wherever and whomever you are spending this evening and tomorrow with, we send blessings of a new year filled with hope, peace, and love! thank you for visiting our little blog in 2008 and please return for more adventures of the hart clan in 2009.
gia at her cutest
so here is a collection of videos recorded last weekend while on holiday. leave it to my gia-girl to make us all laugh.
jesse is at work today - which i don't think he has ever done (work on new years eve that is) since we married. i am not quite feeling like today is anything to celebrate yet. i am sure that will change once we get the kiddos to bed and head out for the evening.
jesse is at work today - which i don't think he has ever done (work on new years eve that is) since we married. i am not quite feeling like today is anything to celebrate yet. i am sure that will change once we get the kiddos to bed and head out for the evening.
christmas morning
i am trying to catch up on posts before i leave for my trip, but considering how much i have to pack up, for myself and the kids (who are staying with cece for the first half of my trip) and how much housework i wanted to get done in recovery of christmas (lots of boxes, wrapping paper, gift bags to be sorted and stored, plus all that cleaning i put off in spirit of enjoying our last extended time together before leaving), it is becoming clear i will not get it all posted. wow that was one long run-on sentence and half of it was in the parantheses.
so this may be short on words, but the photos stand alone. here are some of my faves from the day.
(since we did not see any family, most of these presents were sent here from the burbs and texas. we were too hungry to wade through it all in one sitting, and broke it up into two sessions. and i am still trying to find room for everything.)
the tree surrounded with gifts
homemade stockings hung by the mantle with care laden with goodies
gia adoring her ballerina ornaments from scrunchies and viejo
luca hugs his dinosaur puzzle - thanks uncle jason and aunt michelle
gia's first dollhouse
luca showing off his hot wheels truck and i am modeling the necklace he picked out for me (lovely bedhead too)
watch out for freshly bathed dinosaurs when you come to our house
yummy cranberry-raisin-cinnamon french toast casserole
my sweet girl
handsome man feeling full
my lovely new scarf from scotland and beautiful teacup from austria from tia becky
guiness gear straight from the factory in ireland
the kitchen that took us two and half hours to build christmas eve!!!
so this may be short on words, but the photos stand alone. here are some of my faves from the day.
(since we did not see any family, most of these presents were sent here from the burbs and texas. we were too hungry to wade through it all in one sitting, and broke it up into two sessions. and i am still trying to find room for everything.)
the tree surrounded with gifts
homemade stockings hung by the mantle with care laden with goodies
gia adoring her ballerina ornaments from scrunchies and viejo
luca hugs his dinosaur puzzle - thanks uncle jason and aunt michelle
gia's first dollhouse
luca showing off his hot wheels truck and i am modeling the necklace he picked out for me (lovely bedhead too)
watch out for freshly bathed dinosaurs when you come to our house
yummy cranberry-raisin-cinnamon french toast casserole
my sweet girl
handsome man feeling full
my lovely new scarf from scotland and beautiful teacup from austria from tia becky
guiness gear straight from the factory in ireland
the kitchen that took us two and half hours to build christmas eve!!!
classic christmas day photo - luca playing his leapster still wearing jammies and sporting his new spiderman hoodie that lights up when he moves - in his own words, "i look cool"
95 degrees
that is the forecasted high temperature in choluteca, honduras on saturday.
the forecasted high temperature for champaign, illinois: 35 degrees
yes, that is a 60 degree difference
with how busy the last month has been, i have taken very little time to get excited about this trip. that has definitely changed over the last few days. my bags are pretty much packed and every spare moment i find myself preoccupied with the upcoming travels.
when i left the house tonight to run to the store luca asked, "is mama going to honduras now?" i guess i am not the only one thinking about it.
the forecasted high temperature for champaign, illinois: 35 degrees
yes, that is a 60 degree difference
with how busy the last month has been, i have taken very little time to get excited about this trip. that has definitely changed over the last few days. my bags are pretty much packed and every spare moment i find myself preoccupied with the upcoming travels.
when i left the house tonight to run to the store luca asked, "is mama going to honduras now?" i guess i am not the only one thinking about it.
on holiday
hello!!! i am back from a very relaxing and much needed vacation of sorts. jesse was home for 5 whole days and our holiday plans included staying home the entire time. at least until a quick trip to bloomington-normal for a couple hours this morning. it was amazingly therapeutic to just be here with no big plans for housework or projects, unpacking, parties, cooking. . . i could go on and on. this was the first christmas in our new home. i would love to tell you how great it felt to be here together and celebrate simply. it was nice. but, to be honest, there was a gaping hole in my heart. i am still sick with grief at times and it cast a somber light on the last week. i could not post a merry christmas to my lovely readers for this reason.
