enjoying the process » loving the journey, not just the destination

June 24th Already?

Wow! It’s going a little fast, don’t you think?  I mean, I’ve managed to get a few of my “summer projects” completed, but there’s still a whole page & a half left! Yikes!
This week we found out for sure we’re having a BOY- 100% !  YAY.  I love having boys. I love having girls. I would have been happy either way, honestly.  Now all we have to do is find a name…. that we all like, that starts with the /k/ sound, and doesn’t make me want to throw up.  Any ideas?

This was us Today. We went to see our friends in a production of Annie (one of my favorite movies growing up). They did SO great & it was so fun to see them on stage. They’ve been working so hard for months & it was fun to see the final product.  We loved it! Good job Hartung girls, Ballock girls & Allie (and anyone else in the production who might happen to read my blog )!

Here we are making Pita Pockets for our Poem Night at the Harnishes. The kids each memorized a poem, dressed up and made a food item to go along with their poem.  Kennedy’s poem was Keep a Poem in Your Pocket so we made “Keep a Poem in Your Pita Pockets” stuffed with ham & cheese 🙂  And also this week… all 4 of my kids had dentist appointments- hurray!  But this was Keagan’s first. He did such a great job! He was happy & obedient the whole time (and we were there for 2 hours!). I love that boy.

That’s all.

June 25, 2011 - 3:17 am

Dena - not that it starts with a K.. but … if I ever had another boy.. which I am NOT planning on ever having another baby.. I would name him “smith”… I will be on the lookout for you and your boy names…

June 27, 2011 - 3:09 am

Melinda Cassol - Emma did great the first time at the dentist too! When we left she said, well now that was fun wasn’t it?!! Cute kids you have!! Don’t know if you like these names but what about Court or Cash. I have heard those both and think they are cute!

June 29, 2011 - 11:49 am

Hallie Gardner - Somewhere along the way it seems like you guys liked Cohen? I could be wrong…there have been a lot of name choices throughout the years 🙂 I think Callie could work for a boy?

June 29, 2011 - 12:02 pm

emily - That’s so funny Hallie- Cohen JUST popped into my head this morning! The boys want Calvin (after Calvin & Hobbes, of course!). I think you guys liked that name for a while, didn’t you? Or maybe that was my sister?

June 29, 2011 - 2:45 pm

emily - Melinda- I LOVE the name Cash, but James isn’t sold on it. I haven’t heard Court before, but did you watch Amazing Race last season? There were 2 cowboys & one was named Cord. I’ve given that one some thought. It’s just hard to name baby#6. I’m thinking of dumping all my kids’ names and starting over.

June 30, 2011 - 3:00 pm

Hallie Gardner - Yep, Pearson was almost Calvin…I think you should feel the freedom to start over! I think this one can start with whatever letter you want! But maybe don’t change the other kids names…I think that might mess them up 🙂

July 5, 2011 - 1:49 pm

jenny - Wow about Conan? Cobalt? Chorea? Actually, that one’s a disease. Might send the wrong message. . . . I definitely think you need another Ch, though. You have two hard C’s, and two K’s and only one Ch. What a nice mixture of boys and girls your family will be! Oh, and I LOVE your poem night idea?! How fun is that?

Kitchen Status.

So… this is what my kitchen looks like right now. A large hole where my refrigerator and pantry used to be. Kind of important items for a kitchen, don’t  you think?


I know you’re jealous, but really.. try not to be.  I know you wish you had to walk out to the far end of the garage, tripping over all the shoes, hopping over the bikes, scooters, bike trailers and miscellaneous refrigerator parts to reach the gallon of milk in your refrigerator. And once you’re back inside the house and all the way back into the kitchen, only then do you remember that you also needed the butter.  You’re jealous of my pregnancy brain, too- aren’t you?  I bet you wish you could forget every sentence that starts to make it’s appearance from your lips.  I’d show you a picture of all my pantry items sitting in bags and boxes on my dining room table and scattered across my husband’s office floor, but I don’t think you could handle it. 🙂

It’s been this way for about 2 + weeks now and it’s going to be this way for another 2 weeks.  We’ve eaten out so much I think I might throw up if I see another cheeseburger.  So… I made a meal plan for the rest of the month and I decided to make the best of it!  Last night I made Lobster mac-n-cheese- YUM. I made one with lobster and one without (for the kids).  To tell you the truth, I think it was better without the Lobster so next time I think I’ll save the $20 per pound!

And tonight I made Crab Cakes and Salad- my new favorite recipe!  It’s a seafood kind of week, I guess.

And this is what my kitchen looked like after:

I am a VERY messy cook!  I can’t help it.

 

June 14, 2011 - 7:46 am

Amber Hanshaw - That’s what my kitchen looks like on a regular basis. 🙂

June 14, 2011 - 3:18 pm

Mary - My favorite thing is that you still have a pretty pitcher with lemon branches on display – despite the small hole in the kitchen. And those meals look absolutely beautiful!

June 14, 2011 - 4:00 pm

Sierra - I’m sorry for the kitchen woes…I noticed your kitchen faucet…do you like it? I’m considering one of those and just curious if it’s as awsome as it seems. Also…to rotate into you menu, we love Salad bar nights, taco salad, grilled chicken ceaser, bbq chicken salad, steak salad…it’s a great summer meal and doesn’t heat up the kitchen…although the mess is inevitable 🙂

June 14, 2011 - 5:03 pm

emily - That’s a GREAT idea, Sierra! I’ve been thinking making each night a theme- like Pasta Monday, Chicken Tuesday, etc. Salad Wednesday would fit right in!
And YES! I LOVE that faucet. You can pull it out and spray all around the sink & it’s high enough that it never gets in the way. Plus, it’s PERFECT for baby baths.

