white christmas, literally

we have had quite the snow in portland. i continue to say "thank you, God" for our home and warmth and food. and, it makes me thankful for fun days with my family in the snow.

(just a foot or so on the hood of our car... no big deal :) )

(can you see how deep it is on the chair? that is from day one! )

it is a nice change from the rain.

what we did today

not necessarily a winterwonderland, but white. and fun to stomp around in for a little while.




and, when indoors most of the day, dancing takes on a whole new meaning.

sometimes, i love being forced to stay in. to have no where to go, no appointments or agendas. i am very thankful for my family today. hope you are enjoying yours as well.

boo!

christmas festivities are going up, and, along with that comes empty boxes, much to asher's delight! he managed to entertain himself, and us, with this box all afternoon.... it was lovely.

(again, with the lighting. bah!)


for those who want to actually see what he was doing.....

thanks giving

thanks giving for:

sunshine and blue skies today
an adorable little boy
a four day weekend with my honey
time with family
my niece who turns three on saturday (and the other niece and 6 nephews of ours)
anything pumpkin (i cannot stop making pumpkin bread these days)
a warm and safe place i call home
a redeemer, who delights in setting me free

starting a day early, but wishing you much to be thankful for this weekend.

a fan!

karen and andy came to visit, and, like all true mariner fans, they bestowed on asher a mariner's t-shirt. we so enjoyed our day with them yesterday, and, i know asher did too. oh to have days like that more often. we love you, bumpa and gramma. thanks for making the trip to portland, again and again and again!

14 months

i almost cried. he brought me two bags of bread and a sack full of pears. and as he triumphantly handed over each one, nearly tripping over all of them and either squashing their contents or spilling them on the floor, i almost cried. he was helping me unload the groceries and he was SO excited to do so. i could not have gathered a sweeter moment, and i could not have been more thankful to be his mommy. i am enjoying his nearness today. these are things he woos me with these days:
* signs - after a wonderful visit from my roommate from college, rheagan, and her sweet little boy, jackson (um, LOVE YOU GUYS. thanks for coming!), asher picked up on the signs more, please, thank you, bite and all done (kind of). everything gets the sign please, which i simply cannot resist :) he waves bye bye and hello, and often accompanies those with words.
* he is a mover, and his favorite game is run run with daddy. nothing gets grins from that boy like some daddy interaction time.
* words - truck, tractor, milk, daddy, mama, shoe, sock, pear, bread, pop (for the toaster/toast), pig, puppy, bak bak (the sound a chicken makes), berry, bib, car, pumpkin, boo, papa, bumpa (we are still working on the grandma versions to both of these, but no worries, nannie and gramma, we practice OFTEN), cut (i think... he has a wooden food set), bye bye, hi, baby. of course, these are still somewhat indistinguishable, but, he is consistent, so, i think it counts. it is so fun to see him figure out how to communicate.
* asher loves music. he bounces to the ABC song magnet we have on the fridge (UPDATE: the magnet has seen its last days, due to one too many encounters with the tile floor... oops), he waves his arms and claps his hands while in the car. gosh, i just love it! and, we occasionally get a song from him, but those are few and far between.
* he enjoys food, a lot of it. he prefers any vegetable roasted, and we are still playing with seasonings, but, if you find something he likes, he LOVES it. he can consume as much bread, yogurt, eggs and cheese as a grown man, but his daddy still beats him in the milk department. asher will take no form of milk (aside from breastmilk, that is) - cow, goat, soy, rice. i have tried them all. i continue to experiment on this one.
* and, yes, he is still nursing twice a day. i am slowly gaining momentum on how to work that transition. (insert sigh here).
* he claps his hands and stamps his feet... on command, to a song, when he is truly excited about anything.
* the latest: he has started backing up into our laps to read stories. i just love to watch him come in with a book, turn around and slowly aim and fall into our laps. it makes me melt every time.

this truly is a fun and exciting stage... my favorite so far.

(a little disclaimer about the above pics: our neighbor gave asher a hot pepper costume for halloween, THANKS MEL, and, he has since enjoyed wearing the hat, OFTEN. it cracks me up to see him carrying on with it on his head.)

punkin patch

not necessarily a success this year, picture wise. but i never get tired of hearing asher say "pu," arm and finger extended in the direction of any fall crop - pumpkin, squash, gourd,etc., or "tra" as the tractor circles the field during the hayride. our "fall" has been lovely, and late. i am so thankful for these days of clear, blue and crispness. they make the rains soon to come easier to bear.

little helper

there are those moments of triumph as a mother. moments when the calm of just being together rises above the fussiness and colds and grumpiness. this was one of those moments. it was so fun to have asher sit with me; to have him bang on the electric teapot with a wooden spoon; to have him sit quietly and try to put the bottle pieces together; to have him near me, just content with that. it makes me think of jenny, and her moment. these are the moments worth savoring.

call & response

i have been learning through a series of events and thought processes that i need to use my voice. not just for speaking, but for speaking out. it is important.

this documentary, call & response, is a feature length film documenting the human trafficking that is going on ALL over our world. staggering statistics like "slave trade within the past year has made more money than nike or google combined," or "there are more slaves today than any other time in history" are what this film is all about.