regardless, i do feel amazed by the great gift our Father gave us by sending his son in human form to live and suffer in our place. i remain joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:17-19
regardless, i do feel amazed by the great gift our Father gave us by sending his son in human form to live and suffer in our place. i remain joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:17-19
possibly the last
this weekend i made possibly my last wedding cake. i am going into semi-retirement. it just takes too much out of me and our family. i want to thank the six couples who have let me bake, decorate, and experiment for their special days.
congratulations kim and kyle!!!
(for those of you familiar with the uiuc campus, the reception took place at ARC - the newly renovated and renamed IMPE. everyone had a blast playing crumpets on the basketball courts - the wedding party changed into gym shoes. the above photos overlook the outdoor swimming pool. my camera battery literally died after two photos though - arghhh!)
it was her birthday. . .
and she cried when she wanted to.
yes, my poor baby girl had an earache on friday. jesse had to take her to convenient care to get it checked out. just a bad cold thank God (no ear infection!), but it was sad to see her so pained from the swelling. she kept holding her hand up to her left side saying "ear hurt." i was glad she was able to articulate what was wrong so we could help her.
when the meds finally kicked, she felt well enough to eat a cupcake and open gifts. i set up a picasa web album with the photos. check them out!
i can't believe how fast the last two years have gone. i will post more turning two info and photos soon - like her current stats for those who are interested and my reflections of this year. for now enjoy some videos!
can i just add?
that jennifer paganelli of sis boom just made my week even sweeter. she is the designer of the fabric i am using upstairs for curtains. i posted some photos of them on flickr and added them to the sis boom pool. she was very gracious in her compliments a couple weeks back (which kind of blew me away as i am a big admirer of her work). and today she asked to use my photos on her website! how fantastic is that?
things that brightened my week
as i anxiously wait for jesse to come home from the grocery store while driving in an ice storm (i did not send him out in this weather - he forgot to inform me of the cranberry sauce he committed to bringing to tomorrow's office party) and the oven brings me smells of baking wedding cake for this weekend, i am going to share a few of my bright spots in a somewhat crummy week.
these two photos showcase our new house after a small snowfall. i love everything looking dusted with white and feeling barren. i think there is something so beautiful as the green retreats and the world hibernates. this place has such gorgeous lines in the hard and landscaping. the row of maples is especially lovely.
this week marks the first time i have been able to french braid gia-girl's hair. getting her to sit still and her unruly curls to cooperate was no small task. although her locks almost reach the middle of her back when pulled straight, i rarely even tie it back in a ponytail or two. this is not the best photo to show off the cuteness, but she was enjoying running in her boots too much to capture.
today i received my sweepstakes prize, but i will have to snap a few shots tomorrow for you all to enjoy. the fabric is beautiful and visions of aprons, quilts, and pillows are dancing in my head.
who doesn't love receiving packages in the mail? i would be interested to know. i hit the motherload this week in that department. between christmas and gia's birthday, we have had something arrive everyday. that is what happens when half of your family lives across the country. oh and when you do most of your christmas shopping on-line. when you add my prize box of goodies, three separate deliveries were made today alone!
this was the last week for me to raise support for my trip to honduras. i am so amazed by the way things came together and feel truly blessed by the generous people who are making this trip possible. thank you all so much!
well now i feel like this was actually not such a crummy week. this was therapeutic. and between writing this post and several cake checking interruptions, i made it through the wait fairly quickly. jesse is home! and now the cranberries await. oh and wrapping gia's birthday present. until next time. . .
these two photos showcase our new house after a small snowfall. i love everything looking dusted with white and feeling barren. i think there is something so beautiful as the green retreats and the world hibernates. this place has such gorgeous lines in the hard and landscaping. the row of maples is especially lovely.
this week marks the first time i have been able to french braid gia-girl's hair. getting her to sit still and her unruly curls to cooperate was no small task. although her locks almost reach the middle of her back when pulled straight, i rarely even tie it back in a ponytail or two. this is not the best photo to show off the cuteness, but she was enjoying running in her boots too much to capture.
today i received my sweepstakes prize, but i will have to snap a few shots tomorrow for you all to enjoy. the fabric is beautiful and visions of aprons, quilts, and pillows are dancing in my head.
