Pics, Pages & Purls

Highs and Lows on Thursday

2012-01-12T15:17:00.001-06:00

Highs...
~ The kiddos are taking naps TOGETHER today!
~ So enjoying the time with my family.
~ So enjoying the SUNSHINE down here in Florida.
~ Highs of the week (well...last Friday) I ended up getting a Kindle Fire...so I've been enjoying that. :)
~ Rick is about to turn in his Residency Match places

Lows...
~ Aspen has not been feeling well lately, she went to the doctor the other day (luckily she is not more sick than what she could be), she is also getting her bottom molars so she has been so "fun" lately!
~ Z is not doing so well in Potty learning...which is not fun, but it's ok.
~ Rick is about to turn in his Residency Match places (note that it's in both places...because it's a high that we are moving on but a low that we don't know where we are moving too!)

Out with the old...

2012-01-02T11:00:00.000-06:00

and on with the new...
Well Happy New Year! I welcome 2012 like NO other! 2011 was a hard one for me and my little family. A lot of trials that I wish we didn't have to learn from. But I do know that during all of it we have had some pure God moments.
I thought I would do a little recap of 2011 and a little preview of what we "expect" in 2012.
January - Kids growing, Rick learning his medical stuff, me trying to be a good wife, mommy among other things

February - Dedicated Aspen at our church, Z started doing Early Access at our house to help with his speaking and learning, Rick still learning and I'm still doing my thing

March - Rick had a medical conference in Colorado Springs so we went there with him, got to go to the zoo, see Garden of the Gods, go to the aquarium, see Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jean along with Great Grandma Bobbi (we also lost our second vehicle there. :( all well, we are a one car family yet again)

April - kids growing and learning, Rick learning and me doing my thing...also had a wonderful Easter celebration at our church.

May - BASEBALL season is well underway and we loved going to the Iowa Cubs (triple A team for the Chicago Cubs)

June - Rick went to Alaska for 2 weeks (on a medical rotation) and the kids and I went to Florida

July - Celebrated the 4th of July with friends, Celebrated my birthday as a family (me and the kids above), enjoyed the free "splash pads around Des Moines to stay cool, I learned how to be a "solo" mom while Rick was on rotations, going to the zoo, talking on the phone and doing skype calls with Rick, amongst other things

August - Rick had a rotation out in Colorado, so the kids and I drove out there to spend Z's birthday there and a week there too.

September - Rick is doing his last OMM Fellowship Block, Z started school after Labor Day (4 days a week for a little over 3 hours during that time) One last trip to the Iowa Cubs for the season

October - Enjoyed a Sunday afternoon and a couple different Iowa Farms enjoying the WONDERFUL weather! Grandpa Tom & Grandma Jean came to celebrate Aspen's 1st Birthday, Got our family pictures done, moved to another house and spend the end of the month and the beginning of November in Florida

November - In Florida we went to the beach, the fair to see the animals (only in Florida will you see sharks at a fair), saw some manatees, Rick had a conference as well as an interview. Back in Iowa, we got used to new home (it's a HUGE blessing!), got back into the routine of school, Rick went to Wisconsin for an interview and then down to North Carolina for 2 interviews, spent Thanksgiving with our DMU family, as well as enjoyed the nice warmer weather while we could.

December - Z and I made his teacher's Christmas gifts (pics above), got to go to an Iowa Energy game, Rick finished off his OMM Fellowship Block, Z helped me bake some this season, drove down to Florida via North Carolina (so I could see where could live later in 2012) got a really awesome present this year a new niece!!! also got to spend some great time with the family.

Hope you liked my year in review, next post are what to come in 2012, what's Rick up to next, maybe a crafting one...who knows...

Thankful Thursday...

2011-12-08T09:44:00.001-06:00

So it's Thursday...I'm thankful!
I know I just did the Thankful Series. So I feel like I just want to put some pictures on here of who or what I'm thankful for. :)

Happy Aspen Girl

Ezekiel Dude

Studious Medical Richard

Being able to create!

Hope you have a great Thursday!

A little of this & a little of that.

2011-12-07T14:12:00.001-06:00

So after talking to Rick and really thinking it over...we decided to not put up our little artificial tree. We are leaving for Florida in 13 days...and I want to make sure that all my stuff is put away before that. That way when I come back at the end of January I don't have to do it then. BUT I did want it to look light and colorful in the house.So lights are up and some decorations are up...it's nice when I move from an apartment to a house...I really don't have a lot of Christmas stuff yet. I do miss putting up the ornaments though. We try and get a new one every year for us as a family and then for the kids...so I still think I need to get those. ;)

With Z in school I wanted to do something special for them. SO I wanted did a search on the world wide web and pinterest for ideas...There were some that were SO cute and then some that looked like a LOT of work. So I actually saw this and thought this was AMAZING. I found it first on Pinterest. Then got directed to Martha Stewart's page HERE! I thought it was LOVELY! SO...I went to the store got buttons (Christmas colors), ribbon in Christmas colors and wiring. I just had to find; scissors, pliers, a ruler, a lighter to take care of the fraying of the ribbon, and an eager son who wanted to help.
Here are my finished products. :)

I have enjoyed making them! Z didn't make any of these actually, he just kept putting the buttons on and taking them off. All well he had fun and so did I! What are your kids making for their teachers for presents? Leave me a link or something in the comments. :)

One more sleep...

2011-12-02T23:17:00.001-06:00

I have one more sleep until Rick comes home. He's been in North Carolina for 5ish days. He had two residency interviews. He also took the camera (thus the lack of pictures on the blog lately) SO when he comes home tomorrow I'll see if he can give me some pictures and a little timeline of what he did as well as what is in the future Medical School journey timeline.
I hope that you are enjoying December. My kids have destroyed the family room...so off the blog I go and onto cleaning that way I can wake up to a clean house and Rick can come home to a clean house...and we can just spend time together as a family! Maybe we will put up some Christmas decorations...If you end up reading this...can you take part in my poll by leaving a comment. :)
So it's already the 2nd of December...in 17ish days we are leaving for a road trip to Florida...my poll is ---
Do I put up a Christmas tree even though it's only going to be up for that long (I want to take all the decorations downs before we go)
Or do I just put up the little decorations I have and maybe get some more lights up around...just so I can have the feeling of the lights up.
SO -- Yes to the tree only for 17 days or No. Also give a reason why you chose that answer. :)

Thanks for reading...
fine print - in no way do I have to choose the poll answers unless it is actually what I want to do. :)

Thankful Lists...#4

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

So this is the last one of my Thankful Series...It's going to be a catch all one. So the things I have missed from the previous posts will end up in here.
So from the previous posts I'm going to bullet point what I have wrote down already...
~ I'm Thankful for a God who loves me
~ I'm Thankful for my family
~ I'm Thankful for my friends
~ I'm Thankful for my Church
~ I'm Thankful for my ability to create
~ I'm Thankful for a house over my head
~ I'm Thankful for Des Moines University and my Significant Others' Support family...
~ I'm Thankful for Essential Bodywear (my job)
~ I'm Thankful for sports (to watch it and to play them)
~ I'm Thankful for technology
~ I'm Thankful for blogging

So it seems like I have already told you a lot of the things I'm thankful for...I'm sure like what else can she be thankful for. BUT I am SO blessed I just can't help but share more with you.
~ I'm Thankful for this Christmas Season coming...I'm wanting to set up certain traditions with my family. However since we really haven't been at the same place for Christmas...it's just hard. I don't want to set up something and then have to move it with us when we go to family for more celebrations. What certain traditions can I establish or think about when we are traveling.
~ I'm Thankful for the ability to be a mom who can stay home with my children. I love being able to be the sole provider for my kids!
~ I'm Thankful for Ezekiel going to preschool four mornings a week. I believe that it's the best thing for him to continue his learning process. There are for sure that some days are worse than others, with him not transitioning well but that is bound to happen...come on he's 3.
~ I'm Thankful for music...I love to have it play around the house. It's pretty easy to be in a good mood when I have music on. I enjoy it when I'm cleaning, when we are eating dinner, when we have people over, when driving to from place to place, and many others.
~ I'm Thankful for you guys...some of you I know personally (physically) and others I know personally (by reading your blog and you commenting). It really touches my heart when I see my post views and actually see that people are reading my posts. :) It also really makes my heart "skip a beat" when I actually get a comment on my page (can you do that more please?)
~ I'm Thankful for the ability to be an American, I'm Thankful for all the people; past and present who make that possible. I'm Thankful for the freedom (that I over look quite a bit I'm sure) that so many people and their families have sacrificed so I can enjoy that. I'm Thankful for the ability to Worship a God who loves me out in the open (meaning not hiding for fear of my life).
~ I'm Thankful for my love of reading...sometimes it's a love/hate relationship. Where as I get done reading a book and can't make it to the library for a new book (I know OLD school with reading REAL books) IF anyone wants the ability to surprise me for Christmas, I would LOVE a NEW Amazon Kindle Fire. :)

Well again I'm sorry for no pictures...there probably won't be any other pics on here for a while (Rick is in North Carolina for 2 interviews for residency and he has the camera) With that said...I'm with the kids being a "solo" mother until Saturday. (Which is totally a piece of cake seeing that it's not weeks...it's only days) But I need to go get some much needed sleep. Thanks for reading...Please leave a comment!

Thankful #3

2011-11-26T12:40:00.001-06:00

So even though it's after Thanksgiving...I'm still thankful and not finished with my Thankful Series you can check out them Here #1 and Here #2 so on to my Thankful #3...
~ I'm thankful for Des Moines University...Medical School is hard for anyone, let alone a growing family. I'm thankful that DMU has a group from Significant Others, where I can have friends who are going through the "same" thing as I am as a mother of young children...we are there to listen to each other and learn keys for supporting your student and being there for other families. DMU also has LOTS of family friendly events...such as a Harvest Family time (welcoming dressing up), Thanksgiving Day meal (which we have went to for the past 3 years), an Easter Egg Hunt, and a lot more activities that I am forgetting. I'm just very happy for the ability to have a "family" that knows what we are going through the hard process of Medical School.
~ I'm thankful for Essential Bodywear...my job "outside yet inside" my home. I also love the way EBW products fit everyone seamlessly! IF you would like to know more about it...hosting or selling (they are still doing a ROCKIN' way to earn money with only paying the shipping for your kit!)
~ I'm thankful for sports...I like being able to watch them either live or on tv and I also like to play most of them. I also like the ability to watch the rival games (The Michigan vs The Ohio State game is on right now...)
~ I'm thankful for technology...the fact that I can call or text my family is very nice! the fact that we can skype so my kiddos their grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. the fact that I can connect with friends over facebook.
~ I'm thankful for blogging...the way I can be "myself" and just write. Along with the way I can win lots of really cool things from other giveaways on blogs...I TRULY love it!
Sorry no pictures...

Thankful #2

2011-11-23T06:30:00.000-06:00

Continuing with my miniature Thankful Series...
~ I'm thankful for a roof over my head. We are very grateful for a wonderful couple who is allowing us to stay in their home. It is wonderful for our family to "spread" out...all of our sleeping stuff is on the 2nd floor, all of our living stuff (family, play, dinning, kitchen, etc) is on the main level and then laundry and sewing room in the basement. It's so nice for my children to have their "own" sleeping area.

~ I'm thankful for the ability to create...I love the ability to knit hats for my baby niece (who is yet to be born), the ability to knit a blanket for my baby nephew (who is yet to be born), the ability to knit hats for a wonderful teenager who just had a tumor removed and who is about to face chemo and radiation treatment (please pray for her, her family and her medical team) the ability to create memories with the gift of photography, and SO much more. I'm loving that God created me to create memories with my family and create gifts for family and friends.

One of Aspen's winter hat

Aspen's Shrug...just need to add buttons

A "Denver Broncos" custom hat that I'm doing for an auction.

~ I'm thankful for my church. I go to The Gateway Church in downtown Des Moines. This past Sunday we had a worship night. It was very amazing! There are a LOT of musicians and songwriters at our church. A Worship CD was actually made...here is a little bit about it HERE. You should check it out.

I'm very happy about doing this...You can check out #1 series HERE! Will you please join me in making a thankful comment on my blog about what you are Thankful for OR if you are a blogger and you do a post...let me know I would love to read it!

So Thankful #1

2011-11-22T13:08:00.001-06:00

I'm going to be doing a little series until Thanksgiving (I know it's only a couple days a way) Thus is why it will be a little series.

~I'm thankful for a God who Loves me through out the mistakes I've made and who has given me SO much more than I ever deserve. He is the reason why I'm alive, He is the reason why I'm a daughter, wife & mother, He is the reason why I create, blog and enjoy life. It's not always easy but it's a journey that I don't think I could make without Him, leading and guiding me through his faithfulness, mercy and His Word.

~I'm thankful for my family...
~~the ones I grew up with...meaning my parents, brother and sisters. (Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins too)

~~the ones I married into...meaning my husband and in-laws.

~~the ones I ended up giving birth to, Ezekiel & Aspen.

~I'm thankful for my friends...
~~the ones I've made throughout my life who live all over the world.

~~the ones I've gleaned and learned from.

~~the ones I've made through my experience through Medical School.
~~the ones I've made through different churches.

Family Photos...

2011-11-18T12:31:00.001-06:00

We are SO grateful to know Christia Palizzi from HERE! She is actually a wife of a medical student here at Des Moines University. She is also a mother, knitter, friend, sister, daughter, blogger, along with many other things. I was able to win a free photo session from her (because she had a contest) and seeing that Aspen's birthday and the holiday season were both upon us she offered to do split it and do a family session (outside - because the weather has been beautiful) and then a studio session with Aspen. So here are a few pictures from those sessions. PLEASE do NOT print these...if you would like them please contact. IF you are family...maybe you are getting some for Christmas!

Family Picture

Rick and Ezekiel

Aspen

Aspen (in studio)

Ezekiel (our 1st session...right after his nap...which didn't turn out well)

Aspen (our 1st session)

Me and my kiddos...I love them to pieces!

I HIGHLY recommend Christia if you are here in the Des Moines area (or surrounding area) Family Photos are a great way to create memories of your children and families. As well as wonderful gifts for family and friends during the Holiday season!

One more week...

2011-11-17T17:08:00.001-06:00

until Thanksgiving...
I don't know about you but I have SO much to be Thankful for. I don't even know where to start...so I will think on that some more and make another blog post (probably on Thanksgiving Day) about it. :)
I'm sorry that I have been missing in blog land. Right now it has been crazy for us. We recently moved into another house (we are actually house sitting for a couple in Mexico) We have lots of room and it feels good to be in a house. Right after we "moved" our stuff out of the condo...we went to Florida (Rick had a conference and the kids and I tagged along to spend that time with my family) it was SO nice. We have been trying to get into the "routine" again but it makes it difficult when we moved and stuff like that. We are making it work.
Rick has 3 more residency interviews to do in the next couple weeks. Which is somewhat nice that they are spaced out but it's kind of hard on the kiddos when they see him and then he's gone...such is life.
Here is a list of some blogs I'm going to write this coming weeks...I find out if I put it on here...I actually follow through with it.
- Family Pictures as well as One Year Pictures of Aspen from my Friend Christia at Christia Palizzi Photography (if you are in the Des Moines Area and you need any pictures done...She is the one to do it! Let me know if you want her info)
- Family Vacation Photos and Recap
- The blessing of the "new" place.
- Crafty stuff that I've been doing
I tried twice to post pictures too...however it's not letting me and my stomach is getting hungry...so I'm eating before I head off to knitting club.

alive...

