Guessing game

Can you identify this flower?

I'll give you a few hints. The bees love it. They buzzed around constantly while I snapped these photos this morning.

This plant grows in cooler months and is gone long before the intense heat of summer.

It's very accessible. I took these pictures in my back yard. You can also find them, in bud form harvested well before bloom, in your grocer's produce section.

Any ideas?

Find the answer in the comments!

7 Quick Takes Friday vol. 13

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We had a bit of an eclectic Superbowl menu this year. Our menu consisted of a baked, cheesy spinach dip, bruschetta topped with cherry tomatoes and our homemade pesto, fresh berries and . . . Cheetos. For dessert we made chocolate-pumpkin whoopie pies. I do believe I'm becoming a big fan of the whoopie pie genre.

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I am finally caught up on all the episodes of Downton Abbey. I had to make it a priority because I keep getting spoiled on twitter! I was way behind because it is impossible for me to watch the show when it is airing on Sunday nights, something to do with having 4 young children and all. But, I've found a great way to get caught up and motivate myself to exercise at the same time. Did you know there is a PBS app for the iPhone? All the shows that can be found on PBS online are available through the app. So, I grab my earbuds and jump on the elliptical and before I know it I've gotten in a great workout and caught up on all the happenings at Downton Abbey.

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To all my fellow photographers out there: Do you ever edit your photos with textures? Using textures basically involves overlaying one photo on top of another and blending them together to manipulate color and contrast and to add, well, texture to the photo. If you love textures (or would like to give them a test run), Sarah Gardner is giving away a free set of textures on her site available until February 14th. If you've never used textures before, Sarah has some nice tutorials on her blog and some absolutely amazing photography. She truly is an artist so go check her out and prepare to be inspired.

The above is my own amateur-ish attempt at using one of Sarah's textures. The before/after rollover will give you an idea of what textures can do.

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Amy Welborn's new book, Wish You Were Here, is now available in paperback and on kindle and I can't wait to read it. I remember hearing about her husband passing away suddenly a few years ago and my heart just ached for her. One of my greatest fears is to lose my husband and to have to support and raise my children without him. I think her story of grief and then learning to continue on without her life partner has to be tremendously inspiring. I'll be sure to report back with a review once I've read it.

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Daffodils!

I love these happy, sunshiny flowers so much but I've never actually grown them in my garden. Last fall when we were reworking a flower bed in the front yard I remembered to buy a few daffodil bulbs and plant them. I am beyond ecstatic that they are now actually coming up!

If I'm this excited for a few little green shoots then I won't be able to stand myself when they finally bloom! My camera better get ready for a workout!

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Clara's babble continues to crack us up. She still only has a few words, but as you can see in this video, she can communicate just fine. Who knew that toddler jabber could be so emphatic!

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There are so many foods that I did not appreciate properly as a child. So many of them are foods that I now love and can not imagine cooking without.

For instance, I used to pick out any and every little sliver of onion I saw out of every dish my mother ever made. Now I cook with fresh onions daily. I don't think I ever had a homemade dish with fresh garlic in it until after I was married. Now I think roasted garlic is one of the most heavenly foods I've ever put on my tongue. As a child I had never even heard of olive oil or leeks or dried cranberries. I refused to try avocados though now I can't imagine life without guacamole. And after my mom's limp, squishy microwaved zucchini I swore that when I grew up I'd never let any type of squash ever cross my lips! Now during the summer we grill yellow squash or zucchini at least weekly and even grow them in our vegetable garden.

Are there any foods that you hated or wouldn't try as a kid but now you love?

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

For the love

My mother-in-law is a fabulous gardener. When Eric and I married I had very little knowledge of flower gardening, but I had a deep love of flowers. Over the years, I slowly gleaned some of my mother-in-laws gardening wisdom from a five-minute conversation here, a casually dropped comment there. My efforts in my own garden haven't been nearly as fruitful as Debbie's, but it's a fun hobby and a common interest that has led to a true friendship with my mother-in-law.

