We Saw the Horses

During the week of the Kentucky Derby (back in May) we were fortunate enough to go to Churchill Downs two times.  Brian and I went with his work for an afternoon and enjoyed complimentary food and drinks and bet on a few horses.  No, we didn't win anything.  We had lots of fun though.  We decided on Wednesday before the Derby to take the girls to Dawn at the Downs.  You can buy tickets to a buffet and watch some races but we just went in one of the gates for free and watched the horses warm up.  The girls (and us) LOVED watching the horses run.  We got there around 7:30 a.m. which was no small feat but totally worth it.  This will be an annual family tradition for us Laffin's.

Updates with no Pictures

Sorry folks, no pictures this time.  Just thought I would update ya'll with what we have been up to.

* Brian has been working very long hours on a project at work and we are looking forward soon to some normalcy.

* We have found a few moments to go to the beach, hang out with family, and head to the zoo and the science center.

* Telia is growing so big and talking up a storm.  She loves her sister (except after she first wakes up) and does and says whatever Ruby does and says. 

* Ruby has been taking dance this summer with 3 of her friends from Sojourn plus some other little girls who were in her class in the spring.  She really loves going and I like the time to sit and chat with other Mama's.

* Our house is still on the market...this is exhausting but we have had several showings and have recently gotten great feedback.

* We have become addicted to "Friday Night Lights" (check it out on Netflix)!  I could write a whole post about how much we love this show.  Tomorrow we will get the last disc and watch the last 2 episodes.

* We also started watching a BBC show called "The It Crowd" which is a super funny sitcom.  Watch it.

* Several of our close friends have had babies over the past few months and there are more to come.  We are somehow the "seasoned" parents now within our community group because we have an old 3 year old!

* It has been almost 6 months since we lost Ezekiel.  We are doing well and are so amazed at how good God is and how he continues to heal our pain.  We are different people than we were 6 months ago...only by the grace of our good and loving God.

An Elephant is Faithful 100%

This week we read "Horton Hatches An Egg" by Dr Seuss.  

We had a nice chat about what it means to be faithful (Horton is faithful to sitting on the egg in the book)

Ruby colored this picture of Horton from Seussville.

Thanks to suggestions from Homeschool Share I boiled an egg and let Ruby take it apart.  She cracked it and we talked about the outer layer, the inner layer, the egg white and the egg yolk.  She really like being able to break it all up and peel it by herself.  She actually liked it too and ate 2.5 eggs all by herself!  Telia didn't care for it though.

If you haven't checked out the Seussville website then you should.  We watched some clips from lots of Dr. Seuss cartoons including some on Horton.

We also watched Jim Henson's Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss on Netflix!

The Lonely Goatherd

Ruby and Telia have been wanting to watch The Sound of Music a lot lately. Ruby really loves this song in particular this week.

Updates

Here are a few highlights of our life lately:

Pregnancy: I really haven't written anything about this. I am 18 weeks pregnant and added a ticker at the bottom of the page so you could follow along. I am feeling much better (most days) than I was in the first trimester. Actually, I am feeling better than I have in my 2 previous pregnancies and am very grateful for God's grace in this area. Things are going great but since Ruby was early the doctor's are watching me closely and I get to go to a specialist. We will find out the sex on Dec. 21st so stay tuned. What do you think? Boy or Girl?

The Girls: They are really starting to play together with blocks, chasing one another, or peek a boo and hide and seek. It is fun to hear Ruby telling Telia to come play with her.

Our 3 year old: She never ceases to amaze me...how fast she grows physically and cognitively. She is quite a talker...you have no idea. I have noticed lately that her coloring is getting better. She is really focused on coloring specific things instead of just scribbling. She loves to read books and will sit to hear stories for long periods of time. We are blessed with a very happy girl in Ruby. She is a great big sister and although she is very challenging these days as far as behavior goes (she may be our strong willed child), we know that God is refining us and her through the process. I started "homeschooling" Ruby this year...well, started and then when I got pregnant I stopped. So, recently I have tried to start again and have slowly added more structure to our day. She loves it and I am really enjoying it. We are also involved in a home school co-op with friends once a week from our church.

The 1 year old: Telia is a happy happy baby, just like her sister was. She is walking everywhere and gets very excited to see her sister after nap time and her Daddy after work. She is mimicking a lot of things that Ruby does such as coloring, dancing, and playing peek a boo. She gabs a lot but not too many understandable words yet (Dada, Mama, and Cracker (Caa-Caa). She is currently teething and in the last week about 4 or 5 have popped through.

