Welcome Summer...We're so glad you're here!

We are so glad for the warm weather that has come our way. Yesterday the temps were in the mid 80's and we sure did enjoy the beautiful day! We went to the park in the morning...which is always fun!

peek a boo Mommy!

Hannah loves going down the slide, and this one was the best because it wasn't hot.

After the park we headed over to Joshua and Rachels house for lunch and a chance to cool off and splash in the water. I think the kids had a little too much fun!

Hannah and Joshua had fun soaking Ms. Rachel with the water squirter.

and splashing my feet

and Rachels too...

fun in the sprinkler too!

Seth didn't have a meeting last night, so we were thrilled to have dinner with him and ended the evening with a walk to the ice cream shop...what a great day!

Wordless Wednesday: My blue eyed babe

For more wordless Wednesday fun head over to Two of a kind, working on a full house :)

My New Favorite Way to Eat an Apple

This morning for breakfast, Hannah asked for an apple. She doesn't want it sliced anymore..and loves eating it off the core. Such a big girl!

Making Green Jello

After finishing all of her lunch and dinner yesterday I asked Hannah what she would like for dessert. After both meals she told me that she wanted jello. Kinda random, because we haven't had jello in a while (I'm wondering if she had it on her mind from the jello cake we took to the picnic on Saturday). Thankfully, we had one box of sugar free jello in the cupboard, so after dinner decided to mix some up. We sang "I'm a little Tea Pot" while we waited for the water to boil, practiced our signs for hot and cold, and talked about how we knew the water was hot because of the steam coming off the jello. Hannah had fun mixing it up and was excited to try it as soon as it was set.

Baby Journey

So...I have decided that I should probably write a little bit about our baby journey with baby number two :)

So far, it's been a great pregnancy...I'm SO thankful! I was super tired at the beginning (but who isn't) and have been feeling great now for weeks. My belly is definitely growing and I'm showing faster than I did when I was pregnant with Hannah. Just this week, I'm starting to see the need for maternity clothes (if I could only get my jeans to stay up!).

This little guy is a mover and a shaker! He moves lots and lots...which I love! My favorite part of being pregnant are all the movements and baby kicks. I felt flutters for the first time around 17 weeks and now at 23 weeks the kicks are so strong I can see my belly moving. Hannah got to feel her little brother kick for the first time yesterday. She had just woke up from her nap and we were snuggling in the rocking chair. She was facing me and I put her hands on the front of my tummy where he was kicking. She moved my hands away and wanted to have just hers there. When he kicked her I asked if she felt it and she nodded yes. He kicked again and she nodded again. After a few kicks I didn't ask her if she felt it..she just nodded when she felt him kick...so cute!

I had a dr. appointment just this past week. The heartbeat was strong as normal and I'm growing and gaining weight with no problems :)
My doctor was a little concerned about my iron levels because at this time with Hannah they went way down. She suggested that I eat more red meat than I do, an easy way to get iron.

We are still working on choosing just the right name for our little one. We think that we are getting closer but are daily praying that God will help us to know which name will fit him perfectly. For a long time, Hannah was adamant that his name should be Paul....but for a few weeks now...she has changed her mind to Jonah. Every time we ask what we should name him, she says "Jonah".

Lesson of the Day

Our theme of the day yesterday was: When I'm feeling scared, pray to God. :)
Hannah was playing with her princess castle and told me that the king was scared of the alligator. We talked about what the Bible says about feeling scared, and I told her that maybe she should tell the king that he should pray when he's feeling scared. So there she was in pretend play mode, learning an important lesson...it was so sweet. She had the king pray (in his deep king voice) that God would help him to not be scared.
It seemed like the same lesson kept coming up all day.
Here's a video of Hannah praying that she wouldn't be scared. I thank God for the little teachable moments that he gives us and for my sweet little girl who is so eager to learn!

Psalm 19:1

Hannah's verse for the month of May was Psalm 19:1
"The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky's proclaim the work of His hands."

She's known her verse for a while, and we just keep practicing it. I was finally able to get her to say it for the camera. I'm pretty sure the "high ho the dario" part isn't in the Bible :)

Grocery Shopping

Usually Monday is grocery day, but we spent the morning with my friend Laura and her little girl Stacia yesterday..so today was the day! As we were leaving for Aldi I grabbed my re-usable shopping bags just like always, and Hannah decided that she wanted to bring a bag too. She has a Hello Kitty bag that is the same material as the reusable shopping bags, so we emptied it out and brought it
along. At Aldi, we bag our own groceries..she was very excited to pick out the groceries that she wanted to put in her bag to bring home. She picked canned chicken, cake mix, jello, and cream cheese (because it had a picture of bagels on the package). She had fun bagging them up and carrying her bag to the car and into the house. What a big helper!

All Daughters Banquet

Hannah and I had a great time at the All Daughters Banquet at church last Saturday. We enjoyed a fancy dinner and time with our church family.

