Sunday, March 27, 2011

Spring Fling

Springtime is in the air, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Did I ever mention on this blog before that I really enjoy holidays? Well, I do. And, Easter is right around the corner. However, I must admit that as much as I love Easter, I've never wished for it to come as quickly and as hard as I have wished for it this year. The reason being: Dave and I gave up meat for lent this year. That's right. I haven't had a burger, a turkey sandwich, a bite of chicken or pizza with meat on it for 2 and a half weeks. I'm not gonna lie- it's been hard! I have literally had dreams about eating fried chicken, ya'll! I haven't had fried chicken (except for in my dreams) in over a year. But nowadays, I can't stop thinking about it. It sounds more appetizing than a cookie. It sound more appetizing than a bowl of cookies with ice cream on it dredged in chocolate syrup. It sounds better than anything. So, needless to say....I can't wait until Easter. On Easter, our family of four will be eating marinating pork tenderloin. I was planning on having mashed potatoes, asparagus and lemon cake to go with the tenderloin, as we have had in years past. But, this year, I may be swapping those sides for fried chicken. Pork tenderloin, and fried chicken....how's that for an Easter meal? ---Delicious!!
Anywho....let me share what our family has been doing (besides dreaming about meat).

Enjoying the WARM March air by drawing with chalk on the driveway


Happy Easter!! See Julia's writing above mine? She's doing so well!
Here is one of our beautiful flowers we have growing in the front yard


Our little orange trees are blooming.
  We have two orange trees and a lemon tree. Plus asparagus, edamame, a zucchini plant, a tomato plan, cucumber plants, a strawberry plant and a watermelon plant growing in our backyard. The four of us have loved gardening more than I ever thought we would. (Lydia is still a little disinterested at this point, but sometimes she helps water.) It is very exciting to plant something and watch it grow though.
One of our edamame's that recently poked through the earth to drink in the rays of the sun.

Did you know that asparagus are perennials? You're supposed to dig a hole 12 inches deep, put the roots in the hole, cover the roots with only 3 inches of dirt, and then wait for the buds to sprout through the three inches. Once you see the buds, you cover them up again, and wait for them to grow the rest of the way. Isn't that amazing? I noticed a few days ago, that we have one little bud to cover already! Woohoo! If I do decide to have asparagus for Easter, hopefully it'll be from our own garden!
Some of our little asparagus holes.

Some of our herbs. This is cilantro, rosemary and some dill. I have some basil growing in the garden as well.
 Yesterday was fun. We got to go to a little Easter celebration that our community had, and go to a friends birthday party. Julia got to hold a piglet. Lydia held it too, but she got scared and dropped it. She didn't hold it long enough to let us get a picture snapped. Poor little piglet.

Lydia mostly enjoyed looking at the animals in the petting zoo. She petted just a few of them. She's not an animal lover like Julia.
 While we were in the petting zoo, Lydia was looking around and petted the baby deer for a few seconds. (You can see the deer behind her in the picture above.) Obviously while petting it, she was looking down, and sort of moving around to pet different parts of the deer's back. When she looked up, she looked right into the face of a sitting llama. You can imagine her surprise!! At least she didn't scream or freak out. She just jumped back in wide-eyed amazement and quickly moved on. Julia wasn't always an animal lover. Maybe Lydia will grow a little more used to animals sometime too.
An early Easter Bunny hug!
Well, that is what we've been up to lately. I'm pretty excited and proud of my garden. I am happy to say that I hope to take after my Grandma Daiber and continue to have a garden for years to come. It is very rewarding. I'm also very excited to eat meat again, and for Easter to be here. Isn't spring just a wonderful time of year? I feel like the world around me anticipates the celebration of Christ's resurrection just as much as or more than I do. That makes me very, very happy! I hope that all of you are very, very happy this Spring too! With love, Amber

P.S. Don't you just love how my blog looks like an Easter egg barfed all over the screen, and left my page running with colors? Me too!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

My Bucket List.

Ok, people. I figure nothing gives you motivation like a list you put on the internet for the world to see. Hopefully, posting my bucket list on here will get me working towards getting this stuff done. I mean, I only have about 100 more years to live, right? Right!

1. Go on a Disney cruise in Alaska with my hubby and my kids.

2. Take Dave, and possibly my girls, fishing for Red Salmon.

3. Learn to play the piano.

4. Speak spanish fluently.

5. Paint more pictures that I frame and hang in my home. --Paint another mural.

6. Teach my kids to memorize scripture, and use it in their day-to-day lives.

7. Own my own small business: I would either like to own a sterling silver jewelry store or I'd like to have a crew of people that work with me to help me flip houses.It changes by the day.

8. Memorize a chapter of the Bible.

9. Become more like Jesus. (First on the list: Be more gracious, generous, and selfless.)

10. Design a room that is not in my own house.

11. Get my real estate license.

12. Run a half-marathon--hopefully at Disney World.

13. Spend a day or two in the wilderness (in a cabin) by myself. Not because I'm mad or unhappy...but just to experience creation in all it's glory with no one else but The Creator.

