Our traditions.

Have you seen the old tasha tudor book "A time to keep"?
I love this book.

I remember seeing old Tasha Tudor books in the past-as my mom is a
big fan and we had several growing up-but I read this book to Lydia
this weekend at the retreat, and fell in love with Tasha Tudor all
over again. Beautiful illustrations and simple stories of times past.

This book especially, as it focuses on a holiday for each month of
the year. And I'm a sucker for holidays!

I bought an old copy on Amazon for $10, and I plan on getting a
matted frame that will fit the pages, and rotate a page each month,
depending on what holiday is it. To remind me to celebrate even those
"minor" holidays with our girls. (It kind of feels weird buying a
book to take it apart, but I was inspired by Dayna's wall art in her
nursery, consisting of pages taken out of a beautiful children's
book!) There are so many things in life to celebrate, and I want to
get in the habit of celebrating on each and every occasion possible.
My mom was great at that. There was always something on the fridge or
the back door that acknowledged a holiday. Our holiday traditions
were often food-related too (imagine that, food being important to
the Horvath's!), and we celebrated with a special cake, meal, or
dessert that recognized the holiday. Even on voting day! Mom would
wrap a nickel and a quarter (I think) in tin foil, and bake into a
cake. As the story goes, whoever got the quarter would be guaranteed
victory for whomever they voted for.

I read a few pages out of another book this morning that happens to
be along the same line - treasuring God in our traditions, by Noel
Piper. I especially like the forward by her husband John, where he
talks about how their family sees God in everyday happenings. "Woven
into our family life is the conviction that God is most glorified in
us when we are most satisfied in him. His glory and our joy are not
at odds. He gets the glory. We get the joy." What a great outlook.
For so long I believed that by sacrificing things that I enjoyed, by
"giving up", that in my lack of happiness, He would at least be
glorified. And that's just so opposite of what it really is. Those
moments in life when we feel that all is well, that everything is
"right with the world", that we want to bottle up and keep forever -
that is what our hearts respond to.

Wow, what a rabbit trail.

We got some more of the house cleaned out last night - almost to the
point where we can take some pictures to share! (yes, let this be an
indication of how much stuff the previous owners left!) And in the
midst of the junk are treasures - I'm very excited about the old
wringer washer in the basement - I think it's going to be fabulous
for keeping bottled soda cold for outdoor parties in the summertime!

Truth is stranger than fiction.

At a recent wal-mart shopping trip recently, we bought an insulated
bag since we live far enough away from the grocery store that we want
to make sure our frozen food is still cold by the time we get home.
The cashier pointed to it and started a conversation, "so, would you
believe a guy brought one of these back the other day and said it was
defective since his ice cream melted in it? I asked him what he had
in it, and he said 'ice cream and fried chicken. It says it's
supposed to keep things both hot and cold'." OH DEAR! I was sure he
was joking, but he assured us he wasn't, and that he sees the
strangest things working there. I have no doubt!

Today.

Was a banner day, and it's only a little after noon.

We heard that the camp retreat this past weekend was a success and blessing to the kids who attended, we closed on our new house (hooray), and I have a hot date with my lovely Sammy tonight.

And, it was 62 here yesterday, and word on the streets is that winter is coming to an end and we can look for many more 60 and 70 degree days in the next few weeks. 

The speaker this weekend talked a lot about Thanksgiving, and how being thankful in tough circumstances is actually a sacrifice that we're commanded to make. Ps. 50:14 - "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High." And with that, I'll share that it's tough right now to be thankful for my silly "eye injury". I burned the top layer of cells off of my right eye this weekend at the retreat by accidentally using the wrong contact lens solution (it was a contact cleaner with peroxide, not solution). Let's just say it was right up there with childbirth, and I'm glad that it's better than it was at first. But it was a very "in-my-face" opportunity to be thankful for something that's...well...not pleasant.  Not "compare myself with someone less fortunate" to make myself feel better, but truly be thankful.

And so - I am filled with thanks today. For all the good things in our lives. And those not-so-pleasant things as well. 

Pictures on the house to come. The previous homeowner was still packing her stuff up this morning, so we're going to give her a few days before we barge in. The pictures from before we bought it still have all her stuff in it, and it will be easier for ya'll to "see" the house without all the "stuff" in the pictures!

word clouds.

