Emily's Salad of the Month: December

Roasted Pear Salad

(serves 8-10)

3 firm pears, any variety

1/3 c maple syrup

1 t fresh minced ginger

3 T olive oil

2 T apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

mixed greens, any variety

1/2 c toasted walnuts

1/2 c blue cheese

Core and slice pears (leave skins on if desired). Place on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Combine maple syrup and ginger. Drizzle 3 T of mixture over pears, tossing to coat. Roast pears at 500 for 12-15 min, stirring halfway through. Combine remaining maple syrup mixture with olive oil, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss with greens. Cool pears and layer with blue cheese and walnuts over greens.

Benjamin's First Post (to Charlette)

Dad told me what to do on Benjamin's first post. (written to Miss Miriam)

Mommy like running so much. (to Mr. Jaime)

7

I like going to your house.

GMW Berries

Grace discovered how to blow raspberries all on her own two nights ago. When I started to video her, she stopped, but she's so cute. :)
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She is now a constant raspberry-blower, during diaper changes, swaddle-time and in the car. :)
L

Fight the Holiday Bulge

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A little Cody on our hands?

Yesterday I put together an Advent Wreath, but this morning Jackson decided it needed more (which it did - he has an eye). So he used the acorns he's been collecting to futher adorn it. My favorite touches - capping the candles, a bundle on top of the roses, and an acorn at each corner of the cloth.

In further Dec. 1 news on Lake Austin Blvd.,

- Mary Clement rolled over for the first time yesterday!

- I think I've killed the second batch of ants used to stock our ant farm. The first batch I drowned thinking they were thirsty. Crew Two is looking mighty lethargic. How have I managed to keep three children alive?

- The boys had their 3 & 5-yr. Well-Child Checkups yesterday and both are off the charts for height. This makes me immensely, though I realize irrationally, proud.

- Since they were only 30 cents/pound, I bought 2 20+lb. turkeys the weeks before and after Thanksgiving. I should've figured in labor, b/c I feel like all I'm doing these days is roasting, deboning & slicing turkey, boiling bones, and freezing turkey stock. We've been eating turkey for weeks and the freezer is still packed. (It doesn't help that our neighbor doesn't like dark meat and also bought 2 turkeys. I can't resist free food.)

Happy Advent,
Ruthie

Mary Clement, a.k.a. Miss Adorableness

I can't stop taking pictures of my baby girl!

Bathing Beauty

MC as a 4-mo. old
Status: delightful
Current interests: feet, fist, saying "coo, coo" and smiling, staring deep into your eyes, watching her brothers, practicing "the roll-over" (almost there; that darn arm)
What others are saying: "Is that a doll?" (the bald head certainly adds to the doll factor), "Did you shave her head?" (I've actually been asked this more than once) "She's so. . . so. . . healthy!" (the euphemism for adorably chubby)

The Boys' Bday Party

Matthew and I gave the boys costumes. the current fav item around here:

We had planned an outside party, but it rained all day. So instead, we had a few families over who have kids the boys' ages & then made caramel apple & cake deliveries to neighbors:

Jackson is 5! He's the one who requested caramel apples:

Harry is 3! Eyeing those apples. . .

My Horns on a Roll!!!

This season I'm finally taking an interest in Longhorn football before they make it to the Rose Bowl. I was walking across campus one Saturday, the air was crisp, and hundreds of burnt orange fans were streaming past me. It just seemed like a day for football. So I went home and watched my Horns beat Colorado. I've been hooked since then, and after 5 years at UT, worked it out for Jackson and I to go to a football game. Folks, we even tailgated before the game, so it was a fully authentic college football experience. (When I say "tailgated," I mean that a group of us from Government ate breakfast tacos on a patch of campus grass. We stood around a mini-cooler. But a few folks had beers, so it was still legit.) At any rate, Jackson was still a little young to enter into the experience fully, but he had fun nonetheless. I kept him engaged with Texas-sized corndogs, lemonade, and cotton candy. He also liked the cannon that's fired whenever my Horns score. At any rate, I'm really hoping for a national championship this year. Given that I am such an unhinged football fan, it would mean the world to me to have national championships bookend my years at UT. So right now I'm trying to decide whether I should prioritize praying for that or that I'll actually get a job.

