Their story is our story

October 3, 2016October 2, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

There are approximately 65 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR) and approximately 500,000 homeless people in the US. I love this quote: “This moment does not define them, but our response will help define us.” Thank you for your support for ‘Buy 1, give 1‘! I’ve been knitting like crazy and so appreciative of the people who have helped me with this project. It’s given me even more time to reflect on the blessed state in which we live and that the story of refugees and homeless in our country is also our story.

their-story refugees

chunky hand knit scarf maroon charity

Utah trip

September 21, 2016September 20, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

Even though we only moved to Texas 4 months ago, it was so nice to take a trip up to Utah and see family, friends, the beautiful mountains, our old neighborhood and restaurants we loved when we lived there. Dave’s parents returned from their mission (LDS) in South America AND Soup and Loryn got married – needless to say it was an awesome weekend! The kids were great little travelers, the key to our success was new toys (Hot Wheels cars) and snacks. It also helped that our flight on the way back to TX (which departed at 8 pm, the kids’ bedtime) had TV screens. Brent fell asleep shortly after take off and Tessa stayed wide awake the whole 3 hours watching shows!

Ruth’s Diner ^ one of our Utah favorites up Emmigration Canyon. We also enjoyed Bruges, Penny Annes, Jamba Juice, Moochies, and Carl’s Cafe

“Mom, take a picture of my cars”^

Waffles and frites with the LeSueurs ^

At the SLC airport to greet Dave’s missionary parents ^

Awesome wedding at Log Haven up Millcreek Canyon. The scenery was picture perfect and the company couldn’t have been better. I love the group of guys Dave was friends with in high school and the fact that they’re all still friends.

and more cars ^ 🙂

fullsizerender_5

Carl’s Cafe with Hobo ^

On the airport shuttle after landing back in TX around midnight. For a girl who goes to bed at 8 pm, she sure was a night owl!

Hand-knit scarf: Buy 1, give 1

September 19, 2016January 17, 2017 ~ jen ~ 13 Comments

In 2009 we lived in DC, Salt Lake City and Edinburgh, Scotland – three amazing cities and also three cities that can get pretty cold. After seeing so many homeless people in the literal freezing cold, I decided I wanted to teach myself to knit with the goal of knitting scarves for those less fortunate in the winter. I’ve been doing this project since then and have found knitting relaxing, a way to boost my creativity and a way to help others. I realize knitting scarves isn’t a solution to homelessness but I feel it’s a small thing I can do to help someone.

I’ve lost count how many scarves I’ve completed to date, especially with breaks during the times when Brent and Tessa were born, but I would estimate around 45 scarves. I am now selling my hand-knit scarves with the promise of a buy one scarf and another one will be knit and donated to homeless or refugee shelter. You can buy one here through Etsy or contact me! Custom colors available. This will be an annual project from mid September to mid November every year. Thank you for your support!

chunky hand knit scarf

chunky hand knit infinity scarf buy 1 give 1 charity

buy 1 give 1 hand knit infinity scarf charity

Project update with Refugee Services of Texas HERE!

Fiesta Friday: things to celebrate and links I love

September 16, 2016September 11, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

I basically want to visit every country in the world and Iceland has been on my Top 3 list for a while. I’ve lived vicariously through other’s travels and especially Lauren and her cute family. Her photos and travel logs are amazing!

We’re in Utah right now for Dave’s parents missionary homecoming and a good friends wedding! Can’t wait to catch up with friends and family!

Brent started soccer last week! Like most kids his age, he didn’t really get the game yet but it was so fun to watch him! I hope he shares my love for the beautiful game!

Dessert Night

August 31, 2016September 5, 2016 ~ jen ~ 3 Comments

We’ve moved around quite a bit (ok, 10 times in 10 years of marriage!) and we recently started a new tradition we do shortly after moving in; it’s a fun way to make instant friends: dessert night!

We usually invite 5-10 families/couples from church and sometimes it’s just people we’ve only seen at church and have never met or have briefly talked to. It’s a great way to enjoy each other’s company, meet new people, and have delicious desserts. Ours are super casual on a Sunday night after dinner time. We usually make 4-5 desserts.

This last dessert night we hosted we made raspberry lemonade tarts, symphony brownies, lemon white chocolate chip cookies, and peach cobbler (with Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream).

FullSizeRender (8)

Water Days

August 15, 2016August 15, 2016 ~ jen ~ 13 Comments

One of the many things I love about Austin is there are SO many parks, lakes, covered playgrounds, community pools and splash pads. We’ve gone to a splash or pool at least once or twice a week this summer.

DSC_1664 (2)

Two of my suits and all of my cover ups are from Old Navy, as are Brent’s swim shorts and their flip flops (which $2 price you can’t beat!) I recently got this blue ruffle one from DownEast. FullSizeRender (7)

downeast blue ruffle modest swim suit

Our water day essentials are sunscreen (lotion and spray), towels, water toys (like buckets) and snacks. Having 2 toddlers has taught me never leave the house without snacks!

