the only thing i can think of is....i can't believe we survived. im alive, emersons alive and thomas is alive. the memory of the panic i felt when people would say, "oh it will get better, just get through that first year" is still palpable for me. i kept thinking there was no way i would make it. time goes by during all those moments and somehow we come out the other side just fine. nothing in the world can bring you to the brink of tears AND the edge of a cliff in the same day except parenting! it... Continue reading

we made it! emerson is now 6 months old and we are all still alive! he has been sick a lot this winter and just finished getting over rsv and is doing much better. he's tried a few foods and seems to like squash the best. he has two little teeth proudly standing their ground. his blue eyes have started to get a little brown but don't seem to want to fully commit to one color or another. his hair is still out of control! doesn't want to do anything but spray across his head in 4 directions. he is... Continue reading

it's an odd feeling to be a parent. first of all, i still don't feel like a parent and the word 'mom' still doesn't seem to now be something i can call myself. secondly, i now understand why parents only seem to talk about their kids. it's not because the don't have the wherewithal, interest or intellect to talk about anything else. it's because all of this stuff is utterly new, mostly confusing, exausting and a lot of the time a mystery. you find yourself talking about it all the time because doing so answers questions, or atleast makes you... Continue reading

try as we might, it has been hard to keep everyone we love informed of our ongoings during this particularly exciting time in our lives. hopefully this post will let everyone know the story and the excitement that was had. we went to the hospital late wednesday night to start a slow and gradual induction. one i was supposed to be able to sleep through so i didn't worry much about napping that day to get rest (don't know if i could have if i tried). we were really hoping not to have to induce but my doctor thought 9... Continue reading

normally i think i would be more sad about the coming and going of my due date BUT i decided to get a bad cold last week so i'm glad i've been given the chance to get better before the big day. we're excited for it to come but i really do feel great for lugging this huge belly around all the time :) im a lucky one! we'll keep you posted! t & k Continue reading

time flies when you're having fun! i think the best antidote for anxiety in a pregnancy is to stay super busy, which i realize now can be difficult when your big and swollen and all you want to do is sit down. but, we've managed to stay very busy and forget all about the fact that our time as 2 is slowly trickling away. kind of crazy! t & k Continue reading

this 4th thomas and i got the chance to drive to virginia beach to see my brother bill. it was about a 9 hr car ride, but wasn't too bad (as thomas did most of the driving). we were able to go to the beach a few times and to colonial williamsburg on possibly the hottest day ever. but we had fun and learned a few things nonetheless. we ate a lot of good food - i think i hit my fish taco quota for the year :) if you happen to be out there any time soon we can... Continue reading

long over due for many of you to know! some of you we were able to contact personally and are sad we couldn't tell you all that way. rest assured that we love you just as much! so onto the news.... thomas and i are indeed pregnant :) yay! we are about 20 weeks a long and having a baby boy. all is well in the pregancy, although if you had asked me that a few weeks ago i may not have sounded as excited. i had 24 hour morning sickness until i was helped out by my doctor and... Continue reading

an update of the past few months... we had thanksgiving on the farm in danville. it was a success but left us with a few improvements to make on my grandmothers dressing recipe. we might have to do more work to find out what, "till it's good", "just enough" and "add enough of" mean. we played yatzee after the meal and i can't remember who won but that's not really important right? what's important is that we were all together and the turkey was basted with butter :) thanks to melanie mauer, thomas and i were able to get updated... Continue reading

summer fun with our nieces and nephew :) t & k Continue reading

thought this was so interesting....had to share! prepare yourself, it's kind of nerdy. grouping your produce can be a great way to keep it fresh for as long as possible. by keeping these things apart, they won't enduce premature ripening :) Ethylene-Producing Produce apples apricots avocados bananas blueberries cantaloupes citrus fruit cranberries figs guavas grapes green onions honeydew kiwi mangoes melons mushrooms nectarines okra papayas passion fruit peaches pears peppers persimmons pineapple plantains plums/prunes tomatoes watermelons Ethylene-Sensitive Produce asparagus broccoli brussel sprouts cabbage carrots cauliflower chard cucumbers eggplant endives escarole green beans kale lettuce parsley peas potatoes romaine spinach squash... Continue reading

