How to fall in love

Almost Wordless Wednesdays "Gotta Love a Man Who Loves Cats"

2012-01-25T14:33:00.000-08:00

This is our Dad with his common naptime companions. Having some personal space might lead to a more restful repose, but you've got to admit it's a lot cuter (and warmer) when you've got so much fluffy company.

Tuesday Tour De Blogs - Ree Drummond

2012-01-24T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, if you haven't heard of this gal, you might be the only person in the blogosphere. She has mouth-watering recipes (I've made a few!), a quirky sense of humor, an adorable family, and is an all-around gorgeous woman.

Recipes I recommend : here umm.... and that's all, because I'm trying to diet right now and this is torture!

I LOVE this website.

Monday Madness - Embracing your Nerdiness - or the nerdiness of others....

2012-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

As one of his morning chores during warm weather days, Aidan is in charge of going to let the chickens out of their coop for some free range glory. (My chickens are spoiled - You wouldn't believe how much.)

Anyways, one morning, I went to the window to check on him, and saw Aidan prancing across the lawn looking like this:

And my first thought was - "Oh my gosh! What a gloriously nerdy moment!" And then, of course, my second thought was - "Where's my camera?!"

Basketball PJs, red rubber boots, fairy wings, bed-head, and a WAND.

Someday Aidan will be a teenager.

Someday he might think he's too big for his britches.

For now - he's kind of a nerd.

And I LOVE that about him.

Do you have any delightfully nerdy moments in your family?

Sunday Soul Seeking - Rejoicing

2012-01-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."
John Calvin
(Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_calvin.html#ixzz1jkQKb8lE)

Photos by Janelle

Saturday Sojourn - H2O

2012-01-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

"Thousands have lived without love, not one without water."
W. H. Auden
(Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/water_4.html#ixzz1jkJxWgxa)

In my opinion, the two go hand in hand.

Find some water this weekend and wash away the busy week. Even if it's cold - There's nothing a good pair of boots and layers can't fix!

(Grandma getting a surprise from one kiddo while being smothered by the other near Deception Pass.)

(Bayview State Park)

(Real life Touch Tank)

(Hawaii)

Photos by Janelle.

"A Major Award"

2012-01-20T23:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight I feel the need to recreate the moment from "A Christmas Story" when the dad gets his major award in a box labeled "fragile." I love that part :) In all seriousness, though, we did get our own award. While it is not a leg lamp, it is just as awesome and certainly less hideous. We got nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Allyson at Cupcakes & Candy Canes. Thank you, Allyson! We definitely appreciate your support :)

If you haven't heard, the Liebster Blog Award is to recognize newer blogs, with less than 200 followers. This gives us all the opportunity to talk about the blogs we love while helping our own blogs grow too.
The rules for the award are:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded/nominated you.

3. Copy and paste the blog award to your blog.

4. Reveal your top 5 blog picks!

5. Drop by your top 5 picks and let them know you chose them by commenting on their blog!

Here are our top 5 picks:

Love from Momma

This is a great mommy blog about a seriously cute toddler, and since we are both moms we love to read Momma blogs of all kinds :)

The Souders' Saga
Another mommy blog with a beautiful toddler and some beautiful photography. I (Janelle) love looking at the variety of beautiful shots that people get of their kids, so this blog inspires me to get busy taking pictures of my son, Graesen.

Wilkinson Way
A mommy blog with beautiful pictures and sweet stories about her little guy.

Unexpectedly Expecting Baby
This mom has great stories about her adventures in motherhood, wedding planning, and being a nanny.

Treasuring the little Things
A beautiful blog by a Christian mom. She takes wonderful pictures and throws awesome kid birthday parties.

Friday Foolishness - Rabid Rachae

2012-01-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

(The one that bit:)

I’ve had rabies shots.
7 of them.

Because my parents didn’t want to see me frothing at the mouth and going out with a bang, “Old Yeller” style, they forked out the big bucks to take me back and forth to the hospital to get the 7 shots needed when a gal is bitten by a possibly rabid animal. It was awesome.

Let’s just say that rabies shots require BIG needles. Sitting in a normal fashion is difficult for days, and rolling onto your side at night is enough to make you want to groan in pain.

But it was worth it.

The story:

My family had a raccoon friend that frequently visited our back porch. He was the largest raccoon we had ever seen. Bold, sassy, and a little bit on the goofy side, we quickly went from concern to acceptance of this guy in our daily life. He went swimming in the pool, would hang out with our cats without a single altercation, and would try to walk right into the house if we weren’t quick enough with the treats when he demanded them. We named him Rocky.

Rocky later came back with his “wife” and “child.” As the years went by, and possibly generations of raccoons, we became uncertain about which raccoons we were currently feeding. Was it Mrs. Rocky? Was it Junior? Were we moving on to the grandchildren now? Who knew. After the huge Mr. Rocky, all the others pretty much looked the same.

