some things.

Since it's been a month and a half since I've blogged anything at all, a bit of a catch-up post is in order. There's no way I could catch up on everything (we've been busy 'round these here parts!) but, here are a few of the highlights, as well as other random things that will pop into my brain as I sit here and finally type in this white square of a "New Post" box.
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On May 24th, I had my 3rd annual recital for my piano students. I absolutely love the recital-- it's more fun than I can say to listen to each young person play their very best in front of their friends and families, to see the look of pure accomplishment on their faces when they play that last note, the nervousness gone, replaced by joy. I'm beaming with pride by the end of the night. We all work very hard on our songs for months, and the recital is our big pay-off-- a reward that is totally worth it. Have I mentioned how much I love my piano students? I really do. Since the recital I've given not one piano lesson (I decided to take the summer completely off, figuring a new baby might keep me busy enough) and while I love having the afternoons free for other things, I do really miss seeing each one of them.
Our own Emma Joy participated in the recital too. She played a song called "Lavender Sunset", and it was absolutely lovely. And then she and her teacher, Ryan, played a fun duet together, and her smile was infectious and wonderful to see.

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The day after the recital the girls and I headed down to LA to visit my brother Elijah for the day. Two very important things had recently happened, and we needed to celebrate, oh yes we did.
one. He got engaged! On May 19th (which is also my sister Lydia's birthday), to a beautiful redhead named Lindsey! And we are so excited!
two. He was made a Captain in the Air Force! We couldn't be there for the actual ceremony, since it was the day of the recital, but Lydia was able to go and be there for it, and Lindsey had flown out too. They both said it was very impressive. And I think he looks so very dashingly handsome in his dress blues.

We had so much fun all hanging out together, as per the usual. My girls pretty much adore Uncle Elijah... and now they adore almost-aunt Lindsey too.
We even went to the beach while we were down there, where it was extremely and incredibly windy and cold. Rosalie peed on herself in the first ten minutes, and Annabelle got knocked over by a bigger-than-expected wave and "almost went into the sea" (her words) after which she was simply done with the whole thing. But Emma got soaking wet and loved every minute of it, and the rest of us tolerated it for as long as we could. :)


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At the beginning of June I got to have my "last hurrah" away in the form of a last-minute beach retreat with some women from my church. We stayed in Cayucos at the cutest beach house I had ever seen, ate way too much yummy food, slept in a room full of bunk beds and stayed up much too late laughing over ridiculous things and talking, lazed around in our PJ's, went shopping, and enjoyed every minute. I'm so thankful for each of these beautiful and godly ladies.
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As the Bakersfield heat has increased, we've been hitting up the spray parks as much as we can with friends. There's nothing like the smell of suncreen in the sunshine, little kids running around in swimsuits, snacks on the hot cement only to run happily back into the water.

Rosalie and some of her best buds, Lucy and Chloe

These are the simple summer memories I treasure with my girls, with family and friends.

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We of course celebrated Father's Day, in a simple and quiet way, which is sometimes the best way, I think. The only thing lacking was getting to give my own dear and wonderful dad, who lives in Wyoming, a BIG hug. I miss him, and appreciate him more and more over the years for the great dad and the godly man he is.

The girls bought their daddy a Star Wars mug that said "I AM YOUR FATHER" and filled it with Werther's Originals and scraps of paper that each had something they loved or appreciated about him. It was so sweet to watch him unfold each scrap and read it as they eagerly looked on, giggling at the silly ones and smiling shyly at the other ones. I'm so thankful for the daddy he is to these three-- and can't wait to see him with our little one.
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Speaking of the little one, I'm 38 weeks pregnant. Every time I write how far along I am, I want to follow it up with "HOLY MOLY!" or at least a very emphatic "WHAT?!" The end of this pregnancy is coming, is suddenly upon us, any day now, and every day brings us so close to finally meeting our baby, to finally knowing the answer to "boy or girl??", to having four kids. I have so many mixed emotions these days, but mostly, I just can't wait to hold my baby and to fall in love with this little blessing.

