family pics

we took some family pics this month (thanks natalie! more pics on thatch's blog) it was a beautiful day last weekend and we took advantage of it in the park...and the weather has drastically changed since then...now we are in the middle of an "artic blast" (as the reporters call it) it is quite the snowy weather for portland. i'm loving it. and it makes me miss the long snow winters of minneapolis.

your love is deep

i love singing...and thatch has become my excuse to sing. he is soothed by my voice and that is the coolest thing. i've been singing over him before he goes to sleep for his naps...and different songs have come into my head. lately i have been singing "your love is deep" by jami smith...a beautiful song and a reminder i need everyday about how amazing God's love is...

Your love is deep
Your love is high
Your love is long
Your love is wide

Deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I travel
Wider than the gap You filled

Who shall separate us
Who shall separate us from Your love
Nothing can separate us
Nothing can separate us from Your love

on plastic

great blog i found on ways to reduce plastic we use...

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/

i liked her list from last year too:

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/list.html

i think i'm going to try buying dry goods in bulk at new seasons...and maybe even buy shampoo in a bar to avoid the plastic bottle...

family and christmas trees

wow. what a few weeks! went to oklahoma, stayed with my parents for a few days, then to stillwater for the funeral and to spend time with travis' family...then to north carolina to see travis' parents and little brothers for thanksgiving. it was so good to spend time with family! thatch was very entertaining, he is at such a fun age!

thatch and i have flown the last 3 saturdays. whew! he has become quite the traveler. he did so good...and he did great with all the different places we stayed. i'm so proud of him. and he was smiling at everyone on the plane. he would look at people just waiting for them to smile at him.




we got back into town last night...and today we went to get our christmas tree. thatch's first christmas. he has no idea, but it is still exciting.

jonathan friend

yesterday morning travis' grandpa, jonathan friend passed away. he was an amazing, godly man and we will miss him terribly. i think he touched everyone he knew. travis and him were very close...they were kindred spirits. he was a huge part of travis' life growing up...living just a few miles away and working on the farm with him in the summers. he is the type of man that has a very gentle quiet spirit, patient, loving, and he lights up when he tells you stories about the farm. he reminds me a lot of travis.

we were able to see him this summer and he said to thatch "i can't tell you how proud i am of you." travis, his grandpa, and his brothers took a trip to the farm this summer, soaking up the memories. and we were able to spend several days with him. we only wish we could have seen him one last time.

edna mae on etsy

check out my cards and vintage jewelry at my etsy shop:

ednamae.etsy.com

november already?

i can't believe it is already november. thatch is 7 months old and just so much fun. he is SO happy. and he smiles with his eyes...i just love it. he is army crawling everywhere. and we are finally making progress on our sleep at night. we are both getting more sleep and let me tell you, it is feeling very nice! he makes me laugh all the time. it is fun watching his little personality start to come out...and i'm anxious to see it come out more and more...but i have to stop myself and soak up these precious baby moments right now. i have to consciously stop and enjoy his head leaning on my shoulder. his coos. his laughter. his smiles. him grabbing at everything he can get his hands on. him sticking everything in his mouth to investigate it. him always moving...he is quite the wiggle worm. his curiousity. this stage is wonderful and i feel very lucky that i am able to work at home. freelance is a little slower right now...i'm starting to feel the effects of the economy...but it gives me a chance to push edna mae originals forward. (and btw the website is down right now b/c issues with my domain provider. if you are wanting card packs please let me know!) i'm going to be working on baby books next. can't wait to start desiging them. i've been designing pages in my mind and i need to get them out on paper! so much fun!

life as i know it

life is good. right now i'm listening to the "chair and a microphone" (enter the worship circle) and drinking a thatch brew...while travis is making his own "wort chiller" for his brewing...and enjoying my son being asleep upstairs...

my days consist of cleaning bottles, making baby food, singing songs, and designing during naps. i look forward to going to trader joes or whole foods and taking walks. life is pretty simple for me right now. my schedule revolves around thatch, and right now, that is exactly what i want to be doing. i don't get out as much as i like, but i get out enough. i'm getting use to travis' schedule. i'm getting up before the sun comes up...but i get up to a boy smiling at me and it's worth it. we are starting to get into a rhythm...although thatch is not about to get on a schedule...and that's okay.

