collector

I love coffee. I love coffee cups. Really really a whole bunch. Just a few of my favorites are in this picture ... mixed in with the standard mugs from our wedding:) I remember everyone who has contributed to my overflowing cupboard...love to you!!

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new curtains

I just love my new curtains in our living room! The colors....oh, the colors!! As my mom said, nothing like a little redecorating to liven up the end of January. Hope you get to surround yourself with your favorite colors today...

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monday monday

Just a normal day around here. Hollyn is learning to sweep. Plenty of Little People are sleeping soundly in Noah's Ark. Griffin is always so calm and passive. We're feeding ourselves nutritious food. And we play nice, orderly games as a family....no one ever fights....

Yep, just normal ;)

bullets

I can't seem to complete a full sentence, but I sure can communicate in bullet points! Must be something I retained from my college days:)

Life keeps rolling along.

Life is good. Life is messy. Life is hard. Life is fun. Life is mundane. Life is exceptional. Life is blessed, don't you think?

Here are some random thoughts floating around in my head:

• I think I made decaf coffee this morning. Not a good idea...sorry Joel! I made a real pot mid-morning to make me feel alive.
• I want to go on a family vacation so bad. We are so lucky that we get to go on lots of trips with family and do fun things together, but our little family has rarely done any type of trip alone. But I tend to want a lot of things.
• I love real seasons. If it is winter, I want it to be snowy! In the summer, I expect heat! It has been quite snowy this winter...but now we're in the beginning of a thaw. So yucky. Water is shooting out of our gutters like a river!
• We've been here over a year and I am just now thinking about putting up curtains. I'm slow.
• Parker started basketball and it is the cutest thing ever. They even get to run through a fog machine/tunnel and get they're name announced. His next game is tomorrow and I'm already so excited!
• Hollyn has been sick for months straight. I feel like it has been her entire life, but I've been known to exaggerate. Needless to say, this mama is tired. And my poor little girl could really use some relief.
• I'm in total awe of God's healing of little Ella. I've never witnessed a miracle even close to this and it has truly changed my life. She had NO CHANCE of living. And now she is two months old. Read this. But start at the beginning, because it is that good.
• Joel is going to turn 33 in a matter of weeks. Whoa. Even though I am still in my twenties, I feel like WE are now in our mid-thirties;)
• I have a new little computer. I'm on my netbook right now. Have I mentioned that it is mine?
• Griffin wants to be karate kid. He says he is starting on Saturday. What?! I hate to see what that boy could destroy with some skills!

And now, a random picture for your enjoyment.

my one idea

I'm no creative genius...at all. But I did come up with one good idea in 2010. I love Christmas cards more than anything. I LOVE that most people send pictures these days. But then I have the dilemma of what to do with them after Christmas. I can't throw them away!

So I just covered all of my 09 cards with contact paper, punched a hole in a corner & then used a binder ring to keep them all together. Voila! Now you have a book you can look thru all year and isn't a mess! Hollyn even enjoys looking at all the pictures and licking the faces:) Love it! This is a picture of some of last year's cards...this year is going to be even better because you all sent the most fabulous pictures!!

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more

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frozen beauty

Can't really capture this kind of beauty with a camera phone... but, my goodness!! Feeling pretty blessed to call this my home sweet home.

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a favorite

Despite the fact that my little sister is not featured, this is still one of my favorite family pictures! My parents were SO YOUNG...and so were me and my brother:)

*video* If I knew then...

...What I know now:

I would not have spaced our first two children so close in age.

I realize 22 months isn't that close, but it is for me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it now...but I do feel like a little more time would have been good for everyone.

I worried a bit that the bigger space between Griffin & Hollyn (3 years, 3 months) and the fact that they were different genders would create too much distance. But so far, I was SO wrong. Now I'm wishing that they were all over 3 years apart!

Of course...I'm so glad that I didn't know then what I know now...because I wouldn't have this family! Does that make any sense?

The bond between the Griff and Hollyn is sweet and hilarious! No one can get Hollyn to laugh quite like Griffin! She lights up and squeals whenever she spots him. She also isn't afraid to put him in his place when he gets too rough...or annoying:) They sit and play together in the living room for such long periods of time that I sometimes feel a bit guilty about my lack of involvement!

