Our Day Out with Thomas

We had a fun time yesterday at the Day Out with Thomas. Of course, I think Sam had the most fun of all! :) Although he didn't have a huge grin on his face, his eyes were very wide as he took it all in. We could tell he was pretty excited to see "Big Thomas" and all the Thomas-related stuff, not to mention several other trains that were at the railroad, too.

When we arrived, Jim took Sam through the different tents (gift shop, "Imagination Station," etc.), while I changed and nursed Julia. Then I caught up with them in time to board the train for our 20 minute ride. Much to Jim's dismay, we discovered that Thomas is a big fake! (The train was actually being pulled/pushed by a diesel engine at the other end, while Thomas is little more than a big box on wheels.) However, it was a still a fun experience, and Sam thought it was pretty cool to have a train ride. We ended up in the only air conditioned car, as we were some of the last to board the train and all the other cars were full. It was a VERY hot day, so being in the air conditioned car was a treat! The only downside was the rather strong, stale smell of the air conditioning in there. But at least we got to ride in comfort. :) Julia even did well for the whole ride and only got fussy toward the end of it. I took a picture of Sam and Jim standing beside Thomas (this picture has somehow disappeared off the computer at present, as we were having some technical difficulties yesterday--but maybe we'll get it back eventually), then Jim and Sam walked around and took some more pictures while I went off to nurse Julia again. (She tends to be a "cluster feeder" who wants to eat in short little spurts over a little period of time, then take a nice long nap. Hey, at least she is sleeping through most every night, though!:)) I appreciated that the station had a caboose all set up for a nursing/changing station for mommys. It wasn't fancy, but they had a bunch of folding chairs, a bench for changing babies, along with baby wipes, hand sanitizer, and Diaper Genies. And also a big fan! It was nice to be in out of the sun, and keeping a little cool with the help of the fan. I think it's so nice when facilities cater to families by having a place set up like that for moms. Very considerate! Julia ended up falling asleep, so I popped her back in the stroller, then walked around till I ran into Jim and Sam again. After that, Sam got to meet Sir Topham Hatt (or as Sam calls him, "The Fat 'Troller"). Sam wasn't too sure about going up and talking to him, so Daddy went along with him. We took more pictures as Thomas came into the station after another trip. Then we decided it was time to go, as we were pretty hot and hungry.


We stopped at McDonald's for lunch, then headed to the outlets for a quick shopping trip. I got my Yankee Candle "car jars" (see previous post), and I was also excited to find my favorite jeans in Eddie Bauer on sale for almost half the normal price. I got 2 pairs, so I should be set for a while! :) After a quick stop at TJ Maxx, we headed for home. Both kids conked out right away and slept all the way home, so Jim and I got to enjoy some time to talk without interruptions, which is always a treat. :)

All in all, it was a good day, and we will probably plan to do it again next time Thomas visits our state.

What's new with us

God blessed us this week with a new(er) Suburban! Last week as I was driving to the beach with the kiddos, I noticed a Suburban for sale on the side of the road. I told Jim about it later and he went to look at it. It's 4 years newer than our current Suburban (not NEW, by any means, but in very good shape), is a 4 wheel drive (something we really wanted for me, before next winter), and the asking price was very good. Even better, Jim was able to talk them down and we got it for $700 less than the asking price. :) We now have it registered and inspected, and Jim is busy this afternoon fixing a few little things on it. Hopefully we will be driving it all over the place by this weekend! The only major thing we want to do to it before starting to drive it full time, is to thoroughly clean the inside. Former owner had a dog . . . who apparently lived in the back . . . so we will probably rent a steam cleaner and see how spiffy we can make it. Final touch will be investing in a
Yankee Candle "car jar" for freshening the air. :) Now, pray that we can sell our old 'Burban for about the same as what we have into the new one! It would be nice to make back some or all of what we spent.

On Friday we will be taking Sam to a "Day Out with Thomas" event. I am so excited!! We haven't told him about it yet, and probably won't until we're on our way. I can't wait to see how much fun he has. I'm also excited to hopefully do a little outlet shopping the same day. It would be a crime to go to a town with great outlets and not go in them, don't you think? :D

I am enjoying a rare moment when both children are napping at the same time. I need to get busy and make up my grocery list for tomorrow, but I just wanted to pamper myself and take a few minutes to blog. How funny that a few quiet minutes to blog is my idea of "pampering" myself . . . but it is something that I find to be really fun and relaxing.

Yesterday I got myself motivated to do some cleaning in my kitchen. I'm desperately trying to get back on track with Flylady routines, so to start off right (and bring a smile to my face) I first of all shined my sink. I also cleaned off and reorganized a counter top, washed my dish drainer, silverware drawer, and contents, and cleaned off the top of my refrigerator (which is currently an extra storage area for cereals, etc.). I was SO happy with the end result--that whole end of my kitchen was sparkling. Today I have been busy with the kiddos and some company, so I haven't been able to do more than some quick surface cleaning, but I'm hoping to do more in the kitchen tomorrow if I get a chance. It felt so rewarding to accomplish so much.

Well, off I go to make up menus and a grocery list. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Chatter

I know I've posted a lot of pictures lately, but just couldn't resist sharing this one of our little smiley girl! Isn't she precious?

I had a whole long post written a little while ago, and then Firefox froze up and I lost it all . . . so I'm trying again, but this one will probably not be as long, since it's late, and I'm tired! It's been a long day, and neither one of the kiddos has been at their happiest. I'm so thankful for my sweet husband, who is willing to spend time with them in the evenings and give me a little break!! Both children are sleeping now, thankfully, and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet, and the time to write a bit. :)

I was so inspired by Mrs. Wilt's post today on "Redeeming the Time for Toddlers." For anyone who would like some good ideas on keeping your little ones busy, and teaching them, I highly recommend that you read it!! Actually, Mrs. Wilt's blog is a great source of inspiration in many areas and it's one I enjoy reading every day. I can tell, however, that she is a lot more organized than I am, because she gets a LOT more done than I do every day!! :) Anyway, I read that post before I headed out to do my weekly shopping this morning. I normally shop on Thursdays, but my kids were pretty tired yesterday from several previous busy days, so I put the groceries off till today. While at Walmart, I decided to pick up a few teaching tools to start a bit of "table time" with Sam. I had already gotten the idea from another friend of mine to use some age appropriate workbooks with him, as she had done this with her son when he was little. Mrs. Wilt's post reminded me that I wanted to buy some for Sam. I found two preschool workbooks at Walmart which look good, so I got them both. I also bought a pack of ABC flashcards for him. I plan to start a little schooling time with him for around 15 minutes a day, and only bring these special tools out during that time. He is like a little sponge right now--soaking up so many things. It is amazing to me how quickly he learns. I just love watching him grasp new concepts! It's such a privilege to be the one to teach him things. He can now identify about half the letters of the alphabet, spell his name (verbally--not in writing!:)), and count to ten (which he loves to do very loudly and very fast!). I'm really excited about homeschooling both our children in the future, Lord willing. I know it will not be an easy task, but I know it will be rewarding.

Well, I wish I could chatter on and on tonight, but I need my sleep! I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and I also hope to have more time for blogging next week. :)

More pictures from the 4th

Photos from the 4th

Beach Day Pictures

My friend Mindee and I are planning to take our kids to the beach once a week through the summer. Here are a couple pictures from last Tuesday!

Question of the Week: How will you celebrate July 4th?

With Independence Day coming up tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to hear how everyone plans to celebrate. (Or you can share after the fact, if you don't have any plans now, but end up doing something interesting later.)

Our plans are kind of low-key, I guess, but we are looking forward to the day. We probably will take the kiddos to a parade in the morning, then head to my parents' house for a cookout, along with them and my brother's family. We haven't decided whether we will go to any fireworks tomorrow night or not.

