World View

A view to those out in the world into our life.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Global Cooling

It will be interesting to see what people have to say about the new report on global cooling. Some will disagree, but I was supposed to be here this week but couldn't afford to go. I bet anyone who has gone snow skiing in Colorado this year would say "whatever global warming means, we love it because it means bigger and better snow".

So, what does this mean for Al Gore? Is he really worthy of a Nobel Prize? Does this mean we need to all buy SUVs now? I am curious as to what will come of this.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Choco-holics

"Hi, my name is Cindy, and this is my husband Jason, and we are choc-oholics."
There's no hiding the fact that Jason & I are lovers of chocolate. We are always searching for new recipes that involve the best ingredient in the world. We recently made this Chocolate Pie that we found on The Pioneer Woman's website. This lady has some GREAT recipes & very easy to follow instructions, along with pictures that will make you start salivating for whatever she is making. We couldn't resist trying out her chocolate pie- it is divine. We feel cool now that we know how to do the chocolate curly things to adorn the top of the pie. If any fellow chocoholics want to share their favorite forms of chocolate, then by all means, spread the love! I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if everyone had a piece of chocolate and a backrub every day.
 

 
Posted by Picasa

Monday, February 25, 2008

A Goose Hunting Index

All those little white things that are blocking the trees, those are geese taking flight.
 


 

 

Those are not little aliens, just more geese that were "just out of range"
 

My friend Matt McClure taking a break for a quick photo
 

Matt in his "costume" hiding from the geese
 

 


Proof that Matt's dad "Big George" took a nap. In case you are wondering, no we did not shoot him, just the position he assumed for his nap. And yes, he was snoring.
 
Posted by Picasa


Time on the clock when I woke up Saturday: 2 am
Time I was planning on waking up: 2:45 am
Reason I woke up at 2: didn't think I could actually get a good 45 minutes sleep
Time I met up with the hunting party: 3:30 am
Number of dead animals I hit with the car tire on the way to the meeting spot: 1
Type of dead animal hit: skunk, but the smell of it
Number of men hunting: 6
Number of decoys set out: too many, but something like 800
Number of geese in above photos: probably around 25,000
Number of geese seen on Saturday: well over 100,000
Number of shots fired by myself: 20
Number of geese shot: not sure, but probably like zero
Level of tiredness at the end of trip from 1-10: 20

Thanks to my friend Matt McClure I was able to go on this memorable trip. It was not an "epic" goose hunt, but fun was had by all. Goose hunting is definitely more work than I anticipated, but at the same time was mesmerizing by the sheer number of geese present at one spot.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

take pictures with your kids!

My charge to all of our readers today is to take more pictures with your kids! I recently realized that I had only a handful of pics that included Oaklee and either me or Jason. And that's not right! I would say 90% of our pics are of just her, which is fine, but I wanted more pics of us together, so we took some yesterday when we went out to Cossatot Falls on a hike. Oaklee's on her way to becoming a BMW (burly mountain woman) like her mom, b/c she thoroughly enjoyed hiking around in her Baby Bjorn & didn't fuss at all. We had a really good time- it's a hidden treasure of Arkansas! Very, very beautiful place.
So next time you start snapping photos of your little one, don't forget to prove that you were there, too. Besides, they'll want to see what you looked like when you were young & make fun of your clothes. (not that we ever did that to my parents) :-)
 

 

 

 
Posted by Picasa

Monday, February 18, 2008

Weekend Highlights

Oaklee is now 4 months old & is unspeakably "treasured" to us & everyone she meets. She is the best gift we've EVER been given and we definitely treasure every day we have with her. She's also a big Bono fan (who created the 'Red' clothes to raise $ for Africa) . ha ha, not really. But do you think she could be a Babygap model?
 

We had our dear friends Dave & Sarah in from F'ville over the weekend. We had a great time catching up with them, playing with Oaklee, showing off De Queen, and playing the infamous Settlers of Catan. It was a really great time of fellowship. Come back any time, Hamrick's! We love you guys.
 

