My baby daddy.

First Father's Day breakfast: fluffy Pamela's pancakes slathered with maple syrup, bananas and peanut butter...

...and the smiles of a little girl who adores her daddy tremendously...

It's a joy to watch Luci Belle giggle with anticipation when she hears his footsteps coming down the hall, or to see her eyes light up when he gives her attention.  Already, I can tell that our daughter has inherited some very important characteristics from her daddy...she is fueled by being around people, is exhilarated by being the center of attention and making people laugh, and is a lover of food, especially beef and garlic, like a true Korean-Italian!

And there's one other thing she inherited from him, of course...

Yup, his hair.

It's no surprise that Steven is an amazing father.  When I first met him in early 2004, he had already spent many years loving and caring for orphans in Romania, mentoring inner-city boys in Waco, and shepherding teenage boys in the youth group.  Loving people seems effortless to him, yet being a father has opened up a new part of his soul - a more vulnerable part. 

When I think about Steven as a husband, father, and friend, I think this quote describes him perfectly...

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." ~Clarence Budington Kelland

How blessed we are to have him in our lives!

Hamilton Pool.

Oh my.  I just recently found out about Hamilton Pool, a swimming hole in Dripping Springs near Austin that is reputed to be "one of the most beautiful sights in Central Texas."  

"A steep path leads down Hamilton Creek, which winds its way between the pool and the Pedernales River along rocky ledges and over the roots of massive cypress trees." ~ from WimberleyTourism.com

Yes, PLEASE.  I'll be recruiting Dallas-dwellers to make this trip with us soon!

3 simple joys: tree classrooms, wildflower bouquets, and baby friends.

"Rejoicing is the motivation of the Christian life.  If there is no gratitude there will be no change and no transformation."
~ Jerram Barrs (quote originally found on Flourish Online Magazine)

These 3 Simple Joys posts have transformed my days.  Here are my most recent ones...

Tree classrooms.

Wordsworth said, "Let nature be your teacher."  Have you ever seen a tree classroom?  Today, I did!  On a return visit to the Trinity River Audubon Center, we explored more, through the wooded trails.  We came upon this enormous, old pecan tree that created a canopy and carved out a little classroom in the middle of the forest.  There were even little makeshift benches made from tree trunks scattered around.

A pathway was flanked by two tall trees that looked like vaulting poles.  The trees there were towering and lovely, completely preserved, never to be cut down.

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Wildflower bouquets.

The other morning, my husband woke me up and then handed me this wildflower bouquet that he had just picked from our backyard garden and arranged himself.  The stems were even tied carefully with twine so they would stand up correctly in the turquoise cup.  Tell me, what husband does that?  Mine.  Yup, I'm a lucky girl.

* * *

Baby friends.

What would we do without our friends Bre & John Taylor and their little boy Jack who live just 2 streets over?  {And don't forget little Liv in Bre's tummy!}  Jack and Luci Belle are less than 3 weeks apart and already best friends.  And it's a Godsend to have another mother nearby who is in the same stage in life...for not just sanity but encouragement!

Summer is here!

Summery things spotted on my walk this morning:

• Fluffy Crape Myrtles blooming in all sorts of colors.
• A family playing in their front yard: kids ran through a sprinkler that was whirring on full speed while the mom vigorously pumped a Super Soaker.  
• Two teenage girls walking their tiny dog.  When I saw them, I got sentimental for that summer vacation feeling...remember when you were a kid and you woke up and had nothing to do?  Well, nothing but bask in the sun, go to the pool and eat popsicles with your friends on the front steps. 
• A bluejay soaring overhead.
• This house, one of my absolute favorites in the whole neighborhood...

I arrived home at 10:17am and was already dripping with sweat.  Summer, in all its glory, has definitely arrived in Texas!

Sunday's harvest.

"Food, a French man told me once, is the first wealth.  Grow it right, and you feel insanely rich, no matter what you own."
~ Kristin Kimball, The Dirty Life

This is what we harvested from our garden yesterday...

Loads of herbs: mint, green and purple basil, oregano, sage.