2011-11-01T08:27:00.001-05:00

We are alive in Florida right now with my family. Rick is here in Florida for a conference and an interview for a Residency. So seeing that my parents live down here and it's been a while since the Grandparents have seen the kids...they wanted us to come down as well! We worked that out to make it happen. :)
We arrived Saturday evening. Sunday was church and the day of resting after traveling. Yesterday was rainy all morning...but we did find a mall play area to have Z run around.
Right now it's fun to see the way that Z loves his Aunt Becca and when she has a blanket on. He curls up next to her...it's pretty cute. I really like it! Z really likes it...not sure how Aunt Becca feels about it some of the times.
Aspen is pretty attached to me when I'm around...but when she doesn't see or hear me she seems to be doing good.
Rick has his interview for a residency down here tomorrow...that being said they are taking Rick & I out for dinner tonight as well as putting us up in a B&B tonight. THUS meaning it's my first night in a LONG time where I don't have ANY kids! It will be SO weird! Please pray for my parents, my kids and me...I think Rick will be ok with it (seeing that he has been without the kids overnight before.)
Sorry no pics...got other fun things planned for pics.

Today...

2011-10-25T13:58:00.000-05:00

my baby girl, Aspen, is ONE! I really can't believe it! I knew that going into the second baby is being born that the first year would go so fast...and it has! To think that this year is been a BLESSING!
We welcomed this little baby girl...with beautiful strawberry blonde hair into our family. (Well...it took Z some time to warm up to her) She has her doctor's appointment on Thursday...SO I will know how big she is and all that jazz BUT she is still petite!

We did have a little party on Saturday...SO here are two pictures of that event.

I will post more sometime...however we are in the process of moving SO I'll tell you more about everything at another time. (It's been CRAZY here!!!) Now back to packing...after my little break. :)

the things you learn...

2011-10-17T22:01:00.000-05:00

...from watching videos on you tube or the thing that my husband learns...
So for the past couple days I kept complaining about my hair style (or basically my lack of style). It would only do what I wanted it to do RIGHT after I styled it and it would only last for about an hour.
I guess I "complained" about it long enough where my husband sat on the couch and watched youtube videos. The kids were sleeping and he said if you want me to cut your hair we should do it now. So I sat in the chair...my thoughts were #1 it's just hair it grows back, #2 a FREE hair cut, #3 ANYTHING is better than what I have now. SO I had my first every silent hair cut.

Be the judge for yourself with my hair cut...I think that Rick did a really good job for his first hair cut.

oh no I created a "crazy" man!

There are for sure spots that need to get fixed but over all my husband did a GREAT job.

Farm Crawl 2011

2011-10-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

So last year we did the Farm Crawl for the first time and I loved it so much I ended up "begging" my husband to do it again for us this year. So after church we ate our lunch out to one of the farms...the kids fell asleep. Last year we went to four farms this year we went to three and with the kids sleeping they actually only went to two. It was a lovely day and we had a fun time. We went to the Orchard first (because last year we went there last and there was hardly any apples!) We ended up getting 1/2 a bushel of Jonathan Apples. We have been eating them or making them into stuff or freezing them.
We went to the Pumpkin patch and got the kids up (of course they weren't too happy about that but they got over it.) But it was a wonderful time! We got some pumpkins and some pictures of the kids (mainly Aspen) with the pumpkins. After all Z doesn't really like his picture taken...and I can't really get them to take a picture together at all. UGH...someday it will happen. Below are some pictures from the patch.

Then we went over Dan-D Farms and they have animals, slides and more...they have a corn maze (but we didn't do it) Z liked climbing on the hay bails. Aspen enjoyed being in the stroller eating an apple. Here are some pictures of the farm.

Then we headed home...it was a wonderful weekend to welcome October!

WHAT??? It's October?

2011-10-05T10:02:00.001-05:00

Let the crazy birthday month come again. Actually...I already missed saying Happy Birthday to my mother-in-love, Jean! Her birthday was on the 1st. TODAY is actually Rick's birthday!!! So instead of blogging I should be doing his birthday present. SO I will do that! I promise to be back later today...it's been a while since I have blogged and I have a little catch up to do.
Such as talking about the Farm Crawl...
Writing a post about my crazy husband's birthday wish...
Of course posting pics of the every changing kiddos...

Talk to you later!!! Check out the new way to leave a comment...I wanted to be able to reach you that left comments and questions with it!

still alive...

2011-09-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

...here in Iowa. The weather has been beautiful...now only if our sinuses will catch up with it will be great. We all have had some sort of the change of season cold, this weekend was a wonderful "chilled" weekend for getting rid of the junk.
Seeing that last weekend I was suppose to have a house party it has been cleaned since then. Which is nice. So just a little pick up every night (of course after the kids are asleep in their beds and can't get it messy until the next morning is helpful.) Also the thing of putting clean clothes away right after washing, drying and folding is a big thing too.
So this weekend, was very relaxing!!! Rick let me go grocery shopping while he watched the kids...and I have meals planned for the next 2 weeks (hopefully it can stretch that far) However I usually make plenty and we have left overs a couple times or I freeze it and then I can pull it out later.

I also have set a theme and a date for Aspen's 1st Birthday Party! We will be having it before her actual party because it's hard to party on a Tuesday. I wish that more of our family can be here for it...but I'm sure that we will have a great time, none the less. However you will have to wait for that to actually happen and pics and all that jazz will be put up on here. I can't believe in 1 month I will have a 1 year old!!! The time really does fly!

Z has been trying to figure out if he needs a nap or if he doesn't need a nap. Today he didn't have a nap YET he was in bed sleeping by 8:00pm (he might of went to bed early...but I am SO nervous that he's going to wake up at the crack of dawn in the morning!) I'm SO excited because he will have 4 days of preschool this coming week! He does really well with school. On Friday of last week he didn't have school and he was like "what am I doing home...shouldn't I be at school?" He's doing very well in his potty learning too...which is wonderful! Now if only we can be "trained" when we take him out and about...usually it's pretty good but what do I do about park or outdoor play where there is no bathroom and it's a public area?
Rick is enjoying his last Fellowship block...but there is some traveling that is going to take place in the coming month. He will be going to Pennsylvania for part of his testing...where you see patients and then write notes on them and blah, blah, blah. So he will be gone for like 2 days and a night (hopefully). Then at the end of the month he has an interview and a conference down in Florida...the kids and I are HOPING to get down there too...because we will get to see Gramps, Grammy and Aunt Becs for a whole week! So PLEASE pray that the plane tickets go down so that we can get those. PLEASE!!!
Well...I'm just being me...staying busy. My "normal" routine looks something like --- Drive Rick to school/work, Drive Z to preschool, have Aspen & mommy time (this looks like a lot of different things; such as naps, girlie movies, helping mommy start fixing dinner (seriously I'm IN LOVE with my crockpot), singing, dancing, learning, go on an outing (play date, store, library) and so much more), pick up Z from preschool, lunch, naps, pick up Rick from school/work, and then usually every night of the week it's different. Stuff with small group from church, bra business, knitting club, family night. It's worked out nicely that we have dinner around the table nightly around the table which is AWESOME!
I still have had some pain in my joints and such (going to see the doctor again tomorrow about it) so hopefully we can have some answers on that soon...BECAUSE I have some stuff that needs to get finished knitting (a shrug for Aspen and a sweater for Aspen that need to get finished!) PLUS I have to get to Rick and my hat for this winter (all the colors match Z and Aspen's hat...yes...we are doing matching hats this winter) ALONG with the fact that I'm having a niece ("Tink" short for Tinkerbell) and nephew ("Tank") born in the next coming 5 months SO I got to knit them something from Aunt Trina, even though they live down south. Names in the parenthesis are names I picked out as nicknames for them...this way I can call them when they get older "Tink" and "Tank" I think they might get into trouble together. ;)

'tis the little things

2011-09-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

I'm joining with Lindsay at From the Aisle to Aloha! She is very talented PLUS she lives in HAWAII (at least for the time being.) Lindsay has a wonderful etsy store as well...check it out HERE!!! No really...go back to her store either NOW (but come back and read my blog) OR read my blog and go to her store later. :)
Ok...So this week we were kind of busy. Z's first FULL week of school. Monday at school...Z had a pretty hard day, I'm hoping that it's just case of being home for the weekend. But he finished the week strong and he started to actually use the bathroom there at the school! YEAH!!! I'm so proud of him! I also LOVE these little sheets of paper that tell me about his day.

I also was so happy when I opened up a package of Target brand diapers...and saw the size (as in a number) on the outside of the diaper. It used to be REALLY small and on the inside of the tab. SO when we have 2 kids in the same brand of diaper...SOMETIMES (when a certain person would put on the diapers) the kids would sometimes wear the wrong size...

During the change of seasons I love being able to wear hoodies...however it does some destruction for some of my families sinuses. So I'm so happy for...SUCTION!

I LOVE creating...these little pretties will be leggings for Aspen. (I just have to sew up the bottoms for a more finished look) I got them off of Target Clearance for $5.35...I just LOVE to create for my family and SO happy that I can do a bunch of different things; knit, repurpose, etc.

Well...now that you read my blog...you should hop on over to Lindsay's BLOG AND Etsy Shop! In NO way am I getting anything for promoting her shop...I would like to get something from it EVENTUALLY...but first I need to have money for it. :)

I hope that you had a blessed week as well as a "resting" weekend a head of you!

What's going on...

2011-09-11T23:46:00.000-05:00

So due to my facebook & twitter updates about my husband's interview...people have been asking him what goes on next. SO I thought I would put it in one place for people to look and understand. NOW if you are in Medical School or you have been through this process...you really don't have to read this post. You can, but it's mainly for those that don't know the process is. So this is how Rick's schooling went like at Des Moines University (DMU). DMU is a Osteopathic of Medicine Program...meaning it's a DO school.
Medical School - year 1 - lots of studying , lots of exams, studying, exams...etc. Summer--worked at DMU.
Medical School - year 2 - lots of studying, lots of exams, decided to see about getting the OMM (Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine) fellowship, studying, exams, getting the OMM fellowship, studying, exams, studying for the 1st step of boards, done with classes, studying for the 1st step of boards, taking the 1st step of boards, passing 1st step of boards.
Medical School - year 3 - onto rotations...working on figuring out what kind of doctor you want to be, what kind of doctor you don't want to be, figuring out what you want to specialize in, studying for step 2 of boards that you take at the end of the rotations and researching where you would like to do your Residency.
Medical School - year 4 & 5 - On Rick's OMM fellowship they have you on DMU campus for three 4 month time slots; Summer (May-August), Fall (August-Dec) or Spring (Jan-April). When you are at the campus you are working with the OMM doctors at the DMU clinic, teaching lectures to the 1st & 2nd years, assisting in labs to the 1st & 2nd years, doing some interview questions about OMM, doing your own research or projects, etc. SO when you are NOT on campus you are doing your rotations, studying for boards (the hands-on part in PA...ONLY for DO schools to do.), and doing interviews for Residency. In January the students and the residency programs put their final ranking in (like the Medical Schools and the students do for getting into Medical School) The way it looks like Rick is going to do it is to only apply for the Osteopathic Residency programs (which take DO) or the Dually-Accredited programs (which take DOs or MDs) MDs is what people usually think when they think of Doctors. We won't find out where Rick got matched to until Valentine's Day.
Did you want to know where about we hope to end up???
Orlando, FL (seeing that my family live nearby that would be AWESOME!) - this location has 2 programs in the same system that Rick is interested in...Family Medicine (FM) & the Integrated FM & OMM NMM (where Rick will dually boarded in FM and Neuro-muscular Medicine (NMM) thus he can teach at a school like DMU in the future)
Fayetteville, NC (this is a Dually-Accredited program) -- Praying we still hear back from these guys about Rick getting an interview! (Will you pray too!)
Sandusky, OH (just had his interview there...and Rick says it went really well)
Grand Junction, CO (this throws a little interesting mix to it...because this program is not part of the DO Match...SO we shall see if we want to do this one. BUT Rick has already interviewed here as well.)
IF you happen to have any questions please let me know by commenting and making sure I have a way to respond to you!
Thanks so much!

Thursday Thankfulness!

2011-09-09T00:06:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm SO very thankful for a 3 things (well actually MORE than that) BUT that is all I'm going to blog about on this Thursday evening.
(In NO particular order)
~~I'm thankful for Z having a GREAT day at preschool today. He goes to school in the morning for 3 hours and 15 minutes. He's in a class with 6 other students and 3 teachers. Here's some pictures from his first of day!

They gave me this sheet...I LOVE to know what he did! It's already in folder, so we can look back and see how much he has changed, learned and grown. :)
~~I am thankful for photography and God's creation!!! As well as SOS (Significant Other's Support) at Des Moines University. I'm the "leader" for the photography club for SOS...so I planned a trip to Rose Garden Here are pics I took from that! All of these are SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera)

~~I'm thankful for the ability to create (knitting to be exact!)...I like creating with FIBER AKA yarn. And I like creating with GOOD yarn. :) The picture below is Aspen's hat. This yarn is from Baby Llama and Merino Wool.

I'm currently working on a hat for Z...with the same fiber. :) It's SO SOFT!!! I really like it! I actually made a hat with the green for my dear friend (who is pregnant and having their son in November) it has a little brown pom-pom on top. It's really cute...if I do have to say so myself.

My SON and family.

2011-09-06T18:04:00.000-05:00

This post is all about my son! Ezekiel!

My son turned 3 in Colorado! We were actually at his Grandpa Tom & Grandma Jean's house. They drove with us out from Denver to Grand Junction. :) Seeing that I didn't plan very well...he was "spoiled" all day long.
We ended up eating a late lunch. I signed up for free meals for birthday clubs...and Z got one for Texas Roadhouse. He got to sit in the saddle while they signed to him. He was pretty happy. He got some amazing things this year...a Leap Frog Lap-top, some new Chuggington Chuggers, a doodle pad with crayons, a "dry-erase" board with crayons, a couple dinos, a couple games, a couple books, a tricycle (that he got at the beginning of summer), he has an amazing family (that's us!) and friends (maybe you?)
He is starting Preschool on Thursday. He will be there for 4 mornings (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) from 8:15-11:30. I'm hoping to get a LOT of stuff done! HOPING is the key word! He's going to be in a small classroom of 7 other children. There will be more updates and pictures of that in the future.
Here are some pictures of my wonderful family in Colorado!

Some fun times had by us in CO...now back to your regular blogging material. Or how ever regular I can be :)

Katrina

Rocky Mountain National Park

2011-09-06T16:08:00.000-05:00

So on our way back from Grand Junction as we headed East toward our home here in Iowa...we decided that we could either go back the way we came OR we could head a little different way and go through the Rocky Mountain National Park. Seeing that we were in Colorado and that is where we got married...and USUALLY we make it there when we are in Colorado. I thought it would be strange if we didn't go through the RMNP. SO we did! I'm glad we did. We ended up keeping our own tally of wildlife. We saw 5 Moose, 5 Bucks, a herd of Elk (meaning...too many to count)

Now here are some of the scenery pictures...it was a very overcast, drizzly day...so the first times we have had pics of RMNP like this!

Of course no trip to RMNP is ever complete without visiting the area where Rick and I got married. (Which is below) I can't believe that it's been over 5 years...and we have 2 wonderful kids and we are still happy and enjoying each other. :) I could expand more on that...but I guess I won't.

Now I'll have one more post about our trip to Colorado and then I will post about "normal" stuff.

there and back

2011-09-04T18:25:00.001-05:00

So we have been home from Colorado. (Although that sounds weird seeing that both, Rick & I consider Colorado home) Let's just say we have been home since last Saturday. HOWEVER when you have 1 car and a stuff to do almost everyday...it's hard to find time to blog. SO Sunday early evening (after dinner is when it's gonna happen)
We SO enjoyed our time in Colorado. Let me just say for the record that Grand Junction is NOT like living in Greeley OR in Lake City. It's not like looking out and seeing mountains, you look one way and see Mesa or the other way and see Canyons, that is where the Colorado National Monument is. SO if Rick does do his Residency there (which it's a very good program there), I'm gonna have some getting used to looking at that scenery.
Grand Junction does have some things going for it...
~a nice yarn store
~lots of nice parks
~lack of humidity
~the ability to go on hikes and be out in nature
~the wonderful creation to capture
~among other items...
Here are our pictures from when we went to Colorado National Monument. :)

Rick

clouds, Mesa, Grand Junction, Monument

Aspen is NOT happy!