One day, when I went to hand a treat to the current Rocky Progeny on our porch, he gave me the smallest little bite on my left middle finger before scampering away. It broke the skin.

Had I not been reading a book on animal rescue and how raccoons are the most common carrier of rabies, I might have brushed off this little nibble. However, as luck would have it, I was reading a book about a gal who rescued injured wildlife and the author had gone into great detail about the high levels of rabies in the raccoon population and how any bite should be treated like a potential death sentence. Once infected, of course, there is NO cure for rabies. Pretty much – if you get rabies, YOU DIE.

So, we went to the ER and started the process of getting the shots and animal control came to set up a trap on our porch so they could test the raccoon for rabies.

I was a bit ticked off about this trap on our porch. The only way to test for rabies is to dissect the animal’s brain. If the raccoon tested negative, I could discontinue the shots. Since I was fairly certain these shots were precautionary and the raccoon was healthy, I was completely against trapping it and was feeling guilty to the max about getting myself bitten.

Luckily, my parents understood the Animal Rights Wacko they had raised and they decided to give me an option. I would have to continue to go get all the treatment for possible rabies exposure and we would simply take the bait out of the trap and pretend the raccoon never came back. The animal control folks would never have to know.

It was a deal.

Well, the very next day, after the bait had been removed from the trap, the raccoon came back. Except this time, SHE wasn’t alone. Tumbling, scrambling, and making a ruckus behind her, were 7 little babies. Mama was worried, so Mama was ticked. She kept turning back to them, obviously trying to get them to go back home where it was safe. She looked tired, she looked overwhelmed, and she looked like she had her hands full.

She looked like the kind of Mama who just might take out a little of her frustration on an innocent bystander.

Every time I went back to get those painful shots, all I had to do was remember those cute little faces. (If you haven’t seen a baby raccoon, you have no idea what you’re missing – these little dudes are the very definition of adorable!)

I loved those little guys.

7 rabies shots to the butt = painful and expensive

Saving 7 little furry lives = priceless.

Baby Raccoon Photo found here: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/07/friday-animal-p/

Thursday Toss Up – A good blanket can conquer “The Thing.”

2012-01-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it’s hard to look on the bright side. There are days when it takes a real effort, and might be a bit of a stretch to come up with something to love.

This weekend, I had a couple of those days. It started with some sneezing and some general malaise, then quickly progressed to a stuffy head, faucet nose, burning, watery eyes, and narcolepsy. You know: The usual seasonal bug that most teachers get at least once a year.

So, never being one to forsake comfort for the sake of fashion, I schlepped around in old sweats with a bright pink Turbie Twist for most of the weekend. I’m one of those folks who takes multiple showers every day that I’m sick, so to keep the wet hair off my shivery, feverish body, I pretty much kept the turbie look going all weekend between showers.

(image from http://www.turbietwist.com/)

With the unpredictability of the faucet nose, I also spent a lot of time laying around with tissues stuck up my nostrils and hot packs draped over my lap. Along with a complete lack of makeup, my general ansemble was pure HOTNESS. Ask my husband. He would agree.

I amused myself by internally acquiring a personal nickname: “The Thing.”

If I made it to my bed for my periodic attacks of narcolepsy, I found comfort in a recent splurge. After expressing jealousy over some of my kids’ dreamy baby blankets the past few years, I finally decided that there was no reason I couldn’t also have a fluffy, delicious, heavenly blanket of my own. I found a king size at Ross that was ridiculously cheap and took it home to transform my bed into a cloud.

(image from: http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1E46)

Even in the most disgusting of personal states, this blanket makes me feel like I’m on a personal vacation. Going to sleep turns into an intentional act of indulgence. It’s like going to sleep in the arms of a big bunny rabbit…. (if you don’t think that’s too weird….)

I LOVE this blanket.

If you have trouble sleeping, or just want the few hours you’re allotted to be plush and dreamy, splurge on your own little slice of heaven. I can’t praise these blankets enough.

Almost Wordless Wednesdays- Keeping it Real

2012-01-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

Gotta love a good dose of parenting reality, right?

Original Post: Here

Tuesday Tour De Blogs - Kelle Hampton

2012-01-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

You're going to love this chick.

Guaranteed.

Monday Madness “15 Minutes of Fame = Baffle a Local Doctor”

2012-01-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

It’s pretty cool being famous...

Even if you’re famous for being bit by a diseased tick…. Along with your whole family.

Right?

My sisters, my dad, and I were all infected with Lymes Disease when Janelle was 4 and I was 10. We had been camping, and apparently had come into contact with a vengeful little tick determined to make its mark in the local medical community by taking out a whole family in one swoop. We were the first documented case in our city. Times four.

