A Great New Pizzeria

Guest post written by Ann Barnes

My husband Jack and I took a leisurely stroll down in lower Manhattan the other day, and we stumbled upon a very interesting church. When we looked in, we were surprised to see that the church was actually converted into a shopping mallÉhow weird? We stumbled inside eventually made our way into a little pizzeria that looked far too good to pass up. Seriously, this place is said to have the best pie in all of NYC, so we had no option! We ordered a few slices and took some time for a nice conversation. At the time, I really appreciated my new hearing aids that I learned about from http://hearingaids.miracle-ear.com/, ha! !

While we were talking, an older man approached our table; I would say he was about our age? We found out that he was the proprietor and he was such a charming guy. He just wanted tor really make sure that we were having a great experience, and we actually got to chatting for quite some time. We really enjoyed talking to that man and we loved his delicious pizza pies, and IÕm sure weÕll be back very soon!

Chicken Soup and Garlic Bread

There's a pot of soup simmering on the stove and bread waiting to be toasted with garlic and cheese.

Quinn is sick. We went to IL last week (pics in upcoming post) to see his grandparents again, and by the time we finished the 8 hour drive he had a burning, aching throat and nasty headache. He hasn't yet recovered. The cold seemed to be gone on Friday after a good night's rest, but after talking on the phone for a 10 hour shift it was back in full force. Saturday was a miserable work day for him. Yesterday we slept in and he continued his green tea and vitamins routine, then we went out for the afternoon/evening. He was alright for most of it, but by the time we got home he was exhausted and couldn't breathe. He had a somewhat restless night, and has been at work for the past 5 hours. He'll be home for lunch in a few minutes, and I thought chicken soup and toast sounded like a good, comforting meal for an achey throat.

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Anywho, that said, life is good. I finally got around to finishing the "One Thousand Gifts" book that Quinn bought for me last month. I adore the book.  It's like somebody took my longing to see beauty everywhere and bask in the joy of the Lord and put it into poetry and practical application and handed it to me in a beautiful, hardbound book. It's the cry of my heart in an understandable, livable format. I'm sure I'll read it over, and over, and over...






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PICTURES! Just some from around the house. Snippets of our life on a 1990's, 5mp compact digital that's still waiting to be replaced by the new Sony DSC TX10. 
It might be a while yet before that happens, though, so in the mean time I'm happy with my slightly-grainy but oh-so-precious snapshots of our family.
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Sleepy and snuggly after a bath

Playtime with Daddy.

Blanket Training time

My Little Sunshine

Graham Crackers--YUM

Um, now what?

Happiness is baby skin <3

His newest toy.

He's a book worm.

Playing with cousin Della

Hanging out at church on a Sunday afternoon.

Beautiful times.

Giggling at Mommy.

So much world out there...

Redeeming The Time

I often feel completely lost in my days. They're a confused haze of trying to accomplish a much-to-long list and keeping the baby entertained. He has no siblings, no pets, and is getting tired of his toys and ready for noisier, bigger toys. He hates being alone, so even being in the playpen stresses him out (something we're working on) thus, the only time I feel like I can actually be productive is while he's asleep.

So, I made a list. All the things that he does (or can do) in a day, and all the things that I want to prioritize. If he's doing one, I can be doing another. I taped it up above my calendar, and it's gonna happen. Right now is morning- while he played on the floor I sat beside him and read my Psalms for the day. While he was in the playpen I did a few dishes and made the bed. Now he's taking a nap and I'm about to log into Leapforce to get a half hour done. I'll do that before I finish this blog post, because there's no guarantee that he'll sleep more than 40 minutes.

It isn't a schedule. I don't think Gavin would cope with a concrete schedule, and I know I wouldn't, so it's just a basic layout of what can happen and when. It makes it easy to push things around according to needs. For example, Gavin is napping now. At 10:30. His normal nap is 11:30, but he was grumpy and exhausted and happy to snuggle up with his fuzzy blanket and go to sleep, so he's sleeping.

This morning hasn't been astoundingly productive, but I'm getting the essentials done and he's happy at the same time. I feel like I have some purpose, and like today *can* happen instead of has-to-happen-but-won't.

The list also can happen whether or not Quinn is home. It can work on his days off, and it can work no matter what he feels like he needs to accomplish in the evenings. It means that he can play with Gavin and we can have devotions and even watch a movie without me feeling like nothing has happened, or being panicked about getting things done.

I'm happy with it.

Quinn saw it last night and said "that looks like a Joanna list."

I'm not sure what that means...

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My morning was wonderfully productive. Lunch is now cooking, the dishes are washed, the Psalms have been read, the bed is made, the baby is napping, and I logged a half hour of work. This is happyness....

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This is gonna be a grown up month for the little man. 

-March 31st he decided it was time to prove that he was a big boy, and pulled himself into standing position in his crib.Since then he's been pulling up on absolutely everything. 

-He's become a very fast crawler, and chases me all over the house. His grin gets bigger and bigger as he gets closer to catching me, and when he gets to me he wraps both arms around my leg and smothers to top of my foot with kisses. 

-He LOVES food, and in the last two weeks has mastered the art of getting food items from a tray in front of him to his mouth. He's happy pretty much anywhere as long as there's something to snack on. 

-He also has a "nom nom nom" sound that's very close to "Momma" that he makes to get my attention when he's tired of his jumper, or wants picked up, or to call me when he wakes up from a nap. <3 

-He has officially graduated out of the infant seat and into a big boy carseat. *sigh*

PICTURES! 

Gavin and Daddy having book time.

Gavin in his new, big boy carseat. Bye bye infant seat...

Standing in his crib, March 31st.

Heading out for a walk while Daddy was at work.

Standing at the couch.

Mommy, I like this one...

And, finally, a note about Quinn- My spiritual gift is "servant", so I thrive on gratitude. You don't have to compliment me, or praise me, but when I do something I am sooo happy if someone takes note and says "thank you." I get burnt out really quickly if nobody ever notices, so to have a husband like Quinn, who never eats a meal without a thank you, who never lets a day go by without commenting on what a blessing it is to have a clean house, or a made bed, or a happy baby, is such an incredible treat to me. Thank you, sweetheart, for all the thank yous. They mean the world to me. <3 

Like the sound of silence calling,
I hear your voice and suddenly
I'm falling, lost in a dream.
Like the echoes of our souls are meeting,
You say those words and my heart stops beating.
I wonder what it means.
What could it be that comes over me?
At times I can't move.
At times I can hardly breathe.

When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment, there's no one else alive