I haven't taken any recent pregnancy pictures, but here is one from two weeks ago. Not too much has changed since then, except for my feet are now the size of small balloons and my ankles are huge. oh, the fun that the end of pregnancy brings!
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Jeremy bought me a spa package gift certificate for my birthday way back in January, and I finally used it a couple weeks ago. It was five hours where I padded around the quiet halls of a little tucked-away place in a huge bathrobe, going from room to room where I was pampered with such things like a facial and a pre-natal massage, a pedicure and a manicure. It was so sweet of him to do that for me, and thankfully my appointment came on a day when I really needed the time away and a bit of pampering. But by the end, the mommy guilt was setting in, and I felt horribly selfish... whixh made me wonder, why do we moms do that to ourselves? My husband wanted to give me this, it's something I never get to do, and it was a huge blessing. I decided I shouldn't feel guilty or selfish, and to simply be oh-so-thankful instead. :) and I am!
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It's things like my day at the spa that make me realize all over again how much God knows our needs, and how good He is even in the little things. As I look back over these past few busy months, and look ahead to what the next few months will bring, I think that's the thing that stands out to me in the midst of the happy memories as well as the hard days: God is good. Always, forever, no matter what is happening. I can't even count the ways in which He shows it, I simply stand in awe and thanks for what He has done and what He is doing all the time in this life of ours, from simple summer days at the spray park, to the wonder of new life and new beginnings.

snapshots o' summer

A Civil Wars concert in LA with some of our best friends. Words cannot even describe how amazing.


Father's Day with the best daddy ever.

swimming lessons for two little wanna-be mermaids.

the cutest band of VBS-goers you ever did see. (Rosalie, Annabelle, Emma, cousin Faith, our sweet neighbor girl Hayley, and cousin Jason)

Lots of fun and laughs with Auntie Lydia (we love having her here everyday!)

Piggie-tails on a two-year old blondie. I die.

Playtime outside (when it's not too hot) and pockets full of posies. Gorgeous blue eyes and sun-kissed cheeks.

A shaven and shorn but oh-so-sweet puppy dog, who likes to snooze in our cool house and wait around for the lovin' we will inevitably give her.

Tomato plants growing large, corn growing tall. And we await the bounty.

a day trip to Cambria, alone, for the two of us. happiness and wonder. love.

summer-y and much-shorter haircuts for these sisters. chop, chop!

also: rompers and dresses and great big smiles. all-around cuteness.

trips to the library (it gets us out of the house! it's cool! it's FREE!) which always results in three little readers all in a row, and me smiling at the very sight.


this summer is flying by in quite a blur. But it's a happy, sunshiney, memorable, colorul, mellifluous, lovely sort of a blur. 

And we'll be soaking up every last little bit of it that is left.

dear Summer, I'm glad you came.

I think it's safe to say that it is officially summer. The temperatures are risin', everyone's out of school, So You Think You Can Dance is back on TV (yay!), and I have a sudden and strong desire for frozen fruit bars. And since we actually had a spring here this year that lasted longer than two days, I find that I'm rather excited and ready to welcome summer!

That's just what we did this past week. We slipped into summer mode and enjoyed a week off from piano lessons following the big recital, a week off of school for Emma (shhh, don't tell, we're not *quite* done with first grade yet), and a week off from running around all the time doing this and that. I read an actual whole book, the kids played outside and inside, we watched movies, we caught up on library books, we went to the park, we stayed in our pj's longer than is acceptable, and we loved every minute of it. I don't think I even realized how much I needed a lazy week, how much we ALL needed a lazy week, until we were in the midst of it and I began to feel truly refreshed again... it was wonderful.

I hope this summer will bring us many more such days of refreshment and even a bit of laziness too, but I'm realizing that I want us to have a purpose for these next few months as well.
I want this summer to be one of...
simplicity. I don't want us to always be running from one thing to the next. We don't need to spend a lot of money doing extravagant things. We really do enjoy ourselves most when we cut out the unnecessary things and simply spend time with family and friends and each other in different ways. Summer always speeds by way to quickly as it is without us making it crazy and hectic.
adventure. Whether it's a nature hike in the woods, a day trip to the beach to hunt for seashells, or a safari in our backyard, we're going to explore whatever surrounds us and seek out amazing memories.
creativity. I am blessed with daughters who love to learn new things and definitely have a creative side... and I would love nothing more than to grow and expand that with them. I want to teach them how to bake, how to sew and embroider, how to paint furniture (think what a unique piece that could be!). I want to dive into the music that surrounds us every day and learn new things about it. I want to write stories and draw murals. I want to encourage them in every way to be their uniquely imaginative selves... and I know they'll teach me something along the way too!
together-ness. Whether it's just our little family, or with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, the band family, our church family, through phone calls and skype or in person, it's so important to me that we get to be with the ones we love, to grow closer to them and to enjoy them, to encourage one another and show love and support, and to make memories that our children will remember for years to come.
servitude. This one is really important to me, quite near and dear to my heart. My desire for my girls is that they will have servants' hearts and really want to give of themselves to others and for the Lord. So, while I have no problem with just having fun and seeking to enjoy the many blessings God has given to us, I want us to share those same blessings with those around us, especially with those who might be less fortunate. Our first thought should not be what we can get out of this life, but what we can give of it to others, and how we can glorify our Lord with our gifts and abilities. Sadly, this is something I've found myself rather lacking in of late, but God is gracious; He has been convicting and spurring me on to really think about these things, and to act upon them. I'm so excited to seek out ways that our family can serve, and I'm praying that my girls will see what a wonderful thing it is to not live unto ourselves. When our lives are turned inward, we miss out on so much, and we gain nothing except fleeting enjoyment. The reward and blessing that comes with loving God and others first and best, the heart-happiness that is ours when we serve willingly and faithfully and truly unselfishly... THAT is something that never fades. Isn't it amazing how such a simple thing, how even a small sacrafice, can reap such a great and lasting reward? God is so good. And that is what I want us to discover anew this summer in as many ways as we can.