who doesn't love receiving packages in the mail? i would be interested to know. i hit the motherload this week in that department. between christmas and gia's birthday, we have had something arrive everyday. that is what happens when half of your family lives across the country. oh and when you do most of your christmas shopping on-line. when you add my prize box of goodies, three separate deliveries were made today alone!
this was the last week for me to raise support for my trip to honduras. i am so amazed by the way things came together and feel truly blessed by the generous people who are making this trip possible. thank you all so much!
well now i feel like this was actually not such a crummy week. this was therapeutic. and between writing this post and several cake checking interruptions, i made it through the wait fairly quickly. jesse is home! and now the cranberries await. oh and wrapping gia's birthday present. until next time. . .
one of those
these last few days have been rough. i am tired when i wake up and my hands and fingers are numb for the first half hour. i have had to crawl up the stairs a few times due to sharp pain in my knees. i am out of sorts emotionally which is not a great place to be when your kids are whiny with sickness. nothing too serious for them, just enough to make them out of sorts as well. that is why i have been limiting my posts to photos rather than my own whininess.
i have so much to do and i just want a week off. not going to happen. just keep keepin' on. oh Lord, thank you for not needing to rely on my own strength when Yours is never failing.
i have so much to do and i just want a week off. not going to happen. just keep keepin' on. oh Lord, thank you for not needing to rely on my own strength when Yours is never failing.
dollies, dollies, everywhere
our little sweetie was surrounded by family and friends yesterday afternoon to celebrate her second birthday. her love of dollies was the inspiration for the festivities. she officially is not 2 until friday, so you know we will be celebrating all week - my idea of fun! more photos to come!
how adorable is this girl?
do you like the new look?
so i have been itching to update my blog layout for awhile (yes i like change), but unsure of what to do. i am really drawn to the artsy photo headers i see on some blogs, but none of my photos really would work. i also wanted something seasonal so that i would have a good excuse to edit it once in awhile. today the sun was shining brightly on my dining room table, the kids were down for quiet time and nap, and my camera was in hand. excellent conditions to capture the above shot. jesse brought home this beautiful bouquet of white lilies, winter berries, evergreen boughs, and knobby sticks a few days back and it was begging to be photographed. so here it is! my new blog layout. simple and beautiful, don't you think?
start of a tradition
if you live in the c-u area, you need to know about the holiday shop. this being our first year here, we were so excited to learn about this little treasure. it is a place where kids can shop for their loved ones without any help from mom and dad - meaning everything they pick is a surprise. this is the 16th year that our local crisis nursery has hosted this event.
we were invited to join some friends at the holiday shop this past sunday. when we arrived i filled out a sheet with the names of who luca was to buy for and how much total money he was given to spend. the idea is that an adult helper then takes the child past a curtain to a large room filled with gifts. there is a wide variety of items and everything is between 2 and 8 dollars. luca was a little wary of joining jeanine (his assigned helper) all by himself, so they let me come back with him to get things started. he was definitely distracted by all the cool things he liked for himself, but after much prompting, he got the hang of things. it was so neat to see the things he chose for each person. i left near the end so he could find my gift, pay for his choices and help with the wrapping and gift tags. by that time he was having a blast and barely noticed me leave. when all is finished, they let the kids choose a small stuffed animal as a special parting gift.
i love the emphasis this event puts on the giving part of christmas. i love gifts! not just the receiving, but the giving. i want my kids to know they joy of choosing and giving a special gift for a special person. it is such a neat way to express your love towards another. we will definitely be adding this to our holiday schedule each year.
and i can't wait to open my surprise on christmas morning!
my flickr photos
so i realize i have already posted twice today, but if i save this for later, later might just end up being next week or maybe i will forget and it will never get posted. :)
i have discovered a new toy over the past month. while being home so much and not having the attention span for reading a novel, i spent a lot of time web surfing. my favorite new find, flickr. i love the ability to visually network to others with similar interests. i get inspiration and can share my own work.
i have started my own photostream and you can check it out here. i am only posting photos of the house and any sewing/craft projects for now (family albums can be found on picasa still). if you want to see some of the things i have been working on, check it out.
i have discovered a new toy over the past month. while being home so much and not having the attention span for reading a novel, i spent a lot of time web surfing. my favorite new find, flickr. i love the ability to visually network to others with similar interests. i get inspiration and can share my own work.
i have started my own photostream and you can check it out here. i am only posting photos of the house and any sewing/craft projects for now (family albums can be found on picasa still). if you want to see some of the things i have been working on, check it out.
you can't pull off your finger. . .