We attended a cook-out at a friend's home on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. Sort of a pre-July 4th celebration. We had a nice time of fellowship and a lot of good food! They set off some fireworks afterwards and Sam seemed to really think that was cool. He also enjoyed holding some sparklers for the first time. Wish I had gotten a picture! But we have some sparklers somewhere, so I should still have a chance to take a picture of him with one, maybe tomorrow.

I look forward to hearing how the rest of you will celebrate America's birthday! :)

Handmade soaps and shampoo

Over the past year I've tried a few all natural soaps and shampoo, although I haven't yet found any that I really like. I recently happened across this company,Chagrin Valley Soap and Craft, that sells a lot of yummy-sounding soap and shampoo bars which are handmade in Ohio. I haven't yet ordered any, but I'm really tempted to try some samples and see how we like them. They look so nice!! Just thought I would share in case anyone else is interested!

Comment moderation? --Let me know what you think!

Some of you may have noticed that I have turned off the anonymous comments option. The reason for this was that I had gotten a few anonymous comments that I wasn't really comfortable with, so to try and cut down on those, I figured I would just turn off that feature. The thing I don't like about doing this is that now those of you who don't have a Blogger account can't comment. Now, it's very easy to create a Blogger account, and you don't have to create a blog of your own to do so. But there may be readers who would prefer not to have a Blogger account for whatever reason. So, here's my question: Should I:

a) Turn the anonymous feature back on, but also turn on comment moderation (meaning I have to check the comments before they will be posted on the blog)?

or

b) Leave the anonymous option turned off, and readers will have to create a Blogger account in order to comment?

Please let me know your thoughts! (I'll be turning the anonymous option back on for this post, along with comment moderation, so your comments won't show up right away.)

Thanks!!

Question of the Week: Potty Training Advice

Okay, all you experienced moms out there! I thought we would start with a fun one. :)
For the past months, we have occasionally tried to start potty training Sam, but I haven't put a whole lot of effort into it. I've recently decided (with the not-so-subtle urging of my husband :)) that we need to work a bit harder on it. It would be nice to have only one child in diapers!

I admit that I know very little about the process of potty training. I've read some stuff online, gotten a little advice from our pediatrician and other moms, etc. We even have big boy Thomas undies for Sam, graciously given to us by a friend. We have only tried putting a pair on him once, just to see what would happen . . . he promptly went pee-pee. Our ped's advice was to put undies on him for an hour a day or so, praise him and reward him if he keeps them dry, and then to start putting them on for longer periods as he gets the hang of it and goes on the potty more often. Seeing as they are Thomas undies, I think he will have a pretty good incentive. :) To see a few of the things I've read online, you can go here, here, here, and here.

I'm seriously considering getting a copy of Toilet Training in Less Than a Day off Ebay. I'm just wondering if I would really have the time in one day to put into it, since I have a baby to take care of, too. Anyway . . . my question is for seasoned moms who have successfully potty trained their kiddos! As Zan asked, "How do you even start?" Please share your tips and tricks for us moms who are new to the whole thing!! :)

Giggles

Lurkers--take a minute to say hi!

Okay, I am taking a leaf out of a lot of other bloggers' books, and calling out to any "lurkers" who frequent my blog. :) I would love to hear from you! I recently topped 10,000 hits on my blog, which is amazing to me. So I know there are more of you readers out there than just the ones who usually comment. Every other time I've tried this, I haven't gotten much response, but I thought I would try again. :) So . . . stop by and introduce yourselves; I would love to "meet" you!

While I'm on the topic of comments, I would also like to hear any ideas or suggestions for how to make my blog better or more interesting. As I'm sure most of you can tell, I mostly use it to talk about my life and my family. However, I visit some blogs that are geared toward encouraging other ladies in the area of homemaking, etc. and I would like to include some of those types of posts on my blog, as well. One thing I really enjoyed doing on my pregnancy blog was a "question of the week" related to pregnancy. I got a lot of interaction that way, and I miss doing those questions! I would love to start that up on this blog, just on a variety of topics. Does anyone have any ideas for that?

I'm also hoping to write some posts soon about some topics that have been simmering away in my brain, such as my favorite books/authors (I'm hoping to spotlight one every week), favorite recipes and household tips, and the saga of our house building adventure. Erin had asked me ages ago if I could share more about that, and I haven't forgotten--just haven't had time to organize my thoughts and write them down!

I love blogging and wish I had more time for it, but of course my home and family comes first. :) And because I love to write, I think I would blog whether or not I ever got any comments! But I do love hearing from others, as well. It is so much fun to connect in this way with other like-minded ladies. So . . . please pop in and say hi, and share your ideas with me! Thanks!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my precious husband!! I am so thankful that God gave you to me and that he has now blessed us with two beautiful children. They are so blessed to have you for their daddy. You give of yourself to all of us in so many ways. Thank you for leading our family in the ways of God and for always trying to do what is right. Thank you for your hard work to provide for our needs. Thank you for your patience and for putting up with all of us! We love you so much!!!

I would also like to wish my own dad, Jim's dad, and our grandfathers a very happy Father's Day. We are so thankful for the Godly heritage He has given us; for allowing both of us to be raised in Christian homes. Both sets of our parents sacrificed a lot to give us a good Christian education, as well as giving us the practical knowledge and skills we would need for life. So . . . to our dads, my Grampa, and Jim's Papa . . . we love you and appreciate you very much!!

Jim's present this Father's Day was the picture above. I had a coupon for a free 10x13 from The Picture People, so I decided that it would make a nice gift for him. I looked at 3 different frame options before I found one that I felt was perfect, at Walmart of all places. I wrote little things "from" the kids all around the inner mat. Things like "thank you . . . for teaching me how to ride my tricycle . . . for snuggling with me . . . for tucking me in . . . for reading to me . . . " etc. You get the idea. :) Jim really loved it and I know it will remain a special keepsake for years to come.

It is a HOT day here and Jim is spending some fun time this afternoon with Sam out on our deck. They have a water hose set up and are using it as a sprinkler, and Jim also filled up a little tub with water to cool off in. Sam is all decked out in his new Thomas swimming trunks (thanks, Auntie Julie!) and they are having a blast. I joined in for a while, but I think now it is time for my siesta. :) Wishing all the dads out there a happy day!!

Favorite Summer Drinks

I just love the taste of cool, refreshing drinks in summertime. Plain water is wonderful, of course, and I drink that all year round . . . but I especially enjoy iced tea and lemonade. Here are a couple yummy recipes for iced green tea, and cranberry lemonade. The tea recipe came from somewhere on the internet (I have no idea where, anymore, as I found it last summer!) and the lemonade recipe is from Taste of Home magazine, June/July 2004.

Iced Green Tea

12 cups boiling water
12 green tea bags
1 cup sugar
4 T. lemon juice
4 T. orange juice

After the water boils, turn off heat and steep tea bags in water for 5-7 minutes. Discard tea bags; stir in sugar, lemon juice and orange juice, until sugar is dissolved. Chill. Serve over ice and enjoy!

Cranberry Lemonade

3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
3 cups cold water
1 cup cranberry juice

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the water and cranberry juice. Cool; pour into a pitcher. Refrigerate until chilled. Serve over ice. Yield: 4 servings

Of course, both of these recipes may be halved or doubled according to your preference!