So, now, do tell me.... what are your hopes and plans for this summer that stretches out before us in all its sunshine-y goodness?

Good golly, Miss Molly!

Sometimes, in this vast blog-land, one stumbles across friends. And by friends, I don't just mean people you know who have blogs (although that's neat,too)... no, I mean the sort of thing where you start to read a blog simply because it looks cute, or someone you know linked to them, or something. And then, soon, that person makes you laugh. And then they write something that speaks to your heart. And maybe they inspire you. And then you fall in love with their adorable red-headed twins.... and well, before you know it, you desperately wish you lived by each other so you could really hang out, because somewhere along the way that person stopped being someone whose blog you read and became a friend. A genuine, real-life, wanna-squeeze-them, tell-me-about-your-day kind of friend. It's a beautiful thing.

Molly June is one of those people. I honestly can't even remember how I came across her blog in the first place... but I do remember the first comments we left on each other's blogs. They went something like this: (me) "Hi! you're funny and cute. Let's be friends!"  (her) "hiiiiiii! hi! hi! Yes! let's!!"  Hmm. yes. that sounds about right. :)

Well, guess what?


Miss Molly herself, along with those adorable red-headed twins of hers, drove up to Bakersfield just so she could meet those of us here who've been stalking, er, reading her blog and just dying to hang out with her.

A few things about Molly:
1. She's even cuter in person, if you can believe it.
2. She's one of the easiest people ever to talk to.
3. She's sweeter than honey and funny as anything, with a laugh and a smile that you just can't resist.
4. She's an amazing mom to Ellie and Audrey, those girls of hers. Having twins must be a challenge, but you would never know looking at her.
5. She makes you feel like you've known her for ages and ages.
6. She rocks a headband and has amazing hair. Yep, I'm jealous of her bangs.

We all had a blast. Lorie, darling dear that she is, invited all the craziness into her home and wonderful backyard, where the children played and became fast little friends, we ate ridiculously good food (I actually had a dream that involved Lorie's homemade chocolate cake and cornbread. For reals.), we laughed a LOT, and all of us generally just had so much fun that the evening went by far too quickly and I was sad when it was time to leave.


The sight of our girls playing together and the cuteness of it all just about did me in. Makes my heart happy.



I fell in love with her girls even more than I was before. They are just so adorable, words cannot express. Ellie sports the headband and wields the hose, and Audrey tries her best not to get water in her face... ha!


See that cake?? YUM. See Lorie??  She's crazy. And I love her.


Perfect. There were many moments like this.


Ellie and Emma, bonding over some coloring and cheeeeese.


This was about the time all the kids started to get really crazy and really loud, and about the time we had to disband. Poor Lorie's husband.

It truly was a great get-together, with so many amazing girls that I was on happy cloud nine. The lovely Alyssa was there, with her beautiful sister Kristin and too-cute-for-words niece. Olive Oyl, always stunning, came with her Swee'Pea. And Davi, charming and sweet and pocket-sized, showed up with Twain.
Add to this list Lorie, who is always a wonderful hoot, and her two mini-men; Molly and her two girls, and me and my three... and well, you begin to get a picture of the craziness and fun that ensued. I truly love these girls and am always so very very glad to get a chance to spend time with them all. Ahh, it's good to be friends... real-life, I-got-to-squeeze-you friends.

come back again soon, Molly, for we shall miss you... and next time I shall give you my house tour and play the piano for you and bake you cookies. :)

My pictures are sadly lacking (not a one of Olive Oyl, Alyssa, or Kristin! sad!), but Lorie and Molly both blogged about it too, so go here and here to see!

summer days

Today's date: July 7.
holy moly.
This summer is literally flying right on by. Like, summer started packing it bags, bought a one-way ticket to autumn and cheerfully began saying its goodbyes so it could make the flight on time. I knew it would probably seem to go by quickly, but this seems too fast.

