all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

So, I have been pretty dissatisfied with Blogger...pretty much from the getgo. It's always seemed way too cumbersome to format my posts and pictures...so I'm packing up my blogging bags and moving over to Tumblr. Now, that doesn't mean that you all have to do anything differently. I've set up the RSS feed (okay, my hubs did it), so all of the posts on the Tumblr account will post a link to this blog...like the one above. If you want to update your bookmarks, the new blog is www.chickensintheburbs.tumblr.com. The link to Cababy's blog will be different as well...please visit her site for the new link.

20 moods of Peter

I could be clever and caption each picture with an emotion...but these pictures really speak for themselves and this way you can make up your own captions. :)

And I'm tired. It takes me way too long to reformat pictures. And now I would like to finish and go lay in bed for 30 minutes before my little friend wakes up. :)

Enjoy.

How, I ask you, could a person not fall head-over-heals for that face?! Impossible.

In Memory of Kim

I am home. Home after a whirlwind trip to Boise to say goodbye to a beautiful person and give condolences to her dear family. Seattle to Boise one day, Boise to Seattle the next. It was worth every mile to be there.

Believe it or not (likely you'll believe it), I am not very good with words. As clumsy as I am with the written word...usually many times edited...I am much more inept when it comes to the spoken word. I rehearse in my head and even out loud sometimes, but when the time comes to say something important I always manage to mess it up. It either comes out with "ums" and "uhs" or just doesn't even come close to conveying the emotion or feeling that I intend.

Today's post is for my friend's family. For her husband, daughter, son, mother, father and brothers. These are the words I wanted to say.

It had been 20 years since I'd had the privilege of seeing Kim. I wish we'd stayed in better contact as adults, Christmas cards and occasional emails weren't enough. Even so, from our correspondence, I could tell that Kim was the same person that I'd known all of those years ago. It's impossible to encapsulate a person in only a few words, but there are definitely some that come to mind. Kim was one of those pure souls, she lived joyfully. She had an innocence and light about her and was always smiling...even when she wasn't necessarily happy. :) She was a ray of sunshine. One of the things that I remember most about Kim is her laugh. It was contagious and just a little bit goofy. Time spent with Kim was fun and silly. With Kim there was no facade or pretense, I never felt like I had to be cool or anything but myself. Even as girls Kim seemed comfortable embracing her femininity and looked forward to the day when she would be married and have a family. It was her dream while other girls our age thought of growing up to be famous or have some other career. I think God placed her vocational desire in her heart early to prepare her for the next few years when she would begin living it out.

In our catching up Kim told me the story of how she met Donnie, their courtship and marriage. It was obvious to me how in love Kim was, even after 13 years. :) She wrote about her kids, the difficulty that she had in carrying them and how they were her world. Kim loved her vocation as wife and mother, it was very clear that she was right where God wanted her to be.

In making the journey to Boise I wanted to say goodbye to Kim and to honor her memory, to pay my condolences to her family and to show them that Kim's legacy extends farther than this stage of her life. Certainly, the last 14 years, raising her family, has been her most important work, but she left an indelible mark on those of us who knew her even all those years ago.

To Donnie, Aurora and Justis, my heart aches for you. Please know that there are so many people in this world...people who you've never met and likely never will on this earth...that are praying for you right now. It is unimaginable that there is a recovery from such grief, but God is with you all. He is holding you close to His most sacred heart. And you have your own personal saint and intercessor in heaven. Your mom will be mothering you in heaven just as she did on earth.

To Pat and Diane, you raised a wonderful person. She changed this world in her own way in the relationships that she had and the example that she was to anyone who knew her. I think that Jesus allowed her to suffer to prepare her to come straight to Him. As parents it is our whole goal in life to help our spouse and children get to heaven. I think that you have been successful. I believe that Kim is enjoying the unimaginable peace and joy of eternally seeing Jesus face-to-face. I have no doubt that Kim heard to words, "well done, good and faithful servant."

I will miss Kim, knowing that she is no longer here to reach out to. I will look forward to seeing her again someday, God willing. Kim will join our family litany in our daily prayers and will stay there always. Farewell, sweet Kim.

Things we learned while dog/house sitting

This weekend we stayed over at my sil's house and watched their, rather precocious, dog. It's a lot of work to cart two kids and all of the stuff that they need/are used to. Here are some take-aways from our stay.

*When at it's full height (being used as a side table) the center "screw" of a piano stool is very accessible to little hands

*Piano stools are heavily greased

*Regular hand soap does not get grease off of little hands

*Grease under the fingernails of an 18-month-old is extremely hard to remove

*Cabrini can play the harmonica while nodding and twirling

*Peter will happily watch Cabrini crazily play for around 40 minutes...from a safe distance

*Cabrini knows how to play the kazoo

*Kazoo is a funny word

*Toy trumpets are hard to play, but tambourines and maracas are not

*The Johnsons have a lot of musical instruments

*Doggy water dishes are just as alluring away from home

*Never underestimate the power of a cat-themed keyboard with a microphone to entertain a child and annoy an adult

*You can't count on a child sleeping or napping well away from home, even if she's slept and napped there before

*Never assume that someone else's pantry contains the same spices that yours does

*Decent red wine can compensate for a host of missing ingredients in a sauce

Cababy and Louisa, BFFs

We all had a play date the other day! We escaped the heat in Kayleen and Louisa's air-conditioned apartment and had a really fun afternoon!

Thanks to Kayleen, Louisa, Mike and baby-girl-on-the-way for hosting us!

If you're into this...

Then you should try whipping up your own yummy, spicy hot cocoa! Here's a little recipe that I've been playing with after drinking Dagoba's Xocalatl drinking chocolate.

1 c milk

2-3 T sugar

2-3 T cocoa

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 dash salt

1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3-4 T chocolate chips

Slowly heat milk to the point where it just starts to steam. Remove from heat, add all of the ingredients and whisk. Pour into mug and fall in love!

You'll never be able to drink Ibara again. Just a warning. :)

Happy Memorial Day!