Finally, an Annabelle story

Lately, I've been playing a game with Annabelle. (She's 6 months now! Where did the time go?!) If she has her pacifier in her mouth, I'll pull her close to my face and grab the ring end of the pacifier with my mouth and pull it out. She laughs and I put it back in. Last night, I was playing with her. I grabbed her pacifier and dropped it on my chest. (I was reclining on the couch, and she was sitting on me.) She picked up the pacifier and laughed, and then she started reaching towards my mouth. She actually put the ring end into my mouth! She just laughed and laughed. Then she pulled it out and put it in her mouth the correct way. It was so funny. I wondered if she meant to do it (I was pretty sure she did), so I tried it again. I dropped the pacifier so she could pick it up, and she grabbed it and put it into my mouth so she could pull it out again! It was so cute! I'm pretty sure this is the first game she's actually played, where she initiated something and wasn't just responding to us. We played it over and over, and she laughed and laughed. It was adorable! It's so fun to see her personality starting to develop.

The little things...

It's the little things that make me really like this apartment. All the fixtures have been replaced, so instead of the normal brass that most apartment complexes have, they are brushed silver. It makes things look more modern and new. Even the ceiling fans are new! It all looks so nice. The walls aren't white, either. They are an off-white/cream color. So much better than solid white like our old place. Even though the bedrooms are smaller, I like them. I like that we've had to pare down our stuff. I like having to be more organized, because if I'm not, I don't have room.

Grace really loves this apartment. She thinks it is so cool to share a room with Annabelle. She also loves having her own bathroom. It's really funny when John uses it and Grace asks him why he uses hers. It's cute. She's also always asking if Annabelle can play with her in their room. I'll put Annabelle in the exersaucer and let them "play". So adorable!! The girls are growing and changing constantly. Right now, as I type this, Grace is giving Annabelle kisses and making her laugh. Annabelle loves her big sister! The other day, she was cracking up laughing at Grace. Annabelle is now rolling over both ways. She's very close to sitting up too. She can sit for a few seconds unassisted before she starts to fall over. I can't believe she's almost 5 months old!!!

I'm excited for this week. Grace starts ballet classes tomorrow morning, and we'll start our Community Bible Study on Thursday morning. I'm looking forward to getting to know some women through both of these places. I'm choosing to be very optimistic about friendships here. The last 2 years were very rough for me, so I'm going to try very hard to make sure that this season of life is different. We went to a church Sunday that was very big on being intentional about relationships. It really spoke to me, because that's what I want. I want a church that encourages its members to connect on deeper levels and provides multiple opportunities to do so.

Life is good!!

Settling in...

We are slowly getting settled in our new apartment. Moving was soooooo difficult with a 4-month old and a 3 year old!!! Grace was easier than Annabelle, but it was still difficult. Theydidn't understand why I didn't have as much free time to play. I saved a lot until the last week, so it was a CRAZY final week in the old apartment. But we got it done. I was so grateful for my mom for coming up three times to help pack and for one of Grace's favorite babysitters for coming over to watch the girls. My neighbor Susie helped a lot too. She'd come over and hold Annabelle while I worked. It was nice to have the help the times I needed it.

We loaded the truck Friday night. Grace even wanted to help load.

Before the truck was loaded, she enjoyed running around in it. She was so red! (It was about 90 degrees when we started, even though we waited until 6pm to start loading!!) John and some friends got the truck loaded in less than 2 hours. We were amazed at how quickly it was finished!

Saturday morning, we finally saw ourapartment for the first time. We had seen a 1-bedroom at the complex and the floor plan of the 2-bedroom, but there wasn't a 2-bedroom available to tour. Storage space was in short supply, so after we got everything into the house, we had to start tossing more stuff. (I thought I had gotten rid of enough during the packing process, but I still had (and need to still) to get rid of more!) We have a storage closet on our patio, but the hot water heater takes up half of the space. We were not expecting that!

Yesterday, my sister came over with her girls to help me sort all the girls' clothes. She had passed on stuff from her girls, and we've gotten a ton of new stuff (plus other hand-me-downs from friends through the years.) When I pulled all the crates out, I had 7 large crates and 4 small ones.

