a forgotten few

i forgot to post of pictures from our quick trip to nashville, and maggie's first trick or treating experience. she did great! and was adorable!!!

still cant find the plugin

so i have to resort to posting whatever pictures my friends give me! we've had a lovely, busy few weeks. we visits from my sister and two kids and Maggie's dearest buddy, E.E.
A few weeks ago, we took some photos with our new friend Laura. It was surprisingly tough to get a good shot in with Maggie being so squirmy. this is front of the art museum, one of my favorite places in all of St. Louis. Here are the outtakes:

overnight

overnight it turned winter. outside by our deck there sits a tree, that just yesterday, had blazing yellow leaves. this morning with my coffee, i also got a very bare tree. trees with no leaves make it seem colder than it really is. it seems like st. louis forgot that fall was a season. we went straight to "bundle" weather...which i like, but i missed long tshirt & jeans weather.

overnight i turned another year older.32. its a good number. it doesnt feel like me, but i bet everyone feels like this, this side of 30. i've had a near perfect day. as perfect as a regular day can be. sleeping in, breakfast in bed, yoga, pumpkin spice lattes, shopping (with no kids), & hot cocoa with marshmellows.

a sure highlight was when i was giving maggie her nightly bath. abe & i were sitting on the floor watching her play & everytime she splashed or said the word "bubble"-abraham would give a full body laugh. it made my special day even better.
friday, hubby & i are going out on a long awaited night out (with no kids!)...we are looking forward to talking without interruptions or without bouncing a baby in one of our arms.

in reflecting today on our lives, i was surprised with joy at how much i love my life. there isnt much i would change-perhaps our squeeky wood floors, but not much else. it isnt lost on me, how rare & beautiful it is to not want more than what life (ie. God) has handed you. i am a happy, happy woman.

on a less sober yet just as joyful note, i went to dinner last night with some girls from the block. there were a few bdays to celebrate so we left the kiddos to put themselves to sleep (just kidding) & had dinner together.
i think its pretty great that i have such fun friends already, when i've only been here such a short time. (thanks lisa & laura!)

morning devotions

psalms 103 "praise the lord, oh my soul"

october & blog tag

so...i obviously cant find my camera cord to upload photos. and thats too bad b/c october has been a busy, fun month with lots of good photos. and to top it off, i think i left my camera in nashville last weekend..have you seen it mom?
anyway, october began with a great visit from our dear friends from east nashville, eric & mandy. we had lots of great meals together and took in some sites of st. louis. we also had our first visit to the great Arch. its pretty grand but also blinding depending on the time of day...
eric & mojo went to some political lectures at the seminary and ended up talking about ethics of torture the whole weekend so mandy and i had some good time catching up and talking walks around the park.
we also had a week long visit with maggie's grandma and grandpa brad. we went to a pumpkin patch, the zoo, lots of park visits and to a groovy vietnamese restaurants. Abe got some love and kisses from them and maggie got to play lots with her grandparents.
then last week mojo had a whirlwind trip to croatia, germany, & switzerland. he played some of his solo album & some OC super. songs. he has a new croatian backing band. long story & its random, but the croats are awesome and its turning out to be a great situation!
when he was gone we headed to nashville for my first trip with both the kids. it was good and we got to have a playdate with some of our great little friends in east nashville (thanks alice!), lots of time with Mimi & Papa Joe, fun times trick or treating (Maggie's first time) with Ellie & Atticus, and a huge cookout on Mimi & Pape Joe's new screened in porch...which is awesome!!!!
it was nice to pull up to our apartment complex and see everyone sitting outside with their kiddos and waving at us, i was happy that i was happy to come home (st. louis)...i wasnt sure how i would feel and so it was really good to be happy.
Pictures to come...as soon as i get my lazt butt to look around for the cord, oh but my camera isnt here.

so one of my oldest friends, Kim, blog tagged me. i've never been compelled to respond to a tag but Kim is new to the blogging world so i want to encourage her to keep at it, since we now live 10 hours away and she has the cutest little twins in the world! so here are 5 random things about me:

1) when eating, i need equal amounts of protein and starch on my plate. for instance, if i am eating eggs and toast and finish my toast before the eggs-i have to make more toast.
2) i like ice to fill my entire cup when drinking water. i'd rather have no ice than just a few pieces.
3) i won the math award in 7th grade.
4) i only got one B in my entire time in graduate school. And although i am proud of that accomplishment, i still harbor a wee bit of resentment towards the teacher that gave me a B. she stinks.
5)today is my first time voting for a president. last election i didnt like either of them, enough to not vote. and the election before that i was in africa for the entire month of november and the election before that i was a sophmore in college and kinda just forgot. i'm voting for obama. :)

mojo, somewhere in europe.


maggie & Mimi