My "summer project list" should probably be renamed "Talia's unrealistic and wishful thinking list", as so many of those little boxes remain sadly unchecked. My house is a perpetual mess, no matter how hard I work to keep it clean. The closets and cupboards are even worse. (Would you like to have a good cry? Come look at my closet. Because yes, it will make you weep.) Organization needs to happen around here, and soon. Laundry is always sitting in baskets, either waiting to be folded, or put away, or washed again. I have yet to make my final decisions and purchase school things for this fall. Somehow I seem to be always busy and always trying, but cannot seem to get caught up with anything at all. This all makes me feel a bit stressed and overwhelmed as the summer speeds onward. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

But. BUT! There is a bright side to this post! (I promise to always have a bright side, if at all possible. hehe.)

We are having fun!

No, our summer fun list isn't getting checked off quite as speedily as I thought it might, but it IS getting checked off. There has been lots of swimming, reading, watching of movies, sleeping in, good eating, playing in the backyard, time with family and friends, dancing, outings, listening to great music, and just general summer-timey goodness, wonderful and warm, soaked through with happy memories and sunshine.

A chubby Rosalie in her bikini. I die.

All aglow from the sun, happy in our little backyard pool.

They have delightful adventures in that little pool.


On Monday, since Jeremy was off work, we took the kids to see Toy Story 3. We weren't going to see it in 3D, since it's more expensive and I wasn't sure if the kids would really enjoy it enough to make it worth while. But since the 3D was the only one not sold out, we went for it, and I'm glad we did. The girls looked SO cute in their little 3D glasses! It really thrilled them. Annabelle kept reaching forward, trying to touch the images, the biggest grin on her face.

We LOVED Toy Story 3. So heart-warming and touching, funny and delightful. I laughed so much (and cried, too). We're those people who almost never go see movies in the theater, but I'm glad we didn't wait for this one to come out on DVD. Go see it if you haven't already!






We love you, summer! (and if you promise to slow down a bit from here on out, we'll love you even more. Pretty please?)

hello!! and, goodbye.

A summertime roadtrip with your family to go see a few of the ones you love: it's a lovely thing. And that is precisely the adventure on which we will go once my husband gets home from work in just a few hours. (4 hours, to be exact. So much to do, and here I sit, blogging. Hi honey! don't worry, I'll be ready to go, I promise!)

We are headed here:


Rock Springs, Wyoming. A small-ish town in the southern part of Wyoming... known for its coal-mining, apparently. And also, rocks, I think. hehe.
My mom and dad, Jerusha, Lydia, and Josiah moved there last month from Denver so my dad, who is a pastor, could take charge of a church there. And now we are going to go visit them in their new home! It's about a twelve or thirteen-hour drive, which we will divide up for the sake of the children and our sanity. We'll make it to Primm, Nevada tonight (where we have booked a $16 hotel room. $16!!), stay overnight, and then start off right away in the morning so we get to their house sometime tomorrow evening. We can't wait to see our family again and to spend some time with them! And I'm actually really looking forward to the road trip too. I've stocked our van with books for reading out loud, good music, many snacks, lots of drawing supplies, and movies for when all else fails. We'll be back sometime on Monday already, since the kids have VBS next week. So it will be a rather quick trip, but worth it!

In the meanwhile, to all you bloggy friends of mine, I must say "I'm sorry". For as much as I absolutely loooooooove (really, I LOVE) each and every comment I receive from you lovely people, I sure have been horrible about leaving them. If you could only hear the beautiful ones I compose in my head to you all after I've read your posts! They really are quite nice. And someday (soon!), when I'm not running around like a half-crazed person, I will sit down at my computer, and I will pluck those comments from my head and leave them for you to see.

For now, this picture of my darlings will have to do.
 
(just for the record, it is getting harder and harder to get a good picture of these three together. I took about 15-20 shots of them this morning, and this was the only one that was semi-good. Sigh. They really are goofballs.)

goodbye, goodbye, we blow you kisses!
have a great week, my friends.

we're hoppin' on the fun-wagon.

Is it just me, or is the month of June completely and totally whizzing right on by with very little regard to any wishes for a lazy and laid-back summer?? Oh, June. So inconsiderate.

But, I won't let June, or any of these summer months, actually, get the best of me. When I start to feel a wee bit desperate and overwhelmed, I know exactly what to do: make a list, of course.

