I Just Have to Say....

...how hot is my husband?!?

Seriously?!

Love him....especially when he has 2 days off in a row!

Aubrey's pretty darn cute too.

More pictures to come from his time off...but you'll have to be patient, I've got me some editing to do....

Scenes From A Farmer's Market....

While in Canada, I went to a local farmer's market and though it was nothing to really write home about (read: super small, like 10 booths small), it still had some seriously beautiful flowers and produce!

The tomatoes were gorgeous....and expensive. How is it possible that a tomato could cost so much??

And the honey, ooooh the honey! I had NO clue there were different types of honey?!? I walked away with a jar of this...

and let me tell you, it actually has a blackberry taste to it...who knew?? Apparently the bees get their nectar mainly from blackberry bushes...I may or may not have had an in depth discussion with the seller about her honey.

I love me some funkily shaped pumpkins...gourds...whatever these were called.

mmmmm bread.

It helped that we had these two beautiful girls to watch dance, wander, and run around as well.

I mean, how cute are they?!? They being Aubrey and my sister Astrid's girl, Aniya.

Dancing away and making some Oma's fall in love with them :) And then they begged for more money to put in the case...

Seriously?!? SO CUTE!

Linking up with....

Made Me Laugh Today....

A Mini Craft Session...

I have been working on this Fall-esque tree (inspiration from Cluck Cluck Sew ) to go in a frame in my bedroom...which still looks the same as the day we moved into this place.   

Seriously, my room is sad. Just a mish-mash of all the stuff and furniture that didn't work anywhere else in the house. It's time to do something about it.

Anyway, I was working on mine and my Mini-Me was right beside me chattering my ear off and decided she wanted to make one too. So instead of my usual, "wait Aubrey, maybe we'll do it later" annnnnd then forget and never do it, I actually stopped what I was making and made one with her.

Stopping what I'm doing mid-project is NOT a gift of mine. I get something in my head and barrel forward, poor Aubrey.

Anyway, this is what we came up with from my scraps and I love it!

I did another thing that I normally never do, let her choose all the stuff and place it....and I didn't even move anything around (as you can tell by the same fabrics being beside each other!), it was like I wasn't even me! But it turned out so amazing and she was SO proud of it and herself :)

I was going to frame it, but decided to leave it as is and just make it a little wall hanging in her room.

I'm lovin' me those frayed edges too! I mean, how cute are they?! 

Annnnd here's my shameful fabric purchase I made the other day. In my defence, it's Anna Maria Horner....Anna Maria Horner for goodness sakes! Look at that lovely Innocent Crush fabric (which, oddly enough, I've been crushing on for quite some time--hahaha), sooooooo beautiful....AND 25% off! Now, if I can just get the gumption to cut into it...

Linking up here....

Aubrey And The Vacuum.

So I was about to take some pictures of my vacuum....yes, I know. But I REALLY love my vacuum and I wanted to share that love with you. 

Anyway, some how Aubrey snuck into the first shot and then decided that it was a photo shoot she wanted to be a part of.

Is she lifting it? Is She hugging it? I'm lost.

And then, as things usually do with Aubrey, it took a turn for the weird.

Jazz hands? ...segueing into.... 

Spice Girl?

I'm lost.

I think she might be too.

When in doubt, the Zach and Jen classic of "scream facing" for the camera.

After that, the Dyson looked a little lame and lonely. 

It's the DC33 by the way...you should get one. It will change your life... and perhaps your daughter too.

On My Mind....

I've been struggling, lately, with what my purpose in life is, I guess I'm kinda wondering what I was created for. My first answer was/is always a wife and mom. But when the day to day gets to me, I tend to think that it can't be enough and start to feel there must be something else.
I try and change my hobbies into what my purpose is, I must be here to sew, take pictures, etc.
I had a chat with someone recently who put things into perspective for me a little. I call her my "almost friend" (go ahead and laugh) because I've only met her once and chatted on the phone with her a few times since. I feel like we could be friends eventually, but I'm not about to throw myself at her and call her my bff, know what I'm saying?! Also, I have no friends here in Augusta yet (sad I know) and when you speak to another adult in person you automatically could think they're your BEST friend...so give me a break, I'm couped up with a three year old all day!
ANYWAY, my "almost friend" is in the same situation as me...almost creepily so; little kids at home, stay at home mom, husband is a surgical resident, said husband is totally into paper writing and research(just like mine) and she's a Christian.
She said that just as her husband was called to be a surgeon, she was called to be his wife.

