Mommyhood & Matrimony...

Fall Pictures...Well, we tried.

2011-10-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch: Family

2011-10-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon out at a new to us pumpkin patch in Monmouth. So much fun!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2011-10-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Karalee was so excited to go on her first field trip to the pumpkin patch. We went to Setniker Farms...

First Day of School

2011-10-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately Karalee threw up on her first day of school. After a few days of rest we were able to try again. This time, she was feeling much better. Some stats to remember...

Sonsine School: 4's Pre-School
Teacher: Mrs. Poush
Assistant: Mrs. Saunders
Friends: Jarren, Madelyn & Emma
Favorite Activity: Painting
Excited to learn about: Reading

Audree turns 2!

2011-06-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

Audree had a fun birthday at the Riverfront Carousel this year. She loves to "wide the wheesees" (ride the horsies). We did a candy land theme and kept is simple for this prego mom. She brings such a joy to our lives and I cannot believe we have known her for two years already.

Audree @ 2

***Very busy for a girl.

Loves
~ dancing

~ swimming

~ playing ring around the rosie
~ all animals and moving creatures

~ Toy Story 3, Melmo and B-Cake (Strawberry Shortcake)

Fun Words

~ Peepin : Sleeping

~ Pun : Fun

~ I yub yuuu

~ Beedees: Birdies

Man Hair

2011-04-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

This may be boring to some, but the purpose of this post is not to entertain, but to help me remember...

We had a monumental occasion at our house last night....Karalee had her first hair cut. She was born with precious chocolate curls which turned into adorable golden curls over time. With all of that pretty hair came tears and struggles to tame that mane! Nolan has been wanting to cut it for a long time now and last night, after a 25 minutes combing fest, I agreed. Karalee didn't want even the slightest trim. She said that only men cut their hair, and she didn't want "man hair."

Nolan is a genius and thought of a wonderful treat to reward this daring leap of faith...He would buy her the DVD Tangled. They went on a date to see this Rapunzel movie in the theatres and it now has a special meaning to them both. This pushed her over the edge and she said we could make one cut. ;) I cut the first several curls before she noticed. She then bent down and picked up a curl with a gasp..... She became very sentimental, tearing up, and asked how we were going to put in back on. This only lasted for a minute or so and then she embraced the idea of shorter hair. After we were finished she twirled and giggled. I'm pretty sure that every girl likes a make-over.

Nana and Mimi, no worries....Her hair is still beautiful and curly. A ringlet formed instantly as it dried. She does look a little older, but part of that is due to the fact that she is as tall as some first graders. Not much we can do about that!

This is the Day that the LORD has made!

2011-04-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Nice weather means the camera is coming out.... Karalee and Audree were having fun playing in the front yard today and even made some friends with the neighbor girls. My heart overflows when I see their little personalities emerging and their daddy beaming with delight as he watches. Here are a few captures from the afternoon.

MY FAVORITE...Delighted daddy!

Nesting in the Nursery

2011-04-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

I have had so much fun putting this room together. I am not quite done. I have 4 or so finishing touches left and then I will feel it is complete. I tried to find things I liked in magazines and adds and then attempted to recreate a version of them. This is what we have so far...

I am planning to put a cornice box over the top of the curtains here.

Some of my inspiration and good deals...

The Lamp I had and wanted to re-purpose...

The Lamp I like from Pottery Barn Kids ~ $148

My less frilly version embellished with cloth rosettes made from scrap fabric ~ $0

The Tree with shelves that I found here. The tree is $88 + $12 shipping.

This is my version painted with free paint! I will be cutting white birds out on the cricut on Friday.

I also plan to use the cricut to write the baby's name like this, over the changing table.

I found these inexpensive shelves at Goodwill for $5 total and painted them to match.

I found this bird picture online at this address. It is $120 for this small canvas.

I used an old frame and two pieces of leftover scrapbook paper to create this. $0

The little bird to the left is something I found at the Dollar Store and spray painted white.

Here are a few of the accessories I found at the Dollar Store.

I learned how to make this tissue paper pom-pom here, at Martha Stewart.com. $1

So far I have spent...

Paint $12

Tissue $1

Accessories $3

Lamp $9

( I stole the one from the living room, so I needed to replace it.)

I still need to get...

A vase with hydrangeas for the space next to the clock.

Birds and name on the wall (free)

A pillow for the chair. (I already have fabric, just need time.)

Well Hello!

2011-03-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been quite a long time since I have posted an update. Our life has been changing and developing so much over the last few months. I decided that a new post would not only keep you all updated, but it will help me remember this crazy busy time, later on. So, here are a few of the happenings in our life right now.

theBREAK
Nolan is still leading the college group at our church. We are having a blast serving in this way, and daily feel a confirmation that we are right where the Lord wants us. Nolan would love to move into full-time ministry at some point, but for now he continues to run his residential construction business.

Karalee
Karalee is growing like a weed. She really enjoys praying with Audree lately. When we listen at their bedroom door, it sounds something like this.
Karalee: Thank you for the rain.
Audree: AMEN!
Karalee: Thank you for the sun.
Audree: AMEN!
Karalee: Thank you for the trees.
Audree: AMEN!
You get the picture...We recently enrolled her for 4's preschool, next year. She is ecstatic about the idea and wants to make sure and bring a pen. =) She has really enjoyed writing her name lately so I thought I would share a few pics...

Audree

Audree is a pistol, she is always on the go. She has a sweet heart and loves to come up and randomly kiss us. At 18 months old, she decided she was ready to be a big girl and use the toilet like Karalee. I was not as ready as she was so I humored her, but didn't really start any training. Well two months later, here we are. We started consistent training on Monday and she is doing great. She is pretty much trained, but it will take several weeks of "practice" before I will really relax.

Baby

The baby continues to grow and is doing great thus far. Everything seems to be going along as expected. This pregnancy feels different in many ways, and the baby is sitting much further back than the girls did. We find out the baby's gender in just a little more than a week. (3/28) We can't wait to find out what this precious little one will be.

I will post ultra sound pics when they come....

Fall Pictures

2010-09-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Click picture to view full size......Enjoy!

Bloopers:

Ready or not....

2010-09-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Fall is upon us! I have been in denial, sounding quite a bit like many of the summer-cravers around this part of the country. We left for Ecuador in late August, full of the summery warm weather in our hearts. Ecuador did not let us down in the weather department either. We had a bit of warm, tropical rains but they were more refreshing than gloomy. Somewhere between leaving Quito and landing in Portland, the Fall switch was flipped. I have dug in my heels and clung to my summer idea for a couple of weeks now but who am I kidding? School has started, rain is falling and the crisp Autumn air greets me every morning. Don't get me wrong. I love Fall. It may just be my favorite time of the year. I love all things Autumn like scarves, colorful leaves, spiced baking, and the "chai tea weather." So even though on some level my internal calendar says there must be a few weeks of summer left, I will embrace what surrounds me.

Yesterday I made some caramel apple muffins, (soon to be on my cooking blog) and today I snapped a few final pictures of the girls playing on the deck. We don't get much use of the back yard during the rainy months, so these may be it for a while. Just to go along with our seasonal theme, it started to rain as we played. The girls giggled and tried to eat the rain drops and I said to myself, ready or not.....here comes the rain!

Karalee wanted us to take a picture like "mom and dad do" =)

And...my girl on the move. She is a busy bee.

Ecuador: Helping that doesn't Hurt

2010-09-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well it has been almost a week since we have returned from our 10 days in Ecuador. It has taken me a while to put into words an accurate summary of our trip. Everyone we see, text, Facebook or talk to on the phone asks us about our trip. The question, always the same, sounds something like, "What did you do while you were there? Did you finish your project?"

Nolan and I have been on a combined total of 19 short-term mission trips all over the map. For every other trip we've been on, this question has had an easy answer. "We built a house, we led a camp, we assembled a church, we remodeled the bathroom..." Each trip left us feeling very full, knowing that we had completed a "mission" of providing a service for the area we visited. However, after returning from a week with Steve Saint, hearing his heart and perspective on missions, we return with a new perspective. This changed perspective compels us to share with other North Americans, that we need to be careful.

North Americans (myself definitely included) like to be productive. We measure success by our accomplishments and by the amount of things we can check off of a list. If you are like me, you add "make a list" to your check list so that you can feel productive in checking something off right away. =) Unfortunately, we take this mindset with us on the mission field. We approach our trip with a task in mind and often isolate ourselves from the community we are trying to reach. We accomplish our goal, with our team by our side and hand over the set of keys at the end of the week. Somehow, this makes us feel that we've made a difference for good. We've given people something we think they need and in our opinion will make their lives better.We have approached it with our world view, our culture and our priorities as the guide.

One story Steve shared with us went something like this....A missions organization took a team to a small town in another country. They wanted to bless them with generosity in hopes of showing them the love of Christ. They took their team and built a house for the most destitute person they met. At the end of the week, I imagine they went home feeling pretty good about themselves. They had spent their break getting their hands dirty, bonding as a team, seeing how "poor" others were and coming back with a dissolving memory of poverty in light of their blessings. What they didn't know, was that the town they were trying to reach was disgusted by this "act of kindness." The team had built a house for the laziest man in the community. The man who had taken no initiative to provide for himself. This man now had the best house in town. The people came together and burned it down.

We often approach missions with the "what will this trip do for us" mentality. It will bond our youth group. It will show this 30 something person what they have to be grateful for. It will spur this 50 year old to donate more of his business profits to a missions organization. What we don't realize is that we are often using these trips to benefit ourselves with a complete disregard for the long term affect that our "outreach" has on the visited community.

