27 Weeks Old

For her 27th week I got Eden dressed up in this sundress for a little photo shoot... had to laugh it is below zero here - so kinda ridiculous to dress her this way, but maybe it is just to keep away the cold blues! This weeks Eden has mastered the stretch crawl... she moves all over the floor and I have to be very aware of what she is chewing on. She loves Ethan's hot-wheels and all I need is a little wheel to come off and get stuck in her throat... just great! She has been very teary all week. Nothing seems to make her happy... and for the past few nights she has woken several times during the night up very hysterical. I am back to being very strict with what I eat - eliminating all those questionable food! Decided I am going to have a chocolate party the day she is weaned and gain back all my pregnancy weight in one afternoon! It is always a guess to know what is wrong with the little one... earache? growing pains? teething? tummy ache? Who knows... just hope and pray she hangs on until her Drs appointment next week... hum - I guess we will see?!

Simple Foods

This year in our budget we cut back our food allowance and so I am finding creative (smart) ways to cook fun nutritious meals for less. My secret - really isn't a secret... cheaper meals are made from scratch and take more time to prepare (ie more planning ahead of time). This weekend Micah and I BBQ 10lbs of chicken, cooked three bags of dried beans and six cups of rice in order to make 40 individual meals (that we froze) for around $22 dollars. This is awesome for us and are crazy busy lives... we can just grab a pre-made meal out of the freezer in the morning and a fantastic dinner awaits us at the end of a long day!

Another amazing meal that Ethan and I eat almost every day is soup made from the left-overs in our fridge! Nutritious and deliciously cheap and perfect for this time of year! I am so thankful that God has given us food to enjoy (and be creative with!)... and I love watching my son enjoy what I make him... it is a delight! (Have I mentioned that I LOVE to cook?)

My Late "New Year" Post

We are making some changes this year... we are making it a goal to live simply. Yeah, easy to say! But we are going to try to eat simple meals and in all aspects live "simply." The main reason is so that we can have more money to invest in the things that we love... missionary friends, ministries that work with the poor, etc. And maybe one of the most motivating factors is our adoption fund. A month before we found out we were pregnant with Ethan we began the adoption process. All the agencies we inquired with told us that we did not make enough money to adopt... so we started a fund to be able to pay out right for the adoption. It is growing and so is our desire to look into that avenue again. Could you pray with us as we simplify our lives and start exploring the adoption world again? The process is so long - so it will most likely be a couple of years.

Happy New Year to Each of you!

Making Bagels

One of my goals in life... and more specifically - this break - was to make bagels... don't ask me why. I have a whole list of crazy things I want to do or try... bagels was on the list. So since this is the last day of break and I know my time is disappearing rapidly - I got Ethan to help me make some bagels. It is always a challenge having him help me - I know the mess will be greater, but maybe down the line when he makes me breakfast in bed it will all be worth it.. right? When we had finished with the dough and I had set it in a warm place to rise, I was cleaning up and came across the yeast that I had Ethan measure into another bowl... oh my!!! So instead of throwing out the dough I worked the yeast in and then let it rise a little longer. (When I told Micah he laughed and told me I could not be cuter... I will take that as a compliment!) Then in between all Ethan's "snitches" I formed the dough into "doughnut" shapes... let them rest and then boiled them, then baked them. YUM! They are amazingly delicious.... so glad we took the time to make them... even though it was in the last few minutes of break!!

26 Weeks Old

It is the 26 week mark! This week was full of attempts at crawling and there were lots of moments when Micah and I swore we saw her crawl. She is sitting up for little stretches at a time and trying her hardest to go from laying down to sitting (almost there). She still wasn't herself this week and we are pretty sure it is still remnants of the flu! She is definitely a more picky eater than Ethan... she doesn't care much for green beans and she HATES avocado (Ethan LOVES IT... still eats it regularly for lunch), but she LOVES butternut squash! Her smiles are definitely the bright spots in our day... every day!

My Day Off

Today Micah gave me the day off. I traveled to Helena and met up with Gena, one of my best friends of all times! We try to meet up in Helena several times a year (believe me - we would meet up more regularly if we could!). We always do the same things... we meet in the Walmart parking lot, go to coffee at Starbucks, then head to "our" thrift store (in which I scored a stack of new books for Ethan, a dress for Eden, a cool set of Discovery Toy stencils, and a pair of crocs for summer gardening all under 9 dollars), then we usually stroll through a few other stores (Ross, a fabric store, book store, etc), then find a place to eat lunch... then maybe do a little bit more shopping all while talking each others ears off. It is so much fun being together - I really think we understand each other and that is a good feeling! I love you, Gena!

Christmas Surprise...

In all my "spare" time I was able to make Micah a quilt for Christmas... and the best part... he was totally surprised. He has been teasing me for years that I make quilts for everyone else... why don't I make one for him..... Well.. it is made. I was kinda hoping he wouldn't like it so I could have it... I just LOVE IT! It is a kinda random log-cabin inspired version.

I sneak snuggles with it - when he is away ;o)