Jehovah Jireh - Our Provider

Here we are in our 6th year of graduate school, and based on the tight job market, we may be here another year as well. I'm a full-time homemaker. We live on a small stipend. By God's grace (often extended through our families), we have no debt. But even having seen God's faithfulness in our finances again and again, I've been getting concerned as to how we'll make it another year and a half. So this past week God decided to remind me that He isn't so concerned. Our week in a nutshell, starting with last Wednesday:

Wednesday - Attended a UT Housing event where both Matthew and I won raffles - a children's bike complete with training wheels and helmet (the boys didn't have a bike) and a $50 gift card to a local TexMex restaurant. My cooking entry lost the main prize, a cooking class, but I wasn't disappointed because our evenings are already so full that I wasn't much interested in that anyway. But when I went to pick up my platter, a judge informed me, "You've won a consolation prize! A $25 gift card to a local restaurant supply store!". Oh so much better.

Thursday - My mom (who is here to help Laurel, who is doing great, by the way! And so is James!) watched the boys while we had dinner with Matthew's advisor and friends (and Mary Clement. Dr. B had told Matthew that he'd fail his dissertation if she didn't come), and I received the most beautiful hand-knitted blanket from one of our friends (especially made for MC!). Then on the way home we stopped by CVS because they had 90% off Halloween items, and picked up two costumes for the boys' birthdays. $1.60 each! This was to add to the lion and dragon costumes we had gotten for them at Old Navy last week for $2 each! Birthday done for $3.60 each!

Friday - A local grocery store is having a "grand re-opening", and had coupons galore. I spent about $40. My receipt said that I'd saved "$100.04".

Saturday - The Crooked Still concert we were going to attend anyway turned out to be free! And it was marvelous. Additionally, Matthew took Jackson to a UT football game (yes, the first game we've attended!) and Jackson's ticket turned out to be free (though with concessions and tailgate party and t-shirts that was probably a wash!)

Sunday - Our friend Matt who's in Princeton for the year was here for the week, so stopped by to say hello. The people he's staying with sent gifts. 4 lbs. raisins, 7 lbs. fancy nuts, and some hot chocolate mix in an adorable tin. We never buy nuts because they're so expensive, so it was like God had those just for us.

Monday - won a $5 Amazon gift card from Blingo, that toolbar I wasted time installing (see my narcissistic day post)

Today Wednesday - A friend of Simone's was getting rid of bags and bags of nice 5/6 boys clothing, and she claimed them for us. We decided to meet in Saledo (about an hour for each of us) for playtime and clothing exchange. When we arrived Simone had a full birthday party for the boys, complete with cupcakes and presents. And even dinner for me! When I arrived home from that, I put MC and Harry down for naps, sat down to check my email, and saw that a fellow homeschooler had culled through her home library and had hundreds of books she wanted to give to a homeschooler. I grabbed Jackson up (thankfully Matthew studied at home today!) and we came home with boxes and boxes of beautiful, quality, marvelous books (and a recorder with 2 books on how to play it!)!

See all that? And I've left out the birthday presents the boys have received from our parents and friends. Our cup is running over. There are clothes and books and nuts all over our little apartment! So, Lord, if I start to doubt again, will you do that next week too? :)

Halloween in Phoenix

Yes, you read that right. We were in Phoenix over Halloween weekend for a fundraising event for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, having been invited by Cody's friends from med school, Tim and Nino Fincher. Halloween fell on the same night as the 25th anniversary black tie gala for RZIM, so Cody went to that, and I took the girls to the zoo to celebrate. I'll let Sophie tell you about it in her own words. The following is a from a note she dictated to a friend:

This is about us going to the zoo to have fun on Halloween night. I trick-or-treated and got a bunch of candy; it was super fun! I want to tell you about it because it was so fun; it was the best! On the train I saw pretend monsters, people that work at the zoo and were dressed up. One put his arms up and said Rahhhhhhh! I got to see a rat and an owl and even a snake and the other big spider (tarantula). I listened to fun music, and for dinner I had a hot dog. It was yummy! And water too. Water is important. And I loved going to the zoo on Halloween night.

Sophie as Minnie Mouse

(complete with a very cute velvet tail not visible in this photo)

Minnie with Mickey (her friend, Nathan)
Sam, Nathan's big brother, as Spidey

Emma in her pumpkin onesie (or, as Sophie says, "punquin")
So, there you have it. The Flagstaff Wright contingent has finally filled you in on our Halloween festivities. Thanks for your patience!