Giving freely of our time and resources to these impoverished communities makes us feel good. We somehow feel like we are reducing our "selfish-imprint' in life. The growing trend is to just send our money to help. In our support letter, I sited this quote. “Give a man a fish and you have fed him a meal. Teach him to fish and you have fed him for a life-time. Teach him how to make fishing tackle and boats so he can teach others, and everyone in the village will be fed.” The people of the world want to be taught and inspired to do things themselves. It would go along way if we partnered with the communities we visited, working alongside them rather than doing everything for them. In Steve's Book, The Great Omission, he sights some brief reasons why giving without connection or personal investment really does hurt the greater goal. The following is one example.
     -Personal Devaluation: If people are always given things, they begin to expect the things, thereby negating personal dreams or aspirations of climbing out of their current condition. Always being on the receiving end encourages believers to see themselves as incompetent, unable to learn even if they did decide they wanted to.

Don't get me wrong. This doesn't mean to stop donating to your mission fund at church or never giving to another short term trip again. I am only asking you to look at the goal and heart of missions as we see it. We are called to go and make disciples AS WE GO. Steve likens it to a relay race. We should go with the gospel, and teach them about the word of God. It is then our job to pass them the baton so that they can reach their communities and lead their churches. "Missions is the scaffolding that helps build the local church. It is temporary and should never be cemented in place." (p.168, The Great Omission.) Over the course of this trip, the following mission method was shared with us.

     KNOW God yourself.
     GO to where He needs to be preached.
     SHOW them how to follow God.
     BLOW: Leave to start the process again in another place.

"The objective of missions is to plant an indigenous church that is self-propagating, self-governing, and self-supporting. The most spiritually critical thing we can do is help with the part that is most lacking. If they need jobs, [help them] start a business; don't build them a church or a seminary building." (p. 165, The Great Omission.)

It is safe to say that Nolan and I now have a new passion/desire to reflect on the motive and product behind both short-term and long-term missions. We want to make sure that we are not training people to think that they are inferior because they lack the fancy tools and huge teams that come and do their work in a fraction of a time. We don't want to stifle their growth by conditioning them to believe that they should wait for the "professionals" of North America to come and [teach, disciple, build, evangelize] better than they can.

So, how was our trip? It revolutionized the way we look at missions. We helped the people of Shell, Ecuador in building a project. We partnered with them on the job site, letting them lead us. We learned their names. We came alongside of them and their vision to provide jobs and training for their own people. We built relationships and fellowshipped with their local church. We made them feel valued and equipped to do the job that God has given them as a church. We loved them. And in that, we were successful!

I hope you enjoy our pictures...

What do you get when....

2010-08-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

...you take an old skirt...

Exhibit A

and a remnant of fabric...???

Exhibit B

Well you get blankets of course!

Nolan and I leave for Ecuador in 5 1/2 days! I am cleaning, organizing, in a mad dash getting things ready. Yesterday I was straightening up my side of the closet when I came across this old bridesmaid skirt from Pete and Holly's wedding. It is nine(ish) years old and no matter how much I love my brother and his wife, I doubt I will ever wear this again.

Along with cleaning, part of my preparations include buying and wrapping small gifts for the girls to open from mom and dad when we are away. I hope to bring excitement (and distraction) while we are gone for 10 days. We were in JoAnn's the other day and both girls went bananas over this fabric. Reaching, grabbing, petting, hugging....quite dramatic. You see, though neither have a "one and only" special blanket--they do have a favorite kind of blanket. Karalee refers to them as poke-a- dot B's. Any super soft fabric with the raised bubble will do. I bought a small remnant for a little less than $3, not sure what I would do with it.

When I saw the old silk-ish skirt I immediately thought of this remnant and decided to make the girls little snuggle blankets--to open when we are gone. I spent about 2 1/2 hours and this is how they came out. I was pretty excited!

Along with the skirt, I also found an old baby shower gift bag in my closet. It had a cute ribbon on it, but the bag itself was badly creased. So I used the ribbon from the trashed gift bag to make personalized tags. My new sewing machine has a monogram feature so I put the girls' initials on the ribbon. This way there is no confusion which "B" belongs to which girl.

Believe it or not, this is the first time I realized Audree's initials are ARF. Sorry Audree!

So fun! I CAN'T WAIT to leave these for the girls. Part of me wants to let them have their new treat now, but I will wait. I know it will be a better surprise later!

A moment for fun...

2010-08-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, as many of you have noticed, (and mentioned) I haven't posted in a while! We have been super busy planning and preparing for Ecuador. Along with this exciting opportunity, we have also been seeking the Lord for wisdom in a new ministry. We are SO EXCITED to be moving into the realm of college ministry! We are beginning to form relationships, brainstorm ideas and make rough plans for this transition.

This hasn't left a whole lot of time for the fun hobby type things. Well yesterday I made time to re-cover this bench that we found at a yard sale this summer. It was ripped pleather and not so pretty. I decided to try and find something that coordinated with the room but wasn't matchy-matchy. Keeping in mind that patterns are forgiving when it comes to small children, I headed to the fabric store. We now have a little extra seating for when people come over, i.e. college students! Fun!

Conviction, Calling and Courage...Would you like to be a part?

2010-07-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

In January, Nolan and I sat down to write some specific goals we wanted to focus on as Christians, parents, business owners, and as a family. One of the main convictions we had was that we wanted to be a family who was "always abounding in the work of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58 has quickly become a verse that we cling to.

We had no idea that before the year was over, we would be called to take a trip! A few weeks ago we were asked to think about being part of a small team headed to Ecuador to work with Steve Saint.
(View his testimony at http://youtu.be/Ma_RcBDlPZA )
After several doors being open, and several hours of prayer, we feel confident that the Lord is leading us to go! We will be headed to Ecuador on August 27th and will return home on September 5th.

What are we going to be a part of?

Well I'm glad you asked! One of the main goals of ITECH (Indigenous People's Technology and Education Center) is to train and Equip indigenous God-followers to care for the physical and spiritual needs of their people. " One of the great barriers that has prevented indigenous churches from growing is their dependence on outsiders. A native church that relies on the leadership, technology, and financial support of foreign missionaries rarely can stand on its own when that support is withdrawn. We are convinced from the Scriptures, however, that the goal of the Great Commission is to establish churches that are self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating."

It has been said “Give a man a fish and you have fed him a meal. Teach him to fish and you have fed him for a life-time. Teach him how to make fishing tackle and boats so he can teach others, and everyone in the village will be fed.” The same principle is applied by ITECH, involving the Great Commission. Not only are they spreading the gospel, but they are giving people skills and hope to build and maintain churches who can then join in the effort to spread the gospel themselves. ITECH is a program that teaches the indigenous people how to provide medical care, dental work, engine repair, and eyeglasses to their people.

What are we going to be doing?

Team I-TEC has decided to build a prototype International Missionary Trainer Training Center for Spanish speaking South America, in Shell Mera on the edge of the Ecuadorian jungle (where the Saint family was living when Nate Saint was killed) . Here, they will work out plans and details that can be duplicated in other regions of the world. Our team will be helping to complete part of this INTERNATIONAL MISSIONARY TRAINER EDUCATION CENTER.

This building will include a hangar, classrooms, offices (sleeping room), and a kitchen; (Approximately 4200 square feet)

For more information, please visit http://www.itechusa.org/

How can you help?

We covet your prayer support!

Ways you can pray....

-Safety in travel from Salem, Oregon to Ecuador (and back!).

-We are confident the Lord has called us to be a part of this trip, however leaving our girls for a little over a week will not be easy. Please pray for peace for us and a blessed time for our girls with their Nana, Mimi, and Aunt Julie!

-Completion of Financial support.

We currently have 50% of the trip covered! We praise the Lord for this provision and continue to have faith that He will provide the means as we seek to follow His plan.

$5, $10, $20....every penny helps! If 85 people give $20, our trip would be covered! Would you choose to take part?

If you would like to make a donation please click the donate button on the right side of the blog! If you would like to send a check, our address is

Nolan & Jayme Frildey
485 Upper LaVista CT NW
Salem, OR 97304

Please let us know if you would like to commit to praying for us and will add you to our prayer team!

Blessing to you all,
Nolan and Jayme
<><
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58 .

Birthday Bashes.....

2010-07-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

I know I am behind but I have to post a few pictures of Audree's birthday before I can post Karalee's. Audree's birthday was about a month ago. We had a cupcake theme. So fun to celebrate our precious littlest girl!

The cupcakes were fun to make and I used the Buttercream Dream recipe that I posted here on my cooking blog.

Karalee turned 3 on July 3rd. She wanted a Rainbow theme and a very chocolate cake! =) That's my girl!

Papa bought her a small bounce house and she received princess costumes from both Nana and Mimi. This girl is way blessed!

Water/Sand/Rice/Corn Table?

2010-06-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

We have had this water table since Karalee turned one! It is intended to have water on one side and sand on the other....Any intelligent mom can guess what happens with this recipe. You guessed it! Wet sand and sandy water. We have had everything in this table from water, bubbles, sand, rice and this summer we are trying corn! My friend Stephanie went to the Agriculture exhibit in town and was given a huge 50 lb bag of free corn feed. A girl only needs so much corn so she passed along half of the bag. The girls are loving this new texture to play with! What a fun idea for summer play!

Didn't know...

