Sophia's 1st Christmas

 

I absolutely love, love, LOVE Christmas. I didn't know just how much MORE I would love Christmas with a child of my own. She is such a wonderful gift from God, and she truly helped me realize the real meaning of Christmas on an even deeper level this year.

 

 

Sophia enjoyed being able to FaceTime with each set of her grandparents while she opened a few of the gifts that they sent to her. We are very, very blessed to have family who love her so much.

 

 

She absolutely LOVED the clothes that she got. This leopard print dress (which was bought with her first birthday in mind) was such a hit that it got a big squeeze!

 

 

She had lots and lots of kisses and hugs for her new baby. This makes my heart smile... she is going to be an incredible big sister to Bennett!!

 

She has had a lot of fun with her new picnic basket... she gets a bite, then baby gets a bite. It is so fun watching her pretend. I love her imagination!

 

 

This cheesy smile melts my heart into the biggest puddle. What a doll!

 

Two of my favorite people... my little family couldn't be more perfect for me.

 

Sophia got a white Christmas!! What a special treat.

 

The greatest gift of all? The love this family holds for one another. Andrew, Sophia and Bennett bless my life beyond what I could have ever imagined. Each day I am filled with awe at what God has given me. I often tell myself that I do not deserve all of this, but I also do not take a single moment for granted. What a perfect first Christmas as a "new" family. My heart is overflowing!



Oh boy, oh boy!

We're having a boy!! At yesterday's ultrasound, it was very obvious that Bennett Ryan is the newest addition to our family. We are so happy, and we feel so blessed to have a healthy baby boy. As the mother of a sweet girl, many thoughts raced through my head... I thought I'd share them with you.

 

... YAY! I will have a momma's boy!

 

... Oh dear! What do I do with a BOY?!

 

... How are we going to decorate the nursery? Half pink, half BOY?

 

... What do we do about the PINK carseat we registered for? Why weren't we smarter about that?

 

... A BOY!!! We're having a BOY!

 

... This is PERFECT! Sophia needs a brother to even out the playing fields- she's a bit dramatic.

 

... Oh my goodness. We have SO MUCH to teach Bennett about being a true man.

 

... I'm so thankful that Bennett will have such wonderful example of what a "true man" is from his father.

 

... We are BLESSED!!!

 

Many, many more thoughts have flown through my mind over the last 24 hours, but these all came within minutes of finding out who I'm carrying. All joking aside, I am already praying that we are able to teach Bennett how to be a man of integrity. A man of wisdom. A man of God.

 

I hope to instill in him many of the characteristics his dad possesses. I am married to the greatest man I know, and I pray we are able to raise Bennett to be that same kind of man. It's a lot to pray about! Society and families NEED more men of character... so, as a mother, I have already begun to pray for wisdom when it comes to parenting him.

 

When it all comes down to it, I know God will guide us every step of the way as long as we seek His will. I am so excited to welcome Bennett into our home. He is EXACTLY who our family needed.

 

Thank you, Lord! We are blessed.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

 

This dish was always a favorite of mine growing up. My mom was kind enough to share the recipe with me when I ventured off on my own, and I'm happy to share it with all of you as well!! I hope you love it as much as I always have.

 

Ingredients:

 

1.5 cups milk

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups shredded cheese

10 ounces fresh spinach, steamed and drained

1/2 pound cooked bacon, cut into small pieces

2 deep dish pie crusts

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Combine ingredients and fill pie crusts.

 

Bake 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

 

Tip from Mom:

 

Cover the edge of the crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent from burning them.

 

Yum!!

 

 

 

Side note... this dish can be made with virtually any vegetable, meat, or cheese that you desire. Be creative!

 



Pan-Glazed Chicken with Basil

Wow! The recipe was a winner. Each member of my family gave their stamp of approval, so I wanted to share it with all of you!

 

Ingredients:

 

6 skinned, boned chicken breast halves

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Salt

Balsamic Vinegar (I used Rachel Ray's Balsamic Drizzle Balsamic Reduction)

Honey

Basil

 

Preparation:

 

Lightly sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, vinegar, and garlic salt.

 

 

Place in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle generously with balsamic reduction and honey. Sprinkle lightly with basil. Cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

Turn chicken. Drizzle generously with balsamic reduction and honey. Sprinkle lightly with basil. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

 

Once chicken is thoroughly cooked, add almond slivers. If you wish, drizzle with balsamic reduction and honey again. Allow almond slivers to simmer in balsamic reduction and honey for no more than 5 minutes.

