April In Our Home

April  2014

{These posts may be suited more for my own memories or for family who live states away, but perhaps others may find them interesting as well. :) }

      It's been a while since I've done an "In Our Home" post. I always enjoyed looking back over the previous month and reminiscing of the good times we've shared as a family. Of course, now those posts are going to be comprised quite a bit with Tennyson updates. Get ready for lots of photos (sorry, if the pages don't load as easily due to them)!

     The most notable aspect of April has been Tennyson reaching 3 months old (and 10lb 3oz!)! It is incredible how much he's changed in such a short period of time. He no longer has that preemie look to him. He also is behaviorally resembling an older baby. We're learning again the characteristics of this new stage and how to best respond to them. As soon as we had gotten comfortable with the preemie stage, he clearly moved on to the newborn. Now, he has moved on from newborn characteristics to those appropriate for a three month old. It's fascinating to see such clear distinctions! 

     The month began with more visits from family members! David's oldest brother and his family came for several days at the beginning of this month. It was a lot of fun having our home bursting with so much energy and excitement! Miss Mallorie (second from right in photo below) instantly bonded with Tennyson. As soon as she walked in the door she would rush to go cuddle him. It's so interesting and exciting to see how certain ones in a family pair up. We spent each evening just enjoying a simple meal and each other's company. I have thoroughly enjoyed having everyone visiting! I'm always so impressed when people take the time (energy, effort, expense etc) to invest in family. The facts that they took time off work, spent the kids' spring break time, drove the nine hours to visit with us means so much to me. Love them!

    Okay, back to Tennyson. One thing that is new post-preemie stage is that he loves bathtime! I'm loving that he is big enough to bathe in the sink. We were just sponge bathing him as a preemie, and he would scream. He now rather enjoys himself!

    He's showing more and more personality through his expressions nowadays. Love that little face!

     He also loves to be upright. He may not be able to sit or stand on his own, but that's precisely how he likes to be. When he's against our shoulders, he'll stretch and strain that little neck to see all that is around him. If he can get his feet just right against our lap then he's a little frog jumping all over the place. I think we're going to have an active little boy on our hands!

     Being a bit of an older baby now, his sleep and play patterns are easier for me to pick up. I know about when and how long he'll nap during the day, which gives me the opportunity to plan time for cleaning or whatever else I need to get done in the day (including a nap if we've had an especially wakeful night). We're also getting better with establishing routines throughout the day. It's just so nice to have some organization and predictability for us all. Of course, there is a tremendous amount of flexibility in there as well as adjustment for new stages. 

    Is there anything sweeter than the sight of a sleeping baby?! (He didn't actually sleep like this. He dozed off while I was getting him dressed, and he was too sweet looking to not capture him sleeping like a big man).

Okay, perhaps there is something sweeter than a sleeping baby...it's a smiling, happy baby! Oh my goodness, I just love all his smiles, laughs, coos and squeals! He's quite the little talker! It's fun to just sit and watch him play and squeal in delight. Love, love, love those smiles!

     Finally, April included Easter. It wasn't until I saw so many posts on Facebook that I even thought of all those Easter activities you do with/for kids. Whoops. Fortunately, a 3 month old is not too concerned as to if he had an "Easter outfit," attended an egg hunt or other such event, or received a basket from the Easter Bunny etc. Perhaps I'll make a fuss over Easter next year.

    We did attempt a family photo that day. The funny part is we didn't plan on matching. We came downstairs to discover that we had all dressed in blue. Haha!

     Goodness, I could write for a while about Tennyson or our life with him this past month. I'll save some for other blog posts though. Until next  time.. :)

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May In Our Home

   May  2013

{These posts may be suited more for my own memories or for family who live states away, but perhaps others may find them interesting as well. :) }

  The most notable happening in our home during May has been the absolute enjoyment of springtime weather. It's still so strange to still have temperatures in the 70s, but I'm not complaining. I'm a happy camper spending time outside in the sunshine!

     We outfitted our back porch with furniture and a grill. It is fabulous out there! We're now shopping around for a good deal on some outdoor games like bocce. An evening of grilling and games is fun family time to me! We also added some lovely plants for the porch. We have a cute little mint plant, stevia plant, and container of mixed flowers. I love plants, especially flowers!    