Brian works hard all day and then comes home and works hard (helping clean and cook since I really haven't been cooking much b/c of food aversions) and plays hard with the girls. I am very thankful for a husband who serves our family so well. He just finished up teaching a class to men at our church on doctrine called "Foundations" and we just finished up another year of leading a community group.

Other random things: We have lots of friends who are pregnant right now and due April/May/June. We are slowly working on our house to get it ready to sell. We gave our dog to a wonderful family from our church...this was bittersweet. Our recent netflix indulgences have been what I like to call "The Duggers" (18 kids and counting, I think) and "Cake Boss"! Brian works right by the "Cake Boss" bakery when he is in NJ! Maybe one day he will bring me home a surprise!
We are actually taking a break from being community group leaders. We are looking forward to joining a new group in January and being active and supportive members of that group.

That is all for now...

Halloween Weekend

We had a lot of fun this past weekend. Ruby got to dress up several times, party, and go trick or treating.

Friday we had a pumpkin painting (although we were late and missed that part) playdate with some friends that we used to have baby playdates with. Ruby was very happy to dress up in her Cinderella costume that she borrowed from her friend Ellory.

I tried to make Telia one of the little mice friends that Cinderella has but not so sure it worked out for us.

Saturday we went to a fun, outdoor, family friendly Halloween party with friends from Sojourn. We convinced our 3 year old that she didn't want to be Cinderella but rather.....wait for it.......Gangrene (like a gang that is green). Needless to say we didn't win a prize for this but at least we did something...2 hours before the party we weren't even dressing up. Thanks Ems/Quillo's/Quillo's for the awesome time. Ruby said her favorite part was the hayride.

Brian showing Ruby how to roast a marshmallow all the while wondering if a flaming marshmallow was going to come flying from one of the other kids' sticks. He thought this was the scariest part of the evening.

And on Halloween evening we decided last minute to take Ruby trick or treating in our neighborhood. We are so glad that we went out and got to talk to some of the neighbors. Ruby loved giving candy away and going up to doors to say "trick or treat."

Another fave Etsy shop

I kind of love Jane Austin and I found this great etsy shop that has some quotes on cups, onesies, shirts, clothes pins, etc and had to share.
Erin, I thought of you when I saw this.

From Pride and Prejudice


Or, you could get Mr. Darcy's proposal on a shirt


See more stuff at Brookish Handmade Goods

Playtime

Summer is flying by and I realized last week that I hadn't been taking many pictures. Here are a few of the girls in our day to day lives just playing.

Telia started crawling last week so that has brought lots of fun to our house. Ruby is turning 3 years old in less than a month and is already making requests for her birthday party (probably gets this from my side of the family). We are all keeping busy and trying to stay cool in this heat.

Telia working on her musical skills

Ruby loves to tie a balloon to her light and climb up on her stool and hit it to us

Telia having a fun time in her bathtub

Teaching Ruby

I found the idea for this activity on Chasing Cheerios. This is a great website by a mom who is home schooling her daughter Montessori style.

This activity is great for identifying letters and for developing motor skills. Ruby calls it our "game".

Raising Awareness

Saturday Brian and I were privileged to get to watch our friends' documentary "The New Sudan" at a local theater. Check out Nadus Films by clicking on the link above or to the right. I have put off blogging about it because it was so amazing I couldn't think of the words to write. It is about the long civil war between the Northern Sudanese Muslims and the Southern Sudanese Christians and now the aftermath in Southern Sudan. I sat there watching this film being moved and all the while thinking "I am so proud to know these men who used their talents that God gifted them with to show people what is really going on in Southern Sudan."

You should check out their website which is here and watch the trailer. If you live in Louisville you can see it again at Baxter Avenue Theater this Wednesday. GO SEE IT! William Mapother (all you LOST fans out there) is the narrator too. You can also give to Nadus which would help build schools, hospitals and churches as well as making sure the people have clean water. Another way to get involved is to host a screening of "The New Sudan" at your church, school, local theater etc.

Meal Plan Shhmeal Plan...How about some favorites

It ain't happening this week people! We are down to very little and I don't know when I will be going to the grocery store.

I did make these Gluten Free Muffins with Berries and Bananas yesterday.
I didn't have maple syrup, cardamom, or cinnamon and I added rhubarb and blackberries (from my mother in laws garden). Lesson learned. I really needed some of that stuff to make it taste better. I will attempt these again and leave out the rhubarb...better to save that for pie.