I made this word cloud of this blog at the end of last year. I love
that home is the center. It's very fitting, since that's where my
heart is too.

What a will.

One of the (many) off limits places in this house, and the first
place Millie makes a beeline for whenever she can sneak away. The
bathroom. The door closes by itself, so she'll crawl up to it, and
bat at the door to see if she can open it. If she can't, she whines
and hits the door. But isn't she so darn cute?

Feel free to note the luxurious linoleum flooring and electric wall
heaters. Two of the things that have been an adjustment. However - if
that's as worse as it gets, we're doing great. We're very thankful
for a place to call home that came out of the woodwork right before
we moved.

Our feathered friends.

There's cardinals all over down here.
You see them while driving even - they flight and flit about in the
shrubbery on the sides of the road.

We picked up some bird seed, and Lydia's new favorite thing to do is
to spread it along the rails of the porch and then watch from inside
as the "mommy cardinal" and "daddy cardinal" come and eat.

Here's a shot of the mommy cardinal. The daddy's sure brighter.
Apparently, faster too.

Of house and home.

My new obsession: I'm fascinated with keeping house.

For the first time since we were newly married, I'm at home and loving it. Though I have less time to spend on "the house" than I did back in 2002, I am enjoying it much more thoroughly this time around. I feel like I've missed out on so much these past five years. 

There's a certain cadence and security that I find in the daily inner workings of a home that's being "kept". I love routines, and now that I'm home, I'm finally able to instill daily routines to enrich our lives as a family and keep our home up and running. Well, I'm instilling the "idea" of some of these more than the actual "happenings", but we're taking them one at a time. I feel that these routines are something that bind women together across generations, social stratus, and location. Everyone has a dirty kitchen to clean up after the morning rush. Every woman at some point does laundry, dusts, changes sheets, goes grocery shopping (or marketing, as home comforts calls it, which I get a kick out of), cooks, sweeps, and wonders whether it's ok to hand wash the sweater with the "Dry clean" tag. I feel very connected and grounded when I'm intentionally adhering to routines for our home. 

These books have been a source of information and inspiration. House to a home is a British book I believe, and may be out of print. It's so lovely -  It makes me want to designate an art room in our new house, and have leisurely morning brunches outdoors with Sam while the girls run barefoot through a flower garden. Thanks Rachael for this book you gave us back in 2003! Though I perused it in the past, it's finally getting its due love.

And Home Comforts has a fabulous chapter on tidying, and the "broken window theory". So true in our house! 

Any suggestions or tips you've found to work really well at your house?

>

Mayonnaise.

What to do when the dinner recipe calls for a few tablespoons of
mayo, and there's none in the fridge, with the nearest grocery a 45
minute round trip away?
You make your own.

I was shocked at how simple it was. A little ewey about the raw egg
yolk, but we're not dead yet - I just made sure to keep it off the
baby's food.
A blender, oil, lemon, an egg yolk, salt, and ten minutes is all it
took. And it's delicious with cayenne, garlic, and onion. I may be
hooked.

A very large house with a lot of work.

This is the beautiful old house we looked at last week. It's
currently split up into an apartment downstairs and one upstairs. The
amount of potential this house has is unbelievable. The amount of
work needed, overwhelming.

If we were at a different point in our lives, this would be an
absolute yes. But with two little ones and the desire for a
*somewhat* finished house within the next five years, we marked this
off the list.

It was originally built as an orphanage. It sports transom windows,
leaded glass, a fireplace in the livingroom, and five feet of water
in the basement.

Mail stop.

This is what getting our mail looks like.
It's the little country store (not sure what they sell other than
milk and eggs) a half mile down the road.

We pass a little park, which makes for a fabulous outing when we walk
for our mail.

Country living, this is.

Shoes!

I love small town shoe sales. Like when the store is going out of
business, and I randomly stop by to see if they have shoes for lydia,
and instead, score shoes for me AND Lydia! Clark, Born, and
Eastlands, for $1/pair. I'm not kidding. I thought I must be
misunderstanding it. But no - for real - Cole Haan, Merrell - and
more! I bought way more than I should have....and spent a whopping
$14. Some for me, some to give away, and some to sell on ebay! I
love little unexpected treats like these. Little gifts from God.
Here's a sampling...