      

     Each weekend seemed to end up being spent driving in the countryside or taking walks along nearby trails. I always enjoy going for walks together. We would walk together in a park when we were dating, and I'm so glad to have continued to have this time together. Plus, springtime is absolutely beautiful!

(Top right is a millipede)

     And what's a walk without a pause for silly face pictures. I really enjoy getting to let loose and be silly together. Marriage needs goofiness!

 
          Aside from enjoying the warmer weather and being outside more, David has added another cheese to his repertoire- feta! He's now made us homemade mozzarella and feta. It's fun to learn and expand the foods that we can make homemade! He's also been learning how to play guitar recently. I really admire his interest and efforts in learning new information or skills.

         As for me, the preschool school year concluded this month, and I'm going to miss getting to spend time with the little two year-olds. The experience has been such a blessing. I debated volunteering out of fear that it would only exasperate the ache of childlessness. There were days that I honestly didn't think I could do it. Those mornings I wiped my tears, touched up my makeup, and pushed myself to walk in anyways. Amazingly, each time I was greeted by their excited little faces my sorrow was replaced by joy. I realize that the attention and influence ought to be on them, but yet they've had the most beautiful impact on me. I'm thrilled to have been asked to work with them even more the next school year!

     
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April In Our Home

                April  2013

     April was a pretty typical month for our little life together. The weather has finally caught up to spring, and it is wonderful! I have our windows up as much as possible, even if that means wearing a light jacket inside. I'm absolutely loving seeing new blooms and green leaves on trees each time we go for a walk. Oh, and there are so many tulips here that are absolutely beautiful! It's rather neat to see everything now after the cold and gray winter. 

     That's kind of like the seasons of life. When we're in the colder, harder season all we wish for is to be on to the next. Yet, if it weren't for the winter rest the spring wouldn't be quite as enjoyable. Yet, even with that acknowledgement of the purposefulness of seasons I still struggle with the acceptance in certain areas. The greater the struggle the greater the need for full reliance on God. I know that He has a purpose for this season, and it's my heart that needs to be resolved to trust Him and follow Him while waiting. I'm reminded of a passage in The Resolution for Women in which the author, Priscilla Shirer says:

      Whatever He's given or not given, He's done for a specific reason -- a reason know only

      to Him perhaps but one you can trust with full confidence, sight unseen. Every decision  

      you need to make, every task you need to accomplish, every relationship you need to 

      navigate, every element of daily life you need to traverse, God has already perfectly 

      matched up with an equivalent-to-overflowing supply of His grace. (pg. 21)

      One blessing of this season is the attentiveness we are able to show our marriage. One of my creative-person delights is to plan fun little date nights for us.We try to have at least two designated date nights a month. Sometimes I plan things, and sometimes David surprises me with an idea of his own. This month, I planned a "Cooking Challenge Date Night" that was inspired by the Food Network show- "Chopped." (I'll have more details, pictures and some video clips in another post later). Essentially, we each had $10 to purchase three ingredients each. The ingredients were kept a secret and each person had to select one food item at random for the meal occasion. Our secret ingredients were: steak, celery root, canned pumpkin, coconut soda, fennel, and brie cheese. So, we had to make an appetizer, entree, or dessert dish around each one of those ingredients. Oh man, I was so thankful that steak was not selected for dessert! The only wild one was David selected celery root for the dessert round. He came up with a celery root pudding (in the style of rice pudding). It was...interesting. haha! The entire Cooking Challenge date night was so much fun! I love simple and creative dates!

     April also saw a lot of hobby projects. I have had a lot of fun creating a spring wreath for the front door (source). I also took a DIY approach to decorating our dining room. I made some burlap placemats, menu board, chair cushions, a tablecloth and a centerpiece. I still have to come up with some curtains before calling the room complete. I have material picked out, and am waiting for it to go on sale. Then, of course, I turn make the curtain rod and curtain panels into DIY projects. In the meanwhile, I finally found material that would work well in our living room. I gathered my craft store coupons to purchase the material. However, I was only able to get two yards for the curtains and lacked six more. One benefit to having friends and family elsewhere in the country is that I could make a call to ask for the material to be purchased there and shipped to me. In the end, it took three stores and two states to get the full amount. I've got quite a lot of sewing to do for May!

