"You can complain because roses have thorns,
or you can rejoice because thorns have roses..."
or you can rejoice because thorns have roses..."
Friday, January 26, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: forty
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
I was also blessed with beautiful roses from my husband, white daisies mixed with pink flowers from my dearest friends and her family, and on Saturday my sister showed up with even more flowers!
I'm a hard one to surprise with anything, but my husband had all sorts of surprises for my birthday this year including beautiful roses, an appointment scheduled at a day spa for a facial on (last) Saturday afternoon, and three tickets for me and the older girls to go see Sense and Sensibility opening night at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival!
I joked that I wanted to go sledding so the kids could take a picture of me coming down the hill while they hold a sign that says "over the hill and picking up speed!" ;) It's been a very mild winter here though and we hadn't had any snow within driving distance. The ski resort hasn't even been able to open yet due to lack of snow... (We actually woke up to a light layer of snow this morning! It was slushy and has already melted but the kids were so excited.) Instead we ended up taking the kids miniature golfing and had the whole golf course to ourselves!
After golfing we ended up going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. I didn't think it was funny when our waiter made me sit up on a saddle and then announced to the whole restaurant "This is Jessica. She is celebrating her 40th birthday today!" On our way home we told the story to the young barista at the coffee drive through. He responded, "No way! You don't look that old!" Ummm, thanks?
I haven't had a chance to get my hair cut since last March and it had gotten really long and dry/scraggly. My mom and dad surprised me with an appointment to get it cut and highlighted on Saturday with a new hairdresser. She even curled it for me! Even after getting over six inches cut off it's still long but feels so much healthier.
{happy}
Coconut Chai Tea
One of the things I've been missing the most, since I went back to 100% AIP on the 1st, is my Coconut Milk Chai Tea each day. It had been my favorite cheat since the baby was born. I would make it with Coconut Milk and the Slightly Sweet Oregon Chai Tea. My girls ran across a recipe in one of my Autoimmune Protocol cookbooks and made it for me!
Heavenly!
OSF Tickets to Sense and Sensibility!!!
I'm a hard one to surprise with anything, but my husband had all sorts of surprises for my birthday this year including beautiful roses, an appointment scheduled at a day spa for a facial on (last) Saturday afternoon, and three tickets for me and the older girls to go see Sense and Sensibility opening night at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival!
{funny}
I joked that I wanted to go sledding so the kids could take a picture of me coming down the hill while they hold a sign that says "over the hill and picking up speed!" ;) It's been a very mild winter here though and we hadn't had any snow within driving distance. The ski resort hasn't even been able to open yet due to lack of snow... (We actually woke up to a light layer of snow this morning! It was slushy and has already melted but the kids were so excited.) Instead we ended up taking the kids miniature golfing and had the whole golf course to ourselves!
Someone got a hole in one. Hint: It wasn't the boys!
{real}
I haven't had a chance to get my hair cut since last March and it had gotten really long and dry/scraggly. My mom and dad surprised me with an appointment to get it cut and highlighted on Saturday with a new hairdresser. She even curled it for me! Even after getting over six inches cut off it's still long but feels so much healthier.
{A Few More Birthday Pictures}
Monday, January 15, 2018
Life is the Most Beautiful Gift of God
Our oldest son was invited to attend the Archbishop's Discernment Retreat this past weekend. He ended up making the trip with a few local friends who were also attending the retreat. He made sure to pack along the latest t-shirt from our subscription to wear to the 2018 Roe v. Wade Memorial and March in Portland following the retreat. I was so excited to get a text/picture from friends who ran into him at the March for Life! He had a wonderful weekend and got back home safely late last night.
From the archives: Culture of Life Studies Pro-Life Prints is a fun and engaging hands-on way to teach children more about the dignity of every human life! You can read all about it in the archives: Day 1 - Preborn Babies, Day 2 - I Am Unique, Day 3 - Helping Others, and Day 4 - Praying for Others
Friday, January 12, 2018
New Year's Daybook
Outside my window...
Happy New Year! We haven't had any snow yet this winter, unlike the major snow storms we had last year, but on New Year's Eve we were surprised at midnight with quite the fireworks show over at the neighbors. We had a great view from our front porch!
I am thinking...
How did I keep up with blogging when our last babies were born?! I have been slowly working on this post since New Year's Eve and keep asking myself that question... I guess back then we didn't have three high schoolers with all their extra activities, the babies were easier and slept better, and I wasn't working outside the home. I miss blogging and am hoping to figure out how to make a little more time for it each week. In the meantime at least there is Instagram for sharing little snippets!
Learning all the time...
When she started pulling herself up on Christmas Day I told the other kids not to encourage her - I’m not ready for this yet - but there is no slowing this one down!
Celebrating the liturgical year...
The celebrations have been extra simple this year, but still fun and memorable. Here are a couple pictures I shared over on Instagram.
Christmas Morning ❤️
On the Feast of St. Stephen
What kind of pizza does Good King Wenceslas prefer?
Deep pan, crisp and even! 🎶😉🍕
From the kitchen...
I went back to 100% Autoimmune Protocol on January 1st. It's time to focus on getting my health back after a really hard year. It has been really hard, especially the first week, but so far I've been able to stick with it without cheating at all! I think I had started to rely on sugar for energy and that has been an adjustment. I am now tired all. the. time. but at least it's forcing me to rest a little more!
You can't have nuts on AIP, but I've been snacking on Tiger Nuts, which are actually a root vegetable. I recently purchased Tiger Nuts Flour and discovered this recipe. It is AMAZING! I've been eating it as a snack with some apple slices or carrot sticks or spreading some on a Cassava tortilla and topping it with raspberries.
