Looking for...

a stellar whole wheat bread, bread machine recipe. Anyone???

Five...and still alive...barely

Well, today I officially made it back up to a five-mile run - even though I felt like I was going to pass out by the end :) When I got pregnant, I heard about ladies who run three miles a day through their pregnancy and do that until a couple weeks before delivery - ha! I was going to be one of those people, however I think I survived only a few weeks into the first trimester and had to go to walking. Anyways, I hoped to be right back at it after delivery, but again things have been a little slow....So now that Brynne is almost 10 months old, well here we are. I have to say I am pretty pumped, but I just wish it could have been a little sooner :)

Notice: I did not take an after picture and there is a good reason for that...

Our secret love

Confession - we love IHOP. Some of you already know that, but after we had breakfast there this morning, I just had to share. In general, Rob and I love to find little hole-in-the-wall local places to eat at and enjoy. We love our local coffee shop in Old Town Portsmouth, Moseberths (me for sweet tea only, Rob for good old fried chicken), and a local custard place...which I can't think of the name right now, but just thinking about it I'm dying for an oreo cyclone (otherwise known as a blizzard). Anyways, in this case, we love a chain! Part of that may be that we get a BOGO coupon all the time, but we also love breakfast food and honestly I've never had a bad meal there....I even waitressed there one summer...so that I still eat there says a lot :) Anyways, in case you don't know, here is what we recommend: Omelettes (massive and come with pancakes), harvest grain and nut pancakes (if you want to feel kind of good about yourself afterword), chocolate chip pancakes if you don't care about feeling good about yourself, ham and egg melt with hash browns.....and my all-time favorite around the holidays - pumpkin pancakes. Okay, well that post was worthless, but hey, what's a blog for???

Matchie...Matchie

I just couldn't stand how cute these purses were when I opened a package from Aunt Gayle. I'm not surprised 'cause I can always count on her for fun, unique gifts :) Also - they are homemade and the lady that makes them has a husband who makes the little wooden buttons (I'm not sure if you can see it well, but it's in the first picture). Gayle lives in Charlottesville, VA and after visiting multiple times, I am convinced that people who live there are born with an extra "creative" gene. It is so fun to shop there because everything is handcrafted and beautiful. Anyways, mine is already stuffed with junk and Brynnie's is amazingly clean and empty, but I have a feeling she will be using it before I know it. Thanks Aunt Gayle!

Polka-Dot Girlie

I sure do love this sweetie...almost 10 months and such a joy to us every day!

A Severe Mercy-Sheldon Vanauken “Van” #6

Hands-down, this is the best book I have read in a long time. It had the perfect balance of being genuinely enjoyable and thought-provoking at the same time. The author, Van, writes in a novel style as he shares the story of him and his wife while weaving in their relationship to C.S. Lewis including letters by Lewis’ hand. I think what I loved the most about this book was the way Van and his wife Davy work to build a love that lasts - a passion that they have long before they become followers of Jesus Christ. They go through the process of building what they call “The Shining Barrier” - which meant to them all the ways they planned to grow the most powerful love possible. I love this quote...”If one of us likes anything, there must be something to like in it-and the other one must find it. Every single thing that either of us likes. That way we shall create a thousand strands, great and small, that will link us together. Then we shall be so close that it would be impossible-unthinkable-for either of us to suppose that we could ever recreate such a closeness with anyone else. And our trust in each other will not only be based on love and loyalty but on the fact of a thousand sharings-a thousand strands twisted into something unbreakable.”:

It was also great to read Lewis’ letters - I enjoy reading his books, but there is something different in almost being able to hear his voice as he “spoke” through his letters to Van and Davy.

Well, eventually something comes along to test the “Shining Barrier”, but I won’t give anything else away in case you read it, but I definitely recommend this one. It was awesome!

So - I was curious - what are some of your “thousand strands” ? Some of the things Rob and I share a joy in are...playing in creation (especially enjoying the beach), music, reading, trying fun hole-in-the-wall local restaurants, hanging at coffee shops, dreaming of owning our own coffee shop, dreaming of planting a church together, cooking together, running, lovin’ on our Brynnie...the list goes on, but there is a start. How ‘bout you?