Recent photos

All About Me Meme

1) FIRST NAME? Carrie
2) WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My big brother picked my name, after "baby Carrie" in the Little House books.
QUESTION NUMBER 3 DISAPPEARED AND WE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT!
4) WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? This morning . . . a few post-partum emotions going on! :)
5) DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I used to, but I use handwriting so seldom now that I'm out of practice, so it doesn't look as nice anymore.
6) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Roast beef (preferably not too rare)
7) KIDS? One boy and one girl
8) WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so . . . hopefully I'm not too annoying of a friend!
9) DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Just this blog!
10) DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not a lot, but on occasion.
11) DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
12) WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way!!
13) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? homemade granola or Blueberry Morning, but I currently eat Kashi Good Friends (lots of good fiber)
14) DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes
15) DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Probably just average for a woman. Definitely not strong in comparison to my hubby!
16) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Hmmm, that's a hard one. I think it's a 3 way tie between strawberry cheesecake, peppermint stick, and anything with peanut butter cups in it. But I also love cookies 'n cream . . . I guess I love just about anything except coffee, LOL!!
17) SHOE SIZE? 7
18) RED OR PINK? Red on me, pink on Julia
19) WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I compare myself to others way too much.
20) WHO DO YOU MISS MOST? My sister who lives in NV!
21) DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I'd love to see others' answers either here in the comments or on your blogs!
22) WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? tan pants, gray sneakers
23) LAST THING YOU ATE? A piece of rhubarb pie
24) WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The Andy Griffith Show DVD as background noise
25) IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? blue-green
26) FAVORITE SMELL? Macintosh Yankee Candles; my freshly bathed baby
27) WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My friend Mindee
28) THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes and hands . . . Jim has beautiful blue-green eyes and large, strong hands :)
29) DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes! I got it from Mrs. Wilt's blog.
30) FAVORITE DRINK? Hot drink: tea. Cold drink: water.
31) FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? in real life: soccer; on TV: figure skating (does that count as a sport?)
32) HAIR COLOR? dark blonde
33) EYE COLOR? Blue
34) DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.
35) FAVORITE FOOD? Amything I don't have to cook! LOL
36) SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings, although I do like some suspense movies every now and then--as long as they end happily :)
37) WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Purple
38) HUGS OR KISSES? Both!! From my favorite people in the world--my husband and children!
39) WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ???
40) WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND???
41) WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? "Created to Be His Helpmeet" (3rd time through); "1776"
42) WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? We're not using a mouse pad right now, but the one we used to use says "Apple" in large letters.
43) WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing . . . we don't get any channels.
44) FAVORITE SOUNDS? Sam talking to himself or singing; birds chirping every morning now that it's summer!
45) ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Def. not Rolling Stones! I don't mind a few Beatles songs but I wouldn't consider myself a fan of either . . .
46) THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Ummm, probably Florida or Illinois? Or maybe Longlac, Ontario, Canada? I don't have an atlas in front of me to see which is furthest away!
47) DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Nothing unusual . . . I can play the piano, but so can a lot of other people!
48) WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? New Hampshire, 29 years ago

Hope you all enjoyed this LONG meme and that some of you will do it, too! I had fun with it. Thanks to Mrs. Wilt for the idea! :)

Julia at 5 weeks, 2 days

Julia is beginning to get a bit of personality now. She started giving out a few rare smiles this weekend, and Jim was able to capture a couple of them on the camera. She is also starting to get round and chubby, although most everyone who sees her still comments on how tiny she is.




We did find out for sure that she has an umbilical hernia, but Dr. C. said that 90% of the time this type of hernia corrects itself within a year. and another 5% correct themselves by 3 years. So hopefully hers will be the 1 year type. :)

She slept through the night 3 times last week, much to my amazement. I'm hoping for a repeat this week . . . we will see, though! She is a sweet little bundle of joy, and we love her to pieces!

Sam at 27 Months

I thought it would be fun to do an update on Sam, since he is officially 2 1/4 years old today! :)

He had his 2 year checkup on Saturday. He now weighs just over 27 lbs. (kind of cool, since he's 27 months old, as well!) and is 34 1/2" tall. Dr. C. was very impressed to hear that Sam has learned how to ride a tricycle already, so I guess maybe that is unusual for a 2 year old? He also thought that Sam's language development was very good, and was happy to hear that we don't let him watch much TV, but read to him a lot. Sam did real well and although he wasn't really outgoing with the doctor, he wasn't scared to death of him, either. He received 4 stickers (2 of them being Thomas engines) and also got to keep 3 tongue depressors that Dr. C. gave him to play with. He still carries them around, talking about the "sticks" that he got from the doctor.

Here are some highlights of Sam's latest developments:

*Starting to talk in longer and longer sentences, although he still leaves out words such as "the," "and," etc.
*Can climb up into his own booster seat and buckle himself in
*Is working on dressing himself, although he still needs quite a bit of help
*Rides his tricycle (as mentioned above) forwards and backwards (on the deck)
*Has learned a few manners; saying "may I please . . . " when he wants something, "excuse me" when he burps, etc.
*Sings along with many of the words on "Jesus Loves Me," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and other songs
*Brushes his own teeth (but not very well . . . thankfully he still has time to learn this habit while he still has his baby teeth. :))
*Usually doesn't scream anymore when he's getting his head rinsed in the bath
*Keeps his eyes closed while we're praying (usually)
*Is more willing to try most of the foods we put in front of him



He was in his very first Sunday School program yesterday. It was "move up" Sunday at church, and all the children's classes put on a very nice program about Heroes of the Faith. The 2 and 3 year olds (all 50-something of them) got up on the platform to sing "Only a Boy Named David." Sam just stood there and stared, with a very solemn face, but I was thankful that at least he didn't burst into tears! I think I would have at his age, especially with about 1000 pairs of eyes looking at me!! I felt so proud of my little guy, even though he didn't sing or do the actions to go with the song. He still looked so cute. :) And I don't think he was the only one just standing there, although most of the kids were participating. They have all the kids hold onto a rope to bring them down the aisles and back out again. As they were on the way out, I heard Sam start to cry . . . don't know for sure why, but I figured he probably fell down and got stepped on or something. He survived, though. :) Isn't it amazing, how out of that many children, you can tell your own child's cry even when you can't see him?!

Well, our little man is at a very fun age, and we are enjoying every minute of it (almost . . . he still has his challenging times, of course!). It is amazing and so special to watch him grow and learn new things, becoming more boyish and less babyish all the time. He's still his daddy's shadow, and would rather be working with or playing with Daddy than just about anything else (except eating chocolate :)). We are so thankful for our precious son.

Confessions of a piler-filer

Am I the only one who is a paper piler? I am so bad about this; my home is filled with little piles of papers here and there--on the desk, under the desk, on the kitchen table, on the hutch, sometimes on the piano bench . . . and the list goes on. One of my goals for this summer is to get rid of the paper clutter. I need to find homes for the important stuff and toss the rest! The really bad thing is that Jim and I both make piles, so then we both have to go through them (so that I don't throw away something that was important to him). You would think we would be more organized with our papers after nearly 7 years of marriage, but nope.

So . . . here's my goal. I plan to ruthlessly attack clutter this summer. Especially paper clutter. Junk mail will go immediately in the trash. Bills will go immediately into the bills-to-pay envelope. Newspapers and ads will be looked over and then put into the recycle bag. And I will try to spend several minutes each day going through the current piles and finding homes for the important papers (if there are any) and tossing the rest. I will plan to be paper clutter-free by August 31! I'll try to update on my progress as I go. Any other piler-filers want to join me? :)

Recommendations for Homemakers

Yesterday I was talking on the phone with my sister, and the subject of "Keeping Hearts and Home" magazine came up. This was a magazine that was put together by a bunch of godly Christian women, some of whom I have met personally and have a lot of respect for. My sister had gotten me a subscription for Christmas several years ago. The magazine is unfortunately no longer being published in printed form, due to some major health issues that the editor, Jocelyn Zichterman, is going through. However, my sister let me know that they now have it set up so that people can subscribe to an online "magazine" and access articles on their site. I'm thinking of doing so--the price is $10. This magazine was a great blessing to me for the year that I got it, and I'm sure the online version would be great, as well. If any of you are interested, just click on the magazine name above to go to their site.

Another neat site (affiliated with "Keeping Hearts and Home") is "Women at Home University." Here they have lists of resources on all kinds of topics relevant to the home and family, including marriage, child raising, finances, pregnancy, etc. They have it broken down into four years of study, with certain topics for each year. (This is not a "real" university, for academic credit, but rather just a lot of recommended resources that would help make us ladies experts in the area of our home and family.) I was looking over the lists and was able to check off quite a few books that I've already read. I'm not doing it according to the specific yearly topics that they suggest, and I actually had forgotten that I had even signed up on their site, but without knowing it, I had read about 5 or 6 of the books listed since the last time I checked my progress. :) The resources they list are from a broad range of perspectives, and they do not necessarily endorse all the contents of every book listed. There is a wealth of information there, however, for you to pick and choose from. They also provide links of where to purchase the books.