The other news was that we will be having a new niece or nephew come September! Lindsey & Patrick are prego again! Parker walks into our house Fri. night wearing a shirt that said "Big Brother", and I thought it was an ad for the tv show (which I've never watched, but know it's shady), so then it dawned on me that it had nothing to do with the tv show but the fact that HE was going to be a big brother! We are so excited for them! What awesome news. Another arrow to add to their quiver. (psalm 127)
 

This was a sweet pic of cousin Parker and great-aunt Kay with Oaklee. We are so thankful to have such loving families. Parker LOVES Oaklee girl, he gave her countless 'sugars' throughout the weekend. I think they will be good friends growing up, we just need to teach her a few karate moves in order to keep Parker in line. :-)
 
Posted by Picasa

Thursday, February 14, 2008

I love you Cindy Lofton

 

 


Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is barren among them.
3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built for an armory,
On which hang a thousand bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10 How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
How much better than wine is your love,
And the scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11 Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
15 A fountain of gardens,
A well of living waters,
And streams from Lebanon. (Song of Solomon 4:1-15)

Thank you so much for being my wife, my belle, my bride. I am so blessed to have you by my side and to be the mother of my child. You are a wonderful, wonderful friend. And I want the whole world to know that I LOVE YOU!
Posted by Picasa

Monday, February 11, 2008

valentine's surprise

I meant to post this earlier, but wanted to give a shout out to my hubby, Chad & Ryan for planning a very, very special evening for their wives. Last Saturday we all went on a surprise Valentine's date together to Old Washington, AR. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Being surprised! Not having to plan anything! Being wooed & romanced by our husbands was a treat in and of itself. :-) I LOVE going on dates.
2. A really beautiful sunset drive through the rolling hills of SW Arkansas. It's my favorite time of day to drive and the scenery was really, really beautiful.
3. Experiencing the booming metropolis of Old Washington, the once-capital of AR during the Civil War. Not much has changed in the town since then, in case you were wondering. But a lot of neat, colonial style homes are still being used and make for a classy, nostalgic-type atmosphere.
4. Taking a carriage ride down a quaint dirt path, and for a moment pretending like I was Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice, the scene where Mr. Darcy touches her hand for the first time when he helped into her carriage- AWESOME. Have always wanted to re-live that myself.
5. DELICIOUS home-style cookin...which included a bottomless basket of salad crackers (our appetizer for a good 30 minutes until the other people were done with their carriage ride), salad, potato soup, prime rib/ cornish hen, homemade rolls, corn souffle, tiramisu & strawberry earthquake cake. And homemade grape juice from an AR vineyard- delightful.
6. Being serenaded by an elderly female violinist, who played age-old romantic classics like Take Me Out to the Ballgame and Oh Susannah.
7. Getting to spend a whole evening without kids and with quality people like the Gallagher's and the Daniels' was really fun. We are really thankful for their friendship.
 

 

 

 
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

De Perks of living in De Queen

Number of people in line in front of me to vote today: 0
Time spent waiting in line at post office: 30 seconds
Time it takes to walk to post office: 3 minutes
Time waiting in line at revenue office: 1 minute
Jason's commute to work: 3 minutes
Nearest lake: 10 minutes
Number of blocks away our house is from church: 3
Number of taco stands within walking distance: 4
Number of Mexican grocery stores within walking distance: 2


I am continually amazed at the amount of time we save here! Small towns definitely have their perks. We are so thankful to not be stuck in traffic for an hour, or to wait in line anywhere for more than 5 minutes. We have so much more time to do things that are important! We invite all of our big-city friends to consider moving here, where you will find a simplified yet powerful lifestyle. I have not had a boring day since we moved here. If you'd like to know what that means, just ask us. :-)

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Future Hat Model?

So we had a little fashion show yesterday with baby Oaklee. My mom had brought TONS, and i mean TONS, of new-used outfits for her to try from a friend of hers who was selling all her baby girl clothes. So I just had fun trying all the hats on her. Doesn't she look like a little magazine cover? With all these new outfits, her indecisive mom (me) is going to have a heck of a time picking out her outfit for the day. What a dilemma to have. ha ha. But we're going through about 3 outfits a day due to spit-up accidents or the 'other end' accidents, so she'll get to wear all of them at some point. Anyway, couldn't wait to share these precious pics. We love our blue-eyed beauty!
 

 
Ooh-la-la!
 
Pretty good deer-in-headlights impression, huh? Jason had been working on that with her.
Posted by Picasa