I knew I had a lot, but I had never counted. And that was only newborn to 24 months and 1 small box of winter 3T. (And the girls' dressers are overflowing with everything they fit into now!) We decided to get rid of all the baby clothes once Annabelle is done with them, and with the rest of it, I had to decide what I would never put her in, even if it was the right size for the right season. I have 1 large crate of clothes to sell to a resale shop and 4 trashbags (so far!) of give-away clothes. It feels so good to get rid of stuff! I have 3 crates to finish going through today, and then I have to tackle Grace's dresser. (I've already purged Annabelle's current wardrobe of things she won't ever wear.)

Next up, toys.... But that's a job for another day!!!

Peanut butter brownies

For those interested in the peanut butter brownies, here is the recipe- http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Brownies-I/Detail.aspx

I did add 2 TBSP of cocoa to the recipe the first time I made them, and the next time, I added 2.5. I also baked them for 20 minutes in the cupcake pans. Beware- the picture on that website is not an accurate portrayal of the outcome!!

Something's different...

All across the state, football teams are starting their 2-a-day practices. Normally, I'm watching my husband leave early in the morning to go break in a new team. I've usually listened to his side of phone conversations about what the team will look like, who is coming back, what kind of offense they will run, etc. But this year is very different. For the first time in 5 years, I'm not a football coach's wife. John is switching to girls' sports and is mainly concentrating on basketball. It feels weird. I miss it already, in a way. I loved being a football coach's wife (most of the time). I loved sitting in the stands, cheering for the team, being a part of the excitement and knowing that it was my husband who was a part of turning those boys into a cohesive team. I would get a sense of pride when I heard a parent compliment my husband, or quietly get frustrated when someone would criticize a play choice that didn't turn out as planned. I loved watching my husband be so animated on the sidelines that he wasn't even aware of what was behind him. I loved watching him look for me (and then me and Grace) before the game started and seeing the look of recognition and happiness when he finally saw us. I know I'll feel some of that in any sport he coaches, but high school football is my absolute favorite sport. It has been even before I met John. I'm not a fan of football on tv, but put me in the stands and I go crazy. I LOVE it. I won't miss the crazy long hours, watching game film relentlessly, and being a "football widow." I'll get to go to games WITH John now. We'll go cheer on our new school. He'll be able to help with the girls, instead of me trying to wrangle them both. It'll be a nice change. But it still feels different, like something is missing...

In the kitchen

Last week, I was in a baking mood. I knew I wanted chocolate, and I had a ton of peanut butter that I needed to use. I searched for a recipe with both and found a great one! I made peanut butter brownies. I already packed my 8x8 pan, so I decided to make them into cupcakes. I love making things in cupcake sizes because they are already portioned and there is less mess. Grace wanted to help. She loves helping in the kitchen. I always measure things out and let her dump the stuff in. It takes twice as long to prep whatever I'm making, but I love turning her into a little chef. She comes from a family who loves to be in the kitchen! Both sides of our family loves to cook, and she's following in our footsteps. Here's the brownies.

Grace also LOVES pizza! It is probably her favorite meal, but we don't get it very often, since John isn't the biggest fan. (It is the most-consumed food when he is with a team, so he gets very tired of it!) He wasn't home for dinner one night, so I decided to make some. I'm still searching for that perfect crust. This one isn't it, but I'm going to try it again with some slight changes to see if it works better. But if I ever want a pan-pizza crust, I know what recipe to use! Check out how much this pizza rose!

Grace devoured her slice! Next time, I think I'll cut the dough in half, but still roll it out as big. Maybe then I'll have the perfect pizza crust! And of course, I let Grace help with making it. I put the sauce on and she spread it around with a spoon. Then she sprinkled the cheese and carefully placed all the pepperonis. It was so cute!

How do you decide what to keep?

We're busy packing up our apartment in preparation for our move in a couple of weeks. You would think that having just moved from overseas 2 years ago, we wouldn't have that much extra junk, especially considering we had to mail everything in boxes. But somehow, we have a ton of stuff. It's so hard trying to decide what to keep. After we moved back, I got a lot of boxes that my parents had been storing for me. They were full of keepsakes from high school and college. There are old photos, school writings, trinkets, etc. I also had a box full of pottery that I made in my 2 college ceramic classes. Our new place is smaller than our current place, so we need to get rid of stuff. It's hard trying to decide what to keep and what to toss. I hold something, look at it, and think, "I really don't care about this now, but in 10 years, will I care about it? I obviously haven't missed it for the past 10 years." I'm not really sentimental about keeping stuff. It makes moving so hard! I especially don't know what to do with all my pottery. I was so proud of everything I made, but how many ceramic bowls do I really need? Do I want to continue to let them gather dust, or should I try to sell them at a yard sale and trash what doesn't sell? I'm leaning towards keeping just the 2 or 3 most favorite items, and getting rid of the rest. Maybe I should take pictures of it all before I toss it, so I'll have a much smaller thing to hold on to.

