The Leaf's Lament

I took these pictures the other day as I walked along the dry riverbed.

I was fascinated by the lone leaves, having fallen last Season, forgotten! But as the river was low, the water receded, and these beautiful leaves live on!

If only, for a little while longer.




The Leaf's Lament

Said the leaf to the sky
I would learn how to fly
But I'm shaking like a leaf, do I dare?

Said the sky to the leaf
It's a matter of belief
just jump into my blanket of air!

Then the sky sang
then the leaf sprang
and the trees were empty and bare.

By Andrew Fusek Peters

from Mad, Bad and Dangerously Haddock

Liv

I really love this recent shot of Liv. Looking at it makes the fact that she's getting older more real. She also has her daddy's playful smirk. I think that's why I love it so much. I took it in the afternoon light, then enhanced the colors a bit.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

This is our fam's hands-down favorite when it comes to chocolate cake.

3/4 C. (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1-2/3 C. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C. flour
2/3 C. Hershey's Cocoa
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1-1/3 C. water
1/2 C. finely crushed hard peppermint candy (optional, but not optional for The Wieber's)
One-Bowl Buttercream Frosting (see below)
Additional crushed hard peppermint candy (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and Flour two 9-inch round baking pans, or one 13X9X2-inch baking pan. (I also make cupcakes. Simply use paper liners and bake for 15-18 minutes)

2. Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large mixer bowl; beat on high speed of electric mixer for 3 minutes. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and baking powder; add alternately with water to butter mixture. Blend just until combined; add candy, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; Remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with One-Bowl Buttercream Frosting. Just before serving, garnish with peppermint candy if desired. Also looks good garnished with chocolate curls.

Makes 8-10 servings.

One-Bowl Buttercream Frosting
(I always double this recipe)

6 T. butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. Hershey's Cocoa or Hershey's Dutch Processed Cocoa
4-6 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla.

Makes about 2 C. frosting.

A Stone's Throw

I'm so thankful that we live within a stone's throw of the Boise River. Right out our door await endless exploration possibilities. Someday the girls will remember walking from our house to the greenbelt and a bit further to the library for music class, computer fun, and checking out books. They've had scavenger hunts along the pathway which ultimately ended with a "hole in one" at the bakery down the road ;O). We've enjoyed stone throwing contests, rock-skipping lessons from daddy, and miles of tandem bike train excursions. This summer I was also able to run alongside Liv 4-5 miles as she rode her bike next to me. She would tease me and go real slow, and then speed up as fast as she could. That makes for a pretty amazing workout. You should really try it sometime. The funniest thing we had to teach her was to look where she wanted to go. Countless times, she would gaze at the river, and then we'd have to tow her back up to the trail after her bike attempted to swim. It was also hysterical to see the looks of alarm on people's faces when they zeroed in on Liv blasting right in their direction, looking straight in their eyes with the same identical look of horror. Now, she says, "I'm looking where I want to go, mom!" The girls also get to hang with dad on his long board. They love that. On our bikes, we can make it all the way to the heart of downtown Boise, right out our front door, without having to compete with car traffic. It's pretty wonderful. Here are some pics of our walk along the River last weekend.


Sisterly affections.


Me n my girls.


Daddy is so so so loved!!! Now I wonder why this guy would be so happy to add another daughter to the mix? :o)


Keeping balanced as we watch for ducks!

Here's a couple of well-loved pics of the girls enjoying rides last Spring with daddy on his long board:

Afternoon On A Hill

By

Edna St. Vincent Millay

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when the lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down.

Frog and Toad

Didn't you just LOVE Frog and Toad when you were young? Disneyland even had a ride called "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". I remember being so stoked to be on that ride, as it made me feel that I was in the book. Last night after tucking the girls into bed and thinking they were fast asleep, we discovered them curled in the same bed, flashlights blazing. Liv was the reader, Holland the captive audience. It was so sweet. I love it that Liv can read Holland stories now! She will be such a great help with our new baby, too!

My Little Snow Angels

I Prayed for Faith

and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." I had up to this time closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my bible and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since.

Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)

I've Been Tagged

by Rachel and need to share seven interesting things about me!

1. I once taught 3 female students how to change a tire along a busy road while teaching Driver's Education one summer and didn't even know how to change one!

2. In 1989, I won the Wednesday night Puyallup Fair Hoola Hoop contest.

3. I was once handed Joe Walsh's guitar pick right after his concert and lost it. I KNOW!

4. I was baptized in Lake Wasilla during a youth group mission trip to Alaska. Awesome!

5. I helped lead a children's Vacation Bible School in Tecate, Mexico during a mission trip in High School. Completely in Spanish.

6. I bungee-jumped over the Snake River while in College with my boyfriend, who is now my wonderful husband. He truly thought he was going to die, but he "had" to jump because I jumped first.

7. The little voice in my head that tells me to do things, speaks to me in text.


Honorable Mention:

While backstage during my job at The Taco Bell Arena (formerly known as The Boise State Pavilion), I [accidentally] tripped Nancy Kerrigan while she was getting ready to skate for Disney on Ice. She was not happy. Please note: This was not the famous incident you read about in the tabloids.

So now I need to tag 7 more people! So, please consider yourself "tagged". You can post your interesting facts on your blog, facebook, etc. Be sure to send it back to me so I can learn more about you!

Danielle Richert

Keri Swan

Sharon Cooney

Chelsea Drake

Katie Jennings

Miranda Risinger

Suzanne Porterfield

Another Year Is Dawning

Another year is dawning,
Dear Master, let it be,
In working, or in waiting,
Another year with Thee.

Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness
In the shining of Thy face.

Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.

Another year of service,
Of witness of Thy love,
Another year of training
For holier work above.

Another year is dawning,
Dear Master, let it be
On earth, or else in heaven
Another year for Thee.

--Francis Ridley Havergal (1874)