And Cue Quiet Moment

Yeah, right now, it's happening...a little later than usual. Baby Girl was awake before I was awake this morning! All during camp and this weekend she's been up at 6am or, like this morning, at 530am. I don't know why camp changed her morning schedule when she went to bed at the same time, but I am hoping, hoping, hoping that it soon goes back to "normal", which was waking up at 7am. All those times are way too early for me, but 7am is a lot more friendlier than 6am.


So, we've been up, playing, eating breakfast, and now she's taking a nap before it's time to leave for church.


Here is a verse that I am working on in my own life and it's not the easiest to bring in the qualities of being gentle and quiet when you are the exact opposite. I'm working on it though. Really working on it.


"Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight," (1 Peter 3.4 New International Version 1984).

Friday = Things I Put My Baby In AND Things I Put On My Baby's Head

Yes, a little bit of both for tonight folks...we had a lot of fun at camp. Enjoy!

Let's Try This Out: Speed Date!

Completely new to this so I hope I'm doing this right!

• Like I said above, I'm new to this whole speed dating blog thing
• I am a Christian
• I still consider myself a n00b Christian
• See those zeros above? That makes me a geek :)
• My favorite movie is Gone With the Wind
• My favorite band is Queen
• My favorite color is purple
• My favorite show is Downton Abbey and The Office 
• I worked at a camp for a summer about four years ago and it changed my life
• I will be up at that same camp with my high school-ers this week! (Blogging will cease for the week...sorry!)
• At one time in my life I thought MySpace was better than Facebook
• I love all Asian foods, but I believe my favorite is Thai
• I love going to restaurants I've never been to before
• Pastor Husband and I met a few years before we really met
• Pastor Husband and I were married exactly one year and seven days after we started dating
• Pastor Husband and I welcomed Baby Girl into our world nine months after we were married :)
• Thrift store is my favorite style. Pastor Husband prefers chic-modern hotel style.
• My kitchen and "discovering" new dishes have become a favorite pastime.
• It took me nine years to receive my BA...whew!

Well, there you go, a bit about me, and you can link up to "Our Crazy Beautiful". And, yes, camp begins tomorrow for us! No worries, we were packed as of Wednesday. Now, how we're going to get all five bags up there? That's a different story. 

Here's a cute picture of Baby Girl to tide you over until we return. Have a wonderful week everybody! 

What's Been Cookin'?

Yes, I have been cooking. Yes, Pastor Husband has been eating. Yes, Baby Girl is actually sharing dinner with us at times rather than having to eat her own baby food. I told her not to get used to it though because I made a ton and it will all end up in her belly. I've not been very good at these food posts, but food has found its way into our house and onto the stove or oven.

Here's a bit of what's been cookin':

The beginnings of Martha Stewart's Strawberry Bread.

Yes, that is a Martha Stewart whisk. She's sorta my hero.

Strawberry Bread!

May look like a murder scene, but it's actually a yummy dinner!

I have to write about the above because it came out so much better than I thought. This is an invention dinner. I needed some empty cans (and you'll see why below) so I had to open up a can of tomatoes. What to do with it? Stick in the Martha Stewart cast iron pot with some garlic, spices, and chicken. As a result you have a scrumptious dinner to go with some green beans (another can) and brown rice. Yum! Baby Girl got to share this dinner with us.

Sushi Food Truck ::drool:: "Please sir, may I have some more?"

Hello Can Cake!

Hello to my mini-tiered cake.

The Bday Girl with her cake.

Oh yeah, always working on bday stuff for the Baby Girl...only two months away!

I didn't take a picture of dinner tonight because it was not pretty, but it was yummy. There just wasn't any fun color to it other than the salad on the side. Basically it was chicken, cream of mushroom soup, and some stuffing. Pour all the stuff together and bake. Simple, kind of quick, and use one dish. Works for us!

Friday = Things I Put My Baby In

Wordy Wednesday

Absurd

ab·surd/əbˈsərd/

Adjective:	(of an idea or suggestion) Wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate: "so you think I'm a spy? How absurd!". (of a person or a person's behavior or actions) Foolish; unreasonable.
Synonyms:	preposterous - ridiculous - nonsensical - ludicrous

It is entirely absurd to complete your work-from-home-freelance-job when their servers are running slower than the minutes till your child's next nap!

Wondering

Wonder why the title of the blog is the title?


Lookee here..."I'll Drink to That!"

Month 10

The month rolls by way too fast! It's easy to remember when the half birthday comes up because it's always at the beginning of the month and then those next 15 days just run across my face. Baby Girl is 10 months old today. Incredible!