how cool is it that i have a few friends training for marathons and half marathons! and i decided to run a measley 3.1 miles! i've never been a runner so this is a big deal for me, ha! thomas did it half asleep in 27 minutes, it took me 35, and his sister drea in an amazing 29! but i didn't stop (my #1 goal)!! wahoo! 10k here we come...maybe :) yah for a frosty morning :( i was freezing up until the 2.5 mile marker but by then we were almost done and i got cold again. photos... Continue reading

thomas and i haven't been too great at keeping traditions going each year with the exception of one....carving pumpkins. we even managed to do it when we were in china. here are this years carvings: my tribute to the late steve jobs (and my husband who loves his company dearly) thomas' mario pumpkin happy halloween! t & k Continue reading

the rest is yet to come but here's a peek: click here t & k Continue reading

our ward had a pioneer day pie contest last saturday and thomas decided to try his luck with the harper family rhubarb pie recipe. we didn't think much of it because we didn't know how much people out here would like rhubarb but we found out when they awarded him 3rd place! out of 22 pies! the prize...mrs. fields cookies :) so proud of my little chef! t & k Continue reading

a town 20 mins outside of weifang hosts chinas annual vegetable festival. there are several complexes that house intricate groupings of vegetable growing contraptions that you can walk through, under and over. t & k Continue reading

i recently have had quite a few people inquire as to when the best time to buy vegetables/fruit is. of course it depends on your area and weather but here is a list of the most common summer veggies and their peek times so you can snag the good stuff. or know when the best time to plant and harvest in your area is. for the pdf click here t & k Continue reading

i wanted to do something special for my kids before we came home so i spent an afternoon making potato salad, sloppy joes and spaghetti for them to eat. there aren't very many places in weifang to experience american food without paying and arm and a leg so i wanted them to be able to try something from my home. we met in a large class room and served them all individually. most of them loved it! they gave me gifts and we took tons of photos. thomas and i gave away some of the books we brought with us,... Continue reading

it's about time i tell you about this city. aside from the city we lived in, qingdao is where we spent the most of our time. it's where we went to church and hung out almost every weekend. qingdao is a coastal city that has an interesting history. heavy german influence is left by the german occupation years ago and fish can be smelled nearly everywhere. it's name literally means green, lush, island. it is a city full of things to do, places to go and markets to shop in. we could stock up on foreign foods, movies, clothes and... Continue reading

one our way home we couldn't resist stopping in beijing for one last hoo-rah. we got to see a few sites that aren't always on the top of the list: the bell and drum towers, the lama temple, olympic park and 3 city parks. we loved it! we spent days walking around now familiar streets and hutongs never knowing where we were but never feeling lost. we stopped in the smallest shops you can imagine to buy ice cream, water and have a chat with the family who's soap opera we interrupted by walking in. you'd never know some of... Continue reading

could i have taken any more photos??? i had to put the one of my grub on here. that greenery it's lounging on is the half eaten piece of broccoli i enjoyed before i saw my little friend laying dead on it! that is what i get for eating at a chinese place while in tibet. in my defense, it was the first night we were there and where our guide scheduled us to eat. i was starving and didn't feel like wandering around to find a place to eat. little did i know i didn't have to wonder far... Continue reading

a few days later we flew into lhasa, tibet. the city itself is rather small and lacks the scape of high rises covering every other major city in china. as influenced as the tibetan people are by mainland china, they still retain many stark (and wonderful) differences. their food is a lot different and the people themselves don't look the same. religion is literally seen everywhere and symbolism is powerful. we were able to visit the residence of the dalai lama [even though he hasn't been there in decades] and climb the potala palace which has been the home to... Continue reading

as most of you know, thomas and i did quite a bit of traveling right before we left china, a month of traveling in fact. i haven't up to this point written down much of the account or sorted through my images. as i sat down to start chipping away at this task, i came face to face with the chunk of my heart that i left in china and remembered how much i miss our time there. before we left for the states we dotted central and western china starting in qingdao (east coast) and going as far as... Continue reading

another year, another ride well done! this year was thomas' first time riding and lee's first time in 3 years. the route was a tad easier than those previous [thank goodness!] and the weather loved us more this year than any i remember. by tad easier i don't mean it was a walk in the park, just that the past few years the routes have been ridiculous and 15 miles longer than they were supposed to be! i know 15 miles doesn't sound like a lot, but at the end of 75 miles it might as well be a million.... Continue reading