One of the best resources I’ve found since moving to Texas is Free Fun in Austin where I found out about some of these splash pads.

Linking up today with Kiana, Madeline and these lovely bloggers for Mommy Style Monday:

Kiana at Glitter & Donuts

Madeline at CaseyLand

Erica at Good Job Momma

Bekah at These Are The Days

Beverly at What a Day

Kristen at Eat Play and Go

Monica at It’s All About

Jessica at Mason Jars and Lemon Bars

Get to know me

July 27, 2016July 26, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

Thought I’d introduce myself a little more with this random questionnaire post about me! Thanks for following along 🙂

What was favorite subject in school?: History, English, Anatomy
What is your favorite drink?: Water! I rarely drink anything else and never soda.
What is your favorite food?: Tacos, pizza and breakfast foods (like French toast)
What is the last thing you bought?: Clogs (from Lucy and Lyla I found through Groopdealz)
Do you have any pets?: Yes, a Welsh Corgi named Bruce.
Favorite Holiday?: Christmas
Are you married?: Yes, just celebrated our 10 year anniversary!
Have you ever been out of the country, if so how many times?: 10 times – Mexico, Guatemala, China, Scotland, England, Ireland, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay
Do you speak any other language?: Spanish, I learned it when I lived in Guatemala as a missionary for the LDS church.
How many siblings do you have?: 2 sisters and a brother
What are your favorite shops?: H&M, Old Navy, Anthropologie, Nordstrom
How tall are you?: 5’3″
Can you cook?: I didn’t grow up cooking but I’ve learned a lot and can cook pretty well.
If you won the lottery, what would you do with the winnings?: pay bills, landscape our backyard, travel the world
One of your current goals?: Finish cleaning, organizing and painting our house, reviving the grass in our backyard

Motherhood Around the World series summary

July 25, 2016July 23, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

One of my favorite blogs I’ve been reading for years started another segment of their series “Motherhood Around the World” where they interview American moms living abroad and discuss surprising and unique aspects of raising kids in various cultures. It’s been so fascinating to read about different parenting styles, giving birth in a country one didn’t grow up in, and of course seeing the beautiful landscapes around the world.

In Sweden (and other countries), babies will often nap outside tucked in their strollers – that’s one huge difference than in the US! Child Protective Service would be called before anyone could think twice! 😉 Some countries like Germany have paid maternity leave up to 12 months!

Some of the countries featured that I found particularly interesting were: Iceland, Thailand, Kenya, and Mexico. While I’ve lived abroad twice (in Guatemala and Scotland), both were before we had kids and would’ve been very different experiences. We’ve always been open to moving abroad with our kids and this series has given me an interesting and real insight to what it might be like.

Check out the amazing outdoor community pool in Iceland:

pool

this cute family in Thailand:

thailand

or read the series here on A Cup of Jo!

Corgis

July 13, 2016July 16, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

We have a sweet little corgi named Bruce who is 5 years old who has been a fun part of our family and so great with our 2 little kids.

He was a surprise birthday present from my husband! He was born on a small farm (owned by a breeder) in Virginia so we got him when he was just a 6 week old puppy. I’d always wanted a dog growing up and couldn’t love him any more!

welsh corgi puppy bruce the day we brought him home to our apartment in Virginia ^ and Bruce today:

corgi

Here are a few random facts about Corgis:

Corgis have the best smiles

Corgis are the preferred pet of the Queen

Corgis shed a ton, like all year around! We read somewhere online that corgis don’t shed – lesson learned: don’t trust everything you read on the Internet ha ha!

Corgis have natural herding instincts. They’re commonly used to herd animals like sheep. When Bruce was a puppy he would try and ‘herd’ us when we took him for walks!

Corgis come in 2 general colors: tri color (usually with black and white) and red (sable).

Corgis love to play! We were part of a corgi meet up group in Salt Lake City and the corgis get crazy when they’re together!

bruce041

How to have a happy marriage

June 24, 2016July 29, 2016 ~ jen ~ Leave a comment

Today, my husband and I celebrate TEN years of marriage! I can’t hardly believe it, time sure has flown. We’ve had so many adventures together – 10 moves, 7 foreign countries visited, 1 dog, 2 kids, and 15 ballparks visited!

While we’re far from perfect and life is all about progress and becoming, I wanted to share a few things we’ve learned on having a happy marriage.

-Be the first to apologize and forgive. Don’t hold grudges or let grudges fester against your spouse, nothing good can come from it. Compromise.

-Give 100%, not just 50% even though you’re a partnership.

-Invest time in you as a couple – time with no distractions.

-Share the work load, work side by side and learn together.

-Find things you can do together – hobbies, exercising, vacations.

I am in no means perfect or even good at most of these but I know our efforts to create and maintain a strong marriage will pay off! I’ve loved the last 10 years travelling with Dave and becoming parents together.

Any good marriage or relationship tips?