Audrey the Gerber Baby

Not that the resemblance is uncanny, but I think Audrey looks a little like the Gerber baby! What do you think? Well, I think she's the cuter one anyhow.


We leave for California at 6:15am tomorrow morning. Don't get me started about how early I have to be up tomorrow. Matter of fact, I am dozing off just thinking about it. The trip is well worth the early flight, and we're going to have a wonderful time! I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Now back to the hectic preparations!

Audrey meets her Great Grandma Porowski and Great Aunt Anne

My birthday was last weekend. What a wonderful weekend it was! My Grandma Porowski was visiting my Aunt Anne in Chicago, and they drove up to see us. We spent a lovely day talking, eating, sightseeing around old Westerville, and getting to know one another better. Audrey liked them both right away. Grandma fed her, sang to her, and they were fast friends from the start!




We went to one of my very favorite restaurants for lunch: Mimi's Cafe! My cobb salad and honey oat bran muffin were glorious.


We ended the day with a nice dinner with Eric's parents at our house.

Yes, that is spit up on my arm. There are a few things that regularly adorn our clothing these days, and that is one of them. I'm sure you can guess the other.



Audrey and I will get to see Grandma again in a few weeks, as we are going to California for a week at the beginning of August! My sister Kim will be here for a few days before that, and I absolutely can't wait to see her.

Audrey's Film Debut, and more.

As I mentioned in my last post, Audrey has a starring role in this weekend's church announcements video, produced by none other than our small group. I love our small group to pieces! Here is Audrey's commercial (not unlike the initial baby e-trade commercial), narrated by yours truly! No babies were harmed in the making of this film.

Here is the entire video in two parts, as it was too big to post as one clip. I took out the long Promise Keepers promo, also. Thanks to Dave for all of the technical and editing work! Aaron stars as the news anchor, with Jason as the weatherman and Eric as sports caster! Ah.. these guys crack me up. This whole project is hysterical. Enjoy!

Part One:

Part Two:

Fun with church announcements

Our church usually does announcements for upcoming events in video form that can be watched on the side screens in during services. For a month or so this summer they've asked for volunteers to make the videos, probably to give the tech team a break and see what kinds of funny things people come up with. We've seen clever and funny film styles, and some just plain strange. Our small group volunteered to do it this week, so we got together Monday and Tuesday to brainstorm and film. I won't give away the theme or the antics we have prepared, but I will say that even Audrey has a starring role! (A member's a member, no matter how small! ha) Hopefully I can get copies or snippets of the videos (Audrey's at least) to post here. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures from our get togethers this week.

Eric waiting for Audrey's part

Aaron is only being filmed from the waist up... :p

Can you tell which room the humans are in?

Jason flashing gang signs. :p

Beau being his sweet, calm self.

Cassie and Loulea time

Watching Wipeout, of course.
(What happened to Laura's head?! I'm so sorry Laura!!)

Molly supervising from the couch.

New Banner!

Why is it that I am often most creative very late in the day (or very early)?! Who knows, but I have always been that way. I finished my new banner last night at around 2:30am... it's not like I need more excuses to stay up all night, right?! Sigh. I had a lot of fun with this one though. I started with a picture of Laguna Beach that my dad took several years ago:

Then I added clouds (which was super fun) and text:

And then tweaked the colors a bit for the final version. Plus I spent forever adding brushes and fonts to my wanna-be photoshop program called GIMP. So fun!

Maybe one day I'll get a creative streak in the middle of the day like normal people. :)

If you're happy and you know it...

Smile!! Particularly in the most adorable way ever!


Eric was making her talk and smile while I snapped pictures. Typical mom!




That's all for now. One post can only handle so much cuteness!

Decorating for VBS!

Our small group has been helping with the decorations for VBS at church during the past few nights. It's called Sonworld this year, and has an amusement park theme. The girls have been painting a mural:

While the boys made and painted other props:

Audrey supervised from Daddy's arms
and remained mostly the center of attention:

And then took a break when the project was underway.
A girl's gotta rest, ya know.