The love of flowers is not the only motivation I have to garden. I also have a real passion for photographing them. I love taking pictures of my kids, but nothing fires up my creativity like a patch of flowers, beautiful evening light, and a few minutes of quiet with no other companion than my camera and my 50mm lens. I get lost in the beauty of God's creation and minutes fly by.

Flowers also trigger strong memories for me. When we brought Jonathan home from the hospital our deep pink azaleas were in full bloom; with Elizabeth it was the pale yellow day lilies. A pansy always makes me think of Eric's grandmother who had a particular love for them. And, the flower that I will always associate with my mother-in-law is the zinnia.

Debbie grows them every year and in abundance. She has a long narrow border along a path up to my father-in-law's shop and it is always full to bursting with zinnias. Ever since I got my camera, about three and a half years ago, I've been longing to photograph her flowers. But, we always seemed to be there two early in the season or after the blooms we're dried up and left to make seeds for next year's garden or there was a season when her zinnias just didn't come up very well at all.

But--but!--this year they were still going strong at Thanksgiving when we were in Eric's hometown for the holiday. Add in some beautiful, fall, late-afternoon light and I was in photographer's heaven.

For years I've had a plan to take pictures of Debbie's zinnias and frame a collage of them for her birthday. Finally, this year, I'll be able to do it!

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 10)

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Yesterday was the first day of school! This summer went so incredibly fast it almost feels like we never had one. We've slipped back into the normal school routine like we never left it -- and it feels good.

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Can I just say that I love our kids school? Cause I do! Of course it is far from perfect, but it has been such a blessing in our lives. I love the teachers and principal that care, the small class sizes, that there are only two classes per grade, that God is talked about all day long, that they start the day with both a prayer and the pledge, I could go on and on. Eric is on the school board so we get a rare glimpse behind the scenes and that knowledge has assured me even more that my kids are in a good place.

---3---

I'm still loving my new elliptical! Right now I'm focusing on creating a habit of exercise rather than intensely pursuing fitness, but I'm already seeing results. I've lost 3 pounds (every little bit counts!) and my knees feel so much better. I had some injuries to my knees during high school and regular exercise definitely reduces their lingering effects.

---4---

I'm reading a new book: Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. The premise is that women most desperately need love while men's greatest need is respect; but, neither men nor women are very good at supplying those needs in a way their spouse understands. I'll be sure to report back when I've finished it!

---5---

Elizabeth is toothless! Well, she's missing her top front teeth at least. She lost the first one months ago and there is still no sign of a permanent tooth and the second one popped out the day before yesterday. I have a feeling her smile is going to have a giant hole in it for quite awhile!

---6---

It's still blazing hot here in Texas, but we've started doing some fall gardening. Our fall tomatoes and squash are planted and I added some zinnias to our front flower bed that will probably last into December. I'm really starting to look forward to the cooler weather, baking, more time outside playing and tending to the garden that fall promises.

---7---

And, finally, a couple more pictures because you know that I can't help but share. Here are my girls (before Elizabeth lost her second front tooth):

Be sure to head over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 10)

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I mentioned in my last Quick Takes edition that I had purchased a shark steam mop and that I would report back on my thoughts about it after using it. Well, I love it! It easily cut my mopping time down to a third of what it previously took me with a mop and bucket of soapy water. It was fast, cleaned thoroughly (even those mystery spots that just spontaneously appear on the floor in the areas of the house where the kids typically are) and my floor both felt and looked clean when I was finished. It's way better then a mop and bucket or a swiffer in my opinion. Plus I love that it requires no cleaning products or disposable pads; I just throw the washable pads in the washing machine when I'm done!

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Aren't these the cutest tomatoes? They are from our garden and are supposed to be cherry tomatoes, but they are more like the size of blueberries. They are tasty little suckers but it takes at least a half dozen of them just to make one mouthful!

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Last Friday we hosted a small group of people who are all on the Core Team of a marriage ministry at church. We served coffee cake with fresh berries and some wine. It was a nice evening in good company with fruitful discussion for our ministry.

