Recipe for Candied Pecan FAIL

3 egg whites
1 scant cup brown sugar
3 dashes vanilla
7 cups pecans
1 dizzy brunette.

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Beat egg whites until firm. Add brown sugar and vanilla, stir until well blended.
3. Pour mixture over pecans; stir until coated.
4. Put in oven.
5. Hit self clean instead of kitchen timer.
6. Frantically try to get the oven to turn off and unlock when you realize that pecans are roasting over an open fire.
7. Send your father out to switch off the breaker in order to keep pecans and parchment paper from spontaneously combusting.
8. When oven cools off and unlocks, pecans are done!

Popp Ohana Christmas

We will be out of town for our first Chicago Christmas, so we pretended that it was Christmas morning and each opened one present.

Daniel's present didn't quite fit.

Ava emptying her stocking.

Ava trying on Daniel's present.

More snowy goodness

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Decorations:

Stocking. Done!

Seasonal attire:


Snow!

Yes.

Road Warriors

Daniel had a conference in Dallas this week, so we decided to use some of our miles to get me a ticket too. We had a great time--Daniel and I had a night away (thanks Mom and Dad!), we saw some of Daniel's family, had dinner with Dustin and Corrie. All in all, a good trip.

But that's not what I was going to write to tell you about. When we booked my flight, we had to book the last flight of the night into Chicago because it was the only one that had awards seats available. It was our only option, but it didn't really go well for us. December + Chicago + Pregnant + Baby + Night flight = Bad news.

We got to the airport maybe an hour ahead of flight time. Around 8:30, they informed us that our 8:40 flight would be departing at 11:15. Awesome.

I figured (and was secretly hoping) they would cancel our flight, but they didn't. It was a long night, but it was much easier than expected because of our little road warrior.

She fell asleep on me about 8:45 or 9, slept through a gate change, laying her down underneath the chairs of the lounge, boarding, take off, landing, disembarking, transferring to a stroller, waiting for Daniel to scrape the ice off of the car, loading in the car at 2:30 am, the trip home, and transferring to her crib. She woke up at 8 a.m.

Other than that, we caught a massive tail wind on the way back which cut flight time by at least 30 minutes, it wasn't as painfully cold as we expected when we got to Chicago (about 12 degrees, with wind), and one of our neighbors had blown the snow off our driveway for us while we were gone. So, while it wasn't great to have gotten home at 2:45 a.m., it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

Snow!

Yesterday morning, it started snowing. Itty bitty flakes that you could see if you squinted. (Yes, you Dallasites, that is a full day after it snowed there). It picked up throughout the rest of the day, though it was not accumulating. I was willing to take it. It really was beautiful.

It quit by the afternoon, and I saw that there were supposed to be flurries last night. Nothing was happening by the time we went to bed, though. Imagine my surprise when we looked out the window this morning and saw the backyard white. Not very deep, of course, but white.
We went out to play in it a little while this morning.

Ava not so sure about this.

cold.

Tree.

Eating snow.

With me. :)

Reckless Abandon.

Having fun.

Thanksgiving

After hosting 32 friends, neighbors, and co-workers for a Pre-Thanksgiving bash on Tuesday, Daniel and I left to spend the weekend with his family. We had a great time. Here's some snapshots of the weekend:

Ava flirting with Daniel's cousin Matthew.

Twirling with Karlie.

As big as a barn?

Sylvie, all snuggled up with Mama.

Daniel gets a turn to hold his new niece.

Pretty girl.

Ava and her Aunt Maggie.

Sylvie meets Grandma Margie and Aunt Gail.

Caption Contest

Our friend Lori took this picture of her husband Eric with Ava today. It begs for a caption. So...put your entry in the comments section! The winner gets a free babysitting appointment with Miss Ava*, and perhaps a mention on Twitter from Eric!

* subject to parental approval. Some restrictions apply.

Evidence of Grace

Today is one of those days that makes me thankful. It was a day of close calls.

This morning on our way to our church's membership class, we arrived at the site of a major accident probably 20-30 seconds after it occurred. Shortly thereafter, we had a woman (whose car we couldn't see) pull through a left turn lane and almost into our van. Two disasters averted. We breathed a sigh of relief and said a prayer of thanksgiving.

We arrived home after our class and were busying ourselves getting lunch ready. I looked across the room in time to see Ava lean backwards into the baby gate that blocks the entry to the basement. In a split second, the swing gate gave way, and I saw Ava tumble backwards down the hardwood stairs into our basement.

"AVA!" I screamed. Daniel and I raced down the stairs to find her at the bottom of the stairs, screaming. I was afraid to move her; I had no idea how badly she was hurt. I think that she moved first though, wanting to be held. I picked her up, cried, and called on God. Heart still pounding, I carried her upstairs and gave her the pacifier and got her calmed down. She was beginning to look sleepy (it was naptime, but I wasn't at all sure it wasn't due to a head injury). I had Daniel call our pediatrician through the physician's exchange. We were pretty shaken up at this point; she tried to allay our fears. She told me that it was probably a good thing that she went down backwards. She said that if you are going to hit your in the head, the back of the head is a pretty good place to do so. She said that if she was moving, not vomiting, not acting out of character, she was probably fine. She recommended that we still take her to the ER at Northwest Community Hospital as a precaution and for our peace of mind.

By the time we left for the ER, she was giggling and chasing the kitty. We were beginning to feel more confident that she was okay. The nurse practitioner and nurses told us she looked great--she didn't have any of the warning signs for concussion. She was giggling and pointing at the fish painted on the wall. She was a very good patient. They said to monitor her, let her take a nap, and to come back if anything changed.


It was a terrifying experience. It didn't occur to me as I ran to her that she could have a fall like that and be okay. It was such a relief to see her move. From time to time, I am surprised at the intensity of my love for her. Of course, I love her. She is my daughter. But I have never loved anyone in quite the same way. It's not that I love her more than Daniel, but there is a protective aspect to my love for her that is fierce.

The whole day has been a reminder of God's grace and provision for us. I suppose he could have made us miss accidents by more this morning, and he could have kept her from falling down the stairs. But I think sometimes it's healthy for us to know God's grace. If everything was always hunky dory, if we didn't have close calls, then we would most likely go on oblivious to his blessings. I felt God's deliverance today. I am so thankful that my little girl is okay, that she was giggling and charming strangers again this evening.