. . . or you won't be able to tickle.
here is a list of luca's reasoning for the valuableness (is that a word?) of certain body parts. it began by explaining to gia why she couldn't pull off her finger or take off her eye (we aren't quite sure why she wanted to do this in the first place, but she is two and cute.) some of his explanations are quite appropriate and matter of fact. and then there are the other ones. oh i love my son.
you can't take off your eyes or you won't be able to see.
you can't take off your nose or you won't be able to smell.
you can't take off your hair or you won't be able to get a haircut.
you can't take off your belly or your food will fall out.
you can't take off your ears or you won't be able to hear. if you only take off one ear, you will be able to hear a little. and then you can just turn around to hear in all directions.
you can't take off your arms or you won't be able to hold things up to your chest.
you can't take off your neck or you won't be able to put soapies on it.
you can't take off your feet or you will have to slither around on your knees. if you only take off one foot, you will have to hop.
you can't take off your whole leg or you will walk small. if you take off only your knees, you will be shorter.
you can't take off your back or you can't wear a backpack. or a shirt.
you can't take off your toes or you won't have anything to wiggle. oh wait, we will still have our fingers.
and finally (i wanted to maintain the spirit of luca's choices and this is word for word. )
you can't take off your butt cheeks or you won't be able to go poopies.
here is a list of luca's reasoning for the valuableness (is that a word?) of certain body parts. it began by explaining to gia why she couldn't pull off her finger or take off her eye (we aren't quite sure why she wanted to do this in the first place, but she is two and cute.) some of his explanations are quite appropriate and matter of fact. and then there are the other ones. oh i love my son.
you can't take off your eyes or you won't be able to see.
you can't take off your nose or you won't be able to smell.
you can't take off your hair or you won't be able to get a haircut.
you can't take off your belly or your food will fall out.
you can't take off your ears or you won't be able to hear. if you only take off one ear, you will be able to hear a little. and then you can just turn around to hear in all directions.
you can't take off your arms or you won't be able to hold things up to your chest.
you can't take off your neck or you won't be able to put soapies on it.
you can't take off your feet or you will have to slither around on your knees. if you only take off one foot, you will have to hop.
you can't take off your whole leg or you will walk small. if you take off only your knees, you will be shorter.
you can't take off your back or you can't wear a backpack. or a shirt.
you can't take off your toes or you won't have anything to wiggle. oh wait, we will still have our fingers.
and finally (i wanted to maintain the spirit of luca's choices and this is word for word. )
you can't take off your butt cheeks or you won't be able to go poopies.
what a week part 2 or i am in a funk today
this has not been a great day. i feel melancholy. just part of the process. i expected to be able to go to the gym and work up some endorphins while just blocking out some of the yuckiness. but the slick sidewalks and roads 'round these parts nixed that plan. we were hit with oh so fun ice early this morning.
so to finish recapping last week. . .
it was also the six month anniversary of moving to the new house. six months! weird. still so much settling in to do. i constantly have to remind myself that we can only do what we can do. jesse's job has been so demanding, which although can be exhausting for all of us, we are continuously thankful for. plus we have been making an effort to get connected with our new church, which means less time for unpacking and such. add to this, the day in and day out responsibility of taking care of two kids, plus needing to take care of myself and we have some busy days even without unpacking. regardless, i will prevail over these boxes!
i don't know what else i should write. yes, christmas is coming. gia is about to turn two. i leave for honduras in less than a month. i am excited about all of these things, but they are serious drains on time and energy. presents to buy, decorating and baking to do, and support raising and packing to finish. i want to be clear that i don't feel obligated to do any of this prep. i want to. i choose to. and i love it. i am just tired.
sorry if i am not that interesting today. maybe i will post later some of the kid's cuteness. much more entertaining. here's to praying my melancholy lifts and the spirit of the Lord fills and lifts me up.
so to finish recapping last week. . .
it was also the six month anniversary of moving to the new house. six months! weird. still so much settling in to do. i constantly have to remind myself that we can only do what we can do. jesse's job has been so demanding, which although can be exhausting for all of us, we are continuously thankful for. plus we have been making an effort to get connected with our new church, which means less time for unpacking and such. add to this, the day in and day out responsibility of taking care of two kids, plus needing to take care of myself and we have some busy days even without unpacking. regardless, i will prevail over these boxes!