Updates from this last month:

• Two bottom teeth
• Went to her first birthday party
• Ordered her first plate of beans & rice
• Had blueberry oatmeal, which turned her face purple
• Gave Pastor Husband his first Father's Day
• Went to Mexico
• Takes a nap all on her own
• Took swimming lessons
• Is in Gymboree
• Stands
• Waves (sorta)
• Went to the movies
• Gives kisses
• Gave us our first professional family pictures

And the new stuff just doesn't stop - we're going to camp next week with the high school group and I'm a bit overwhelmed with all that now needs to be packed. It'll be worth it though because it'll be her first camp experience. 

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! LOVE YOU!

Can I eat the camera?

Are you still taking pictures?

Standing!

An EXTRA Early Quiet Moment

I woke up around 4am unsure of what day it was because Sunday always surprises me for some reason. Went back to sleep and then it was 5am. I decided to wake up because I really needed to pump (yay, for being a mommy!) and Pastor Husband told me to go back to sleep, but I can't...so, I'm up for the day. It's okay, Baby Girl and I usually get a nap in before church starts. 


I don't think it's the best application in the world, but I use You Version for my Bible on my phone. One thing I do like about it is the reading plans they offer. You can also set a reminder alarm to go off every day to remind you to actually read it. That alarm doesn't always work, unfortunately. This morning, I remembered on my own so I thought I would share it with you. Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!

• Previous Day
• Next Day

Sun Jul 15

Day 15 of 365

Proverbs 17:22

• Listen
• View Proverbs 17:22 in Reader

22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Finding the Fun

Want to hear a funny story? I've got a lot of them, and they come from things that happened in my ordinary, everyday life. Now, I wasn't laughing when those stories were in the making, but I'm glad I can laugh about them now.

For example, I didn't think it was funny when I couldn't get my hair to stay in place, but if you'd seen what I did about it, you certainly would have laughed. It wasn't amusing when I tried to make clothes, especially for the people who had to wear them. And I was so irritated when Dave threw paper towels over the grocery store aisle at me, but I realize now, he just knew how to have a little fun no matter what he was doing. I'm glad I've learned to look at times like these and see the humor in them.

Now I know that not everything in life is necessarily enjoyable, but I think we all need to learn to have more fun in our lives. And I bet if you took time to think about it every day, you could find a moment that brought you joy or you can laugh about now.

God wants His children to have some fun. The Bible says a merry heart does good like medicine. I think we all need a healthy dose of laughter every day - many times during the day. You just can't overdose on joy!

I encourage you to deliberately look for something to smile or laugh about every day, and be sure to share a smile or a laugh with someone else and brighten their day too!

Prayer Starter: Lord, Your Word says that a cheerful heart is like good medicine. Thank You for helping me to find the joy and fun in life!

Friday = Things I Put My Baby In

Disclaimer: Baby Girl was safe the entire time. Pastor Husband is tall enough to safely put her up there and safely take her out. He was there the entire time.

Ooo, new toys?

Oh, you're down there?

This is kinda high up!

Wordy Wednesday

So, I read other blogs and they all have their daily assignments. This is good for a few reasons: 


1. It makes them blog
2. It gives them a topic, a goal, a point
3. If readers like the specific blog, they will come back for more


I decided that Wednesday will be word specific. I graduated with a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing. Words are special and important to me...it also shows why there are so many grammatical/spelling errors in my posts - I can write, never said I could spell and proofreading makes me crazy. I'll give the word and the Google definition to you every Wednesday. Try to use it in a sentence, learn how to spell it, or maybe start off a new short story with it...hmmm, I may take that idea for myself!


For this first Wednesday, I'm sharing one of my favorite words: soot.

soot/so͝ot/

Noun:	A black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon, produced by the incomplete burning of organic matter.
Verb:	Cover or clog (something) with soot.
Synonyms:	grime - lampblack - smoke

Pastor Husband actually used it this morning because black soot was blown into our backyard as the paver-people did some parking lot work of some sort. Anyway, I just love the sound of the word more than what the word actually means. I also like the fact that it is so specific.  Soot is soot and it cannot be anything else. It is and will always be soot.


There you go...Wordy Wednesday. Hope you enjoy...what's a favorite word of  yours?

A Quiet Moment to Remember

I went on my first missions trip in 2008, right before starting my junior year at Vanguard University. We went to Guatemala and worked in Santa Maria de Jesus. It was life-changing and the first time I experienced love from another person where it's just given to you so freely and you question why. I never figured out why this young girl decided to choose me, but she did and I will forever be grateful for her and her love. I have experienced this type of love since then and it still astonishes me. 


Here is a picture of Chavalita - the first of my "girls". I'm not sure if I'll ever see her again, but I will forever love her.

Chavalita is in the center and (I think) Astrid is in the blue sweater. Unfortunately, the names are fading from my memory.

A Pinterest Dinner

Has Pinterest taken over your life yet? I absolutely love it and I try, at least when it comes to the recipes, to only pin things I know I'm going to make within this lifetime. I've done fairly well in making most of the pins on my "Experiments for the Kitchen" board. As for the rest of my boards...well, we will just have to wait on see.

