HEALTHY COCONUT BALLS.

These coconut balls are incredibly delicious and surprisingly healthy. They are gluten-free, dairy free, sugar free, egg free, and completely raw! Yum!
Everyone who tries them ends up asking for the recipe. So here's the recipe, even though you didn't ask. You'll thank me later…

HEALTHY COCONUT BALLS

2 cups raw cashews

1 cup gluten-free oats

10 pitted medjool dates

1 1/2 TB coconut oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup maple syrup

Combine all the ingredients except the maple syrup in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped and mixed together. Turn the processor on low and pour in the maple syrup. The consistency should be a little sticky. If it appears too dry, add more maple syrup as needed. Once the maple syrup is added, let the processor run on a medium speed for about a minute, until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Scoop out and roll into balls. 

Variation: Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup cocoa powder for a delicious chocolate version!

Five Things on a Monday.

 1. We have all been so sick. So sick. After two weeks, I still feel awful. Rosemary is still coughing and not sleeping. Tim took over at 2AM last night, to get her back to sleep (for the third time that night). I woke up at 3:30AM and noticed Tim wasn't in bed, and I couldn't hear the baby crying. I tiptoed into the nursery to find the two of them snuggled on a blanket together… on the floor. After considering the situation, I decided to go back to bed, and the next thing I knew, it was 7AM. I'm pretty sure I made a good decision.

1. I'm eating chicken now. I feel like, in reality, this makes me an ex-vegan. But I like to think of myself as a vegan who eats chicken on a semi-regular basis.

2. "Doodle-loodle-loodle-loo" is Rosemary's new little saying. She says it when she is happy, she says it when she is crying, and (my favorite) she whispers it as she is falling asleep. 

3. I just bought myself a "swim dress" online. This makes me sound like an old lady, but I think it's surprisingly cute and appropriately modest.

4. Timmy and I don't really celebrate Lent, but we do love the idea of fasting for a long stretch of days once a year. We typically do it at the same time as Lent, because that makes it easy to remember. This year, we decided to do it earlier. So our 40-day fast starts tomorrow. I'm giving up gluten, all refined sugar, and Netflix. Timmy is giving up coffee! Rosemary is giving up Baby Einstein. It should be a fun filled 40 days…

5. But at the end of the 40 days – and we timed this perfectly on purpose – we have Hawaii.

A CONVERSATION: ABOUT THE TIME.

*after being awakened by Rosemary crying at some wee hour of the night*

Me: Uhgggggggg. What time is it?

Timmy: … I don't know… Don't be mad at me.

Me: Huh? What TIME is it?

Timmy: Don't be mad.

Me: I asked you what TIME IT IS?

Timmy: I'm sorry. I'm trying so hard…

Me: …

I think it's obvious that a clock on my side of the bed is a good idea.

NATURAL REMEDY: FOR A COUGH

It's been a sad week at our house. Rosemary caught the flu, which then turned into the croup. Her coughing, coughing, coughing was unbearable. I held her for hours in the middle of the night, listening to her shuddering breaths and counting the minutes between another gasping, coughing attack. There was usually only about two to five minutes of rest before another one hit. She was awake, literally, for days on end because she could not fall asleep. My poor, poor baby.

Of course, after being coughed on for days and days, Timmy and I caught the same flu. So we have all been coughing ourselves silly. Not much can truly help an awful cough. But we did find something soothing, and I'm sharing it with you - in case you find yourself awake at midnight in a similarly unfortunate situation. 

 
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Once boiling, add one generous tablespoon of oregano, thyme, and sage. Stir in and let steep for 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

FOR ADULTS:

Pour the hot liquid into a large bowl. Put a towel over your head and the bowl and inhale deeply. Try to keep it up for about ten minutes.

FOR BABIES:

This requires two adults. Pour the hot liquid into a large bowl. Put the bowl on the floor. Have one adult hold the baby in their lap, being very (VERY!) careful not to let the baby touch the boiling hot water. Have the other adult hold a large blanket over their heads and the bowl, making a "tent". All the steam will stay under the blanket. The baby will probably cry (mine sure did) but that's actually good because that makes them inhale more deeply. Try to keep them under for about ten minutes. The longer the better.

These herbs are antibacterial and antiviral and will immediately start working to clear up the cold in your throat and lungs. Cold viruses are sensitive to heat and the warm air will help to loosen congestion. We did this every night and saw a definite difference.

WILD ONES.

 When I met Timmy, he was wild. Marvelously so. He dreamed of climbing mountains and jumping off cliffs. He was loud and intense and passionate and unstoppable. I said "Oh no! Please don't climb that!" and I said "That's dangerous!" and I said "You're going to hurt yourself!" many, many times. 

