Is it Possible...

To be so cute?!

According to June, yes.

Thanks to Ryan for such great pictures!

Not just for the Holidays...

Being more mindful of what (including blood, sweat, tears, and unjust wages and working conditions) goes into the products I buy has been recent conviction in my heart.

Conviction is what can follow information. Being accountable to what you know.

So what do I do with my conviction? How do I live it out?

It's easy to think of Christmas as a time to really change how we spend our money, but I think it should be a year-round consideration. And it's great if it happens to *start* with Christmas.

For those still wondering what to do this year, and all the days in between this year and next, here's a place that will help.

It's a website that promotes Fair Trade practices. Go there and it will explain "Fair Trade." You can also go here to see some other ideas for shopping in a more people-friendly, Kingdom-minded way!

So the next time you're at the store and you're telling yourself:
"But it's so cute!"
"And Cheap!"
"I'm in a hurry."
"Everything is made in China (or India, etc...)."
Think about the people on the other side of that product. Not every one is treated unfairly, but Fair Trade practices help guarantee that they're treated like people.

It's something I really believe is worth it, and is definitely not something just for the Holidays.

Get You Some Ssekos!

Thanks to Heather, and Cameron, and Sherman ;) I now have my very own pair of Ssekos!

What are they?

Only a super cute sandal made by women in Uganda who are making money to go to College!

Check out the sandals, the stories, and the sista's here!

The website has much cuter pictures of the shoes, but here are mine!

"Sprout"

"Riverbend"

This month is apparently "buy a pair and get an extra strap for free" so I'm modeling both of my straps.

Hope you get inspired!

June's First Camp-Out!

We decided to go camping with our Community Group this past weekend.

In our group of 8 people, there are 2 canoes. That's a pretty good ratio. Who wouldn't want to go camping and canoeing with those kinds of numbers?

So, in about a week's time, we reserved our sites at Yegua Creek on Lake Somerville.

We only ended up with 5 of our 8 people from our Community Group and 1 canoe. An added bonus were the 6 lively children and some mentors that came too! The kids loved the canoe and the lake, and sitting around (and playing in) the fire. It was an all-around great time!

How did June do? For the most part, pretty well. The only "issue" was after Sherman and I got in the tent to go to bed. June had already been in there sleeping for a couple hours, and since it wasn't her usual sleeping quarters, she woke up when we got in.

That started a rocky night of sleeping, with June waking up about 6 times. Looking back, I think we could have done some better planning as far as sleeping arrangements. We didn't really "make" our beds. We just laid out my sleeping bag, which June and I shared, and Sherman slept under a blanket because I forgot his sleeping bag. We'll change that next time we go camping.

Other than not sleeping much, it was a great first camp-out! She stayed warm, smiled, saw fire for the first time, went on a trail with us (on which she fell asleep) and even went out in the canoe!

The music is super lame. I recommend: A) Not turning your speakers up and watching in silence. or B) Playing some entirely different music while your computer speakers are off. Enjoy!

Water Kefer and Burgers

This post is a little late in coming, but here it is.

Rachel made almost all of this stuff from scratch... except the Avos and Lettuce etc... God made that.

She's amazing.

The water kefer is a natural type of soda (I call it hippie soda) and I really like it!

Kefer is pronounced kee-furr (read about it) not to be confused with Kiefer.

These burgers were the best too! The stood up almost as well as real ones.

She's 5 Months!

What a great time this is! June is doing great and has hit some big milestones this month, including belly laughs, holding her head up, and rolling over from tummy to back without any help! (We found her as such the other day!) She's building her stomach and back muscles and will probably be sitting without assistance within this next month.

She really enjoys Bible Story time, going on walks, listening to music, watching daddy play the guitar, being outside, standing up, and getting her diaper changed. She's doing a lot more talking and has the sweetest, softest, little angel girl voice.

What a blessed time!

First Attempt to Capture Some Fall

The air turned cool and there wasn't a cloud in the sky!

The Farm Patch had set out their pumpkins and gourds and opened their hay maze.

We decided to walk up there and get some pictures of June at the hay maze and with some pumpkins in the early evening.

Well, the walk was WONDERFUL.

But June fell asleep before we got there, and the maze was closing right when we walked up! (Note to all: even though the FP closes at 7pm, the maze closes at 6:30!)

So we got some pictures anyway :)



Hopefully we'll coincide being at the Farm Patch with June being awake next time! Happy Fall!