But, (there's always a "but") it took me all week to prepare for it. I admit that I am not a natural housekeeper but having four young kids in the house all day certainly complicates the process. I did finally get the entire house spic and span, but it was at the cost of many other things. Because we were cleaning we did not go to the library or the park, we didn't do our read alouds, the kids math workbooks and journals were untouched, the laundry piled ever higher and higher, I didn't get my allergy shots and I was a grumpy, stressed-out mess.

I have officially proven to myself that I can't do it all. We can either have a clean house or a house with happy, enriched, healthy kids and mommy. I choose the later, but I sure wish I could have both!

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Here is what we made from our bounty of blackberries:

Blackberry Jelly. It was the first time I ever made jelly on my own and it was quite a success!

Blackberry Crisp. This was Eric's Father's Day treat. It was absolutely scrumptious with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Purple blackberry juice stained hands. It's not a good idea to make blackberry jelly on the same day that you have scheduled for family portraits. My skin and nails were a mess! I think I scrubbed them clean enough to not show in the pictures, but I won't know for sure until I see the proofs!

--- 5 ---

Clara's baptism is this coming Saturday. I'm so excited to be welcoming my little girl into the Mystical Body of Christ! Will you please pray for her on her special day?

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Jonathan's 8th birthday was last March and by far the best gift he got was a Rubik's cube. Eric's been slowly teaching him how to solve it and this week he finally solved the entire thing all by himself. He and Eric have had so much fun talking algorithms and strategies (yes, we are a family of nerds!), racing each other to see who is fastest and coming up with special patterns. That was definitely the best $10 we've ever spent!

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The most prolific bed in our vegetable garden this year is not one that we planted; it's our compost pile where we throw all our kitchen and yard scraps.

We have volunteer tomatoes, potatoes and cucumbers; a mystery vine turned out to be watermelon and just this morning we picked a cantaloupe. Each piece of fruit that we pick is like a wonderful little gift from God since we did absolutely nothing to cultivate it. We just get to reap the harvest!

Be sure to check out more Quick Takes at Conversion Diary!

Bits and pieces of our days

I'm way behind on blogging so this is a catch up post. Here's what we've been up to lately!

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I recently stumbled across goodreads. Is anyone else on it? I absolutely love it so far. It's a social networking site as well as a place to organize lists of books, ones you have read or plan to read. You can review and rate books and follow what other people are reading. I used to keep lists of books in a word document (I wanted to remember all my favorites so I can share them with my kids when the reach appropriate ages), but this site is much more user friendly and I love the graphic representations of the books. I also like that it helps me keep up with all the books I plan on reading. When someone gives a recommendation of a book that sounds interesting, I go and add it to my "to-read" section on goodreads.

If you're on goodreads I'd love to add you as a friend! You can link to my profile on my sidebar.

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Our new house is completely wonderful, but it is also treeless. Back in February we planted two trees, a red maple and a Shummard red oak. We had so much fun choosing the trees and planting them ourselves. Everyone helped, though Clara's role was mostly supervisory. :)



I so look forward to watching these trees grow as my kids grow alongside them. And, this fall we'll even have some fall color in our yard, even if it is only about 7 leaves worth!

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Infant photographers earn every dime they make! Seriously. We tried to do a little photo shoot with Clara in her Easter dress. She's three months old now and we need a nice portrait of her to share with family.


We tried propping her up on a bean bag and a Bumbo seat covered with a blanket. We waited until she was well rested with a full belly so she'd be happy and smiley. We shot outside on an overcast day which should create the perfect light.


But, the pictures on the bean bag and Bumbo looked awkward, she hardly gave us any smiles and, though it was overcast, it was too bright and she was squinting all the time. I have so much to learn about infant portraiture.

The one good thing from the shoot is that at least you get to see how adorable her Easter dress is!

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Gustin came in from the backyard with this black eye the other day. I have no idea how he got it!