The video is a couple minutes long and pretty uneventful, but you can get an insider's look at their sweet relationship...

7

She is 7 months today. Boo. I've never been one to dread my babies growing up. But this is different. Hollyn is the last hurrah for this clan and I feel like our days of sweet innocence are slipping away. Why is life flying by like this?! Maybe we're just having too much fun :)

She is the happiest baby I've ever met. Ever. I love her to pieces and she has captured a part of my heart that I didn't even know existed. Oh, Hollyn Joy, I love you...evenbif you are growing up at the speed of light!

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swimmer

We start them early:)

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links--please help

For those of you not on FB (gasp:), here are links to signing up to help the Dordals:

Groceries

http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=FUKU1544

Dinner:

http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=LRAM3987

And here is the link directly to the Facebook page for updates.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellas-Heart/168605369830086?v=wall

Another plug for Giving Anonymously:

http://www.givinganon.org/give/step2_widget.php?widget_id=38

thankful

Today, I am thankful for the things that aren't always obvious.

Thank you, God, for....
*children that have colds and fevers. But healthy and strong and have access to medicine.
*feeling such a burden on my heart to pray and hope for our friends.
*feeling physically worn out at the end of each day...because I've been so busy doing what I love.
*for the freezing wind because it reminds me that we've been given such an amazing place to call home.
*for the stuff of life that is too much to walk through....because the beauty of a community of imperfect people coming together and loving like we should is miraculous.
*for a baby that keeps me up during the night....because I get to hold her. I will never take this for granted.
*for the laundry I am never caught up on and the house that is downright disgusting. We have clothes to keep us warm and space to let things go!

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fresh look & an opportunity

I have a fresh new look...don't you love it?! Me too:) Serious kudos to my amazing friend, Jenn @ Munchkin Land Designs.

I love her designs...but I love HER even more. Check her out...:)

Also...if you are a fellow blogger and you are interested in helping out Ella's Family...please use this widget on your sidebar. The link will take others directly to a site that is set up to receive donations on behalf of the Erik and Christa Dordal.Thanks!

https://www.givinganon.org/give/step2_widget.php?widget_id=38">http://www.givinganon.org/images/giving-anonymously-button2.gif" alt="Give with Giving Anonymously" border="0" width="180" height="103" />

or another option:

https://www.givinganon.org/give/step2_widget.php?widget_id=38">http://www.givinganon.org/images/giving-anonymously-button1.png" alt="Give with Giving Anonymously" border="0" width="180" height="166" />

feed me

This is how hollyn sits in her highchair. She is pretty short, I think. Which is so strange considering her last name;)

But, man, this little girl can EAT!

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Pray for Ella

Our dear friends have just met their baby...and Ella needs a miracle. Please Pray.

our family in pictures. courtesy of andi mae photography.

family pictures!

For the first time ever,we had family pictures taken! Here is one sample...such a tease, I know:) This is a favorite because it looks like our real life...except prettier! A good photographer can do that sort of thing. More to come...

halloween

I only have a minute to post this one picture from Halloween. More to come, I hope. My kids were super-darling. Of course:) But I was crazy busy and I didn't take pictures. This one comes courtesy of my sister. Here is our little cheerleader...

We had a skeleton, batman, and....Hollyn had TWO costumes....:) She was a cheerleader for Team R****** for the Halloween party inside and she was the cutest little bunny rabbit for trick or treating.

I so love Halloween. I think I just like the excuse to dress up my children in cute outfits and eat chili with friends and family:)

real food!

I'm having so much fun feeding hollyn solids! Apparently, things have really changed in the world of babyfood in the last three years.

Our pediatrician informed me that the new recommendation is that meat be baby's first food! And that just about all the rules are out regarding the order of introduction. I didn't start with meat first because it just sounded gross. Basically, Hollyn just eats what we eat as long as it can be mashed or pureed! Her favorites are tortellini stew, cauliflower soup, pears, and Nancy's yogurt. Not a huge fan of applesauce or other sweet/sour fruits.

Feeding babies solids used to be a stressful thing-- so many rules!! But now it is so much more enjoyable! Plus, this just makes more sense if we want our kids to like a variety of foods.

Gone are the days of jarred, bland food...or even making your own, bland food! Bring on the flavor!

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