2010-06-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

what I was missing! I received a beautiful sewing machine from my mother-in-law for my birthday! My mom gave me some JoAnne's Gift cards for my crafting pleasure...and voila! I am learning to sew. I went with my mom on Wednesday to pick a pattern and fabric. She helped me with the basics like iron your pattern so it lays flat, how to decipher pattern-speak, etc. I cut it out on Thursday afternoon and by Friday night I had a super cute purse for my date! I am in love.....with sewing and with my new bag! FUN!

I have always been a girl who had an idea in mind but couldn't ever find it in the store. Now I can create my ideas, once I find the fabric that is in my mind...HA! I can't wait to start making things for the girls. What a blessing! Thanks Moms for my wonderful birthday treats!

Fun in the Sun!

2010-06-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

What can I say? We love the park! Swings, Merry-go-round, ducks to feed. Fun times with Mimi!

Zoo

2010-06-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

Papa gave our family a membership to the zoo for Audree's birthday and we could not be more excited! Today was our first trip with our pass. So fun and beautiful weather. I think the animals were as happy as we were to see the sun. They were out and more active than we have ever seen them!

Audree's First Birthday....Ice Cream!

2010-06-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

I guess you can say we have a started a tradition. We have taken both girls on their first birthday to DQ for an ice cream cone. This was in hopes to save the birthday cake fun for the upcoming birthday bash. It is entertaining to look back and see the girls similarities and differences on their special day! Happy Birthday Audree! Sorry you didn't like your cone!

Cousins

2010-05-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

I had my brother's boys over today..... I love these guys!

Jamin....5 Karalee....a month until 3 Audree....1 Jase.... a week until 3

Neigh Neighs...

2010-05-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

Our little cousin turned 2 today. Happy Birthday Ryland! We went up to see some miniature horses and the kids had a blast!!!

HIS Image Photography

2010-05-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

I set up a blog for the purpose of displaying my new hobby. Come visit if you'd like. =)

CHECK IT OUT!

So....No, I am not a "photographer" so to speak. The Lord has blessed me with a nice husband who bought me a nice camera, not too long ago. I had hoped and prayed for one for years. With this gift, I intend to BLESS THE LORD and others. I have a lot to learn but I love to "play". This blog is set up to feature my friend's little babes... whenever I get a chance to enjoy this hobby. As for the name.......1.) these beautiful bundles have been CREATED BY GOD in HIS IMAGE. 2.) In 1 Samuel, Hannah prayed for a son. When the Lord answered her petition, she dedicated Samuel back to the Lord for His service. That is my prayer too. My camera is dedicated back to the Lord for His service. That said, every image I capture is HIS IMAGE. Take a look if you'd like!

Liam....Sneak Peak!

2010-05-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

I took some newborn pictures today....so fun! Here is a sneak peak.

Bare Necessities

2010-05-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, the aim of

our patrol

Is a question

rather droll

For to march and drill

over field and hill

Is a military goal!

By the ranks or

single file

Over every jungle mile

Oh we stamp and crush

Through the underbrush

In a military style!

As cute as this is...she might not be doing it for very much longer...

She's a Pro...

2010-05-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well Karalee has this photo-shoot thing down. I asked her if she wanted to have birthday pictures taken today and she instantly grew excited. She wanted to know what she could wear and if she had to have her hair combed. I think she initially thought I meant she was having a birthday party today,...hence birthday pictures. I explained that we would send these pictures to family in the mail and ask them to come to her party. She twirled, posed, laughed....with very little prodding on my part. Ha! What a stark contrast to her little sister.

Getting the sillies out....

Hair/Wardrobe/Entertainment/Photographer-mommy!

2010-05-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously! I tried to take some pictures of Audree for her 1st birthday invitation. This is getting to be quite the event with Little Audree. She is pretty busy and doesn't stay put for very long these days...I managed to get a few cute shots. Wouldn't you know it, my very first picture snapped was my favorite. I guess we could have called it a day and saved a lot of silliness. Oi! Tuck in the shirt, fix the bow, fluff the skirt, position, supply candy (smarties) run, focus camera, make a ridiculous spectacle trying to produce a smile, click click click, back to the top....=) Fun times! I enlisted Nolan to help at the end..hehehe. Let's just say, the entire production was a bit overwhelming for him ;)

In case you were wondering about my make-shift studio....=) Just paper and the deck!

Swagbucks!

2010-05-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

So I have to tell you...if you are not earning swagbucks, you need to start! Swagbucks is a free sight that rewards you with "bucks" for participation. With these points you can shop in the "swag store" and get great prizes. What is better than prizes???.....GIFT CARDS! That is right! You can trade in your points for gift cards.

Since it is free, I am saving my points to buy Amazon.com gift cards to use at Christmas. My friend Beth gave me this idea and I am so excited. I have been doing this for about two weeks and have 681 swagbucks to date. (About 450 to buy a $5 gift card.)

It may seem like SO many points to earn for only a little cash, but it takes almost no effort.
Download the toolbar and use their search engine every time you search. We all search the Internet anyway, why not get small rewards for doing it? You can also get swagbucks for buying from their partners. I don't go out of my way to do this. However, if I am buying something anyway I go through their site. You can earn 2 "bucks" for every $ spent. Another way is by answering polls and being involved. All up to you.....if you have the time for that. Lastly, you can get points from referrals. If you sign somebody up, you get credit for their earnings. If my friend gets 24 on a search, and she is my referral, then I get 24 too!!!!

Here is a rundown of what I earned today, and it is only 3:00....

Entered into my "swag search" toolbar....
Facebook.......................................27pts!!!
Lowes (Looking for a coupon)...................12pts!!!
"The Swag Guy" left a message in the toolbar....6pts!!!
Home Depot (comparing prices)..................12pts!!!
Blogger.........................................6pts!!!
Answered a poll.................................1pt!!!!

These are morning and Nap-time activities that I would be doing anyway. But with the swag tool-bar, I earned 64pts without effort!

Join today! (Be my referral) ;)

My Dad...

2010-04-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer....he loved the Beatles....not their theology ;) just their music!

Can't believe it has already been three years since he passed away...Where did the time go? So many memories flood my mind today as I remember him. Thought I would share a few pictures...(surprised?) The first picture was of our family (pre-Andrea and kids) at Disneyland in the Summer of '03. Nolan and I were engaged and this was taken about a month before my dad starting showing signs of being sick.

My dad was an amazing coach. He lead several teams to State Championship tournaments in baseball and football. I kept the book for him/his baseball team in High School. Those guys sure did respect him.

Him and I after a summer league basketball practice. He was always willing to take us to a practice, game etc. He loved watching his kids play sports.

(on the left) He never did give up rolling his pants like that....HAHA!

He grew up in a Military family and had fun stories of growing up all over the place including Scotland.

A few fond memories...

He enjoyed a frosted mug with his root beer

He was giddy the day he bought his '63 &1/2 Ford Galaxy

He loved to whistle while listening to the Beatles

He had a book for every report we head due at school....if he could only find it...

He kept EVERYTHING...and could win any argument when you thought you needed new shoes(his were impossibly old....)

I remember him wearing scrunched tube socks with his old white tennis shoes...

He often stood on his tip toes when posing for a picture with my mom

He loved photography and was really talented with it

...

He Loved the Lord.

He raised his family to stand on the Word of God and live by it.

"Read you Bible."

"Go to Church"

"Be Good!"

Love you dad! Miss you...

11 Months Old

2010-04-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Audree is 11 months old today. I really have a hard time remembering where the time went. We are so excited to have her in our family. She is quite the clown lately. She often jabbers to get our attention, only to make a silly face and then start chuckling. She is notorious for her "cheesy" crinkle-nosed grin. We just can't get enough of this little monkey!

Garden Therapy

2010-04-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

I bought 10 strawberry plants a few days ago and have been so excited to plant them. Most of you who know me, know that I don't enjoy eating strawberries. I know, I know..."I'm Crazy." Anyway, my family loves them and they are very pretty so I thought they would be our first to be planted in our garden this year.

Some of you may remember that Nolan built me a raised garden bed for my birthday last year! I loved watching our tomatoes and cucumbers grow. This year I plan to have strawberries, tomatoes, and hopefully a red pepper plant!
Karalee loves to play in the dirt, transplanting to various places around the yard. This is what our bed looked like today, before planting.

I went to Starbucks today and asked them for any left-over coffee grounds. They gave me a huge bag. What a treat to get free, organic compost for my garden. Apparently used coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, something that needs to be added to soil that has already "fed" a plant. It also doesn't compact as much as dirt so it keeps your soil just right for your roots to travel...Did I mention it smelled AMAZING?

After this Espresso layer, I added the top layer of soil, compost, manure, and food. I bought a pre-mixed bag this year. We have a pretty good base, so this saved a lot of time...

Now I can plant my beautiful little plants. This truly does feel therapeutic.

In case you are wondering what cool gardening tools I use, don't be intimidated...

And I am left with a fun little strawberry patch in my garden box. They remind me so much of my grandma's strawberry rows in her garden. I have such fun memories of picking berries in her back yard. Can't wait to see if we get anything this year. I hear we might not... we shall have to wait and see.

I have heard that these grow just great in a pot...so if you don't have a garden, don't let that stop you!

Why Clean Chemical-Free???

2010-04-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Any time I go out onto the deck to get something, I turn around to a picture of this! The last time I watched her do it I thought, "I sure am glad that my windows are not only clean, but chemical free." Who wants their 10-month-old to have a lick of windex? Not me! What a stinker, this one!

Love from the North!!!