To see baby James, you can click here and then enter visitor password 04582281147674

They'll take/post a new picture of him every Sunday. He'll be in the NICU until late December. He and Laurel are both slowly healing and progressing.

A few recent funnies

Jackson (son of Student) to Harry in the car, after passing some construction workers:
"Harry, They're working. Adults having school."

Harry to Matthew: "Daddy, I just have a nice, good face and a nice, good body and nice, good feet."

Harry coming in crying holding his scraped knee, "I have a headache!"

Jackson, coming out of a friend's house at night, "It's hundreds dark!" (everything is hundreds - the ultimate number).

Harry has so many funny phrases as he's learning his grammar rules, like "Look what I dood!"

Halloween in Pittsburgh

Here's the Pittsburgh Penguin!











Some people have remarked that the penguin doesn't think much of this costume. Sure, it was my idea, but deep down, she digs it.


love you all!

L

Halloween 2009 in Austin

Before I tell you what they are, I'll give you a minute to guess:

Give up? Still don't know? Don't worry, you aren't alone. We were a little cryptic this year.

Jackson asked to be a cyclops (yes, aren't we a cute little classical-model homeschooling family), and as Harry is still moldable in his dress-up desires, we convinced him that Odysseus was the way to go (Harry! You get to carry a bow and arrow! "A bow and arrow! I wanna be Odishus!"). At first Jackson resisted the idea of Harry being his nemesis because "he'll stab my eye", but after some whispering that Harry doesn't have to know that part of the story, he calmed down and made sure not to mention it again - just to be safe. Matthew was the costume master, painting the eye and taking the boys out to the woods to find sticks for making the bow/arrow and an uprooted tree for Jackson to carry.

So yeah, we dressed our 4-yr.-old up as man-eater. I was planning to give him little cardboard men to carry and occasionally pop in his mouth, but to Jackson's credit, this idea repulsed him and he asked to be a "good" cyclops. But we couldn't resist the bone around his neck. Harry was pegged as a wood nymph, Ceasar, and Robinhood (that's supposed to be a Laurel wreath around his head), but he had a grand time telling at least one neighbor whose door we knocked on, "I have a bow and arrow, and and and and this (pointing at his wreath)."

And Mary Clement? Well, she was Penelope. The Odyssey is not exactly a treasure-trove of female heroes, you'll remember. But Penelope is the shining light, just like our baby girl. So we just made her look pretty, which of course isn't hard. But even with ALL the thought we put into her costume, she decided at the last minute to be Sleeping Beauty. Ungrateful. (Don't tell her Greek women didn't wear fur-lined bonnets. It might hurt her feelings.)

Love you all.

Ruthie

Happy Halloween!

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Happy Birthday, James!

Our little nephew, baby James Hance (middle name yet to be decided) was born to Laurel and Clint today, October 29, around 1. He weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz., but looks as healthy as can be hoped at this point. He'll be in the NICU here in Austin until late December. Please keep up the prayers for the baby and Laurel as she recovers from the preclampsia.

For my sister

Laurel's in the hospital as of Monday night with a severe case of preclampsia. Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29, she'll have a c-section, and we'll all be able to meet this awaited little boy. She'll be 29 weeks; he was due January 13. Please pray for Laurel's health and safety, and the rapid development and health of this gift.

Because I know Laurel will appreciate it (and because, after all, we've got a little boy on the way!), here's a funny to bring down that blood pressure!

Harry reciting the planets:
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*** Postscript 2 days later. . . because no one is getting this, I'll give you a hint. Listen to the pronunciation of the second planet. Therein lies the boy joke. He has no idea he's saying this, but has given Matthew and I no end of pleasure to have him recite. Yes, we are that crude. :)
Love to all,
Ruthie

Gracie Smiles

Here is our girl, smiling.
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Whenever she wears this hat, David sings the Irvine Berlin song to her,
"I could write a sonnet
About your Easter bonnet
And all the frills upon it . . ."
love you all
L

muddy boys playing hard

How's this for motivation?

