fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah, when he walked on water, and when he drove out demons and healed the sick. 


In both the scope of eternity and in the scope of our lives, God is in control. And furthermore, we know that "all things work together for good for those who love [Him]" (Romans 8:28). If He allows something terrible to happen to us, He's going to bring something beautiful and good out of it. He gives every thing and every human being a purpose. Every trial. Every tumor, every financial difficulty, every death. 


If I sound like I have the "why bad things happen to good people" question all figured out, I don't. If I sound like I'm at peace that my friends and family are suffering with terrible things, I'm not. If I sound like I'm convinced that seeking, following and trusting God with all my heart is the only way I can get through everything life throws at me, I am.  




Mikeschair's "Let the Waters Rise"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIkQ7YVys_A


Don't know where to begin
Its like my world's caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?

sometimes its so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You

There's a raging sea 
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to 
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
'Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm
And the calm of the sea
You'll never out of reach

God, You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

There's a raging sea 
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to 
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding onto You
God Your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You

Ohhh

There's a raging sea 
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to 
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

Goodbye lazy Sundays

Being a homeowner is great so far! It's also a lot of hard work. 


And we haven't even moved in yet.


Since we closed on May 7, Michael and I have spent all of our free time painting, caulking, fixing, and otherwise spending all of our small budget on getting this house move-in ready. Well, either one of those or we've been partying it up in Louisiana for a slightly exhausting couple of weekends of important family get-togethers. 


All what I like to call "blessed busyness" though. No complaints here. But I'm still quite glad that May is over! Until I realize how packed June is as well. And July. And August. :)


No more lazy Sundays for this family. At least for a little while. 


We used to have the most amazing, lazy weekends--especially Sundays. We'd wake up late, make a big, messy breakfast, and generally just do whatever we wanted, when we wanted. It was lovely. Of course, after Gabriel was born, things got a little more scheduled (especially the sleeping in part!). However, we learned how to take the "sleep when the baby sleeps" idea and work it to our advantage :). 


I'm sure there will still be lazy Sundays for us in the future, but for now, we are happy with our "blessed busyness." If you're bored and within 300 miles of Houston, though, please give us a call. 

Want 63 pesticides with your strawberries today?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen.produce.pesticide/index.html?hpt=C2

I've been doing some more research and reading on healthy eating lately. Now that Michael is training for some triathlons, and Gabriel is starting solids, I'm feeling the sudden need to take a hard look at what I'm buying and cooking for my family. One thing I've been looking up is whether "organic" fruits and vegetables are worth the few extra cents.

This new research says that for some fruits and veggies, those extra few cents could shield us from dozens of pesticides that are absorbed by those fruits and vegetables' soft skins. Which makes some scary sense.

The researchers' so-called "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables, which contained traces of 47-67 pesticides per serving (and that's after the USDA-required wash):

• celery
• peaches
• strawberries
• apples
• blueberries
• nectarines
• sweet bell peppers
• spinach, kale and collard greens
• cherries
• potatoes
• imported grapes
• lettuce

And the "clean" ones with little or no pesticides:

• onions
• avocados
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• asparagus
• sweet peas
• mango
• kiwi
• eggplant
• cantaloupe
• cabbage
• watermelon
• grapefruit
• sweet potatoes
• sweet onions

Fear not. I'm far from turning into some kind of health-nut-crunchy-almond-granola-tree-hugger--though I respect anyone whose beliefs about food and living make them fit that description (who am I to make fun or judge someone for doing something to take better care of themselves, their families or the environment? :) 

I'm just starting to stop and look a little harder at what I'm putting on the table. And I'm having more heart-to-hearts with those granola-loving friends of mine. :)