{picture by Amy Rehbein Photography}

And that sentence has been looping in my head ever since.
I guess that's how I feel about Zach, and why I have made all the "sacrifices" (I put that in quotes because I don't really see them as such, but others might) I have for him.
I'm called to be Zach's wife. Be his helper and do the mundane daily tasks so he doesn't have to. Pray for him while he's at work, and try and be a positive person when he comes home from a 15 hour day....and his 21st day working...IN A ROW (no joke, he's in a stretch right now of 26 days straight with no days off). And being positive and happy is hard after he's been gone so long and so often, let me tell you!
But now-a-days it's not PC to say that your purpose on earth is to be a helper to your husband. You get strange looks and many shakes of the head.
I often hear, "how do you do it?!?" (I am NOT trying to toot my own horn here) and the answer is usually, I just do. But there is more to it than that.
I do it with God's help.
God's the reason I can do it, not to mention the fact that Zach is an amazing guy and is super grateful for everything I do in a day...even if it ends up being nothing. Having a husband who is so supportive of his wife staying home and loves that I take care of Aubrey and the household things, makes a world of difference. AND it makes me want to do more for him. He's an amazing father and husband and that makes it all worth while...even when he's been gone for days on end!

 So, that's what's been on my mind lately. And to be honest? Once I started to think that way, the daily tasks that usually make me want to scream, have become a little easier. And the smile on my face is not forced. With God's help I'll make it through the rest of the 4 and a half years of residency and many years of working to come....and so will Zach ;)

How's This For Random?!

*It's cold here people! Like really cold, get out the sweaters and scarves cold! Who knew this could happen in Georgia?!? Certainly not me.

*I'm wearing a zip-up hoodie....I'm in my happy place:)

*I have a big family, see...

*That's right, immediate family.

*It. Gets. Loud. at a family gathering.

*Might be the fact that the kids out-number the adults....yup, I bet that's it...although, we are not the quietest bunch of adults out there....

*When we get together there is a lot of this going on....

Mass chaos.

*and we eat a lot of this....

*I would like to add that I took this picture after a bunch of people had already taken some steak...and we actually, if memory serves, ran out of meat on this occasion. 

*we Kliewer's love us some meat. 

*One of my sister-in-law's doesn't eat meat. Seriously. I bet she goes home at night and cries over our crazy consumption of meat....probably not. She's used to us by now.

*Moving on from all things meat, I'm about 20-ish weeks along now

*I have yet to find a doctor here in Augusta, probably should get on that one.

*The baby is kicking up a freaking storm! LOVE this part(no, that was not sarcasm, I really do love it. Figured I'd clarify because I tend to err on the side of sarcasm)

*Aubrey is going through cousin withdrawal. Who can blame her?! She had someone to play with at ALL times in Canada and now, just me. Poor thing.

*Did I mention that I was cold and wearing a hoodie?!? Because I am :)

A Fall Montage....

I was planning on blogging some more about Canada today, seeing as to how I have a schwack-load of pictures to post. But when I went into my iPhoto, I spotted a Fall shot and I was thrown into a complete Fall-longing tailspin, it's not even funny. 

I miss the North East for many reasons, but the seasons are right up there on my list...and Fall in particular. 

Zach and I have always been Fall buffs, but he more so than me. Over the years of being together his obsession has rubbed off on me and I'm happy to say my love for it now rivals his....and yes, this is something I'm sadly very proud of :)

I could extol the virtues of this blessed season for many many blog posts, but I will save you that boredom and just get to the pictures. 

But I just have to say one thing....

I LOVE FALL!!!!!! 

So here you go, my memory lane of Fall shots...

you're welcome.

{Photo credit for all the family shots (the last 6) goes to Amy Rehbein Photography. Check her out, she's pretty dang amazing! The rest of the pictures are taken by moi in Central Park, NY, Boston, MA and Carlisle, England}