A closer view of the Grand Junction (see the "tallest" building that is the hospital)

Independence Monument

Z looking over the edge (he finally woke up when we got to the visitor center)

I'll be back with another post.

HEY!

2011-08-24T21:06:00.003-05:00

Just in case you wanted to know...I made it to Colorado with the two kids. It's not really my favorite traveling by myself...BUT I did it. Partly because I have really, Really, REALLY great travelers!
The house that we are staying at is owned by the hospital for Medical Students to live in while they are here on a rotation...however they have NO internet set up! SO I have been using my Blackberry or hitting up free wifi places for my social connection.
Seeing that I'm still having issues from blogging from my phone...I haven't blogged until NOW. Right now I have an AMAZING husband who is watching both kids and I'm sitting in a coffee shop, I just finished my blended chai tea and I just loaded a BUNCH of photos from Colorado Monument National Park onto facebook. I will be "editing" some of these pictures and posting when I get back to Iowa. :) BUT I thought I would let you know that we made it and that even though it's been in the 90's here...I'm NOT sweating to death unless I'm being active. I LOVE the lack of humidity here in Colorado!!! LOVE it!!!
I will leave you with SOME photos for you!
On Sunday in our yellow stuff...One of the many views of the Valley.

To-Do Tuesday...

2011-08-16T12:41:00.004-05:00

With it being Tuesday it means I have today and tomorrow, 2 days until I trek with the 2 kids to CO. YIKES! There are lists EVERYWHERE!!!Packing List (two of them)
To Do List
There are also piles of clothes everywhere (ok not everywhere...but on the couch)I hope to keep my blog up and going while I'm away. HOWEVER, there is talk that the internet access at the house we are staying at is not up and running. SO I'm not sure about that!
I do know that I will be stopping in Nebraska on Thursday night and sleeping there...hopefully the kids will sleep well. :) As well as stopping at my in-law's house on Friday night and sleeping there...the next day (Saturday) I will have a 3 year old! And we are going to make a car train and head out to Rick in GJ! So if you are the praying kind and know of people that will randomly pray for a "crazy" solo mom (that's me) and her 2 kids (2 and under at the time) on Thursday - Saturday (all the way until we are with Rick!) That would be GREAT!!!
I mean how could these cute kids not be angels on the trip!Z talking on the phone to daddy.Aspen eating her lunch.

Moments from this Mama...

2011-08-15T12:44:00.004-05:00

Let me see...it's been since Wednesday when I wrote last...what are the moments between then and now.
~ The kids are at the right age where they enjoy taking a bath together. They splash each other, they laugh, they giggle, they use up time in the tub, etc. There are no pictures of them in the bath because they are both naked and I refuse to put that out there on the web for people. Sorry.
~ We went to the park before we did some grocery shopping. (we couldn't go afterwards due to getting the food in the freezer or fridge) While I got Z out of the car he started walking towards the park and I got Aspen out of the car. Z was waiting for me and he stood there by the park and just waved at me and said "hi mom" over and over again. I wish I had a picture and video of it...it made my heart go CRAZY! But I did get some pictures of at the park...~ On Saturday, I took the kids to Raccoon River Park for a while in the morning, and while I was over in West Des Moines area we did some shopping at Kohl's (I had Kohl's cash and a 15% card off, so I was able to get some more clothes for the kiddos) and we went to Trader Joe's (LOVE their Almond Smooth milk) as well as other goodies. :) No pictures of the park on this day...but it was fun!
~ On Sunday, it was church. I was greeting so we arrived early. I wore Aspen as I greeted and Z was in his class. Our church is doing a series called Stories and Songs and it's simply delightful! You can check out the podcasts from the series or from past sermons HERE .
~ Today...I'm starting the packing process BUT I got very little sleep last night SO I'm gonna finish this post and while the kids are napping I'm gonna set my alarm on my phone and lay down for a bit and then pack a little bit later. :)

10 on the 10th! or Wordfull Wednesday!

2011-08-10T16:37:00.003-05:00

Let's see...where to start!
Welcome to the 10th of August!
1) Where we are in Iowa it's nice temperature right now...I cannot believe it! (That reminds me of Quincy on Little Einsteins, which is now one of Z's favorite shows) I actually opened up the windows and it's still pretty comfortable here. I wish that we would have a better cross breeze but when you rent you can't change where windows are.2) 8 days until I buckle the kids in their seats and head to COLORADO! You'll hear it from me again. But please pray for me! Thus means I have 9 days until I have an extra set of hands (2 actually) seeing that we will be with Grandpa Tom & Grandma Jean at least for 1 night then we will be go towards GJ where Rick is!
3) Z will be 3 in 10 days! I can not believe it! He will also be going to Preschool 4 days during the week. They will be working with his speech & social skills! I'm excited for him to get to be with other kids more regularly as well as him getting more help with his skill learning.4) Aspen is working on 2 other top teeth...I have seen the bumps go down, and now I'm just waiting for the whites of them to show up!5) I'm SO excited about soon...my Essential Bodywear Website will be up and running! I'll let you know when that will happen!
6) I LOVE shopping at Kohl's!!! We went on our Anniversary (which was tax free weekend on clothes and school supplies) We got 23 items for all 4 of us (primarily the kids clothing) and we saved $244.91! and we EARNED $30 worth of Kohl's CASH and then in the mail I received a 15% off card woot, woot!
7) Z is becoming QUITE a climber and he's very, very active! He knows what moves it takes to get on the counter (which he get's in trouble for being on) He is also very independent, except right after nap-time and then he wants to snuggle with momma.8) Aspen is my little leech. I put her down on the floor to play with her toys and I say I go in the kitchen. While I'm in there I hear her little panting getting closer and closer to me and before I know it she's there! She follows me to the bathroom, doing laundry, across the room, it doesn't matter! It's really quite cute, watching her little bum go back and forth as she crawls. She also LOVES to dance, rock, bounce, etc. All of this happens with a HUGE smile on her face!9) While Rick is out...I have watched SO many Chick-Flicks or movies that he doesn't care to watch it's quite lovely! I'm pretty sure though I wouldn't mind watching some thriller movie when he's home or we are there in Colorado.10) I'm trying really, REALLY hard to get back to blogging more regularly...but what should I talk to you about? What are my readers wanting to hear from me?

Tastey Tuesday...

2011-08-09T21:06:00.002-05:00

So I have NO new recipes to share but I have made some GREAT stuff to eat in the past couple days. So when Rick is gone I rarely worry about meals. I fix stuff for the kids and then I do the horrible thing of snack in the evening. Usually on chips and salsa or chips and queso.
Although tonight I had people over for a committee meeting. SO I made pizza. LOTS of pizza. It's so simple for me. I get the already made crust, I get the pizza sauce and do some more "doctoring" up of seasonings, I throw topping on, then goes the cheese and there you go. PIZZAS!
I made a pepperoni pizza; a pepperoni with Canadian bacon; a Canadian bacon, pineapple and green pepper; and a BBQ Chicken with green pepper pizza. HOWEVER there is STILL a lot of pizza here.
The other day at the store I ended up getting some Cocoa Krispies and marshmallows to make some special treats...I think that these are the best tasting krispie treats I have ever made. I ended up throwing in some marshmallows with the krispies so they are still chunks of mallows in them. SO YUMMY!!! I bet my dear husband would like them like that too!

Again...I'm sorry for no pictures. Will try to be back with at least pics of the kids. :)

On my own...

2011-08-09T00:07:00.004-05:00

yet again...all well such is life. I'm currently very thankful for the men and women who serve in our military who have a family. The being apart is not easy on ANYONE.
Rick was gone for almost 4 weeks in Ohio. Delivering babies, assisting in c-sections and other "female" surgeries, being on call, etc.
He came home the day before our anniversary. :) YEAH! We were able to go on a lunch date, spend time just us two. We were able to spend time together as a family of 4...just as it should be! It was tax-free weekend...so we were able to get some clothes for us. :) We went to the I-Cubs game (sort of) it was sprinkling and Aspen was not really "having" it. We spent a day of relaxing...it was nice!
Sunday however...it was NOT easy. Especially in the evening. Z-Man was NOT happy, very disobedient, very whining, very "monster" like, etc. However it will get better, Z-Man will start acting better (I'm learning to "pick" my battles and learning to smile constantly while I'm doing it!)
Rick is in Colorado right now...he is there for 3 weeks. In 9 days the kids and I are making a trek towards my dear husband! I'm taking it "slow" and will spend the night along the way. We will be meeting up with my in-love's (Rick's parents) for a night and then the next day traveling to be with Rick...and that day Z-Man will be 3!!! YIKES!!!
Now for "random" pictures, I'll be back later today (Seeing that it's Tuesday morning...EARLY morning actually bed time.) for TASTEY TUESDAY!
A visitor on our window the other dayZ-Man playing with Aspen's legAspen looking at me smiling...Z-Man looking at ???
If you are a praying kind...please pray for me and the kids as well as Rick...there are struggles of all types! But there is an end in sight. :) Praise GOD for that!

5 years...

2011-08-06T23:00:00.006-05:00

...ago I was standing in a tree grove in Rocky Mountain National Park.
...ago I was wearing white and holding a wonderful bouquet of flowers.
...ago I was with my parents, Rick, his parents, and a photographer.
...ago I said my vows (sort of like the better or worse...but I wrote my own).
...ago I started a CRAZY journey with Rick.

August 5, 2006

In these five years of marriage...
...we have lived in CO, OH and IA.

Summer 2007

...we have had 5 "homes".
...we have 2 beautiful children.
...we have taken vacations to the mountains and the beach and a lot of stuff in between.
...we have had a WHOLE lot of fun; challenging at times BUT totally worth it!

Spring Colorado Trip 2008

I know this may seem personal however I'm gonna do it anyway!

Dear Big Guy (that's what I call Rick),
I am so thankful that you joined eHarmony 5 years and 8 months ago. Thank you for "broadening" your perimeter to include a wider outlook in your eHarmony...why? Because that created the match that brought you to me! Thank you for starting the communication process with me. Thank you...well not really...for "taking a break" from eHarmony, but technically that caused you to think about me...so I guess that worked on my behalf. ;) Thank you for asking me to start communicating again with you. I looked for our e-mails...or terribly LONG e-mails of answers from my questions, of telling me about you and asking me questions. Thanks for asking for my phone number, thanks for talking on the phone with my FOREVER that 1st phone call, and then still calling me back after that!
Thanks for being a great host that first time I went to Greeley. It was great to see you "trying" to get me to talk and such. I enjoyed our first "date" that lasted FOREVER! All the little parts and twists on our first date. It was pretty amazing!

I really can't believe that we have grown more in these 5 years. We have learned from the past, we have grown together, we have had our ups and downs, we have moved many times and many times I'm sure to come, we have grown our family, etc.

Summer NC Trip 2009

I love you more than the first time I became Mrs. Richard Rapp BUT I'm sure that I will love you MORE when we are celebrating our 10 years. Thank you for coming home from Ohio early to spend Thursday-Saturday with me and the kids. Thank you for doing all the learning and growing and becoming the best doctor you can be now for our future and our family. Thank you for your poems, for your songs, and for your love. I'm so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for being YOU and becoming the man God created you to be!

Colorado Trip Fall 2010

With all of my heart and so much more,
Katrina

Colorado Trip Spring 2011

That was 5 years ago...yesterday!

hmmm...sort of wordless Wednesday...

2011-08-03T00:41:00.005-05:00

So on Sunday (the last day of July) I ended up taking pictures & and getting great news...I'm sorry that it has taken so long for me to let you know about it or see the pics.Did you know that it's hard to crawl in a dress?
But she sure looks cute!I certainly LOVE her!!!First he is just playing with his ChuggersHe then sees me and say hithen he figures out I'm taking his picture and says "cheese!" how can I not love him too!
The good news is that Rick is actually coming home (from Ohio) early! He's actually coming in on Thursday morning instead of Saturday morning. SO we have a sitter for us so we can go out on Thursday afternoon. We will actually be able to go to the Iowa Cubs game on our anniversary all together (Friday). Maybe even another trip to Farmer's Market on Saturday before Rick leaves for Colorado in the evening.

fPhoto Friday!

2011-07-29T13:57:00.003-05:00

I'm starting this back up again. :) I hope you don't mind...I would like to come up with a button for it and start a linky for it as well...that way you all can join in as well. I think it would be fun. HOWEVER I don't know how to make a button (anyone want to point me towards that) and I don't know what linky to use (that's free preferably.) So I will gladly take hints in my comment section.

So here are some of the photos that I have taken this week...Sweet, Smiley Aspen with her Baby be Blessed doll and lambShe even sleeps with them as well as my Malian hippoHalf-naked (or is he fully naked) Z-man...sorry not many pics of him...he WON'T keep still for me!

Well PLEASE let me know if you are "joining" in I would love to take a look at your photos too! Hope you all have had a GREAT week and that this weekend is full of fun, fellowship and family!

YUM!

2011-07-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

So yesterday I made some brownies...and not from the box either. :)
I was searching a while back of a dessert to make for our church's BBQ & Baptism Celebration. However my little girl got sick...SO I decided NOT to make anything but to buy it. BUT I did save some brownie recipes on my computer. I ended up making a brownie that sounded quite interesting. They turned out pretty good, at least I do think so. My son ate it...but my son will basically eat anything. We had a knitting club over and the ladies seem to like it as well.
They are called

Chocolate-Chipotle Brownies

Makes: 32 bars

Prep: 30 minutes Bake: 35 minutes

ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 to 2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Unsweetened cocoa powder

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Lightly coat foil with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine flour and cocoa powder; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, espresso coffee powder, cinnamon, and chipotle powder. Add chocolate mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in vanilla just until combined. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed just until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute more. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Using the edges of the foil, lift the uncut brownies out of the pan. Sprinkle with unsweetened cocoa powder. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.

To Store: Layer bars between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Happy Baking!

