Wednesday, September 29, 2010

My Creative Sister

For those of you that know my sister you are aware of how creative and, well, awesome she is. Daphne and her husband, Ryan, are living in Cambodia for three years working for Mennonite Central Committee with local partner organizations in their community. They have set up a delightful little home for themselves and use it to host people as well as enjoy their time together as (still) newly weds.
Daphne has always been quite creative and has a wonderful way of making anything feel cozy and homey. She has just started a new blog called "The Home Away" that enables friends to share creative ideas for living simply abroad. Ideas are posted for cooking, gardening, and basic living. It's sort of like looking at a Martha Stewart Magazine....overseas edition.

Check it out at http://thehomeaway.wordpress.com

Pretty cool, huh?

Monday, September 27, 2010

Recents

I know some of you have been wondering if I fell off the face of the earth. I am not so good at keeping up with this blog...I know. :)
Hopefully with the Summer being over and the routine of Fall settling in I will do a better job.

Our Summer was incredibly busy (surprise, huh?). We enjoyed visits with family, a Heistand Family reunion (with folks on my mother's side), going to the NC mountains, an Anniversary trip to Asheville, a trip to Virginia Beach to see Auntie Jess and Temple, a Mommy and Daddy only trip to California for a green building training for Nathan, and a visit with the Harlans in West Virginia.

Miss Ella Grace is...well not so little anymore. She is almost 14 months old and is growing into her own little person...with her own personality, independence, and interests. She weighs about 23 lbs and LOVES to eat. I mean this girl can put food down! I'm not sure if she always knows when to stop. ;)
Thankfully, she has still been quite healthy since birth. We realize that this is definitely not a given and it is something we praise God for.
Ella Grace is just starting to take her first steps. She would rather crawl most places though because its way easier. :)
She LOVES to sing and dance and is quite the talker. She just loves to tell us what's on her mind and uses such inflection and intonation when she speaks. Her favorite words are "mama", "uh-oh", "hi", "baby girl", and "bobby sue". I have no idea who Bobby Sue is and where she came from but she is very popular at the Mitten house!
Ella Grace's favorite foods are edamame, yogurt, bananas, and cheerios.

We have really been itching for Fall to arrive in Charlotte as it's been sweltering in the 90's for MONTHS! We visited an apple orchard in South Carolina in hopes of welcoming in the new season. Unfortunately, it was 95 degrees but we had a great time with friends Jon, Sarah, and Claire picking apples while perspiring.
Here are a few shots from our excursion...