So Long Uncle Owen

Owen was able to stay with us for a month. During that time, we helped him adjust to American life while he helped me teach and take care of the boys. The house feels kind of empty since he left and it's sad. The boys keep asking where he is, especially when we get in the car to go somewhere.

Laz : "Wait! We forgot Uncle Owen!"

{two peas in a pod}

Before he left, Dan took all the boys to the mountains so Owen could see snow for the first time. Such a cool experience!!

Uncle Owen has not been forgotten. He's in Seattle with friends, working hard and seeing new sights. He'll be traveling over the next few months but we anticipate another visit from him before he returns to Africa in January.

America Through the Eyes of an African Man

Owen has been in America for exactly one week today.

It took about 3-4 days before he truly adjusted to the time change. At first, I thought maybe he was bored here or sad about leaving home, and then I remembered the 6 times we've made that journey...yeah, he's just living in a fog. It will pass.

We've all loved having him here. Catching up has been so much fun! The boys are thankful for fresh meat in the house: "Uncle Owen, look at this!" is said about a million times a day. And what do ya know, uncle Owen has the energy to engage them every. single. time. THANKTHELORD!

One of the funnest things about having Owen here is seeing America through the eyes of an African. For years, he's walked American's through African culture, guiding them, explaining things, translating phrases and signs. Now, it's our turn! Here are the top 5 things Owen has noticed about America that is either funny, shocking or strange:

1. Driving on the right side of the road. All week, Owen has been coming to the wrong side of the car, kicking his feet into the ground as if to break and nervously looking around at the traffic...he's not used to being on the right side of the road! I remember having similar "we're going to crash!" thoughts while driving through Malawi at first. It passes with time and when he's back home, he'll have to adjust all over again.

2. The food! It's everywhere and it's delicious. Owen especially loves the doughnuts although I think he is afraid of returning to Africa fat, ha! We do eat a lot of doughnuts and ice cream around here.

3. The TRUCKS. Owen cannot believe how many big trucks (and other SUVs) drive around town with only a few people inside of them. Most people would agree that a large vehicle which transports only 1 human is pretty wasteful, but to an African, it's absurd. All that room inside the car being wasted? And all of that space in the truck bed, just empty? Ah! It's crazy!

4. Dogs! His first full day here, Owen spent some time walking around downtown. He was at a coffee shop and suddenly saw a dog sitting next to him at a table. He almost grabbed a rock to throw at it, ha! You see, in Africa, dogs are not anything you'd want near you, let alone in your car, in your house or sitting at your table in a restaurant. They are animals. Period. So, you can imagine his surprise when he saw a dog in the passenger seat of a car for the first time!! Oh and the calendars, ha! That really did him in!

5. Target. Owen has heard about Target for years from American missionaries. Malawi does now have a shop similar to Target where you can get home items, but the prices are crazy high and the quality is crap. Watching Owen walk through Target was seriously the highlight of my entire week. When we got home, he literally said to me "Thanks Beth, hey! I really enjoyed that!".

He'll be thrilled when I announce this afternoon that it's time for another Target run :)

A New Addition!

No, baby girl has not come early. While we wait for her arrival, we are prepping a different room for another new addition to the family this year. Our dear friend Owen is coming all the way from Malawi! We met him while working at ABC over 5 years. He's always talked about coming to America for school and now, it's really happening! We are so excited to welcome him, introduce him to Target (which he's heard A LOT about) and our new city here in Bellingham. We are driving down to the Seattle airport this morning to pick him up, fresh from his 36 hour traveling journey!

Uncle Owen meeting Elijah for the first time.

Best buds

I cannot wait for the boys to reconnect with their uncle Owen!!

Visitors for Dan

The weekend was busy with Dan leading a funeral and preaching on Sunday. On top of that, we had his parents and the Riberas come for the day. It was fun hosting people in our house! It's also fun having family and friends so close by.

The Riberas got to stay the night and we explored Bellingham a bit together. We found a park on the beach of Lake Whatcom.

 Bunk bed boys!!

On Monday morning, we walked around downtown and happened upon a delicious bakery/cafe'. We ate lots of food :) The Riberas left after brunch and we headed home for naps. 

That afternoon, we checked out another beach, this time with Pacific ocean water!

Oh Laz....

It was a great day to celebrate daddy. Lots of sand and food and play time!

What I Wore - Pajamas and a Flapper Dress!

I feel like I've been on a sinking boat since last Thursday! We had an amazingly fun jam packed weekend, but it really wiped me out. I have spent all of Monday and yesterday in bed.

Over the weekend, we hosted our best friends from Seattle. Because of all the busy-ness, I only got this picture of the kids. Honestly, it was the best one:

My friend Jessica bought all the children matching jammies and it was so cute to watch the kids play together in them!

On top of hosting a family of 5 in our 2 bedroom apartment, I was the maid of honor in an amazing 1920's wedding. The boys were ring bearers (and the only children at the wedding!!) and Dan read scripture. Miraculously, it went pretty smoothly! Lazzy didn't tumble down the isle and I didn't cry too hard. I'll have more pictures soon, but for now, this is all I've got:

Are we living in the wrong era or what?! I need a time machine!!

(sorry for the fuzzy phone pic. maybe next wednesday, you can see the whole dress!)

