Jill's Big Announcement:

Along with letting everyone know that she just got her 6th tooth, that she loves being 1 year old (and sneaking into the bathroom to unroll the toilet paper), and that she is on the verge of being an Olympic speed walker, our little girl also wanted everyone to know:

We knew it the moment this cute thing came to earth.

With that much inspiration how could we not try for another?

So, Baby Svedin #2 is due to arrive the first part of April, 2011. The doctors say it'll be another little girl. (Good thing, because we know what to do with those.)

Jill's First (Frost) Birthday!!!!

Here's a little recap of Jill's very happy first birthday. We got up to find Snow! Jill loved her oatmeal and apple sauce birthday breakfast. We bundled up and ran some birthday errands. Then we came home and made a birthday sign. Jill was so excited for dinner and cake. She had no doubts about how to handle the situation. For her first b-day Jill received a beautiful crocheted doll that Daddy has already named "Betsy," some yummy foam letters for the bath tub, and a cute cute cute dress. Unfortunately our refrigerator magnets only came with one "H" so we had to get creative. "Snappy Birthday, Jill!" (Birthday out-takes can be found to the right.)

Holding Our Breath

This has been an interesting week . . . month . . . year for my family. We have seen so many blessings that our struggles don't seem that great (after the fact).

Many of you know that my mother was treated for cancer in the last 12+ months. She responded well to treatments and was in the recovery stage until about a month ago when her doctors found a group of cancer cells they think somehow survived the first two rounds of treatments. Now, after a short hiatus, she's scheduling round three.

My sis also found out this year that her new baby, just born last week, would need open heart surgery upon arrival. Our new nephew is doing well, even though his new body is giving him his first earthly workout.

As I watch my family work things out and know I'm too far away to lend a hand, or a hug, or anything else of great consequence, my prayers get longer, and my blessings become so much more pronounced. I'm so grateful for my sweet little family here in Idaho. Jill will be 1 next week, and we just can't wait to help her celebrate. We have everything we need, and some extras, like the fall leaves being so beautiful this year. (And no snow yet, thank goodness.)  I'm most grateful for the blessing of having the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and knowing that although life comes with its special challenges, He will strengthen us as we learn about Him and His love for us. We will all someday return to His loving arms and live forever with the ones we love. What a great blessing indeed.

I hope you all know that I'm thinking of you, praying for you, and loving you, even though I can't be there to help you paint, or make you dinner, or watch your children as you recover. And I miss you oh so very much!

Trick or Treat

In true Halloween spirit, We dressed up this year and went trick or treating . . . kind of.

First we it the local Farmers Market, tried all the free samples, and took a piece of candy at each booth to fill Little Red's candy basket. Then we went home for a nap and lunch. We rounded off the day with a nice relaxing Trunk-r-Treat at the church.

Then Jill hung out with a baby sitter while Matt and I went to a couples Halloween party. Too fun. We learned some important things this year.

#1 Jill likes candy.

#2 Matt and I compete much better when we are on the same team.

#3 Bouncing ping pong balls so they stick onto a slice of peanutbuttered bread is not as easy as it sounds.

Happy Halloween

Oh, Yes I Did!

I crocheted goulashes for Jill.



Would you like some?
Here is a free pattern.
Better hurry, the rainy season is coming .

Bird's Eye View at the Zoo

Once or twice a year our zoo invites families with babies to come to the zoo for free. If you have a kid in a stroller, you don't have to pay.
Thank you Cassie for inviting us to go to the Zoo with you and Caleb during baby week! I don't think we would have made it without the invite.

Jillie checks out the lounging lion.

We noticed that, as Papa lion lounges, Mama lion keeps tabs on everyone.

Mom and Jill AND the Zebra Family.

Jill loved the pretty pink flamingos.

More Veggies

Here we go . . .
We have GIANT pumkins in our garden. I'm super excited to carve them up next month.



And a few green pepers. . .

and tomatoes (mostly green still)

And here is a random picture of Jill in a basket that I thought you might like.
Smile Jill!

 

Little rabbit

Our little veggie queen has been loose in the garden all summer long. She only has two teeth, so she's not really eating these, but she's really enjoying them anyway.

Here is one of our cabbages. We picked it last week and made the most delicious coleslaw.

And we got a bag full of cucumbers. Just enough to restock in bread and butter pickles (our favorite).

And our carrots look pretty normal, with a few exceptions. Some of the boys in our Sunday school class called these "radioactive carrots." They definitely took on a life of their own.

New Book! New Goal!

Remember how I finished a Tale of Two Cities and then never said anything about it? Well, here are the top 10 things I loved about it:

10: So those French, not just fashionable, but very passionate.

9: Did you notice that we celebrated Bastille Day (July 14) while we were reading . . .The Revolution, oh the horror. I'll never think of the french revolution the same again.

8: Jerry Cruncher: Messenger, Midnight Body Guard, "fisherman," Black Market medical research supplier; how many jobs does a guy need to get him though English life in the 18th century? No wonder he was so grumpy all the time.

7: Does the Mender of Road have a name? What a nice man, ruined.