I figured it was time to share some of our favorites right now


1. LOST has been amazing this season!


2. We have been listening to a lot of sermons from Mars Hill Church in Seattle.



3. Lose It! This is an application on our itouches that helps us count our calories. Brian used it while I was pregnant to lose a lot of weight and now we are both doing it together. It is a great app.


4. Coupons. nuff said

5. La Rosita in New Albany is the best Mexican restaurant we have ever been to. Don't even think you have one that compares because we will fight you over it.

Got the picture here which is also a great review on the restaurant. We have taken several friends and family to La Rositas and they all love it (except my parents but I think they must have messed up taste buds).

My Friends Are Cool

At least they are cooler than me...I think the fact that I am using the term "cool" still makes me less hip than they are but, I digress.

This post is about my friends Smith and Erik (or as Ruby calls them "Smiff and Ewik"). Here they are:




Their apartment is featured on the Apartment Therapy Blog (see the link to the right). Click on this and check out their house tour. You should also comment which would help Smith possibly become a regular plus it is just cute stuff.

New Favorite Blog and New Fave Accessories

I started subscribing to the Etsy blog called The Storque and I am really loving it. Etsy is an awesome site where anyone can buy and sell things that are handmade. I love it! Anyway, it can be a little overwhelming at times because there are sooooo many sellers and items. The blog makes it easier because they feature different items and artists daily. It is really great but don't worry I am only window shopping. :) Here are some recent items that I have found that are too cute:
Check out this necklace here

I also like this necklace from All That Glitters
The woman who makes this jewelry is from Bowling Green, KY...home of my in-laws! We met the woman who makes them at the farmers market last month and my mother in law bought me a beautiful necklace from her. I really do like most of her stuff and I encourage you to check out her etsy shop if you are looking for some awesome homemade jewelry.


I came across this artist today who makes some cute vintage inspired necklaces and rings that I like.

My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my recent faves:

Blogs-
Passionate Homemaking

some friends started this blog that I enjoy reading: Monkey Said Bear

Books-
Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook

Television-
Kings
Although it is getting canceled

Electronics-
My IPOD that Brian just found after a 3 or 4 month hiatus

Ruby-
Of course she is my favorite! We have had a lot of fun recently playing outside with her new garden set, bubbles, sidewalk chalk and in her cousins sandbox.


Brian-
Oh, I could go on and on about this one. He is an amazing husband and father but more than that he is a Godly man who is doing a great job at leading our family towards Christ.

Ruby singing her ABC's

Ruby singing her ABC's with a little help. If you are on facebook you probably already saw this...I apologize.

From rubyabcs

Pegasus Parade

The month of April is full of fun activities in Louisville. Everyone is celebrating and anticipating the Kentucky Derby. Below are a few pic's from the Pegasus Parade. It is great because tons and tons of horses line up on our street in preparation for the parade. We are so close to downtown that we are able to walk down there. Ruby had an absolute blast and we met up with some friends to enjoy the parade with.




Ruby checking out the horses that lined up on our street before the parade

She was probably telling mama all about the "horsies" walking in the parade

This was one of the huge floats. It was so windy that day the people were struggling to control it...pretty scary to have a giant sponge bob getting ready to float away.

Our Favorites

I thought it would be fun to talk about some of our recent favorites

- PBS is a recent favorite. We turn it on everyday around 10:00 and watch Sesame Street for a few minutes before nap time. We also can catch some clips on http://www.pbskids.org/

- Ruby has been loving this box that Brian got her at Aldi

- Brian got this study bible for Christmas and it has been so helpful as we have been reading through the old testament

- This is the cookbook that I got for my birthday from my brother and sister in law Tina. It has been great with helping me figure out how to cook seafood. I highly recommend it.

- Brian's new favorite game (although we don't own it) is called Ticket to Ride (but we call it the train game)


- Space heaters and electric blankets

- I think Ruby's favorite book right now is


-We have re-vamped our budget and have finally found something that works. This has lessoned stress on our marriage which is awesome. Mostly we got some ideas from a financial counselor (i guess that is what he was doing but maybe not his exact title) at church and put them into practice.

-Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chips


-One more thing (actually adding this after I posted it once)...this is a great website that I have forgotten to look at but today pulled it up. Great craft ideas for kids. It is called the Crafty Crow and I think you will like it...well if you like crafts, and kids, and maybe not all my male followers out there (daniel ems i know you are reading this :) )