Gender Reveal Party

Back in January, we announced that we are expecting our 3rd baby by posting this photo on Facebook.

We just reached the halfway point and had decided that we wanted to know the gender of this baby before it's born.  Since we are using a midwife and doing a home birth, I had to find a place to perform the ultrasound.  I found a place about a mile from our house that would do it for a very reasonable price.  So, we decided to have the technician find out the gender and write it on a piece of paper.  Then we brought the paper (inside a sealed security envelope) to my mom who made a cake the color (pink or blue) that the baby is going to be.  Then frosted it over and brought it to our party.

We had about 25 people (not including kids) that made it to share the special moment with us.

There were pink and blue snacks.

Everyone casted their vote.  Boy was leading in the polls.

The cake.

The plan was to have Evelyn call out the color of the cake after we cut it, but for whatever reason, she kept saying the wrong color.  Here's the video of our cake cutting.

So, we are having another girl!  That was my feeling all along, but it is nice to know for sure.  Getting ready for her will be pretty easy as Elsie was born in June so we have the right sizes in the right seasons.  We're over half way there to meeting her and I know the time will fly and before we know it, she will be here.  I can't wait to meet her, but I am cherishing these moments with just my older two.  Being a mommy is so wonderful!

Christmas Projects (A Little Late)

How is it February already?  Wow time is flying.  I meant to post about this way back in January, but never got around to it.

This Christmas I decided to 'save' some money by making many homemade gifts.  The problem with this idea is that most of the time, the homemade gift ends up costing more in the end.  But most of the time it's also worth it because it turns out exactly like I wanted and it's super cute.  Here are some pictures of the things I made this year.  I forgot to take pictures of everything I made, so some of them are the pinterest picture of my inspiration.

For Kevin, I made this chalkboard to hang in our bedroom.  I started with a piece of plywood I found in our garage and went to town.  I love how it turned out and we use it all the time to write little love notes back and forth to each other.  Every married couple should have one!

I made a few things for some children in my life.

The apron I made is this exact apron, but with cupcake fabric.

Burp cloths out of prefold diapers.

The headband I made was bright pink, but I learned how to do this cool knot.

I also made this style apron, but in an adorable grey and pink polka-dot pattern.

And a basket made out of paper grocery bags.

I also made our girls each their own rice bag that you can warm up and snuggle with.  I can't find the cover right now to Elsie's, so there's no picture.

Whew!  Kevin informed me that if I don't have the homemade gifts done by Thanksgiving next year, we will just be buying something.  It took a lot of time and energy to do it all, but I enjoyed every minute. Making something by hand for the ones you love is something I love to do!

A Wife After God's Own Heart By Elizabeth George (7/44)

I saw this book on my sister-in-law's bookshelf one week when I was helping her clean.  The title jumped out at me and I borrowed it.  It took me a few months to get around to reading it, but I finally finished it.  And I would highly recommend it to any wife out there who desires to better serve God and her husband. (Which is all of us right?)

Not only is this book packed full of Biblical wisdom and truths, at the end of each chapter are several practical ways to carry out in real life what the chapter talked about.  I think that is what I appreciated the most about this book. 

Some practical advice that was very helpful to me was:
*Show greater respect for your husband. i.e. look at him when he's talking, don't interrupt, ask him nicely for things etc.
*Encourage your husband.
*Take care of yourself and make yourself more attractive for your husband i.e. fix your hair, dress up, exercise.
*Make the beds daily.
*Pay attention to times of the day when you tend to get 'tired' (or feel lazy) and figure out the things that get you going. 
*Get enough sleep at night so that you aren't too tired for your husband.
*Work on your attitude.
*Get up before your children do.
*Visit your parents.
*Plan one fun activity a week with your husband.
*Make a list of things you've always wanted to do, and then do the things together.

Of course she had a lot more suggestions, but these specifically spoke to me and where I'm at. 

Again, I would highly recommend this book to any wife out there.  You will definitely be challenged to be a better wife and better follower of Christ.  I have to return this book to my SIL, but I wish I had a copy of my own to reference again in the future.

Evelyn & Elsie 'Isms

The way that Evelyn says things these days:

Hankune: Thank You.
Slipalee: Slippery
Lankey: Blanket
Me-Me: Chapstick
Sisser: Sister
Cozies: Sweatpants
Ness: Nest (usually for sleeping in)
Finnanas: Finger Nails (almost always referred to in the context of wanting them painted)
Sack: Snack
Kiwi Bar: Chewy bar aka granola bar

Some of Elsie's words:

Foooo: Food
Foooo: Shoe - must pay attention to context to determine which.
Baby: Blankey
Wooeee: Rudy aka Aunt Maria
BeBe: Baby doll, or stuffed animal
Naaa: Snack
Aame: Amen
Ah Da: All Done
Peee: Please
My: Mine
Hep: Help

She is also very good at nodding and shaking her head to express what she would or wouldn't like to do.