 

Remove from pan and serve!! The balsamic reduction and honey create a very tasty & rich glaze for the chicken. I served it with my roasted Brussels sprouts... which you can find here. It was a delicious combination. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did!



Merry Christmas, Sophia!

Woah- you read that right! Sophia got her Christmas present from us tonight. We were planning to purchase her a play kitchen. The one we had picked out was roughly $106, but it was on sale this weekend for $86. Being on the Dave Ramsey plan, we cringe when we spend money. Well... today we were at the mall walking, and when we were making our rounds through Burlington, we saw the cutest play kitchen for $20!! TWENTY DOLLARS!!! We couldn't pass it up.

 

Sophia doesn't have any toys that she can pull up on right now, and she has made a haul already with gifts from her grandparents, so we thought it would be best to give it to her now. You see, she is becoming very mobile and wants to stand allllllll the time. It only made sense.

 

So, while she napped...

 

 

Andrew assembled the cutest little kitchen for our little love.

 

He also made sure it was nice and secure so she can safely pull up on it. We decided it only made sense to put it in the kitchen so she could cook like Mom Mom and Daddy.

 

When she got up, we wished her an early Merry Christmas and introduced her to her new toy.

 

She busied herself with exploring her new kitchen.

 

She cooked up a yummy snack to enjoy.

 

 

Overall, she LOVES it!! It is absolutely perfect for our little bug. She is going to spend a lot of time here, I can already tell. Now... have no fear, I'm sure she'll have a thing or two more under the tree from her Mom Mom and Daddy.



Baby Update

Wow! Life has gotten so crazy & my camera and blog have taken up residence on the back burner. This is sad!!! Sophia keeps us so busy... and so do our jobs. I will do my best to take more pictures & update more often in the coming months. Bear with me!

 

I thought I would update you on Baby Two.

  

We are both doing great!!! This little bug was all curled up & facing away from us during the ultrasound, but that gave us a perfect view of a strong, beating heart! I think this little side-sleeper is absolutely precious!! The doctor said that the baby looks great with a heartbeat of 171, and she was amazed at how great of shape I'm in after having Sophia only 8 months ago. She said I'm in better physical shape now than I was then. YAY for a stringent workout!

 

I have not been taking belly pictures... I know, I know. Shame on me. I'm already starting to show. It seems as if I'm about 4 weeks ahead of where I was with Sophia. Hopefully it slows down as I get further along! I've not gained any weight though, so that's a good thing! We are doing our best to eat healthy & stay active... although, a busy schedule and fatigue get in the way of exercise sometimes!

 

I am currently 11 weeks along, so only a few more weeks before the beloved second trimester is here!! YAAAAY for that! We are in awe every day at the amazing blessings God has given our family. It seems so surreal that we should be deserving of these children. Just when we think our hearts are filled to the brim, God allows them to expand even more.

 

Life is GREAT!



New Addition!!

 

That's right! If you missed my post on Facebook, we are expecting again!! Sophia is going to be a "big" sister, and we couldn't be happier. I thought I would address some questions/comments here...

 

When are you due?

My tentative due date is April 28, 2013.

 

How far along are you?

6 weeks and 2 days... to be precise.

 

Was it planned?

Well, yes, I'm almost positive God planned for this child. ;-)

 

It's so soon!

Yep! And we're very, very excited about that. We want a big family... but, we also want to enjoy retirement & an empty nest someday. ;-)

 

Fingers crossed for a brother for that big sister!

Well, nope... a little sister would be wonderful as well. A baby brother would be fantastic too. Heck, maybe one of each? In all seriousness... gender does NOT matter to us one bit. We are just so blessed to have this little life... and we will be thrilled with a boy... or a girl.

 

You're going to be exhausted!

Aren't all parents? We'd rather not get out of "baby mode"... why not do it now while it's fresh in our minds?

 

Two in diapers!

Yep. Expensive. Good thing we're on the Dave Ramsey plan, huh?

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

THANK YOU!!! We're so, so, so excited! Even more importantly, we are so blessed. We do not deserve all of the blessings God gives us. We are thankful.

 

What a blessing.

AMEN!

 

... and my favorite:

"My advice...let God bless your family as many times as he sees fit. His plan is always perfect!"

Well said, Chara. Well said.