On top of the world

It's a great thing when you can climb the highest mountain in the Northeast without any physical exertion! We decided on the spur of the moment yesterday to drive up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Our church wasn't having an evening service because their Christian school was having their graduation that afternoon, so on our way home from the morning service, we started thinking about something fun we could do as a family. Jim came up with the idea of driving up Mt. Washington either that afternoon, or today (Memorial Day). Because yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day, we decided to go for it then! We went home, ate a quick lunch and changed clothes, nursed Julia, and loaded everyone back into the truck. We arrived at the auto road around 4 pm, where we paid the fee and received our page of instructions, CD to listen to on the way up and down (a "tour" of the road), and certificate and bumper sticker which proclaims, "THIS CAR CLIMBED MT. WASHINGTON." I have to say I was very thankful that Jim was the one driving because it is a very winding, narrow road with just enough room for 2 cars to meet each other. There is NO way I would want to drive up there, but it didn't bother him. :) We made it to the top uneventfully; I took pictures out of my open window all the way up. This was my second time ever to reach the top of Mt. Washington, and I have never hiked it yet. Probably never will, since there are easier ways to get up there! The first time was on our first anniversary; Jim and I splurged and rode the Cog Railway to the top. Unfortunately that was a cloudy, drizzly day and we couldn't see a thing from the top. Yesterday was a perfect day. The temperature was in the high 60s and though a bit hazy, there was still awesome visability as you can tell from the pictures. This was actually a "hot" day on the mountain, as the highest temperature recorded up there is 72 degrees. The average annual temperature is 27.2.

Family picture on the mountain (unfortunately we didn't get Julia in the picture; she was in the Snugli on me, so you couldn't have seen much of her anyway!)


Sam, fussy Julia, and Mommy


Sam and Daddy in front of the Cog Railway engine (seeing the train come up and go down was, of course, the highlight of the day for Sam!)


One of the many incredible views from the top


Sam at the summit--I just love this picture!


We spent about an hour at the top. We watched the Cog come chugging up and Jim took a short video of it for Sam to enjoy at home. Then we looked around, took lots more pictures, and bought Sam a T-shirt in the gift shop. Then I headed back to the truck to change and nurse Julia while Jim and Sam did some more exploring and watched the Cog leave. We were supposed to head down the mountain at 5:45 pm. The auto road closes at the bottom at 5 pm, so leaving the top at 5:45 is great, because by that time there aren't any more cars coming up! It's a lot less scary of a trip when you're not meeting oncoming traffic. :) I alternated between taking more pictures ou the window and trying to hold the pacifier in Julia's mouth (she was fussy because I hadn't had long enough to feed her). She ended up falling asleep eventually. On the way home we stopped at a new Quizno's Sub place and got supper. We arrived home around 9 pm, tired, but having had a very fun adventure together! We will definitely have to do it again when the kids are older and can enjoy it more.

In other news . . .

I discovered on Friday that I've lost enough inches to fit into my favorite capris again! Yay!!! No more maternity clothes! Now I just need to lose the rest of the weight that I want to before I treat myself to any new clothes . . .

We think Julia may have a belly button hernia; we will be getting that checked out on Saturday when Sam has to go in for his 2 year old checkup anyway. Either she has a major "outie" or it's a hernia--we really think it's the latter. Sam had an inguinal hernia as a newborn (in the lower abdomen) and this looks and feels a lot the same, only it's her belly button that pops out. If so, it will probably mean a minor surgery to repair it. Sam had his repaired at 10 weeks old; you have to look really close to be able to see a scar now. We'll keep you posted as to what we find out about it after Saturday.

I've been trying to do a little spring cleaning, and today I hope to enlist Jim's help and tackle the ceiling fans. They are so dusty and cobwebby--it's disgusting! But since there's no way I am getting on a ladder to clean them, I have to be patient until he has time to help me. :)

Well, I think I have made this post far too long already, so I'd better go. I just wanted to let everyone know about our mountain climb. :) I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that we all remember to give thanks for those who gave their lives so that we could have freedom in America. Happy Memorial Day!

Edited to add: I did a little checking online today about umbilical hernias, and was happy to discover that they usually correct themselves within a few years. We will still get it looked at, of course, but it sounds like it likely won't require surgery, whereas the inguinal type (what Sam had) always has to be surgically corrected.

I also forgot to note that Julia slept 7.5 hours straight last night, in her pack 'n' play--hip hip, hooray!! I'm not necessarily expecting her to make a habit of it yet, but the uninterrupted sleep was wonderful! To top it off, Sam slept in this morning, till 7:45, giving us a great start to our holiday. :)

So pretty in pink

Julia at 3 weeks old

Daddy's new tool

We arrived home from church on Sunday to find this sitting on our deck.


Inside it was this sign.

Thank you, Dad and Mom!!! :D We can't wait to try it out.

From the mouth of a 2 year old . . .

When Sam turned two, he moved up into the 2-year-old class at church. (Prior to that, he was in the "walker nursery.") At the time, I figured that the 2-year-old class was just another nursery, but it turns out that it is actually a class. They have junior church during the morning service, and Sunday School during that hour. They also do have some free time for playing, but quite a lot of it is structured. I had never been entirely sure what I thought about jr. church . . . I have taught in some before, where I had to wonder if the kids were grasping anything. However, now that Sam has been in his class for over 2 months, I am very thrilled with the idea of a Bible class that is on his level. I know there are a lot of people out there who prefer the idea of families all worshiping together in church, and that is fine. I think there would be many good things about that, as well. But I really see the merits of teaching little ones on a level they can better understand. Sam pops out with all kinds of things at home that just amaze me. Last week he came home saying a Bible verse: "Ought obey GOD!" ("We ought to obey God." Acts 5:29b) Anytime I asked him to say his verse all the rest of the week, he would spout it out. He will also ask to sing songs that they have sung in church, such as "Only a Boy Named David," "Jonah," and "The B-I-B-L-E." He loves going to church now, whereas he would always cry when we dropped him off in the nursery.

Anyway, a cute thing happened on Sunday when I was asking him about what he had learned in church. I saw on his papers that the lesson was about Aquila and Priscilla, so I asked, "What did Aquila and Priscilla make?" (Correct answer: tents.) Sam's answer: "PLAYDOUGH!!"

Guess his mind must have been wandering during the lesson. :)

Rainy days

It appears to be monsoon season here in NH . . . LOL!! We are having yet another day of rain, which can have a somewhat depressing effect on the spirits, but I'm actually feeling pretty chipper today. We had a lot of high water and some flooding around here on Sunday, yesterday it was gloomy all day but didn't rain that much, so the water went back down a bit, and today it's back to continual rain, so probably we will see flooding again. Fortunately we live on a hill, so although our brook is rushing, we don't personally have flooding in our yard or water in our garage. Areas farther south of us are getting hit a lot worse with the flooding. Sometimes it's hard to be thankful for the weather; however, one thing I do like about rain is the restful sound of it on the roof. It's really nice to go to sleep at night listening to it.

I posted a final entry on my pregnancy blog today with a new picture of Julia, so be sure to check it out! I'll still leave that blog open for a while at least, in case anyone wants to go back and re-read stuff, and also so I can take some time to print out all the entries.