Ingredients:
1 cup tigernut flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup palm shortening
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions:
Place ingredients in either a high powered blender (I use the Vitamix) or a food processor.
Blend or process until it looks like a creamy nut butter. You may have to stop and scrape the sides during blending/processing. Enjoy!
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup palm shortening
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions:
Place ingredients in either a high powered blender (I use the Vitamix) or a food processor.
Blend or process until it looks like a creamy nut butter. You may have to stop and scrape the sides during blending/processing. Enjoy!
I am working...
It's been hard to juggle working and home educating (and a new baby, and blogging, and, and, and...) but I’ve really enjoyed working for my Dad and brother Brian the past couple years! Sean and I (and the baby!) had so much fun at the Murphy Electric Christmas Party!
It's been hard to juggle working and home educating (and a new baby, and blogging, and, and, and...) but I’ve really enjoyed working for my Dad and brother Brian the past couple years! Sean and I (and the baby!) had so much fun at the Murphy Electric Christmas Party!
Our little night owl had fun too, playing Shuffleboard with her Grandpa Murf!
I am creating...
My mom loves giving everyone a family photo album for Christmas, collecting photos from all my siblings and putting them together in a book with a couple pages or so for each of the kids. The only problem is she doesn't know how to make them and is always trying to recruit one of us girls to put it together... I made the album back in 2013 and then
Last April 16th my parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary! I was born exactly nine months after their wedding which means I'll be turning 40 on January 16th. I didn't think it would be a big deal but all of a sudden I'm a little emotional about that...
I am hoping...
to figure out a way to get our oldest son to the Archbishop’s Discernment Retreat. Even though he's not quite 18 yet (he will be this summer!) he was invited by the Director of Vocations to attend and would love to go. I wish it wasn't so far away! (Update: He ended up getting a ride with friends and will even get to go to the 2018 March for Life in Portland. I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back home!)
I am praying...
for the repose of the soul of Joyce Sample, our dear Archbishop's mother. She was such a sweet woman. May she rest in peace +
I am reading…
The kids all unwrapped this year's stacks of books on Epiphany and I've been reading aloud some of the picture books to our little ones. So far one of the favorites has been Mr. Ferris and His Wheel.
Pondering these words…
from St. Alphonsus:
Around the house...
I’m just not ready to think about taking the Christmas decorations down yet. So cozy! We will leave the nativity up until Candlemas, but the tree is starting to dry out quickly and will need to come down soon.
to figure out a way to get our oldest son to the Archbishop’s Discernment Retreat. Even though he's not quite 18 yet (he will be this summer!) he was invited by the Director of Vocations to attend and would love to go. I wish it wasn't so far away! (Update: He ended up getting a ride with friends and will even get to go to the 2018 March for Life in Portland. I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back home!)
I am praying...
for the repose of the soul of Joyce Sample, our dear Archbishop's mother. She was such a sweet woman. May she rest in peace +
I am reading…
The kids all unwrapped this year's stacks of books on Epiphany and I've been reading aloud some of the picture books to our little ones. So far one of the favorites has been Mr. Ferris and His Wheel.
(The hardcover is currently 46% off over at Amazon right now. Great price!)
Pondering these words…
from St. Alphonsus:
"The past is no longer yours; the future is not yet in your power. You have only the present wherein to do good."
Around the house...
I’m just not ready to think about taking the Christmas decorations down yet. So cozy! We will leave the nativity up until Candlemas, but the tree is starting to dry out quickly and will need to come down soon.
One of my favorite things...
I recently got to spend a little time (all by myself, which has been very rare this year) walking around one of my favorite towns and then (finally!) visiting the day spa for the last of the three prenatal massages Sean gave me last Christmas! Here are a few more pictures I snapped while walking around this historic little town. I owned the local phone book here once upon a time.
A little peek at last year...
The year of Grace! Born on the feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, just two days after the death of her grandfather, our little “Grace” has been such a blessing. She definitely stole the show (and our hearts) this year making it into all of my #2017bestnine pictures including my sibling re-enactment the weekend before she was born!
- October 31st - Our Lady of Guadalupe 💙✨ {This favorite costume - made by her Grandma for one of her older sisters over 10 years ago- was a little big on her, but I'm pretty sure it will be too small next year so we made it work!}
- June 8th - Thank you all for the prayers! Our beautiful little girl is here! Everything went really well and she arrived at 1:56 AM this morning weighing in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches. God is Good! #deogratias #37weeks6days #countingthedaystojune24
- October 31st - Happy All Saints' Day! Can you guess who our children choose to dress up as this year? Answers are over in today's blog post with additional pictures. 😇🙏🏻✨
- December 8th - Our baby girl ❤️ #startedcrawlingtoday #sixmonthsoldtoday #feastoftheimmaculateconception
- June 10th - I could not be more in love with this little beauty! 💕 {New post over on the blog with all the details.} #threedaysold #number8bornonthe8th #countingthedaystojune24
- December 6th - Happy Feast of St. Nicholas! #wideawakeat3am #saintnicholas #orapronobis
- June 3rd - ALL of my siblings are in town this weekend for a Murphy family reunion! It's the first time all 12 of us have been together at the same time in over 13 YEARS! I figured this would be the day I'd go into labor... #murphyslaw ... but I made it and we were even able to get some family photos including a fun reenactment of one from 21 years ago! #ilovemycrazyfamily #firstbornoftwelve #sixgirlssixboys #37weekspregnant
- June 8th - A few more pictures ❤️ So grateful her Daddy was here for her birth. So was Grandma Murphy and Aunt Mary. I'll share more later, after we get some sleep and introduce her to her siblings later today! 🌹#daddyshands #countingthedaystojune24
- August 21st, watching the solar eclipse - All Eight! 💙💙💗💗💙💗💙💗
Happy New Year!
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