It's the ball tent!

I had you all fooled! Asher's favorite is totally the ball tent. He always runs and jumps into it first thing when we head down to the play room, and he repeatedly goes back to it while we're there. He has had it for several months, and although he wasn't crazy about it at first, the boy certainly loves it now. Here is some evidence of how often I find him playing in his beloved ball tent:

Perhaps the fact that Greg also enjoys playing in the ball tent serves as a bit of a motivator for Asher (even though most of Greg's intention is to throw balls at me!)

Yay for the ball tent!

Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens...

... these are a few of Asher's favorite things! We play downstairs with these toys every day, but Asher certainly favors one toy over the rest. Can you guess which of these three he spends the most time with?

option A: his ride-on car

option B: his ball tent

option C: his climbing structure/slide

Happy guessing!

All I want for my birthday is...

- Cora's for breakfast
- a new sweater
- to sleep in
- to laugh
- to not have to cook
- time away
- for this guy not to be sick!

My birthday is in 2 days and I'm praying that, within that time frame, Asher recovers from his cold and his painful monster of an ear infection that we just found out about. He has been super duper cranky, and had a very runny nose, and has not been sleeping very well. I would take him feeling better over any birthday present any day.

Oh birthday fairy, if you're listening, HELP!

grateful

There are many things to be grateful "for" but, as I ripen with the seasons of life, the many reasons blend into a sacred mystery. And, most deeply, I realize that living gratefully is its own blessing.
Michael Mahoney

As I reflect on Thanksgiving, and all the things and people I am grateful for, it would be so easy to write a list and leave it at that. But I don't want my gratefulness to be something that springs up every now and then, or something I remember to do at a particular "season" of the year. I hope to recognize and acknowledge my gratitude every day, no matter what circumstances I find myself in, and live life out of this heart.

Wishing you thanksgiving today, and all year through!

Apple Butter

Apple Butter

10-12 crisp apples, peeled, cored and quartered

1 cup + 2 TBSP brown sugar

1/2-3/4 cup apple juice

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of ground cloves and nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a medium pot and cook on medium heat until the apples are soft and break down.

2. Let simmer for 45 minutes (I had to add a bit more apple juice here as I found it was drying up quite a bit).

3. Puree

Holy yum! I received a new recipe for Apple Butter from a mom-friend of mine last night at a recipe swap, and I couldn't wait to make a batch today. It's fabulous!

We have lots of apples around from our recent apple orchard visit, and it was fun to get to use them in this different way. For those of you who don't know, apple butter is used like a jam would be. I especially like it on bagels with cream cheese. Delicious!

Apple butter: a new reason to love autumn!

weekly feature?

Perhaps I should start a weekly feature titled "Interesting places I find my son" because this is what I found today.




Yup, that's him stuck inside the toy box! Perhaps I shouldn't ask where I will find him next; I'm afraid of the answer!

PS - Punctuation boot camp girl, was that the appropriate use of a semicolon?? :)

never fails...

This guy never fails to amaze me, or crack me up. He is always into something, exploring, and trying to figure it all out. Here are 2 things I caught on camera last week that made me smile, atleast in the moment!

Super- Asher!

I think he considers this "helping"!

I wonder what this week will bring... hum?