3 Things Thursday...

2011-07-28T22:47:00.003-05:00

So here is what I'm Thankful for this Thursday!I am so thankful for Baby be Blessed. All of these are their creations. I won the pink lamb after Z was born (he was over a year old) as you see I hung on to it because either we would have a girl OR I would be able to hang onto for a little niece. We got Z the lion for Easter (not this past year but the year before) it has his full name on it plus Joshua 1:9 on. Just a little bit ago (little less than 3 months) I ended up winning a gift certificate (enough for a doll) plus seeing that I have a little girl...I had them specialize a doll, one with red hair (cause she has wonderful Strawberry Blonde hair), blue eyes, and her full name on it with a special verse on it for her. So BbB is a great company...if you need ANY doll or animal (they have certain ones) PLEASE contact them. This is my honest opinion on this company, I did not get ANYTHING "new" from this company from making this blog post. I'm SO thankful for the ability to knit...this is the newest creation on my knitting. NOPE not my own design BUT my own knitting ability. I love creating with fiber! I'm SO thankful for my ERGO carrier, especially seeing that Aspen is still not feeling all that great she wants to be close. Well...Aspen really just wants to be close to me over all. The ERGO saves my back and I get to be hands free. I actually got it 45% off on Babysteals.com So if your a mom, mom-to-be, or grandma...it has some GREAT deals (steals really) Tonight while I was making brownies (in the post for Friday) from scratch, Aspen wasn't happy with me so she road on my back in the Ergo. It's also great because I can wear Z on my back as well...and it feels pretty comfy. (Like I said before I'm not getting anything from this company in promoting their product.)
Although I wouldn't mind about any of the companies to got me something. ;)
I know that usually I do thankful things of my family...I really am thankful for my family. BUT these are other things I'm thankful for too. :)

10 DAYS!!!

2011-07-27T17:50:00.004-05:00

10 days for what you might ask...
Well 10 days until Rick comes home for a little bit (and I mean a little bit)
I've been keeping myself and the kids busy.
Of course Early Assess comes every week to work with Z. I have seen SO much improvement with him. He now transitions better than he had before. He tries to talk to them, they say "what" and he says the exact same thing over again, even with hand movements. I'll be even more sad when it comes to him being 3, they stop coming. :( BUT in the start of September he WILL be going to preschool!My church does a mommy-toddler play date every week, it usually falls on a Wednesday. Since it's been nice out we either go to a wading pool or a park. Something that is free. Today it was a blast however, it's pretty warm out there, well what am I kidding we were in a heat advisory. (no pictures of that sorry)
Besides my church family, I also have another family that is the area, it's my DMU family (usually the families of the students not the students themselves.) The group is called Significant Others Support (SOS) I'm the vice-president this year and am busy getting stuff ready for the "new" significant others to come in. I'm in the knitting club and we have been meeting through the summer, this week it's at my house. :)
Today was Aspen's 9 month doctor appointment. I'm SO glad that it was this week, seeing that she had the fever and everything on Saturday. As well as the fact she ended up getting a rash, I first thought it was a heat rash because of how hot it has been. So she is progressing in her milestones, like hand/eye coordination, moving around, eating well (and different foods), the pincher grasp, etc. However she has only gained 1 pound since the last time we were in and yeah that was only 1 1/2 months ago (because we couldn't get in right away at her 6 month visit) and she hasn't gotten any taller...but she is happy, so the doctor isn't worried about that right now. BUT if she doesn't get bigger next time, then we will have to do some talking. So we have 3 months until her next appointment and then she'll be 1! YIKES! But today while I was discussing the fact that Aspen had a fever and now the rash...she was like I'm pretty sure it's Roseola, but I'll need to check and make sure about her ears and throat and such. After looking around, she was sure that it was Roseola, she even did a Strep test just to make sure it wasn't that. She said that most babies under 2 get it in some form or another, usually it might just be the fever and then a little rash but she said that her rash is text book and a lot of it is brought on by the heat we have been having.So there is the update...now some pictures (which I have been awful about taking.)

Aspen is 9 months!

2011-07-25T22:37:00.003-05:00

I really can't believe that my baby has been on the "outside" world as long as she was inside of me.So...let me tell you about my Aspen girl!
She is working on 2, not 1 but 2, more teeth. She has 4 already through the surface. (Thus the fever, from the other day. At least that is what I think.) She does go in for her 9 month check up on Wednesday. So I will have the weight, height, measurements and the all good news.
Aspen is very laid back, independent baby. She goes to nap and bed on her own, you can rock her, but she most likely won't fall asleep on you.
She has taken her time crawling...just really started a couple days ago. She moves pretty fast when her brother, Z, leaves his food within reach or when she finds that little tiny piece of stuff on the floor.
She is a pretty good roller and still prefers what I call the Flop & Dive (where she gets up on all four and then flops forward or dives towards what she wants.)
She loves, Loves, LOVES music! She starts dancing and at church...I'm pretty sure she is in love with our Worship Pastor. She would for sure be the Vice-President of his fan club (the President would be his wife)
She ADORES her big brother (who is now starting to interact with her more and more, YEAH!). She thinks he's could do no wrong...but really we all know he can. I'm pretty sure they are going to get into enough trouble and Aspen is going to take the heat because she simply loves him. I'm loving the relationship that they are building and growing...and let me tell you it's hard to get a good picture of them interacting...but I'm trying!
Aspen loves to babble...She says "da-da-da" and when I try to get her to say "ma-ma" she just laughs at me and sticks out her tongue.
I'm pretty sure that she made her Dada cry today while we were Skyping and he was watching her crawl.
Well...more about her on Wednesday...along with more pics of her.

Moments...

2011-07-23T17:40:00.004-05:00

So some of these moments that I have with the kids are great and other moments not so great. Of course that is just like any times with kids...but when you don't have someone to share the load with...it's hard to appreciate the great moments and only linger on the not so great moments. I wonder if that is the way God feels about us. I wonder if God and the Son (even though I know they are the same person) sit up in Heaven and say...alright you know that mom, Katrina, how do you think she is doing on her own? Well I think she has her good moments but I mostly remember the bad moments. That also brings to mind about what Max Lucado said in his UpWord e-mail he sent out on Friday. I won't share the whole thing with you...but some excerpts.
"When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it “sings,” it’s ready. If it “thuds,” it’s placed back in the oven.

Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires. You’ve-got-to-be-kidding deadlines. Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat-footed. They aren’t big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out! Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor. Even as I write this, I’m being thumped. Because of interruptions, it has taken me almost two hours to write these two paragraphs. Thump. Thump. Thump.

How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud?

Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45). There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living.

If you have a tendency to thud more than you sing, take heart.

The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to day living.

There is hope for us “thudders”:
1. Begin by thanking God for thumps. I don’t mean a half-hearted thank-you. I mean a rejoicing, jumping-for-joy thank-you from the bottom of your heart (James 1:2). Chances are that God is doing the thumping. And he’s doing it for your own good. So every thump is a reminder that God is molding you (Heb. 12:5–8).

2. Learn from each thump. Face up to the fact that you are not “thump-proof.” You are going to be tested from now on. You might as well learn from the thumps—you can’t avoid them. Look upon each inconvenience as an opportunity to develop patience and persistence. Each thump will help you or hurt you, depending on how you use it.

3. Be aware of “thump-slump” times. Know your pressure periods. For me Mondays are infamous for causing thump-slumps. Fridays can be just as bad. For all of us, there are times during the week when we can anticipate an unusual amount of thumping. The best way to handle thump-slump times? Head on. Bolster yourself with extra prayer, and don’t give up.

Remember, no thump is disastrous. All thumps work for good if we are loving and obeying God.

From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)
Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado"

During this time...it's hard for me. I know other people have it a whole lot worse (thinking of my friends and family who have their loved ones in the military, or their loved ones are no longer with them, etc) but this time that Rick is away...is really trying on me. So I'm asking for some prayer from my blog readers out there...

*Z is almost 3 and pushing almost EVERY limit in his little life. Although he is being a really good big brother, sharing toys and loving on Aspen every day. He actually got into my nail polish and then proceeded to get it all over his knee...here he is "trying" to get it off him and onto my toes while he's eating a banana that he "climbed" up onto the counter to get!

*Aspen had a low grade fever last night and then this morning it got up to 103. I don't see any sign of new teeth coming but she's also not letting me get a good look/feel. With medicine the temp has come down to normal limits. Here she is after the medicine.

*If you haven't heard about it recently...but the weather in the midwest has been hot & humid! I'm SO glad that this is my LAST SUMMER in IOWA! I guess the prayer request is the stamina to be able to get out of the house (so Z doesn't drive me too crazy) and to do something that is fun for all of us!

*I have still been having incredible bone and joint pain...all the test that are coming back are within normal limits however I'm just having horrible pain and I do believe I have high pain tolerance. So I'm hoping to get into a specialist here pretty soon. On another note, I'm getting a freckle/mole removed...it's been not looking the same for a little bit so that is getting taken care of on Tuesday and then we will wait to see what (if anything) is the problem with it.

*Also Rick asked for prayers too...with being away, he ends up struggling with "forces" (I won't go into all the details) but just pray for him to stay focused on why he is away and focused on WHO gave him the gift to be a doctor. (Talking about Jesus)

Alright...now to add some pics (because they really help make the blog more personal) and then for me to make it look pretty...cause that is pleasing to the eye. :) Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great weekend...and if you have any prayer request for me please leave them in a comment section!

My Crazy Birthday...

2011-07-18T22:01:00.004-05:00

So my birthday was really eventful. SO we started pretty early. I made a list of stuff that I wanted to do the night before. This wasn't just for celebrating my birthday, although it was part of it. Some of it was because it was our last Saturday (for a while) as a family of 4!
There was no sleeping in. But that would of been nice.So here was the list of things that we did...
-Got some amazing produce at the Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market
-Got some Ice Tea at Gong Fu Tea
-Went to Rick's school; got a knitting pattern printed off and got my rib popped back into place
-Went to Trader Joes; we got Rick stocked up on some food for him in Ohio (so basically I sat in the car and he got stuff) he also got us some lunch.
-Went to the Library to get books (that's not on the list)
-Went to the wading pool...Everyone loved it!
-Got home and Rick went to Wal-Mart to pick up some other stuff and I baked some cookies for Rick to take with him.
-Got to spend time as a family, also got to take pictures, get hugs & kisses and also presents :) Basically cards but it was a great birthday!
Also got to find out where the Greyhound station was in Des Moines and dropped off my husband there, for him to spend 4 weeks in Ohio. (Where he is delivering babies and other surgeries for the female body)

So far...so good!

2011-07-18T18:18:00.004-05:00

Well, I know I haven't been around on here very often. I'm sorry!

Since...I have been on here last...

~I have celebrated a birthday
~I have spent 1 week along with my kids, and let me tell you being a single momma of 2 is NO fun!
~I have tried to stay cool when the Heat Index reads 114!

So here are some pictures...I'll try to be back on here with stuff, I just don't want to create a really long post, I'd rather give you bits and pieces. :)

Rick and the kids outside in the evening...Happy Aspen! Me and the kids on my birthdayCooling off at the splash pad/wading poolDoing the Zoo!

Today...

2011-07-08T14:09:00.003-05:00

I get a little thing from Max Lucado every Friday called UpWords...this is from that. It really hit me to the core and I thought I wanted to put that out there in the blogworld for others to read.

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble… . I will get up. It’s OK to fail… . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)
Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado

I'll be back on...maybe later today, but for sure later this weekend. :) Hope you have a great weekend!

A Triple T

2011-07-07T16:12:00.003-05:00

Three Thankful Thursday
1) I'm SO thankful for my family! ALL of them!!! I'm thankful for these past 2 weeks that I have spent with Rick (before he leaves later this week - More on that later). I'm thankful for the almost 3 weeks I got to spend with my family down in Florida. (More on that later)
2) I'm SO thankful for the ability to create wonderful memories with my kids, daily, because I get to stay home with them. Creating memories with as they grow with photography. Creating memories with them in their creative styles (not so much Aspen but with Z here pretty soon...we are going to be doing more crafting)
3) I'm SO thankful for being able to worship God with other believers (in and out of church), with songs of praise and the ability to read God's Word...I'm so thankful to be an American and able to worship.
Well...I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while...here are a couple reasons why --
--my laptop crashed (now it's back!)
--I was on vacation and really didn't want to
--I'm trying to get back into the swing of things
BUT I'm hoping to be getting back to a somewhat "normal" blog posting!

Monday, Monday...

2011-06-06T19:50:00.004-05:00

Well usually on Monday morning we have Early Access come to our house to play and interact with Z-Man...HOWEVER, Z-Man has been running a little low grade fever over the weekend and was not himself at all this morning. He was acting a little more "blah" than normal. Like he had a case of the Mondays. :)

Let me get back to Early Access...they (either a teacher or a speech pathologist) comes every week. Usually it's on a Monday unless a holiday falls on that day then they come on Tuesday. We have noticed that Z says more spontaneous words every day. He will answer simple questions. He really enjoys them coming and playing with him. He's still not saying all the words he should be saying or saying simple phrases BUT he is learning and growing. So we know that Early Access (EA) works. So EA is only for kids up to 3 years old...Z will be 3 in August. So most likely he will qualify to be entered into a special Preschool. SO we looked at the one that is closest to us and had a look around. He will have to do more tests but I think that will happen after we get back from Florida.

Some people ask me what EA does...well they come and really play. They have a HUGE canvas bag of toys. They do a lot of pictures and ask Z which one is the _______ question. Sometimes he mimics them and says the words but sometimes he spontaneously says the words. I know that EA is working for my son, I wish that I would of asked about it sooner so he can get the most of out this program that he can.

My words of advice for mothers of little boys, yes their speech might be slower and not as developed but follow those motherly instincts about asking for help.

Z-Man really doesn't feel well though...I'm hoping he's better by Wednesday (which isn't very long AT all!) to fly. We are doing breathing treatments for his wheezing which seems to be helping. When we do them...he is in complete control which is ANNOYING!!! Cause it takes forever for 1 treatment to get done.

Well...I must go! But I wanted to share about EA and the little Z-Man.

Katrina's Baby Food

2011-06-06T13:35:00.003-05:00

No I actually DON'T eat the baby food but I do make it for my baby to eat. I made it for Z and I make it for Aspen too!

Of course I haven't taken any pictures for you to see...So I will improvise and try to find them from the internet. :)

So far I have made Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Carrots, Pumpkin, Avocado, Peas...basically everything is done the same way. EXCEPT the Butternut Squash, Pumpkin and Avocado. So this is what I have done for everything except the squash and avocado.

1) Prepped my food - whether cleaning, pealing, cutting, or taking from the freezer.

2) Put the food in a pot with some water around it, and brought it to a boil.

3) Once brought to a boil then put the food down to a simmer

4) Put the food and some of the water in the food processor. (usually the liquid I cooked it in, always adding a little bit to it because I can't take the water out of it.) This is the processor that we have, I use the smallest one! I really like it! And use it for more than just baby food!

5) Checking often the constancy of the food as it was processed or pureed. This way you can easily check and see if you need to add more water to it. I always love this part because you can easily have it more or less runny depending on where you baby is on the eating scale.

6) I put the food in an ice cube tray to freeze.

7) Place frozen cubes in a zip lock container and label and put in freezer.

This is what I did for the Butternut Squash...

Step 1) Make the Squash as noted then go to previous steps 4-7. With the squash I didn't need to add a lot of water, because the squash was really juicy.

This is what I did for the Avocado...

Step 1) Cut the Avocado

Step 2) place in processor with some water

then go back up to step 6-7

This is what I did for the Pumpkin...seeing that I didn't buy an actual Pumpkin I used the pure can pumpkin.

1) I basically put the pumpkin with water in the processor

2) Got the right consistency

3) Put the food in the ice cube trays to freeze

4) put the cubes in a zip lock container and label

In the morning I picked what Aspen was going to eat, either only one food or mix and match foods into a bowl. This way by the time she needs the food it's already at room temp (or close to it) and I don't need to heat it up at all. In some of the food I made I actually added the baby oatmeal to the food processing that way I actually don't have to do ANYTHING when I pull the food out of the freezer.

Well...hope that helps!

Memorial Day Cuteness 2011

2011-06-05T19:37:00.005-05:00

So seeing that my brother (in-law) is in the Army. We have PLENTY of Army stuff to wear. So for this Memorial Day we (Rick, Z & Myself) had our Army shirts on. (Sorry no pics of all of us...boo) Aspen ended up wearing a wonderful pillow-case dress made by an Army Wife. :) Aunt Caroline bought it for her. :)

It makes me remember that Army Wives is on tonight...

Alright back to my normal reason to blog. :) PICTURES!!!

Aspen Girl with her pretty dress and matching hair bow (BIG hair bow)

Z-man playing with his Chuggers while the others are napping.
Thanks for joining...have a great day. I'm almost done knitting up Aspen's Scrappy Skirt...pics will follow soon there after.

Code of Justice book report!

2011-06-01T08:06:00.001-05:00

Summary:

"Follow the drugs."

Her sister's last words shake FBI agent Heather Sloan to the core. They also convince her that the helicopter crash only Heather survived wasn't an accident. Sheriff's deputy Jeremy Latham is assigned the case—he's the only one who can help Heather find the person responsible. If she can convince him they should work together. As they dig for the truth, they learn to trust and care for each other. Will they lose it all when the killer targets Heather? She's willing to risk her life to find her sister's killer—but her code of justice could cost her the chance to win Jeremy's love.

