Happy Halloween!!

Sometimes He Answers Before You Ask

Since I wrote this post last week about Eliza being an only child, it has been on my mind a lot. I read everyone's sweet words and really took them to heart. His plan is just that, HIS plan, and I don't want to try to mess with it.


Months ago I talked to Mark about adoption. After following along to some great blogs about adoption I was really feeling called to it. I explained this to Mark and told him how I was feeling. We are always very open with these things and he told me he wasn't feeling that calling. That was OK with me, we don't always feel the same. It is something that I have always kept in the back of my mind.


Recently Ashley and her family brought their son home from Korea. My heart was overflowing for them. I have followed this journey since the very beginning and was overjoyed to see their dream come true. This has brought me closer to the idea of adoption.


At Church yesterday I decided to write out my prayer for the offering basket. I asked for the Lord to heal  my body so we are able to have more children. I knew this was a prayer that may not be answered but that is OK, it doesn't mean I shouldn't ask.


Mark and I don't share our prayer cards with each other, they are personal, they are between us and the Lord. When we got in the car we started talking and he said
"During Church today I felt something, I realized I would be OK with adopting."
What, What??
"I know this is something you felt called to, and I would be willing to discuss it and look into it."


Now I know God hears us, but man did he hear me quick!! Maybe he knows his plan isn't to heal my body, but he opened another door for us.


With all of this said, we aren't going to jump into it tomorrow. Who knows if we ever will, but to know God opened Mark's heart to adoption gave me such a peace for our future.




UPDATE: How could I love this man any more? The company he works for gives "good job" gift cards when they do something really super awesome. So Mark received one today, you log into a website and pick where you want your card to, in the past we have picked Lowes, Amazon...etc, so he asked where I wanted the card from. I said, you earned it, you pick this time. He decides to split it between Pottery Barn Kids for Eliza, and donating the rest to....an adoption agency!!! We have not even talked about adoption anymore since that 5 minute car ride today, it must be really weighing on his heart. I can hear GOD calling him!

Saved My Favorite For Last

It is finally here! Tomorrow is Halloween. As I am still trying to figure out what that will mean for our little family, I have really enjoyed all of the crafts over the past few weeks. I will leave you with one last one, it isn't a tutorial as I was just REALLY winging it. It is definitely my favorite out of all I made this season. 

I love how it turned out, I had the cauldron but knew it needed some spicing up, if found the idea here!! 
I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Halloween! 

10 Months Old

Eliza,


You are 10 months old today. Mommy cried a little when she realized. It was a combination of happy and sad tears. My little baby is no longer a baby-but is an amazing little girl. You have the best personality. You love to make us smile and laugh. 


Here is your 10 month info:

• 18lbs-Dr will confirm next week Dr says you are 19lbs
• 30 Inches-Dr will confirm next week Dr says you are 28.75, sorry not true. You were 28 at 6 months according to him.
• 3 teeth and I think another trying to wiggle its way down..you were so sad about them today
• You are being very picky with what you eat, I think this is due to your new teeth
• You are still sleeping 830-7 but have been getting up at night, again your teeth
• You like to pull my hair. This is not something we encourage but you think it is the funniest thing ever. It is hard to tell you no when you are laughing so hard
• You still love to be chased but today you chased me for the first time. When you "caught" me you ever so gently touched my back and CRACKED UP
• You took your first steps this month. You did it for about a week straight and now you have no interest, I think you know you can crawl faster
• You welcomed a new friend named Camryn this month
• You are about to celebrate your first Halloween. You are dressing up as a strawberry, everyone loves the costume!

I can't wait to see what the next month brings us. After that we have the best celebration of all YOUR birthday and Jesus' birthday in the same week!! 

Here are some pictures for you!!

