"Someday" by Alison Mcghee

If I had a list or a "Book of the Week" (maybe this will be my start), this is would definitely be the one that I would choose. "Someday" was our birthday gift to my little niece, M, who recently turned one. Now that I have a kiddo, I love looking in the children's book section on amazon.com. Sigh. So many books. So little time. :)

This is a "circle of life" book that focuses on a mother's relationship with her daughter. I bought it before fully reading it... and then couldn't finish it, because I was nearly in tears. This sweet book is simple in its writings - only a sentence on each page, and a small photo, but its simplicity is what won me over. Some lines from the book are "One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one", "Someday you will swing high - so high, higher than you ever dared to swing", and "Someday I will stand on this porch and watch your arms waving to me until I can no longer see you."

Just a sweet book about the mother/daughter relationship, and the memories and dreams that develop.

This is freshly squeezed juice from my new juicer. :) I think that I have fallen in love with this process.

Fave Photo

This is a great photo, yes? This was taken on Thanksgiving - E hadn't seen Great Grandpa in months (side note: she seemed to like his accent - every time he spoke, she looked right at him). I will proudly say that I took this picture, but will admit that L doctored it up. :) After being this pleased with how this photo turned out, there's a stack more I want L to play with. Now if only he had the time before Christmas to get it done...

Pomegranates!!!

They're beautiful (and so good for you too)! I just couldn't resist them when I went to the market recently. It's a newly acquired taste that has just developed, but now I've been scouring all things pomegranate. I'm thinking about making some fresh juice for e, and then doing some marinades for chicken.

But I found this recipes spice pomegranate apple cider that sounds delish!

6 cups of apple cider
6 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
1 - 1/5 cups of fresh pomegranate juice

Heat apple cider, cloves and cinnamon until juice reaches a simmer; remove from heat. Let steep, covered for one hour. Stir in pomegranate juice. For each serving, heat 3/4 cup mixture (do not boil).

Yum yum!!!

Yesterday we took our little tyke outside, for the first "big" snowstorm in December. In fact, it was heavy enough to close most of the northern Michigan schools. Anyway, we went outside - we bundled her up in her snow pants, shoes, hat, coat and sat her in the snow. This was the result. :)

Well today is a big day for me. Through the 26 Decembers that I've been on the earth, this is the first time I will ever experience Christmas with a real tree. Yay!! I've already heard the "What? Really?" from a million people, but it's true. My parents had five children, so paying for a tree each year and dealing with pine needles wasn't high on the priority list. And really, I'd probably be the same way.

We probably would have had a real tree before this point in our married lives, had we not lived downstate. Seriously, who wants to pay $75 for a tree?!! I just couldn't do it - especially since we're never home for the holidays.

So this year was different. We're in a cheaper area (pine tree speaking), we have a baby, and I'm home to take care of pesty pine needles. L was all for it, so we decided that this would be the year.

We found a beautiful tree, and L even agreed on buying a tree skirt and fun ribbon to put on the tree. It turned out to be better than I could have imagined it... and better yet, e hasn't shown a bit of interest in it since she pricked her fingers (and face) a few times.

Soooo.... though it's not fancy, I love it, and thought I'd share the beauty with you. :)