2010-04-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Mimi sent the girls some care packages today. They were both so excited!!! Thanks "Meem"!

Audree was feeding off of Karalee's excitement and was pretty sure this yellow envelope must be amazing. She was so excited she wouldn't stop bouncing and shaking the package...cute.

Thanks Mimi! Thanks for the sinus meds too...very appreciated!

Favorite Photo

2010-04-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite two photos captured on Easter with the family. I'm in love with Ronan in the Black and White. I can almost here him laughing when I look at it. Maybe part of my excitement is the fact that Pioneer Woman has listed some of her photoshop actions in an elements friendly way....(Did I lose anyone?) Anyway, this is her formula for turning a picture b&w and I'm in LOVE with it! YEAH! And....who could resist my nephew Jamin ....hahaha.

Okay.....I love this one too. Silly Uncle Ben!

Mommy's Monday Morning: Fruits of the Spirit 101

2010-04-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

" ...The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Yes, it is only 10:15 AM on Monday and I am writing on my blog.....Little Miss Audree just went down for a morning nap, and Karalee is basking in the glow of two Easter baskets. While she is completely engrossed by those colorful eggs and tin foil chocolates, I will tell you about our mini-course on the passage in Galatians 5...

Good morning Lord! I am tired and I need your strength today. Thank you for the wonderful gift of your Son and the sacrifice that was made for me.....and......I hit the ground running with two kids "singing" the "please get me out of this bed" song that is really just a bunch of wailing and gnashing of teeth. I rescue them from their beds and we begin our day, or our lessons, rather. Here they are in the order they were learned this morning...keep in mind, all in about 20 minutes.

LOVE: Making my husband a healthy lunch as he leaves for work.
JOY : Listening to my 2 year old tell me why she has (in my opinion) a ridiculous amount of chocolate to look at this morning.."Cause Jesus died... and it was a gift...and I got other pwesents....and the chocolate is my pwesent too...and they are not Audee's pwesents...she got the puffs! (veggie puffs in place of candy in the eggs)...and Jesus gived this chocolate to me..."
PATIENCE: Raisin Bran spilling all over the kitchen floor
SELF-CONTROL: Getting back to a healthy eating plan and counting some calories
PEACE: Stealing 11.5 seconds to myself to use the restroom....sometimes the only "peace & quiet" of the day
GENTLENESS: ....learned along with the second helping of patience as I changed Audree's blow-out that had gone all the way up her back. The gentleness is practiced when she is twisting and writhing as if you are torturing her for cruel pleasure. Nolan is certain we need to get her some tranquilizers for the diaper changings
FAITHFULNESS: Remembering that the Lord can teach me HIS truths, HIS promises and HIS lessons for my life through 15 square feet of scattered Raisin Bran, a dirty diaper smeared on my arms as I lift my child, and a mountain of laundry that is almost as tall as I am....

Good Morning Lord. Good Morning Monday.

Papa bought us these beautiful lilies...

Easter Pics

2010-03-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Took the girls out for Easter Pictures today. Fun!

I said PEEK-A-BOO...they play this game differently! =)

A few cute things...

2010-03-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Today I plugged in the glue gun to fix a bow of Karalee's. Before I knew it, I was making new bows. I was playing with my scrapbooking ribbons and made the girls coordinating ribbons to match their ADORABLE Easter dresses. (Dress pics to come...) Here they are. Not identical, but cute.

Speaking of cute things, Nolan and I watched our nephews the other night. One of them put a costume on and then all three kids NEEDED to dress up! So fun to watch cousins playing...

Amy's Adorable Dolls!

2010-03-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine makes these and they are so cute. Audree loves her little baby doll. It is completely soft, with no bottons that she can chew off. They make adorable baby gifts. She makes them to order, customizing hair and eye color to match with your little boy/girl.

If you would like to order, let me know.

1 customized doll is $15.

2 customized dolls for $25.

Sweet Matrimony...

2010-03-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Nolan brought me this bouquet of Sunshine this morning...

Spokane Shout-out!!!

2010-03-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

Somebody likes to wave, and it is pretty cute!

Spring Things

2010-03-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

I LOVE it when my husband gives me the simple gift of a fresh cut lawn. It smells like baseball season, it reminds me that summer is just around the corner, and it gives the impression that the front yard has been "vacuumed," if you will. Like it has been tidied up. =) You know me, I like things tidy! The girls also seem to appreciate Nolan's yard work...

Karalee & Audree watching him out the window...

Karalee was explaing to Audree exactly what was going on...=)

Nolan, laughing at me for my crazy picture taking....for the blog of course!

His smallest, most-devoted fan!

Crawling Beauty

2010-03-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

I just love to see my little girl crawling around the house. She is usually in pursuit of her sister. I couldn't resist today. I went into the kitchen and called her....AUDREE!!!

Spring Cleaning....In February?

2010-02-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

The warmth of the sun is a powerful thing. It has been beautiful for nearly a week now and I am LOVING it! It makes me want to do a Spring cleaning. Probably beacause the gorgeous light pouring in our back door illuminates just about every speck of dust for the eye to see. Today I took down the blinds from behind the sink (and the master bedroom) and threw them in the bathtub for a two hour soak. I put in some dishwasher detergent too. They came out sparkling and clean!!! While they were away, I cleaned the window, painted the trim and shined the sink. Sounds like a lot, but really it took about ten minutes. Now, as I watch the afternoon sun flooding in, it is clean and refreshing!

With the weather so inviting, that can only mean one thing around our house....BUBBLES! Karalee watched them as she played on the deck after her nap.

And...with all of the solar energy in me, I made bread. Ok, just in the bread machine...still smells AMAZING!

9 months!

2010-02-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Audree will be 9 months old on Friday. This is her favorite way to play. She has mastered crawling and the Johnny Jump Up. She loves her excersaucer and standing in general. These pictures make her look like she is standing/walking independently, which is not true. She does, however, love to stand....stand at the couch and play with daddy's remote control, stand at the window and watch sister ride her bike. Pretty much anywhere we will help her get to. Such a doll. She also has learned this last week to sit herself up after crawling to a toy. She is pretty proud of herself.

Ben's Final Home Game

2010-02-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

My brother Ben played his last home game of the season on Saturday night. He has had a fantastic season. Last weekend, he was featured on the front page of the Sport's section in the Statesman Journal. Here is an article posted by Corban when Ben won Conference player of the week.

PORTLAND, Ore. – After leading the conference in scoring this past weekend, senior men's basketball player Ben Potloff (Keizer, Ore.) has been named Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league office earlier Monday.

"It is great to have a kid like Ben receive this award," said eighth-year head coach Justin Sherwood. "He has been a hard and dedicated worker in our program over the last four years. It is great to see him awarded for his play this past weekend."

In two games against Northwest and Evergreen, Potloff averaged 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. The 6-foot-1 senior guard was a combined 18-for-32 (56.2%) from the field to go along with a 5-for-7 (71.4%) clip from beyond the three-point arc and a 10-for-13 (76.9%) showing at the free throw line.

Against Northwest, Potloff scored a team-leading and game-high 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists. In 35 minutes of play, Potloff was 1-for-4 from behind the three-point line and 7-for-8 at the free throw line.

Twenty-four hours later against nationally-ranked Evergreen, Potloff led a quintet of Warriors that netted double-figure scoring totals with 25 points on another 9-for-18 performance from the field. The lone senior on this year's roster also pulled down five rebounds and handed out another two assists, while going a perfect 4-for-4 from long distance and 3-for-5 at the charity stripe.

So far this season, Potloff leads the team in eight categories that includes games played (22), games started (22), field goals made (140), field goals attempted (285), free throws made (76), free throws attempted (100), total points (386), and points per game (17.5). Potloff also ranks fifth in the conference in scoring.

This is the first-ever Player of the Week award for Potloff and the first for Corban's men's basketball team since former Warrior Kyle Masten (2006-08) was honored by the league on December 17, 2007.

We are super proud of Ben and his accomplishments over the past four years. He has been a dedicated player while facing many ups and downs on and off the court. We lost our dad in April of 2007,following Ben's Freshman Season. He married his sweetheart in the summer of 2008. He took a position as a youth pastor in the Fall of 2009. He has not lost his passion and pursuit for Christ as he seeks to live each day with a purpose. We are SO PROUD of you Ben. Love you!

Som of Ben's BIGGEST Fans....

You know you are the mom of a pre-schooler when...

2010-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

My friend wrote this and I think it is HILARIOUSLY true.
You think going to the grocery store alone feels like a mini vacation

The bathroom tends to be your secret hideout spot
You haven't taken a shower by yourself in over a year and you are often moving toys out of the way when you get to
Your "5" second rule when dropping food has turned into a 2 day rule
You are an expert when it comes to entertaining your child(ren) while doing your make up and hair each morning
You have mastered reading your child a book, sticking in a pacifier, handing back snacks, refilling a sippy cup all while driving your car
You have found a cheerio in your clothing or half a fruit snack stuck to your shirt
You have had to share your food for the past year...at least.
You haven't had to have an alarm clock since your little critter has entered the world
Wiping boogers with your sleeve doesn't seem so bad anymore
You can change a diaper anywhere...lap, bathroom counter, trunk of car just to name a few
You have had to nurse your baby while going to the bathroom at the same time (TMI?)
You have about a pound of free floating cheerios, raisins and goldfish in your car
You know how to love even after he/she has been ridiculously naughty
Your purse is packed with snacks and entertainment
You will give up your music for your child's silly songs Cd's
When night time rolls around and little one(s) are to bed you either give a fist pump or high five your husband like you just completed a marathon
The topic of your child's stool textures or colors is not rare between you and your other young mom friends
You are out doing errands on your own and you are aware of every baby sound you hear in the store
You want to hurt whoever accidentally woke up your baby at nap time as that is one of the most sacred times of your day
A slobbery kiss is very much appreciated
Your capacity to love is far greater than what is was pre-child(ren)!
...My addition...
When you talk to your husband, you replace certain words by spelling...Example: "I don't want her to watch that. They said S.T.U.P.I.D and H.A.T.E. Should we go to the P.A.R.K? When they go to bed, we should have I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M.