Cover Art:

About the Author:

Liz Johnson grew up reading Christian fiction, and always dreamed of being part of the publishing industry. After graduating from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a degree in public relations, she set out to fulfill her dream. In 2006 she got her wish when she accepted a publicity position at a major trade book publisher. While working in the industry, she decided to pursue her other dream—becoming an author. Along the way to having her novels published, she completed the Christian Writers Guild apprentice course and wrote articles for several magazines.
Liz makes her home in Nashville, TN, where she enjoys theater, exploring the local music scene, and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her two nephews and three nieces. She loves stories of true love with happy endings. Keep up with Liz's adventures in writing at www.lizjohnsonbooks.com.

Author Photo:

Alright here is the actual Book Report...

“What if she couldn’t figure out what happened?

What if she physically could not bring the person responsible for Kit’s death to justice?

Latham had leaned back into his chair, his gaze thoughtful, arms folded across his chest. His eyes seemed to look right through her, focused on an unseen target. Heather recognized the look on his face. He was solving a case deep in the recesses of his mind.

And with a bum leg and strict orders to steer clear of the investigation, she’d never crack the case before he did. At least with him, she’d have access to all of his connections, research and mobility.

Suddenly she wanted to tell Latham everything she knew. Tell him about the crash and Kit’s worries. Tell him that she knew this wasn’t an accident. But what if he wasn’t willing to help her? She had to get his word, had to get him to agree.

Swallowing thickly, she closed her eyes for a moment. “There’s more,” she said.” Taken from the inside cover of the book.

I have read Liz Johnson before so I jumped at the chance to review this book for her and put it on my blog…HOWEVER I’m pretty sure if she was my teacher she would FAIL me for being late. REALLY LATE! I simply love the way that Liz dives down into the characters, telling me simple characters at first and slowly diving into their past and diving hard into the story line.

The simple part of the book is about a sister (Kit) who dies in a plane crash and the other sister (Heather) figures out who ended up responsible for the death. It has twists and turns as the “bad guys” try to kill Heather. Even though Heather is an FBI agent she is NOT allowed on the case until she meet Latham the Sheriff’s deputy in charge of the case. (Which he has a past all of his own) So what ends up happening? I know but I think it would be more fun for you to find out and read it on your own.

But I will end up answering some of the discussion questions in the back for possibly more glimpses into the plot and characters of this Love Inspired Suspense.

“Heather misses out on the opportunity to go to Kit’s funeral. How do you think that affects Heather’s drive to find the man responsible for Kit’s death?” – I actually think it helps the drive for Heather to find the man responsible. Most people think of a person’s funeral as a place to say “good bye” or some sort of closure for them.

“Heather and Kit shared a special bond as sisters. Do you have a sibling with whom you are very close? What makes your relationship special?” – I actually have 1 younger brother and 2 younger sisters…I would say growing up I wasn’t really close to any of them specially (there were big age spans between us. But now that we are older and mostly adults we get along better. We might not have a lot of similar things to talk about on the phone…BUT we ALWAYS have laughs and good times when are together.

Last Day of May...a day of lists

2011-05-31T17:02:00.003-05:00

Well...good bye May!

Here is my posts of LISTS and a countdown too!

Book Reports to do...

Code of Justice by Liz Johnson

Start with Me (A Modern Parable) by Michael Seaton with John Blaise

Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton

A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers

--all of these are read I just have to sit down when it's quiet and write them up and post them. :) (Ha! when it's quiet...that's so funny)

Knitting Projects to finish...

My Pay it Forward projects

Aspen's stash-buster skirty

Aspen's "rocker" skirty

Aspen's purple sweater

Odds-n-Ends

Keep up the laundry

Go through some boxes of "random" stuff

See a house on Saturday (that we might be renting)

Get stuff together for a Bra Party (next week)

Get ready for Florida! (Pack for 3 of us!)

Blog about how I make baby food (a couple people have asked)

Write something special for Rick...so he can have on his trip!

COUNTDOWN!!!

I'm 98% sure that the Kids & I are leaving for Florida in ONE WEEK!!!

7 DAYS!!!

Saturday Confession...the last one in May

2011-05-28T19:47:00.006-05:00

So I'm joining in with Melissa at A Familiar Path for Saturday Confessions. I was going to put this on Saturday evening BUT my laptop decided that it didn't like me.

I'm going to "use" this as a blog to mainly show what we have done since I wrote last...I hope you don't mind.

Aspen LOVES baby food. And I also enjoy it because I have made it all for her! She really likes Sweet Potatoes! Which is funny cause really we don't eat them in our home. She also likes Butternut Squash. I'm going to try carrots next.

I'm really enjoying Early Access and what the tools they are using and the advice that they are sharing with me to expand Z's communication and interaction levels. I've noticed him spontaneously say words more and more. Although we still have a lot of things to figure out with him. I know that he is in God's hands and that God loves my son with all of his being.

I'm SO not ready for Aspen to be more on the move. She "thinks" that she can crawl...she get's her arms and legs all moving but then she ends up pushing herself backwards many of times. She loves to get REALLY high and look over stuff though. She does like to be free though which is so nice! She is also now 7 months old (as of last Wednesday)! YIKES!

I'm SO not a good potty training/learning momma! I thought I would be BUT I'm not. I don't know if Z's not ready (not understanding) or what...but he doesn't seem to understand the concept of going in his underwear. So that is a very "SLOW" process!

I'm VERY bad about posting regularly...I think I just need to come up with a topic and write on certain days and pre-program them to come to my blog!

Grandpa Tom & Grandma Jean came to Des Moines for a short visit...they came really to see Daniel O'Donnell in concert and figured that they would stay a little longer and see the grandkids...So on Friday we went up to Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge to see the Buffalo or Bison. We have been down a couple of times but this is the first time the Bison were semi-close to the road and the first time we went into the Learning Center. (which is in the background of this picture)

We ended up going to our second Iowa Cubs game and got to see Tyler Colvin play...they are wanting him to get LOTS of play time so he can get back into the rhythm that he had last year.

We are exactly 2 weeks away from our family being apart for 2 weeks...in 2 weeks (from yesterday) Rick will be flying to go to Alaska! and in 2 weeks (from today) the kids & I will be flying to Florida! I'm SO excited because not only to I get to be with my parents and youngest sister, I get to see my brother (from Texas) and my sister and her husband (from Georgia) It will be like a big huge PARTY!

Well I hope to be back tomorrow to blog as well...but you know how it is with with 2 kids 2 and younger...

Bittersweet...

2011-05-28T18:40:00.003-05:00

Memorial Day 2011 is a bittersweet day for our family. Well...mainly Rick & myself.
When we started this Medical School journey here at Des Moines University. Rick would have been graduating this very weekend. SO that means a lot of his friends graduated today.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Rick put it this way...say your a football star (you can be a baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer, etc star) So say you were on team 2011 and you got traded (in a better opportunity traded to be on team 2012). You knew that in 2012 you would win the Super Bowl (World Series, Stanley Cup, NBA champion, World Cup, etc) But right now you are watching your old team 2011 win that big game right now!
In the end it's a win-win for everyone. (Although I think we made out on the better deal) Seeing that Rick is an OMM Fellow we don't have to pay for tuition for years 4 & 5 of medical school (seeing that year 4 gets spread out into another year) If you want more info about Rick's schedule you can check HERE . It goes back to previous posts about his schedule and about the OMM fellowship.
Even though this weekend is bittersweet for us...it's still good knowing that we are doing the right thing for Rick's career and our family. Congrats to all the DMU students & their families (yes, you know who you are) that are now Dr & Mrs...and possibly Dr & Mr... I had a blast getting to know you and your families and hope we can stay connect through our DMU family! And YEAH for being ONE year away from doing all the celebrating!!!
And finally to you...Dear Rick, I understand that the time might be rough but think and process all the learning and growing you are doing through the fellowship. The

Aspen's Growth!

2011-05-12T14:39:00.003-05:00

Thursday was Aspen's 6th month doctors check up!
I know her half birthday was on the 25th of April...BUT Seeing that she was born on the 25th...I couldn't get in on the 25th of December because of Christmas...and then you have New Year's SO that made her 2 month check up in the beginning of January. So then the shots needed to be spread apart 2 months between each time given. AND I believe in getting vaccinated especially with Rick in the medical field and he could come home with something AND I want my kids protected from them.
So THUS is why even though it's the 12th of May and Aspen is just now getting her 6 month checkup.
At Aspen's 4 month check up she was weighing 13 pounds 11 ounces (46%), measuring in length at 24 1/2 inches (53%) and measuring around her head at 16 1/2 inches (71%).
TODAY she is weighing at 16 pounds 8 ounces (50%), measuring in length at 27 1/2 inches (92%) --which is a 3 inch growth in a little over 2 months! -- measuring around her head at 17 1/4 inches (79%)
I was able to see the growth chart there in the office and I'm very proud of Aspen. She is going up the charts and developing in every way that a little baby needs to be doing. Seeing that I haven't started on any baby food yet...SHE will be starting that soon. I'm sure I will have pictures when we start that endeavor.
I can't believe that she has gone from this...(birth)to this...(2 months-ish)to this...(4 months-ish)to this...(6 months)

Mother's Day....

2011-05-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

So...today is Mother's Day!

I thought I would put up some pictures of me and my mothers (my mom & my mother-in-law) as well as pictures of when I first because a mom to a little boy & a little girl.
Mother's Day was hard for me for a while though...because I ended up having a miscarriage within the first year of my marriage. So Mother's Day in 2007, I kept thinking about the little baby sitting in heaven, and I really wish he/she was in my womb growing. HOWEVER if that baby was in my womb that Mother's Day...I would not be honored and entrusted enough to be Ezekiel's mother. So I guess God knew what he was doing, but it still doesn't cause me to think about that little one that I got to cherish for only a week.

Alright on for some pics...Jean (my mother-in-law) Myself & Susie (my mother)Not the first time I held my little boy Z, but I looked the best :) I wasn't feeling so hot the first time I held Z-man...shaking and everything!In the recovery room with Aspen...the first time I was a mommy to a little girl!

I do want to say that I know a lot of women (and families) that are growing their families either by adoption or having babies...YOU are all in my prayers during this time. As well can't wait until I hear the news that you are holding your baby/child in your arms for the first time! It's such a GREAT time to be a mommy.

I hope that you all have a GREAT Mother's Day!!! God Bless You!

Confessional Saturday...

2011-05-07T15:45:00.003-05:00

Well today is Saturday and I have to get some stuff off my chest! I hope you don't mind. :)- Like I need to actually confess this because if you actually read this blog...you will know that I have been MIB (Missing in Blogland) & I really need to get back to it! :)
- Looking back over the last week...I confess that I dislike the way most of America responded to the news about the killing of Osama Bin Laden. (The cheering in front of the White House...I'm not saying any more about that!) I DO know that terrorism is NOT dead and our US Leaders, US Military & our Allies (and their leaders) need more prayer & God's protection as they figure out what will happen next.
- A Mother's Day back in 2007 was a HARD day for me!!! I can't believe that 4 years later I have 2 healthy kids that call me their mother.
- I don't think I need to confess this either (unless you are a "new" reader) but I'm SO glad that baseball season is upon us!!! I love watching the game (always if the CUBS are playing) Des Moines is also a GREAT place for us to be...they have the Triple A team for the Cubs (The Iowa Cubs) which we have 8 game season tickets. We went last night...
- Confession of TV shows that I heart - How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, The Voice, The Biggest Loser, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Blue Bloods & Army Wives. There are other shows that I like to watch like The Sing Off (but it's not on right now) & I heart my DVR!!! Cause sometimes I can't watch TV Live plus I like to watch the commercials. :)
- I'm pretty excited about on Monday's the Early Access people are going to come and work with Z about his communication. They come to our house too!
- I'm excited to see how big my Aspen girl is! Her doctor's appointment is Thursday the 12th...I guess I will make another post about her this week (Friday-ish)

I'm going to be working on posts scheduled to actually go up on here...SO hopefully, just hopefully you will see (hear) more of me and see more pics of the kiddos and what we have been doing!

Saturday Confessions...ending of month

2011-04-30T21:26:00.005-05:00

So I'm joining with my blog world friend Melissa at A Familiar Path for Saturday Confessions...Like I did last week...I will try to throw pictures in this blog to make it feel like I have something "important" to say.
1) I have wanted to post more (at all) this week...but I failed.
2) My baby girl, Aspen is 6 months old and I didn't blog about her! And the day after her half birthday she got her first tooth...in her skirt that I knitted...LOVE the yarn!3) I'm excited about the Farmer's Market starting next week
4) The weather has been GOLDEN for the past couple days!!! SO LOVELY!
5) So I DVR'd the Royal Wedding...however I ended up "fast-forwarding" a lot of it...however I'm a little upset that I missed the balcony kiss. All well.
6) I love, no really LOVE when my husband has a day off during the week (he had Friday off) so we ended up being able to go to the zoo.7) I am really glad that I'm able to go (hopefully) to Florida in June (when Rick is going to Alaska for his 2 week internship)
8) I'm trying to figure out what to knit next! I don't know whether I should finish my works on the needles OR start something new. I just finished Aspen's Ruffle Summer Top, with Kool-Aid dyed yarn. So cute!!!9) I do know that I need to get my yarn stash in ORDER!!! I made room the other day for it and I haven't put it in order yet! GRR!!!
10) Still so behind in my book reviews! GRRR! Will I catch up anytime soon!Easter 2011 Family Shot (Z NOT happy! 4/23)

Saturday Confessions...

2011-04-16T19:29:00.005-05:00

I'm joining with Melissa at A Familiar Path today for my second Saturday post today...Melissa is real in her blog, and not just on Saturdays. She lets us in with glimpses of her everyday life. She shares her trials and her joys. LOTS to learn from her!

So it looks like there are no rules to this...it's basically just a confessing blog post...I'll try to make it interesting about throwing pics in it...

~I truly don't want my little baby girl to grow anymore! It's not like I don't want her to grow and develop it's more along the lines that she could possibly be my last baby and I want her to stay in her little small self!~I didn't turn on my computer/laptop until 6:00 pm today! and I really liked it!

~I have a couch cushion that actually looks like my bottom...I've been either napping, resting, knitting, cuddling, nursing, eating on the couch all day today...not feeling well so I decided instead of doing my "to do" list I thought I would do my best NOT to get sick.

~I have discovered I love the idea of blogging a lot and scheduling them to be posted on different days...it makes me feel very productive!

~I knit all "clothes" items (pants, sweaters, skirts) too long and my kids get to wear them an extra long time.Z's pants that he has worn for 2 winters, and I bet I can put him in them next winter (I just "hemmed" them the 1st winter!)This is a Lilly Sweater that I did for a friend...but it's way to long for her...so she "rolls" up the sleeves.

~I'm a little excited and nervous about starting Z with Early Access for his Speech and Social skills.

~I HATE being a ONE car family! I know we can do it as long as God grants a nice second car...but sometimes it's just HARD!

~I NEED to start working out again! I really wish we never "sold" our elliptical runner I would use that at night watching my DVR'd shows and such.

~I'm so behind on my book reports it's unbelievable!!!

~I really like my Blu-Ray player...not for the watching the movies but for the fact that I can get Netflix & Pandora on it!!! What a GOOD investment for us! 2 things I'm addicted to!

Well I hope you have a great day! (What's rest of it!) As well as a WONDERFUL Sunday!

Saturday Snapshot...