Hannah was very excited that Jade and her Mommy came. Hannah would have held Jades hand all night if she could have...here she is asking her to go for a "walk".

Mommy and Daughter :) (usually would have been a little more matching...but my wardrobe is limited right now :)).

Seth served with the other men. They all looked so nice in their bow ties and black pants and were such gracious servants!

Jade, her Grandpa & Hannah

Jade was so tired she just wanted to lay on the ground. I made a comment about how Hannah would never just lay down because she was so tired...of course as soon as I said that...she laid down on the ground with Jade :) She loves Jade!

Bye-Bye bottle

This is a blog post that I have been meaning to make so that this would be documented, but keep forgetting to....so here I am :)

Hannah has been (and admittedly I have too) loving the night time bottle since I weaned her from nursing at 14 months old.

A few weeks ago, Seth and I were able to enjoy a date night out while Hannah played with Jeff and Amber and Milan too. We got home late, and needed to just get her to bed. I decided to just try skipping the bottle and doing only a Bible Story before bed. She rocked great and went to bed with no problem! So...we tried it again the next night...keeping the whole night time routine the same except cutting out the bottle....she did great again and hasn't looked back since! I think it might have been a little harder for me than her...I love that rocking and snuggling time at night...but we still rock with our Bible story book, so it's been fine :)

So...the plan before the baby comes in September is to say bye-bye to bottle, binki, and hopefully diapers. One down...two much harder ones to go. The binki is getting better though, she knows that she can only have it at home and in the car which has worked very well. Next step will be at home only and then nap and bedtime only. I'm totally fine with her having it while she sleeps for a while...just not walking around and depending on it all day long! It's hard to watch my little girl grow up...but there are so many great things about it too!

As for the potty training, I'll take any help I can get. She has been going at diaper changes for about a year...but just hasn't got to the point where she will tell me when she needs to go. She will tell me right after...lol. What helpful tips and tricks do you have to share for successful potty training? :)

Fun in the sun

After a rainy, cloudy week..it was so refreshing to see the sunshine this weekend!

We spent most of our time outside playing and working in the flowerbeds (in between playtime :)). Hannah had fun blowing bubbles and playing soccer in the backyard. We enjoyed a visit from Lily and her sweet little boy Zach on Friday afternoon. Here are some pics of Hannah just enjoying the sunshine and brushing up on her soccer skills...I think we have a little athlete!

She is seriously just so much fun :)

I love that smile!

I spent most of the weekend outside and was able to get most of my back flowerbed weeded, mulched and a few flowers planted! There is still so much more to do...but it sure is rewarding to see such a big chunk of work done! Seth was great in helping me pull weeds, get the mulch from the store, and spread it! We also got our carpets cleaned (finally!) and enjoyed some family time together. Yay for a beautiful weekend! :)

A Mothers Day rewind

Just a quick rewind to share some pics from a wonderful mothers day with my sweet daughter and dear husband.

Of course, we spent the morning at church. I was reminded from Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel, that the only way I can do anything well as a wife and mom is because God is my rock.

"There is no one holy like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides Thee, Nor is there any rock like our God." 1 Samuel 2:2

We came home for a quick lunch (yay...Seth did the dishes) and for Hannah's nap.

Here's the sweet face I saw peeking up at me when she woke up. :)

We enjoyed a restful afternoon and then got to go to one of my favorite restaurants, East Side Mario's for dinner..what a treat! On the way to dinner, we stopped and I got to pick out a basket of hanging flowers for my front porch..they are beautiful!

Usually, I share my dinner with Hannah when we go out to eat. But this time, Seth and I shared a meal....so Hannah got to order her very first kids meal. As a special treat with her kids meal, she got this yummy ice cream Sundae...boy was she excited! She was very sweet to share with Seth and I...so we all got a sweet treat to end a great dinner.

I thank the Lord for the blessing of motherhood!

Friday night movie night

I'm catching up on blogging after a busy week.

Last Friday, we were actually home without anywhere to be..which is unusual for us. It was nice for our little family to be together. We had a movie and popcorn night with Hannah. We watched Madagascar...which she loved. She watched the first hour, and loved it...a special treat for her!

My kid is crazy :)

The other night at dinner, Hannah breaks out in song (not an unusual occurrence :)). But this time, instead of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider", she starts singing "The Big Fat Harry Spider climbed up the water spout." I was cracking up!! When we asked her where she learned this version of the song, she said "Mrs. Cambell" who is teacher at Bible Study...too funny.

Anyway, when I pull out the camera..she gets even more crazy...so here's a little bit of Hannah craziness...

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
60 degrees and sunny. It is suppose to warm up later this week, but today is the only sunny day in the forecast.

Things that make me happy:
Spending Mother's Day with my husband and little girl

What I'm enjoying on TV:been watching some 18 kids and counting when there's nothing else on.

