We found out this afternoon that this weekend we were all exposed to Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Although it's usually a mild illness, if a pregnant woman close to delivery catches the virus, it can be transferred to the newborn and in certain cases can be very serious, even fatal for the infant. At this point we don't know if any of us have it, but we spent several hours with children who were … [Read more...]

"I'm going to grow up to be a big man and drive a yellow grappler...and a green one, and a black one, and a forklift." "Are you going to live in a house?" "Yes, but a different house." "A house by yourself or with other people in it?" "With other people in it, probably." "What other people will live there?" "Mostly ballerinas." "Oh really? Are you going to marry a … [Read more...]

Comment #6: Tryna! You win the much sought after soap :) Thanks sweet faithful readers for entering! What sort of giveaway would you want next time? Food related, like local honey or something? Christian year related like Advent candles? Books? Put in your two cents. Today we're taking it easy while we get tons of rain from Tropical Storm Lee. So far it's just been light, soothing rain, but … [Read more...]

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to have a Giveaway once the blog reached 10,000 hits which it has (yay!). I was having a hard time thinking of what I wanted to give away but finally settled on something everybody uses: SOAP. Maybe not the most exciting giveaway ever, but more exciting than stamps, right? And this isn't just any soap, it's fantastic all-natural handmade goat's … [Read more...]

On two occasions, Benjamin has seen a picture of someone on the internet and said, "Hey! There's a picture of Mama!" He couldn't have been more flattering. One time the photo was of Ree Drummond, my beloved Pioneer Woman: The other time, he saw a picture of Christina Hendricks: What a womanly figure! Thank you, Benjamin. You might not be very accurate...but you're very charming. … [Read more...]

Sunday morning we attended a beautiful Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi at St. Bernadette's near Banner Elk. It was made particularly special since my parents went with us. After the wedding festivities wrapped up on Sunday evening, we spent Monday through Thursday relaxing at the house my grandparents built and that I’ve visited each summer, save one, since I was 10 months old. It's wonderful … [Read more...]

We are enjoying a week of cool breezes, relaxation, and little mountain hikes in North Carolina with my parents. It is LOVELY here. One goal in making the trip from Florida was to attend our dear friend Jane's wedding to a wonderful guy, Ruben. If I were smart, I would have taken my camera to all the wedding events but...alas. Jane was breathtaking and everything was perfection itself. I'm … [Read more...]

That was our week. It all began on Sunday when after a weekend of runny nose and coughing, Benjamin started wheezing. He had what could have been his first bout of asthma, something Daniel has been concerned about from the very beginning because he had such awful childhood asthma and still has it to a degree. So Sunday and Monday was filled with dr.'s offices, pharmacy pick-ups, breathing … [Read more...]