Friday, February 27, 2009

Video Fun!

We finally got our video clips put together for a short video of John Michael!  He is so funny here lately.  I really have enjoyed the last few months of our little guy.  He is starting to experiment with his mmmms and he JUST started saying buuuuh, buh, byyyeee.   Very cute!  He also wants to "walk" pretty much all of the time.  He is starting to get so mad if we don't grab ahold of his hands and let him "walk" around.  I'm sure the next few months will be very interesting with him cruising around, walking, and starting to say more words.  Now, we only have to work on him getting some teeth in!



Verse O' the Day:

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Moore, please.

Last March my friend Cathy, (who, by the way is in seminary) asked me "You really don't know who Beth Moore is?"  I was back home for my baby shower and she drove me home that night after all us girls ate dinner.  I told her, no, I had never heard of her.  She said, "I really can't believe you've never heard of Beth Moore."

Fast forward to this past fall when I decided that I should start going to 4W, our weekly women's Bible Study program. It's a bit unusual for me to just up and go to something where I don't really know anybody, especially a room full of women!  JM had gotten over the evil colic and acted pretty good for his church nursery caregivers so I thought I'd give it a go.  They have child care (a definite plus) and muffins with coffee and Beth Moore was one of the studies to choose from.  I thought, Oh, I've heard of her

We did Loving Well and I liked it so much that I decided to get Beth Moore's study on David, 90 Days With a Heart Like His.  Actually, I'm still on that one...it's been a little more than 90 days.  I try to get that study in everyday, but sometimes I don't succeed. 

I digress.....back to our new Beth Moore study, Esther.  Quite sadly, I missed the first few sessions due to being back home over Christmas, then the stomach bug for JM, then the ice storm, then another cold for JM, then last week we missed because JM slept until 9 am so we didn't make it to church then, either.  Today was only my second session of the study and I am in loooove. 


Picture courtesy of lifewaystores.com



I SO am in love with me some Beth Moore Bible study.  As Cathy said, I can't believe I had never heard of Beth Moore before.  I love her Texas hair and cutesy outfits with denim or sparkles on them.  You feel as if everything she is saying she is saying it to you.  It's like she knows what you've been through and is speaking to what you need to hear.  This Esther study has been just wonderful every single time.  I really had never heard too much about Esther and I am still a bit behind in my study but it is so good.  So much drama!  If you're looking for a way to get plugged in somewhere with a study, I strongly suggest shopping around for basically anything she has written. 

Here are a few of my favorite quotes and sayings from the studies I have done or am currently doing:

*  Do you realize I knew everything about you the day you were conceived?  I anticipated your life and planned for it!   --wow

*  My eyes and my affections are on you right now.

*  Quit trying to be so strong.   Let me be strong for you.  --That's a really hard one, to LET God be strong for us.

*  I am for you.

*  Do you think you need to prove yourself loveable to me?

*  I alone know how to prosper you through this.

*  Do you have any idea how much I love you?  -- Do we really have any idea how much God truly loves each one of us. 

-Excerpts from Loving Well Small Group Facilitator Guide

Now, my next favorite saying that's been such a help the last few weeks.  Think of the worst thing that could happen to you.   IF that happens...then what?  It's what you think upon, it's your worst fear for yourself or your family, it's the IF that often sits at the forefront of your mind, it's just sitting there hanging out in your mind.  Everyone has an IF.  IF ___happens, then I'll just die.  I'll curl up in a ball and just never live life again.  Worry is so hard to overcome.  Who isn't a worrier?  I know I am.  This next little, teeny tiny sentence has helped me so much and freed me, too.

IF _____, then  ____.   Think about it.   What would YOU fill in the blank with?  I know exactly what goes in my blanks.  It's that diagnosis or phone call that's been trailing myself and my family, haunting me, and filling my every waking second with worry for the last 8 years or so. 

Now, replace it with

IF ____, then G-O-D.   That's it.  Just like that, the IF is just gone....along with so much worry and anxiety about my ifs. If that does happen, then  GOD.  I love it! 

