No News Is Good News

This has been a weird month. The bad has been really, really bad - BUT - the good has been really, REALLY good!

The bad: we've all been taking turns being sick. No one has escaped, and it seems like just when one bug ends and we all breathe a sigh of relief and say "whew, we survived," not a moment later someone is down with a new bug. Hi January - why you so mean to us? 

The good: January has been a good month in learning discipline, tackling bad habits and learning new things. I think it's more than just the full-steam-ahead excitement of following new resolutions - I can see in Matt and myself a strong desire to really be committed to health in 2015 - physically, spiritually and mentally. I think we're off to a good start. This month I've hit my yoga mat at home at least 3-4 times a week. I've learned that waiting for Olive in the school parking lot is the ideal, reliable quiet time I need to study the Bible on a regular basis (seriously, this has been a life changer for me.) And through it all I've been able to totally wean myself off a medication I had been taking for PPD that is really hard to wean off of - a HUGE answer to prayer. All in all, sickness and cabin fever be darned, I'd have to say January has been a good month...

...But it's also been a pretty uninspiring month. Blogging has fallen to the wayside in the midst of all this, and I'm missing it. Some inspiration is heading my way soon, however - did you catch the clue in the picture above? 

Next week I'm leaving the U.S. for the first time in my life! Matt is taking me with him on a work trip to London and we're taking an extra couple of days to go grab a quick peek of Paris. I'm still in shock that this is actually happening and something I get to do in this season of life. I'm having a bit of a hard time wrapping my brain around it. I'm planning on documenting the heck out of the whole trip, and you can count on me to over-share all of it when I get back!

Until then, you can find me trying to read alllll the Rick Steves' guides while simultaneously watching You Tube videos on how to pack for 10 days in a carry on bag and not look like an American tourist in Europe. ;)

Ice Ice Baby

Living on the west shoreline of Lake Michigan unfortunately means brutal winters. A typical snowstorm up here (when combined with our plentiful lake effect snow) can easily last days. Last week we had a very big storm roll in, and got loads of snow, wind and freezing temps. Just in time for Holland's annual ice carving competition!

It's so cool (har har) to see these guys work their magic on these huge blocks of ice. I have no idea how they manage to put so much intricate detail into their sculptures using saws and torches. The finished products are always amazing!

The ice carving competition is just one of the creative ways Hollanders have made these hard winters actually fun. Not an easy job, but they do it well!

Makers Market (Part One)

I am lucky to have two very creative, talented sisters. I'm super lucky that one of them lives just a couple of blocks from me! Grace is a potter and ceramic artist. She's a fine arts graduate from WVU and even had the opportunity to study ceramics in China for a semester. I know I'm biased, but I think no one can deny after seeing her work that this girl has a huge talent. I love that Grace channels her sweet, feminine personality into the clay and turns out the sweetest, prettiest pottery. She was invited to participate in a Makers Market a couple of weeks ago, and I imposed myself on her to "help" (really, I just wanted to be part of the excitement and check out all the hipster artists *wink.*) It was so much fun! And I could not have been more proud of Grace. She works so hard and pours all of herself into her art. 

^ Grace and her close friend / housemate, Alyssa. ^

^ The market took place at Coppercraft Distillery - the towering barrels were quite a sight! ^

^ Another perk of "helping" - I got a free fancy, holiday cocktail. My first buttered rum - it sounds way more delicious than it actually is, unfortunately. That was a little disappointing. ^ 

Picking Our Tree

We went back to the same tree lot that we loved so much last year - and loved it just as much this year! Nicest folks ever - they go out of their way to make sure you're getting a tree you love, and insist on getting a family picture with your tree on the lot...which was great after we got a series of "fails" - it must have been too cold for small Freys to feel cooperative!

Outtakes, for your entertainment:

Oh boy.

Alien Planet

Nothing better than waking up on a Saturday to blue skies and sunshine. It called for the first iced coffees of the year (yeah, it's still only 20-something outside,) and a drive up to Grand Haven to check out the frozen lakeshore.

With all the polar vortexes, arctic blasts and what have you this winter, Lake Michigan got a lot of ice coverage in the last few months - much more than last winter. 