When I look into my daughter's eyes, I see Timmy. She is wild. Beautifully so. She dreams of climbing the piano and jumping off chairs. She is loud and dramatic and passionate and stubborn. I say "Don't climb that!" and I say "That's danger!" and I say "You're going to get hurt." many, many times.

They still climb. And when one obstacle is conquered, they look ever higher to the next. And the next. When they are together all I hear is squeals and screams and giggling. 

And tears, of course, because I'm usually right with my admonitions.

But even still, I'm glad that our daughter was born with the heart of her father. She is brave and she is sweet and she is mine.

TODDLER BEACH FASHION

 

Hawaii is two months away, but I'm already planning and packing. Partly because being organized is the only thing that makes sense when you're embarking on a long journey with a toddler. And partly because it's just really very fun.

So here is what Rosemary will be wearing on the sunny beaches of Hawaii.

ONE: Swim Cap

I shudder to think of how unhappy a baby with a sunburned scalp would be.
A sweet and snugly fitting swim cap is the perfect answer. 

TWO: Cute Suit

A super cute – but ladylike – swimsuit. Perfect.

THREE: Cool Shades

Baby aviators? Not much could be cuter – or cooler.

FOUR: Itty Bitty Water Shoes

There will be plenty of beach walking and beach running,
so very small water shoes are a very good idea.

 

THE PROGRESSION OF A SMILE.

What makes Rosemary smile?

Daddy.

This song.

Bathtime.

Puppies.

Books.

Tickles.

Movies of herself.

Mirrors.

Coconut milk.

A CONVERSATION: ABOUT METEORS

 

*While discussing the pros and cons of a potential road trip.*

 

Me: I don't know babe. Maybe we shouldn't go. 

We could get in a car accident and die.

Timmy: Yes. But what if we do go and our house gets hit 

by a meteor while we're gone?? We'll be so glad we went!

MEANWHILE.

In the meanwhile

and in the betweens, 

we've lost count of smiles

and fallen into a very beautiful

place.

In the meanwhile,

and in the paused spaces,

we've caught our breath

and found ourselves to be

happy.

In the meanwhile,

and in the unsaid phrases,

we've whispered with our eyes

and deeper still we've fallen

in love.

ROSEMARY: 16 MONTHS

weight // 20 pounds

height // 29.5 inches

wearing // 12 month size clothes

saying // mama, dada, guh (grandpa), uh-oh, dut (duck)

she can also roar like a lion, moo like a cow, woof like a puppy, and scrunch her nose like a bunny. Tim plans to teach her to "scream like an eagle" next…

 tricks // she knows where her nose, eyes, ears, tongue and belly button are. she also dances, waves, and blows kisses. she will pretty much mimic anything we say or do.

eating // her favorite foods are applesauce and sweet potatoes, we are also still nursing several times a day 

sleeping // rose takes one daytime nap from 11-2 every day. her bedtime is at 8. she will typically sleep until 6 or 7 the next morning, but does wake up a couple times in between. when she does wake up, a good back scratch is all she needs to fall back asleep.

playing // she loves books, tents, stuffed animals, and boxes. she screams with sheer joy whenever we go outside, and her absolute favorite activity is to dance around the living room naked. she likes to play peek-a-boo in the living room curtains. she LOVES to put on my shoes and shuffle around the house in them.

teething // she has ten teeth and is currently getting three molars and an eye tooth. which means we are currently getting not much sleep.


potty training // we are working on potty training and hope to have her completely trained by 18 months. 

This girl. She makes every day an adventure.

BEST OF 2012

 ONE. Rosemary

This little flower had just turned four months old at the beginning of 2012, and by the end of it she was nearly sixteen months - with a lot of growing done in between. She got her first tooth in April, she started crawling on Mother's Day, she took her first steps just a couple weeks later, and she's been running ever since. Her first word was "mama" but her favorite word is "daDA". She is adorable, hilarious, and contagiously happy. When she smiles she crinkles her nose. She is perfectly ours and the very best of the best. 

 TWO. Hawaii

 In March we took a family trip to Hawaii with Mom and Dad. In case you were wondering if my complete obsession with this island paradise has dimmed in the past year - rest assured that I love it more than ever. Hawaii has my perfect combination of sunlight, beauty, and an overwhelming aura of relaxation. Bliss. We had a blast, and we're planning a second trip for this coming March…

THREE. Painting

This summer I painted the oak cabinets in my kitchen white. And then I started painting ALL the trim in my house white. And all the doors. If I had realized what a big project this would turn out to be, I may not have started it. And once you start this sort of thing, you simply can not stop. But it's amazing how much lighter and brighter our home feels with all the white white white, so continue on I shall. 

