Before and After

We've been working on our house since the beginning of June and I have a couple of photos to share. We're not done but are at least moved in. Here are a few before and after kitchen shots:

This is the sink our family helped us buy in Italy. It's similar to the ones that they had in their homes and was quite a process getting over here. I love it and am flooded with good memories when I see it.The other areas that have seen a lot of work are the two bathrooms and the main living area. I'll post photos of those once I've taken them.

Dressed Up

Thank you Aunt Sarah and Aunt Rosella for my snazzy sweater vest and white button down shirt.

Cork Floors + Black Cubes + A Fun Dad = Giggles

This was taken the first night we spent in our new place. I'm posting this especially for you, Mom. I thought you'd like to see how much we are appreciating the black cubes.

The Birth of Gratitude

This morning Wyatt and I went to the church we've been attending in San Luis Obispo, First Presbyterian. While my body was begging me to stay home and rest, my heart knew that it needed worship. The pastor spoke true words about thankfulness and gratitude while my eyes welled up with tears and I experienced the beauty of the Holy Spirit.


I've been finding it difficult to be grateful. What tends to happen in a sadly cyclical nature, I complain about something, feel guilty about complaining and then wind up sitting with that guilt just long enough to muster up a bit of gratitude, only to go right back to complaining. I don't tend to complain out loud as much as I do in my head and heart. Unfortunately silent complaints still wreak havoc and impair gratitude.


The pastor shared a quote, I believe from author Eugene Peterson, that went something like this, "Gratitude is born when we mediate on God's grace and mercy." Yes, how true. God's grace and mercy are the antidote to my complaint/guilt/hint of gratitude/complaint cycle. Why is it so challenging to meditate on his grace and mercy? And why is it, even though God is so big and his grace and mercy so pervasive in my life and the world around me, that I choose to distract myself with other things and dwell on what isn't as it should be rather than what is? That's what I've been pondering this afternoon.


I have lots of excuses for my distraction and keen ability to complain. It's the energy required these days to be Wyatt's mom. It's the disappointing changes at work. It's the ways in which my body is in pain each day. It's missing my husband while he kindly and unselfishly works on our new home day and night. There's always something, isn't there?


I don't think that God's grace and mercy are counterpoints to these things, rather it's an in/through/because of kind of thing. I deeply desire to know and experience God through life as it is because I believe that he's there, in all of it, waiting for me to draw near to him, to redeem all things for his purposes and to reflect himself in and through me.

So, what if God's grace gives me joy and strength through Wyatt's never-ending energy and zest for life? What if I feel God's mercy through the change in my health care coverage, trusting that he will provide for my every need? What if I trust that God's grace will be sufficient, as it's been each and every day for the past 16 years, to sustain me through the highs and lows of Behcet's? What if I see the grace of God in his provision of our new home where we'll raise Wyatt and enjoy community?

And gratitude is born. In the dwelling, the meditating, the mind that so quickly swerves from gratitude to criticism. I like the idea of gratitude being born, starting as something small but growing naturally as we feed and nurture it. And, let's hope gratitude is the only thing I'm giving birth to anytime in the near future.

Bookworm Phase

Wyatt loves books and I love that he loves books. This love gets us through cranky late afternoons, trips to the supermarket and my exhaustion at the end of the day. These days it seems to be the only time he's content being still.He's started liking to read alone in his crib in the morning before he gets his day started. When I come in to get him, he reaches for his books and waves me away, letting me know he's not quite ready to get out of bed yet. I can relate. So I scoop up a few books, put them in his crib and turn on the light. He flips through them methodically and pretends to read them. Sometimes I stay in there and watch him but sometimes I tinker around in the kitchen listening to him babbling from the next room. This morning he read for a good 30 minutes. I think tomorrow I'm going to bring in a book of my own and enjoy a little morning reading.

You never know how long a new phase like this will last but it sure beats the screaming-until-I-pick-him-up phase.

Poisonous Plants for Children

This afternoon as Wyatt and I were playing a simple game of peekaboo, I noticed the beautiful colors of the jade plant and grabbed the camera. Right before I took the picture, Wyatt decided to take a huge bite of jade.

Of course I googled "poisonous plants for children" and thankfully jade is not on the list. Shortly thereafter, Wyatt decided to eat an entire handful of rocks from a pile near our house. Usually a quick finger sweep does the trick but now he's started clenching his jaw, looking over his shoulder and running away from me after he eats something outside. The wise words of his pediatrician continue ringing in my ear, "This year is all about safety."

Mmmmmm...

It seems I have quite a few shots of food we enjoyed in Italy and I'd like to share them. I'm still dreaming of the best pesto ever and the perfect wine from the barrel.

Here are some of the treats that were shared with us during our time with our family. First, the individual pizzas. Here's Lino kneading the dough that Theresa made that morning.