6: In the end, good people get better and bad people die.

5: One man, three trials all ending in possible death . . . that's more than the usual quota, I think.

4: Not to mention, how lucky, or unlucky, can one man be.

3: Who couldn't love a book that starts with a mysterious meeting in France and a shoemaker.

2: Lucy inspired me to look at my life and my opportunities to love people differently. If I could only touch people's lives for good like she does.

1: Carton! My favorite character. I always love a good unrealized hero. Too smart to live an ordinary life, and too good hearted to be a bad man. Too observant to not see what was going on, and too well spoken to run his mouth at the wrong time. I always knew he'd come though.

I was asked to select a book for the December meeting of my (in town) book club. Would you like to read it will me?

This is a children's book that I've been planning to read for the past 10 years. I find myself saying things like that a lot. I made some plans in High School that were put off during college, and now I'm just a little shocked to realize that it's been more than 10 years since then. It's time to get the ball rolling, don't you think.

Please read this book with me!!!!!

Oh the Places You'll Go

Getting the Job Done

It all begins with a little plan;



Then a tremendous effort;

Followed by sweet success,

And even sweeter celebration!

Hats off to Jillie-Jill. Better luck next time Mom.

Validating someone could change their life!

My friend just shared this on her blog, and I had to pass it on. Oh how important it is to say what we like about people. Everyone needs to hear that they are great!

Garden Update 2010

This year we planted a BIG one, and we have loved all of the great stuff that grows there. I've tried to lable some of the things so you can get an idea.

So far we have 30 qts of peas in the freezer, 40 qt jars of green beans, and a sack full of red potatoes and squash. (Lots of Squash!!!)

Next week: Some  pictures of veggies!!

Dress Up!

Because sometimes moms get excited for little girls to grow a little older and play funny games with them.

Up, Up, and Away

The Blue Angels came to town! This was Jill's and my first ever Air Show. It was almost too exciting to handle.



Here we are, sitting under the shade of our own umbrella. I never realized how incredibly barren an air strip could be. I'll be sure to take notice and give thanks the next time I take off and land somewhere.

We sat with our friends the Bells. And the whole time I (and their two boys) kept wishing our shady umbrella was 5 times bigger.

We made it about half way though. The show began with a tribute to fighter planes from WW1 and ending with the current B-52 Bomber and the "Sound of Freedom." After a few swift passes, Jill had had it with the "Sound of Freedom" and was ready for a nap. So we watched the blue angels from a very shady field about a half mile away from the air strip while Jill slept in her stroller.

The whole time, I couldn't help thinking of Grandpa Jackson and his wonderful airplane stories. As I shared one of his stories with Matt, an older fellow with white hair in a dress shirt and tan slacks walked by with his camera pointed toward the sky. I said, "And if Grandpa were here right now, that is exactly what he would look like."

What sweet memories. I'm so grateful for a Grandpa who made those memories possible for me.

Fall is in the air

We're really hoping for a nice long India Summer so our garden will have plenty of time to grow (and because Summer didn't really begin until July 5th). But you know how much I love, love, love the Fall and how I just can't wait for that cool, crisp feeling in the air. And all the school supplies are on sale at all the stores. How could I resist putting together this little door decoration. I've been collecting things for it since May?

Isn't this the most perfect fall ribbon. (Robert's closing sale: $0.25)

And nothing says fall better than pine cones. (Front Yard: $0.00)



And I found these perfect little foam squash by accident. (DI: $1.00)

The way I feel when I put up the perfect seasonal door decoration: Priceless.

Jill Crawls

This really isn't much to see, and it's nothing to hear because our camara doesn't record audio. So here you go: video footage of Jill's first attempts at crawling. (Taken from a much longer video of Jill just sitting round, notice that we had to bait her with a carrot to get her to do her tricks on tape.)

Jill's 4 easy steps for perfect bean selection

This week we jarred 40 quarts of green beans. (We have another 40 still in the garden waiting to be picked if anyone is interested.)
Jill, our quality check specialist understood and preformed her job very thoroughly. Here are Jill's 4 easy steps for perfect bean selection:

Step 1:

Grab a handful of beans (no fewer that three or four).

Step 2:

Carefully examine each bean for any signs of age, over growth, or decay.

Step 3:

Test a few for taste. (This is a very important step. At least half of the beans are guaranteed to be fresh and crisp if you taste test along the way.)

And Step 4:

Discard any beans that don't meet the highest standard for quality.

There you have it. Now, go can your beans with speed and confidence If you need a quality check specialist, Jill works for $20 or one bunch of bananas an hour.

A Tale of Two Hiking Trips: Part 2

This time we started a little earlier than Jill expected. She doesn't like to be woken before she's ready.



We went to a place called the Palisades Lakes. We didn't actually make it to either of the lakes, but we did stop a fish a few times. And of course we took a picnic.

Jill showed great enthusiasm for the great outdoors this time around.

She got to help Dad do some fishing. Mom also did some fishing, and took a lot of pictures of wild flowers.

But Jill is always the only one who gets to sleep on the way back. What a life.