 FOUR. California

In November the three of us took a little vacation to sunny Newport Beach, California. We visited several dear friends and spent a lot of time chasing seagulls, which was Rosemary's favorite part. 

FIVE. Rosemary's First Birthday

 She turned one year old in September. Time flies when you're having fun, and we were having a lot of fun. So her birthday just kind of whizzed up on us, arrived with a burst of PINK, and disappeared into a beautiful and mysterious realm called "toddlerhood". We did manage to have a really great celebration in honor of our quickly blossoming Rose, and it was a very festive occasion. 

SIX. Marriage Conference

 Timmy and I attended a marriage conference in Indianapolis with our favorite little Rynn and Caleb. It was part of the Real Marriage tour done by Mark Driscoll, and it was amazing. Mark Driscoll is even cooler in person, and it was an all-around happy happening.

 

 SEVEN. Family Time

When I asked Timmy what his favorite part of 2012 was, "family time" was his answer. We really learned how to be a family this last year, and our life is so much sweeter as three.

  EIGHT. My Birthday Celebration

I turned 26 on the 26th of November and Timmy took me to Chicago to celebrate my long-awaited Golden Birthday. (My parents watched Rosemary and she had a great time with them!) We went to IKEA, ate yummy food, and stayed in a luxurious hotel. 

  NINE. New Camera
Timmy bought me a new camera for Rosemary's birthday. I can't quite explain how that makes sense, so I'll quote him saying it was "for keeping Rose alive for a whole year!" I'd say, when you look at it that way, my new camera was well-deserved. I love it.

(photo credit: Laura Zastrow Photography, www.laurazastrow.com)
  
TEN. God

The best part of anything is always God, and this past year He has really shown himself to be faithful, loving, and very patient.

TEN MONTHS AGO…

I needed a break and I took one.

Our family slid inward, and our focus was simply trying to figure out how to be the best of parents. Distractions needed to disappear in order for priorities to be in the right places. I had to focus on what God had placed before me.

These past ten months have been sweet ones. We cried and laughed and learned and stretched and grew. New accomplishments, new trials, new adventures, and the same old everyday occurrences slipped by.

And now, I am longing to write again and my fingers are itching to type out all the whispers and songs and shouts housed within my heart. I'm ready to peep my head out of our snug little nest and to return to my very small space. This new year will bring…

more words,
more stories,
more blogging.

And here is a small taste of what we've been up to since I last posted:

 

 I am at a very happy place in my life. This past weekend my parents and my Granny stopped by for a visit. It was so special to see the culmination of generations of loving and growing and giving. That "someday" when I'll be holding grandbabies of my own seems so far off, and yet I know it will be here quicker than I could prepare for. 

Each phase of life brings such sweetness. I've witnessed my parents grow older and simultaneously grow happier.

It's such a funny thought, to think I could ever be happier than I am right now. 

And yet,

watching Daddy sing to Rosemary,

seeing Granny soak up Rosie smiles,

and silently feeling the joy of Mom as she is surrounded by those she loves…

I have proof that happiness grows…

and grows and grows.

Babies.

 

 (Timmy and older brother Kyle, 1985)

Timmy's older brother recently gave him this photo of the two of them in 1985. It is one of the few baby pictures I have of him, and when I look at his chubby, grinning face, I feel like I'm looking right at Rosemary. They have the same face shape, the same eyes, and that same adorable smirk.

(Me and my older sister Liz, 1988)

Tim says he wants Rosemary to look just like me, but I'm definitely in favor of her looking more like Timmy. 


I love my two blue-eyed babes. 

Shades for Rosemary.

Rosemary got herself some pretty cool shades today at Target. She's all ready to soak up some Hawaiian sunshine. 

This is her current face. She sucks her bottom lip and looks so darn adorable I can hardly stand it.

Oh, and our teething crisis is finally starting to pay off. The tiniest little nubbin of a tooth is poking through – her bottom left eye tooth. Which seems like a pretty hilarious first tooth. She's going to look like a baby dinosaur. 

Ohmygoodness.

Vintage Map… for 1¢

Yes, I really did find an awesome vintage map poster for one penny. As in, one hundredth of a dollar. It seems like a trick, but it isn't. I ordered mine, wondering what I would get…

and this is it.

It's beautiful. The quality is great, the countries are all in the right place, and everything is spelled correctly. Hmm.

I'm still wondering what the catch is.

(You can get one, too!)

Post-Note: The price just skyrocketed to 9¢.
You had better act fast, my friends.

Sweet.

Roses for Rosemary, lemon-blueberry cupcakes for breakfast, a snowy day at home with my Mr. Valentine…

(Perfection.)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Anniversaries.