the coast

travis, thatch and i had a little family trip this week...it was so relaxing and great to get away...to my favorite place, the coast. we tried out pacific city and really liked it. ate at pelican brewery and tried their delicious brews. enjoyed stimulus, a coffee shop (several times), walked the beach, hung out on our balcony...it was superb. it was just for a night, but just long enough. thatch was so good and slept in the hotel room so well...(i'm not quite ready for camping with thatch just yet) he even took a nap as we walked along the beach. we had so much fun.

photo booths are so cool...

today was a beautiful day...travis, thatch and i went for a picnic at washington park, then walked around downtown and enjoyed the farmers market, stumptown coffee and took pics at a photobooth. it was a wonderful afternoon!

oh, the things i've learned!

the last 5 months have been "wonderfully hard" as another mother put it. challenging, sleepless, and absolutely wonderful...here are some things i've learned in the last few months:

natural childbirth was the most exhilarating experience. it was amazing...and i would do it again in a heartbeat. (just not anytime soon)

follow your instinct. baby books are informative and other mothers have great advice, but in the end, even if you feel clueless, you really do have a gut feeling about what is best for your child...i think i'm going to follow it a little more, and worry about what other people think a little less...and give other parents a little more grace on the decisions they make for their children.

i have gained so much respect for mothers...it's a hard job, but well worth every second.

don't get your nose pierced when you have a 2 month old. you don't have time to brush your teeth, let alone soak your stinkin' nose twice a day.

never say you won't do something...i never thought i would be singing "skin-am-rinkee-dinky-dink" all the time to get such wonderful smiles out of my little boy, among many many other things.

i have the most amazing husband...he has been my strength...and housekeeper, and cook. it was so wonderful to have him home for 2 months while he was on paternity leave. and he is an incredible father. thatch lights up every time he is in the room. we've had so much fun being parents together and i'm looking forward to each day as we watch thatch grow!

fruit in season didn't mean anything to me until i moved to oregon...and oh is it wonderful...the blueberries are delicious right now!

hike

trav went on a beautiful hike yesterday and this was the view of mt hood! (on top of zigzag mountain)

good quotes from the book "walking on water" (a book about faith an art...a great read)

"Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint or clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation, or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career..."

"In art...we move, unfettered, among the stars."

"When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, free from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colours are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize."

home sweet home

wow. traveling with a baby is quite the experience. whew. pre-kid traveling was so relaxing. i loved working on the plane, reading, just enjoying the experience. now my mind is planning when i can feed thatch, when and how he'll sleep...and carrying the extra load...and no room for my stuff in my back pack...

thatch did an amazing job. he really did. we had no major meltdowns and even received complements from fellow travelers. wahoo!

and the week with family was great. busy, but great. we were ablle to see lots of extended family at trav's cousin's wedding and in both our hometowns in oklahoma. it was so good to see everyone. if only oregon were closer to them! (pictures of thatch with family coming shortly to his blog)

but i am exhausted. hopefully i can use today to recover before work tomorrow!

ahh, life is good!

this past week was wonderfully superb...

with "women & wine" at sarah's house, it was so fun to hang out with the women from evergreen and just enjoy a night out...fun conversations, great wine and food...couldn't be better.

and then the wonderful 4th of july with fellow evergreeners. i loved that people just hung out for hours on end with no agenda and no place to go. the weather was AMAZING! and it was so relaxing. i left with a huge smile on my face and so thankful for the community around us.

and i spent the weekend finishing "same kind of different as me" a wonderful book. i love 3 day weekends, i wish i had them every week!

and i just bought shane claiborne's book, "jesus for president" not sure i love the title but i've heard it is great!

what a wonderful weekend

my sister-in-law, emily came out to visit this weekend and it was just so much fun to hang out with her. i really wished we lived closer.

we hung out downtown, went to a brew pub, went to the coast and hiked Neahkahnie Mountain, ate at a great little pizza place in cannon beach, enjoyed thatch's celebration beer...it was a great weekend.


bridgeport brewery




oswald west...one of my favorite beaches on the coast...i hung out and fed thatch lunch and enjoyed a little picnic...





view on the way up the mountain...



