*This is a test of the emergency broadcast system*

....we are experiencing technical difficulties here at A Life of Es......please stay tuned for your regularly scheduled Christmas letter.....photo uploading is not my friend right now......please stay tuned...........

Time flies when you aren't watching the clock

I love taking pictures. I love uploading pictures to Facebook and my blog.

But I have fallen so far behind in my "picture uploading" that I feel OVERWHELMED!!!

So, bear with me while I blog about the previous month or two....
you don't mind, do you? ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We ended our summer with the girls heading back to school....."real school".

After two years of homeschooling, we decided it was high time for them to be involved in a tangible classroom, filled with other small humans and their (good AND bad) habits. In other words, our girls needed a dose of reality. Because I did not have the time to get involved in home school co-ops and other social outlets, homeschooling was not a good fit for our family. While sending them back to a traditional school was a huge change for our family--one that was prayed over much--but we know that it was the right move to make and we are ready for the challenge!

So....they are attending the little neighborhood school just up the street from us. They both have wonderful, dedicated teachers and have adjusted well to classroom life on a larger scale.

They ADORE music and art classes and are loving the hands-on stuff that they experience in science and math classes. We are so thankful for the Lord's leading in their classroom placement and are excited for opportunities to get into the lives of their school friends and their families.

Meanwhile, Elijah is loving that his sisters are in school and that he is the "only child" for a few hours.
He and I enjoy walking the girls to school every morning, and exploring through the open space near our house on the way home.


That is enough catching up for one post....in my next post, I will share about our last summer adventure!
I can't believe how fast the summer flew by.....

Confessions of a jealous blogger

Ok, so here is the REAL reason I have not been hanging around the blogging world
{as of late}.
(By the way, I love that phrase "as of late".....it sounds so Jane Austen. ;-)

*clears throat*

Where were we? Ah, yes.....my confession.

I have been avoiding the blogging world at all costs because frankly, it stirs up jealous desires in my heart. I end up spending hours in the blog world, checking out other people's houses and photography and shopping deals and amusing diatribes--and by the time I finish, I am coveting decorations and furniture and cameras and hairstyles and wit and vacations and......
the list could go on and on.

This is not necessarily the fault of the blogging world (although I think that we as a society have become consumed with "keeping up with the Jones" in every area of life).
It is MY problem, a problem of discontentment and idolatry.
And the way that I am dealing with it right now is by avoiding blogs.

This is not to say that I will forever be (self) banished from the blogging world. But for now, I need to take a "vacation" and get my discontentment under control. I will make sure to post the occasional picture or witty anecdote, so you know I am still alive. ;) Because SOOOO many of you will be worried about that......so very many.....

{But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. – 1Timothy 6:6-7}

Hello. My name is Boring.

I am a bad blogger.

I have been too enamored with Facebook lately to blog......this is good and bad. I may write more about my thoughts on that at another time.

And because I have not been blogging, I have not been keeping up on my favorite blogs. A person misses out on a TON when you don't read the blogs of others....others who actually blog consistently. ;) Once again, good and bad comes from not reading blogs. More on that later also......

In other news, summer is in full swing in our house.

I adore summer and all that comes with it. The food, the clothes, the activities....it's all good to me. And this summer we have added a summer activity to our agenda---swimming! The condo that we bought "came with" two private community pools/hot tubs and we have been taking full advantage of them. The kids are learning to swim, they are tiring themselves out every day, and Momma is getting tan. This is a huge accomplishment (since I am NEVER tan) so I am pretty excited.
Also, we just got back from a family vacation, during which we drove through some gorgeous scenery. We were able to spend a few days with all of my mom's side of the family at a reunion. It was so fun to hang out with my cousins, just like the old days. :-)

See, these are the kind of blog posts that I avoid writing.....the rambling "update-you-on-our-boring-life" types. This is partly why I have not posted lately--there was nothing earth-shattering to share! LOL I promise the next post will be deeply thought-provoking and amazing.

Or not.

We all live in a yellow.....accented house

I think my kids would love to live in a yellow submarine.....me, not so much. :-)

I DO love yellow accents though--they make me feel so bright and cheery! And they are a nice change-of-pace from the green that I am addicted to....

{Cute little verse plaque from a friend}

{New plate from my MIL--I love it!}

{Fresh spring scent}

{Awesome new bowl for my birthday...it makes everything taste better!}

{Little bench I found at a thrift store last week.....my husband didn't understand the need. lol}

What is your favorite accent color?

Thanks for the help.....stranger

Found another great blog......bookmarking this baby!

I NEED {inspiration}, if I am gonna make this house look like I want!

What's your favorite blog to visit for decorating inspiration?

Baby, baby, baby....oh.....

No, I won't be babbling on about Justin Beiber in this post.....I promise. Thankfully, there is NO Beiber Fever in our household. We have kept the 8-yr-old and the almost 7-yr-old in the dark about the whole thing. Big E even asked Josh about some shirt with his face on it: "WHO is THAT?!?" in an indignant tone. Score one for us.... ;-)

This post is actually about real babies.

You know, the kind that I find cute but don't really want more of myself. The kind that I love buying gifts for....gifts that I would never want for my own children. The noisy toys and the extravagant books and etc.....oh, come on--I'm (mostly) kidding!

I have been picking up gifts here and there for 3 of my family members who have or will be having babies. Baby clothes and baby items can get very pricey, so I always make sure it is really something they will use before I invest lots of money in it. I have realized after having three of my own babies, and buying gifts for many nieces, nephews and friends, that there are a few items that you almost can't strike out with.

1. Diapers and wipes....what new mother doesn't need more of these? Just make sure that the baby doesn't have any allergies before you buy a specific brand. And always get a gift receipt!

2. Gift cards....I think these should be mandated for every special occasion but that is just me. Young parents love gift cards though--there is always an item that you didn't get at any of your showers that you HAVE to have.

3. Personalized items....it is always fun to have your baby's name up in his/her room, especially if your kids have unusual names like mine. This can be a pillow, a wall hanging or an item engraved with their name. I like to make shadow boxes with the baby's initial inside, done in the nursery's colors. If you are not craft-y, check out Etsy for some fun personalized stuff.

4. Onesies and socks--if you have had a baby, you know that this is the first item to get dirty when the diaper blows! I cannot tell you how many onesies I went through with my 3 kids. It is always nice to have a supply--I like to buy plain white ones so they can be used for either gender and they match with everything. We also went through tons of socks, partially because I tried to get by with cheap ones that never stayed on. By my third kid, I discovered that the Sonoma brand from Kohls stayed on well and were a good value for the price.

5. Books....it is always fun to build a library for your baby, and books from other people are so meaningful as they get older. I always make sure that I write my name and date in it, so the child can look at it years from now and remember. I still have books that were given to me by aunts, uncles and grandparents when I was a small child. And because books are so expensive, always check Amazon or Goodwill first. I often find brand-new books at Goodwill, for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

Although it is always fun to buy that amusing bib or adorable teddy bear or crochet that fuzzy blanket, sometimes sticking with the basics can bring the most blessing to a new mother. What do you like to give as a baby gift?