The pictures don't do the weirdness of the sight justice. It's an amazingly vast landscape of ice upon ice upon ice... 

Blues

I am tired of this winter. I am tired of snow and days on end without sunshine. I am tired of this hard, albeit temporary time of still not being 100% back to my old self. I am tired of being tired...

After every birth I have a little bout with the "baby blues." With Olive and Silas it presented itself more as anxiety, but this time around I just cry. A lot. It embarrasses me. It makes me want to stay far away from people, even my husband and kids. And there's not anything even wrong - that's what makes it so frustrating. It's all so weirdly physical and out of my control. Part of me wants so much to be able to talk it all out, either to friends/family or even here on my own little personal soap-box-of-a-blog, but it's all so awkward, isn't it? Anyway, it's hard for me to be creative when I'm in a bit of a funk, so this space may be dull for little while.

On a lighter note...

We've followed this recipe maybe a few too many times this month? THE best use for snow. :)

Speaking of snow, this picture of Michigan is pretty amazing! 

I could (should!) devote a whole post to these jeans. I live in them, and they make me feel great. I am waiting for another sale so I can add these to my collection. What an amazing color.

Does anyone else not so secretly love shopping the mens section at Target? This tee and this tee!

60 / 365

Getting geared up to play in the snow.

It's Friday, yo!

Hoping for a sunny, fun weekend!

57 + 58 / 365

I almost didn't share this one, mostly because it looks ridiculous (They are exactly 3 years apart - how are they the same size already? They're not really the same size, but gosh it looks close to it in this picture, huh?) 

Olive likes to pretend Silas is her baby, even though he's rapidly becoming very independent. What kills me is how much he loves her - so much that he tolerates all the babying and fussing. (Who am I kidding, he loves all the attention.) 

They are awfully cute together. I love watching them interact.

The light outside was really weird last night. And pretty. 

Wanting Out

56/365

Another sunny day! We let Olive go outside on the back deck by herself to play in the snow. I cynically thought it would only last 5 minutes, thinking the cold would get the better of her, but she surprised us by playing out there for almost an hour. She had a blast. And I realized it was the first time in her life that she had been outside of the house by herself to play, and that for the first time my life with her, we lived someplace where it was safe to do so! It was a happy feeling.

(Of course, she wasn't really alone, as we watched her the whole time through the glass sliding door, but it still felt like a big deal to me, haha.)

Unfortunately Silas couldn't join in the fun, because my little man has a bad cold. I felt sad for him.

I think Olive's favorite part of playing in the snow is getting her "hot chocolate milk" to warm up.

Which reminds me.
Man oh man oh man oh man do I miss chocolate.
And coffee.
Trying not to think about them.
Fail.

I found this beautiful Etsy shop, and have been admiring the pretty artwork. I would love this print for my house!

Secret Beach and a Castle

55/365

After days of gray skies and snow, we had a break today with some beautiful blue sky. We had been meaning for weeks to try to find this tiny "secret"beach on Lake Michigan we had heard about, but the weather hadn't been cooperative. Today was a good day to go exploring.

It was a bit confusing finding our way there. We knew we were on the right track when giant dunes sprung up in our line of view.

Yes, we stupidly bravely trekked up those 600 or so icy steps with babies in tow (and not great traction on our shoes. Well, my shoes anyway. It was a bit scary.)

At the top of the dune, we were met with the most beautiful view of icy Lake Michigan that I had yet seen. It literally took our breaths away. It was a rare, windless day and the water was perfectly blue and calm. 

It was a very steep drop, the picture doesn't do it justice.

If you look close though, you can see some brave person's tracks all the way down to the water.

We really couldn't tell where the beach ended and the water started, 

with most of the shoreline still iced over.

Unfortunately, the climb down the icy stairs was worse than the climb up. I'm glad the park was deserted because it was extremely embarrassing how long it took me to get down them without slipping. At least Matt didn't have to carry me. ;)

We also found a castle near the beach. Unfortunately not open for tours. I'd love to see inside of it.

We came home to a Whole 30 approved roast and carrots in the crock pot, that we ate with mashed cauliflower.