Excerpts from Esther, It's Tough Being a Woman.

The Living Proof Ministries blog:  ch-ch-ch-check it out:  http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/

A link to Esther with excerpts and video samples: LifeWayEsther

A link to our church's 4W website.    http://fbcb4w.blogspot.com/

I'll step off of my soapbox now.  Off I go!  Y'all know how I love to step up on it from time to time.  Some days I just have it in me to write a big ole post like this instead of posting precious pictures of John Michael.  Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow with cute pictures and fun sayings, but for today, I needed this and I needed to share it with y'all....as if anybody is reading down to the last sentence of this long post!!!!

---------------

Jordan and I are going to celebrate our belated Valentine's dinner at a secret location!  I love surprises.  Gran and Gamps are going to take care of John Michael tonight (I'm sure they're so upset about that) and we'll get a great dinner with great dinner conversation with just the two of us!  Wonderful!  Have a Happy Tuesday!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Babies, Boats, and Fun!

This weekend we have Jordan's mom and step-dad visiting and John Michael is having so much fun having someone else to play with!  They are really enjoying playing with John Michael and watching him "try" and walk!  He's so funny trying to learn how to walk.  We just hold onto his hands and he off he goes!

Saturday morning we hosted a church shower for Vonda, who is expecting in May!  She had the biggest shower.  I've never seen so many presents.  She opened presents for two or more hours!  Baby Brandon will not need any Johnson's products, Desitin, footed sleepers, or blankets anytime within the next year. 
Vonda with the table o' food!
Vonda with the table o' food!


I didn't get to take too many more pictures because I wrote down all of Vonda's presents for her.  We have had a baby boom in our Sunday School class.  We've already had a few born in the last few months and we've got a few more on the way!  We also had another joyful announcement today.  It's just a fun time of celebration to be able to celebrate babies, which are most definitely a gift from God.

Saturday afternoon after we ate Thai food, we headed to the Boat Show that was in town.  We went to pick out our dream boat that we'll probably never own!  It's fun just to go look, though!  My camera batteries went out so I only got a few pictures of John Michael posing beside the BIG boats!



[caption id="attachment_596" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="BIIIG BOAT!"]BIIIG BOAT![/caption]


The nice thing about having grandparents in town is they can take pictures of us as a family.  When it's just Jordan and myself we just end up taking pictures of one or the other of us with John Michael.  After church we posed in front of the fireplace for family pictures of us all dressed up!




[caption id="attachment_600" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="JM and Gran"]JM and Gran[/caption]




[caption id="attachment_601" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="JM and Gamps"]JM and Gamps[/caption]



We have a fun week ahead with lots of love in store for John Michael from his grandparents.  We'll head to Gymboree, eat lots of good food, host playgroup at our house, and generally enjoy having family up for a visit.  Now, if only we could get Meme and Papa up for a visit.......

Verse O' the Day:

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

Psalm 112:

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Twice the Fun

Last night we had our Sunday School shower for Amy, who is expecting twin girls!  She's kind of on house arrest until those little girls come, so we came to her!  Oh yeah, and she also has a precious one year old!  She's going to be one busy lady.  As usual, we had a great time fellowshipping with all the ladies and eating lots of great food!  Jordan kept John Michael for me and I think they had a fun night also!
Amy with the food
Amy with the food





[caption id="attachment_584" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="The cute kiddos"]The cute kiddos[/caption]






[caption id="attachment_587" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Amy opening a cute box!"]Amy opening a cute box![/caption]


Amy has the neatest house that was built in the 1890s.  I love old houses and I think they have so much character.  Their house has old fireplaces, hardwood floors, and even a clawfoot bathtub that I fell in love with!

I ended up making cupcakes and croissant sandwhiches for the shower.  The cupcakes turned out pretty good and I found a recipe online for a different kind of frosting and so I gave it a go.  It was pretty good.  It's like a light, fluffy, cream cheese icing.