Any advice from those who have moved and will move much more than me?

Zucchini burgers and pucks

One of my biggest struggles at meal time is getting Grace to eat vegetables. She won't try a whole lot, and she's very picky. I got a new cookbook about sneaking veggies into foods. (It's the one by the comedian's wife. I'm not saying it because I don't want my blog to come up in a search about the book.) I tried one of the recipes tonight for dinner, and it was a huge success! It was hamburger sliders with shredded zucchini mixed in. I don't know if Grace ate them because she's had one of John's burgers before, or if she helped make them. (I let her help me roll the meat into balls and smash them into burgers.) But she at it all! She really liked it. I've never had success getting her to eat zucchini, even in zucchini bread, but she ate this!

Since I had to shred the zucchini for the burgers, I just shredded all the zucchini so I could put it in the freezer. (I had an electric shredder, so it was quick work. I borrowed it from my mom, but I want one now!) I didn't think it would be good to freeze it all together, but I didn't want to put them portions in individual bags. I came up with what I think was a great idea! I stuffed the shreds into a 1/2 cup measuring cup and dumped them upside down on a cookie sheet. When I was finished portioning it out, I threw them in the freezer for an hour. I pulled it out, and ta da! Zucchini pucks that I could put in 1 large bag! Now they are individually portioned for whenever I need them next!

A completely different perspective

Things have happened this summer that make me grateful for 2 things- 1- John's new job and 2- the Dave Ramsey plan. I've been fighting with insurance about issues with my maternity coverage and with Grace's ear problems. (summary- They said my c-section was complicated, but it wasn't. An uncomplicated c-section is covered by my maternity policy, a complicated c-section is covered under major medical, which is another deductible and out-of-pocket limit. For Grace, we switched insurance for her, and her ear problems are considered pre-existing condition, so we have to appeal for a waiver to get it covered.) If the appeals go in our favor, things are good. If they go the other way, it will be a lot more money owed. If this was happening last summer, or if John didn't have a new job, I would be so incredibly stressed about it, even just waiting for the judgment. But knowing that with John's job, we'll have money to pay bills, I have no stress whatsoever.

We are also getting into the Dave Ramsey method of finances. We read his book about a year and a half ago, but we've really struggled implementing it completely. We've tried, but it's been hard. The main thing we did was set up an emergency fund, and we are so glad we did! We were able to pay for both of our car repairs and John's new glasses without stressing about where the money would come from. (It helped that we had saved our last tax return in preparation for our move, so we had more than our normal emergency fund.) We had to make adjustments about our move (like choose an apartment over a house for the first year at least), but when things like this happen, you have to make sacrifices. We cut expenses wherever we could to help save money. It's been tight, but it'll all be worth it in the end. (We skip a paycheck in between jobs, so it was going to be a tight summer even without the extra expenses we had.) The lower stress level is amazing! We're signed up for the Dave Ramsey class, Financial Peace University, starting in September, and we can't wait! I think EVERYONE needs to take this class or at least read his book. It's not just for rich or poor, or for those with debt or without debt. It's about how to live within (or below!) your means, while preparing for the future. I highly, highly recommend it. It has changed our lives, and we haven't even really started the program! haha. Once we're in the program, I'll definitely post updates here about our progress.

Roller coaster days

These past few months have been full of roller coaster moments. We get good news, then bad news. Usually, they are a few days apart. But yesterday, it was a roller coaster day! We've been waiting to hear about a job that John interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. We finally heard that the job is his!! He will be teaching history and coaching girls basketball and track at a very large school near Houston. We are so excited! It is a public school, which means we are more secure financially than we have been at a private school. We are also looking forward to not living in a rural town anymore. It has been a long 2 years!

