The New Girls

Last week, beautiful Clara Kathryn was born rather rapidly to my dear friend Katie! Jake and I visited them at the hospital to get our hands on that sweet lump of sugar and deliver her going-home dress! One of the most fun parts of that night was skyping in one of our other dearest friends since childhood, Whitney, to Jake's iPad before we walked into the hospital room... so we could all meet and celebrate together! In my remembering of iPad, dress, etc., I forgot our camera, so this is from when my girls met Clara a few days later... and it's not even of her sweet face, since I was helping protect that baby head with the hand not holding the camera! Oh well, better pics to come in the future, I'm sure. Janie thought she was BIG stuff with Clara!

The same day that my girls got to meet Clara, Brett and Lauren Dooley came over for dinner. They're on staff overseas with a college ministry, so it was a unique opportunity to get some hang-out time with them! Here's three-year-old Harrison (here at the "kids table" with Abby Jane)...
and 5-week-old Blythe Hayward! When they announced her name, I told Jake, "They must like us! They wouldn't name their daughter Blythe if they didn't like us!" Needless to say, Jake made fun of me a little on being so personally proud of the Dooleys' choice of name. She is beautiful and precious, and it was a delight to meet her in person!

We were so honored to get to spend an evening with such an amazing family as the Dooleys, and we will be keeping them in our prayers as they wrap up their last weeks in the States!

Good things to share

1. Video of my girls on a diving board. A few notes on that video: 1) despite what it sounds like, Blythe is laughing, not crying, as she is going in; 2) the words I'm searching for as I say, "I think... I think..." are that "I am not in control of this situation!"

2. My sis-in-law Susan passed along the link to this AWESOME ministry that has such a simple way to bless the lives of little girls in Africa. I can think of several of you who I know will be specifically impacted!

3. White Chocolate Smores Gooey Cake Bars- my friend Holly emailed me this recipe. Mine are pictured below (recipe text follows), and you can click here for a photo tutorial! Jake says these are one of the best desserts I've ever made. They were a hit when we fixed them for some friends the other night!

1 box yellow cake mix

1 large egg

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

4 1/2 full graham crackers

10 ounce bag white chocolate chips

2 cups mini marshmallows

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with tin foil that’s been generously sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure foil goes all the way up and over the edges for this one. It will be a full pan

2. Place cake mix, egg, and butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix with hands until a nice dough forms. similar to a cookie dough. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with graham crackers, white chips then marshmallows. Top with remaining half of dough pressing evenly. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over top then bake for 28-33 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown on top. Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes then take a plastic knife and run along edges to loosen marshmallow (this will make your life easier when pulling foil out of pan to remove bars Let cool completely then remove bars from pan with foil edges. Cut off all edges if desired, about 1/2 inch each side. I save the edges to snack on too. Cut bars into squares and serve. They are delicious room temperature or chilled.

12 to 16 servings

The Car

I'm a car person and I also have a great appreciation for a well-cleaned car. I came by it honestly as my dad was and my uncle is a car person. My dad taught me how to wash the car and detail the inside, and I remember spending Saturday afternoons washing my beloved Jeep Wrangler in the driveway, scrubbing the tires and hubcaps, and spraying Armorall on the interior. One time in high school, I went to NAPA Autoparts and bought replacement wipers and headlights. On my way out, the salesman asked if I would need help installing them, and I told him that no, thank you, I would be just fine. And I absolutely was.

If you looked in my car before last week or any time in the last year or so, there would no indication that I even know how to clean a car, much less that I value organization in any way, shape, or form. My car was filled with countless toys, mismatched shoes, a few receipts, and a lot of other miscellaneous items. The floor badly needed vacuuming. It overwhelmed me.

That is, until Jake, unbeknownst to me, emptied my car one night last week before he took it in to get serviced. Then he used a Groupon to get it thoroughly detailed. AHHHHH do you see that there are only two items other than carseats??? A diaper bag and Abby Jane's back pack. Every time I have gotten into my car since then, I feel an almost spa-like zen in the lack of chaos.

I now remember that I am a car person and I love my car enough to take better care of its interior, and I pledge to be more responsible. I now have a rule I am keeping with Nazi-like seriousness that we will bring NO TOYS to the car. There already toys in my "bag of fun" that I keep in the front seat to throw back to fussy children. We need no more.

When Jake brought the car home, he said it was now up to me as to how I choose to "re-populate" it. I plan to re-populate with responsibility and exclusivity.

By the way, I have the best husband in the world.

Gazpacho

We made this gazpacho last weekend, and it was a fantastically delish way to use summer veggies. My picture is actually of some leftovers and is not garnished or special-looking, but boy was it special tasting! We took a friend's advice and threw in two chopped jalapenos, and we would have put in more if it were only for adults!

A plus: it's perfect for making with little helpers. The majority of the soup is veggies that have gone through the food processor. Abby Jane was my processor, and I just swapped out the veggies when she finished each one!

Bad Habits and Oats

Joy's new bad habit: licking her plate after her meal. I like the spinach that ended up on her forehead.

Blythe's new bad habit: taking off her all her clothes and her diaper during naptimes. It was funny the time I took this picture. It was not funny the time Jake went in to discover a "nik nik" Boo and significant fall-out (so to speak) of a dirty diaper.

Blythe was really feeling her oats over the weekend. She was giving Joy and Janie, the stronger personalities of the family, a run for their money. She would giggle as she hit Joy on the head during dinner, giggle as she teased the other girls with books she was not planning to share in the car, laugh as she tickled and poked the other girls in the car. The thing is, she's on the receiving end of ALL of that behavior ALL the time. Abby Jane and Joy did not like the tastes of their own medicine most of the time, but Jake and I were honestly a little proud to see little Blythe asserting herself a little more.

Having said that, on Friday morning, Joy pushed Blythe off the end of the diving board, resulting in more of a flip than a jump. Sunday night, Joy was trying to climb up the ladder in the deep end of the pool, and Blythe stood between the handles of the ladder, kicking Joy back every time Joy got up to the top of the ladder. So it all kind of balances out in the end and it all creates an excellent learning opportunity to be GENTLE and loving and kind! Then Jake and I can laugh to ourselves later.

First Donation

My life changed in May when we started 418 Stitches. We got to make 418's first donation this week from July's proceeds for $171.10, and it was so, so fulfilling.

The "why" behind all this comes clearly into focus when you read something like the following, from a recent newsletter from Hagar International:

$500 Three months of job training for one woman

$250 School tuition for one child, annually

$100 One month of nutritious food, for one woman

$50 One month's spending money for 50 girls from trafficking backgrounds

$25 Books and materials to teach one woman to read

Pool Days

Going to a pool, any pool, is our family's happy place right now. My girls love to come and hate to leave. Here are a few snapshots of these sweet days!