On the menu for dinner:
potato and sausage stroganoff

On my To Do List:
wash and hang bedding
vacuum
target run
clip and file coupons
menu plan

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
homemade granola bars- these didn't stick together as well as I would have liked, but hubby and little one gobbled them up
baked teriyaki chicken- YUM!
oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars
chicken broccoli lo mein- Seth gave this one an A+
smoked sausage with vegetables

In the craft basket:

working on some gifts :)

Looking forward to this week:
time at home with my little one, the all daughters dinner at church this weekend

Tips and Tricks:
got this tip from my mom: ever get those stains on your husbands collars? Use shampoo to pre treat the stain. Shampoo is made to cut grease...works great! Thanks Mom!

My favorite blog post(s) this week:
The Prosperity "Gospel" a clip from the T4G conference
10 Things Every Ministers Wife Needs from Sandra at Heart for Him
Encouragement in the Ordinary: another great clip from T4G

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):
I love this cheesy smile she's been giving me lately...and I sure have been having a good time learning how to edit my photos in photoshop :)
Lesson learned the past few days:
go with the flow. Sure wanted to get my flower beds weeded and mulched this weekend, but it was rather rainy and cold. Learning to just say "oh well"...
On my mind:
praying for one of our church members who had a heart cath this morning.
Also thanking God that my SIL is recovering from her e.coli scare and is home from the hospital.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
"Then Jesus told him (Thomas) 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" John 20:29

Happy Mothers Day

Today I thank God for my little girl and for the blessing of being a mother! What a joy it is watch her learn and grow each day and to be a part of her life. I've always wanted to be a wife and a mother...what a high calling! I thank God for my family and for the joy it is to serve them!

Today I'm missing my own Momma. I thank God for her and the investment that she had made in my life. I thank God also for my Mom in law who is much like a mother too. I am so blessed. Miss you ladies today and thank God for giving you to me (and now to Hannah too...she is blessed more than she knows to have such wonderful Grandmothers!).

Now...here are some Mothers Day funnies that are sure to make you smile :)



much of what she talks about here is what I have to look forward to in the journey of motherhood. I thank God for my own mom who was all of this for us. Enjoy! :)

l


My mom shared this verse with me, I thought it was appropriate for Mothers Day
"He tends His flock like a Shepard:
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart;
He gently leads those that have young."
Isaiah 40:11

I thank God for the strength and guidance He gives each day.

Fun with bubbles and flowers

Bubbles!

If I could name my brother...

His name would be...
PAUL!
One of the big conversations in our house the past few weeks has been what to name our baby boy. We have a list of about 4 names that has a top 2 or 3 (depending on the day :)). It's so cute, because when we ask Hannah what we should name her little brother...every time, without fail, she says.."PAUL!". That is not a name on the list....I think that it's so neat and funny that a little 2 year old has such a strong opinion about the name and that it's a good and normal name. Her favorite Bible story is the story of Paul...so I'm sure that's what influenced her decision. Too cute!

We do love a good Bible name. We are looking for a name that fits will with Michael as the middle name (that's Seth's middle name and his Dad's first name), fits with our last name, is a Biblical name or has a good/strong meaning. So...what do you think we should name our baby boy? Hannah's name wasn't on the list...but maybe your idea is?!

Baked Apple French Toast

1- 16oz loaf French toast
(I've used reg. bread in a pinch)
1 T vanilla extract
8 eggs
5 Granny smith apples, peeled & sliced
3 c. milk
2 t. gr. cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar, divided
2 T butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 4oo degrees. Cut the bread into 1.5" slices with serrated knife. Arrange the slices in a single layer in a lightly greased 13x9 pan. Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl until blended. Whisk in milk, 1/4 c. sugar, and vanilla. Pour 1/2 the egg mixture over the bread. Arrange the apple slices over the bread. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the apples. Mix the remaining 1/2 c. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over top. Dot with butter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender. Let stand 10 min. before serving. Serve with maple syrup.

**This recipe may be prepared 1 day in advance and stored covered, in a refrigerator. Bake, uncovered, 45-50 minutes or until apples are tender.

**This recipe may be divided in 2 equal portions and each portion baked in a quiche dish or a 2 qt. baking dish for 20-25 minutes.

Popsicles and Smoothies

Hannah and I just picked up these popsicle molds at the store the other day. She was so excited to make some popsicles in them! We gathered up some fruit and yogurt (yay for summer fruit being on sale!) threw it all in the blender and started filling the molds. Hannah is so excited to try one of her popsicles

...but sure enjoyed drinking the leftovers in the form of a yummy smoothie!

YUM!

Our first garage sales

I love going to "Bible School" with my friends Tobin and Ezra. This week, their neighborhood was having a sub sale. So, when we got back, we had lunch together, then hit up our first garage sales of the season.

sharing a very special treat of fruit snacks while the Mommy's shop.