Sturdy Whipped Cream Icing
  • 1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

  • 1/2 cup white sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

  • 2 cups heavy cream

  • *  Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.


    Cupcakes!
    Cupcakes!

     



    And of course, Robin made her famous cookies!  She is so talented.  I heard that she had her baby yesterday so I've been checking their blog and waiting on pictures of baby Caleb, but they're probably a little too busy right now to update!  Congratulations to Jake and Robin.  I hope mama and baby are well!  I want to see him soon!
    Cookies with Molly and Ruby's names on them!
    Cookies with Molly and Ruby's names on them!



    Have a happy Wednesday!

    Verse O' the Day:

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

    Romans 8:28

    Monday, February 16, 2009

    A Week in Pictures

    This past week or so we..............

    Learned to play Wii with Daddy!



    Shopped at Lowe's



    Got Clean



    Took a Walk





    Ate Some Food



    Got Kinda Tired...



    And Then....



    BAM, Asleep!



    As for Valentine's Day, we just hung around the house and then headed up to Pinnacle Hills and got some P.F. Chang's take-out.  We still got it even though we looked up the nutrition facts to see if it would fit in with Weight Watchers.  Basically, it does not.  We saved up our points for the day and used ALL of our weekly allowance of points on eating P.F. Chang's.  We don't go a lot but it is one of our favorite places to eat.  John Michael was pretty fussy because he is still sick and all.  He fussed a lot during dinner and we eventually pulled the jumperoo up to the table and let him play with that while we attempted to talk and converse over him!  What a difference a baby makes!  We joked about how different this Valentine's Day was from others.  We also wondered what we'll be doing for Valentine's Day 2010!  Who knows!  We'll have an almost 2 year old (craaaazy!) and who knows if we'll still live here, have another baby, or have another one on the way!


    After dinner we kept John Michael happy before bath by letting him play with the microwave.  We give in too easily sometimes, but he is so strong and he liked trying to open the microwave door!




    Thanks everyone for your Valentine's cards!  JM throughly nibbled one every one of them!


    Friday, February 13, 2009

    Artsy Crafty

    I decided to get all crafty here lately.  I worked pretty hard (and had to start over once) on painting John Michael a little sign with his name on it for his room.  It came out pretty cute except I have terrible handwriting! I might frame it, I can't decide.

     I've never painted anything before, so I was pretty proud on how it came out....considering I don't paint!



    I also decided to use up some of my Christmas decorations to make a wreath for the front door.  If you''ll recall, I had this on our mantle for Christmas:



    It is now this on our front door:




    I'm still trying to figure out what to do with those little feathers.  I got an idea from Laurie's house and I'm probably going to copy her.  She has some feathers poking out of a cute little decorative vase and I think that's the perfect idea for my lonesome little Christmas feathers!


    --------------------------------------------------------


    Check out John Micheal last Sunday at church wearing his new outfit that my grandmother made just for him!  It was very Valentiney and a little Roll Tidey!  We put the little Alabama bib on him and it matched perfectly!




    This was JM after a long day in the nursery.  We found him like this afer Sunday School:



    That child was pooped out!  He had just fallen asleep like that when we got down to the nursery!


    Lately, John Michael is pretty good at using his walker.  He can navigate around and go around corners.  I took a bunch of pictures of him walking around the kitchen and crashing into the dog bowls.  He just loves that!





    JM with his Valentine present from Meme!
    JM with his Valentine present from Meme!

    We were supposed to leave John Michael at Parent's Night Out at church and celebrate Valentine's Day with a special dinner.  I'll write about it later, but we've been to the doctor 3 times within 1 week, changed antibiotics, been through a lot of diapers, and now have a nebulizer.  Needless to say, we're not really "celebrating" Valentine's Day this year.  We're getting take-out for Saturday so I don't have to cook on Valentine's!  Celebrating Valentine's is really about being with the one you love, right?  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than with Jordan, and of course John Michael!

