A "Quiet" Moment

Baby Girl is doing her best to master the art of the sippy cup. Her downfall is that she loves to talk. So, she will take a drink and start talking, which makes all the milk that was in her mouth to drool itself down her chin. It gets under her chin, coats her neck and whatever she happens to be wearing soaks it right up.

It's cute though. I love to hear her babble on and on.

Friday = Things I Put On My Baby's Head

"Sunday's a'coming!"

That was the term Pastor Husband used during a sermon a couple of months ago. When Monday feels like it's going to be forever, trials never seem to have an end, or when stress is the only emotion you've felt for the last month - always remember that "Sunday's a'coming!". Always remember there is hope and there is joy. I thought about this phrase as we entered the new zone in Baby Girl's life. The no-nursing zone!

::Sing Twilight's Zone theme song now::

We started weaning a couple of weeks before the big numero uno birthday and she had her last bit of me about a week ago. It was hard for both of us. Probably physically and emotionally for both of us. The day time was fine, no melt-downs and with napping, snacks, and meals it was actually nice to have some time to do all of it plus play. Pastor Husband and I were worried about the mornings and I was incredibly worried about bedtime.

I know, I know, I know...don't feed your baby to sleep. I've heard it and read it, but it worked for us. And I loved it. I loved that calm, quiet time between us with her sound maker playing the rain and the slow, swirling image of the fishes on the ceiling. I also think that Baby Girl sleeps better with a full tummy...the girl loves to eat so why not fall asleep doing something she loves. Anyway, it worked. She would wake up maybe once during the night with a quick cry and fall right back asleep. I don't feel as if this routine backfired on us at all. Well, maybe, until now...Baby Girl has not enjoyed being put to bed anymore.

"Sunday's a'coming!" and it came for us last night after two nights of no bueno. It's funny because everything you read about babies, especially sleeping topic stuff, it usually says "give it a couple of nights" or a "couple of tries" and it's so true! It wasn't hard when we were first trying to get her to sleep a full night, at least not emotionally, for me. It was emotionally hard, this time around, with trying to get her to sleep by just putting her down in bed, no nursing. To hear her cry was horrible. I felt like I was suffering right along with her. The first night, we both went in to rescue her a couple of times. It was the longest two hours for all three of us. The second night, I think we went in only once to give her her pacifier. She may have cried for about an hour or so. Then last night...Baby Girl had her bottle of warm milk (yeah, she's a princess), we picked up the toys, and then read a couple of books. I told her I loved her, gave her a kiss, and put her down in her crib. She cried a bit, at first, nothing unusual. I turned off the light and closed the door.

It wasn't until about a half hour later that we realized that she wasn't crying. She was quiet. She was sleeping! Sunday came and it was glorious!

Tonight the same has happened, only I started hearing music coming from her room and I realized she turned on one of her glow worm toys. She's so precious!

Moral of the story: "Sunday's a'coming!" Don't give up!

Sometimes I put her to work :)

Wordy Wednesday

Ezer Kenegdo - "Help Meet" (Genesis 2:18, KJV)

"Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is 'notoriously difficult to translate.' The various attempts we have in English are 'helper' or 'companion' or the notorious 'help meet.' [...] Alter is getting close when he translates it 'sustainer beside him.'

The word ezer is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God himself, when you need him to come through for you desperately.

Kenegdo means alongside, or opposite to, a counterpart.

You see, the life God calls us to is not a safe life [...] God calls us to a life involving frequent risks and many dangers. Why else would we need him to our ezer?" (Eldredge, Captivating 31-32)

Why else would we, as daughters of God, be described as an ezer?

Time for Dinner!

We've had a couple of yummy dinners this last week. I can tell how often I've been cooking - or not cooking - by how many forks come out of the dishwasher. If it's mostly spoons that means really only Baby Girl has been eating homemade stuff while her parents have been eating out. This week, we've been very good about eating at home or at least food made from our own kitchen. Our fridge has actual leftovers in it! We're a real family now.

The first dish just screamed fall to me and I really wanted to stand next to the stove all afternoon and eat it out of the skillet. It made the house smell all warm and cozy on an above 90-degree day (ugh! Today is the first day of fall and you would never know it!). It was a sausage, green beans, and apples cooked in vinegar and beer. I used just the original flavor of Blue Moon beer (I know nothing about beer and really despise the taste of it so I went with what seemed safe and popular). I also used an apple cider vinegar. I figured with the wheat beer it needed a somewhat sweet yet harvest-y flavor. It was so good! The flavors of the entire dish was like eating a perfect fall day where you get to wear a scarf in Southern California.

The second dish we had tonight. Apparently, we decided to be vegetarians for about an hour. Our main course was Penne Pasta with Roasted Asparagus. Another just yummy dish that you really could just stand and pick at from the pan. The asparagus gives it a very fresh taste and you toss it all together with a great reduced balsamic vinegar that has brown sugar and pepper in it. That is what keeps me going back for more.

As a side we had a Broccoli Salad. This was tempting to make because I like homemade dressings, which always seem hard, but they're really not and the recipe called for shallots. Curtis Stone used these all the time on his "Take Home Chef" show and I always wanted to try one. I'm glad I tried it raw for the first time versus cooking. In the salad they are sliced thin so they easily get lost in the salad, but when you bite into them it's the texture of an onion and the flavor of garlic...well, almost like garlic. I enjoyed them and I look forward to cooking with one next.

Give these recipes a try when you can. They are simple and delicious.

Sausage, Green beans, and Apples

Penne Pasta with Asparagus

Broccoli Salad

Friday = Things I Put On My Baby's Head

Wordy Wednesday

On Sunday, Pastor Husband thought he made up another word, but one of our HS-ers looked it up and it really is a word!

We're going to do a year-long series all about Jesus. Now, don't get the wrong idea, we talk/learn about Jesus every Sunday. For this series though we are delving into the details of Jesus. Pastor Husband's goal is that we really KNOW Jesus. "The more you know..." (remember those commercials?). I'm looking forward to it!

in·fec·tious/inˈfekSHəs/

Adjective:	(of a disease or disease-causing organism) Liable to be transmitted to people, organisms, etc., through the environment. Liable to spread infection.
Synonyms:	contagious - catching - communicable - taking