       David has finished his drum project. He removed the silver wraps off and stained the wood. They look amazing! He's also taken advantage of the warmer weather by getting out to the driving range. I've joined him a couple of times. I'm trying to learn, so golf can be an activity we can enjoy together. I can see some benefits from having previously been a tennis player. The hard part for me is keeping the club closer to the ground, but not too close. I made too much of an effort to bring the club down on one swing and whacked the club onto the concrete pretty hard. Timing our driving range trips for when no one else is around is essential. haha! I guess we'll just have to keep at it!

      
     Lastly, what would a peek inside our home be without some food pictures? haha. We spend a significant amount of time in the kitchen. We both love to cook. It's also a great delight to come together over a meal. 

      We've extended this idea to our small group gatherings. We've hosted twice this month, and thoroughly enjoyed opening our home in hospitality. God has really blessed us with this wonderful group of friends. We are so excited for the future of this group. Next month, others have offered to host. I love the idea of gathering with friendship within each others' homes. There is just something beautiful about extending friendships and gathering together to be a part of everyday life. 

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March In Our Home

            March  2013

{These posts may be suited more for my own memories or for family who live states away, but perhaps others may find them interesting as well. :) }

      March has been a busy month! It has not been busy in terms of scheduled activities, but in preparing for things to come. Fortunately, we've had several snow days that have permitted quiet days for getting some tasks accomplished.

      I'm still enjoying the snow, even if it did trail into springtime. I figured that the season would eventually change into spring, and so until then I'll make the most of the current season. We had a pretty six-inch snowfall early in the month that we thought might be our last for the season. (We were wrong! We now know that snow can last beyond the first day of spring here. haha). We decided to make a trip to the grocery the night before to pick up a snow day essential- sweetened condensed milk. I had never had Snow Cream before, and was rather excited to utilize this "last" snow to make some. Oh my, ridiculously sweet but tasty! I think it may be an annual activity.

         We also enjoyed our first time snow tubing! There is a ski resort not too far from our home. Perhaps in the future we'll venture into the other areas of the resort, but for now we really had fun snow tubing. David played it cool as always and went along as if that was just the norm in life. I, on the other hand, was a little more obvious in being new to massive amounts of snow on the ground. I fell twice before even getting my tube and gave myself a bit of a bruised knot on my head! Graceful or coordinated does not describe me in the least. It didn't take long though for me to get the hang at ...walking and I had a blast. I'm so glad we were able to go and meet some new friends in the group we were with for the trip!

        As far as the everyday happenings in our home, we're still enjoying the little moments in life. We both love to cook and try new foods and recipes. When I looked back over some of the photos to include in this post, I had to laugh at how many were of meals we've made! Cooking and sharing meals together is one of my favorite "family time" moments. The kitchen is definitely a good place to build teamwork!

      We've also been enjoying our individual hobbies, which is something we never could do previously while on night shift. David has talked about refinishing his drum set since I can remember. He has spent evenings removing the plastic shells, sanding and staining the wood. I think they look fantastic! I love getting to see him do things he enjoys again. A happy husband makes a happy wife! A happy wife also makes a happy husband! I've been spending some time reading, researching and writing for an ebook I have planned to release in July. I'm really excited about this project! (I hope you will be too!).

      The last few weeks of the month were focused on preparing for things to come. We decided to start a small group within our church. We looked around at the small groups available, and noticed that there were none for our age group. (The same age group isn't essential for friendships, but it's nice to have a group of individuals who are in your same or similar season of life). So, we prayerfully decided to create one. We've named the group "Disciples' Walk" and desire for it to serve as a means of sharing life and faith together. We want it to be a place to share and encourage one another in seeking God in all aspects of life. In other words, bring Jesus and faith outside of church doors and into everyday life. In the meanwhile, a strong community of friendship is built that will not only serve ourselves but also strive to serve others. We were certainly nervous about such a venture (after all, we're new to the area and are both introverts), but we felt that God had laid it on our hearts to bridge the gap. It is a walk in faith for us and hopefully everyone else involved. 

