Babies & Books & Catching Up

So, after that realllllly long blogging break I took, I think I want to start writing again.  It just seems that life is so busy, I don't have time to keep up like I would like to.  I'm too busy living to WRITE about life, it seems.  But, like all things, if something is important, you'll make time for it.  So, I'm gonna try again.  We shall see how long it lasts.

Now...where to start?  I got a new nephew in September!  My baby sisters last baby (or, at least she says it's her last..ha!).  We call him Z and he is the sweetest little guy on the planet!  I love him so much!

Just a few hours old

Baby Z...3 weeks old

Isn't he just the most precious little guy ever?  He definitely melts his auntie's heart!

My sweet mama had hip replacement surgery about a month after Z was born.  She's recovering quite nicely and went back to work today.  God is so good and I am thankful for the healing He's done and is still doing.

I made my very first batch of homemade elderberry syrup in October.  So far, it's doing the trick (aside from a minor cold last week).  And it's easy to make and super inexpensive!  Check out the recipe for yourself here.

I've been reading this book, and let me tell you, it's a real eye-opener!  I would definitely recommend it to mama's who have kiddos with food allergies.  I had no idea how many hidden toxins are in our food that have caused the rise of the food allergy epidemic.  The book is written by the founder of AllergyKids and it's full of practical suggestions to help clean up your family's diet without a bunch of scientific lingo that no one can understand.  Check it out if you are interested in weaning your family off of dangerous chemicals without the suggestions to raise your own goats, make your own cheese and spend hours grinding wheat that are found in most books of this kind.  :)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family last week.  I took no pictures.  Sigh.  But it was a very blessed day.  We ate, talked, laughed, ate, visited, put up the Christmas tree, ate...well, you get the idea.  It was great to be able to get together with family that we don't see often.  God's good, y'all.

If you're still reading and hanging in there with me, kudos to you!  And thanks!  I do appreciate it.  On a final note for today, my sweet boss and one of my very best friends has been on maternity leave for the last 12 weeks.  She came back to work today (thank You, Jesus!).  Last week, she gave me this incredible gift for taking over her job duties while she was out.  

Vintage Pyrex primary color refrigerator dishes.  Oh.my.word!  That girl is amazing!

Y'all have a great week, friends!  

Tornadoes, Books & Nephews...Oh My!

This week brought along with it an education in meteorological lingo that does not typically equate with life in the Bluegrass state.

EF4.  Tornadic supercell.  Low-level jet stream.

Tor:Con.  Wall cloud.  Rare white zone.

And to make things even more ominous, Reed Timmer from The Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers was here.  So was Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel.  In Kentucky.  In early March.

Thankfully, we were spared from any tornadic weather here in Central Kentucky.  Our neighbors in Northeastern Kentucky were not as fortunate.

West Liberty, KY

West Liberty, KY

I'm beginning to feel like a resident of a Plains state, displaced in the hills of Kentucky.  This weather is just not typical for the Mid-Eastern United States in March.  Our storm season usually starts around the middle of April and is over by late May or early June.

If this is a precursor to the spring storm season, it's shaping up to be a doozy!

I was finally able to start reading The Vow on Saturday.  And I finished it this afternoon!  Wow!  What a story of love, faith, courage and inspiration!

I definitely recommend it.  I can't wait to see the movie!  I just hope that I'm not sorely disappointed.  Very rarely does a movie turn out to be as good as the book.  We shall see!

Hubby and I also did some flea market and thrift store shopping on Saturday.  Fun!  During our little excursion, I happened upon this book for $2.00!

I have heard great things about this book and I'm excited to read it.  Have any of you read it?  What'd you think?

And, because no blog post would be complete without a kid picture, here's one for your viewing pleasure!

My youngest nephew, E

Peace y'all.