Shanghai Stirfry

I don't think I've ever posted a recipe before, but we just ate this last night, and it was so yummy, I thought I would share it.  The recipe is called Shanghai Stirfry from the recipe book "Two Sisters Cookbook".  Well, the sauce recipe is from there.  The rest is just what I throw together.  Doesn't it look yummy?

To make the sauce, mix together:
*1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*1/2 C. Braags Amino Acids
*A chunk of Ginger Root a little bigger  than your thumb sent through the garlic press
*3 Garlic Cloves minced
*2 Tb. Honey
*1 Tb. Cornstarch mixed into 1/4 C. Cold Water

Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute until quite bubbly.  Then let it sit until you're ready for it.

I used a 3lb beef roast for the meat, cooking all of it, but only putting half into the recipe. The other half went in the freezer ready for next time.  I've made it with a venison roast before, and that is delicious as well.  Let the roast thaw in the fridge for a day so that it's still mostly frozen, but easily sliced with a sharp knife.  Slice the meat into thin strips. Pour about 1/4 C. of sauce into frying pan and cook the meat.  Then pull the meat out and set aside. 

Chop up whatever vegetables you have on hand or want in your stir fry.  I try to keep it to about 5 different veggies max.  Too many more gives it too many different flavors.  I like to keep it simple.  For this batch I used carrots, onion, broccoli, and cauliflower, but feel free to mix it up to suit your tastes.  Cabbage, and peas are two of our other favorites to add.  Cut them small so that they cook faster.  In the same pan you cooked the meat in, add another 1/4 C. (approximate - I just dump some in) of the sauce and cook all the veggies until they are the tenderness you like.  I cook them pretty soft so that the girls don't have any trouble eating them.  This usually takes about 20-30 mins. 

While all of this is going on, don't forget to cook some rice.  Time it to be done at the same time as everything else if you can. I made this meal last night, and from start to finish - slicing meat to ready to eat it took 1 1/2 hours.  But a lot of that time is cook time, so I got all the dishes washed and the kitchen mostly cleaned up during that time as well.  Then, enjoy!

Let me know if you give this recipe a try.  I'd love to hear how you like it!

acTivity Tuesday

Well, summer and fall got busy, and I haven't had much time to post about our activities lately.  But we've still been doing them.  This week, the girls wanted to go outside and draw with chalk.  Since it's getting pretty cold outside, I decided that since one of their favorite chalk activities is to trace themselves, we could trace ourselves on the giant roll of red paper I got at our Church clean up day.

Had I known how attached those girls would become to the cutouts of themselves, I may have rethought that decision.  But it's too late for that.  The girls now carry their cutouts everywhere with them.  They wanted to take them to bed last night, and were only satisfied not to when we laid them on the floor of their room and covered them their own blankets.

When Elsie tried to grab hers and the arm ripped off, I thought Evelyn was going to cry.  This morning there were loud and terrible screams coming from both girls in the living room.  I went in to see what was the matter, and Elsie had Evelyn's paper person.  Evelyn was screaming because she didn't want Elsie to have it, and didn't want to rip it to get it back.  Elsie was screaming because Evelyn was trying to get it away from her.  Oh. Wow.  This afternoon Evelyn insisted on taking her paper baby in bed with her for her nap.  She usually takes her nap on our bed, and she laid her paper self on Kevin's pillow and she slept right next to it.  She's gotten into making a 'nest' for herself with blankets to take her nap in, and she even made a nest for her paper self.  She was also calling her paper cutout her sister. Here's Evelyn napping with her paper doll.

The girls holding their babies.

Elsie holding her paper person.  Notice the tape holding it back together?  Well, Elsie also took her person with her during her nap and it returned with all limbs and the head torn off.

This is how the girls usually hold their people - under the arms and in a big hug.

The good thing is they are only paper and we can either tape them up, or make new ones if it comes to that. 

What I Thought I Wanted

So I thought I had landed a great way to earn a little extra cash.  Turns out God just needed to use it to show me that it wasn't what I really wanted. 

I was all ready to go clean the gross auto shop for the first time.  I went to bed early and headed over there around 4:30am.  And was it ever gross.  As I organized the cleaning closet I noticed a small hole in the back of the closet and tons of little chewed up plastic left by a mouse (or mice).  I spent almost 3 hours there cleaning the bathroom, windows, and counters.  It does feel good to take something gross and make it look clean again.  I had to be back before 8 so Kevin could get to work on time.  Turns out getting up that early will really wear you out. 

I went back later in the week to find out about a few things I would need for the next time, and found out that not only was the only way to get hot water from the bathroom sink, they also weren't wanting to pay as much as I was needing to make it worth my while. 

While the extra money was hard to see go, at the end of the day, it's just money.  I don't have to get up at 4:30am once a week and wear myself out cleaning.  I can wake up rested and have more time and energy for the things I care most about: my girls and my husband.  In the months since this happened, I have not missed it once. 

God used this whole thing to teach me the truth from Philippians 4:11 "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."