You know you're a law nerd when...

As we've mentioned multiple times, Gavin is studying for the Texas Bar right now. He takes it THIS TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY! One part of me thinks, "I can't believe it's already here!" but the other part (like...99%) thinks, "HALLELUJAH!" I can't wait to have him back again.

Adventures of Emery

I can only imagine what the world looks like from Emery's perspective: everything so big with nooks and crannies all over just begging to be explored, and it apparently looks rather appetizing too as she puts anything she touches in her mouth. The other day I heard her grunting and sighing and moving around and I go over to find that she has made it into the metal jungle that is our table and chairs. And she was stuck. But only for a minute or two, then she wriggled and wiggled her way out. 

Now that she is crawling it's funny to see the places she finds her way in to. She's a busy little girl, but still loves to cuddle and be held. 

Growing love

I love being a stay at home mom. It's so fun to teach Emery new things and watch her learn things on her own. But since I only have one child, and before last week she wasn't crawling so I didn't have to chase her around, I found myself looking for things to do. I've also been wanting to learn how to garden, so I decided to join a local community garden. It's run by a Christian church near us and all the produce goes to a food pantry. I take Emery a few times a week and it has been the perfect activity for me. It gets us outside, I'm learning about gardening in Texas, I get a little bit of exercise, and I feel like in a very small way I'm doing some good in the world.

One day I went with another gardener to drop off the vegetables we harvested and I got to see the food bank it all gets donated to. It warmed my heart to see that place and meet some of the volunteers who give hours and hours of their time to help those in need. There were shelves and shelves full of food and grocery bags piled high with names of those receiving the help. It was an inspiring trip for me. Sometimes as I check the news or read political debates I get a little down because it seems like everybody is hating on something/one. Not just disagreeing, which is important for new ideas and growth, but EVERYBODY BE HATIN'. That's what it feels like some days and it makes me sad. That trip was a great reminder that there are so many people and programs out there, serving selflessly, and spreading love. And as we all know:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of.

Here's a picture of the garden. In the picture you can see 4 raised beds, there are actually 8 with 4 more behind these ones pictured. LOTS of weeding.

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Little Helper

You can tell it's laundry day because 1) [obviously] Emery's in a laundry basket and 2) She's not wearing any clothes because nothing was clean (gotta love laundry day!). We have a great system, her and I. I fold, she unfolds and sucks on them, then I fold them again. Takes twice as long, but she's so cute it's worth it. Look at those little curls above her ears! Seriously adorable!

Crawling

Watch out world, Emery is on the move. Not just her "roll roll wiggle wiggle turn roll wiggle" mode of transportation, but a full fledged crawl. Also, my carpet is much cleaner thanks to her ability to find every little speck of anything anywhere and her love of eating said specks.

4th of July

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, and if you had spent one with my extended family I'm sure it would be your favorite too. I'll give you a glimpse of the amazingness that is a Cornwall 4th of July Celebration:

 Everyone on my mom's side gathers at my grandparents house, and with my mom having eight kids in her family there are a lot of us! It starts with a flag raising ceremony by the scouts in our family, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and an opening prayer. Then there's a little devotional service with stories or scriptures about our freedom and then my Grandma and Grandpa usually say a few words. It's good to start the day off right, thinking about all those who served and sacrificed (and still are!) for the blessings we enjoy every day. Then the partying starts...and goes all day! My grandparents live in a small town and there is a great parade every year that still throws candy. I was horrified when I went to a parade a few years ago and NO ONE THREW CANDY. What kind of parade is that?! For the rest of the day there are mounds of salt water taffy and tootsie rolls all over the place.

 Following the parade there is a feast of fried chicken, potato salad, jello salad, watermelon, baked beans, a million desserts, and the BEST THING of all is the HOME-MADE ROOT BEER. If you've never had home-made root beer, put it on your bucket list because life is not complete until you've tried it. When I was younger my cousins and I would drink so much of that stuff it probably replaced the blood in our veins by the end of the day. Delicious.

 Games and relaxing and sometimes a huge slip'n'slide usually follow. And when it gets dark, a family firework show. It is one of the best days of the year. Freedom, faith, family, and food. Nothing better than that.

Fire ants

Everyone warned me about the fire ants here in Texas, now I know why. I was pulling weeds in a garden I work in and i was feeling pretty good about myself as I pulled out this huge weed. What I didn't see was the ERUPTION of ants who were angry their home was just destroyed, but I felt them a few seconds later as they started attacking my wrists, right above my gloves. They are just teeny tiny little ants but man do their bites pack a punch! I scrambled to get them off but not before I got about 10 bites on my left arm and 2 or 3 on my right. That was on Thursday and they are still all blistered up and itch a lot. I consider this a crucial initiation step on my journey to become a Texan. And so, I will wear my blisters with pride...and probably avoid ants at all costs from here on out. Those suckers are mean!