So, I am chasing my son now. I am absolutely amazed at how quickly he has become an avid walker. He is walking so fast now that he is nearly running. I cannot believe how fast he has grown and changed.

and now.

Boy how he as grown and changed. I have loved every minute of being his mother and I can hardly believe that I am so lucky that I get to be his mom forever. He is truly a blessing.

for both my son and for coffee…Without Ethiopia where would we all be every morning? Staring at empty coffee pots wishing we had something to help us wake up. We watched Modern Marvels on the History channel Wednesday night. It was about the history of coffee. Ethiopia is the only place where coffee grows wild. It was considered a weed until Kaldi’s goats ate the berries and were acting all hopped up. Kaldi turned the berries/beans into a paste that the Ethiopians then used–this was 600AD. In about 1000AD coffee berries/beans made their way to Yemen and in Yemen was born the first commerical growing of coffee–until then it had only grown wild and in Ethiopia. From Yemen coffee spread. It wasn’t until the 1600’s that coffee made its way to England. Interesting. All coffee plants around the world have their origins in the Oromo regin of Ethiopia. An interesting parallel between coffee and the human gene as well–as Ethiopia is considered by many the place of the birth of mankind. I can’t think of a better Eden than a place where coffee grows wild.

Thank you Ethiopia. My life wouldn’t be the same without you.

I am sad that I haven’t found the time for blogging that I wish I had. There is so much to do and so little time to do it in. I have been busy with Graduate School–working on my MA in English with an emphasis in Composition (only 2 more semesters after this one!!!!). I have been deciding on my next school step–M.ed in Administration or Secondary Ed or an EdD in Teaching and Learning Process. These are all hard questions. I am an academic. I absolutely love school and learning and I have begun to admit that I miss teaching.

I then have been busy trying to figure out this whole stay-at-home mom thing. I am not a domestic wife. I like to cook–but I really like to cook gourmet food. I like a clean house–but will do anything to acutally avoid cleaning anything. So I have been trying to figure out how to feel good about staying home but not really doing any housework. It has been a tougher adjustment than I had anticipated or even admitted.

Then there in Minnow–my wonderfully mobile toddler. He is going to be one in a couple weeks and I am busy planning his family party. My entire family lives here so it will by default be a “big” party. I have to order the cake, etc. But Minnow…he is so adorable and getting so precocious. He is into everything. He is growing and changing so fast. He is an absolute joy and he is wearing me out….

I am so happy and so very torn that our little Minnow is now walking. He still crawls but he is walking more and more. It is so cute to see the look of concentration on his face as he lets go of what he is holding on to and walks. He is pretty good about not falling–if he falters he either holds still or sits down. The cutest part–he claps for himself after each bout of walking. Yesterday he practice walking in a circle for about 30 minutes. He screeches in pure delight and walks with his fists clenched and held up. He is growing and changing so fast. His favorite word–well his only word is “yeah” and he says it whenever he is asked a question and when he is told “no”. Oh the struggles that will sure ensue.

This is a beautiful time and I am trying to soak it all up. Minnow is amazing and he brightens the world that I live in. What are your kids up to???