i am speaking out. take a look at their website (click here). and, then, if you find it as compelling as i do, go see it.

thank you!

to our dear friend, rosemarie - who is currently spending her next 7 days in liberia; who continually offers her skill and passion for photography to benefit our family photo archives - thank you. i absolutely love these!

steps

this was one of those weekends you cherish - slow restful days filled with not much schedule and lots of rest. we had lots of time to just be together and enjoy our now well, and happy, little boy. today asher made great progress in walking, and for most of the day, taking steps was his preferred mode of travel. still lots of up and down, but he is determined. i just LOVE watching him toddle. here is a little taste for you, too.




and, because i love his excitement in this one (although short and poorly shot).

the culmination

casey and i have been married for five years. for five years, a passion for missions, other cultures and a desire to get involved on a daily basis has pursued our hearts, sometimes with direction, and sometimes with just longing. after several closed doors and much much prayer, God has truly opened up his best for us. we are now officially staff of lahash international, a grassroots organization based out of portland that works with east african partners.

a bit of the story. dan, the director of lahash, went to jbu with us in arkansas (the connection). dan grew up in kenya as a missionary kid, and after college returned "home" and established several relationships on that trip. out of that birthed lahash - partnership with east africans in order to raise awareness for those they serve and provide opportunity for others to get involved. casey knew of opportunities to volunteer with lahash, but it was right before asher was born, and our attentions were focused elsewhere. after several months of parenting, casey pursued the opportunity to volunteer (the timing), which evolved into several conversations about more significant involvement, which leads us to where we are today. as we look at lahash and their mission and desires, and align those with our mission and desires,we see significant similarities, as well as ways for us to help and grow each other. wala!

in the eloquent words of my husband, "It is exciting to see that God is actualizing years of desire and prayer. It is humbling to see the hand of our Father working so intimately and specifically in our family. To see how He fits things together in His time and for His glory. We now get to focus our energy into one direction. It's funny how having your energy 'confined' can be freeing at the same time. We are excited for this new stage and for how God will challenge and mature us and those we get to be in relationship with."

so, thanks. thanks to all who have literally journeyed with us through this process. who have offered widsom and encouragement. who have witnessed our desires and held them dear. who have celebrated with us. we are grateful.

* if you want to hear more of the story, or are interested in future involvement, feel free to email me your address.

drum roll please!!

asher officially stepped into the world of toddlers on wednesday when he decided to start walking. auntie annie witnessed his first steps, even before daddy came home. unfortunately, a bad cold and then an unfortunate ear infection has put a damper on his desire to be mobile (hence the lacking in pictures or videos). however, he is IN LOVE with his new truck from nannie and papa and pushes it around constantly. i love to be in another room and hear him riccoche off the walls as he moves to the part of the house i am in. thank you so much, mom and dad! during the nice days, it has absolutely saved our afternoons.

so, until we capture the steps on video, here is asher pushing his new favorite toy. yea for sunshine today and loads of vitamin D for a sick boy!

favorites

i love the end of the day when it is bath time and then snuggle time before bed. there is something so sweet and fulfilling about our family being all together, taking the simple moments to enjoy just being. although i don't know if many people will find this video very interesting (aside from the grandparents), i could watch it over and over. beware... asher is in the tub. do not watch if you are offended by a slight show of nakedness.

the many faces of asher

the "what, these clothes just appeared in my bed" face.







the "this is yummy, however, i could have done without the tomato seeds on my face" face. (for the full effect, click to enlarge.)








the "tv watchin'" face (he comes by it rightly.).










the classic face. i cannot get enough of this one!

and caleb makes five!

that's right, folks. as of 3:30 this morning, caleb john-louis white joined the pack of boys on the white side (including caleb, there are five boy kiddos between my brothers and i). congratulations, garret and mandy. welcome, caleb. we love you already.

4 days and counting

asher turns 1 on monday. i cannot believe he is a year old already, but isn't that what every parent says?! it really is true. it goes so quickly. here's to the big boy!

oh annie, i love you!

my sister-in-law, annie, has launched a photography business (click here to see her work), and i couldn't be happier. her business means that i often get adorable pictures of asher, just by hanging out with her. she took some time with our family while we were on vacation last weekend to take some 1 year pictures of asher. although they have the watermark on them, you still get to see the big boy. and a big boy he is! thank you annie!!

more about the weekend later.

memories

i usually say safety first, but this required picture first. he is a quick one!
mom, here's to old times!

"um.... i'm helping?!"

too much

i have no words this evening. i only have pictures.


yeah for friends. we love you, tom and kathy. thanks for taking the time to come visit over the 4th of july.
















asher's alternative to crawling in the grass. he doesn't like the grass on his knees.... at all.






and yea for sunnyside, washington and gramma and bumpa's house. how we heart thee.

just because

i feel like asher looks more and more like a little boy and less like a baby every day.  here are just a few of our little boy these days.  asher and i are off to gramma and bumpa's house (casey's parents) today.  we are both looking forward to some time with them.  

enjoy your day!