spring break in snapshots

Well, I said it wouldn't be tropical or adventurous...But I forgot that travelling with my 4 boys is always an adventure.  And then it got up to 80 degrees!


There is lots I could've captured that I didn't.  I have several sweet moments tucked away in my mind.  Much of our time was taking Jude to see a dr. to treat some food allergies.  It turned out to be a meaningful time with family.  A change of routine is always refreshing to my spirit.

Wonder where he gets his silliness from...

I cannot talk highly enough of Dr. Cheryl.  The Lord has used her to help our family greatly.  Jude has been dealing with diarrhea on and off for several months, is mostly gluten-free, and has had every test our dr. knows (parasites, celiac...), so we decided it was time to take this route.  We are praying his tummy heals - he was allergic to dairy, gluten, brown rice, soy, white sugar, red dye (to name a few...)  She does a method called NAET, involving acupressure to treat him for his specific allergens.  

More info here, if you're interested.

Pal-ing around in between treatments at some of our favorite stops

A pretty great waiting room, I'll say (play fort behind the dr. office)

Yay for cousins :)

The hunt for the perfect bathroom vanity is ON!

lots of time in the car =

lots of rows knit +

a few double-shots on ice with soy and 1 pump classic

It is good to get away.

Partly because it makes home seem so much more special.  

Laying on a blanket outside, staring at budding trees and the sky above.  

Enjoying afternoon hikes and mushroom-hunting.

Loving the fresh scent of hair that's been outside in the sun all day.  

Cuddling up for evening chats on the porch swing with some new Yerba Matte from  Trader Joe's.

Spring Break 2011 brought to you by Android.

Getting away has helped me see the need to process how I want to spend my time in the coming months.  I get a little "Martha Stewart on Red Bull" as Andy likes to call it.  You see my profile.  I like to do it all.  It's all fun to me.  But all of it is too much.  And with tackling this house renovation, something's gotta give.  I am just not sure what.

For a simple time-saver, I grilled double the amount of chicken yesterday and turned the leftovers into a super-fast chicken tortilla soup tonight (recipe this week!)  I'm going to start to cook double of every meal and freeze one for a quick dinner in the coming weeks.  That's a start...

But, tonight I blew all the time I saved on dinner and made homemade nutella.  Walk into our gutted house and see that making nutella probably isn't high on the priorities right now...  

See.  I really do have a problem!

I'm not even going to share the recipe in case you have a problem too.  

Andy also says "You know, they sell that in America now."  But in case you want to try homemade, stop in for some.  Hanging out with friends will always be high on the list :)