January 6, 2010

It's easy being green... or so we hope!

I love to have projects. Matt know this. Sometimes he laments over the fact that I love projects, and often have many of them going at the same time... and often many of them are, or remain, unfinished.

I didn't want 2010 to be any different, so I am venturing on a new endeavor - partially to be environmentally conscious and partly because I just want a vegetable garden. So here we go.

First, recycling bin units that you buy at the store were $80-100, so I figured I could just buy some tubs and build a rack for them for under $20. (rack to come, after I start using the TABLE SAW Matt got me for Christmas! Yes ladies and gentlemen, it IS for me.)

Second, I started a compost pile probably 6 months ago. It's not huge, and it's not very beautiful, but I feel much better knowing that half the stuff I was going to throw away anyway (mostly Heidi's banana peels) is not going in the trash, but is instead decomposing in my yard. Mmmm.

Third, that compost should be used for something, and I've always wanted one, so I'm creating a vegetable garden. (Jenn has offered to help, right Jenn?) I've planted some herb seeds indoors for the winter so we can have a jump start on replanting them outside in the Spring. Where else to put them but over the "garden tub" in our bathroom. It's the only place I could find that is baby-proof, dog-proof, warm enough, and near a window. Maybe that's what garden tubs were made for... ?

The current garden outdoors isn't much (see photo) but we'll start preparing it in late February or so, so it will be ready for planting in March after our last freeze. I hope to keep a journal of our successes (or failures) on this blog, in case any of our oregano, basil, parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, radishes, zucchini and squash actually decide to grow into something we can eat.
More to come! And here's to starting a project and finishing it. We hope!


December 21, 2009

Merry Christmas Letter to all!

Merry Christmas blog-followers! I thought in addition to sorting through our many email lists and trying to email a Christmas letter to all our friends and family, we'd post it on here too (if I can get it to work). Printing and mailing has just gotten to be too much - although we do enjoy receiving "real" Christmas cards and letters in the mail.

We hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season, celebrating with those you love. We are truly blessed with how much God has given us this year. Our daughter, Heidi, has been a true joy and so much fun! We don't really need anything else.

And the gift of God's son in Jesus is a greater gift than we could ever think to ask for. Praise Him, and Merry Christmas!

December 13, 2009

Hi Heidi... Hi Heidi

I was gone most of Saturday and Sunday to watch dear friends run the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. When I returned home Heidi was, needless to say, excited to see me, but she had also found a newfound best friend in her daddy and was quite snuggly with him.

Here's what we caught her doing after I got home on Sunday. She was really entertaining herself... maybe I should go away more often! And thank you to my sweet hubby for letting me spend the weekend away while he played Mr. Mom. I love you!

December 9, 2009

Gettin' Caught Up...

So, I meant to post some pictures from Thanksgiving, which I may still do, but I thought I stick a few of these up while I have them handy. Basically, whenever Heidi has a really cute outfit on, and especially if it goes with a seasonal theme, it spurs on a photo shoot in our front yard. We do them for the following reasons:

1. She looks cute. (always)
2. She loves being outside.

3. It's fun to watch her play in the dirt.
4. It kills about 20 minutes.

5. It gives us material to put up on the blog.

So there you have it. Enjoy! We are looking forward to this Christmas - maybe Heidi will remember this one, or at least figure out how to tear into some wrapping paper. Last year she didn't do much. :-)

November 16, 2009

The Mighty Hunter Returns

So, I'm officially a hunter. I had the chance to travel to Redfield, SD with my father-in-law and brother-in-law to hunt pheasant at Darcie's uncle's place. It was a great time and I couldn't imagine a better way to be baptized into the hunting culture than in this way with these men. As promised, here are pictures of my adventure:

November 4, 2009

Doin the Walk

It's official!! No more holding on - this girl is a walking machine.


We thought it would be a fun chance to learn how to use iMovie too. :)

October 23, 2009

Fall 2009... we love it!

Well, if you couldn't tell already, it's been a busy season for us. Matt started his 5th year with new Forge students at the beginning of September. Hard to believe this is the fifth class to come through! They are a great group, and we're looking forward to the year. Matt was also able to hire an Associate Director, which is great because we have 24 students this year... more than we've ever had, and twice as many as we had the first year!Outside of work, we've been busy working on home projects (lawn, organizing, etc.) and keeping up with Heidi. She probably has about 20 words down now - duck, walk, book, hot, water, milk, shoe and many others - and she is getting brave enough to let go of furniture (or us) to take a few steps on her own. She does not like falling down, however. We'll have to train some tom-boyishness into her yet!Here are some pictures from our trip to Pappy's Pumpkin Patch in Tyler. We went with 2 other moms and their kiddos - you may remember the "giraffe" from last year's photos. They're getting all grown up! This time we had a bumblebee, a doctor-in-training, and a 50's poodle skirt girl. They had a great time, and the moms had... a great time... chasing them around and keeping them happy for pictures. If you have a chance to go, it was a really neat place. Totally free (taking pictures, hay rides, rides in the kiddie train, playing in the water, running around, even parking, all free!) I think they're open Friday and Saturday all through October, so, one more weekend!

Enjoy the pics. We'll try to be more consistent on blog updates. Hi Nana & Pops, DeeDee & Grandpa, Aunt Jodie, Dodge Aunts and Uncles, and Great Gramps!