    Verse O' the Day:

    A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?

    Proverbs 20:24

    Tuesday, February 10, 2009

    Mystified

    I know I started this blog to update family and friends on John Michael and all of his happenings, but I'm not going to blog about that today.

    Today I am so mad, P-O'd, and totally mystified as to how this came to be:

    Octuplets' Mom On Welfare


     


    Ooohhh, her spokesman confirms, huh?  She receives $490 a month from the government and 3 of her first 6 kids are also federally taken care of.  I would LOVEto see who is going to pay for the (assumed) $15 million dollar bill that 8 preemies will run up with their (assumed) 3 or more month stay in the NICU. 



    Maybe it's not nice or very Christian of me to think this way but I can't help but by mad at stupid doctors who implant 6 embroys in a woman who is not married, has 6 other children through infertility measures, has no way to take care of 14 children, and lives with her parents.  I am in NO way against in vitro at all.  It is a blessing of medical science that has given countless people the families they have always dreamed of and wanted.

    From now on, no one can say ANYTHING about the Duggars.  After the crazy stunt this nut-job pulled to (quite dangerously) bring life into this world I believe the Duggars need to be left alone about bringing very wanted children into a loving, Christian home with brothers, sisters, and a mom and a dad who can financially afford them without any help from the government.

    There, I might feel a little better now!  Have a happy Tuesday and I promise I won't post about anymore social issues for a while!  I'll be back to posting pictures of John Michael before you know it!

    Monday, February 9, 2009

    Not ME Monday!

     



    I finally joined the "Not Me Monday" carnival over at MckMama's blog, www.mycharmingkids.net .  It's one of my favorite blogs that I read faithfully and I'm so envious of MckMama's photography skills!  I have always read Not Me Monday,  but never joined in!  This week I decided to give it a shot!  Head over to MckMama's blog after reading mine to check out what tons of other good mama's did not do this week!

    This week, I DID NOT:

    -Catch myself playfully calling John Michael "Juan Miguel" or "J Mike" on several occasions.  That would be just plain weird of me and it is definitely NOT my child's name!

    -Hurt myself on more than one occasion playing our new Wii.  I did not hurt my arm and back and have to take it easy on Sunday to rest it.  I AM in the best shape of my life!

    -Find myself on our last diaper and spent much of Sunday afternoon hoping I wouldn't have to fandangle a diaper out of a burpcloth before we could make it to Wal-Mart after church.

    I DID NOT:

    -Catch myself being concerned about why my baby has decided to take 3 hour naps in the morning.  I did not nearly slap my own face as I remembered how he never slept through the night and only took 2 30-minute naps a day just last month!

    AND, I most certainly DID NOT start on a load of laundry that has not been sitting in one specific corner of our bedroom from this (ouch) ummm....summer.  I would never leave clean laundry sitting in one place for so long.  I am not a horrible housewife!

    I'm not so sure I feel more free, but at least my life is funny.

    I'll leave you with one picture of our little guy from this weekend!  He was channeling Bob Vila with his Fisher Price hammer and plaid dress shirt and carpenter pants!



    Verse O' the Day:

    If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

    Romans 10:

    Saturday, February 7, 2009

    When I Grow Up...

    I'm writing this morning from bed.  It seems as if I may have gotten a little bit of John Michael's cold.  He is still coughing with a little bit of runny nose.  I'm in bed surrounded by piles of clean laundry yet to be folded, kleenex, books, and the old faithful laptop.  Oh yeah, and one little fluff who hasn't left my side all morning!  I've also got Mama Mia going in the DVD player.  I haven't been in bed like time in some time!  It's kind of nice.

    Jordan took John Michael this morning since I wasn't feeling great.  I may send them out this afternoon after lunch to Lowe's for a father/son outing!  They rarely go anywhere alone.  JM is sleeping now.  I've got plenty of time to be in bed this afternoon since he has decided to take anywhere from a 2-3 and a half hour nap in the mornings.  Is this normal?  I guess I shouldn't complain because it has given me so much time to get things done around here!