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I had a good Lent this year. "Good" meaning that through prayer and introspection I've discovered I'm a shallow, dysfunctional, rule-follower and I'm questioning whether I've ever truly loved God or if I've always just been a good girl because I don't like breaking rules. Yeah. I'll still be chewing on the things I've learned about myself this Lent when next year's Lent comes around.

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One more mirror picture for Clara's collection.

3 months old

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My hair has been slowly going gray for many years now (I started seeing my first gray hairs when I was 18!). Every time I look in the mirror, though, even after all these years, I'm shocked at all my gray. I still picture myself in my head as a pure brunette.


I started out plucking my grays and for a short time I colored it. But, to be honest, I really hated coloring my hair. I'm a natural girl and I hated fighting my hair color so I've just let it go. That doesn't mean that I'm used to it, though!

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I guess that's enough for now. I'm hitting "publish" then heading to bed. G'night all!

A mystery

We have an unsolved mystery in our vegetable garden. I mentioned before that we planted some marigolds in the garden between the tomato plants because they are supposed to help deter pests. At least in theory. The reality is that about two days after we planted, the marigold were eaten. And not just a little nibble on the leaves. Entire plants are gone. They just disappeared overnight. Then branches on the tomato plants started to disappear and then one morning we found this:
It was a two foot tall tomato plant, now it's a stump. This morning I found a pepper plant that met the same fate. We've had trouble with slugs and caterpillars in the past, but I think this pest is much larger. We have a varmint. And, we better discover what and how to stop it or soon we're not going to have any garden left!

Out with the old, in with the new

It's time to say goodbye to our winter garden. Our little patch did pretty well this year, but here you see it all going to seed. The vegetable garden is not large because we have a smallish backyard and lots of tall, mature trees. This area in the back corner of our yard is the only area that receives enough direct sun to support growing vegetables. But, despite the limited sunshine, the cilantro, mesclun (mixed greens), dill and carrots did well. The spinach didn't grow so well. I think our soil might be deficient in something that spinach needs. I'll need to research that and amend the soil before we plant again next fall.
We had one thing left to harvest: the carrots. I think they are actually kind of pretty.
Here's our little haul. Not very impressive, but the kids liked pulling and eating them.
And, here's our new summer vegetable garden. You can see that by the time we were done, the shade was already encroaching on it. We tried to squeeze a lot into our little space. You can't really see them, but on the left are 4 or 5 tomato plants, a red bell pepper plant, onions, and some marigolds. The scent of the marigolds is supposed to help deter harmful bugs. On the right hand side is basil, more onions, and radishes. We also planted a few pots that can be moved to capture the most sun with yellow squash, zucchini and some cherry tomatoes. I hope our garden does well this year. My mouth is already watering for the things I can make with this great fresh produce!
Here's our littlest helper who turns eleven months old today. Yes, I know, he's playing on the bags of compost and manure. But, hey, at least it's organic! :)

Spring has sprung!

I know it seems early, it does to me too, even for Texas. When I started noticing a few trees blooming a week or two ago I was in denial. Surely those trees were confused and they didn't really mean to be blooming. I mean, a tree across the street from our house just had its leaves turn yellow and fall about a month ago. Nature doesn't seem to know what season it is. But, the more I look, the more nature keeps telling me that spring is indeed here.

Bushes are blooming everywhere as are the red buds, magnolias (the ones with the lavender blooms, they're really pretty) and my azaleas.
The trees are also starting to leaf out and I'm sure our car will soon be covered in dusty, yellow pine pollen.

We're still enjoying the produce of our "winter" garden (I use that word in the loosest sense of the term). My fingers are itching to get our "real" garden put in, but its really too early for that. Eric bought a couple of tomato plants last weekend. We planted them in containers so we can bring them in if it gets cold. They even already have blooms on them!
We've got a rainy day ahead of us here today. I guess in this part of the world it's February showers bring spring flowers. But, that doesn't have quite the right ring to it, does it?