25wks

Hard to believe I am 25wks pregnant. I realize I don't talk a whole lot about my current pregnancy because honestly, it's hard. Where I am at now is pretty much where I was this time last year with Noah. So there are a lot of similarities that just make it more difficult than most pregnancies. And it's not just me experiancing the rollercoaster of emotions, but also Kevin & the kids as well. While there is definitely excitement about this little life bouncing around in me, there is also nervousness about all the unknowns. Even though this baby doesn't appear to have any of the physical differences Noah had, that still doesn't guarantee a healthy baby or a baby who will come home in our arms. There is still so much out there that could happen.

Some may say we are living in fear. After talking to Michele the other day, she made an excellant point. We are NOT living in fear, we are living in reality. If we had been living in fear, we would've said that's it, we are never going to allow God to bless us with more kids because of being scared something could happen again. Instead, we put our faith in Him and said whatever your will is with our children, we accept. I mean, how many of you when pregnant, ever thought you could have something happen to your baby? Sure, it may be a fleeting thought, but until you experiance your child taking his or her last breath in your arms, you really don't grasp just what *could* happen.

After losing a child, you realize just how real death is and how it CAN happen to you. You don't take for granted each little movement or each heartbeat your child has. Instead, you learn to be thankful for the here and now. Because that is all we are guaranteed. Our children are not ours but on loan to us for however long God allows them to be with us. We now know that any of our other children could be gone in the blink of an eye. While it's a scary thought, we know where our children will go if the unthinkable happens. Praise God we heard each of them accept Jesus as their Saviour!

So we continue each day of this pregnancy with many emotions. We are thankful yet cautious. We talk to this baby about his/her big brother Noah and what a testimony his life has been. We all lay our hands on my belly to feel this wee ones movement & hiccups & cherish what we feel because we know we can't take life for granted. It's honestly a crazy place to be right now. We are still grieving Noah & trying to make sure he is included in his younger siblings life, while trying to balance the emotions of a new baby. After talking to other moms who have had a baby after losing a child, we know we still have a long road ahead of us. More on that another time.

We continue to cling to the promise of the life verse that I claimed since I was in my young teens:  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaish 41:10.


~My ability to handle lifes storms rests upon my ability to give them to God~

Blessings



We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home,
It's not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Oh how we are missing you so badly Noah!! But we are so thankful how your life is growing & changing us.  As well as the impact you have had & continue to have on others. Though I admit, some days are still really tough. You my dear son have reminded us of how we are to view our journey.....we are only here temporarily & need to be living with our view of Heaven front & foremost. As your Aunt Jen recently reminded us, we are spiritual beings first, learning how to be physical beings for only a short time. Like she said, Phil 1:21~ "For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better". Love you my little man! ♥

Egg Rolls

I love to cook! I also enjoy photography so I like to combine the 2 at times. I have an album on my facebook of pictures of food I have cooked. I plan to put together a cookbook for my kids sometime of not only recipes but a picture of the finished food to go with it. I recently made homemade egg rolls and decided to take pictures of the step by step process. I don't always take step by step pics but I know for something a little more complicated like this, it can help. They really are SUPER easy to make but they do take a little time. (I'll include the recipe at the end).

First, marinade the ground pork with soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar & pepper. (I mixed it all up after I took the pic but this was just to show the ingrediants)

While that is marinating, you can work on chopping all your veggies up:


I love my salad shooter. Kevin found this for me at Goodwill years ago for about $4. I've used it heavily since for veggies & shredding cheese & it's held up well.

Mmm garlic! I always add plenty (I love my mincer)! You will always find lots of fresh garlic in my kitchen, I put it in a lot of things. Not only does it taste good, it's really good for you.

Time to cook the meat

Once the meat is cooked, the veggies get tossed with it to cook for just a few minutes

Once everything is cooked, spread it out on a cookie sheet (with sides) to cool. I prop it a little tipped in the fridge so all the excess juice drains off of everything. It's important not to have a soggy filling or it will mess up your eggrolls. I often do all this prep work one day, then assemble the egg rolls the following day.