Fistfuls of red onions.

One red cherry tomato and tiny golden heirloom pear tomatoes.

Sweet potato vine that we sprouted by sticking a sweet potato in the ground and watering it.

Wildflowers: cosmos and a poppy with 2 petals.

And this is just the beginning...there are enough tomatoes in our backyard to feed our entire street, all green and firm on the vines that have taken over the entire back quarter of our yard.  But that's okay, because while we're just scratching the surface of the harvest our little backyard can provide, I'm reading The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball and am absolutely head-over-heels in love with this memoir about a city girl who marries a farmer and adopts "the dirty life" on a farm in upstate New York.  It's enthralling writing.  Steven and I keep fighting over who gets possession of the Kindle for the evening.  Then we go back and forth reading and looking up and saying to each other, "This book is so us!" 

Perhaps there is a real farm in our future...

Random tip: Did you know you can brush your teeth with a sage leaf?  Seriously.  Just rub the leaf all over your teeth and you'll see the grimy residue on the leaf and your teeth will be squeaky clean!  Just a little tip for you from my people, the Italians!

10 reasons why I still love "You've Got Mail".

1) When it's 107 degrees in Dallas for months, I can immediately be transported for a few heavenly hours to a crisp New York autumn.

2) Creative gift ideas.I have given a "bouquet of newly sharpened pencils" as a fun little gift to several friends since this movie.  Who doesn't want to receive one of those?  "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."  - Joe Fox.   

3) Café Lalo - one of the most charming little cafés in New York.  Nothing like sitting by the open casement windows there, sipping a warm latté on a mild October day.  My friend Suz and I have done it multiple times.

me and Suz in front of Café Lalo in 2005

4) The scene where Kathleen Kelly is shopping for groceries at Zabar's on Thanksgiving.  I don't know what's better...Rose the annoyed cashier, "Get-in-another-line."  Or awnery HAYN-ry who is behind Kathleen in line. "So SIGN already!  I'll hardly get home in time to watch the Thanksgiving parade!"

5) The fabulous Parker Posey.  Quirky, exotically beautiful, and the perfect dry humor.

6) Their ancient Mac computers and Instant Messenger.  Don't you miss those simpler times before our lives were taken over with things like Facebook and Twitter?  I actually remember getting in AOL chat rooms in college. HA!

7) From a pier on the Hudson River, Joe Fox and the kids wave hello to New Jersey, my homeland.

8) The "George" character.  "This place is a TOMB!  I'm going to the Nut Shop where it's fun."

9) Christmas in New York.  Period.

10)  How can I not mention Meg Ryan's choppy pixie haircut?  If I could pull off short hair, I would rock that hair style like it's 1998.

This movie just makes me happy no matter when I watch it, at any time of year.  And I'll never tire of it, never.

3 simple joys: old hymns, peas, and great-grandmas.

After posting my 3 simple joys recently, I decided to make it an ongoing thing. Fun!  Here are my most recent simple joys...

New doorway decoration.

The hymn prayer garland was a sweet Mother's Day gift from my sister-in-law Michelle and brother-in-law Cody who are currently serving in the Middle East with Preemptive Love Coalition.  Michelle, who Steven and I affectionately call "Big Sis" even though she's younger than both of us, always selects the most perfect, thoughtful gifts!  You can read it from either side as you're passing from the living to dining room, and I love having such beautiful, old worlds about Christ adorning an important doorway in our home.

* * *

Harvesting fresh food from our own backyard for dinner.

We grew peas!  And luscious, juicy heirloom tomatoes.  They were perfect garnished with a simple drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper.  There's nothin' like eating fresh food that you grew with your own hands and harvested just minutes before.

* * *

Visit with an older generation of family.

Luci Belle got to meet her only great-grandparent recently, Steven's "Gran" from North Carolina!  It was such a sweet time as we got to share lunch, and then Gran read to her great-granddaughter from Moo, Baa, La La La. 

* * *

Won't you join in, and share 3 simple joys you've experienced lately?