I know these types of lists have been floating around the blogosphere lately, but I first saw one over at Jimaie's blog (and let me tell you, here is a girl who knows how to have fun. She's a great mommy, and I very much admire her fun-having abilities). Now that I go look at her list again, it's funny how many of our ideas are the same. Great minds, they really do think alike. hehe. Anyway,  I loved the idea, and you know what? as soon as the girls and I sat down and made out our summer fun list, I felt so relieved. Like maybe June and all its haste won't get the best of me after all.

Summer, you are going to be refreshing and relaxing and wonderful and memory-filled and FUN! And that's that!


And then, because I love lists so much, I made one just for me too:


Apparently, judging by the size of these two lists, I think summer is 6 months long and that all housework, laundry, and other duties will be performed by the magical elves who live under my bed.

Happy summer to you all, darlings. :)

Wherein we take a trip...

...to our home-away-from-home, Denver, Colorado! It was a pleasure to drive through a large part of our beautiful country and see things from desert to canyons to mountains.

When I was a girl we drove absolutely everywhere-- I've seen 48 of the 50 states as well as part of Canada from the backseat of our car, all of us piled into whatever vehicle we happened to own at the time. I LOVED driving places, and I was so excited to take our first family roadtrip! And I am happy to report that our three little girls were excellent passengers. Emma and Annabelle looked out the window, flipped through books, colored pictures, ate snacks, slept, and watched movies.

Rosalie slept, made noise, played with the toys on her carseat, and was entertained by her sisters.


No, she was not happy all the time and definitely had her moments. She screamed and cried when she got sick and tired of her carseat. But, it really wasn't bad at all. We were able to stop every couple of hours to get out and stretch, take potty breaks, and hold Rosalie. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they all did with so many hours on the road! So, praise God, we made it there safely and in good time.

and then the REAL fun began!

We spent an evening at a bonfire in the cool Colorado night air. So fun.



I realize I'm shallow, but seriously, bangs are driving me NUTS the way they look in this picture. Help.

Goodness, I have pretty sisters...

Happily, we were there for Jerusha's 21st birthday (my little sister is 21... I feel old)!! To celebrate, we went out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill and had quite the lovely time laughing, talking, and of course, drinking.

Jerusha and her boy, Chris. Such a cute couple. And doesn't our little Rooshie look beautiful??

She stole my lemon drop martini for this picture. But I still love her.



We are never normal. Ask anyone.



The loving parents.

Martini for me, cabernet for him. We are soooo sophisticated (although, you wouldn't think so if you had seen the pictures that were taken before this shot...)

Later, there was cake... baked by Grandma and Emma and Annabelle.

And of course, we had many wonderful family meals. For this one, mom made us her famous whole-wheat pancakes served with triple-sec oranges, bacon, and sausage. Mmmm. It's tradition, and we all stuff ourselves full as we can.

Josiah is looking so grown-up! He needs to stop. What happened to my baby brother?



This is pretty much one of the cutest pictures ever.

We've decided that Rosalie looks a LOT like my dad. What do you think??

On both Jeremy's and my sides of the family, the blue-eyed ones far outnumber the brown-eyed. If you only count immediate family, there are FOUR of us who have brown eyes. So of course we had to take a picture. Here we are, the brown-eyed ones, an elite group of good-looking people. (hehe)

Down the street from my parents' house there is a little lake with a walking path around it. It's a lovely place. We took a walk there one afternoon, and I loved it so much that I made Lydia go for a run around it with me the next morning. If I had a place like this to go running, I think I would actually want to exercise every single day!



While this is all the pictures I am sharing with you in this blog post, it's not even the half of it. Our time there was filled to the brim with so many fun things... a girlie goodwill shopping trip that resulted in some of the most amazing deals ever (that's a whole other post), painting of some of those great deals, a fun BBQ with friends we hadn't seen in a long time, visits up to the chiropractic clinic, shopping, late-nights talking and catching up, an afternoon at the movies to see Julie and Julia, playing in the beautiful backyard, swinging on the rope swing, an evening at an amusement park where I rode a REAL roller coaster for the first time and almost died (ok, so that's a little melodramatic... but I've decided I'm definitely more of a Disneyland girl. No more crazy roller-coasters for me)... it was all SO so fun and just the time we needed with this dear family of ours.

We are a silly bunch when we are under the same roof. There is always so much joking, teasing, slapping of butts (yes, really), and general merry-making that I'm sure we would probably drive many people crazy.

I, however, love each and every minute of it and can't think of a better way to just be together.

Rawr!!