Take your egg roll wrapper and place a heaping amount of filling like shown on the one corner.

Taking the bottom corner & folding it over the filling, tightly start rolling it towards the top.

Once you reach about the middle, take the right side & tightly fold it towards the center.

Then fold the left side tightly towards the center

Continue rolling toward the top. Using the cornstarch slurry, dip your finger in it then moisten the top of the roll before folding it over to finish it up. This is what it should look like when tightly rolled:

From here, you can put them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet to flash freeze in the freezer (then place in a ziploc bag) as they keep great in the freezer. Or you can fry them up to go with your meal. Using a frydaddy or small pot of oil, heat it up and carefully place your eggroll in it. It should only take a few minutes until it gets a nice crispy brown. ( I didn't take pics of this process as I didn't want to get oil splattered on my camera lol)

Here's a pic of my chinese meal I make that my family loves along with the egg rolls.....


Enjoy!

1 tablespoon cornstarch (or flour) mixed with ¼ cup of cool water (cornstarch slurry)
Oil, for frying

FOR THE GROUND PORK
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE VEGETABLES
2 to 3 cloves garlic, very finely minced
½ head of cabbage (about 11 ounces)
3 carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms (or dried black mushrooms soaked overnight), stems discarded (or whatever kind you have on hand)
1 tablespoon cooking oil (canola, vegetable, peanut)
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil (it's ok if you don't use this, still tastes great)
Freshly ground black pepper

1. To make the filling, combine the ingredients for the ground pork together. Marinate at least 10 minutes. In the meantime, shred the cabbage and the carrots using your food processor or by hand. Slice the mushrooms into very thin strips (or you could use your food processer and pulse a few times to get a fine dice.


2. Heat a wok or large saute pan over high heat. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to medium-low, push the meat to one side of the pan. Add the garlic, cabbage, carrots, ginger and the mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 minute, until the vegetables are softened. Add the rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and black pepper. Continue to stir-fry for another minute. Scoop out the filling to a baking sheet and spread out to cool. Prop up one end of the baking sheet so that it tilts and will allow all the moisture to drain to one end. Let cool for 15 minutes.

3. Discard all of the accumulated juices. Use paper towels to blot the filling to rid of extra oil or juice. Now, you're ready to wrap (see photos for instructions on how to wrap).
Keep the rolled egg rolls in neat, single layer and covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. If you want to stack the egg rolls, make sure you have layer of parchment paper in between the layers to prevent sticking. Keep wrappers also covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Refrigerate up to 4 hours until ready to fry or freeze.

4. To fry the egg rolls, fill a wok or pot with 2 inches of high-heat cooking oil. Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C) or until a cube of bread will fry to golden brown within 10 seconds. Gently slide in or lower the egg rolls, frying 4 to 6 at a time, turning occasionally until golden brown about 1½ minutes. Place on wire rack to drain and cool.

NOTE: To fry frozen egg rolls, do not defrost the egg rolls – just add them to the oil frozen, frying 4 to 6 at a time. Add an additional 1½ minutes to the frying time since they are frozen.

Change

I've been reading some good books about moms who have walked this difficult road as well as some great devotionals lately. One thing that has been frequently mentioned in the books is the word change. And to put it quite simply, after going through a traumatic, life-changing event such as losing a child, a spouse or getting a life-altering medical diagnosis, the one common thing that happens is

we are forever changed.

I am not the person I used to be, and neither is Kevin or any of the kids. And that doesn't go for just us, that happens to any person who goes through something like we have.