 

Seriously, though, we really appreciate all of the well-wishes, prayers, and support you have sent our way. Please keep our family in your prayers. I forgot just how scary the first trimester is after having a miscarriage with our first. As my husband so wisely says though, we are not guaranteed even another second with Sophia, so why should we live in fear? I take much peace in knowing that God holds this sweet little life in His hands.

 

Thanks again... we love you all!



Inviting, Obvious, Open

This summer, our church has been studying the book of Mark. It is an eye-opening book on how to be a true follower of Jesus. I have taken so many life-changing lessons from this series, but today touched me the most of all. This blog is going to summarize the sermon today... I wish I could take credit for what I'm about to write, but Pastor Steve McEuen is the mastermind behind it all.

Let's look at Mark 10:46-52 where it is written, "Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means 'son of Timaeus'), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.' So they called to the blind man, 'Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you.' Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked him. The blind man said, 'Rabbi, I want to see.' 'Go,' said Jesus, 'your faith has healed you.' Immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road."

In this passage, Bartimaeus is desperately seeking Jesus. He is crying out to him, sure that only Christ himself can heal his ailments. Sadly, Jesus's disciples have taken it upon themselves to be his "entourage" instead of his followers. Feeling they have to protect him from the lowly people along the side of the road, they holler for Bartimaeus to be quiet. His persistence pays off, as Jesus turns his attention to Bartimaeus and ultimately heals him.

As for the disciples? How are they any different than the church today? Too often, we are trying to "protect" God from all of the sin in this world. Instead of welcoming those desperately crying out to Him, we are turning them away with our sideways glances, our scorn, our words, our actions, our inattention, our ignorance... the list could go on and on and on. The church should be the very place that ANYONE can turn to when they need to seek love, peace, guidance, help, acceptance... you name it. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Van Gogh painted "The Church at Auvers" during his last year of life. Van Gogh desired to be a part of the ministry himself, but he was turned away time and time again. As someone who suffered from a mental illness, he was not "church material" in the eyes of his community.

Study this painting closely. What do you see?

In this painting, the church is cast with dark shadows. Death has consumed this church. Another eye-opening oddity? There is no entrance to this church. It is completely closed off to the outside.

How often are churches today guilty of closing out the world? How often are we guilty of turning away those who aren't dressed the "right way"... or listen to different music than we do... or have tattoos... or live their lives differently than us?

Too often.

We are called to be INVITING.

We are called to be OBVIOUS.

We are called to be OPEN.

Jesus has not called us to be his entourage. He does not need protection from ANYTHING. He is sovereign over ALL the Earth. We are called to be the entry point into His church. The love of Christ needs to be obvious in our lives. How we act, what we say, everything we do needs to reflect Christ. Lastly, we need to be open to those God places in our lives. If we close out those who are different, we just may be closing out those who are desperately seeking God's healing grace.

Wow! What a lesson to take in. I choked over many of his words. When reflecting on my own life, I have realized that I often close out those who I should be opening up to the most. I realize that we are all sinners, but to turn someone away from the very place they should go to seek refuge is appalling. I often get caught up in life's petty trial, fallacious gossip, undo stress, and so much more. What is this doing to better God's kingdom? Nothing. What is it doing to detract from the very one who can heal? Everything. What can I do to be a follower instead of a part of an entourage? Pray.

I want to be inviting.

I want to be obvious.

I want to be open.

Who's with me?

Professional Sitter

I know I posted when Sophia first began to sit up. Well, now she's pretty much a pro at it. I got some really cute pictures of her yesterday, and I thought I'd share them with my readers!

She gets cuter and cuter each day. She is doing so many new things. Sitting up, rolling everywhere, eating big girl food, trying to crawl... the list goes on and on. She will turn six months old on Tuesday. We cannot believe how quickly this time has gone! Every moment with her is life's greatest blessing. She brings immeasurable joy to our lives.



Functional Landscaping

My mom is pretty brilliant. She was talking about how she would like to plant zucchini and summer squash seeds in place of landscaping this year. Andrew and I have been tearing out the previous landscaping little by little. We replaced one area with ornamental grasses, but the other area was empty. We are working toward being debt-free, so we didn't want to spend any more on landscaping this year. So, I ventured out to the good ol' Walmart & purchased two packs of seeds for around $2.

We planted them. Andrew watered them. They quickly started to grow!

We now have beautiful plants in our landscaping...