Sneak Peak!

2010-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

I was privileged with the opportunity to take some pictures of our dear friends' baby over the weekend. Here is a sneak peak. I don't want to steal their thunder so here is just one...

Ok, maybe one more...=)

Spokane Weekend

2010-02-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

We have spent the last few days in Spokane with Nolan's family. Karalee and Audree have been having a lot of fun. Karalee's favorite thing to do is feed the chickens with her Papa Joe. She also enjoys taking strolls in the front yard with her "baby" and checking on the birds in their birdhouses. It is pretty cute.

Audree loves to play in her "jumpy jump" and chase her sister.

Playing in the Park

2010-01-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Today was beautiful. The sun was out long enough to give all of us Oregonians some hope for Spring. When the girls woke up from their naps, we headed to Riverfront Park to play. Karalee was THRILLED that daddy threw her bike in the trunk without her noticing. We rode until dusk then headed to The Book Bin to look at books. What a great Sunday afternoon/evening.

We were even blessed with a pretty sunset!

Somebody is Crawling!!!

2010-01-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

So fun to watch. Such a little cutie and her big sister is very proud of her! (Please disregard the laundry pile that is begging to be folded)

Just keep moving, just keep moving...

2010-01-29T15:34:00.000-08:00

The first thought when I opened my eyes this morning was, "Today is the day." I had a million thoughts flood my mind. I can do this; maybe I can't. Every other day seemed like a big step; they were hard too. Who am I kidding, I hate running; actually I have really been enjoying this. It is probably bad for my back until I get a better sports bra; actually it is amazingly good for me. I should wait and do it tomorrow; no, Today is the day!

All day it is going through my mind. I know I need to get out of the house this morning so that I don't obsess and stress myself out about it. We head to indoor park and I think I mentioned it several times. Ok, so i obviously don't have to be sitting at home to obsess. We head to the store and then home afterward. "Let's go girls. Time for nap." I glance at the treadmill, my partner in crime for the past four weeks, and actually give it a nod. Apparently I have spent enough time with it to grant it it's very own personality. With my nod I mentally say, "See you in a few minutes."

I round up the girls and get them into bed. My mom and sister stop by to pick something up and I welcome the distraction. It drowns out the "Jaws" music that is playing in my mind. Once they leave I lace up the running shoes and dive in before I can think too much about it. Ok, before I think too much MORE about it.

I am running and feeling pretty good. I am keeping myself distracted so I don't think about the time. That is until Mr. Ullrey (the man who wrote these podcasts) announces, "Good job! You are half-way there." WHAT! I can't believe I just did ten minutes, my longest yet, and I still feel good. WHAT! I have to do ten more??? This running thing has definitely brought on a case of multiple personalities within me. I am excited and timid, encouraged yet doubting in the same fraction of a second. For the first time, I truly understand what it means to have your flesh and your spirit at odds within you. Great, now this running is not only good for my health and my waistline, but also my Spiritual understanding.

Somehow, (It almost feels like time fast forwarded) I only have two minutes left. It is at this time that I hear someone talking to me. I am wearing headphones so it is distant. "Yes, Lord?" (It might be the Lord calling me home.) Actually I feel pretty good so that must not be it. Of course, it is my precious two year old peeking her sweet little head out into the garage. Really? Is this happening. Of all days. She knows she is not allowed to get out of her bed during nap time.

"I am going potty, ok mom? Then I will get panties because I want to be done with my rest. Ok mom? So I will just go potty now. I am so happy. You just run on the tread-meal mom. Ok mom? I am so excited." SHUT! She closes the door before I can scold her between my very deep breaths.

My run is done. I feel victorious but I cannot celebrate due to an imminent battle with my mini-me. I turn off the treadmill, and head in. "Karalee, go get into your bed and I will be there in a minute." She must see how worn out I look because she does not obey on the second, third or fourth time either. I meet her in her room and we go through the consequences of not listening. How can this be? I just complete a small milestone for me and in the next minute I find myslef not celebrating, but disciplining an adorable little girl. The same girl who is promising me that if she doesn't get in trouble, she will be a good list-ten-rrr for the rest of her life.

And this is my life. It is quiet now. Karalee just finished yelling from her crib, "I need to go potty again, mom." My run is finished and coincidentally, so is the "Jaws" music that was playing in my head. I sit here feeling calm and confident as I share my day with all of you mommy's out there. I know you understand the victories, the frustrations and the humor that is woven throughout or mommyhood days. Thanks for listening, or reading rather....

I LOVE a good deal!

2010-01-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Last week I was shopping in Hancock Fabrics. They were selling all of their upholstery fabric samples for $1. I bought 12 so that I could make pillows for the bed and couch. I finished the pillows for our bed and most for the couch. I will post the couch later. Fun! I am stoked that I made the following pillows for $5. All of the other bedding was pulled together from the Linen Closet. I LOVE a good deal...

Karalee Quotes

2010-01-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

My friend does a wonderful job of catching her children's perspectives throughout her blog. One of the ways she does this is by posting cute quotes from throughout their day/week. They say, imitation is the best form of flattery, so... I too will be adding our funny quotes from time to time. I hope they bring a smile to your face, as they do mine. Who knows, they may even make you stop and re-evaluate your attitude, opinion, or even convictions. This first one, however, just made me laugh...

Me: Karalee, if you do that again, I will have to pull the car over and you will be in trouble.

(Insert long pause as she stares out her window)

Karalee: Mommy, I will be a good listener because I don't want you to have to pull the car over onto me. Maybe I just need a spankin.

I heart pictures...

2010-01-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy playing with my camera and trying to think of new ways to capture the girls. Here is what we did today.

Checking off the list...

2010-01-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Well I went in pleading for answers and answers I received! Audree is officially not allergic to Dogs, Cats, Dust Mites, Mold, Eggs, Wheat, Dairy, and two other things I can't remember any longer. So answers yes, but the root of her vibrating torso.....no such luck. The allergy/asthma doctor did however recommend I try the nebulizer! HA! No, he meant with a new drug to help any swelling that may be going on in there. Different approach and yet very much the same. He said we shall know by the weekend if she does indeed have asthma. If not, we will move from there.
I also expressed my concerns about her having Cystic Fibrosis. Some dear family friends are dealing with this recent diagnosis in their family. As I began to look into it, I found many similarities when comparing the symptom list to little Miss A. Foul smelling stool, (even when solely breastfed) bloated belly, wheezing and coughing, reoccurring bronchitis, insatiable appetite, constipation/bowel issues,....yes I became worried. The main test for this is a sweat chloride test but she doesn't really sweat much so this may be difficult.
Today after we arrived home from the Allergist, I began reading again. Most pregnant women are tested for this abnormal CF gene during pregnancy. If they (I) had it, Nolan would have had to be tested as well. The gene must be present in both parents for the possibility of 1 in 4 children to indeed contract active CF. I went back through some of my prenatal paperwork from Karalee. Indeed, I was tested and do not carry the gene. PTL! That means no matter what we find out about this persistent rattle in Audree's chest, I can sleep at night knowing it is not CF.
So yes, some questions answered. Some left to be determined. With all of this news I had to do something to unwind a little bit. Here are a few pictures from our spur of the moment, 15 minutes of almost decent lighting, photo shoot! =)

Hippie, Pizza Feet!

2010-01-13T22:01:00.000-08:00

Sleeping so peacefully....

Oh little Audree, what ails you my dear? This is the thought that runs through my mind at all hours of the day, and undoubtedly the night. My sweet, laid back, charming girl has been sick for a little over four months now. We have been to the doctor many times over these trying months, wondering what could be her vice. "Bronchialitis," the doctor tells me. "A little albuterol will clear it right up." When that didn't work, a nebulizer was delivered to our doorstep. "This should do the trick, we were assured by the Apria boy." Friday afternoon, 5:00....yes, I pray this does the trick.
   The dosage requires four treatments per day. "It may make it difficult to sleep at times," I'm told but I am not worried about that. She isn't sleeping anyway with the inability to breathe. One treatment and the girl is WIRED. This is a tad more extreme than what I was prepared for. Still, we endure countless heartbreaking treatments to no avail.
   I let a month pass before we call for a mid afternoon, squeeze you in, kind of appointment. She isn't breathing well and I want to make sure it is not pneumonia. Nope, sounds the same. Try the nebulizer, it should help. Head down, heart fallen, we travel home with the same news. "Bronchialitis"......"Try the Nebulizer,".....
   A few weeks later I take her in because now on top of the plugged nose and wheezing chest, she is pulling at her ear. Sure enough, an ear infection. "Good," I think to myself. "Maybe the antibiotics will help her other symptoms." Nope, the ear infection comes and goes and she still sounds like there is a rattle stuck straight in the middle of her chest. Good news, however, she has now learned to sleep with this seemingly chronic problem.
   I am now at the end of my rope. I NEED answers, I BEG for answers. Tomorrow we see an allergist to try and find out if there is a specific thing that is causing these symptoms. I will be honest, I am looking forward to getting a second opinion. I have other ideas in the back of my mind, but allergies would be a very welcomed diagnosis.
   As for the hippie pizza feet? Well, a friend who is bent toward the naturopathic ways of medicine has been swearing by this remedy. "Oil of Oregano", she says. "Rub it on her feet and it ought to clear it up by the morning." "I have heard that before, but I will try anything at this point. I pray she is right.
   For now, Audree's feet smell like a pizza with a twist of hippie. =) Whatever works!

