Emerging Eden : Modern Inspiration for Wholesome Living

So one of my best friend's and I have started yet another blog. You might have noticed the list of blogs to your right.... her family blog is "Matt and Johnni". We have been emailing back and forth for a few years now, just swapping good information with one another, finally we decided that we might as well share it with other people! We have gone on searches for the "best" cloth diaper, the best natural deodorants (that actually work), struggles with low milk supply while nursing and what helped us, passion for making socially and environmentally responsible choices with our purchases (from chocolate to clothing to diapers), you name it. A big thing with us is that it has to MAKE SENSE. Everything we do, the choices we make, and that changes that we implement into our family life must be better not only for ourselves, but also others and the environment too.

Our goal is not to stand preaching on a soap-box because we aren't the experts. We are just on a journey and want to try new things! Our hope for Emerging Eden is that it can be a place of community, where we can share ideas, learn and grow together.

Stop by and leave us a comment! Even better, add us to your www.bloglovin.com account , "LIKE" us on Facebook, and follow our blog....leaving us LOTS of feedback...tell us what you have tried or what you think of a post or even what you would like to see on our blog.

And a few pictures to boot ;)

Bree helping me make one of her (and mine and Ben's!) favourite snacks : THE RAW BROWNIE.





Notice how she stuffs the mix into her mouth rather than the pan? I turned the photos to black and white so we didn't look too "dirty". She is covered head to toe in cacao (fair trade raw cocoa).





This recipe literally takes less than 10 minutes to make and is packed full of deliciousness and lots of crazy good nutrients for the whole family :) You can find it on my favourite foodie blog : My New Roots.

Aubrey : 18 Months

Yes, she is quickly approaching 20 months! But I forgot to blog these, and these are from April. She caught on to the shapes puzzle, and loves to do it every night before bed! Now at 19 months we are working on teaching her the colours of the shapes. You know those ring toys? The ones where the plastic rings all pile onto a pole in descending size? Well she has figured out that concept this month too :) It is fun to see children working out problems and solving them!





These next ones were taken out at our friends' acreage! I love the lemon tree in the background :) And I love their place because it is just beautiful, clean with a sweet touch of vintage :)

Lil' Miss Busy Pants

Well, things are getting interesting around here with our sweet-little-precious-baby full-on into toddlerhood at 19 months old! Naps are getting pretty tricky since she got a huge bout of confidence in her climbing ability just the other week. Every day this week has gone like the video below. Yes, we have tried many things to try and help her understand that we are in charge, not her, and when we say it's nap time, it's nap time my tired little one. Even going so far as to sit beside her bed and not let her climb out....for almost 2 hours. Did I mention she was screaming and crying that whole time? Yep. Oh and yes, we did try a make-shift "toddler bed" by putting her mattress on the floor and laying with her for a bit. Nope. Too busy, she says. Because we are living in Australia for 1 more month (where did the time go!) and then off to Europe, the real toddler bed will have to wait....and I (mommy talking) have to let go of control for a few months and let her take naps in the stroller or car. She obviously is more strong-willed than me!

On the up-side...she is trying out new words every day. Her favourites : "dee" (dates), "yo-yo" (yogurt), "co co" (cacoa, she helps me bake), "na-owww" (no), "me-mo" (Nemo), and "mo Bee-Ba" (more Simba from Lion King). Oh and "mo baw" (more park).

On to the video! Hopefully the [tiny bit of] crying doesn't get to you!

April 2011 : Nana and Gramps' Visit and Fraser Island

We all had a really nice time with Nana and Gramps when they came to visit us in Australia last month. We went to a few different places - Caloundra, Noosa, Fraser Island, Sanctuary Cove (on the Gold Coast), and of course our Mudjimba Beach. Fraser Island was a fun, 4-day adventure on the largest sand island....lots and lots of 4WD on the beach and throughout the Island. We went to a number of neat spots including Indian Head, the Maheno Shipwreck, Eli Creek, Lake Mackenzie, and Lake Waddy. Aubrey and Daddy enjoyed their 6 am swims in the resort pool while I slept in.

Aubrey still talks about Nana and Gramps, and often brings up their names and says "bye bye", realizing that they have gone back home.

Our time in Australia is quickly coming to an end! It is bittersweet...we are excited for all that is next, but sad about leaving one of our favourite spots to live!











You'll have to jump over to my photography site to see the rest :)

Family Photos!!!! YAY!

We were so blessed to have another family photo session...Aubrey at 19 months old this time..such a little lady :)

The photographer is Gemma Troy. I met her at our playgroup here on the Sunshine Coast, and photography aside, we really just click as friends. That is always a huge blessing when you move to a new place! What is also a huge blessing is swapping photography services for family sessions ;) Awesome! I did her family back in March, you can see them here.

Check out our preview from the session we did with her last night! Don't giggle too much at the first photo...we giggled enough for everyone ;) Aubrey looks the best in that one for sure!!

OUR PHOTOS!

19 Months Old : A Video

Well, we have both been really behind in updating our blog, so hopefully a video will do for now!

Lately Ben has been working really hard during his last semester at School Of Biblical Studies. This week the students are working hard to complete one of their longest books : Isaiah. Last night Ben briefly summed up a theme of Isaiah for me that I will try and reiterate : Who will you place your trust in? Other nations, yourself or God? The book of Isaiah brings with it judgment on nations, but also the restoration for all people (not just Israel) through the Messiah.

oh and one last thing. If you haven't heard of bloglovin you should check it out. It is a free website that allows you to view all of the blogs you enjoy reading from one easy to navigate site. So you don't need to visit your blogs each day, you just go to bloglovin and they will update it for you with who has new posts! This will save you so much time in your already busy schedule. So go to bloglovin, sign up, and begin following this blog, Emerging Eden and Chelsa's photography website.

Follow my blog with bloglovin