2011-04-16T18:54:00.006-05:00

I'm linkin' up with Kim at Yellow Songbird. It's actually quite a little party and a great way to "meet" new people! Plus Kim has some GREAT giveaways through-out her blog. :)The hard part about this "party" is that I can't always choose a time frame for my posting...I don't actually have a lot of pics of my childhood in digital form so I can't put those up. (I need to scan them from my baby book and such) I don't have any pics from when I first started my journey in CO (when I first started working at Camp Redcloud). I basically just have pics of when Rick and my journey started together...but since then we have moved from Colorado (where we got married), working at a summer at Beulah Beach a camp in Ohio, moved to Iowa (and are still here for Rick's medical school) and have added 2 kids into our family!
SO I'm going to show you some generation pictures...The Rapp 4 Generation picture; (Left to Right) Grandpa Tom, Great-Grandma Bobbi
holding Z, Rick)The Andreoni Generation pic; (Left to Right) Nona the Great, Grammy holding Z, myself (This occasion happened when Z was dedicated)The Stephens generation picture; (in chairs) Great Grandma and Great Grandpa holding Z, behind Me and Gramps (I was thrilled to share with my husband and my son the LOVE of the Outer Banks. Nags Head, NC)And Great Grandma really wanted a pic with both of the kids...however as you can see how unhappy Aspen is Z was even more unhappy about it...so basically we just changed that Great Grandma is holding Aspen and Great Grandpa isn't holding Z in the picture above. (UGH, I hesitated putting this picture up but I didn't want to leave Aspen out, I dislike how I look in this pic!; I've got a lot of weight to lose and my front side is looking not very "perky" but now with my new business (the Essential Bodywear) they are looking a WHOLE lot better!)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend...one more "linky" I want to be a part of!

{3} Thankful Thursday...

2011-04-14T22:33:00.003-05:00

Even though I have more than 3 things that I'm thankful for on this Thursday...I wanted to share with you 3 of them! This will hopefully be a new blog thing that I will be doing weekly.

Of course these are not the most important things but they are things that I'm currently thankful for...
{1} The ability to start a NEW business...that I can do when I want to work and help women feel better about themselves in the process. Do you want to know what it is??? Essential Bodywear! SO if you are in the Des Moines area or if I'm coming to your neck of the woods...I would love to get you fit into a GREAT looking bra!
{2} My supportive family...it has been a rough couple weeks (sometimes I wish my blog was private...but that is all I have to say about this) I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who ended up changing his rotation for the ability to stay with his family. I'm so thankful for my parents and my in-laws who are SO supportive and who love me regardless of everything that has gone on in the past couple weeks. I'm so thankful for the love that my kids give me...either by smiles, hugs, snuggles, kisses, etc.{3} I'm so thankful for the Baseball season that is going! As well the Iowa Cubs game opener tomorrow!!! We got the same thing that we got last year with the 8 game tickets...sitting in the same seats RIGHT by the Cubbies bullpen! I am so excited!

Weekly Works...

2011-04-13T07:30:00.003-05:00

So...this is the craftiness of me. This past week I actually got finished with a knitting project...no it normally doesn't take me too long to write about it...BUT right after I got it finished I started not just 1 project BUT 2 projects! WOW all I can say is WOW!

So I finished...

Aspen's Hara Dress...you can find the pattern on Ravelry, here. I really like it...I need to do some adjusting in the back by the buttons. As well as make a matching headband for Aspen! I think as long as it fits her around she can wear it as a shirt. :) As the weather gets colder and it still fits I can see just layering with a shirt under and a pair of leggings.This yarn is the first kool-aid yarn that I ended up dyeing. :) I LOVE the change of color and the ability for it to be worn with lots of different stuff.

I'm currently working on...

I started doing a Ruffled Summer Top...you can find the pattern on Ravelry, here. This I'm going to try to finish it by April 29 for a SpringKAL contest put on by the designer of the pattern. :) This is getting knit up in the second kool-aid yarn that I ended up dyeing...I know you can't really see much of what it's going to look like from what I ended up knitting so far...but the top of the work is the top of the summer top. I'll keep you posted on the completion of this project. :)
I also started a skirt...with the yarn that I got from my wonderful mother-in-law. I think I posted about getting the yarn in the mail and then I ended up getting wrist tendonitis and couldn't knit for a while. This yarn is so fun to see the colorway change! I actually got this pattern from a friend...so their is no link to it!

On a side note...I won a giveaway from a facebook friend who has an Etsy...So I'm going to "feature" her and her store RIGHT now!
You can find The Adopt Shoppe on ETSY or Facebook.
She started making necklaces to pay for their daughter's adoption. They brought Mia home in August 2010. Now they're on the list to adopt again!!! So they're saving for this next one! Every dollar she make from this goes toward the next adoption. Isn't that a GREAT cause!!!
This is what I won!

Tastey Tuesday...

2011-04-12T07:30:00.000-05:00

So a while ago (maybe 2-3 weeks ago) I put on my facebook status that I was having Yummy BBQ Pork Pizza and someone asked me for the recipe...HOWEVER I haven't gotten around to post anything. SO, I'm bringing back Tastey Tuesdays!
So first off...I'm sorry there are NO pics of this pizza it was TOO good and we basically ate all in 1 sitting (ok we had a friend over)
Here is the recipe...and it's NOT very hard! BUT it was OH so yummy!
Here is a couple background info; I LOVE my CROCK POT! Even as a stay at home mommy I LOVE it! I use it all year long and I try to use it at least once a week!

BBQ Pork Pizza

Ingredients:
Pork (I just ended up getting a lean pork from the store. No extra flavor or anything.)
BBQ sauce (whatever your family likes the most)
Broth (technically you don't actually have to have a broth...I just make veggie broth and use that to soak the pork...but you can use spices, herbs, and water)
Onion
Peppers
Pizza Crust (the already made and baked kind is what I get...it's usually by the Pizza sauce in the store)
Cheese (whatever fancies your boat really...I ended up trying a Pepper jack cheese.)
Directions:
I end up cooking the pork in the broth in the crock pot all morning and into the afternoon...
Cut up the onions and peppers (set aside)
After the pork is all cooked, take out of the broth, shred and put in container (I just put it back in the crock pot), with the BBQ sauce, onions and peppers
Grate cheese (or just already have shredded cheese...but when you do it yourself it's fresher!)
Put the pork, onions, peppers in the BBQ sauce on the crust add other seasoning if you would like...garlic salt/powder, whatever fancies your boat. :)
Put cheese on top of the pizza
Back as crust package suggest (cheese should be melted and gooey!)
PLEASE enjoy!

lists, lists, and more lists...

2011-04-11T11:38:00.004-05:00

So I'm sitting at the table with my lap-top (I usually write on the couch but this way I can spread out a little bit)
Here are somethings that are spread out...my refillable Giraffe cup from The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (the zoo in Colorado Springs), my calendar, a red ink Sharpie pen, a pencil, a to do list, my phone, there is even a toy train sitting by me however I don't think I need that, a new business card of mine (more on that later), SOS Board items (guidelines, last meetings minutes, working on new agenda), and my weekly to do list. (I'm really sure you needed ALL of that information.)
Today is the start of Rick's OMM fellowship block (he has one more block in the fall) THUS means he has this week and then he is off to West Virginia for his rotation. Also due to us being a 1 car family...and us needing to be somewhere at 5:15pm. The kids and I had to be up and ready to take Rick to school by 7:30am. Z was up at the EARLIEST he has EVER been up!!! He ended up laying with us in our bed for a while...but then he got all crazy and a little loud (and with Aspen sleeping in our room) we had to make sure he didn't wake her up. So we all got out the door and made it to drop Rick off...on the way home...Z fell asleep. So it was just me and Aspen spending time together. (Which doesn't happen very often in the morning) This week is on the busy side for us...so I'm hoping to come up with some post to automatically be put on the blog because now I have time but I want to spread over my "wealth" of information... :)
So this is really a post of different lists...I hope that is ok!

List of meetings, dinners, fun to do this week:

--fit women for my new business (more on that in a different post)
--have small group on Tuesday (dinner, Bible Study, stuffing Easter eggs, fun, fellowship, etc.)
--have a meeting about Z-Man (he is having an evaluation with Early Access about his speech.)
--dinner with Chris & Es (who is on bedrest, keeping that little boy in her as LONG as possible!)
--DMU SOS board meeting
--Iowa Cubs Opening Game with FIREWORKS!

Lists of blogs that are coming:

--Works in progress or finished project...crafty stuff.
--the new bizz...Business
--pics of the kids (which I have NOT been doing very well at taking pics)
--BBQ Pork Pizza (I promised my friend I would do this a while ago...and haven't yet)
--BOOK reports!!! 2 of them! They are REALLY behind!
(This really just helps me remember what I want to write! I write in with a pen and paper but Z has been really helpful about throwing things away.)

Sorry :(

2011-04-03T21:49:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog-readers (if I have any still)
I'm sorry that I have been Missing in Blogland (MIB) recently. A LOT of things have been going on in my life in the past couple weeks. I'm hoping to be able to blog this week regularly to get you "caught" up. I did want to let you all know that I'm alive and well...and that I miss blogging and getting comments! SO when I get back to blogging, PLEASE do comment!
Thanks and God Bless!
Katrina...

Saturday Snapshot #3

2011-03-26T13:53:00.005-05:00

So it's Saturday...so I'm looking through my snapshots to see what I should post. I'm linking up again with Kim at Yellow Songbird, so PLEASE join us in this party!

I've decided to go back...but not that far. To our last vacation as a family of 3 in Colorado. Because it was during the "fall" season there. THUS all the wonderful YELLOW & other fall colors. THUS is why I'm "big" I was pregnant with my little Aspen. This trip actually inspired us calling her Aspen.Well I hope you enjoyed the colors...I miss being in Colorado, miss the colors, miss the mountains, miss going for drives, miss the blue skies, miss the sunshine, miss the friends I have made in Colorado....
Have a great rest of your weekend. :)

Colorado Cartastrofe

2011-03-22T14:35:00.003-05:00

Yes...I'm playing on words for my title...I'm kind of sorry about it...but not enough to change. :)
Also this post has no pics...I mean why would you want to see pics of our CARtastrofe.
Like I said in the post below, we took Rick's Trooper to Colorado with us this past trip. We have discovered during long trips it didn't need extra oil as we traveled. That was no biggie just added more oil when we stopped to put gas in the car. On Friday, after we the kids and I went to the aquarium. I loaded the kids in the car and went to do the drive down to the Springs. As I was driving both kids were sleeping and suddenly the car didn't "feel" right. I ended up getting over to the right lane and then off the road (luckily there was an exit there) and pulled into a gas station. I put more oil in the car, let it sit opened for a while and started it back up HOWEVER it didn't "feel" right, SO I didn't get back on the road and called Rick to tell him about it. He ended up getting a car from one of the other students at DMU that was in the Springs for the conference. YEAH, for people that love to help! For me it was really long...after all I didn't have ANY knitting. Can you believe it?!?! Luckily I did have my Blackberry phone that allowed me to get my devotionals done. :)
Rick finally got there, looked at the car, and decided that we go to an Auto store. He put the kids car seats in the other car, I drove that one and followed Rick in the Trooper. When we got to the auto store, we got a hold of Rick's parents to come and get Rick. I actually took the kids down to the Springs in the other car. They were so good being in the car a lot, a car that isn't moving at all! So I was without Rick for a night at the hotel. It went pretty good. The car had 2 diagnosis going for it right now. It was either something with the spark plug or something else with the engine. Rick stayed the night at his parents house and then in the morning went to the car place. I ended up packing the room with 2 kids and NO kids TV shows. I mean there was NO PBS Kids, NO Disney Junior, etc. Z was pretty good; he sat in a drawer and ate fruit loops, he tried to get into the shower with me, he then got into the bath (fully dressed) after I was done with my shower and discovered how to turn on the water. So he was fully dressed, fully soaked...so that was a lemon so I decided to make lemonade and let him entertain himself in the bath (so I took his clothes and everything off and put bubbles in there.)
Rick & Jean drove down to the Springs after they took the car to mechanic and see what they thought. We got everything packed up and checked out of the hotel room. We went to see the Garden of the Gods which is OH so BEAUTIFUL! We got lunch and then on our way to see about the car. Which got the work up of 2 new oil treatments (which they found metal and gunk in there) and was given the diagnosis as DEAD! So we took all the stuff out of it and headed up to Rick's parents house. We had to decide what to do next...
We went ahead and rented a car and got into it at 7:30pm (Mountain time) and we arrived at our condo at 7:30am (Central time)...I think I decided that I like traveling at night with the moon shining (which was the Supermoon) the kids were sleeping and we only stopped once (that was not a scheduled stop to feed Aspen) I even got a book light for my knitting.
So that was our Carastrofe that happened in Colorado. Don't worry Colorado...we still love you!

Colorful Colorado (the joyous part)

2011-03-22T00:02:00.005-05:00

So this past week our little family left for Colorado on Tuesday, Rick is actually going to a Conference that takes place at the Broadmore in Colorado Springs. Seeing that I don't have a job, Rick asked me if I wanted to come out with the kids. We ended up doing it.
So we left on Tuesday right around lunch time. We took Rick's Trooper (this is important for the second part of the post) and got a book on CD, I had my knitting & both kids were fed and ready for their afternoon nap. :) We spent the night in Lexington, Nebraska (which we were able to see the migrating cranes as we drove through Nebraska). Well that hotel had a pool; so we had our first family swim in the pool.We arrived to Colorado on Wednesday. We ended up getting settled into the room and trying to figure out where we were going to do the next couple days.
Thursday (St. Patrick's Day) the kids and I went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I ended up wearing Aspen in the carrier and pushing Z in the "light" stroller. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! It was such a GREAT work out too. It is truly a great day with my 2 wonderful kiddos! Pic following.Thursday night we met Rick's parents, grandma & aunt for dinner, pic following.Friday the kids and I went up to Denver to go to the Downtown Aquarium with Jean. It was a good day to go, because it was a little cooler than what it was on Thursday. Pic following.NOW you will have to wait for the next post to hear about the rest of Friday and part of our Saturday...
However on Saturday mid-morning to early afternoon we did go see the Garden of the Gods. BEAUTIFUL day...sunny, blue skies, puffy clouds, etc. Pics following.I'm going to be putting a couple collages of the other pics that have been taken. :)

Saturday Snapshot #2 (Sunday)

2011-03-20T20:33:00.003-05:00

So even though it's not Saturday...I'm going to post this today on a Sunday. Yesterday was NOT a good day for myself and the family...more to come with that on another post.
However my dear blog friend Kim at Yellow Songbird did another Saturday Snapshot. So I would like to join as well! Fell free to check her link up and see who else linked up!Today I chose to do a picture of one of the best days of my life...my engagement day! Rick & I are sitting on a log that I found...he has a special rock there and he sat there and wrote a poem to ask me to marry him. :) While he sat there and wrote he allowed me to take pictures (thus the camera around my neck) I ended up finding this log and it out stretched the river...it was so beautiful and quiet. So the whole thing was a definite surprise...I had NO clue it was coming! That was about 5 years ago.

Workin' it...

2011-03-13T15:09:00.007-05:00

So my "idea" starting this "Workin' It" was to do it on Wednesday...BUT Wednesday's are a little crazy. I have Weight Watchers over the lunch hour and then the kids are usually a little crazy...I mean they are a little crazy every day. :)
So here is my Weekly "Workin' It"...such as my knitting and other crafting such!
Here you go!!!
I finished Rick's Skid Hat...it's reversible and Rick has worn it a couple times already. :) I got this pattern on Ravelry, HERE.
I finished my Gehry Hat...I really, really like this hat! It's one of the best hats to "learn" cables in the round! I got this pattern on Ravelry, HERE.
I am working on my Pay It Forward gift that I'm doing on Facebook...seeing that I put on facebook when I blog...I'm NOT posting any pictures until I know that they all have gotten mine...BUT look at what I got from my friend Danielle. SHE is the talented woman behind Mommy's Making Stuff you can check it her facebook page HERE! She actually made Aspen's Christmas Pillowcase Dress that you can see below...Along with the Pay It Forward projects I'm working on Aspen's purple sweater. As well as wanting to start the her skirt (just haven't found the "right" pattern yet...actually I found it I'm just waiting for the person to release it to me) as well as learning to knit in the magic loop so I can work on those fingerless mitts for myself. HOPEFULLY I will have 2 projects going when we make the journey to Colorado (we leave on Tuesday)...more on that in another post!