This journey has brought new people into our lives; those who have either been through this before or simply those who felt called to reach out to us & help support us. There are those who have been a part of our lives prior to Noah's diagnosis, but who have drawn closer to us because of  Noah & a desire to know us & be a part of our lives in a deeper way. And then there are some who we thought would be there for us but they chose to judge us because of where we are at & walked out of our lives because we still "talk about Noah", "aren't getting over it", "we're selfish to grieve", etc. All I can say is God has us where exactly where we are to be at & some people don't want to accept where we are at and the change He has brought about in our lives.

I recently came across a blog that I've enjoyed reading. In fact, I found one of her older posts she wrote in the months after losing her daughter entitled "I'm not who I was" found here. She speaks of this very thing & puts into words the feelings of not only myself but many others. She sums it up at the end saying that we shouldn't have to explain why we say or do certain things, that those around us should be more understanding. Life has gone on for all of you around us, but for us, we are still trying to figure out our new "normal". And that takes time. She talks more about that here. 8 months may seem like a long time to you, but to us & any other grieving families, that is not long at all. It feels just like yesterday we walked out of the church behind Noah's tiny, white casket to bury him.

In her post about "I'm not who I was", the comments were really encouraging to read as well. But there was one comment from her sister, the one person I'm sure she thought would be supportive & compassionate, wasn't. Her sister was being selfish in wanting her (Holly the grieving mom) to put aside her feelings for her (the sisters) own personal benefit. Sadly, I have experianced that as well. One thing others have to understand is there are times we barely have the strength to hold ourselves (& our family) together emotionally & are just not able to extend ourselves to others during this time. Not all days are like this, but there are times where I barely have the energy to be strong for my family yet some see this as me being selfish & not caring for others. It's far from that & those that truly know me & my heart know this. We all go through seasons in life. Often times I was the one who was reaching out to help others. But I've been reminded by others that this is a season in my life where I need to let others reach out & help us, which in itself has been a lesson for me to learn.

Life is a constant journey of change. Sometimes it's just small changes, other times it's huge, life-altering changes. But one thing is for sure; without change, there is no growth. Without growth, you're missing out on the blessings God has in store for you. Change & growth isn't always easy or free of tears & pain, but we're promised that the results someday are worth it! Noah has changed & grown our family in ways that we never would've without him being a part of our lives. While this isn't the way I would've chosen to have grown, God sees the bigger picture and has a reason behind Noah's life & legacy that I can't see yet. So we just continue to trust Him each day as He guides our family on this journey & praise Him for what He is doing in our lives!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" ~ Ephesians 3:20

~When you start thinking the grass is greener on the other side maybe it's time to start tending your own grass a bit better.

A week in review w/pics

This last week has been a busy one I guess you could say. I figured I'd sum up in minimal words some of what this last week consisted of, in no particular order.....

~being outside
~bike ride (me yay!)
~tadpoles
~grilling
~friends
~fire pit
~St Pattys themed cooking
~birdhouses (assembled & painted)
~s'mores
~haircuts
~hot tub
~64oz of slushy (hmm did that more than once, can't beat $.95 refills!)
~games

In addition, our puppy is housebroken! Several weeks ago, we hung some bells on the doorknob of the door that we use to take Lacey out. We would make her ring the bells with her paw or nose before we took her outside. Last week, we were sitting in the living room when we heard the bells ring. We looked over the railing to the front door and there Lacey patiently sat waiting to go outside! And by golly, as soon as we took her out, she went! Sure enough, she started ringing the bell on her own anytime she wants to go out. So no more of us keeping track of when to take her, she now tells us! She is really smart & we were impressed how quick she picked that up as she is only 15wks old. She also rings the bells when she knows the kids are outside playing & she wants to play as well! haha We are working on coming up with some new things to challenge her with since she is so eager to learn and seems to pick up more complicated tasks.

Now for a few pics to go along with my week in summary.....

The girls long hair before they decided to get it cut.....



Some of the tadpoles before they hatched

A few of the tadpoles after hatching....we have a good 20 or so right now. Hopefully in time I'll have frog pics to share (at least I hope so!)


There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.
~Soren Kierkegaard

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia!