14. Get in the habit of talking to my syblings and cousins on a regular basis.

15. Have a home that my kids feel comfortable and happy to bring their friends to when they are teenagers-- not because of the size or design of our home, but because I am welcoming and kind to them and their friends.

16. Get an Xbox 360 with Kinect.

17. Do a better job at sending thank you cards, birthday cards, and "I'm thinking about you" cards.

18. Go on a second honeymoon with Dave.

19. Get an R.V. and use it!

20. Keep my fingernails manicured better.

I know some of these things seem intangible or abstact (which will annoy my husband greatly), but they're my goals, and I like them. And, as life goes on, I expect for some of my goals to change- but that's okay too. What is your list of buckets?  Happy Week! -Amber

Monday, March 14, 2011

Swamplands

Last weekend, and the first part of the week, Dave, the girls and I went to Louisiana to visit my parents, my maternal Grandma, two of my aunts and my cousin, Hayden. I am very glad that we got to see family and it was nice for my girls to get to know their Great Grandma, Great Aunts and 2nd cousin better. However, to be very honest the trip did not go quite as planned. We were very sad when rain canceled the Kids Mardi Gras Parade and the King Cake Party. We were not free to tromp around and "play" like we had hoped to, and the girls got a little cantankerous due to confinement. But, even though the rain made for some dreary days, we celebrated Louisiana the best we could regardless of the weather. We had a shrimp/craw fish boil. We visited the swamplands of Louisiana. I got to sing for a special at church with my aunt and mom, while my grandma played the piano. There were definitely some fun times despite the dreariness. Here are a few of the shots I snapped while we were there:

(Disclaimer: I do not have very many pictures of people on this post, and that makes me extremely sad. I brought both of my cameras on this trip, but one of them had dead batteries, and no memory card, and the other one had a full memory card with pictures that I needed to put on our computer. sigh.) 


Lydia in all her cuteness!

I wanted to take pictures of the rest of us at the swamp, and we used my parent's camera to do just that, but we haven't gotten them from my parents yet, and it's been way too long since I posted anything on my blog. So, I just wanted to get what I have on here, and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to add the rest later. --Don't forget to wear green this Thursday for St. Patty's Day!! I wouldn't want any of you getting pinched! Love, Amber

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Fantastic Antics

Here are a few things I left out of the previous post. I didn't mention some of the crazy things my crazy kids did while we were gone. Frankly, although I find these things hilarious, thinking about them makes me exhausted. I think you may know what I mean when you read what my girls did.

First, Lydia ESCAPED while we were all sleeping....

It's 5 a.m., and most of the people staying in our room had not slept much at all. Let me back up....I'll remind you that we left Thursday, got to a friends' house in Dallas late, drove all day Friday, and then arrived in Topeka at dinner time on Friday. My mom, dad, brother, sister, nephew, and the four of us were all planning to stay at a parsonage at the church that my family and I attended when we lived in Topeka. We were told that the house was undergoing some updates, but I was a little scared for the safety of my crazy kids when we walked into the house and realized that they'd pulled up almost all of the carpet in the house, and it was mostly sub-flooring. Preschoolers run around like crazy, and I could just see Lydia getting up in the middle of the night to fall on the little nails by the wall that used to hold down carpet.
Anyway, we went to dinner with my grandpa and aunts and thought about where else we might stay. We called some hotels, but ultimately decided to stay at the retirement home where my grandpa lives. They only had one room/suite available, so we all stayed together. We already had bedding since we were planning to stay on the floor at the the parsonage. So, the 9 of us piled into a 2 room suite. In the very early morning, Lydia got up and waltzed right out the door while we were all sleeping. She met up with the manager of the retirement home who was making coffee for the breakfast served at the home. He talked to Lydia for a few seconds and then asked her where I was.
"Asleep." Lydia replied.
"Let's go back to your room then, ok?"
"Okay."
He followed her back to our room, and then shut the door behind her. Hearing the door shut, my sister got up and said, "Amber, I think Lydia was just in the hallway."
I was shocked, and went to Lydia to make sure she went back to sleep on her little nap mat, then went back to sleep myself. It wasn't until the next morning that we realized the extent of Lydia's wanderings. We found out when the manager came and found us at breakfast and said, "Whose is the little blonde?" (Maybe I'll wise-up before I claim her so very quickly next time.)

The second antic I blame on my parents.

They brought their little dog, Willie, with them on this trip. He's a maltipoo--just small enough for Julia to hold and boss around. During the birthday party, while I was taking pictures and decorating, Julia was introducing Willie to the elderly people who were eating lunch. I heard that evening, after the party, that Julia went to one woman imparticular, plopped Willie on her lap and then told her all about the dog and his habits. There was no indication of invitation from this older woman. Just Julia, imposing herself and the pup on this sweet lady.When she was done explaining the life of the dog to this poor woman she said in a kind but authoritative voice, "Okay, you're done holding Willie now. See you later, bye."

Unfortunately, I think it's the case that the girls are watched more loosely when we are at family gatherings. We all sort of expect that someone else is keeping tight watch over them. However, I know that I'm still ultimately responsible for their behaviour. Hence the exhaustion accompanied with these antics.