Saturday Snapshot #1

2011-03-12T01:21:00.004-06:00

So one of my dear blog friends Kim at Yellow Songbird. Is hosting a Linky party for Saturday Snapshot. You can check it out HERE!!! You can go there and Kim actually has a handmade business where she sells some WONDERFUL stuff...she even has the code for a discount in her store!So I had to decide what picture to pick. I could either go with a scenery picture, "old school" picture, a picture of my family, a picture of my kids, and on and on...
Well if you have read my blog at all, you will know of my love of knitting, of going to knitting club, and of my children. So this one kind of takes up all of these...as well as it's new...meaning I just took it yesterday.It's a picture of my dear Aspen, in the blanket that the ladies of the knitting club knitted for her! She is so happy with it! She thinks it's fun to hold, she says it's soft, she also thinks it taste yummy.

Well I promise I will be back more to blog this weekend...and here is a friendly reminder about Daylight Savings Time...so don't forget to SPRING ahead those clocks. I'm SO ready for it to be lighter later in the day and it's actually starting to warm up here in Iowa, so I'm SO ready for an after dinner stroll with the family! YEAH!

Lists...

2011-03-06T17:15:00.002-06:00

So I'm actually joining my dear friend Jenn at From Alaska With Love who "borrowed" the idea from Amy at Creating Myself for this little list...then I'm going to add my own list after wards. (more like my "to do" list for this week)

Praying for: the ability to be a wife & mom that God really wants me to be (being a mom to a 2 1/2 year old little boy is NOT so easy!)
Wearing: my Sunday after church clothes...black sweat pants, a Super Mario shirt, long sleeve black shirt (that's actually quite nice because I wore to church)
Working on: well I was working on my "Gehry" hat (knitting) what I should be working on is the loads of clean clothes that I need to fold and put away.
Eating: actually nothing right now (thinking about dinner though) but I do have a diet pepsi on ice sitting next to me.
Dreaming of: seeing the mountains, seeing the ocean, being with friends I would really like to see!
Realizing: that I should of taken that Sunday afternoon nap...my head hurts and I'm pretty sleepy
Impatiently Waiting: for my son to talk more (he will be getting his speech & hearing tested) & for him to get more interested in getting out of his diapers!
Anticipating: our next trip to Colorado, baseball season (none of this pre-season stuff!) & WARM weather!
Loving: this weekend! I got to have fun with family & friends. Loved my church family & service today. Got some good shopping deals on Friday & Saturday.
Stalking: Ravelry...looking for a great pattern for a skirt for Aspen! Let's just say that it's SO easy to knit for girls! Meaning SO many fun patterns to knit for girls!
Feeling: this week...I'm sticking to eating good and starting a work out thing...HOPING the kids will appreciate that I'm wanting to take care of myself. As well as using my YouVersion app on my blackberry to do my daily devotions as well as reading and doing something special for Lent.

My own lists...
-- Looking into getting some baby/toddler hats done so I can set up either an Etsy or a Big Cartel shop (I'm leaning more towards a Big Cartel shop, any thoughts about one or the other would be great!)
-- Wanting to get out more with the kids (but the temperatures are in the high 30s or low 40s!) But I'm hoping that at least to get out and go to play areas in malls! (at least 3 days during this next week)
-- Is SO wanting to learn the Magic Loop (in knitting) this week!)
-- Is wanting to blog more.
-- Is wanting to take more photos.

Well I hope that you had a great weekend. Please let me know if you participate in the first list! I would love to know more about you!

fPhoto Friday

2011-03-04T21:29:00.004-06:00

So here is some photos from today...which is Friday.

It's all about Z and his new big bed!

With his Daddy & his juiceWith his mommy & his graham crackerI asked him to get me a book to read him, Z ended up grabbing a C.S. Lewis book Z likes the pictures...He's been bringing me C.S. Lewis books ALL week long!We are looking at the mapThen we cuddled! I'm going to love just in case we have to lay in bed with my little Z-Man (he's been laying on his crib mattress for a while now...TOO small!)

We have discovered that there is hardly ANY pictures with me and the kids. And after we watched "Life as We Know It" last weekend...we decided we need more pics of me with them! :) It is a really good movie, a little sad but it shows that about life and sometimes life is sad.

Rick's Journey...

2011-03-04T11:18:00.002-06:00

So I thought I would share with your Rick's journey through Medical School. Seeing that Z is happy watching the rest of Cars & Aspen is taking a nap. Then we are going to run some errands!
So Rick goes to school at Des Moines University. He should of been graduating this coming May. But I encouraged him to do the OMM Fellowship, so that adds one more year to his schooling. Essentially he get's his fourth year broken down into two years and he does a fellowship block (where he is in the clinic seeing patients & being with OMM doctors), teaching the first & second year students OMM and telling prospective students about the school and what OMM is all about. Here I am using OMM like you would know it...let me explain it to you. OMM (stands for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.) here is a link to Wikipedia for more information. There are a lot of different links on the right of the information to help you.
So right now Rick has completed...
~OB/Gyn ~General Internal Medicine ~General Peds ~Psychiatry ~ Family Medicine (a couple of them) ~Pathology ~ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) ~Neurology ~Rural Medicine ~OMM rotation (not his fellowship rotation) ~General Surgery
He has already finished 1 rotation of his OMM Fellowship. He is currently in his second block of his OMM Fellowship. This summer is when he is doing these rotations...
~Family Medicine (in Bluefield, West Virginia) this is a 4 week rotation-- it's an area that we are interested for Residency. Sadly I will not be able to be there with him and the kids but hopefully I'll be able to visit my parents in SUNNY Florida with the 2 kids! Please pray with me and them about making that possible!
~Emergency Medicine (here in Iowa) not in Des Moines, but pretty close that he doesn't have to live away for us! This is a 4 week rotation as well.
~A 2 week rotation (sub-internship) in Alaska Health Education Center. Sadly, the kids & I won't be able to go to this one either, seeing that it's on the list of residency programs as well. (I know we are crazy...but we know that Residency is only 3 years of our lives and how cool would it be to say that we lived in Alaska!) PLUS they have one of the best Rural Family Medicine Residency programs out there!
~A 2 week rotation here in Des Moines doing Plastic Surgery.
~Then another OB/GYN rotation at Firelands Regional Medical Center (this is a 4 week rotation) and it's in the same place we are considering Residency. (It's actually pretty close to where I grew up in Ohio) sadly we will not be able to spend the entire time there with him...but we are going to try to make it out there and see some old friends and visit family in Ohio during that time.
~A 3 week rotation in Grand Junction, Colorado doing a Family Medicine rotation. We are SO excited that we will be able to make it to this one! Love being in Colorado with no humidity in August! :)
Then he is doing his LAST OMM Fellowship block until Christmas. (During that time he will be doing his Residency interviews.)
So that is it so far on Rick's Medical School Journey! It's tough being a mom to 2 little kids & have your husband here and there...but as I keep telling him. "You are a good husband and father and you are doing this for a better future!"

Thankful Thursday!!!

2011-03-03T16:27:00.004-06:00

So it's Thursday! And I am SO Thankful...

THUS the bringing back of Thankful Thursday!
(in NO particular order)
~I am SO thankful for Rick (my husband!) He is in medical school...and I'M actually going to post about his next set of rotations and such.
~I am SO thankful for my 2 1/2 year old little boy of Z-Man!!! (I realize I haven't posted a picture of him in a while...so here you go)Z on his half-birthday! (6 more months until he's 3!)So sleepy after a nap (or maybe it's a day where he decided NOT to take a nap)He fell asleep on his mommy! I wanted to show you his beautiful eyelashes!
~I am SO thankful for my growing little 4 month old Aspen! Today she had her doctor check up; she is measuring 24 1/2 inches (in the 53% - she grew 1 1/2 inches in 2 months), she weighs 13 pounds and 11 ounces (in the 46% - she grew 1 pound and 8 ounces) & her head circumference is 16 1/2 inches (she is in the 71%). She is doing better than her first round of shots. She will be going back at the beginning of May for her 6 month visit.This was a couple days ago...BEFORE she heard she was getting shots.
~I am SO thankful for our church, The Gateway Church, we recently have started a small group that meets in our home. We are getting to know each other pretty good and we are going over The Gospel in Life by Timothy Keller. Which is so cool!~I am SO thankful for my family; my parents, my in-laws, my sisters, my brothers, my grandparents, my aunts & uncles, my cousins...
~I am SO thankful to be a child of God; a God who loves me no matter what mistakes I have made and who is constantly teaching me and showing me more about Himself. And when He does that he is showing me all the woman I can be.
~I am SO thankful for my ability to be a Stay-At-Home mommy and providing that attention that my children need.
~I am SO thankful for a God who provides a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my belly, health for me; well not just me but my family as well.
~I am SO thankful for a crafty side...a way that I can get creative and show who I believe God created me to be.

Workin' It Wednesday

2011-03-02T22:14:00.008-06:00

So...here is what I have been working on besides being a wife & mother. :)
Here's my knitting...Rick's Skid Hat that you can buy on Ravelry HERE!
Here's my "hope-to-be-starting" knitting...Wanting to do Fingerless Mitts on a Magic LoopThe yarn for my Gehry hat you can find on Ravelry HERE! The yarn for some sort of skirt for Aspen...
Here's my craftiness DONE...Little Leg-warmers & matching bow for Aspen Aspen being a good model. :)
Here's my "hope-to-be-starting" craftiness...Fabric cut for more Hair Bows - I got the idea from MakeIt & LoveIt
Well...I hope that you had a great Wednesday!
Later!

Workin' It!

2011-02-26T15:30:00.005-06:00

So I want to put something every week on Wednesday about my Works in Progress - it can be any crafts that I'm working on; Knitting Projects, Hair Bows, Fabric Stuff, Note Cards, etc...
So I think I'm going to put it on now and then what I have gotten done on Wednesday (then get into the routine of doing it Weekly) So over the past 2-ish weeks THIS is what I got done OR what I'm working on right now! :)XOXO scarflet
Aspen's Upside-Down Daisy Hat The very top of the hatPicot Edging Hat (I'm trying to find a better name for it!) with Ribbon & a Hair bowPurple "Gehry"HatThe top of the "Gehry" hat

So I have other stuff...I'm working on here they are!
Aspen's Spring Time in Hollis Sweater for when she's a year oldRick's "Skid" hat for next winter
Well...Hope the hat will be done for you to see on Wednesday as well as maybe another project on the needles!
Enjoy your weekend!

Aspen's getting SO big!

2011-02-26T11:05:00.005-06:00

Hello friends & family...
So this post is ALL about Aspen. Sorry if you want to hear about Z or my knitting projects or Rick's rotations or even about me. That will come later...at least some of it.
Last weekend, we dedicated our little Aspen at our church. Being dedicated is not really for the baby at all it's for the parents. Yes the baby is there and he/she is looking all decked out in wonderful looking clothes. :) But mainly being dedicated is for the parents...we take a stand in loving, raising, leading as an example, teaching, being there, hands on, correcting, and all that other "stuff" that God has called us to as parents. Our pastor, Paul, was very direct in this and it was challenging. Just to remember the duty I have as a mother to raise not just Aspen but Z too (and maybe in the future other kids) in the way that God wants to me to raise them. Showing and Sharing not just in our words but in our actions as well.
Here are some pictures of the actual dedication (thanks to my dear friend Liz Cleek from our church)(Grandma Jean & Grandpa Tom are in this picture...& notice Paul preaches from an I-Pad!)
Here are some pictures of Aspen in her dedication outfit...Sweater & Dress (Carter's) given to us from Aunt Caroline & Uncle David (I think mainly Caroline though), Tights were bought ON SALE at Gymboree, Cowboy Boots were part of Z's first Halloween outfit given by their Great Uncle Gary & Aunt Linda, Hat made by me (it's a little on the "bigger side" thus the ribbon) I also made the little hair bow thanks to my friend Dana showing me how to do it!(My favorite!)The gift we got for Aspen from the church for her dedication...So simple and Beautiful to remember that day!
Also Aspen hit her 4 month old mark! I don't have stats for her because we weren't able to get in on her 2 month mark at the doctor's appointment right away (Thanks to Christmas & New Year's) and due to having to wait until she gets her next round of shots (boo, so sad) we have to wait until this Thursday! I will have an update for you then! I do know she's getting bigger because I'm having to keep getting new sleepers & onesies because she is getting TO long for them! Hopefully by then I will also have a little video of her talking, laughing or playing...she is more of a talker than her big brother that is for sure!

I'm Stylish?

2011-02-24T11:53:00.003-06:00

Well...I actually got this award from Ashley. I really can't believe it. This is why we (Ashley & I) are blog friends. :) We have yet to meet in person but I'm sure that if/when we actually meet we would be friends from the start! That is actually my goal sometime...meet some of my "blog" friends in real life! Well anyway back to this award that Ashley gave me it's a Stylish Blogger Award!I believe Ashley deserves this award...I really and truly feel that. She has a way of being so Simply Stylish in her blog; the way she words things, the pics that she has on there and her "savings" that she shares with us on clothes and such! I simply am glad that I found her blog. I don't know when or how that happened (I need to keep a better track of that!)
Now I guess you get to know 7 things about me...
Most of you all ready know stuff about me other wise you wouldn't be reading my blog. :)
~I'm a Daughter of the Most High God! He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood!
~I'm a Wife to a wonderful, gentle husband who is also studying to be a doctor. Not just any medical doctor but a doctor of osteopathic medicine. To know the difference check it out HERE. But my husband, Rick is the perfect match for me, thanks to eHarmony.com
~I'm a Mother to a 2 1/2 year old son (Ezekiel, Z, Z-Man, Zeke...) & to a 4 month old (tomorrow) little girl (Aspen, Bug) & I LOVE being a mommy to them. They give me their love by their hugs, smiles, kisses, learning & growing.
~I'm a creator of things...I like to work with a camera and lens (Photographer), I like to work with sticks (needles) and fiber (yarn)(knitter), I like to work with paint, I like to work with ribbon, and anything else that I might come in contact with...
~I haven't fallen in love with coffee...BUT I do love to drink Tea (loose-leaf tea), flavored & sparkling water & diet Pepsi!
~I dislike doing dishes but I like finding new recipes to cook or bake that are going to bring me and my family to our weight lost goals. You can check my endeavors HERE!
~I'm involved with the Significant Other's Support group (for the wives, husbands and other SO's of the DMU students.), I greet at our church (usually wearing my daughter for added smiles!), I love being outside...but when the weather is warmer (this winter is KILLING me!), I love blogging (to read & write), and in my "spare" time I blog for books!
So you were only suppose to have 7...but I think that you got 11 things. I just don't know when to stop!
I'm also suppose to send this award to 15 other blogs...but I think I will choose 5! You can check some of my favorite blogs HERE

Jenn at FROM ALASKA WITH LOVE
Londa at The Sneaky Mommy
Kim at Yellow Songbird
Meredith at Life at 7000 feet
Melissa at A Familiar Path

Well...Again thanks for the award! Share some blog love and comment on someone's blog today! It's the polite thing to do!

Moments of this Monday...

2011-02-21T19:51:00.004-06:00

So first off, I'm sorry I have been missing in Blogland. It's been a "difficult" time in our house.
Here are some moments of my Monday...
~Z ended up climbing into bed with us (right beside me) this morning BEFORE 6am. Which is not fun; but he ended up falling back asleep.
~Aspen has been "resting" up a storm today after her busy day of being dedicated yesterday at church. (Pics of that will come later!)
~I was able to knit some.
~I was able to "clean" while Z & Aspen were sleeping.
~For dinner we were able to clean out the fridge.
Yes, I might be a little bit tired.
Yes, I might be still in my PJ's.
Yes, I might not bring money into our home...but I'm loving staying at home with my family!