 Jen, Michele & I along with our kiddos got together recently for our typical sisterly get together that we try to do pretty often. Not only is it a fun time for us and the kids just being together & hanging out, but it's also a great time of support being able to talk about Olivia, Hezekiah & Noah and everything that goes along with our situations. It's not only good for us moms, but the kids as well as I know they all can relate to each other & they talk about their siblings quite a bit together too.

Since Olivia's birthday was soon coming up when we were together (her birthday is actually today!) we wanted to surprise Jen & Gwen with a little celebration for Olivia.


Precious Gwen with her sisters cake!

And of course, gotta get a pic of the kids together ♥

Happy Birthday sweet Olivia! I'm sure Noah & Hezekiah are helping you celebrate today! ♥ And much love to Jen, Andy & Gwen as well!

8 months old

Seems like only yesterday we heard Noah's sweet cry so it's hard to believe it's been 8 months since he was born. I sure wonder what he's doing in Heaven! We miss watching him grow and all the little milestones he'd be reaching. All those things that people often take for granted. But we are so thankful for the promise of Heaven knowing we'll be reunited again! ♥

Here is a picture of my beautiful family!!

Miss & love you Noah!!! ♥

~The smallest footprint leaves the biggest mark for eternity

In the Valley

As I continue on this journey God has placed us on, I wanted to share a recent devotional I read from some books a friend gave me. This book is called Contentment by Lydia Brownback.

Some have viewed how I've been these last several months as something I am choosing to be. I've heard comments such as if I'd get out of the house more I wouldn't be depressed, that I should be happier now that I am having another baby, that I bring others around me down with how I am, etc. These sort of comments have been hurtful and obviously come from those who have no idea what they are saying.

The first devotional in this book was so incredibly eye opening and such an encouragement, I wanted to share. Especially since sometimes people think I chose to be where I am currently, this reading stated quite the opposite. That God has put me in this valley right now and until He brings me out of it, I am here for however long He leaves me here. This is NOT a place I have chosen to be nor is it something you can just "snap out of" or "get over".

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven....a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;....a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;....a time to love, and a time to hate;  time for war, and a time for peace" Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

.........."The fight is quite natural, of course. We all prefer the mountaintops to the valleys. But the God who has ordered life to flow in and out of such seasons is the same God who has provided for our contentment in every season. Contentment is possible not only on the mountaintops but in the valleys as well. How can we mourn or lose or weep with contentment? That seems totally contradictory. And indeed we cannot if our contentment hinges on getting out of the valley, because we have no control over the beginning or ending of the seasons that God appoints for each of us.

Contentment in the valleys comes when we stop fighting so hard to climb out. God is the one who leads us into the valleys, and He will lead us back out in His time. God ordains valleys for our good; why else would a good and kind God allow them? Trusting God in our hard times is the way to contentment-not just trusting him to get us out, but trusting his goodness while we are still in them. If we will not trust him in the bad times, we are not going to trust him the good times either........"

It's an interesting thought isn't it, if we can't trust God & be content in these valley experiances, are we really trusting him in the mountaintop experiances when all is well?

So that just sort've explains where we are at. Our "down days" we still experiance is just where God has us at. We are learning to just go with it and let them happen, if that means the tears flow or not much gets done in a days time, so be it. We are learning to try to embrace this new normal and trying to pay attention to what God is teaching us while we are in this dark valley. I admit it's not easy at times that's for sure. And we know that we can't get out of this place until he allows us to. We are thankful for those days where the clouds part and we get a glimpse of better days from down here. It gives us hope. As do the many of you who are still walking along side of us & continuing to encourage us.....thank you!

~Life is like the ebb and flow of the tides...there are highs and there are lows. What you have to remember is that during low tide, you find the best sea shells.
I guess I've slacked a bit in posting. So much to share, where to start?