The blogger is back!

Take a seat and grab a refreshing beverage... this may be a long one! It's been quite awhile since I've posted a List of Current Favorites ~ LoCF (tm). I am starting to feel a little like myself again and more like blogging than I have in the past weeks, so it's time for a new list. Not that I ever ceased being myself, I've just had an intense 3 months of adjusting to life with Audrey. Months filled with beautiful moments, unspeakable joy, exhausting learning experiences, moments of stress, and lots and lots of baby poop. Often those moments of stress were also moments involving massive amounts of baby poop. That said, if the past 3 months is any indication, life with children will always be an adjustment. However I finally feel like our lives are taking some sort of shape that once again makes sense. It seems that I am a creature of routine, eh? Audrey is sleeping through the night on a regular basis, which of course means Eric and I get more sleep as well. We're not as brand new to the baby scene, so we feel more comfortable judging what she needs when she cries. We're out and about often, bringing Audrey along to spend time with friends, help with church functions, run errands, etc. She is very popular with everyone, and loves to be held and talked to. She's the cutest little thing in the whole world, after all!

Without further adieu, here is a list of things that I LOVE right now.

1. God, Eric, and Audrey... the 3 things that will always and forever top my list (in that order).
2. Sleep. Ah, glorious sleep. This includes naps, night time sleep, and dozing off while watching tv, feeding Audrey, or doing anything else at all.
3. Cornbread. I don't know why. I made this cornbread with whole wheat flour the other day, and it was sooo good.
4. Luke 12:22-34. The Lord has been convicting me about worry. He has brought us through a lot in the past few months... emotionally, spiritually, financially. He has proven Himself over and over again as the Lord of our lives that is in control of every detail. The entire passage strikes my heart. This part gets me everytime: "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?" (verses 25-26). The wonderful thing is that when I bring my worry to the feet of Jesus and let it go, there is perfect, unshakable peace. Every time.
5. Wendy's Frosty Shakes. No, they aren't terribly good for you. They're just so yummy!
6. Walking with Audrey in the stroller. I couldn't wait to do this while I was pregnant, and it's proven to be my favorite activity of the day.
7. Home Improvement (the tv show). Ah, daytime television! Seriously though, they don't make tv like this anymore. There are at least some morals, values, and a fairly decent portrayal of the nuclear family. Other shows I sometimes watch during the day are Just Shoot Me with David Spade, which has no morals or values at all, but is highly entertaining! Yes Dear is a funny one too, and King of Queens which I love.
8. The lovely little town we live in, Westerville. I adore the way it feels like a small town, yet it is nestled in the midst of a vast metropolitan area. My Mom calls it "hometown America", and I think that is a great way to describe it. People are generally friendly, clean, and take care of their homes and property. Crime is low, and the schools are excellent. I LOVE to walk around town because it feels so cozy, comfortable, and beautiful. I snapped some quick pictures during one of my walks the other day, just to give you non-Ohioans a glimpse of where I live. This is the main "drag", formally known as Uptown Westerville. It is a beautiful street lined with original brick buildings. Click for big versions.

This is part of city hall.

This is one of Eric and my very favorite places to eat.
"Old Bag" is such a neat little place, and the food is fantastic.

This flower shop is next to Old Bag. I love this little place to pieces,
and I think it would be so romantic to work there.
They always have beautiful plants outside.

This old theater was converted into an amish furniture store. There are gorgeous pieces of furniture that they put out on the walkway, taunting passers by. Eric and I want to buy a few of the adirondack chairs for our patio someday.

The post office

I adore the flowers that line the streets
during the spring and summer!

The library, where I have spent a lot of time already. I can't wait to go there with Audrey when she is big enough to be interested in books!

There are other things around town that I want to take pictures of, so I will do so and post them soon. Hence why these are only a quick glimpse. More to come! :)