Family Alive

Wish you were here! The sunsets over the hills here in Birmingham, and the other evening it gave everything a pretty pink hue. We’ve got a beautiful camellia bush on the right side, where Brian and Analise are standing. We like being homeowners!

So today it’s been kind of cold, down in the lower 30’s at night. (Note: I said “kind of” for my NORTHERN friends, who know what the word “cold” actually means.) Since we now pay to heat a whole house, we’ve learned that it’s kind of expensive to keep it nice and toasty warm:) Thankfully, we have a nice fireplace in the den, where Analise and I spend most of our time. But with a curious, active baby, a fireplace could pose a real problem. Well, our much debated solution was to invest in a Hearth Gate (by Kidco). Kind of pricy, but we’ve found it be be invaluable since she LOVES the glowing, crackling fire, and she would probably climb right up onto our low hearth and right into the fireplace. So all that to say, that’s the thing in the above picture that you see… not Analise in a cage:) I just started a rip roaring fire, and it’s been a challenge to keep her away… but when she’s away she’s off exploring the kitchen while I’m tending the fire. Or at the moment, she’s unloading the bookshelves. Gotta go!