Ever have one of those times when you're going through something that it seems like God is speaking to you through many different outlets at once? Well that's been lately for me. People out of the blue saying something to me that I really needed to hear, my devotions lately especially the one on Psalm 35 talking about being under attack while grieving, then this past Sunday our pastors sermon on friendship ( here's the link to our church's podcasts. The friendship sermon was on March 6th). We even ended the service singing "Lean On Me", it was awesome! It all has been such an encouragement to me as well as the affirmation that I needed to remind me I have done what I can, am on the right path & am right where God wants me. Even if I can't understand it, I know HE is in control and has a greater purpose.

I have felt everyones extra prayers lately, thank you! I had a good couple of days for a change which was SO nice! Saturday a good friend invited me out to lunch last minute which was much needed. Later on, we took our puppy Lacey for a trip to petsmart just to get her out in public as well as used to a longer car drive. WOW did she do SO good. She was awesome in the car and sat perfect between the kids and didn't move. It was so cute!

Sunday I got a break from cooking as we were invited over for lunch to spend a nice, relaxing afternoon as a family. ♥

Monday as always was our homeschool co-op that we all really enjoy. What a great, supportive group of gals I've been blessed to grow close to over the years (this is our 4th year there). And the kids have established some close friends as well.

Today the girls and I got treated to our first ever pedicures by a sweet friend in honor of her daughters birthday. We were so thankful to have been thought of & included! What a fun, girlie afternoon we had together!! (Though poor Erik had to tag along, haha! He is used to it and played games on my phone and got gushed over by all the technicians for being the only boy there). 

And to top of it all off, I was tickled last week to have gotten some great deals! Those of you that know me in real life, know what a bargain shopper I am. We currently have 5 gallons of Ben & Jerry ice cream in our freeze that we only paid $5.98 for. (well, less than 5gl now after the kiddos dug into it). Talk about a deal! You can barely get 2 pints for that much normally. My other deal was a case of Georgio 16" pizzas....worked out to $2.84 for a 16" pizza. They are the best thing next to a pizzeria pizza! I can't even make homemade pizza for that price. So we are down to about 11 of them in the freezer now. Makes for a good meal on movie nights or when the kids/us have friends over.

~People of character do the right thing, not because they think they will change the world but because they refuse to be changed by the world.
I can hardly believe it's Friday already! This week just mushed itself together. Pretty much how my days have been lately. I am tired. No, that doesn't mean that this insomniac will be able to sleep. Tired & sleeping are 2 different things in my world! ha Maybe I feel tired right now because I was able to relax & let my guard down today & just be myself around my supportive & caring "sistas". I am sure being well-fed & laughing my butt off at (11) sugar-buzzed kids played a part as well!

I guess a few more of Lynette's questions are in order, huh?

If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?
Well I know without a thought, tithing comes first. It's just what we've always done. After that, I am sure investing a bit would come next. From there, I am not sure. We don't have a whole lot longer (in the grand scheme of things) left on our mortgage, so not sure if we'd knock that off or not. Doing vacations as a family is important to us, so maybe we'd take some longer ones. Our kids are big travelers having been to 9 countries in their short lives, so I could see traveling being high on our to do list.

Are you a hopeless romantic?
I AM a romantic (& love those sorts of gestures) but I also realize that movies & books give a false sense of true romance.


What is your greatest accomplishment?
Beyond a shadow of a doubt.......


These 5 amazing children!!! Not to mention the 6th baby we have been blessed with. Those of you who have met our kiddos know truly how amazing they are. ♥ I get the feeling God has something big in store for these kids!

So there ya go. Not a whole lot exciting for my responses today. It's been sort've a rough week for the kids. I don't always share with most people just want we deal with day in & day out, both with the kids & even myself. But there have been many tears shed here again lately due to missing Noah. They still write him lots of letters. Some that they even go to his grave to read to him. =( One of the lines I read recently stated "how much I still hurt from missing you even though others around me can't tell".  Another kiddo was crying because Noah won't be here for his 1st birthday & how bad they want to do something for him.  Just goes to reiterate that you never know what things others around you are going through despite how they may look on the outside.