I keep forgetting to mention that I didn't get picked for that blogging job I applied for a while back. Even though the extra income would have been nice, I was actually happy not to get the job. Especially now that I have a new baby, I don't think I would like the pressure to keep up with it. I enjoy keeping up with this blog in my spare time--it's a nice relaxing outlet for me, but I'm just as happy not to be doing it as a job. Thankfully the Lord knows what we can handle! :)

Alicia asked in a recent comment if I was Supermom . . . that made me laugh because 1)No, I'm definitely not, and 2)I've been taking some new vitamins lately, and one of the names they are sold under is "Supermom." The ones I bought are NOW Foods brand, and are called "Special Two." They are HUGE vitamins, but fortunately I'm able to get them down with plenty of juice. :) I got them here, because they were cheaper than buying the Supermom brand, which is available here. I had read a lot of positive things about these vitamins and wanted to try them for myself and see if they really did give me more energy. From what I can tell, I would say they do! I started taking them about a week before Julia was born and didn't notice any major difference right then. But I definitely have more energy post-partum than I did after having Sam. I'm sure this is due in part to having an easier birth and healing faster, but I think I can probably attribute a good deal of it to the new vitamins, as well. Of course, I'm still trying to get a lot of rest, and I haven't avoided the baby blues altogether . . . I've had a couple emotional meltdowns . . . but overall I would say that I've felt a lot more "myself" over the past couple weeks than I expected to!

Well, I probably could think of more things to jabber about, but I think I'd better get going for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Thoughts on motherhood

I love, love, love my full-time job of being a mommy. It is, to borrow a slogan from the Army, "the toughest job you'll ever love." It is tiring, draining, sometimes messy, and not always pleasant, but it is so worthwhile. The rewards of motherhood far outweigh the difficult times. I guess with Mother's Day coming up tomorrow, I've been thinking a bit on what being a mother means to me. Here are some random thoughts:

Things I love about motherhood:
~being able to kiss almost any bump, scratch, or bruise and make it "all better" immediately
~watching my children learn
~seeing the fruits of child training starting to pay off in obedience and willing attitudes
~snuggling a warm, sleepy newborn who smells like milk
~looking into the bright eyes of my daughter as she nurses
~being the one whom my children equate with comfort
~kissing my son and tucking him into bed
~building train tracks
~reading books together
~having our family Bible time each night
~having a little "helper" who loves to help me cook, do laundry, sweep the floor, etc.
~hearing my son giggle with delight when his daddy plays with him
~the soft, silky feel of my baby's head
~seeing my little boy running around in overalls and workboots, working with Daddy


These are just a few things that popped into my head as I sat here and typed. I'm sure there are many more!

Last night as I was lying down to go to sleep, thinking that everyone else was tucked in and asleep for the night, Julia started hiccuping. At first, I felt a little frustrated . . . she was totally conked out (I thought), but now the hiccups were waking her up and I knew she was going to fuss. One of the only ways to cure her hiccups is to nurse her and hope they go away, so I got up and picked her up out of the pack & play. That's when I saw those big bright eyes of hers looking up at me so trustingly in the dim light, and I just couldn't be frustrated anymore. After all, it's such a privilege to have a beautiful little newborn to snuggle with, and this stage of her life will be all too short. I want to enjoy every bit of it! I'm so thankful for God's reminder to me of how blessed I am to have two precious children to love and raise for Him. After all, they are His . . . they are only lent to us for a short time. I pray that I will cherish every moment, both the delightful ones and those that are more challenging.

To my own mom, my mother-in-law, our grandmothers, and all the other wonderful moms out there, have a very happy Mother's Day! You are loved!

Big Boy Sam

It's so amazing how huge he looks, now that he has a tiny baby sister. Here are a few recent pics of our precious big boy.

Cowboy Sam

Sharing a laugh with Mommy

Towel-wrapped cutie

Old movies and Ronald Reagan

Our library has been accumulating a pretty good selection of DVDs lately, many of which are old movies. We've recently watched a couple that were quite good: Santa Fe Trail and Stage Door Canteen. Although the first sounds like a Western, it's really more of a pre-Civil War movie, with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland, and Ronald Reagan as three of the main characters. The story line revolves mostly around the abolitionist John Brown. I'm not sure how historically accurate it was, not being as much of a history buff as I wish I was . . . but it was a good story, and we especially enjoyed seeing Ronald Reagan as a young actor. Stage Door Canteen was also very enjoyable. As we watched it, we were so impressed by the patriotism and unity that was displayed by the young men and women of our grandparents' generation. How much of that has been lost today! This movie had a lot of funny moments, but also some sad ones.

Speaking of Ronald Reagan, some friends recently sent us an email with some Reagan quotes, which we really enjoyed reading. Here are a few of them, just for the fun of it. I sure wish we saw more of his brand of politicians nowadays.

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

Whew, it's been a while! :)

Sorry for the long gap between posts on this blog . . . for those of you who also follow my pregnancy blog, you will understand why. :) This is probably old news to most everyone, but just in case someone doesn't know, we have a new baby girl! Julia Anne was born on April 29th, and you can read the whole story of her birth here. We are all doing well and enjoying having a sweet little newborn in the house!


Today is bright and sunny--a lovely spring day in New Hampshire. The leaves, flowers and green grass seem to have appeared practially overnight. Not that we have any green grass in our yard . . . only lots of dirt and rocks . . . but someday!! Both the little ones are napping right now, but I'm not sure how long that will last, so I decided to let myself take a rest, too, and blog for a few minutes. I also wanted to post some pictures of Sam and Julia. We have yet to take a picture that includes all four of us--hopefully we'll get around to that soon.

Sam loves his baby sister; the only problem is that he thinks he should be able to hold her and carry her around, so I have to keep a good eye on him and keep her out of his reach. :) But at least he loves her! We do let him hold her with our assistance from time to time, and I'll try and get a picture of that soon.


The past week has been spent adjusting to having a new baby, resting up, and enjoying having Jim home to spoil me and take care of us! Today he is back to work, so real life has set in again. :) Actually, I'm finding that I'm having a much easier time adjusting to things this time around than when Sam was born. I think just being an experienced mom helps a lot. Also, having a baby in the late spring seems nicer. Sam was born in March, which wasn't too bad, but I couldn't go out a lot at first since the weather wasn't as nice, so I was cooped up with him in our little trailer, and I think I got a bit of cabin fever. Here I have space to move inside the house, as well as being able to enjoy the great outdoors from the comfort of our new deck. After Sam's birth, it took me a good 6 weeks to really feel "back to normal," whereas this time around, I'm feeling pretty good already. Nursing is going great (Julia seemed to be a natural at that from the start!), the baby weight is coming off, and the hormones haven't been as wacky (so far, anyway). As long as I don't stress out about housework, and plan simple meals for a while, I think things will go well. We've also been blessed to receive several meals from family and friends, which has been a big help!

We are slowly accumulating a supply of girly clothes, which is fun! It's very strange to see all these tiny garments in pink, or frills, or flowers, piling up around here! Most everything has been given to us; the only things I've bought Julia so far are 3 items from the local children's consignment store. Here's one of them, which I simply couldn't resist:
How cute is that?! :) I knew her Daddy would love it. :) (In case you can't tell, it has cowgirls, horses, cacti, etc. all over it.)

A busy week

Well, it has definitely been a busy week for us! Actually, Monday was a pretty low-key day. On Tuesday, my mom came over for several hours and helped me clean out and rearrange my kitchen cupboards. Everything is organized much better now, and I was so thankful to have her help, so I didn't have to do a lot of bending down and getting back up. Also on Tuesday, my midwife came over for our home visit (as you can read more about on my pregnancy blog). On Wednesday evening, Jim's aunt and grandparents from Ohio arrived for a short visit. We spent all day Thursday driving them around to show them our beautiful mountains and other NH scenery. We all had a wonderful time, although we wished they could have stayed longer! Still, we were so thankful they were able to come at all, as this is the first time any of Jim's family has been able to visit us since our wedding, over 6 1/2 years ago! Once his parents retire, they will have a lot more time to be able to visit all their kids--we're looking forward to that. :) Of course, we get to see his family about once a year when we go out there for the holidays . . . still, it's just not often enough. Sam was very excited to see his great-grandparents and great-aunt, too! He warmed up to them all right away and talked their ears off. :)

Yesterday I had an eye appointment (just a checkup) and Jim and Sam did most of the grocery shopping while I was there. Afterwards we went to Walmart and finished up the shopping. I think I now have all the birth supplies I need . . . now I just need the baby to decide to come out, and we will be all set! :)

This morning my parents took us out for breakfast to a local "sugar shack" where they have huge portions--super yummy pancakes and omelettes, etc. We got so stuffed, that we definitely won't need to eat again until suppertime, if then! :) Today I've been trying to be somewhat industrious . . . I've done some laundry, and shortened the sleeves on a nursing nightgown that I bought at a local consignment shop for $1. It wasn't the best sewing job I've ever done, but that's OK . . . it's not like I'll be wearing it out in public! :) I also got my dishes washed, and now I've spent some good time blogging and catching up here. My next plan for the day is to make a couple batches of cookies and hopefully some brownies, too . . . so I can have plenty to put in the freezer for my sweet-tooth hubby, as I probably won't have a lot of baking time in a few weeks. I also need to do a bunch more laundry, and generally get the house in order for the coming week.

Hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend!

More pictures

Here's a picture of Sam's most recent haircut. He was such a good boy during it, and cooperated better than ever before, except for maybe the first time we did it, when he didn't know what to expect. :) It's funny--he's more scared of the scissors than he is of the clippers, so Jim did his whole head with the clippers. I thought it came out so cute. The reason his hand is sticking out of the cape is that he was feeding himself mini M&M's (his reward for being such a good boy). You may even be able to see some of them in his mouth. :)


This is a picture of the me and the lemon dessert I made for Easter dinner. We went over to my parents' house; actually we had more of a brunch-type meal. We all got SO full that no one had room to eat the dessert after all! So we shared some with my mom and dad, and ate the rest throughout this week. Sam loved it and kept calling it lemon ice cream. :)

Our new deck

Finally, I'm getting a few spare minutes to sit down and blog about things I've been wanting to write about all week! And share the pictures that I wanted to share last weekend . . . Anyway, here are 2 views of our lovely new deck: a daytime one and an evening one. I absolutely LOVE it. I look forward to spending many happy moments in the sunshine out there this summer! Sam loves it, too. Ever since Jim finished it, Sam has spent as much time as possible outside. :)

Decluttering/Decorating Challenge--Week 1 :)

Well, I didn't officially plan to give myself a decluttering and decorating challenge right now, especially since I am heading into the last weeks of pregnancy, and energy is at a minimum. However, I did have one day this week where I did some decluttering (filled up a whole garbage bag, in fact!) and a bit of decorating in the bedroom, so I wanted to share. I'm not going to set specific goals for myself at this point in time, but when I do get something profitable accomplished in my home, I will share it. Hopefully I'll have time to do a little something every week. I cleaned out under the bed and reorganized stuff under there, making it a lot neater. I also straightened up one corner of the bedroom--"my" corner, where I have my beautiful Amish rocker and a few other feminine touches. I just hung up the lovely lace wallhanging that a dear friend sent me for my birthday, and I think it ended up looking really nice there. Here's a picture:

We had some good friends over tonight for supper, and that was lots of fun. The kids all had a great time playing together. I'm so thankful for good Christian friends who we can share fellowship with!

I'm tired now, and heading to bed . . . Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to post some more pictures. I want to show off our new deck, and maybe show the progress Jim is making in our guest bath, as well as post one or two pictures of Sam's most recent haircut. It made him look older! But for now . . . it's been a long day, so nighty night! :)

For NBBC alumni . . .

I recently added a new links section to my sidebar, of NBBC alumni blogs. These are either people that I knew at college, or people that I didn't actually know personally, but later met through blogging. :) There are bunches more blogs that I've discovered in my link-clicking, so if any other alumni would like me to add you to the list, please comment and let me know! I'm not wanting to leave anyone out . . . but there are so many whom I don't personally know, and haven't had time to comment on their blogs to introduce myself . . . and I don't want to add links without first checking with the blog owners. So please, let me know if you want me to add you! :)

More blessings!

I am joyfully praising God today for allowing my sweet hubby to figure out a little area of our taxes that had him stumped. :) He bought a new(er) truck this year, which should have been a big deduction, but for some reason Turbo Tax had been giving him trouble and that deduction wasn't showing up. It was telling us we would owe the government a rather large amount of money . . . YIKES! Anyway, last night he was working on it again and was able to get everything straightened out, so now we end up owing much, much less. Now of course we would rather not owe anything--but this is way better than the first number!! Next year, maybe we will even get a refund, since we will then have two dependents instead of just one. :)

I'm also thankful that God gave me the energy I needed this week to accomplish a couple household projects that I had been putting off--a thorough fridge cleaning, and getting my kitchen floor mopped (it was in dire need of it!). I also have been working on cleaning out a dresser and filling it with freshly washed baby clothes. :) We have had this dresser for most of our married life (it was a hand-me-down from my inlaws), and we had managed to load it up with all kinds of papers, letters, pictures, computer manuals, etc. etc. (mostly my junk). Yesterday I got a good start on sorting through stuff and emptied 4 drawers, throwing away much of what was inside. I am a terrible packrat, and it sure felt good to pitch some things! I am really hoping to pare down our "stuff" throughout this year. As I sorted, though, I had many memories come flooding back. Many of the letters were from my mom (written to me at college), my dad, my grandparents, and various friends. I was reminded how very blessed I was to have a family who communicated with me so faithfully. I wish I could save every one of those letters, but it would be silly to do so, since I would never have the time to re-read them all! I did save a few, though, just for the reminder of the sacrifice of time and love that went into writing them. I also found sweet cards from Jim (my then-fiance), and also all the cards from my bridal shower which my friends gave me at college. It was a lot of fun to go back and read through those! I saved them to add to my wedding scrapbook (which I still haven't finished!!). Anyway, there are still a few more drawers to empty, but I found room for all the baby clothes, as well as room for some of Sam's clothes. It's very exciting to feel like I'm getting more prepared for the coming little one. Here's a picture of the dresser (with hutch on top) in Sam's room. The top of the dresser will be used for a changing table when the baby comes along.


I'm in the process of downloading the Firefox browser, in the hopes that I will have more success using some of the Blogger features, such as the picture uploader, which doesn't work for me with Safari. So far I think it's about 1/3 of the way finished downloading.

Jim is working on building our deck, and I'm very excited about that, too! It's coming along great. I am thrilled to think that I'll be able to sit out there this summer . . . Sam can play with some outside toys, I can sit and nurse the baby, and we can all get some much-needed sunshine and fresh air. It will also be a great place to eat supper sometimes on those hot summer evenings. I'll just have to request a picnic table next . . . :) Like Jim doesn't have enough other projects to work on!!

From Streams in the Desert

I have loved using the little devotional book Streams in the Desert as part of my quiet time, off and on for a number of years. It's full of Godly wisdom from different writers, compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. I was just reading the selection for today, and it was so good I had to share it here. It really hit me for some reason . . . I hope someone else may benefit from it, as well!

I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me (Hab. 2:1).

There is no waiting on God for help, and there is no help from God, without watchful expectation on our part. If we ever fail to receive strength and defense from Him, it is because we are not on the outlook for it. Many a proffered succour from heaven goes past us, because we are not standing on our watchtower to catch the far-off indications of its approach, and to fling open the gates of our heart for its entrance. He whose expectation does not lead him to be on the alert for its coming will get but little. Watch for God in the events of your life.

. . . Alas, a great many people play at praying. They do not expect God to give them an answer, and thus they are mere triflers. Our heavenly Father would have us do real business with Him in our praying."