i don't know what else i should write. yes, christmas is coming. gia is about to turn two. i leave for honduras in less than a month. i am excited about all of these things, but they are serious drains on time and energy. presents to buy, decorating and baking to do, and support raising and packing to finish. i want to be clear that i don't feel obligated to do any of this prep. i want to. i choose to. and i love it. i am just tired.
sorry if i am not that interesting today. maybe i will post later some of the kid's cuteness. much more entertaining. here's to praying my melancholy lifts and the spirit of the Lord fills and lifts me up.
what a week
there were so many times this week that i thought, "wow, that would make a good post." things kept happening, nothing overly important, just lots of odds and ends. pair them with a bad bad cold and i was overwhelmed for the large part of the week. we are "healthy" now and i thought i would finally catch you up on the hart happenings .
i will start with the healthy in quotation marks. it is true our colds and gia's flu are gone, but, oh yes, my fibromyalgia has come back full force this week. i think the hormones leaving my system have left me particularly vulnerable.
and then there is the e-mail i received tuesday stating i won the sew like a pro sweepstakes. most, if not all, of my readers will have no idea what that is. let me explain. one of my favorite designers, anna maria horner, came out with her first book in october. to celebrate, her publishing company decided to host a contest to win a bunch of free sewing related gifts. it was one of those enter once a day for a month type of things, but i literally only filled out the form once. i didn't win the grand prize, but out of 53,000 entries, i was one of three second placers. fun! a few of my christmas list ideas were checked off that day. i will be sure to post when i receive my goodies in the mail.
thirty minutes after i received the above e-mail, i heard the tinkle of christmas ornaments hitting the floor. shoot, flaco! yes, not only had he knocked down the ornaments, but i found the entire 7.5' tall 5.5' wide tree laying in the middles of the living room. i had to remove all of the decorations (including lights) and start from scratch. thankfully, i was only halfway through the ornaments, but those lights took me 2 hours to put on. not fun! by thursday night i finally had the tree finished. (well, we still have to put the star on top.)
oh and then my microwave died later that day - actually only 10 mintues or so after the tree falling. just an appliance, i know, but a part of me thought, "i got this at a bridal shower." almost nine years later, it came to its end.
i am not done with the events of our week, but am needed elsewhere in my home. to be continued. . .
i will start with the healthy in quotation marks. it is true our colds and gia's flu are gone, but, oh yes, my fibromyalgia has come back full force this week. i think the hormones leaving my system have left me particularly vulnerable.
and then there is the e-mail i received tuesday stating i won the sew like a pro sweepstakes. most, if not all, of my readers will have no idea what that is. let me explain. one of my favorite designers, anna maria horner, came out with her first book in october. to celebrate, her publishing company decided to host a contest to win a bunch of free sewing related gifts. it was one of those enter once a day for a month type of things, but i literally only filled out the form once. i didn't win the grand prize, but out of 53,000 entries, i was one of three second placers. fun! a few of my christmas list ideas were checked off that day. i will be sure to post when i receive my goodies in the mail.
thirty minutes after i received the above e-mail, i heard the tinkle of christmas ornaments hitting the floor. shoot, flaco! yes, not only had he knocked down the ornaments, but i found the entire 7.5' tall 5.5' wide tree laying in the middles of the living room. i had to remove all of the decorations (including lights) and start from scratch. thankfully, i was only halfway through the ornaments, but those lights took me 2 hours to put on. not fun! by thursday night i finally had the tree finished. (well, we still have to put the star on top.)
oh and then my microwave died later that day - actually only 10 mintues or so after the tree falling. just an appliance, i know, but a part of me thought, "i got this at a bridal shower." almost nine years later, it came to its end.
i am not done with the events of our week, but am needed elsewhere in my home. to be continued. . .
my upcoming trip
i think some people may have been wondering if there have been any changes to my upcoming missions trip. i just wanted to let you all know that i am still planning on joining the team of 23 from my church, illini life christian fellowship, heading to choluteca, honduras 1/3-1/10. so basically in just over a month i will be heading overseas to work with great commission latin america at casa hogar vida. this is the first missions trip i have had the opportunity to attend in more than 8 years. jesse and i had been looking for a way for me to get away by myself - to get a little break from being home with the kids full time. instead of a "vacation," i thought this would be more fulfilling and satisfying - having the chance to serve and love others is such a salve to a tired spirit.
if you want to know more details about my trip, please check out the links above for i-life, gcla, and casa hogar. you can also e-mail or call me with any questions, i would love to share more.
if you want to know more details about my trip, please check out the links above for i-life, gcla, and casa hogar. you can also e-mail or call me with any questions, i would love to share more.
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