Just contiue to keep us in prayer please. The kids are excited for this new baby but yet I know this little one will open up a whole new set of things for all of us to process. Not to mention the fact this baby is due the day Noah died, July is going to be a tough month for us in a lot of ways.
Well, it sure hasn't felt like spring here today. Barely in the mid-30's....brrr. But in effort to keep up with Lynette's party, I will pretend I'm somewhere warm and figured I'd answer a few more random questions.

If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in?

-You mean there are stores beyond walmart & goodwill to shop at? I honestly don't know. I think even if someday I ever came into a pile of money, I would still do yard saling & bargain shopping. It's in my blood & I don't know if I could get away from that. Sure, once in awhile I may splurge, but even then I think I would have a hard time doing that. I live for the thrill of finding the best deal out there! And boy have I scored some killer deals in my time!

What is your greatest fear or strange phobia?

-Well, honestly I've already lived through anyones greatest fear....losing a child. I'm still muddling my way through that. So right now, I don't think I have any greater fear than that to be honest. As for strange phobias, nope, I'm pretty open to a lot. Ok, as I type this, hubby says huge ocean waves. Ok, I am 5'1" and pretty petite. I don't like getting pummeled by waves. Just not enjoyable in my opinion. A phobia, not really but he felt I should throw that out there. Dork. I mean, I love you dear! ♥

Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres?

Hands down comedy! I don't care if it's romantic comedy, or a cheesy comedy. The only time I get to watch movies is usually after we get the kids in bed. So by that point in time, I want something light hearted & something I don't have to get tense about or have to kill brain cells over. I want to relax and just laugh & forget about reality!

So with that said, I need to share some long over-due pictures! We added onto our family a month ago and I just haven't shared about it. I was out teaching CPR classes for the day and I came home to another female in the house!!! Long story behind her, but Erik especially has been itching for a puppy, especially since losing Noah. Kevin knew I was ok with getting one so they decided to surprise me.

Introducing Lacey, an AKC registered pure bred golden retriever. We got her at 8wks old and she is now 12wks old. I meant to do a photo shoot when we got her but I finally got around to taking pictures last week. Here are a few pics I snapped....




And because I can't leave our other "baby" out...here's a pic I snapped of our kitten Hope (5 months old) with Lacey. Still working on trying to pose the 2 of them together. Maybe next time will go better....


Lacey has been doing extremely well! She is very smart & has picked up great on commands. Granted, she's still all puppy. But she is eager to learn. We had her to our vet 2wks ago and he just couldn't get over her!!! He told us we got a wonderful dog with an amazing personality! In fact, he encouraged us due to her looks & smart personality to breed her. So we'll see in time how things go. But we are thankful for such a sweet puppy!

Party day 2

So this party thing has been fun! I am enjoying getting to know others and have enjoyed the messages I myself have received on posts, even older ones! I guess I should answer a few more questions, huh?

Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself.

-I don't like drinking out of a glass that someone has touched the rim of. It's not that I am a germaphobe, though I don't like the idea of germy hands. But I also have a very heightened sense of smell and can smell anything! Including a residual scent left behind on a glass.....

What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of?

-Speaking of scents....I LOVE anything that is cinnmon based, or like a harvest/spiced scent. YUM! There is just something homey & comforting about those scents. I used to love home interiors apple pie scented candles.

Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?

-There's a lot of things I'd like to do, one of the more daring things I want to do is sky dive. Though at this point I told hubby I won't attempt to until the kids are all older. That way if I become a human pancake, he's the only one at home & only has to fend for himself! (I'm totally saying that all tongue in cheek!! I'm not scared to do it, he's just scared I'd be a statistic so I always kid him). Some of my more attainable goals are to bike a century  (100 miles) or more. 8 wks after I had Noah, I did an 81 mile bike race, so one of these days I think that's within reach. I also would like to aim for a half or full marathon. I did a few 5k's while pregnant w/Noah, so maybe someday.