June 14, 2011 - 11:01 pm

Dena - soooo… you cook and drink while you are pregnant… we are total opposites… ha

June 15, 2011 - 1:01 am

emily - Dena- I didn’t cook for the 1st 4 months of this pregnancy so I’m making up for lost time. And the drinking… well, I gotta get through the days you know what I’m sayin? That’s just a joke, people:)

June 22, 2011 - 11:37 am

jenny - I feed my family mac and cheese when I’m pregnant with my sixth child, too. That came out of a box, right? Help me out here.

Now, um. . . give me your range. I mean, I love you for you, and all, but I’m not joking.

June 22, 2011 - 8:19 pm

sara - dude, your poor beautiful kitchen. hope it gets all fixed up soon. I have to say though that eating out in your town doesn’t sound so bad. you gots lots of choices. 🙂 x

June 22, 2011 - 9:34 pm

emily - Yes- it sounds great until you realize you won’t fit through a standard door anymore because you’ve gained 100 pounds 🙂

June 22, 2011 - 9:35 pm

emily - Jenny- you can have it. It looks pretty, but it is NOT user-friendly and it cooks very unevenly. Like- everything on the left side of the pan burns and everything on the right side is undercooked. But it’s what’s on the outside that counts, right?

Some Photos I Found..

Last night I ordered a bunch of photos from Mpix (they were having free shipping) for my Project Life album.  It’s so fun to go back over the month’s worth of photos and remember.  When I download I usually look through all the photos with a pretty critical eye for my *5Star favorites.  I tag them and star rate them (sometimes) and sometimes save a few for facebook or the blog. But when I go back at the end of the month and really analyze and pour over them… it’s fun to see the shots that didn’t catch my attention the first time around.  I’ll be updating my blog soon so I can add slideshows and “galleries” of photos. While I LOVE this blog format, one thing I’ve always missed is the ability to store “photo albums” or galleries of photos in one place. My new blog will be able to do that. My goal is to load some of my scrapbooks on here as well. Again, my “goal”…. we’ll see how that goes!  🙂




There were SO many more.. but I think I’ll save them until I get my new blog up and running.  For now, I think I’ll go have a cup of coffee, read my Bible and enjoy this cool, overcast morning in June.  Have a nice day. 🙂  And thanks Lancaster people for all the comments People in Santa Clarita just use fb now, I guess. And my family, well…. they just stalk me and NEVER leave comments. What’s up with that?

June 9, 2011 - 2:15 pm

jenny - I stalk you, leave comments, don’t like facebook, barely know you and live a parallel life 2,000 miles away. Are you creeped out yet? I’m getting that sorta cold feeling up the back of my neck. . .

June 10, 2011 - 10:20 am

emily - Hey Jenny- you leave comments- that’s all that really matters 🙂

June 10, 2011 - 11:35 am

Hallie Gardner - Ummm I left three comments!

June 10, 2011 - 1:40 pm

emily - I know Hallie- you’re the best in all the land. 3 comments per post earns you #1 friend status.

June 10, 2011 - 2:51 pm

Andrea Henry - Blogging, reading, commenting even – ha??!! What’s that? I’m lost 🙂 I can’t even find my blog anymore and probably won’t remember the password if I do find it….:)

June 11, 2011 - 7:28 pm

sara - new blog?!? please tell me…………… and i love the photos and i do the same. go back and restar lots of new favorites.

June 12, 2011 - 4:07 pm

Julie Long - Yes, I’m a stalker who never leaves comments (I don’t have anything to say!), except maybe occasionally on FB….. but I love, love, love looking at your blog and your photos. You are an amazing person with a heart of gold and it shows through in your pictures and your writing. It’s so fun to see your adorable family and I always find bit of inspiration or encouragement, like little gold nuggets, in your post. xoxo 🙂

Do I live in Southern California?

Since we can’t really swim in this cold weather we’re having, I’ve made a list of summer goals. I have high hopes for the summer. We’ll see how it goes.

1. Read- this one’s easy.
2. Stay current on Project Life- this one’s pretty easy, too.
3. Finish Keagan’s baby album – not so simple
4. Start & Finish Chloe’s baby album- I have all the pieces, just need to put it together- not so simple
5. Clean, Purge & Organize the house- the kids are helping me with this one. Should be manageable, maybe
6. Go to the Beach – A LOT.
7. Set up a schedule for next school year- gotta plan ahead since the new baby will be here in 4 months!!!!!!
8. Finish building James’ website- all I need are the photos.
9. Update this blog.
10. Create 2010 Blog Book.

What do you think? Can I get it all done? I plan on scrapbooking a lot this summer- anyone want to join me?

June 7, 2011 - 8:10 pm

cari - Solid goals. It’s good to have goals. I thought about having goals once.

June 8, 2011 - 2:59 am

Hallie Gardner - By join you…do you really mean “you’ll do it for me?” Beautiful picture.

June 8, 2011 - 3:00 am

Hallie Gardner - Also, I must say…use Lancaster peeps are faithful commenters. I’m just sayin…

June 8, 2011 - 3:22 pm

Hallie Gardner - I know this is my 3rd comment, what can I say I have lots of time on my hands. Let’s discuss my inability to type. I meant us, not use. Are you embarrassed to have me as your friend? I blame texting, it’s ruined me…and sleeplessness it’s ruined me too. Last comment…I promise.

June 9, 2011 - 1:34 pm

mom L - Good goals. Will pray for you. My goal is to keep bible study going for the summer and to read one book a week and to do lots of canning.

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