evan, lindsay, nina, elena and esther

Nina and I were saying goodbye to Evan one morning as he left for class. I asked him to grab the camera and take some pictures since I'm usually commander in chief of photography in our family, and me canso.

Nina had a flu last weekend. Luckily it passed and one upside is she has become more cuddly.

Nina's getting better and better at everything! She loves waving goodbye, sometimes with both hands. She'll practice it in her free time. Her dance moves have not suffered either - still very slow and methodical which is amazingly entertaining to watch. Nina loves to clap and has learned to grab my pinkies and make me clap too. She's also started shaking her head a lot (and she'll watch herself do it in the mirror over and over) which I realized finally today she learned from us telling her no don't do something, as I watched her mimic me say no to her. (Duh.) Lately she's been practicing walking with us leading her by her hands. We can't believe she'll already be a YEAR next wednesday!

Thanksgiving post to come. We're building up a huge supply of little phone videos, maybe we'll be able to post some of those too!

My mom emailed me this article so now I'm passing it on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/opinion/15kristof.html?_r=1&em

Be amazed, be very amazed.

Last night, I came home from girls night to find our beloved new megalithic letter press in place on its stand and ready to be used! Evan already had a chance to clean off a few pieces of type from the boxes and boxes we've been given, and he made a copy of this for everyone who helped us move the 450 pound beast. It took a lot of time patience and ingenuity. He made brownies and poured sparkling cider to celebrate.


11x14 wood and metal type print on 100lb Mohawk Superfine off white paper

Evan also printed one especially for Victoria Simpson, byu-idaho book arts faculty and fairy godmother, who met us in our wildest dreams and GAVE the letter press to us.

So speaking of gratitude...

Evan and I were asked to share our thoughts on gratitude in church this coming Sunday. Evan's assignment is to speak about "gratitude to God" and mine is "gratitude to others". I should probably be more grateful than I am to speak in front of everyone.

I noticed that two of my cousins are doing a gratitude log for the month of November. I completely believe that gratitude is a muscle, and that gratitude is like a catalyst for joy, so I'm sure by the end of the month Stacey and Misty will be some the happiest people in existence. (and don't they say that if you do something for 21 days straight it becomes a habit/second nature?) Acknowledging a blessing is maybe the first step in it BEING a blessing to you.

Evan and I have been really trying to show more gratitude because the greatest influence genuine gratitude can have is probably in the home, among the people we interact with the most, are closest to, are irritated by the most, and ultimately love the most.

If anyone has a quote, scripture, or thought or reference of some kind on gratitude, I'd love to hear it! I'm going to need some help. I'd be ever so grateful :)

Labels: Evan, gratitude, Letterpress, lindsay

you know you're in a recession when...
or
you know you're a poor college student when...
or
you know you're thrifty when...
or
you know you're hungry when...

You make and eat pasta from the year 1972



It's kind of funny to think that Christian's vintagey beemer is from the same year as the pasta we ate today for dinner.

1972 - cool year for a bmw, or maybe for wine, but for pasta ?

Before I boiled it I swore it carried the nostalgic smell of my grandma's house which is where we got the pasta from and which smell I love. But pasta doesn't usually have a smell, right? It tasted just fine! So now I know, pasta lasts foreverrrrr

Any other notable 1972 events come to mind?