I had about a day to recover from that fun craziness and then got called to an all night birth. BAM! Back in the saddle!

All of these things are wonderful. I just wish I had enough time and energy to completely soak them all in. Thankfully, Dan is on spring break so I'm looking forward to a very calm week of playdough and finger painting in my pajamas!

Bridal Shower on a Budget-DIY Cupcake Stands

My dear friend Rachel is getting married!! Now, I know every couple is special and love is special and yada yada yada, but let me assure you that their story is more than just boy meets girl. 

Both she and her fiance' have loved our family through some tough times. They are definitely a huge part of our "village" which helps us to raise our children. In fact, I really got to know Rachel when I had surgery last February. 

 I am so honored to be the matron of honor, to have my boys be the ring bearers and to stand along side my friends as they make their vows in March.

The bridal party (minus one who lives out of town).

Instead of registering for wedding gifts, the couple is asking guests to donate to a local tutoring program where they volunteer. It's a GREAT idea, especially for couples who already have everything they need to set up house. The problem is, we wanted to shower the couple with gifts!  

My solution was to have guests bring a "Date Night" gift basket for the couple to enjoy during their first year of marriage. I LOVED seeing all the different date ideas, but was partial to my "Concert date night" idea. Did you know you can buy Ticketmaster gift cards? I love the idea of giving someone an experience, especially for newlyweds. It took our entire church small group to pull it off, but I think they'll have an awesome time at dinner and a concert.

The raspberry punch was adapted from this recipe. I used champagne instead of beer. Delish!!

Now for the budget friendly part:

To make things more classy, I picked up 8 vintage glass dishes and 4 white ones to add to my stash. It was a cheap way to dress up this party and I know I'll use them again! I also used linen napkins which I picked up from the seminary free store. Can you believe, they were new in the package!!

Cup cake stands and other treat stands were made from Dollar Tree glassware.

Between dishes, bowls, candle sticks and wine glasses, you can make any sized elevated platter or candy dish possible! I also picked up about 6 metal trays from the Dollar Tree. It was simple, uniformed, and super easy!

I had a blast decorating for this shower! My house hasn't seen this much pink since our first foster placement last summer! But, the true fun was celebrating two amazing, selfless and giving people who found each other.

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Photos taken by Betty Elaine Photography based here out of St. Louis!! She is an amazing photographer with a unique point of view. Not to mention, she's a sweet stylish gal! Check out her blog, too!!

Holiday Wreath Making Party

We're in the middle of December, which means many of you are attending and/or planning some sort of holiday party. I LOVE a reason to dress up and decorate, so you can imagine how much I love the month of December!

This year, after a wreath making night at a local church, I had enough left over supplies to host one of my own. Nine ladies gathered around my dining room to drink hot cocoa, listen to Christmas music and decorate straw wreath forms.

I loved seeing the different wreaths my girl friends made, but I mostly enjoyed their company. Since I had already made my wreath, I decided to create a star for our Christmas tree. I love how it turned out and think it fits our style nicely.

What parties have you attended this season? Any ugly sweater parties?? I haven't been to one of those in almost 10 years! Maybe I should throw one myself.

What I Wore - An Engagement

Top : Liz Claiborne

Black Pants : JCrew

Boots : Vintage

Just as I begin shopping online for a specific thing, I find it while thrifting. I've been wanting short boots and black pants for this winter, but honestly could NOT justify spending real money on what would be my 5th pair of boots. I didn't believe I could find pants like these in a thrift store either, but I did!! I actually found this entire outfit in one thrift store!!

My dear friend Alyssa took these before a family date.

Last week, our little family was privileged to take part in the engagement of two spectacular individuals. We staged a run-in with this lovely couple at the Boat House in Forest Park. After catching up (and trying to act normal even though in a matter of seconds, they would be engaged!!), Elijah sweetly asked a very surprised Rachel "Um, excuse me Miss Rachel, do you want to marry Adam?" and handed her a gorgeous antique engagement ring while Adam knelt down to put it on her finger. It was truly the most adorable moment in history!

It's funny because I was just talking to Dan about how we haven't been to a wedding in years and now we have two in the next 9 months. Woo hoo! I love weddings!

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Missing Our Peeps

We've not been home a week yet, but I am really missing my Seattle peeps. We got to visit with so many dear little people and their parents who mean the world to Dan and I. We are so thankful for these relationships and how our friends, although far away, are still such a huge support and encouragement to us. I hate that our children aren't growing up together but am glad for the play dates we got to share last week.

Elijah is especially missing his bff, Ezra. Everything he says now is somehow linked to "Ezra, my Seattle friend". So cute! Their friendship really is special. One night, Ezra showed up at a birthday party that we were already attending. Elijah saw Ezra walk in the door and shouted "EZRA!" while pointing excitedly to himself as if to say "Hey man! It's me! You're best friend Elijah!". Hilarious!

Ezra, Hazel, Ivo, Lazarus and Elijah. Big thumbs up from Lazarus!

Sans Hazel. I LOVE these boys!!

The boys are in love with hazel.

So am I!!

Group photo! I love how Dan and I look 10 years older than the Riberas. I also love how I look like the one that just gave birth and Jessica looks like the college aged nanny. Wow. Not fair.

Just missing my friends today. That's all.