     Last, we took a few days to travel back to visit with my family and our friends in the area. Busy is an understatement for our time there. We essentially filled every lunch or dinner opportunity with meeting with friends. If a lunch or dinner wasn't available, then we went for coffee. We arrived back home at 2am on Thursday and absolutely crashed. Friday wasn't exceptionally productive as we were in need of some rest. Despite the exhaustion and expense of the trip, it was worth every bit to get to visit with some many friends and family! We have been blessed with some wonderful people in our lives! We have yet to take a vacation trip or travel to other countries, but honestly, I feel like saving our time and money for trips to visit with family and friends is just as valuable of expenditure of our time and money. We don't get to see everyone frequently, and so I'm glad we do put our priority and resources towards trips like this. As the wall art hanging in our living room says: "If we have family, then we have everything!"

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February In Our Home

             February  2013

{These posts may be suited more for my own memories or for family who live states away, but perhaps others may find them interesting as well. :) }

    February was not exceptionally eventful in our home. The most noteworthy happening this month was David's work trip. He traveled further north for work for a week. It was so strange living as a single person for a week. I much prefer life with my husband because he makes a pretty awesome companion. For his trip, I decided to do a little project so that he'd have a little smile each day while away from home. I figured he knows me and how I have a tendency to do cute & silly things like this, and he'd smile and laugh each time he opened a bag remembering my kindergarten self and the fun we have together. I'm a firm believer that silliness and laughter is good medicine in a marriage!

Reese Pieces: "I love you to pieces!"
Monkey with Runts: "I go bananas for you!"

Gum: "It's true, I'm stuck on you!"

Nuts: "Our nutty little life is the best!"
Gummy Bears: "I miss you "beary" much!"

Sources of inspiration for "gifts": Dating Divas, Fiskars, Pinterest (sorry, this was one that I "repinned" without first checking to make sure it went to the page instead of the general site. So, I'm including the pin as the source instead of searching through the original webpage to find it)

         In other news, we officially joined the church we'd been attending since we moved. The church and members we've met and become friends with have been incredible! Finding a church home and friendships within that community makes such a difference in a new town feeling like home. Up next, will be getting involved in a small group. For some reason there seems to be a participation gap for our age bracket. I'm not sure why, but we're prayerful that God will lead us in filling this gap. If it's His will, then He will make a way! :)

    

        I've begun helping with the 2-3 year old preschool class at church one day a week. Being with those sweet kiddos has become a highlight in my week. It is such a joy! The experience is also teaching me quite a bit about children and my own approach to them. I can see ways in which reality agrees and disagrees with theory. At times, I'm thinking "I don't have a clue as to the best response to them or how to engage them in constructive activities." It's a learning experience for sure, and I'm so grateful for it. My ever nervous prayer is that my presence is as positive and as much of a blessing to them. I'm sure no one every gets things "right," but that's a good thing because it propels me to continue learning and relying on God. :)

       That's the most noteworthy happenings for February that I can think of. I'm sure there is lots more. Our life is pretty simple though. There are lots of little moments in each day that we enjoy so much that would probably not be worthy to be considered as an event. I love the beauty of those moments, and being purposeful about seeking them out of the mundane. Perhaps I should take notes throughout the month, so I can recall them when writing these posts. Better luck in March. :)

      

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January In Our Home

January  2013

{These posts may be suited more for my own memories or for family who live states away, but perhaps others may find them interesting as well. :) }

      We rang in the new year first by joining a group of friends at a restaurant for dinner. We are still trying to get to know people in our new town, and the individuals we have met have been incredible at including us in their group of friends and introducing us to others. We were invited to join them afterwards to watch the ball drop, but neither of us were feeling so great after the meal and also weren't sure if we'd be able to stay up so late. It's funny to consider that just three months ago we were on a night shift schedule lifestyle and 2am was a typical bedtime. Now, it's more like 8:30-9pm. I much prefer our current schedule, even though I felt so lame for calling it a night so early on New Years. I did wake long enough to see the ball drop on the television, and then fell back asleep. Oh well, the new year came anyways. 

       The next day we had our traditional New Years dinner. Well, we had our take on it. We had pork steaks, black eye peas, cornbread and collard greens. According to Reader's Digest the supposed meanings are: greens- money, black eye peas- money again, pork- luck, cornbread- ? I don't really believe in luck or superstitions, but it's fun to play along. 