My favorite contemporary author, Joseph Epstein, writes the following in my new book In a Cardboard Belt!: Essays Personal, Literary, and Savage. The title of the essay is "Why Are Academics So Unhappy?":
“Universities attract people who are good at school. Being good at school takes a real enough but very small talent. As the philosopher Robert Nozick once pointed out, all those A’s earned through their young lives encourage such people to persist in school: to stick around, get more A’s and more degrees, sign on for teaching jobs.”
He goes on to explain how dreams of a life of cultivated leisure collapse as young university profs realize that their work "couldn't be of the least possible interest to anyone but the hacks" of their respective professional organizations.
With that, I think I'll go eke out a few more lines about Thomistic metaphysics. I think next I'll read his essay "The Torture of Writer's Block".

Gulf Shores for Emily's 30th

Everyone but Grey, who had to leave Sunday morning. 
Mary Clement and Emma. Three months apart, but wearing the same size clothes!:

The annual ShrimpFest was taking place the weekend we were there. There were arts & crafts booths, a sandcastle-building contest, Native American dancing, but THE FOOD! Oh the food!:

Napping on the beach:

And the birthday girl:

Happy 30th Emily!

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Monday, October 19th is exactly three years since the first Wrightfield blog post. I had to note the occasion, but was sure I'd forget on Monday, so thought I'd better do it now while I'm thinking of it. Three whole years! And look at all that's happened in that time! Thanks, Ruthie, for inspiring this in the first place and keeping us all connected in such a wonderful way. We love you! CKSE

Happy October!

My Narcissism Revealed

For awhile I've been wanting to write out the details of a day, and yesterday was a good one. We didn't go anywhere, & it wasn't too busy or rushed.

I did this for three reasons. One, what on earth do I do all day? I think it'll help me understand where my time goes so I can either better prioritize or encourage me that I'm doing what I'm supposed to. Or both. Two, I'm sure I'll want to look back at this once my kids are grown. I'm trying to document things now, to press pause and appreciate. Three, a few people will enjoy this (and yes, I realize, only a few! Feel free to skip or skim.), so I thought it'd be fun to post. So here goes my Monday, Oct. 6, 2009. Jackson 4, Harry, 2, and MC turned 3 months today:

6:00: Awakened by Mary Clement. She's had an unusually bad night, going down at 7:30, but awaking again at 12:30 and 4:30. And now at 6. I get her up and put her in the swing, determining not to feed her again until 7, as I'm trying to adjust her to a 7-7 feeding schedule.

6:00-7:00: Respond to emails, take shower, get dressed, poke around in my email and on blogs more.

7:00: Feed Mary Clement while beginning my Bible study lesson, which I need to have done for tonight.

7:15: Boys wake up. Jackson immediately wants to read The Solar System, a book I told him last night we'd read "tomorrow". I guess now's as good a time as any. It is indeed "tomorrow". Did you know that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are made of gas? Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, & Pluto are made of rock. I did not know that. Matthew teaches Jackson, "Boys go to Mars to get more candy bars" and I practically beg him not to teach the rest. This is hard for Matthew.

7:30-8:00: Breakfast & kitchen clean-up. Work w/J on counting to 100 with fridge poster, and with H on counting to 20.

8:00: Matthew catches bus to school.

8 - 8:30: Sweep & mop floor, rearrange kitchen. Last night Matthew finished staining our kitchen table. It had a burn spot on it (from a tipped-over candle last fall) that took weeks to repair. It was sanded down to bare wood, stained 4 times, then redone again b/c of the streaks on the last stain. Thank you, Clint, for the electric sander! It still needs a coat of polyurethane, but I'm so anxious to get rid of the card table that's taking over our kitchen. And Bible Study is coming over tonight. The boys dance in the living room to an Agapeland CD. They're shrouded with winter hats, scarves & gloves I've just pulled out. Harry keeps running in saying, "I'm so funny!" Jackson asks to mop & works on our bedroom.

8:30: Make fudge w/ boys when I realize I should bring a treat when returning the card table we'd borrowed for 3 weeks.

8:45 - 9:45: Read Joseph and His Magnificent Coat of Many Colors when I realize we'd not done Bible reading at breakfast. Wish I had tons of Amazon money to buy all the home school materials I want, so I go to a blog that gives these away and enter a contest. Then install the Blingo toolbar (a web search engine that gives prizes). Realize I'm wasting my time. But maybe I'll win!