~C.H. Spurgeon

A haircut and other blessings

I asked Jim if he could trim my hair a bit on Saturday--it had been a while and was getting kind of scraggly on the ends! Now I know my hair would be much healthier if I didn't use a blow dryer and curling iron on it . . . but frankly, I'm not crazy about the way it looks if I don't use them. So, the price I pay is split ends and unhealthy hair! Anyway, I mention every once in a while that a bigger trim would be nice (like more than 1 inch), but he loves my hair long and this is one way I can really please him, so I don't push the matter. As he was getting ready to trim my hair, I was joking around that he could "chop it off" for me . . . next thing I know he had cut off about 4 inches! It is really nice to have it a bit shorter for a change and it was so sweet of him to do that for me. I think the last time I had it this short (just below shoulder length) was about 4 years ago or so. It comes at a nice time, too--getting ready for a new baby, so I'll have less time to put into hair care, plus summer will be here before long, so it will be cooler. Yay! And thank you, honey!!!

We had a great day at church on Sunday. There were 2 really good messages from a special speaker, plus we are taking a parenting class during the Sunday school hour, which is really awesome. I really appreciate being able to learn from older, Godly parents and glean all we can from their wisdom. On Sunday night, a men's group sang special music, which happened to be an arrangement of one of my favorite hymns, "Victory Through Grace," by Fanny Crosby. For any of you who aren't familiar with the words, here they are. I think they are so inspiring!

Conquering now and still to conquer, rideth a King in His might,
Leading the host of all the faithful into the midst of the fight;
See them with courage advancing, clad in their brilliant array,
Shouting the name of their Leader, hear them exultingly say:
Not to the strong is the battle, not to the swift is the race,
Yet to the true and the faithful victory is promised through grace.

Conquering now and stil to conquer, who is this wonderful King?
Whence are the armies which He leadeth, while of His glory they sing?
He is our Lord and Redeemer, Saviour and Monarch divine;
They are the stars that forever bright in His kingdom will shine.
Not to the strong is the battle, not to the swift is the race,
Yet to the true and the faithful victory is promised through grace.

Conquering now and still to conquer, Jesus, Thou Ruler of all,
Thrones and their scepters all shall perish, crowns and their splendor shall fall,
Yet shall the armies Thou leadest, faithful and true to the last,
Find in Thy mansions eternal Rest, when their warfare is past.
Not to the strong is the battle, not to the swift is the race,
Yet to the true and the faithful victory is promised through grace.

I just love the imagery in the song; it's incredible when you think about how it was written by a blind lady.

Well, my sweet hubby just arrived home with 2 early birthday surprises for me: a bouquet of 3 yellow roses, and Narnia on DVD!!! Since this is an icky, rainy day, and Sam is down for what will hopefully be a long nap, I think I will stop here and go watch it with my sweetie. Hopefully I will have a chance to write more later!

Spring Fever

We're still holding our breath, but it may be safe to say that spring is slowly making its way into the Granite State. I saw bunches of robins along the roadsides today as Sam and I were out doing errands, and weather this week has been in the 50s and 60s, and nice and sunny. It's been wonderful! The only bad part is that now that the weather is warming up, I'm running out of maternity clothes . . . I have a few springy shirts, but only 2 are short-sleeved. So I may hit our local consignment store soon in search of a few more to add to my collection. Hopefully I only have 5-7 or so weeks left of pregnancy, which will mean the weather shouldn't be too terribly hot by the time I'm done.

I sent in my application for that blogging job yesterday--so we will see what happens. Even if nothing comes of it, I had fun writing up a few sample posts, and I also appreciate everyone's input as to blog posts that I could link to. I used Sam's birth story, the one about children's rooms, and one I did way back last April (I think) which was called "Spring Musings."

I've been really inspired this week to do some spring cleaning and a bit of decorating, too. Hopefully I can get some pictures posted of my spiffed up house, once I get more done. I've found a couple really neat blogs that have inspired me in this area--both ladies had posted decorating challenges for themselves recently, and one is also doing a decluttering challenge right now. Both challenges sound like things I would like to do! Here are the links for those who would like to check them out: Pleasant View Schoolhouse and The Sparrow's Nest. For any of you who really enjoy vintage things and lovely decor, I think you would enjoy both these blogs.

Well, I had hoped to write a bit more tonight, but I'm slow on typing and thinking, and I want to go spend a little quiet time with hubby before bed. So maybe tomorrow or Saturday I'll have a chance to update a little more.

Calling all readers!

I've been thinking over the past few weeks and months about ways to earn a little extra income from home. I've been inspired by reading the stories of other wives and moms who are following their dreams and being real "Proverbs 31 Women," using their talents and resourcefulness to contribute to the family finances. I am hoping that one of these days, I will be one of them, too! I used to teach piano lesson from home before Sam was born, but felt led to quit that when I became a mom. I'm not sorry I did, but I do miss the bit of income that came in from that little business. Anyway, I am still thinking and praying about it, and I'm sure eventually I will find my "niche" if God wants me to have a home business of some kind. I recently heard about a paid blogging opportunity that I have decided to apply for, from ClubMom. You can read all about it here. Maybe some of my readers would be interested in applying, as well! Now I know for sure that there are a lot of ladies out there who are better writers than me, and I also figure the competition for the blogging jobs (only 10!) will be pretty stiff. I am also not much of a "go-getter," and often don't have much faith in my own abilities. I'm also not sure if I could be disciplined enough to blog five times a week, which is one of the requirements. However, my husband is encouraging me to apply, and I figure "nothing ventured, nothing gained." If this is something God would have me do, then He will work out the details, including giving me the time to put into the job.

Now, this is where I would like some reader input. For the application, they want me to link to 3 of my past blog posts so they can see what my "writing talent and voice" is like. I know I mostly write just about daily life, not really anything profound, but if any of you can think of any past blog entries that you especially enjoyed or think would make a good one to include in my application, could you please comment and tell me? I'm going to be looking back over them all over the next week or so, and if I come up with some possibilities, I will do a post with links to them so you can also give me input on those. Any help that anyone can give me on this would be most appreciated!

Reflections on a year of blogging . . .

It suddenly occurred to me today that I've had this blog for a whole year now. My very first entry was on March 14, 2005. I started blogging for several reasons: I felt it would be a good way to put my love of writing to good use, and I also thought it would be a great way to keep family and friends up-to-date on our life. As time went by, I opened the blog up a little more so that I could get comments from people I didn't know, as well. As a result, I have gained some new friends in the blogging world! When I started my own blog, I really wasn't into reading others' blogs; I didn't really know anyone who had one, actually, besides my brother-in-law and a couple ladies I had "met" on other websites. Now I have found several that I really enjoy reading, and I keep stumbling across other new ones, as well. It has been fun over the past few months (thanks to Katie Bruno) to discover more NBBC alumni blogs . . . I don't personally "know" a lot of these people, but it is encouraging and exciting to me to read about their lives and see where God has put them, and how they are going on to serve Him in various areas. I especially love reading about the day-to-day lives of other young moms (and moms-to-be) since that is the stage of life that I am in personally.

I hope to continue with this blog for a long time to come. It is a good outlet for me and I really wish that I could make more time to write here. I think I really need more self-discipline--if it's going to happen, it will only be because I make it happen. However, it's not just blogging that I need more self-discipline for! It's every area of my life--my personal devotions, my housework, my time spent in training my child (soon to be childREN!), my attention to my marriage relationship, etc. And all of those other areas must come first, before my blog. :) But, if I can get myself more disciplined and organized in these areas over the next year, including having more time to write (both here and in whatever other opportunities God gives me), I will be very happy. It will be more of a challenge once the baby comes along, that's for sure!

We are all in various stages of a cold right now . . . hopefully we can get rid of it soon. For now, we are trying to rest up as much as possible, and of course, drink lots of fluids. :) Sam is napping right now and has been for nearly 3 hours--he will probably be in a very bouncy mood when he wakes up! We laid around the house and watched old movies most of this weekend, which was fun for a change. One we really enjoyed (that neither of us had seen before) was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Jimmy Stewart has to be one of our favorite actors, and he was as great as always in this role. He was so good at playing the part of a down-to-earth, honest-as-the-day-is-long kind of guy--seems like that must have been his character in real life, too. Anyway, I'd definitely recommend this movie. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but it had a very thought-provoking and compelling storyline.