    Anyway, here's our pictures for today:

    ------------------------------------------

    When I grow up I'm probably going to be a lot like my dad, but with my mom's stubborn personality:



    I'm probably going to like electronics.  I love the laptop (I have my own toy laptop) the TV remote, and the phone and all cell phones!



    My mom is hoping that I inherited Dad's Math and Technology skills and her English, Science, and Writing skills.  I will be one well-rounded dude as long as I don't inherit Mom's Math abilities.




    I will be learning to type and use the computer before you know it!



    Happy Weekend!

    Verse O' the Day:

    For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

    Ephesians 2:8-

    Friday, February 6, 2009

    Sunday School Madness

    Sunday night we had our Sunday School get together for the Super Bowl and last night we had a baby shower for Robin!  We have the world's best Sunday School class.  It is such a lovely group of ladies to be around.  Everyone was so welcoming when we were so new to class.  I hate to admit it, but I had not been in Sunday School in a really, really long time.  I won't say how long, but it was a loong time!  We had been in church, but never joined a Sunday School class.  My dad was right when he kept saying, you have to join a Sunday School class.  I now see why!  We didn't know what we were missing by JUST going to church.  I encourage anyone to do the same.




    Elizabeth holding Kinley



    Check out Kinley and her totally blinging shoes.  I can't wait to have a girl one day.  I can't put crystals on JM.
    Check out Kinley and her totally blinging shoes. I can't wait to have a girl one day. I can't put crystals on JM.

    I didn't go upstairs to the "man cave" to get pictures of the guys.  I'm sure they would have been thrilled.


    The theme of Robin's nursery and shower was airplanes.  Her bedding is so cute and she is so creative and can make just about anything!  If you'll remember, she's the one who makes the cookies that look like pieces of artwork and no one wants to eat them because they're so cute!




    These are the cookies that Robin did for Erin's shower for Kinley!  Aren't they cute?  She should SOO start a bakery!
    Robin with the table o food!
    Robin with the table o food!



    [caption id="attachment_531" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The cute centerpiece with planes that Kacy made!"]The cute centerpiece with planes that Kacy made![/caption]




    [caption id="attachment_532" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="So cute!"]So cute![/caption]




    [caption id="attachment_533" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Neely and Amanda"]Neely and Amanda[/caption]




    [caption id="attachment_534" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Vonda, expecting in May, and Jessica"]Vonda, expecting in May, and Jessica[/caption]




    [caption id="attachment_535" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Opening the presents!"]Opening the presents![/caption]



    [caption id="attachment_536" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="I made the punch and the ice ring turned out pretty good."]I made the punch and the ice ring turned out pretty good.[/caption]




    [caption id="attachment_537" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The sugar cookies that I made in the shapes of airplanes!"]The sugar cookies that I made in the shapes of airplanes![/caption]



    Recipe Time:


    "Country Club" Punch

    2 containers white grape juice

    2 bottles of ginger ale (and then add a little more)

    That's it!

    -As for the ice ring, I put white grape juice in a bundt pan and then added lime, lemon, and star fruit slices and froze it.

    I have gotten some compliments on this sugar cookie recipe.  I took some to the Super Bowl party on Sunday and everyone liked them.  They're easy to make and the dough is easy to cut out into shapes!  I got this recipe on allrecipes.com

    Smooth Sailing Sugar Cookies (I cut this recipe in half and it made about 14 cutouts) My WordPress is not letting me put spaces down here at the bottom for some reason.  Sorry the sentences are so smashed together.

    INGREDIENTS    

    • 1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

    • 3/4 cup sugar

    • 1 egg

    • 2 tablespoons milk

    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour

    • 1 teaspoon baking powder

    • 1/2 teaspoon salt

    • FROSTING:

    • 1 cup confectioners' sugar

    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

    • 1/4 teaspoon salt

    • 1 tablespoon milk

    • Food coloring



    Happy Friday!