Last night, for dinner, I made the "Life-Changing Macaroni and Cheese" along with the baked parmesan zucchini sticks. Both items on the plate were for Pastor Husband because neither of these things are my favorite. I'm not a cheese eater and I think I've mentioned before that I'm not much of a fan of zucchini. I ate it, Pastor Husband ate it, so I'm chalking up last night's dinner as a success.

You can find the cheesy noodle recipe from Todd Porter & Diana Cu's blog, "White on Rice Couple" - One Pot, Stove Top, Creamy Mac and Cheese – My decadent revolution. I do have to say that two of the best things about this dish is that it is quick and only takes one pot. Genius!

Zucchini sticks are from Alessandra's blog, "Healthy Adjustments". I didn't make the yogurt sauce, kind of wish I did. This recipe is a simple one as well. The only thing I didn't do was separate the egg yolks from the whites. No time when there is a baby on your kitchen floor vying for your attention. 

Here is the finished presentation:

Friday = Things On My Baby's Head

Getting Ready for the 4th

We're going to our first Galaxy game this season tomorrow!!! That's how we're celebrating the Fourth of July and in honor of tailgating tomorrow I decided to make some banana & chocolate chip muffins.


Here's what you need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat Over: 350 degrees

Step One

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.


Step Two
Mix together the ripe bananas, egg, melted butter, and milk.

Step Three

Blend together the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Don't overmix. Then add the chocolate chips

Step Four

Fill up your muffin tin - this makes 1 dozen muffins. Fill them up about 3/4 full. I did not keep this uniformed and now I have some short ones and some tall ones, but they taste yummy so I'm not complaining.

Ready to be thrown into the oven!

Just like people, these muffins come in all shapes and sizes.

The Doctor Said

That is the motto for the next month for our family. Please, I request patience from all the experienced moms out there that know not to panic. We're first time parents so when the doctor says "watch", we translate that into "oh my goodness, what are we doing wrong?". That, I believe, was the main focus during the day of the 9-month check-up. Now, I'm so preoccupied with following doctor's orders there is no room for the worry.


Here's the story - Baby Girl weighs as much as she did at her 6-month appointment, which she was actually about 6 1/2 months. So, for about two months she didn't gain an ounce! Or she did gain an ounce and lost it...must be all that secret running around she does while we're sleeping. That was the first "let's watch this for the month".


The second "watch" is for her head. Yes, we have to watch our daughter's head. It's the open part in the front. It's normal for it to still be a "soft spot", but it kind of comes to a point in the front. That is not necessarily normal, but not necessarily abnormal. Also, though it's growing at a good rate, the forehead - which she said may just be genetics - is still protruding a little more than it should at this time. I cannot lie, I completely studied Pastor Husband's forehead to see if Baby Girl is getting this from him.


Scary stuff, to me. Hearing all this just made my heart shake; however, the doctor was filled with a ton of information that she shared with us and any time I gain knowledge about unknown situations I feel a lot better. It makes the situation feel contained rather than out of control. I appreciated all the time she took with us, answering all our questions, and not turning all the "watches" into "alarms".


We go back in a month to see if the weight and head has changed at all. We can't do anything about the head, but we are definitely doing what the doctor said about the weight. The doctor said add protein and just keep feeding the girl until she forgets what she was doing in the first place. We had no idea how much Baby  Girl could eat! Goodness! We've been making baby food like crazy. I enjoy it though especially with my new food processor. I managed to slice my hand while getting it out of the box.


So, that's the gist of it all and, like I said, I'm not worrying about it all now, but I know I will the day we go back to the doctor. Prayers to leave it in God's hands and to not have worry would be very much appreciated!

"Sounds of Silence"

Sundays begin quite early in our home. Pastor Husband wakes up before it's bright and extremely early. I fall in and out of sleep as I hear him go through the process of starting our day. There's the alarm, not blaring, but loud enough to tell me that it's a new day and also makes me wonder why it was going off and then I remember it was Sunday. Then he lies in bed and this again makes me wonder if it's really Sunday. The shower is the next sound that I am cognizant of, but it's pleasant enough to bring back sleep for me and I'm in a pretty deep sleep until I hear the click of the coffee pot as it's removed from the contraption it sits in - kitchen faucet is next as the coffee pot is filled along with all it's clicks and clacks as Pastor Husband fills this part, empties that part, and then the beautiful, magical "on" button is pressed. This sound is welcoming yet it also reminds me that it's almost time for me to wake up. It's worth it though because once the tiny-I'm-finished-brewing-beep goes off, my dear Pastor Husband comes to my side of the bed with a kiss and a hot cup of coffee. 

How else would I ever want to start a morning.