Linkage

Why You Can’t Loose Those Last Ten Pounds – Don’t eat plastic. Wow!

Etsy Headquarters – I love Etsy and I really love their office. Can I work there??

Tasty Kitchen – My new favorite site for recipes.

And because I like (okay, fine, love) pretty pictures, here are some of my Flickr finds. Pictures not taken by me.

source

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Date Night – Blue Grass Edition

I have never been to a Bluegrass concert, never purchased a Bluegrass CD, never wanted to go to a Bluegrass concert or shown much interest in hearing the music.

But!

We’re in Paraguay, and it’s a lovely country that does not offer lots of flashy entertainment. One must seek out new things to do. So when my dad told us about this Bluegrass group that was sent down by the American Embassy and how they would be performing for free at one of the local schools, we were in.

My sister babysat, we went out for Chinese first (I had my first Chinese dumpling…delicious!) and then went to the concert.

It was a lot of fun! We clapped our hands, stomped our feet and even shouted YEEHAW a few times.

Who would have thought that my first Bluegrass concert would be in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay? I’m glad I went, and I’m really glad that I live in a country where the usual thing to do on a Friday night is drink terere with friends, because when the occasional concert/show/circus comes to town it makes it all the more exciting! Too much entertainment is exhausting and expensive, a little bit every now and then is way more special.

{Chinese Dumpling = Yum.}

Family Pictures by Elena

A new favorite activity of Elena’s is to borrow my point and shoot and start taking pictures. Sometimes I have to delete whole folders full of pictures of toes, grass, and random objects around the house.

But sometimes I find pictures that I just love.

Blurry, out of focus, but us. Little glimpses of our lives from Elena’s point of view.

Greek Yogurt

About 1 cup of Greek style yogurt

A handful of toasted walnuts

A dash of cinnamon

A drizzle of honey

A handful of pomegranate seeds

Simple. Healthy. Sooooo good.

Parque Monday (Mohn-dah-ew)

After days and days of rain,we were very happy to see the sun one morning. It only lasted that one day before water started dripping out of the sky again, but that one day was very much needed.

(Because I was loosing my mind.)

We went to a park on the outskirts of town where you can picnic, take nice walks and see a waterfall. I had no idea the waterfalls would be so massive.

I love waterfalls. The rushing, roaring, pounding sound always thrills me and reminds me of swimming in so many rapids in the jungle. White water rafting in a dug out canoe with no helmet or life jacket on (shhh, don’t tell my mom) are some the best memories I have.

We all enjoyed our little bit of sunshine and plan on going back many times.

{a good man holds your baby and your camera bag.}

Confession number one

Abbie wearing pajama pants, crocs on the wrong feet, oversized Paraguayan jersey and a one size too small hoodie. At a public park.

My children rarely wear matching clothes. Not even in public. It’s pretty low on my priority list. They have beautiful clothes, matching clothes, cute outfits, you name it. They are now at the point where they can dress themselves and I love this. “Go get dressed” I say, they run off and come back clothed. It’s awesome. What they choose to wear doesn’t really concern me. Is this bad? Should I put more effort into how they look? I don’t think so…and I certainly hope not, because I don’t see myself caring anytime soon. As long as they are clean, modest, decent, and warm or cool enough, it goes. Sometimes their combinations are pretty cute too. Kind of like Punky Brewster.

I like fashion, I guess. I can tell when someone is tastefully dressed or not. When it’s time to get dressy I like classic things (pencil skirts, black dress, etc.) I just don’t have a passion for it like some do. I am really glad some people do though, otherwise I would not get to watch What Not To Wear.

My week in snapshots

Sunday: More Rain

Monday: Baby in Sink

Tuesday: Snack Time

Wednesday: Good Morning

Thursday: Building a fire

Friday: Gardening

Saturday: Picnic

What’s New with Abbie

She is –

* Now three (three!!) years old

* Has decided that purple is much prettier than pink

* Wants to do Big Girl school like Elena

* Still sucks her thumb

* Really good at pouting (we’re working on that…)

* Knows that her name starts with the letter A

She’s so cute.

What’s New with Me

I am –

* Celebrating Abbie’s birthday today

* Homeschooling Elena

* Going away for the weekend

* Trying to loose baby weight (again)

* Feeling creative

What’s New with Brian

He is –

* Scoping out the land looking for the best place to start a new church

* Meeting pastors in the area

* Perfecting pizza on the grill

* Getting ideas for designs and logos for the new church

* Preparing a sermon for Sunday

* Helping me stay sane with three kids in rainy weather

He’s so good lookin’.