Jake....

2010-01-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in our Christmas post that we were able to spend some time with our friends and meet their brand new son, Jake. I wanted to post a few pics I took in the brief time we had. What a darling little boy. He was delicious, and I could not help but smile while I held him.....

...Smitten...

Baby Food @ Home

2010-01-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

The girls were both sick yesterday which pretty much equals a day at home. It is not fun, nor socially encouraged to take your little ones out, and let them hack and choke all over town. We were running low on baby food for Audree so I decided to make some. I did this with Karalee and she LOVED the flavors of the fresh fruits and veggies compared to the store bought foods. I documented it for any of you who may be wanting to try it out.

Pick Your Ingredients

You want to use nutrient dense items. I used bananas, blueberries, apples, broccoli, corn, carrots, sweet potatoes, and brown rice. I would also use oats if I had them on hand. From what I've read, sweet potatoes actually have white flesh and the orange fleshed cousin is the yam. They are both heavy in nutrients so either one is a good choice for babies. I have also read that spinach is risky to prepare at home. Somehow, it causes the body to carry less oxygen in the bloodstream which can be harmful for a baby. According to the experts, it is better to leave this vegetable to the professionals. You can also include meats if you would like.

Prepare Your Produce

After you gather your produce, cut the larger fruits into chunks for steaming. There are many ways to soften your veggies. According to the research I read (from a few sources), steaming preserves the highest amounts of nutrients in the fruits and veggies. Baking is also a good option. It is not recommended to boil or microwave because this breaks down many of the good properties we are trying to deliver to our babes.

It is very easy to get a steaming basket and place it in a pot with water underneath it. Let the veggies steam just long enough to get tender. I like to keep the ingredients separate during this step so I can make blends later with single-ingredient purees.

Puree

Once the items are softened, run them through a blender until smooth. A magic bullet will also work, but may take a while longer depending on how much you have to work with. Blend each item one by one.

*If you are making foods for a younger child, new to solids, it is best to keep the foods separate until you know if they have any allergies. Introduce the foods, one by one, with about 4 days in between. This way, if they do have an adverse reaction, you can track it back to the most recently introduced food.

Place your Packaging

There are many ways to store baby food made at home. Ice trays can be a great way. I like to use my old containers from our store-bought food. In reality, I don't make all of the food she eats. ;) Small tuperware also work, and breast-milk storage bags can be great too. It is easy to line them up on a baking rack or cookie sheet before filling. Then you can place the entire tray into the freezer easily.

Play

This is where you get to be creative. My little one is now 7 months so we are eating blends. I like to include on fruit, one veggie, and one grain (at least) so that each little container has a balanced meal. Choose whatever ingredients you would like and use a mixer to combine them You could also blend them together if your child needs a super smooth texture. I threw my ingredients into the kitchen aid to mix them. Here are the combos I made yesterday....

-Blueberries, Bananas, Apples & Brown Rice

-Sweet Potatoes, Carrots and Corn

-Broccoli, Carrots, Peas and Brown Rice

-Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Apples & Brown Rice

Package

I use my cookie scoop and fill each container to the top. Place a lid on each and label if desired. Then stack . Throw it in the freezer and you are good to go.Now you just have to remember to pull the next day's menu out of the freezer the night before and place it in the fridge to thaw overnight. If you want, you can mix in warm breast-milk, formula, or water to bring it to a desired eating temperature.

Christmas, New Years, and life goes on...

2010-01-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a crazy bunch of weeks. Once again, we made it safely in our travels to Spokane and then home again. This is no small occasion anymore. We used to love packing up our small two door coupe and leaving in the middle of the night because it saved us time. We enjoyed stopping at Starbucks and watching movies in the car. We had wonderfully meaningful talks and treasured eachother's company immensely. Sometimes, it was my favorite part of our journeys north.

Times have definitely changed. After packing for most of the day, all of the things that we can't live without for even a week, into many more suit cases than ever before, I made an emergency trip to the Dr.'s office. Yes, they squeezed me in at 4:30 only to find out that indeed Audree had her first ear infection. Off to the pharmacy I went and then home to drop off my little sickie and head straight to Bunco. Somewhere in the five minutes I was home, we decided we might as well drive through the night again, with the prayer that our little sweethearts would sleep for the drive.

I arrived home from my ill-timed night out to my adorable husband napping on the couch. He asked my why I was "sprinting" around the house. After a short pause, no words...........he sits up. How can I help? =) Our goal was to leave by 12:00 and we made it out of the driveway at 12:02. Christmas here we come. This trip was definitely different. Coffee in a thermos, (because it is much cheaper than Starbucks) taking turns napping replaced our deep conversations. I guess that is what happens when you run 100mph every day and then finally, you have no choice but to sit still for 6 1/2 hours.

We had a fun time in Spokane spending time with many family members and getting to see the adorable Jake Beamish....(pics below) born only 6 days before we got the chance to meet him. What a precious little boy. We ate wonderful food, enjoyed wonderful fellowship, and unfortunately delivered a lot of discipline to our sweet, adorable, strong-willed two year old. Grandma's + Toys + Cookies + Going to bed late + Getting up Early + Being sick + Doting Aunties = Defiance in the truest form. I don't blame any of these things more than the others. It is, however, just an obvious combination for misbehavior.

We arrived home at 1:00 AM on the 30th and Nolan was out the door for work at about 6:30. No rest for the weary. We spent a very fun New Year's Eve with our friends. We played Pit and Apples to Apples. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We put the kids down at 9 PM thinking they would all lay quietly on their sleeping bags and watch a movie as the drifted into a peaceful slumber. YEAH RIGHT!! They, one by one, would come down the stairs and check in on us. Little Isaac came down to announce that it needed to be quiet, upstairs AND downstairs... Too cute.

January 1 was a really great day. Nolan and I spent some good time thinking about our resolutions. After we put the girls to bed, we wrote down our new goals for our Family, Friends, Business and Ministries. Our goal ;) is to pray for these together each week and watch how the Lord works in us and through us in 2010. We feel focused and that feels really great.

So here we are. January 7th. Things are starting to settle down. The toys are organized and sorted in the bedrooms. The house is but back together and the Decorations are packed away in the garage. My toddler is beginning to obey me again. The new year is off to a good start.

Here are a few pics of our trip...

Christmas morning, Audree wasn't ready to wake up...

Karalee was a little more interested to see what was upstairs...

We also went to the carousel... Audree's first time.

Snow!

2009-12-29T14:04:00.000-08:00

It snowed for about 10 minutes today, right at nap time!!! So, of course we had to go outside and enjoy it while it lasted. Karalee kept saying, "keep snowing, keep snowing, ice!" =) She also said it tasted like "hice cream." Kids make everything a little more fun! Little Audree was already settled in her crib so she did not get to play this time. I hope we have at least one snow day this year to enjoy with the girls. (Hint: Pause the music at the bottom of the page before you view the video)

We arrived back home at about 1 AM last night from Spokane. We had a great Christmas at Mimi's house. Pictures are on their way...

Merry Christmas Eve...

2009-12-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

Partaking in some Christmas Eve traditions, well, someday they will be considered tradition. Tonight, they are just part of the festivities. We had the girls get dressed in their matching Christmas Jammers and Karalee made a birthday cake for Jesus. She had a blast! She has been talking about this for about a month!

Then the girls took some pictures by the Christmas tree...

Then we had to make Santa a plate of cookies before bed. Oh, and don't forget the carrots for the reindeer!

Nolan and I decided we are truly adults now. How do we know? We can't wait to see how our GIRLS react to their presents in the morning. That is what we are excited for, more than getting a gift ourselves. It is so fun raising these beautiful treasures. Merry Christmas everyone. We pray your lives are filled with the warmth of Christ's love, just as ours has been. Blessings to you and yours...

Karalee's Surprise

2009-12-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

Apparently Mimi told "Santa" to drop off Karalee's present in Salem early since we would be in Spokane for Christmas this year. She knew we would have a hard time loading it back home in the car. So here is Karalee getting her Santa Present....a few days early.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

I know I won't have enough of these to mail to everyone, and I can't afford the nearly 2 for a $1 postage so..........Merry Christmas everyone.

I do, Mommy!

2009-12-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

Karalee has become quite the independent girl over the last month or two and it is pretty cute. She insists on doing things herself and gets pretty offended if you rush her. My friend (who also has a two year old) wrote something that really hit me. She said of her little "helper"...."My job is 'mommy' not 'laundry folder' or 'speedy dishwasher unloader." Wow! Miss Karalee does have such a servant's heart and it fill's both Nolan's and my heart with joy to see it. Here is a list of a few things she has BEGGED to help/do herself in the last 24 hours.
Put her pants on....(cute to watch the attempt)
Put her shoes on
Wash her hair
Comb her hair
Put her hair in a pony tail
Open her car door
Buckle her seat belt
Get the milk from the fridge
Fill her cup
Do the dishes
Fold the laundry
Sweep up, (yes sweep) the crumbs she spilled on the carpet
Climb into her crib
Take daddy his cup
Put her waffle in the toaster
Read her book
Call Mimi, Nana, and Cody ( most of the time I find my phone with 222-34-2568-9873..... and I ask
who she was trying to call.)
Hold Audree
Make the bed
The list goes on and on. Thank you Lord for such a sweet girl with a helper's heart. Thank you too, for good friends who remind you to throw efficiency out the window and grant a sweet toddler her greatest desire...to help her mommy. After all, I would be silly to think this will last forever!

