the challenges of having teeth

Isaac has teeth now, so when he bites down on the rubber spoon, it gets stuck... but he doesn't understand that it's his own teeth keeping the spoon in his mouth. Sometimes it takes a good yank to get it out for the next bite! We think his little puckered lips and confused face is just too cute!

New Computer

Aaron has been carefully selecting and ordering new computer parts for the last couple of weeks and today is the big day! He and Jeremy (his former college room mate) are having the time of their lives putting it all together. Aaron is so excited about this project that he could hardly sleep last night :o) Building a computer from "scratch" is most certainly a complicated, highly impressive task...

pregnancy in "man terms"

When Aaron's friend Jeremy came over, he asked me, "so.... how far along are you?"
I replied, "34 and a half weeks" there was a thoughtful pause.... and Jeremy sheepishly asked, "um... could you translate that into man terms?" I smiled and said, "Lord willing, the baby will be born in about six weeks." :o)

As Long as You are Glorified

We sang this in church this sunday and it really stirred my heart...

As Long As You Are Glorified

Mark Altrogge

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night

my little plants

I am not a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination, so I am quite proud of my two little plants! The one on the right is an African violet, which a sweet friend gave to me nearly a year ago on my birthday.... it is the only plant I have successfully kept alive for so long :o) The one on the left is Shamrocks, which I am equally as proud of. I acquired this one last month in the form of three little roots which Mother gave me while I was in San Antonio Texas for a visit. The little roots traveled with me in a plastic bag on the plane and then I transfered them into this lovely plastic container on my kitchen window sill. They may look a little scrawny now... but I am confident that they will grow into a full vibrant, bushy, leafy plant which will eventually graduate to a nicer ..... more attractive.... pot.

I think I might be beginning to like this gardening thing.... we'll see what kind of fun little plants I can keep alive on my porch this spring!

Our First Arrow

“Behold, children are a

heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows

in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one’s youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!”

Psalm 127:3-5

34 Weeks....

.... only six more weeks to go!

Getting what we deserve

Aaron and I discovered this the other night and after listening to the radio clip found on this link....

http://www.voddiebaucham.org/vbm/Blog/Entries/2008/10/16_Getting_What_We_Deserve.html

I was filled with disbelief, sadness and shock! The ignorance of America is truly repulsive.

So sweet....

Recent pictures of Isaac, my little daily companion :o)

... Hello Pumpkin!

I opened up our back door this morning to be greeted by this.... interesting.... fellow sitting on my porch...



... the creative genius of our little upstairs neighbor. Aaron says it looks like a "deranged Mr. Potato-head"

Still

The more I get alone
The more I see I need to get alone more, more
Cause just when I think that I'm alone
Your Spirit calls out to me
And even silence has a song
Cause that's when you come
Sing over me

Still, let me be still
Let me be OK
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I'm so quick to move
Instead of listening to you
Shut my mouth
Crush my pride
Give me the tears
Of a broken life,
Still

Oh this world, it falls around me
And flutters all it's beauty in my eyes
But let me choose the solitude
Simplicity has always simply changed my life
Cause even stillness makes me move
Cause that's when my heart
Learns to dance with you

Still, let me be still
Let me be OK
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I'm so quick to move
Instead of listening to you
I'm your child
Tame my heart
Obedience
To me impart
Still

Hold me
Cleanse me
Change me, Oh God
Change me while I am
Still, let me be still
And know that you are God
And you are always enough
Still, I want to be still
To take all that I am
And simply lift it up

(by Watermark)

Whole Wheat Yeast Biscuits

3- 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (5 0z) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 -1/2 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
~2 cups bread flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix with sugar, butter, evaporated milk, eggs, salt and whole wheat flour. Beat until smooth. Add just enough bread flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth ~ ten minutes. (I just left it in my kitchenAid and used the dough-hook to knead the dough... it works just as well and doesn't use up a reservoir of energy) Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top of dough blob. Cover and let it rise in a very warm place until doubled, about an hour and a half. Punch down, divide into thirds. Let rest about 5 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out each portion to 1/2 inch thick cut with a 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased pan. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes until golden. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen. (Because the recipe makes so much, I froze some of the dough after I formed the biscuits so that I can raise and bake them fresh later)

Serve warm with butter and honey or jelly. They are fabulous!

a computer in pieces...

So after months of our desktop computer dying countless times, and Aaron's impressive ability of bringing it back to life... it has reached a state of hopelessness. Even Aaron's magic touch and incredible technological wisdom could not revive it this time. Aaron salvaged what working parts he could from the old contraption and we've at last released it to the dump. May it rest in peace.

St. Louis

Our three day trip to St. Louis was delightful! We wanted to get away and enjoy a little honeymoon before our baby is born in about seven weeks. (so soon!!) Thursday we settled into our hotel room and went out to eat at a fabulous sea food restaurant called "Moby's Fish Tales" I enjoyed succulent crab cakes and fried calamari. YUM! Aaron and I both think that half of the fun of going on vacation is the food. We like to look up what restaurants are famous in the cities we are going to, and treat ourselves to the finest!

