crayon by candle

on thanksgiving, when asked what she was most thankful for, heron without hesitation replied, "CRAYONS!"

last night the power was out for a few hours, & the kids, both avid colorers, gained a new favorite activity--candlelit coloring!

my first paid gig!

i was hired by christianity today to do a photo shoot of josh for an article on his music for their upcoming issue (online & print versions, i believe).  it was a fun collaboration, & an adventure as always!  the photo editor had given me the wrong date, some clothes we'd ordered for the shoot hadn't arrived yet, & it was raining buckets in portland (not the usual drizzle, but serious downpours) during the only morning that we had free before the deadline.  our friend olivia had until exactly noon to watch the kids, so we had some serious parameters before us. but we came away with some good shots!  i've posted them here (a site still-in-the-making!  if anyone knows a good logo designer, please let me know!).  the above photo was a warm-up, but a favorite!

belated anniversary

6 years : 4 houses, 3 states, 4 albums, 2 babies. happy (belated) anniversary (getaway) weekend, sweet love o my life! 

josh was gone over our anniversary weekend, so the following weekend, thanksgiving, josh's parents watched the kids so we could take a twenty-four hour getaway.  we stayed in downtown seattle at the alexis hotel (where through josh's sister we were able to get a lovely suite with a fireplace).  though we visit the seattle area every few months for family gatherings, we rarely explore downtown during those visits.  so we enjoyed being tourists, eating good + quiet meals, touring the art museum, lingering coffee dates--things we are rarely able to indulge in with kids in tow!  

(last year's belated anniversary was celebrated in seattle, too)

thanksgiving

(fireside dessert)

: swings :

: and a family forest walk :

guest book : jennifer harris

jennifer harris, one of my roommates from my first year of working in peru with food for the hungry, was in town visiting family, & she stopped by for tea.  we hadn't seen each other since 2002!  she was meeting heron & shepherd for the first time, but she'd met josh when he came to visit me in pucallpa in '01.  she is still living in the jungle, now working with a local church, truly bringing transformation to the local community as well as many amazon river communities through the preaching of the gospel, educational & agricultural programs.

it was such a joy to share our personal journeys over the past decade, & to see that the bond of christ has made us even more like-minded over the years.  as is often the case with our friends living in foreign lands, her stories brought so much encouragement to our faith.  even the dead have been raised in her midst, in the name of jesus, & josh & i were so fortunate to hear these stories from her lips.  jennifer is a faithful saint, & her joy is contagious.

you can read more about jennifer's ministry here!  

ramsdales in portland

josh was in both california & florida this weekend, so my brother & his family drove down from seattle to keep us company.  heron & sheppy LOVE their cousins, & we had a great weekend together.  good homemade grub, a visit to porque no?, a rainy evening at playdate pdx, & a chilly morning at the soaking pool.

: in the rose garden :

: heron & shepherd shared their favorite tree-climbing spot with lucas :

teal in town!

we had an eventful weekend with teal in town, starting with andee's "dia de los muertos" gathering--a time to indulge in homemade tamales & sugar skull sugar cookies, but also a time to honor lost loved ones.  andee lost her dad when she was a teenager, & i lost my dad a few years ago.  i added pictures of my dad to her mantle this year, among the candles & handmade sugar skulls.

after andee's, we ran over to land gallery where nikki mcclure was showing her work from next year's calendar (the purchase of which is an annual tradition in our family).  i've seen her work in person a few times at land since moving to portland, but this was the first time meeting her.

after the gallery show, teal & i had a movie night slumber party & ate a yummy kasha (minus the mushrooms) +sunny-side-up eggs breakfast upon waking.

sunday was a rest day, then church, & then... my brightest diamond at mississippi studios!  a-MAZING!  authentically quirky lady, that shara worden, but beautifully moving, haunting performance.  entirely captivating.  (and this song, one she wrote for her son, had tears streaming down my face as i thought of my little shepherd)  best show in years, i'd say.  it was a great finale to teal's stay, as she left for l.a. today!  

first day of (montessori) preschool

hooray!  heron started classes at her new montessori preschool today!  a new school just opened up down the road from us--maria's place montessori (affiliated with montessori of alameda), and they still had openings two months into the school year.  maria's place is bilingual english/spanish & offers financial aid so we can afford it (unlike most montessori schools).  i love that heron will get the benefit of a montessori education in a culturally diverse environment.  her teacher ms. patti is a lively grandmotherly mexican woman who's taught in portland montessori schools for the past twenty years.  heron will be in school four mornings a week.  the house was so quiet while she was at school today, & we sure missed her.  but school seems like such a good fit for our social, eager-to-learn, spitfire little girl!  

(the shoes she's holding are her classroom slippers)