i almost made it to the top of Neahkahnie with thatch, but he just wouldn't have it. (i even fed him a pumped bottle on our way up!) i was so close to the top, so close. it was a warm day and he needed a little time out of the wrap...so i hung out in the forest while travis and emily made it to the top where you can see the entire coast line.






thatch was a good sport...and friday night he had a huge laughing episode while we were waiting on the max...it was so amazing. amazing. i am still smiling thinking about it.

tasting the thatch brew

some pics by my sister-in-law of us trying out the incredible thatch brew...

speaking of farms...

sunday after church we went to sauvie island with some friends to pick strawberries. the farm was so beautiful...my first trip out to sauvie island (an island where the river goes on both sides of it)



and then i fed thatch under this beautiful oak tree and enjoyed the scenery!



it was a wonderful afternoon!!

let's be farmers...

i grew up in oklahoma in a town of 45,000. but i was a city girl at heart. i wasn't much for the cowboys that seemed to come in abundance. and i denied the idea that we were in the south. my mom and i would take frequent shopping trips to "the city" and yes, that's what we called it...and i would love to buy things at the trendy stores...i had no interest in horses, country music, having land...and i didn't understand "small town charm". and even when i first moved away from oklahoma, i was a little embarrassed to say where we were from...

but now i see that there is beauty in simple living, of growing your own food, having your own chickens to get your eggs...and i actually crave that life. i would love to own some land here in oregon. grow our own vegetables...and heaven forbid, maybe even have a cow.

i think maybe oregon has taught that to me. i drive out in the country and i am amazed. i can't imagine what it would be like to be a farmer here. it would be so much fun.

city life is wonderful. i love the culture. i love what it brings...but i have found and respected that thing called country living. and i hope i can bring some of that into my life...the life i wouldn't take part in as a child. it's still part of my heritage and i'm starting to embrace it.

i think i use to think you were cool if you lived in a big city...and now i'm realizing that is not the case. sure, there are some darn cool people in portland, i could only dream of being that cool. but i'm not so sure the city is what makes them cool.

country living for the first time in my life, is starting to appeal to me. i think i finally understand why travis loves the wheat fields of oklahoma and has such wonderful memories of helping his papa on the farm.

i just read lacie's blog on intentional community living and my heart leaped with joy...growing crops together, living on a big piece of land with a group of people and having our own garden and farm...what beauty!

"...She lifts her skirt up to her knees
Walks through the garden rows with her bare feet, laughing..." [ray lamontagne]

hiking at the gorge

thatch's first hike was a success. we went on a small little hike this week. the weather was beautiful, thatch slept in the ergo...i can't ask for anything more.

Here's to Thatch!

limited edition celebration pale ale...

Balanced with three types of hops, this American-style pale is down right delicious. Cascade and Williamette varieties with their citrus notes and subtle woody tones give this brew a lively flavor. Garnished with crystal hops for a floral aroma...mmmm it tastes so good on the lips. So, enjoy this limited edition beautiful thirst-quenching liquid delight.

And be sure to raise your glass and say,
“Here’s to Thatch!”

paternity leave

well...i'm slowly starting back to work (continuing to do graphic design at home and work on my card company) and travis has started his 2 months of paternity leave...hooray!!

this summer will be full of trips to the farmers market, hikes, and anything and everything outside...and hopefully a little more sleep for me!

minimal living

i saw this post and loved it...i'm a minimalist at heart and hope i can still be like that, even with the swings and toys that seem to be collecting at the moore household.

i can't remember how to make it a link and don't have time to look, so i guess you can just copy and paste...

http://zenhabits.net/2007/08/a-guide-to-creating-a-minimalist-home/

and this

http://www.blissfullydomestic.com/frugal_living/index.html

wine country

some of my college friends are here helping me with thatch. they overlapped their trip and we went to tour some of the wineries in our area. it was so beautiful!! cat came thursday and today...christi is staying through the week. it is so good to hang out with old friends, it's one of life's sweetest blessings!! and this weekend i finally got my nose pierced! yea!

heat wave

i love it that the 90s (with no humidity) is considered a heat wave here in oregon. people here freak out about it. and to tell you the truth, i'm freaking out about it too. this is my kind of place. i love the mild summers and that it only gets into the 90s a few times! here's to summer in portland...it is going to be a fun one...hikes with thatch, lots of walks, and hanging outside! wahoo!!