While Shawna and I had very few symptoms, Dad and Janelle were extremely sick before they both finally beat the disease and went into remission.

While having a rare disease is no picnic, you might as well look on the bright side, right? We may have had dark circles under our eyes and may have looked a wee bit pale and ghastly, but we got a free family photo op and made the front page of the Spokane Newspaper. Above the fold.

Because that’s how we roll in my family.

You go big… or you go home.

Gotta love a good conversational piece like this.

Sunday Soul Seeking – " The Only Adornment"

2012-01-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"1 Corinthians 3:16

As a woman who has often struggled with body image, this

verse resonates with me. So many days, I need to

consciously remind myself that I will someday leave this

body behind and look back at how silly it was of me to spend

so much time needlessly fussing about something as

temporary as appearances…regardless of any current

societal expectations or pressures.

Accepting who I am today requires a constant

acknowledgement of where I know I will be for eternity.

Someday, I’ll be in a place where the content of my heart

will be my only adornment. So, while health and energy are

not to be taken for granted, and while God-given muscles

and the grace of movement are not to be wasted, I know that

my attention should be focused more intently on my spiritual

image than my jean size.

In a related post: HERE

What is your greatest Spiritual Adornment?

Saturday Sojourn - "Finding Your Saturday Drive"

2012-01-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

I was raised to appreciate long drives. My parents are the type of folks who might choose to go a few hours out of their way to take the “scenic route” across the state, while the rest of us turn on cruise control and hit I-90. Because of this indoctrination, I’ve always loved the simple pleasures of a new location without time limits or agendas.

A current favorite Saturday drive for my own little family is the 2 hour jaunt to Port Townsend. Port Townsend is a delightfully eclectic little town known for having a colorful population of artists, hippies, outdoor enthusiasts and poets. It’s the kind of town where we’ve witnessed a little girl riding a pony bedecked in flower garlands to the corner store, where you see dog water dishes outside many businesses on main street, and where an underground bistro gives you a little peek at the tunnels where the unlucky sailors were transported after they were shanghaied in local saloons… (or so I’ve heard over the years.)

There are Farmers’ Markets, many beaches, an old fort with many bunkers up in the hills that can be explored with flashlights on a rainy day, and plenty of shops and treasures to be found. While driving through town, you see the Victorian mansions beside funky little homes with rainbow colored chicken coops and Tibetan prayer flags. And one of my personal favorites - the local deer population is commonly seen, and welcomed, in front yards and gardens right in the middle of town.

I wish I could LIVE in Port Townsend. Luckily, the drive is quick and scenic, so we can go as often as we’d like. I wrote about it here, here, here, and here (see #2 on my bucket list.)

Find your own dreamy destination next Saturday. You’ll be sure to fall in Love and return to the work week rejuvenated and inspired.

And the winner is...

2012-01-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

The winner of the giveaway is Connie! Rachae will be sending the prize this weekend :)

Friday Foolishness – “Don’t worry – my knees always look this way.”

2012-01-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

(Remember to become an official "Follower" of our blog to be included in this afternoon's drawing!)

I’m a firm believer in the power of celebratory self-deprecation.

Yes, that’s a new phrase in the English language. If it gains any momentum, I might just be famous for inventing it. Right?

Anyways.

I’ve always figured that if life gives you an interesting nose – get it pierced! If you have the most embarrassing experience in the world (let’s say you pee your pants from an unexpected sneeze, or accidentally shoot a piece of candy across a quiet restaurant when trying to open the package) – share it! (1)

Well, Janelle and I have the “Family Knees.”

While other gals might have nice little knobby knees, we have knees that are flat, oddly indented, and probably more comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s knees than to any other female knees in the known universe.

It doesn’t matter if we’re in our prime, running 10 miles a day, and confident enough to wear bikinis on a regular basis. (2) The knees still make a startling visual statement of rebellion. In fact, given a lineup of dozens of anonymous knees, anyone who knows us could pick ours out of the crowd in no time at all.

When Janelle was pregnant, her OBGYN was taking inventory of all her swollen extremities and paused to express concern over the state of Janelle’s knees. Although most other parts of her body were being stretched beyond their limits, Janelle could proudly claim, “Oh, don’t worry! My knees always look this way!”

So, rather than get down about these honking knees of ours, we’ve decided they might as well be an asset. We might, as a matter of fact, come to LOVE these knees.

These flat knees of mine make a nice solid platform when I kneel beside the bathtub to bathe my little children.

These knees are beneficial when excruciating back labor forced me on all fours for each contraction during the long hours before we headed to the hospital for my daughter’s birth.

These knees have fallen, risen, crawled on the ground.

They may not be dainty, but they’re mine.
They’re ours.
The Family Knees.

If my daughter grows up to have to the Family Knees, I’ll remind her that they’re also...

Perfect for kneeling in prayer.

