My sweet oldest girl has her first loose tooth! It is a bit early for the average age, but she got her teeth earlier than average, so it's not to shocking. But on the other hand, it is totally shocking since not that long ago we were celebrating her first tooth. Life truly is a vapor.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
See how she grows!
My sweet oldest girl has her first loose tooth! It is a bit early for the average age, but she got her teeth earlier than average, so it's not to shocking. But on the other hand, it is totally shocking since not that long ago we were celebrating her first tooth. Life truly is a vapor.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A funny guy!
Hosea has always caused a giggle in my heart, lately I've been able to catch some of his personality on camera. So I have proof of his thoughts and actions. Ordinarily I have a hard time getting him to be still so that I can have evidence, even some of these shots are just evidence, and no suspect, but since I was the witness on the scene you can take my word for it. :)
One morning we needed to leave for an appointment. Hosea is the early bird of the house so he is very allert as the rest of us are coming to. He had already eaten and Shiloh was at the table finishing and I needed to do something with her hair before we rolled out the door. In the rush I asked Hosea to go get her brush for me, he's of course been ready for over an hour. He came back with this and said, "Mommy I got her brush, her spray and her pony tails." (we keep the rubber-bands in the m&m container). Pretty good for a little guy, he covered all the possible bases.
This is the dino line-up. I find it all over the house obstructing the narrowest of walk-ways. He is very diligent when working on the line.
This is what he does with I ask him to smile.
We were playing on the floor and I was trying out my new camera that I got for Christmas. Another reason this kid is hard to capture is b/c he is in the buff a lot. He is successfully potty-trained...........as long as he's naked. So to save myself the hassle and to save on laundry, not to mention this is his preferred outfit, Hosea is usually not dressed appropriately to be photographed.
This is something he decided to occupy himself with during "quiet room time", which sometimes supplements his nap time. He decided to busy himself by putting socks on his feet. He's still learning of constructive ways to use his time. I suppose his feet get cold from being nude all the time? It is not uncommon for this to be the only article of clothing on the kid. He thinks it's perfectly normal.
We've started taking off the socks to see how many he was piling on b/c it's quiet astonding at the numbers he is able to reach. This time it was 8, his max so far has been 10. His foot was really .......... big that day.
Just a Video of a "sock removal".
One morning we needed to leave for an appointment. Hosea is the early bird of the house so he is very allert as the rest of us are coming to. He had already eaten and Shiloh was at the table finishing and I needed to do something with her hair before we rolled out the door. In the rush I asked Hosea to go get her brush for me, he's of course been ready for over an hour. He came back with this and said, "Mommy I got her brush, her spray and her pony tails." (we keep the rubber-bands in the m&m container). Pretty good for a little guy, he covered all the possible bases.
This is the dino line-up. I find it all over the house obstructing the narrowest of walk-ways. He is very diligent when working on the line.
This is what he does with I ask him to smile.
We were playing on the floor and I was trying out my new camera that I got for Christmas. Another reason this kid is hard to capture is b/c he is in the buff a lot. He is successfully potty-trained...........as long as he's naked. So to save myself the hassle and to save on laundry, not to mention this is his preferred outfit, Hosea is usually not dressed appropriately to be photographed.
This is something he decided to occupy himself with during "quiet room time", which sometimes supplements his nap time. He decided to busy himself by putting socks on his feet. He's still learning of constructive ways to use his time. I suppose his feet get cold from being nude all the time? It is not uncommon for this to be the only article of clothing on the kid. He thinks it's perfectly normal.
We've started taking off the socks to see how many he was piling on b/c it's quiet astonding at the numbers he is able to reach. This time it was 8, his max so far has been 10. His foot was really .......... big that day.
Just a Video of a "sock removal".
Friday, January 14, 2011
Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake
Ok, so this baby has been a long time coming.... My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. Let me give you some background. I didn't grow up eating chocolate.........gasp........... My parents, and my bothers for that matter do not like it, to this day. Crazy I know. I was introduced to brownies as a junior in high-school, and let me just say they were amazing and I got a major tummy ache from not using temperance. All that to say, my taste for chocolate has slowly refined itself. First I was a "milk chocolate" only person because all the dark chocolate I had tasted was very waxy, yuck. But then I learned you could have refined dark chocolate that is creamy, mmmmmmm. My first introduction to this was at the Cheesecake Factory, Mike ordered the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake, we split it, b/c it is a $7 slice of dessert. We both relished every bite, and it struck Mike and I, there has to be a way to make this thing. So my search began. I found the recipe on the Godiva website. Of course they put it on there, the recipe calls for 8 Dark Chocolate Godiva bars, incase you didn't know they cost at least $2.50 each. That is one pricey cheesecake. I did make it once, just to get started I felt the need to be able to compare. But since I've done the expensive leg work, find rest in knowing you can substitute with one bag of 60% Ghirardelli chocolate chips from wal-mart, the whole bag is two dollars and something. Much better deal. I also started making the cake with two of the already made chocolate graham cracker crust from the store and finally bought a spring foam pan recently, so I can make the real deal. The result has been fantastic. I use a different recipe for the crust then the original recipe, and i add a thick ganache to the top which to us is "the icing on the cake", no pun intended. So with out further ado................