Christmas Goodies!

2009-12-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday night I came home from our date and found myself with time for myself! The girls were in bed and Nolan was studying for Sunday School. So many things I could do, craft, read, sleep, clean.....bake! I took the opportunity to listen to Jazzy Christmas music and bake a treat for my man! Here is what I made...

Cranberry Bliss Bars
(Similar to Starbucks')

Cake:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup diced dried cranberries
6 oz. white chocolate...cut into chunks (I used white chocolate chips)
Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used an 8 ounce tub of whipped creamed cheese)
3 cups icing sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice (I used the juice and rind of one clementine)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup diced dried cranberries
Drizzled Icing:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
(I used the rest of the white chocolate chips and just melted them in the microwave. Put in a baggie and cut
the tip to drizzle)
Prepare:
1.Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Make cake by beating butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Dice cranberries.

3. Add 3/4 cup cranberries and white chocolate chunks to batter...fold in. Pour batter into a well-greased 9" x 13" baking pan...spread evenly. Bake for 35 minutes or until cake is lightly browned on the edges. Allow to cool.

4. Make frosting by combining cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Frost cooled cake, using spatula to spread evenly

5. Sprinkle 1/4 cup diced cranberries over freshly frosted cake

6. Whisk together 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and shortening. Drizzle icing over cranberries. I used a pastry bag with a fine tip.

Speaking of delicious things to have this time of year, I must share with you my favorite treat. This Sweet & Spicy Tea is like cinnamon and chai. No sugar or cream required. It is amazing, and calorie free! YUM!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-12-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

Six years ago, today, I married the sweetest man in the world. Sorry ladies, he's been off the market for awhile now! I thought I would reminisce a little with you all. We started off our marriage with the hard stuff; a planned move out of state, cancer in the family, starting a business.... Needless to say we had to lean on the Lord and eachother from the get go. I am so thankful for the marriage Christ has given us. I wouldn't change a thing...

Nolan's grandparents gave us their time share in Italy for our honeymoon. We decided to wait until we graduated to use it and went to Lake Tahoe instead. A little cabin in the snow was just perfect.

Go Tell It On The Mountain.....

2009-12-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Karalee sang in Church this morning! Last year she just sat there like a deer in headlights. I thought we might have the same performance this year after hearing she has not been singing in class. Well, sure enough first service was one single look of uncertainty the entire time. However, second service proved to be very entertaining for us. She came out waving her bell in the air as if she was warming up her arms. She didn't sing until the end of the first song. Then, much to our amazement, she but her bell down so she could do a few precious motions at the very end. Oh Karalee, you have no idea how you make me smile!

After, we went to see Santa at the Carousel. Karalee still wanted NOTHING to do with him so we ended up taking a family picture just to get her near the sleigh!

My favorite picture of the day, Audree.

Oh Audree, why do you charm me so!??

This is the first time Karalee actually road the carousel. She has always feared the horses. She even smiled!

Papa & Puzzles

2009-12-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

Nolan's Grandpa, lovingly called Papa, came over to our house Tuesday morning. Karalee was delighted and immediately wanted to read books with him and do a puzzle. These are her favorite past times with her Papa. In fact, he brought in our telephone book that had been delivered to the driveway that morning. She picked it up and said, "Thanks Papa. You want to read me my new book?" She then grunted and said, "It's really heavy." Indeed she thought the phone book was for her to read. =) I snapped a few pictures of them doing a puzzle. Too cute.

Fridley Tree Lighting Ceremony

2009-11-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

We put up our tree last night. It is so fun to see Karalee get excited about Christmas this year. She loved helping hang the lights and was even more excited when I pulled out our collection of Christmas books. I put them away last year so they would seem new and special this year. Worked like a charm! I think that will be the beginning of a tradition for us. We also put out our "little people nativity" from last year. So fun to decorate for Christmas, celebrate the birth of Jesus, all the while making it kid friendly and exciting. I just love being a mom.

Speaking of traditions, here are a few of ours, so far.
Nativity

Books

Favorite Ornaments...
Starbucks Coffee Cup

Nolan's Favorite from our first Christmas married 2003!

Memorial Ornament in memory of my Dad.

Nolan's: Remembering when he biked from Spokane to Virginia Beach with his two friends

I love Christmas...

2009-11-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

Per tradition, we went to get our tree today. We always go the day after Thanksgiving to begin our Christmas Season. This year we went right at dusk, so most of the pictures did not turn out. I did set the timer and try to get a few family shots. Not the best, but we had fun and found a nice tree. Of course, it was the first one Nolan spotted, AGAIN. He is no longer allowed to open his eyes until we are a few rows in. I try to tell him the "hunt" is part of the fun. Apparently, he is a good hunter. =)

Fun @ Riverfront Park

2009-11-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Today was beautiful and sunny so we bundled up and headed down to Riverfront Park. It was more crowded than I had anticipated, but we soon figured out why. SANTA was coming! He was due to arrive very shortly on the train right in front of the carousel. Needless to say, we got more than we bargained for during our park visit. We stood in the distance and watched "Santy" arrive and greet the children. Karalee still wanted nothing to do with him, but also didn't want to leave. Someday, much to Nolan's delight, she might just buy into this whole santa story. For now, she couldn't care less. The free hot chocolate,however....now that is a different story!

Hot Chocolate Break....

And she's off....

Audree's just taking it all in...

Fall Soups

2009-11-24T16:47:00.000-08:00

A few of you asked for the recipes to the soups I had at Bunco the other night. I almost took some pictures as I made them, (with the blog in mind, of course) but I didn't have time in the crazy day of non-napping girls.

Fiesta Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
3 cans of milk
One packet of taco seasonings
One can of corn
Chicken (I use a rotisserie)
A large handful of fresh Cilantro

Prepare:
Mix soup, milk, taco seasoning and cilantro in a crock pot or on the stove. Add corn and chicken and let simmer to blend the flavors. Serve with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips as a garnish.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves

1 garlic clove, minced (I have used granulated garlic in a pinch. About 1/2 Tbs.)
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 (14 ½ oz) cans chicken broth
2 (14 ½ oz) cans chopped stewed tomatoes
1 cup salsa
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Prepare:
Cook the chicken and shred or cut up. Add minced garlic to the margarine in the slow cooker and sauté. Combine all ingredients except cheese, sour cream & chips. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. When you’re ready to eat add the cheese to the bowl and pour the soup over and then add your garnishes (sour cream & chips).

*I Have used diced tomatoes with green chiles and just added a can of tomato sauce. Works great!

Great Grandma Butler's Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

1lb dried split peas

5 Cups chicken broth
2 1/2 Cups water
1 medium onion stuffed with 12 cloves
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced ( I use 2-4 foot-long)
2 garlic cloves, cut in half

1 meaty ham hock
2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp salt

Prepare:
Soak peas in chicken broth and water overnight. Place peas and liquid, ham hock, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, bay leaves and salt in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Remove onion with cloves and bay leaves, discard. Remove ham hock and dice meat. (if you have it, I put in extra ham) Put vegetables and peas through blender until smooth. Return soup and diced ham to slow cooker and heat to serving temperature.

*This is a great way to use the leftover ham bone after Christmas or Easter dinner. Just leave whatever meat on it and throw it in the freezer to use at a later time. Or, make up the soup the next day.

Big Girl

2009-11-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Audree is learning to sit up already. Although Karalee was about this age too, Audree seems so much younger to me. Here is a picture of her practicing. She wobbles a lot but can stay put for a stretch here and there. Too cute.

Karalee is proud of her sister and gets excited about the thought of playing next to her as she sits. She was a bit nervous though, as I stepped away to take pictures of Audree, leaving her sitting all by herself. This picture captured her uncertainty today.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Memories of my dad today. This was taken April 24th, 2004. 3 years and 6 days before he passed away. This makes me laugh becuase he was SO excited and proud of his new scooter. He was giddy in fact, that my mom finally let him have a bike. My brothers have shared fun memories of my dad riding this with a helmet, chemistry lab goggles and a scarf before Pete bought him the proper attire for Christmas.

This picture makes me smile because he asked me to come over and take a picture of him on his scooter. (Oh how I wish I had a better camera back then!) I walked in to find him in his recliner wearing this classic outfit. So like him, sweatpants and sweatshirt and his black sketchers. I remember saying, way to dress up for a picture dad! He smirked, his "trying not to laugh" face was easily read! "What, you don't like my outfit?" =)

Deda's Cookies

2009-11-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

Well as I mentioned in my post before, tomorrow would have been my dad's 57th birthday. Ironically, he has been coming up in conversations with Karalee all day. This morning she got into a box with his old Bible study notes. She found a page of beautiful fish stickers and began to place them all over the carpet. I explained that she may not get into that box again and that those stickers were "Deda's." Deda is short for Grandfather in Russian. Like Grandpa, if I understand correctly.