Here are the pizzas right before hitting the oven.

This is where the magic happens.

And, finally. the best pizza ever. He used three cheeses, fresh tomato sauce, homemade pancetta and argula from the garden. Jenni, I think you would approve of the thin crust.
Here's a shot of the meats curing in a room below one of their homes in town. Thankfully, I did not see this room in person and only saw the photo that Garett took upon our return.
And later, the coldcuts on our plate during the antipasto course.

The Ligurian region is known for their pesto and Lisetta's pesto is the best. She claims the key is to only use one small clove of garlic and barely any olive oil. It also helps that the most fragrant basil is grown in this region.

Norina (on the right) is affectionately called Queen of the Mushrooms, as she has several secret spots where she finds amazing mushrooms. That morning, Maria (in the middle) tricked her into thinking that she'd found this huge mushroom but she'd actually picked it up at the grocery store. Norina was in awe until she realized she was being tricked.

They sliced up and fried the mushroom. Yum.
I've been dreaming of Lino's cappuccino since our visit five years ago. He kindly made me one each morning and also shared his espresso with us after each and every meal.
In addition to the espresso, each meal concluded with some alcohol to "settle our stomach".
They took us to a restaurant in nearby Recco known for focaccia with fromaggio.

Wyatt loved it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take this photo in time to capture the tasty gelato on the top of these cones. My favorite flavor was pistachio and Garett's was straciatella (chocolate chip).

Finally, at the villa where we stayed in Levanto I discovered a very happy kumquat tree. When we checked out, I picked a big bag and saved them for the airplane ride home. Kumquats are my favorite fruit so it was the perfect ending to the trip.

You know it's been awhile since you've blogged when...

...it takes three tries to remember your correct user name and password.

Here are a couple photos from our recent trip to Italy. Garett's grandfather was born in the small mountain town of Cassingheno about an hour outside Genova. This is a picture of his second cousins Lisetta and Norina, their husbands Rino and Lino and mother Theresa, and neighbor (who also lives in LA half of the year and was a very helpful translator) Maria. They have this amazing room below their home called a taverna where they host large family meals usually on Saturdays and Sundays. The wine abounds and the large wood fired pizza oven in the corner delivered individual pizzas on our last day together. Wyatt's backpack-turned-high chair got us through the deliciously long and leisurely meals.

Lisetta and Wyatt shared a particular bond. It was as if they were old friends when they first met.

Wyatt's first taste of fresh lemon gelato. You'd think he didn't like it but he ate nearly an entire bowl making this face after every bite.We went to our favorite little beach town, Levanto. The Hsiehs told us about it several years ago and we can't visit Italy without spending at least three days there. This was a typical shot from the days where we traveled by train.
Levanto has a large sandy beach where we spent most of our time. The water was warm and the sea still so it made for easy swimming.
Gratuitous family shot during our best non-family prepared meal.
I'll end with a product endorsement. The travel bed that Wyatt is playing in made our trip pleasant. He slept in it on the airplane in the space below our feet in our bulkhead seats and slept in it on the train while we traveled when he was tired. He slept in it every night during our stay and that allowed us to sleep well and enjoy the days. I got it from Amazon but here's a link to the manufacturer's website: http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?p=4,5 When packed up, it fit snugly in my carry on suitcase. Seriously the most worthwhile $75 we spent on the trip.

Sugar High

We ate dinner last night at Mama's Meatballs to celebrate Wyatt's birthday. Wyatt was treated to a Torta Golosa, a chocolate sponge cake filled with peaches, yogurt, ricotta cheese and whipped cream. He wasn't too sure about it at first but it may have been the surprise of the flame on top.

He knew he'd tasted love after his first bite of freshly whipped cream.
And there was no turning back.

He didn't finish off the cake but my hunch is that he would have if we'd given him the opportunity.

Before and After

Wyatt will be turning one tomorrow and that seemed like a good reason for his first haircut. Thanks to Supercuts, we now know he cleans up real nice. Here's a shaggy before shot:And here are a couple of after shots:
In case you're curious, his pajamas read "I Heart My World" but the image of the globe usually gets lost under his belly when seated.
For those of you wondering if your birthday party invitation got lost in the mail, don't worry, it didn't. We're simply having a little gathering on Saturday with our parents and siblings and my goal is take at least one picture.

I'm grateful that Wyatt is finally turning one. I knew this day would come but six months ago it felt like an eternity away. I'm not one of those it-pains-me-to-put-away-tiny-clothes/where-has-the-time-gone kind of moms (at least not yet). Today I am simply glad we've all made it through this first year of his life and beginning to appreciate the fact that life does not operate like my dvr and allow me to fast forward the utterly mundane moments or rewind to relive the beautiful parts.