We still love Vonnegut too

Don't worry - though there has been a lack of photos, we still love our puppy.

Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbLqS4b3UoU

The Extended Life

My immediate life is going great. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter (if I do say so myself) and a good lifestyle. It's my extended life that seems to spiral out of control. It's nothing I'd be willing to discuss on xanga, but there are so many people connected to me that are struggling with huge things. I feel really called to prayer, and I do pray for them, but it seems that these dear friends and family are hurting so badly, and I feel helpless. I want a sparkly magic wand to hold over their lives and make them whole. I want to make them happy, to take away their sufferings. I want to be able to extend the good gifts I've been given into their lives. But there are so many people, and I'm fairly thin to start out with, and I feel stretched. I'd just ask for your prayers on these matters. God is the one who is the strength and power behind all things. He is the healer, and he is so needed.

On a happier note, we did have a joyous 4th of July weekend. Our friends, Sara and Lee, came to stay the weekend. They have a 7.5 month old son, Ethan, so we really enjoyed being parents with each other.

Trevor, Tierney, Lee and Ethan.

This is my favorite picture from the weekend. I love how Ethan is looking at the camera with those gorgeous eyes!

Baby Dancing.

Not so Beachy

For example, I started my period on the first day we were there. That should give some indication of how this trip went. My last period was March 17, 2007, so of course I wasn't expecting this joyous experience anytime soon and was completely unprepared. This left me feeling fat, bloated, tired and cranky.

When you have a five month old, there is no lounging in the sun and soaking up rays. I came back from the beach as pasty white and cancer free as when I arrived. This isn't all bad, but I certainly didn't have much of an opportunity to frolic in the waves and read a good book in the sand.

The island we visited did not serve seafood at lunch. No kidding. We love seafood and figured that lunch would be a much easier and cheaper option with Tierney. The only restaurant we found that was open for lunch hours was this nasty hole-in-the-wall joint that we would normally have bypassed given an option. But, since we had no option and really wanted some seafood, we took our chances. Trevor and I are not picky. We enjoy good, quality food, but we'll usually eat anything. But when we learned that our "vegetable" options were French fries, coleslaw or hush puppies, we should have walked out. If a restaurant cannot correctly define a vegetable, they should probably not be licensed to serve food. Of course, we ordered anyway. It was awful and disappointing.

The next day we tried another restaurant. Trevor called ahead of time to make sure that they served seafood. When we got there, they only had one seafood item on the menu, and it was just something in a pasta dish. So we left and drove around for another hour, finding NOTHING, and went back to the beach house.

Finally, Trevor went to the seafood market and we bought fresh shrimp and crab legs and made our own DELICIOUS dinner, complete with white wine and spinach and feta ravioli.

Tierney did really enjoy the beach, though we couldn't keep her out long and only during certain hours to avoid getting her burned. Our last night there was really enjoyable and probably made up for the rest of the trip.

In other news, Tierney is now sitting up without support. Above are a few pictures of her "playing" (who am I kidding, she's being a fussy pants) outside at the beach house. As you can see, she was a tired girl on the way home.

Yesterday, she went in for her six month appointment, because somehow this child turned six months old! How did that happen? She's doing great, weighed 15.12 pounds (50th percentile) and measured 27.5 inches (97th percentile.) She's a tall, skinny girl - like her parents.

The doctor said she is ready for two meals a day, so during her nap I made a batch of rice porridge. I felt like a genius, because I wasn't sure how to grind down the brown rice, but then I stuck it in our coffee grinder and it worked like a charm. (I did wash the coffee grinder first, but I can't guarantee it was perfectly clean, so my daughter might be getting a little caffeine boost. Guess you can't start them too young on coffee, ha! ha!) For you curious moms out there, to make your own rice porridge, you simply grind 1/4 cup of brown rice, boil 1 cup of water, and mix the rice powder in the water until it is a porridge-like-consistency. Bingo - rice porridge. You can adjust the thickness of it by adding breast milk, water or formula or if it is too runny, add wheat germ.

And to make this post even longer, I'll add the photos of Tierney's new exersaucer - new as in we paid $20 on Craig's List. She loves it!

Life's (about to be) a Beach

When Trevor gets home from work, we are packing the car and heading to the beach. Some of our friends are renting a beach house for the week, so we are going to join them for a long weekend. As much as we've been traveling lately, this will be the first vacation that we've taken as a FAMILY. Berlin was a work trip for Trevor. And we went to separate weddings a few weeks ago. Trevor has been working constantly - early in the morning until late at night, so we are excited for a computer free weekend. This will be Tierney's (and Vonnegut's) first time at the ocean. Enjoy the rest of your week!

In the pool on the first day of summer

Tierney,

Your dad and I are so lucky to have you. We love you so much. We are happy that you enjoyed your first time in the swimming pool. We look forward to the rest of summer's adventures with our beautiful little girl.