Later on, while we were getting ready to leave she asked where we were going. " To see daddy," I explained. "Deda?" No, not my daddy, we are going to see your daddy. "Oh, because Deda is in Heaven right?" Too cute....

Then tonight I decided to make some sugar cookies. It had been a crazy busy day and I wanted to spend some time with Karalee in the kitchen. She loves to play with her playdoh so I thought she might like to use the rolling pin and cookie cutters to make real cookies. She overheard me tell Nolan, "These were my dad's favorite cookies." Karalee chimed in, "These are Deda's cookies." =)

I'd like to think that her little 2 year old brain understands what she is saying. For now, I am comforted by the fact that we speak often of my dad. He was a wonderful Godly man and would be so smitten by this little girl who loves to talk about "Deda."

Being Thankful in November...

2009-11-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Nolan's Dad (Joe) has been staying with us on and off for the last few weeks. Our business has been very blessed and Nolan had two houses scheduled to start on the same day. Joe came down two weeks ago, stayed about 9 days and then went home when the second house was delayed. He came back down on Sunday and will be hear for a 9 day stretch again. As much as I truly love Joe, things are a little different around here. One more person to cook for and "take care of." He insists I don't need to, however it is just my nature to "mother" things and people in my home. =) I took this picture last night and realized how truly thankful I am to have him here. My dear friend Mindy lost her dad on Friday. Having lost my father only two and a half years ago, I find myself missing him often. Especially in November, as he would have turned 57 on this coming Thursday. I am thankful that Nolan has this opportunity to spend time with his dad and add to the countless memories. This picture captures how alike they are. Their legs crossed the same way. They sit the same, speak the same, giggle at the same things..... This is the man that helped mold my husband into the man I love, and I am thankful!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-11-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

We took my mom to a condo at the coast for her 50th birthday this weekend. We scrapbooked and watched chick flicks the entire time. We had a lot of fun and ate a lot of chocolate. Happy Birthday mom!

This is the AMAZING chocolate cake we had with all 50 candles. Below is a picture of a few of my mom's "must-have" staples for scrapbooking. All of her favorites............yes, that includes a tiara! =)

Our Crazy Day...

2009-11-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

Well today was a little busy but a lot of fun. It started with 8:00 AM calls (on the dot mind you) to the Dr. to get Audree squeezed in for an appointment. This Bronchialitus is driving my bonkers. She has sounded worse the last few days so we needed to get her lungs checked. We had Stephanie and her little ladies over to play after that. It was a little bit of a zoo, but OH SO fun. I snapped this cute pic of Maddison as she stopped to play in the grass on the way to her car.

Then in the middle of all my list of things to do, I noticed that there was really good light coming in our kitchen door. Of course, my new camera just happened to be on the counter. I read an article about "catch lights" (reflections in your subjects eyes) a few days ago and that is what we got. FUN! Oh camera, you are so fun but so distracting.......off to take Nolan lunch then Audree to the Dr.

The last pic is of Audree's sad sweet face as she endures her nebulizer. BLAH! I am sorry sweet girl. After her appointment we headed to the store for some groceries where my car battery proceeded to die. It took an hour and two mechanics, (one on the phone) to help us get it started/home where it died upon entering the garage. My sweet husband just pulled in with my new battery (it is 10:40 PM). After cleaning both posts and such with baking soda and jumping it again, we realized it would not re-start once turned off. Crazy day, but full of fun and blessings. Praise the Lord for flexible nurses, good friends, hard-working husbands, wise doctors, gracious mechanics, money for groceries & car batteries, and...................the good nights sleep I am going to have. =) (gotta have faith!)

Little Girls Love to Twirl

2009-11-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

Nolan bought me a new camera over the weekend and I have NO IDEA how to use it. I am a hands-on learner so practice, practice, practice. Karalee was my willing subject this morning and we had fun playing. As soon as I hung the sheet she wanted to dance. She put on her "ballerina kirt" and began to twirl. I have a LONG WAY to go before I am taking the pictures I want to take. For now, don't look at the shadows, or the wrinkles, or the poor lighting. Look at my sweet little girl who loves to twirl!

Giggles

2009-11-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

These two girls melt my heart with the way they already love each other. Nobody can get Audree laughing like her sister Karalee. It is hard not to laugh along with them as they chuckle. I LOVE my girls!

Photo Booth

2009-11-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

So obviously I updated the blog a bit tonight. I realized I had no recent pictures of Nolan and I together so I asked him to come take some with me. Ridiculous. I thought I would post our attempts. It reminded me of a photo strip from a booth at the fair! =]

And the winner is..........

Kitchen Therapy

2009-10-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Kayla has always shared a love for cooking. From the early days as newly marrieds we would talk about how great it was to cook in our own kitchens, bake bread from scratch without a machine, and so on. Recently she posted her Great Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe on her blog. It is legendary in her family being passed down through generations of women.

Today Nolan had to work even thought it is Saturday.(Blah) I decided to give myself a little "kitchen therapy." There is nothing like turning on some good music and making some good food. It is fun and relaxing. It is not something I have time to do on every normal day of the week. The soup had a new twist of homemade noodles that remind me of dumplings. So yummy and very satisfying to know I took a whole chicken, some veggies and spices and made a masterpiece for dinner. =]

And what is chicken soup without a mascot??? Ha!

Top 10

2009-10-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

Well My Guy came home from work at 1:00 today. He finished up his job this morning (he is a Contractor) and didn't have anything else that was ready for him to work on. This doesn't happen often.

I was both super excited and a little bit thrown off by him coming home. Not that I don't LOVE having him here, but we have a daily routine that doesn't quite flow when my "daddy's girls" have their daddy home.

So today I blog about him. He told me I am not supposed to do that as I took his picture for this post. ;) He is the best husband any girl could ask for. My top ten reasons for thinking so?............

10. He provides for us financially.
9. He plays with the girls as if it is his FAVORITE thing to do.
8. He helps me with housework.
7. He brings me flowers.
6. He builds, fixes, cleans things around our house.
5. He is sensitive.
4. He makes a great cup of coffee.
3. He is good with finances and money responsibilities.
2 . He has integrity.
And the number one reason............
He is diligent is studying God's Word, living it out and leading our family in it's truths.

Baking Beauties

2009-10-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, what do you do when you have nothing to do.... Baking is always in my top ten. Today, I decided to let the girls take part in making pumpkin spice cookies. It was a blast for them which equals more work for Mama. In the end, it is so worth it to make special memories with them. Although I'm pretty sure Audree won't remember any of it. Karalee, well maybe not her either. But I will treasure the memories of having my little girls by my side in the kitchen. Learning to love baking like I do.

The Meg Ryan in My Head

2009-10-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

I think I have realized the root of why I enjoy writing a blog. It all goes back to my favorite movie that I watched about 1 billion times with my roommates in college. Especially my roommate Kate, who shared my ability to watch a movie almost every day and still laugh every time.

It began with You've Got Mail, and after a while we began watching Remember the Titans. We could quote each movie flawlessly with voice inflection and hand motions. More than once, our boyfriends (now husbands), would politely ask us to STOP!

Anyway, I recently went to see the movie Julie & Julia. In it, Julie writes a blog. Throughout the movie you hear her read her blog as she types. Now that I have started this whole blog thing, I realized.............In my mind, there is an audio of my blog being played out loud. The funny thing is, it is not my voice but the voice of Meg Ryan. Although You've Got Mail wasn't about a blog, she also "reads" her emails as she writes them. Her questions to Joe Fox, (Tom Hanks), her quirky comments and sayings..........are all said out loud as an interesting narration of her day.

And so, this blog is the narration of my day. If you can read it in the voice of Meg Ryan, and the personality of "Kathleen Kelly"you may get a better glimpse of the tone in which I write.

"I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."
Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

Just a few more quotes.......... Dedicated to My Dear Kate....

"Joe? Just call me Joe? As though you were one of those stupid 22 year old girls with no last name? Hi, I'm Kimberly, hi I'm Janice. Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses."

"Mr. 152 insights into my soul."

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

Happy 5 Months, Audree!

2009-10-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

How can it be! She is already 5 months old!
So much personality in one little ball of cuteness.................

With enough sleep, I could rule the world!

2009-10-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Audree decided to try out being nocturnal for about 6 weeks after her accident. I am praising the Lord that she has learned how to sleep again and has had 7 nights in a row of normal sleep. Just as important, MOM has had 7 nights in a row of restful sleep. I truly do feel like I could run a marathon.
How does that translate into our everyday lives................pictures! When I have free time & energy, my favorite thing to do is take pictures of my precious girls. I pretend I have the best camera, a fabulous studio or location, and all the time in the world to capture their smiles. The thing is, their smiles seem to change almost every day. They are morphing before my very eyes, and so I capture what I can, and treasure each frame. Here are a few of my favorite from this Fall.
Pumpkin Patch, Bauman Farms 10-09-09

Fall Pictures in the Front yard...

Here goes nothing...

2009-10-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

Crazy moments fill my everyday life and I often find myself rushing around trying to keep the juggling act from crashing to the floor. As I go about each day with my two little girls, I cherish the funny comments, the simple yet insightful observations, and the laughter and squeals we share as a family.

I also deeply value my stolen moments of checking in with my computer world, my
"band of mothers" if you will. I would not consider myself a blog junkie, but sometimes looking at a friends musings is just what I need to know we are doing ok.

So, here I go. Adding to the population of bloggers. I am not a great writer like some of my friends who can get me laughing out loud, partaking in tears, or reading the page to my husband. Nonetheless, this is my story. One day at a time.

Here goes nothing...