The bad news came after I left my friend's house. (And it wasn't until I was pulling out that it hit me that I said goodbye to her, since she is moving. I haven't had to say bye to a friend in a couple of years, and it was a strange feeling. In some ways, I'm still used to it, as I lived the military life for almost 5 years, but in other ways, it was difficult.) Anyway, I was taking the girls grocery shopping (my first trip with both of them!) As we turned left across the road to get to the parking lot, the van started shaking and sputtering. We limped into the parking lot and parked. I briefly debated if I should shop yet or not, but I decided that I was already there, I needed groceries, and if I couldn't drive home, I couldn't get back to the store later. So we did our shopping, which took twice as long as normal. Annabelle's car seat is too big to fit in the cart and still shop, so I wore her in the sling. (I should have used my wrap instead, but I didn't feel like putting it on, so I did the sling, and it just is not as comfortable!) Grace did mostly ok, but she was just full of energy and wanted to run. We finished our shopping finally, got loaded into the car, and I started the engine. It started to shake so bad I felt like the engine was going to fall out! I turned it off quickly and called John to update him. (I had called him while shopping to tell him what happened.) Then I called Roadside Assistance through our cell phones (so glad we have that plan!) and after an initial run-around of them not having record of us paying for the service, we finally got everything worked out for them to tow us. John got a coworker to come pick us up. Did I mention that it was almost 100 degrees outside AND I had lots of groceries that needed to stay cool? I had to unload the cold stuff back into the cart and wait inside the store.

John rode with the tow truck to the shop. Our car was at the shop, waiting for the a/c to get fixed. The part hasn't come in yet, so John took it back so we have something to drive. My in-laws fly in today, but thankfully, my mom is going to pick them up from the airport and bring them to us so they don't have to drive 1.5 hours in an un-air-conditioned car in such hot weather.

It was such a long day! I'm glad we have a bright future ahead of us, because if we didn't have that job lined up, I would be so stressed about having to pay for both car repairs! God is so good to provide what we need when we need it!

That didn't take long...

I had heard about older sisters "nursing" their baby dolls after seeing mom with a new baby, so I wondered how long it would take Grace to do it. For her, it was only about 2 and a half weeks! I woke up Friday morning, and John told me that he was sitting with Grace as they were getting ready to go to school. She said, "I want to hold my baby doll." She held her, and said, "I need to burp my baby." She put her on her shoulder and was about to burp her when she realized "Oh, wait, I need to feed my baby!" John said she put her baby down near her waist and then pulled her up to her chest and got everything adjusted just right, just like I do with Annabelle. She "nursed" her baby, and then put her on her shoulder again to burp her. She patted her back and then let out a huge burp sound and said "Good burp, baby!" (We say that to Annabelle when she burps.) John said he could barely hold in his laughter!

Tonight, I was holding Annabelle, and Grace was snuggling next to us, giving Annabelle kisses. I said that I needed to feed Annabelle. Grace said, "I can feed her some of my mommy milk." I laughed and said, "You don't have mommy milk yet." She was shirtless and pointed at her chest and said "But I have these!" She sure is an observant child! haha

Annabelle's Birth Story

Since I was having a scheduled c-section, I thought I had everything planned out. We'd go to the hospital, check in, surgery at 7:30, recovery, hold and nurse Annabelle, move to our room, and then have Grace and grandparents come see us. (We didn't want anyone at the hospital until I had nursed for the first time.) But you know what they say about "best laid plans".

The first part was as planned. We got up at 4 to shower and get dressed to be out the door by 4:30 and at the hospital by 5. Luckily since it was so early, I wasn't hungry yet, so it wasn't too bad not being able to eat. We checked in and met our awesome nurse, Jenni. She was great! We only had her for 2 hours until shift change, but she was really good. I was nervous about the surgery, and as time went on, I only got more nervous. John had us both laughing, though, so that was good. (What's crazy is that even though I was having a scheduled c-section, I was contracting every 3 to 4 minutes at times, then every 6-7 minutes. It was very regular the entire 2 and a half hours I was monitored prior to surgery.)

I met the anesthesiologist, and he was so great! He explained everything and was very patient with all my questions. All throughout surgery, he was at my head, still answering questions and helping me keep my mind off what was happening on the other side of the curtain. It's such a strange sensation, feeling every tug and pull but no pain, and knowing vaguely what they are doing. I never allowed myself to read too much about the actual surgery, because I didn't want to know all the details of what happens.

The spinal went very well. He had warned me that sometimes they take a while, but mine was a textbook procedure, and in no time, I was numb. After that point, everything went very quickly, as they finished prepping me. The doctor came in and started the surgery before I even realized it.