Update on Z-Man!

2011-02-16T15:22:00.002-06:00

SO...It's Wednesday! Two days after our wonderful Valentine's Day celebration at doctor's offices, x-ray machines, lab offices, etc. My little Z-Man is doing SO much better!!! It's such a good feeling to have him walking at almost 100%, I don't see him favoring his leg at all, diaper changes are not fun (for me anyway...I'm sick of changing his diapers!) but he's hip didn't hurt while I was moving his hip. SO he is feeling better.
Yesterday we went to the Ortho doc (which didn't have the best "bed-side" manners, especially to a 2 year old parents who were very nervous and scared about what happened to their son!) but he just confirmed what our family doc thought what was bothering him. So that is good it wasn't anything that he needed to be admitted for or to have surgery or any additional medicine. So the confirmed diagnosis is Transient Synovitis. Which is just the joint fluid in his right hip was inflamed due to a virus. They told me that a number of kids get this at around his age group. Although that was news to me. So basically it's an unknown virus that just comes on fast and it can last for a couple days to a week.
So I wanted to thank you all for your prayers for Z and our family. He's doing better and it was SCARY!!! I don't wish this upon anyone! It's so hard to see your baby suffer and there is NOTHING you can do PLUS it doesn't help when your child can't talk to you or tell you what hurts!
Again sorry no pictures on this post...HOPEFULLY I'll be back on here and share with you what else is going on!

What a Valentine's Day...

2011-02-14T20:18:00.003-06:00

First off...sorry for no pictures in this post.

Secondly...I'm pretty tired and a little broken down SO the story might be a little scattered.

Thirdly...HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY & enjoy our story.

Normally our little happy go lucky boy (Z-Man) wakes up happy and plays in his room and then comes to our room to get us up. TODAY he did NOT do any of that. He cried and cried until Rick went into his room. Rick got him and put him to walk out of his room however he just cried there and wouldn't put any weight on his right leg. He cried throughout the his morning diaper change. He didn't like ANY rotation of his right hip WHAT SO EVER! Rick went into school/work/fellowship (whatever you want to call it) and I said I would keep an eye on it. I thought maybe he just slept on it weird and it was asleep. Well, Z ended up NOT moving from the spot on the couch and he cried off and on every time he tried to move. I ended up sending a text Rick to see if he could get Z into our family doc. He called back and said we could get in at 9:30. It was a unpleasant time getting him dressed to go to the doctors but I made it there in 45 minutes. Z wouldn't let ANYONE touch his leg. The doc said well...let's get you an x-ray and see what is going on. Let's just say of getting an x-ray of hurt 2 1/2 year old little boy is NOT fun! The first set didn't turn out well either so we had to do it again. Well...the x-rays looked good and didn't show anything abnormal for his hip at all. SO then it was calling a pediatrician to see what they would recommend (we love our family doc but sometimes they just need to consult another doc for things they haven't seen) The docs conversed that the next thing would be blood work. It would help come up with things that Z was not. The blood work came back within normal limits so that ruled out a couple things. Then we waited to see if the Ortho doc this afternoon or tomorrow. Well...we are seeing him/her in the morning. SO we shall know FOR sure what he is dealing with. All we do know is that after a dose of pain medicine he was feeling a lot better and even able to put some weight on his right leg.
There is Valentine's Day story for 2011. We are very thankful that he didn't need to be admitted to the hospital tonight. We are thankful that even though he was in pain he still had some smiles and I actually think he liked the extra snuggles with me. We do have some prayer requests...so if you are that kind of person PLEASE do pray for...
-Wisdom for the docs that are looking after our son.
-God's peace and understanding in this whole matter.
-Rick & I have been fighting a sinus junk (either an infection, or due to drastic change in our Iowa weather)
Well thank you all very much! I shall have more info tomorrow. ALONG with pictures (today we spent in the car, doctor's offices or hospital labs...the kids weren't really in there Valentine's Day outfits) Actually Z was in his Red shirt with silver hearts that I made for him that he got Vaseline on that one day. :)

check out what I won!!!

2011-02-11T14:46:00.006-06:00

I wanted to share with you in this post what I won! Well today was like CHRISTMAS because my gift came in the mail! I won it from Bev at Flamingo Toes, you should check her stuff out! She is actually hosting a giveaway for a $40 credit to her Etsy store! BUT you have to follower her blog and do all that stuff AND you only have a little bit because the winner will be announce on the 15th!

So here is what I won!!!The "lot" of it the prizes from Flamingo Toes!The necklace...SO pretty! The rosette ringBlue earringsPink earrings The handbagI butterfly bookmark with my current book I'm reading. Bev's business card from Flamingo Toes! Please go HERE to check out her blog!

fPhoto Friday

2011-02-11T14:33:00.003-06:00

Hey...So I know I have been missing in blogland. Stuff on the home-front has been a little crazy! However I would like to share some photos of today.Of all the place on the couch Z wants to sit right next to me...SO sweet!Photo shoot with Aspen & a mirror! She loved it!!!

I'll be back more today! :)

A Page Review...

2011-01-31T13:09:00.006-06:00

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

From the back of the book...

"Love is a choice you make every day. Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband, Brad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad's departure.
Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring -- and perhaps about herself.
In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.
As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more influence over her life than she once imagined. It all comes down to the choices each make despite the realities they face."
About the author...Susan Meissner has spent her lifetime as a writer, starting with her first poem at the age of four. She is the award-winning author of The Shape of Mercy, White Picket Fences, and many other novels. When she's not writing, she directs the small groups and connection ministries at her San Diego church. She and her pastor husband are the parents of four young adults Visit her Web site at www.susanmeissner.com.
Now my page review...
I have always loved books that were written as the setting in the sixteenth-century. As I read, I always read at night after everyone has gone to bed and I stay up too late! I got drawn into this book with it's twist on the now a days setting. Both Jane's stories tugged at my heart. Hoping that I don't get to "comfortable" in my marriage with my dear husband. As well as hoping that as I'm a mother of dear daughter not wanting my little girls life to be "ran" for her and have her make her own choices. I have chosen to answer some of the questions in the back of the book for you to get a different idea of the way I feel about the book.
"In the end, Jane decides to stand by Brad during his crisis. What do you think of her decision?" Jane chose from her heart, although first she had to find it because of all the people she was trying to please; such as her parents, her husband, her family, etc. She decided that she had to try more things that she grew to like and that her husband liked as well. I dare to say that I would make the decision to stand by my husband through thick and thin (isn't that what my wedding vow said.).
"What do you think Lucy Day's strengths were? Why do you think she gave personality traits to the dresses in Jane's wardrobe?" Lucy Day strength's include a great listener, a great friend, and a great seamstress, amongst other things. She wanted Lady Jane's wardrobe to look as though Lady Jane was older than what she was. When Lady Jane wore the dresses that Lucy made for her she got compliments. Lucy wanted to give Lady Jane some joy & happiness in the dresses that she wore.
"If you had lived during the sixteenth century, would you have wanted to be a commoner, a noble, or a royal? Why? Oh, I have 2 answers to this question...I would love to be a noble and have the joys of going to court when called upon as well as the wonders of having money and dresses made for me. Although I wouldn't have a chance to marry for love and being told whom I needed to marry for my "social or political standing." This is why I have decided that I would like to be a commoner...to do something I was good at for a job until I found the person whom was my true love to marry and than find a life at home. Even if it would be a way were I was living from pay check to pay check or being torn apart from my family as a young person so I could earn money. Yes I would choose a commoner in the sixteenth century.
So here is a review...
I enjoyed reading this book and it captivated me at once.
The touch between now-a-days setting to sixteenth-century is divine.
The characters where wholesome and full of life.

This book was given to me free for a blog review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Company.
You can pick up copy of this book at the following --
www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Well I hope you Enjoy, Happy Reading & Happy Monday!

Looking towards another week...

2011-01-24T14:03:00.003-06:00

FOR TODAY...
I saw this on Meredith's blog Life at 7000ft I thought I would jump in and do it too...

Outside my window... the Sun is shining, the skies are blue & it’s in the 20’s outside (which is a bit warmer than it has been in the past couple days.
I am thinking... about the love I have for children’s naptime (at the SAME time)

I am thankful for... for the sleeping children (said above), the ability to knit again (after over 2 weeks off), the wonders of a crock-pot (for which dinner is cooking in)

I am wearing... plaid pajama pants (even though it’s after 2 here) and a Chicago Cubs t-shirt.

I am remembering... my grandfather and how I wish I could have had a little bit more memories with him, maybe going to a Chicago Cubs game or on road trips.

I am going... to stay inside today (we were suppose to a family over for dinner but they got sick), I will be spending time knitting a blankie for Joseph, finishing up laundry, loving on my kids…

I am currently reading… hmm…seeing that it for a Blogging for Books I’m not sure if I can say. So stay tuned (I’m hoping by next week at this time it will be done…) So far I really like it!

I am hoping... for the ability to help figure out what Rick’s next block of rotations and interviews for residencies and such within the next little bit of time.

On my mind... the children at the Cornerstone Orphanage in Nigeria

Noticing that... I need to order pictures of the last couple months and fill out “baby” books for both of the kids

Pondering these words... well…I’m actually pondering Beautiful Things by Gungor (I heard it 2 weeks ago at church and we sung it again yesterday.) I’m pondering if I’m actually living this song and know it 100%, clinging to the words that “you make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things out of us” I have to keep telling myself “you make me new, you are making me new” Check this out YouTube

In the kitchen... I have meat & black bean chili in the crock pot…soon I will make some corn bread for tonight as well.

Around the house... well, I have 2 children 2 and under…SO I have 2 year old boy toys all around (cars, trains and balls), I have a bouncer & activity play mat for Aspen out, a clean pile of laundry waiting to be folded, so I better hurry up and finish this!

One of my favorite things... practical favorite things is my crock-pot, favorite things in general my knitting needles & great yarn or fiber, favorite people my family!

From my picture journal... My 3 favorite people…LOVE them to pieces!

Something crafty...

2011-01-18T16:39:00.006-06:00

So since my doc told me (last Thursday) that I couldn't knit for another week. Hopefully this Thursday I will get an ok to go back to knitting a little more regularly, I mean at all. Because I have some projects that I need to get done!!! I have looked at a couple of other blogs for crafty inspiration. I'm going to be putting a blog roll on the top of my blog so you can see what I like to read, look at, & steal ideas from. :) It's ok I put all the credit back to them...
Such as in this crafty idea. Which is SO fun seeing that Valentine's Day is coming up! I was reading Julie at Singing Three Little Birdies She has them available to buy at Belle Rose Designs her etsy store.
Instead of me re-typing the instructions or tutorial check out it out HERE! I will just say that her pictures and step by step are very clear and you can easily follow along or buy them from her etsy store. :) But here are my pictures of my creations.Z's white shirt with silver heartsZ's red shirt with silver heartsOne of Z's baby shirts (now for Aspen) with Hot Pink HeartsAspen's onesie with light pink heartsMy shirt with Aspen's feet in light pink and a heart in hot pinkSilver heart action.My Valentine'sAspen in her light pink hearts pretending she doesn't see meBut really she knew I was there with the camera the entire time. :)

So I'm hoping that you will have some fun being crafty! I'm thinking about adding this to my go to baby gift. So thanks Julie for sharing this wonderful craft with your readers...now I can share it with mine...HOPEFULLY I can get more readers this way. I'm stuck on 29 followers...

New Yummy Goodness!

2011-01-14T18:38:00.002-06:00

So first I made my own Veggie Broth. I found this last year...and I made it but this time we actually just got back from Costco so I had a bulk of carrots, celery, mushrooms & onions. So I was able to wash & chunk up the veggies, throw some water on them, and some other spices (garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, and whatever I feel like I should at the time.) Right here is the link I used to get it going. I did it in my crock pot and biggest pot for a double amount of veggie broth.
Now I'm sure you want to know what I used this for...well I used it in 2 different meals.
I got a pork tenderloin at Costco too, meaning I got 2 of them! So I put the tenderloin in the crock pot and put the broth all around it so it basically cooked in the broth and then a little bit before I ended up taking out the tenderloin and tossed the broth put the tenderloin back in the crock pot (and either simmered it on low or on warm) and put BBQ sauce on it. 1 time I just did that and the second time I added some small slivers of onions & peppers in with it...and I served it to the family! My husband gave it 2 thumbs up!!! He even talked to some of the docs that he works with so that tells me that he really enjoyed it.
The other meal I made it the broth with is a French Onion Soup...totally vegetarian friendly! Because I don't have the correct bowls (ones that are flame resistant) so it's not truely French Onion Soup. It's mainly the broth with the onions. So you cook the onions on low in oil for a little bit so that the onions are "limp" and then you add the broth and other seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic to taste) and bring to a boil. Then we just mainly added our cheese before we served...and we added whatever cheese we wanted that we had in the house. So basically that was it. I actually added little slivers of peppers too for some added flavor.
I'm loving having my own broth made at home...when it is simmering on the stove or on the crock pot is smells WONDERFUL!
The other thing that I made that was new is a Hungry Girl recipe...that uses a crock pot for breakfast!
You can find the recipe HERE I did find it really easily to do and it was good! Although seeing that we didn't eat in 7 hours it was a little on the "well done" side of things. The next time I make this one I might do for dinner instead and instead of adding just apples I will probably add some other fruit (such as peaches, blueberries, pears) some I'm excited to have this again. This would also be an excellent thing for having breakfast with a big family for Christmas Morning or another Morning. My 2 year old son also enjoyed this breakfast.
Hope you enjoyed this little post! Sorry no pictures.

Charity Knitting 2010...

2011-01-14T16:21:00.005-06:00

So pretty much the month of December I traveled and I did charity knitting. I also entered into a challenge from Wool Durham from knitting the charity pieces.

I ended up knitting 6 children hats for a 5th grade class here in Des Moines. The teacher is a guy from our church. Of course he had more than 6 kids so there were 3 women total that made hats for his class. Picture of the hats below...I also found another great charity to knit for Blankets for Deployed Daddies. I'm thinking I will usually always have one of these on my needles at all times. There are 2 different patterns and take a little bit more than 1 skein to make. (which is nice) Here is something about the blankets from their website. "This blanket is designed to be a comfort to your little one from birth through toddlerhood and beyond. At 14"x20", the blanket is small enough to tuck in a crib or cradle, yet large enough to gently cover the newborn. Plus, it is the perfect size for toddlers to carry around. Babies have a sensitive sense of smell. It is one of the ways they are able to recognize their parents from birth. A mother’s amniotic fluid has a similar scent to her skin, so a baby recognizes his mother right away. So, when a baby smells a parent nearby, they are comforted! Cotton fibers are known for their scent holding properties. This blanket uses a cotton/acrylic blend to keep the shape and to hold a parents’ scent. The blankets are machine washable and dryable. After washing, the blanket should be "recharged" with the parents' scent. The parent sleeps with the blanket in their pillowcase for several nights so that it can absorb their unique scent. It’s important to not have the blanket positioned so that it would absorb perspiration, saliva, or other fluids. The blanket will hold the parents’ scent for as long as three months. It can be placed in the baby’s crib or bassinet to comfort the little ones as they sleep. I love using it for those nights when my son is restless. It keeps me from having to wake up so often to comfort him! These blankets are especially helpful for when parents must be away. When a newborn is in the ICU or when a parent is away, this blanket can be used to bring the feeling of home a little closer for our babies." Katrina back...I think this charity is one of my favorites because it helps bring families closer. Here are some pictures of my blankets...The original version of the blanket

The updated version of the blanket

So I actually won something from the Wool Durham Charity Knitting Challenge! A picture of what I got...a picture will be updated when I'm talking about the Dyeing process. :)