Your first day in the Nursery at Church

Eating an apple like a big girl

 

Best buddy

SUYL-Parents Of Only Children

Technically I am a mother of an only child. Clearly that is due to the fact that she is our first, but will she be our only one? We had some complications when I delivered Eliza, I had to have surgery at about 4 weeks post delivery, as a result of that surgery I may not be able to have any more kids. I try SO hard to give it to God, I don't want to worry, and I know his plan is what will be.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I personally have nothing against having only one child, that just was never my plan. I would love to have 4 children, all girls. I want a big family for us. Mark is an only child, and I have one sister, that doesn't leave a lot of family for Eliza. If the LORD decides we will no longer be able to have biological children we absolutely will find another way. Whether adoption, surrogacy, or kidnapping...OK clearly kidding.

I want my family to have a strong relationship with the LORD. I want them to be close. I want Sunday dinner at our house, even when they have all moved out. I want birthday dinners every year. I want Christmas together. I want to all live in the same area.

I have such dreams for my family, but whether it is a family of 3 or 10, I know we will always be a family.

 

 All professional photos done by www.ejphotos.com

Who Buys 40#s Of Chicken?? This Girl!!

While browsing Bargains To Bounty recently. I came across a post, 40lbs of Chicken Breast for $1.49 a lb. This grabbed my attention. We don't eat red meat at our house, the occasional roast, but other then that it is chicken. I decided to read up on the company that was offering it, Zaycon Foods. Their site lists the following:

• Our chicken comes fresh directly from the farm to our sales event and has never been frozen
• Our chicken is 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients

This seemed like a great deal for me. I decided to purchase 1 case to see how I liked it. They list the days they will be in your local area and you can choose where you would like to pick it up from. My location was about 30 minutes away at a church.


When I arrived there were clear signs on where to go and what to do. I had Eliza in the car so I wasn't sure how I was going to manage her and a 40# box but it was my only option. I pulled up to some gentleman standing outside a truck. They asked my name and I told them, they found me right away. When they checked my name off the list they said "OK where would you like it?" Wait, what?? They loaded it directly into my car for me!! I didn't ever have to leave the vehicle/park or anything(they even laid a garbage bag down under the box just in case). All together the time took MAYBE 3 minutes from pulling in to leaving. HOW COOL!!


When I got home I decided to lay Eliza down(huge mistake) and get right at the box. I got all my supplies ready: Chicken Scissors Ziplock Bags. I made sure to take off all my rings and put on a grubby shirt.


When you first open the box there is a sealed bag. Inside the bag is 4 individual bags of about 10lbs of chicken. I went to grab one bag, take it out, and go from there. Unfortuantely during transport(i'm assuming) the bags shifted and they were upside down, so when I lifted the chicken all spilled out. OH well moving on.

I brought the garbage bag in with it, just in case.

Main sealed bag

4 Small Bags

I just grabbed my scissors and started trimming. The breasts come attached so you will need to cut up the middle to separate them.

Trim the fat, and some veins ewww, rinse it off and toss it in a freezer bag. I put three breasts per bag and tried my best to get all the air out. I threw them in the freezer and started on the next one.

All together it took me about an hour to do all 40 lbs, that is including a phone call, TRYING to get Eliza to sleep, and taking a few breaks from being grossed out. I will admit, I hate dealing with meat, it is so gross to me. If I liked more vegetables I would be a vegetarian just to avoid raw meat. 


This does take some time and effort. If I were to do it again, which I am sure I will, I will wait to do it until Mark is home and can help in some way. Be prepared, I have a nice blister from the scissors and my hands are pretty tired, but it was definitely worth the savings!

About 25 meals!

In no way has Zaycon paid me or asked me to write this...but they can if they want : )

This Weeks Pinterest Pin-up

I haven't found myself on Pinterest too much lately. We have had a lot going on, and I am also trying to find ideas in craft magazine. On a side note...it really bugs me when they plastic wrap the craft magazines. I understand they want you to buy the magazine, not just look through it for ideas, but I am less likely to buy it if I can't tell what ideas are in it.

OK here are my favorites I found on Pinterest this week!!

Great Storage Solution

I know my family would love these

I am definitely going to try this

Positive reinforcement. Might even be cute for a Santa type thing, instead of have you been naughty

Who doesn't love Red Lobsters biscuits???

What have you found on Pinterest this week??