Annabelle was born at 8:13am. They held her up high enough for me to glimpse her above the curtain, and then as the nurse walked her out, she held her next to my head for a few seconds so I could see her. I didn't get to see Grace for at least 10 minutes after she was born, so it was really cool to see Annabelle covered with all the white stuff still. (I know, kinda gross, but I still wanted to see her fresh from the womb.) They took her out to clean her, so John went with her and brought her back in about 10 minutes for me to see. She was beautiful!! I was amazed at how small she was, compared to Grace. They took her out again to do all the measurements and take her to the nursery while I finished in surgery. (The nurse came back in a few minutes later to let me know her sizes. I really loved how thoughtful the nurses were through all this! With Grace, I didn't find any of that stuff out until after my 2 hours in post-op recover.)

The rest of the surgery was a little nerve-wracking. It seemed longer than Grace's, and I was more aware this time. (With Grace, I got nauseous, and the nausea medicine made me drowsy, so I was out of it.) There was a lot more pressure too, and it was just overall uncomfortable. I was so grateful when they said it was over!

They wheeled me to recovery, and John came in to show me pictures. Unfortunately, he had somewhat bad news for me. Annabelle started grunting, which meant she had fluid on her lungs. (They assured me that it was very normal for post c-section babies since they aren't squeezed through the birth canal.) They put her on oxygen until noon. I wouldn't get to see or hold her until the pediatrician came back to release her from the nursery. Not what I wanted to hear, but what else can you do? They did take me by the nursery on the way to my room so I could see her through the window, and John let me keep the camera so I could admire the pictures some more.

Noon came and went with no sign of our pediatrician. Finally, at 2, she came to release her. (She had a meeting at 12 and didn't get there in time to see her before the meeting. She doesn't work at the hospital, so it was a lot of back-and-forth for her. I was just grateful that she was able to be there instead of using another pediatrician who wouldn't be her doctor later on.) By that point, Grace, my parents, and John's mom were in my room. I gave up my plan of getting an hour of bonding time before everyone else saw her. They wheeled her into the room in her bassinet, and Grace's reaction was priceless! She was so excited and in awe of her baby sister! She immediately asked to hold her. We laughed, and said, "No, mommy gets her first!" It was so great finally getting to hold her, 6 hours after she was born. After I held her a while, we let Grace hold her, and then we passed her to all the grandparents. John was so great to let everyone else hold her before he got cuddle time, since he got to hold her when she was first born. But we didn't let everyone have too much time, since I needed to nurse her. They would all have plenty of time in the next few days.

We had planned on rooming in the whole time, but even those plans went out the window. In Germany, it was great having Grace in our room, but the nurses hardly came in during the night. Here, they were in every 2 hours, at least! Every time they opened the very noisy door, Annabelle would wake up and cry. The nurse finally said, "I'm going to take her to the nursery." I was too tired to care at that point, and let her go without protesting. They brought her in every 3 hours to nurse, and it was so nice to be able to sleep without more interruptions. The rest of the time, we'd send her to the nursery around 10 or 11pm, and then we'd get her back after the pediatrician visited in the morning (not counting the times they'd bring her to nurse.) They were great about following our "no bottles or pacifier" request, so I wasn't worried about not having her with me.

Overall, it was a great experience. There were positives and negatives to this experience, and to the Germany experience. If we could take the best of both worlds, it'd be great! haha. I've learned that plans are great, but it is best to be flexible and just go with the flow. I never would have planned all of this, but it turned out to be a great experience. We are just as bonded as we would have been with nursing immediately after birth and rooming in all night. Annabelle is nursing great, for the most part. She has problems with impatience sometimes and gets so frustrated she won't latch, but she eventually gets it. We are so far ahead of where we were with Grace at this point!

Grace has been an awesome big sister! She is constantly just staring at her, saying how beautiful she is. Every time she makes a noise, Grace says, "Mommy, my baby sister just said, 'ah'" (or whatever noise she made.) She has not regressed yet in potty training, and actually has improved! She's even had fewer accidents, which is nice. She did great with Oma while John and I were at the hospital. She is definitely in love with Annabelle, as we all are! We are definitely enjoying our transition to a family of 4!

