So Proud!!

Last week the city of Indianapolis organized a city wide week of community service (called Faith, Hope & Love). All churches (no matter the denomination) are invited to participate. There are lots of different places to serve. I chose to visit a retirement home to appreciate the staff (by baking cookies, muffins) and visit the residents. As best I could, I tried to prepare Faith before we left the house to tell her what we were about to do. I explained that some of the people we were going to see needed a visit from a friend and would love for a little child to talk with them. I went over some "possible dialog" for her to say and some questions they may ask her. I did this because Faith usually gets SUPER clingy in new, unfamiliar situations....gripping my leg and saying repeatedly, "I want to hold you!" I used to work in a nursing home and I know how much the elderly LOVE to see young children (but sadly, most young children become terrified in their environment). I was really hoping Faith could bless the people we would see and not clam up. Even though I prepared her a bit, I was just sure that she would cling to me as soon as it was time to greet our first new friend.

Take a look at what happened as soon as we met Ms. W...

I was GLOWING!! I wanted everyone to know that this precious little girl working a puzzle with Ms. W. was my daughter! She needed no coaching at all!! She hopped up in the chair and immediately began trying to put pieces together!

This picture cracks me up for 2 reasons...1) her t-shirt says, "Tobacco kills people" No need to beat around the bush with that t! 2) in true older lady fashion, Ms. W. had no reservations about letting Faith know she was not working the puzzle right! She put her hand over Faith's and said (in a not mean but not nice tone), "That piece doesn't go there!" Faith didn't mind a bit and just moved on. Wow! She really made me so proud today!!

We are going to print off these pictures (well maybe just the first one) and go visit Ms. W. again. She really was sweet and we enjoyed meeting her so much!

Faithy, I am always proud to be your mother, but I was especially proud of the way you moved past your fears and reached out bless our new friends today! I love you dearly!!

Simply Irresistible.....

Murray said it was time to update the blog....what better way than with some adorable pics of the kids. I think that little boys in overalls are too cute! I can't get enough of this little guy...


Princess Giselle--Faith loves her Princess Giselle crown and wears it almost everywhere. She gets many compliments in the stores when we run errands together!
Faith thinks that ALL toys are hers, especially if it's specifically Eli's. She suddenly loves to share when it involves one of his toys. Otherwise, it's "mines" (We are working on the sharing thing and also taking off the plural of mine!)

Move over Martha Stewart...

I guess it's living in Indiana, but all the farming has gotten to me and I took my first SMALL step at making something from (mostly) scratch. I bought 3 herbs at our local farmer's market and planted them when we got home. Later, I decided to make some flatbread pizzas (one I created without a recipe). I went out to my little herb garden and plucked off a couple basil leaves and gathered a bunch of cilantro. It was SO YUMMY! I felt like a total kitchen diva! Which is hilarious b/c the "recipes" weren't that hard. My grandma would laugh b/c she used to kill the chickens on her farm and then cook a meal TOTALLY from scratch with it. It just felt cool to be using fresh ingredients, especially ones I planted myself.
From left to right: Cilantro, Basil, Common Mint

The flat bread pizzas. BBQ chicken with cilantro, onions, peppers. Chicken Ricotta with basil, peppers, and onions.

We are making some changes to our backyard and I am hoping to try planting vegetables soon. I think that would be really cool! I'll keep you posted!

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We're off to the library soon so that Faith can claim her 2nd Prize from the Summer Reading Program and I can check out the FINAL book in the Mitford series. I've really enjoyed meeting Father Tim and all the townspeople of Mitford. I will miss them! The good news for me is that my mother-in -law is just starting the 1st book so I can relive the series a little bit through our discussions!