So there ya go, a few more random facts about myself. :)

I was pleasantly surprised on the great feedback I got last week about my cinnabon post (here). I couldn't believe how many people told me (&Kevin) they went out and got supplies to make them! I had a lot of fun doing that & taking pics to share. Sooo with that said, I would like to do that again BUT I am opening it up to suggestions. What would YOU all like to see me make & take pictures of ?(another hobby of mine, photography). My kids got a kick out of it as well and said I should regularly try to do a post like that. So contact me whether through a comment on here, an email or in person & give me a recipe idea. I'll chose something & make it to share here! :) If you live close enough, I may even share a sample with ya!

Since I am being totally random in this post, I just gotta share that I was messing around with some html and came up with a button for my site! I was pretty tickled I managed this on my own.....so feel free to take a copy! (hoping that coding works, if someone sees something off, let me know).






"Chances are if your Bible is falling apart, your life is staying together"

March 1st

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March 1st, one step closer to spring! In honor of that, I am linking up with Lynette over at Dancing Barefoot and participating in a blog party for the week. Who doesn't like a party?! Granted, I guess if I want some munchies, I'm on my own for that one! (and this prego chick sure could use a snack about now!) She's given a list of questions we can answer so others can get to know us better. I figure along with my regular blog ideas I'll also answer a few of those questions just to change things up.

For those who are stopping by for the first time, a quick intro:

My name is Jenn, married to Kevin for 12yrs & I'm a homeschooling mom to our 5 (soon-to-be 6 kiddos) in Pennsylvania. I started this blog almost a year ago when our son was diagnosed with Trisomy 13 in my 33rd week of pregnancy. I wanted a way to share with others what we are going through in hopes that God would use our lives & Noah's story for His purpose. My blog has often shared our raw emotions as we go through this grieving process as well as my random thoughts & a glimpse into our everyday lives (like our 13 day cruise we went on just a few months ago starting Nov 28th). I love to garden, be in the kitchen cooking & baking and reading when I get the chance.

Now onto a few of Lynette's questions.....

What celebrity/celebrities would create a “Star-Struck” feeling if you saw them in real life?
-I'd say Johnny Depp BUT only dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow. A little weird? Perhaps, but I find his character a lot more visually appealing than himself in real life! LOL Gotta love a guy that can pull off the eyeliner so well! haha

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?
- I would say anywhere in the southern Caribbean. Where it's nice and warm all year round, clear blue oceans to swim in.....yup, island life would be great! Here's a pic I took while in the Dominican Republic when we were there 3 months ago.....


Ok because I can't resist (and I'm seriously wishing I was here about now), here's one from Antigua I snapped this past December after Kevin & the kids were goofing off. See, who needs snow, you can make sandmen instead of snowmen!! LOL

What is your comfort food/drink?

-This is a hard one. Those that know me know I am not a big eater nor do I usually eat junk food either. I love about anything (except liver, YUCK!) and will always try something once. Being pregnant, I often can't even figure out WHAT to even eat most times and usually don't crave anythng. But as I was writing this, it struck me......SUSHI!!! Oh yeah with lots of wasabi! (I love spicy food). I have even eaten it for breakfast. Great, now that I wrote it I want some!!! UGH too bad there isn't a place close by or I would be getting myself the baby some! (hint hint dear! haha j/k)

Well, I think I will stop there for now with answering random questions. I do want to share a picture of this beautiful necklace my dear friend Jen recently gave me. She had it custom made with Noah's actual footprints!!! ♥ I tried to avoid the glare while taking the picture but it says "fearfully & wonderfully made". Then it has his name and birthday. I love it!

Ending with a quote I found earlier today-"Some of the best things in life: Faith in God, friends that stay through your worst, courage to face a hard day, hope for a better tomorrow."