Lots of sleep, a new nephew, and a win.

Yesterday was when it all caught up to me.

Sam (need I say that he's such a dear?) got both of the girls up for
me, and I slept solid until 9, then again until 10:30. This is after
going to bed at a reasonable time too. I have a cold that just won't
go away (we're talking 4 weeks!), and I'm afraid to even say it, but
I'm feeling much like I did in 2001 when I had a bout with Epstein
Barre. So plenty of rest is in order to make sure I can kick these
colds and whatever else is ailing.

Anyhow, between that, some last-second work on promo pieces for Scott
Brown's campaign, and a new nephew, it's been a very busy, news-
filled week around here!

Sam also made contact with a young pastor a few towns over who also
shares the same desire to run a county-wide youth ministry. It was so
encouraging to think that we might have someone to help share the
ride with! He and his wife have 4 children, the youngest, 2. Lydia
met Anna last night, and had fun eating cheerios and playing together
during a women's Bible study. God is good to give us these
connections. We are encouraged.

Hoping to post a few pictures of a house we took a look at later on
this evening. I'm going to keep a running record of the houses we
look at, and you all can let us know what you think of them!

Sound good?

Jessica

What I'm working on.

Today's events:

Our washer was fixed today with a big thanks to Martin Sizemore, the area "appliance fixer". He is so helpful, and knowledgeable. He is our Gordon of KY, though there will never be any replacing Gordon in our hearts. The first time he visited us, he fixed our refrigerator. This time, it was our washer. We must find something nice to do for him since he refuses payment. Any ideas? I'm thinking a dinner brought to his doorstep might be called for.

It was also a full afternoon of work after spending the morning with the girls.

Here's my disclaimer for quite a bit of work shown on my blog: This is not my client - I worked as a creative director for 5 years for Chempetitive Group. This is a portion of the work I'm doing for them - and one of their clients, as a freelancer. All copy, themes, and images are FPO and not final.

That said, it was fun to create 4 different themes for the same product. Here's two of my favorites.

And finally, a funny Lydia ism today - we were singing "the wise man built his house upon a rock", and she pronounces "floods" like "pups". So the rain came down, and the pups came up.

What I'm working on.

Homeweavers! Sam has his first job to go estimate today, so a brand was in quick order.

Thankfully we did some work a few weeks ago on the name and the start of a brand.

If you're in Leslie or surrounding counties, and need work done in these areas, give him a call.

Custom built-ins: shelving, window seats

Trim: crown molding, wainscoting, chair rail

Porches and decks

Hardwood Flooring

Ceramic tile

Windows and Doors

Siding

Bathroom and kitchen remodeling

Cold feet in Kentucky!

Slippers have almost become a verb in our house. The floors are very very cold, since they're not carpeted, and the basement isn't heated.

They're the first thing I think about in the morning when my feet hit the cold floor, and one of the last before I go to bed, when I kick them out from under the covers.

We have the girls put them on early in the day too, or else we hear "mama, I'm told". (yes, her c's are still t's, and it's adorable - part of me hopes she never outgrows it!)

Right now, here's what we're sporting - a combination of wal-mart $5.99 specials, Robeez, hand-me-downs, and kohls "whatever was on sale". They were assembled in very short order right after we moved in. The labels don't matter- they're warm, and that's what matters!

I'm actually looking forward to the day mine wear out so I can put a little more thought into the purchase of new ones - like these here - for a mere $2 more than what I spent. Or these.

Here's hoping that your feet are cozy and warm tonight!

What I'm working on.

I got the call Tuesday morning:
Collateral and identity needed to go to press by Friday.
We did it!

11X25.5 roll fold brochure, sellsheet and a finalized logo.

Apple pie and big trucks.

Ok folks - here it is. Our first "this is Kentucky, and we love it"
post. Lots of you have asked for stories, and here's one of our first.

