The Hair Blanket

I could write an entire diatribe on our culture's messed up view of beauty. I really could. I am actually getting a little irritated just thinking about it. Because what kind of culture would dare to try and convince this little girl that she is anything but gorgeous?

But, they do. And so, sometimes, she wishes that she had lighter skin and long flowing hair. I know that's not unusual for any little girl. I'm told that Loren's little sister, Connie, was pretty bald for the first two years of her life and would look longingly at little girls with long hair. I can remember wishing mine was curly and wild. ( I have the crazy perm pictures to prove it!)

I know that there are all kinds of ways to make Hope's hair longer. Weaves, relaxing it, wigs, etc. But, I guess I'm hoping that she will learn to really love her natural hair before we experiment with any of those things. And, in truth, I secretly wish that she would just flaunt a rockin' natural afro all of her life and always feel as beautiful as she is without any additions. :) For now, she has settled for this.

It's her own creation, fixed with a safety pin in the back and made out of a blanket I made her last year when Ava was born. She calls it her hair blanket and it is a fairly regular fixture on top of her head. She likes to feel like her hair is blowing in the breeze and she likes that it swishes when she moves her head. She proudly wears it out and I proudly let her because she is darn cute in a hair blanket, too.

Most of the time, though, we are all natural and on most days, I don't think Hope struggles with self image. I know that is in large part due to that fact that she has a daddy who has taught her how not to take herself too seriously.


And a daddy who loves her unconditionally and tells her often what a beautiful gift from God she is.
So, I think she's gonna be alright. Cause I never underestimate a daddy's determination to see his daughter delighted with who God made her to be.

Ava Elizabeth

I've got lots to say, but very little time, lately, to write it in a way that is pleasant to read. So, for now, you get to see pictures of Ava. And, I know that the pictures are why most of you come to this blog anyway. :)

She is growing so fast!


Ava's learned lots of new tricks lately. Clapping and pulling up are just two of many. My favorite is the one where she indiscriminately puts things into her mouth off the floor. Dog food, wood chips, paper, pennies, etc. Yep...that's my favorite.


I can never resist a good profile shot. Which is funny, cause I'm not really a big fan of my own profile. Her's is delicious though. Couldn't you just squeeze those precious cheeks?!

Come on! It doesn't get much cuter than that!

And finally, one I got of her and her cousin, Pax when my sister, Mel, was down to visit. I love his face in this picture and I love how it looks like Ava has her hand on his knee saying, "Now Paxton, let's be good little babies and smile one more time for the insane mommies with the cameras."

Mama Monk

My friend, Micha, has a ridiculously good blog. And really, if you have 5 minutes in the course of your day to sit and read something, I'd highly recommend it.

Today, though, if you stumble upon her blog you might just find some thoughts from someone who is slightly more familiar to you.

Check it out!

Summer Days

There are a million things to love about summer. Pool days, the 4th of July, iced coffee, longer daylight hours...... I could go on and on. But, some of my favorite things are all the fresh fruits and vegetables. We are lucky to have a great farmers market in town and it is so fun to go on Saturdays and see what's there. And then spend the next week coming up with a thousand uses for golden beets.

This year, we discovered that one of the trees in our own backyard is an apricot tree. It's never had fruit until this year, for some reason. So, we spent the last weekend picking pounds and pounds of apricots off of our tree.
And then, subsequently reading that once apricots are picked, you have to do something with them within about five days, or else they go bad. If we were moved into our new home instead of living out of boxes, I might have canned a bunch of them and made jam with the rest. Instead, lots of our friends are getting fresh apricots these days and we are eating our fair share as well.

Then, I noticed that, at the new house, we have a sour cherry tree in the backyard. Now technically, we do not own that house yet and, technically, we are not allowed to be hanging around the property like we do. But, technicalities aside, it seemed a shame for those beautiful bright red cherries to all be eaten by the birds. I'm happy to share with the birds, but a cherry pie and some jam sounded so darn good. So, technically, I trespassed and picked all that I could reach. And then, my friend and neighbor-to-be Debbie brought me her ladder, and I picked a whole lot more.

I don't feel bad at all.

And, just so you know, there is a plum tree in the front yard of the new house. And if we haven't closed on that house in the next few weeks, you better believe that I will be trespassing again in the very near future. Fresh plums, people! How could you even ask me to resist that?