I Don't Want To Multitask

While I was pregnant everyone mentioned learning to multitask, it was the only way I would get by. Multitasking isn't difficult for me; it is almost a good part of ADD, although not everything always gets finished. When I had Eliza I definitely learned how to multitask more efficiently, and usually one handed.


On a recent trip to the park I realized, I don’t want to multitask, I want to be present in the moment. As I was walking on the trails with Eliza a man walked by and said “what a good multitasker, talking on your phone, pushing a stroller, holding a bottle, taking pictures and spending time with your daughter.” He was genuinely complementing me, but it made me stop in my tracks, what was I doing? How is this quality time? Granted I was on the phone to Mark asking him to come pick us up because I had walked too far and was too tired to get back to the car (apparently this is not an important enough reason for him to leave work) that still wasn’t giving her the attention. I immediately put my phone away, took her out of the stroller and held her as she ate. I showed her all of the leaves changing, the ducks in the water, and just stayed in that moment.


As we drove home I realized how many moments I wasn’t really present for. Yes, I was there but so many other things were on my mind or in my hands that I wasn’t there for her. She does such a good job of entertaining herself that I worry I take advantage of that to get other things done. I realize she needs to learn to play alone, and not be hooked to me, but that is when I should be getting things done around the house, not updating here : )


 I don’t want her to ever feel I am not giving her the attention she wants or deserves. There is nothing in my life more important than her. She is growing up so fast, I don’t want to miss the few moments we have each day.


I made a vow to be in the moment with her. Less texting, googling, Facebook, blogging, and TV while she is up. I also want to limit myself with pictures of her. Obviously I want to take pictures to remember the moment, but I also want to remember it by being a part of it. I don’t need to get the perfect picture as I miss the perfect moment. I need to remember I can’t reason with a 9 month old by saying “just one smile and we will be done”, I need to be ok with the half smiles, stinky faces, or yawns that I get, because that was her in that moment.


Here are some photos from that day, I guess I was in the moment for some of it...

I wonder what sticks taste like

Ewww

So turn off the TV, put away the cell phone, and log off this blog…just remember to come back when the little ones are asleep!

Tutorial Tuesday-Christmas Countdown

OK, I know we are still in Fall but I really wanted to get this done so we could start counting down!! 


Supplies:
Wood-I used a 4x4x8
Scrapbook Paper-I bought a Christmas/Winter pack
Mod Podge
Paint-I always use spray paint, much easier
Sponge Brush
Something for the words and numbers-I LOVE my vinyl


Start off by cutting down the wood. My local Home Depot cut it for me, note Lowes could not due to how small I needed them. I wanted them to be exact squares so I asked for them to be cut 4inches each and 8 inches. This is where I learned 4x4s aren't actually 4inches, since they are pressed(?) it shrinks them down to about 3.5x3.5, so I asked for it to be 3.5, again perfect square. Well, then he explained that due do to the blade size they will probably be about 3.25-WHATEVER-just cut it!! : ) I had the larger block cut down to 7 inches instead of the 8 due to the above reasons. I do not have a picture of them cutting it. The employee actually told me they are not supposed to cut things that small since they have to remove a guard, so I was on watch for his boss     : ) I had him cut a few of these sets so I could make a few countdowns. I think I need a saw.

Ok time to paint the blocks, again I love spray paint it goes so fast. Remember to either get paint with the primer in it or prime your blocks first. I picked red to go with my Christmas theme. 

I then went and cut out my paper, I didn't want any two pieces alike, and didn't want anything the red numbers would blend into. I cut it down to 3 inch squares so a little red would be exposed. I laid it down with the mod podge and sponge brush. 

I went ahead and did this with all sides, and the larger bottom block, and left them to dry...for a few days because I started a different project..NO SURPRISE!

After drying for a few days I used my Cricut to cut out the words and numbers. My bottom block originally said "Days Till Christmas" but Christmas was too long for the block so we switched it to Santa. I mod podged over the letters once they were down so they don't peel in the future. For the blocks use these numbers:
*Block 1 - 0,1,2,3,4,5
*Block 2 - 0,1,2,6,7,8-the 6 will flip for a 9

I went ahead and put the rest of the words and numbers on, sealed them and TADA!!