9:45 - 10:45: Do Memory Work w/ J&H (Harry - ABCs, planets; Jackson - Psalm 139 review, planets, the Lord's Prayer). Workshop making a CD of memory work. Decide to remind Matthew to record U.S. Presidents and Books of the Bible Song. Also nurse MC. Read King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone to the boys.

10:45 - 11:30: Make a loaf of bread in defunct bread machine to check one last time to see if it's truly broken. For some strange reason, this time the machine makes a great loaf. Boys do watercolors. Harry paints his face instead of the paper. Jackson tells me, "I want to send this to God." I explain how God is everywhere and He can see the painted picture, and one way to "send it to God" is to send it to someone, because we love God by loving others. His eyes glaze over.

11:30 - Jackson seems really tired, so I decide on early naps today. Make lunch of apples/cheese for boys and leftover French Onion soup for myself. They spy neighborhood kids, so I send them outside to eat. Jackson comes back in b/c neighbor mom threatens to eat his food. I tell him she was joking, but he doesn't believe it. Harry trails behind and they eat in the kitchen while I cut the cooled fudge, making a plate for Bible study and one for my neighbor. Oh, and a "when I need it" stash for myself in the freezer. Because, you know, you eat less if it's in the freezer. Ha.

12-12:30: Boys play with neighborhood kids while I chat with their moms. MC asleep in house.

12:30: Put both boys down for naps. MC still asleep. Pour myself some coffee and eat a piece of fudge. Sit down to continue work on Bible Study.

12:45: Lay down on couch. Doze a little.

1:00: Harry keeps calling "Mama, Mama!" I put a pillow over my head. He does it long enough that I get annoyed and go see what he needs. He has to go to the bathroom. I tell him to hold it and go to sleep.

1:07: After lying down again and writing this blog post in my head (you know, to my "cosmic audience"), I decide to get up and write it down. Very, very sleepy.

1:30: MC awakens. Wonder why I did the blog post when I have so much computer work to do & need to make dinner. Memories, right? For the bigger picture. Are you glad, Ruthie of 20 years from now? Oh, wait. MC went back to sleep. Make myself go work on Bible Study again.

1:45: Only finish about half a page when Jackson comes in. "I'm really, really hungry." Make him a pb/honey sandwich. He tells me of two "poems" a neighbor friend read him the other day. "Tomorrow's the fair. I'll be there, stuffing my guts with gingerbread nuts" and "There was two ghosteses sitting on two posteses, eating bread and toasteses." Just now hearing these. Also tells me he met Ayrah's grandparents this morning. Clean kitchen and scrub potatoes, prepare salad for dinner.

2:15 - 3:00: Have J read aloud to me while I nurse MC. Her cute little feet stick out into the book. We have to keep moving them aside to read the words. His reading aloud is a practice in patience for me. I say over and over, "The e is silent, but makes the a say its letter name", and he has a few required jumping sessions. Everything distracts him (a cloud in the illustration - "Those planets are made of gas! It's like standing on a cloud!" & looking at MC's dress, "What's the name of that fruit? A pineapple. Now back to reading." & "What's that number? Page 175. Is that 176? Yes. Now back to reading.")

3:00 Jackson goes off to meet his friend Jacob at the bus. 3:00 is the highlight of his day. He returns to report that Jacob is home, but snacking inside. We deliver the fudge and card table to neighbors (thanks, Kristin!). Get cup for Jackson to drown ants. Call my grandparents about visiting them on Friday.

3:30-3:45 Put MC down for nap. Get back to Bible study and finish it this time.

3:45 - 6:00 Wake up Harry so he'll sleep tonight. Didn't write down in the moment, so I only remember the following - while he and Jackson play outside, I unload the rest of the groceries from the car, reorder laundry room, finish dinner while talking on the phone, talk to neighbors, talk to M when he transitions his studies to home, nurse, read Reviving Ophelia, email, etc.

6:00: Dinner. Pork loin w/ mango chutney (thanks, Mama!), baked potatoes, salad.

6:30: M gets boys ready for bed while I clean up kitchen, vacuum, prepare snacks.

7:00: Boys in bed, ladies arrive to study Galatians, 9 total; nurse MC while I chat.

