Monday, December 29, 2008
2008 Pictures in Review #2 & Favorite Reads
And here are my favorite reads from the past year
Half-Life Die Already: How I Died and Lived to Tell About It by Mark Steele
Organic God by Margaret Feinberg
Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner
Peace Child by Don Richardson
Same Kind of Different as Me - by Ron Hall & Denver More
A Thousand Splendid Suns - by Khaled Husseini
Ephesians - The Bible
Life of the Beloved - Henri Nouwen
Here are a few picks from Josh:
Blink by Malcom Gladwell
The Shack by William P. Young
Accidental Investment Banker by Jonathan Knee
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Anything by Joel Rosenberg
Way of the Shark by Greg Norman
Sharing the Wealth by Alex Spanos
The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher by Rob Stennet
2008 Pictures in Review #1
Paige's Top Pictures of her Crazy Hubby
Paige's Top Pictures of her Adorable Nieces & Nephews
Paige's Top Attempts to take Beautiful Pictures
Paige's Top Pictures of Interesting People
Here is the first installment
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The Amazing Ava
So, today has been a bit rough - just feeling like a lot is on my shoulders and having a hard time finding the joy in it all...I'm sure you have all been there before, and I know it will pass and that everything will get accomplished as it needs to...blah, blah, blah. Anyways, in the midst of my complaints I've decided to write a blog about something or I should say someone who just makes me smile - from the title you already know that I'm of course talking about my adorable and uber-intelligent niece - AVA GRACE RICH!
Over the last week (since it was the holidays) I spent more time with Ava than I have in quite some time, and I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to find another person over the age of 5 with more energy than this little fireball. She is ALWAYS doing something, saying something brilliant or just making those around her laugh.
Anyways, I've taken many a picture of Ava over the last week, so I thought I would share with you all a few of my favorites along with the stories or lessons I learned from Ava at that moment...ENJOY!
Ava got a tutu and headband from Gigi for Christmas! She immediately put it on and began to twirl in the middle of the living room.
Lesson learned: I should stop and twirl more often! It is fun being a girl and in the midst of working with mostly men, I sometimes forget to relish in the girliness of my life!
Ava was asking Josh for some of HIS candy (Josh loves HIS candy),
Lesson learned: Josh is a super fun guy, but when he is pushed he will stand his ground. As his wife, it was a reminder that I should have more fun with my hubby and not push him quite so much (aka - let him have his candy).
Ava and I built a tower with her new blocks, and just as I was finishing the block tower, she came and knocked them all down - she thought this was quite fun (I was a little perturbed)!
Lesson learned: The things that I build and do aren't nearly as precious as the people in my life.
We tried to take a picture of my four nieces, but sweet Ava was more interested in loving on Madison than smiling for the camera...
Ava and I share a passion for reading. She found a tupperware box and made it a little reading nook!
This was during our block building play-time! Ava and I celebrated everytime we built somethign and then tore it down.
So, to my dear sweet niece: Thank you for the many lessons you taught me this holiday season! As you can tell, I mostly learned about enjoying life a bit more and not taking myself too seriously. I can't wait to see just who Ava becomes and since so many people tell me that I was just like her as a two-year old, it is my prayer that she never loses parts of what I lost along the journey...probably things we all wish we had kept in our lives -