What I would do different:

• Only mod podge the wood, not the paper when laying it down. If there is too much mod podge it will ripple.
• Sand the blocks a lot better. The rough edges from where it was cut was difficult to get the paper to stick because of all the divits.

Linking up to:

The Kurtz Corner
A Diamond In The Stuff 
Funky Polkadot Giraffe 
Topsy Turvy 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
The Sasse Life 
Creations By Kara 
The Trendy Treehouse 
Nap Time Crafters 
Tatertots and Jello 

This Weeks Meal Plan 10-24-2011

Here is the plan for the week. I am going to start it on Mondays now. A-because I am too lazy to change my menu board. B-because Sunday is usually a down day with football I know I will never cook, so why not be lazy??


Monday:Crispy Cheddar Chicken
Tueday:"The Best Meatloaf Ever"
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday:White Chicken Chili
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday:Orange Chicken
Sunday: Leftovers


What is on your menu today? Feel free to link up to your meal plan, or some of your favorite recipes-created by you or just some you love!

Weekend Review

Time for the weekend review. I sit here with a sad heart after my dear Lions lost for the 2nd time in a row. The game was a disaster, penalty after penalty, horrible plays, and miscommunication. There isn't another home game until Nov 20th, I hope they get it together by then. Aside from that I had a wonderful weekend. We had a lot of great family time and really enjoyed each other. Here is the recap:

Friday:

• Make dinner-I think we will try Panera's Cheddar Broccoli Soup
  unfortunately, this was not good. It wasn't bad but it wasn't Panera. Luckily Eliza liked it so I pureed the left overs for her to have this week.
• I need to run to Joanns for some supplies to finish up a few crafts- Got a few things, very excited to show you some more projects. I listed a few of them here
• Go pick up my mom's dog for the weekend. She is a flight attendant so we watch her dog while she is gone.
• Hopefully work on cleaning up the messes I continue to make throughout the week.-HAHAHAHA

Saturday:

• The Legend of Sleepy Howell We had a lot of fun! You can see pictures here
• MAYBE go get my nails done while Eliza takes a nap. It is only $5 for a color change so that is my splurge each week.-NOPE

Sunday:

• Church-Eliza did great in the nursery again. We had to step out about 5 minutes early so I could leave for the game but it was a great message today.
• Grab the paper for coupons-I talk about couponing here. I really like it and shared some tips with SUYL from Kellys Korner
• Meal/Grocery plan-hopefully before the night is over.
• Lions Game

 The start of another week. Not much planned this week, oil change, sprinkler turned off for the winter, pick up my 40#s of chicken(what was I thinking), and our pictures for our Christmas card from Sunbeam Photography. Beth and I were friends in elementary school, we reconnected on Facebook, can't wait to see her.

The Legend of Sleepy Howell

As my mom once said, it doesn't matter if she will remember the memories are for you. Today we went to the local Halloween block party in our town. It has costume contests, a hay maze, and the business' pass out candy. I really wanted to take Eliza, first, for the memories, second to get more use out of her costume.

When we got there it was a bit overwhelming. I don’t do well with inconsiderate people, when they cut you off, or cut in line. I understand my daughter doesn’t really “get” what is going on, but I do and that doesn’t mean your child gets to go before us in line. We also had a comment from a woman passing out candy. Eliza was holding her basket out and I said “Trick-or-Treat”, the woman looked through her basket and said she couldn’t find any candy suitable for a baby and asked the other worker. She said “No, I don’t have anything for a baby but I can’t believe you would be giving candy to a baby.” Really ma’am? Do you think I am giving her the candy? Of course not! I was just trying to do the whole experience.  After that we kind of just kept to ourselves, showed her around and took some pictures. 

Next year will be a lot of fun. She will be able to walk, play in the hay, and hopefully by then I will have more patience for other people. Until then enjoy the pictures! What will you and your little ones be for Halloween?