singing

"jesus jesus how i trust you
how i prove you o'er and o'er
jesus jesus precious jesus
oh for grace to trust you more"

this is the hymn i've been singing to thatch to put him to sleep. i love singing hymns over him. they are a hell of a lot better than nursery rhythms. : ) nothing against nursery rhymes or anything.

life is good. i spend a lot of the day with thatch in a sling bouncing on an excercise ball. he is a little high maintenance and takes some work to go to sleep and stay asleep. but he loves his sling and loves to sleep on walks...and he nurses for almost an hour and every 2 1/2 hours. i'm nursing almost every other hour...whew! i'm starting to read chronicles of narnia while i'm feeding. sometimes it works better than others. and i end up watching t.v. a lot...the life of a newborn!

thatch has been so much fun. i'm just loving motherhood. and he just started to smile a little and is really starting to notice everything around him!! it just gets better and better!

japanese gardens

we went to the japanese gardens this week...they were beautiful!! and we were dorks and went thru the guided tour...it brought so much meaning to the design!

saturday

summer in portland couldn't be better...and this weekend we had a little taste of summer...the weather was beautiful and we made it to the farmer's market. thatch was in his sling the whole time and loved it...we listened to live music and walked around downtown. so much fun!

outings and dance parties

my favorite thing in the last few days has been the dance parties with thatch. his favorite song is starlight by muse...and miss the boat by modest mouse is a close second. i sing along and bop to the music...i think he thinks i'm the best singer there is! he loves the the beat and dancing/bouncing to this song...

we've also had a few outings in the last week...to target, new seasons, to a baby store...and we even were able to go to church on sunday...it was so nice to see everyone and introduce thatch!

things are going well. i'm feeding about every other hour...he sleeps a little longer at night...but i'm not sleeping much around here...but somehow i manage to get a little sleep here and there...i think i came down from my adrenaline high a few days ago and realized how tired i was...but travis and i are tag-teaming it and it is so nice to have my mom here to help out with stuff.

celebration ale

in honor of thatch's birth, travis has created a celebration ale...he started brewing it tonight. you might just be lucky enough to enjoy it in a month or so...

if you are just tuning into this blog, you might think it is a little odd that we are making a beer for our baby...maybe so...but if you lived in this part of the country, you would start brewing beer too. travis started brewing last winter and he hasn't stopped since. he loves it...and i can't wait to try this new one.

we are thinking about calling this celebration ale..."wingman pale" or maybe just name it thatcher hobbes.

any suggestions?

thatch's blog

thatch decided he needed his own blog for weekly pics...so he'll be blogging at

thatchermoore.blogspot.com

i'll still update my blog, but if you are one of those family members that just can't get enough pics, his blog is for you!

Thatcher Hobbes Moore is here!

saturday at 12:40 am Thatch made his entrance into the world at 7lbs 6 ozs, 20 1/2 inches long...the birth was absolutely beautiful and we are so excited to have him in our arms. he is so precious. travis and i are doing wonderful and are about to leave the hospital.

he delights in me...

this past weekend through a couple podcasts from bridgeway, my church in oklahoma, and the songs that were sung on good friday and easter morning, i was reminded of the love God has for me. that he loves me where i'm at right now...that he delights in me...and that is what fills me up and causes my heart to overflow with thankfulness, with life, with love for him and the people around me...and causes my heart and life to change.

"you who knows me more than myself. you who loves me more than i know. you who speaks to me more than i hear. open my eyes, soften my heart, help me to hear."

yea! the baby room

here is mr. moore's room...and travis made a trundle bed for the room when company comes (and mr. moore will join us.) and my mom made the pillows, bumper pad and chair cover...what talent!

friends from phoenix

our close friends from phoenix...the whole crew, came to portland last weekend to visit. it was so much fun. we went to the coast, hung out downtown, had dinner at our house...it was a good time. and travis took the boys on a few hikes and to the gorge. (and i took naps) it was so fun to share the beauty of oregon with our friends.

jacob and joel (13 and 10) and their dad, errol, stayed at our house. and these boys are about the best kids you could have...they are so fun to be around and so good. i just love hanging out with them...and i love watching them hang out with travis. they just have so much fun together. i miss them already...