(1.) These examples may or may not have any connection to the author of this post....

(2.) This state of fitness may or may not be in the far distant past for the author of this post....

Ramblings by Rachae, Photos by Janelle

Thankful Thursday - "Develop a Relationship With Your Local Weather"

2012-01-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

When I was finishing my 4 years at Seattle Pacific University, I was one part nervous anxiety and one part exhilaration.

I was done! I was free! I was a bonafide grownup…..

And grownups have student loans to pay…. And utility bills… and need medical insurance….. and car insurance…. And rent…. Food….blah, blah, blah.

I had been blessed with exciting and inspirational professors, my favorite being one of my Secondary Ed. Professors during my senior year. When asked what advice she could give us graduating seniors, she very seriously advised us to:

Go Outside for At Least 15 Minutes Every Single Day.

Rain or Shine.

She told us it was good for our bodies. Good for our Souls. And good for our Hearts. Even if the sky is gray for days on end and you’re feeling the Seattle Gloom to your core.

Now, I don't know if everything I learned in college was truly valuable to my future career or necessarily essential for my overall bag of academic tricks, but this little piece of advice will always ring true for me.

Give it a try. You might find that 15 minutes outside will refresh and revitalize all the parts of you that have been neglected lately. Fall in love with the sound of the rain falling in the trees or the cheeky squirrel on your lawn. Find a good rock to sit on.

Develop a relationship with your local weather.

Repeat.

A Short Walk From Home:

A Favorite Road of Ours:

Rambling by Rachae, Photos by Janelle

Almost Wordless Wednesdays "The Rascally Ones"

2012-01-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

You've Gotta Love Kids...

Even (or especially) the rascally ones.

This was a note "from my mom" that a student gave me when his mom didn't show up to a conference we had scheduled. Turned out that the kid had forged every note all year and his mom had NO CLUE the conference had been scheduled. He actually thought I would believe this:

If that one doesn't make you smile.....

(or at least shake your head and roll your eyes)

Then nothing will.

(True Story)

Rambling by Rachae, Scanned Awesomeness from Anonymous Rascally Student in my class.

Tuesday Tour De Blogs - Ann Voskamp

2012-01-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

If you're in the mood to fall in love today, I highly recommend this blog. With lovely photography, Piano by David Nevue, and sweet insightfulness, this blog is a daily reminder to worship and give thanks. This is one of the few sites where the audio isn't blocked by my "safety wall" at work, so I can tune in to the website and listen to the music while I grade papers!

On days when I've felt in the dumps, a quick visit to "A Holy Experience" puts a smile in my heart and leaves me feeling peaceful and blessed.

Some of my favorite posts: Here Here and especially Here

Monday Madness - "If Life Gives You a Scooter..."

2012-01-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Janelle and I are the kind of gals you might call “accident prone.” While doing nothing out of the ordinary, we manage to break, strain, lacerate, jar loose, and otherwise mangle our various body parts in various and unpredictable ways. (We’ll revisit this theme time and again.) A couple of years ago, for example, I had been attending the birth of Janelle’s son for a few days or so and was just going to head back home when I managed to get a random injury that came out of the blue and left me unable to walk for weeks. (this is a standard Rachae kind of injury)

I was casually walking to the car to load the luggage I had carried along for my daughter, myself, and my big mountain of a dog, when I suddenly felt a twinge in my foot. Or, to be more accurate, it was as though someone had stabbed a knife in the region of my left inner ankle. Mind you – I hadn’t tripped, hadn’t dropped anything, hadn’t twisted… I was just walking along normally when it hit me.

Thinking I had some odd case of a particularly strong Charlie Horse or something, I hobbled the rest of the way and proceeded to drive back across the wastelands to the wet and wild part of Washington State. About half way through this 6-hour journey, I needed to stop to let the dog out and to change a diaper. Forgetting the earlier ankle pain, I hopped out of the car only to howl in surprise and pain when I realized I couldn’t put any weight at all on my left foot. I ended up hopping on my right foot to let the dog pee and change my daughter’s diaper. It was a busy day on the highway, so I had a few bemused spectators at the rest stop as I sweated through this ordeal.

My family was not at all surprised when I later called to tell them that I could no longer walk and had been struck down by some unseen malady. To make a long story short, after 3 separate doctor visits, an X-ray finally showed a little fragment of bone floating around in my ankle. The doctors say it must have been injured years ago and finally wiggled loose, causing me pain that seemingly came out of nowhere.

I was prescribed an awesome little knee scooter as a consolation prize. Not to be brought low by this new mode of transportation,
I decided to give it some bling and enjoy this unplanned foray into immobility.

You see, if life gives you a scooter, you might as well Bling your Ride.

And so I did.

Going Live 1/9/12

2012-01-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Become a follower and come back and visit us on Monday!