Our church is having its Mission Conference this week and we’re having an International Dinner. Our life group is responsible for making the Indian Food. Does anyone have any suggestions for yummy dishes to bring? I need some ideas. Please send your India-inspired dishes my way. Much appreciated. :)
Thanks, Friends!
Sean is officially a walker this week! He started crawling at 7 months and was taking steps and cruising by 9 months, but usually preferred to crawl over walk. (I think this was due to the speed factor – he was lightning fast on all fours, plus he was a shorter distance to fall when his big brother pushed him over!) But, on Monday, he decided to start walking everywhere! Go Little Man!
Sean is also starting to talk. He says more, bath, Mama, Dada. I forget what else. He’s very vocal, so he gets his point across even when he’s not using actual words.
“Can we go swimming, Mommy?” The weather was over 70 degrees on Monday and felt extra hot compared to the week before so Trent was hoping to get to use his swim trunks. Usually, January and February are our coldest months. This weather is crazy!
We went for a couple of walks this week. The fire ants and flowers are confused by this weather. The daffodils are coming up and the fire ants are going crazy. We had to have a nature lesson on fire ants. Now every time we pass a mound of dirt, Trent reminds me, “those ants that bite.” So far, everyone has been able to avoid injury so I’m glad the lesson stuck!
Our boys do everything together. They don’t seem to seem to acknowledge the 20 month age difference. Anything that Trent does, Sean wants to do. Trent wants Sean included. So, today we were painting. I bought two of the exact same thing for each of them to paint. Trent did really well with it. He methodically thought out where he would paint each time he dipped his paint brush. Sean started by finger painting, then switched to eating his masterpiece, then switched to attempting to imitate his brother’s technique. Each artists in their own right. 
In the picture of the finished products, the top one is Sean’s, the bottom one is Trent’s.
I’m sitting on the covered porch this morning. It’s 67 degrees out, unseasonably warm for January. The trees look beautiful today. It’s the quiet after the storm. The boys are happily playing with their toys. Their water/sand table, which has been empty of both due to cold weather and Sean’s desire to put everything in his mouth, has water in it this morning. They are loving it. Since it’s pretty warm out, I’m not too worried about them getting a little bit of water on them. The house is dark. One of neighbor’s trees came down across the street and took the power lines with it. Crews have been on our short little street for almost two hours trying to get rid of the tree and reestablish power. The boys watched the trucks for a little bit out the front door before they realized the trucks would be here a while.
I’m in awe of some of the storms we get in Alabama. They are so loud and so powerful. Last night was no exception. It kept Jesse and I up most of the night and the boys were up for good at 5:30 this morning, so I’m not sure how much they actually slept. It might be an early nap time today. We’ve had tornadoes here and there the entire time we’ve lived in Alabama, but after the events of last April, I take the warnings pretty seriously. Tornadoes accompanied last night storm through the area. Some of the areas still recovering from April were hit again. I hate seeing the damage caused by those funnel clouds and straight line winds. Thankfully, last night was nowhere near being on the same scale as the storms that came through in April.
Time to bring the boys in… and the power just came on – time for some coffee!
Have a fabulous day!
I purposely took my camera around with me this morning as we had an easy day at home. Last week was crazy so by Friday Sean fell asleep on the couch around 11:30. (He normally naps in his bed at 1pm!)
Out for the Count
Both boys enjoyed playing with playdoh for a while in the family room. Trent is so creative in his play these days. He has an active imagination. It is really fun to see. Sean is a climber. He still prefers crawling over walking but oh.my.goodness. he has never met anything too tall for him to climb!
This is a 50 pound bag of Organic Hard White Wheat. It is the type of wheat that we use most often. We use it to make our white bread and in the majority of our baking. The one place where it’s really hard to substitute for all purpose… making Norwegian pancakes. For that, all purpose flour is the best for making those deliciously yummy crepes. Hard White Wheat is more nutritious than all purpose, but let’s face it, man can’t live without an occasional Norwegian pancake. If you’ve had them, I know you agree!
We go through about two loaves of bread a week. Tonight, I’m trying a new Cinnamon Raisin recipe. I hope it turns out. I’ve been thinking about Cinnamon Raisin toast all week!
Remember when our bathroom looked like this? Yea, me too. Don’t remind me. ;)
After months and months of hard work by my husband (and sometimes his father), our bathroom is now much improved!
I love it. I am so proud of my handyman husband! It looks amazing!
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day. In our years of living in the south, we have met so many interesting people that grew up here. Birmingham has such a place in the civil rights movement. It was nicknamed “Bombingham” because of all the bombings that occurred. Yesterday, I read Martin Luther King, Jr’s, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” I had never read it in its entirely before. I was really struck by how well thought out his arguments were and how eloquent and well written the letter was as a whole. It’s a long letter, but if you have never read it before, take some time to look it over. It is a great piece on peacefully tackling injustices and the dangers of doing nothing.
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