On Friday we went to the St. Louis zoo, which was absolutely fabulous. The best thing about it was that it was free! The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the outing immensely. Afterwards we went to the St. Louis science center (also free) but we didn't stay long because I was thoroughly worn out from walking around at the zoo. (being eight months pregnant imposes certain limitations and I'm afraid I was a little too optimistic about how much I could cram into one day!) So after the science center, we decided to do something a little more relaxing and headed off to St. Charles.... a historic district known for it's quaint little shops and old-fashioned atmosphere. We found a shady bench by a river and sat down to rest and enjoy the beautiful evening. It was glorious to just be together...feel the breeze and ponder how sweet life is. We were refreshed after our little rest and felt adventurous enough to wander down the historic main street.... a lovely brick road lined with gas lamps and cute little shops. Unfortunately most of the little stores were closed for the day, but we still enjoyed the walk. We found a few that caught our eyes and made plans to come back the next morning to check them out.

By this time, we were starting to get hungry and were thrilled with the idea of trying out another new restaurant. My aunt who used to live in St. Louis told us we needed to go to "The Hill" and have Italian food. That was all we knew about it. A place called the Hill... associated with Italian food...but we were definitely up for the adventure of finding it! After driving around for a while, consulting "city-search" on Aaron's handy-dandy i-phone, we found it. Basically "The Hill" is a section of St. Louis that is saturated by.... Italy. It's like China-town or Little-India, only Italian. As we literally drove up "The Hill" we saw Italian flags everywhere... so we knew we were in the right place... and now began the search for the PERFECT restaurant. And we found it! A little corner restaurant called, "Zia's" it was packed with people (which we always think is a good sign) and the we were not disappointed by the food! It truly was fabulous. We had veal and pasta and bread and salad.... all authentic and mouth-watering. (and I would know authentic food, having lived nearly four years in Italy)

On Saturday we went to the famous "Union Station" and spent about an hour wandering around looking at stores, sampling fudge and learning about the history of the old station. It was quite an experience. Next we went to the St. Louis Arch... but being the cheapo's that we are, we didn't feel like paying to go up inside it. We were satisfied to just look at it in awe from the outside. It really is an architectural masterpiece!

We were told by several people that we couldn't go to St. Louis and not eat at a place called, "Fitz's" where they make and bottle their own root beer. So we tracked it down and tried it out. To be honest, we were not thoroughly impressed. The root beer floats were good, but as neither of us are big root-beer connessoirs, we didn't get that much of a thrill out of it. Aaron's bison burger that he ordered was just...okay... but nothing fancy. Still, it was a little interesting to see the conveyor belt where they bottle up the root beer.

After Fitz's we headed back home and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching "Horacio Hornblower". (which if you haven't watched the series... I HIGHLY recommend it. It is absolutely fantastic!)

*sighs* My nine day trip over seven states (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and KY) was wonderful... but I must admit that I am enjoying being back home with my wonderful husband and getting back in the groove of everyday life. Though, after our little date to St. Louis, both Aaron and I have decided that we definitely need to make "date trips" a priority at least every six months, even after our little girl is born. It is refreshing and encouraging and definitely worth the extra money!!

8 Months....

seven days and seven states

Ah… I am home from a whirlwind vacation full of long car trips…family fun…. delightful surprises… and a celebration of marriage!

My adventure began last Thursday when I flew to Texas to drive with my family to Phoenix Arizona to attend my cousin Michelle’s wedding… Flying to Texas just to drive hours to Arizona the same day? It does sound a little absurd… but it wasn’t the original plan… never mind the details. Needless to say, it made for a very long and tiring day.

Once in Arizona, I enjoyed reuniting with extended family members, meeting distant relatives (I admit…some of whom I didn’t even know existed :o) , and soaking up the fun of pre-wedding excitement and preparation. The wedding was lovely… here is a picture of the happy couple:

The day after the wedding, my mother, sister, brother-in-love and two year old nephew packed up and left Phoenix at 5 am. We were in the car for the next 18 ½ hours… earning this road trip the honor of being the longest I’ve ever driven in one day. The scenery was beautiful!

You can imagine that having a pregnant woman and a potty-training two year old aboard did make the trip seem just a bit longer :o) We were all pretty much zombies by the time we pulled into San Antonio late that night. (or was it early the next day?)

I was able to spend three days in San Antonio visiting family and friends. My sweet sister Sherrie planned a surprise baby shower for me. I was indeed surprised and delighted! It was so good to be able to see dear old friends again! I feel so loved!

Here is a picture of me and my two beautiful sisters:

One of my favorite things about my trip back home was getting to spend time with my precious nephew, Elijah. He has begun talking, and it melted my heart that he remembers me after months of not seeing him! I am now suffering from Elijah-withdrawal-syndrome :o( I miss his little voice announcing every McDonald’s we pass: “Donalds? Dinner? Park?” and the innocent way that he somehow sees a car-wash in every building with an overhang or drive-through (hotels, car repair shops, gas stations etc.). He touched my lips when I was wearing lip gloss and announced to everyone nearby that my lips were “nas-nee” (Elijah lingo for the word, “nasty” ie: anything that is dirty or has a smudge of something on it where it doesn’t belong). My heart broke when it was time to say goodbye and he took my hand and insisted that I “go bye-bye” with him and sit next to him in the car!

I flew back to Kentucky and my eagerly waiting husband exactly a week after I left…. only to spend about four hours at home (long enough to take a nap and pack the car) before leaving on yet another adventure… this time on a romantic get-away with my Lover to St. Louis!