Annabelle Hope

Annabelle Hope is here! Born April 6, 2010, at 8:13am. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 8.6 oz, and was 19.9 inches long. She is BEAUTIFUL!! I'm too tired to write up the birth story, but that will come eventually. Here are some incredible pictures my dad took on day 3. Thanks for your prayers!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! This year has held a lot of excitement and anticipation for us, for a couple of reasons. I guess a huge reason is because 2 days after Easter, we meet our baby girl! My c-section is scheduled for Tuesday! I can't believe it's here! The whole pregnancy has flown by, except for the last week. John asked me last night if it was just him, or if this week has been dragging on and on. It's not just him! It's gone by pretty slowly for me too.

Another reason for the anticipation is Grace. This year, holidays have taken on new meaning, as we teach her what the holiday is truly about. We tried last year, but she just wasn't old enough to understand it. This year, she's been learning the story at home, at church, at school, and at our weekly Bible study class. She sees examples of Christ's resurrection in everything! Wednesday, we were driving home from school, and she had her basket of Easter eggs from the egg hunt. She held the largest one up, open and empty, and said, "Look, Mommy! It's empty like the tomb!" When she sees a cross, she says, "Jesus died on the cross." Upon questioning, she'll share the whole story.

Us-What happened after the cross?

G- They put him in the cave.

Us- Then what happened?

G- The angel rolled the stone away! (She will do a hand movement to demonstrate this.)

Us- What was in the tomb?

G- The tomb was empty!!!!

Us- Why?

G- Because JESUS IS ALIVE!!! (She throws her hands up in victory at this exclamation!)

I realized yesterday that I had never put two and two together about the day, so I was telling her that Easter is the day Jesus came alive again. This morning, I told her today is Easter, and I asked why Easter is special. She said "The tomb is empty!"

There's something so special about seeing a holiday through the eyes of a child! Early on, we had decided to not do the Easter bunny (or Santa), so we can focus on the true reason for the holidays. It has really changed them for us, as we get excited again and again for what Christ has done for us.

"The tomb is empty, because Jesus is alive!"

Time flies!!! Spring Break is here, and I'm glad that spring is here too! The weather has been beautiful lately, and we've really been enjoying afternoons at the park with Grace. She has some sand castle toys, so she and John play in the sand while I watch. (There's no way I could get up if I sat in the sand! I have a hard enough time just getting off a solid floor!)

We are 3 and a half weeks away from our c-section date. It is coming up so fast! My doctor told me yesterday that he thinks the baby is breech, so I get another ultrasound at my next appointment. I asked why, since I was already schedule for a c-section. It doesn't seem like it would matter, but he said he'd have to make a slightly larger incision for a breech baby, so he needs to know. I'm fine with it, because we get to see our baby again! :)

Potty training is still going well. Yesterday was our first accident free day!!! It was so exciting!! She is doing really well with it. I'm praying she doesn't regress too much when the baby comes. We've really been trying to focus on the fact that she is a BIG GIRL and the baby will be the baby. If we ask if she's the baby, she says no. And she did tell me that when the baby comes, the baby will wear diapers, and she will wear big-girl panties. So we'll see!

John and I don't have a lot planned for Spring Break, other than getting ready for our new baby. We haven't even set up the crib yet! We need to do that, clean the car seat we bought from a friend, wash the clothes for the baby, get a dresser and fill it with the clean clothes, and transition Grace's dresser from 2T to 3T. This is the first time since she was probably 6 months old that she's been ready for the next size before her birthday! When she turned 2, she was in 18 month clothes still. She still fits in 2T, but 3T is starting to fit better. She's getting so tall that everything is too short on her. She definitely has her daddy's height!

It's been a while! Life has been so busy and crazy! Work got insane for about a month, as I worked on our school's big fundraiser. I worked almost full-time for 3 long weeks. Since then, I was forced into rest, first by Grace being sick and then by getting a sinus infection myself. I actually took my first sick-day that was for me, not because of Grace! After a day of rest without watching a toddler, I'm finally starting to feel better.

I've been hesitant to say anything about this, because I've gotten excited before and then had to eat my words, but I think Grace is finally potty trained! I've tried so many times during this school year. She was trained for about a week at the beginning of the year, but then regressed after getting sick, starting school, and talking about a new baby. Last Sunday, she requested panties, and she's been in them all week, except for sleeping. Accidents are happening fewer and fewer times, and I'm not going back to diapers! Everyone has warned me that she may regress when the baby comes, so I'm trying to be prepared for that, but hopefully we can just deal with a few accidents and not go back to diapers.