... that actually serve a purpose! This is the first veggie Andrew picked from the plants. We were able to pick three more tonight. We've already made our money back.

So, great idea, Mom! Now... if only you had done it yourself! I think we should probably do this again next year!

Eatin' Fool!

Sophia loves, loves, LOVES her solid foods. She has done so well with all of them so far. I haven't had time to blog each one this week, so here's a snapshot of what she's had...

Peas

If you remember, peas were a HUGE hit with this little girl.

Green beans

She also really, really likes green beans. They are probably her favorite so far.

Squash

Her initial impression wasn't that great.

She ended up thinking they were pretty good by the time all was said and done.

Carrots

Eh- she wasn't so sure what to think. By the second time she had them, she thought they were pretty delicious.

Bananas

We made our own! One banana equals FOUR servings of baby food. It's silly not to take the time to make it. It took maybe two minutes.

And, she LOVES them!

Soon to come... sweet potatoes, avocado & more fruit!

Peas, please!

After Sophia more or less attacked our food this last week, we decided it was time to step it up a notch and give her something other than cereal. I had originally planned to start with homemade avocado, but I wanted her to be able to eat with her friends at daycare, so we chose to give her what the daycare offers first before adding on our homemade veggies and fruits.

Our first choice? Peas!

First bite... not too sure about this.

Next bite... "Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm," said Sophia!

Toward the end, she was definitely digging the peas!

Happy, happy girl!

This little lovebug is excited to show her friends at school what she can do now! One thing's for certain... this girl LOVES to eat!



We Have a Sitter!

Sophia is sitting up now! Granted, she's still a bit wobbly & I don't trust her to do it unsupervised, but she sat for long enough, unassisted, that I think it counts! She can sit anywhere from 30-90 seconds without toppling over. Pretty good for a gal who's not quite 5 months old.

Such a big girl!! I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around how fast she's growing!

* Disclaimer *

She is not crying in these pictures. This poor little girl inherited her momma's allergies. Her little eyes and nose are awfully runny today. :'(



My CFY Experience

A year ago, I was interviewed for a position I knew little about. I received an email from a company I had been stalking since March, and they needed an SLP for a position in Corning. Even though this location was a good commute, I applied anyway. Within the week, I was interviewed on the phone, and a short time later, I was interviewed in person. I was hired the same day as my interview.

I did not know what I was getting myself into.

On July 5th, I reported to work. There I met two co-workers who were also new graduates... and who were also starting that day. Simply stated, we were the new rehab team. Yes, that's right, three new graduates were expected to build a rehab department virtually from the ground up.

On my first day, I told the company administrator that I was expecting in January. Expecting to be fired immediately (haha), I was shocked when she responded with enthusiasm and excitement. A maternity leave would be no problem. Whew! What a weight lifted from my shoulders.

There are many details I am not going to share with you for privacy purposes, but, it was a VERY tough ride. Over the course of the first month, more staff members were added to the team because the rehab department was growing so quickly.

I continued to be the only SLP until November. My colleague and good friend was hired to cover my maternity leave. He ended up treating several residents that I couldn't see because of contact precautions and whatnot. Luckily, our caseload is now large enough to support two SLPs. Having him around has been such a blessing. He is always picking up my slack.

My clinical fellowship year saw a transformation of a rehab department. It saw a caseload nearly quadruple in size. It saw the turn-over of three (or more) dietitians (which is a big thing in my field). It witnessed the death of many amazing residents. It was able to withstand state inspection. It was blessed with the birth of my daughter. It has brought many close friends into my life.

I have laughed. I have cried. I have been frustrated. I have felt blessed. I have felt like giving up. I have felt accomplished. I have felt defeated. I have felt proud.

On this side of things, I feel relief.

We did it! Not only did we transform a rehab department that so desperately needed it, but I grew so much personally... as a therapist, person, and mom.

I wish I could fully describe everything... but, that's not really necessary. Many of you already know the nitty gritty details.

I am proud of my accomplishments. I am taking this moment to pat myself on the back.

Thanks for letting me brag!

"I can feed myself."

Little Miss Independent has been eating solids for a few weeks now. She has recently decided that she can, and will, feed herself. What are we going to do with this super independent girl?

I love, love, love the stinker expression she's giving here. She knows she's a mess!

This same sweet little girl had to help me blog tonight :-)

Can you tell this sweetheart is loved?