7:15: MC in bed. Cries on and off until I get her at 8, settle her, and put her back down for the night. It's no fun hearing your little girl cry in the first place, & even worse when other women can hear it too. Oh well. We're discussing our tendency to "hide" & I figure this is good practice in openness.

9:15: Ladies leave; show off my new coat to Betsy and we walk her things back to her apt. Back home, Matthew, Chuck (who's come to graze on leftover snacks), and I chat about Matthew's teaching class while I clean up.

9:30 - 10:00: Matthew and I eat leftover salad and watch The Office on Hulu. We discuss how hard it is for Harry and me to share our food. The other day Matthew absent-mindedly ate a bite of Harry's sandwich and he burst into tears.

10:00 - 11:45: Matthew leaves to pick up a friend at the airport. I finish this post, start dishwasher, email, talk to the friend whose husband Matthew is picking up, and head to bed.

11:45: MC wakes up again, but I decide to let her cry to avoid another night like last night. Matthew lets me go to sleep, and she cries for 20 min. before returning to sleep until 6:30.

Writing this out has made me realize again what a blessed woman I am. I'm able to stay home with my children, have a great community of neighbors, church, & family. I'm sure other times will come with suffering, but this is peaceful, and I'm thankful.

Sweet Grace

A few recent photos of our girl:






Her hair started to do this all by itself about a week ago. We hope it is not a sign of a defiant character. Actually, since it is curly when it's wet, we think she might have curls when it's longer.

Grace likes to be outside, having her hair washed, and looking at Daddy. She is a cuddler. Can't wait to introduce her in person--

Benjamin's First Word

Benjamin wrote his first word, spontaneously and without asking for spelling, last week at Josh's office. I have to admit I was thrilled at the content as well as the developmental milestone. - Emily

Fairytale in the Forties

I cried all through this wedding. You all remember Christina Conton, Keri's roommate in Trinidad. God blessed her with a wonderful, godly, servant-hearted mate in her 5th decade. The wedding (which was completely paid for, incidentally, by a package Christina won years before at a bridal show) was beautiful with several unique and meaningful aspects. Wonderful encouragement for any single friends you may have who are waiting.

First, a trip to daddy's beauty parlor.

Keri read excerpts from The Mystery of Marriage (Mike Mason).

We danced and danced...

and so did the bride (I am sorry we don't have any pictures of Kevin).

The ScareSkunk of the 'Shire

Sophie's hopeful idea to oust our smelly yardmates.

Super Boy!

Benjamin is very excited to share with you his new pjs. We saw these at the store while we were shopping for new underpants--his reward for keeping dry at night, so no more pull-ups! He begged for them and normally I don't give in to this. But my brother had a pair almost exactly like these when we were growing up. I have many fond memories of my brother rocketing around the house faster than a speeding bullet and leaping small sofas in a single bound. B always wears the cape until bedtime, when he wants to take it off and keep it by his bed until morning :)

My brothers and me

They seem to love to stick stuff on my head. When it falls off, they laugh and laugh, and then put it back on. Over and over again.

See their fort in the background? Mama and I like to talk while they play. I can coo and gurgle with the best of 'em.

New use for infant bath towel

Has your infant outgrown that nifty bath towel w/ ribbon? Harry discovered a new use today after I bathed Mary Clement. Me: "Look at your kingly robe!" Harry: "No, I'm a robot with a cape." Gotcha.

Our garden (and Esmerelda) and one more Emma pic

Keri likes this one best. This is our bristlecone pine tree, Esmerelda, with Emma's birthday deer in the background.

This is our garden, which grew lettuce, yellow squash, wildflowers, and potatoes very nicely. Note it is surrounded by free mulch from the city, the very same kind that I spent several hours on my birthday shoveling (much to Dad's delight) on to another part of our yard. It is amazing how close the apple falls. Guess what the black thing in the corner is...you bet, a composter (bought from the city, not handmade. I am making a birdbath out of old scrap metal though).

Catch up

This is Emma. She eats rice cereal with relish from a spoon, practically feeding herself. She laughs and laughs at her sister who is the most admired being in Emma's world.

She distracts all congregants at church by blowing the cutest raspberries.

She charmed her grandparents (with a little help from her sister and mother) into building this lovely pergola on the side of our house.

It makes for some very fine afternoon mealtimes.