We only have 6 weeks and a few days until our 2nd little girl makes her appearance!! We are so excited! It's a scheduled c-section, so while it's strange knowing the exact date, it is nice to be so prepared. We have so much still left to do to get ready. We haven't bought anything yet that we need, even a crib mattress, so we don't even have that set up yet. We had to leave so much stuff in Germany when we moved that we're basically starting over with the newborn stuff (except for clothes.)

Grace is so excited for her baby sister to get here. She talks about singing to her when she cries, and playing with her, and holding her. It is so sweet. It'll be fun to watch.

Another Haiti blog to read

Our friend Jocelyn is in Haiti with the Clays for a short time. She has written a blog/journal that covers most of the week. It is a very long read, and at times, very hard to get through, but well worth the effort. Warning: You may need tissues reading it.

http://acarydcross.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/a-journal-entry-to-share-port-au-prince-haiti/

Friends in Haiti

For those who read this who aren't on facebook, I want to share about some of our friends, Corrigan and Shelley Clay. They are missionaries in Haiti, running a non-profit aimed at helping families stay intact. (Many children who are in orphanages in Haiti have living parents who can not afford to keep them.) We have been praying for them since news of the earthquake came out. After a long, prayer-filled night Tuesday night, we found out they were alive and unhurt on Wednesday morning. They have been taking care of people in their front yard, as their house is iffy on how safe it is to be inside. Without medical training, they have been running a makeshift clinic, helping to clean out wounds and bandage them.

They posted a blog today about how to help best in the aftermath of the earthquake. I know everyone is saying "Give here, give there", but this comes from someone who is on the ground and sees how needs are (or aren't) being met. Please take a few minutes to read their blog and at least pray for them as God uses them to minister to their friends.

http://apparentproject.blogspot.com/

Warning: Huge Bragging Post

This is a huge bragging post! Grace got some paints for Christmas. She got some regular water colors and some of those new paints that are brushes and paints all in one. I finally let her use them. We set everything up on her picnic table, put on her painting apron (another present), and got started. She had a blast painting. Most of it was normal 2-year old stuff, with dots and lines and no real shapes anywhere. She was doing mainly abstract art. Then she said, "I want to paint Frosty the Snowman." She drew a circle (which I knew she could do). Then she shocked me by adding eyes and a mouth! First time I've seen her do that! I was amazed. But she didn't stop there! Here's the finished painting.

I'm still amazed at how well she did! (On the left side, the arm is very, very light, but it's there too!) It's the first time I've seen her do anything more than random stuff. Even with pens and markers, she doesn't really draw things. She was so proud of her "Frosty the Snowman."

She painted several other paintings, including one for each set of grandparents. She was so excited to give my parents theirs today when we met up with them. We'll have to mail the painting to John's parents soon. I'm sure she'll have a huge stack of paintings soon! She loves painting now!

Ok, I'm done bragging... for now. :)

New recipe

I got a new cookbook for Christmas. My grandmother gave me "The Ultimate Ground Beef Cookbook." (She bought me and my siblings each a cookbook and wrapped them without knowing who got what.) Earlier in December, John went hunting and came back with a deer. (He didn't shoot it, but the guy who did didn't want it, so John got it.) We have a lot of venison burger in the freezer. I decided to test out a recipe from the ground beef cookbook. It's for "Cheeseburger Buns." They were pretty good! I'd make some changes to them next time, but I'm thinking these will be good to throw in the freezer and take to work for lunch.

Cheeseburger Buns

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

3/4 cup milk (110-115 degrees)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1 tsp salt

3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 pounds ground beef (or venison or whatever ground meat you have!)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

8 slices Process American Cheese, quartered (I used just 4 slices and used shredded mexican blend cheese in half of them.)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, sugar, shortening, egg, salt, and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. (I used all 4 cups.)

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 miutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Punch the dough down; divide in 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out and stretch each piece into a 5-in circle. Top each circle with two pieces of cheese and about 3 tbsp beef mixture. Bring dough over filling to center; pinch edges to seal.

Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for -12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield- 16 sandwiches.

My notes: The burger needs some seasoning in it. There was no salt in the recipe, and I almost added it, but I didn't. It definitely at least needs salt, if not more flavors (maybe garlic). It might be good to flavor the bread too. It's definitely a keeper recipe with some changes!