Right after we moved in, we were milling about the house, doing our
thing, and we heard this great rumbling. Kind of like a logging truck
was going to plow through the house. Lydia comes running "mamma! What
is it?". So I asked Sam, "Sam, what is it?". Well. While we are very
thankful for the house we're in, the one of few downsides is that the
driveway to the house above us runs parallel with our house.
LIterally, when I'm doing dishes and they go by, I duck so I'm not
looking directly in their faces, 4 feet away. It's kind of crazy.
Since we live on a mountain, it's a very steep driveway too. With 12
inch ruts. (Not ours, thankfully, but theirs). They have massive 4
wheel drive vehicles that plow up and down their driveway, and we
always can tell when they're coming or going. That was the sound we
heard.

We had lots of snow and cold this week, like the rest of the US.
Which made the driveway next to our kitchen window treacherous and
entertaining. We've seen our neighbors park at the bottom of their
driveway and trek up the mountain to their house with groceries and
kids in tow several times in much less inclemental weather (think
mud), so when we heard the rumble yesterday amidst the falling snow,
Sam and I both looked at each other, shocked. Seriously, they were
going to try and make it up the mountain with 2 inches of snow and
ice? This would be interesting. Trust me, most of the common everyday
vehicles we all drive wouldn't make it up this driveway if it was FLAT.

So there they go, with a big running go at it. We were all in the
kitchen, and once they passed, Sam and I craned our necks to watch
what would happen next. It slows...it slides...it goes up over a 2
foot embankment in the ditch to the right...and again....big river
rocks go flying and he guns it, spinning. We held our breaths and
almost run to take cover with the girls in another room. See, because
if he did start sliding backwards, with the ruts and bumps, good
chances are that we'd meet unhappily in our kitchen, since we're at
the lull before the steepest part of their driveway. Bumper, meet
sink. When it was all done, Sam says "That - was not a very smart
thing that he just did." Hmm. you think so, eh? I agreed.

Well, we are very happy to report that they did indeed make it up
their hill. And not into our refrigerator. But it was entertaining.

I am a little sheepish of running out to our porch and taking a
picture of our neighbors passing by, but I had to go do a quick
search and find a photo to show you kind of what it looks like. This,
but bigger, and not a jeep, with bigger tires and fog lights on top
and a roll bar. And no, I'm not kidding. And then this is the view
out my kitchen window, which will very shortly have curtains. And
blinds.

We're off to go enjoy dessert and a movie. Blessings to all of you.
Do something fun tonight!

Love,
Jessica and Sam

A few photos

Here's a few fun pictures of January so far:

- A quick trip to Cincinatti - we had a friend's wedding in Lexington
to go to on Saturday last weekend, so met up with Annie, Lucy, and
Jude at her Mom's house in Cincinatti so the girls could play
together and we could all catch up on Wheaton happenings. It was so
much fun!

- Lydia having fun with hair clips - she came running out of the
bathroom with the clips on her fingers; she looked like a bionic girl.

- Lydia with her animals in a "family hug". She came and told us what
they were doing and was so proud of her little arrangement. It was
adorable.

I am so very thankful to be home more to catch these special moments
with my girls!

Test Post - from my email!

I'm sitting here in my kitchen, watching it snow out on the
mountains, very excited about the tip I just got from a friend - mail
to blogger settings! It lets me post directly to my blog by sending
an email. Here's hoping that it works. And big thanks to Amy, even if
it doesn't!

I'm off to make an apple pie before Millie wakes up from her nap.

More to come later on - a funny story with (hopefully) pictures if we
can catch it in action.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Quick update since we haven't posted for over a month (gasp).
- We moved to Hyden, Kentucky over Thanksgiving, and with the help of family (thank you Baers for all your help!), we got moved in quickly and easily.
- We are no longer pursuing the cabin purchase, since upon closer look once we moved down, it ended up being a little larger project that we wanted to pursue.
- Millie is crawling and waving!

I hope that your holidays are relaxed and spent enjoying the season with those you love. We're here in upstate New York, enjoying very crisp weather (think single digits!), beautiful snow-covered landscapes, lots of fun with cousins, siblings, and in-laws, and the hopes of reconnecting with a few friends as well. The plan is to rest up from the busyness of the past few months before we head back to KY and begin life there in full force.

I was browsing through a magazine today, and saw the words to one of my recent favorite Christmas songs - In a Bleak Midwinter. Love that song! So simple and pure. So today, the Baers leave you with this:

What can I give Him; poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man, I would do my part; Yes what I can I give Him? Give my heart.

Merry Christmas!