Introducing the Schloss Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake
Preheat oven 325 degrees, tightly wrap bottom of spring foam pan with aluminum foil.
Crust:
1 sleeve chocolate graham crackers crushed
1 stick of butter melted
1/4 cup sugar
Mix together and press in to Spring foam pan
Filling:
1 12oz.bag of 60% Ghirardelli Dark chocolate chips, melt according to package instructions
2 packages of 8oz cream cheese softened
1 c. sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. brewed hot coffee
2 tsp. vanilla
Melt chocolate, stir until smooth. Beat cheese to creamy, add sugar and blend. Add eggs on at a time. Dissolve salt in hot coffee. On low beat in coffee, add vanilla and melted chocolate. Pour into crust. Put Spring foam pan into a larger pan with water in it, I use a cookie sheet, it recommends a roasting pan 1/2 way up the spring foam pan. I don't have a roasting pan. This keeps the cheese cake from cracking, i'm told. Bake 60-70 Min, until center is firm. Cool in oven 1 hr, fridge for 6 hrs.
After cool. Add Ganache.
Ganache
Heat 1 1/3 heavy cream
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. sugar
Bring to boil
Remove from heat
Stir in 12 oz. 60% Ghirardelli Dark chocolate chips
Stir until smooth, pour over top of cooled cake.
Refrigerate until cool. Serve in very small slices, with cool-whip or homemade whip-cream. A cup of joe melts it right off your tongue. MMMMMMMM!
It's rich, but So delicious!
Introducing the Schloss Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake
Preheat oven 325 degrees, tightly wrap bottom of spring foam pan with aluminum foil.
Crust:
1 sleeve chocolate graham crackers crushed
1 stick of butter melted
1/4 cup sugar
Mix together and press in to Spring foam pan
Filling:
1 12oz.bag of 60% Ghirardelli Dark chocolate chips, melt according to package instructions
2 packages of 8oz cream cheese softened
1 c. sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. brewed hot coffee
2 tsp. vanilla
Melt chocolate, stir until smooth. Beat cheese to creamy, add sugar and blend. Add eggs on at a time. Dissolve salt in hot coffee. On low beat in coffee, add vanilla and melted chocolate. Pour into crust. Put Spring foam pan into a larger pan with water in it, I use a cookie sheet, it recommends a roasting pan 1/2 way up the spring foam pan. I don't have a roasting pan. This keeps the cheese cake from cracking, i'm told. Bake 60-70 Min, until center is firm. Cool in oven 1 hr, fridge for 6 hrs.
After cool. Add Ganache.
Ganache
Heat 1 1/3 heavy cream
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. sugar
Bring to boil
Remove from heat
Stir in 12 oz. 60% Ghirardelli Dark chocolate chips
Stir until smooth, pour over top of cooled cake.
Refrigerate until cool. Serve in very small slices, with cool-whip or homemade whip-cream. A cup of joe melts it right off your tongue. MMMMMMMM!
It's rich, but So delicious!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
All shapes and sizes
As we all know this is how God makes His creations, He is a very creative God. We happen to be blessed with one of His smaller more rare pieces of work. Aggie saw a pediatrician Monday. Prior to that her care had been managed by a family practice nurse practitioner. I was so thankful that we were able to see him, have him look over Aggies case and probe his brain about it. I was encouraged by his responses. Basically he confirmed what I was thinking early on. Aggie is small, and growing and developing at her own rate. She is acceding in all areas, with no regression or stand still. He agrees seeing a neurologist is wise, and his nurse was able to expedite our appointment, now scheduled for Jan. 31st. This is mainly precautionary to rule out anything bizarre. So with that approaching and her ear re-test Feb 3rd, we may start to know something from a medical standpoint soon. I am thankful for a new found peace from the Lord this week. A friend encouraged me to read Psalm 139:13-18 and put Aggies name in a few weeks ago. It has been refreshing! Thanks Elizabeth!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
December
We stayed home for Christmas this year. It was so nice! We really wanted to just focus on Christ, and make that the pinnacle of the day so we changed some traditions and hope to add more in the future to aid in that purpose. I think we actually got rid of more toys than we acquired. Which from a parent stand point is very exciting! We are so thankful for the generosity of our families and the gifts they give the children, but we had a toy collection that needed thinned out or else it would take over the house.
Mike putting the finishing touches on the tree. I love the ambiance of a Christmas tree, but am always thankful to re-gain the space at the end of the month.
This is just a funny face, she's so cute!
Mid-month Mike's Mom and two of his brother came to visit, Tyler and Aaron. It was a nice visit. We went to a hockey game, which I don't recommend with young children b/c of the violence. It was more violent than I remember in college.
Hosea got a train table, he like it, thanks Mema and Papa!
Shiloh and I got to have a girls day and go see the Nutcracker Ballet performed downtown Pensacola. We joined a handful of other mommy daughter friends. As you can see, she really enjoyed it! I was grateful for the opportunity also, thanks babe!