Timmy Text: Happy 3 years 2 months
from getting engaged! I love you sweety!

 

 (us two, newly engaged, 2008)

Not only does he remember my birthday, my half birthday, our dating anniversary, and our wedding anniversary (monthly as well as yearly), he also remembers our monthly anniversary of the day we were engaged.

He's a keeper, if I do say so myself!

Cra-zy.

 Last week was cra-zy, with an emphasis on crazy. 

Fun times involved hours of complete hysteria and inconsolable tears, waking up in the middle of the night to more tears, not-under-any-circumstances taking a nap, and a serious meltdown in the backseat during a longest-hour-of-my-life car ride.

Teething makes everyone in our house cry.

More (seriously) fun times included…

…getting an entire new Rosemary wardrobe of gorgeous dresses, shoes, tights, and sweaters from a dear friend whose baby girl was incredibly well-dressed. (See above picture. Yes, I sort her clothes by color.)

… visiting my parents.

… giving Rosemary her first drink from a cup.

… getting the second season DVD of Downton Abbey in the mail.

Here's to a new week full of fun.

Remembering a Birthday.

 At the end of the summer of 2004, I lost a best friend. At that point in my life I would have said I had several best friends, and he was one of them – the crazy, hilarious one.

It had been a summer of endless sunshine. Our days were crammed with bonfires, road trips, and movie nights. I was 17. We were careless and carefree and I never felt more independent or alive. Perched on the edge of childhood and adulthood, I thought I had everything figured out. When I look back to that time, all I see is a row smiling faces – dear faces of dear friends – and undimmed sunlight. The coming darkness of August 7^th approached silently - without a breath of warning and without time for goodbyes.

Just as July gave way to August, at the teetering point between summer’s end and autumn’s beginning, it happened. I was home alone. A phone call came, and with it, the sudden knowledge of his death. In an instant, he slipped away into a misty eternity where I could not reach him. I still cannot touch the intense pain that overtook me in those moments as I cried alone, and I shudder to remember the tears and the darkness of that night.

His death was an accident and a tragedy, and I could find no answers to my grief washed questioning. Up until that point, my life had never been touched by true, indescribable sorrow. His passing changed me. It woke me up to the hard edges of pain. It was also a burning reminder to cherish each happy moment, for I had learned that happiness is just one small fall away from grief.  Everything I had so confidently thought I had figured out curved and twisted into a big question mark of pain and wondering. The world became an unsafe place, where nothing is certain and you can’t count on anyone or anything still being there tomorrow – except God. 

I thought I would never recover, but gradually I learned that, while the pain of losing him would lessen, a new, subtle pain of “forgetting” him would continuously haunt me. I had to move on, and with each step away from my life at 17, I felt guilty for not lingering in that same place forever, frozen in time at his grave. The numbers etched in his granite tombstone are fixed, while the numbers of my days still continue. Sometimes I feel certain his heart would break if he could see my footprints at the cemetery long washed away. It’s been years.

But gradually I have learned that, while my heart has shifted, truly, I could never forget the boyish friend I had during that time in my life. It feels different, but the love is still there in that place. I may have forgotten the little parts, but I’ll never forget the most important ones. I have clear memories of long car rides, talking about dreams and life and God. And I have the echo of a thousand smiles resounding in my heart, leftover from endless laughter shared and silly jokes.

Today would have been his 25th birthday. 

Today I remember a good, good friend.

Happy Birthday, Josh.

Five.

 

At five months, Rosemary is getting a tooth or two. (And our normally cheerful girly has been such a little fuss-pants that I have accomplished just about zero of everything in the past six days.)

At five months, Rosemary likes to be naked and to chew on everything. She loves sweet potatoes, but seems to dislike peas. Her cheeks are so chubby I think they actually impair her vision somewhat, and she weighs just under sixteen pounds. She is already wearing some size 12 month clothes. Oh-my-goodness. 

I think her eyes are going to stay a soft sparkley blue, and her bald patches are starting to get new growth of significantly lighter hair.

Her grandpa calls her Raspberry.

My favorite part of the day is getting her out of her crib in the morning. She still sleeps through the night and goes to bed without problems. She loves Sophie the giraffe and she likes to hang out on her tummy.

So far, going gluten-free hasn't seemed to help her too much, but I have noticed that not eating gluten results in extreme weight loss (in me, not her), so we're all happy.

Happy because we choose to be,

happy because there's no good reason not to be.

Happy because five months with Rosemary
is pretty amazing.

Baby Quilt - Finally Finished!

This is the quilt that I started nine months ago…

This is the quilt I finished yesterday…

This is the quilt I made for Baby Love.

Good news:

She loves it!

Bad news:
Sweet potato spit-up stains pretty quilts.