Life in Photos – Page 25 – The Oaxacaborn Blog

some weekends sail more smoothly than others. friday night started out with the power in three rooms flickering in and out. saturday morning, lights still flickering in the house, josiah discovered a hole in one of the radiator hoses in the car. meanwhile, the apartment maintenance man flipped breaker switches on and off, replaced an outlet, said lots of words like volts and circuits and hmmm, this isn’t good. (he said a few other kinds of words, too.) sunday, the iAlarm didn’t go off and we all accidentally overslept. despite my best scrambling efforts, we weren’t ready in time for church. aveline cried herself to sleep last night and woke up wailing at 6 this morning. (and the next thing she did wasn’t really that pleasant, so i’ll spare you the details. let’s just say the washing machine got an early wake-up call too.)

but there were nice things about this weekend, too. we went shopping. we saw a little kid drop dr. doofenschmirtz onto the floor while we were in a store, and my eyes popped out of my head. so we immediately went searching the toy section to see what sort of doofenschmirtz merchandise was for sale. (and yes, josiah pointed out that we are indeed 27 years old; but did you know they sell a mini perry the platypus figure, complete with gnome disguise?!)

so as you might have guessed by now, we watched phineas & ferb cartoons this weekend. we also ate tilapia and avocado. and went downtown, and walked around the lake as we people-watched. it was sunny and gorgeous and wonderful and people were, predictably, funny to watch. aveline wore her sunbonnet and snoozed on daddy’s shoulder.

Phineas and Ferb screen capture; tilapia, avocado, and brown rice dinner.

Aveline, Josiah and Gina - Downtown Orlando

Lake Eola Orlando; baby Aveline wearing lacy sunbonnet

so things are looking better. today, the electrician is coming to (hopefully) fix the sizzly problem. and best of all? my dear dear friend lauren is flying in from chicago. can you believe i haven’t seen her since 2008, when she was a bridesmaid in my wedding? this reunion is long overdue. i can’t even tell you how excited i am!

Life in Photos

“there’s a joy in your sweet abandon, like the cowgirl ballerina”

April 2, 2011March 22, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

i just adore my little family. we are unbelievably blessed. when i look at her bright eyes, i can’t help think of this beautiful rich mullins song:

26PM Josiah Munsey and baby girl Aveline Alenka -- father and daughter photo

“O Eli
There’s a sanctity in your innocence
A certain beauty and no uncertain strength
That brings me to the faith
I don’t know if I
If I am climbing to or falling in
But it comes like grace from your tiny hands
When I hold you in mine

And I pray that the eyes
Of your heart
Shine bright
With the hope to which you’re called
And may you know with all the saints
The height ~ the depth ~ the width ~ and the length
Of the love of God

O Eli
There’s a joy in your sweet abandon
Like the cowgirl ballerina
Leaves that ride
The wild and holy bucking wind that the sky
Sent through you to blow away these walls I’ve built
Walls of selfishness and walls of guilt
That leave me free to be a child

And I pray that the eyes
Of your heart
Shine bright
With the hope to which you’re called”

Life in Photos

hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me.

April 1, 2011March 22, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

some babies listen to lullabies. but this afternoon, little aveline fell fast asleep listening to —
The Essential Bob Dylan Album Cover

“Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands…
Let me forget about today until tomorrow
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to.”

Life in Photos

all in an afternoon lunch

March 25, 2011March 22, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

mmm, lunch. a latte with water-processed decaf mocca-java, organic soy milk and deliciously caramel-like coconut palm sugar. organic tofu scrambled with dill and onion, then tossed with quinoa and a splash of olive oil. juicy pieces of navel orange mixed with half an avocado and sprinkled with a little sea salt. wide-eyed baby staring out from her cozy little nest. delicious!
pieces of navel orange and half avocado on cutting board with paring knife

aveline alenka - nine and a half weeks old

Life in Photos

airing my [clean] laundry

March 23, 2011March 22, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

i’m folding clean laundry. it looks like something pink exploded all over my house. it looks like at least seventeen girls live here. this isn’t nearly the half of it. my poor husband. this place is overflowing with aveline’s and my clothes — stuck in limbo somewhere between washed and folded and to-be-tried-on and to-be-given-away and to-be-stored. there are the boxes of my own clothes that i’ve begun to unpack, then quickly abandoned upon the discovery that nothing fits. there are the piles of aveline’s clothes that she’s outgrown and not-quite-grown-into. there is the ever-growing laundry basket, since aveline makes certain that she and i change clothes at least twice a day. and then there’s the diaper laundry. oh, and i guess josiah needs clean clothes occasionally, too ;-) did i mention i’m thankful for indoor laundry facilities?

folded baby pants and folded onesies

clean laundry hanging over back of wooden chair

dyed prefold cotton cloth diapers

hanging pocket cloth diaper covers in assorted colors

Life in Photos

spring cleaning: all tidied up!

March 18, 2011March 22, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

well, here we are. this blog is bit tidier now, don’t you think? i’ve done a bit of ‘virtual curtain-hanging’ and added a few bits and bobs. sprucing up the space only seemed appropriate, as there is general tidying going on around the apartment as well. have a click around — especially on the happy new home page — and let me know what you think! and don’t forget the new about me tidbit!

hello kitty -- little girl chopsticks -- from japan

(Shown are Aveline’s Hello Kitty chopsticks, given to her by our dear friends in Japan. We’re praying for you!)

Life in Photos

what aveline’s room does not look like…yet

March 15, 2011March 22, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

aveline’s room looks absolutely nothing like this at present. the stars are all in a taped-shut box somewhere in the living room. the art piece is wrapped in cardboard and is leaning up against the dining room table. the crib is actually in aveline’s room, but is sans mattress. (hello, moving company? just wondering where exactly you ended up delivering that mattress? thanks.) the lovely white dresser is a brand-new purchase, but like most IKEA items, it came in a package the size of a cereal box. and since the cordless drill may or may not be wherever the mattress ended up, assembling the dresser is going to be quite interesting.

meanwhile, in aveline’s room, there are stacks of flattened boxes. there are unflattened video game console boxes. there’s a shelf of bulk food. there are half-opened industrial size ziplocs holding every size of baby clothes except for the size she’s in right now (the proper size was finally uncovered. half now reside in a pretty green laundry basket. the other half — the clean half — are living in an open box). but hey, the changing table is alive and well, fully stocked with [clean] diapers and wipes. i mean, ya gotta have your priorities.

the house is slowly coming together. it looks more beautiful with every unpacked box. ordinarily the snail’s pace of the unpacking would be driving me wild, but there’s something about looking into the eyes of a smiling cooing baby — a baby we prayed for — that really puts things in perspective. it’s okay if the boxes are being unpacked slowly. it’s much more important to treasure every moment of this. and so here i am, right now in this moment, holding an arm-waving, hiccuping, wide-eyed, refusing-to-nap baby. nothing’s getting checked off my to-do list. but that’s so much more than ok.

This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness. -Elisabeth Elliot

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