Well, I want to make one or two separate posts in addition to this one, so I will sign off here . . . have a great day, everyone!

A hodgepodge post

We are enjoying a lovely spring-like day, with temps in the low 50s. Our road is once again turning into a mudhole! But it's so nice to be able to go outside in lighter clothes and feel the sunshine and warm air for a change.

Jim and I have been busy this week trying to get our financial records all in order to do last year's taxes. Yes, we are procrastinators in the worst way! I think we have everything almost all recorded and ready to plug into Turbo Tax. Hopefully we'll be getting a bit of a refund again this year, rather than having to pay anything in. Last year was our first year to actually get a refund since we've been married (thanks to Sam)! Oh the joys of self-employment. :)

Sam had a rough night for some reason last night--he usually sleeps straight through and gets up around 7 am or so, but he woke up crying around 12:30 am and was out of his bed when Jim went in to see what was wrong. Jim got him settled back down, and he slept well the rest of the night, but was up for the day at 5:30 am, although he did snooze in our bed for a few minutes after that. I finally gave up trying to sleep (or get him to) at 6:30 and got up with him. Fortunately he is now taking a nice long nap. :)

Around the Blogosphere:

In my blog-surfing (which I try to not spend too much time on, but there are so many interesting blogs out there!) I've come across some great topics, both recently and in months past. Here's a sampling, for the fun of it:

~Check out my mom's blog, Across My Kitchen Table, for recipes and more. My mom is one of the best cooks I know and has many tried and true recipes to share! Here's a great post that she did a while back about saving money in the kitchen.
~Erin has recently been posting about frugality, especially in regard to meals. She also had some great comments in response to her post about packing creative lunches for her husband. I always enjoy Erin's blog; she is a blessing and encouragement!
~Alicia posted about cloth diapering and got some good comments, as well. I used cloth some with Sam, and I hope to more with the next baby. I just need to motivate myself to put in the little bit of extra work that comes with washing and all. I think this would help us save some money over the next few years, hopefully! I also posted a little bit about some cloth diapers I got way back last year, if anyone is interested. Crystal also has an informative post about cloth diapering here.
~Here's another one for those who like to cook: the Recipe Swappers blog features a different topic every month (this month's is main dish salads), and there are some yummy looking recipes on there!

I'm sure once I get this posted, I'll come across more blogs that I could have linked to--but I 'll have to save them for another day. :) It is a lot of fun to see what others are writing about, and get a peek into their lives.

I had a good shopping spree at Marshalls a couple days ago. My sister-in-law had told me they were having some great clearance sales right now, so I headed in there to look at clothes for Sam for next winter. I came out with more than I intended . . . 3 boys' winter jackets, an Eddie Bauer shirt for Sam to grow into, and 3 baby girls' items: one jumper, one little one piece outfit, and a sweater. I doubt that we are having a girl, but at the kind of prices these things were going for, I couldn't resist. I figure I can either pass them on to someone else with a girl, or sell them on Ebay and make a little money. That's what I plan to do with the 2 extra winter jackets I bought, only I figure I would want to wait till next fall, when more people will be thinking about winter clothing. Anyway, I got all 7 items for $12.70; these were marked down from $25, $15, etc. The most expensive item was a Timberland jacket for $5. The cheapest was the baby girl sweater, for .70. I love deals like that! :)

I tried a new pizza dough recipe last night, which turned out really good. So far I have found two yummy recipes for making dough in the bread machine. Just in case anyone else would like to try them, here they are:

Pizza Dough

1 c. water, room temperature
2 T. olive oil or veg. oil
3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients in bread machine pan in order suggested by manufacturer. Use the dough setting . . . when finished, roll out to desired shape, put on pizza pan, add toppings and bake 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and it looks how you like it. :)

Wheat Pizza Dough (this is the one we tried last night)--originally from the May/June 2000 issue of Quick Cooking magazine

1 c. water (70-80 degrees F)
2 T. olive or veg. oil
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. garlic powder
2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/4 t. active dry yeast

Comine all ingredients in bread machine pan in order suggested by manufacturer. Use the dough setting; check after 5 minutes and add 1 to 2 T. of water or flour if needed. When cycle is complete, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down; cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Roll out to fit two 12" pizza pans, or one larger (14-16") pan. Add toppings; bake at 400 degrees F. for 18-20 minutes or until the cheese is as brown as you like it. :)

Well, I suppose I should go ahead and get this posted before my little guy wakes up and I get interrupted. :) Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!!

Sam's Birthday Party

Thanks to all of you who left comments with birthday wishes for our little guy! He had a wonderful time at his party, as I'm sure you will be able to tell from the pictures. Not only was "Thomas the Tank Engine" the theme for the party, but he also received a bunch of Thomas and train-related presents, so he was one happy camper! I may not remember everything he got, but here is at least a partial list: Thomas sippy cups, a "Take-Along Thomas" sawmill (so cute!), more straight wooden track, 2 engines--Diesel 10 and the Big City Engine, Thomas sneakers, 2 Thomas coloring books, a Thomas t-shirt, and a train puzzle, and a book of Thomas & friends Railway Rhymes. I'm sure I've probably left something out . . . he also received a shirt and shorts outfit and a book, "Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny," which were NOT Thomas themed! Oh, and another outfit from us, as well as his bunkbed, which was his big gift from Jim and me. As well as a number of cards and some birthday money. So, he definitely made out like a bandit. :) He has been having a blast playing with all his new things over the past couple days. It was so much fun to watch him getting excited about his birthday party. Jim took him out of the way for the morning, so I could decorate his cake and set the table, etc. He thought it was pretty cool when he came in and noticed the Thomas tablecloth! When the party was over and everyone had gone home, he kept saying, "More Day-day Party?" and "More Happy Day-Day?" Tomorrow night we will be celebrating my niece Sarah's birthday (she and Sam share a birthday, only she turned 5 this year!) and it'll be interesting to see what he thinks of going to someone else's "Day-day Party." Probably he won't care, as long as he gets to eat cake and see some of his favorite people. :)

Here are some pictures from his party:

The cake



Sam opens Diesel 10



"Blowing" out the candles--he had to have a bit of help from Daddy to actually blow them out!



Enjoying a BIG bite of cake and ice cream

Sam is almost 2!!

I can't believe that our little boy is going to turn two on Sunday. Whew! Where did those 2 years go? We will be having his birthday party tomorrow, complete with Thomas decorations and a Thomas cake (assuming I can pull it off and have it come out looking the way I've drawn it on paper). :) We are just having family over to celebrate this year--I'm not into doing big parties every year--and I'm sure he will have a wonderful time. It will be fun because he should "get it" a lot more this year than he did last. Last year he wasn't even into eating his cake. Now that's one thing that will definitely be different this year!!

I thought it would be fun to post a few of Sam's 2 year old milestones and some of the cute things he says and does.
* Slept in his bunk bed for the first time 2 nights ago (but didn't want to last night--we didn't push it, but are hopeful he'll go back in it tonight!)
* Can now put together a "real" puzzle (albeit a 12 piece frame tray puzzle) of Pinocchio without help. He calls Pinocchio "Iyo-Pico."
* Is developing a longer attention span--He will play with his trains and track for long periods of time, and also loves to be read to for long periods of time!
* Has started "reading" to himself--give him a book that he knows well and he will turn the pages and say some of the words on each page.
* Had his own "devotions" this week--he imitated the family devotions that we do with him at night. He was sitting on the couch looking at his children's Bible, then he put it down and did this little sing-songy thing (supposed to be "Jesus Loves Me", which is what we sing with him), and then closed his eyes tight and said "Pray!" It was so cute.
* Sleeps all the way through the night, usually 10+ hours, on a regular basis (took a long time to get him there, but thankfully we made it before baby #2!)

Well, I had planned to write more, but it's getting late and I need to have some cuddle time with hubby, who just arrived home from a long day of work a little while ago. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!