My parents came to visit. They arrived Christmas day and stayed until New Years day. I fell victim to a tummy bug while they were here. It was a blessing in the since of it was really nice to have the extra help with the children, but it was a bummer in that I would have liked to be more hospitable and entertaining. Either way it was great to have them!
Mike putting the finishing touches on the tree. I love the ambiance of a Christmas tree, but am always thankful to re-gain the space at the end of the month.
This is just a funny face, she's so cute!
Mid-month Mike's Mom and two of his brother came to visit, Tyler and Aaron. It was a nice visit. We went to a hockey game, which I don't recommend with young children b/c of the violence. It was more violent than I remember in college.
Hosea got a train table, he like it, thanks Mema and Papa!
Shiloh and I got to have a girls day and go see the Nutcracker Ballet performed downtown Pensacola. We joined a handful of other mommy daughter friends. As you can see, she really enjoyed it! I was grateful for the opportunity also, thanks babe!
My parents came to visit. They arrived Christmas day and stayed until New Years day. I fell victim to a tummy bug while they were here. It was a blessing in the since of it was really nice to have the extra help with the children, but it was a bummer in that I would have liked to be more hospitable and entertaining. Either way it was great to have them!
Doubt Vs. Unbelief
I've really been struggling with doubt this past week. But to learn that it is not the same as unbelief has been very freeing and encouraging! If you want to learn more about the difference check this out.
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/cj-mahaney/post/faith-doubt-and-unbelief-os-guinness.aspx
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/cj-mahaney/post/faith-doubt-and-unbelief-os-guinness.aspx
Homeless: To give or Not to give?
This question has plagued Mike and I for as long as we can remember.
How are we to respond to the beggars we encounter?
We have had several experiences were we've chosen to do nothing, we've given food, we've given money, we've given little, we've given much, we've wanted to give and just didn't have anything on us to give. We've never known how God would be most pleased in each situation. Some of them we gave out of fear, as the beggar was aggressive. I still shutter at two specific experiences. We've given out of compassion and obligation. We've ignored out of confusion. What is the right answer? God's word does touch on a variety of possibilities. We are commanded to care for the widowed and orphaned. To be generous, to show mercy, grace and compassion, as though it is our own merit that keeps us from that same place. But then there are harsh warnings to the sluggard, slothful person.
The recent conclusion we've drawn is, we don't know each story. Some may be where they are b/c of hard life circumstances, some my be laying in the bed they've made. My heart breaks for both! Apart from Christ and His saving grace in my life, I would be wallowing in my own sin and it would be just as appalling, no..... more disgusting to God then the filthy rank rages of an unbathed person. We are all unclean before God without the cleansing of His son Jesus Christ.
After making a new acquaintance with someone who works in a homeless shelter. He gave us a great idea, that really resonates with my spirit. It is so simple, yet practical. He suggested giving gift cards to common restaurants, as a way to provide a meal. What a fantastic way to met a physical need in someone who may or may not have "stewardship issues". We also desire more deeply to care for the spiritual needs of those people, so have decided to throw our gift card in a pamphlet that clearly communicates God's love for sinners. So both our vehicles now have a few pamphlets loaded gift cards to subway and burger king. I had the pleasure to distribute one this week!
I don't know if this is the perfect solution to an age old problem. But for now it is what we feel called to do and I was excited to tell about it!
How are we to respond to the beggars we encounter?
We have had several experiences were we've chosen to do nothing, we've given food, we've given money, we've given little, we've given much, we've wanted to give and just didn't have anything on us to give. We've never known how God would be most pleased in each situation. Some of them we gave out of fear, as the beggar was aggressive. I still shutter at two specific experiences. We've given out of compassion and obligation. We've ignored out of confusion. What is the right answer? God's word does touch on a variety of possibilities. We are commanded to care for the widowed and orphaned. To be generous, to show mercy, grace and compassion, as though it is our own merit that keeps us from that same place. But then there are harsh warnings to the sluggard, slothful person.
The recent conclusion we've drawn is, we don't know each story. Some may be where they are b/c of hard life circumstances, some my be laying in the bed they've made. My heart breaks for both! Apart from Christ and His saving grace in my life, I would be wallowing in my own sin and it would be just as appalling, no..... more disgusting to God then the filthy rank rages of an unbathed person. We are all unclean before God without the cleansing of His son Jesus Christ.
After making a new acquaintance with someone who works in a homeless shelter. He gave us a great idea, that really resonates with my spirit. It is so simple, yet practical. He suggested giving gift cards to common restaurants, as a way to provide a meal. What a fantastic way to met a physical need in someone who may or may not have "stewardship issues". We also desire more deeply to care for the spiritual needs of those people, so have decided to throw our gift card in a pamphlet that clearly communicates God's love for sinners. So both our vehicles now have a few pamphlets loaded gift cards to subway and burger king. I had the pleasure to distribute one this week!
I don't know if this is the perfect solution to an age old problem. But for now it is what we feel called to do and I was excited to tell about it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