       The following week we were hopping planes to visit David's family. Now that we live at a more considerable distance from them, our trips to visit are much more spaced out. We certainly made use of our time there by visiting as many family members as we could in the short three day visit. We were going constantly while there. It was good to see everyone though. Our littlest niece is now six months old! The last time we saw her she was only two weeks old. I'm sure the next time she will be over a year old. Goodness!  She is absolutely precious. And so are her parents, who graciously hosted, entertained and fed us while we were there. I'm so grateful for such wonderful family! I really missed seeing our other nieces and nephew who live in yet another state. Someday we'll all have to arrange a trip to visit. 

      Soon after we returned home, we celebrate David's birthday. Birthdays are a big deal in our home. We care less about Christmas or other holiday and most about birthdays. I posted previously about how we like to celebrate birthdays in our home, and we essentially incorporate the same elements each year. 

      David is not a big chocolate or sweets person (crazy man!), and so coming up with a fruit based cake in January is always a bit of a challenge. I'm eager to take it on though! This year I used one of his favorite desserts for inspiration- vanilla wafer banana pudding. I made a banana cake, homemade vanilla wafers, homemade whipped cream, and homemade vanilla pudding. So, it was banana cake with vanilla pudding between the layers, whipped cream frosting and vanilla wafers on the side. It came out pretty tasty! 
       
       I also prepared his favorite meal- fried chicken. Well, okay, he prepared part of his meal. I don't fry. We also had zipper cream peas, masked potatoes and egg rolls on the side. Oh, and some nice cold sweet tea. Can you tell we're from the South?! haha. 
  
       The final part of the birthday was his gift. It barely arrived in time, but thankfully it did! I don't have a picture of it below, but you can easily see it in the video. I also attached a new card to the card stack I made for him. Each year I add a card with a message of a way I admire and love him. This year's said: "Your leadership. I admire how you've chosen to lead not by force, but by example. You've taught & led me daily in lessons on life and love. I've grown to be who I am now and our home what it is because of your gentle example of true and strong leadership." It's true. He's pretty amazing. 

     My birthday was later in the month. (It's pretty convenient to both be January birthdays. I've tried to convince him that we should plan for January birthday for children that way we can have one big family birthday party. He's not convinced. haha!). Anyways, he did so much and made my birthday fantastic. First of all, just look at the incredible cake he made! He had planned it for an entire year. It's a chocolate cake with peanut butter fudge filling and a hard white chocolate "shell" all in the shape of an M&M. How amazing is that?! He still talks about how it's not exactly what he envisioned, but I think it's absolutely fantastic. 

     

       He then made my favorite meal- meatloaf, pinto beans, cornbread, fried okra and macaroni and cheese. (Again, we are revealing our Southern roots. haha). It was mighty tasty!

      His gift to me was a couple of new cookbooks and a donut pan. I'm excited to begin cooking through them and to make some donuts! On a side note, it rather cracks me up that my cookbooks are "Dinner on a Dime" and "Money Saving Meals" while his is a giant "Glorious French Cooking" that is full of fancy French technique. Pair this with his fruit-based cake versus my sugar-loaded cake. We're so different! We've definitely embraced our differences and just have a good laugh at times. haha

     Last but not least, we had the privilege of being invited to join a some friends and their family for lunch one afternoon. I love seeing hospitality practiced! I really enjoyed that the kids were included and it was a family event. I personally find it encouraging and exciting to not have families split between adult / kids. The kids were very respectful and friendly, and a joy to have join us. We watched a hilarious comedian on DVD which had me in tears at one point. I'm a sucker for  good clean comedy. We played a couple of games afterwards. I always love playing boardgames or the like, but am hesitant to break them out when I have people over in my home. Perhaps I should be more daring in doing this because it was a lot of fun. We have certainly been blessed by getting to know such wonderful friends so quickly in our new town!

I made these brownies to take with us. I used my mother's recipe but they did not come out anything like her brownies. Mine were actually mistaken for cookies! Ouch! I'll just have to get a lesson in brownie making from her the next time we visit. haha


And that should pretty much sum up our January (if you can call that a summary because man, that's long!). If you read it all, then welcome to our home! If not, then I'm so glad to have a little memento of our life together! :)